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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2017)
LET TERS Is making demands or progressing against dominant paradigms violent? The answer hinges upon examination of the legitimacy of what is demanded or pro- gressed towards. Worthwhile demands one group makes should be included as goals for other movements. Solidarity helps everybody by networking and providing needed perspective. Dogmatic non-violence, however, is a privilege, a luxury, which hasn’t done the job in today’s political landscape. Many idealist organizers want non-violence while consuming dead animals that suf- fered their entire lives in factory farms. Si- lent complicity with the world’s most inva- sive empire in history that provides cheap gasoline also makes preaching sound hol- low. The passive nod to racist American law enforcement that imprisons more people per capita, about half of whose only crime is against themselves (use of drugs and-or being prostitutes), seals the hypocrisy. Animal abuse, militarism and the prison industrial complex are not prob- lems that will go away without attacking violently anything that threatens them. Are those who cause unnecessary suffering and death by their inaction willing to risk their good fortune for truly noble causes? This we should ask ourselves. Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita calms our inner conflicts and fears: “The Eternal in man (Ataman) can neither kill nor die.” David Ivan Piccioni Eugene STOCKHOLM SYNDROME “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty in- nocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” That is a quote by Malcolm X — de- cades before “alternative facts” and Don- ald Trump. Malcolm X also said: “If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hat- ing the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” Years ago, I plied Mom with “alterna- tive facts.” Mom returned fire with alterna- tive toothpaste, called soap. Glenn Jones Eugene NOT SO SMART METERS I learned from an EWEB board mem- ber that they’ve finished installing all the collectors/transmitters that are needed for a major Smart Meters rollout, and have already installed at least 200 of them on “non-residences.” He made note that EWEB was using the “opt in” option for permission to install these, because this was the only conces- sion that citizens won in two years fighting for some public discussion about the is- sues! To this day, not one word in EWEB’s Newsletters about any aspect of this very controversial $26 million program! EWEB has not spelled out how often different meters transmit, at what frequen- cies, power outputs, locations of collec- tors, etc. EWEB is a public entity and must be accountable to the public! Hundreds of thousands of these me- ters have been removed in California in two major class-action lawsuits, in other states, and banned in some countries after massive rollouts because of unexplained structural fires, many health issues, and exorbitant customer bills after installation. This is the same radiation as 5g wi-fi, but on steroids. “Collectors” might be right outside your bedroom wall right now! You have the option of turning your phone off. Not so, with smart meters! There is also the question of security and hacking as your meters and smart ap- pliances spy on you, selling data to who- ever wants it! Please, get online and check out the thousands of pages of horror stories related to Smart Meters, before you opt-In to this EWEB program. Robin Bloomgarden Eugene The Shedd Institute www.theshedd.org - 541.434.7000 Clarinet Marmalade Thu, Feb 9, 7:30 pm - cabaret seating Sun, Feb 12, 3:00 pm - concert seating A Friend of The Shedd Sponsor The Tony Glausi Sextet Fri February 17 DON THE CON Don the Con finally appeared on TV To show his people how honest he would be, Once he got hold of our democracy. He stood next to and pointed at a pile stacked high and deep, His “proof” that no one was allowed to peep. Those with open eyes could clearly see A mountain of unmarked folders, Upon which his lawyer gave her best, To convince our nation that he passed the test. But alas, we now know Like everything else he claims to be, Don the Con is just a poorly made for TV Reality show, Which he will cancel once he’s taken enough of our dough. Michael T. Hinojosa Drain LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and will print as many as space allows, with priority given to timely local issues. Please limit length to 200 words and include your address and phone number for our files. Email to letters@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044 or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401. theshedd.org/JazzKings Bill Mays at the Movies Wed February 22 Villalobos Brothers Wed March 1 Coming up next at The Shedd 3.2 3.3 3.9 3.19 Tommy Casto & The Painkillers Jake Shimabukuro Chuck Redd MTTA: Puttin’ On The Ritz - The Songs of Irving Berlin 3.21 The Shedd Choral Society 3.22 Dervish 3.23 3.24 3.30 4.6 4.14 4.15 4.20 Keola Beamer & Jeff Peterson Davina & The Vagabonds Ana Popovic Carl Woideck: Miles Davis Honey Whiskey Trio A Night of Vocal Arts Vasen eugeneweekly.com • February 2, 2017 7
