[pjw] REPORT BACK: Friday rally #18 under stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello again supporters of peace

At our 18th Friday rally since the pandemic kept most people in their 
homes, we rallied again for peace and police accountability. We talked 
about the federal occupation of Portland by over 100 law enforcement who 
are unleashing tear gas on community members, them media, and even the 
Mayor. We noted that President Trump is also sending federal forces into 
other cities under the guise of fighting crime (as noted in an email we 
sent on Thursday).

I noted that Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has proposed a ballot measure to 
strengthen police oversight. Here's a link to the City Council Agenda, 
where  you can find that item as #633 and sign up to talk if you want:

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/26997

Here's an analysis Portland Copwatch did about the current system before 
the details of the measure were released:

http://portlandcopwatch.org/oversight_analysis0720.html

We also talked about the US' continued escalation with China, including 
the arrest yesterday of a Chinese scientist in San Francisco after they 
had sought refuge in the embassy there.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/24/chinese-researcher-arrested-after-she-hid-at-consulate-in-san-francisco.html

We mentioned the ongoing bombings of Syria by Israel, which, like the US, 
seems to enjoy protection from international law since neither country was 
asked by Syria to be there.

https://breakingdefense.com/2020/07/israel-strikes-syria-warns-russia-over-iranian-missiles/

A passer-by who saw our sign with "No US War on Syria" told us that Russia 
was the real threat. While it's true Russia is also bombing in that 
country, which we obviously oppose, they were invited in by the Syrian 
government. However, the man seemed to agree that both Russia and the US 
were interested in Syria's oil.

Also, not only did I announce next week's rally focusing on 75 years since 
the bombing of Hiroshima, but we actually had one person come take a flyer 
from the wagon!

http://www.pjw.info/hiroshima75yl.html

Don't forget to RSVP if you want to come; I think we're only up to 8 
people from our capacity of 25. We all wear masks and stay socially 
distanced, and for what it's worth the only law enforcement we have seen 
in the last few weeks was a security guard (not from the Square) who 
wandered past last night. Our rally was five people strong yesterday.

For the second week in a row we had a lot of honking horns and thumbs-ups, 
including people on their way to the federal building (presumably), with 
one holding up her sign about getting the federal police out of Portland.

Speaking of which, an IAG member suggested the great idea of adding "US 
out [of].... Portland" to the rolling sign, which already lists various 
countries and the continent of North America. I didn't have time to make 
that edit but hope to do so.

I think we're closer to solving the reason the sign keeps shutting down in 
the same place every week-- the manufacturer said it could be affected by 
electromagnetic interference, and TriMet let us know that their overhead 
power lines are unshielded. The two places the sign keeps kicking out are 
where the N/S and E/W tracks cross each other, so there's likely a lot of 
interference at those corners. I wonder if people with pacemakers have 
problems walking by those corners!!!

Thanks as always and stay safe....

--dan handelman
Peace and Justice Works
      Iraq Affinity Group
      PO Box 42456
      Portland, OR   97242
      (503) 236-3065
      iraq at pjw.info
       http://www.pjw.info/Iraq.html
      Donate on line: http://www.pjw.info/pjwdonate.html