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#OccupySandy: Disaster Relief and Dual Power

Occupy Sandy volunteers feeding FEMA volunteers following Hurricane Sandy By Nolan MacGregor, Nate Perkins, and Chase Wilson Last year, Occupy Wall Street emerged from the labyrinth of concrete and steel that is New York City. Three weeks ago, Hurricane Sandy made landfall. In the wake of the storm which left millions without power, thousands without…

Protestors March Against Austerity, Get Pepper Sprayed By Police

Yesterday, a coalition of labor, education, anti-war, and community organizations took to the streets to protest against national, state, and local austerity measures that seek to put the burden of the financial crisis on the working class with budget cuts. During the march, the police indiscriminately pepper sprayed the front of the protest when it…

Occupy Portland and Portland Action Lab Issue Call to Action Against Austerity on November 3rd

“Our dreams don’t fit in their ballot boxes” On November 3rd Occupy Portland and the Portland Action Lab invites all people to mobilize, march, and take direct action against austerity. Corporations control our governments, hoard wealth, privatize our community resources, and burden us with enormous debt — this is AUSTERITY and we say Enough is…

What Does “Independence” Mean for Labor?

By Mark Vorpahl The unions remain the only organizations in this country built by and for workers to be a collective fighting force to defend and improve the members’ standard of living. While only a minority belong to unions, all workers’ fate depends on their strength. Unfortunately they have been taking a serious beating. How…

Speaking Power to Truth: Brian Gard and Ambre Energy

  By Mike Losier The Pacific Northwest coal export debates are providing a subtle reintroduction to Brian Gard, a familiar Oregon quasi-political engine, formerly of the notorious ad agency Gard & Gerber. Now president of PR firm Gard Communications, he currently serves as one of the spokespersons for Ambre Energy’s Morrow-Pacific Project, an export proposal…

U.S. Department of Justice Finds Portland Police Guilty of Using Excessive Force Against People With Mental Illness

Chief Reese Deletes “I disagree with the Department of Justice’s findings” From His Online Statement   Story by Pete Shaw At a crowded press conference on the 14th floor of the Portland Justice Center on Thursday, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its findings of an investigation, launched on June 8, 2011.  The…

Code Pink Sending U.S. Peace Goodwill Delegation To Pakistan

By Trudy Cooper The U.S. is not at war with Pakistan. Yet U.S. drones hover overhead in the tribal regions of North and South Waziristan. Almost daily, there are strikes.  Since 2004, these drones have killed as many as 3,000 people in Pakistan.  Hundreds more are wounded. Nearly all of them are civilians. These civilian…

Citizen Support Cracks Bureaucratic Inhumanity Against Homeowner

Story and photos by Pete Shaw The notice on the door of Room 3000 at 1900 SW 4th Avenue —  home of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services (BDS) — listed the various administrative hearings that would be taking place on September 6, 2012.  I was present because I expected a 9 a.m. hearing between the…