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— at St John's Bridge....Cathedral Park.
by Bette Lee pictures by Bette Lee
What an awe-inspiring, daring and utterly breath-taking direct action by Greenpeace activists at the St. John's bridge in Portland, OR. 13 courageous and determined GP activists rappelled from the bridge, and were suspended for over 40 hours in their attempt to stop or delay the Fennica, an ice-breaker owned by Shell Corp., bound for the Artic to be used for oil-drilling. They were supported by the "kayaktivists" who bravely tried to block the Fennica from sailing past the bridge, but were overwhelmed by the coast guard in their motorboats. We will always remember the beautiful image of this remarkable direct action of these activists hanging from the bridge, with their colored flags flying in the wind.
see more: Bette Lee Portal http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/bettelee
Stop Drilling in the Arctic! Obama betrayed us Again…
Why do people support Obama when he supports drilling in the Arctic, offshore drilling, murdering prisoners, 27 unnecessary wars of choice, the suspension of habeas corpus, sending illegal drones knowing each kills an average of fifty innocent people.
If you want this irresponsible drilling stopped, contact the most powerful man on the planet… as if if would do you any good.
At home, American police bureaus, militarized and armed with machine-guns, have been provided a license to kill at will and our president claims a “right” to kill anyone, anywhere, any time, for any reason or without providing any reason at all. This amoral and extralegal extortion has been extended abroad in more than 25 corporate wars of choice. And what is most terrifying is that the American people have surrendered to this betrayal and treason. With innocents executed at home and abroad, we are under attack and must stand up and fight back.
The revolution has begun. ~OO~ http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/afewwords
Take Action! We are the change we seek!
more info: www.theportlandalliance.org/activecommunity
Black Lives Matter Portland
“The cost of living is out of control here in Portland, and the rent won’t wait. We stand behind the Janus Youth workers, and our community will support them 100% in their upcoming fight for $15 and a fair contract,” says Justin Norton-Kertson, organizer for 15 Now PDX. “At the same time, no one who works should live in poverty. All low-wage workers in Portland need at least $15 to get by. We drafted and championed a bill to repeal the anti-worker preemption law last session, and we will continue to call on our state legislators to restore local control over minimum wage laws.”
A campaign to win $15 for even more working people in Oregon is already underway.
the rest of the story: www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/15NowPDX!
It was in 2005 when Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO) began working issues of police profiling. Now, a decade later, Oregon House Bill 2002 has been signed into law. Thank you Salome Chimuku for taking the baton this past year and racing to the finish line. Thank you, Representative Lew Frederick and Senator Chip Shields, for
leading the way this legislative session.
rest of story:
The Alliance Portal for The CIO: http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/cio
Should we laugh or should we weep? The latest tests of the most expensive fighter plane in history, the F-35, costing a reported $1.5 trillion (yep, you read that right) over the "life of the plane" (what life?), finds that it can't outmaneuver an aging F-16 in a mock dogfight! Talk about Pentagon pathos! Atta way to spend our money. Look at it this way, the F-35 may not be able to fly, but it's been a hell of a jobs program even if it's had less literal bang for the buck than just about anything around! Tom
Scientists believe that this round of mass extinction is accelerating, and one way or another, it all traces back to us, whether thanks to the way we are changing the planet’s atmosphere or to what Kolbert terms a human-induced, often disastrous “intercontinental reshuffling of species.” In recent years, environmentalist and TomDispatch regular William deBuys set out to see the results of that aspect of mass extinction for himself, and what a grisly spectacle it proved to be. In the process, he penetrated deep into the jungles of Laos in search of a deer-like creature you’ve undoubtedly never heard of that may -- or may not -- still exist.
It was an adventure of the first order, which deBuys depicts in his remarkable new book, The Last Unicorn: A Search for One of Earth’s Rarest Creatures. He captures both the grimness of what’s happening to animals of every sort in the distant forests of a land we’ve paid no attention to since the Vietnam War ended and the glorious beauty of the species we humans are indeed destroying.
more info: The Portland Alliance Tom Engelhardt Portal:
http://www.theportlandalliance.org/engelhardt
Hear David Cobb speak:
Challenging Corporate Rule and Creating Democracy.
David is the chief spokesperson for Move to Amend, advocating for a 28th Constitutional Amendment saying that Corporations are not people and Money is not speech. Sponsored by Move to Amend Portland.
more info: http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/movetoamend
101 unarmed people killed by police in 2014.
Checkout their stories...
Some cases are more clear-cut than others, but all of them raise questions about the use of force — like shooting to kill — in policing. They also prompt scrutiny of how cops confront people with mental illnesses:
1. Darrien Hunt; Saratoga Springs, UT: Hunt was shot six times and killed after someone reported a man with a suspicious sword. Hunt, who had a fascination with Japanese anime characters, was carrying a toy sword. A recent autopsy report found the shots hit him in the back, suggesting he was running away from police on the scene.
https://thepeaceresource.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/101-unarmed-people-killed-by-police-in-2014/
more information at http://www.theportlandalliance.org/occupation
This week Zachary Crockett of the Priceonomics blog highlighted some eye-popping statistics on high-speed police pursuits -- you know, the kind that you see on COPS, or that local TV crews chase using helicopters. Here are the numbers that really stand out to me:
these crashes take about 323 lives each year. To put it in perspective, that's more than the number of people killed by floods, tornadoes, lightning and hurricanes -- combined.
...But the most shocking thing is that innocent bystanders -- meaning people not at all involved with the chase -- account for 27 percent of all police chase deaths, or 87 deaths per year.
get the whole story: ThePortlandAlliance.org/police
July is the deadliest month of 2015 for police-related killings
Last month’s 118 fatalities – more than one in six of whom were unarmed – reversed a downward trend over the previous four months
MORE AT Alliance Guardian Portal www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/guardian
Date/Time
Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 6:00 PM
Location
NE 6th and Halsey Portland, Oregon more info:
at Keaton Otis Portal
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/keatonotis
Abdicated Levels of Oversight
How many authorities look the other way, when they could play a vital role in police accountability?
“In a society governed by the rule of law, the government, its officials and agents are subject to and held accountable under the law. Modern societies have developed systems of checks and balances, both constitutional and institutional, to limit the reach of excessive government power, and to subject the government power, or ruler, to legal restraints. These checks and bal-ances take many forms in various countries around the world: they do not operate solely in systems marked by a formal separation of powers, nor are they necessarily codified in law. What is essential, however, is that authority is distributed in a manner that ensures that no single organ of government has the practical ability to exercise unchecked power.” – World Justice ProjectBronze Blues & Brews Festival
to be held August 7 & 8
The 19th Bronze Blues & Brews Festival is set for Friday, August 7, and Saturday, August 8. The event will be held at the Joseph City Park, Joseph, Oregon. For the Friday Jam Night gates open at 5:30pm with music from 6-10pm. On Saturday, the gates open at noon with music from 12:30-10pm. All ages welcome. Kids 10 and under free.
This year’s event will feature Royal Southern Brotherhood, Sultans of Slide, Roseland Hunters, Polly O’Keary & the Rhythm Method, and Ben Rice & Lucy Hammond.
Tickets are available pre-sale for $30 or at the gate for $35 more info: http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/blues
What are our most effective ways to outlaw corporate control of our communities? Checkout Community Rights PDX and the Community Rights Movement in the United States. For more information on how this works to pass real laws restricting corporate control in our communities, please look at this page:
A Portland Alliance Portal to Community Rights PDX
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/crpdx
"People have only as much liberty
as they have the intelligence to want
and the courage to take.”
Emma Goldman
The Truth Telling Project Calls for Action
The right to rebellion is the right to seek a higher rule... GEORGE ELIOT |
Help support local media! |
And Checkout The Alliance Community Action Calendar ThePortlandAlliance.org/communitycalendar
AlternativeNewsResource.org/ Behind the Headlines... Oregon News Links
Shannon Wheeler's Too Much Coffee Man Portal at The Portland Alliance
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https://thewordsmithcollection.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/a-community-magazine/
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