[pjw] PJW UPDATE: Our July newsletter & July 27 quarterly meeting

[Peace and Justice Works]

PJW supporters

Below is the text of the June 27 PJW UPDATE, our twice yearly newsletter that
you may have received via snail mail recently. The text has been modified
slightly for email purposes.

Our summer quarterly meeting is coming up two weeks from this Saturday-- 
on July 27 at the Social Justice Action Center. It's a good time for 
people in our different project groups, general PJW members and the board 
to meet and keep up to date. We begin with a vegetarian potluck at noon 
with a meeting from 12:30-2:15 PM.

Be sure to check out the updated website for the July 28th mobilization 
against war in Iran and Venezeula.

KBOO 90.7 FM Community Radio is not a media cosponsor of the mobilization and is
among 29 groups currently on board with the event. Details are at
http://www.pjw.info/iran_venezuela_072019.html

You can also download 8.5x11 flyers

  http://www.pjw.info/iran_venezuela_demo_flyer.pdf

and 11x17 posters

  http://www.pjw.info/iran_venezuela_11x17.pdf .

Please let us know if you have any questions, and if you can, let us know if you
plan to attend.

Thanks!

dan handelman
secretary
peace and justice works


Peace and Justice Works members, volunteers, and supporters:

Join us for the

PJW SUMMER QUARTERLY MEETING
Saturday, July 27, 2019
12 noon (potluck); 12:30 PM (meeting)
Social Justice Action Center,
400 SE 12th, Portland

Please join Peace and Justice Works for our 28th Summer Quarterly meeting 
on Saturday, July 27. It starts with a 12 noon vegetarian potluck (bring 
vegetarian food and non-alcoholic drink to share), followed by the 
business meeting from 12:30-2:15 PM, at the Social Justice Action Center 
at 400 SE 12th.

Proposed agenda:

--updates on Affinity Group work (Iraq, Copwatch, other);

--financial and office update, fund-raising, volunteer outreach;

--set Fall Quarterly meeting.

You don't have to be a member to attend a quarterly meeting... come by and find
out what we're up to!

Iraq Affinity Group to Mark 18 Years Since 9/11, Co-sponsor 
Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial

Peace and Justice Works' Iraq Affinity Group (IAG) continues to oppose US 
policies which escalate toward or involve military action. In September, 
people who were born after 9/11 will become eligible to fight the wars 
that have been going on since their birth. The IAG is holding a visibility 
action called "The Military's New Recruits Are 9/11 Children" on 
Wednesday, September 11 from 4-5:30 PM at SW 1st and Main, the west end of 
the Hawthorne Bridge. Please go to http://www.pjw.info/Iraq.html to share 
our flyer widely!

We are also working on an event to oppose US war drums toward Iran and 
Venezuela, scheduled for Sunday, July 28 at 1 PM; check our website for 
more information.*

In March, we co-sponsored a Stand for Peace and Justice vigil to mark 16 
years since the invasion of Iraq, handing out flyers to commuters who saw 
the Tower of Peace reading "US Out of Iraq." In June, joining War 
Resisters League, we set up the Tower near recruiting booths and warships 
docked at the waterfront during Rose Festival; the message was "War Ships 
Are Not Family Fun."

Those ships dock by the Japanese-American Historical Plaza, NW Naito 
Parkway at Davis. The IAG is again co-sponsoring Oregon Physicians for 
Social Responsibility's annual Hiroshima and Nagasaki memorial event on 
Tuesday, August 6 at 6 PM at the Plaza. This year's theme is "The Unequal 
Impacts of Nuclear Weapons." For more information, go to 
http://www.oregonpsr.org.

IAG meetings are usually held on the 2nd Monday each month, and we always 
welcome more members!

Portland Copwatch: Joint Terrorism Task Force Victory, Shootings Increase

Portland Copwatch (PCW), PJW's affinity group on police issues, continues 
to promote accountability. After two years, PCW (and PJW) helped 
coordinate roughly 50 groups who succeeded in getting City Council to vote 
in February to remove two part-time officers from Portland's FBI-led Joint 
Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). While the withdrawal made national news, in 
May they passed a second resolution allowing the Portland Police Bureau 
(PPB) to work with the FBI on cases of terrorism "and/or threats to life 
including hate crimes." We will learn next January whether this has led to 
an increase, rather than the decrease in surreptitious activity.

In January, PCW posted its fourth list of deadly force actions by law 
enforcement in Oregon, which total over 230 since 2010. The Portland 
Police have been involved in nine deadly force incidents in nine months, a 
rate unheard of since the 1990s. Only three of the nine civilians 
survived.

Copwatchers walked around Old Town/Chinatown in March and June. We saw a 
mysterious team de-escalate a police interaction near a women's shelter, 
much preferred to seeing police abuse their authority. Copwatch fields 
complaints about the PPB and Multnomah County Sheriff's Office on our 
incident report line (503-321-5120).

We were once again able to testify to a federal judge in June about the 
lawsuit in which the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said the PPB uses 
excessive force. Community testimony led to another delay in approving the 
new board set up to review the implementation of the DOJ Settlement 
Agreement. PCW also continues to meet with Chief Outlaw, met with Sheriff 
Reese, has meetings pending with members of City Council, and continues to 
comment on police (and Sheriff's) policies. Copwatch monitors the Citizen 
Review Committee, including its appeal to City Council ending in a 
first-ever (in 18 years) finding that an officer violated policy. Read 
more on our website http://www.portlandcopwatch.org and/or in the PCW 
newsletter, the People's Police Report. Subscriptions are $20/year for 
three issues.

So Many Issues Can Be Solved if Peace and Justice Works Can Turn 
Militarism to Peace

Almost every item that comes up on the daily radar-- from climate change 
to immigration rights to housing to health care and beyond-- could be 
solved if the US redirected its tax spending away from the military and 
toward human needs. Now past our 27th "birthday," Peace and Justice Works 
continues to promote nonviolent conflict resolution and connect local 
issues to national and global ones.

Our ongoing volunteer efforts are funded by individual donors contributing 
roughly $12,000 each year. We truly appreciate your support and hope you 
will send a donation to PO Box 42456/Portland, OR 97242 or online via 
Network for Good. You can become a voting member by sending a $20-45 
sliding scale fee, or give 4 hours of volunteer time per year. Also think 
about sending an item from-- or a contribution specifically toward-- our 
wish list (see the link at http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/wishlist.html). 
We recently obtained two battery backup power strips which saved our work 
when the power went out-- on two of our three computers. Can you donate 
$80 so we can get a third backup? In terms of volunteering, we need help 
putting together mailings, distributing flyers, support at events, and 
office maintenance. We thank you for helping us work toward a more 
peaceful and just world!

*-the date was moved from the tentative date of 7/20 after the mailing 
went out.