MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
September 6, 2008

People for Peace, Justice and Healing met on September 6, 2008, at 10 a.m. at Associated Ministries in Tacoma, WA. Present for check-in: Terry, Vivi, Nancy, Louisa, Rob, Mark, Sallie S., and Susan.

AGENDA

1. ETHNIC FEST VENDOR'S SURVEY (All)
Discussed responses as Sallie filled out the form.

2. OPT-OUT (Susan and Nancy)
Susan reported her son received an Opt-Out form at Franklin Pierce HS. -- Nancy reported that not enough students are being reached through handing out forms to local high school students arriving in the morning at school -- next year better and earlier organization will be needed. She's still working on contacts in some schools; Sallie said high school career counselors are the best point of contact.

3. GAZA (Nancy)
Update: Twelve activists from the SS Free Gaza and the SS Liberty stayed behind in Gaza. Four of them, including Bill Dienst, a doctor from Omak, WA, have recently not been allowed by Israel to leave. Both Washington senators are involved in the effort to allow him to leave and return to his place of employment. -- In the aftermath of these events, Palestinian fishermen have been fired on. -- BACKGROUND: For more on Bill Dienst, see K.C. Mehaffey, "Omak doctor trapped in Gaza after mission," Wenatchee (WA) World, Sept. 4, 2008. -- For more about gunfire directed at Palestinian fishermen, see "Israeli naval gunships open fire at Gaza fishermen boats," Xinhua, Sept. 6, 2008. -- For more on the plight of those dependent on the Gaza fishing industry caused by illegal collective punishment imposed by Israel, see Rami Almeghari, "Gaza's fishing industry under siege," Live from Palestine, Mar. 5, 2007, which begins: "Since the abduction by Palestinian resistance groups of Israeli soldier Gila'd Shalit on 25 June 2006, Israeli gunships have prevented Palestinians from fishing off the Gaza coast. This has severely affected both fishermen and food security for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. -- Thirty-thousand people are dependant on Gaza's fishing industry, but since last June, the Israeli naval forces have harassed those Palestinian fishing boats that dare leave the dock."

4. POLITICAL DOINGS (Group)
Comments on the two conventions and the impending presidential campaign.

5. SUSTAINABLE CAFÉ (Louisa)
Further discussion of an appealing, promising idea: the establishment of a café featuring products compatible with sustainable economics.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. STAND FOR CHILDREN (Sallie)
Stand For Children needs more local parents of public school students for lobbying for improvements in public education. Contact: Cara Bilodeau, 253-304-8924.

2. DIGGING DEEPER LVI & LVII (Mark)
On Mon., Sept. 8, at 7:00 p.m., at the Mandolin Cafe (3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma), Digging Deeper, the Monday evening book discussion group of United for Peace of Pierce County (http://www.ufppc.org) will discuss Ron Suskind's The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism (Harper, August 2008). On Sept. 15, the group will discuss Jane Mayer's The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals (Doubleday, July 2008).

Respectfully submitted,
Mark