Direct Action can be a powerful act. It can provoke though, shift dynamics, empower and incite. It can also erode alliances, damage communities and bring harsh consequences. Direct Action is a powerful tool and it's use will always have a powerful response, be it positive or negative.

It is my opinion that there are two useful "yard sticks" with which to measure the effectiveness of any direct action, that is to say, there are two primary questions to ask yourself as you plan and engage in any action. Those would be "Is this action confronting an issue at its source, thereby making it 'direct'?" and "Does this action empower others to themselves take action?"

Using these questions as guides we can compare two recent actions from here in Olympia. First, the port actions of last November. For specificities sake, I'm talking about the road blockades, both human and physical. Held up to the first question, "Is this action confronting an issue at its source, thereby making it 'direct'?" I think the answer would be a pretty clear Yes. Blockading the path of military equipment is about as direct as you can get when it comes to confronting the war effort.

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Hello Everybody! Here I am up in Tacoma representing Olympia Smash ICE, a group affiliated with Tacoma Smash ICE. Today is the concluding Rally after a week of action against the ICE detention center here in Tacoma.

I'll be your freindly Live Blogger giving you a point for point run down of the events of the day.

BUT FIRST! a little background on ICE and the detention center and previous actions against it:

To be accurate, this person is not a panhandler, he is a street performer. Go check him out most evenings along 4th Ave!

Name: Richard

Age: 29

Hobbies: Music and Cooking. "Soon I'll be in an apartment and I want to go to SPSCC to study music first, then cooking. I already have 6 months of community college from Seattle, so I have a head start."

Favorite Books: The Bible, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit, Grimms Fairy Tales and poetry by William Blake and Jim Morrison

Favorite Movies: Apocalypse Now, Young Guns, Maverick, Last of the Mohicans, Legend, The Princess Bride

This is the first in a series of personal profiles of our local panhandlers! Enjoy!

Name: Butterbean

Age: 28

Hobbies and Interests: Playing X-Box 360, Taking walks along the pier, Trying to get money for food.

Favorite Book: Harry Potter, Prisoner of Azkahban

Favorite Movie: American Gangster

The Women's Guesthouse is transitional housing for women in Olympia designed to empower women while developing sustainable permanent housing plans. The Women's Guesthouse is a duplex- one side provides housing for women and children, and the other provides housing for single women.

We are trying to provide a comfortable space for the women on their journeys to self-sufficiency. The women have made a list of several items that would help them out a great deal.

*Kitchen supplies: can opener, cookie sheet, pizza tray, pizza cutter, cheese slicer, food storage containers, spatula, serving spoons, whisk, potato masher, ladle, mason jars, canisters for flour/sugar/etc, silverware

*Towels: dish towels, hand towels, wash cloths

*House supplies: night lights, flashlight, desk lamp, storage bins, shoe boxes, shower mats, shower curtain liner, door mats, curtains, batteries, house plants

*Tools/supplies: Hammer, screwdrivers, and basic tools, ceiling hooks, nails, screws, wall anchors

*Furniture: 4 dressers, bathroom shelf, bookcase, computer desk, office chair, tv stand, 5 laundry baskets

Small items such as these can make a huge difference in the atmosphere of a house. Please help us turn the Bread and Roses Women's Guesthouse from a house into a home where women can prosper and grow. Contact the Bread and Roses Advocacy Center at (360) 754-4588 during business hours, 9-4:30 M-F, visit us at 1009 4th Ave E Olympia, WA, or contact Sarah after hours at (630)336-8000.

So the sunset has come and gone and the Pedestrian Interference Ordinance (PIO) has become law. Part of the leverage used to get the PIO passed was a characterization of downtown Olympia as a crime ridden cesspool. Anyone reading the daily zero comments would notice stuff like this:

I have the unfortunate task of attending a meeting in downtown Oly once a month. I hate going there. The sight of all the worthless "YOUNG" homeless make me sick. I passed at least half a dozen of these "waste of human life" begging me for my hard earned money. I have no sympathy for any of these people. Everyone in this world has a chance to make the right choices. Yeah, there are peoplewho have received the short end of the stick, but if they are strong and want to overcome their shortcomings then they will. These worthless souls have chosen to be lazy and a drain on society. I could care less if they freeze to death. I never had anything handed to me. But I worked hard, got an education, a good job, and I am happy knowing that my neighbors don't have to pay my way through life. It's called PRIDE. Something these "homeless" don't have. I'm with the guy that said send them to Evergreen. That place already sticks and is a dump. Stop ruining a great city, and stop feeling sorry for people who can help themselves but choose not to.

nonymous | 02.02.07 - 9:51 am |

So, I've had a viral flu thing-y since about Monday. It sucks. To pass the time in bed I've been watching tons of Star Trek The Next Generation. I forgot how much I love it. TNG has such a rosey outlook. It says to us "in the future, peace will come as the result of calm, reason and science." It's reassuring.

I remember an essay I read or talk I heard somewhere about different periods of time and their concepts of the future. It's hard not to compare the Star Trek version of the future to the I Am Legend, 28 Days Later apocalyptic dystopian versions.

I guess what I'm getting at is this, I miss the days when science fiction was about building a beautiful future, not surviving a terrifying cataclysm. Any good places to look for good fiction? Can anyone relate to this?