MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
October 25, 2008

People for Peace, Justice and Healing met on October 25, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. at Associated Ministries in Tacoma, WA. Present for check-in: Nancy, Mark, and Colleen.

AGENDA

1. TWO OCCUPATIONS CONFERENCE DEBRIEF (Nancy)
The Peace Works conference entitled "Focus on Iraq and Palestine Occupations" that was held on Oct. 17-19 at The Evergreen State University featured Phyllis Bennis, Bill Dienst, and many others. Speakers emphasized the importance of divestment, boycotts, and sanctions, which continue to be important tools for social change. Three campaigns were discussed in particular: 1) Motorola, which is engaged in supplying radar systems for illegal West Bank settlements, provides cell phone communications to the Israeli army, has operations in the Jordan Valley on occupied land, supplies the Israeli army with fuses for cluster bombs and other munitions, etc.; 2) Caterpillar, whose militarized bulldozers are involved in home demolitions; 3) Starbucks, on account of the activities of founder and CEO Howard Schultz.  --  Also a focus was the problem of water in the Occupied Territories.  --  Recommended web site: Gush Shalom.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. DIGGING DEEPER LX & LXI (Mark)
On more Monday, Oct. 27, Antonia Juhasz's new book, The Tyranny of Oil (William Morrow, October 2008), will be examined as United for Peace of Pierce County's Monday evening book discussion group wraps up Digging Deeper LX.  --  On the following three Mondays, seven books on the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections will be discussed in Digging Deeper LXI.  --  Digging Deeper meets Mondays from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Mandolin Café (3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma).

2. "GROUND NOISE AND STATIC" -- Film on RNC & DNC 2008 (Colleen)
The Pierce County Chapter of the ACLU will show a 30-minute film entitled "Ground Noise and Static" (directed by Franklin López, subMedia.TV and PepperSpray Productions, 2008) at the chapter's monthly meeting in the Olympic Room of the main branch of the Tacoma Public Library at 7:00 p.m. on Wed., Nov. 5 (1102 Tacoma Ave S., Tacoma, WA 98402 -- 253-591-5666).  (The film's title comes from an off-the-cuff remark by Sen. John McCain at the RNC convention.)  "Ground Noise and Static" shows extensive footage from demonstrations at the Republican nominating convention this summer in St. Paul and at the Democratic nominating convention in Denver, where he worked as an independent media journalist.  After the showing, Joe La Sac, an independent journalist who appears in the film, will discuss issues it raises; he is a University of Puget Sound student active in Tacoma Students for a Democratic Society.

Respectfully submitted,
Mark