Rally before Sen Wyden's Portland Town Hall Meeting

Saturday, January 3, 2:00 PM, (Town Hall meeting starts at 2:30 PM)
Portland Community College, SE Campus
SE 82nd and Division

Sen Wyden is having a series of town hall meetings and, at this one in Portland, we will rally to let Sen Wyden know that we do not support the same old Fast Track Authority (FTA) which he has opposed in the past. FTA has been used in the past to speed corporate trade agreements (like NAFTA, CAFTA and the most recent US So Korea Agreement) through Congress without the usual democratic process - FTA allows limited debate and no amendments. More information on other town halls meeting is available on the Economic Justice Action Group of 1st Unitarian Church website at http://www.ejag.org/events.html

Sen. Wyden has indicated that he is working with Republican Senator Hatch, new chair of the Senate Finance Committee, to present a modified Fast Track Authority bill for approval as one of the most pressing pieces of business for the new session of Congress.  But if that modified FTA does not allow Congress to fully debate the agreements presented and allow amendments to the agreements to be presented, debated and voted on, then it will still be the same old Fast Track Authority.

We need to tell the Senator that we don't want to speed job destroying environmentally harmful,corporate trade agreement which attack the soverienity of the nations through Congress.  We expect, we demand full debates and then rejection of such agreements.

If you can't be at the rally, then please email and call his office with the messge that you are paying attention and that you expect him to represent you, not the corporate interests which drive the writing of agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership, the Trans Atlantic Free Trade Agreements and the Trade in Services Agreement.

Portland Premier of Internationally Acclaimed Film
"Shadows of Liberty"
 Friday, December 12 at 7:00 PM, The Oregon Labor Center,  3645 SE 32nd Ave
Cost:  Free, with donations appreciated.

Sponsored by Alliance for Democracy, Move to AmendPDX, Economic Justice Action Group of First Unitarian Church, KBOO, OR AFL-CIO

ABOUT SHADOWS OF LIBERTY: Shadows of Liberty reveals the extraordinary truth behind the news media: censorship, cover?ups and corporate control. Filmmaker Jean-Philippe Tremblay takes an intrepid journey through the darker corridors of the American media landscape, where global conglomerates call the shots. For decades, their overwhelming influence has distorted news journalism and compromised its values.  In highly revealing stories, renowned journalists, activists and academics give insider accounts of a broken media system. Controversial news reports are suppressed, people are censored for speaking out, and lives are shattered as the arena for public expression is turned into a private profit zone.  Tracing the story of media manipulation through the years, Shadows of Liberty poses a crucial question: why have we let a handful of powerful corporations write the news?

FEATURING: Danny Glover, Julian Assange, Dan Rather, Amy Goodman, David Simon, Daniel Ellsberg, Norman Solomon, Janine Jackson, Dick Gregory, Roberta Baskin, Robert McChesney, John Nichols, Kristina Borjesson, Chris Hedges, and many more.

The use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), is a controversial issue. Most public discussion of drones has focused on military use. Less attention has been paid to the expanding use of domestic drones. Oregon passed HB 2710, restricting public agency use of drones, but with no guidance on private use.

To help us understand the safefy and privacy concerns associated with drones, Oregonians for Drone Control is hosting a panel discussion moderated by Steve Duin between nationally known panelists - a retired US colonel, a drone industry leader, a national robotics expert, and an Oregon legislator - on the uses and limits on drone technology, and who should decide.

Speakers:
Retired Army Colonel Ann Wright will address the use of drones - domestically and internationally, in war and in peace, by police and civilians, by the state and by private corporations. Col Wright famously resignes as a US diplomat in protest of the Iraq War in 2003. She is the author of Dissent: Voices of Conscience.
Brian Whiteside, industry leader and Vice President of the award-winning Cascade Chapter of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
Peter Lumsdaine, researcher and frequent speaker on the use of robotics in warfare and social control; and founder of ARROWS, Alliance to Resist Robotic Warfare.
Rep. Jennifer Williamson, Oregon State Representative and member of the legislative work group that developed HB 2710, intended to provide guidance on drone uses and limits.

Sponsored by Economic Justice Action Group of 1st Unitarian Church, Oregonian for Drone Control, Alliance for Democracy, KBOO Community Radio, Oregon Progressive Party, others.

Admission: $5-20 sliding scale; no one turned away for lack of funds
Doors open at 6:30. Come early and visit the tables of our sponsors.

RALPH NADER IS COMING TO PORTLAND on Saturday, May 8!
First Unitarian Church Sanctuary
1211 SW Main Street, Portland
Doors/book signing at 7:30 p.m. Program at 8:00 p.m.

“Obama So Far . . . A New Strategy for Progressives”

Mr. Nader will discuss his book “Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!” and
Ways to Democratically Mobilize the Country for Long Overdue Changes, including:

Wall Street: What Real Reform Would Look Like
Clean/Renewable Energy vs. Subsidizing Nukes and Coal Plants