author : Phan Nguyen
January 2009
by Phan Nguyen
On December 27, 2008, Israel initiated a military invasion of the Gaza Strip that after nine days has left over 500 Palestinians dead and over 2,000 wounded. The attack was named “Operation Cast Lead” in reference to a children’s Hanukkah song.
Once the attack began, a simplified narrative emerged to explain the circumstances:
1. Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip had a ceasefire agreement.
2. Hamas irrationally and inexplicably decided to violate the cease-fire by raining rockets on civilian areas in Israel.
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November 2008
by Phan Nguyen
On Oct. 24, 2008, the Olympian website posted a news flash that the The Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office had filed charges against 26 activists, stemming from arrests made at the Port of Olympia during antiwar protests on Nov. 13, 2007. The following day, Oct. 25, the Olympian printed the names of all those being charged in the front page of the South Sound section. As of Oct. 30, none of those being prosecuted have received notice of charges from the county.
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October 2007
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?
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October 2007
data compiled and graphic created by Phan Nguyen
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July 2007
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.
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May 2007
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.
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February 2007
Feb 2007 WIP cover. Photo by Jeff Paterson/Courage to Resist ( http://www.couragetoresist.org ).
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July 2005
[A speech delivered by Phan Nguyen at the Sylvester Park Peace Rally on May 30th, 2004]
A few days ago the Olympian had an editorial about the city council's hearing on the nuclear sub. The editorial said, "There's plenty of room for dissent in this community. There is no room to rebuke the men and women fighting to preserve freedom and democracy."
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