President Bush visited Portland, Oregon over the weekend and was greeted by some two thousand people protesting his new rules on logging.

The protesters were greeted by hundreds of police, including many in full riot gear, some even wearing black bandanas over their faces.

Despite peaceful protests, the police declared a state of emergency and threatened to arrest anyone who did not disperse. But then the police began shooting people with rubber bullets and pepper-spray. Children were among the victims of chemical attacks, including a 10-month old baby.

Bush was in Portland to announce a relaxation of federal logging regulations, which he claims is necessary to reduce the threat of forest fires. The “Healthy Forests Initiative” calls for reduced protection of the nation’s old growth forests and increased thinning of federally protected forests.

But many scientists and environmentalists say his plan has more to do with serving the timber industry than with saving forests. At the protests in Portland, one protester held a sign reading “More forest, less Bush.”

Guests:

• Don Joughin, father, carpenter and protester.
• Alan Graf, chair of policy for the Portland chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
• Chris West, Vice President of the American Forest Resource Council.
• Timothy Ingalsbee, Director of the Western Fire Ecology Center of the American Lands Alliance.

Related links:

• National Lawyers Guild
• American Forest Resource Council
• Western Fire Ecology Center
• American Lands Alliance