MEETING NOTES

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
November 3, 2012

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing met on November 3, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. at the Antique Sandwich Company in Ruston.  Present for check-in were Sallie, Karen H., Rob, Sonja, Mark, Carl, Colleen, and Sheila.

AGENDA

1. MYANMAR DEBRIEF (Colleen).
Returned from three seeks in Myanmar on Saturday. The Burmese people live in Myanmar (not "Burma," a colonial designation). Colleen and Tom traveled in a group of nine experienced travelers. Myanmar is beautiful, but has many environmental problems. E.g. floating islands upon which the country depends for its produce, but whose silt is filling up the lakes the float upon. China is Myanmar's chief trading partner; the Chinese are widely resented. Aung San Suu Kyi is known as "The Lady" because speaking her name was long forbidden in Myanmar. The legend of Mr. Handome and Golden Face. Myanmar has literally billions of images of the Buddha. The eleventh century was Myanmar's Golden Age. Architectural marvels: stupas and temples. Colleen did not travel in the western part of the country, which was disturbed in October by violence between Buddhists and Muslims.

2. PELTIER EVENT (Sallie)
The Leonard Peltier event will be held from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. at St. Leo's on Sat., Dec. 8. We do not need to provide a meal. But we will organize to provide cheese sandwiches: the Dec. 8 meeting (10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon) will be moved to St. Leo's and devoted to preparing for that event. Cheese sandwiches? Responsibilities to be distributed later.

3. JOHN TOWERY CASE HEARING
Attendance is encouraged on Mon., Nov. 5, 2012, at 8:45 a.m. in the Seventh Floor Courtroom of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle, there will be a hearing in the case of Panagacos v. Towery. Picture ID is required to enter the WILLIAM K. NAKAMURA COURTHOUSE, 1010 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104 (Phone: 206-224-2200; hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.). -- BACKGROUND: John Towery was a paid informant who at the U.S. Army's behest infiltrated as "John Jacobs" antiwar activists involved in Port Militarization Resistance in Tacoma and elsewhere. A lawsuit was filed on Nov. 5, 2009, against the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Olympia Police Department, Tacoma Police Department, Thurston County Sheriffs and Pierce County Sheriffs seeks to hold the defendants responsible for violating the civil rights and civil liberties of the plaintiffs and the Posse Comitatus Act.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. ELEANOR IRENE MOORE (1914-2012) (Colleen)
Eleanor Irene Moore, the mother of our dear friend Colleen, died on Friday, November 2, 2012, at the age of 98. Hers was a full and fulfilled life. Our deepest condolences go out to Colleen and her family and her mother's many friends.

2. ADVOCATE OF DRONE WARFARE TO SPEAK AT PLU (Mark)
On Thurs., Nov. 8, from 7:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m., in Pacific Lutheran University's Scandinavian Cultural Center (UC 101 - basement of the Anderson University Center), at an event titled "Killer Drones:The Good The Bad The Ugly," philosopher Bradley J. Strawser will make a presentation arguing for lethal drone warfare. His talk will be followed by a response by Pauline Kaurin, chair of the Department of Philosophy at PLU, and discussion with the audience. For more information contact: Professor Kaurin 253-535-8739/Kaurinpa@plu.edu. -- NOTE: United for Peace of Pierce County recently adopted a statement denouncing drone warfare entitled "On the World's First Drone War and Its Consequences, Known and Unknown," arguing that lethal drone warfare should be banned.

3. VETERANS FOR PEACE DENIED PLACE IN AUBURN VETERANS DAY PARADE (Sallie)
From Steve and Kristi Nebel: "The Auburn Veterans Day parade is billed as one of the largest Veterans Day parades west of the Mississippi River. In 2010, an estimated 5,000 people lined the streets to watch it. Veterans For Peace has marched in the parade for every one of the last six years. Our presence is important for the many people who openly welcome us each year, for those who may feel they can only silently support us, and for young people who need to hear a different voice about the military and war. -- Unfortunately, our application and a subsequent appeal to march in the Auburn Veterans Day parade this year have been rejected. The word from city officials is that they don't like our 'message' and they don't think we 'honor' veterans and current military personnel. In fact, VFP honors them by working to restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations and by working to abolish war as an instrument of national policy so that no member of the armed forces will ever be ordered to place limb, life, or soul in jeopardy for an unjust or unworthy cause. We honor them when we use and guard the Constitutional freedoms, including speech, that we swore to defend in our oaths of enlistment/office. -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington has also not been able to reach an agreement with the City of Auburn to let us march and is now preparing to file a federal lawsuit on our behalf. We hope that the City of Auburn will voluntarily reverse their decision to exclude Veterans For Peace or, alternatively, that a federal court will intervene to protect our First Amendment rights. In any case, we are still planning to march in the parade and encourage you to join us in Auburn, if possible."

4. DECEMBER 1 -- WORLD AIDS DAY (Carl)
Dec. 1 will once again be World AIDS Day. In honor of the thousands who have contributed to 25 years of successful and meaningful service, PCAF will host the 2012 World AIDS Day event at the Tacoma Art Museum on Sat., Dec. 1, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. Highlighting the event will be a special recognition for State Representative Jeannie Darneille, PCAF’s first Executive Director who served for 18 years, from 1989-2007.  Rep. Darneille will be honored for her groundbreaking work in Pierce County and will be the first recipient of the PCAF Achievement Award.  Presenting the award to Rep. Darneille will be former Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma and State Representative Laurie Jinkins. Registration for the event will include access to a major exhibition at Tacoma Art Museum from 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., live music, performance art provided throughout the museum by Oasis Youth Center, and the culminating silent auction for the ART FOR AIDS: Ribbons of Remembrance Project. Save $10.00 by registering before Nov. 1.

5. B2 (B SQUARED) ART GALLERY (Sallie)
The exhibit at B2 (711 St. Helens Ave., Suite 100, Tacoma, WA) entitled BEYOND CRAYONS & FINGER PAINTING: YOUTH GROUP EXHIBITION features art by Palestinian children. It will run from Sat., Oct. 27, 2012, to Fri., Nov. 30, 2012.

Respectfully submitted,
Mark