Reminder: No Film or Workshop at The GHC This Week

Hello all you beautiful and wonderful people!

Thank you to all who came on an off night to movie night at the Green House Collective. As a reminder, we will not be having any events at the GHC this week, but we are excited, and hope you are as well, for a month full of workshops in August.

A beautiful member of the GHC, Matt from Tryon Farm, will be doing our 1st workshop of the month on August 7th about School of the Gardens Program in Portland, and may possibly be accompanied by some other folks from Tryon Farm and Sauvie Island Farms as well. This workshop has been in the planning stages for some time and we are very excited to have Matt and his guest come to the GHC.

Then we have two more workshops the following weeks. Another beautiful memberas you all are, of the GHC, Lish, will be hosting a workshop with an expert guest on the current state of LNG (Liguified Natural Gas) proposed projects in and around Oregon and sensitive habitat areas.

Finally, an amazing activist from Witness for Peace (WFP), SOA Watch, and other organizations, Beth Poteet, will be hosting a panel discussion workshop with three other ladies from WFP about their delegation trip to Columbia and Nicaragua. The WFP delegation was there to document problems with so called free trade agreements, talk to farmers, workers, and others who have been affected by free trade agreements and human rights violations.

We at the GHC, are extremely excited to have a full month of workshops and amazing people to share our space with. In the next few days and coming weeks we will be sending out detailed emails about these upcoming workshops.

We look forward to seeing you all very soon!

Much love, light, and blessings,

The Green House Collective

This Week @ The GHC

Hi Loves,

We hope you are all doing wonderful. This week we will be hosting film night on Wednesday instead of Thursday- we hope to see you!

We will be showing Invisible Children, a film that documents the experience of children in Uganda's 23 year old conflict (which is currently undergoing negotiations and a peace process) and aims to raise awareness of Uganda's war through storytelling in the hopes of creating change. This will be an intense film that not only connects to the current and historic situation in Uganda, but relates to protracted conflict throughout the globe and the effects it has on the human experience.

Please join us this Wednesday at 6:00 for a vegan POTLUCK!, followed by a showing of the film at 7:00 with a discussion to follow.

What: Film Night at the GHC; Invisible Children
When: This Wednesday, July 23; 6:00 POTLUCK, 7:00 film & discussion
Where: The GHC 4407 SE Tibbetts St off of buslines 14, 75, 9, and 4, and right off the Clinton St. super bikewaY!

Hope to see you!!

In Peace, Love, and Solidarity,

Rhea and The Green House Collective

"In relationships of violence life becomes a stranger and truth a paradox. In relationships of peace life fulfills and truth liberates." The Great Harry Anastasiou!

Doing Homework: Anti-Immigrant Ballot Measures

This year Oregon has two ballot measures that will intensify the perpetuation of the repulsive oppression our immigrant and refugee communities experience daily, IP #19 and IP #112. As is the trend, these initiatives are written in a language difficult to deconstruct that make it easy to elect to work against those whom we struggle to stand in solidarity with. The following is a summary of the measures by the Center for Intercultural Organizing. I encourage everyone to do their best to learn as much as they can about these measures and to use dialogue as a vessel to raising awareness about the importance of these issues and voting against them!!

Oregon's 2008 Anti-Immigrant Ballot Measures - #19 and #112

#19: Prohibits Teaching Public School Student In Language Other Than English For More Than Two Years

Summary of Initiative

* Non-English speaking students who enter the public school system will be limited to not more than two years of English Immersion classes.
* The amount of time for ESL classes depends on the grade of non-English speaking student enter the public school system.

“Yes” statement: “Yes” vote prohibits teaching public school student in language other than English for more than two years (exception for teaching foreign language to English speakers).

“No” statement: “No” vote retains requiring English courses for students unable to profit from classes taught in English, permitting Multilanguage instruction to assist transition to English.

Significant Impact/Concerns

* This initiative does not consider individual learning levels or students with special needs.
* What are the consequences for non-English speaking students who are prematurely forced into English only classes?
* How will this affect refugee children who have come directly from refugee camps with little formal education
* How will this affect ESL funding, school funding, and curriculum?

#112: Allows state cooperation with Immigration Enforcement; Requires “Legal Presence”/Citizenship for Specified States Rights/Privileges

Summary of Initiative

* No Statute, regulation, or agency/instrumentality of the state can prohibit public employees from cooperating with federal agencies in the enforcement of federal immigration law.
* First time Oregon voters must provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
* Proof of legal residence is required for driver license applicants.

“Yes” Statement: “Yes” vote allow state/local cooperation and resources for immigration enforcement; requires certain documentation of citizenship for voter registration, “legal presence” for driver/identification documents.

“No” Statement: “No” vote retains current state/local limits on cooperation and resources to enforce immigration laws, current requirements for voter registration, and grant of driver/identification documents.

Significant Concerns/Impacts

* Would state and local police have the ability to arrest undocumented immigrants on a regular basis? Would state and local police receive proper training, funding and support to carry out federal immigration enforcement?
* Would this initiative require all government workers (hospitals, schools, etc.) to report undocumented immigrants? Would this initiative promote racial profiling?
* Would this eliminate the ability to hold street-side voter registration drives?
* How long will it take to verify a voter’s status under the new system?

Hand Off the Poor!

Hands Off the Poor! Stop Police Harassment!

Join the Portland Coalition Against Poverty (PCAP) in presenting a demand to the Portland Police Bureau and Clean and Safe to stop targetting and harassing poor and houseless people in our community. Over 100 people have been swept from underneath Portland's bridges in the last week. Help show that Portland will not tolerate harassment or arrest of a community based on their economic or housing status. Help Get the Word Out!

When: Wednesday Jul 09, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Followed by free food and a community forum

Where: North Park Blocks - at the Elephant
W Burnside and Park
Portland, Oregon 97205

More Info: On Tuesday June 24th, following the regular meal service under the Burnside
Bridge, Portland Police awakened and dispersed over 50 people from above and
beneath the Bridge. On Wednesday June 25th, the police and Clean and Safe
awakened and dispersed 16-20 people from the East side of the Morrison Bridge
and 10-14 people from the East side of the Hawthorne Bridge. The people were
removed with no alternative sleeping locations given. Alan Pyrah, who was
sleeping on the Burnside bridge at the time of the sweep, asked an officer
where he was expected to go. The unnamed officer replied, "Go across the
river." Pyrah went to sleep under the Morrison Bridge, and was disturbed
again the following evening. These aggressive acts on the part of the Portland
Police highlight the continued contempt of the Portland Police bureau for the
houseless and impoverished.

The police awakened the sleeping citizens using foghorns and boots, and gave
them two minutes to collect their possessions. Clean and Safe, the security
branch of the Portland Business Alliance, had brought large dumpsters with
them, and all possessions not collected within the two minute limit were thrown
into the dumpsters. A Portland Police officer stood by with a timer.

This method of dispersal is a break from standard Portland Police policy:
Ordinarily, possessions are seized and taken to a central storage facility,
where they can be claimed the next day. Additionally, city policy requires the
police to give 24 hour posted notice before enforcing the no-camping law.

These dispersals are in accordance with the regular pattern of ticketing and
harassment during the summer festival season. Interviews conducted at several
nightly feeds immediately following the raids confirmed the worst suspicions of
houseless advocates.

Larry Reynolds, a disabled veteran who sleeps outdoors, said, "They're
targeting homeless people...taking people's gear and throwing it away. They're
not posting notices or inviting social service agencies [as specified under the
no-camping law] as they do it."

Two weeks before the Waterfront Blues Festival, the city has begun to increase
pressure on people sleeping outdoors. It began with verbal warnings, and has
been followed by ticketing and dispersal on a nightly or bi-nightly basis. This
police aggression is intended to insure that attendees of the Blues Festival
will not be confronted by the City's issues of poverty. Cheyenne, a houseless
person affected by the dispersals, said, "It's the rich and the middle class
stealing [sleep] from the poor."

In response to the targeting of poor and houseless people in the community, a
demonstration is planned for Wednesday, July 9th. It will start in the North
Park Blocks at 5pm. "Hands Off the Poor," a demonstration organized by the
Portland Coalition Against Poverty demands an immediate end to police
harassment and arrest of poor and houseless people in the community.

Please Distribute Widely

For more information or to help out - Please Contact us by email at
PDXCAP@gmail.com or call 503. 839. 3670

Imminent War with Iran and the Bush Doctrine

Hello all you wonderful people,

The war propaganda machine is back at, and new information is coming to light about an imminent attack on Iran. In October of 2007 I posted a blog in regards to this (read below), but the pressure and intensity has greatly increased in the last couple months. In this weeks edition of The New Yorker a wonderful, yet frightening, article was published entitled "Preparing the Battlefield." We strongly recommend reading the article at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh, and studying up on the similarities of what lead up to the attack on Vietnam and what is happening now. The time is NOW to stop being silent, the time is NOW to call/write/email/fax your elected representatives and petition them to NOT fund/support a war in Iran. Dissent is a gift, activate yourself, STOP BEING COMPLACENT, this does effect all of us!

PEACE!




Usurpations of the Bush Doctrine are remanifesting itself, only this time in Iran. In October 2007, the illegal occupier of this country, G.W. Bush, announced they were designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard (National Defense) a proliferator of WMDs and supporter of terrorism. So what does this mean? If you recall back to the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq, our government persuaded the American people that Iraq was harboring WMDs and was supporting terrorism. Prior to this, in June of 2002 Bush delivered a new course in U.S. Foreign Policy; known as the Bush Doctrine (see link below for the entire Doctrine). Under the Bush Doctrine, G.W. says "We must be prepared to stop rogue states and their terrorist clients before they are able to threaten or use weapons of mass destruction against the United States, our allies, and friends." This authority vested upon himself through executive privilege granted under the Constitution, gave the legal right, under the Bush Doctrine, to preemptively strike a "rouge state" (in this case Iraq) by any means necessary if they are believed to be an imminent threat to our national security. Immediately following the Bush Doctrine, the media persuasion blitz began to convince Americans and the World that Iraq was harboring terrorist and was in possession of WMDs. Then in March 2003 the invasion began and has come at the cost of an estimated one million Iraqi deaths. To date no WMDs have been found and because of this our government changed their language to the liberation of the people of Iraq. I'm not advocating Saddam Hussein was a great person, but the people of Iraq were in a much better position under the Saddam then they are since the illegal occupation of Iraq. So, is this a just war or just a war on black gold (oil)? Consider this: During WWII, WE the people were overwhelming behind the war and collectively rationed unnecessary goods like oil, rubber, etc . . . Do you think Americans today would be willing to ration this good? NO, because we are more dependent upon foreign oil then we were during WWII, thus it seems this is a war fueled by corporate greed to continue filling our overconsumption of oil. What does this all have to do with Iran? Because, of the new label given to them as harboring terrorist and being in possession of WMDs, G.W. now has the authority to preemptively strike Iran, so long as Congress continues to fund the War on Terror; which they just did with another $196 billion more in war appropriations. This doesn't necessarily imply we will be attacking Iran, but based on the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq it seems imminent. The problem is we do not have enough troops to fight our current wars let alone another un-just war. Thus is why there are private security firms like Blackwater fighting in Iraq. However, current troops and private security firms aside, another war will mean one of two things: privatization of the military or military conscription (the draft). The masses will hit the streets in a demonstration of our 1st Amendment Right dissenting the war(s), the draft, and continued calls for impeachment (hopefully Cheney first then Bush). The time is NOW to stop being silent, the time is NOW to call/write/email/fax your elected representatives to Defund the War (this can be done under the War Powers Act) and stop "Preparing the Battlefield" for an imminent attack on Iran. Dissent is a gift, activate yourself, STOP BEING COMPLACENT, this does effect all of us!

PEACE!

Ryan and the GHC

Click on links below for the Bush Doctrine and how to contact your elected representatives in Congress.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss5.html (Bush Doctrine)
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt

Movie night at the Green House Collective

Hello to All!!!

Hope that everyone is enjoying the summer heat - life is in the air! It's been a few weeks since we have seen ya'll, and we hope to have you all join us this Thursday for a lovely movie showing

For the month of July we are going to do a three part series showing of 1 hour documentaries put out by the BBC. Here's the description that they offer on the page: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/3755686.stm

Should we be worried about the threat from organised terrorism or is it simply a phantom menace being used to stop society from falling apart? Should we be worried about the threat from organised terrorism or is it simply a phantom menace being used to stop society from falling apart? In the past our politicians offered us dreams of a better world. Now they promise to protect us from nightmares. The most frightening of these is the threat of an international terror network. But just as the dreams were not true, neither are these nightmares. In a new series, the Power of Nightmares explores how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion. It is a myth that has spread unquestioned through politics, the security services and the international media.


THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES
Three part series

I: Baby It's Cold Outside
II: The Phantom Victory
III: The Shadows In The Cave
At the heart of the story are two groups: the American neo-conservatives and the radical Islamists.

Both were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. These two groups have changed the world but not in the way either intended. Those with the darkest fears became the most powerful. Together they created today's nightmare vision of an organised terror network. A fantasy that politicians then found restored their power and authority in a disillusioned age. Those with the darkest fears became the most powerful. The rise of the politics of fear begins in 1949 with two men whose radical ideas would inspire the attack of 9/11and influence the neo-conservative movement that dominates Washington. Both these men believed that modern liberal freedoms were eroding the bonds that held society together. The two movements they inspired set out, in their different ways, to rescue their societies from this decay. But in an age of growing disillusion with politics, the neo-conservatives turned to fear in order to pursue their vision. They would create a hidden network of evil run by the Soviet Union that only they could see. The Islamists were faced by the refusal of the masses to follow their dream and began to turn to terror to force the people to "see the truth"'.

These will all be insightful and challenging topics that we will discuss over this month. We hope that you all can make it this week - that way we can continue the series so that all are caught up!!! Regardless, come if you can and if not hopefully we'll see you next week!

What: Movie Night screening of "The Power of Nightmares"
When: Thursday July 3rd - vegan potluck at 6, movie at 7, discussion to follow
Where: the Greenhouse Collective, email for the address or directions

Off the Clinton bike route - buses #9, #4, #75

And of course, much love to you all! Thank you for your beautiful energy, and
for your passion and commitment towards creating change

LOVE

The Greenhouse

Reminder: The Green House is a Safer Space, and please note that all of our events are substance free unless otherwise noted.

NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.

Seriously? NAFTA/CAFTA Superhighway?

Hello all you beautiful people,

Are you aware that Multi National Corporations (MNC) and their sheep, the government, are in the process of building a NAFTA/CAFTA Superhighway? If not, please do some research and educate yourself about this latest autrocity in Capitalism and corporate greed. Lately through independent media sources there has been an influx of information coming in from Indiana where they are currently working on I-69. But the fight doesn't start or stop in Indiana, I-69 is the new NAFTA/CAFTA Superhighway that will be a continuous patch of pavement from Mexico City and extending up to Toronto.

But, this grande scheme is also part of a larger regional plan known as Plan Puebla Panama and a much larger scheme the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). With the recent passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), Plan Puebla Panama is now a reality. Plan Puebla Panama, once completed, will extend, without disturbance, a Superhighway system from Panama all the way up to Canada. This Superhighway system will and has cut through the heart of rainforest, the destruction of wetlands and other crucial habitats, and a mass displacement of over a million people, most of whom are indigenous or of the proletariat.

There have been wars already and there most certainly will be more to come. The Zapatistas (EZLN) in Chiapas Mexico have been waging a war against the Mexican Government since NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement or as we like to say Not Another Free Trade Agreement) took effect in 1994. The Zapatistas have established autounomous zones where the Federal Government has no control. Yet, because Chiapas is one of the richest states in Mexico as far as natural resources but is one of the poorest states in terms of economic standards the Mexican Government and MNCs are commiting human rights violations against the indigenous to further displace them to make room for the Superhighway and exploit other natural resources. The Zapatistas have been somewhat succesful, but the fight is bound to continue as greed wears on and Federal Government/MNCs patience wears thin. The war has also begun in Indiana, where some amazing peace actvist are setting up tree sitins all along the Superhighway construction site. They aren't yet losing the battle but they are in desperate need for help.

To no surprise the mass media has not been reporting about the tree sitins or educating the public about this extension of NAFTA/CAFTA. Congress is also mum, mainly because most of them are unaware that the $286 Billion Highway bill passed in 2005 was earmarked to build this Superhighway. Ron Paul has probably been the most outspoken critic of this Superhighway while others remain silent and uneducated (I recommend reading his statement on this @ http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/701/the-nafta-superhighway/).

This is just a small portion of what is happening, but hopefully this will incite some action to educate yourselves and petition Congress and the mass media to STOP being silent on this very important matter. For more information about this subject, check out these websites and we also have a movie about the Plan Puebla Panama if anyone is interested in viewing it:
http://stopi69.wordpress.com/
http://indymedia.us/en/index.shtml

Much love,

Ryan and the Green House Collective