Saturday, October 16, 2004 Meeting Notes for People for Peace, Justice, and Healing

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing met from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Saturday, October 16, at Associated Ministries, 1224 S. "I" St., Tacoma, WA.

Present for check-in: Sheila, Kyle, Sol, Mark, Tom, Karen K.

AGENDA

1. Cancellation of the Northwest Social Forum
2. Description of PPJH
3. Earth Charter
4. United Steelworkers associate memberships
5. Conversation Café
6. America in Solidarity
7. Announcements

NOTES

1. Cancellation of the Northwest Social Forum
Tom described the reasons for which this weekend's Northwest Social Forum was canceled.

2. Description of People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
Review of the history, mission, and activities of PPJH (since this was Tom's first time at PPJH, and Sol's second).

3. Earth Charter
Reaffirmation of the importance of the Earth Charter, which PPJH endorsed in 2003. Sheila: It's not too early to begin discussing the Tacoma Earth Charter Summit of 2005. We should resume the practice of regular discussion of some passage from the document.

4. United Steelworkers associate membership
Sol & Tom described an initiative by the United Steelworkers of America to invigorate an associate membership program with the aim of revitalizing progressive issues -- this has so far embraced the Blue/Green Alliance, the Rescue Jobs Tour, and the Global Justice Tour. The advantages of having an active associate member chapter locally: facilitation of communication and coordination among groups, resources, connection to the wider progressive movement which will undoubtedly be a feature of the post-Nov. 2 landscape in the U.S. The next meeting: Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Old SW Hall, 4741 N. Baltimore St.; Bill Johnston will preside.

5a. Conversation Café - I
Twofold question for Tuesday, Oct. 19, 7:00-8:30 p.m: How far should the U.S. government go in legislating morality? If you had the power, what laws would you make to affect American morality?

5b. Conversation Café - II
Karen K., Sheila, Mark, and Karen H. will try to find a time to meet and plan the Conversation Cafés for a period of several months in the near future. (If you would like to be part of this, contact Mark at jensenmk@plu.edu)

6. America in Solidarity
Tom discussed America in Solidarity, a grassroots group involved in a campaign to educate voters on labor issues and to help elect politicians who care about America’s working families. We are a non-profit, non-partisan group that have had enough of politics as usual.

7. Announcements
a. Swaneagle Harijan, human rights activist, artist, writer, gardener, and front-line performance artist, will speak about the Caravan of Justice for Women of Ciudad Juarez, sharing stories and art, on Sunday, Oct. 17, 4:00-6:00 p.m., at the Mandolin Café, 3923 South 12th St., Tacoma, in a PPJH-sponsored event. The Mexican Solidarity Network, calling for international support to bring attention to the unsolved murders of 400 young women, is organizing an International Caravan for Justice that will travel across the United States and Mexico on Oct. 18-30. Swaneagle Harijan, who has been a deeply committed peace activist for 25 years, will be driving the mother of one of the murdered young women on the caravan. The caravan to the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez is being called to bring attention to these unsolved abductions and murders. Most of the victims were under 25, some as young as 11. There are as many as 1,000 more women missing. Many victims have yet to be identified and to date the perpetrators of these heinous acts remain unknown. The young women worked or lived around factories owned by international corporations, who have not provided solutions to this growing problem. Swaneagle Harijan's first political action was participating in Gandhian civil disobedience against the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, which put her in jail for four months. She learned to be a human rights observer while living with traditional Hopi Dine Grandmorther Pauline Whitesinger at Big Mountain, Arizona. Swaneagle also traveled to Chiapas as a human rights delegate seven moths after the massacre in Acteal. No charge; donations gratefully accepted. -- NOTE: A related event will be held in Kane Hall on the UW campus on Monday, Oct. 18, at 7:00 p.m.
b. Sol reported that Derek Kilmer, Dem. candidate for State Representative for the 26th Legislative District, is organizing poll watching in the area; contact the Kilmer campaign at 253-858-8209 for more information.
c. Tom announced a CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) Speaking Tour event, including speakers from El Salvador and Mexico, will be held Nov. 18 at 7:00 p.m. at IBEW Hall, 4421 S. Orchard, Tacoma (near the mall).
d. The UFPPC book discussion group will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 18, at the Mandolin Café, 3923 South 12th St., Tacoma, to discuss Rahul Mahajan's Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond (2003). At 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 25, Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror (2004) by "Anonymous" [now known to be Michael Scheuer] will be discussed.

Respectfully submitted,
Mark Jensen