[pjw] RSVP/ PJW UPDATE: Our June newsletter & July 24 quarterly meeting

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello again PJW supporters

Below is the text of the June 2 PJW UPDATE, our twice-a-year newsletter 
that many of you should have received via snail mail recently.

You'll see a big piece of news is that on July 1, our allies at Flying 
Focus Video Collective will be "merging" into PJW as a project group!

There's also info about Monday's livestream with Ann Wright, the annual 
Hiroshima Day event and things Portland Copwatch has been up to.

Our summer quarterly meeting is coming up in just over a month, on 
Sunday July 24 via conference call. Please write back if you would like 
the call in information. We'll send a follow up reminder as the date 
gets closer, so you can decide later if you want to attend.


Project group participants, general PJW members/supporters and the board 
meet at these events to share information. We will begin with an informal 
discussion at noon with a meeting from 12:30-2:15 PM.

You can find the laid out version online
   https://www.pjw.info/supporters/pjwupdate622.pdf .

It has been password protected with the phrase
BigNews
(note the capital letters).

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

Thanks!

dan handelman
secretary
peace and justice works

-----------------

Peace and Justice Works UPDATE
June 2, 2022

Peace and Justice Works members, volunteers, and supporters:

Join us for the
PJW SUMMER QUARTERLY MEETING
Sunday, July 24, 2022
12 noon (conversation); 12:30 PM (meeting)
*Conference call- contact us for info*

We welcome you to join Peace and Justice Works for our 31st summer 
quarterly meeting on Sunday, July 24. Due to the on-again, off-again 
nature of the ongoing COVID pandemic, we will hold this meeting as a 
conference call. We're hoping our Fall meeting will be in person! We will 
start with casual conversation at 12 noon (people can eat lunch in their 
respective spaces), followed by the business meeting from 12:30-2:15 PM. 
Please RSVP to get the conference call information.

The proposed agenda includes:

--updates on Affinity Group work (Copwatch,
     Iraq, Flying Focus--see below!, other);
--financial and office update, fund-raising,
     volunteer outreach;
--set Fall Quarterly meeting.

Membership is not required to attend a quarterly meeting... call in to get 
up to speed on PJW!


Flying Focus to Join Peace and Justice Works as an Affinity Group!

Exciting news: starting on July 1, our allies at Flying Focus Video 
Collective (FFVC) will be more than allies-- they will be an official 
project group of Peace and Justice Works! FFVC has produced over 1000 
programs on peace, justice, environmental and other issues since 1991 
including covering many of PJW's events and actions. They will maintain 
their independent website at https://www.flyingfocus.org . If you want to 
help out or get on FFVC's mailing list, write ffvc at flyingfocus.org!


Iraq Affinity Group Plans Livestream w/ Col. Ann Wright, Continues Friday 
Rallies

The Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group (IAG) continues to educate 
around US policies enforced through implied or actual military violence. 
On Monday, June 20 (the same day Juneteenth is recognized as a holiday) we 
are hosting retired Army Col. Ann Wright, who resigned her State 
Department job in 2003 in protest of the Iraq war. The event's title is 
"The US and NATO's 'Pivot to Asia' and Other Threats to Peace." It will 
stream at https://youtube.com/peaceandjusticeworks starting at 7 PM 
Pacific Time. Please join us!

The IAG has also continued to host the Friday Rally for Peace and Justice 
each week at 5 PM at SW Yamhill and Broadway for over two years since the 
pandemic struck. The Rally, originally hosted by Portland Peaceful 
Response Coalition, has been ongoing since November 2001. As we have done 
frequently in the past, we held a special event in March to mark 19 years 
since the US invasion of Iraq.

We're also plugged into the planning for this year's Hiroshima/Nagasaki 
memorial, being organized as usual by Oregon Physicians for Social 
Responsibility ( https://www.oregonpsr.org ). This year's event will be on 
Monday, August 8 at 6 PM live at the Japanese American Historical Plaza in 
Waterfront Park.

On May 20 the IAG released a position statement on the Russian invasion of 
Ukraine, calling for nonviolent resolution and acknowledgment of the US 
and NATO's role in the conflict. Read it at 
https://www.tinyurl.com/PJWukraine .

In April, the Iraq Affinity Group posted the answers from eight people 
running for governor (of 36) who replied to a Peace Questionnaire. The IAG 
usually meets each month on the second Tuesday-- join us!


Portland Copwatch Monitors and Participates in Advisory Groups

Our police accountability project group Portland Copwatch (PCW) continues 
to seek a Police Bureau free of corruption, brutality and racism. In 
addition to ongoing attendance at meetings of the Portland Committee on 
Community Engaged Policing, the Behavioral Health Unit Advisory Committee, 
the Citizen Review Committee and the Training Advisory Council, PCW member 
Dan Handelman continues his work as a member of the Police Accountability 
Commission (PAC). The PAC is designing the new oversight system voted into 
the City's Charter in 2020; its work is expected to continue until or past 
June 2023.

In late April, three members of PCW testified before federal Judge Michael 
Simon about amendments to the US Department of Justice Settlement 
Agreement meant to remedy the violations of that Agreement committed by 
police in the summer of 2020. Though most of the remedies are technical in 
nature, the concepts are there to hold officers accountable for past and 
future improper use of force. One item of great concern is whether the DOJ 
will prevail in ensuring the policy for newly required body-worn cameras 
prevents officers from reviewing footage before writing their reports. 
That issue was not resolved when the Portland Police Association's 
contract was finalized in February.

PCW also does much of the work coordinating community opposition to police 
participation in the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). In early 
February, the annual report on the JTTF was pushed back by a week thanks 
to community organizing, with problematic language removed and more 
details included. There was public input at the hearing for the first time 
in years thanks to the policy change by Council made in November (see the 
Dec. 2021 PJW Update*).

Copwatch also runs an incident report line (503-321-5120), publishes the 
People's Police Report three times a year, and tracks officer uses of 
deadly force. More at https://www.portlandcopwatch.org .

You Make Peace Possible

Peace and Justice Works was formed 30 years ago this past March in the 
aftermath of the "Gulf War," the uprising against the Rodney King verdict 
in Los Angeles, and local Portland Police shootings. While every day 
brings more news of mayhem around the world-- including Ukraine, the West 
Bank, Syria, etc.-- we comfort ourselves by wondering "what would it be 
like if there were nobody speaking out?" Probably far, far worse.

Many of you on this list have actively participated in PJW events, 
volunteered with us or donated funds to keep the work going. We're so 
grateful for the continued support. If you are able, please donate by 
mailing a check/money order to PO Box 42456/Portland, OR 97242 or donate 
online via Network for Good (which has options for recurring donations). 
You can also become a voting member by donating a $20-45 sliding scale 
fee, or by giving 4 hours of volunteer time per year. Though we're 
continuing to have limited attendance in the office due to COVID 
restrictions, our all-volunteer group has kept everything running. If you 
want to help out or if you have any questions, call or text us at 
503-235-3065; information including links to donate can be found at 
https:/www.pjw.info .

As always, we appreciate all you to do promote nonviolent conflict 
resolution!

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* December newsletter has password NoMoreWar! and is at
  https://www.pjw.info/supporters/pjwupdate0122.pdf