MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING
September 29, 2007

People for Peace, Justice and Healing met at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 29, 2007 at Associated Ministries . Present for check-in were Vivi, Dorothy, Mark, Sally M., and Nancy; Rob arrived later.

AGENDA

1. DAVID KORTEN (Dorothy)
Vivi has invited Dorothy Burkhart to speak about David Korten at Hillside Community Church on Sun., Nov. 11. Exploring his web site, Dorothy found a link an animated cartoon she recommends called Money as Debt. The history of money is told and the relationship between money and debt is explicated, with an emphasis on the dependence on growth -- growth that leads to a depletion of resources and destabilization of ecological relationships. David Korten comments: "Paul Grignon's 47-minute animated presentation of 'Money as Debt' tells in very simple and effective graphic terms what money is and how it all is being created. It is an entertaining way to get the message out. The Cowichan Citizens Coalition and its "Duncan Initiative" received high praise from those who previewed it. I recommend it as a painless but hard-hitting educational tool and encourage the widest distribution and use by all groups concerned with the present unsustainable monetary system in Canada and the United States."

2. THE BROADWAY CENTER REACHES OUT TO THE PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE NETWORK (Mark)
Lucas Smiraldo, already well known to most of us as an important poet, is now associate director for education and outreach at Tacoma's Broadway Center for the Performing Arts. He contacted Mark in September to extend an offer to members of Pierce County's peace and social justice network, including members of People for Peace, Justice, and Healing, of a special discount for the "O Solo Mio!" series of performance satire coming to the Broadway Center's Theater on the Square. See here for more on the offer and on the three shows coming to Tacoma: "Four Slices of Wry" (Oct. 11 & 12), "Rush Limbaugh in Night School" (Oct. 13 & 14), and "The Wonder Bread Years" (Nov. 2 & 3). PPJH decided to designate three performances as recommended occasions to turn out and get together for a show:

-- "Four Slices of Wry" on Friday, October 12, 2007, at 7:30 p.m.
-- "Rush Limbaugh in Night School" on Sunday, October 14, 2007, at 3:00 p.m.
-- "The Wonder Bread Years" on Saturday, November 3, 2007, at 3:00 p.m.

To get the discount, simply identify yourself as a member of Pierce County's peace and social justice network (or a member of People for Peace, Justice, and Healing or United for Peace of Pierce County) at the box office or when calling the box office at 253-501-5894, mentioning Luke Smiraldo or Lacey Laeffler, the associate director of marketing. That should earn you a 10% discount on tickets for one show or 25% discount for tickets for two shows purchased together. See you at the theater! A good turnout will encourage the center to bring other progressive theater performances to the Broadway Center, so please help spread the word.

3. NONVIOLENCE TRAINING (Vivi)
An Olympia peacekeeping training recently took place and one is being organized for Pierce County by David Lambert (253-759-2280) for Sat., Nov. 17. Hours are not fixed but the training will occupy most of the day. Erica Kay of Seattle will probably be participating as a trainer. Please call David to sign up, to indicate an interest, or to have more details.

4. PEACE WALKERS (Nancy)
Ruah Swennerfelt and her husband Louis Cox are two peace walkers from Burlington, VT, associated with Quaker Earthcare Witness. They plan to walk from Vancouver, BC, to San Diego, a 1,300-mile journey that will bring them to Tacoma on Dec. 12. They'll rest on Dec. 13, then walk with monks from the Guadalupe House to Olympia on Dec. 14 & 15. The *Burlington Free Press* reported on their project on Sept. 25, 2007.

5. SALLIE (Mark and Rob)
On Fri. evening Sallie S. was feeling a sense of having turned a corner. All present joined in sending a special packet of healing energy her way and hope to see her back soon, maybe next week.

6. SISTER CITIES (Nancy)
The Sister Cities Council of Tacoma/Pierce County met on Wednesday in Tacoma. Nancy's proposal of a sister city relationship with Aboud, on the West Bank, was rejected on the grounds that it is not a port. There was unwillingness to discuss the Green Line and the separation wall; Nancy was not allowed to finish her presentation. She'll try again in December or January. NOTE: El Jadida, Morocco, has been proposed as a sister city of Tacoma. There are some upcoming sister city visits to Tacoma: from Gunsan, Korea, on Oct. 29-30; from Kitakyushu, Japan, on Nov. 8-11; and from Fuzhou, China, in November or December, depending on visa approval.

7. REPRESSIVE CRACKDOWN IN MYANMAR/BURMA (All)
Discussion of the week's events in Mynamar/Burma, including the repressive reception given to Ahmadinejad at Columbia University by the university's president, Lee Bollinger, on Sept. 24.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. JEANNIE DARNEILLE AT FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION ON OCT. 21 (Vivi)
Washington State Representative Jeannie Darneille, who has represented the 27th Legislative District since 2001, will speak at a Fellowship of Reconciliation meeting on Oct. 21, 2007. Meeting at 3:00 p.m., program at 4:00 p.m., potluck at 5:00 p.m. Rep. Darneille will talk about the death penalty and related legislative efforts in Washington State. At Tacoma Friends Meeting-House/Hillside Community Church, 2508 S. 39th St., Tacoma. For more information, contact David Lambert, (253) 759-2280 or Vivi at (253) 572-4912.

2. BERNIE MEYER AND BILL BICHSEL AT TRADITIONS (Vivi)
“Lives of Meaning, Lives of Purpose” “Conquering Shame, Conquering Numbing”: Dancing the Walk October 2nd Traditions Fair Trade, 7:00 p.m., 300 5th Ave SE (& Water St.), downtown Olympia near Capital Lake. Come to celebrate Gandhi’s Birthday with the American Gandhi, Bernie Meyer. And celebrate Bernie’s 70th birthday too (October 11th). Bernie will share the experiences of his 700-plus miles walk from Glasgow to London with Foot Prints For Peace, “Toward a Nuclear Free World.” Bernie walked as the American Gandhi. Through radiation and threats of radiation, through record rains and global climate change, through communities of insight and ignorance, “we are all in this together.” Bernie offers to share by dancing the Walk . . . with talk.

3. DIGGING DEEPER (Mark)
On Mon., Oct. 1, and Mon., Oct. 8, Digging Deeper XXXVI will be spending two more sessions discussing books about the history of the Central Intelligence Agency. More information available here.

Respectfully submitted,
Mark