[Peace-discuss] 2 corrections Re: [Peace] AWARE meeting minutes from November 12, 2006

Fri Nov 17 00:25:26 CST 2006

2 corrections already...

>February, 2006 –
>Poverty Forum
should be February, 2007

We will counter the recruitment on both days, Friday and Saturday November 24th and 25th, noon-4pm.

==============================================
---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 00:13:12 -0600 (CST)
>From: Karen Medina <kmedina at uiuc.edu>  
>Subject: [Peace] AWARE meeting minutes from November 12, 2006  
>To: peace at lists.chambana.net, Peace Discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
>
>AWARE meeting minutes for Sunday, November 12, 2006
>Facilitator: Durl Kruse
>Notes taken by: Karen Medina
>Please point out mistakes or mis-representations
>
>II.	Introductions
>21 people were present, with 2 additional people (including Brian Dolinar) coming late in the meeting.
>* Grandpa Bob Wahlfield was present after several weeks of poor health.
>* Lois was present, but will be in India for the next 6 months.
>* A journalism student sat in on the meeting and interviewed people afterwards about the recent township referenda. Her name is Angelina.
>* Also present: a new resident of Champaign-Urbana who recently moved from Springfield where he was involved in anti-war/peace activism. His name is Dr. Aamir Zakaria.
>
>A new working group was formed that will take on the challenges of keeping the elected officials reminded of why they were elected through letter writing and other activities. (Barbara Kessel). See more details under Working Groups.
>
>--------
>VII.	Upcoming Events:
>
>Tuesday, November 14, 2006 –
>Letter Writing (Barbara Kessel and Ricky Baldwin)
>7pm at the Independent Media Center, in the Family Room
>
>Wednesday, November 15, 2006 –
>Consent Decree 101
>Come to a teach-in with Imani Bazell and an attorney.  Learn the truth behind the myths and the controversy. Help set the record straight.
>6-8 pm
>Urban League office
>314 S Neil, Champaign
>Please let Ricky Baldwin know if you would like to attend (something about having enough handout for everyone).
>
>Wednesday, November 15, 2006 –
>(Sensible Drug Policy)
>Tough Trade-Offs: A Drug Legalization Debate
>“This provocative debate on the hotly contested issue of the drug war will be a moderated look into the views of both sides as articulated by two of the country's experts. William Otis is a counselor to the Drug Enforcement Administration and will be representing the side that the War on Drugs is necessary and legalization would lead to negative effects. Dr. Bryan Brickner, PhD and former Director of the Illinois Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, will debate that the drug war does more harm than good and must end.”
>6:00PM – 8:00PM
>UIUC College of Law (in the Auditorium)
>504 E. Pennsylvania, Champaign, IL
>
>
>Thursday, November 16, 2006 – 
>Oaxaca Teach-in & Fundraiser
>Learn about the issues in Oaxaca in southern Mexico – repression, the people’s movement to replace Governor Ulises Ruíz, the assassination of the New York independent media reporter Brad Will, the reaction, and the worldwide repercussions.
>Time: 7pm
>Location: Independent Media Center (202 S. Broadway Ave., Urbana, Illinois -- at the corner of Elm and Broadway)
>
>Friday, November 17, 2006 --
>Dancing "Buddhists for World Peace"
>Celebrating diversity with salsa dancing
>Time: 5:30pm-7 pm
>Place: Illini Union 103 (Colonial Room)
>
>Saturday, November 18, 2006 –
>Village Market (the inside version of Farmer’s Market)
>Table times are 9am-2pm. A sign-up sheet was passed around.
>Lincoln Square Mall, inside
>Corner of Illinois and Vine Streets, Urbana
>
>Thursday, November 23, 2006 – Thanksgiving Day
>
>Friday and Saturday, November 24-25, 2006 –
>Counter Recruitment at the UIUC sponsored high school football tournament
>1st Street and Florida (in front of the Memorial Stadium)
>12pm-4pm, Shara Esbenshade is coordinating.
>
>Monday, November 27, 2006 --
>Patrick Thompson will be in court to hear the judge's ruling on post-trial motions which may result in a new trial, but could also result in his sentencing and immediate incarceration.
>1:30pm
>Courtroom A at the Champaign County Courthouse, 101 E. Main, Urbana, IL 61802
>
>Tuesday, November 28, 2006 –
>(proposed) AWARE Presents working group meeting
>7:00 pm at the Kruse's
>
>Saturday, December 2, 2006 –
>Village Market (the inside version of Farmer’s Market)
>Table times are 9am-2pm. A sign-up sheet will be passed around.
>Lincoln Square Mall, inside
>Corner of Illinois and Vine Streets, Urbana
>
>Saturday, December 2, 2006 –
>Main Event (peace demonstration)
>2:00pm-4:00pm
>1 Main St. (corner of Main and Neil in downtown Champaign)
>Champaign, IL
>
>February, 2006 –
>Poverty Forum (Anti-Racsim/Court Watch will have more date/time details as it gets closer)
>Topics will include: Environmental racism. The poorest neighborhoods in Champaign-Urbana are built on the most toxic areas. In fact, part of the reason that the school district does not want to build a school north of University Avenue is because they cannot find a safe site, and they don’t want to clean up one. But the people live in this area! 
>Ken Salo will be there.
>
>Saturday, March 17, 2007 –
>Trip to Washington DC? United for Peace and Justice will have a march. It is also St. Patrick's Day.
>
>Saturday, March 31, 2007 – 
>Illinois Coalition for Peace and Justice 2nd Annual Meeting
>(They are looking for a venue around Champaign-Urbana)
>
>Fall 2007
>Noam Chomsky visit?
>-----
>The rest of the notes will follow the events of the meeting.
>I.	News of the Week (Carl Estabrook, with an injured foot/ankle/or leg)
>II.	Introductions (detailed above)
>III.	Working Groups
>IV.	Old Business
>V.	New Ideas
>VI.	Last Week
>VII.	Upcoming Events (detailed above)
>
>--------
>
>III.	Working Groups
>Financial (Jan Kruse)
>* Farmer’s Market brought in $56; The Bash Bush Bash brought in approximately $213.51
>
>Main Event (Ricky Baldwin)
>* This past Saturday’s pre-election Main Event started small and then grew. They handed out leaflets about the referenda, receiving positive responses – much more than when Main Events started on North Prospect.
>* December’s Main Event will be important. With the new Congress people elected, we need to make sure the public remembers the issues. Perhaps we should make new signs in honor of the new Congress. Saturday, December 2nd, 2-4pm at One Main, Champaign. 
>
>Farmer’s Market (Durl Kruse)
>* The outside Farmer’s Market is over for 2006. We will have a table inside Lincoln Square Mall for 5 Saturdays.
>* “Village Market” was 1 of several names Durl mentioned for the event inside the Mall, but I cannot find the proper name from the LSM webpage.
>* Village Market update: AWARE has rented, been approved, and paid for the entire 5 Saturdays starting November 18. Table times are 9am-2pm. A sign-up sheet was passed around. You can also contact Jan or Durl Kruse to sign up to help. Rick Esbenshade currently has the table and chairs, but he will get them to the Kruses soon.
>
>AWARE Presents (Durl Kruse)
>* Still interested in talking with Allison Walter in the Office of International Engagement, Communications and Protocol at the University of Illinois.  They are interested in working with different community organizations to create a series of Town Hall Meetings that focus on timely international topics. abwalter at uiuc dot edu . Ricky Baldwin will contact her.
>* How does Tuesday, November 28 at 7:00 pm at the Kruse's sound for a working group meeting?
>* What is the status on having Noam Chomsky? (Randall asked). (Jamie answered) Originally, he said he might be able to schedule something in the Fall of 2007, but he was too busy to think about it with the recent events. We should follow up on it now. 
>* What about Danielle Chynoweth’s suggestion to bring people who had been to Lebanon? (Jamie asked). Mort had responded and found out that it would cost about $1000 to bring 2 journalists from Democracy Now, and they were available in November and December, but it might be a bit awkward now? 
>
>Church Presence (Durl Kruse)
>* Maybe start up in the Spring again? (Jan Kruse). Carl Estabrook reminded us that last year we started it as a run up to Christmas, as the coming of the Prince of Peace. Mort jokingly suggested that we change the words to carrols and sing to the churches. Randall indicated he was interested in doing something, and he took a straw poll to see how many might be interested – 5 people. Jan and Durl are interested in participating, but not in organizing. Randall seemed interested in helping to organize. Jan suggested redirecting energy – perhaps something with AWARE Presents. A presentation inside the churches?
>* What about sending a representative to “Keepin’ the Faith” (Steve Shoemaker’s radio show on WILLam580 radio, Sundays from 5 to 6pm).
>
>Anti-Racism/Court Watch (Barbara Kessel) 
>* A “Poverty Forum” is being planned for February. If you take a map of income level in Champaign-Urbana and a map of the toxic waste areas, they overlap. We built the poor neighborhoods in the toxic areas. Ken Salo, Asst. Prof. Natural Resources and Environmental Science at the University of Illinois, may be involved in the forum.
>* Patrick Thompson will be in court to hear the judge's ruling on post-trial motions which may result in a new trial, but could also result in his sentencing and immediate incarceration. November 27, 2006. 1:30pm Courtroom A at the Champaign County Courthouse, 101 E. Main, Urbana, IL 61802. There was some talk (in the courtwatch meeting) about wearing armbands to demonstrate support for Patrick. Brian Dolinar came in at the end of the AWARE meeting and also mentioned this event, so Barbara, Brian, or Randall would be good contact people if you would like more information.
>
>Anti-Racism (Ricky Baldwin)
>* Consent Decree teach-in this Wednesday (November 15). Topics will include history, background, and myth-dispelling about the decree. This will help us be ready to respond, know what to say in letters to the editor, WILL commentaries, voting, etc. Imani Bazzell would like a count of how many people to expect so she has enough handouts. Wednesday, 6pm-8pm at the Urban League (corner of Springfield Ave. and Neil St. in Champaign). There is parking off Springfield Ave behind the building.
>
>Counter Recruitment (Shara Esbenshade)
>* Shara took a DVD to Uni High as promised. She also emailed a list of parents and students telling them about the short film. There were 4 responses, 2 were positive, 2 negative. 1 asked if they could take a copy of the DVD to Danville High School. Durl has about 6 left, so 1 will go to Danville.
>* High School football tournament at the U of I is November 24-25. Recruiters will be there. 7 people signed up to counter recruit for 4 hours. Shara has the list. If you would like to cover an hour or two, let Shara know. We would like to have some veterans there as well (vets from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam against the war). Shara will contact Joe Miller. Mort will post to the peace list. 12(noon)-4pm on November 25.
>
>Student Groups
>Someone please offer to host a meeting for this working group.
>
>Illinois Coalition for Peace and Justice (ICPJ) (Jan and Mort)
>* The 2nd conference will be held March 31st. They are looking for a venue and would like to find one in Champaign-Urbana. Expecting 150-200 people, they need a good space. Places suggested were: Urbana Civic Center (need break out rooms), Urbana Middle School (huge deposit), Levis Faculty Center, … Karen Medina will check with the University. If anyone else has suggestions, please contact Karen or Mort.
>* Lots of events are going on in Illinois. For instance, on Thursdays from 4-6:30, Chicago wears orange to protest Bush's signing of the torture bill ("Be in the public square against torture") See http://www.ilcpj.org/calendar/ for more events.
>
>Protest Planning (Barbara and Dave)
>* There has not been a huge church response to the "Hands Off Iran." It was suggested that "Hands Off Iran" might be too much for some churches. Carl suggested just one "Hand" then.
>
>Letter Writing (Barbara and Ricky)
>* The idea is to continue the momentum from the referenda passing. Write to elected officials and remind them that we want them to act on the anti-war message. Write to Blagojevich and ask him not to send the Illinois National Guard.
>* There will be a meeting Tuesday, November 14, 7pm at the IMC (in the Family Room).  
>* Carol Inskeep suggested a postcard campaign. People donate $1. Postcards are ready with address labels. Postcards are small, so people don't feel like they have to write a lot. Postage is already on the card. These will not be a form letter. People will write in their own words which are more moving, more personal, and get more attention. We can contact other organizations like Parkland to have a postcard writing event.
>* It was suggested that we have postcards ready at the Village Market table.
>* It was also suggested that we use the Postcards for Peace for this.
>* In addition to the writing of letters, we should drive to Chicago to see Durbin and Obama (Mort suggested this). Mort is willing to provide transportation.
>* The anti-smoking postcard campaign was very effective. The City Council members were saying things like "I got 2 inches of post cards."
>* Does Naomi Jakobsson need to be added to the contact list?
>* We could go to Springfield to support Karen Yarbrough when she re-introduces the impeachment resolution. (Durl)
>* Shall we create a new working group? (Durl). "Feet to the Fire" working group (Randall mentioned the name that Barbara had been considering). A sign up sheet was sent around. Later, Barbara retracted the "Feet to the Fire" name saying that putting a person's feet to the fire is a torture technique. Carl suggested "foot" instead of "feet."
>
>--------
>
>IV.	Old Business
>None.
>
>--------
>
>V.	New Ideas
>* Another trip to Washington DC? March 17th is the United for Peace and Justice march in DC. Randall Cotton is willing to help coordinate; Jan and Durl Kruse are willing to offer advice. It is on St. Patrick's Day.
>
>VI.	Last Week
>Bash Bush Bash was November 5th (Ricky Baldwin) 
>"Oberon the Possum King" and Paul Kotheimer played at the Channing Murray Foundation. They raised over $200 for the referenda and had a lot of fun.
>
>Election was November 7th
>* Today's News-Gazette (November 12, 2007) had a breakdown of the precinct voter turnouts. Urbana Free Library's precinct had the highest turnout with 75% of the registered voters. Illinois Disciples Foundation had the lowest (a lot of campus voters) at 12.5% (Durl related this information.)
>* There was a discussion of the signs that were borrowed from people's yards to be used at the polling places. Mort would like to have his back, but Ricky says he went past several polling places the next morning and they were already gone. If anyone has an extra sign, please contact Mort.
>* The big sign on Vine has now been put away (thank you Sandra for letting us use your yard!)
>* Both referenda passed in Urbana. Perhaps we need to hold Tim Johnson's feet to the fire.
>
>--------
>
>VII.	Upcoming Events for November 2006 (see the schedule at the top of the minutes for complete information
>
>Sensible Drug Policy
>Wednesday, November 15, 6-8 at the College of Law Auditorium
>
>Consent Decree 101
>Wednesday, November 15, 6pm at the Urban League
>
>Oaxaca Resiste – a teach-in about the events in Mexico (Brian Dolinar)
>Thursday, November 16, 7pm at the IMC
>
>Dancing "Buddhists for World Peace" Celebrating diversity with salsa dancing
>Friday, November 17, 2006, 5:30pm-7 pm at the Illini Union 103 (Colonial Room)
>
>Village Market (the inside version of Farmer’s Market)
>Saturday, November 18, 2006, 9am-2pm. A sign-up sheet was passed around.
>
>Thanksgiving
>Thursday, November 23rd
>
>Counter Recruitment at the high school football tournament on campus
>Friday and Saturday, November 24 and 25, noon – 4pm
>
>Patrick Thompson court date
>Monday, November 27, Courtroom A
>
>(proposed) AWARE Presents working group meeting
>Tuesday, November 28, 2006, 7:00 pm at the Kruse's
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