From the open publishing newswire: The Trans-Pacific FTA is being negotiated behind closed doors between a dozen countries throughout the Pacific Rim. Journalists, most Members of Congress and the people most likely to be impacted by these negotiations are barred from reviewing the U.S. proposals, but approximately 600 corporate lobbyists certified as official "citizen advisers" have regular access to both the negotiating documents and the negotiators. Join us as we learn more about this pact; about the impact of past trade deals on our communities; and to send a message to Senator Ron Wyden and other elected officials that we will not accept another business-as-usual trade pact that offshores jobs, reduces the tax base and puts a downward pressure on the wages and benefits of jobs that are left.


Sunday, 2/12 * 3:00 - 4:30pm Redmond, OR
Monday, 2/13 * 6:30 - 8:00pm Eugene, OR
Wednesday, 2/15 * 6:30 - 8:00pm Ashland, OR
Wednesday, 2/22 * 6:00 - 7:30pm Portland, OR
Thursday, 2/23 * 3:00 - 4:00pm Monmouth, OR
Thursday, 2/23 * 6:30 - 8:00pm Salem, OR

Help us promote these events on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/events/213487345409982/

 http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/oregon/fair-trade-events/
phone: 503) 736-9777

From the open publishing newswire: We strongly encourage you all, especially those involved with Occupy Portland who tried telling their stories to City Council but were gavelled down by the Mayor, to turn out next Thursday, the 26th, at the East Portland Community Center to go on record with CRC with your concerns. It would probably be helpful even if you are relating a personal story of misconduct to articulate how you think things could be made better... no police horses or pepper spray at protests? Investigations into misconduct done by independent civilians, not police Internal Affairs? You decide.

WHAT: Community Public Forum on Police Accountability
WHEN: Thursday, January 26, 2012 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: East Portland Community Center 740 SE 106th Ave, Portland 97216

Related Post on Police violence and Portland Occupy: Breaking News 6:30 -10:30 J25 Egypt Solidarity
Reportback Video of Police Accountability Meeting Video: Citizen Police Accountability Meeting - Occupy Portland Jan 26 2012

From the open publishing newswire: There are a number of events celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday is being celebrated this Monday, January 16.

SISTERS OF THE ROAD 19th MLK MARCH AND RALLY
OCCUPY THE DREAM!
11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. March starts at noon.
 http://www.sistersoftheroad.org

KEEP ALIVE THE DREAM! 27th Anniversary Tribute
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Highland Christian Center, 7600 N.E. Glisan, Portland
Aired live on KBOO 90.7 FM.

OCCUPY JUSTICE: A Morale Booster for the Occupy Movement
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
The Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta Street, Portland
 http://www.occupyportland.org

From the open publishing newswire: Bare foot entry barred in the Cottage Grove public library. why is this, and so many other places? It seems nothing more than a prejudice, or fear of a liability. The bare foot is typically cleaner than a shoe; for a lot of people this is a serious health and comfort issue. We have been stonewalled and threatened with police action. To people who habitually walk barefoot though, the most compelling reason to change this policy is that wearing shoes temporarily seriously affects skin and causes cracking to the otherwise impervious toughened soul. For these reasons, we are walking peacefully to make conference with those in charge. This issue, trivial to some, represents freedom to us.

[Followup: The 'principle agitator' chose the route of civil disobedience, refused to put on his shoes. Cops were called, arrested him and charged him with trespassing! $5000 in potential fine and they say they are going to keep him until court (arraignment or trial, not sure)... Other barefoot people, having dealt with this? There is no health code to claim ground of course, but they are apparently allowed to make policy unilaterally. Question is, can they enforce this policy legally? ]

"barefooters.org" - letters written to/from health departments in the U.S. confirming that being barefoot does not violate health and safety codes in many U.S. states

Followup post from 1/20/12: SEPTUAGENARIAN IS JAILED FOR A WEEK FOR GOING BAREFOOT

From the open publishing newswire: Our insanity continues.

Roberto and I were out among the people who try to do some good for others, working for justice or just letting people know that the wars are still going on in the Middle East [...]

We were on the Hawthorne Bridge about 4:00 PM [...]

About 11 in the morning we were at the Governor Hotel over on 11th Avenue to protest the exclusion of all candidates [...]

The other meeting we went to was a Labor Committee that is attempting to submit a people's budget to the City Council [...]

Almost forgot, went to a council meeting [...]

[Related: Lone Vet New / Old Year's Rant ]

Individuals For Justice

Oregon Progressive Party

From the open publishing newswire: Wednesday, January 4th, join the Alliance for Democracy and Move to Amend Portland chapter and our allies as we rally outside City Hall to support and strengthen the proposed city resolution supporting a federal constitutional amendment to End Corporate Personhood.

In addition to supporting the revised resolution, we will also call on the city council to refer to Portland's voters a ballot measure, so we can all give voice to our desire that the constitution must be amended to end corporate personhood and the money is not speech. We want them to refer to the voters language very similar to that which was presented to the voters in Madison, WI, and Boulder CO and Missoula MT and approved in all three overwhelmingly. If you can't be at City Hall on Jan 4, you can still join us via an on-line petition

Rally/Hearing details:
Wednesday, January 4th at Portland City Hall
8:30 - gather, 8:45 -9:15 - rally

Move To Amend | Alliance For Democracy | Sign the online petition

[ Reportback: Video of Jan 4th Rally Supporting Portland City Council Resolution to End Corporate Personhood ]

From the open publishing newswire: Portland Copwatch asks City Council to improve oversight and policies of the Portland Police Hearing today at 2pm at City Hall

summary of the show that is on now is at: http://kboo.fm/node/32101#comments

Dan Handleman's opinion of how this has been going is at: www.theskanner.com

[The KBOO Audio Recording of this is now available here]

From the open publishing newswire: In one of the largest protests in Portland in years, thousands of demonstrators converged on Water Front Park in sympathy with the Occupy Wall Street movement. In one of the largest protests in Portland in years, thousands of demonstrators converged on Water Front Park in sympathy with the Occupy Wall Street movement.

With estimates of participants ranging from 10,000 reported on The Oregonian to 5,000 by the Portland Police Department, demonstrators wound their way through downtown streets to Pioneer Square, which became so congested that about a thousand people were unable to enter the square. Though most protesters were youth, large numbers of families and older workers also attended, with many expressing the same sentiment that one worker told the WSWS: "This is long overdue."

The issues raised by the Wall Street protests pose the necessity of a struggle against the capitalist system. Above all, this requires a turn to the working class and the mobilization of its independent strength against the financial parasites who have looted the whole of society. It means building new organizations of struggle in the workplaces, neighborhoods and schools... The right to a livable income, high quality health care and education, decent and affordable housing and other social necessities must be guaranteed for all through a fundamental reorganization of society and redistribution of wealth.

homepage:  http://www.wsws.org

From the open publishing newswire: Here are the [six] video clips on YouTube from the longer version
The Mayor and Commissioner discuss the (their) new proposal for a Human Rights and Equity Office. Filmed at the monthly Portland Human Rights Meeting on 9.9.11.

Six Parts with Mayor Adams & Commissioner Fritz discussing the new Equity department for Portland

(previous PIMC post for September HRC meeting is here)
 http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2011/09/410358.shtml

(Portland Human Rights Website is here)
 http://www.portlandonline.com/humanrelations/index.cfm?c=48749

From the open publishing newswire: A rally for Troy Davis was held at Portland State University at 4pm after he was executed on September 21st following conviction for killing an off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail on August 19 1989 in Savannah, Georgia. Later in the day around 75 people held a vigil opposite The Pioneer Courthouse in downtown Portland.

homepage:  http://alexmilantracy.com

From the open publishing newswire: Let's have the cop screw with everyone!
What The Hell Is The Matter With This Council?

We were outside the City Council for our weekly protest against Portland joining the Joint Terrorist Task Force, The Sit-Lie ordinance and the water rate increase when Dan from Cop-Watch told us of a woman who was going to confront the Council about being harassed by a Portland Police Officer when she sat down to rest at the 6th Ave. Max station. She had her young son in a stroller and decided to sit on the stone wall that surrounds the Federal Courthouse. There were other people sitting, so she thought it would be OK for her to rest for a time. The new Sit-Lie (Lie) ordinance makes this illegal, even if you are just going to rest for a few minutes. A police officer approached her and ordered her off the wall in a way that upset her so much that she took the time to come before the City Council to report the incident and maybe hope for an apology; what she got was BS.

Our mayor thanked her for coming in his normal dismissive way. Fish and Saltzman had the good sense to be quiet but not our Amanda. Commissioner Fritz thanked her for coming and made a statement that cause my head to hurt. She thanked the woman for reporting the incident and added that the city has been criticized for using the new ordinance against just "Houseless" persons and it was good that the police were being even handed when telling people to move. I almost threw up my breakfast. After the woman completed her story I applauded and that caused our dear mayor to tell me that applauding was not allowed. I said something about him being a dictator and did my Irish walk-out and rejoined my friend outside to continue our protest.

The thought I had when leaving the council chamber was, we now have equal harassment of our citizens by the police, "Isn't that special!" First and foremost, the police have questionable jurisdiction here because the wall in question surrounding the Federal Courthouse is federal property and it is the Federal Marshals that have jurisdiction, not the PoPo. In our tight budget times it seems the cops should just deal with their responsibilities and not go shopping for new work.

From the open publishing newswire: Right 2 Survive put out a call to pitch a tent in downtown Portland to support the rights of the homeless to survive. This peaceful direct action raised awareness that there are not enough shelters or resources for the homeless. On any given day, there are 1,500 people sleeping in the streets, with nowhere to go, but city laws forbid them to set up tents. For 1 day only before the Rose Parade, the city allows everyone to camp out. For homeless activists, it's unfair that people are allowed to camp out for fun, but not for survival.

For most people, being homeless is one of their biggest fears. Yet millions of Americans have experienced homelessness. The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty reported in 2007 that about 3.5 million people have experienced being homeless, 1.5 million of them children. [...]

From the open publishing newswire: Shoppers at Portland's Concordia New Seasons were greeted with an unexpected performance this afternoon when about two dozen Portlanders broke into song and dance. "New Seasons, you say you're local but you buy into Israeli occupation," participants sang, referencing the 19 Israeli products New Seasons carries. The flash mob, coordinated by the Portland BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) Coalition, was part of an ongoing campaign calling on New Seasons to stop selling Israeli products.


"New Seasons cannot claim to be friendly and local while it continues to stock products made by Israel, a gross violator of international law," said Wael Elasady, member of Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights and flashmob participant. "There's a glaring discrepancy between their ethical image and the products they profit from."

The now-burgeoning BDS Coalition, endorsed by groups such as Jews for Global Justice and the ILWU Local 5, has submitted a petition with over 500 signatures from New Seasons shoppers. The petition asks New Seasons to respect the boycott call issued by Palestinian civil society in 2005, and stop selling Israeli products until Israel complies with international humanitarian and human rights law. Additionally, hundreds of customers have submitted "comment cards" supporting the boycott.

homepage:  http://pdxbds.wordpress.com