A general meeting for USC4P&J was held at Gene's apartment on February
12th 2009. Attending were: Andy, Anna, Becky, Charm, David, Eugene, Ilona,
Maria Chiara, Stephanie. Anna chaired the meeting and Becky took the
minutes. Please see below the summary of the meeting:
1) No to NATO demonstrations in Strasbourg on April 4th - There will
be 3 days of conferences (2-3 April) leading up to the April 4th
demonstration. Many expat peace groups throughout Europe will be
involved. It was agreed that USC4P&J will endorse the event and that
we will send out the invitation to relevant Italian movements. A few
members present said they would travel to Strasbourg. More info at
globalcalls.blogspot.com or www.no-to-nato.org
2) Winter Soldier Europe organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War - On
March 14th in Freiburg, Germany, veterans from 3 NATO countries will
recount their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some possible ways
USCP&J can help:
Translators from English to German
mental health professionals
legal assistance
fundraising
It was agreed that a message would be sent around to the USC4P&J
members with these requests. Maria Chiara kindly agreed to assist with the
translation from English to Italian and send out to interested Italian
groups. It was agreed that we would use one of the film nights (possibly
March 5th) to collect some donations.
3) Update on the 2009 season of the documentary film series - Layout
of the flyer was discussed and it was agreed that the February 26th
film, 'It is No Dream' featuring Israelis questioning their
government's occupation policies, would need to stand out more on the page
following the rest of the films. It was also agreed that the text for the
April 16th film 'I.O.U.S.A' be changed to indicate the controversy behind
it regarding social security. Since the meeting, Ilona and Stephanie have
made both of these changes to the flyer. It was also agreed that the March
5th showing of 'The End of America' was appropriate for attracting a
larger audience for Winter Soldier fundraising.
4) Update on various initiatives with regards to Israel/Palestine (Un
futuro per Gaza campaign, fundraising, organizing talks, films, etc):
Ben Scribner who has been to Palestine many times and Barbara
Antonelli, who works in Luisa Morgantini's office and who happened to be
there during the assault on Gaza and attended demonstrations in both the
West Bank and Israel will both speak on March 10th @ 7/7.30pm at
Arcobaleno in Garbatella for 20 minutes each. There will also be
additional events, including the screening of Frammenti and a possible art
exhibition. Maria Chiara and Stephanie volunteered to assist Anna prepare
for these events and a call will be sent to the membership to revive the
Israel/Palestine working group.
Un futuro per Gaza is a campaign by Action for Peace, a coalition of
Italian & Palestinian group, that aims to raise funds for Gaza– USC4P&J has endorsed this campaign, though it had been on hold due to the
recent assault on Gaza. We discussed how to further help. One possibility
is fundraising during the February 26th film, which met the approval of
the attendees, as well as fundraising during the Israel/Palestine events.
5) CCOM composition - Since Rose has left the CCOM, the question was
raised whether we should replace her with another person or not. Since the
CCOM still has 5 members, which was its number in the past, it was decided
that we would not seek out a 6th member. Replacing her as coordinator is
Anna, who kindly agreed to take over with the understanding that the other
CCOM members would provide much support.
6) No Dal Molin update - Stephanie gave an update on the No Dal Molin efforts taking place in Vicenza. The initial phase of construction has
recently begun and protesters recently tried to block the construction
trucks. There was a demonstration last Tuesday (February 10th). 150
protesters arrived at 6am, where they found 400 police officers in riot
gear who forced them to back away. They did succeed in blocking a truck
for 1 hour before 18 people were arrested. Since it is obviously a
critical moment, it was agreed that a fax blast from our site be organized
with a letter of support, in English and Italian, in opposition to the
construction of the military base. Italian groups as well as European
peace and justice groups will be encouraged to participate.
Many thanks to Gene for hosting the meeting and for providing a very
relaxed and harmonious situation for us to both discuss important
matters as well as eat and socialize!
Stay informed
Join the USC4P&J mailing list to stay informed on events and initiatives.
Ongoing/Future Events
Our Eyes Wide Open Film Series is suspended; for further information click here.
Upshot of our Nov. 9th group discussion on current politics:
It wasn't the Russians that got us Trump. Or Comey. Or even the massive GOP election fraud. It was the DNC.* *Dem National Committee
To learn how to stop the DNC
from delivering us another Trump, read Autopsy: the Democratic Party in Crisis.
Photo of a school in Yemen bombed by Saudi Arabian jets supplied by the U.S. and fueled in the air by the U.S. Air Force.
Tell Trump to STOP THIS CARNAGE, not fuel it! Click here.
Also participate in the CodePink email and/or phone initiative:
Click here to sign a petition, to put an end to the sanctions against Syria - their only effect is to take a terrible toll on the population, causing them to migrate! And click here to see the video by the Italian Committee to lift sanctions against Syria.
Did someone tell you that U.S. military intervention in Iraq was over? Not true: we're at it again. This time the pretext to drop bombs is "curbing ISIS" (which was created by the U.S. in the first place, to overturn al-Malaki in Iraq and then Assad in Syria, and is now out of hand.
Like what happened to "our" creature al Qaeda in Afghanistan). And the death toll continues to rise...
Write your senators and tell them: "Enough! U.S. out!! Iraq has shown it can curb ISIS by itself!"
