Peace Post

Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2010 21:07:46 -0500
From: unacpeace@gmail.com
To: unac@lists.riseup.net
Subject: [unac] Letter from Kathy Kelly


[Image] Unity United National Antiwar Committee
UNACpeace@gmail.com or UNAC at P.O. Box 123, Delmar, NY 12054 518-227-6947 www.UNACpeace.org The following is from UNAC Continuations Committee member Kathy Kelly who is in Afghanistan. She asked us and others to circulate her proposal. "Dear Afghanistan:" A New Year's Call for Peace While the US may be the world's single super power in military terms, it faces another super power: the voices of war-weary millions who detest violence and killing. In Afghanistan, in the United States, and among the populations of countries whose governments have joined the NATO coalition, millions of people are calling for an end to war in Afghanistan.

On New Year's Day, 01/01/11, people around the world are invited to raise their voices, through Facebook, Twitter, Free Conference calls, Skype, and blogs at several websites in a massive refusal to accept this war any longer. Let your New Year's resolution be to stand for the people and end wars by sending a digital or spoken peacemaking message to people in Afghanistan. By amassing millions of messages calling for peace, we can create yet another indication that ordinary people within and beyond Afghanistan have had enough of war.

Afghanistan's people need food not bombs, health care not warfare and courage for peace, not war. In the words of Abdulai, an Afghan teenager whose father was killed by the Taliban, the "Dear Afghanistan" campaign offers an alternative to the Obama administration's most recent review of the war. Abdulai's experiences of impoverishment, bereavement, and discrimination highlight realities that Afghans face every day. The U.S. government's December review paid no attention to these conditions.

You can let Afghan people know that their lives matter as much as yours. Assure them that the U.S. government's war is unacceptable to you and that you are working to end it.

We can catch courage from one another, sparking a New Year's momentum to put an end to war.

Follow the steps below to communicate the simple yet crucial demand: Stop the Killing in Afghanistan.

On New Year's Day 2011, from 7.05 pm Eastern Standard Time on the 31st of December 2010 to 7.05 pm Eastern Standard Time on the 1st of January 2011, from wherever in the world, you can: · Call from your Mobile or Home phone by dialing (661) 673-8600 & access code: 295191#. Please arrange to talk by sending an email to CallAfghanistan@gmail.com · SKYPE: Please arrange to call Afghanistan by sending your Skype ID in an email to CallAfghanistan@gmail.com · Send an email message to DearAfghanistan@gmail.com · Text or sms by mobile at +93 7791 84146 or +1 727-248-0308 (001-727-248-0308 if text messaging from outside U.S.) · Facebook: Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers · @DearAfghanistan on Twitter
For more information: Visit Dear Afghanistan

A note on timings for the NEW YEAR CALL :

Place Time Date
London 12.05 am to 12.05 am 1st Jan to 2nd Jan
EST 7.05 pm to 7.05 pm 31st Dec to 1st Jan
Pacific Std 4.05 pm to 4.05 pm 31st Dec to 1st Jan
Jordan 2.05 am to 2.05 am 1st Jan to 2nd Jan
Afghanistan 4.35am to 4.35 am 1st Jan to 2nd Jan

[SDCPJ] LET GAZA LIVE DEMO & VIGIL!

 

 

LET GAZA LIVE DEMO & VIGIL!
To Mark the 2nd Year Commemoration of the Gaza Massacre
END THE SIEGE NOW!

When: Sunday January 9, 2011 at 3 PM @ the Fountain in Balboa Park 
 
 
The holidays have arrived and people all over the world are celebrating with their loved ones. Yet, this time of the year symbolizes a period of continuing terror and constant uncertainty for Palestinians imprisoned in the Gaza Strip and which today remains in its fourth year under a criminal siege.
 
Two years ago, the state of Israel launched a 22-day brutal and criminal attack on 1.5 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. This attack began on December 27, 2008 and continued until January 18, 2009. The state of Israel sealed off all the borders of Gaza to prevent Palestinians from fleeing to safety. The Gaza Strip was transformed into a slaughterhouse leaving more than 1400 Palestinians dead and 5300 injured.
 
Al-Awda San Diego, Students for Justice in Palestine at SDSU, San Diego International Action Center, and other organizations (list in formation) will be holding a demonstration  to demand an End to the Siege of Gaza followed by a candlelight vigil to remember and honor all the martyrs and the victims who were injured and terrorized on this the 2nd anniversary of the 22- day massacre.
 
Join US!
 
The demonstration followed by candlelight vigil will take place on Sunday, January 9 starting at 3 PM @ the Fountain in Balboa Park.
 
For more information, contact:
 
Al-Awda San Diego
The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
PO Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA
Tel: 760-918-9441
Fax: 760-918-9442
E-mail: info@al-awdasandiego.org
WWW: http://al-awdasandiego.org
 
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, your donations to PRRC are tax-deductible. To donate, please go to http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and follow the instructions. To become a member of our organization, please follow the instructions at http://www.al-awda.org/membership.html

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[SDCPJ] Thought for the Season: Support the Troops

The Best Friend of the Enlisted Military is PEACE

[SDCPJ] Activist Holiday Party - Monday, December 20th @ 7 PM @ Joyce Beers

OPEN LETTER TO THE SAN DIEGO ACTIVIST COMMUNITY Dear Friends, This is a quick plea for your support and participation in sustaining Activist San Diego as a key left-progressive institution in the California border region.  Frankly ASD needs recourses to organizationally develop. First and foremost ASD wants your participation not just in our organization, but in the  movement for social change. We also need your support!!  If we got a $1 a month donation from every person who receives this message, we'd be in financial equilibrium.  If we received a mere $3 a month we'd be financially stable to fulfill our mission to be the information, communications and motivation hub in San Diego.  At $10 a month we'd be in a major expansion mode and working to grow the local social justice movement in San Diego county.  At $20 a month we could triple our capacity and we'd assure a staff person to get our new FM Activist Radio on the air sooner.  Will you be one of those who offers ASD the support our vital role in the community?  Can you help us grow?  Donate now and we will not disappoint the progressive community! Please attend the Activist Holiday Party Join us for a social and networking gathering.  Live MUSIC - Meet other left-progressives - Bring a cup for coco and food or snacks to share. A good time will be had by all -- as we celebrate what we have accomplished and prepare for the necessary challenges in 2011 -- to bring peace and social justice to the forefront of the public dialogue and to the center of our activism.                                San Diego's Annual Board Elections also to be held at this event.                    Contact -    Info@ActivistSanDiego.org

 

Activist San Diego’s  Monthly General Meeting is a Party! Monday, December  20th @ 7PM    Network, Collaborate, Activate Joyce Beers Community Center 1230 Cleveland Ave., Hillcrest in the city of San Diego (In the Ralph's Hillcrest shopping center Across from Trader Joe's. 1.5 blocks north of University Ave on Vermont.)  For info call 619-871-9354

 

[SDCPJ] Petition - Free The Children of Palestine!

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Petition - Free The Children of Palestine! December 17, 2010 ACT NOW!     Please take a moment to read and sign the online petition at: http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41467.html   This petition demands that President Barak Obama direct Israel to release all Palestinian children detained in its prisons and detention centers immediately, and to end all forms of systematic and institutionalized abuse that it practices against the children of Palestine. Please ask your friends and contacts to do the same. Until Return,   Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition PO Box 131352 Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA Tel: 760-918-9441 Fax: 760-918-9442 E-mail: info@al-awda.org WWW: http://al-awda.org Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, your donations to PRRC are tax-deductible. To donate, please go to http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and follow the instructions. To become a member, go to http://al-awda.org/membership.html

Forward email Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition | PO Box 131352 | Carlsbad | CA | 92013

[SDCPJ] Urgent - New military training facility proposed in the San Diego area!

Another "Blackwater-Like" 100 million dollar military training facility is being planned in Ocotillo! There is a hearing being held TODAY (Monday). PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT OUT OF YOUR DAY TO CALL THE IMPERIAL COUNTY SUPERVISOR'S OFFICE TO EXPRESS HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS DEVELOPMENT. Please read the following article in today's Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-imperial-dispute-20101213,0,1667225.story

Here is a paragraph from the lower section of this LA Times story...

Critics see unsettling similarities between the Wind Zero project and a training and supply facility proposed but then scrapped in San Diego County by the controversial private security firm Blackwater USA, which trains and supplies civilian military personnel for assignments overseas. Some have suggested that Wind Zero is a front for Blackwater — which now operates under the name Xe — or could be sold to it once the project has been approved. Webb dismisses the claims.

LOUIS FUENTES - DISTRICT 1, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD - 760-482-4309

JACK TERRAZAS - OCOTILLO DISTRICT - 760-482-4308

Bob

[SDCPJ] Agenda, SDCPJ, Mon. Dec. 13, 7 PM

Attached and below, please find the agenda for the San Diego Coalition for Peace & Justice meeting for this Monday, Dec. 13, 7 PM at the Church of the Brethren.  Please attend and help set the course for 2011!  HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone   Craig Jones 858-354-1785     SAN DIEGO COALITION FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE                              3850 Westgate Place, San Diego, CA 92105                              Monday, December 13, 2010 – 7:00 PM Agenda     Facilitator:  TBD Welcome, Introductions Next SDCPJ meeting: Monday, December 27 (to be confirmed).  Facilitator_____________ Note taker for this evening's meeting will be _________________________   (No minutes from Nov. 22 meeting)   New Business/Report Backs/Updates: -- Report Back: Nov. 30 San Diego Unified School Dist. Board action, limiting military recruitment access to students -- Upcoming/Need to Plan: January 17, Monday – MLK All Peoples' Breakfast – participate?                         -- Upcoming/Need to Plan: January SDCPJ event, Palestine (possible film showing, Mustafa Barghouthi: "Our Story") -- New Business: Possible links with United National Antiwar Committee? Potential Dec. 16 Veterans event? (question from Gina; see below under Items/Announcements) -- New Business: "Audacity of Hope" Gaza project, Dec. 20 conference call (see below under Items/Announcements) -- Upcoming/Need to Plan: March/April demonstration or teach-in    -- Update: San Diego Community Radio Project (related: expansion of progressive radio podcasts based in San Diego, e.g. http://www.libertyoneradio.com/Hosts.html)   Upcoming Events -- (none; note items for discussion above)   Strategic Planning/Perspectives/Activities and Direction -- Discussion: Planning for future program sessions (speakers, films, etc.)   Announcements (see below for some items) Break Outs:  as needed

[SDCPJ] CALL for Agenda Items - SDCPJ, Mon. Dec. 13

Yes, there is a regular meeting of the San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice, this next MOnday, Dec. 13.  Please reply with any items to include on the agenda.  The agenda will be distributed by e-mail this weekend.   Please call if needed - THANK YOU all!   Craig Jones 858-354-1785

[SDCPJ] Dec.9, Protest Powerlink's Premature Groundbreaking

Dear Peace Friends,

I'm helping promote this Thursday's protest against the premature groundbreaking for the Sunrise Powerlink.  For details about the event in Boulevard, see the email below.

Marcia Boruta

San Diego Economic Conversion & Permaculture Center

From: Vanessa Rusczyk [mailto:vanessa@stopsunrisepowerlink.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 2:20 PM
Subject: Sunrise Powerlink ACTION ALERT

It's ALL HANDS ON DECK for a protest against SDG&E's phony-baloney "groundbreaking" ceremony for the Sunrise Powerlink on Thursday, December 9th! Despite the fact that there are currently 3 active lawsuits against the Sunrise Powerlink in courts, SDG&E has scheduled a premature groundbreaking ceremony. The Protect Our Communities Foundation and partners are organizing a rally and protest against the project during the event. Media will be present and Governor Schwarzenegger is expected to attend SDG&E's event. So we need a LARGE CROWD, WITH SIGNS, to show the world that the powerlink is old fossil-fuel infrastructure at its worst, that the project is not acceptable to the citizens of San Diego county, and most of all that the powerlink is not a done deal. PLEASE JOIN US!

When: Thursday, December 9 at 9am
Where: Rough Acres Ranch, 2750 McCain Valley Road, Boulevard, CA 91905
RSVP to: David Hogan, <a href="mailto:davidhogan@hughes.net" target="_blank" _blank="">davidhogan@hughes.net or 760-809-9244

Directions to Rough Acres Ranch: (approximately 1 hour 15 minutes from downtown San Diego)

1.     Take I-8 East to the Boulevard exit (the next one after Crestwood and the Golden Acorn Casino - past the large wind turbines).

2.     Turn right (south) onto Ribbonwood Road.

3.     Go to the stop sign at Old Hwy 80 and make a left (east) towards Jacumba.

4.     McCain Valley Road is several miles down on the left. You will reach a big brown McCain Valley Recreation Area sign.

5.     Take McCain Valley north back under the freeway until the pavement ends.

6.     Rough Acres driveway is on the left and the dirt road on the right is the entry to McCain Valley Recreation Area with another sign.

7.     Park along the shoulder of McCain Valley Road, the access road to the recreation area, to greet Governor Schwarzenegger and SDG&E's other invitees      with signs and spirit.

Please see the attached Action Alert for more details about the event and reasons for the protest and rally or visit our website at www.protectourcommunities.org for more information.

Sincerely,
Vanessa Rusczyk
The Protect Our Communities Foundation
www.protectourcommunities.org
A 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation

"No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."

[SDCPJ] Video and photo documentation of school board vote to restrict recruiting

Here's a photo account of the successful campaign to pass restrictions on recruiting in San Diego schools:

 

http://www.projectyano.org/educationnotarms/recruitingpolicy/recruitingpolicy.html

 

Here is a very educational video of the final school board hearing and vote, including the remarkable testimony given by students, parents and others, as well as the fascinating board member dialogue:

 

http://old.sandi.net/board/reports/2010/1130/video.html (drag the progress bar to 101:30 for the beginning).

 

Please thank the four board members for passing a fair policy on recruiting that protects student privacy and parental rights, and gives students balanced exposure to ALL their options after graduation:

 

Richard Barrera: rbarrera1@sandi.net

John Lee Evans: johnleeevans@sandi.net

Shelia Jackson: sjackson@sandi.net

John de Beck: Jdebeck1@san.rr.com

(NOTE: De Beck's sponsorship of the policy was one of his last actions before leaving the school board on Nov. 30)

 

Rick J.

www.projectyano.org/educationnotarms/

 

 

[SDCPJ] An important victory over aggressive recruiting in schools

On Nov. 30, 2010, the San Diego Unified school board voted 4-1 to adopt a policy to regulate and restrict recruiting in all the district's schools. This is a victory for many students, parents, teachers and community groups who worked long and hard for this goal.

 

The policy applies to all recruiters, including civilian employers, public colleges, for-profit colleges and trade schools, and the military. Because the military has been so aggressive in using school access, it is the group that will be most affected. The policy stipulates:

 

- only two recruiting visits/year

- no soliciting of personal information directly from students

- no disruption of classes or interfering with students

- recruiters must remain at a designated spot and not approach students

- no weapons displays

- equal access for organizations offering alternative information on military careers

- reporting of policy violations to the school board

- possible banning of recruiting organizations after two violations

- no use of the military's aptitude test (the ASVAB) in schools, unless its under release option 8 (i.e., not for recruiting)

 

You can read more about the policy, download key documents, and use video links to watch the two school board hearings that resulted in a 4-1 favorable vote. www.projectyano.org/educationnotarms/

 

The policy was developed over the last year by students working in consultation with others in the Education Not Arms Coalition (ENAC), a San Diego group that includes students, parents, teachers and various community groups. ENAC also led a successful campaign to remove JROTC rifle ranges from San Diego high schools in 2009.

[SDCPJ] Free Bethlehem - Film Screening Tomorrow in San Diego

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Free Bethlehem Film Screening
Thursday, December 2nd, 8pm
Twiggs Bakery & Coffeehouse, San Diego

Dear Fred Lonidier,

Don't forget that tomorrow night, you have been invited to join Alternate Focus for a free screening of the short film Free Bethlehem.  We hope you can make it!

Event Details:
Free Bethlehem Screening
Thursday, December 2nd at 8pm
Twiggs Bakery & Coffeehouse
4590 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92116


There is a town in Palestine that is of particular significance for many Americans during the Christmas season -- the town of Bethlehem.  Today, Bethlehem -- and Palestine -- resembles an open-air prison, occupied by Israel's military and encircled by Israel's wall.
 
This short film was produced by the American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights (AAPER), which believes that it is important to highlight the situation in Bethlehem as a entry point to educating Americans about the situation in Palestine.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call Alternate Focus at 858-551-0191

We look forward to seeing you at the event!

Thank you,
 

Rodney Devereux
President, Alternate Focus

About Alternate Focus

Alternate Focus is available on the Dish Network, Free Speech TV, channel 9415 and on cable stations near you. Check www.alternatefocus.org for details. Alternate Focus is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported by viewers like you.

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