formed Portland. It can be elevated [above
the street] with formality and informality.
It’s an urban landscape — look at the conti-
nuity of the space.”
‘TERRORISM’
POLITICAL,
SAYS IGLESIAS
Is the recent prosecution of environmen-
tally motivated arson and
property damage as “ter-
rorism” political?
A famous former
Bush administration
prosecutor says so.
“Is that a political
label? It sure sounds
like one,” said David
Iglesias, the New Mexico
federal prosecutor who re- David Iglesias
cently touched off a
firestorm when he accused Republicans of
politicizing the U.S. Justice Department.
Iglesias spoke June 16 at the Association of
Alternative Newsweeklies annual conven-
tion in Portland.
After 9/11 the focus was international
criminals who caused thousands of deaths,
Iglesias said, not environmentally moti-
vated property damage that injured no one.
“It seems to me what happened here should
not fit my traditional definition of what ter-
rorism is,” he said.
Charging the environmental saboteurs in
Eugene with terrorism “just seems like
overreaching,” Iglesias said. “Maybe that’s
an issue that Congress should revisit.”
— Alan Pittman
RALLY FOR
RIGHTS
Eugene
civil
rights organiza-
tions are joining a
nationwide move-
ment this month
to pressure con-
gressional repre-
sentatives to re-
store habeas corpus.
“Habeas corpus is a basic principle of
due process that says the government can-
not imprison you without allowing you to
defend yourself before a judge,” says Claire
Syrett, southern district field organizer for
the American Civil Liberties Union. “It is a
fundamental human right that should not be
abridged.”
Local sponsors of the Eugene “Day of
Action” rally will present Sen. Gordon
Smith’s office with a petition to repeal the
Military Commissions Act (MCA) of 2006.
The MCA allows the U.S. government to
deny prisoners access to the courts and
thereby indefinitely detain them. It also au-
thorizes the U.S. president to declare indi-
viduals unlawful enemy combatants.
“The main thrust of this campaign is to
restore our rights,” Syrett says. “We hope to
reverse the unconstitutional provisions of
the MCA that deny basic due process to any
individuals the president deems enemy
combatants.”
According to Hope Marston of the Bill
of Rights Defense Committee, the MCA’s
wording makes it possible to deny U.S. citi-
zens the right to due process. If the presi-
dential administration deems a U.S. citizen
an unlawful enemy combatant, then he or
she could be denied habeas corpus under
current law and be subject to indefinite de-
tention.
“Every human being deserves the right
to challenge their detention,” Marston said.
“Habeas corpus has been a pillar of Western
law since the Magna Carta was signed in
1215.”
The Eugene rally hopes to draw inter-
ested citizens who want to help stop tor-
ture and prevent the misuse of power by
the executive branch. “If we raise our
voice together, then Congress hears,”
says Marston. The Eugene rally begins
at noon Tuesday, June 26, in front of the
new U.S. Courthouse.
More information about habeas corpus,
the MCA and sponsors can be found at
www.bordc.org/threats/mca.php And more
information about June 26 actions can be
found at http://juneaction.com and
http://bordc.org/involved/junejuly2007.php
— Erin Rokita
TESTING FOR
TRAIN TOXICS
Union Pacific will voluntarily test for
toxic vapors in some houses in Eugene’s
Trainsong neighborhood near the railyard.
But not all houses exposed to contamination
will be included in the study.
Many residents in the low- to moderate-
income northwest Eugene neighborhood
above the plume cannot afford to test their
own houses or install vapor barriers if UP
will not help them. Moving is also not an
option, they say.
Previous testing led the Oregon Public
Health Division to declare the vapors a pub-
lic health hazard.
At a meeting last month, the Department
of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
planned to conclude testing
and move into the cleanup
phase. But Eugene residents
urged further testing to deter-
mine the public health impact
Lane County
Herbicide Spray
• Near Mohawk High School:
Weyerhaeuser (741-5211) will aerially
spray 113 acres with Garlon XRT and
4 Ultra, MSM & SFM E-Pro, Accord,
Chopper, and Transline herbicides
near Cartwright Creek starting July
15 (#771-55629).
• Near Twin Oaks School: Strata
Forestry (726-0845) replaced
Oregon Forest Management Service
for ground spraying of 700 acres
with Garlon 4 herbicide plus
Herbimax and Moract adjuvants for
Seneca Jones Timber (689-1231)
starting June 14 (#781-5090).
Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332,
www.forestlanddwellers.org
JUNE 21, 2007 11