Big impact on the saudi economy hides 2020 on aljazeera. Hey theyre welcome to the stream home edition im josh rushing sitting in for me ok look if youre watching this live on you tube i need your help do you see that box over there over there its a live chat there you go we have a producer in there right now why dont you get your questions and your comments to me so i can get into our guests during the show so help me out join in the show be a part of it right there it was a show it is were talking about the federal response to the protest him portland which just went over there 60 a straight day this week and im going to set this up using a voice from our community this is grace morgan whos been down at the protests and heres what she said. Our city has recently been occupied by u. S. Marshal forces ordered by donald trump. To quell the violence. Were routinely shot at every single night with tear gas testers have been kidnapped the streets and marked coals by the u. S. Marshal and the f. B. I. At this point theres no end in sight and were all really worried that were basically piecing a dictatorship we dont know whats going to happen. In the fall. But what we do know is that portland is the test and that we are going to see this type of violence in other major cities across the united. Thank you grace for that comment and asked my guests introduce themselves now eric we begin with. Yes my name is eric ward and im executive director with Western State center which is National CivilRights Organization working to expand race and gender equity in the United States and enter. The morning off when xander wilkens im the publisher and editor of those portland we sort of the journalists are important or so interesting kind of get us caught up on whats happening on the streets there in portland yet another night the protests another night of violence from what i saw this morning it seems like the feds are really stepping up coming out and theyre knocking people around us really ugly. Video from korea one of our reporters and yeah new munitions every night like this this new like chlorine gas that people are trying to figure out whats going on thats part of the problem is like you dont even know its been shot down. And theres a lot of injuries every night its its awful. You know speaking of that we have another Community Voice that talks about the gases being used im going to bring that now its joy jules boy cough we bring him into the conversation. Comes to the Portland Protests and violence its important to remember that 99. 9 percent of the violence that weve seen in portland has come from federal officers and the portland Public Police long before the federal officers arrived on the scene here in portland under the direction of President Donald Trump the Portland Police bureau is using similar terror tactics against the local population whether it be impact munitions or tear gas tear gas i think its important to remember is outlawed in International Warfare by the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention and yet its still used domestically in the United States no matter what the Police Repression has been incredibly intense but portland is definitely not backing down the numbers are only getting bigger each night eric why by portland why is this happening in portland of all places. You know it was a great political error by the trumpet ministration and i and i think that they have been watching for the last. Several years far right paramilitary organizations who have come to court when have created an environment for murder for physical beatings and intimidation or under and trying ministration believe that it could create the same conditions and it was wrong portlanders while we are laid back while we may be known as a little weird and central we do care about our independence and we care about our rights and what we have now is likewise i Security Force that is untrained in crowd control tactics that has no transparency or accountability and what the white house is seeing is not only a small group of protesters but those protesters who have been on the streets. For weeks now will now receive the support of the larger portland community. Donald trump speaking sparked a constitutional crisis on the streets of Portland Oregon and so on to another voice from our community here is name is dave sherman hes a lawyer id like to begin with a tweet that we have a his that actually went viral says i work in Downtown Portland let me be clear about something the city has not been destroyed and the terrorists are wearing camel irag air referring to the federal officers now that got like 21000 or each week 76000 likes he came back on to say well that blew up if you were peaceably standing up for be a limb black last matters in p. B. X. Which is Portland Oregon and you were gassed detained or salted by terms goons i am part of a team of oregon civil rights lawyers that will be suing the feds contact me if you have questions to follow on to this we had a video from david as well can we go to that now. July sometime in july the trumpet ministration said nameless federal agents without any identification who have been tear gas in detaining beating shooting. Peaceful protesters and those actions are unlawful under the Us Constitution in the organ constitution so i am simply and participating with 18. Years and we are going to be taking the current administration. To protect protesters and make sure our city stands with our version. So if youre watching this and you feel like that describes you that youre looking for legal representation here you can find david in the lawyers hes talking about on twitter at david s u g david so i know there are a number of lawsuits on this right now can you touch on whats happening with the gala be of this. Yeah so it isnt a legal action we have to remember though that this starts with historical. Portland Police Bureau that that has brutalized not only africanamericans and latinos but but those who have engaged in civil protest over over the decades what we have now though is a new situation the federal government has now stepped in and usurped local and state authority that is in violation of the 10th amendment of the United States federal paramilitary organizations are functioning not on federal property but on state and City Property and this is a set up what i believe for the election and what were likely to see is contested election we are pushing back there are several suits that have been filed against important. And the federal government we cannot allow this to stand up this is an attempt to undermine Democratic Practice in the United States and to intimidate when he is a largely peaceful protest has been saying most of the violence that is occurring in Portland Oregon on a 2 block radius at most right is mostly at the hands of the squires i thought all police force and previous to that of Portland Police bureau they are professional forces they need to act like they need to escalate and even militarize the situation in simply not tolerable. So you mentioned where these protests are they actually started with the death of george floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police in the black life matters protests like to bring in another voice from our community right now is what they are riders will lead a mercian she is a fellow portland or as well as her what it will lead to has to say and inspired by the protests that have been happening nonstop here in Portland Oregon and its important to see that. Is part of a an ending thread of resistance in the black community here in portland and in oregon in a state and a region that criminalized blackness that told us we would be whipped until we left there have always been black folks here and they have been mobilizing and organizing for freedom and justice for all and so for white allies and white accomplices who have joined in that is powerful and its impressively important to make sure that this narrative doesnt get shifted to be about white people when its actually about black folks and other people of color who have been at the heart of all Racial Justice in this country and in this world and without Racial Justice there is no real justice. There to hear that case you missed that without Racial Justice there is no real justice think you are lida i want to get my computer right now because see a tweet here this is from the portland independent documentaries to portland moms are out Even Stronger numbers tonight the Justice System a solid wall of mom stepping up to protect the Youth Apparel full statement to the heavy hand at battle response so you have moms come out you have better and come out when i look at this video i see a lot of people energized in the streets what i dont see are very many black lives eric where that where the black lives and in these protests. So lets be clear decades of segregation in gentrification in Portland Oregon have driven out the black population as as many of the younger activists start and protesters on the streets are saying we have created a state and a city where there are more black lives matter signs than actual black people in portland however we should be clear that i think that while white allies and supporters are fed up racism doesnt just negatively impact black latino and indigenous and agent communities it impacts the Larger Society as well and what you are seeing in Portland Oregon right now is an extension of the movement for black lives to everyone out there right now fighting for democracy is fighting because of the efforts and the organizing and the discipline of black lives matter and all the activists will carve the space over the last 5 year right to bring to the attention of america that there is no inclusive democracy without Racial Justice thats what youre seeing youre seeing 2 unity is responding and we have to remember that at the end of the day that this is black to lead whether there are actually white folks on the streets or not they have created real democracy in america and if were smart we will follow them into that promised land. We have another voice from someone in our community here this is like on your jury. Who. Hes executive director of word is our bond from Portland Oregon and hes going to kind of elevate something that you just said are there with the con and so it was important to look at that at the protests downtown as and where the action is happening the access issues with in the black community are happening in tunis that are not downtown and right now the black community in portland is reeling from gun violence here in july and in of itself theres many 240 percent increase over the last year at this time of gun violence in portland i mean in that it is in the issue that is on the surface right when you look at a deeper level issue the you talk about black wealth importantly mean you talk about the as you know the spirit hes those are issues that have been for years and issues within our community so i entered it do you see the black ice movement protest there important as having been coopted and now becoming about something else. Or many. People are out there because they support the movements and you can only be you are so i think its good to see people out there and theres a lot of work going on dont you portlands doing great work. City commissioner john artistry is pushing hard and whats in those Cities Council so theres theres a lot of people doing what they can. So i think its good to see people out there but yeah we got it you got to stay focused i think that that could be a problem and there quit what do you think is it possible that this is still about black lives matter but it is also 2 things can be true at the same time a push back against what clearly looks like a Police Statement or terry a statement maybe as some would say a fascist state. It is it is clear that with this recent action that the Trump Administration has moved from an authoritarian leaning white house to a fully fledged authoritarian ministration then and we should understand that this is really just a test case for post elections and were being intimidated and its not just court one it is all of the United States if you merely started by focusing on portland what we should know is it is a very diverse set of folks on the streets right and what i would say is that everyone who is out on the streets of portland should be disciplined in the way that discipline yourself is to simply ask is what im doing and saying helping to reduce the target of violence against unarmed black people on the streets of america the 2nd question we should be asking ourselves is are the things im doing to respond to that do they strengthen or weaken Democratic Practices if we weaken Democratic Practice we are handing the reigns over to this white house that seeks to damage forever the constitution to its one who made real by black people that think here and pretty you brought up President Trump theyre going to bring his voice into the discussion now heres what he what he thinks about whats happening in portland. Were not going to hit new york and chicago and philadelphia detroit and woe to morrow and all of these overland is a mess were not going to let this happen or our country and all run by liberal democrats to the Law Enforcement disability that has more federal Law Enforcement that i can tell you in portland theyve done a fantastic job they grab a lot of people in jail their leaders these are advocacies are not protesters how about chicago would you say they need help they have to this weekend you know the numbers that you hear the numbers many many shot many many killed this is worse than afghanistan by far this is worse than anything anyones ever seen all run by the same liberal democrats and you know what if i didnt get it and that would be true for the country the whole country would go to hell theres so much to that theres the him implying that these people are not americans with the same constitutional right to protest that theres him saying to you know the numbers of chicago many many i guess he doesnt know the numbers as ca go there is him saying that this is worse in afghanistan ive been down stand many times. That there are the numbers do not compare is not a fair comparison and what this is though is someone who has covered occupations of far in iraq and afghanistan most look this video this van video i have it here that this is what occupations look like let me bring this the very beginning of the video what you have are. Clearly Paramilitary Force who knows if theyre police or who knows if theyre just you know guys who bought a bunch of military gear they dont identify themselves in this when we listen to the video they take this person who is not on federal property and they put him in an unmarked minivan taking away having never a dignified themselves. To him in the crowd now heres how the acting commissioner of customs and Border Patrol responded to critical reporting about this video. You know on a den of fide you know masked stormtroopers again i want to put stamp on the secretary said it is offense of offensive to refer to refer to these dedicated men and women that are out there as Law Enforcement professionals to make that reference it is disgusting and its also a lie you will find in each and every instance when we approach somebody who we believe who we have probable cause who has committed a federal crime we do identifies a den of fire selves as either police or a federal agent we all know about the story in new york where in the center a device was actually thrown inside a marked vehicle while there were uniformed officers inside that vehicle so yeah i think not only is that a common practice among Law Enforcement but also in these circumstances it makes sense to use an unmarked vehicle not only 1st and foremost for the protection of the officers and agents doing their job to protect federal property and arresting criminals but also for the protection of the public. Our guys let the time get away from me here and i have not brought in are you to community im going to do that right now bonus big well says trump is not the problem all politics are local the duty to protect those cities begins with their mayors and governors beds wont be there if the dims were not so derelict in their duties we had johnson who says i thought freedom of speech and freedom of gathering are protected under the constitution states like to lecture other countries yet they do this hypocrisy much so 2 different views there and then heres a question and were going to enter with this is from johnson again please discuss why portland is the flashpoint why didnt this happen anywhere else but portland. And its a good point. Hard to say but i do know that these new federal troops and this these new this new push in for them as brought a lot of people in the streets and its a Chilling Effect on o