MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
December 27, 2008

People for Peace, Justice and Healing met on December 27, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. at Associated Ministries in Tacoma, WA. Present for check-in: Colleen, Mark, Nancy, Sol, and Terry.

AGENDA

1. CITIZEN REVIEW PANEL (Colleen)
Tacoma's Citizen Review Panel is now accepting applications for two positions (2-3 year terms). Applications must be submitted to the Mayor’s Office. To apply, send a completed application to Cindy Leingang, Mayor’s Office, Room 1200, Municipal Building, 747 Market St., Tacoma, WA 98402. Applicants can download the required application from the City’s web site or call (253) 594-7848.

2. PALESTINE (Nancy)
Discussion of today's airstrikes on Gaza by Israel, and possible political, economic, and media responses. Adopted a statement, "Massacre in Gaza," endorsing five points advocated by the coalition End the Occupation, for posting on the web site.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. "DOUBT" (Mark)
Mark will lead a discussion of a new film, "Doubt," starring Meryl Streep, after the 4:00 p.m. showing at Tacoma's Grand Cinema.

2. DIGGING DEEPER (Mark)
On Mon. evening, Dec. 29, UFPPC's book discussion group will examine Riane Eisler’s The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics. Eisler, sometimes classed as an eco-feminist, is the well-known popularizer of Maria Gimbutas's speculations on the overthrow of a peaceful egalitarian matriarchal society early in human pre-history and its replacement by a patriarchal society based on oppression and war. -- In The Real Wealth of Nations, published in November 2008, Eisler argues that "We stand at an evolutionary crossroads in our human adventure on Earth. We can continue with 'business as usual' — even though both science and our native intelligence tell us that the mix of high technology and an ethos of domination and conquest may take us to an evolutionary end. Or we can use the great gifts we were given by evolution to create a new economic story and reality—a caring economics that supports both human survival and human development and actualization" (The Real Wealth of Nations, pp. 234-35). Digging Deeper meets Mondays from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Mandolin Café (3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma)

Respectfully submitted,
Mark