Beginning Feb. 2, approximately one hour of video will be a featured part of the first UFPPC meeting of the month (first Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. at First United Methodist, 423 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma).[1]  --  We'll begin Thursday, Feb. 2, with an hour from a documentary film entitled "The Dream of Sparrows," a film by Hayder Mousa Daffar offering an unfiltered portrait of life in Baghdad after the U.S. invasion, which the New York Times called "a fiery doorway into a hitherto unknown reality. . . . Very few of us live in this movie."  --  Footage was shot by five Iraqi filmmakers.  --  Daffar's film was discussed in the final seven paragraphs of a long review of documentary films about Iraq by Tom Bissel in the New York Times Magazine on Nov. 13, 2005 (full article reproduced below)....

The UFPPC book discussion series “Digging Deeper” embarks on 2006 with a six-week-long discussion of Robert Fisk's The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005).  --  You are invited to read and discuss the just-published magnum opus of a foreign correspondent who, at the age of 59, is a legend in his own time.  --  Here's a link to an audio file of a recent talk by Robert Fisk...


The first of a series of UFPPC "Second Sunday" salons will take place on Sunday, Jan. 8, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  --  The salons are a fundraiser for UFPPC.  --  Only 25 tickets ($15 each) will be sold.  --  The featured speaker on Jan. 8 will be Dr. David Gilmore, instructor of philosophy at Tacoma Community College, who will speak of art as it relates to politics and social change.  --  Discussion will follow, with hors d'oeuvres and wine.  --  Additional attractions: Mark Jensen will speak briefly about the history and social significance of the salon, and concert guitarist Rick Ruskin will perform.  --  Tickets are available by calling 253-573-1504.  --  More information below....