[Peace] minutes of weekly AWARE meeting 2009-03-22

[Randall Cotton]

Minutes of 03/22/09 AWARE meeting are below, but first, AWARE Volunteer
Opportunities and the Upcoming Events Calendar:

AWARE Volunteer Opportunities
----------------------------------
(various ways to volunteer in AWARE's work)

AWARE is considering moving our monthly demonstration venue from Main &
Neil in Champaign to a higher-traffic site. It would be helpful for us to
discover which intersections in Champaign/Urbana have the most traffic to
help us in that decision. A volunteer is needed to contact the appropriate
city department/official in both Champaign and Urbana to obtain a list of
and available statistics on, say, the 10 busiest intersections in each
city. It's probably a fair assumption that this is tracked by both cities
and that it's public information. For assistance, contact Randall Cotton,
recotton at earthlink.net, 351-8644/722-8470.

AWARE is helping search for locations to set up
a portable electronic LED display that reports (in a loop) various
statistics on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (casualties, financial
cost, etc.). Here's a video of the sign going through a typical loop:
http://dart.ncsa.uiuc.edu/stuffed/slevy/costofwar-sign.mp4 Dimensions of
the sign are: 50.3" L x 6.3" H x 1.7" W and it weighs 12 pounds. Full
specifications are at: http://www.bigbrite.com/product.aspx?id=78 . The
display could be set up anywhere indoors - home, business, event - where
it will be seen by many, for as long or as little as you like. If you can
volunteer to display the sign somewhere or have any ideas where it could
be set up, contact Barbara Kessel, barkes at gmail.com, 365-9473 or Randall
Cotton, recotton at earthlink.net, 351-8644/722-8470. As of March 2009, the
sign is installed in the lobby of the Urbana/Champaign Independent Media
Center, right next to the Post Office there in the building (202 S.
Broadway, Urbana).

Help is needed with content creation and maintenance for AWARE's website,
anti-war.net. Technical experience (UNIX/HTML/CSS) required for
maintenance work (but not content creation) Contact: Stuart Levy,
slevy at ncsa.uiuc.edu, 351-9264/244-1543 or Randall Cotton,
recotton at earthlink.net, 351-8644/722-8470.

Meeting minutes: Someone is needed to share or take over meeting minutes
duty (preparing these notes each week). Help will be provided (as much as
necessary). Contact: Randall Cotton, recotton at earthlink.net,
351-8644/722-8470

AWARE publicity: Someone is needed to maintain AWARE publicity documents
(and arrange for copies, as needed). This includes our business card,
intro sheet for new meeting attendees and our general information sheet
for tabling events). All reproduction costs reimbursed, Help provided as
needed. Contact: recotton at earthlink.net, 351-8644/722-8470

Upcoming Events Calendar
----------------------------
[PASSED] Mar 23 (Monday) - 7:30PM, 2003 S George Huff Dr, Urbana
(home of Phyllis & Mort Brussel)
AWARE Presents Working Group meeting

Mar 24 (Tuesday, TODAY) 1PM, Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 S
Vine St
Taping of "AWARE on the Air" for UPTV to be broadcast later the same day
(see below)

Mar 24 (Tuesday, TODAY) 10PM, UPTV (cable channel 6)
Broadcast of "AWARE on the Air", taped earlier in the day (see above)

**NEW** Mar 31 (Tuesday) 1PM, Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 S Vine St
Taping of "AWARE on the Air" for UPTV to be broadcast later the same day
(see below)

**NEW** Mar 31 (Tuesday) 10PM, UPTV (cable channel 6)
Broadcast of "AWARE on the Air", taped earlier in the day (see above)

Apr 4 (Saturday) - National and International demonstrations on the
anniversary occasion of NATO's birth (60 years ago), MLK's "Beyond
Vietnam" speech and MLK's Assassination. Also, the date of this year's
NATO Summit. See, for example:
http://unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=4027
http://stopwar.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1087&Itemid=235 .

Apr 4 (Saturday) 2-4PM Main St & Neil St, Champaign
The Main Event - AWARE's monthly (first Saturday of each month) street
demonstration event. Largely focuses on opposing U.S. occupations of Iraq
and Afghanistan, but is open for anyone to join us either using one of our
signs or one of their own. We try to have a topical flyer to distribute to
motorists and passers-by each month.

Apr 15 (Wednesday) 7:15pm, Channing-Murray Foundation, 1209 W. Oregon,
Urbana  (corner of Oregon & Matthews)
"Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America", award-winning documentary.
A timely, solutions-oriented look at one of America's most pressing
environmental challenges: energy.   Viewers will discover how they can
save hundreds of dollars annually on energy bills, and use a portion of
the savings to purchase renewable energy.  The film also explores mountain
top removal and other harmful by-products of coal & nuclear power.  The
film will be followed by discussion. Free and open to the public.
Refreshments will be served. This event is co-sponsored by AWARE.

Apr 17-18 (Saturday-Sunday), People's Church, 941 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago
Annual statewide conference of Illinois Coalition for Justice, Peace and
the Environment. See www.icjpe.org .
AWARE has attended in the past (when the conference was held in
Champaign).

Apr 24-27 (Friday-Monday), Stockton Unitarian
Universalist Church, Stockton, IL
Midwest Catholic Workers Resistance Retreat and Conference. Focus: is
Blackwater. Civil Disobedience at Blackwater's Jo Daviess County, IL site
being organized by Catholic Workers and Clearwater. Speakers include
both Jeremy Scahill and Kathy Kelly.

May 1-2 (Friday-Saturday) Tentative dates for "Riding out the Storm" event
arising out of the "People's Potluck" activity. Saturday's event will
likely span the entire day.

*****
Minutes of 03/22/09 AWARE meeting:

About 20 in attendance

News of the week was reviewed jointly

**NEW** Upon request, there was a quick review of the Finkelstein/Abunimah
event.
.
**NEW** Mention was made of Mark Thompson's appearances and his resulting
police custody at the Bill Ayers events at Allen Hall (and much discussion
ensued on one's free speech rights vs. inhibiting the free speech rights
of
others).

-----------------

Finance report:
Balance was misreported in previous few weeks. Actual balance is lower.
AWARE balance is: $1427.36
Recent expenditure - $100 for Phil Wilayto event

**NEW** Anticipated expenditure: $100 for US Campaign to End the Israeli
Occupation dues

**NEW** Request made regarding United for Peace and Justice dues - when
was our last payment? Stuart will check.

Contribution jar passed around

The IMC will need AWARE to sign a year lease on
rental of our meeting space. An individual person will need to sign on
behalf of AWARE (making them technically liable financially for the full
amount - $780). No one has stepped up yet, but this is a requirement that
must be met. Stuart, as Treasurer, has volunteered to sign this.

Working group reports:
******************
Main Event:
========
(AWARE's monthly street protest held at the intersection of Main & Neil
2-4PM on the first Saturday of each month).

The next Main Event is April 4. See details above in the Upcoming Events
Calendar.

**NEW** Confirmation that the April 4th location will be the traditional
Main & Neil site.

**NEW** War Resistors League annual tax flyer suggested as a Main Event
handout. See: http://www.warresisters.org/files/FY2010piechart.pdf .
However, folks were reminded that Carl was already in the process of
putting together a flyer (he volunteered last week)

Conrad will consider a WILL AM-580 "Public Square" piece to
draw attention to the significance of the April 4th date and invite people
to join us on the street at the Main Event.

Old Main & Neil site was scouted during this month's event and recommended
for next month's (April) event.

Stuart has volunteered to create an AWARE Facebook page.

No new information yet on Champaign/Urbana's busiest intersections.
Volunteer opportunity posted for this.

AWARE Presents:
=============
(Organization of AWARE-sponsored events in the community)

AWARE Presents Working Group meeting has now been scheduled for
Monday March 23rd [NOW PASSED]. See details above in the Upcoming Events
Calendar.

Current AWARE Presents event lineup:

1. A panel on the occasion of the first 100 days of Obama Administration
(April 30) at Urbana City Hall (already reserved). UPTV
recording/broadcast planned.

**NEW** Anna Baltzer coming to town - AWARE may not need to do anything.

Additional ideas under consideration:

- Invitation to Paul Street (suggestion: invite him for the 100 days panel
since he has researched and written on Obama extensively).

- Invitation to Stephen Kinzer to appear again.

- Invitation to William Blum

- Jeremy Scahill event still being pursued. Contact made, currently in a
"wait and see" pattern.

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)

(nothing new this week)

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

Discussion on who can make it this week. Some volunteered, more always
welcome.

Many "Aware on the Air" recordings are now available on-line. See the
AWARE home page at anti-war.net .

**NEW** Perhaps Neil can join the group since it's Spring Break. Ron is on
vacation. Participants needed acutely this week.

Taping typically occurs each Tuesday 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.

There is always room for more participation in AWARE on the Air - prepared
statements OK. Arriving late/leaving early is OK.

Blackwater
========
(Activism regarding notorious domestic policing and international
mercenary contractor Blackwater, including coordination with
Illinois-based activist group Clearwater: see:
http://www.noprivatearmies.org )

(nothing new this week)

Student Groups
===========
(AWARE's efforts to keep apprised of and provide support for local
chapters of student-affiliated progressive and anti-war groups such as
Campus Anti-Network, International Socialist Organization, and Iraq
Veterans Against the War).

**NEW** Students arrived quite tired from the March on the Pentagon bus
trip. 4-5000 folks in attendance - hard core activists according to those
who went. Coffins for demonstration were allowed after some initial police
interference. Teenagers in black tried to stop the march, first mingling
with the group, then using bamboo sticks to try and block folks. People
walked around. They also tried to confront police, tried to start a fight.
There was confirmation that no one was in need of funds to pay their way,
so AWARE need not contribute.

Monthly Message
============
(Efforts to propagate the content of the Main Event monthly flyer through
various media channels)

Carl has submitted a piece to the News-Gazette based on the flyer we
distributed at this month's Main Event. There has been no news on this
from NG, Carl will follow up.

**NEW** Mention made that the News-Gazette refused to run a David Green
guest commentary.

AWARE Films:
===========
(Organization of film and video showings in the community)

AWARE Films may be shown within an IMC Film series. Discussion ongoing.

"The Take" (see http://www.thetake.org ) will almost certainly be shown in
early May at the Socialist Forum event being planned (based on the idea of
a localized "Social Forum").

Showings being considered for the future:

1. Another showing of Naomi Wolf's "The End of America".

2. "The Take". See: http://www.thetake.org/

3. Tim Wise: On White Privilege. See
http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=137

**NEW** Alternately, "On White Privilege" may be shown at the "Riding out
the Storm" event being organized for early May.

Old Business
**********
(new developments regarding ongoing issues)

Pursuit of meeting with Senator Durbin regarding his letter in support of
Israel during Gaza attack: Follow up attempts are planned to contact
Durbin after initial non-response. 3/1/09 update: Written response
received from Durbin, but making no reference to the meeting request.

New Ideas
*********
(never before discussed ideas brought up during this meeting)

**NEW** Farmer's Market starts up again May 2, but no application form has
been received yet. It may not be time to sign up yet. Mention made that it
might be time to look at replenishing Farmer's Market buttons, stickers,
etc.

**NEW** Sweet Corn Festival application has already arrived. Received by
Durl, transferred to Stuart. Sweet Corn Festival usually occurs in August.

**NEW** Ratification without objection for dues payment of $100 (proposed
last week) to US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

Events of the past week
******************
(comments/reviews of recent events since the last AWARE meeting)

**NEW** Phil Wilayto event had a respectable showing at the Mennonite
church. Highly complimented as an excellent speaker.

Other Upcoming Events
******************
(events of note which aren't listed in the upcoming events calendar above)

Mar 24 (Tuesday, TODAY) 6-7:30PM Free Community Veterans Clinic at
Urbana-Champaign Friends Meetinghouse, 1904 E Main St, Urbana
As an outcome of AWARE's panel on PTSD in 2008, this free acupuncture
clinic was started in February 2009 and is held the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays
of each month. Credentialed professionals insert acupuncture needles into
both ears while recipients remain seated for 20-40 minutes. Much research
has shown the effectiveness of this treatment for stress reduction. This
free clinic is open to U.S. military veterans, current members of the
Armed Forces, or their immediate support network. Sponsored by
Acupuncturists Without Borders, www.acuwithoutborders.org .

Mar 28 (Saturday) 8:30-3:30, Bone Student Center, Illinois State
University, 100 N University Street, Normal, IL
2009 ACLU Action Summit: "Building An Illinois We Can Be Proud Of..."
see:
http://il.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=IL_Content_2009MemberConf_Index

Mar 29 (Sunday) 7PM, Independent Media Center, 202 S Broadway Ave, Urbana
"Slingshot Hip Hop" film screening with film director Jackie Salloum
Sponsors: Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Center for
Global Studies (UIUC), and Illinois Network on Islam and Muslim Societies
(I-NIMS)
 Slingshot Hip Hop braids together the stories of young Palestinians
living in the West Bank, Gaza and inside Israel as they discover Hip Hop
and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and
poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls to gender norms
and generational differences, this is the story of young people crossing
the borders that separate them. (http://slingshothiphop.com)

Mar 31 (Tuesday) 7:30PM, Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S Gregory St,
Urbana
"From Looney Coons to Tacos & Tequila: The Aesthetics of Race in Middle
Class America"
The Seventh Chancellors CAS Special Lecture
Speaker  James D. Anderson, Gutgsell Professor of Educational Policy
Studies, Illinois
Sponsor: Office of the Chancellor, Center for Advanced Study
In this presentation, Jim Anderson explores the ways in which evolving
forms of race and ethnic performance entered into and shaped the culture
of middle class America from the late nineteenth century to the present.
He begins with an analysis of the art and lyrics of minstrel sheet music
in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and then traces its
legacy through television, playful racialized antics in educated
environments and into the theme parties of contemporary campus life. Then
and now, race performances have supplied Americas middle class with fun
and entertainment while offering up ethnic and race caricatures that have
reinforced entrenched dynamics of race superiority, national identity and
citizenship status.

Apr 7 (Tuesday) 7PM, Spurlock Museum, 600 S Gregory St, Urbana
Film Screening: "The Last Ghost of War"
Sponsor: Asian Educational Media Service and Spurlock Museum
The use of Agent Orange as a defoliant during the Vietnam War and the
devastating effects of this chemical on both Vietnamese villagers and U.S.
soldiers are well known. This film follows that legacy into the 21st
century, revealing the dreadful, if unequal, impact Agent Orange had on
subsequent generations in both countries. While giving a human face to the
medical statistics, this film also traces the attempts made by Vietnamese
victims to find reparation through the legal system. (Janet Gardner, 2006,
54 minutes).

Apr 14 (Tuesday)  6-7:30PM Free Community Veterans Clinic at
Urbana-Champaign Friends Meetinghouse, 1904 E Main St, Urbana
As an outcome of AWARE's panel on PTSD in 2008, this free acupuncture
clinic was started in February 2009 and is held the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays
of each month. Credentialed professionals insert acupuncture needles into
both ears while recipients remain seated for 20-40 minutes. Much research
has shown the effectiveness of this treatment for stress reduction. This
free clinic is open to U.S. military veterans, current members of the
Armed Forces, or their immediate support network. Sponsored by
Acupuncturists Without Borders, www.acuwithoutborders.org .