Five Mattole activists arrested, camera stolen by Humboldt Sheriffs

Palco/Columbia Helicopter trucks roared towards the activists standing near Fox Camp Gate nearly running them over. This was recorded by the cameraperson standing away from the road on state park land. The cameraperson was then assaulted and cut with a knife by a Maxxam/Palco employed contracter who was attempting to destroy the evidence in the camera. The assault on the cameraperson was ignored, instead Pacific Lumber security Carl Anderson ordered all five activists arrested. The Humboldt Sheriffs deny having seen any camera. The "good old boy" network of Humboldt Sheriffs idealize former deputy Carl Anderson as their leader and will do most anything to protect him. This police code of "omerta" silence includes the cover-up of police brutality in the Humboldt Sheriff pepper spray assault coming to trial on Sept 7th..

The above is the most recent example of the continuing pattern of violence against activists with Humboldt county Sheriffs assisting Palco in the brutality against treesitters;

pattern of violence against activists;

http://www.civilliberties.org/pattern.html

When people speak out against the illegal logging done by Maxxam/Palco and are then brutalized and arrested by a united front of corporate thugs and law enforcement, this indicates a fascist system. Activists who pour their hearts into saving the last few old growth trees in the North Coast are being strangled by corporate controlled government..

Maxxam/Palco continues to destroy the forests of the North Coast despite strong community opposition. Unfortunately the community may have placed their hopes in Humboldt District Attorney Paul Gallegos who initially expressed a desire to prosecute Maxxam/Palco for fraud and illegal timber harvest. The Maxxam funded Gallegos recall campaign portrayed Gallegos as soft on crime in efforts to remove this potential threat from office. The community supported Gallegos with the expectation that if he won the recall he would prosecute Maxxam/Palco for fraud. Gallegos won the recall and after many victory cocktail parties Maxxam/Palco is still fraudulently clear-cutting our forests and we don't hear a peep out of the self appointed hero Paul Gallegos. Instead Gallegos now pushes longer jail sentences on forest defense activists, seemingly having forgotten about his promise to prosecute the robber barons at Maxxam/Palco..

If people join up and renounce the property ownership of Maxxam/Palco and begin homesteading this sacred land, some of the remaining old growth forests could be saved from clear-cuts. Houston based Maxxam's claim of property ownership is nothing other than an occupation force supported by a corrupted police state government. Similar to the Iraqi people, Humboldt residents are being colonized by a hostile corporate army in the form of Maxxam/Columbia Helicopter. Torture tactics on Iraqi civilians at Abu-Graib and pepper spray forced into eyes of non-violent Humboldt activists show the brutality of this authoritarian regime at home and abroad..

Woodworking artisans lost their jobs when clear-cut export logging replaced semi-sustainable forestry after the Maxxam takeover of Palco. Leaving old growth trees standing in a cut is thinking for the future. Leaf litter, canopy protection and transpired moisture provides conditions for young trees to grow healthy. Clear cut logging and removal of old growth trees damages the ecosystem (erosion of topsoil, UV damage, drought, etc.) and makes future tree growth slow and difficult, thereby losing future jobs. The anger of loggers who have lost their jobs is misdirected at activists. Maxxam/Palco scapegoats activists to avoid responsibility for their unsustainable harvest methods. Nothing makes the wealthy corporate elites like CEO Charles Hurwitz happier than having the loggers blame the environmentalists for lost jobs. Divide and conquer keeps the wealthy corporate elites in power over the people. When loggers and environmentalists join up the power of the people will defeat corporate deceit and destruction..

Background info;

http://www.culturechange.org/mattole.htm