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Health
Medicine, diet, first aid, beneficial lifestyles.
From the open publishing newswire:
Alondra Nelson, the author of 'Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination,' writes that "the Party's focus on health care was both practical and ideological." On a practical level, the BPP provided free community health care services, including preventative education. Simultaneously, the BPP railed against the medical-industrial complex, declaring that health care was "a right and not a privilege."
One of the lessons that the BPP offers today's activists is that they should be more loyal to the desired outcome than to the tactic. The sit-in came to be associated with the southern civil rights movement just as the mic check is now emblematic of the Occupy movement. But these groups also used other tactics: marching, occupying, sermons, etc. Social movements are dynamic phenomena; circumstances are constantly changing. So too should tactics.  http://www.angola3news.com
From the open publishing newswire:
The best gift of all is good health and this can be done with single payer health insurance... Good health is what everyone in this country desires and needs. The best way to achieve this goal is to have affordable health insurance. Unfortunately what stands in the wsy is private health insurance companies who value monetary greed over peoples health by always raising premiums and by charging outrageous deductibles and co-pays. The solution is to give the wonderful present of single payer health insurance and you can do this by visiting the internet site of ( Single Payer Action) which is working for single payer health insurance.
Here is the mailing address of Single Payer Action if you wish to contact them by snail mail. I just don't understand why some americans do not want single payer health insurance. What we have now are insurance company pirates who take all of our hard earned cash and then refuse to pay their fair share of your medical bill.
From the open publishing newswire:
Excerpt from the Portland Public Access program, "A Growing Concern." Guests discuss ongoing attempts by local government to privatize Portland's water supply. Excellent power point presentation detailing how this is being foisted on the public.
Privatizing Portland's Water Supply
From the open publishing newswire:
More often than not, news of local scleroderma people in any Oregon newspaper is found only in the obituaries.
Unlike most of us, I know more about scleroderma than I ever desired or imagined. This autoimmune disease that touches an estimated 300,000 in America alone comes in two forms, localized and systemic, and generally afflicts four times as many middle-age women than men. Children, however, are not immune. [...] Scleroderma affects everyone differently. My wife Fay has lived with the misery and pain of this disease for the past 20 years, manifesting itself in several ways, [...] Scleroderma also means Fay has to avoid direct sunlight, as well as being hypersensitive to hot and cold extremes. Gloves are a constant, even during the summer when air conditioning gets really cranked up in many public venues. [...] Although the Oregon chapter's volunteer activists regularly have to work through their own health challenges, they rarely tire or fail to remain optimistic. Only a few weeks after her surgeries, my wife Fay found the strength to meet with US Congressman Earl Blumenauer as part of an awareness team effort. Perhaps the most striking chapter example, though, is that of Maria Rivelli of Portland, organizer of the chapter's "Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma" benefit walk set for this July 30 in Multnomah Village and Gabriel Park.
From the open publishing newswire:
Subject: Update on Wednesday's water rate$ hearing: The good, the bad & the ugly. A big thank you to all who came to the water rates meeting on Wednesday. For those of who couldn't attend, here's a break-down of what happened.
THE GOOD: Turnout at City Hall was terrific. Council Chambers was packed with people who are supportive of avoiding the unnecessary "treating" and covering of Portland's historic open reservoirs for contaminants that do not exist. Over 100 people attended , including a mayoral candidate. Near the beginning, a speaker asked people to stand up if they were attending in support of keeping the reservoirs open (and stopping unnecessary construction). THE ENTIRE CHAMBER (except for Water Bureau employees) STOOD. Numerous groups testified against the planned 85% water/sewer rates increase over the next 5 years -- 45 people signed up to testify including Siltronics, Portland Bottling Co., Yo Cream, Alsco Linen, a low income housing representative, Sierra Club Columbia Chapter, Physicians for Social Responsibility and many, many more. THE BAD & UGLY: Commissioners gave the green light for water-sewer rates to go up nearly 20% this year. They approved a 6 percent sewer fee hike and a water rate hike of approximately 12 percent. Council is expected to officially approved the rate hikes next Wednesday. An audit recently found that the Portland Water Bureau has spent millions of dollars on projects other than water and sewer operations. This is in violation of Oregon state law. You may recall that the Oregonian Editorial Board recently called for regulatory reform in an opinion piece on LT2. The question is why isn't the Portland Water Bureau working in support of community will, our good water, and LT2 regulatory reform. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Call each city Commissioner's office and tell them to stop reservoir construction projects. Here's a brief KBOO piece by Joe Meyer on Wednesday's rate hearing: http://www.facebook.com/l/8ca3dkzd6N8tL0Odm7F8z7bIY8w/kboo.fm/node/28646
Previous coverage of this issue: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2011/05/408414.shtml
From the open publishing newswire:
From BARK: The City of Portland will decide on May 18th @ 10:15 am whether to waste $500 million to treat our Bull Run drinking water, recently confirmed as pure and free from harmful bacteria. Location is at: Council Chambers, Portland City Hall (between Jefferson and Madison on SW 4th Ave) This issue seems to be not very well covered locally, but enforcing EPA regulations and building a UV treatment plant will seriously affect Portland's drinking water, and utility rates. No harmful cryptosporidium has ever been found in this water. Yet for some reason the city is going along with the supposition that open reservoirs should be covered to comply with EPA recommendations/requirements. Covered reservoirs have more risk of microorganisms historically across the nation. Contrary to what BARK (and Friends of Reservoirs) are putting out on their websites, instead of pursuing a (temporary) "variance", the council should be pursuing a (permanent) "waiver" from compliance with these regs on the basis that this treatment facility is unwarranted and will actually increase the contamination of our now clean water with chemicals like radon and chloroform which build up if not allowed to off-gas, as well as mercury and other pollutants that will increase toxicity due to the other pollutants required for this kind of "treatment"... foresttofaucetpdx.blogspot.com | Past Portland IMC Coverage & links | Video: Rally to Save Portland's Drinking Water | VIDEO: Growing Concern Cable Access coverage of the issue w/ Scott Fernandez |followup report of the hearing
From the open publishing newswire:
Please join Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and our partners at Heart of America Northwest in protecting our communities from 12,000 truckloads of extremely radioactive waste, which would go through Portland and Spokane to Hanford under a US Department of Energy proposal.
http://action.psr.org/site/R?i=rwg9a67i0O55BI3f9VlKBw
Attend and speak out at next week's public hearing on the US Department of Energy's proposal to use Hanford Nuclear Reservation as a national radioactive waste dump for extremely radioactive (GTCC) waste. When: Thursday, May 19th beginning at 6:30PM* Where: Doubletree Hotel, Lloyd Center (1000 NE Multnomah Street) in Portland *Pre-hearing workshop at 5:45 PM in the Ross Island Room, 1st Floor To learn more: http://www.hoanw.org
http://www.OregonPSR.org
From the open publishing newswire:
Northwest Primary Care, a local Medical Group has decided and begun informing patients who have legitimate diagnoses of Chronic Pain that they will no longer be treated with pharmaceutical pain medications if they choose to avail themselves of Medical Marijuana.
Current patients who use both pharmaceutical pain medications (opiates) and medical marijuana will have to decide which of the treatments they can utilize. Those that choose pharmaceutical treatment will be subjected to urine analysis (piss tests) to ensure they are not using medical marijuana at the same time. This will occur even in cases where opiates and MMJ are treating different issues such as pain and loss of appetite as many cancer patients suffer from. Some may recall that the Obama administration had announced, some time ago, a truce in the federal enforcement of laws against the use of marijuana by those legally using it for medical purposes in States where it has been approved by voters, such as Oregon. However, the Pharmaceutical Industry has in the last few weeks announced that it wants to enter the market of providing, and profiting, from Medical Marijuana. The FDA has, as expected, been receptive to the plan, and are once again targeting the MMJ infrastructure. In Washington state, the Governor vetoed a Dispensary bill due to fear that the federal government will go after state employees who would have administered the dispensary program.
From the open publishing newswire:
Portland's water quality, and it's health record has been fabulous, with not even one case of Cryptosporidium sickness found to have come from our drinking water for over a century. Yet the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (which often sides with big business over our environment) says now we must quickly build an un-needed water plant to eliminate, to below zero, every dead, dead, dead, fragment of ALL varieties of this one-celled group of protozoa. (Only two of the approximately eight varieties can make people sick; Those two are only the type that come from human and cattle sewage.) But the EPA makes no distinction between the types at all. This is now going to force Portlander's to pay for the current compliance plan designed by Commissioner Leonard which is: Build a 99 million dollar ultraviolet radiation treatment plant in the watershed;PORTLAND WATER LECTURE AND CITIZEN RALLY -- SAVE BULL RUN DRINKING H2O EPA Wants Portland to Add Drinking Water Treatment, and Cover Our Open Reservoirs; for Microbial Problem That Does Not Exist; The Resulting Toxic and Carcinogenic Chemicals Added To, and Degrading Our Drinking Water Will Also Be Discussed. WATER LECTURE RALLY FOR HEALTHY BULL RUN WATER For Further Information: | Friends of Bull Run Water Facebook Page"> | friendsofreservoirs.org | VIDEO: Threats to Portland's Water Supply - Growing Concern Cable Access Show
From the open publishing newswire:
Banks put on alert for direct action campaign if connections to coal corporations are not severed
Monday March 14, 2011 : Rising Tide activists delivered "Official Notice" letters to 25 banks across Portland with ties to coal financing: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, and Citi Financial. The notices read: "We regret to inform you that this bank is being put on Notice. Effective immediately, you must begin to cease all financing of coal fired power plants and related infrastructure.' The letter went on further to name all coal related corporations that we will not tolerate and finished with a three month time line for them to address our demands.
From the open publishing newswire:
Missoula, MT, March 10, 2011 - At about 2:30 am on Thursday morning, two residents of Missoula, MT, Carol Marsh and Ann Maechtlen sat down in the middle of Reserve St. in an attempt to halt the shipment of large, oversize loads of equipment heading to a ConocoPhillips tar sands oil refinery in Billings, MT. They were joined in protest with about 100 community members stopping the loads temporarily.
Conoco Phillips, the third largest integrated energy corporation in the United States, operates a tar sands refinery in Billings and has a 50 percent equity interest in the proposed Keystone XL Energy Pipeline, which would cut through the Northeastern portion of Montana, transporting large quantities of tar sands crude to Texas, a project that has sparked an outpouring of opposition from Glasgow to the Gulf Marsh, a retired journalist and grandmother, and Maechtlen, a two-time cancer survivor, attempted three or four times to block the shipments but the police refused to arrest the two women, instead opting to forcefully remove them to the sidewalk as they were cheered on by a crowd of about 100 supporters. The police cited and released one other man who sat down with the two women. The action was the culmination of a "welcome to Missoula" street party organized by local grassroots group Northern Rockies Rising Tide (NRRT) in an effort to take back the streets from Big Oil. homepage: http://www.northernrockiesrisingtide.org
From the open publishing newswire:
On [Saturday] February 26th, from noon to 3pm, there will be a Walk for Choice in support of women's rights Join us to help stop the national assault on women's rights and women's reproductive health. You have a voice, WALK FOR CHOICE!
Walk for Choice 2011 was created directly in response to the events in Congress surrounding H.R. 3. Women and allies around the world will peacefully protest against limiting a woman's right to choose and the right to have a safe, legal abortion. Abortion is a legal procedure that saves the lives of 70,000 women each year.Walk for Choice will take place in multiple cities on February 26th, 2011. The official Walk for Choice website is walkforchoice.tumblr.com. Walk for Choice PDX is a peaceful walk in support of women's and men's access to reproductive rights. While this event is short-notice, we can still make an impact. Your attendance is greatly appreciated! We will meet at a central location at 12:00 and walk until 3:00. Exact location and route to be announced closer to date of walk. homepage: link to www.facebook.com
From the open publishing newswire:
After 12 years of battling to stop Monsanto's genetically-engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's organic farmland, the biggest retailers of "natural" and "organic" foods in the U.S., including Whole Foods Market (WFM), Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm, have agreed to stop opposing mass commercialization of GE crops, like Monsanto's controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa.
In exchange for dropping their opposition, WFM has asking for "compensation" to be paid to organic farmers for "any losses related to the contamination of his crop." http://prwatch.org/spin/2011/01/9903/whole-foods-market-caves-monsanto |
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