MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING

LAST MEETING AT ASSOCIATED MINISTRIES, December 11, 2010

NEXT MEETING, DECEMBER 18 scheduled FOR ONE TIME ONLY AT COMMENCEMENT BAY COFFEE

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing met December 11, 2010 at Associated Ministries. Present for check-in Sol, Colleen, Rob, Mark, Karen, Karen, Carl, Nancy. Discussion: Chris Hedges speech at Seattle Town Hall = The Empire of Illusion. Discussion: Trial at the Federal Courthouse of the Disarm Now Plowshares Five: Bill Bichsel, S. J., Anne Montgomery, RSCJ, Susan Crane, Steve Kelly, S. J., and Lynn Greenwald. They were charged with conspiracy, criminal trespass, felony damage, and felony injury of federal property during their protest action at Naval Base Bangor on November 2, 2009. The trial brought peace activists from around the world to testify and lend support: Steve Leeper, Chair of the Peace Culture Museum, Hiroshima, Japan; Angie Zelter, author and activist from the U. K.; U. S. Naval Captain, Rtd. Thomas Rogers; Dr. David Hall, Physicians for Social Responsibility, local and nationally known author and University of Washington Professor, Mike Honey; Rtd. Col. Ann Wright; Plowshares legal expert, Anabel Dwyer. Additionally supporters attended from out of state and Ground Zero.

AGENDA

Continued discussion -- trial of the Disarm Now Plowshares 5: Although the jury began deliberations on Friday afternoon there was no final word from the jury. They will reconvene on Monday morning at 8:45. PJHer's who attended part or most of the trial remarked on the admirable spirit of the five defendants who all conducted themselves in a dignified and good spirited manner. Unallowed by Judge Benjamin Settle to argue their actions in defense of International Law, the Nuremberg Trials or as a Necessity Defense, the judge did allow them to question witnesses that had travelled far to support them as to their intent. Also they were able to place into evidence items that they carried with them onto the grounds at Strategic Weapons Facility -- such as an article by an government atomic scientist describing the dangerous degradation of nuclear weapons in storage helped to give some picture of the motivation for their protest actions. The defendants consider the existence of our nuclear buildup as illegal and immoral. Although the five defendants have never tried to deny any part of their appearance -- they were inside the fence at Bangor for approximately four hours before they were apprehended when they cut through the final security fence and raised their Disarm Now banners -- the prosecution's focus was on damage to government property, although a literal bill of costs was never produced. For more information about the trial google disarmnowplowshares.wordpress.com or www.gzcenter.org

TNT: CarlNews Tribune -- attending their editorial meeting that is open to the public, asking for a meeting, volunteering to do an Op-Ed piece. This discussion arose out of the fact that the last Plowshares article appeared the morning the trial began and was written by Stephen Maynard, the religion editor. No more news continued during the proceedings of the trial.

EVENTS

Mass by Bix and Guadalupe House Potluck: Nancy
Bill Bichsel will celebrate a Native American Mass at 1:30 p.m. at St. Leo's followed by a potluck at Guadalupe House

Disarm Now Plowshares
Vigil, for the Plowshares Five, 8:00 a.m., Federal Courthouse, court resumes at 8:45 a.m. Monday, December 13

Digging Deeper: Mark
Meets Monday evenings at 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., Mandolin Cafe. Currently reading: One Bomb Away by Maurine Doerken and Empire and the Bomb: How The U.S. Uses Nuclear Weapons to Dominate the World, by Joseph Gerson.

Bill of Rights: Colleen
Tuesday, around 5:00 p.m., before the regularly scheduled City Council meeting, the Council will recognize December 15 as Bill of Right's Day. ACLU and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee members and supporters of the Bill of Rights are encouraged to be present to the Council in appreciation. The City Council meets on the first floor of the City Council Building, St. Helen's Street entrance.

Bill of Rights Celebration: Colleen
Wednesday evening the annual Bill of Right's celebration will begin at Harmon's Tap Room, the second door north of King's Books on St. Helen's. Drinks free to the first 20 guests. At 7:00 celebrants will "march" to King's to see a film about the WTO, " This is What Democracy Looks Like" narrated by Susan Saradon. A discussion will follow.

Third Thursday Art Walk: Karen
Peter Serko's 20/20 Spirit of Tacoma Photo Exhibit, illustrated by the work of 20 local poets will be on exhibit at Clancy's Coffee, located next to the Washington State Historical Museum on Pacific.

"Budrus:" Nancy
The film "Budrus," about a village where members of Hamas, Fatah and Israelis work non-violently together. Showing in Seattle at the Landmark Theater, December 17 through 23, at 7:15 p.m.

Coming - Dinner with Konrad
Karen provides the soup, we provide the extras and the company with Karen in Dupont, December 22.

Respectfully submitted,
Karen