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Protest against Bush in Portland, Oregon
Thu Nov 4, 2004 21:50
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ANOK & PEACE::: Protest against Bush in Portland, Oregon


http://noleaders.net/anok/news/bushportland/


PORTLAND, Oregon - Riot police used pepper spray and struck some demonstrators with batons after ordering hundreds of people to leave a protest near a hotel where President George W. Bush attended a fund-raiser.
Protesters hammered on the hoods of police cars as pepper spray wafted through the air. Protesting Bush's foreign policy, they chanted "Drop Bush, Not Bombs."
Bush supporters in formal attire were jostled and taunted by protesters as they arrived for a fund-raiser for the re-election campaign of U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith. After elbowing through the demonstrators, they were checked by Secret Service agents before they were allowed inside the hotel.
Brian Schmautz, spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau, said protesters threw things at the police.
Protesters at one point pushed down a barricade and a police officer who was standing behind it, Groepper said. The officer sprained or broke her wrist falling down, and two patrol cars were damaged, Groepper said.
Police ordered about 500 protesters to move. Riot police wearing helmets then walked into the area, pushing activists with their batons. Some activists fell. Police then fired aerosol canisters of pepper spray at the protesters.
Police also used pepper spray after about 150 demonstrators blocked vehicle access to Morrison Bridge.

Five protesters were arrested through the afternoon, police spokesman Henry Groepper said.
Many of the protesters criticized a new forest initiative announced earlier in the day by Bush that would make it easier for timber companies to cut wood from fire-prone national forests.
"The new policy is classic doublespeak," said Kenneth Kreuschu, 24, of Cascadia Forest Alliance. "It has been shown time and again that more cutting leads to more fire. The new policy is a hoax."
Some of the activists were worried about a possible war with Iraq.
"I don't think any American boys' lives are worth a barrel of oil," said Rob Moitoza, 57, who carried a sign that said: "Vets Against Bush."
Moitoza said he served two years in the Navy aboard an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War and fears a much worse conflict if U.S. troops are sent to Iraq.
"If he (Bush) starts a war against Iraq, it will be to get re-elected. All he cares about is wealth and power," Moitoza said.
About a dozen protesters dotted Bush's motorcade route. Some waved signs saying, "No attack of Iraq. You can't fix Daddy's mistake" and "More forests, less Bush."

Portland Protest Surprised White House

PORTLAND, Ore. - The violent demonstrations against President Bush caught White House planners by surprise, a presidential spokesman said Friday.
It's not unusual for presidents to be confronted by small protests when visiting outside Washington, D.C. But demonstrations that result in the kind of skirmishes with police that erupted here Thursday night have been rare.
"We did not have any inkling" that such protest would occur, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters.
More than 1,000 people turned out to scream anti-Bush slogans, tag buildings with graffiti and challenge police at barricades around the hotel where the president held a fundraiser for Sen. Gordon Smith .
Among other issues, the protesters said they were upset with Bush's plan to relax environmental standards for logging, a possible war with Iraq, the U.S. stand on the Palestinian question and what they called rampant government corruption.
The group blocked buildings, and Republican donors trying to get to the hotel were taunted and jostled. Many had to be escorted in by police, who later used pepper spray and rubber bullets on the crowd. Six people were arrested.
Fleischer said Bush saw the protests from his limousine when he arrived at the hotel. The protest lasted for seven hours.
There were clues the demonstration could get nasty on the Web sites of groups involved.
Preparations for the protest were posted on the Internet as early as Aug. 7 and continued constantly under such headings as "Tear gas canisters cause severe thermal burns," "Bush to visit beautiful Portland in August, you should too," and "What happens if you're arrested for civil disobedience?"
Oregon, and especially Portland and Eugene, have a long tradition of demonstrations, and many of them turn unruly. Bush's father, former President George Bush, used to refer to Portland as "Little Beirut" because of the protesters he encountered during his visits.
Officials with the National Lawyer's Guild asked Mayor Vera Katz to fire Police Chief Mark Kroeker, claiming Thursday's actions by police were "atrocities against humanity."
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Portland Citizens Stand Up against Stolen Election

ANOK & PEACE::: Protest against Bush in Portland, Oregon
Address:http://noleaders.net/anok/news/bushportland/

KATU 2 - Portland, Oregon
Address:http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=72058

The Portland Mercury: News (08/28/03)
Address:http://www.portlandmercury.com/2003-08-28/city.html Changed:8:22
PM on Thursday, November 4, 2004

PortlandTribune.com | Antiwar drums pound
Address:http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=15995