Saturday, November 25, 2006
MEETING NOTES
People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
November 25, 2006
People for Peace, Justice and Healing met on Sat., Nov. 25, 2006, at Associated Ministries at 10 a.m. Present for check-in: Sallie S., Sol, Kathryn, Mark, Rob, Dorothy, and Karen K.
AGENDA
1. INDIAN ISLAND (SOL)
Press release:
**********
For immediate release: Nov. 22, 2006
360-379-9094; 360-821-1040 (cell); liz@teenpeace.org
INDIAN ISLAND DEFENDANTS TO APPEAR IN COURT
** Press Conference and Support Rally before Hearing — Candlelight Walk
and Peace Vigil Follow on November 29 **
Tacoma resident Sol Riou will be among 37 defendants who were arrested at the
Navy base in Jefferson County, WA, to appear at the Jefferson County Courthouse for
a pre-trial hearing on November 29. The Indian Island Defendants will hold a press
conference and support rally outside the courthouse at 1:00 p.m., prior to appearing
in court. A candlelight peace walk and vigil from the courthouse to Union Wharf will
begin at 5:30 p.m., after the hearing.
On September 23, 2006, 37 people were arrested outside the gates of Naval Magazine
Indian Island as part of a nationwide campaign called the Declaration of Peace. The
local event was one of 375 actions that occurred across the country during the week
of Sept. 19-26. The Declaration of Peace was an effort to pressure Congress to
develop a plan for an end to the Iraq occupation before leaving Washington, D.C.,
to campaign in their home states.
Almost 300 people were arrested at the protests. The Indian Island action was one
of the largest arrest groups in the country. Protesters were also arrested at the
Port of Olympia and in Representative Rick Larsen's office in Bellingham. During a
recent meeting of the Indian Island defendants, several people said they believe that
the collective arrests helped to influence the recent elections and encourage voters
to demand a change of course in the Iraq war and occupation.
Supporters are invited to join the Indian Island defendants at 1 o'clock in the park
across from the Jefferson County Courthouse for a press conference and support rally
before they enter the courthouse for the pre-trial hearing. Supporters are encouraged
to wear read to show support for the defendants.
There will be a candlelight walk from the Jefferson County Courthouse, down to Union
Wharf, which overlooks Indian Island. Candlelight vigils will be held in several other
cities across the Puget Sound area in support of those arrested in protest of the
Iraq war, and to continue to show their resolve to continue working for peace.
Donations for legal defense costs are needed. Contact Liz Rivera Goldstein at
360-379-9094 for more information
**********
2. EARTH COMMUNITY DIALOGUES (Dorothy)
3. PUGET SOUND CLIMATE ISSUES (Sol)
4. CONVERSATION CAFE (Karen K.)
5. WATADA UPDATE (Sallie S.)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. STUDY CIRCLE ON BARACK OBAMA AND THE LEGACY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (Mark)
2. FUNDRAISER FOR WATADA-RELATED CITIZENS' TRIBUNAL ON THE IRAQ WAR (Mark)
3. BILL OF RIGHTS CELEBRATION AT THE WASHINGTON STATE HISTORY MUSEUM (Carry-over)
Respectfully submitted,
Plans are set for Wed., Nov. 29, the day when a hearing is scheduled at the Jefferson
County Courthouse in Port Townsend, WA, for 37 defendants charged in connection with
the Sept. 23, 2006, Declaration of Peace action at Ammunition Depot Indian Island.
On Wed., Nov. 29, in Tacoma, the weekly PPJH vigil from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in
front of the Federal Building at 1717 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402, will be dedicated
to support for the Indian Island defendants. For more information
see www.SoundPeaceAndJustice.org
or home.earthlink.net/~louseal/soundpeaceandjusticewebsite/
Contact: Liz Rivera Goldstein
Dorothy reported on the successful first meeting of an Earth Community Dialogue group
that met Tues., Nov. 21, at the Wheelock Library (3722 N. 26th St., Tacoma), with a
group of about twenty in attendance. This group is part of a movement that has grown
out of the Earth
Charter, (www.earthcharterusa.org/earth_charter.html)
which People for Peace, Justice, and Healing formally endorsed in February 2003. Led
by Dorothy Burkhart, the group will discuss David Korten's The Great Turning: From
Empire to Earth Community (Berrett-Koehler Publishers and Kumarian Press, May
2006). The Earth Community Dialogue will continue on these subsequent
Tuesdays: Dec. 5 & 19, Jan. 9 & 23, and Feb. 6, at the Wheelock
Library (3722 N. 26th St., Tacoma); all meetings will begin at 6:00 p.m. and end
about 7:45 p.m. (David Korten was involved in the drafting of the Earth Charter
and is also the author of When Corporations Rule the World. Korten's new book
makes the case for choosing a future Whole Earth Community grounded in the
life-affirming cultural values that are shared by most of the peoples of the
world. People for Peace, Justice, and Healing is a co-sponsor of this project. For
more information, contact Dorothy
at dorothybu1@harbornet.com.
The Puget Sound Climate Issues group will hold a meeting on Dec. 4 at 7:00 p.m. at
the Mandolin Café, 3923 South 12th St., Tacoma, WA 98405. Agenda: 1) "Start Here
Now: Steps toward a Sustainable Tacoma Community"; 2) Permaculture demonstration
garden; 3) Web site. If you'd like to be involved, send an e-mail to Louisa
Beal (louisabeal@mac.com) and she'll send
an invitation to join the group.
Karen reported on Tuesday's Conversation Café at the Mandolin. The group decided to
end its sponsorship of and involvement with the Tuesday-evening group, which is no
longer functioning as a Conversation Café. Mark will attend Tues., Nov. 28, at
7:00 p.m. to convey the news, and will notify the owners of the Mandolin, remove the
sign at the Café, remove the announcement from the PPJH web site, and contact the
Conversation Café web site.
Watada attorney Eric Seitz announced last weekend that the Army has set the date for
Lt. Ehren Watada's court-martial for Mon., Feb. 5, 2007, with a pre-trial hearing hear
on Thurs., Jan. 4, 2007. For more information, see the many items related to Lt.
Watada on the UFPPC web site.
At 7:00 p.m. on Mon., Nov. 27, at the Mandolin Café (3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma),
UFPPC's book discussion group 'Digging Deeper' will continue its discussion of the
rise to prominence and political prospects of Sen. Barack Obama in the context of
the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. The group is examining The Audacity of
Hope, Obama’s just-released bestseller (#1 for the past two weeks) and his
1995 autobiography, Dreams from My Father, as well as two other
books: At Canaan’s Edge, the recently published concluding third
volume of Taylor Branch's monumental work, America in the King Years, and
Clayborne Carson's edition of The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Participation is free. Some volumes are available for purchase or borrowing. See
here for more information.
At 7:00 p.m. on Tues., Dec. 5, at King's Books (218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma;
253-272-8801) there will be a fundraiser to raise money for a Citizen's Tribunal on
the legality of the Iraq war, which has been announced for Jan. 20-21, 2007. The
event will feature a showing of UW Tacoma Prof. Michael Honey's 18-minute video on
the Iraq war and a panel discussion of the case of Lt. Ehren Watada. Prof. Mark
Jensen of Pacific Lutheran University will join in the discussion. (NOTE: On Thurs.,
Nov. 9, the U.S. Army announced that Lt. Watada will face a court-martial for refusing
to deploy to Iraq on the grounds that the Iraq war is illegal under U.S. and
international law; Watada's attorney announced on Nov. 19 that the Army has set
the date of the court-martial for Mon., Feb. 5, 2007.)
At 7:00 p.m. on Fri., Dec. 15, the annual celebration of the anniversary of the
Bill of Rights will be held at the Washington State History Museum (1911 Pacific Ave.,
Tacoma), co-sponsored by the Washington ACLU and the Bill of Rights Defense
Committee-Tacoma.
Mark