HERO: On Friday, Portland Peaceful Response used their weekly vigil to call for a cease-fire in Iraq. Let’s face it: It’s unlikely at this point that Bush will cease-and-desist because a few hundred people in Pioneer Square are asking them nicely. But, there are viable ways to pull the plug on Bush’s war machine–namely, Congress […]
Phil Busse
Posted inMovies & TV
Our Hero
Gut Exposed, Travolta Saves The Day
Basic dir. McTiernan Opens Fri March 28 Various Theaters Two summers ago, John Travolta starred in the disappointingly paltry Swordfish. Playing his usual smarmy, self-satisfied chump, Travolta was a high-stakes bank robber who used his ill-gotten loot to finance his own vigilante anti-terrorism warfare. The movie was notable only because Halle Berry was paid $500,000 […]
Posted inNews
Make ‘Em Pay!
The New War On War Will Be Fought With Dollars
One sign read, “I asked for universal healthcare and all I got was this lousy stealth bomber.” Other signs read, “No War For Oil.” One woman slung a placard around her neck that sarcastically queried, “How Did Our Oil Get Under Their Sand?” But most signs at Saturday’s massive anti-war demonstration simply implored “No War” […]
Posted inNews
Give Violence a Chance
Anti-war Protests: A Powder Keg Waiting to be Lit
To jumpstart Saturday’s massive march in Portland, Rep. John Lewis stood in front of a sea of demonstrators imploring them to meet warmongers with peace and love. Four decades ago, Lewis marched side-by-side with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. “By marching with our feet we will send a strong message,” boomed Lewis. “Don’t give up,” […]
Posted inNews
Anti-War and Anti-Alliance
Demonstrators Sink Claws into the Business Alliance
Joined by union workers and in anticipation of this Saturday’s massive march, the weekly anti-war demonstration at Pioneer Square swelled to three times its normal size last Friday. Hosted by Portland Peaceful Response (PPR), the evening demonstration also marked a significant lurch forward for the local anti-war movement. Until recently, speakers and demonstrators have rallied […]
Posted inNews
Everything Old is New Again
Will City Council Reconsider Its Anti-Antiwar Resolution Vote?
Like every Friday evening, about 100 demonstrators gathered at Pioneer Square to voice their weekly dissent against the Bush administration. As downtown workers boarded MAX trains and shoppers darted out of the rain and into nearby Nordstrom, the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition (PPRC) held signs and spoke about an antiwar resolution that city council failed […]
Posted inMusic
Don’t Get Screwed by Copyright Laws
In 1997, after a decade struggling, English quartet The Verve hit worldwide success with a haunting anthem, “Bittersweet Symphony.” Built around a five-second loop from the Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time”–an eerie symphonic chant of violins–the song became an international hit and served as the musical backdrop for a Nike ad. But for the band, […]
Posted inNews
Impeach Bush!
A Quasi-Legal Argument for Impeachment
Two Saturdays ago, millions of people from Paris’ boulevards to Portland’s Park Blocks carried antiwar signs and called for President Bush not to go to war against Iraq. Thousands of others carried placards imploring, “Impeach Bush.” Although the president dismissed those massive calls for peace (and his impeachment) as inconsequential “focus groups,” two potentially lasting […]
Posted inNews
The Coffee Shop War!
Should Starbucks be Welcome on Alberta?
Ever since Alberta Street began sprouting coffeehouses and art galleries, there have been rumors that Starbucks was poised to muscle in. Shorthand for quasi-hip and corporate greed, for many small-business owners, Starbucks has become the emblem of commercial development gone awry. Three years ago on April Fools’ Day, several signs sporting the coffee giant’s logo […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Haven’t We Learned Anything?
Graham Greene’s Quiet American
The Quiet American dir. Noyce Opens Fri Feb 14 Fox Tower Written in 1955, just one year after the French withdrew from what was then Indo-Chine, and as President Eisenhower was tentatively committing military advisors to South Vietnam, Graham Greene’s novel, The Quiet American was prophetic. (The story is set in 1952.) It unfolds like […]
Posted inNews
The Alliance
Since when does the Portland Business Alliance have more power than City Hall?
They defeated a city council antiwar resolution. They’re pushing out the homeless. They’re using your tax dollars to stop protests downtown. Since when does the Portland Business Alliance have more power than City Hall? Two weeks ago, when council member Jim Francesconi announced at a public meeting he was voting against an antiwar resolution, his […]
Posted inNews
Won’t Touch This!
City Council Chickens Out on Civil Liberties Resolution
Coming on the heels of a failed antiwar resolution, a measure to counter the intrusive effects of the USA Patriot Act is being shopped around city council. The initiative would curtail police powers like wiretaps and help restore strong protections for privacy rights. But no council member seems willing to touch the resolution, further raising […]