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Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 9:22pm.
Soldiers are coming out in droves against the war in Iraq. There is good reason for them to do so. The US invasion of Iraq was and is, immoral, unjust, and downright illegal. The atrocities that are occurring in Iraq on a daily basis are degenerative toward the whole of humanity. The daily violence is traumatic and horrific, for both the Iraqi people and American soldiers, like Ricky Clousing, and Ehren Watada, among others.

The war is wrong. Those who led the USA into the war must be held accountable. Ricky Clousing is an American Hero.

As a tactical interrogator assigned to question detainees at the scene of infantry raids, Ricky did not witness the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. What he did witness, however, was hardly less horrifying: American soldiers indoctrinated to view Iraqis as less than human, as "ragheads" or worse; American soldiers out on the streets of the Iraqi capital ramming the cars of Iraqi civilians for sport; American soldiers laughing as they slaughtered the livestock of local farmers; and American soldiers shooting an Iraqi teenager who had simply made a wrong turn.

Ricky was on patrol when he saw a boy, "probably 18 years old, a small maybe high-school age kid" turn down a road his unit was attempting to secure. The teenager, Ricky said, was quite visibly terrified at the sight of "a whole bunch of Americans with big weapons" staring him in the face. He started turning the car around, but didn't get very far. This is how Ricky described what happened next:

"One of the soldiers in the turret of the humvee behind me just opened up fire on the machine gun on the vehicle. As the vehicle was turning away, all I heard above my head was "pop, pop, pop, pop." This was my first deployment, my first combat experience was that moment right then, and just the sound of machine guns going off over my head. He popped about five or six rounds in the side of the vehicle. Myself and two of the other guys ran over to the vehicle, smashed the window, and pulled the guy out to provide first aid on him… I was looking down at this kid who had just been shot in the stomach for no reason really -- he was trying to leave…I was still just standing there in shock, looking down at this kid, and he looked right up at me. And his mouth was foaming. His stomach was falling out in his hands… I was looking down at this kid, this young boy who was just trying to drive around town and took a wrong turn and tried to go the other direction, was shot at and killed, and I'm looking down at him now. And we made eye contact for about five seconds, and he just looked at me with the most empty, terrified look in his face that will never leave me in my whole life I'm sure."

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Submitted by enpen on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 3:52pm.
Apparently P.W. Botha died on Tuesday.  Sometimes when a person dies, I feel like the world has become a slightly better place.  I feel lighter for his corporeal inexistence.
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Submitted by kiki on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 12:44pm.
What is NaNoWriMo?

You still have a little over six hours to decide whether you'll accept the challenge to become a novelist by the end of November.  No idea what to write? No problem! I don't know what I'm writing either.  C'mon and join the dark side, it will be fun! And we can have periodic meetups over the month when we need a breather, and who can resist the chance to be able to say "No, sorry I can't go out tonight, I'm working on my novel"?.
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Submitted by Rick on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 12:31pm.

Halloween in Olympia on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

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Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 12:30pm.
Nov 4 2006 - 10:00am
Nov 4 2006 - 12:00pm

Come join us for hot drinks and cool conversation this Saturday at Borders on the west side. Survive a walk through the big box store to the coffee section in the back corner, plenty of chairs and tables. And bring your own hot brew of choice if their selection isn't your fav rave. Children welcome.

We can then come up with other locations and times to our liking.

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Submitted by rkbronco on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 8:42am.

While indulging in spirits last night, a former Ralph's Thriftway employee confessed to me that multiple people have reported strange happens in the store, specifically late at night.  Things falling off shelves, freezers mysteriously turning on and off, eerie rattling and unexplainable voices.
I think I remember hearing something about this several years ago.
Does anyone have any stories to support this claim?

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Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 8:27am.


We have the Brew & OlyBlog connection solid at The Broho on Mondays. Now we can add on another combo - Coffee & OlyBlog, a match made in heaven.

Here are the questions:
  • What times and days/nights work for folks?
  • What locations sound good?
  • What happens if we OlyBloggers are caffeinated and enjoying ourselves at the same time?
One possible location is Borders up on the west side. They have a good sized coffee area towards the back of the building, open til 9 pm, and the location is a T-mobile HotSpot (I'm not entirely sure what that means except that it is wi-fi access and free day passes are available.).

I know that I on rare occasion complain about the mall but I figure that even things I complain about can be useful. A friend and I recently had an enjoyable time at Borders while drinking hot chocolate and watching a large group of women knit and share stories.
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Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 7:39am.


Who does the best pies in town? This is an important, serious quest, one that will require much tasting. Seasonally appropriate also: autumn equals pumpkin pie.

Have fork, will eat pie.
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Submitted by stevenl on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 7:34am.

 
If I enjoy the heck out of my day, by the time evening arrives I'll be heckless. As vast as the English language can be, I think I just stumbled on a condition ("heckless") that needs definition. Surely you OlyBlogger wordsmiths can help me out here.


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Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 7:20am.
Seasonal Zen is the title of an Olympian blogger's recent post on autumn inspiration and colors.

Go enjoy - A Personal Tao: Seasonal Zen
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