by Rob Richards

If you have been paying attention to the recent local elections, you are most likely sore from banging your head against the wall. Our city council swung dramatically to the right (though I am sure they would call it the center), and we have a steep uphill battle ahead of us to protect our collective values.

Our choices this election were slim pickings to begin with, with Matthew Green and Meta Hogan being the only truly progressive choices on the ballot in the races for Olympia City Council.

by Diana Arens

I’m easily annoyed by relative lack of good roles for women in film, and by the scarcity of film written and directed by women. I can’t help but wonder, is it a right-wing pro-life conspiracy, or at least a mass coincidence of manufactured consent, when three films (Waitress, Knocked Up, Juno) appear in one year depicting unwanted pregnancies that end happily in the birth of babies? What does it mean for women when the representation of reproductive choice disappears from the media? I was thinking about these things when I sat down to watch an advance screening of Juno in Seattle . . .

by Daisy Ouye

In the 1991 invasion of Iraq, the US went in with weapons made from radioactive material called depleted uranium (DU). Internationally recognized scientists say DU, or so-called “depleted” uranium, has caused, and continues to cause a wide range of health problems in areas where these weapons are manufactured, tested and used in warfare.

by Marco Rosaire Rossi

This December 9 marks the 59th anniversary of the “Convention on the Prevention and the Punishment of Crimes of Genocide Convention,” also known as the Genocide Convention. The Genocide Convention is an example of the small and often spotted steps made toward realizing human rights. In our age, where our conventional conception of warfare has been displaced with the on-going and never ending “war on terror,” it is worth reflecting on the relevance of the Genocide Convention and how it could still serve (or hinder) our efforts to “liberate mankind.”

by Daisy Montague

November 13, 2007, a Tuesday evening around 9 pm, will be forever etched in my mind as a day when a group of strong women took direct action to halt the war of aggression against people in Iraq. I and 38 other women decided to sit in front of the main gates of the port of Olympia to stop the military vehicles from the 2nd infantry 3rd brigade from moving from the Port of Olympia to Fort Lewis military base, where they would be recommissioned only to be returned to Iraq to continue the bloodshed again. We do not agree with the military occupation of Iraq and feel that we have . . .

by Sergei Holmes

This section is intended to bring up a troubling issue that came about from the port protests. Despite the vast array of testimonials and eyewitness knowledge of injury to humans, the focus rested from a critical portion of the population concerning the threat to property. The feelings of a window and the rights of a trashbin were selected by some as higher than any petty human grievances. This collection of quotes from books, articles and the online comment board from the Olympian website is meant to shed light on the history of our nation’s sanctity to property and how it . . .

Port of Olympia Legal Defense Fund has been reactivated!

This legal defense fund was set up to support those arrested in protest of the militarization of the Port of Olympia. Many local activists risked their freedom in defiance of George W. Bush’s illegal war in Iraq. Those facing charges are expected to face prosecution, and this fund will help ensure their fair and equitable legal defense.