photo by Bethel (all rights reserved)

Olympia activists have been very prominent in recent protests against the revolving door of aggression between our government and Iraq. To update: several protestors and demonstrators have been arrested as a result of their attempts to stop the enabling function that public ports have for an illegal military action.

I support our troops and soldiers. I support the truth. Bush lied about the threat posed by Iraq. He lied in order to take the nation to war. The war is illegal and it debases humanity.

We have the power to stop the unnecessary sacrifice of our fellow Americans. We have the power to stop an act of aggression committed by our government.

Thank you to all those heroes who stand on the line in resistance to the militarization of society as our government plunges us into the darkness of aggression, and sacrifices young folk for the sake of a vision of global dominance.

Join PMR. We can stop the war.

A large convoy of Stryker vehicles was spotted (over an hour ago) traveling Southbound on I-5 in the vicinity of Federal Way. Any eyes on or near the Ports of Seattle and Everett - Please report. Is there a ship in port?

Flickr user Maxismailov has a few photos of the weekend's air show, which was held at the Port of Olympia's Tumwater Airfield. Check 'em out:

There are more photos from the air show, courtesy of flickr user "spooky the cat" here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spookythecat/sets/72157605640304009/

Notice of Citizen Action: Make your voice heard. Support Impeachment. Stop the war. Oppose Militarism and Aggression and a Foreign Policy of Global Dominance. Have Fun. Speak Up, Speak Out!

Please show your support for impeachment and a change in Congress. Challenge Congressman Brian Baird on his failed policy of support for the "Surge", his lack of support for impeachment, and his continued willingness to vote for funding military belligerence and the illegal occupation / war of aggression against Iraq.

Citizens actively opposed to Congressional inaction on Impeachment will peaceably assemble outside of and near to the Olympia office of Congressman Brian Baird tomorrow, Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 from between 4pm to 6pm. Please attend any or all of the 2 hour event. Join in and express your will to create a better society and a better world... continue reading

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

New rules passed in the U.S. Congress allow for state Governors to order lowering the U.S. flag to half-staff in the event of the death of a state official (or former state official). Included are military service personnel from the state in question, who die while serving on active duty.

Governor Gregoire ordered the lowering of U.S. flags in Washington state for two days earlier this week (April 9th and April 10th) due to the active-duty military related deaths of "U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dustin Lee Canham of Lake Stevens, who died in Djibouti, on March 23," and "U.S. Marine Corps Maj. William Gregory Hall of Seattle who was killed in action in Fallujah, Iraq, on March 30" [quoted material from the Tri-City Herald].

This is the Washington State National Guard Armory 2nd Battalion, 146 Field Artillery Headquarters on Eastside Street in Olympia, Washington:

Father Ray Bourgeois is a Roman Catholic Priest and the founder of the human rights organization, School of Americas Watch [4/10/2008 update: SOA Watch website currently blocked, apparently by Google]. You have several opportunities to visit with Father Bourgeois today, April 10th, in Olympia.
From the SOA Watch website:

SOA Watch is an independent organization that seeks to close the US Army School of the Americas, under whatever name it is called, through vigils and fasts, demonstrations and nonviolent protest, as well as media and legislative work.

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.

In 1990 SOA Watch began in a tiny apartment outside the main gate of Ft. Benning. While starting with a small group, SOA Watch quickly drew upon the knowledge and experience of many in the U.S. who had worked with the people of Latin America in the 1970's and 80's.

[from Peace Action email:]

On the eve of the Iraq War, retired Army Colonel Ann Wright resigned from the State Department, telling then-Sec. of State Colin Powell that without UN authorization the invasion and occupation would be a disaster. She was one of dozens of government insiders and active-duty military personnel who spoke out, leaked documents, resigned, or refused to deploy in protest of illegal government actions.

Col. Wright is one of the country's most prominent critics of the Iraq War and Bush's foreign policy. In her new book, Dissent: Voices of Conscience, Col. Wright and Susan Dixon tell the stories of these men and women. Peace Action is sponsoring her Puget Sound tour:

Col. Wright's Western Washington appearances:

I went to the Capitol Theater tonight and saw "The Ground Truth" (trailer available at site), a film about the experiences of soldiers and their families in relation to the Iraq war.

It was profound, "devastating" (ref NYT review), moving, emotional and educational. If you're interested in what's happening with the war on Iraq, this film is for you. If you are, or a loved is, considering a military career, then you owe it to yourself, or him or her, to see this film.