[Untitled]: Photo by Mike McCawley, 12 May 2017

Brittany Jacobs looks on as #President #donaldtrump talks with her son Christian Jacobs in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery.: image via Evan Vucci @evanvucci, 29 May 2017

A couple stands as "Taps" is played during a Memorial Day ceremony with President #DonaldTrump at Arlington National Cemetery.: image via Evan Vucci @evanvucci, 29 May 2017

#Nigeria A Nigerian policewoman gives an order during a Democracy Day parade in Freedom Square in Owerri. Photo @mlongari: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 30 May 2017

#India Muslims perform ablution before taraveeh (special night prayers) during the holy month of Ramadan in Allahabad. Photo @sanjaykanojia07: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 May 2017

#Venezuela An opposition activist clashes with the police in Caracas during a demonstration against President Maduro's government. @jbarreto1974: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 May 2017

#Pakistan Motorcyclists ride past plates of Iftar foods placed for residents to break their fast along a street in Karachi. Photo Asif Hassan #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 May 2017

#Yemen A boy sits next to food aid distributed by a local charity during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Sanaa. Photo Mohammed HUWAIS: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 May 2017

#India Muslims perform taraveeh (special night prayers) during the holy month of Ramadan in a garden in Allahabad. Photo @sanjaykanojia07: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 May 2017

#Iraq A displaced Iraqi woman carries her child upon arriving in a safe area after leaving their homes during #MosulOffensive Photo @KarimSahibAFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 May 2017

#Iraq Iraqi forces advance in Mosul's western al-Saha neighbourhood during their ongoing battle to retake the area from IS Photo @KarimSahibAFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 May 2017

#Sri Lanka A doll head floats in floodwaters in Kalutara after the island's worst flooding in more than a decade. Photo Lakruwan Wanniarachchi #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 May 2017

#India Muslims wait to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan at the Jama Masjid in the old quarters of New Delhi. Photo @dofaget #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 29 May 2017

Video shows alleged killer ranting against religion and antifa, threatening to stab anyone who tries to stop him.: image via Aaron Mesh @AaronMesh, 28 May 2017

An ‘antifa’ flier shows Jeremy Christian.: photo by Jason Wilson/the Guardian, 29 May 2017

Jeremy Christian - accused of hate crime murders of 2 who intervened to defend Muslim women - shown here at a right wing rally #Portland: image via Mona Eltahawy @monaeltahawi, 27 May 2017

Portland MAX hero's last words: 'Tell everyone on this train I love them': Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian, 29 May 2017

Even with headphones on, Rachel Macy said, she heard a man shouting and spewing foul language as soon as he boarded the eastbound MAX Green Line train Friday night at Lloyd Center.

"He was just being really belligerent and loud,'' she said.

The man, since identified as Jeremy Joseph Christian, entered through doors on one side of the train, and stepped across the aisle to a pole by the doors on the opposite side of the train.

"He was screaming that he was a taxpayer, that colored people were ruining the city, and he had First Amendment rights,'' Macy said.

Then he made anti-Muslim slurs.

"I didn't want to look. I was too afraid. It felt really tense,'' said the 45-year-old Southeast Portland resident of Native American descent. "I'm a woman of color. I didn't want him to notice me.''

The seats on the train were all taken, and other passengers were standing but it hadn't reached the rush-hour crush yet as the train headed toward the Hollywood station around 4:30 p.m., she said.

Macy noticed a young man quickly brush past her seat, while talking on the phone. He looked nervous and was moving away from Christian. Something didn't feel right, she said. She'd later learn that was Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23.

Rick Best, 53, stood closest to Christian. He was trying to calm Christian down, by letting him know he had heard him.

"He was repeating back what this guy was saying. Like, 'I know you're a taxpayer. But this is not OK, that he was scaring people,' '' recalled Macy, whose account provides the most detailed chronology of the chaos that ensued.

Christian didn't seem to respond; just kept shouting. "He was not hearing anybody, just talking louder,'' she said.

At one point, the train operator got on the loudspeaker, saying something like whoever is creating the disturbance needed to exit the train immediately, Macy said. The operator also threatened to call police.

Christian screamed out that he was getting off the train at the next stop, and that "if anyone (expletive) followed, they were going to die,'' Macy recalled.
Namkai-Meche turned back toward Christian and briskly walked over to him, and loudly implored him, "You need to get off this train. Please, get off this train.''

Passengers Best, Namkai-Mache and a third man, Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, were trying to deescalate the tense situation, intervene and get Christian off the train, she said. Macy said she didn't know where the two teenage girls who were the target of his racist rants were seated. She said it appeared as if the men who were stabbed "were trying to be a barrier'' between Christian and the girls.

Someone attempted to move Christian away from the girls he was verbally harassing with a slight push or shove. "Touch me again, I'm going to kill you,''
Macy heard Christian respond.

Namkai-Meche was holding up his phone, Macy said. She wasn't sure if Namkai-Meche was trying to show Christian something on the phone or was recording the interaction.

Suddenly, Christian hit the phone away and stabbed Namkai-Meche in the neck, she said.

"It was just a swift, hard hit,'' she said. "It was a nightmare.''

Macy said she didn't know which man was slashed with the knife first but believes the train may have been just pulling into the Hollywood station or had just stopped when the stabbings occurred.

The attacker looked at the other passengers, cursed at them and then fled.

"One minute people were on the train, and the next minute, next to nobody,'' she recalled.

Best didn't take more than a few steps and fell to the floor, she said. At least two men came to his aid. "Stay with us. You are strong. Stay with us,'' she recalled them saying.

Michael Kennedy was one of those men. He came up to the front car from the second car of the train, as other passengers raced away from the commotion. In written messages to The Oregonian/OregonLive, he said he and two other men started CPR chest compressions on Best until emergency medics arrived.

"It never occurred to me to do otherwise,'' wrote Kennedy. He said his training as a paramedic from more than a decade ago kicked in.

The surviving Portland hero's mom found the man who saved her son's life. He's an Iraq War veteran. h/t @MilaMimica1: image via Bradd Jaffy @BraddJaffy, 29 May 2017

Namkai-Meche stumbled along the aisle away from Christian past Macy. She turned to face him. His flannel shirt was covered with blood; his face pale.

Holding his neck, he said, "I'm going to die,'' according to Macy.

"I looked at him and said, 'we can handle this. Lay down.' ''

He lay on the floor of the train. Macy crouched beside him, pulled off her black tank top and gave it to Namkai-Meche. He pressed the shirt to his neck wound.

She placed her hand over his.

She noticed a deep, long gash along Namkai-Meche's neck.

Another man who she described as a veteran also tried to comfort Namkai-Meche and keep him from panicking. He told Namkai-Mache that his heart was beating, and he was OK, pointing out the sound of sirens and help on its way.

"I just kept telling him, 'You're not alone. We're here,'' Macy said. "What you did was total kindness. You're such a beautiful man. I'm sorry the world is so cruel.''

And she prayed.

"When I said 'pray with me,' he just closed his eyes and tried to keep breathing,'' she recalled.

Fletcher stumbled off the train holding his neck, she said.

Macy remained on the train until police and emergency medics arrived. Medical personnel tried to work on Best but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Medics put Namkai-Meche on a stretcher. Macy stayed by his side. Before he was carried away, he had a last message, she said: "Tell everyone on this train I love them. ''

Macy, who is studying psychology at the Cascade campus of Portland Community College, left her leather school bag, purse and cell phone behind and then stepped back to where Best was lying. She prayed for him and his family.

"I was saying, 'Creator – provide comfort to his family who don't know you're here,'' she recalled.

An officer called out to her: "You did what you could, it's time to come off the train.''

Once she stepped off, she realized she was only wearing a slip on top. Police interviewed witnesses on the Hollywood station platform. About 20 minutes had passed when she learned from an officer that Namkai-Meche had died at a local hospital.

The next night, Macy met Namkai-Meche's mother and father at a vigil held by the train stop. She handed his father a purple-painted, heart-shaped rock, her prayer rock. She said the victim's parents thanked her for being with their son, telling her that she was "a mamma to our boy in that moment.''

Macy, a single mother of five children who rides the MAX to and from her community college courses at least three times a week, said she just did "what had to be done.''

"I just kept thinking this is someone's child,'' she said.

But Macy said it was Best, Namkai-Meche and Fletcher who she called "angels walking among us'' because they took a risk and stood up to defend others against Christian's racist rants.

"This man was so reckless and filled with hate,'' Macy recalled of Christian.

"None of it makes sense. That's what's so sad.''

Taliesin's mother and a woman, who was born and raised in #Portland and who is Muslim, embrace each other at the vigil.: image via Beth Nakamura @bethnakamura, 27 May 2017

Portland isn't as liberal as you think: Zahir Janmohamed, CNN, 29 May 2017

A few hours after news broke of the horrific attack on a commuter train in Portland, Oregon, that left two dead and one seriously wounded, I received a text message from a friend in North Carolina. It contained one word: "Portland?!"

He was, of course, referring to the incident that happened last Friday where two men were killed after they intervened when a man allegedly yelled at two women in language the Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson described as "hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions." It even prompted President Trump to condemn the stabbings as "unacceptable." A 35-year-old white supremacist, Jeremy Joseph Christian, has been arrested in connection with the stabbing deaths.

I knew what my friend meant by his question: How could such a hateful incident happen in a city as open-minded and as solidly liberal as Portland?

I don't blame him. I thought this myself until I moved to Portland two years ago.

For starters, the Portland you see on the TV show "Portlandia" does exist, at least to some extent. The city is delightfully quirky, so much so that I once had a mechanic, after refusing payment for fixing my car headlights, offer me artisanal bookmarks with slogans like "This Book is More Interesting Than You." And yes, there really is a massive naked bike ride that I hear is a profound experience in tolerance and self-acceptance.

But as a person of color, and especially as a Muslim American, I have never felt so lonely, so unsure of my safety, so eager to flee, as I have in Portland.

I was born and raised in California, the son of Indian immigrants from Tanzania, and while I was called a "camel jockey" plenty of times during the 1990 Gulf War when I was a freshman in high school, I never really feared for my life. Oregon is a different story.

People have guns here, or at least, bumper stickers indicating that they love guns. I even had an Uber driver show off his gun holster to me. Another Uber driver told me he didn't like immigrants. It's seemingly cool for men to carry large pocket knives in Portland, something that I, as a brown man with a beard, would never do. And Oregon is so antiquated in its understanding of race that I once met an elected official here who proudly defended her use of the term "Oriental" to refer to Asian Americans.

This problem is not new. In 1993, Time magazine wrote, "In the eyes of a skinhead, Portland, Oregon, looks like the city of the future." That may be a bit hyperbolic but then again, Portland is the whitest city in America above 500,000, a city that is rapidly losing its black residents due to gentrification. It doesn't help that Oregon's history is rooted in racial exclusion and was the only state west of the Mississippi River to ban blacks from owning land -- a policy that lasted until 1926.

Things are certainly not getting better, either. In the past year alone, there have been a dizzying number of targeted attacks against people of color. Last year, I reported about the suspicious killing of a 68-year-old Afghan American named Abdul Jamil Kamawal, a leader of the Portland Muslim community, who was murdered in his own backyard, allegedly while Kamawal was performing his prayers. A 27-year-old white man, Michael Troxell, was arrested and booked into the Washington County Jail pending murder charges. He's being held without the possibility of bail, though this incident is not being investigated as a hate crime.

This March, a white man ran into a Middle Eastern restaurant in the state's capitol of Salem, threatening the staff, yelling, "Get out of America." In the same month, an Iranian refugee in Troutdale, Oregon, returned home to find the words "terrorist" spray-painted on his wall. More recently, a group of about 100 white supremacists marched on the street outside my office in Portland -- located in the most heavily populated Asian area in the entire state of Oregon -- and chanted, "Go home!" to the onlookers, most of whom were Asian business and home owners. After clashes erupted with counter-protesters, the police sent in a riot squad, and three were arrested. It is still unclear which side those arrested were on.

President Trump's win is not solely to blame. These incidents have been happening for decades. But it would be foolish not to see a correlation between his election and the rise of bigotry in Oregon. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Oregon witnessed the highest number of harassment and intimidation incidents per capita in the 10 days immediately following the November elections. There were 33 incidents during that period, making Oregon 10th in the nation for these kind of incidents. However, all the states with more reported incidents have larger populations than Oregon's 4 million people.

The challenging thing is that many Oregonians shut down when talking about race, and sometimes I do not know what is more mind-numbing: learning of these incidents or dealing with the state's many white liberals who always shush me when I talk about race because they remind me that Oregon is not a "red state" or that "things are worse elsewhere in America."

What does that even mean? And who even cares? I don't live "elsewhere in America."

I have, after all, lost count of how many Muslims, especially teenage black Muslim women, have confided in me that they have been threatened on public transportation, that they have had their head scarves pulled while walking home at night, that they have been called "ISIS lovers" while walking on their public high school campuses. What is worse, they tell me, is that their teachers often trivialize their concerns.

Of course, it is heartwarming to see the outpouring of support for the two men who were killed and for the one man who was injured, heroes who selflessly and courageously stood up to hate. Their loved ones deserve all the funds we can give, and I am grateful that Portland has come out so strongly to unite against this bigotry.

What I do not understand, though, is all the head-scratching, both within Oregon as well as across the United States, as to how such a bigoted attack could occur in Portland. From where I am standing, people of color have been attacked at such a frequent rate in Portland that I find myself just about ready to quit this city.

Zahir Janmohamed is the Policy Director for the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon.

Trumpmerica now: Double race-hate murder as 'free speech'

Islamophobic terrorism in #Portland marks the beginning of #Ramadan. Can we ask how the perpetrator was radicalized? Will @potus speak out?: image via Todd Green @toddhgreen, 27 May 2017

Portland knife attack: Tension high as 'free speech rally' set for weekend: with a suspected white nationalist charged with murdering two men, an 'alt-right' organizer refuses to back down. 'Antifascists' oppose him: Jason Wilson, The Guardian, 29 May 2017

The racially charged double murder that shocked Portland, Oregon has increased tensions in a city already prey to a marked increase in political street clashes this year

Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23, and Rick Best, 53, were fatally stabbed on a city train after intervening when a suspected white supremacist began yelling “hate speech” at two women who police believe to be Muslim. Another man was injured. The accused, 35-year-old Jeremy Christian, is due to appear in court on Monday.

On Sunday, after a candle-lit vigil and strong words from the city’s mayor the night before, “alt-right” organizers refused to back away from a planned “free speech rally” in downtown Portland on Sunday 4 June. In turn, self-described “anti-fascist” activists committed to opposing them.

Joey Gibson, a You Tube personality and self-described “libertarian” behind the Patriot Prayer group, organized a 29 April rally in the city at which Christian was filmed giving fascist salutes and yelling racial slurs, and where counter-protesters claim he approached them armed with a baseball bat.

Gibson, who is promoting the event next Sunday, told the Guardian: “We are going to continue with our rally. There is no way that we will stop. It is even more important that we come out with a strong message of love.”

Gibson has organized rallies this year in Portland and just over the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, where he lives. Most have involved confrontational postures against antifascists, such as those made by Christian in footage from the 29 April event. Some have become violent.

Alongside racist and misogynist commentary, posts on Christian’s Facebook page expressed deep animus for “antifa” activists. Gibson however has denied any connection with Christian, and has posted video he says shows Christian being ejected from his rally because of his bizarre behavior.

“Jeremy Christian has nothing to do with us”, Gibson told the Guardian. “He’s not even a Trump supporter. He showed up at our march out of nowhere. None of us knew who he was. None of us had ever seen him. Folks from antifa and liberals in Portland have used pictures of him at the rally, trying to paint the picture that we’re all white supremacists.”

Gibson said he was not racist: “I believe in God, and I believe God sees us all as equal. To say someone is lower than someone else because of the color of their skin is insane to me.”

Asked about his recent support for a protest against sharia law, he said: “I completely stand against sharia law because it goes against everything I believe in. Muslims are the biggest victims of sharia law. I believe in a woman’s right to be her own person, I also believe in LGBT rights too.”

Asked about the “alt-right” label, which has been applied to a range of far rightwing groups and individuals risen to national prominence, he said: “What is the alt-right? I don’t really know. I’m Joey Gibson. Even with Trump, I support him, but there are things I don’t agree with. We either go towards freedom, or we go towards tyranny.”

Rose City Antifa is a long-standing antifascist group in Portland, a major organizer of opposition to Gibson’s rallies. A spokesman who gave only a first name, David, said Gibson’s disavowals of Christian rang hollow.

“He definitely marched with them,” he said. “When you have an event like this you can say, ‘These people are with us, these people aren’t with us’ as much as you want. But these are the people who turned out to the event.”

The spokesman said Portland’s reputation as a liberal city masked long-term political realities.

“The sad, unfortunate fact is that Portland does have a long history of white supremacist activity,” he said, mentioning the 1988 murder of an Ethiopian immigrant, Mulugeta Seraw. “There have been white skinheads and militia groups centred on Portland. These people have never gone away, but recently they have been comfortable coming out and showing their true colours.”

The spokesman pointed to an article on the Rose City Antifa website which identified a number of white supremacists who attended the 29 April event.

“[Christian] may have been the most brazen and visible white supremacist, but he was certainly not the only one,” he said. “At previous rallies we’ve seen KKK members, members of the group Identity Europa and other unaffiliated white supremacists. There was another person at the 29 April rally who had a swastika pin on their backpack who was allowed to stay. They simply made that person remove the pin.”

The spokesman said the presence of such people, and escalating violence at the rallies, undermined Gibson’s claim that his events were intended solely to promote free speech.

“It doesn’t matter what the purpose of a rally is,” he said, “it matters what happens at that rally. How do the organizers of that rally conduct themselves? Who comes to join that rally and what’s the effect of them coming together?”

Gibson said he expected a tough reception next Sunday. “There will be more hatred, opposition, anger,” he said. “Because here are people running around irresponsibly saying Jeremy Christian was part of our group.”

Antifascist leaders had come under pressure, he said, since the Department of Homeland Security described anti-Trump protests in the city involving “black bloc” anarchists as “domestic terrorist violence”.

“I guarantee right now, there is going to be at least one kid arrested in downtown Portland who gets arrested because he believed the lie,” Gibson said.

Rose City Antifa is in turn determined to organize a “popular turnout” next Sunday. At the candlelight vigil on Saturday evening, flyers co-sponsored by the group were circulated.

The group’s spokesman said: “The thing that they’re going to discover is that Portlanders are tired of this. They’re tired of this circus. They’re tired of the excuses [Gibson] gives for throwing these rallies. People are tired of seeing white supremacists together in their streets.

“I think there’s going to be a very large turnout indeed.”

If such predictions prove true, next Sunday could see a continuation of political confrontations in the city which started around one major, national event. The election of President Donald Trump.

When the alt-right comes to town: 'spoiling for a fight'

Hundreds of alt-right and neo-nazis rallying in Berkeley right now. Police checking people for weapons.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

Straight up nazis in Berkeley. Guy on left said he was a "national socialist".: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

this nazi literally took a huge swig of milk before running into battle: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

that alt-right fashion tho: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

Three percenter militia providing security at Berkeley rally.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

"In terms of safe spaces, I feel safer around Trump supporters than anywhere else," says gay Trump supporter.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

infowars ftw : image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

Alt-right spoiling for a fight.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

he told me he's out here representing: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

this guy was shouting "Latinos for Trump": image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

This dude has been fighting in Berkeley all day.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

This guy has been in full-on battle mode all day at Berkeley.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

After hours of street fights, alt-right, proud boys, and nazis have taken downtown Berkeley.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

Right wing guy shouts at anarchist: "This is funded by Soros! You are fighting for the man! Do your research!!!": image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

Downtown Berkeley.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

The far right is holding downtown Berkeley right now.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

Berkeley.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

Charlie from Castro Valley: "I hope that the left realizes it doesn't have a stranglehold" on Berkeley. "They used to. Now...": image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

Berkeley.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

Militias, alt-right, nazis etc won today in Berkeley. They outnumbered the opposition, pushed it back, and held downtown. Today's America.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

So nuts to see Trump supporters of color next to guys sieg heiling.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

This guy just went "on the record" to say "black people are inferior to whites, genetically". #PatriotsDay #Berkeley: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

Trump supporters take a selfie with white nationalist leader Nathan Damigo, who punched a woman at the last Berkeley rally.: image via Shane Bauer @shane_bauer, 27 April 2017

A white nationalist punches her in the face. Then they come after her and her family. Still no charges from police.: image via Shane Bauer @shane_bauer, 27 April 2017

A video of Nathan Damigo (top) and Emily Rose Marshall (below) during the street fighting in Berkeley on April 15 went viral: photo by Stephen Lam/Reuters via ZUMA Press 15 April 2017

Proud Boys in Berkeley. Shoved me and told me I was fake news.: image via Shane Bauer Verified account @shane_bauer, 15 April 2017

The Big Cigars

On the phone | by anotherswede ON A BREAK

On the phone [Stockholm]: photo by anotherswede ON A BREAK, 15 September 2015

It’s both never and always a work day for me
I work every day and never get paid
This and putting my pants on one leg at a time
Are two things I have in common with the great geniuses
Einstein, Socrates, Rimbaud
The real heavies of the universe, the big cigars

TC: The Big Cigars, from 35, 1976