[pjw] RSVP/ PJW UPDATE: Our recent newsletter & Feb 25 annual meeting

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hi PJW supporters

A few things about our December 27 newsletter, the PJW UPDATE, as pasted 
in below.

1) In researching the fact sheet for this Friday's rally, I realized there
    are 30 people in Guantanamo, not 29. I have corrected the number in the
    text even though it went to about 250 folks with the original title.

2) if you know already (though there will be a reminder closer to the
    day-of) that you want to attend the annual meeting on Sunday Feb. 25,
    please RSVP and I can put you on the list to receive the call-in
    information.

3) Donations have already started flowing in. Thanks! Since we're very
    literal about where to put people's money based on their return slips,
    I will put a plug in here to please think of donating directly to the
    Iraq Affinity Group to support its ongoing work.

4) On that note, the price of first class stamps is going up AGAIN on
    January 21, and if you want to buy a few or a bunch at the current
    price and donate some or all of them to us that would be great!

Contact us if you have any questions, including making sure whether your 
membership is up-to-date, that will allow you to vote on the Board. You 
don't have to be a member to attend the annual meeting (or tonight's Iraq 
Affinity Group meeting that starts at 5 PM for that matter...)

Thanks!

dan handelman
secretary
peace and justice works

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

PJW UPDATE December 27, 2023

Dear Peace and Justice Works members, volunteers, and supporters:

PEACE AND JUSTICE WORKS' 32nd ANNUAL MEETING
Sunday, February 25, 2024
12 noon (conversation); 12:30 PM (meeting)

*Conference call-- contact us for info*

Please join Peace and Justice Works for our 32nd annual meeting on Sunday, 
February 25. We're keeping up to date regarding current COVID cases and 
considering the complexities of running a hybrid meeting, but for now 
we're (for the fourth year in a row) holding the meeting by conference 
call. Contact us to get login information. The gathering begins with 
casual conversation at 12 noon, followed by business from 12:30-2:30 PM.

The proposed agenda includes:

--updates on 2023/2024 activities from Affinity Groups (Iraq, Copwatch, 
Flying Focus Video);

--election of board of directors and officers*

(Current slate: Shelley Bedell, President/Authorized Check Signer [ACS]; 
Dan Handelman, Secretary/ACS; Linda Tomassi, ACS; Jocelyn McAuley, ACS; 
and Luke Anavi);

--financial report, office updates, volunteer outreach.

These meetings are a good place to learn about what we do and, if you 
want, join a project group!

Iraq Affinity Group Focuses on 22 Years of Guantanamo and Endless Wars

Since 2020, the Iraq Affinity Group (IAG) has been sponsoring the weekly 
Friday Rally for Peace and Justice, which began in November 2001. On 
January 12, the 200th such rally hosted by the IAG will be called 
"Guantanamo: 22 Years of Imprisonment without End... for 30 People." Once 
again Amnesty International Group 48 is co-sponsoring. While the regular 
Friday rally happens at 5 PM (at SW Yamhill and Broadway), this is a 
special expanded event and will start at 4:30 PM. The IAG is also working 
on plans for marking 21 years since the US invasion of Iraq in March.

The September 24 Friday Rally marked both nine years of US intervention in 
Syria (ongoing) and 22 years since the invasion of Afghanistan (all quiet 
for 1.5 years, though the effects linger).

The IAG was an important part of planning the 2023 Hiroshima Day in 
August, as the staff of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility had 
all turned over since 2022.

We also sent a letter to Governor Kotek, co-signed by Oregon peace groups, 
asking her not to send the Oregon National Guard into undeclared military 
conflicts.

The IAG has changed its regular meeting time to 2nd Mondays at 5 PM; we 
hope you can make it sometime!

Portland Copwatch Struggles to Ensure Community Oversight

Among the goals of PJW's police accountability project Portland Copwatch 
(PCW) is to monitor and promote an effective civilian oversight system. 
Member Dan Handelman sat on the Police Accountability Commission from 
December 2021 to August 2023. That group presented their detailed plan to 
City Council in September. In November, the City Attorney released an 
alternate version, stripping many of the community-based aspects of the 
PAC plan, even though the City's Charter (the local "Constitution") calls 
for a community-led Board. Former PAC members banded together to demand a 
special meeting with the City, which ended without closure. PCW is 
continuing to push to realize the vision of the Charter.

PCW also continues to follow statewide deadly force used by law 
enforcement, which dropped from a high of 42 in 2022 to 32 this year (as 
of December 24). While it's good to see those numbers go down, the average 
was 25 a year from 2010-2017... so, more work to do.

Online projects include the top 25 settlements page, updated in September, 
an infographic about how many Portland Officers have been involved in 
deadly force incidents (updated in December to add five officers involved 
in two shootings, with the officer's name unknown from a December 6 
shooting). See https://portlandcopwatch.org for more info.

In late August, PCW released the 30th anniversary issue of its newsletter, 
the People's Police Report (PPR). The PPR is published three times a year 
and #91 is on its way!

PCW members regularly (almost weekly) testify at City Council about 
police-related items including settlements, at meetings of the Training 
Advisory Council, Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing, and 
the Citizen Review Committee (CRC). Copwatch offers analysis of Compliance 
Reports on implementing the 2012 US Department of Justice Settlement 
Agreement, Police Review Board reports, Portland Police policies, and 
more. As usual several members testified in court when the Agreement was 
modified in November to drop nearly half of the obligations (considered 
"fulfilled") and change the Compliance Officer into an Independent Court 
Monitor.

Representing PJW, Copwatch also coordinates a network to keep the police 
out of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. For people with complaints 
about the police, PCW runs an incident report line (503-321-5120 
call/text). To join PCW meetings, schedule an in-person one hour 
orientation.

Flying Focus Video Covers War and Peace, Environmental Justice, and More

Flying Focus Video Collective (FFVC), now part of PJW for 18 months, 
continues to produce its weekly series featuring such topics as the legacy 
of the US carpet bombing of Laos and Cambodia, climate actions in 
Portland, and a neighborhood program to feed houseless people and provide 
community. FFVC celebrated its 32nd year with a retrospective show in 
November. One advantage of having a 1000+ title back-catalog is that we 
were able to re-run a show about Israel/Palestine in December, produced by 
the late Yvonne Simmons in 2009. To contact FFVC about being on its email 
and/or snail mail list, go to https://flyingfocus.org.

Support Peace, Promote Justice!

PJW doesn't have a monopoly on any of the issues we work on. We're 
grateful to network with other groups working on the situation in Gaza, 
police accountability, the death penalty, and other serious human rights 
concerns. With support from a great community (that includes you!) we're 
able to do all this work on a volunteer basis with a budget of under 
$20,000 a year.

We're ever so thankful for people who volunteer, show up at events, and 
donate funds. If you are able to make a general donation or flag your 
donation as an annual membership ($20-45 sliding scale or 4 hours 
volunteering), send a check or money order (and/or items from 
https://portlandcopwatch.org/wishlist.html ) to PO Box 42456, Portland 
97242. Our online donation site at Network for Good allows you to make 
one-time or recurring donations, designating which affinity group (or PJW 
as a whole) you want to support. Visit https://pjw.info/donate.html to 
learn more. We appreciate your support in our work to make this a better, 
more peaceful planet!