Our local Portland anarchists are back in the news:
PORTLAND, Ore. – Two people from Portland say they're refusing to testify in front of a grand jury in connection with three Portland homes the FBI raided last week.
One of the homes that were raided is off Northeast 8th Avenue. Neighbors said they believe at least one of them was squatting at the house.
Williams was confronted by a KATU News reporter in late June for squatting at a different North Portland home. He had nothing to say then as Portland police collected evidence.
In April 2011 police arrested Williams for assaulting an officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
"People who have been subpoenaed to grand juries are left with this option of either snitch on your movement, snitch on your friends or go to prison," said Evin Morgan with the Committee Against Political Repression.
One neighbor of the Northeast Portland home raided, who didn’t want to be identified, said she recognizes Williams as a squatter in the home, and he ignored her attempts to talk to him.
"Just trying to be neighborly, like hey, just try and figure out what was going on, like no eye contact, just walk off," the neighbor said. "You want to know who is across the street from your kids and in your neighborhood."
It's a safe guess that neither of them generally look like that. And the joker on the right seems like a real go-getter: 32 years old, camping in properties he doesn't rent or own, and getting popped for assaulting a cop. But he's asserting his Rights, and it must be said that it'd be nice to help him in that regard: he seems to have earned a right to a jail cell and mandatory presence on a chain gang.
But overall, things in Oregon are chugging right along. According to a new report, the economic stability of Oregon families has fallen into the bottom 10 nationally! Go, Oregon! Bring on more land-use "planning"!
Governor Retread responded to the news with a mandate that all state buildings be tobacco-free by 2014.
And as GRDurand notes over on his Zeta Woof blog:
The government only counts you as "unemployed" if you're able to work (i.e., not in school, not retired, not in the military) and have sought employment in the last four weeks. If you haven't looked for work, but you want a job, you're considered discouraged. People working part-time jobs but wanting full-time work are underemployed.
And which states have the highest levels of underemployed (degree in Socio-Cultural Anthropology working at Starbucks) and discouraged (in need of a medical marijuana card) workers?
Nevada 22.1%
California 20.3%
Rhode Island 18.9%
North Carolina 17.5%
Oregon 17.4%
Woo hoo! Five out of fifty! Top ten percent!
Oregon: Things Look Different Here.
