I want to point Ya'll to this excellent article about the Internet. It's from the Real Change Newspaper. a link and short excerpt:

Gaining the Web but Losing Our Souls, an interview with Jaron Lanier by Robert Alford

Tech pioneer Jaron Lanier says the seemingly liberating new technologies of the computer age are trapping users in a cyber world “that just cheapens everybody.”

I would really like to see people from the various social and environmental justice movements working along more of a unified front.

The root causes of environmental degradation and ecological unsustainability; imperialism and wars of aggression; exploitative labor practices; societal oppression; and poverty and any other social injustice are the same.

I would like to see a broad based, inclusive and supportive movement - a movement that is accessible to everyone regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, ability, creed, and/or any other distinguishing feature - in order to effectively and successfully challenge the status quo: a status quo which is currently doing so much harm to all people.

Please imagine a movement to challenge the current establishment's enablement of a degrading and dehumanizing status quo of economic instability, ecological unsustainability, and social injustice...

Further thoughts and avenues for consideration on this topic include, but are not limited to, potential solutions and responses such as 1) permaculture: a resilient, sustainable and independent local/regional economic infrastructure, 2) socio-economic egalitarianism, 3) making health care a central and foundational economic feature ...and etc....

[larger image: first they ignore you, then then laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win]

While downtown earlier today I talked with a friend who works downtown. After exchanging greetings, and during a brief ensuing conversation, I asked my friend, so what are you up to.

My friend replied in a discernibly disconsolate tone, "work."

Our conversation ended, and I went away. And I thought about my friend's statement and position some more. After a while, I returned and asked my friend what it would take to make work enjoyable.

My friend's response was that it would take a living wage, and health care benefits. That seemed reasonable enough to me. It seems reasonable that a person should be able make enough to support a family (if they should choose to have one) and to have health care in exchange for their work - no matter what kind of work they're engaged in. What do you think?

I told my friend not to feel too bad, because I think the truth is that there are a lot of people working in our economy today who have similar complaints. (After all, our economy is set up to serve the interests of capital, rather than the interests of life and of a healthy society.)

On another hand, I was also treated to an awesome visual and auditory experience when someone walked past me while playing an electric guitar. The guitar was hooked up to an amplifier, which went unseen. It was hidden underneath a jacket. This was totally awesome. Hooray for downtown Olympia.

View a larger version of the above photo: Miraculous Mud

Quote by Gandhi
Photo from Pacific Ocean Beach at Ocean Shores, December 2009

Trail with Trees
McLane Creek, May 2008

On Saturday there was a celebration and memorial of the life and work of the late Howard Zinn. Zinn was scheduled to appear at Evergreen to give a talk titled "Three Holy Wars." The memorial celebration of the life of Howard Zinn was organized by Peter Bohmer, Sandy Yannone, Larry Mosqueda, Victoria Larkin, Jeff Antonnellis-Lapp, and Jana Dean.

Speakers giving tribute included Peter Bohmer, Cindy Corrie, Gary Galbraith, Victoria Larkin, Arun Chandra, Lin Nelson, and Josh Simpson.

The following video is the Three Holy Wars lecture, a version of which Howard Zinn was scheduled to give yesterday at Evergreen. The topics contained in the lecture include challenging the idea that a just cause can translate into a just war, and a revision of some of the popular myths about American wars - like the notion that the American Revolution was a popular revolt (Zinn argues that the war was not a popular uprising, but instead a revolt initiated and maintained by owning class interests.)

Howard Zinn's "Three Holy Wars"

After the video a few people made additional statements, and then David Rovics performed closing music.

From the Olympia Newswire, an article about a massive coalition of groups that is calling for changes to the ways the State generates revenue: Liberal Revenue Agents: 115 Groups Unite to Promote New Taxes

Information about and to register for the February 15th Rally, from FUSE: Rally to Protect Our Future!

And the Sisters Organizing for Survival have an urgent call for Tax Reform (which applies especially to LD 22 constituents of Karen Fraser, who is a Vice Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee) + information about the Presidents' Day Rally:

There have been some troubles with the OlyPMR website, and now the OlyPMR has a new blog, Olympia Port Militarization Resistance

The blog currently features an article titled, "To Prevent a Greater Harm," which is about the recent and upcoming trial in Tacoma. Here are a couple of excerpted passages:

"On January 26th Pierce County District Court Judge, Margaret Vail Ross, ruled in favor of Civil Rights Attorney Larry Hildes to present a Necessity defense in the joined cases of anti-war activists Brianna Emma Herrera, of Seattle, and Patricia Imani, of Olympia. ..."

...

The NYT Magazine recently featured an article about ecopsychology. This is a topic I am very interested in, because a large source of my distress comes from witnessing the degradation of the natural environment here on Earth. It's so sad to see what humanity is doing to the planet and the living systems of this wonderful world.

Here's a link to the article and an excerpt. This article doesn't say it all, but it's nice to see ecopsychology get some recognition in the mainstream. It's also a decent starting point for learning about the field:

Is There an Ecological Unconscious?

by
Daniel B. Smith

The following legal advertisement appeared in today's Olympian. It relates to the military's desire to increase authoritarian controls over local transportation systems.

Legal #8219 PUBLIC NOTICE

Date Listed: February 3
Newspaper ID #0001187083_01

Legal #8219 PUBLIC NOTICE The Army is requesting input from all interested members of the public, federally recognized Native American Tribes, Native Hawaiian groups, Guam Chamorro Groups, federal, state, and local agencies in the scoping process for the preparation of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the stationing and operation of up to 12 Army Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV). The Army is evaluating the stationing and operations of the JHSV at the following military port locations: Virginia Tidewater area; San Diego, Calif. area; Seattle-Tacoma, Wash. area; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii area; and Guam. In addition, the Army is considering several other overseas locations. The JHSV is a vessel designed to support the rapid transport of Army Soldiers and equipment in the U.S. and abroad. A copy of the Army's Notice of Intent, in-cluding the alternatives the Army is considering, can be found at http://www.aec.army.mil The Army is seeking comments identifying environmental issues, concerns and opportunities to be analyzed in the PEIS. The public comment period will be open until March 5, 2010. Comments should be sent to the Public Affairs Office, U.S. Army Environmental Command, 5179 Hoadley Rd, Attn: IMAE-PA, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010, (410) 436-2556; fax (410) 436-1693; or e-mail: APGR-USAECNEPA@conus.army.mil Publish: February 3, 2010