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News
Briefs: The Sad Clown | Hogan's
Ruling Facing Challenge | Treesitters Celebrate | Feed
Your Head | Uplifting Event
News:
Dissenting Voices -- Saturday event provides opportunity to reflect, share,
act.
News:
Days of Awe -- We pray for peace. A personal essay.
Happening
People: Blacita Telles
The
Sad Clown
Walking alone near the end of the Eugene Celebration Parade
Sept. 15 was Eugene resident Cat Jackson dressed as a "sad clown" and using
her costume as "an artistic vehicle chosen to express my conviction."
 "War" was written on one side of the sign she carried, and "It's
Not Funny" was on the other side.
"Although I love our country and feel patriotic, I do not
agree that war is in the United States' best interest for this situation," says
Jackson.
"I had my reservations when I decided to dress up and portray
this message," she says. "In these days after the tragedy, I realized that
our reactions are coming from a state of overwhelming fear, anger and loss. In all
honesty, I was concerned that I might offend someone to the point of violence. Nevertheless,
my feelings were passionate and I decided to face whatever reaction came my way."
Jackson says she believes exercising the freedom to voice an "anti
war" statement is "critical to continuing the civil liberties that we as
citizens have fought so hard to achieve."
She says most of the response was positive and supportive. "As
I observed these enlightening reactions I could not help but think that maybe the
media was wrong about most Americans supporting violent military action," she
says.
Jackson is working to form a collective for those looking to express
a need for a "non-violent and intelligent response to these terrorist attacks."
The group is called STAND, an acronym for Speak Through Art for Non-violent Diplomacy.
She can be reached at we_stand@hotmail.com and a web site is planned soon. -- TJT
Hogan's Ruling Faces Challenge
Eugene-based federal judge Michael Hogan did it again on
Sept. 12. Known for his anti-environmental rulings, the U.S. district judge stripped
away protections under the Endangered Species Act for coho salmon along most of the
Oregon Coast.
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Slant
-- This week's issue includes a poster from Oregon PeaceWorks showing
a photo of Earth from space and a "One Planet Indivisible" slogan. Eugene
graphic artist Leslie Ford and friend Betsy Ruth designed the poster for handing
out at the Eugene Celebration. It was very popular among those of us calling for
peace during this saber-rattling time, and serves as an alternative to the "One
Nation Indivisible" slogan seen everywhere.
The "One Planet Indivisible" poster idea has been linked
to Eugene anarchists by Oregonian opinion writer Bryan Denson (9/23), but
world unity is hardly a radical leftist idea. We are better off united as humanity
with a common destiny rather than an isolated country with arbitrary and increasingly
meaningless borders.
-- Meanwhile, catastrophe is no reason to abandon criticism of
our government. In fact, this is prime time to demand accountability from our nation's
elected leaders. Congress must not roll over and let Bush (or is it Cheney?) dictate
how our nation's precious human and natural resources will be directed in the years
to come. We cannot ignore the obvious questions raised when Bush calls for "a
lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen." Defense contractors and
oil executives are jumping up and down in glee at such words, anticipating profits
"unlike any other we have ever seen." Question everything, from who writes
Bush's speeches to what U.N. dispute resolution tenants we are ready to ignore.
-- One of the most remarkable things about U.S. District Judge
Michael Hogan's salmon decision two weeks ago was not its effect on the Endangered
Species Act or even its immediate stripping of protections for foundering coho runs.
The really mind-blowing thing was that after years of denial, official sources have
come around to what many scientists and environmentalists have said all along: Hatcheries
are bad for salmon.
"Much research has been done that indicates adverse impacts
on wild salmonids from hatchery introductions in the same streams and rivers,"
wrote Gov. John Kitzhaber to federal officials.
And The Oregonian even opined that "overwhelming scientific
evidence" shows dumping out hatchery fish doesn't help wild ones. "This
is the same old, discredited claim put forth by the dam-builders and polluters, and
by those who caught and killed the last of the wild salmon on East Coast rivers.
By now, we know where this argument leads: Extinction."
SLANT includes short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes compiled
by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com
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At issue was an inconsistency on the part of the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), which is charged with protecting the salmon. When the agency decided
to list coho here it said that the wild fish and some strains of hatchery fish had
the same genes and that those genes were necessary to the continued survival of the
species. NMFS did not extend ESA protections to the hatchery fish, even though the
agency couldn't say those fish were any different from the wild ones they did protect.
"The judge was correct in saying that [denying hatchery fish
protection] was arbitrary," says Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation
of Fishermen's Associations. "But the ruling does not mean that there is no
legal distinction that can be made between hatchery fish and wild fish. It just means
that once you remove that distinction you have to protect either all of them or none
of them."
Was Hogan's decision a major blow to the embattled species protection
law? "No, it is not," Spain says. "All it is is an order that requires
clarification of the rationale for making distinctions between some fish and others."
Gov. John Kitzhaber weighed in on Sept. 19 with a letter to Commerce
Secretary Donald Evans, asking NMFS -- an agency within Evans' department -- to make
a new rule separating the hatchery fish from the wild ones.
"I am concerned about the potential social, economic and ecological
consequences of (Hogan's) decision," the governor wrote. A new listing that
covered hatchery fish "could have a devastating effect on fisheries" in
which hatchery coho are caught, and would lead to additional restrictions on Oregon
Coast landowners.
Chuck Willer, executive director of the Corvallis-based Coast Range
Association, says he agrees with Kitzhaber -- and promises a lawsuit.
"We're going to fix things," he says. "As one of
the original five plaintiffs that produced the listing (of coho under the Endangered
Species Act), we intend to pursue this in court and reverse Hogan." -- OI
Treesitters Celebrate
After three and a half years of sitting in ancient trees along
Fall Creek, protesters at the Clark timber sale are celebrating news that about half
of the virgin forest there won't be cut.
As originally sold to Zip-O Lumber Co. of Eugene, the sale included
94 acres of rare, low-elevation old growth. But surveys by citizens and the Willamette
National Forest for sensitive Oregon red tree voles found active nests, leading the
Forest Service to drop 51 acres to protect the species.
The newly protected zone includes the main tree village established
by protesters in 1998. But activists say they will remain in the trees in the 43
acres of the sale that still have no protection.
Patti Rodgers, a spokeswoman for the Willamette NF, says no part
of the sale has been cancelled, although 51 acres of it are now off limits to logging.
Rodgers explains that the agency must reach an agreement with Zip-O, which still
has a valid contract for roughly 6 million board feet. Possible outcomes of such
an agreement could involve the Forest Service buying back some or all of the forest
from Zip-O, or offering different land to log.
Derrick Acton, a Fall Creek treesitter who has found several red
tree vole nests, says any such replacement volume shouldn't come from old growth,
where he says more vole nests are likely.
Activists are ebullient at the news that some of the forest won't
be cut, but they caution that the firght is not over. Activist climbers including
Acton have found more vole nests in the unprotected areas and are waiting for the
Forest Service to confirm the find and establish more buffers -- potentially reducing
the sale still further.
For more information, contact Cascadia Forest Defenders at 684-8977.
-- OI
Feed
Your Head
For the past 12 years, the locally owned and independent bookseller
Hungry Head has been quietly disseminating information to the public in a vast spectrum
of (un)popular subjects. Now, citing an "invasion of corporate chain-stores"
the bookstore has closed its storefront at 1212 Willamette.
"Hungry Head has not turned a profit since the month Border's
books opened its local franchise," says a statement from Dylan Roelofs and Gabriel
Schroeder of the Hungry Head Collective. "A volunteer collective has since rallied
and kept the store staffed and functioning. As a collective we plan not only to continue
stocking important and obscure books, but will widen the scope of our community efforts."
The collective says plans are in the works for "support of
local artists, a bad poetry contest, a slew of rallies and workshops, and a new retail
venue."
Hungry Head is known for its collection of literature on ecology,
vegetarian and vegan cooking, underground literature and comics, paganism and magic,
fringe science, conspiracy theory, gay/lesbian community, erotica, modern philosophy,
martial arts, self-published 'zines and a wide spectrum of political viewpoints.
The collective is planning a fund-raising dinner at the Morning
Glory Cafe from 7 to 10:30 pm Sept. 29. Veteran folksinger Mark Ross is scheduled
to perform. The proceeds go towards the new incarnation of "the reference library
of suppressed knowledge."
The collective can be reached at chassisbombastic@yahoo.com
Uplifting Event
One of Eugene's most infamous landmarks is celebrating its
30th birthday with a party and a campaign to finance a $35,000 elevator. Established
in 1971 as a project of the Council of the Poor, the Growers Market at 454 Willamette
St. has served Eugene as a low-cost food-buying cooperative and shelter for at least
14 grassroots organizations.
The ground floor of Growers Market is open Thursday and Friday
afternoons and shoppers can arrange to work to earn a discount. Organic fruits and
veggies and many local products are available in bulk.
The second floor operates as home base for many of Eugene's non-profit
organizations. In the last decade, many of these groups have grown and flourished
because Growers has provided "incubation" via low rents, central location,
supportive environment, cooperative community, and technical assistance. Additionally,
Growers has two meeting areas that are available to community groups free of charge.
A major flaw, however, is that the upstairs is not wheelchair accessible
-- but it won't be for long. "We offer an important community resource that
should be available to everyone in the community" says Megan Kemple, treasurer
of the Growers board. "So, we're making a big push to secure and raise money
to install a lift."
Board members and tenants say they are excited about the project
despite the $35,000 price tag. They've already set aside a large portion of the money
and secured a loan for the rest, but are determined to fund-raise as much as possible.
"The last thing we want to do is raise the rent, but we'll need community support
to make it happen," says Kemple.
An event is planned for the WOW Hall Saturday Sept. 29. At 6 pm
the Growers community will have a potluck, slide show and talent show. At 8:15 pm
the doors will open to the general public for music by Abakadubi, and Serpentina
Ala Nar and a fire show by Cirque Symbiotik. Admission is $7-$1,000 sliding scale
("The sky's the limit," they say). For more information on the event or
project contact Megan Kemple at 342-1537 or Doug Quirk at 686-3027. -- Lisa Igoe
Back to Top
Dissenting
Voices
Saturday event provides
opportunity to reflect, share, act.
By Lisa
Igoe
Resistance to corporate globalization has been growing for many
years and has taken many different forms, from the Zapatistas' armed struggle against
economic imperialism to nuns marching on the School of the Americas, and from Seattle
to Prague, from Genoa to Washington, D.C. Protesters' messages and tactics do not
reflect a singular political goal, but all share a passion to live free from exploitation
of people and destruction of the environment.
The events of Sept. 11 struck deeply into the growing movement,
and how activists proceed from here is in question.
Protests were planned this week for the yearly meeting of the International
Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, D.C., where more than 100,000 people
were expected to participate in a wide range of demonstrations. The International
Monetary Fund and World Bank canceled their meetings in the wake of the attacks,
and many activist organizations have called off their protests. Some groups still
plan to move forward in D.C., but the tone and agenda of many demonstrations will
likely reflect a changed political environment.
Eugene activists are moving forward with the solidarity event they
have been planning for Sept. 29. Organizers say they are not being insensitive, but
rather are responding to a community need for discussion of the issues at hand. A
wide range of speakers and musicians are planning to address the war on drugs, free
trade issues and potential responses to the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.
Saturday's event will be held from 12 to 3 pm at Eugene's Monroe Park, West 10th
and Monroe.
Majeska Seese-Green, who is active with the El Salvador Interest
Group of CISCAP, recently represented Eugene at an international conference in San
Salvador regarding Plan Colombia, the $7.5 billion international plan to combat drugs,
rebuild the Colombian economy and bolster democracy. She says it is important to
move forward with the local event because "these other issues are so critical,
and they are going to continue."
"They are not going to stop pushing ahead with Plan Colombia
or their free trade agenda," she explains, "if people's attention is solely
on these new developments, then the hidden war of Plan Colombia will become even
more hidden -- but it will go on." Now, more than ever, she says, "it is
critical that we stand in solidarity with the people of the global South" so
that they are not further oppressed by U.S. economic and military policies that "will
strangle them even tighter than they currently are."
Redefining the Issues
Local activists also want to redefine the issues to reflect a larger political
picture.
"It's sad that people think hate and anger are their only
options -- not only those who attacked the WTC and Pentagon, but those who are responding
to it," says Natalie White, an active member of the Campus Green Party who heads
a campaign to label genetically engineered food. White says she is concerned about
scaling back protests in D.C., although she believes that ultimately won't set back
"the movement."
"I'm concerned about civil liberties being cut -- (and) progressive
political organizations watering down their critique to appear more patriotic,"
she says. "But at the same time, I don't think this can stop the growing movement
because it's global."
"It's important to respect people's need to grieve this tragedy
and it is more important now than ever that we fight corporate globalization,"
says Kari Norgaard, a doctoral candidate in sociology at UO. "U.S. foreign policy
in this globalized world makes us all vulnerable because the U.S. has committed and
continues to commit massive violence against people around the world."
Matt Watkins, building manager of the Growers Market, says the
backlash against the WTC attacks may be felt close to home. "Speculatively,
the biggest impact will be increased surveillance of legitimate groups that are critiquing
the system," he says. "We know they've already expanded wiretap laws and
their ability to monitor conversations. So this will not just affect anti-globalization
activists; it will impact everyone."
Watkins also believes that the attack could have a chilling affect
on people's willingness to critique the dominant system. "In times of crisis,
people who may not be involved in anti-globalization work but may critique extreme
police violence, for example, may be less inclined to speak out," he explains.
"In the long run, if there is more police brutality against activists, without
citizen response, it may impact the willingness of anti-globalization activists to
speak up."
Regardless of a shifting political climate and potential repression
-- or arguably, as a result of it -- activists are moving forward, attempting to
reframe the issues in a way that allows for dissent to the dominant political system.
"Now is the perfect time to get out of your house and engage
with your community," says Kaya Sun, a member of the Sept. 29 Working Group
that is organizing Saturday's event. "We need people from all walks of life
to engage in creating alternatives to a system that can only lead to further destruction."
Back to Top
Days
of Awe
We pray for peace. A
personal essay.
By Orna
Izakson
Just one week after the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.,
Jews around the world entered the holiest 10 days of the year: the High Holy Days,
or Days of Awe, starting with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and ending this
Thursday with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
The timing is, in a way, fortuitous, because the spiritual work
of the High Holy Days is about turning inward and toward God, cracking open the walls
that keep us locked into apathy and defensiveness, and imagining the highest and
most love-filled way of moving through the world.
On the first Monday night after the attack (Jewish days begin at
sundown the night before), Rabbi Michael Lerner told his Bay Area congregation during
Rosh Hashanah services that all the prayers in the Jewish tradition basically express
wonder and joy at the magnificence of creation -- the trees, the mountains, the oceans
and the good hearts -- and can be summed up in one word: "Wow."
The New Year (5762 by Jewish reckoning) requires celebration, and
it seemed important that night to dance and to sing, not just lamenting but as a
celebration of life -- even surrounded and infiltrated by the terror of these deaths,
even with police standing guard outside, and even as we tried to wrap our brains
and hearts around something we cannot make sense of.
In a nontraditional portion of Lerner's service, the congregation
sang John Lennon's "Imagine." The purpose was to remind the people there
to work for love and against hate, one of the most basic teachings of any system
recognizing divinity. Over and over, in Hebrew and English, the congregations prayed
as Jews have prayed on that night for millennia: We prayed for peace.
Rabbi Hanan Sills of Eugene -- who heads Ad-Olam, the Synagogue
Without Walls -- says what people must do now to heal their hearts is precisely the
work of the Jewish High Holy Days: "If we are sad, let us follow the teaching--that
says 'break your heart wide open to God and offer this as your sacrifice.' Then let
whatever flows in after that offering, let it just come in. It should be no surprise
that the other side of that expression of grief is joy and loving feelings and clarity."
The turning inward and toward God Jews do during this time is called
teshuvah, which Sills explains "is a process of self examination in order
to better understand ourselves and return to the clear essence of who we are. It's
also the basis of life repair, of those actions which follow in order to refine our
souls and realize our deeper aspirations, and more fully actualize our unique gifts
and potential in the world. --teshuvah is the highest expression of our capacity
to exercise free will, a manifestation of the divine in human(s). In so doing we
become fully human."
But it is not all dark work. Sills quotes a rabbi friend who says
"to do teshuvah is to acknowledge pain without feeding it. To seek joy
in the midst of darkness. For joy is the royal road of return to God, while sadness
is only a station along the way."
The cracking open of hearts was easy this year. But it remains
a challenge to remember and look for the humanity in people many Americans have branded
as enemies -- even if among them are people who have truly done evil -- and to remember
to live in joy as well.
To me, that has been the hardest question: How does one remember
to affirm life, to hold on to love and joy and even hope, after such a terrible event
and as we go into what will likely be such a terrible time?
I have come to think of Yom Kippur as the activist anti-burnout
holiday. The Biblical reading for the holiday is the familiar story of Jonah and
the whale, in which God had instructed Jonah to go to Ninenveh and tell the people
there of God's will. Jonah thought the task was impossible and tried to escape, by
sea, in the opposite direction. But the whale came, swallowed him and spit him back
out on Ninenveh's shores.
The meaning of the story, as I was taught it, is that denying hope
means denying God. The notion that life is a precious gift from the universe makes
killing wrong; hope is no less of a miracle, so denying hope is likewise a denial
of the divinity that bestowed it on or left it to us. So we must go forward, as said
in the books of interpretation of the Bible: "The task is enormous, the Master
is insistent, the workers are lazy. It is not incumbent upon you to complete the
task, but neither are you free to drop out from it altogether."
Sills quotes David Hartman -- an Orthodox Israeli rabbi long committed
to Israeli-Palestinian peace -- to explain the bottom line of what the tradition
of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur offer the world: "The key to the Jewish spirit
is the affirmation of life in the midst of uncertainty and ambiguity-- We must continue
to affirm life and our commitment to justice and peace even in the midst of troubling
uncertainty."
So shanah tovah, happy New Year, and may you be inscribed
in the book of life for another year.
Back to Top
 Blacita
Telles
Saturday Market vendor Blacita Telles has been sewing custom
clothing for Barbie dolls since the mid-'90s. "A friend and I were talking about
Barbie -- we got the germ of an idea," says Telles, who previously sold hand-spun
yarns at the market. "Barbie clothes are so badly made -- when you wash them,
they shrink or fall apart." In the photograph, a tie-dye dress is modeled by
"Jasmine" Barbie (of Middle Eastern ethnicity), part of the Rainbow Coalition
of Barbies that Telles has collected. "My work has been described as Barbie
in Birkies, biking to the Kiva," she notes. "She wouldn't be out of place
at the Country Fair." Telles learned self-reliance as the fifth of 12 children
growing up in rural Ohio. "My teachers were surprised that I spoke English,"
she recalls. "But my family had lived in Texas since 1785." She completed
two years at the University of Kentucky before she moved west in the '70s and raised
two sons. Now in her 50s, Telles has returned to school full-time at the UO, working
towards a degree in planning, public policy and management. Find her Barbie fashions
at booth R-4, Blackberry Blossom Handcrafts.
-- Paul Neevel
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