Month: June 2012

No Nukes NW Action: Shut Down, Not Meltdown!

by Beth Rakoncay May 5, 2012 – Japan shut down all 52 nuclear reactors following Fukushima, the worst meltdown in history last year. June 7, 2012 – About 70 women, including 10 women from Fukushima,  did a “die-in” in front of the Prime Minister’s Official Residence to protest against the restart of Ooi Nuclear Power…

Getting Ready for the Beat Down

by Vargus Pike I’m getting ready for the beat down I know it’s on the way. I’m getting ready for the beat down Just a matter of time. Uppity freedom talkers dare to talk freedom Saying he has a RIGHT to be an individual. She claims the right to determine her OWN destiny They clearly…

Money, Power, and Politics

By Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer There has been much recent talk about the impact of money on politics, especially in the wake of the Citizens United ruling that ratcheted up the role of corporate money in political campaigns. Organized labor was quick to blame this ruling for its defeat in Wisconsin. Many assume that…

PDX Bike Swarm Rides In Opposition To The Columbia River Crossing

By Hart Noecker On Sunday, June 24, 2012 the PDX Bike Swarm rode through Portland Sunday Parkways in opposition to the Columbia River Crossing, a 10-12 lane, 9 mile long, $4-10 BILLION dollar proposed mega-freeway from Oregon to Washington. For those unfamiliar, Portland Sunday Parkways is a 9 mile loop of streets closed to automobile…

Rally for Our Water, Not Nestlé’s

Story and Photos by Pete Shaw Governor Kitzhaber got a message. A very loud message from 120 people in Schrunk Plaza demanding Nestlé not be allowed to plunder water from the Columbia River Gorge, chanting “Water is a human right! Don’t let Nestlé win this fight!” Nestlé wants to erect a bottling plant in the gorge and use…

Labor, Environmentalists Come Together To Build On Common Ground

By Pete Shaw Labor unions and environmentalists have sometimes been at each other’s throats. A workshop on jobs and the climate held June 20 at Musician’s Union Hall in Northeast Portland was about building common ground and strategies for the two groups to work together for some shared goals, as they did when their cooperation…

#Occupied: Reports From the Front Lines

This story is from the Occupied News Wire.  It originally appeared in the Occupied Wall Street Journal. YOUR WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF OCCUPY MOVEMENT NEWS By Jennifer Sacks This week in Occupy, the Cruz family was rebuffed by PNC Bank, Rio + 20 was mic-checked and #occupied, Egyptians took to the streets to demand an election and…

Corporate Fish In A Wretched Bay — Report From Rio+20

Story and photos Kari Koch The fish on the Botafogo Beach in Rio have been getting a lot of attention this week and many beautiful pictures have been posted proclaiming the genius of building lovely art out of plastic water bottles. I too was interested in these fish and today went to go see them…

Occupiers Continue Their Tangle With The State

Story and photos by Paul Cone, with additional reporting by Jackie Miller. Updated 7:58 p.m. Occupy Portland defendants waded through another hearing Monday afternoon in Judge Cheryl Albrecht’s Multnomah County court, with many arguments made, but no cases dismissed or trial dates set.  Highlights of the day included a defense motion by attorney Pete Castleberry to…