by Phan Nguyen

Representative Brian Baird of Washington’s 3rd Congressional District has been in the media spotlight ever since returning from a trip to Iraq in August and proclaiming both his support for the troop “surge” and his rejection of a timeline for withdrawal. He has made several media appearances, including MSNBC, CNN, NPR, PBS, and conservative talk radio, where he is portrayed as a stauch antiwar Congressman who made a complete turnaround after he witnessed the reality on the ground of Iraq. But what’s missing from this picture?

How many Iraq trips?

data compiled and graphic created by Phan Nguyen

Back cover of August 2007 issue of WIP

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by Phan Nguyen

The case of the "Oly 22" port protesters ended in a dismissal on June 12 after Thurston County District Judge Susan Dubuisson faulted the government for "gross negligence" in failing to provide the final 16 defendants with important discovery material in a timely manner before a second trial.

Chart compiled and created by Phan Nguyen.

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by Phan Nguyen

On Tuesday, April 17, the Olympia City Council opened a public hearing on the proposal by the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project (ORSCP) to formalize a sister city relationship with the Palestinian city of Rafah. The public communications period had begun with a racist diatribe against a supposed Asian threat, in reference to the recent Virginia Tech shootings. It followed with several racist diatribes against a supposed Palestinian/Arab/Muslim threat, and it ended with the City Council pandering to this supposed threat and denying formal sister city status with Rafah.

Feb 2007 WIP cover. Photo by Jeff Paterson/Courage to Resist ( http://www.couragetoresist.org ).