1. Ethnic Fest (Sallie)
This year's Ethnic Fest will be held in Wright Park on Sat. & Sun., Jul. 29 & 30. The peace & justice community table will be shared by PPJH, UFPPC, Veterans for Peace, and the counter-recruitment group. Volunteers needed to help set up & staff the tables (10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.) over that period. Contact Sallie (253-383-3056 ext. 105) to get a time slot for this fun activity.

2. Media Forum (Louisa) The Media Forum is an ad hoc group working on setting up workshops in October 2006 (probably Oct. 7, 1:00 p.m-4:00 p.m. or perhaps earlier, probably at Carpenters Hall) on each of six different forms of media. Contact Tom McCarthy (250-9290) or Michelle Piso of the Progressive Roundtable for more information.

3. Conversation Cafe (Kathryn)
There was no conversation last Tuesday due to the Fourth of July holiday. The conversation question for Tues., Jul. 11 is already posted at the cafe. Question chosen for the following week, Tues., Jul. 18: "Under what circumstances do you think a war would be just?" -- NOTE: As was reported in the notes for the Jun. 24 meeting, Dendria gave Kathryn an excellent group of proposed questions that she and some friends developed: 1. How has television affected human life since its invention? 2. What is an ideal democracy? 3. What do you think of our country's apathy, or whatever? 4. What is the "American dream"? 5. How does White Supremacy rear its ugly head? 6. How do pets affect your life? 7. What awaits you after this life? 8. How do you find love? 9. Technology: friend or foe? 10. What are your opinions on gas prices and the oil industry? 11. Where do you see Earth's environment in the next 50-100 years? 12. What will/would the effects of a globalized economy be? 13. Where/Who/What do you call home? 14. What is your favorite spice, and why? 15: Should the U.S. have an official language?

4. Puget Sound climate issues (Louisa)
Louisa is helping to set up an e-mail Yahoo group to discuss local aspects of climate issues: go to the Yahoo Groups web site and join the Puget Sound Climate Issues group if interested. The site is also accessible by searching Yahoo Groups for the word string "pugetsoundclimateissues."

5. History Museum event (Sallie)
People self-identified as wanting to work on an event, probably at the History Museum, which would feature a discussion of the legality of the Iraq war, probably as a debate, perhaps as a co-sponsored event with some yet-to-be-identified entity that supports the legality of the war (local Republicans? Fort Lewis? local politicians?): Colleen, Mark, Sheila, Kathryn... Steve & Kristi Nebel of UFPPC will also be involved. Future meeting to advance the discussion TBA. If interested in participating in helping organize such an event, contact Mark (253-756-7519).

6. Instant runoff voting (Mark)
Richard Anderson-Connolly, who teaches sociology at the Univ. of Puget Sound and has been a leader of the movement in favor of instant runoff voting, has solicited endorsement for Proposition 3, which if passed will make instant runoff voting the means of election for most Pierce County offices. PPJH endorses; Mark will communicate the endorsement to Rich. (For more information about IRV, see www.fairvote.org or www.irvwa.org.

7. Watada update (Sallie)
Sallie has been participating in the National Coordinating Committee of Friends and Family of Lt. Watada. At 5:00 p.m. on Thurs., Jul. 6, the day following the U.S. Army's announcement of charges against Lt. Watada, 75-100 people turned out to demonstrate support for him on the bridge over I-5 at the Exit 119 overpass. There were lots of banners and signs (including two prominent banners made by UFPPC) and lots of demonstrations of support from passing cars. Also, on Jul. 7, Watada's case was taken up prominently on the Daily Kos blog site, and the web site of the Nation posted an important article on how the Jun. 29 decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld supports Lt. Watada's position. Discussion of the possibility of a local fundraising event featuring local celebrities and performers.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. UFPPC study circle on the legality of the war (Mark)
On the next two Monday evenings, Jul. 10 & 17 UFPPC's book discussion group, "Digging Deeper," will continue to discuss three books that address issues relating to the legality of the Iraq war. Meetings last from 7:00 p.m to 8:30 p.m. at the Mandolin Café (3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma). The three books: Michael Byers, War Law: Understanding International Law and Armed Conflict (Grove Press, 2006); Noam Chomsky, Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy (Metropolitan Books, 2006); and Robert Jay Lifton, Richard Falk, and Irene Gendzier, eds., Crimes of War: Iraq (Nation Books, 2006). See here for more information. 2. Dance and spoken word outside the Museum of Glass (Sallie)
Dance and spoken word performances will be featured at 1:00 p.m. on Sat., Jul. 8, and at 1:00 p.m. on Sat., Jul. 15, outside the Museum of Glass.

3. Earth Charter group meeting (Scott)
Meets next on Wed., Jul. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the Mandolin Cafe (3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma).

Respectfully,
Mark