[Peace-discuss] Re: [Peace] minutes of 5/4/03 AWARE meeting

Thu May 8 00:03:41 CDT 2003

I agree.  Nice work, Randall.

--- Lisa Chason <chason at shout.net> wrote:
> Randall's minutes are exemplary -- a piece of art --
> with links to the
> articles mentioned, background info incorporated,
> succint but thorough
> summaries of what was said. Many thanks for such a
> good job.
> L.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Randall Cotton" <recotton at earthlink.net>
> To: <peace at lists.groogroo.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 1:16 AM
> Subject: [Peace] Anti-war calendar and minutes of
> 5/4/03 AWARE meeting
> 
> 
> > Anti-War Calendar:
> >
> > May 3 (Saturday): AWARE's long-established
> "Prospect for Peace"
> > demonstration at Prospect and Marketview (2-4PM).
> >
> > May 4 (Sunday): AWARE's weekly meeting 5-7PM at
> the IMC (Independent Media
> > Center - 218 W. Main, Urbana).
> >
> > June 6-8 (Friday-Sunday) United for Peace and
> Justice Nationwide Anti-War
> > Conference in Chicago. AWARE may attend.
> >
> > October 7 (Tuesday): Noam Chomsky apparently
> coming to Illinois at ISU.
> More
> > info later.
> > ---------------------------------------------
> > meeting minutes:
> >
> > attendance: 20
> >
> > presentation: Dave Johnson of the Carpenter's
> Union
> >
> > Dave promoted the idea of opposing anticipated
> anti-union, anti-worker
> > developments in Iraq as part of the larger
> opposition to the US
> occupation.
> > He pointed out it's only reasonable to expect the
> administration will
> > attempt to create a country-wide "free-trade" zone
> favorable to US
> corporate
> > interests and quash worker rights and organization
> as a result.
> >
> > Dave talked about Harry Kelber, who has spent his
> entire adult life (he is
> > now 90) in the service of the labor movement.
> Kelber is the editor and
> > founder of the newsletter "The Labor Educator" (
> > http://www.laboreducator.org ). Kelber is a major
> proponent of actively
> > opposing anti-worker/anti-union developments in
> Iraq.
> >
> > handout: Harry Kelber article: "American Labor Can
> Play an Important Role
> as
> > Defender of Rights of Iraqi Workers"
> >
> > Dave noted that job site workers seemed to be
> about evenly divided
> > pro/anti-war. He noted that those who used the
> Internet to access news and
> > information were significantly more likely to be
> anti-war.
> >
> > He noted that the prospect of attacking Syria
> caused concern even among
> > pro-war workers.
> >
> > He described how once he informs workers of
> current developments regarding
> > the huge sweetheart contracts being doled out to
> anti-worker/anti-union
> > Bush-friendly/Bush-connected corporations such as
> Kellogg, Brown & Root
> and
> > Stevedoring, even pro-war workers became more
> skeptical of what's
> happening
> > in Iraq.
> >
> > During discussion, Dave made note of the fact that
> while many workers are
> > aware of and upset about NAFTA, many are
> uninformed about issues such as
> > GATT and WTO and the larger pattern of
> "free-trade" globalization.
> > ---------------------------------------------
> > news of the week (sadly, without Carl)
> >
> > Lisa: Good article in Sunday New York Times: "A
> Classicist's Legacy: New
> > Empire Builders" by James Atlas tracing back
> neo-conservative roots to the
> > late classicist and political philosopher Leo
> Strauss.  (ed. note: here is
> a
> > link to the article:
> >
> >
>
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/04/weekinreview/04ATLA.html
> >
> > Charlotte: Israel has explicitly announced they
> are cracking down on
> > International Solidarity Movement non-violent
> activists (members of ISM
> were
> > in town recently for the Palestinian Truth Tour).
> (ed. note: From May 3
> New
> > York Times article: "Britain Holds 6th Person in
> Tel Aviv Blast":
> >
> > "Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, the chief of staff for the
> Israeli Army, announced
> > last month on army radio that he had given an
> order to remove the
> activists
> > from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where they
> have acted as human
> > shields to prevent military operations against the
> Palestinians, such as
> > house demolitions."
> >
> > (ed.note: for more information, also see:
> >
> >
>
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=402676
> >
> > Matt: British cameraman James Miller was killed by
> Israeli Defense Forces,
> > though he was unmistakably and actively
> identifying himself as a
> journalist
> > (even carrying a white flag). (ed. note: News
> article covering this from
> the
> > British Independent is at:
> >
> >
>
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=402956
> >
> > Lisa: Noted that WMD is yet to be found and
> mentioned she had read that
> the
> > US Administration may be planning to target
> "enemy" regimes directly
> > (assassination, essentially) in the future.
> >
> > Linda: Listened to Bob McChesney's WILL AM 580
> show "Media Matters"
> (Sundays
> > 1PM) and heard an interview with the editor of
> "The Progressive", Matthew
> > Rothschild, during which an incident was recounted
> from 2001 in which
> > Chicago police and a Federal postal inspector were
> called to question
> Voices
> > in the Wilderness because they chose not to buy
> stamps that depicted the
> US
> > flag. (ed. note: Details at:
> >
> > http://www.progressive.org/webex/wxmc120801.html
> >
> > Mort: Mentioned there was an unusual, good article
> in Sunday's
> News-Gazette
> > on the rife disinformation in the media regarding
> the war.
> >
> > Ricky:  Hawaii passed a state resolution which
> opposes the Patriot Act and
> > encourages resistance against it within the state.
> > (ed. note: An article from Hawaii indymedia is at:
> >
> > http://hawaii.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/2164.php
> >
> > also, see:
> >
> >
>
http://www.hawaiinews.com/archives/politics/000133.shtml
> >
> > David H: Says he learned of a recent assassination
> of a Pro-U.S Shia
> cleric.
> > (ed. note: It was unclear whether David was
> referring to the killing of
> > pro-western cleric Abdul Majid al-Khoei in Najaf
> on April 10 (he had
> > returned from exile in London). Much detail on the
> al-Khoei killing is at:
> >
> >
>
http://www.observer.co.uk/islam/story/0,1442,936060,00.html
> >
> > Jeff: Says he learned Iraqi oil experts and
> executives were refusing to
> > cooperate with US. He also mentioned a Guardian
> article that described how
> a
> > single family was decimated during the firing of
> US troops at protestors
> in
> > Fallujah. (ed. note: The article is at:
> >
> >
>
http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,949043,00.html
> >
> > Ricky: Added that Agence France Presse (AFP)
> reported that medical staff
> > were fired on during the first Fallujah shooting.
> >
> > Mort: Said that a United Nations humanitarian
> relief flight was not
> allowed
> > to land at Basra. He said it's not the first time
> this happened. Someone
> > else added the same thing happened with a CARE
> flight in northern Iraq.
> >
> > Peter: Added that some magnate or celebrity was
> allowed to land their
> relief
> > flight in Baghdad.
> >
> > Franklin Graham's (Billy Graham's son) mission to
> convert Iraqis to
> > Christianity was mentioned. (ed. note: An
> interesting article on this is
> at:
> >
> > http://www.counterpunch.org/cajee04112003.html
> >
> > David G: Noted that Democracy Now did an excellent
> piece last Friday on
> the
> > Carlyle group (ed. note - Carlyle is a secretive,
> powerful business
> > investment firm including a half-brother of Osama
> Bin Laden, both Bushes,
> > Frank Carlucci, Dick Cheney, James Baker, Colin
> Powell, John Major and
> > others. There is a new book exposing Carlyle -
> "The Iron Triangle". The
> > Democracy Now piece is an interview of the author,
> Dan Briody, by Amy
> > Goodman. Link to the audio interview at:
> >
> >
>
http://stream.realimpact.net/rihurl.ram?file=webactive/demnow/dn20030502.ra&
> > start=27:35.4
> >
> > Jeff: Chimed in that Bush had a speech at United
> Defense in Silicon Valley
> > during his trip to the aircraft-carrier photo-op
> last week. United Defense
> > is owned by Carlyle.
> > ---------------------------------------------
> > events of the past week:
> >
> > Mike: Mentioned the last two sessions of the
> Chancellor's campus forum on
> > the war. He specifically referenced the last
> session and what Robert McKim
> > had to say. He like much of what McKim presented,
> including his taking
> > evangelicals to task for not opposing the war
> strongly.
> >
> > Mort: Chimed in on the forum sessions, saying
> attendance was 25-45.
> > Described the sessions as stimulating, but mostly
> comprised of sterile
> > academic discourse followed by more interesting
> discussion with the
> > audience.
> >
> > Ken: Attended a talk given by former president of
> Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda
> on
> > the role of Zambia in the liberation of South
> Africa. Kaunda is blamed for
> > mismanagement of Zambia since he came to power in
> 1964 and forcing
> > dictatorial one-party rule in 1972. These
> culminated in violent riots in
> > 1990, which ultimately forced him to allow a
> multi-party system which
> > resulted in his ouster in 1991. Ken noted how
> curious it was that
> dictators
> > like Kaunda somehow get recycled into lecture
> circuits.
> >
> > Randall: Attended a weekly Progressive
> Resource/Action Cooperative (PRC)
> > meeting to discuss the idea (touched on last week
> by Carl and Robert) of a
> > Sept. 6 anti-war conference bringing together
> anti-war and progressive
> > groups. Found there was solid enthusiasm for such
> an idea within PRC and
> > they encouraged it to go forward. Randall will
> help to move the idea
> > forward.
> > ---------------------------------------------
> > Working group reports:
> >
> > Farmer's Market: Farmer's Market at Lincoln Square
> starts next Saturday. A
> > working group headed by Jeff was formed to get a
> table out with
> literature,
> > signs, etc. Many agreed that tabling at Farmer's
> Market was very
> important.
> > The working group had their first meeting
> immediately after the main
> > meeting.
> >
> > CO: (Mike) Anti-militarism tabling event at Urbana
> High School went very
> > well. This proves that more tabling should be done
> at Urbana High and also
> > in Champaign, if possible. To find an inroad into
> Champaign, though, we
> may
> > need a parent of a Champaign high school student
> or a member of a high
> > school's faculty to help out (ed. note: can anyone
> out there help?). Other
> > future actions are also called for, such as
> leafleting students about
> their
> > opt-out rights under the "No Child Left Behind"
> rider which otherwise
> allows
> > the US to obtain student information from schools
> for recruitment
> purposes.
> >
> > P4P: (Ricky) Attendance was up at P4P this week.
> Attendance was down at
> Neil
> > St., though (and they wound up coming to
> Prospect). Due to lack of
> > attendance, there will no longer be an organized
> Neil St. component
> > (especially since the counter-demonstrators should
> be gone next week).
> There
> > were new signs. New literature was passed out
> (about 100 copies).
> >
> >   Incident: The "pro-war" van often seen circling
> around heckling us (and
> > this week, even flashing us) was pulled over by
> the cops and subsequently
> > disappeared.
> >
> >   Incident: A couple minutes before 4PM, as things
> were winding down, a
> > couple pro-war bikers apparently decided to go
> down our entire line, one
> of
> > them (a woman) taking individual close-up photos
> of people and verbally
> > attacking some. It was provocative harassment,
> though not violent and not
> > illegal. Lori asked the woman not to take a photo
> of her and then
> > unfortunately let her emotions get the best of her
> when she did. Lori
> > grabbed the camera and tried to destroy it (though
> she says she grabbed
> the
> > camera without actually touching the
> photographer). The cops came running
> > and one of them tackled Lori from behind, pinning
> her to the ground with a
> > knee in her back and then cuffed her. All our
> witnesses agreed that the
> cops
> > were unnecessarily violent with Lori. The
> photographer did not press
> charges
> > and Lori was not arrested. Lori was released
> on-site, but charged with
> > resisting arrest and has a court date. She plans
> to plead not guilty and
> > fight the charge. We got together a list of
> witnesses and asked them to
> > write down exactly what they saw as soon as
> possible. If Lori is fined, a
> > collection will be taken to help her out. As of
> Sunday, Kim Kranich was
> > setting up a meeting with Lieutenant Gallo to
> address this issue. Lesson
> > learned: don't let our guard down, even when all
> seems stable. This
> incident
> > could very well have been avoided if we had
> enforced the buffer zone by
> > protesting the crossover when it happened,
> appealing to the pro-war
> > organizers and the police as necessary. Luckily,
> this was the last week of
> > organized counter-protest.
> >
> > Ricky put forth the idea of winding down P4P
> during May and quitting at
> the
> > end of the month for the summer.
> >
> > He also suggested refreshments next week at P4P.
> >
> > Town Meeting: (Mort) Mark Thompson backed out from
> participating, so this
> > working group is reconsidering/re-evaluating the
> next step.
> >
> > Speaker's Bureau: (Linda) New meeting of speaker's
> bureau working group
> took
> > place immediately after main meeting.
> >
> > Literature: Mort and Ricky each have their new
> documents and continue to
> > revise them. It was suggested we have final
> versions ready to go for
> > Farmer's Market next week.
> >
> > Finances: Gabe reports a balance of $2073.51. Gabe
> will order buttons and
> > bumper stickers (for Farmer's Market among other
> things).
> >
> > Party 4 Peace: Lisa's place, Saturday May 17th.
> Lisa will post more
> > information later.
> > ---------------------------------------------
> > Upcoming Events/Miscellaneous
> >
> > RSO status: Mike pointed out that the semester is
> almost over and we need
> to
> > renew RSO status and request a table for Quad day
> NOW.
> >
> > Lisa: Wondered aloud whether we should try to have
> closer ties with and/or
> > enlist the support of prominent
> progressive/anti-war voices such as Bob
> > McChesney and Francis Boyle.
> >
> > Ricky: Alan Dershowitz (the legal
> scholar/celebrity who advocates torture
> in
> > some circumstances) is apparently speaking on
> Monday, May 5 at Foellinger
> > (ed. note - I couldn't find any reference to this
> presentation on any UIUC
> > web site, but it's Monday night already, so I
> guess it's moot).
> >
> > Lisa: Looking for socially responsible consumer
> tips to include in an
> > article for the Public I. Please forward them to
> her.
> >
> > Randall: United for Peace and Justice is
> conducting a national anti-war
> > conference in Chicago June 6-8 and offers funds to
> pay for travel and
> > conference attendance (possibly contingent on
> joining UFPJ as an
> affiliated
> > group). Randall is interested in going, is looking
> into this and will
> report
> > next week.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Peace mailing list
> > Peace at lists.groogroo.com
> >
> http://lists.cu.groogroo.com/cgi-bin/listinfo/peace
> >
> >
> >
> 
> 
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>
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