Minutes of General Meeting - Feb 18 2006

Location: The Beehive – Via Marghera 8, Rome, Italy
Date: 18 February 2006
Time: 4:00 PM – 6:15 PM

The first General Meeting, open to current and prospective members of USC4P&J, was attended by the following people:

Stephanie
Patrick
Dario
Kathy
Frances
Nick
Giuliana
Nina
Julienne

Objective:
To discuss relevant topics of interest, current events, and organizational plans, with particular attention to our participation in the forthcoming demonstrations on March 8th and 18th

Synopsis:
The meeting began with a recollection of the group’s gathering in Piazza Navona on February 6th to protest the current Bush administration and the war in Iraq on the occasion of a live broadcast of NBC’s The Today Show. After a collective acknowledgement of that day’s positive results, some questions were raised by member Nick as to how we can improve our efforts in subsequent demonstrations, and in particular, how to peacefully engage opposing voices of authority, i.e., what are the acceptable limits of USC4P&J dissent. One of the suggestions made is to have a pre-established way of letting USC4P&J participants know when to back off and regroup if a situation were to unfortunately deteriorate, or simply if there is a need to reorganize for logistical reasons. Some members recognized that in previous demonstrations participants were able to communicate effectively amongst themselves in absence of any organized method, but that we could certainly consider establishing a simple form of distinct communication for future public events.

Incidentally, it was reaffirmed that violence is always undesirable and is therefore repudiated as a means of communication, especially by USC4P&J members. As a group and as individuals, we advocate peace and justice and firmly choose to practice those tenets. As an aside, it is important to note that the mere talk of this subject matter was not due to any first hand experience of hostile acts thus far, nor does it reflect anyone’s real expectations of inauspicious occurrences in the future.

Subsequently, and throughout the meeting, attendees engaged in various discussions that expressed concern over the current state of world affairs and the degenerate governing practices of the U.S. and its complicit allies. From the U.S. government’s persistent negligence in dealing with and even exacerbating critical domestic matters, to foreign policy practices in the Middle East, opinions abounded as to what can be done to bring about change and rectify these situations. Talk was also raised about the, perhaps ostensible, emerging movement to impeach President Bush.

Gradually, the dialogue progressed to include action items such as the following upcoming events in Rome:

First on the agenda is a flyer-distributing, information-spreading rally to be held on Saturday, February 25th in Piazza Colonna in front of Palazzo Chigi from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM. This initiative is being organized by Bastaguerra to inform people of the March 8th and March 18th demonstrations against the war in Iraq. Members of USC4P&J’s Coordinating Committee plan to attend this event in solidarity with Italian anti-war groups, as well as to promote our organization’s cause, while spreading the word of our presence in Rome and that we care about these issues. Of course, all those interested in helping with this mission are invited to join, as always. Our group has also been asked to bring signs against the practices at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo, if possible. We even mentioned making double-sided USC4P&J flyers in an effort to target Italian as well as English-speaking audiences.

The next event mentioned at the meeting is the approaching March 8th International Women’s Day Say No To War campaign proposed by Code Pink. In solidarity with women worldwide who oppose war, USC4P&J will be joining Italian anti-war groups in front of the U.S. Embassy in Rome to protest.

We discussed using visual aids to reinforce the message that war is wrong. Such aids will likely include black hoods to be worn by volunteers to represent the image of tortured victims at Abu Ghraib and other detention centers. The plan is to have a single white letter on the back of each hood that will spell the phrase “Stop Torture”. Another proposal is to utilize street theater tactics to enact a mock waterboarding procedure, thus demonstrating the cruelty of this torturing technique known to have been practiced by U.S. forces. As for what some of the handheld signs should say, this also has to be decided. Members are invited to think about topics and slogans and propose them to the group for common consensus.

To further organize and coordinate the protest, Bastaguerra has scheduled an open meeting for Monday, February 27th at 6:30 PM at La Casa Internazionale delle Donne at Via della Lungara 19, which will be attended by some members of USC4P&J. Needless to say, men are not only invited to participate in both the meeting and the protest, but are also encouraged to do so.

The March 18th worldwide protest against war, on the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, was only briefly discussed since plans for that event are still in the making. In fact, there will be a meeting held on Tuesday, February 21st at Un Ponte Per…’s headquarters to discuss the details. Stephanie Westbrook and Dario Taccini (and perhaps other members) will attend this meeting on behalf of USC4P&J and will report back to the group. Naturally, however, the group did resolve to use similar methods and principles on the 18th as will be used on the 8th, given the similar motives for the two events.

In conclusion, attempts will be made to contact Italian media outlets to request professional coverage of the March 8th and 18th protests. However, a suggestion was made to find our own way to video record these events so we can post a visual account of the demonstrations on our Web site.

Next General Meeting: …to be decided…

Minutes taken by Dario