[Peace] minutes of weekly AWARE meeting 2008-07-13

[Randall Cotton]

Minutes of 7/13/08 AWARE meeting are below, but first, the Upcoming
Events Calendar:

July 14 (Monday, already in the past) 7PM First Mennonite Church, 902 W.
Springfield, Urbana
"Sustainability -- A Choice to Consider: Living on Earth as If We Want to
Stay"
Mike Nickerson, Donna Dilman from Lanark, Ontario of "The Sustainability
Project", an educational, non-profit organization that promotes green
values. They are traveling across Canada and into the US. Mike is the
author of the new book: "Life, Money & Illusion: Living on Earth as if we
want to stay".

July 15 (TODAY, Tuesday) 1PM, Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 S. Vine
St.
Taping of this week's "AWARE on the Air" for UPTV.

July 15 (TODAY, Tuesday) 10PM, UPTV (cable channel 6)
Broadcast of "AWARE on the Air", taped earlier in the day (see above)

July 16 (Wednesday) Northwestern University
Midwest Coalition for Human Rights meeting of member groups
A contingent is forming to attend this as a day trip. CUCPJ is a member.
Neil, Barbara, Ann H., and Aaron Ammons may attend.

July 17 (Thursday) 7PM, home of Jamie and Gary Storm, 304 E. George Huff
Dr, Urbana
AWARE Presents working group meeting.

July 18 (Friday) 7:30PM, Independent Media Center, 202 S. Broadway, Urbana
1st performance of "Marx in Soho", a one-man Howard Zinn play performed by
Jerry Levy. $5 suggested donation. See: www.levyarts.com . For more
information: Call 367-7329

July 19 (Saturday) 7:30PM, Channing-Murray Foundation, 1209 W. Oregon St.,
Urbana
2nd (final) performance of "Marx in Soho", a one-man Howard Zinn play
performed by Jerry Levy. $5 suggested donation. See: www.levyarts.com .
For more information: Call 367-7329

July 19 (Saturday) (2-4PM) Additional one-time "Main Event"-style street
demonstration one block west of Springfield and Mattis. More detail below
in minutes.

July 22 (Tuesday) 1PM, Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 S. Vine St.
Taping of next week's "AWARE on the Air" for UPTV.

July 22 (Tuesday) 10PM, UPTV (cable channel 6)
Broadcast of "AWARE on the Air", taped earlier in the day (see above)

August 22-23 Urbana Sweetcorn Festival
AWARE will be tabling at our own booth..

September 12 (Friday) (time, venue TBA)
Luis Alberto Urrea, author of "The Devil's Highway: A True Story", about
an incident in 2001 of 26 men attempting to cross the Mexican border into
the desert of southern Arizona, through the deadliest region of the
continent. Only 12 men emerged. Luis Alberto Urrea, is from Tijuana but
now lives outside Chicago. Study guide available. AWARE will co-sponsor
this event

*****
Minutes of 7/13/08 AWARE meeting:

About 20 in attendance

News of the week was heard courtesy of Carl Estabrook

Finance Report: $2074.36
Expenses paid for National Assembly conference and July 4th float

Finance report sheet passed around. IMC rent for AWARE storage space may
change (currently $110 every 3 months).

Main Event:
========
(AWARE's monthly street protest held at the intersection of Main & Neil
2-4PM on the first Saturday of each month).
Suggestion: Have a flyer w/AWARE introductory info. Also suggested - a
flyer on Iran. Perhaps a double-sided handout with the AWARE info as a
template that's used from month to month.

Working group reports:
*****************
Library Resources:
=============
(Compilation of valuable reference materials w/appeal to libraries to
carry them).
Meeting held last week. Plans in the works to release free books into the
community using the "Bookcrossing" model (see bookcrossing.com).
Suggestion: Look at Haymarket Books' list of publications for good book
ideas. Work continuing on identifying what resources to track and how to
classify, etc. Suggestion: referring to outside reviews for resources we
promote. Suggestion: Just publicize a short list of book titles for folks
by topic/issue.

AWARE Presents:
=============
(Organization of AWARE-sponsored events in the community)
Working group meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 17th at Jamie and Gary
Storm's home - 7PM, 304 E. George Huff Dr.

Current ideas under consideration include:

1. Jeremy Scahill events coinciding with his anticipated visit to town
this fall on a book tour.

2. Film festival at Urbana Free Library. Under consideration: "Body of
War". "Winter Soldier" footage, "War Made Easy" "Redacted", "Blood and
Oil: The Middle East in World War I". Other suggestions: "Reel Bad Arabs",
"Iraq for Sale".

3. PTSD panel - including local individuals that work with veterans
affected by PTSD.

Anti-Racism:
=========
(AWARE's efforts to keep apprised of and provide support for
anti-racism/anti-discrimination efforts, including efforts of CUCPJ -
Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice)

Question raised regarding outcome of Brian Chesley case: He was found
guilty of "resisting a peace officer" and "obstructing a peace officer",
both misdemeanors. Sentenced to 12 months conditional discharge (no jail
time) and 100 hours public service. An appeal is on file. The case can be
looked up on line at:

https://secure.jtsmith.com/clerk/7d3jawq1ag36.asp

Choose "criminal" under "division", type in "Chesley" for the last name
and click "Name Search".

Mention made of prospective door-to-door campaign to do voter registration
and political issue canvassing in the black community by CUCPJ. Issues
that might be covered include Champaign Township funding referendum that
will be on the ballot, Carol Ammons candidacy (possibly other candidates
as well), Nursing home issue.

Farmer's Market:
============
(AWARE's presence at the Urbana "Market on the Square" each Saturday from
8AM to noon).

Sign-up grid passed around for future Saturdays.

More requests for Coexist bumper stickers (50 on order)

More requests for signs and T-shirts. Coexist T-shirt and lawn signs
suggested, if available.

Suggestion: when buying T-shirts, try getting organic cotton - industrial
cotton is one of the most polluting forms of agriculture. See:
http://www.panna.org/documents/conventionalCotton.dv.html
Organic cotton is becoming more and more common/available. Even Wal-mart
uses it:
http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/25/news/companies/pluggedin_gunther_cotton.fortune/

counter-recruitment literature refreshed as suggested last week.

AWARE on the Air:
==============
(AWARE's weekly television show on public access cable channel 6 - UPTV,
Urbana Public Television)

Taping occurs each Tuesdays at 1PM and is broadcast later the same day at
10PM. AWARE members (and friends) invited to participate - the more the
merrier (see details above in upcoming events calendar). Program quality
is always better with more participants.

Carl did the show on his own last week and was well-reviewed.

Gary Storm volunteers to talk about the IRV issue this week. Recent news
on IRV:  in a surprise move, this past Monday night the Cunningham
Township Board (AKA Urbana City Council) passed 2 advisory referendums,
short-circuiting any further attempt to get IRV on the ballot as an
advisory referendum.

Youtube posts of recent editions are still planned.

Always room for more participation in AWARE on the Air - prepared
statements OK. Leaving early is OK.

Blackwater:
========
(Activism regarding notorious domestic policing and international
mercenary contractor Blackwater, including coordination with
Illinois-based activist group Clearwater)

Blackwater topped the 2008 "Corporate Hall of Shame". See:
http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/cms/page1651.cfm

Counter-recruitment:
==============
Suggestion from Joy - Quad Day - deadline is fast approaching. CAN will
have a table where we can put stuff and have folks there. CAN and IVAW are
also interested in counter-recruitment.

T-shirt working group
===============
A T-shirt working group may form to work on making some available at
Farmer's Market.

Old Business
**********
Additional demonstration
=================
July 19th demonstration coincides with UFPJ demonstration call on Iran and
TAMMS year 10 demonstration in Chicago. Iran agreed to as flyer theme
without objection. Many agreed TAMMS was too unrelated to include as a
flyer theme. Location is one block west of Mattis & Springfield, time is
2-4PM as usual.

Sweet Corn festival
=============
Due to complaints of blaring music in prior years, the music will be on
Race street facing north and vendor booths will be out of direct range of
the music. AWARE is signed up for a space and we'll need to staff it from
5-11PM Friday and 11AM-11PM Saturday.

Business cards
==========
Draft passed around for AWARE information handout in business card format.
$50 estimated for 1000 cards. Suggestion: use both sides of the business
cards and add in more info. More development work on this anticipated.