By Lauren Paulson On May Day, 2012 Portland police abuse was chillingly captured on camera throughout Portland that day. This resonated with Occupy Portland’s senior group, The Elder Caucus. Immediately, thereafter, members of The Elder Caucus coalesced with a purpose to address Portland’s problem of police abuse directly with the Mayor’s office. First, the Elders…
by Lauren Paulson Eviction Court Any way you look at it, you don’t want to be there. Eviction Court. First floor of the Multnomah County Courthouse. It is a desultory place. The welcome mat is not there for you. To get in you have to get naked. Well almost. There is a gauntlet of ten…
by Lauren Paulson The dining room of St. Francis was not filled to capacity on May 9, 2012. It should have been. A true legend spoke to a mixed group of about 60 Occupiers on a hopeful Spring evening. He is S. Brian Willson. His audience comfortably circled around him as he perched on a…
By Lauren Paulson My brother and I sat uneasily on two wooden milk bottle boxes in the back of a 1937 Pontiac coupe. This car only had a front seat, so when we came along, father cut out the hat shelf and put two boxes for us to sit on to make it a family…
by Lauren Paulson 1. Are the nuclear reactors from decommissioned U.S. submarines still being barged up the Columbia River to be deposited at Hanford? 2. Is there a nuclear waste-contaminated water plume leaching its way to the Columbia River? If so, when is it expected to infect the Columbia River water table? Is other low…
by Lauren Paulson Two Occupy Portland ships didn’t meet in the night, recently, though they steered an impressively close course. One ship is the Oregon Area Jewish Committee (OAJC) who put on a meaningful update of the Occupy movement during an august group luncheon March 28th, at the tiny digs of the Miller Nash…
By Lauren Paulson Springtime in Iran 2012 In 1953, President Eisenhower gave his ‘Atoms for Peace’ speech. As the only country having used the atom for war, we set about to export nuclear technology all around the world for peaceful purposes. Oops, this was the program that lead to Pakistan and India getting nuclear weapons.…
A Full House Greets Author Kristian Williams By Lauren Paulson Just how dangerous it is in Portland for citizen protesters and the police was squarely addressed by author Kristian Williams at the Unitarian Church this past Saturday. We learned that Mr. Williams isn’t just any author; it turns out he has ‘Street Cred(ability)’. While participating…
by Lauren Paulsen Our eclectic media is puzzled. What is it these people (unwashed rabble) are protesting over there at the financial district of New York City? Longshoreman-philosopher Eric Hoffer provides us with the easy answer. People who are down and out do not raise their voice when they are totally desperate and bereft. I,…
