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Bring Troops Home
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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.?