Flying Focus Newsletter August 2014

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Flying Focus Video Collective

August 2014 Newsletter

PMB 248 • 3439 NE Sandy Bv • Portland, OR 97232

(503) 239-7456 • (503) 321-5051 • ffvc@flyingfocus.org</ p>

The News You Might Have Missed: Project Censored

In March 2014, a panel of media experts from Project Censored, who put out a yearly compilation of the least known but most important news stories, spoke at the World Trade Center in Portland. The four analysts answer audience questions in our show covering the event, "Project Censored Visits Portland" (VB #91.10&11). Co-editors Mickey Huff and Andy Lee Roth, author and professor Nolan Higdon, and past director Peter Phillips discussed themes from their latest book, Censored 2014: Fearless Speech in Fateful Times. Their mission is to point out what is missing or biased in corporate news coverage and what ordinary community members can do about it. They note how coverage of current events resembles junk food news where real stories are poorly covered or not covered.

[Project Censored Panel]

Mickey Huff, Nolan Higdon & Andy Lee Roth of Project Censored

One panelist notes how corporate media dealt with Occupy Wall Street in an attempt to trivialize it, while successful collective efforts, such as those of the people of Iceland to secure their public lands, got no coverage at all. The panelists give advice on being a well- informed citizen by using multiple sources for your news, supporting net neutrality, and being responsible for how you process and use the information you encounter. The panel was sponsored by Oregon Fellowship of Reconciliation. This show was taped and edited by FFVC contributor Allen Evans.

"At Project Censored we say 'corporate news media, establishment news media.' They would love it if everyone would say 'mainstream media...' They're not mainstream. We're the mainstream. They're the plutocracy and that's their mouthpiece."-- Mickey Huff in "Project Censored Visits Portland" (VB #91.10&11)

Prominent Peace Activist Says: Abolish War

Flying Focus covered David Swanson's December 16, 2013 talk at Laughing Horse Books in Portland in which he made the case that war is illegal. Swanson lays out his rationale, history and philosophy in a persuasive and comprehensive argument in "David Swanson: Ending War" (VB #90.11&12). He includes historical efforts to end all wars including a US treaty (Kellogg- Briand) that the government needs to be reminded about.

Swanson is the author of War No More: the Case for Abolition; When the World Outlawed War; War is a Lie and Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union. Our show was taped, edited and produced by field coordinator PC Peri, with editing assistance from Dan Handelman.

Afghan Peace Activists Speak to Portlanders 12 Years After the Invasion

In October 2013, a forum in Portland on the impacts of the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan examined the human, financial and political tolls of the then 12-year-long war. A highlight of the evening was a live call to Afghan peace activists in Kabul. Much of that internet-based call and the forum are featured in "Afghanistan 12 Years Later: The Costs of Endless War" (VB #90.3&4).

The panelists who were physically at the First Unitarian Church included activist Trudy Cooper, who traveled to Pakistan with Code Pink in 2012, speaking about the devastation of US drone strikes. Other panelists were Marty Hart-Landsberg, professor of economics from Lewis and Clark, speaking on the economic impact of endless war; Penny Dex, a veteran of the US Army who co-founded Veterans Transition Corps, addressing veterans' issues and suicides; and Carol Urner of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom focusing on the universal yearning for non- violence.

Despite the proposed drawdown of US troops, it is likely the US will continue to occupy and influence the country into the future, with drone attacks continuing there and in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. This show was taped by new Flying Focus volunteer Emily Olson, coached by PC Peri, with additional footage from producer and editor Dan Handelman.

Follow up on "Trevor Aaronson: Manufacturing Terrorism" (VB #86.10&11 -- August 2013 newsletter):
Human Rights Watch examined 494 cases of terrorism since 9/11 and found only four that did not involve informants helping to concoct the plots. One man was convicted of material support for having waterproof socks in his luggage.
(The Guardian, July 21, 2014)

Turning Brownfields Into Greenspaces

A panel of local experts discussed brownfields and the government resources that are available to turn a vacant/underused property into a new project or development at the October 22, 2013 meeting of the NE Coalition of Neighborhoods. The panel included Rep. Lew Frederick of Portland (House District 43), Jenn Bildersee of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services / Portland Brownfield Program, Stephen Green of Portland Development Commission, Tyler Bump of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, and Cassie Cohen of Groundwork Portland. Hear what they have to say-- and see a few examples of converted spaces-- in "Making Brownfields Green" (VB #90.7&8).

This show was taped by field coordinator PC Peri, with additional footage from producer and editor Barb Greene. Editing assistance was from Dan Handelman.

Latinos and Racism in Portland

[Antonio Lopez]
Race Talks 2, an opportunity for dialogue about issues of race, held a discussion about the Latino experience in Oregon on February 7, 2014 at Jefferson High School. Participants included Antonio Lopez, a PPS regional administrator; Dr. Verenice Guttierrez, principal at Harvey Scott School, and Cesar Hernandez, a student management specialist at Cesar Chavez School. If you think Portland is liberal and racially inclusive, prepare to be shocked as these educators share their personal experiences of racism here. In particular, Gutitierrez' testimony about the backlash she received for noting that not all kids eat peanut butter sandwiches is astounding.

Antonio Lopez

"The Latino Experience of Racism in Oregon" (VB #91.2&3) was taped by field coordinator PC Peri and edited by Barb Greene with help from Dan Handelman.

Nagasaki Bomb Partly Built Upriver from Portland

The 2013 Hiroshima Day commemoration focused in part on how plutonium for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945 was manufactured at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Richland, Washington-- not far from Portland. In a two part Flying Focus Video Bus episode, we highlight speakers, music and information from the event.

Part one features Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR)'s John Pearson remembering Charlie Grossman, Kayla Godowa-Tufti of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs on the historical importance of the Columbia River and the way Hanford poisoned it, and performances from Portland Taiko and the Satori Men's Chorus. Part two has more music from Portland Taiko and the Satori Chorus, as well as an invocation by Reverend Myosho Obata of the Nichiren Buddhist Temple, Twyla Malchow-Hay, and Chuck Johnson of the Oregon/ Washington PSR Joint Nuclear Power Task Force. Malchow- Hay won PSR's 2013 Del Greenfield Peace Writing Scholarship.

In addition to being available on DVD, thanks to Oregon PSR, "Hiroshima-Nagasaki-Hanford: A Tragic Connection 2013" (VB #91.06&-07) is currently streaming online at www.flyingfocus.org/hirosh2013streamingpage.html.

Streaming Videos: Support Flying Focus and Educate Thousands!

If you're looking for something to watch and have the ability to stream video to your computer (or handheld device), Flying Focus now has five full length shows on line. You can access them all through our site at www.flyingfocus.org/ videostreaming.html or visit our new YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/FlyingFocusShows.

We make streaming rights available for each program with your donation of $75 (individuals & nonprofits) or $125 (larger institutions). Once you obtain streaming rights, the show can be posted on line for all the world to see-- for free -- on your own site and/or ours if you wish.

When you combine all the views of our streaming shows (over 1000) and the 38 shorter clips on our original www.youtube.com/FlyingFocus page (over 14,500), that means over 15,000 people have been able to watch our educational videos to date. We've never been able to find out exactly how many people watch the show on cable access, so having this data is a gratifying step forward.

You can help us get the word out! If you don't have $75 now, think about pooling resources with friends to ensure that a Flying Focus title which means a lot to you can be put on line for free viewing. You will be a benefactor of our ongoing work and for others hungry for information they can't get elsewhere.

Of course, donations of any size are always welcome to help us keep doing our work, and we continue to offer our shows on DVD. Beginning with our last catalog insert, you can now see there and in the text version of our catalog on line all the shows that we've previously sent out on DVD, making them much quicker to get back to you than ones that have never been ordered. Look for the special symbol " " if you want a DVD that will arrive in 1-2 weeks rather than the usual 4-6 weeks.

Thanks for helping us cover issues that the corporate news media doesn't!

[USB-3 Connector]
We are also seeking $150 to buy a card to allow our computer to use USB3, and $800 to buy enough hard drives to last us for the next two years of production...

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