May Day 2008 in Olympia Washington went down with a bang when a (fractional) faction of the protest turned violent. Members of the "Black Bloc" threw rocks at several windows on at least two different bank buildings. Bank employees and customers were inside the buildings when this happened.

I was there - the whole afternoon. Up until the broken windows, the protests were peaceful and nonviolent. Although some of the speeches made me uncomfortable, and some of the speakers made statements that I certainly wasn't in complete agreement with, I felt enough solidarity to stick with the protest even after the Capitol Building was defaced with graffiti.

In fact, I wasn't really uncomfortable with the demeanor of the protest (besides the graffiti on the Capitol Building) until about 10 minutes prior to the first rock throwing incident. I noticed feelings of discomfort in regard to the tone of the protest when a certain vocal group (identity unknown to me) decided to lead the march down a one-way street directionally opposed to the flow of traffic. This move seemed somewhat unsafe, and it also seemed antagonistic toward drivers on 4th Ave, who had varying degrees of understanding about, and appreciation for, the protesters who were marching. I would have felt more comfortable and would have preferred, for example, to take State Ave. West, instead of marching in opposition to the one-way flow of traffic, and then to do a loop back toward the East on 4th Ave. My discomfort makes me curious; I wonder if anyone else was made uncomfortable by this decision to march against the flow of traffic. I was also additionally uncomfortable with the antagonistic and hostile chanting (yelling) of the slogan "Tear it down". Does that slogan possibly scare people and does it turn people off to the movement?

Here are a few videos and photos from yesterday's May Day Events:

In case the above video player doesn't work, here's a link.

link to photoset

There were 13 of us gathered at the Northwest corner of Sylvester Park in downtown Olympia, Washington yesterday in order to bear vigilant witness to the crimes and human rights abuses that are being committed by members of the Government of the USA.

Participants gathered, also, to bear a message of hope and peace, that the problems of the world, the violence and ecological/environmental degradation, the greed and exploitation, etc. - these problems and others - can be solved. There is a better way.

I also have some pictures from The Procession of the Species and Arts Walk! And I want to share them. I'll start with three mouseovers, then I will include some regular pictures and an embedded flickr slideshow.

MouseOver one:

This is one of the many fantastic Procession of the Species Dance Troupes.

Earlier today I participated in the Olympia Council MoveOn.org Operation Democracy Press Conference. The conference was held on the front steps of the Capitol Building in Olympia Washington. A report on the connection between the Iraq war and the failing economy was released to Washington State Senators Maria Cantwell, and Patty Murray, as well as to various members of the local news media.

Here are some videos from the day's event:

Here's a copy of the Report [linked]. I also copied the report and uploaded to my flickr account, so if you'd prefer, see below:

Inspired by enpen's vertical panoramas, I tried a couple myself:

more on the flipside:

Last Saturday's Democratic Convention and Caucus seemed to be a success. Preliminary estimates announced after Saturday morning's registration period were that around 1,400 delegates and alternates were in attendance for the day's deliberations.

There was debate and dissent, passion and play. Thurston County Democrats Caucus Information

Thurston County will be sending 88 Obama Delegates and Alternates, and 36 Clinton Delegates and Alternates to Congressional District Caucuses.

Here's the TCD platform video presentation:

photos on the flipside

The Puget Sound is in serious danger. Pollution has wreaked horrible consequences on this majestic waterway. For example, 92% of wild salmon runs are no more, and several stocks of other species are collapsing as well. Why is the Puget Sound in danger? Ask an expert.

Take it from William Dietrich. He published an article in the Seattle Times yesterday. It's about this very subject. It's very well written and it's titled: "Puget Sound: One man's indictment, love poem and call to arms", here's a link: seattletimes.nwsource.com/

Read more...

Colonel (ret.) Ann Wright visited Olympia yesterday for a series of presentations on Iraq, on official wrongdoing within government, and on her new book, which is published by Koa Books. Dissent, Voices of Conscience: Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq is co-authored by Ms. Wright and Susan Dixon. It chronicles the stories of about 25 government and military whistle-blowers who have come forward to expose corruption and wrongdoing in their respective professional settings.

Colonel Wright was a career diplomat with the US State Department. When the US Government, under the dictate of the Bush Administration, launched an invasion in Iraq she resigned her post (along with two other US diplomats.) I saw and listened to Ms. Wright give a presentation (on her experience vís a vís her professional career and Iraq) at South Puget Sound Community College. Her visit was sponsored by Washington Peace Action and BRICK (the SPSCC student group Building Revolution by Increasing Community Knowledge).

Father Ray Bourgeios graced Olympia Washington with several appearances, including one at Traditions Fair Trade Café, during a visit on April 10th, 2008.

Father Bourgeois delivered a wonderful presentation. He spoke for over an hour about his work with the School of Americas Watch movement.

The School of Americas is located on Fort Benning, in Georgia. The School has been renamed and is now called WHINESEC (Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). The school's mission and objectives have not changed, however.

The school is actively involved in providing special training to the military forces of Latin American nations. Some of the military personnel that have studied at the School of Americas are known to have committed atrocities.

From the SOA Website: On November 16, 1989, six Jesuit priests, their co-worker and her teenage daughter were massacred in El Salvador. A U.S. Congressional Task Force reported that those responsible were trained at the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) at Ft. Benning, Georgia.

Please see www.soaw.org for more information.

The SOAW movement has grown from a tiny group of individuals into a national and international call to shut down the School of Americas.

photos on the flipside