The City of Olympia Adopts Ethical Investment Language and Policies
What Are We Invested In?
In the fall of 2024, a group of people in Olympia, WA reached out to city Council Member Clark Gilman. At this time it had already become apparent that there was a genocide happening against Palestinians in Gaza, carried out by the Israeli military and supported by U.S. tax dollars.
Soon after Israel’s full scale invasion of Gaza following October 7, 2023, activists gathered in Olympia to form an organization that soon took the name Palestine Action of South Sound (PASS), which calls for a permanent ceasefire, an end to the siege of Gaza — now nearing twenty years — and an end to Israeli occupation. PASS operates through committees, and it is the legislative committee that began to work with Gilman.
By the time the PASS legislative group had reached out to Gilman, some individuals within the committee had already filed a Public Records Request to learn what the City held in Israeli bonds or other holdings concerning Israel. The findings turned out negative. Nothing in the Public Records Request told us that the City had any holdings regarding Israel. We wanted to keep it that way.
Olympia Community Defends Planned Parenthood
During the last decade, there have been intermittent protests and clinic defense for patients entering and exiting the Planned Parenthood on the corner of Legion and Adams in downtown Olympia. The protests have historically countered the presence of forced birthers who attempt to invoke fear, shame, and harass patients entering the clinic. Forced birthers are against abortion in all circumstances. They are a splinter of the national pro-life movement that has been mobilizing for decades to abolish and criminalize access to abortion legally in the United States.
In response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022, concerned community members sought to create a recurring third space on the sidewalk outside the clinic and build community. This space has been habitually gathering once a week since June 2022 to serve a free hot breakfast for all. The space is called the Anti-Fascist Community Alternative Breakfast, also known as ACAB Breakfast. It is in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups, and individuals.
Savage Transformations: Book Review of The Jakarta Method
[ON RADIO]:… continued disturbances in Jakarta, but are advising U.S. citizens…
JOEL: Jakarta. Where is that, Middle East?
TOMMY: Doesn’t ring a bell. It’s definitely a country. Or maybe part of Asia?
SARAH: Being a part of Asia isn’t mutually exclusive with being a country, and in fact, [Jakarta] is the capital of Indonesia.
The prevailing tendency in the English speaking world is to reduce the Cold War into a boxing match between capitalism and communism (the plot of Rocky 4) or a story of two superpowers playing spy games in the shadows (the plot of Stranger Things season 3). The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins rectifies this misreading and shines light on the overlooked history of anticommunist bloodshed. In his 2020 debut, Bevins argues that the United States’ most significant Cold War victory took place in Indonesia roughly 60 years ago.
Regardless of postal address or education level, few North Americans could tell you anything substantial about Indonesia. Most do not know that Indonesia’s population exceeds 270 million. Or that it is home to more Muslims than any other country in the world. Due to its reputation as a desirable vacation spot, Bali has more name-recognition than the rest of Indonesia’s 17,000 islands combined. Why does the Southeast Asian archipelago cast such a small imprint? If Indonesia’s present does little to pique our interest, then Indonesia’s past does less. Our lack of awareness is by design.
Stay tuned! Thursday May 14 12-1pm 89.3FM
Managing Editor, Arlo Dolven and a few Works in Progress staff writers will be hitting the air waves with Kim Dobson’s Parallel University on KAOS 89.3FM.