Nostr notes by emeritrix

I would like this image better if I didn't suspect it's ...

2026-10-13T22:36:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…2dsy
_________________________

I would like this image better if I didn't suspect it's AI

Police violence in Portland in the summer of 2020 cost the city ...

2026-10-03T22:34:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…taj0
_________________________

Police violence in Portland in the summer of 2020 cost the city (i.e., taxpayers) at least $2.7 million in lawsuits and settlements.

That's the same police bureau later found in contempt of court for violating a June 2020 court order against the indiscriminate use of tear gas.

(text from Policing the Progressive City: Portland, Oregon, from Settlement to Uprising, by Kristian Williams)

#PortlandOr #PDX #Police

woo-hoo #PDX #USpol #PortlandOr ...

2026-09-30T00:25:12Z

woo-hoo

#PDX
#USpol
#PortlandOr

https://lastweekinhell.substack.com/p/portland-city-councilors-donations

Can anyone recommend a program like SoundStudio for Mac but ...

2026-09-17T17:19:32Z

Can anyone recommend a program like SoundStudio for Mac but instead for Linux?

Am in the process of a slow migration from mac to Linux.

I have for years been using SoundStudio for audio editing--simple, no subscription, easy to use (simple, did I say that? I don't need a million complicated bells and whistles to make me anxious and confused). (Like, I found Garage Band and Audacity intimidating.)

But it turns out SoundStudio is only available for mac.

I am using the simplest linux for dummies (mint?). I am a luddite, anxious and stupid about technology, too old to learn any but the most basic of tricks.

So, does any kind person happen to know of a really simple audio program that works on Linux?

Thanks in advance.

#Linux #Audio #SoundStudio #Programs

"Antifascism and anti-capitalism are not terrorism. ...

2026-08-26T23:57:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…c6tt
_________________________

"Antifascism and anti-capitalism are not terrorism. Protesting is not terrorism. And everyone has the right to speak out and to struggle for humanity."

https://cavallette.noblogs.org/2026/08/10076

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacancy_tax ?

2026-08-17T16:59:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…zj36
_________________________

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacancy_tax ?

The $2.5 billion Bull Run Water Filtration Plant, which has been ...

2026-08-01T20:07:25Z

The $2.5 billion Bull Run Water Filtration Plant, which has been plagued by transparency and accountability issues for years, is set to increase water rates by 9.8% annually for all Portland Water Bureau (PWB) ratepayers from Sandy to Portland, doubling water rates within the next decade. This was decided by Portland City Council on May 20, and the rate increases begin on July 1, 2026.

There ARE alternatives to this costly and damaging project. There are also alternatives to leaving ratepayers on the hook for the entire cost.

Already, Cottrell in north Clackamas County and Pleasant Home in east Multnomah County are already suffering from this project (from which they will not necessarily get any water). Large tracts of farmland have been destroyed, tree nurseries and other local businesses have been impacted, wells are malfunctioning, and many residents have experienced severe disruptions to daily life including reduced access to school, work, emergency services, and even their own properties.

Call on the Portland Water Bureau and Portland City Councilors to pause the Bull Run Water Filtration Plant: https://engage.friends.org/tap

#PDX #PortlandOr #WaterIsLife #TAP #1000FriendsOregon

RE: https://mstdn.ca/@dbattistella/117004005387778336 ...

2026-07-29T18:43:15Z

RE: https://mstdn.ca/@dbattistella/117004005387778336

heartbreaking

quoting
note1729…p6ad

Anthropic spent billions of dollars to slice the spines off millions of books, including very rare ones.

AI companies are purchasing large quantities of used and rare books and scanning their contents to train LLMs. They then turn the originals to pulp.

The sum of human thought, digitized and shredded. Every book that gets scanned disappears from the physical world permanently.

Books that survived wars, fires, and centuries of handling are being shredded so an AI can learn to write a better marketing email.

#AI #Books #Culture #Civilization #Tech #LLMs

“The takeaway is not that we should ban AI in education or ...

2026-07-22T23:46:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…e6x5
_________________________

“The takeaway is not that we should ban AI in education or workplaces,” says Michiel Bakker, an assistant professor at MIT involved with the study.

That actually is the takeaway.
Especially for education.

(Or if not ban, use only to demonstrate things like this, and to show how horribly wrong it gets things, and so on.)

And yet that illustration looks like it was made with an ...

2026-07-20T17:48:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…ugyq
_________________________

And yet that illustration looks like it was made with an environment-destroying computer program.

Directed by Man Ray, Emak-Bakia (Basque for Leave me alone) is ...

2026-07-02T05:23:53Z

Directed by Man Ray, Emak-Bakia (Basque for Leave me alone) is 100 years old. It's well worth 16 minutes of your time.

#cinepoem #film #art #ManRay

https://www.ubu.com/film/ray_emak.html

RE: https://mastodon.social/@eff/116811658436523675 The KIDS Act ...

2026-06-26T00:14:04Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@eff/116811658436523675

The KIDS Act is a zombie KOSA https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/06/kids-act-would-require-age-checks-get-online

Congress should say no to it
https://act.eff.org/action/tell-congress-don-t-force-age-checks-online

#Privacy #Surveillance
#EFF #KIDSAct

quoting
note15fy…4jra

🚨THE KIDS ACT IS AN INTERNET SURVEILLANCE BILL🚨

Congress is rushing the KIDS Act toward a vote. This blend of KOSA, the SCREEN Act, SAFE Bots, and other bills is a single package that is a threat to privacy and free expression for ALL internet users. 🧵(1/10)

@npub1san…jgxu apparently you're not ...

2026-06-19T21:53:30Z

DoomsdaysCW (npub1san…jgxu)

apparently you're not

https://www.cbr.com/ferris-buellers-day-off-fight-club-theory-explained/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiMuj85ngEo

So, it's like being suspected of being an immigrant in the ...

2026-06-07T21:01:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…3jgg
_________________________

So, it's like being suspected of being an immigrant in the USA?

RE: https://mastodon.scot/@kim_harding/116540276817485757 More ...

2026-05-08T18:23:15Z

RE: https://mastodon.scot/@kim_harding/116540276817485757

More silver linings from the USA's illegal war of choice against Iran--along with pushing more nations to invest in sustainable energy sources, it's slowing down data center growth.

quoting
note1yr5…ny6v

Iran war hits datacentre building supply chains, upping costs
https://www.theregister.com/on-prem/2026/05/08/iran-war-disrupts-datacenter-construction-supply-chains-raises-material-costs/5235852
BCS says builders face up to 20% material hikes and patchy deliveries

And it doesn't take much to antagonize the current government ...

2026-04-12T20:57:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…04tx
_________________________

And it doesn't take much to antagonize the current government in the US:

"The ICE agent wanted more than a month’s worth of electronic data, but offered no information as to what, exactly, caught the agency’s attention. When John Doe’s attorneys later reviewed their Reddit posts, they found nothing to suggest criminal activity or intent.

"There was a thread from early January, after news outlets including The Intercept identified Jonathan Ross as the ICE officer who shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis. Commenting on a Minnesota Star Tribune article, another Reddit user posted that Ross might be welcomed as a hero in Florida or Texas. John Doe responded by sharing that Ross had lived in Chaska, Minnesota; grew up in Indiana; and served in the Indiana National Guard — biographical details that were circulating widely at the time. “Hopefully he moves up to Stillwater State Penitentiary,” they wrote.

"In another post, a Reddit user asked what they should write on an anti-ICE protest sign. John Doe suggested the lyrics to a song: “Urine speaks louder than words.” In a third instance, Doe wrote, “TSA sucks and we all know it.” According to the Reddit user’s attorneys, these were the most aggressive posts they could find."

https://theintercept.com/2026/04/10/reddit-ice-protest-grand-jury/

Good news for Mexicans. Too bad in the US all we get is fascism ...

2026-04-12T00:12:30Z

Good news for Mexicans.

Too bad in the US all we get is fascism and extractive abandonment.

#Healthcare

https://novaramedia.com/2026/04/10/mexicos-socialist-president-to-roll-out-universal-healthcare/

Very cool intro to queer/trans ecologies, with attention to the ...

2026-04-04T20:04:34Z

Very cool intro to queer/trans ecologies, with attention to the circular logics of sex/gender as well as race, challenges to ideas of bounded individuality and species, attention to symbiosis and mutualism, histories of eugenics, dangers of notions of Nature, all presented through/with/across really excellent drawings.

Abstract: Queer/trans Ecologies names a growing and trans-disciplinary body of thought that applies perspectives and sensibilities drawn from queer/trans experience and theory to thinking critically about nature and society. Work in this field aims to unravel persistent circular logics that amplify and reinforce cis- and hetero-normative readings of both ‘nature’ and the ‘social’, while also questioning the validity of any clean delineation between these two domains. Concerned precisely with the nature of the relationship between human societies and their wider environments, queer/trans ecologies would reward deeper and more extensive engagement within human geography. This graphic-format article aims to inspire such critical engagement by introducing some core conceptual contributions and their relevance to key geographical concepts.

#queer #science

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0966369X.2025.2504375#abstract

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@anarchademic/116337406534165368 The ...

2026-04-02T22:18:13Z

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@anarchademic/116337406534165368

The stopped clock has spoken: States will "have to raise their taxes."

Contact your state reps and governor to let them know you support raising taxes on the rich and corporations!

Support the groups working to make sure we have health care and day care and all the good things the federal government will not do because it's too busy killing people.

#HealthCareIsAHumanRight #HCAO #TaxTheRich #HealthCareForAll #PreschoolForAll #Oregon

For Oregonians:

The Very Rich Pay Their Fair Share:
https://taxtheverywealthy.com/

Fully fund Preschool for all as promised and planned and already voted for!
https://friendsofpfa.org/

Health Care for All Oregon
https://www.hcao.org/

Find your legislators
https://geo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=fd070b56c975456ea2a25f7e3f4289d1

Governor Kotek
https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/share-your-opinion.aspx

quoting
note1xge…a6wm

He said the quiet part out loud: no healthcare, no child care, only war.

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare. You got to let a state take care of daycare, and they should pay for it too. They should pay. They’ll have to raise their taxes, but they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to them to make up,” Trump said. “It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal. We have to take care of one thing: military protection."

#USpol
#TaxTheRich #EndTheWar
#HealthcareIsAHumanRight

https://newrepublic.com/post/208535/white-house-accidentally-easter-lunch-trump-speech

He said the quiet part out loud: no healthcare, no child care, ...

2026-04-02T22:12:26Z

He said the quiet part out loud: no healthcare, no child care, only war.

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare. You got to let a state take care of daycare, and they should pay for it too. They should pay. They’ll have to raise their taxes, but they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to them to make up,” Trump said. “It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal. We have to take care of one thing: military protection."

#USpol
#TaxTheRich #EndTheWar
#HealthcareIsAHumanRight

https://newrepublic.com/post/208535/white-house-accidentally-easter-lunch-trump-speech

Nostr event nevent1qqstx3ygmqz4tvpwwjzz9rlhrvnkjqump2wxu0a7ffd27zr6leuu86qzyru5g20z6kf8gapwerxg9g5xescp3gmw07lzt974xgy6czersa2u2sw66pd

2026-04-01T20:38:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…zvgc
_________________________

Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest ...

2026-04-01T20:03:58Z

Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service
The headquarters is going to Utah. Every regional office is being shuttered. The research program is being destroyed.

One hundred and ninety-three million acres of your national forests. An area larger than Texas. The largest public land agency in the country. Just handed, on a silver platter, to the people who’ve spent their entire careers trying to destroy it.

They’re destroying it because science is an obstacle.
Because a scientist who says “you can’t log that watershed without destroying it” is inconvenient. A researcher who publishes data showing that a timber sale will wipe out a salmon run is a problem. A lab that documents the damage from mining runoff or road-building or clear-cutting is an enemy.

What You Must Do Right Now

Call your senators. Call your representative. Not next week or later. Now.

Tell them this is not a reorganization — it’s the destruction of a federal agency by executive fiat and that Congress must intervene. Tell them to block all funding for this relocation and restructuring until the full implications have been studied, debated, and voted on by the people’s elected representatives.

#USpol
#SaveTheTrees

https://morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/breaking-trump-administration-orders

senators https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

reps https://www.house.gov/representatives

via https://weatherishappening.network/@ColesStreetPothole/116329632100003419

RE: https://social.riley.pub/@robin/116313183325858396 "Age ...

2026-03-29T21:30:07Z

RE: https://social.riley.pub/@robin/116313183325858396

"Age verification" = the end of what little online privacy we might have had left.

quoting
note1fs9…ult7

I'm seeing openness to age verification laws within some left of center organizing spaces 😱

Folks, we gotta talk to our people to kill this harmful policy. Regulate dangerous big tech practices, not people!

LGBTQ+ kids in hostile environments suffer when they can't access community online.

Age verification also facilitates excluding representation of marginalized folks. Also, it is at odds with the right to repair — shouldn't we own our devices, and not the other way around?

is it this one? ...

2026-03-18T17:49:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…fqpx
_________________________

is it this one?

Some of my ancestors. #Irish #Choctaw #StPatricksDay ...

2026-03-18T03:26:41Z

Some of my ancestors.
#Irish #Choctaw #StPatricksDay
https://www.choctawnation.com/about/history/irish-connection/

all of the above?

2026-03-07T01:25:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…3jl9
_________________________

all of the above?

also police are themselves responsible for much raping and ...

2026-03-06T22:36:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…992g
_________________________

also police are themselves responsible for much raping and assaulting (not to mention killing), e.g.

https://www.nsvrc.org/blog_post/who-watches-watchers-domestic-violence-and-law-enforcement-leigh-goodmark/

https://nwlc.org/sexual-assault-by-police-is-a-systemic-problem-that-demands-a-systemic-remedy/

yes. also, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11685902/

2026-02-20T15:15:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…5yl5
_________________________

yes.

also, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11685902/

#Ai #AiAiAi #LOTR #precious ...

2026-02-09T18:43:26Z

#Ai #AiAiAi #LOTR #precious

Nostr event nevent1qqs8j2trm49kwlc6jj07xqma27f9ezwgue7kavvf774ryd70va7alfczyru5g20z6kf8gapwerxg9g5xescp3gmw07lzt974xgy6czersa2u2wur3t9

2026-01-24T18:40:05Z

#Caturday

From Harsha Walia (author of Undoing Border Imperialism, 2013): ...

2026-01-24T00:00:45Z

From Harsha Walia (author of Undoing Border Imperialism, 2013):

With so many of us watching the tremendous mobilizations in Minneapolis, culminating in the call to action against ICE today, I wanted to share some of what I have gathered from talking to comrades in Minneapolis over the past few weeks. A few things stood out:

1) The general strike came from organizing for a general strike. Not from social media posting about going on a general strike, but organizing in neighbourhoods, organizing power in unions, and organizations drawing out members and networks.
This is critical because the past two years have seen a lot of viral calls for general strikes on a range of vital issues, but these have rarely materialized into the organizing power & logistical coordination necessary for an actual general strike.

2) Movement history and infrastructure: Every comrade I know is deeply rooted in that city's movement history and infrastructure - whether networks emerging from the American Indian Movement to labour organizing against Amazon to the George Floyd uprising.
This has meant: a grounding in the long arc of struggle helping people avoid repeating some of the same mistakes over and over again; learning across generations; not getting either easily overconfident or easily jaded; and relying on (while sharpening) existing movement infrastructure and informal networks especially around care, movement dynamics, and conflict resolution.
This is totally subjective but I have long felt that the most significant part of movement infrastructure is ensuring that people who are newly politicized to and joining the struggle are: able to keep learning and have their political consciousness expand, able to find political homes to keep organizing, don't burn out when things get long and hard, and people are brought into the absolute longevity of struggle with no false promises or false solutions (to avoid the cycles of fizzling out that we constantly see repeat).

3) The neighbourhood as central to political, social and civic life: It's not a coincidence that we are seeing some of the strongest and most effective rapid response networks in cities like Minneapolis precisely because the ethic of being a good neighbour - despite political differences - still rings true. What many may call mutual aid is basically people looking out for their community members, their neighbours, their teachers, their co-worker, their local street vendor etc.
This is precisely why any kind of organizing that reaches for relationality is central, not secondary - it breaks the capitalist idea of us as atomized, individual consumers and compels us to act in service to and in solidarity with others. And, perhaps more than anything, it's a politics more rooted in cultivating belonging than ideology.

#Strike #GeneralStrike #Organizing #Minneapolis

From The Thorn, Portland DSA blog: Brian Owendoff’s One Big ...

2026-01-17T17:32:38Z

From The Thorn, Portland DSA blog:

Brian Owendoff’s One Big Club (You Ain’t In It)
Jan 16, 2026

Brian Owendoff sent racist text messages about Portland City Councilors to a group chat of local pro-corporate political agitators. Our research reveals he’s just one node in a network of powerful people trying to cut taxes for the rich, balloon the police budget, and make it harder for Portlanders to survive.

#Portland #Oregon #ElectoralPolitics #PowerMap
#DSA

https://portlanddsa.org/brian-owendoffs-one-big-club-you-aint-in-it/

GW Law faculty scholarship, Ethnonationalism by Algorithm by ...

2026-01-16T20:05:58Z

GW Law faculty scholarship, Ethnonationalism by Algorithm by Spencer Overton, January 2026 draft

https://scholarship.law.gwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3089&context=faculty_publications

#AI #AiAiAi #Ethnonationalism #USpol #Law

editing to add this: ACLU sues Trump administration over ...

2026-01-15T22:56:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…ka6f
_________________________

editing to add this:
ACLU sues Trump administration over ‘racial profiling and unlawful arrests’ in Minnesota ICE surge
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/15/aclu-lawsuit-ice-minnesota-trump

~~

Most of what ICE is doing seems not to be legal as far as I can tell, but I am not a lawyer; and of course, if the courts will not enforce the laws, or the government will not obey the courts, then the laws are not helpful. There do seem to be a lot of ongoing legal battles over various cases with varied outcomes in varied jurisdictions.

Some discussion of the legal status of some of what's happening can be found in the work of

Matthew Cortland
https://www.patreon.com/cw/mattbc
e.g. https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-to-legally-147921564

and Ken Klippenstein
https://www.kenklippenstein.com/archive

and ProPublica is a good source of general investigative reporting
https://www.propublica.org/
e.g. https://www.propublica.org/article/videos-ice-dhs-immigration-agents-using-chokeholds-citizens

Others can no doubt suggest other useful sources.

Another report from MN from a friend of a friend, a US Citizen: I ...

2026-01-13T00:32:28Z

Another report from MN from a friend of a friend, a US Citizen:

I am a US citizen from Minneapolis. Yesterday, while doing legal observation, ICE stopped their cars to harass my friend and me. They sprayed pepper spray into the vent of our vehicle. We held our hands in the air and told them we were not obstructing, that the car was in park and they were free to drive forward and away. There was no active immigration raid. They returned to their cars, and drove forward a bit, then decided to stop again. They surrounded us, smashed the windows of our car, opened the doors (they were unlocked), ripped my friend and I out of the car and arrested us on charges of obstruction.
I was put in an unmarked SUV, separated from my friend. As I was put in the back seat an ICE agent tore the whistle off my neck and said “I’ll be taking this, I might need it later.” My phone was knocked out of my hand while being arrested. As we drove away I asked the driver and the passenger if they wouldn’t mind buckling my seatbelt, as they were driving erratically. I was ignored. I asked them if I could have the handcuffs loosened, as I was losing circulation, and was told no. At one point the passenger realized his own driver's license was in the backseat next to mine, and tried to surreptitiously grab it without me seeing it.
We were taken to the Whipple federal building, where I saw dozens of brown people being processed in an unheated garage. I was frisked, told of my charges, and saw buses and vans being prepped. I later learned that these were being filled with detainees and driven to the airport for deportation. As we were led in, I noticed that the building was very busy. I got the impression that one of the 2 agents bringing me around was being trained. At multiple points throughout my stay, government agents were unable to open doors, not sure where they were meant to be going, and overall confused and overwhelmed. They couldn’t figure out how to use the building phones, or complained about a lack of cell service preventing them from checking the internet or making calls.
The people in the cells were extremely scared. We heard people screaming "let me out!", crying, wailing and terrified screams. There were cells with as many as 8 people. I have no way of knowing how long they have been there, if they were allowed any contact with the outside world, or if they were being brought food or water. Most people were staring at the ground with almost no energy. I was not allowed to talk to anyone imprisoned. I distinctly remember seeing a desperate woman. She was staring at the ground with her head in her hands crying, hopeless, while her friend or family member sat on a bathroom seat observed by 3 men.
My friend and I were put in an area for "USCs," which we eventually learned meant US citizens, separated by gender. We were imprisoned for 8 hours, during which my friend was never allowed a phone call. I was allowed to call my wife and tell her where I was. During my interview with Special Agent William and Special Agent Garcia, they asked me to empty my pockets. When I pulled out gloves, Agent William said those were meant to be taken when I was processed, and complained about having to fill out the form again. He frisked me once more, where he found glass in my pocket from when our car window was shattered. He filled out the form listing my personal items again, but put the wrong date. I was read my rights, I pleaded the fifth and was led back to my cell.
Food, water, and bathroom breaks were extremely difficult to acquire. I would ask over the intercom provided in the cell for a bathroom break, be told someone was on their way, then ask again 20 minutes later, be told someone was on their way, wait another 20 minutes, etc. Eventually they either turned off the intercom or it stopped working, because no one would respond. I could get water and bathroom breaks by pounding on the glass when someone happened to walk by and beg them directly. Hours would go by without anyone checking on us. I am vegan and the only food they offered were turkey sandwiches, fruit snacks with gelatin, and granola bars with honey. I eventually ate a granola bar out of hunger.
I was in the cell alone for between 1 and 2 hours, then another man was put into my cell, whose shirt was ripped open from his arrest, and an injured toe, who was carried aggressively into an unmarked car during his arrest. After about 4-5 hours, another man was brought in who had a cut on his head from his arrest. He told me he was tackled by 4 or 5 agents during his arrest. At no point was he offered medical assistance.
Later I was told that a lawyer was here to see me, and I was able to speak with him in a visitation room. The special agent told me that the door could not be closed all the way, so it was cracked during my interaction with my lawyer. I got the impression that they were not used to having lawyers present, and were trying to follow procedure as best they could. I asked an agent if the other detainees were allowed lawyers and was not answered.
At one point, 3 men from the department of Homeland Security Investigations brought me into a cell. They insinuated that they could help me out. After inquiring several times what exactly they meant they finally told me that they could offer undocumented family members of mine legal protection if I have any (I don’t), or money, in exchange for giving them the names of protest organizers, or undocumented persons. I was shocked, and told them no.
Finally, after hours of detention, I was told to follow an agent. At no point was I told whether or not I was being charged, or where I was going, but I was led out of the building. I asked if I could use a phone to call my wife to pick me up, and was told I could not. After pleading for several minutes eventually Special Agent William let me use his phone to call my wife. As I was escorted off the property by government agents, I was told to turn right. I was escorted to the protest area, where 5 minutes later, tear gas was deployed and I was struck by a paint ball gun. I was not protesting, I was simply being released without charges after an 8 hour detention. I was on the other side of the street, as instructed by the agents that released me and the agents shouting orders over a bullhorn. A passerby who was tear gassed was panicking and having an asthma attack, so I helped her find a medic to get her an inhaler. I used a stranger's phone to co-ordinate pickup, and was picked up by my wife.
During my detention I knew that I was being released. I knew that as a citizen of the United States I have legal protection. The hundred or so other people being detained had no such protection. At this time I don’t need your help, it is the families that are being separated, abused, terrorized, harassed and killed that need your help. If this is happening to me, an American citizen born in the United States, then what is happening to the people in here that have no one calling lawyers on their behalf? That have no constitutional rights to due process? What is happening to the people that they will never be released to see their families, go to their jobs, or walk through their city ever again?

Please take care of yourselves, your family, and your community. I am safe and healthy, if you feel compelled to help, please offer your help to the Immigrant Defense Network at https://immigrantdefensenetwork.org/. If you know someone detained by ICE, call or text CAIR-MN at 612-206-3360 for 24/7 legal intake.”

#MN #ICE

Repost from a friend of a friend: “Friends outside of MN please ...

2026-01-12T20:30:21Z

Repost from a friend of a friend:
“Friends outside of MN please read. Im sharing a post written by a personal friend and medical doctor:
Friends outside MN, you need to know what is happening here. Everyone knows that ICE shot and killed a woman here on Wednesday. But that’s not the only thing that’s going on:
- ICE agents are cruising areas with immigrant-owned businesses, and kidnapping patrons and employees alike. Yesterday they abducted two US citizen employees at a suburban Target, one who was begging them to allow him to go get his passport to show them.
- ICE is going door to door in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods, asking residents where their immigrant neighbors live. Read that again. If it sounds like something out of your high school history textbook, that’s because it is.
- ICE is targeting schools and school buses. They pepper sprayed teenagers and abducted two school staff members at the high school up the street from me on Weds. Police are literally escorting school buses to ensure children can get to school and home safely. The Minneapolis Public Schools have moved to virtual learning for the next 4 weeks because it’s unsafe for children or teachers to physically come to school.
- They are targeting hospitals and clinics. Patients are scared and are canceling their appointments or just not showing up. Kids are missing their checkups and vaccines, folks aren’t getting their cancer care, etc.
- They are smashing windows in cars and homes.
- ICE is increasingly picking up Native Americans—again, targeting folks based on skin color alone.
- They are arresting and beating legal observers. A friend of a friend had her arm broken yesterday. Folks are showing up at local hospitals, brought in in ICE custody, with severe injuries that are absolutely inconsistent with mechanism of injury reported by ICE. (Think: patient appears to have been beaten unconscious, while ICE agent says he slipped and fell.)
I can’t emphasize enough that these ICE agents do not have warrants. There are 2,000+ agents here and they are simply hunting for anyone that’s not white. It doesn’t matter if you’re a citizen or a green card holder, they will kidnap you first and ask questions later.
But the community is fighting back.
- Protests are happening every day.
- Community groups have been leading know-your-rights sessions for months, often to packed venues.
- Whistles are being distributed by the thousands, carried on keychains and worn on coat zippers, always at the ready to be blown in warning if ICE is spotted.
- Drivers are following ICE vehicles, blaring their horns in warning.
- Businesses are locking their doors even while open to keep employees and customers safe. As I type this, I’m standing guard at the locked door of our neighborhood burrito joint while I wait for my takeout order, so the employees can focus on their jobs. The place is packed with neighbors supporting this small business.
- Anti-ICE signs are posted everywhere. The community is making it crystal clear that ICE is not welcome here.
- Parents and neighbors are standing guard outside schools, organizing carpools, and escorting kids to and from school on foot.
- Parents of kids in Spanish-immersion daycare (there are a LOT of these daycares here!) are keeping their kids home so the teachers don’t have to take the risk of coming to work.
- Churches and community groups are holding fundraisers to buy and deliver groceries to families who don’t feel safe leaving home.
- Mutual aid money is going out to folks who can’t make rent because they can’t work or because a breadwinner was abducted, or who need a warm place to stay after their home’s windows were smashed.
THAT is what is happening here. This fight is ongoing and it’s horrifying to watch. But we are not backing down. To my friends in other cities and states, don’t think for a minute that this won’t happen in your town. It will. Be ready. Learn from us, as we have learned from Portland and Chicago and New York. Fight back. Don’t let us get to the last line of Martin Niemoller’s poem.”
-Grant Boulanger

#Minneapolis #ICE #MN

Text of Powell's statement: Good evening. On Friday, the ...

2026-01-12T01:14:41Z

Text of Powell's statement:

Good evening. On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June. That testimony, concerned, in part, a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings. I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure. This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not about Congress's oversight role.
The Fed, through testimony and other public disclosures, made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts.
The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates, based on our best assessment of what will serve the public,
rather than following the preferences of the President. This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead, monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation. I have served at the Federal Reserve under four administrations, Republicans and Democrats alike. In every case, I have carried out my duties without political fear or favor, focused solely on our mandate of price stability and maximum employment. Public service sometimes requires standing firm in the face of threats. I will continue to do the job the Senate confirmed me to do with integrity and a commitment to serving the American people. Thank you.

#FederalReserve #USpol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckGHaBLSn4

Portland DSA Vigil at City Hall To Demand ‘ICE Out of PDX’ ...

2026-01-09T01:31:57Z

Portland DSA Vigil at City Hall To Demand ‘ICE Out of PDX’ Over Shootings by Federal Agents

WHERE: Portland, Oregon City Hall

WHEN: TONIGHT, January 8 at 6:00PM

WHO: Portland DSA and affiliated elected officials, community members

WHAT: Hours after federal agents shot two Portlanders, Portland DSA, its members, and affiliated elected officials will host a vigil at Portland City Hall to demand City Council take action. Portlanders are calling on ICE to halt activity in Portland.

Today’s shootings come one day after ICE agents murdered Renee Nicole Good in broad daylight during the fascist Trump administration’s latest immigration operation in Minneapolis.

WHY: ICE’s campaign of violence targeting immigrants and immigration activists requires immediate action from city officials. Federal officials, including Department of Homeland Security (DHS) head Kristi Noem, are already claiming local and state officials lack jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute ICE’s crimes.

#Vigil #ICE #MeltICE

So we are now in the phase of ICE shooting people in the streets. ...

2026-01-09T01:14:44Z

So we are now in the phase of ICE shooting people in the streets.

Then they claim they were "domestic terrorists" to justify the killings of citizens or that they were "Tren de Aragua" if not citizens, or find some other excuse whoever they shoot.

#NSPM7
#PDX
#Minneapolis

The USA, where I guess they figure Plato didn't go far enough ...

2026-01-08T04:26:47Z

The USA, where I guess they figure Plato didn't go far enough in just banning poets.

So, they ban Plato, kill poets.

#ReneeNicoleGood #MInneapolis #TexasAandM #Plato #ICE

https://dailynous.com/2026/01/06/texas-am-bans-plato/

https://poets.org/2020-on-learning-to-dissect-fetal-pigs

Oh, same here.

2025-12-31T21:00:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…dn32
_________________________

Oh, same here.

A good discussion of Tolkien's work and political uses of it ...

2025-12-31T19:57:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…v77a
_________________________

A good discussion of Tolkien's work and political uses of it (offering and advocating a 'dialectical view')
https://spectrejournal.com/tolkiens-deplorable-cultus/

excerpt:
"The idea that Tolkien himself would approve of tech-industry millionaires who aspire to positions of power in government is absurd on its face, but then there must be aspects of Tolkien’s writings and views that do appeal to such people. For many on the political left, the embrace of Tolkien by far-right conservatives like Vance, Thiel, or Meloni is proof positive that Tolkien’s work is inherently right-wing."

Thank you for reporting.

2025-12-17T02:22:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…vwmp
_________________________

Thank you for reporting.

having a meditative #Caturday ...

2025-12-06T22:25:51Z

having a meditative #Caturday

It might still be #halloween in #Portland ...

2025-12-06T22:18:02Z

It might still be #halloween in #Portland

Nostr event nevent1qqstw0l64kpd56xdzmdry883w9wujdf4azs92gh04sr8qzwpwccdq6qzyru5g20z6kf8gapwerxg9g5xescp3gmw07lzt974xgy6czersa2u2c49hgr

2025-12-05T19:40:51Z

Defend Preschool for All! Monday, December 8, from 11:30-1 at the ...

2025-12-05T19:14:40Z

Defend Preschool for All!

Monday, December 8, from 11:30-1 at the Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King, Jr Blvd

Join a protest to demand Preschool for All be rolled out as approved 2:1 by voters! The governor just launched her re-election campaign by offering cuts to the Preschool for All program to cater to billionaires like Tim Boyle, pretending that downtown’s woes are due to the PFA tax. It’s just the latest excuse for why the wealthy shouldn’t pay their fair share of taxes. They’re still spinning the “downtown doom loop” story, no matter how many times it’s been debunked.

Kotek is speaking at an Oregon Business Plan summit; this is a chance to show her and the anti-tax business lobby that they can’t get away with undoing behind closed doors what the voters overwhelmingly approved.

The truth is:

There are more and more wealthy people in Multnomah County every year
It’s the work-from-home revolution pulling down the value of downtown office buildings, not taxes
The legion of wealthy Californians are paying higher income taxes than anyone in Oregon
PFA has no “surplus” – all of that money (— and likely more) — is needed to expand to full universality
Universal preschool programs are FAR BETTER for the local economy than business tax cuts, and raise everyone’s incomes

#PortlandOr #PDX #PreschoolForAll #Oregon #TaxTheRich

more about Preschool for All https://friendsofpfa.org/

audio interview with economist Mary King about biz class lies about PDX taxes, esp PfA https://kboo.fm/media/130707-taxing-and-investing

Please wear a respirator mask for this in-person event about ...

2025-12-02T21:20:21Z

Please wear a respirator mask for this in-person event about patient safety in Oregon healthcare!

On Thursday, 12/11 6PM at PSU | Smith Student Union Rm 327/8, workers and advocates will be testifying on the poor working conditions and dangers to patient safety at Labcorp facilities.

Please boost the RSVP link and info & share widely.

The event will be presided over by our incredible panelists:

Dr. Tammy Carpenter | OHSU, Candidate for OR House D27

Rep. Farrah Chaichi | OR House D35

Kate Suisman | NWJP

Dr. David Wheeler | Palmer Theological Seminary

Labcorp's unchecked corporate greed is nothing new, but the impact on patient safety should absolutely grab your attention. Two of the three major hospitals in our region have Labcorp-owned labs, which means you know somebody who's being impacted by Labcorp's race to the bottom.

The workers are fighting like hell for their first union contract because they know what's happening is wrong. Labcorp has the money to meet their demands but won't because a successful union effort in Oregon will send shockwaves through their labs across the country and pose an existential threat to their exploitative business model.

Please help get the word out.

#PDX #Portland #Oregon #Labcorp
#CovidIsNotOver #Health #Healthcare

https://actionnetwork.org/events/labcorp-on-trial/

Paisley Currah in NYRB: The Anti-Trans Playbook The current ...

2025-11-27T21:49:55Z

Paisley Currah in NYRB:
The Anti-Trans Playbook
The current crusade against trans people imperils not just their rights but the survival of the legal doctrine built to protect all women from discrimination.
December 18, 2025 issue

"The current anti-trans movement claims to defend women from trans people—but in practice it has begun to quietly dismantle the doctrinal edifice built to protect all women from discrimination. For the logic of the anti-trans campaign is, at root, little different from Justice Bradley’s logic in Bradwell: once again the conflation of gender with sex, of stereotypes with nature, becomes the basis for deciding whose lives do—and don’t—count as “natural and proper.”"

#TransRights #WomensRights #USpol

https://archive.ph/20251127130904/https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2025/12/18/the-anti-trans-playbook-paisley-currah/

The Amazon Employees for Climate Justice are asking Amazon to say ...

2025-11-27T19:08:34Z

The Amazon Employees for Climate Justice are asking Amazon to say
- No AI with dirty energy.
- No AI without employee voices.
- No AI for violence, surveillance, or mass deportation.

I just signed their open letter. You should too!

Letter at
https://www.amazonclimatejustice.org

(Seattle, WA) Troubled by the environmental, social, and political impacts of Amazon’s AI rollout, 1,039 employees have signed and released an Open Letter on AI.

The letter was drafted by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a group that helped to pressure Amazon into creating the Climate Pledge in 2019. That original campaign began with an open letter, evolved into packing shareholder meetings, and culminated in Amazon announcing the Climate Pledge the day before a planned employee walkout.

Employees in AECJ, who have continued to monitor Amazon’s progress towards its climate goals, claim that Amazon is casting aside those goals to build AI. The company has spent over $100 billion this year alone on data centers for AI, which is causing utilities to build new gas plants or delay retirement of coal plants to keep up with the power demand, and has strategized to hide the actual footprint of its data centers and water consumption....

AWS has long commanded the largest market share of cloud-based internet services, with hundreds of data centers across the world that provide the backend infrastructure for countless AI applications, and has been trying to use its infrastructure foothold to get ahead in the AI race. Just this year, Amazon closed billion-dollar deals with AI giants like Nvidia and Anthropic, as well as contracting with the US government.

The letter also details concerns about Amazon’s ties to mass surveillance, deportation, and militarization. The signatories are not alone; this Thanksgiving holiday weekend, protestors across Chicago (IL), Newark (NJ), New York City (NY), Oakland (CA), San Bernardino (CA), and Washington, D.C. will rally against Amazon’s contracts which power Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s raids. As Amazon enjoys one of its highest sales volume seasons of the year, community members are demanding that the corporation end its complicity in Trump’s detention and deportation agenda by serving as the technological backbone for ICE’s surveillance machine.

The signatories are hoping that other tech workers will join them in speaking out for a more human-centric future; they say that as people who use—and in some cases develop—enterprise AI every day, they’re uniquely positioned to speak to its value, as well as uniquely responsible for being honest about its impacts.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” says an anonymous senior manager who’s been at the company for over 15 years. “Machine learning has real value, but the LLM race is something else altogether. It has big consequences for communities, for the climate, for our jobs, and for our democracy too. Amazon needs to do a better job leading here: that’s why we made the demands we made in the letter. I signed the letter because I hope people across this industry see they’re not alone in their concerns, and that people outside our industry see that we’re seeing problems that will hurt them too.”

The letter highlights three demands: 1. No AI with dirty energy; 2. No AI without employee input; and 3. No AI for violence, surveillance, or mass deportation.

“I signed because the letter asks for the kind of future I want to work on, and that Amazon claims to value,” says an anonymous senior software engineer who’s been at the company for over 10 years. “The company has been shutting down ways for people to talk openly and critically about AI, which is dangerous, and that’s why this letter is important. Amazon used to be a genuinely innovative place but leadership’s AI push has meant arbitrary quotas and benchmarks that make worse products, not better. The first step in standing up for ourselves is making ourselves heard.”

“I signed the letter because we can’t rely on our management chain for sound or data driven decisions anymore,” said an anonymous Amazon software engineer who has worked in AWS for two years. “They’re making us use AI even when it doesn’t make sense, all while helping build new gas plants to power AI data centers and threatening us with layoffs if we don’t blindly comply. I feel like I see where this is going. When the AI bubble pops, Amazon will have taken over a huge amount of land, water, and wealth. They’re getting big tax breaks for it, which means the public is subsidizing it, so the public needs to know.”

The 1,039 employees who signed the letter have a wide range of job functions and seniorities, including Principal-level engineers, senior software engineers, software engineering managers, sustainability specialists, senior product managers, applied scientists, and marketing managers, in orgs such as Artificial General Intelligence, Sustainability, Ring, Amazon Web Services, Devices, Operations, and Supply Chain Optimization Technologies (SCOT), People eXperience & Technology (PXT, Amazon’s HR org), Kuiper, Alexa, Stores, Amazon Health, AWS Public Sector, Robotics, and much more.

The Amazon employees have also gathered an additional 2,436 solidarity signatures from workers and students and are asking the public to sign on in support. Solidarity signatories include workers and students at Microsoft, Google, Meta, Apple, Uber, Salesforce, Cisco, Space X, Boeing, Oracle, Washington Post, Walmart, Target, Starbucks, & universities including MIT, University of Washington, Columbia, UPenn, Virginia Tech, University of Oxford, University of California’s, Northeastern, University of Utah, Colorado State, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, and many more. Job roles include software engineers, product managers, UX designers, teachers, directors, sales, graphic designers, data scientists, writers, managers, baristas, engineers, analysts, nurses, psychologists, project managers, professors, product designers, librarians, consultants, engineers, scientists, and more.

PR: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17N7J0l7bTkztvco1-qirhk5EPxekR-YL_0nOA7BWyR0/edit

sign: https://www.amazonclimatejustice.org/open-letter

#AI #Amazon #ClimateJustice #AiAiAi

How do you suppose they pronounce "NSPM-7"? Knees Pam ...

2025-09-28T01:08:46Z

How do you suppose they pronounce "NSPM-7"?
Knees Pam Seven?

"I don’t want to sound hyperbolic but the plain truth is that NSPM-7 is a declaration of war on anyone who does not support the Trump administration and its agenda."

Anyway, greetings from Portland.

#Authoritarian #Fascism #SciFi #WTF
#USPol

https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nspm-7-labels-common-beliefs

I imagine Cascadia will be fine with joining.

2025-09-26T00:20:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…2ql5
_________________________

I imagine Cascadia will be fine with joining.

Sophie contemplates what might be beyond the open front door. ...

2025-09-13T20:14:05Z

Sophie contemplates what might be beyond the open front door.

#Caturday

Oh look… an executive order directing states to criminalize and ...

2025-07-25T03:14:28Z

Oh look… an executive order directing states to criminalize and institutionalize people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental health disabilities.

The "identification, adoption, and implementation of maximally flexible civil commitment, institutional treatment, and “step-down” treatment standards that allow for the appropriate commitment and treatment of individuals with mental illness who pose a danger to others or are living on the streets and cannot care for themselves" means that people who cannot afford housing will be involuntarily committed, locked up.

Section 3 means giving money to states that do what the Feds want by locking up the houseless, e.g.

Withdrawl of funds or threats of prosecution to ensure No more housing first (even though it's the most effective approach). No more harm reduction or safe injection sites or methadone (although, again, evidence based). (But they can again have a fancy computer program make up some evidence to say what they want it to say).

No more privacy for medical information.

I'm guessing that "increasing competition among grantees through broadening the applicant pool" means making housing money available to GeoGroup, Core Civic et al.

Looks to reverse judicial precedents (which SCOTUS has been often ignoring anyway).

Terminating consent degrees--those decrees that come when a local government violates civil rights and the DoJ stepped in, like when Portland was put under a consent decree because the police kept killing mentally ill people.

So.... the plan is take away health care and food support (Medicaid & SNAP, as in the Big Bad Bill), take away housing (private equity is on that), build some concentration camps, and lock up immigrants, houseless people, people with disabilities.

No one gets vaccines or health care or adequate food, so there will be a lot more death. But some immigrants or medicaid recipients or houseless people can be put to work for pennies a day.

#Disability #Fascism #Houselessness #Housing

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/ending-crime-and-disorder-on-americas-streets/

see also https://www.patreon.com/posts/i-went-through-7-134894400

Maxine Dexter is having a town hall at Franklin High (5405 SE ...

2025-07-17T19:04:22Z

Maxine Dexter is having a town hall at Franklin High (5405 SE Woodward Street, Portland, OR 97206) this Saturday 7/19/25 at 11:00 am.

#Portland #Oregon #Palestine #WalkThatTalk

Expensive for whom, is always a question. The politicians and ...

2025-07-11T16:17:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…h3k2
_________________________

Expensive for whom, is always a question. The politicians and bureaucrats making these decisions are not playing with their own money.

The cruelty is one point; the payoff of getting to feel superior to those who suffer; of getting to exercise power over someone rather than being the victim of someone else's power.

But there are also economic benefits--for the police and their so-called union (budgets keep getting bigger!), for the corporations paid (with public money) to run so-called shelters, or any of the many jail-adjacent 'services' (like those cards people get after any cash they have is confiscated, the companies that charge extra for phone calls, etc.), for the plutocrats who don't want any challenges to their power to keep extracting wealth.

And the social wage of feeling superior helps with that, too, so the shelter worker doesn't make common cause with the shelter occupant against the plutocrat benefiting from the miseries of both.

Portland spent $724 million in 2024 on houseless services. There ...

2025-07-10T21:22:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…l6u9
_________________________

Portland spent $724 million in 2024 on houseless services.

There are about 12,000 houseless people in the Portland Metro area. Round that up to 15,000, and that's over $48,000 per person.

But instead of everyone having a place to live with that ~$50,000 per person, houseless people are being churned through punitive shelters and sweeps and jails and fines, because developers and plutocrats and 'investors' are making money by inflating housing prices and punishing the poor.
(Portland has a history of arresting people for the 'crime' of living outside.)

#Housing #Portland #StopTheSweeps
#HousingForAll

https://www.koin.com/news/portland/portland-metro-area-724-million-homeless-services-2024/

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/05/homelessness-continues-to-rise-in-portland-area-even-as-increased-services-help-thousands.html

https://www.streetroots.org/news/2023/06/06/portland-fine-arrest-homeless-portlanders

Oregon's Housing Crisis is the fault of "Investors" ...

2025-07-10T20:52:17Z

Oregon's Housing Crisis is the fault of "Investors" driving up prices, not a shortage of housing:

From the OR Capital Chronicle:

There is no large crisis in the raw amount or supply of housing. The crisis lies in its price.

In this current decade, Oregon’s population increased only slightly, from about 4.2 million at the decade’s start, to about 4.3 million now, and there’s been no mass destruction of housing. . . .

Legislative Republicans this April complained that in the last three years only about 43,000 building permits for residences had been issued in the state, well below the governor’s plan for 108,000. But the state’s number of households rose by about the same amount during that time. The new construction that happened should, in theory, have been enough to keep up with it.

In 2023 (the most recent year available), Oregon had about 1.75 million “households” with the average household comprising 2.4 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

That same year, the Census counted in the state 1.88 million “housing units” — over 100,000 more housing units than the number of households — including “a house, an apartment, a group of rooms, or a single room occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters.” It doesn’t include some other residential places, such as trailer and mobile home parks.

The upshot is that Oregon, like most states, has more residential units than households.

And there is no crisis for people of sufficient means. Anyone who can afford to plunk down a half-million or so (which includes many existing homeowners, in or out of state) will not have much trouble finding a house. People below that level, a large part of the population, may find that a house (or in some places apartment rentals, too) are simply out of reach.

The problem with Oregon’s housing crisis is affordability. The median house value in Oregon (which reflects purchase prices) as of May was $540,300, according to online real estate market platform Zillow. One home-buying calculator estimates that if a purchaser puts down 18% for the home — the median downpayment of home buyers in the U.S., according to the National Association of Realtors — they would need to have more than $97,000 saved, and earn more than $120,000 per year to afford their mortgage payments. That means fewer than a fifth of Oregon households could afford a median-priced house based on income. (Sales by owners of currently owned houses could expand that number.)

Despite the limited pool of buyers, prices have climbed and stayed high.

Why?

Oregon’s notably strict laws on land use are often mentioned as a cause of the problem. They may contribute to it, but many other states — such as next-door Idaho — have far fewer building restrictions but still have house pricing problems as bad, or worse, as Oregon’s.

High priced homes can be more profitable for builders and developers, so they build more of them.

But the key explanation for why so many more houses are purchased, compared to the number of local residents who can buy, seems to be that relatively wealthy investors — individuals and especially businesses — are buying large numbers of houses and apartments in Oregon, and around the country.

Many national studies have found as much.

Redfin News, which tracks home sales nationally, said last August that investor home buying has been rising steadily in recent years — about 3% annually — and bought one of every six U.S. homes that sold — purchasing $43 billion worth of properties — and one of every four low-priced homes that sold.

Redfin found that during the 2nd quarter of 2024 in Portland, 13% of homes sold (valued at $511,419,529) were bought by investors, an amount rising in recent years. Many homes are then flipped and resold for still higher prices. All of that activity places upward pressure on sales prices of other homes as well.

A variety of buyers have been among the mass purchasers. Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley has for several years focused on the role of hedge funds in home buys, and with U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington, introduced in 2023 the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act.

Merkley called hedgefunds, “a contributing factor that has made it more difficult for middle-class Americans to become homeowners and is contributing to America’s twin crises of housing unaffordability and wealth inequality.”

Others have disagreed about how large a role the finance organizations have played. But someone can afford to buy all those houses — in many cases well beyond the asking price — and less-wealthy wage earners cannot compete.

That would be a real and pertinent, albeit sensitive, topic for the new state agency to address. Until someone does, the housing shortage for most Oregonians will go on.

#Housing #Houselessness #Capitalism

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/07/10/the-real-housing-crisis/

MEDIA COVERAGE OF COVID-19 TOOLS FOR JOURNALISTS The latest ...

2025-07-05T03:47:41Z

MEDIA COVERAGE OF COVID-19 TOOLS FOR JOURNALISTS

The latest census by Santé Publique France counted more than 2 million long haulers (out of +68 M inhab.). The virus has also caused more than 180,000 direct deaths (excluding delayed effects) & continues to disable & kill. We are facing a societal phenomenon that requires rigor & respect for those affected.

1. Do not talk about COVID in the past tense, as if it were no longer I circulating or causing damage, when it is still causing Long COVID, delayed deaths, reinfections, and direct deaths.
2. Do not describe Long COVID as a “mystery,” as its mechanisms (viral persistence, dysimmunity, thromboinflammation) are now known. Nor should the disease be disconnected from the virus that causes it.
3. Do not focus on the individual, depoliticizing aspects of the disease, when patients are organizing collectively and have demands to voice.
4. Do not invite the most controversial doctors, who psychologize and/or present rehabilitation as a treatment for patients, and/or reinforce the feeling that the illness is not physical.
5. Do not dismiss prevention measures while the virus continues to cause new cases of Long COVID (the risk increases with each infection) and to worsen and endanger all chronically ill patients.
6. Do not reduce the disease to a few symptoms without explaining its mechanisms, which have a wide range of manifestations.
7. Do not dismiss its potential life-threatening risks or potential for deterioration.
8. Do not use any figure you find without sourcing the claim. In France, some media outlets have wrongly reported that 200,000 people are suffering from Long COVID: the latest census counted more than 2 million.
9. Do not present false prevention information: transmission does not occur through droplet or contact, but through aerosols.
10. Do not forget that children and the elderly are also affected by Long COVID. Avoid involving doctors instead of patients and researchers.
11. Do not blame lockdown for the current health situation without taking into account the consequences of multiple COVID reinfections.
12. Do not claim that patients miraculously recover over time when Long COVID is a chronic disease for which there is still no cure.

#CovidIsNotOver

https://winslow.fr/guide-journalistique-le-traitement-mediatique-du-covid/

. . . . Iranian Grassroots Voices organized a No War on Iran ...

2025-06-24T03:44:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…cvzg
_________________________

. . . . Iranian Grassroots Voices organized a No War on Iran protest at Cal Anderson Park on June 18 to rise in support of the people of Iran and stand against overseas aggression; wars and imperialism; dictatorships and fascism; and Zionism and genocide. The intimate gathering brought attention to the potential for Trump to wage war alongside Israel—whose genocide in Gaza has been woven into recent attacks on Iran— fascism, and how US mainstream media presents conflicts to viewers. . . .

statement ... issued by the Iranian Writers’ Association.

“The war between a fascist regime rooted in occupation and genocide—and a government that relies on the bloodshed of its opponents and freedom fighters—not only destroys the lives of the people but also haunts and perhaps sets back years of struggle for freedom and equality,” he said.

The Iranian Writers’ Association’s statement brought up fears that the progress made through the 2022 Iranian freedom movement, which was born from a set of previous uprisings, may disappear because of current Israeli aggression and mass destruction throughout the country. ...

https://www.sgn.org/story/155381/News/International/Emergency%20No%20War%20on%20Iran%20protest%20recounts%20historical%20violence%2C%20destruction%2C%20and%20the%20need%20for%20liberation

from Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company ...

2025-06-24T03:39:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…cvzg
_________________________

from
Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company
Syndicate of Workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company
Retired Workers of Khuzestan
Pensioners’ Alliance
Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations
Retirees’ Unity Group:

Statement: Independent Iranian organizations against war and militarist policies

Given the current unstable and dangerous situation in Iran and the region, the undersigned organizations believe it is their duty to take a collective stand.

The workers of Iran — including laborers, teachers, nurses, pensioners, and other wage earners — have never benefited, do not benefit, and will not benefit from war, militarization, the bombing of the country, or policies of domination and exploitation.

The military attacks by Israel and the bombing of hundreds of targets across various regions of Iran — including infrastructure, workplaces, refineries, and residential areas — are part of a war-mongering project, the cost of which is borne by ordinary people, especially workers, through their lives, livelihoods, and well-being.

Israel’s claim that it harbors no hostility toward the Iranian people is nothing but a lie and political propaganda. Just yesterday, Israel’s defense minister threatened to “burn Tehran.” Repeated threats by Trump and other U.S. officials, along with full support from Western governments for these actions, have only fueled tension, insecurity, and destruction in the region.

The governments of Israel and the United States are among the main perpetrators of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and many other crimes in the region and the world. The United Nations and international institutions that hypocritically posture as peace-seekers but in practice remain silent in the face of these crimes are part of the same structure of domination. The global capitalist system — its profit-driven logic and imperialist powers — is one of the main causes of war, human catastrophe, and environmental destruction.

The Iranian working class not only gains nothing from war — it is one of its primary victims. The continuation of economic sanctions, the allocation of massive budgets to military purposes, and the restriction of freedoms will only lead to deeper poverty, intensified repression, hunger, death, and the displacement of millions.

We, the independent workers and popular activists in Iran, have no illusions that the U.S. or Israel seeks to bring us freedom, equality, and justice — just as we have no illusions about the repressive, interventionist, adventurist, and anti-worker nature of the Islamic Republic.

We, the workers and toilers of Iran, have paid a heavy price over many years in our struggle for basic rights and minimal living conditions: imprisonment, torture, execution, dismissal, threats, and beatings. We remain deprived of the right to organize, assemble, and express ourselves freely. Workers and the broader working population are justly angry and disgusted with the ruling regime of the Islamic Republic and the capitalists who, for more than four decades, have amassed enormous wealth at the expense of our disenfranchisement and constant insecurity. All officials and institutions involved in the repression and killing of workers, women, youth, and oppressed peoples of Iran must be held accountable and punished by the people.

Our struggle is a social and class struggle. It will continue, relying on our own strength, as a continuation of the recent movements for "Bread, Work, Freedom" and "Woman, Life, Freedom," and in coordination with international solidarity from the global working class and humanist, freedom-loving, and egalitarian forces.

The continuation of the current war will only bring further destruction, irreversible damage to the environment, and new human catastrophes. The working class and the impoverished sectors of Iranian society, like the oppressed in other countries of the region, are the main victims of this situation.

We, the undersigned organizations, call on all trade unions, human rights organizations, anti-war groups, environmental activists, and peace advocates around the world to demand an immediate end to the war, bombings, the killing of innocent people, and the destruction of nature. Support the struggles of the peoples of Iran and the region to end genocide, militarism, and repression.

The peoples of the Middle East need an end to the devastating conflicts between regional and global powers, and the establishment of a lasting peace — a peace in which people can determine their own destinies through self-organization, mass movements, and broad popular participation.

No to war — no to militarist policies.

An immediate ceasefire is our urgent demand.

#Iran #Ceasefire

https://telegra.ph/Statement-by-a-Number-of-Independent-Iranian-Organizations-Against-War-and-Militarist-Policies-06-19

https://links.org.au/statement-independent-iranian-organizations-against-war-and-militarist-policies

This all seems important but I am old and not technologically ...

2025-06-22T17:37:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…pdvp
_________________________

This all seems important but I am old and not technologically inclined and have no idea what any of this means.

It kind of gives me a headache and a mild sense of panic.

Can anyone point to gentle resources for the old & ignorant (for overcoming those "tech literacy gaps")?

Thanks.

Message from Mazamas and more: Our public lands aren’t for ...

2025-06-21T18:33:16Z

Message from Mazamas and more:

Our public lands aren’t for sale. But they could be unless we speak up!!!
More than 3 million acres of Forest Service and BLM land across the West — including cherished places in Oregon and Washington where we hike and climb — could be sold off under a provision in Congress’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.”

These are not vague parcels. They include areas around Eagle Creek, Larch Mountain, Timothy Lake, Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams. Trails like the Pacific Crest Trail, Timberline Trail, and climbs on Mount Hood’s South Side route and Mount Adams’ South Spur could be affected, according to maps produced by the Wilderness Society and the Outdoor Alliance.

🆘 Take action now. A Senate vote could happen by July 4.
📞 Call or 📧 email your senators and urge them to remove the public land sell-off provision from the bill:
OREGON
• Sen. Ron Wyden — (503) 326‑7525 | Email https://www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/email-ron
• Sen. Jeff Merkley — (503) 326‑3386 | Email https://www.merkley.senate.gov/contact/
WASHINGTON
• Sen. Patty Murray — (206) 553‑5545 | Email https://www.murray.senate.gov/write-to-patty/
• Sen. Maria Cantwell — (206) 220‑6400 | Email https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/contact

✍️ Sample message:
“Hi Senator [Name], I’m a constituent and a Mazama. I hike and climb in places like Eagle Creek, Mount Hood and Mount Adams. I’m asking you to oppose the land-sale provisions in the “Big Beautiful Bill.” These public lands are irreplaceable. Please help protect them.”

Sample letter:
Subject: Protect Our Public Lands: Remove the Public Lands Provision from the Trump Tax Bill

Please do not allow the selling off of public lands that are not only immeasurably valuable
aesthetically, environmentally, and recreationally, but also measurably valuable for local economies built around recreational industries and fisheries, and crucial to maintaining supplies of clean drinking water.

I write as a concerned constituent to urge you to advocate for the removal of the public lands provision from the current Trump tax bill. This provision, which proposes the sale of millions of acres of our shared natural heritage, represents a deeply misguided approach that will have devastating and irreversible consequences for our environment, our economy, and our way of life.

Public lands are not just parcels on a map; they are the very fabric of our communities and a cornerstone of our identity. They are where we learned to camp under starry skies and embarked on countless hiking and overlanding adventures that connect us to the wild. They are also where we have strapped on our skis for exhilarating runs, scaled breathtaking rock faces, and enjoyed a myriad of winter sports, from snowshoeing to cross-country skiing. These are the places where generations have forged memories, found solace, and faced the awe-inspiring beauty of the natural world. Protection of public lands in western states has strong bipartisan support, with polls consistently showing that a vast majority of western voters oppose the sale or transfer of these lands, recognizing their irreplaceable value.

Beyond the immeasurable intrinsic and recreational value, our public lands are vital economic engines for state and local economies. Outdoor recreation alone is a multi-billion dollar industry that supports countless jobs in tourism, hospitality, retail, and guiding services. The significant economic contributions from skiing, climbing, and other winter sports, in particular, bolster local economies throughout the colder months, sustaining communities that might otherwise face seasonal downturns. Local businesses, from small-town diners to gear shops, thrive on the steady stream of visitors drawn to our national forests, BLM lands, and other protected areas. Selling off these lands would not only eliminate access for recreation but also dismantle the economic infrastructure that has grown around them, leading to significant revenue losses for states and communities already struggling.

Furthermore, the environmental impact of this provision cannot be overstated. These lands encompass critical habitats for diverse wildlife, including vital migratory corridors for big game. They are home to pristine fisheries that support both recreational and commercial angling, and serve as crucial headwaters for watersheds that provide clean drinking water to countless communities.

Opening these sensitive areas to potential private development, extractive industries, or other uses without rigorous environmental review would jeopardize fragile ecosystems, pollute our water sources, and permanently alter the landscapes that define our region. We risk losing irreplaceable natural resources, impacting everything from the health of our rivers and streams to the sustainability of our hunting and fishing traditions.

To trade these invaluable assets for a short-term financial gain in a tax bill is a false economy.

The projected revenue from these sales is a drop in the bucket compared to the long-term economic and environmental costs. Once these lands are sold, they are gone forever, and with them, the opportunities for future generations to experience the same sense of wonder and connection that we have.

I respectfully urge you, Senator, to stand with your constituents and the overwhelming majority of westerners who cherish our public lands. Please work to remove the public lands provision from the Trump tax bill and instead champion policies that protect and preserve these national treasures for all Americans, now and for generations to come.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this critical issue.

#SavePublicLand #Oregon #Washington #USpol #BigBadBill

I recently read Sherwin Nuland's The Doctors' Plague: ...

2025-06-20T23:12:09Z

I recently read Sherwin Nuland's The Doctors' Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the Strange Story of Ignac Semmelweis (2003).

I had heard the basics--Semmelweis was the guy who figured out that doctors were causing childbed (puerperal) fever by poking their dirty hands into the vaginal canals of women whose babies they were helping ("helping") to deliver. But even though Semmelweis was right, no one wanted to listen to him, and it was decades before handwashing became routine in medicine, and poor Semmelweis died in a madhouse.

This story has circulated a lot since 2020, because of the obvious analogy of supposed experts refusing to accept that SARS-CoV-2 is aerosolized, airborne, and that to prevent transmission it isn't enough to wash your hands (though that's still a good practice) or stand six feet apart or wear a baggy cloth or surgical mask.

Nuland's version confirms the summary, but the details are fascinating, and the story well told.

Doctors, of course, did not want to accept that they were actively killing their patients, even though women who delivered in the doctors' wards in the hospital were far, far more likely to die than those who delivered at home, or in the midwife wards, or even in the street on the way to the hospital.

There were tensions between different theories of disease (the prior explanations of childbed fever sound ridiculous now, but there were theories behind them, and institutional investments in those theories). Semmelweis was an outsider--a Hungarian in Vienna, a German speaker in Hungary. He was also impolitic, rude, and a bad writer. He failed to carry out experiments that would confirm his theory, and failed to engage with the hospital's microscopist to get a look at the 'cadaver particles' he speculated doctors were carrying from the autopsies they did in the mornings to the examinations and deliveries they did in the afternoons. He hated writing and didn't want to bother to publish his theory, so his opponents beat him into print with misrepresentations of his account. When he did finally write up his theory, the text was digressive, repetitive, bombastically phrased, and full of cranky attacks on his medical rivals (reminds me a little of Anthony Leonardi--correct on the science but tetchy with those who aren't on board).

Nuland speculates, based on available records including Semmelweis's autopsy, that he suffered early-onset Alzheimer’s, that he was badly beaten by attendants in the insane asylum where he spent his last weeks, and that as a result he died of sepsis--essentially the same disease he tried to save his patients from.

The work of Pasteur later provided the germ theory that supported Semmelweis's observations, and Joseph Lister developed theories and practices of antisepsis and asepsis. But even Lister, who was, in Nuland's account, a suave, classy, diligent scientist, who did repeated experiments to confirm his theories, and published and spoke about his work extensively and persuasively, still took about 20 years to win over the bulk of the medical profession.

Anyway, wash your hands, and wear a respirator.

#CovidIsAirborne
#SemmelweisWasRight
#MaskUp

If New Yorkers needed another reason to NOT RANK Cuomo #NYC ...

2025-06-20T21:57:05Z

If New Yorkers needed another reason to NOT RANK Cuomo

#NYC

https://gizmodo.com/palantirs-ceo-throws-money-behind-andrew-cuomo-in-nyc-mayoral-race-2000617640

URGENT: Accessibility for disabled people is about to be removed ...

2025-06-15T16:51:21Z

URGENT: Accessibility for disabled people is about to be removed from federal buildings —unless we act by MONDAY.
Taking action will require only three minutes of your time.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a "direct final rule" that would eliminate the long-standing requirement that new buildings constructed with federal funds must be accessible to people with disabilities.
They claim it’s “unnecessary” and “burdensome.” But here’s what eliminating this rule really means:
New federally funded buildings could be built without ramps, elevators, accessible bathrooms, or doors.
There would be no enforceable standards for accessibility in construction or major renovations.
It weakens the civil rights protections guaranteed by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

This rule will take effect July 15 unless the public pushes back. We have until Monday, June 16 to submit comments.

👉 Take a minute now and submit comments.

📧 You can Email your comments to: DOEGeneralCounsel@hq.doe.gov

Your email comment doesn’t need to be long. Just say why you oppose removing accessibility protections and why they matter to you or your community.

And/or you can use these forms from the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (which I suspect will also get you on their mailing list):

➡️ Public comment #1 https://nacdd.quorum.us/campaign/128333/

➡️ Public Comment #2 https://nacdd.quorum.us/campaign/128336/

Please speak up—and share this widely. We cannot let accessibility be rolled back without a fight.
Thank you.

#Accessibility
#Disability #USpol

This is from 2023, so it's a little dated--free testing is no ...

2025-06-12T20:52:04Z

This is from 2023, so it's a little dated--free testing is no longer readily available, for instance (though your local Mask Bloc may be able to help). But the basic message remains: Covid is still spreading, still dangerous, still disproportionately affects BIPOC and other already disadvantaged/marginalized/vulnerable communities, and you should still wear a close-fitting, high-filtration mask in crowds--yes, even outdoors, and yes, even if you feel fine, because asymptomatic transmission is still a thing.

A good mask is also useful against other airborne hazards. 😉

#CovidIsNotOver
#ProtestSafety

https://peoplescdc.org/2023/02/12/covid-safety-for-protests/

https://maskbloc.org/

From Julia Doubleday, The Gauntlet: "Each time a new wave ...

2025-06-06T19:26:08Z

From Julia Doubleday, The Gauntlet:

"Each time a new wave crops up, the media scrambles to let the public know that COVID is spreading “again” (although of course, a new wave has arrived because the virus has been spreading continuously since 2019). But each time, it fails to inform the public that nearly half of COVID cases are asymptomatic, that COVID looks different in different patients, that vaccines do not prevent infections, that rapid tests have high false negative rates, and that COVID is fully airborne."

#CovidIsNotOver #CovidIsAirborne #CovidIsAsymptomatic

https://www.thegauntlet.news/p/common-misconceptions-about-covid

From Masha Gessen: Getting accustomed to what used to seem ...

2025-05-28T17:01:20Z

From Masha Gessen:

Getting accustomed to what used to seem unthinkable can feel like an accomplishment. And when the unthinkable recedes at least a bit — when someone gets released from detention (as the Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi was a few weeks ago) or some particularly egregious proposal is withdrawn or blocked by the courts (as the ban on international students at Harvard has been, at least temporarily) — it’s easy to mistake it for proof that the dark times are ending.

But these comparatively small victories don’t alter the direction of our transformation — they don’t even slow it down measurably — even while they appeal to our deep need to normalize. They create the sense that there is more air to breathe and more room to act than there was yesterday.

And so just when we most need to act — while there is indeed room for action and some momentum to the resistance — we tend to be lulled into complacency by the sense of relief on the one hand and boredom on the other.

#hypernormailzation
#USpol
#fascism

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/opinion/trump-danger-normalization-shock.html

We could have an end to poverty and a reduction in environmental ...

2025-05-22T18:08:15Z

We could have an end to poverty and a reduction in environmental damage, but instead we are getting AI and fascism.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292924000493?via%3Dihub
by Jason Hickel (npub1zef…0w03) #degrowth #fascism #AI #climate #poverty

Mark Zuckerberg Doesn’t Want You to Read This Book: Meta got an ...

2025-03-13T18:28:04Z

Mark Zuckerberg Doesn’t Want You to Read This Book:
Meta got an emergency arbitration ruling to stop the memoir's author from talking about her time at the company.

https://gizmodo.com/mark-zuckerberg-doesnt-want-you-to-read-this-book-2000575582

available to order: https://bookshop.org/p/books/careless-people-a-cautionary-tale-of-power-greed-and-lost-idealism/22213433

$5 off at B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/careless-people-sarah-wynn-williams/1147093187

#Books #Meta

Disability is NOT the "fastest way to food and a room" ...

2025-03-10T22:07:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…06qt
_________________________

Disability is NOT the "fastest way to food and a room" more likely to be a fast track to dying on the street. It can take YEARS to get SSDI (time to get a hearing is usually almost a year, most are denied on first round even if qualified, and then have to appeal, and even after approval there's a 5 month waiting period before benefits actually start--and for some it takes much longer).

It's hard to imagine it isn't now going to be much, much worse, given the chainsaw cuts to SS along with everything else.

30,000 people died in 2023 while waiting.

https://www.nextgov.com/digital-government/2024/04/30000-died-fiscal-2023-waiting-disability-decisions-social-security/395796/

https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/social-security-disability-insurance-0

We might not have updated vaccines this fall--not for covid, not ...

2025-03-03T00:54:32Z

We might not have updated vaccines this fall--not for covid, not for flu. The meeting to decide which strains to target has been cancelled.

All the more reason to wear a mask.

Flu is killing more people--perhaps because of immune systems weakened by covid, perhaps because of more deadly strains, like H5N1, which the US has not been properly tracking or slowing the spread of for years, even before the current disaster in government.

But Covid is still killing even more people (last we heard, when there were ballpark informative statistics).

And a lot of people will continue to just get more and more sick, debilitated, disabled....and then die.

Anyway, it does seem like the plan is to kill as many people as possible, get rid of the surplus* population, replace workers with AI, party on.

* to be clear, no one is "surplus" in my view, but from the perspective of capital, as argued in Health Communism, we are either workers or surplus, depending on how we can be exploited to enrich the rich.

Anyway, again, all the more reason to wear a mask, share a mask.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/health/news-fda-meeting-to-choose-flu-vaccine-composition-canceled-without-explanation/index.html

https://teamshuman.substack.com/p/next-years-flu-shot-at-risk

https://misfitmentalhealth.substack.com/p/why-are-people-wearing-masks-in-2025

#CovidIsNotOver #FluIsNotMild #MaskUp #USPol

All people in the United States, regardless of immigration ...

2025-01-27T22:28:01Z

All people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s Red Cards help people assert their rights and defend themselves in many situations, such as when ICE agents go to a home.

These DIY cards are conveniently wallet sized and come in about 20 different languages. These are easy to print, cut, and distribute. See the link below.

Debbie Nathan, longtime immigration rights activist, notes that her group gave out similar cards in El Paso in the 1980s. "Many immigrants said that when stopped by Border Patrol, they pulled the card out and it was like "The Exorcist" -- like when the priest takes out the crucifix. Likewise, on seeing the card, border agents would shrink back as if they'd seen the Devil himself, and scurry off. "

#ImmigrantRights #NoHumanBeingIsIllegal
#KnowYourRights
#ImmigrantsAreWelcome

https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas

PGE wants to cut down part of Portland, Oregon's Forest Park. ...

2025-01-27T21:30:17Z

PGE wants to cut down part of Portland, Oregon's Forest Park.

Cutting down a bunch of mature trees in Forest Park because the corporation doesn't want to spend a little more to go around is wrong and should be stopped.

Submit comments (contact info and talking points below via link) to the Hearings Officer, your City Councilors, AND the Mayor by 9 a.m. on Jan 29th. (If you already submitted comments to the City in late 2024, please submit again)

Comments can be sent via email. Include the Hearings Officer, all 3 City Councilors from your district, and the Mayor as the recipients. If you live outside of the City of Portland, feel free to include the hearings officer, Mayor and any assortment of City Council members.

Public hearing is this Wednesday, 1/29 at 9am, all virtual.
Here is a link to the Bird Alliance of Oregon's handy action page:

https://birdallianceoregon.org/take-action/tell-the-city-to-protect-forest-park-from-development/

#PDX #Trees #SaveTheTrees #PortlandOr #Portland #SaveTheCommons

"About 1 in 22 people who survive COVID-19 go on to develop a ...

2025-01-25T19:49:08Z

"About 1 in 22 people who survive COVID-19 go on to develop a typically lifelong disease called myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), new research suggests."

#CovidIsNotOver
#LongCovid

https://www.livescience.com/health/coronavirus/1-in-22-covid-survivors-develop-debilitating-chronic-syndrome

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-024-09290-9

Paging Octavia Butler #Fire #LAFires #OctaviaButler ...

2025-01-08T21:17:11Z

Paging Octavia Butler

#Fire #LAFires #OctaviaButler

I am willing to start learning Danish. ...

2024-12-26T22:34:46Z

I am willing to start learning Danish.

In 1965, Buster Keaton appeared in a film written by Samuel ...

2024-12-26T22:32:31Z

In 1965, Buster Keaton appeared in a film written by Samuel Beckett, shot by Boris Kaufman (brother of Dziga Vertov), produced by Barney Rosset of Grove Press. Alain Resnais visited the 1964 location shoot and took this picture.

Available on the Criterion Channel.

https://www.movingimagearchivenews.org/an-odd-couple-samuel-beckett-buster-keaton/

#Film #NotFilm #Beckett #Keaton #Criterion

"This year, the annual deluge of Black Friday ads egging us ...

2024-12-11T21:09:26Z

"This year, the annual deluge of Black Friday ads egging us on to attain higher levels of consumption–with corresponding carbon emissions and solid and liquid waste–seemed particularly hollow, morbid–predatory, even– falling as Black Friday did this year on November 29, the date the U.N. first recognized in 1977 as International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Desiree Hellegers talks about the confluence of these two occasions, and about the settler colonial simulacra of Thanksgiving, and the urgency of calls for Joe Biden to free 80-year-old Dakota, Lakota, Anishinaabe political prisoner Leonard Peltier."

audio:
https://kboo.fm/media/124364-colonialism-solidarity-and-leonard-peltier

longer text with links:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/12/11/tis-the-season-to-talk-climate-collapse-nuclear-colonialism-and-freeing-leonard-peltier/

#FreeLeonardPeltier

Free Leonard Peltier Amnesty International toolkit (information ...

2024-12-07T04:52:46Z

Free Leonard Peltier

Amnesty International toolkit (information about Peltier & his case, links to petition to Biden, ways to call, email, text, write, more)

https://www.amnestyusa.org/campaigns/free-leonard-peltier/
https://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent-actions/urgent-action-urge-clemency-for-native-american-activist-usa-16-19/

#FreeLeonardPeltier #Peltier

TIL Pro Publica has an online thing that will format a letter to ...

2024-12-07T03:55:37Z

TIL Pro Publica has an online thing that will format a letter to your US health insurance company to demand the records behind a claim denial. (which the insurance is then legally required to provide in most cases)

https://projects.propublica.org/claimfile/

#Health #Insurance #Claim #Denied #Appeal

UnitedHealth CEO's killing unleashes social media rage ...

2024-12-06T04:13:58Z

UnitedHealth CEO's killing unleashes social media rage against insurers
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/05/unitedhealth-brian-thompson-killing-health-insurers-social-media
"When you shoot one man in the street it's murder. When you kill thousands of people in hospitals by taking away their ability to get treatment you're an entrepreneur,"

Murder and Social Murder: The Case of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/12/murder-and-social-murder-the-case-of-unitedhealth-ceo-brian-thompson.html

UnitedHealth uses faulty AI to deny elderly patients medically necessary coverage, lawsuit claims
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/unitedhealth-lawsuit-ai-deny-claims-medicare-advantage-health-insurance-denials/

How UnitedHealth harnesses its physician empire to squeeze profits out of patients
https://pnhp.org/news/how-unitedhealth-harnesses-its-physician-empire-to-squeeze-profits-out-of-patients/

Title of Book About Insurance Companies Matches Bullet Casings at Crime Scene
https://www.thedailybeast.com/title-of-book-about-insurance-companies-matches-brian-thompson-bullet-casings-at-midtown-hilton/

The Coup, 5 Million Ways To Kill A C.E.O.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtxH414tGkA

#UnitedHealth #CEO #M4A #SinglePayerNow

If you live in Portland, Oregon, Sign Up Now to Testify at the ...

2024-11-10T00:02:27Z

If you live in Portland, Oregon, Sign Up Now to Testify at the Nov. 13 CC Hearing to SUPPORT Keeping the Large Tree Amendment by making it Permanent!

Registration to testify virtually or in person at the City Council's Nov. 13 afternoon session is now open. Register (links at end of this post): scroll down to the Wed., Nov. 13, 2 pm afternoon heading, then go to item 989, and click on the "Testify on this item button" at the bottom, where you'll fill out a quick form.

For those who wish to testify in writing, you can send your letter of support well before Nov. 13 to cctestimony@portlandoregon.gov, and put "Testimony in support of making the Large Tree Amendment permanent, Nov. 13 hearing, item 989."

For those of you who want a recap of why this amendment is so important to retain in the tree code, see here:

info from Trees for Life: https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/357638/emails/136204511943329415

Register: https://www.portland.gov/council/agenda#toc-wednesday-november-13-2024-2-00-pm-

Submit written testimony: https://www.portland.gov/auditor/council-clerk/submit-written-testimony

#Fall
#SaveTheTrees
#Portland #Oregon

FB post from Rob Wallace: Here's a COVID update that shows 1) ...

2024-09-21T02:03:41Z

FB post from Rob Wallace:

Here's a COVID update that shows
1) the virus is still in exactly the same dynamics of epidemiological boom and bust and evolutionary escape putting people in the hospital and out of work at a steady click, and

2) U.S. public health has completed cycling out of protecting the American people from infection.

***
Starting upper left, we see the levels of SARS-2 virus detected in the wastewater by sewage plant for September 2-16. Almost the entire country is reporting in the oranges and reds of 60% or more of all the samples in SARS-2 detected taken nationally since December 2021. That is, all those hot points tell us the viral load now as high (and widespread) as any COVID peak recorded.
We should recall only 1,466 of the 16,000 publicly owned wastewater plants are reporting in at all and only 1,323 this week. So consider this just a snapshot.
On the other hand, the more acute measure of changes in sewage loads over the past fifteen days just to the right shows a mosaic of declines and increases spooling differences down to the sewershed level.
The Walgreens COVID-19 Index of national test positivity covers both rapid tests and PCR. As of September 15, we see a decline to 26% of all tests Walgreens processes nationally from 40% earlier in the summer, but still as high as most points in the pandemic. The number of tests remains high which at this late date may in itself serve as a measure of incidence. People are getting tested because they're feeling sick.
There's a geography to this. In the past week, we see Walgreens increases in test positivities in Massachusetts, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Utah showing increases, and, shown here second down left, New York hovering at 45%.
Syndromic surveillance offers another view of the pandemic. We see from EPIC hospital reports of ICD-10 codes mapped for August 18-31 COVID infections per 100,000 hospital tests, states in the South hit hard, with, far right, the national hospital positivity rate at over 18%.
Infectious disease modeler JP Weiland is using wastewater data from Biobot and CDC seropositivity to project COVID cases per day in the U.S., with over 866,000 new COVID infections in the U.S. alone for the single day of August 30.
Weiland hasn’t released a detailed methodology which sets the validity suspect, although the general gestalt is probably on point. If these estimates are anywhere close to reality, both global and U.S. data should now be rated “junk” and the pandemic is hardly over, especially, as we described, the virus has been given the public health green light to continue to explore its evolutionary possibilities.
And we do indeed see the outbreak stateside continuing to evolve, with, here, a broad mix of 24 sublineages in play, including, in order of prevalence, KP3s and LB.1 leading the way as projected September 14.
Underneath Weiland's time series is Raj Rajnarayanan's 30-day mosaic of all the genetic sequences of detected sublineages in the U.S. as of September 15, including their geographic origins. We see the near entirety of the country hosting in lavender JN and its offsprings the LBs and KPs 1, 2 , and 3.
***
With both political parties--and both presidential candidates--putting the ongoing pandemic behind for good, and the feds sunsetting bridge funding for COVID antivirals and vaccines--suddenly $200 for the uninsured--no wonder, as Lucky Tran posts, Americans are polling 50% they expect *never* to get infected again.
Even, as Tran continues in the other direction, a 2022 CDC report showed people more likely to mask when alerted about local outbreaks by public health authorities.
The resulting toll continues to bludgeon the population. Mike Hoerger--whose projections for daily COVID incidence run hotter than Weiland's at 1.2 million as of September 16--projects 418,000 to 1.6 million new Long COVID cases this past week alone. https://pmc19.com/data/
New research out of the NIH's RECOVER research program found for 5,300 young study participants similar but distinguishable differences between children and adolescents, declaring Long COVID "a public health crisis" for a population thought expediently little affected by the infection.
Adults meantime continue to get wiped out by Long COVID, with estimates of 5-30% infected entering the whirlpool of a syndrome few doctors know how to diagnosis, much less treat.
The Wall Street Journal, focusing on the professional-managerial class the political class ostensibly caters to, ran a story to the effect 1 million Americans have been knocked off their career paths. Understandably the article was widely retweeted by professionals who lamented their pevious 60-hour work weeks and personal bests both marked how far they now had fallen and weren't protection enough from LC's massacre of microclots, brain damage, PEM, and cognitive collapse.
***
Politicians, turning now to the national economic policy of *punishing* people who continue to mask, fed themselves into the COVID maw held open by establishment epidemiologists, the men who stare at vaccines, the seancists of our day.
The best way to contact the dead, these killers thrill, is to usher them to their graves. The Swiss Re Institute reports the U.S. and UK excess mortality rates *still* at 3% and 2.5% above pre-pandemic levels. Bottom right, the CDC invites Americans just this way, once again adjusting down its color code scheme for its maps to imply--here for state wastewater viral loads--we're in less danger than we are.

https://www.facebook.com/rob.wallace.3133/posts/pfbid02xby14Frgz6XukWUUaeb7N4PxkVGhKKd1SNfC7BxDSNxmnbvrpVxUpot7H66ThHBvl

#CovidIsNotOver

As an old person, can confirm that this stuff gets increasingly ...

2024-09-03T18:11:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…x54z
_________________________

As an old person, can confirm that this stuff gets increasingly burdensome.

Also, there's a potential vicious cycle involved, since more frequent experiences of frustration in this area have caused me to feel anxiety about some of these tasks, which in turn makes them more difficult, and so on.

"The basic facts about COVID have not evolved that much: It ...

2024-08-11T02:45:27Z

"The basic facts about COVID have not evolved that much: It is a highly contagious airborne disease, tight-fitting masks are effective, regular vaccinations are helpful in avoiding more serious illness, and isolation (some experts insist longer than five days) is warranted to avoid getting other people sick. It can cause death and long-term or permanent disability.

"What has changed in the last four years is that it has become harder and harder for people to remain clear on this information and to put these basic guidelines into practice. The information about the risks of COVID and how to avoid them has gone from being mainstream advice to countercultural information that people have to search out."

https://truthout.org/articles/the-us-government-has-abandoned-us-to-endless-covid-we-can-do-better/

#CovidIsNotOver

"Octavia E. Butler’s 1993 novel Parable of the Sower ...

2024-07-20T20:54:31Z

"Octavia E. Butler’s 1993 novel Parable of the Sower imagined a future in which California is inhospitable, weather is deadly, wealth disparities are vicious, and a presidential candidate may set the country back 100 years.

It all begins on July 20, 2024."

https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a61625840/the-parable-is-now/

#OctaviaKnew #OctaviaButler #ParableOfTheSower #Dystopia #DystopiaIsNow

[from Olympia, WA]: This morning 5 activists locked themselves ...

2023-06-27T22:36:13Z

[from Olympia, WA]: This morning 5 activists locked themselves together inside the rotunda of the Department of Natural Resources. They intend to remain until Commissioner Franz meets with them in person, and protest the DNR’s logging of legacy state forests.

Call Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz’s office (360) 902-1000 and say, “Commissioner Franz: be a climate leader and preserve our forest for future generations!”

Activists are willing to risk arrest because the DNR, and its governing body, the Board of Natural Resources (BNR), and Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz — are ignoring the public who overwhelmingly oppose sale of older legacy forests across Washington. Activists refuse to leave the rotunda until they meet with Commissioner Franz to discuss their demands.

zephyr elise of the Lorax Coalition, says, “We have followed all legal recourse and administrative procedures for our concerns to be heard. However, there comes a point when a community must act courageously and non-violently to protect and defend itself on the ground and in the forest when all other channels have failed us.”

#SaveTheTrees
#ActOnClimate