Behind Enemy Lines dir. Moore Opens Fri Nov 30 Various Theaters It is difficult to believe that this latest installment of American war movies was scripted before September 11. Even though Behind Enemy Lines’ trigger-happy Serbs are postdated as enemies, the movie’s underlying themes about U.S. foreign policy could not be more aligned with America’s […]
Phil Busse
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Restaurant Russia
Restaurant Russia 6433 SE Foster 771-8873 At Restaurant Russia, I ordered a meat platter appetizer for $7 that promised cuts of sausage and pork. Instead, a plate of thinly sliced fish arrived–herring, salmon, sardines–with spines and bones still intact. It was as if the fish had been run, still alive, through a Cuisinart. Unlike Thai […]
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OUR “CONSUMER-CONFIDENT” ANNUAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
In this time of national tragedy and warfare, when it seems that America is almost at its breaking point… we should remember that we still have one more major hurdle to overcome: Holiday Shopping. And while we would all love to say, “Screw you and your present, Grandma! I’ve got the anthrax!” it is up […]
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Paranoia Validated
Will Grand Juries Unravel Activists’ Networks?
For the past few weeks, Mary “Moss” Fanelli, a tough but effusive environmental activist, thought that she was being followed. An occasional treesitter in Eagle Creek, she has spent time on the front lines. But, according to friends, when Moss went about her life in town–going to cafes, the library–she began to suspect she was […]
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A Deathblow to Death with Dignity
Is the Government Neutralizing Our Autonomy?
When drawing up the blueprints for democracy, Thomas Jefferson and his cohorts made certain that individual states would have their own freedoms separate from the controlling forces of a central federal government. That notion of autonomy and state sovereignty has always been protected as the central core to democracy. In a recent Supreme Court decision […]
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R.I.P. PIIAC
City Council Denies Appeal From An Abused Activist
Craig Rosebraugh is perhaps the most infamous environmental activist in Portland, if not the entire Northwest. As the former spokesperson for the firebrand Earth Liberation Front, Rosebraugh has spent plenty of time defending anarchy in front of media microphones and cameras. But on Halloween, Rosebraugh sat earnestly in front of City Council and petitioned for […]
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JUST BENEATH THE SURFACE
Is Portland Next on the List of Cities Due For a Race Riot? Just Ask the Experts
“Cincinnati, New York, Miami, Portland.” Dr. Ray Winbush names off cities he thinks are prime candidates for race riots. Winbush is the director of the Race Relations Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. Just two days before speaking with the Mercury, he had returned from Cincinnati, where he advised local police officers about changing tactics to help […]
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Where Will the Leaves Go?
Local Philanthropist Saves the Day for Homeless
Once again, Dignity Village has sidestepped a deadline for its eviction. Two months ago, the encampment of homeless men and women was forced to move from its site under the Fremont Bridge to a remote site near the airport. That move was intended to be temporary; The city gave the homeless sixty days, until November […]
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News Makers, Love Makers
A Guide to Portland’s Sexiest Movers and Shakers
Although a skin-scratching case of anthrax may be more welcome than a steamy night with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, it’s a little-known fact that many news makers are also some of the greatest–and most inventive–love makers. Need we say anything more than Bill Clinton, an intern, and a cigar? From our charming mayor to […]
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Haymarket, It Ain’t
City Suffers World’s Shortest Labor Strike
If you hit your snooze bar and slept late on Monday morning, you probably missed the massive–yet brief–work-strike in Portland. Upset that City Hall was nickel and diming their health benefits, about 1800 city employees walked off the job for a whopping 20 minutes. Since strikers included most non-emergency city employees, such as meter maids […]