Saturday, April 16, 2005

Meeting Notes for People for Peace, Justice, and Healing

People for Peace, Justice and Healing met on April 16, 2005, at Associated Ministries. Present: Sallie S., Sally M., Mark, Rob, Vivi, Colleen.

AGENDA:

COUNTER-RECRUITMENT: Sallie S.
Counter-recruitment efforts are moving forward; letters have been delivered to schools and some activities have begun.

JIM WALLIS: Sallie S., Colleen, & Sally M.
Discussion of Jim Wallis's talk on Apr. 11 at St. Leo's. Wallis's God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It, was no. 10 on the New York Times Book Review best-seller list on Apr. 10.

JEFF COHEN & FAIR: Sallie S.
The possibility of sponsoring a talk by Jeff Cohen of FAIR about fairness and accuracy in the media has been dropped. Willing volunteers were lacking and the availability of the News Tribune's Baker room was not as certain as had been believed.

CONVERSATION CAFE
Conversation Cafe will resume after last Tuesday's break. The question on Apr. 19 will be: "Do people appreciate and value events more when they have to pay to attend?" Question for Apr. 26: "Does a child have a right to privacy in the home?"

ANNOUNCEMENTS

'GANDHI' APPEARANCE: At the 1:00 p.m. service of Hillside Community Church (2508 S. 39th St., Tacoma, behind Borders; 759-1910) on Sunday, Apr. 17 Bernie Meyers, who has just returned from a trip to India, will "be" Mahatma Gandhi. (Vivi)

WWFOR 7th SPRING ASSEMBLY: "MAKING CONNECTIONS: VALUES, ISSUES, ACTIONS." The seventh annual spring assembly of the Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation will be held on Saturday, Apr. 23, in West Seattle. From the WWFOR web site: "Saturday, April 23, 2005, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Fauntleroy UCC Church at 9260 California SW in West Seattle; Spring Assembly, small groups will meet on: Save Our Youth from Military Recruiting, Grassroots Americans Make Peace for Iraq, Talking Across the Divide, Life and Justice Beat the Death Penalty, Racial Justice, Beyond Oil, Justice for the Poor, How to Work on Apocalyptic Issues. Cecile Andrews will start the day with a brief introduction to the concept of "framing" and how we can frame and re-frame issues to make our work for peace and social justice more effective. Info WWFOR 206-789-5565 or wwfor@connectexpress.com. Pre-registering by April 14 will help us plan. (It's not to late to decide to come!) More information and registration form at www.scn.org/wwfor/sprass05.doc." [MSWord document] (Vivi)

PRESENTATION ON DRUG POLICY REFORM. On Thurs., Apr. 21, at 7:00 p.m., Andy Ko, the director of the Drug Policy Reform Project of the ACLU of Washington will present "Curing America’s Drug Problem: Protecting Civil Liberties with Smart Policy" at the University of Puget Sound, MacIntyre Hall, Room 103. Mr. Ko will discuss the history and problems of a drug policy based on punishment, critique the reasoning behind the “war on drugs” and offer alternatives to the current drug policy with emphasis on reforms occurring in the United States and around the world. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. Sponsored by the ACLU and the UPS student ACLU group. (Unfortunately this event does not appear on the calendar of events on the UPS web site, so please help spread the word.) (Colleen)

PROGRESSIVE ROUNDTABLE. On Friday morning, Apr. 22, at 7:00 a.m., the third meeting of the Progressive Roundtable will be held at Shakbrah Java, 2618 6th Ave., Tacoma. All who are active locally in progressive groups are welcome. For more information: www.uswa.org/uswa/program/content/1973.php. (Sallie S.)

LECTURE BY FAREED ZAKARIA. Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International and author of The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, will speek on "The Future of Freedom" in Schneebeck Concert Hall on the campus of the Univ. of Puget Sound on Mon., Apr. 25, 8:00 p.m. Complimentary tickets for UPS students, faculty, staff; $8 general public. Tickets available at Wheelock Information Center. Reception and book signing following lecture. For more information on Fareed Zakaria, see www.fareedzakaria.com/about.html and www.fareedzakaria.com/articles/articles.html. (Sallie S.)

TOM RAWSON APPEARANCE: Tom Rawson, folksinger and storyteller ("He has a banjo and he's not afraid to use it!"), will be participating at the 1:00 p.m. service of Hillside Community Church on Mothers' Day, Sunday, May 8, will be held at the Center for Spiritual Living (206 North "J" St). (Vivi)

ALL-DAY CONFERENCE ON PEAK OIL. Featuring Michael T. Klare, the author of Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum (Metropolitan Books, 2004) and sponsored by Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, the "Beyond Oil: Challenges and Opportunities for Peace, Jobs, Justice, and Sustainability" conference will be held at Seattle Unity Church (200 Eighth Ave. N., Seattle) on Saturday, May 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. From the WPSR web site: "Beyond Oil: Challenges and Opportunities for Peace, Jobs, Justice and Sustainability. Saturday, May 14, 10 AM to 4 PM. Seattle Unity Church, 200 Eighth Ave N. An all-day conference, with keynoter Michael Klare. With 5% of the world's population, the United States consumes about 25% of all the oil produced worldwide. This unquenchable thirst for oil is out of step with the realities of the new millennium, and yet growing economies such as India and China are beginning to mimic US consumption patterns. The competition over resources is getting fierce, and Americans are witnessing every day how our dependence on Middle East oil has become a real security liability. Meanwhile, burning fossil fuels is worsening global climate change. Clearly it is in everyone's best interest to build a sustainable economy and move beyond oil peacefully, with social justice and respect for the earth. With a goal of bringing labor, environmental, and peace and justice groups together to work on this crosscutting issue, the May 14 "Beyond Oil" conference is a first step toward exploring common ground to forge solutions. The conference will be 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Seattle Unity Church, 200 Eighth Ave. North, in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood. The agenda includes Michael Klare's keynote and substantial discussion time in the morning, and two sets of interactive workshops in the afternoon, focusing on action and solutions -- from individual lifestyles to political advocacy to building alliances. -- Michael T. Klare is the Five College Professor of Peace and World Security Studies (a joint appointment at Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst). Klare is author of Resource Wars and Blood and Oil, and defense correspondent for The Nation. -- The cost of the conference is $17.00 at pre-registration, $20 at the door, which includes morning coffee/tea and lunch. No one will be turned away. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged, and will be available on this page after April 14th. For more information, or to receive the registration form in the mail, please contact: Ellen Finkelstein, WWFOR, 206 789-5565 or wwfor@connectexpress.com, or Martin Fleck, WPSR, 206 547-2630 or wpsr@wpsr.org. Sponsors of the conference include: American Friends Service Committee; Labor Education and Research Center of the Evergreen State College; Rainforest Action Network; Sound Nonviolent Opponents of War (SNOW); Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility; and Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation. (Rob)

Respectfully submitted,
Mark