[A-List] This just gets worse and worse

["Craven, Jim" <jcraven@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Message

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ojibwawife@xxxxxxx [mailto:Ojibwawife@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 12:27 PM
To: bloede@xxxxxxx; mjcheung@xxxxxxx; thelton@xxxxxx; lsampson@xxxxxxxxxx; Craven, Jim; aboveriver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: This just gets worse and worse

On
Sun, 9 Mar 2003, Wes Brain
wrote:
http://rogueimc.org/2003/03/179.shtml
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Friends and Activists:

LAST FRIDAY I WAS ARRESTED WHILE IN MY OFFICE
DOING MY
JOB FOR THE STATE OF OREGON.
At approximately 2:45 p.m. on 3/7/03
while at work for
the Safety Department at Southern Oregon University
I
was sitting at my desk when an Ashland Police
Department Officer stuck
her head in the door and
asked if I could talk to her for a few minutes.
Since
the Safety Dept. (occupational health and safety
services for
university employees) shares the same
building with the SOU Security Dept. it
was not
strange at all seeing Ashland Police in our building.
In fact I
know many of the officers and although there
are a few bad cops on the local
force most of them do
a good job, I have always thought.

I walked out
back to the small porch attached to our
building and noticed there were three
officers in
attendance. Since no one said anything I started
the
conversation, "What's Up?" The reply was most
surprising:  "Mr.
Brain, put your hands behind your
back. You are under arrest for disorderly
conduct."
They failed to reveal it, but later I found out that
the charges
for disorderly conduct are twofold with an
additional impeeding a police
officer charge. Two days
later as I write this I am still in utter shock
and
disbelief...

Since anything I say can be used against me, and
since
I have not talked to my lawyer yet, and since I am
paranoid that the
FBI monitors my electronic messages,
and since I believe our system of
justice is
fundamentaly corrupt... I will only give you the short
and
sweet version right now...

On 3/5/03 in Ashland Oregon there was a
very
successful and well attended peace march and rally
called "Books Not
Bombs", and ours was part of a
national day of action against the impending
Iraq war
by students all across the U.S.. Our new Rogue Valley
Independent
Media Center had the best local media
coverage of this
event:
http://indymedia.truffula.net/2003/03/143.shtml

So on the day
in question I took 4.5 hours of vacation
time to be a journalist and video
tape this event
(activists never take real vacations, they use such
time
for peace and justice). Here in Southern Oregon
we broadcast regular
programming on Rogue Valley
Community Television (RVTV), that's our
access
televison station and the shows highlight progressive
issues about
Labor, Human Rights, and the Environment
(M & W, 6PM,
Ch.#31)...

That day I shot 1 hour and 41 minutes of raw footage
which
shows the colorful march and rally with 500 or
600 (some say more) students
demonstrating that money
for war needs spent instead on education (books
not
bombs). This footage shows some of the things not
reported by the
local mainstream media like the SWAT
team that was called in from a
neighboring county to
square off against our peacefully protesting
students.
This footage looks like it is taken from another
planet, I mean
can you imagine riot cops squaring off
agains young kids? Blanked from
coverage in the local
press, it happened. My footage also shows the
tail-end
of a scuffle in the street which shows the Ashland
Police
throwing people to the ground. I did not
capture the beginning of this
incident but do have an
interview of someone who says she saw it from
the
start and that the police instigated the scuffle.

Well, two days
later on March 7th they came and
arrested me, I told you that part... I have
no idea
why. But am fearful that the war on terrorism is more
a war
against anybody who speaks out against the war
mongering and foolish,
corporate bought and paid for
leadership of this country. Period.

Stay
tuned. Arrainment is 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 11 in
Municipal Court here in
Ashland. More vacation time
required, damnn it, so that I can prove
myself
innocent and stand proud for protecting our First
Ammendment rights
here in little ol' Ashland, Oregon.
It is an important fight and I am ready
for the cause.

Hope Marston
Lane County Bill of Rights Defense
Committee
www.efn.org/~lcbordc
hmarston@xxxxxxxx
541
683-5634