Vol. XXXIV, No. 12 December 2014 
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/2014/December

The Fight for $15 in Portland »
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MORE ON:

The Ukraine
Wrong side of history’ plea
Russian billionaire sells stake in major firm a
day before sanctions
Putin completes expected annexation of Crimea
Putin bans US politicians,
Obama stiffens "sanctions"

http://www.theportlandalliance/

Lots of Poetry! 
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New Poetry from  Mary Ought Six
Walidah Imarisha
Two Poems by Walidah
Buddy Bee
Three by Buddy Bee

and more...

 

ThePortlandAlliance.org/hastie

Obey
 

Living in America,
sometimes makes me think
I live in a luxurious concentration camp.  I can have anything I want as long as I obey certain rules.

Accepting Submissions!
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Breaking News

How Privatization Perverts Education

Read the Article at BuzzFlash


Drone Killing the Fifth Amendment: How to Build a Post-Constitutional America One Death at a Time

Read the Article at TomDispatch


Excessive Radiation Levels Detected at New Mexico Waste Site

Read the Article at Reuters


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Eyes Wide Shut!

by Yugen Fardan Rashad



By Norman Solomon

Now the shoe is on the other foot. It is Obama defending the principle of “national sovereignty”while Putin is using the military “humanitarian intervention” rule promulgated most outspokenly by Obama’s UN Ambassador Samantha Power and National Security Advisor Susan Rice.

Picture of Michael Munk Tribune Photo L. E. Baskow


Peter C. Little: Alliance Photographer




 

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Stumping for Justice in Stumptown

The Fight for $15 Finally Comes to Portland

by SHAMUS COOKE

Like the Occupy movement before it, the “fight for $15” came to Portland as a transplant. Portland activists watched events in Seattle with a skeptical eye, but Seattle’s “fantasy” of $15 was transformed into an emerging reality, now replete with the support of the Mayor and City Council who are working on a plan to implement the new minimum wage. 
Tom Engelhardt /
Tom H. Hastings theportlandalliance.org/hastings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Salt and Terror in Afghanistan

by Kathy Kelly

In late January in a room in Kabul, Afghanistan, I joined several dozen people, working seamstresses, some college students, socially engaged teenagers and a few visiting internationals like myself, to discuss world hunger. Our emphasis was not exclusively on their own country’s worsening hunger problems. The Afghan Peace Volunteers, in whose home we were meeting, draw strength from looking beyond their own very real struggles.

Theresa Kennedy-Dupay
Kucinich /
Michael Munk /

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Obama won the ‘08 primary because he opposed the invasion while Hillary defended it. He tried to keep the US occupation going but the Iraqis
refused to immunize US troops who commit war crimes as Obama demanded.
Any Obamatons left after this disgraceful rant?-MM
Myers / Military Personnel
Cheating on tests!
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Mark Schwebke /
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A cop just got away with killing another kid...
heartless
thepeaceresource.wordpress.com/2014/08/19/heartless-the-mike-brown-murder/
Portland Activists taking it to the streets!


 
It goes without saying that mainstream media coverage of the Portland Ferguson solidarity protest tonight (which was separate from the planned AMA demonstration earlier today that drew thousands of folks) is completely inaccurate. Far from a few dozen folks "wandering" the streets throwing bottles at cops, there were hundreds of folks purposefully blocking streets and bridges as civil disobedience/direct action, led by multiple Black youth, who were incredibly passionate, thoughtful and inspiring.   
~Walidah Imarisha  (Nov. 26, 2014)


This is an important reality to consider. The reaction to the grand jury in 170 cities included people blocking major roadways, highways, bridges and tunnels. The police were unable to stop mobilized people working together to stop traffic. Those involved in the protest were still a small number, perhaps 200,000 people, but even this small percentage of the population had the power to #ShutItDown. In most instances protests were met with support even by people who were inconvenienced by traffic.

Now that we know that even a small percentage of Americans, well under .1%, have this power, how do we grow this capacity?

More from the organizers of the Occupy Movement:

http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/occupation


I met Larry Fellows III in Ferguson – he's a 29-year old organizer from St. Louis. Larry had never seen himself as an activist before. He told me that it wasn't till he went to a protest in Ferguson where there were rubber bullets and M-16s aimed at him that he was called to action. Larry was hit with tear gas – "these weird Pokémon balls that spit out gas. All this stuff I had never seen before in my life."

Larry told me that "it just showed me we should be able to fight for our constitutional rights without being terrorized by the police." And he's done just that, becoming a part of a new civil rights movement in America.





 
Larry Fellows III, a 29-year old organizer from St. Louis City

Because we're not just talking about Ferguson. The demonstrations across the country are about all the unarmed Black and Brown civilians killed by the police.
...
Is there hope to be had? I'm not sure – it feels like a hopeless moment, but a hopeless moment can be a seed for change. We're angry and mourning today, yet we need to make this the turning point. We need to fix the system. We need to make this the America we want.

Yours in solidarity,
Marc Climaco, ACLU Digital Media Associate,
for the ACLU Action team

The March in support of Mike Brown in Portland that started after the AMA speeches and the previous march... was not endorsed by the AMA
nor did it include permits.
check it out at:
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/anybody


Kathy Kelly

Kathy Kelly is not a war correspondent; her journalism neither glorifies nor exacerbates war.
She is a peace journalist, and arguably the world’s finest. She not only finds piercingly poignant peace people and organizations, she goes to the world’s worst conflict zones to find them.

She is unique and the editors at PeaceVoice are always honored to be able to offer her work. PeaceVoice members intend to further peace and provide analysis and narrative that makes such transformation more possible.
This is a remarkable story.~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uncomplicated, in Afghanistan 
by Kathy Kelly  November 20, 2014
read the full story here:
http://thewordsmithcollection.wordpress.com/2014/11/22/kathy-kelly/


Mayor Hales and Commissioners Fish, Fritz, 
Novick and Saltzman:

The AMA Coalition for Justice and Police 
Reform now seriously questions the City's 
resolve to implement the DOJ Agreement to 
reduce Portland Police Use of Force. 
Just two weeks after defying the unanimous 
voices of community members who urged you 
not to file an appeal of Judge Simon's annual 
hearings, Council announced that it would, 
despite the advice of your appointed citizen 
advisory committee, choose the one applicant 
for the Compliance Officer position that the
advisory committee rejected.

Read more at: 
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/AMAPortal


https://thewordsmithcollection.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/mike.jpg
Heartless Bastards
are killing us.
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/ferguson


The blue wall of silence continues in Portland

Police make up a peculiar subculture in society. Often they have their own moral code of behavior, an “us against them” attitude, and a history of standing shoulder-to-shoulder behind a “blue wall of silence.”

On Oct. 22, Mayor Charlie Hales and the City Council opted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Portland Police Bureau behind that wall with the passage of a resolution appealing the oversight requirements of their settlement with the Department of Justice. 
read more: in 
An Alliance Portal for Street Roots
http://www.theportlandalliance.org/streetroots


http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/agrowingcocern

Raise the minimum wage in Portland to $15 per hour!

(use the format below to add this to a web page)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/G23LJMkQDI8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://youtu.be/G23LJMkQDI8

Interview with Jamie Partridge, working with 15 Now Portland, (15NowPortland.org) the local chapter of a national organization, 15NOW.org) campaigning for a ...
youtube.com

www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/15NowPDX!

KBOO Movie Night at the Clinton: 5 Broken Cameras Thursday, December 11 at 7:00pm
The Clinton Street Theater in Portland, Oregon 2522 SE Clinton St. (503) 897-0744
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/kboo


I was much heartened that thousands of people in Portland showed up for the rally and march to protest the killing of Michael Brown, in response to the non-guilty verdict for Darren Wilson, the white policeman who killed 18-year old Michael Brown in Ferguson months ago. People visibly expressed their grief and outrage about this recent murder of yet another African American man by the police. The rally was followed by a peaceful march in downtown Portland. ~Read more by Bette Lee and see her great pictures! 
http://ww.theporlandalliance.org/resist



http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/rebelmetropolis

New post on Rebel Metropolis:

Whose streets? Our streets!An incredible day in Portland, OR. Following an un-permitted march last night of hundreds, another act of civil disobedience today say over a thousand people out-manuvered police to take over two bridges and briefly part of Interstate-5. Marchers were in the streets for hours, defying attacks and arrests by PPB officers. Throughout, people shouted, "They gonna' start some shit up, we gonna' shut the shit down!" 

#PDX #Ferguson #BlackLivesMatter

Non-violent Resistance can make a difference!

What really happened in Ferguson?
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/ferguson


  WASHINGTON — In a tense confrontation with President Obama’s closest adviser on Thursday, a group of Senate Democrats accused the White House of trying to censor significant details in a voluminous report on the use of torture by the Central Intelligence Agency.

During a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill with Denis R. McDonough, the White House chief of staff, the senators said that the White House was siding with the C.I.A. and trying to thwart negotiations over the report’s release. 
read more: http://www.theportlandalliance.orgt/Munk

Ursula K. Le Guin's fiery speech at the National Book Awards is generating a big reaction Thursday morning.

"Ursula K. Le Guin Steals the Show" says National Public Radio, which reported that "the crowd went wild," after Le Guin called Amazon "a profiteer" and said it was trying "to punish a publisher for disobedience, and writers threatened by corporate fatwa," a reference to Amazon's pricing dispute with Hachette. "And I see a lot of us, the producers, accepting this — letting commodity profiteers sell us like deodorant."
read more: 

http://www.theportlandalliance.org/breakingnews
BREAKING NEWS AT THE ALLIANCE



December 13
- January 11, 2015
Dec 13 at 2:00pm to Jan 11, 2015 at 5:00pm in PST

The People's Art of Portland700 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 4005, Portland, Oregon 97204

read more: 

Alliance Art Portal in Portland, Oregon...
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/art.html


      Victory: Voters in Nation’s Capital Legalize Marijuana!

D.C. Council Expected to Follow Voters’ Lead
and Tax and Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol 

Congressional Interference Will Prove Difficult

 
find more at the Marijuana Reform Portal:
      http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/marijuana



David Ragland is from St. Louis. He is African American. He is a peace education scholar. He is highly concerned about the approach taken by local and state authorities as they prepare for the community response to the expected lack of indictment of the white police officer who shot unarmed black youth Michael Brown.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wrong priorities: Shifting spending on violence

By David J. Ragland

In the lead-up to the grand jury outcome in the Michael Brown murder the St. Louis and Ferguson-area police have ramped up their preparation- with stockpiles of more weapons and rhetoric that contributes to the public frenzy. 

While I understand the need for security, does the narrow-minded focus on military and weapons actually make us more secure? read more:  Alliance PeaceVoice Portal
        http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/peacevoice
Join Jobs with Justice as we celebrate the holidays at the 2014 Scrooge of the Year Party!!

It's that time again! Come to the best party of the season. Enjoy food, drink, theater, and watch
as the Scrooge of the Year is announced!, and the best of all come meet old and new friends!

Saturday, December 6th, 7pm At The Peace House – 2116 NE 18th Ave. Portland
more information: 
http://www.theportlandalliance.org/jwjupdates


        LABOR RADIO SHOW
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/laborradio
 KBOO Community Radio  90.7 FM presents: 
Labor Radio Show

 6:00-6:30 pm Every Monday Night!
CALL-IN and join the conversation! : 503-231-8187
Latino Dairy and Dock Workers struggle for respect

Program: 
Labor Radio
Air date: 
Mon, 11/24/2014 - 6:00pm - 6:30pm
Short Description: 
Latino Dairy and Dock Workers struggle for respect
The United Farm Workers are organizing dairy workers associated with Darigold in Washington state.  Jamie Partridge interviews UFW organizer Indira Trejo and Luis, a dairy worker, about their struggles for safe, dignified and healthy working conditions.  In the second half of the show, John Walsh interviews Jhon Jairo Castro, president of the Buenaventura, Colombia chapter of the Unión Portuaria, the dockworkers’ union.  Buenaventura is Colombia’s biggest port and ground zero of the contradictions of free trade

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 detectives 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
Monsanto company. Check the whole story.
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/toxicfood 


"People have only as much liberty as they have the intelligence to want and the courage to take.”
Emma Goldman
The right to rebellion is the right
to seek a higher rule...
GEORGE ELIOT

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http://wordsmithcollection.blogspot.com/2013/06/writing-creative-arts-cutting-edge-of.html