 |
  |
 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||
|
Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: NEW VOICES IN WORLD LAW A free public forum at the UO School of Law will feature three young, female scholars with critical perspectives on U.S. international law and policy. The forum, organized by law professor Ibrahim Gassama, will be held from 4 to 6 pm Thursday, Jan. 11 at Room 175, Knight Law Center, 1515 Agate St.
At the forum, titled "New Voices in International Law," Hilary Charlesworth, Karen Engle, and Ileana Porras will reflect on the U.S. role in the world and challenges such as economic and social inequity, nuclear proliferation, AIDS, terrorism and gender violence. "We wanted to sponsor some very capable, younger international scholars to hear their perspectives on a variety of issues," Gassama says. "We refer to them as 'new voices,' although they also could be called 'feminist' or 'critical' legal scholars or 'Third World' or 'post-colonial' scholars." Charlesworth, an Australian law professor and current holder of the Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics, is considered one of the world's leading feminist international law scholars. She wrote the first book-length work to focus on the role of women's issues in that arena and co-authored one of the most widely used international law texts. Engle writes and lectures extensively on identity politics, international law, human rights and employment discrimination. She holds a chair at the University of Texas School of Law and is considered an incisive and original thinker. Porras is a law professor and former nun who focuses on issues of violence, colonialism, trade and the environment. She has made important contributions to various aspects of international law, including international environmental and economic law. "Through their brilliance and dedication to legal scholarship, these scholars have increased and improved our understanding of international law," Gassama says. "I felt that it was important to hear from these women at a time when many of us are deeply concerned about the concerted efforts from one wing of the Republican Party to undermine international law and international institutions. "Notwithstanding the recent repudiation by the U.S. Justice Department of a legal memorandum that provided legal justification for torture of terror suspects, there are plenty of reasons to believe that this administration lacks an appreciation of the contributions of international law to our civilization," Gassama says. "These distinguished scholars understand the limits and aspirations of international law and should help us as we think about how best to deal with the expanding list of challenges we face in the world today." The forum is part of a two-year inquiry by the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics into "The Changing Geopolitical Order: Implications for Peace and Stability."
MPC GIVES NOD TO ROADWORK The Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) pushed through a list of amendments to a regional transportation plan in an emergency meeting Dec. 30 that was called "profoundly unfair" and an "unfriendly public process" by critics in the audience (see earlier news story, "Shadow Government," 12/16).
MPC chairwoman Bonny Bettman called for additional time to allow the Eugene City Council to review the amendments and the meeting drew promises of lawsuits from Kevin Matthews, president of Friends of Eugene, a local land use watchdog group involved in several successful challenges to PeaceHealth's land use plans. Former Mayor Jim Torrey requested the meeting in a last-minute attempt to promote new road projects that compete with funds for maintenance and preservation of existing roads. The city currently has a $94 million backlog in road repairs. The embattled $150 million-plus West Eugene Parkway (WEP), opposed by new Mayor Kitty Piercy, was on the list of Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) changes made by the MPC in the emergency meeting. Other approved projects included the I-5/Beltline interchange and the extension Airport Road. "This mockery of public process is at the least a slap in the face to the general public, and at worst a misuse of authority by elected officials," said 1000 Friends of Oregon Lane County Planning Advocate Lauri Segel. "It is no secret that this meeting is unwarranted at this time, considering that a five- or six-month window is currently available for adoption of the proposed 2005-07 MTIP. It is also no secret that this meeting was initiated by Mayor Torrey for the purpose of ensuring that Mayor-elect Piercy and a new City Council have no opportunity to put some transparency into the process of planning for future transportation facilities." Segel also voiced concern about "feet-dragging" in the appointment of a Citizen Advisory Committee and "little or no public review period" regarding addition of multiple changes to the proposed MTIP amendments. "There is a lot wrong with this picture, and it is time to put an end to long standing practices that are in clear violation of state and federal transportation planning policies." In the final vote on the MTIP, Bettman's was the only hand raised in opposition. Approval of the MTIP is not the last hurdle before construction of the WEP begins, but it is considered a step in that direction. ODOT has yet to sign off on the project, and the WEP faces legal challenges if approved by state and federal agencies. — TJT
JUNGLE JAMS FOR TSUNAMI Satin Love Orchestra, Whopner County Country Allstars, J C Rico & Zulu Dragon, I-Chele' & The Circle of Light, and The Fuzz are joining Lane County community members in a benefit for tsunami victims at The Jungle Sunday, Jan. 9. The Tsunami Relief Benefit Concert begins at 5 pm and is open to adults over 21. Suggested minimum donation is $15. The club's employees will be working for free and donating their tips so that 100 percent of the evening's proceeds will go to relief projects. The Jungle is located at 23 W. 6th Ave. For more information contact The Jungle at 338-9000 or Jaguar Productions at 747-6612. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD Resolved to be more politically and environmentally active in 2005? The Oregon Conservation Network (OCN) is organizing a series of free training sessions around the state this month, including a "citizen lobby" training" from 6:30 to 9 pm Thursday, Jan. 13 at EWEB in Eugene. Other sessions will be held in Salem on Jan. 19 and Portland Jan. 26. Participants will learn techniques for communicating with lawmakers, writing effective letters to the editor and testifying at public hearings. "Many folks are looking for ways to make a difference after the election and our citizen lobby training is one direction that community members can go with their work," says Jennifer DeMuth, field organizer of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, one of the groups involved. Space is limited. To register, contact DeMuth at: (503) 227-8073 or e-mail jdemuth@olcv.org LONGHOUSE OPENS JAN. 11 Nine federally recognized Native American tribes will join with UO officials in a public dedication and opening ceremony for the UO Many Nations Longhouse at 11:30 am Tuesday, Jan. 11. The Longhouse will be a gathering spot and welcoming space for all Native Americans and the general public. This free public event will take place at 1630 Columbia St. in the area behind the Natural History Museum. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will provide a salmon feast after the ceremony.
CORRECTIONS/ CLARIFICATIONS In our news story on biodiesel fuel Dec. 23, the name of the office manager quoted at the end of the article was misspelled, due to a reporter's error. His name is Carl Burdick.
Eugene voters by a narrow margin nixed a ballot measure in 1998 that would have established an independent, external police review board for Eugene; but following recent police sex scandals and alleged racial profiling incidents, the issue is likely heading to voters again. Improved relationships between the people of Eugene and police officers benefit everyone, according to those who spoke to a crowd at the City Club's New Year's Eve meeting at the Hilton. The topic of the meeting was "Is it Time for a Police External Review in Eugene?" A show of hands at the standing-room-only meeting indicated near-unanimous support for the idea. "There's no doubt in my mind that we have to rebuild trust in this community," said Tim Laue of the Eugene Police Commission, "because not only do the officers I know feel like they are unsupported right now, they also feel a great sense of shame for the actions of the few that have maligned the hard work they do — and they work very hard." Laue is chair of the Police Commission and shared the podium with Guadalupe Quinn of Communities United for Better Policing (CUBP), a group that has evolved out of the city's Racial Profiling Task Force. The two were introduced by District Circuit Judge Cindy Carlson, who also called for rebuilding trust in the police department. "This is not about being anti-public safety," said Quinn, "but rather about holding people accountable. It's important, especially in communities of color, that we have a trusting and good relationship with public safety. We need to be able to work together and that's hard to do if we don't have that kind of trust." Quinn said CUBP is working independently of the Police Commission, but not entirely. "Our hope is that as we do our work we will find places where we can connect and fold in with what the Police Commission is doing," said Quinn. "Maybe at the end of the process that the Police Commission is going through and in the process CUBP is going through we might end up on the same page." Both groups appear to be heading for supporting a ballot measure that would create an external review process. City Club member Emily Shue asked the presenters for an analysis of the "condition" of the Eugene Police Department today. Laue said that was a question best answered by city management, but he did offer an historical perspective. Laue, a former city councilor, recalled that in 1992 the council adopted its Long-Range Plan for Public Safety, which included community policing. "One of the things we did was set expectations in our community around the concepts of community policing, largely involving interactions between officers and the community in problem solving on a pro-active basis," he said. "Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, mostly budgetary, the council was unable to fund that plan. So now what you have is a department where officers are responding to call after call after call in a reactionary mode, many times in a high-stress mode in quick succession, one after another. That has had an incredible impact on morale in the department." Laue said the police want a good relationship with the community, "but those relationships don't take place during enforcement actions — in crisis situations — and mostly that's all the officers in Eugene can do right now." Quinn said, "Our relationships with the police aren't bad; they just don't exist in the way that we believe are constructive, effective and real, and our hope is to develop that." Quinn noted that she has been working on issues of social justice for decades. "We're committed to making this happen," she said. "This is the best time in the past 25 years to bring about change." An audience member asked the two presenters to talk about the reasons not to have external police review. Quinn said she has heard from people that the city already has an effective process in place to deal with complaints against the police. She has also heard people voice fears that the process could be used to persecute police officers. Laue said one argument against external review is that
it's the police chief's job to discipline officers, and the chief can
be fired if he or she is not doing the job. Likewise, it's the city
manager's job to supervise the chief. Laue also said some people are
concerned about the The Police Commission is currently researching the experiences other cities have had with external review. The issues are many, including disciplinary actions, appeals, time commitments, police unions, whether panel members are elected or appointed, and how the process would work with Eugene's particular form of council/manager government. Both Quinn and Laue said there are no simple solutions for problems with law enforcement. "My feeling," said Laue, "is that if it takes external review or anything like it … to rebuild trust, then that's what we have to do."
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
