[SDCPJ] FW: [unac] Keep UNAC strong in 2013

 

 

(please forward widely)   Dear Friends,   Please help keep UNAC strong.  Keep the antiwar movement out in the streets opposing U.S. and NATO war moves in countries around the world.  Help build protests this spring against the drones that are spreading war, even to countries that are supposed to be U.S. allies.  Please click the button below to donate on-line or send a check as indicated below.   Peace Joe Lombardo and Marilyn Levin, UNAC co-coordinators.     KEEP THE ANTIWAR MOVEMENT STRONG: SUPPORT THE UNITED NATIONAL ANTIWAR COALITION (UNAC)   DONATE The second national UNAC conference in March, attended by close to 600 activists, set the agenda for our work for this election year. Our primary objective was to keep the antiwar movement visible and in the streets in a time of never-ending and expanding wars, austerity, and repression. Our program for action emphasized the connection between the racist, imperialist wars abroad and the assault on working people, especially people of color, at home, while building coalitions founded on the principle that an injury to one is an injury to all. These are the highlights of our successful efforts: · We kicked off the organizing and helped build a People's Summit and a mass demonstration of 15,000 people to protest NATO and the G-8 in Chicago in May. · We rallied for peace at the Republican and Democratic Conventions and on the 11th anniversary of the Afghanistan invasion. · Three of our Administrative Committee members traveled to Pakistan on the anti-drone tour organized by Code Pink and then reported about our experiences at forums around the country. · We participated in the rally in New York against the NYPD's racist Stop and Frisk policy and continued to support our Muslim brothers and sisters who are under attack. · We joined the emergency actions in defense of Gaza under brutal attack by the U.S.-backed Israeli forces. · We welcomed and participated in the Occupy movement that swept the country following the inspiration of the Arab Spring. · We organized demonstrations to demand U.S. non-intervention in Iran, Libya, and Syria. · We campaigned against the assault on our civil liberties, including indefinite detention, targeted assassinations, and the mass incarceration of Black and Latino youth. There are dangerous times ahead. U.S. and NATO forces mass on the Turkish border; Iran continues to be a target of the U.S., NATO and Israel; the U.S. backs Israel's continued land theft and brutality against the Palestinians; and the U.S. has its sights set on China and North Korea in the Pacific. On the home front, unions are threatened, there are draconian cuts to the social safety net, Islamophobia is heightened, immigrants are detained and deported, and mass incarceration is used as a means of social control. Drones are the new weapons of choice for war and domination and increasingly the foundation of the expanding surveillance state. Opposing drones will be a focus of our work in the coming year. A strong and growing opposition to the criminal actions of the U.S. government is even more vital today. We urge you to support the antiwar movement and give an end-of-the-year gift to UNAC. Please contribute by hitting this button by sending a check made our to UNAC to UNAC, PO Box 123, Delmar, NY 12054.  You can also contribute on-line by clicking the donate button above or going to the UNAC web site at www.UNACpeace.org and making a contribution. We wish you all peaceful and restful holidays as we gear up to face the challenges of the new year. Peace, Marilyn Levin and Joe Lombardo UNAC Co-Coordinators. click here to donate to UNAC Click here for the Facebook UNAC group.    To remove yourself from the UNAC listserv, please send an email to:      UNAC-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net   To add yourself to the UNAC listserv, please send an email to:       UNAC-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

[SDCPJ] Idle No More Solidarity Event--Tuesday, January 1, 2013--12 noon, Horton Plaza, San Diego

Idle No More -- San Diego

Tuesday, January 1, 2013---12 noon
Meet you all on Business Circle in front of CVS....

Westfield Horton Plaza

324 Horton Plaza, San Diego, California 92101

Bring your drums, gourds, sing and dance and stand united on the many issues in Indian Country - water, land, sacred sites, coal, NGS, uranium, save the confluence, protect the peaks, etc. Bring signs. In solidarity with Canada and indigenous people world wide.

See this link for more info about the Idle No More Movement 
http://www.idlenomore.com

This is an outside event, bring chairs, and dress warm. 

EVERYONE WELCOME!! Let's Round Dance :)

Idle No More

Idle No More calls on all people to join in a revolution which honors and fulfills Indigenous sovereignty which protects the land and water. Colonization continues through attacks to Indigenous rights and damage to the land and water. We must repair these violations, live the spirit and intent of the treaty relationship, work towards justice in action, and protect Mother Earth.

[SDCPJ] PLEASE FORWARD: Make People's Radio KNSJ Go Viral! | Save the Date: Activist People's Ball Sat. Jan. 19th, 2013

 

 

SAVE THE DATE Sat. January 19th, 2013 at the World Beat Center Activist People’s Ball ~ A gala event on Inauguration & MLK weekend ~ Launching KNSJ and a Progressive Era in San Diego Special Guests Bob Filner and Donna Frye A fundraising BENEFIT for KNSJ! Make People’s Radio KNSJ go viral! Watch the 3 minute video now at http://www.indiegogo.com/knsjradio/x/1976809 Please DONATE NOW to establish KNSJ-89.1 FM Donate to your community radio in San Diego… Then forward it to everyone you know with your comments! You have been angered by the corporate media for decades; sickened by right-wing talk radio hate speech. You miss KLSD and love Amy Goodman. Now WE can have our own access to people-powered radio 24/7! We need volunteers, outreach teams, producers, techies, and on-air talent. We also need EVERYONE to become a donor at whatever level is possible. Do it now and pass it forward. Give the gift of Free Speech as it crosses borders! Watch the 3 minute video now at http://www.indiegogo.com/knsjradio/x/1976809 Donate and Forward: Become a recognized founder of KNSJ - Networking for Social Justice Listen to sample programs at www.KNSJ.org For more info call KNSJ at (619) 283-1100 or info@KNSJ.org

 

 

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[SDCPJ] San Diego Free Press and OB Rag - double whammy!

A double whammy! The OB Rag  House Fire on Seaside Street Claims a Dozen Pet Birds in Ocean Beach Ocean Beach Antique Shop Owner's Wounded Nephew Gets Visit from President Obama for being "Hero". Seattle Police Department releases humorous Guide on how to get stoned, after pot legalization initiative passes. A Christmas Wish: The Gift of Compassion House Fire on Seaside Street Claims a Dozen Pet Birds in Ocean Beach Posted: 27 Dec 2012 12:28 PM PST Woman and Dogs Rescued A house fire on the 2300 block of Seaside Street in northeast Ocean Beach has claimed the lives of at least a dozen pet birds. Early Thursday, Dec. 27, around 3:30 a.m. a fire broke out in the living-room of the residence near Larkspur Street. When firefighters arrived, they found the 46 year old resident suffering from smoke inhalation; she was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.     Ocean Beach Antique Shop Owner's Wounded Nephew Gets Visit from President Obama for being "Hero". Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:55 AM PST Teresa Mallory's nephew Quinn Rogan receives surprise visit after saving lives in Afghanistan The owner of an antique store in Ocean Beach has her nephew's photo propped up in her consignment shop on Newport Avenue. The picture has her nephew, Quinn Rogan - wounded in Afghanistan when he blocked suicide bombers from attacking his base - along with the President - who made him a surprise visit recently at Walter Reed Army hospital. Rogan is credited for saving possibly hundreds of his fellow solders on December 2nd as he tried to stop up to 3 bombers in a vehicle gunning for his base. He helped block their attempt yet their explosives went off, throwing shrapnel at him.     Seattle Police Department releases humorous Guide on how to get stoned, after pot legalization initiative passes. Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:03 AM PST Witty and silly, it covers all the bases. by Kristen Gwynne / AlterNet  Last week, the Seattle Police Department quietly released the hilarious how-to,Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use In Seattle. Witty and silly, it covers all the bases, from driving stoned to drug tests for jobs and whether police themselves can get high. It begins: The people have spoken. Voters have passed Initiative 502 and beginning December 6th, it is not a violation of state law for adults over 21 years old to possess up to an ounce of marijuana (or 16 ounces of solid marijuana-infused product, like cookies, or 72 ounces of infused liquid, like oil) for personal use. The initiative establishes a one-year period for the state to develop rules and a licensing system for the marijuana production and sale.     A Christmas Wish: The Gift of Compassion Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:46 AM PST It is Christmas, 2012, and I sit in the sunlight of the early morning and welcome the day. For many years I have been alone on Christmas morning; my children, parents, sister and I celebrate Christmas on its eve. My children spend the day with her mother and later in the day, my parents, sister and I have dinner at my cousin's home. As a result, the gift I receive Christmas morning is time. Time to sit and reflect, time to meditate, time to just be. As a Catholic Christian of the Franciscan brand, and a student of Buddhism and the Tao, I spend much of my time thinking about the concept of compassion; what it means and how to let flow from me and perhaps by example, to others. I know in my imperfection, I fall short on many occasions, but I try. San Diego Free Press  The Starting Line(ish): Filner Rips Congress … All of Them The Children's Pool in La Jolla – Visit the Harbor Seals The Fright Wing: Why So-Called Conservatives Get So Wild and Crazy. Who's Winning the 'War on Christmas'? Sex in San Diego: The Psychology of Pick-Up Lines The Starting Line(ish): Filner Rips Congress … All of Them Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:55 AM PST Mayor Bob Filner calls out dysfunctional Congress; Starbuck's embarks on a "Come Together" campaign; Wingnuts decry Sandy Hook as a government conspiracy; Balboa Park Golf Course getting a makover In an interview yesterday with KPCC, the Los Angeles area public radio station, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner pulled no punches in criticizing Congress and the Congressional leaders he left behind after 20 years to run for Mayor. The bottom line, the reason he chose to run for mayor instead of returning to Congress for what would have been his 11th term, was the same thing Filner said to SDFP colleague Annie Lane and I when we sat down with the then mayoral candidate back in April for the OB Rag: Congress is a complete, dysfunctional mess. The mantra of shrinking government down to a size "where you can drown it in a bathtub," as Grover Norquist likes to say, became the overriding principle in the House in 1994 when Newt Gingrich first became Speaker. Since then—and especially since 2010—it's only gotten worse. "I couldn't believe the kind of people who had come and taken power," Filner said of the Tea Party wave that took control of the House. "Many of them had never had any government experience. They had no respect as it were for government per se. I mean, I don't know why you run for government office with the intent to close up government."     The Children's Pool in La Jolla – Visit the Harbor Seals Posted: 27 Dec 2012 09:50 AM PST San Diego For Free: Children's Pool in La Jolla A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price - free! We have a great city and you don't need to break the bank to experience it. Location: La Jolla, map here Best For: Wave watchers, seal gazers, sandy feet aficionados, soul searchers Near downtown La Jolla is the Children's Pool, a small beach protected from ocean waves by a sea wall. The wall was built in 1931 to create a calm area of water for swimming. Today the Children's Pool is the center of a battle between those wishing to see it refurbished and preserved as a swimming area and those that advocate for protection of the harbor seals that have established a home at the Children's Pool in the past two decades.     The Fright Wing: Why So-Called Conservatives Get So Wild and Crazy. Posted: 27 Dec 2012 09:47 AM PST By Bob Dorn Until recently, I've been mystified by the emotional fits and righteousness that seems to dominate the politics of people who identify themselves as conservatives. From sneering condescension right up to murderous invective, the rhetoric of those who consider themselves more holy than the rest of us has blown past the bounds of realism and into a sort of hallucinatory inferno of loose hatred and speculation. And it hasn't taken much to set it off. Mention the U.N. or World Court, or the possibility of expanding voting hours, or improving our infrastructure and you're likely to unleash an avalanche of accusations and epithets-- one worlder, voter fraud, socialist idiot, moron, traitor. Infrastructure? Voting? Are those bad?     Who's Winning the 'War on Christmas'? Posted: 27 Dec 2012 09:45 AM PST Wishing Everyone a Happy/Merry……? By Beau Grosscup The grocery cashier handed me my change and receipt. With a cherry voice and sparkle in her eye, she said: "Merry Christmas." "Happy Hanukah to you" I sweetly replied. A frown crept across her brow. "I'm not Jewish,' she said. "I'm not Christian," I responded. I walked away leaving a slightly confused Christian cashier pondering what had just happened. I had no doubt what had occurred. For over a decade of Decembers, the Christian Right, led by Bill O'Reilly of Fox News cable, has charged a War on Christmas (and thus Christianity) is under way.     Sex in San Diego: The Psychology of Pick-Up Lines Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:23 AM PST By Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D. / Alternet Every relationship begins with that first step. Some people never get past that first step. First impressions matter, and our opening few lines can either energize the interaction or cause the other person to look around for the nearest exit. Gratefully, psychologists have spent years of celibacy trying to understand the psychology behind pick-up lines for your own benefit. In the '80s Chris Kleinke and colleagues analyzed the effectiveness of 100 pick-up lines across a number of different settings, including bars, supermarkets, restaurants, laundromats, and beaches. They found three main categories of openers:

[SDCPJ] Breaking news: U.S. Navy rescue workers sue TEPCO for exposure to Fukushima radiation!

Breaking News! U.S. Navy rescue workers sue TEPCO for their exposure to Fukushima radiation! 

They claim the utility company, "a wholly owned public benefit subsidiary of the government of Japan," misrepresented radiation levels to lull the U.S. Navy "into a false sense of security."

Lead plaintiff Lindsay R. Cooper claims Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) intentionally concealed the dangerous levels of radiation in the environment from U.S. Navy rescue crews working off the coast of Japan after the March 10, 2011 earthquake and tsunami set off the nuclear disaster.

BREAKING NEWS: SAN DIEGO (CN) - U.S. Navy rescue workers sue TEPCO Electric. They claim they were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation, which they believe the government-owned power plant covered up.

"According to then-existing data uniquely known to the defendant at the time, the plaintiffs' consequent exposure to radiation within their zone of operation, then indicated that radiation levels had already reached levels exceeding the levels of exposure to which those living the same distance from Chernobyl experienced who subsequently developed cancer," the complaint states.

The sailors say they "face additional and irreparable harm to their life expectancy, which has been shortened and cannot be restored to its prior condition."

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Eight crew members of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, whose home port is San Diego, sued the Tokyo Electric Power Co. in Federal Court. They claim the utility company, "a wholly owned public benefit subsidiary of the government of Japan," misrepresented radiation levels to lull the U.S. Navy "into a false sense of security."

Lead plaintiff Lindsay R. Cooper claims Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) intentionally concealed the dangerous levels of radiation in the environment from U.S. Navy rescue crews working off the coast of Japan after the March 10, 2011 earthquake and tsunami set off the nuclear disaster.

"TEPCO pursued a policy to cause rescuers, including the plaintiffs, to rush into an unsafe area which was too close to the FNPP [Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant] that had been damaged. Relying upon the misrepresentations regarding health and safety made by TEPCO ... the U.S. Navy was lulled into a false sense of security," the complaint states.

There were 5,500 sailors aboard the Reagan, the plaintiffs say, but this is not a class action. Six of the eight plaintiffs worked on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier; two worked in air contamination or the "air department." One sued also on behalf of her infant daughter.

Japan called the relief effort Operation Tomadachi.

The complaint states: "Defendant TEPCO and the government of Japan, conspired and acted in concert, among other things, to create an illusory impression that the extent of the radiation that had leaked from the site of the FNPP was at levels that would not pose a threat to the plaintiffs, in order to promote its interests and those of the government of Japan, knowing that the information it disseminated was defective, incomplete and untrue, while omitting to disclose the extraordinary risks posed to the plaintiffs who were carrying out their assigned duties aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan."

It adds: "Defendant represented and warranted that the levels of contamination to which the plaintiffs would be exposed were less than harmful to them and that their presence during 'Operation Tomadachi' would not cause any different or greater harm to them than they may have experienced on missions in the past. ...

"At all times relevant times, the defendant, TEPCO, was aware that exposure to even a low dose of radiation creates a danger to one's health and that it is important to accurately report actual levels.

"As a consequence of the earthquake and tsunami, the reactors were damaged and power to the cooling mechanism of the FNPP was interrupted, resulting in a meltdown of the fuel and reactor itself, thereby triggering the release of high levels of radiation."

And, they say: "Defendants had actual and/or constructive knowledge of the properties of radiation that would ensure that, once released into the environment, radiation would spread further and in concentrations that would cause injury to the plaintiffs."

The plaintiffs claim the government deliberately misled them: "the Japanese government kept representing that there was no danger of radiation contamination to the U.S.S. Reagan ... and/or its crew, that 'everything is under control,' 'all is OK, you can trust us,' and there is 'no immediate danger' or threat to human life, all the while lying through their teeth about the reactor meltdowns at FNPP.

"Such reports were widely circulated with the defendant, TEPCO's, organization at the time it was published, despite the fact that the defendant knew that higher levels of radiation existed within the area whereat the plaintiffs and their vessel would be and were operating."

TEPCO controlled all activities at the power plant, so it is responsible for the plaintiffs' radiation exposure and subsequent damages, the sailors say.

"According to then-existing data uniquely known to the defendant at the time, the plaintiffs' consequent exposure to radiation within their zone of operation, then indicated that radiation levels had already reached levels exceeding the levels of exposure to which those living the same distance from Chernobyl experienced who subsequently developed cancer," the complaint states.

"Consequently, the potential for the development of cancer in the plaintiffs has also been enhanced due to the levels of exposure experienced by them during 'Operation Tomadachi.'"

The sailors say they "face additional and irreparable harm to their life expectancy, which has been shortened and cannot be restored to its prior condition."

The plaintiffs are Lindsay Cooper, James Sutton, Kim Gieseking and her daughter, Charles Yarris, Robert Miller, Christopher Bittner, Eric Membrila and Judy Goodwin.

They are seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages for fraud, negligence, strict liability, failure to warn, public and private nuisance, and defective design. They also want TEPCO ordered to establish a fund of $100 million to pay for their medical expenses. They are represented by Paul Garner. 

http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/12/26/53414.htm

[SDCPJ] Project YANO: Confronting the culture of violence in our schools

Please forward . . .

 

Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities

Project YANO • Encinitas, CA • Email: projyano@aol.com

 

December 2012

 

Dear Friend,

 

I recently had the opportunity to give a presentation on behalf of Project YANO at the MAAC Charter School in Chula Vista. Also speaking was Fernando Suárez del Solar, one of our Advisory Board members whose son was killed in the Iraq war.

 

As we stood in front of an assembly of 300 students, in the back of my mind was the memory of a recent incident where a girl from Mission Bay High School was beaten and sent to the emergency room by a boy who had been in the military's Jr. ROTC program for three years.

 

I was doing laundry with my mother when my brother, a student at MBHS, called to be picked up and told her about the fight that had occurred at school that day. He was particularly frustrated by the fact that none of the students had tried to stop the fight, even when the girl had fallen to the floor and was still being beaten by the boy.

 

When I arrived at home, my brother was sitting on the couch and had us watch the video, which was being circulated by students all over Facebook and Youtube.

 

Throughout the video, you can see more than 20 students standing around, some taking video, but none trying to intervene. Once the video was over, my brother said, "The guy was in JROTC." I felt a twinge from past memories: during the time I was at Mission Bay High and organizing to remove the shooting ranges (which were part of the JROTC program), I had personally perceived a hostile, violent response from JROTC students.

 

The aggressive attitudes of JROTC students attest to the need to promote non-military alternatives in schools. This is why it was imperative for Project YANO to participate in the campaign that succeeded in banning shooting ranges from high schools in the San Diego Unified School District. This effort also produced a drop in JROTC enrollment that led to the complete removal of the program at Mission Bay in 2012. Removing such a class, which teaches that violence is permissible, is a step in the right direction.

 

It is important to note that violence is a motif of our society, perpetuated through the media and a very high amount of taxpayers' money spent on war. Our government sponsors and promotes programs such as JROTC to recruit students into the military by militarizing their culture. For this reason the work of Project YANO is crucial.

 

Project YANO is one of very few organizations countering military recruitment in San Diego schools, and we are now the ONLY organization in the entire U.S. that maintains a full-time counter-recruitment organizer. Project YANO takes initiative to go into schools that have students who are considered primary targets for military recruitment, like the MAAC Charter School we recently visited. We are fortunate to have veterans, students and professionals who serve as role models and resources for the youths we reach. Our local work includes presentations and the distribution of information on alternatives for job training and college financial aid outside of the military.

 

At a national level we have a prominent role. Project YANO frequently receives requests from various organizations and individuals seeking assistance with counter-recruitment organizing, and we produce educational literature that is used by grassroots groups across the country.

 

Because our work often challenges some of the most dominant institutions in society, we do not have the resources that many nonprofits enjoy. As a result, we sometimes don't know if the work of YANO can be continued another year. It is only because of support from people like yourself that the organization has been able to carry on and increase its impact for 28 years!

 

Our future, however, is always uncertain, and in order to ensure that this work will endure, we ask you to please support it with a donation today.

 

We thank you in advance and wish you a happy new year!

 

Un Fuerte Abrazo,

Nancy Cruz

 

P.S. Donations are tax-deductible and can also be made via credit card at www.projectyano.org. Automatic recurring donations are also possible this way.