Saturday, May 22, 2004 Meeting Notes for People for Peace, Justice, and Healing

PPJH meeting minutes

People for Peace, Justice and Healing met May 22, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. at Associated Ministries. Present for check-in: Vivi, Mark J., Rob, Sallie S., Colleen, Sharon, Benjie, Karen K. (who read "Breathe into Life," a moving meditative poem that has been posted on the PPJH web site).

AGENDA:

1. Report on "From Chaos to Community" conference last weekend
2. Solstice gathering at Karen K.'s
3. Citizen oversight of police in Tacoma
4. Next event(s)
5. Republican state convention, May 28-30

1. Report on "From Chaos to Community" conference last weekend. Benjie, Sallie, and Colleen reported. Excellent conference. Provocative keynote address, good workshops!

2. Solstice gathering. Date and time discussed -- TBA.

3. Citizen oversight of police in Tacoma. Colleen reviewed the history: The Police Accountability WorkGroup (PAWG) work to create instutitions providing citizen oversight of police met weekly for six months, in consultation with ACLU, and then a proposal went to the Human Rights Commission. It was eventually supposed to go the City Council. It did get to a subcommittee of the City Council, and then was the subject of some 15 public discussions. The process led to a relatively weak proposal; even so, both police unions oppose it (as is generally the case with police unions responding to such proposals around the country). The proposal features a citizen review board with two professional investigators and a support person (a 'hybrid' model). It has now been 2-3 months since anything has been done. Colleen believes that the proposal has now been rendered toothless by those reviewing the proposal. Discussion of the difficulty of effecting change in this area. Colleen will call John Briehl, make efforts to find out what has happened, and report back. It was suggested that an account of the entire process could be written and posted on the web.

4. Next event(s). Discussion of what PPJH's next event(s) should be. Possibilities mentioned: Middle East; atrocity, torture, and abuse; withdrawal vs. reconstruction in Iraq; peak oil; federal judicial appointments as an issue in the coming presidential election.

5. Republican state convention in Bellevue. Sallie and others are contemplating the possibility of staging a die-in at the entrance of the state convention of Republicans next weekend. Call Sallie if interested (383-3056 x105).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Film discussion. Mark will lead a discussion of "Bon Voyage," a new French film directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau and starring Isabel Adjani and Gérard Depardieu, this afternoon following the 4:15 p.m. showing (discussion around 6:15, till about 7:00 p.m.)
2. Ground Zero at Hillside. Brian Watson of Bremerton will talk about Ground Zero, the antinuclear activist group that protests the nuclear weapons at Bangor, on Sunday, May 23, at 1:00 p.m. at the Hillside Community Church (2508 S. 39th St., Tacoma, behind Borders; 759-1910).
3. Freedom in Tacoma, May 29. The Bill of Rights Defense Committe-Tacoma, led by Tim Smith, is organizing an educational evening at the Washington State History Museum on Saturday, May 29, at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) A variety of presentations are planned, including a special guest! Call 671-8232 for more information.
4. FOR Conference. The 46th Annual Conference of Fellowship of Reconciliation will be held July 2-5 at the Seabeck Conference Center in Seabeck, WA. Keynote speakers will include Karen Ridd (U. of Winnipeg and veteran of Peace Brigades International), Richard Deats, editor and communications coordinator for FOR and longtime civil rights activist. Fourteen workshops are planned. Registration forms are due by June 1. Call Western Washington FOR at 206-789-5565 or E-mail wwfor@connectexpress.com -- PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED! The conference limit is 250 persons, and people have been turned away a number of times in past years. After June 1, telephone Janet Brown at 503-585-5436.