by Austin Kelley

KAOS matters- to me, to our community, to the world. That's why I'm suing KAOS in Federal Court, as well as The Evergreen State College (my Alma Mater), and assorted administrators that I have known. This likely makes no sense at all to the casual reader, so in order to really explain I'll have to go back 19 years to the beginning of my history with KAOS, Evergreen's "Community Radio Station".

by Holly Gwinn Graham

Dominican nun and Plowshares II activist Jackie Hudson spoke at Traditions Fair Trade Cafe on July 14, sponsored by the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation and the local chapter of The Global Network against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space.

The Plowshares disarmament movement was co-founded by the late Philip Berrigan of Jonah House in Baltimore, taking its name from the second chapter of Isaiah: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares...nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Since 1980, the movement has become . . .

David Lavender:

Recently I found out that the Coop was thinking about buying scanners. I heard that a couple of my friends were going to a forum that night on the subject to share their opinions and get some information. The news I got was that the decision had already been made and the Coop was going to take out an $80,000 plus loan to pay for them. So a few of us who did not like the decision, nor the lack of notification and inclusiveness in making that decision, got together and arranged for a meeting with the board of the Coop. The day before our meeting we were informed by a board member . . .

by Holly Gwinn Graham

Just back from Iraq for Global Exchange, Medea Benjamin, co-founder of United for Peace and Justice, addressed United for Peace of Pierce County on July 15. The First Methodist Church was filled for the occasion.

Medea thanked people for their commitment to local communities that are the basis for global community.

by Robert R. Ross

For all intents and purposes, the proposed arts and conference center has already been built. The City Council is bound and determined to ignore its' constituency and go ahead with the estimated $15 million project. However, opponents of the center are equally determined to disregard their elected officials, bringing the project to a halt using a variety of guerilla tactics ranging from lawsuits to grass-roots democracy.

by Glen Anderson

The Choosing Peace series of events and activities that blanketed the greater Thurston County area last year is being reactivated for a second annual season. A wide variety of local activists and organizations are planning dozens of opportunities for people to connect in all sorts of ways from September 1 through mid-November, 2003.

Successful Background:

by Allen Thompson of Freedom Socialist newspaper

In the United States, fear permeates what passes for news in the mainstream media. It is the stock-in-trade of George W. Bush and many other politicians. The dangers of violence, drugs and terrorism are brought up cynically over and over again to justify a multitude of repressive changes, and the massive assault on civil liberties the Bush administration started in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks is proceeding at an alarming rate. Not content with the increased spying powers, ability to detain non-citizen immigrants without cause, and broadened . . .

by Peter Bohmer

[Late Breaking News- On July 30th, as Works in Progress was going to press, Billy Nessen's trial was still in progress but drawing to a close. The prosecutor asked the judges hearing the case for a two month prison sentence for Billy Nessen.]

U.S. journalist, Billy Nessen, is currently on trial in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, currently part of Indonesia. Billy is on trial for two counts of immigration violations and faces a maximum of six years in Indonesian prison. At the first day of the trial, July 23rd, all of the testimony by witnesses had to do with Billy . . .

by Tristan Baurick

MONTREAL - Carlyle Williams is an immigrant, speaks French and English fluently, and swells with pride as he cheers a throng of people dressed as Fleur-de-lys at this year's nighttime Fete nationale parade. "I am Quebecois," Williams said. His voice is tinged with the Trinidadian lilt of his homeland and the francophone grace of his adopted city. "I believe in a separate Quebec." Williams represents a new Quebec nationalism that celebrates the multiculturalism of the present while holding tight the sovereignist pride that charged parades of the past. "I will always be seen as . . .

by Jeff Luers

[WIP Commentary: Jeff Luers, known as "Free", is serving a 22 year sentence in an Oregon State Prison for burning three SUVs at an auto dealership in Eugene in 2000. This is cruel and unusual punishment - a sentence beyond what most murderers serve. We should do what we can to publicize and challenge this injustice.]

by Jenni Minner

Although the Bush administration's Roadmap for Peace is mentioned in the mainstream media, the realities of Palestinian life are often distorted or unreported. Many Americans hear nothing about the Separation Fence (a.k.a. the Apartheid Wall) that Israel constructs, separating many Palestinians from their land, water, schools and services, thus putting Palestine under even tighter Israeli control. It is rare that Americans are able to hear critical analyses of the situation or perspectives that connect the situation to overall American foreign policy.

by Steve Niva

Having just spent nearly a month traveling in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories has led me to conclude that talk about "progress" and "momentum" regarding President Bush's peace initiative known as the roadmap is largely a deception. This view is shared not only by Palestinians but also by the majority of activists in the Israeli peace camp with whom I met during my stay.

by Ron Jacobs

July 13, 1973. This was the day that the US public found out about the audiotapes then President Nixon was making in the White House. Alexander Butterfield, the White House appointments secretary, revealed under questioning by the Senate Watergate Committee that Tricky Dick recorded every single conversation and telephone that occurred in his office.

by Kyle Smith

There has been an unfortunate trend in reporting on the people of Iraq. Iraqi civilians are being trivialized; their claims of injustice are being downplayed.

The trend is subtle and this is where the problem lies. Take for example Hamza Hendawi's July 7th article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (available online at http://www.seattlepi.com ) about house raids conducted by the US military. Who are the two Iraqis interviewed? One is a religious leader and lecturer at a university; all fine and good. The other is a retired civil servant, perhaps an educated man and good source. But . . .

by Normon Solomon

The superstar columnist George Will has an impressive vocabulary. Too bad it doesn't include the words "I'm sorry."

Ten months ago, Will led the media charge when a member of Congress dared to say that President Bush would try to deceive the public about Iraq. By now, of course, strong evidence has piled up that Bush tried and succeeded.

by Matthew Ford

The Senate has recently begun the process of reversing recent decisions made by the Federal Communications Commission to loosen media ownership rules, which allow massive consolidation of newspaper and broadcasting mega-conglomerates. Legislation, which cleared the Senate Commerce Committee in mid-June, would put a hold on further monopolization of information by restricting individual corporations from "grabbing" even larger shares of the news "market." Why should we care? A clear example can be seen in the "imperialist ambitions," to use policy planner Richard Haass's term, of . . .

Vote to Impeach Bush

You all might be aware of this site already, if not here is the vote

to impeach site. Perhaps we could include it with some info in the

next issue.

I think it's an important website for those of us who are

disgusted with the present administration.

Go to http://www.votetoimpeach.com and add your names to the

petition.

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Building Wanted