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.

[The following email was sent by Khaled Nasrallah from Rafah, Palestine. It was the Nasrallah family's home that Rachel Corrie was protecting when she was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer. The home was destroyed months later, with no rationale provided by the Israeli military.

Khaled Nasrallah visited Olympia in 2005. He and other Palestinians viewed the April 17 Olympia City Council meeting on the Internet.]

Dear all Olympia Rafah Sister City,

by Sami Awad

On April 16, a tragic event took place in Virginia Tech in the US that shocked not only the people of the United States but people all across the globe. A violent massacre took place there that resulted in thirty-two killed, individuals who presented different cultures, religions, and nationalities. In a sign of solidarity the people of Palestine in general and those from the couthern villages surrounding the Holy city of Bethlehem dedicated their weekly nonviolent activity against the building of Apartheid wall to the families of the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre.

by Gail Johnson

When our group began meeting in July 2006, we had no idea we were embarking on Mr. Toad's wild ride. We began simply enough with a strategy to inform others about impeachment. We began by showing the Center for Constitutional Rights' documentary, How to Impeach a President, at the local libraries and at Traditions Fair Trade.

by Janet Blanding

A recent Board of Pharmacy decision to adopt new rules requiring pharmacies to fill all prescriptions means a different kind of Judgment Day is looming for the owners of Ralph's Thriftway Pharmacy.

Soon, the Pharmacy Board will be deciding what disciplinary action is appropriate for Ralph's, based on its flagrant refusal to conform to state pharmacy regulations. Ralph's Thriftway (along with its sister store, Bayview Thriftway) has been the object of a community boycott since July 2006, due to its refusal to carry emergency contraception, supposedly "for moral reasons."

by Muhammad Ayub

Most people volunteering to be foot soldiers for the political campaigning of the Republican party have their hearts in the right place; they are God-fearing, patriotic folks who feel that they are doing the right thing. There are not very many opportunities for them to listen and to speak to other people with differing points of views and opinions. This forum was one such opportunity -- a tender baby step towards building bridges in the community.