Welcome

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Welcome to my new site. I’ve switched over to the Thesis Theme with the latest WordPress install. Decided to do a whole new install – easier than trying to navigate upgrading to MySQL 5.0 in 1and1. Some day soon I’ll create a technical page about this site to talk about the infrastructure, themes, plug ins [...]

The People are Dancing Again

Wilkinson, Charles. The People are Dancing Again: The History of the Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon (2010) I first met Wilkinson at an Oregon History Lecture where he was talking  at a “Mark O. Hatfield” Distinguished Historians Forum on the history of the Siletz Tribe. Of course, as a Siletz member, I was rather interested, [...]

Requiem for a People

Beckham, Stephen Dow. Requiem for a People: The Rogue Indians and the Frontiersmen. 1971. Probably one of the first really depressing books I ever read. Part of the reason I became involved in “genocide awareness” work. This is a historical look at the Rogue Indian Wars in SW Oregon, and their forced, almost genocidal removal [...]

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A Problem from Hell

A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide Another tome worth reading – this one by Samantha Powers.  Reviews the U.S.  response – or lack of response, to genocide. Explores the reasons the U.S. didn’t ratify the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide until 1988 and much more. I recommend this for anyone trying [...]

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Better Angels of Our Nature

The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence has Declined Steven Pinkerton Viking 2011 This book by Steven Pinker (The Stuff of Thought, The Blank Slate) is truly a tome. I’ve been reduced to actually having to buy a copy – I’m racking up library fines as I write,  there’s a long waiting list for this through [...]

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Portland Genocide Awareness Coalition

Recently I realized that I should pull together what I could from a ad hoc grass roots group I worked with in 2006-2009 called the Portland Genocide Awareness Coalition. the group did a week of events for Genocide Awareness for several years, and put together and sponsored a number of other events throughout that time. [...]

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Guy Kawasaki on powerpoint

Just ran across a video by Guy Kawasaki on presentations. Haven’t heard about Kawasaki in years! He was one of the originals behind Macintosh in the 1980′s. Not quite up to Edward Tufte’s work, but a short and pithy guide to power-point style presentations. From before 2006 – but still very relevant. .

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Westville

A guy I was interviewing in Lumpkin, Georgia, told be about “Old Town”, just down the road. Since w Lumpkin seemed like the end of the road, I was a little skeptical. But I took a break from Occupy Interviews and Immigration Detention Centers, and headed south. I found Westville, literally just outside of town. [...]

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Into the Abyss

Death Row and executions in the great state of Texas. Werner Herzog becomes a neutral observer, and a sad story slowly unfolds through his interviewees.  One of the best movies I’ve seen this year. A very fair treatment of a very difficult subject – A man on death row, a week from his execution, and [...]

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Tall Ships in Rainer

Some times on May Day I join the masses in the streets. Other times I escape the city, and wind up doing things like watching Tall Ships sail on the Columbia. Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain were visiting Rainier Oregon. I “missed” their mock canon battle, but enjoyed a sunny, quiet day watching the [...]

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Must-See Videos

I’m starting a new category of videos I run across on the internet (and some I see locally) that I feel are “must sees”. Where I can embed them directly in the post, I will do so. Else I will link to either an online version, or to a place  you can find out more [...]

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