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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2006)
50¿ Soul-Stirring Christmas Bring Troops Home years Local leaders say money can be better spent of •/community service See Metro section Loca, choirs join Q ° ¿tre A: T it s. ï ““ ■■3B I L ln rila n u w h s e ru e r itv n Rncpc’ ‘Citv of f Roses J ^**1 . . Established .... Volume XXXVI. Number 49 Symphony in concert in 1970 www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity Wednesday • December 6. 2006 T, Week ¡n The Review Free 9 Awards for R&B Diva Internet ¡] Mary J. Blige's ch art-to p p in g com eback al bum "The Breakthrough" landed the R&B diva a leading nine honors at this y e a r’s B illboard M usic Awards, including R&B/Hip-Hop artist o f the year, female R&B artist of the year and R&B/Hip- Hop album of the year. S e e s to r y , Begins Khalia Moore visits Chocolate Santa, aka Stanley Will iams at the Miracles Club in northeast Portland. p a g e B6. U.S. Jails Millions A record seven million people — or one in every 32 American adults — were behind bars, on proba tion or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice De partment. S e e s t o r y , p a g e A 2 . PHOTO BV I saiah B oite / T he P ortland O bserver Shootings Probe Wanted The Rev. Al S h a rp to n called foracon- g re s s io n a l probe of police shooting poli c ie s as he jo in ed a c tiv ists Sunday outside the Atlanta, Ga. home of an elderly woman killed by nar cotics police officers who burst into her home unannounced. S e e Wireless starts downtown and close-in eastside H e c a lls h im s e lf C h o c o la te S a n ta an d S ta n le y W illia m s has b e c o m e a b ig h it w ith lo cal c h ild re n as w ell as b rin g ing o u t th e kid in ad u lts. S a n ta m a k e s sto p s on w e e k e n d s at th e M ira c le s C lu b , 4 0 6 9 N .E . M arlin L u th e r K ing Jr. B lvd., to c e le b ra te the C h ristm a s season and is know n to travel th ro u g h o u t the c ity , su rp risin g a n y o n e from c o lle g e stu d e n ts to se n io r c iti zen s. A t M ira c le s, he p o se s fo r p ic tu re s ,8 w ith p h o to g ra p h e r T ra c e y S ta d a m ire , w h o w e lc o m e s a b la c k S a n ta as an in sp ira tio n to the c ity ’s di verse c u ltu re . K ids and a d u lts can v isit C h o c o la te S a n ta at the M ira c le s C lu b ag ain th is w eekend. continued on page A3 SC f°" years atrip tochw * ’ s to r y , p a g e A 2 . A n ew w ir e le s s s e r v ic e that w ill e v e n tu a lly p ro v id e free in te rn e t ac c e ss to a lm o st e v e ry P o rtla n d re sid e n t w as o ffic ia lly turned on in P ortland T u e sd a y . Initial c o v erag e w ill in clude a tw o - s q u a r e m ile a re a o f d o w n to w n c e n te re d on P io n e e r C o u rth o u se S q u a re , as w ell as m uch o f the B u ck m an . L lo y d an d K ern s n e ig h b o r h o o d s in in n e r so u th e a st and n o rth e a st P ortland. T he firm M etroFi is building th e a d - s u p p o r te d n e tw o rk , , lasofor free Oregon Sailor Guilty f n m È. LUMUMBA' llftUnáfNHID An Oregon sailor accused of stealing a Navy laptop and ped dling its cla ssifie d co n ten ts pleaded guilty Monday to espio nage and other charges. Petty O ffic e r 3rd C la ss A riel J. Weinraann, 22, of Salem, faces life in prison without parole, a dis honorable discharge from the Navy and forfeiture o f all pay. r ' £ |» JM LUMUMBA FORO Holiday Toy Safety The U.S. C onsum er Product Safety Commission has issued its annual toy safety tips for con sumer use during the holidays and throughout the year. S e e s to r y , p a g e A 6. Katrina Body Found Workers demolishing houses in the 9th Ward of New Orleans found a body thought to be that of a Hurricane Katrina victim. The discovery could be the 28th Katrina body found in the city since March. UN Ambassador Resigns Unable to win Senate confir mation, U.N. A m b a ssa d o r John B olton will step down when his tem p o ra ry ap pointment expires within weeks, the White House said Monday. Critics have questioned Bolton's brusque style. Friends and supporters o f civil liberties rally for justice Monday outside Pioneer Courthouse in the case o f a Patrice Lumumba Ford, a local African American sentenced to 18 years in prison for sedition. photos by I saiah B ouif / T he P ortland O bserver Political Imprisonment Charged Local man called victim in war on terror m ostly A frican A m erican M uslim s, w ere going to A fghanistan to fight A m erican forces. T he men claim ed they m erely w anted to help at the A fghani refugee cam ps Ford w as originally offered a five-year sentence in a plea bargain, but that o ffer w as w ithdraw n, S arah B lount T he P ortland O bserver bv 3 F Ai c £ C n 1 ¿1 A federal appeals hearing took place in Portland on M onday for Patrice L um um ba Ford, one o f the “ Portland S ix’’ w ho w as sentenced to 18 years in a federal prison as one o f the g o v ern m en t’s first victim s in the w ar on terror. Ford, a lifelong Portland resident, w as charged w ith sedition for trying to unsuccessfully go to A fghanistan from C hina in Oct. 2001. before the U.S. invaded the country. A full courtroom left m any friends and su p p o rt ers o f civil liberties outside the P io n eerC ourthouse to o ffer support to F o rd ’s fam ily, w ho for years have been politically active in Portland, including his father, Kent, w ho w as a Black Panther. Ford has been incarcerated since his initial arrest on O ct. 4, 2002. The U .S attorney w ho p rosecuted the case argued he and five o ther m en. I presum ably after form er A ttorney G eneral John A sh c ro ft's intervention, and he faced a m axim um 20-year sentence. T he U.S. 9th C ircuit C ourt has agreed to hear an appeal o f F ord’s sentence on grounds that it w as ex c e ssiv e . He is being rep resen ted by a new law yer. Shaun M cC rea o f Eugene. M cC rea argued that the sentencing guidelines for treason w ere erroneously applied in F o rd ’s case. Previously, Ford tried to obtain habeas relief on the grounds o f ineffective assistance o f counsel but the U.S. D is trict C ourt denied that appeal. T he issue at M o n d ay ’s hearing w as w hether the adv ice o f F o rd 's fo rm er atto rn ey affected the sentencing. Patrice Lumumba Ford's father, Kent Ford of Portland, thanks supporters for their prayers. continued on page A.?