[Peace] aware meeting notes 10/7

[sparenti]

Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort meeting notes 10/7
send complaints about omissions, miscontruals, paraphrases to mark enslin, 
(enslin at prairienet.org)

INTRO
Peter Miller: ...We can feel positive in that the president has had to include 
in his rhetoric the necessity of providing food aid...
Laura Haber: AWARE has four purposes--
1. clearing house for sharing info about anti-war activity that's going on
2. provide entry to already established groups
3. act as a nursery of new projects and groups
4. be a coalition for a potential mass mobilization
AWARE is not to replace other groups, but to foster the work of other groups

CURRENT EVENTS UPDATES
Barbara Dyskant: about 50 missiles (cruise?) have been from fired from 
submarines on Kabul and Kendahar; the power is out in Kabul. US claims to be 
hitting "military targets". Osama had a statement, not surprisingly, labeling 
the us action as "act of terroism". We are playing into the hands of 
terrorists. ...US people cannot feel safe until his people feel safe. 
Laura Anderson: We've dropped bombs and food. There are about 4 million people 
starving; the food drops will feed about 37,000. The food drop is to happen 
later. Also US is dropping leaflets explaining that the bombing is not against 
the Afghan people. 
Anti-Taliban Afghan groups are launching an attack.
USAID spokesperson said that air drops of food are not effective. The 
preferred method of humanitarian groups is to have food at the borders to go 
in by trucks.
Laura Haber: Already existing food aid has been cut off because of war.
Barbara Dyskant heard news commentary saying It's ok if food doesn't get to 
people; the PR gesture is what counts.
Robert Dunn: CBS interrupted football game to report; they said they'd return 
to football. Slogan: America fights back. The fighting back has been heavier. 
Bush lied: said that US would not engage in indiscriminate bombing.
Laura Haber: they say they are aiming for "targets, not people". We saw in the 
gulf war that "smart bombs" weren't very smart. What's a military target?
Peter Miller, re trusting government statements (speaking as a former 
physicist): during the gulf war the govt report great success with the patriot 
missile. After the war, physicists did a study and found that the kill rate 
was zero. We have to be careful about govt statements and work to find better 
information.
Meg Miner: Women and children in Afghanistan were hurt a decade ago. Bush and 
Blair just finding out?
Nina from Britain: the radio coverage here, even on the BBC, gives no coverage 
to the opposition to Blair in Britain; there have been numerous peace rallies.
Mike Walcher: this morning the Taliban sent 8000 troops to border with 
Uzbekistan. 
--would attack if US used Uzbekistan as staging ground.
Al Kagin: video of Osama--he clearly said goal was US policy toward 
Palestinians, Iraq, presence of troops at holy sites in Saudi Arabia. This 
different from what we're told about attacks against US because it's free, 
tolerant, etc.
Shelley Masar: at panel of scholars, they described attackers of WTC and 
pentagon as Islamic fundamentalists who were young engineering students in US 
who were horrified by the materialism in US.
Laura Haber: people are probably feeling shock and helplessness; address 
feelings by action.
David Green: it's important not to confuse Osama and the individuals who 
carried out the attacks and the 50 years of the situation in Palestine. The 
ones who carried out the attacks are the most dysfunctional people with the 
least constructive way of addressing the situation.
Barbara Dyskant: another issue is surveillance--attacks on individual liberty 
against anybody who dissents--and public support for that. Government 
repression against Earth First (bombing them and then framing them with the 
bombing. Also Black Panthers.

WHAT TO DO
Laura Haber:
--look at context in which event could happen
--look at what's happening locally
--watch for backlash against arabs and people of color
--watch out for Bush pushing other agenda while we're focusing on war
what can we do?

Sharon Courvie: encourage looking out for each other if civil liberties of any 
of us are attacked. International community solidarity--Amsterdam group had a 
large group of people ready to go to the streets. 
Susan Parenti: try to divide the sense of unity of the "American People" a 
phrase I don't want to use any more. I've found in doing Ladies Against War 
that there are people who, though they may wave the flag, don't like what's 
going on. How to make it apparent that the "american people" are not unified.
Robert Dunn: Mass Mobilization has to be non-violent; we have to come to 
consensus on what we mean by non-violence.
Barbara Dyskant: we need to do public education about background--oil 
interests. (Chief of Conoco said years ago: 'if only we could get a pipeline 
through Afghanistan) The places US attacks have something it wants.
Peter Miller: I was asked by reporter about being in the minority--find out 
about large demos in DC and Quebec--this group could be the focus of large 
group 'minority'
Nick Bevelier: Large scale demo Oct 26--National Labor Committee with people 
from Bagladesh on Anti-Sweatshop
Jeff Machota: PRC is having a rally tomorrow at noon on the quad. Procedural 
question: how do we make the decision of which action to do, when, etc.
Laura Haber: the groups make decisions separately whether to participate in an 
action
Andy Trull--take over beckman and serve food there; invite neighbors to dinner 
and discuss what's going on.
Al Kagan? What we do is affected by the way the war unfolds. What if it turns 
out that the US promise to hit only military targets is kept? This may not the 
right time to mobilize. If civilians are killed in the next 3 days, maybe 
mobilize then. 
?-- today is not a day to determine tactics
Mark Enslin: protest groups in Washington mentioned October 27 as a day of 
mobilization.
Laura Anderson: what is meant by mass mobilization?
Laura Haber: march, rally, festival--a large number of people in one place, a 
huge show of people
Jeff Machota: process suggestion: a subgroup to propose a mass action at the 
next week meeting
Susan Parenti: we have to do something to influence how the war is shaped, and 
not take our cue from the mindless, macho, malintended.
Mike W: we aren't safe--we have to begin organizing and educating about chem 
attack
Laura Anderson: not sure how massive mass is--I want to connect regionally and 
nationally
Nick Bevelier: there are 3 peace and justice groups now in Bloomington Normal.
Beth Simpson: In Wooster there's a rally every tues afternoon at city hall--we 
could find a visible place for a regularly scheduled protest.
Clint Popetz: in addition we could coordinate with dates for actions already 
in place, eg School of the Americas protest November 16.
John Wason: we have to be clear about goals--civil disobedience, education


planning groups:

Mass Mobilization--
Sehvilla Mann
Susan Parenti
Liz Clarkson
Vicki Ansermet
Sharon Courvie
Robert Dunn
Laura Anderson
Andy Trull
Barry Miller
Tina Gestol (sp?)
Michelle Garcia
Mike Walcher
Naomi Young
Victoria Vaughn
Jeff Machota
Brooke Anderson
Mark Enslin

weekly demonstration group--
Mike Walcher
Susan Parenti
Meridith Kruse
...

affinity groups (contact people send meeting announcements to listserve)--

Speakers Bureau
Sanctuary 
Media
Street Theater (saturdays at 11am at farmers market in urbana --brian hagy)
Art group
Booklet distribution (rob scott -- rob at anacroatan.org)
Civil Liberties/ACLU 
Food Not Bombs
Conscientious objector support/draft counseling
Teach-in (Teachers for Peace and Justice)
Outreach
Organzers group (meeting planning)
Mass Mobilization (listed above)
Weekly Action (listed above)