Last month, France presented Bob Dylan with its highest civilian prize, the Legion of Honor. At the ceremony, the French culture minister gushed about how Mr. Dylan had inspired a whole generation to push for peace and civil rights, about how he was inspired by Verlaine and Rimbaud in his fight for justice and freedom.
Tune in to Fifth Monday Labor Radio and find out about Joe and a lot more! at 6pm Monday, December 30th! with guests Ron Verzuh and Michael Munk, hosted by Lane Poncy and Michael Morrow
Don't miss this dynamic combination
of activists and organizers.
Call in and join the conversation! more details here! http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/laborradio
Studio Line (503) 231-8187
Absent Progressive Uproar, Social Security & Medicare Face Cuts!
The lines are being drawn for a 'Grand Bargain' and the Democrats' continued willingness to give away their role as defenders of safety net, is deeply disturbing.
BlueGreenAlliance The BlueGreen Alliance... http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/bluegreenalliance ...unites 14
of our country’s largest unions and environmental organizations. Acting together, through more
than 15 million members
and supporters, we are a powerful voice for building a cleaner, fairer and more competitive American economy.
Today, Kelly advises current members of the House to be more skeptical of another regime’s case for war and be more aware of the consequences of supporting war. Anybody who votes for it, “ she warns, “ will have to pay the price ... That is unnecessary blood on their hands.
Columns: William Beeman /
"In order to placate Israel and Saudi Arabia, the US must accept the lies both nations tell about Iran. The US must also ignore the self-serving reasons both nations have for calling for "action" against Iran. Both nations talk pious cant about protecting the world, etc., but they are entirely venal in their motives."
"The debt ceiling crisis can be averted by enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment, which mandates the government to pay its debts already incurred, including pensions. That means Social Security, which IS an “entitlement,” in the original sense of the word. We’re entitled to it because we’ve paid for it with taxes."
Shamus Cooke / Robert F. Dodge / Tom Engelhardt / Tom Hastings / New: Theresa Kennedy-Dupay / Theresa Kennedy-Dupay will have a new page and a regular column beginning in The January 2014 Issue of the Alliance
Her first feature will be an essay on Motherhood. ThePortlandAlliance.org/motherhood
“To my mother and me, Grey Gardens is a breakthrough to something beautiful and precious called life.” --Edie Beale, 1976.
"We learned to live in the Castle and the Castle Lives in us still..." Dennis Kucinich / Michael Munk / Munk's Musings: www.theportlandalliance.org/Munk
New Study Refines View of Sarin Attack in Syria
"Fifty years after the March on Washington, the sole surviving speaker from that day is Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. Lewis is a living symbol of "the Black struggle."
Mark Schwebke / Norman Solomon / "Whether sending missiles across borders or using the latest digital technology to spy on vast numbers of people, the U.S. government relies on military violence and chronic secrecy in an ongoing quest to exert control over as much of the world as possible. The agenda reeks of impunity and arrogant power. Revoking Edward Snowden’s passport is in sync with that agenda.
We should challenge it." Mark Vorpahl / Lawrence S. Wittner
Drawing on the principle that “an injury to one is an injury to all,” ILWU longshore and marine workers have used their port power to support the struggles of other unions. But jurisdictional disputes, most notably a 2011 battle with the Operating Engineers over work at a grain terminal in Longview, Washington, have driven a wedge between the militant union and the AFL-CIO. Photo: Dawn Des Brisay.
Both union and management appear to be preparing for a strike at the City of Portland, which could start in November. The seven-union 1,600-worker coalition known as the District Council of Trade Unions (DCTU
) has tentatively scheduled a “ready to walk” rally for 4:30 p.m. Nov. 6, at a location to be determined.
US. Now at War in Seven Nations and more on the horizon!Samar Hassan screams after her parents were shot by US troops in Tal Afar in January 2005. Her parents, Hussein and Camila Hassan died when they failed to stop their car quick enough at a checkpoint. Their five children survived. Photograph: Chris Hondros/Getty Images
This iconic photo, one of very few to reach the American public, brings home the fact that American wars of choice are costing innocent lives and doing more harm than good.
Fast Food Workers Need a Whopping Raise, and a Fighting Union!
Class Struggle Against Poverty Wages
PressuringDemocrats Is a Dead-End
The only road to actually breaking the cycle of poverty, racism and endless war that is inherent in capitalism is for those organizing low-wage workers to put forward a program of militant class struggle, breaking with the Democrats to form a revolutionary workers party. Such a program must not limit itself to wages but must take up all the forms of oppression we face.
Above: Boistrous demonstration for $15/hour wage outside restaurant on Fulton Street, Brooklyn, December 5.
DECEMBER 5 – Over the last year and a half there have been a number of well-publicized protests at fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s, and at stores of the vast Walmart chain, the largest private employer in the world.
Gentrification in Portland and what we can do about it.
Gentrification uproots primarily poor, black residents of the city of Portland and drives them out
with higher rents and higher taxes. Often these new developments destroy historic properties and established neighborhoods.
If you want to change this situation, click below to find out more and and sign the petition:
Making It in Tough and Changing Times Mini-Conference for Writers
PORTLAND, OR, – Writers, mark your calendars for a truly remarkable conference. Unlike most writers’ conferences, you need not block out a week, merely a day, and that's January 25th, 2014, when Making It in Tough and Changing Times Mini-Conference for Writers comes to Portland, Oregon. From the hothouse of creativity to the cold office of the hard sell, this seminar offers it all in a single and very affordable day of classes. As Jessica Morrell, Conference Coordinator says, "This one-day conference offers writers a remarkable opportunity to learn about the changing face of publishing and learn from an impressive lineup of literary professionals. I'm especially thrilled to have Karen Karbo, a professional dynamo as our keynote speaker. Talk about inspiring; she's done it all." http://www.TheportlandAlliance.org/writing
Michael Dembrow Replaces
Jackie Dingfelder as State Senator
Proposed Settlement Agrement: US Dept of Justice and City of Portland
Federal Judge Michael Simon will convene a public hearing on 18 February. He’ll then rule on whether a proposed settlement agreement – between the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and the City of Portland – for civil rights violations in the police bureau’s use of force … is fair and just.
We believe a case study … of Keaton’s homicide and Fred’s pursuit of justice for his son … will illuminate deficiencies in the proposed settlement AND enter the Keaton Otis tragedy into a public record.
more info at http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/otis
Fred Bryant fashioned this medallion as a touchstone in his struggle to get justice for his son.
Last Chance for Peace in Syria. Will Obama Sabotage the Geneva II Syria Peace Talks?
"Now peace talks are again on the table, the situation in Syria is more dire than ever, and the world as a whole demands peace. Obama’s actions will testify to his intent in Syria; he will either insist on a no conditions peace talk and pressure his allies to stop the bloodshed, or he will do the opposite and remain a driving force for senseless slaughter and the continued butchering of innocents."
Police attack New Brunswick anti-fracking protest. Protect Mother Earth!
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/music
“Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness – and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe.
The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling – their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability.
Remember this: We be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them.
Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
Magarito Joy, who attended the rally with her young son, works a minimum wage job at a coffee shop. “I get paid minimum wage, but I can’t live on that. I have a kid. Minimum wage doesn’t cover the cost of food for us. Fifteen dollars an hour is a start. I’d like it higher. The money is being saved for the people at the top–CEOs, presidents. We want a more even distribution of the money.” http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/newsbytes/newindex.html
Continuing Unemployment can be devastating!
Checkout the story at Alliance News Bytes
Long-term unemployment remains stubbornly high, with 4.1 million people , or 36.1 percent of those ...
Marijuana Reform Portal
Prohibition did not work with alcohol and it's not working with marijuana
Find out what's happening with marijuana reform. http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/marijuana
Marijuana Reform Portal
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/healthcare Checkout The Alliance
Health Care Resource Page
So the Affordable Care Act is finally being implemented, even online. Our state has its own exchange, which seems to run better than the national model. The people in the states that implemented their own exchanges are all busy heaping accolades on each other. However, the real question is, “Where is the single-payer solution that would save hundreds of millions of dollars and lives?”
Unveiling the Dangers of GMO foods and Toxic Food Dyes
by Don Dupay
All my life (until now) I have been eating packages of yellow cheese puffs. I love the damned things, the cheesy taste and all. Absentmindedly, I recently put on my reading glasses and looked again at the pretty pictures of the cheesy things displayed on the package. I noticed one of the ingredients was yellow dye #6, what the hell, I thought? I always believed they were yellow colored because of the cheese on them. But no...they are dyed yellow. Now my detective's mind went into action, I discovered there are other dyes, including blue #1, blue #2, green #3, red #3, red #40, yellow #5, yellow #6 and citrus red #2. Worse yet, the cheesy things were cooked in corn oil, a GMO poison created by the Monsanto company.
Americans are buying more organic food products every day and the word is spreading. Whole Food stores and local farmers markets are flourishing offering fresh and GMO free veggies and meat. Everyday “useless eaters,” like myself, are growing their own food at home in small plots and the new Victory gardens are helping fight the war on our food supply. (http://www.undergroundhealth.com/how-to-avoid-genetically-modified-foods
Look for the rest of the story of food contamination and the risks you face in the January Issue of The Portland Alliance!
Raging Grannies Seek Justice in Corvalis, Oregon
The holidays are meant to be a joyful time. Religion aside, they are a time for family and celebration. For many workers at Walmart, however, the holidays are a source of stress and challenge. Stores become figurative, sometimes even literal, battlefields, making already-taxing work more demanding, even chaotic. At the same time, low wages and inadequate benefits stretch year-end budgets, leaving little room for the joys of the holidays. These Raging Grannies are standing up! https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/12/22-3
What are so many on the left doing advocating for war? Syria poses no threat. The people are suffering and the nation is crippled. Bombing them will not help the situation.
What are these people thinking?
50th Anniversary Celebration of the March for Jobs and Freedom
As AFL-CIO convention delegates gather in Los Angeles this weekend to discuss, as President Rich Trumka has put it, how to “do things different,” and become “integrated in the community in every way,” they would do well to take a page from the book of the far feistier Jobs with Justice. Trumka says labor now needs to make common cause with other progressive organizations, from the Sierra Club to the NAACP; local JwJ chapters have been working in community coalitions for 25 years.
Reviewer Mark Vorpahl from the Portland, Oregon, chapter extracts some lessons from JwJ’s record, and points the way forward. –Eds.
What Can We Learn from 25 Years of Jobs with Justice?
Spring 2013
Colonel Summers Park
by Lindsey Walker
There was an article in the local paper on May 24, 2013, entitled “At Colonel Summers Park, neighbors and the city are working to stem drug use and underage drinking.” Because I prefer to avoid subjecting myself to the corporate media I was not aware of this article. The article cites a meeting that occurred with the local community association where neighbors and city officials, likely Parks and Recreation and possibly the police, indicated that “the park has also become a popular haven for drug users, underage drinkers and vandals nearly every night of the week,” and the chairperson was quoted as saying “It’s a great park, but somehow it’s taken on a darker edge.”see whole article at:
Spirituality and the Environment – the Dalai Lama, a Priest, Rabbi, Imam, and a Native American Elder
by Larry Cwik
On May 9, 2013, the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, revered by Tibetan Buddhists the world over, visited Portland and spoke on Spirituality and the Environment. He spoke to a capacity crowd of almost 5,000 people at the University of Portland’s Chiles Center and captivated the audience.
Anchorwoman Laural Porter of Portland’s KGW television moderated a panel which included the Dalai Lama, representatives of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, and a practitioner of Native American spirituality.
"Behind the Badge in River City: A Police Memoir" by Don DuPay
Retired officer tells truth, names names, and holds fellow officers
accountable, find out how times have changed...
At the heart of the film is a simple proposition: what is a good society, and what role does the widening income gap play in the deterioration of our nation’s economic health? We are endeavoring for Inequality for All to be a paradigm-shifting, eye-opening experience for the American public. We want to accurately show through a non-partisan perspective why extreme income inequality is such an important topic for our citizens today and for the future of America.
Starts Friday October 11th
60
- See more at: http://hollywoodtheatre.org/inequality-for-all/#sthash.MLjShSBy.ZqntgYHh.dpuf
Inequality for All
Published on October 8th, 2013
At the heart of the film is a simple proposition: what is a good society, and what role does the widening income gap play in the deterioration of our nation’s economic health? We are endeavoring for Inequality for All to be a paradigm-shifting, eye-opening experience for the American public. We want to accurately show through a non-partisan perspective why extreme income inequality is such an important topic for our citizens today and for the future of America.
Starts Friday October 11th
60
- See more at: http://hollywoodtheatre.org/inequality-for-all/#sthash.MLjShSBy.ZqntgYHh.dpuf
Inequality for All
At
the
heart
of
the
film
is
a
simple proposition:
what is a good society, and what role does the widening income gap play in the deterioration of our nation’s economic health?
We want Inequality for All
to be a paradigm-shifting, eye-opening experience for the American public.
We want to accurately show, through a non-partisan perspective, why extreme income inequality is such
an important topic today and for the future of America.
"Who would kill a Latin professor and cut her heart out? A jealous colleague? A union-busting dean? Or a student, driven to violence by the treacheries of Latin syntax?"
Jan Underwood's funny second novel is a murder mystery, a satire on the high cost of college, a work of magic realism and a love song to the Romance languages.
The homeless are coming! Or at least that is what the residents of the Pearl fear, while business owners on lower West Burnside are outraged that the homeless have already arrived.
"War damages everything associated with it, not only the sailors and soldiers but the civilians including the children, not only the body but the mind and the spirit.Glorification of war becomes support for more war, for accepting the easy violence of war instead of the difficult peaceful resolution of human problems."nst those who would no more be defeated and mastered than would we.Victory and vanquish no longer exist – only destruction – and the option of peace."
Soon we intend to republish a copy of the front page of one of the first issues of the Alliance!
We need more writers to send in news stories, articles, letters, cartoons, etc. Get published!
Send submissions to editor@theportlandalliance.org We are especially looking for Art and Creative Writing. Please submit short stories, photography, paintings, sculpture and more!. Those accepted will be published in the Alliance and considered for a print publication as well. previous issuesSeptember 2013 IssueOctober 2013 IssueNovember 2013
Michael Dembrow Replaces
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Good news...
