EMMA HABER – In the aftermath of the closing of Hopewell House, the only hospice house in Portland, one final hope has arisen. After 30 years providing compassionate and dignified end-of-life care, Hopewell sadly shuttered its doors in 2019. With only months to raise the funds, Friends of Hopewell House, a newly incorporated 501(c) nonprofit, has launched a $5 Million capital campaign to purchase the property from Legacy Health Systems and once again open the beloved institution’s welcoming doors.
Category: October 2020
Trump’s Broken Promises to U.S. Factory Workers
LAWRENCE WITTNER – Rather than manufacturing jobs returning during the Trump administration, they have been departing.
Competing with Nature: COVID-19 as a Capitalist Virus
ASHLEY SMITH – The COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of abating as the death toll climbs ever higher around the world. Spectre’s Ashley Smith interviews epidemiologist Rob Wallace about the global capitalist roots of the current pandemic, the likelihood of future pandemics, and the types of organized resistance necessary to prevent them.
Trump Calls on Signatories to Withdraw from Nuclear Prohibition Treaty
JOHN LAFORGE – In a fashion reminiscent of lawless dictatorships the world over, the Trump White House has written to countries that have adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons urging them to withdraw their ratifications.
Oregon’s Only Coal-Fired Power Plant Shuttered
BRETT VANDENHEUVEL – According to PGE, the Boardman plant, which opened in 1977, will be the youngest U.S. coal plant closed for environmental reasons. Incredible work, team!
Native Americans Protesting Trump Border Wall Tear Gassed, Arrested by US Agents on Indigenous Peoples’ Day
KENNY STANCIL – “It’s obscene and offensive to us that local and state governments move to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day while the federal government blows up our sacred sites, steals our kids, militarily occupies our communities, and shoots at Native Americans.”
A Voice and a Vote for the People of the World
DONNA PARK – It is now more evident than ever that the world lacks the structures necessary to successfully address the many global problems facing it. The General Assembly of the United Nations represents the nations of the world. But the governments of these nations often seem more worried about protecting their national sovereignty than about addressing global problems that are existential threats to humanity.
Columbus Day in Pretend America
ROBERT C. KOEHLER – The scariest part about the legacy of Columbus, and Europe’s “Age of Discovery†— ah, the white men break out of their cage and find the rest of the world — is that it’s still alive. And while there’s a growing demand that we should dump Columbus Day as a national holiday and replace it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I think something else is necessary as well: We need to look deeply at the legacy of Columbus and begin to own it. No more whitewash!
This is My Message to the Western World – Your Civilisation is Killing Life on Earth
NEMONTE MENQUIMO – We Indigenous people are fighting to save the Amazon, but the whole planet is in trouble because you do not respect it.
As the smoke subsides, West Coast climate activists show what an effective response looks like
NICK ENGELFRIED – After a devastating wildfire season on the West Coast, climate activists are busy mobilizing mutual aid, young voters and a just recovery.
You Can Help the Homeless By Offering Dignity
JAMES RYAN – There are many ways to make a difference. One of the most important is simultaneously the easiest and most difficult: provide dignity. Please do not studiously ignore the homeless person on the park bench or look away from the one sitting on the sidewalk as you pass. Greet them or strike up a small conversation. Many homeless people report that more difficult than giving up their possessions is giving up the dignity of being seen.
What Activists Who Fought the AIDS Crisis Can Teach Us About Organizing During a Pandemic
LORETTA GRACEFFO – More than 30 years after ACT UP was founded, their bold activism in response to the AIDS crisis offers critical lessons for those mobilizing around COVID-19.
The Man Who Would Be President: Mike Pence, Corporate Theocrat
NORMAN SOLOMON – The case of Mike Pence should be an ongoing urgent reminder that — as toxic and truly evil as Donald Trump is — the current president is a product and poisonous symptom of an inherently unjust and anti-democratic status quo.
With Focus on Assange, Belmarsh Tribunal Puts ‘US War Crimes on Trial’
BRETT WILKINS – The Belmarsh Tribunal—named after the notorious British prison where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is imprisoned as he faces possible extradition to the U.S.—was convened remotely Friday morning by Progressive International (PI). The activists “put the United States government on trial” for crimes ranging “from atrocities in Iraq to torture at Guantánamo Bay to the CIA’s illegal surveillance program—and draw attention to the extradition case of Julian Assange for revealing them.”
Mayors of 12 Major Global Cities Home to 36 Million People Make Unified Fossil Fuel Divestment Pledge
JESSICA CORBETT – “We’re in a make-or-break decade for the preservation of our planet and our livelihoods,” said C40 chair and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Where Does the Democratic Party Stand on War, Peace, and International Relations?
LAWRENCE WITTNER – After nearly four years of the Trump administration, U.S. voters have a pretty good idea of the policies that the President and his Republican allies champion when it comes to America’s dealings with other nations. These policies include massive increases in military spending, lengthy wars abroad, threats of nuclear war, withdrawal from climate and nuclear disarmament treaties, a crackdown on refugees, and abandonment of international institutions. But what about the Democrats?