Twin City Police Seize Permibus! Now this is bad!

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Permaculture Education Bus Seized by Twin Cities Police at

From: <mailto:stella%40mcn.org>stella@...

Hey friends, we need your help! Our Earth Activist Training Sustainable Skills

Bus has been

seized without cause by the police. Below is an account from the s, who

have been

travelling in the bus for the last seven months doing trainings in permaculture

and

sustainability, including ways you can help. My own accounts from the action can

be

found on www.starhawk.org and I'll be posting daily as long as I can-or sign on

to my

own list by emailing <mailto:starhawk-subscribe%40lists.riseup.net>starhawk-

subscribe@.... If you're on that list, my own account follows.

Please support

these folks who have been doing such good work for us all. Thanks!

POLICE SEIZE PERMIBUS

Please Post Far and Wide including any Media Contacts You May Have

At approximately 6:25 pm on August 30, 2008 Minneapolis Police, Minnesota State

Troopers, Ramsey County Sheriffs, Saint Police, and University of Minnesota

Police

pulled over the Earth Activist Training Permaculture Demonstration Bus

(Permibus) by exit

237 on Interstate 94. Initially the police told the people on the bus to exit.

When the

people on the bus asked if they were being detained they were told that they

were but

police wereunable to provide justification. When asked why they pulled the bus

over they

refused to answer. After repeated requests to explain why the bus had been

stopped

Officer Honican of the Minneapolis Police explained that this was just a routine

traffic stop

though he did not explain the reason for the traffic stop. The police then told

Stan ,

the driver and registered owner of the Permibus, that they were going to impound

the bus

in case they wanted to execute a search warrant later. After more than an hour

of being

questioned by Stan and Delyla as to the legalities of their detainment

and the

impoundment of the Permibus, the police then informed Stan that the bus, which

is legally

registered as a passenger vehicle in the state of Montana, was being impounded

for a

commercial vehicle inspection. Shortly afterward Sergeant , a

commercial vehicle

inspector arrived on scene. Despite the polices insistence that the reason for

impoundment was for a commercial vehicle inspection the Permibus crew were not

allowed to remove anything from the bus including computers, toiletries, and

17-year-old

's shoes. The police finally allowed the animals to be removed from

the

Permibus before it was towed, leaving the Permibus family standing beside their

chickens

and dogs, homeless on the highway.

The Permibus was relocating from the Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis, where they

had

spent the day teaching Urban Permaculture, to a friend's house in Saint for

a well

deserved break. The Permibus has been in the Minneapolis area since August 2nd

when

the crew appeared at the Midtown Farmers Market for a morning of Permaculture

education including Permaculture 101, chicken care, seed ball making for kids,

and the

Permi-puppet show. During the past month the Permibus has parked at several

local

businesses and, as a neighborly gesture of respect for local police, Mr.

contacted

the appropriate precincts just to let them know the Permibus was in the area and

had

permission from the business owners to be parked on their lot. Through this, as

well as

other casual discussions with Minneapolis and Saint police officers, the

Permibus

crew found the local police to be interested and respectful. However on August

30th all

that changed when, for no apparent valid reason the police pulled over and

seized the

Permibus. After the incident Stan said, " If the combined law enforcement

of

Minneapolis, Saint , Ramsey County, and the State of Minnesota can pull over

and

impound a vehicle and home used to teach organic gardening and sustainability,

one has

to wonder what it is our government really fears. After all, we seek to teach

people that

the real meaning of homeland security is local food, fuel and energy production.

For that

we have had our lives stolen by government men with guns. "

As of now, after repeated requests to be present at any vehicle inspection, with

an list of

what they are inspecting for, as well as requests to be served any warrants for

searches of

the vehicles prior to a search and to be present during the search the

Permi-family has

been unable to ascertain the current status of the Permibus. On site Mr.

was told

that Officer Palmerranky was the inspector in charge of the case and would

determine if

the Permi-family's rights protecting them from unreasonable search and seizure

would be

respected. Neither Officer Palmerranky nor his supervisor has yet to return Mr.

's

calls. The loss of her home and possessions is particularly difficult on

seventeen-year-old

. , a shining example of what this country asks of today's

youth, has

dedicated herself to making positive changes in the world. She was the youth

keynote

speaker at the Local to Global conference in Phoenix AZ, has taught conflict

resolution at

youth shelters and is the outreach coordinator for the Skills for a New

Millennium Tour,

the family traveling educational project. believes that, " While I

understand that the

world we live in is not as it should be I strive to live and teach in a way that

shows the

world how life could be. What I don't understand is why I can't get dressed for

an evening

out with friends in my own home without armed men stealing my life out from

under me. "

The Permi-family, along with their dogs and Permaculture super-hero chickens are

currently being housed by folks in the Twin Cities.

The Skills for a New Millennium Tour is a family education project that travels

around the

United States teaching homesteading, citizenship, and life skills at farmers

markets,

community gardens, churches, intentional communities, schools, and in people's

living

rooms. The Skills Tour is a donation supported project dedicated to providing

tools for

sustainable living, including Permaculture, to anyone who is interested,

regardless of

income. " We believe that any solution that is not accessible to the poor and

urban areas is

not a real solution for the future, " states Delyla . Permaculture is a

design system

with ethics and principles that can be applied to food production, home design,

and

community building in order to increase sustainability in food production,

energy

production, and social systems. The Permibus is a rolling demonstration of small

scale

sustainable living with three people, three dogs, three chickens, and a box of

worms as

permanent residence. The chickens and worms are part of a closed-loop food

productions

composting system that supports the Permibus's traveling garden. For more

information

on the seizure of the Permibus, the Skills for the New Millennium Tour, or

Permaculture,

the 's can be reached at or through email at

<mailto:skillstour%40gmail.com>skillstour@.... You can also see pictures

and read

stories about the last six months of their educational adventures at

permibus.livejournal.com.

To our supporters: First we ask that as many people as possible contact precinct

one in

Minneapolis, MN at and Mayor Rybak at

Phone: or

call 311 or call outside Minneapolis.

Also call the Ramsey County Sheriff

Sheriff - Bob Fletcher

and demand the immediate release of the Permibus.

We are also in desperate need of donations. Though we do not yet know the full

cost of

getting the permibus returned we know that it will include tow fee, impound

fees, and

legal fees. To donate contact us directly for a local address or...

Donate On-line:

Go to: www.earthactivisttraining.org/donate.htm

Click on: Donate Now!

Under " Gift Information " write: Permibus

Under " Please send acknowledgment of this gift to " write:

<mailto:skillstour%40gmail.com>skillstour@...

Donate by Mail:

Make check payable to: A.C.T.

On the " For " line write: Permibus

Send check to: A.C.T. 1405 Hillmount St. Austin, TX 78704