Get active!

Last week the Supreme Court handed down
one of the worst decisions in its history.
They opened wide the floodgates to lobbyists
and corporate dollars. In response to the
Massachusetts debacle, many in Congress
are backing away from health care reform.


But in Oregon, we have good news.
We made it clear where we stand by passing
Measures 66 and 67. This is a harsh rebuke
to talking heads who think that what happened
in Massachusetts means that the American
people have lost their appetite for reform.

But we can't just hope politicians get the message -
we have to make sure they get it. Standing up for
working families and holding our elected officials
accountable to all Oregonians - not to big
corporate interests
-- is why the Working Families Party exists.

Send a message that we're determined to put the
economy back to work for working families.
Register to vote with the Working Families Party today.

Just click here to download and print the form:
http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/votreg/sel500.pdf

Build a new party that stands up for working families.
It's about time.

best regards, Tim

Writing, Activism, & Creative Arts
 editor@writingresource.org

Affiliated with the Labor Radio Collective,
Jobs with Justice, AFT, and The Portland Alliance
http://computerresource.org/
http://resourceresource.org/
http://peaceresource.org/
http://unionresource.org/
http://writingresource.info/

The Iranian Revolution...

They did not hang my son today
But they killed hers.

He was nineteen, they say.
At dawn
(Always at dawn)
They took him and
Put a noose around his neck.

They did not hang my son today
But they killed hers.

What does it take
To force a young man to confess?
A pregnant sister's shivers,
A sick father's
Pleas?

They did not hang my son today
But they killed hers.

He had taken to the streets
Did he yell out their death?
Did he spell their end on walls
With green colored spray?

They did not hang my son today
But they killed hers

How foolish it would be to try
To comfort her!
To tell her that he is a hero
That this boy, her son,
With his last innocent breath,
Sealed Evil's certain death.

- - - - - - -

"Iran sentences 11 demonstrators to death and hangs 2 today"

 www.Writingresource.info/iran.html

Help Haiti Today

Donate now at this link.  http://www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/aspcccascade

Mercy Corps’ team has started arriving in the region to respond to the
7.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti earlier this week.

They need our help to speed clean water, food, shelter and other supplies
to families in the aftermath of the worst disaster to strike the region in years.

Mercy Corps will focus first on the immediate humanitarian needs on the
ground — for water, food, temporary shelter supplies and much more.
As the most basic needs are met, Mercy Corps’ response team will
transition from relief to long-term rebuilding and recovery efforts.

They plan to focus on three areas:

Health, clean water, and sanitation

Mercy Corps plans to help survivors access vital clean water and
sanitation services, through collaboration with two partners.

Psychosocial support

Mercy Corps is preparing to provide post-trauma help to kids using
Comfort for Kids, a counseling methodology developed by Mercy
Corps and Bright Horizons, a global workplace childcare provider.
Mercy Corps has used Comfort for Kids to help children process
post-emergency trauma everywhere from Darfur to New Orleans.

Job creation

Mercy Corps is planning to initiate some form of cash-for-work in Haiti,
paying earthquake survivors a daily wage to clear debris, restore buildings
and repair basic infrastructure. In post-tsunami Banda Aceh, Indonesia,
Mercy Corps employed thousands through cash-for-work, enabling entire
communities to rebuild, work together, and have the dignity of earning their
own money and getting their economies back on track.

The affected area, home to three million people, has suffered catastrophic
damage — eyewitnesses describe the aftermath as “total disaster” and
chaos. Haitian government officials are estimating death tolls in the
thousands, and thousands more are living in the ruined streets of the
country's capital.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, is plagued by hunger
and political instability. This disaster has drastically increased the needs of
families who had little to lose in the first place.

Please donate to our Haiti Fund at this link.
http://www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/aspcccascade

More info about Mercy Corps may be found here:
http://www.mercycorps.org/haiti

from Kendi Esary, M.Ed
Student Leadership Programs
Portland Community College, Cascade Campus
kesary@pcc.edu

The Iranian Regime Tries to Divide the Opposition

Was it Israel, or Rogue elements within the government?
Different ideas regarding the assassination of
Professor Alimohammadi in Iran can be found at:

http://enduringamer ica.com/
2010/ 01/13/iran- analysis- nuclear-myths- rogue-elements
- and-professor- mohammadis- murder/

Rethinking Afghanistan and PDX Response to Haitian Disaster...

Thu, 1/14/10, William Seaman wrote: Please join us at 7:00 PM tonight at the Clinton Street Theater (2422 SE Clinton Street) for a benefit screening of the ground- breaking documentary, RETHINK AFGHANISTAN, followed by a discussion with the award-winning filmmaker and journalist, Robert Greenwald. This is a benefit for the National Lawyers Guild LEWIS & CLARK MILITARY COUNSELING PROJECT. Suggested donation is $10, payable at the door. In solidarity, PPRC General Meeting __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group Messages in this topic (1) January 14, 2010 The Portland Haitian immigrant and refugee community is having a vigil at the Mercy Corps Action Center with a goal of raising $100,000 for Mercy Corps earthquake relief efforts. There will be speakers, music and more. If you've been wondering what you can do, come and help to make a difference for the survivors of this horrific earthquake and "be the change" for our hemisphere's most impoverished nation. Please join us for this important event. Thursday, January 14, 2010 6:00pm  / Mercy Corps Action Center  /  28 SW First  /  Portland, OR "My death and the deaths of thousands of others like me will not cure the pain; they will only add to the flames of this fire. There is no doubt that every death is the beginning of a new life." Ehsan Fattahian, Kurdish activist, before being executed by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Nov.11, 2009 http://portlandstan dswithiran. org

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group

Messages in this topic (1)

Gaza March-Rally

Saturday, January 9, 2010   Gaza March and Rally
12:00 noon  be there to stand up for justice and an end to occupation.

Gather at Pioneer Courthouse Square and march to Hoffman Hall, PSU.

One Year Commemoration of Assault on Gaza;
Students just returned from Gaza Freedom March report back
on their experience breaking the seige of Gaza.

www.Peaceresource.org/

PDX Opportunities for Activism‎ > ‎

current activism

Women, Violence, Peace & Power

Thursday, Jan. 7th. The group meets the first Thursday of each month.

This month’s Adventure in Nonviolence will explore relationships between women, violence, peace and power. We will discuss the tragic events of November that resulted in 14 deaths in Oregon from domestic violence and then relate that to violence against women globally. A new book by journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, titled Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, offers us some solutions. The evening will then turn towards a discussion of women of peace. We will end the night on a creative note, honoring the work of Julia Ward Howe to promote a Mother’s Peace Day.

This is a free event with light snacks provided.

Where: First Unitarian Church - Daisy Bingham Rm (below Main St. Sanctuary)
1211 SW Main St. PDX
When: 6pm - 8pm - if you arrive late please ring the doorbell labeled Daisy Bingham on the door facing 12th St.

Our Adventures are based on Coleman McCarthy’s Class of Nonviolence.
Reading materials for each section can be viewed for free at
http://www.salsa.net/peace/conv