by Brian Nicholson

On Saturday, October 13, an emergency meeting was held by the Olympia Film Society membership. This was to be the culminating action by the volunteer-organized movement that formed following the firing of Operations Manager Jeffrey Bartone. The movement’s aim was to reclaim the Film Society from a leadership perceived as being out of touch with its membership and trying to suit commercial interests. [Editor’s Note: See stories in the September 2007 and October 2007 issues of Works In Progress for more background on the issues leading up to the meeting.] The emergency meeting . . .

by Jeremy Scahill

Apparently there is one set of rights for Blackwater mercenaries and another for the rest of us. Normally when a group of people alleged to have gunned down 17 civilians in a lawless shooting spree are questioned, investigators will tell them something along the lines of: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” But that is not what the Blackwater operatives involved in the September 16 Nisour Square shooting in Iraq were told. Most of the Blackwater shooters were questioned by State Department Diplomatic . . .

by Marco Rosaire Rossi

Spirits were high at the “NO!” Campaign’s demonstration in San José, Costa Rica, one week before the Oct. 7 vote on whether to approve the controversial trade agreement cafta. There was no reason for them not to be: over 100,000 people had attended the demonstration, several polls had consistently shown that the “NO!” Campaign was going to squeak by (with one poll showing that they were ahead by 12%), and the government of President Óscar Arias had just humiliated itself in a recent leaked memorandum scandal. The contents of the memo indicated that the government was . . .

by Marco Rosaire Rossi

At the end of World War II, when the horrors of the Nazi holocaust were revealed to the world, the international community collectively cried out: “Never again!” “Never again!” shall a people be systematically persecuted and savagely brutalized. “Never again!” shall there be massive refugees and organized extermination. “Never again!” shall there be secret police and the “disappearance” of dissidents. The only problem with this vow was that it did happen again, and again, and again, and again, and again. The latest examples of the international community’s failure to . . .

Interviewed by Kevin Zeese

“Dahr Jamail’s MidEast Dispatches,” which can be seen at http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com, is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what is happening in Iraq. (You can sign up on the site to receive his reports via email.)

Dahr has spent a total of 8 months in occupied Iraq as one of only a few independent US journalists in the country. In the Mideast, Jamail has also reported from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Jamail writes for the Inter Press Service, Asia Times, and many other outlets. His reports have also been published in the Nation, the Sunday Herald, . . .

EGYHOP needs donations!

Unofficially, this year’s blanket drive has begun. The project formerly known as egyhop, now known as Done and Done, is low on supplies. Done and Done is a 501(c)(3) non profit that does street outreach seven nights a week, 365 days a year. We are entirely volunteer-operated, and depend heavily on support from this town. Many people depend on our continued existence, and we are the only resource available in town after all the other agencies and organizations have closed their doors.