The reasoning behind PMR’s opposition For two weeks in November 2007, anti-war activists organizing as Port Militarization Resistance (PMR) literally laid their bodies in the street, on the ground, and against the gate in opposition to continued U.S. war and occupation when local government attempted to militarize their port and…
Posts published in “Year: 2016”
Westside police shooting victims On May 21, 2015, Bryson (21) and André Chaplin-Thompson (23) were shot by an Olympia police officer after a failed attempt to steal beer from a Safeway grocery store on the Westside of Olympia, Washington. The young Black men are brothers, were unarmed, and while the…
Tuesday, July 12– “I do believe that this issue is not an either-or…you can be a complete advocate and supporter of law enforcement as I am, and you can also be an advocate for community safety. I think the common ground we all share is to have a safe community.…
The US government has no comprehensive record of the number of people killed by law enforcement. The Counted is a project by The Guardian, counting the number of people killed by police and other law enforcement agencies in the United States throughout 2015 and 2016, to monitor their demographics and to tell…
Editorial note: This article is a collaborative statement from Southern Movement Assembly leaders. While it is dated because of printing deadlines and addresses a Southern audience, we felt that its contents are useful beyond Orlando and all the other acts of violence of the past month. WIP recommends this article…
Every generation needs a new revolution. —Thomas Jefferson Dissent is the highest form of patriotism. —Howard Zinn There are 244 million Americans of voting age. Some 81 percent of us, about 198 million, are women, millennials, or persons of color. Of the remaining 46 million of us who are white…
In the weeks since the shooting in Orlando we have felt anger, sadness, and heartbreak for the victims whose lives were violently ended and for the families who were forever changed. With Orlando, the epidemic of gun violence in the United States seems to have reached new heights. Each mass…
Dealt with a rough hand by the way society is structured Because you are black you are at a disadvantage Is what they told me I mean I am black in White America, but hardly paid the color green I have a problem with a lot of what you…
In her book, A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution, Samar Yazbek describes how in Syria the mosque became an instrument and embodiment of the power needed by opponents of the Assad Regime — somewhat similar to the role played by the church in our Civil Rights…
It has been brought to the attention of the residents of Olympia and other locations that the Port of Olympia is planning to allow the use of the Port again for military shipments. As you will recall, the last time this occurred in 2007, there were many protests and disruptions…
To: Port of Olympia Commissioners Olympia City Council Thurston County Commissioners From: Lawrence Mosqueda, Ph.D. Date: March 25, 2010 Re: Possible Renewed Use of Port of Olympia for Military Shipments It has come to my attention that the Port of Olympia Commissioners are again considering using the Port of Olympia…
A day to strengthen opposition to ecocidal project On July 8, the Quinault Indian Nation organized a canoe and kayak flotilla that landed at the Hoquiam River above where it empties into Grays Harbor Bay. The day’s activities served to strengthen and mobilize opposition to the proposed expansion of an…
July 6, 2016 — In this week commemorating the tragedy of July 6, 2013, we, militants of Lac Megantic, affirm our solidarity with the militants of the West Coast and its first nations, who, like us, are challenging the transportation of oil over obsolete rail lines. In this third year…
I have been a commercial fisher for 45 years. I am the Vice President of the Washington Dungeness Crab Fishermen’s Association. I’m also speaking on behalf of the Washington Trollers’ Association, the Westport Charter Boat Association, and the Coastal Coalition of Fishers—a fifteen-member coalition of commercial fishing organizations, coastal charter…
On June 23, and continuing for eight weeks, 14 Seattle Metro downtown buses are displaying the following paid advertisement declaring “Twenty miles west of Seattle is the largest concentration of deployed nuclear weapons in the United States.” Included in the advertisement is a map showing the proximity of Seattle to…
Policy changes that matter The most recent incident I’ve seen of a police officer shooting a Black person was reported by Nika Wright on July 19 on the Common Dreams website. According to Wright, and now more widely across news sources, Charles Kinsey, a caregiver at a group home in…
The carnival rides and games, food, parade, and fireworks are all highlights of Capital Lakefair, a five-day festival that began 59 years ago in downtown Olympia. It’s gone through a lot of changes over the years, but maybe there’s room for just a little more change. About 100 entries from…
A thick strand in the history of U.S. policing is rooted back in the slave patrols of the 19th century. Patty rollers were authorized to stop, question, search, harass and summarily punish any Black person they encountered. The five- and six-pointed badges many of them wore to symbolize their authority,…
The actions of men and women, part 1 The Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges once stated that heaven and hell seem to be out of proportion because, according to him, the actions of men do not deserve so much. That may be case for divine justice ruling the afterlife, but…
Las acciones de hombres y mujeres, parte 1 El escritor argentino Jorge Luis Borges dijo alguna vez que el cielo y el infierno parecen estar fuera de toda proporción, ya que, según él, las acciones de los hombres no merecen tanto. Ese puede ser el caso de la justicia…
Today is warm spring day, the end of school is drawing nearer and nearer, and my homework load is getting lighter and lighter. In fact, spring just happens to be my second favorite time of the year. I would like to say that it’s my favorite time of the year,…
Our survival is on the line. As we all know, the US presidential campaign has divided many in the progressive community. Our news team has worked hard over the last year covering the Democratic presidential primary. Many of our long-time supporters are not happy with us and our extensive coverage…
Did you know? Did you know that you were the gasp of air between my every breath? The tip-tap to my every step Love captivating my every sense Your heavenly scent lingered on my neck From where lips have last been… The notes on my five line score Finger stroke…
No one farm can afford to distribute to places where immediate point-of-purchase occurs At this writing, I’ve just returned from the Olympia Farmers’ Market, now in full season. Although the Market was open all year on Saturdays, and open weekends from October through December, now four full days of…
Because everything is broken in this country of squandered and pillaged dreams, even the sonnet’s usual bliss can’t right it all in fourteen jagged lines. When all remains said and undone, this sonnet will list like the Andrea Doria, mortally wounded off the stone coast of New England,…