Because there won't be a city council meeting until next Tuesday, I'm not doing my typically typical "whats going on at City Hall this week" summary. Instead I'm going to drop a list here of beats I know that are out there to be covered by Olybloggers, but are currently uncovered.

I do Olympia city hall and the local college soccer scene, Sarah does the local blog scene, and here are some others for you to consider. I've tried to make these as straight forward as possible. Meaning there are online sources to regularly check and summarize. But, you can be as imaginative as you want.

Although this is the 2nd anniversary of the release of the you-know-whats into the Fetid Lake of Doom (and after reading the link, you'll see why Capitol Lake is covered with so much gunk lately), I'm going to focus on something else today-- My adventure with an anonymous private corporation. So I guess it is sort of related to the you-know-whats.

I had a problem with this particular company (not named for legal reasons) and sought a resolution. So, I took some time off work and visited their headquarters, up in Seattle. Their waiting room was filled with people like myself, perhaps 30 of us. Behind the counter, there were about a half dozen company employees doing paperwork, not one of them looking up, not one of them helping any of us who were waiting in little roped lines.

After several minutes of this, a woman who carried an air of authority walked into the room and called out my name. I raised my hand, she told me I needed to see "Mr. Myers," but he was asleep right now. He was expected to wake up within the hour, if I wouldn't mind waiting. Before I could react, she wheeled around and quickly walked away.

Well, it was more than an hour later when my legs got tired and I finally just sat down on the floor and started to read a magazine they had on hand. It was some news mag featuring an article about "Deadeye" Dick Cheney shooting another rich white guy in the face, which should give you an idea of how current the reading material was. Then I heard a low, raspy, nicotine stained voice ask me, "Sir, have you been helped?" There stood a very small woman with thick glasses, "If you need help, Sir, I can help."

Organizers of an anarchist book fair are hoping to draw fellow insurgents out of the woodworks with do-it-yourself workshops, punk shows – and books, of course. The second annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair, scheduled Sept. 8-9, promises to be a much larger affair than last year. According to Sam Peekeekoot, spokesman for the event, only a handful of people attend the weekly Victoria Anarchist Reading Circle, but many others in the Capital region may share anarchist views and not even know it. “Anarchists,” as described by Allan Antliff, Canada research chair in modern art and professor at the University of Victoria, “seek a society in which everyone can creatively shape their everyday lives free from hunger, inequality and repression.”

“One of the beautiful things about the movement is there isn’t one pure form,” Peekeekoot said, adding that while people associate punk rock music with anarchism, not all anarchists like punk rock. “It’s both a collective thing, as well as an individual belief system.”

They’re hoping the book fair will alert would-be anarchists to the scene and strengthen the local movement.

The fair kicks off Friday, Sept. 7 with a DIY Punk Metal Night. Five bands will play at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre, 3277 Douglas St. Tickets are $7 in advance at Dark Horse Books, 623 Johnson St.

The book fair will be held at the Victoria Cool Aid Society, Downtown Community Centre, 749 Pandora Ave. The book fair features local, national and international booksellers and distributors, including Arsenal Pulp, A.K. Press, Microcosm and Freedom Press. Distributors will also have anarchist zines, music, DVDs, t-shirts and posters.

Is America’s middle class getting stuck up a suburban cul-de-sac, surrounded by ‘for quick sale’ signs, with a rusting ‘commuter tank’ in the drive without a fill- up? Not quite, at least not yet, thanks to a robust global economy.

Oil: Could This Be the End for Suburbia?

Michael Orme
Thu 30 Aug, 2007

Is America’s middle class getting stuck up a suburban cul-de-sac, surrounded by ‘for quick sale’ signs, with a rusting ‘commuter tank’ in the drive without a fill- up? Not quite, at least not yet, thanks to a robust global economy.

True suburban property prices are falling, foreclosures and distressed selling are on a sharp rise - albeit from low bases - and there are rising concerns about petrol and heating costs. But the suburban beat goes on. At most, 10% of suburban households face incipient crisis in the short-term.

I was disheartened when Jeff Bartone told me he was fired, with severence pay. After almost 20 years of dedicated and love for the Olympia Film Society I thought he should have had a pension. This is a community that touts social justice after all. The other influence on our culture is the corporation aqnd its structure. Boards of Directors consists willing well meaning but self serving people often lacking experience with POWER.eg. Pacifica, parent of Democracy Now is instituting new rules which ask that programs be shown to the Board members before airing. Can you imagine news that is timely being restrained like this? Amy Goodman is a giant. Yes, some people are head and shoulders above their fellow human beings and should be recognized as such). Congressman Conyers said Amy Goodman was the best journalist in the country. I am 85 years old and have seen and felt changes. There seems to be a malaise in our societyu. It may have a lot to do with this admistration which is constantly disappointing most of usSomehow the government has let us down. People feel unappreciated and they forget to appreciate others. Whatever Jeff has done, it would be big of you to accept people's idiosyncrasies or do the kind of mediation that has been accepted in our community.

Can you see the similarity?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WALIARHHLII&mode=related&search=

"Tribal sovereignty means that; it's sovereign. I mean, you're a — you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities." —President Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004