January 15, 2008 Meeting
Minutes of the WNCPSR Meeting AT MAHEC January 15, 2008
Present: Tom Coulson, Stan Dienst, Leah Karpen, Lew Patrie, Don
Richardson, Laura Sorensen, Nancy Sanders, June Schlueter, Peter
Sutherland, Tim Takaro.
1. Treasurer's report was deferred in absence of treasurer.
2. Agenda included information re CSNC meeting, letters to editor &
energy boycott Sun., 2/ 20.
3. Lew announced that PSR will have a table at U U Church Human Rights
Fair on Feb. 10, reaching out to inform & recruit socially conscious
people.
4. As the film "Nuclear Deception" encountered technical problems,
Stan narrated a short slide series on Global Warming, which included
the concept of concentrated solar power.
5. Stan demonstrated the new PSR web site: www.wncpsr.org
6. Discussion on more economical meeting sites: Leah Karpen will
investigate Montford Community Center.
7. Tim Takaro has proposed a name change to "Physicians for Global
Survival, which he has suggested by letter to National PSR.
8. Next meeting will be Tuesday, February 19, 12:00 noon at a place
to be determined **
* * *
** Our Tuesday Feb. 19 meeting will take place at the "GATHERING
ROOM" in the Asheville YWCA, 185 So. French Broad Ave. Parking is
quite limited, so if possible try to car pool; otherwise you will
likely be searching for the limited street parking. We again advocate
that you 'brown bag' your lunch at noon, so we may promptly start the
program at 12:30 PM.
* * *
At 2:00 PM Following the WNCPSR meeting we met to discuss Joseph
Cirincione's 4/24 event:
1. Event's Purpose: To raise public awareness of poorly understood
issue of critical import.
2 To locate venue hoping for a diverse audience: ? AB Tech or 1st
Baptist Church.
3. Re Topic: Tom spoke to Joe's assistant, who reported that he's
flexible and has spoken on a number of issues. Re Tom's personal
interest "securing of loose nuke material worldwide", funding for
which, she reported is being held up in the Senate, they agreed that
due to dynamic nature of topic, subsequent events might alter the
topic. She will get back re title.
4. Sponsorships: Re original Sponsors: UNA, WNCPSR & World Affairs
Council, we agreed to seek more sponsors to participate financially &
promotionally. We discussed a fee of $25 for listing as a sponsor, $50
for tabling. Venue will determine the possibility for this. No final
decision was made. Potential sponsors proposed were Sierra, Amnesty
International, Green party, Bahai, Friends Meeting, Common Sense at the
Nuclear Crossroads. Tom added Democratic Women, Church Women United,
AAUW.
5. Audience: With nearly 4 months to prepare & with several
organizations involved, we hope to excite sufficient interest to
attract a large crowd with diversity beyond our traditional attendees.
6. Budget: depends on venue, and transportation cost. Air
reservations will be made by the Center for American Progress, bill
will go to Tom, or UNA if they approve at tomorrow's meeting. Not sure
if Joe will stay over, in which case I said we would likely have things
for him to do. Tom suggested allowing time for an interview at the
paper & perhaps tape interview on WCQS.
Joseph Cirincione is Sr. Fellow & Dir. for Nuclear Policy at Center
for American Progress (CAP) & wrote Bomb Scare: The History & Future of
Nuclear Weapons (Columbia U. Press, '07). Prior to joining CAP in '06,
he served for 8 yrs. as Dir. for nonproliferation at Carnage Endowment
for Int'l Peace. He co-authored Contain and Engage: A New Strategy for
Resolving the Iran Nuclear Crisis (CAP, March 2007), Deadly Arsenals:
Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats (Second Edition, 2005), and
Universal Compliance: A Strategy for Nuclear Security (March 2005). He
teaches at the graduate School of Foreign Service at Georgetown
University.
World Affairs Councils of America named him one of 500 people whose
views have the most influence in shaping American foreign policy & the
National Journal listed him as 1 of 100 people whose ideas will shape
the policies of the next administration. For nine years he was on the
staff of House Committees on Armed Services & Gov't Operations & served
as staff director of the Military Reform Caucus. He wrote >200 articles
on defense issues, produced 2 DVDs on proliferation, is a frequent
media commentator on these issues, has spoken >100 times around the
world in the past 2 yrs. & featured in Why We Fight. He is a member of
the Council on Foreign Relations and has held positions at the HL.
Stimson Ctr, the U.S. Info. Agency, and the Center for Strategic and
Int'l Studies. Email: jcirincione /@\ americanprogress.org
Lew Patrie - (828) 299-1242 or (828) 273-2229
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within
it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound
together. All things connect. - Chief Seattle
