[Peace-discuss] AWARE meeting minutes - 18 November 2007

[Karen Medina]

AWARE Meeting Minutes
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Family Room at the CU-IMC
5pm start time (or thereabouts)
Durl Kruse facilitated.
Karen Medina took the meeting minutes.
15 people were in attendance.

Durl suggested we mix things up a bit after the News of the Week, so things will be in a different order than normal.

I. News of the Week 
	A. Carl's 10 points [below are my rough notes, but Carl will also post to Peace and Peace-discuss listserves]:
		1. NY Times sitting on the details of the Pakistan / US relationship for 3 years
	    	    Physical security upgrades.
	    	    Bush's new nicknames: Mushy, Busharraf
		2. Fatima Bhutto (poet and journalist) (neice of Benazir Bhutto)
		    Pinky [Benazir Bhutto] is hijacking democracy.
		3. In 2007 they count 3800 troops dead from Afghanistan and Iraq
		    Desertions are up 80%
		    120 suicides per week (in 2005).
		    At this rate, the death toll of US troops would be around 15,000 -- not the 3,000
		4. 175,000 troops stationed in Iraq (the numbers continue to increase, no decrease)
		    If same number of contractors in Iraq, then more than Vietnam.
		    And where is General David Petraeus? In D.C., vetting new generals.
		    And the Petraeus/Ryan Crocker joint campaign plan -- Congress is not allowed to see it.
		    And the counter insurgency plan that Petraeus is famous for, it was plagiarized.
		5. Another blank check for the war is in the works.
		    15 democrats voted against it in the House.
		    50 billion, along with a nonbinding aspect about bringing troops home.
			(There was a discussion here about whether a non-binding statement was worth mentioning. Some members of AWARE are of the opinion that stopping all funding on the war is the only thing they should approve, others think that even a non-binding statement is a movement in the right direction – and perhaps the only movement possible. Stronger words were used in the discussion, like "a non-binding resolution is nothing more than whining".) 
		    The CIA has better names in the news (like “Buzzy”)
			Inspector General Howard Krongard's brother "Buzzy Krongard is on Blackwater USA's board.
		6. UN says that Somalia is worse than Darfur.
		    The Jewish community has a movie out about Darfur. ["Darfur Now" is sponsored by the American Jewish Committee]
		7. Telecomm's spying.
		8. Pentagon, extended martial law.
		9. Afghanistanis are being tortured.
		10. 55% say that Bush has committed impeachable offences, but only 34% want Bush impeached.
		11. (end on a positive note): 
      a. Resistance in Olympia, Washington. [Hundreds of protesters sucessfully blockaded the Port of Olympia last week preventing military equipment from being transported through the public port. http://youtube.com/watch?v=dgi5ESpueX8&feature=related ]
		     b. CIA is kicked off-campus in California. [UC Santa Barbara http://la.indymedia.org/news/2007/11/210041_comment.php ]
		     c. School of America protest was this past week.
	B. Comments and questions on News of the Week
		Mort 1: IAEA report says that Iran is in compliance. 
		Mort 2: The military seems to be of 2 different minds about Iran. On one side, they say that 3,000 centrifuges working now could conceivably be nuclear weapons in 10 months. The other side says that because of the Iraq/Iran connection, there are fewer casualties and bombs in Iraq.
		Mort 3: The suicide rate that Carl mentioned earlier were from 2005. [A brief discussion occurred and it was emphasized that CBS reported that in 2005 there were 120 suicides / week. Carl (and others have) used 120 per week as the basis for estimating the total number of suicides, adding it to the number of deaths in "combat" to get 15,000 deaths of US troops.] 
		Mort 4: 3,865 US deaths reported at icasualties.org – this seems to be a new website. [http://icasualties.org/oif/  Iraq Coalition Casualty Count. "As of June 30, 2007, government figures show 1,001 contractors had died in Iraq since the start of the war."]
		Mort 5: China is trading with Iran. In the last 10 months, trade has gone up by a factor of two.
		Carl 1: Debate about Iran is indeed happening within the military. Intra-military.
    		Carl 2: IAEA wanted help with finding
			6 September
		Bob W 1: Al Sharpton [I think this may have been about the National Blackout] 
		Bob W 2: Cheney and Saudi Arabia
		Janet: "Redacted" movie, about the 3 guys who raped the 14-year-old and killed her and her family.
		Stuart asked about the Defense Bill and Martial Law (point 8 above). 
		Carl's Answer: HR1585 -- In an emergency, domestically, Posse Comitatus Act 
		   [ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c110:./temp/~c110qLpxOH ]
		   [ gives authorization to the U.S. military to plan a future merger with the police that will be used during a catastrophic emergency. ] 
		   Carl also mentioned the Possee Comitatus Act. [The Act, passed in 1878, prohibited members of the federal uniformed services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard [during wartime], and State National Guard forces [when called into federal service]) from exercising nominally state law enforcement police or peace officer powers that maintained "law and order" on non-federal property. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act ]
		   Carl: Olympia Washington is an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3hsDZHg71g
		   Carl: During the 1968 race riots, President Johnson was told that he could not pull the military in two different directions: Vietnam and put down the riots. 
		Conrad: Veterans Day march in Boston, where 15 Veterans against the war were arrested. [You-Tube video "Veterans for Peace March Against War" video by PaulRifkin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YnwXHBxD9s : "We will fly our flag upside down because we believe our country is in distress",  There is a very moving moment when one of the guys who was very angry about the anti-war demonstrators is later talking to them and he breaks down crying. ]


II. Introductions (15 people)

III. Upcoming Events
	A. 28 November 2007 event is at 7:30pm in Gregory Hall, Room 319 (Jan K. brought posters given to her by the ISO)
	    Dave Zirin, author of " What's My Name, Fool?: Sports and Resistance in the United States" (published by Haymarket Books). There is a bio of Dave Zirin here: http://www.thenation.com/directory/bios/dave_zirin
	    28 November is a Wednesday.
	    Gregory Hall is at 810 S. Wright Street in Urbana http://www.uiuc.edu/ricker/CampusMap?buildingID=43&target=displayHighlight
	B. Tuesday, 20 November 2007 (Don brought this to our attention)
	     Carle Clinic Protest [Carle Clinic has been sending out rejection letters to expecting mothers who were on Medicaid. Champaign County Health Care Consumers is organizing the protest.]
	     11am-12:30pm
	     on University Avenue

IV. Events of Last Week
	A. Conrad: A cartographer from Hebron was at the Mosque and the Mennonite church talking about Palestine and their 2 huge aquifers that Israel is taking water from. Very good presentations at both places.
	B. "Mother's Response to War" went very well. 
		Barbara: 1-1/2 hours for a dinner was very nice, according to several attendees.
	 	Bob W: Thank you to Civic Center.
		Durl: There is a video of the "Mother's Response to War" event recorded by Randall. It should be on UPTV soon.
		Conrad passed out copies of the poems he had at the event. 
	C. Barbara: Carl Davidson is leaving, going off to write. [I think she was talking about the blogger http://noprivatearmies.blogspot.com/  and http://carldavidson.blogspot.com/ ). 
		[There was a small discussion about the numbers he came up with for the demonstration in Chicago. Davidson said there were 3,000 - 5,000. Mort thought there were loads more.] 

V. New Ideas
	A. "Breaking Ranks" -- a documentary about 4 US soldiers who fled to Canada. (Canadian film).
		Conrad: Would like to show this film.
		Conrad passed out an article from the "Reporter for Conscience' Sake" a publication for and by Conscientious Objectors from the "Center on Conscience and War" in Washington DC. Predecessor was the "National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors". Hutterites were COs in WWII, Mennonites were COs in Vietnam (Conrad served as a CO during this war). It is a quarterly magazine.
		Andrew	Gordy is one of the four mentioned in the documentary film. There is a 2-page story about him in what Conrad gave us. "My one reservation with joining was my opposition to the war in Iraq, yet I held the belief that whether I agreed or disagreed with the war, I had an obligation to provide ethical and creative leadership to those who would eventually serve under my command in a time of war. [...I answered my parents with] 'Whose son or daughter would you send?' [...] I overheard a proud comment made concerning the killing of a 12-year-old boy, and it was at this moment that I made the decision I would not kill another human being."  
	   	Doug: When students return. Also, he had heard that Canada is now rejecting our defectors.
	B. $50 to support the Dave Zirin event was approved. [28 November 2007, 7:30pm in Gregory Hall, Room 319 [ 810 S. Wright Street, Urbana, which is just north of the Main library]
	C. Two Main Events in December
		December 1 Main Event -- on Neil Street at 1 Main
		December 15 Holiday Demonstration -- 
			Possible theme: "Bring them home for the holidays"
			Possible flyer: about suicides, homelessness - veterans accounts for 1/4, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ...
			1pm-3pm on North Prospect on the usual corner by the tire place. Park at Staples or the Chinese restaurant, or 2ndary street.
		Shara: "Students for Justice in Palestine" co-sponsors our demonstrations.
	D. Potomac demonstration - we are waiting
	E. Dick Durbin's email about not giving Bush a blank check any longer.
	F. Barbara: Katy (from the "Mother's Response to War") may need some funds. Perhaps we could pay for her transportation: St. Louis to Urbana, Urbana to Chicago.
		$50 was suggested. 			
		$100 was suggested and there were no objections.
	G. Karen: Peggy from "Mother's Response to War". Would she need some money?
		After some discussion, we decided that Peggy would prefer to be called upon again. In fact, Conrad's movie "Breaking Ranks"
	H. Channel 3 and Channel 15 did really poor jobs with reporting "A Mother's Response to War". Channel 3 was the worst. They made it sound like the event was to support the war.

 			
VI. Working Groups
	A. Blackwater Working Group
		1. Waxman hearings on the incident where 17 Iraqis were shot by Blackwater, 14 of the 17 were deemed unprovoked. 
		2. No way to prosecute
	B. Anti-torture Working Group
		"Ghosts of Abu Graib" movie. If we show it, we'll have to get a copy on our own. NRCAT will only send a copy to religious groups.
	C. Iran Working Group (no report)
	D. Student Groups
		Campus Anti-war Network (CAN) chalked the Quad last Tuesday evening. Chalk bodies all around the perimeter.
		Both the Daily Illini and the News-Gazette printed Karen's letter to the editor about the event.
 	E. Counter Recruitment Working Group
		Upcoming military recruitment at the High School football tournament at the UIUC Memorial Stadium
		Friday and Saturday, 23 and 24 November 2007.
		Durl suggested covering only 12-1:30pm Saturday (he is not able to do Friday)
		Shara took on the coordination, for both Friday and Saturday.
		Shara's phone number is 419-1018.
		Durl offered 4 signs that say "You can't be all you can be when you are dead" (which were made by Randall).
		Flyers can be handed out, from within the Tent City.
		Sings cannot be held inside the Tent City.
	F. Anti-Racism Working Group
		1. Patrick Thompson's trial will start 14 December 2007, at 9am.
		2. Conrad: Hate crimes increasing: Black woman in West Virginia that was kidnapped by 6 white men; she was raped, forced to eat feces of animals and drink urine of kidnappers. She [Megan Williams] escaped when the kidnappers left saying that they would be back to finish her off. She was African American. The white kidnappers did not know her. [ http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/14/1438201 has more on the increase of hate crimes. ]
		3. Stuart: Tasing. Polish man, Robert Dziekanski, was tased 3 times and died. He was living in Canada, was traveling to be with his mother, and he was detained. He did not speak English, and no one there spoke Polish. Mr. Dziekanski became frustrated after ten hours of detainment (his mother, who came to pick him up at the airport, was told he was not there) and he threw chairs. They tased him. He died. [There is actually a You-Tube video of it, "Man Tazered to Death".  I do not recommend anyone watch it.]
		4. Barbara: Man in Springfield, also Polish, was tased 2 times and died. [Officials originally said A. Paul Carlock's death was the result of an undetermined medical problem.] 
		5. Barbara: Tasing is menitoned in the UN Human Rights Commission. 
		    CUCPJ and the Midwestern Coalition are both working on the taser issue.
		    [Amnesty International points to 150 cases of deaths in custody linked to Tasers between 2001 and last year]
		    Cattle prods were used in the 1960s. Tasers are just like cattle prods, less strength.
		    Tasering is supposedly used in situations to bring the person under control, but used right here in town on people who were tied to chairs. This is torture. [Short discussion occurred about tasers being used in situations of fleeing]
[Taser is actually a brand name for an electroshock weapon used by law enforcement agencies. These devices deliver a high-voltage low-current electrical discharge which override the body's muscle-triggering mechanisms. A shock of a half-second duration will cause intense pain and muscle contractions, startling most people greatly. Two to three seconds will often cause the subject to become dazed and drop to the ground, and over three seconds will usually completely disorient and drop an attacker for at least several seconds, and possibly for up to fifteen minutes. Because the amount of current is relatively low, there is considered to be a 'margin' of safety by a number of medical experts. Experts generally agree that this margin is highly-dependent on the overall health of the person subjected to the shock. - taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroshock_weapon ]
		6. Roger: Anti-immigration backlash.
			Eliot Spitzer rescinding the plan to allow illegal immigrants drivers licenses in New York. [Rudy Giuliani was against the issuing of licenses to illegal immigrants. There was a lot of pressure by the Republican party to rescind]
			Lou Dobbs, CNN anchor, has a very harsh stance against illegal immigrants.
	G. AWARE Presents: expect a meeting sometime in December
	H. Farmer's Market
		Village Holiday Market is located inside Lincoln Square Village (started in November) (the indoor version of Farmer's Market)
		Durl passed around sign-up sheet.
		This past week, tabled only from 9am-11am.
		Out table is by Brownfield Sports, in spot number 24.
	I. Main Event
		As mentioned above: December 1st at One Main on Neil; December 15 at North Prospect.
	J. Financial Report (Jan K.)
		Farmer's Market   + $ 30
		AWARE Presents - $100
		Zirin event             - $ 50 
		Copying charges   - $ 12.93

The AWARE meeting adjourned.