Notes from the Jan. NAWC meeting

Northland Anti-War coalition Meeting Minutes 1/11/09

-Present: Carl S., Coly W., Adam R., Peter K., Michael L., Carl E., Rolf S., John I., Bob K., Gary S., Fern A., Steve W. and Gene D.

1. December Protest Report: Three anti-war events were held during the December 9-14 week of action: 1) a student walkout which drew 75 total; 2) a forum on CIA interventions which drew around 20; 3) a Saturday march and rally which drew about 50.

2. Gaza: An ad-hoc protest of Israel's invasion of Gaza was held on Saturday, which drew 24 people. NAWC decided to draft an official statement on Gaza. We voted (8 yes, 1 abstention) to adopt the following: "The Northland Anti-War Coalition opposes the disproportionate Israeli invasion of Gaza and calls for an end to U.S. material and military support to the state of Israel." Bob K. volunteered to draft a more in-depth statement on Israel and Palestine to be voted on at the next NAWC meeting.

Also, it was decided to tentatively schedule a forum on Israel and Palestine for Saturday, January 24 at 6 PM at UMD, along with a picket at noon that day at Minnesota Power Plaza. Speakers at the forum would be Joel Sipress, Carl Sack and possibly Brett Theil.

3. March 21 Actions: March 21 is the date of the sixth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the ANSWER Coalition, National Assembly and others have called for national protests in Washington and San Francisco that day. It was decided to hold a local protest under the theme "The Time for Change is Now! End the Wars!" The protest will consist of a march from the Minnesota Power Plaza to the Civic Center and a rally at the Civic Center. It was proposed that we have people who attend the protest sign a banner or statement to send to the new Administration. A subcommittee was appointed to work out the details consisting of Carl S., Adam R., Coly W., and Bob K.

4. Iraq Moratorium: It was decided to consolidate this month's Iraq Moratorium picket with the Superior picket called by Grandmothers for Peace. It will take place this Friday, January 16, 4-5 PM at the corner of Hammond Ave. and Broadway St.

5. Air Guard Film Project: Duluth's 148th Fighter Wing has been deployed three times to Iraq since 2006. Michael L. is the author of a new documentary video which questions local support for the Air Guard. He is scheduling showings in February. It was voted unanimously to endorse the project and give up to $50 for advertising and to help with publicity for the film.

6. Membership Survey: Joan N. and Peter K. are in the process of coming up with a phone and internet survey to gage the moods of the general NAWC membership. They'll keep us posted.

7. RNC 8 Fundraiser: Plans are in the works for some local fundraisers to benefit the RNC 8. Joel K. and Carl S. are working on it. It was voted unanimously to endorse whatever fundraisers result from these efforts.

8. Students for Peace Presentation: UMD Students for Peace gave the group an introduction to themselves. They are a group of UMD students which formed in fall of 2007 and have been active on campus doing film showings, lectures, demonstrations, and organizing student support for NAWC events. Our next featured group will hopefully be one of the labor unions that have endorsed NAWC.

*Next meeting: Sunday, Feb. 8, 2pm at the Duluth Unitarian Church.
*Meeting notes taken by Carl S.