San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice
3850 Westgate Place
San Diego, CA 92105
(619) 263-9301

Take Action!


Calendar of Local Peace Events


ATTEND THESE RECURRING ACTIVITIES


THE SAN DIEGO COALITION FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE generally meets the SECOND and FOURTH Monday of each month at the First Church of the Brethren at 7 pm, 3850 Westgate Place, San Diego.

WE HAVE RECENTLY CHANGED OUR SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS - if unsure, call (619) 263-9301 or email info@sdcpj.org) For directions, click here.


HIGH SCHOOL LEAFLETTING
Help pass out anti-war/pro-peace leaflets at local high schools (La Jolla, Sweetwater, Poway, San Marcos, San Dieguito, Madison, Lincoln, Vista and others). For more info: sjagitator@ucsd.edu

Get Involved with Peace!

 

The U.S. occupation of Iraq has led to over 4,000 American deaths and roughly 30,000 injuries. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died and millions are homeless. Spending on the war thus far has been:
over $520,000,000,000

Source: National Priorities Project

Ten Things You Can Do to Oppose the War in Afghanistan

This article appeared in the April 27, 2009 edition of The Nation

Ten Things

The war in Afghanistan is a quagmire bordering on a catastrophe. With a current price tag of $2 billion a month, this drawn-out conflict took the lives of 155 American soldiers and 2,118 Afghan civilians last year--the bloodiest year of the war to date. Western airstrikes alone killed 522 civilians, fueling hostility toward the United States and causing more Afghans to join and support the Taliban insurgency that has spread into Pakistan. President Obama has escalated our military presence by committing an additional 17,000 US troops and 4,000 trainers to work with Afghan security forces. Where is the public outcry? The Nation and Z.P. Heller, editorial director of Brave New Films, have put together a list of things you can do to oppose the war.

 1 Watch parts one and two of Brave New Films' documentary Rethink Afghanistan, which explores many fundamental questions.

 2 Read up on the war. Anand Gopal's coverage for the Christian Science Monitor has been insightful; see also Ann Jones's Kabul in Winter and articles like Gilles Dorronsoro's "Focus and Exit: An Alternative Strategy for the Afghan War". The Nation's own Robert Dreyfuss has more "For Your Reading Pleasure."

 3 Check out the coalition of bloggers and activists seeking nonmilitary alternatives to escalation at Get Afghanistan Right.

 4 Demand Congressional oversight hearings. It is Congress's duty to challenge policy-makers and inform the public about everything from the overall mission to the efficiency of military agencies. Sign a petition calling on Senator John Kerry and Representative Howard Berman to hold hearings immediately.

 5 What question would you ask at a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan? Take a video of yourself or a friend asking your question and e-mail it to Brave New Foundation via YouTube. For help on recording and uploading your video to YouTube, watch the tutorial video and follow the Quick Capture instructions and then go to Rethink Afghanistan to submit the video.

 6 Contact your senators and representative directly to demand Congressional oversight hearings. If you can't visit their offices, a phone call or e-mail to voice your opinion can be just as effective.

 7 Write to your local paper's editorial board and your favorite political blogs to raise concerns about the war. Don't let the mainstream media remain silent as they did before the Iraq War!

 8 Support anti-escalation Afghan groups working for women's rights and social justice. You can aid organizations like the Afghan Women's Mission, MADRE and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) by buying them equipment from their Amazon "wish list" that helps them document and spread the news about their efforts. Stay updated with the Afghan Women's Mission newswire.

 9 Join the Campus Antiwar Network and hold teach-ins, debates, talks, demonstrations and walkouts on college campuses across the country.

10 Get involved in the peace movement with groups like Win Without War and Peace Action West, which are devoted to finding nonviolent alternatives to military escalation in Afghanistan. Follow Peace Action West on Twitter.

CONCEIVED by WALTER MOSLEY
with research by Rae Gomes

NOTICE OF BLACKWATER USA NAME CHANGE

BLACKWATER = XE (pronounced "zee")

"A mercenary by any other name still smells rotten"

(With apologies to William Shakespeare)

RECURRING EVENT

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR
ROBIN LONG

There will be a recurring Candlelight Vigil for Robin Long
every month held near the North Gate of
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.


Robin is the first active duty American G.I. Iraq war resister to desert the
United States military and seek asylum in Canada.
He was subsequently extradited and turned over to the US Government for prosecution.
He was tried and convicted in a military courts martial, and is currently
serving his sentence in the brig at MCAS Miramar.


This action is sponsored by
San Diego Veterans For Peace
Hugh Thompson Memorial Chapter 91

The next vigil will be held in May:

 DATE:  Tuesday, June 2nd
TIME:  4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
PLACE:  North Gate to MCAS Miramar
 Northwest Corner of Miramar Road & Clayton Drive

PLEASE CHECK WITH THE SPONSORS OF THIS EVENT FOR LATEST INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEXT VIGIL!

The recurring vigil will be held on the first Tuesday of every month
4:30pm to 6:30pm until Robin is freed.


  FREE ROBIN!


More info about Robin can be found at:
www.vetspeakblog.blogspot.com

and at:
www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/blogcategory/42/88

Please feel free to contact Dawn M. O'Brien or myself for further
information, Dawn can be reached at: dawnobde@yahoo.com

--

For those who are interested, the chapter meeting of San Diego Veterans For
Peace follows the vigil at 7:00pm, also on the first Tuesday
.
Our meeting place has moved, for February and most likely for a few months,
it will be held in a conference room at the Coldwell Banker offices:
12036 Scripps Highland Dr
San Diego, CA 92131
Map link:
MAP

Saturday October 11, 2008

WARS, ELECTIONS & EMPIRE
AT THE CROSSROADS

A comprehensive San Diego symposium
addressing vital and timely issues was held on October 11th, 2008.
Please view the following video of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz discussing "War, Empire & Everyday Life" and Marjorie Cohn discussing the current issues revolving around U.S. involvement in Afghanistan (introduced by Rick Greenblat).

CLICK PHOTO ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD
MARJORIE COHN / ROXANNE DUNBAR-ORTIZ VIDEO
(Right-Click on Windows or Control-Click on Macs)

CLICK PHOTO ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD QUESTION & ANSWER VIDEO
(Right-Click on Windows or Control-Click on Macs)

Click here to download the text of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's talk,
"War, Empire and Everyday Life"

Click here to download the text of Mike Davis' talk,
"Can Obama See the Grand Canyon?"

Click here to download the text of Rich Gibson's talk,
"The Political Economy of Capitalism and the Emergence of Fascism"

A half-day workshop/teach-in touching on all facets
of the United States' and the world's movement towards
wars and military confrontations

PLENARY SPEAKERS


ROXANNE DUNBAR-ORTIZ
"War, Empire & Everyday Life"

MARJORIE COHN
"Afghanistan"


MIKE DAVIS
"Elections"

PANEL DISCUSSION WITH MIKE DAVIS
Martin Eder lead
"War, Racism & Immigrant's Rights"

Rick Greenblat lead
"Is There a Future for the Anti-War Movement?"

Rich Gibson lead
"Political Economy" CLICK TO VIEW/DOWNLOAD PROGRAM

WORKSHOPS

WAR, EMPIRE & THE ECONOMY

GENEROSITY BEATS DOMINATION
FOR HOMELAND SECURITY

THE BUSH DOCTRINE:
THE MORAL CHALLENGE

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

THE PEACE MOVEMENT AND THE MILITARY

GUANTANAMO

THE SCHOOL TO WAR PIPELINE

MIDDLE EASTERN SELF-DETERMINATION

MILITARY COUNSELING AND ACTIVISM

NONVIOLENT CONFLICT RESOLUTION

MEDIA ACTIVISM

The San Diego Coalition for Peace & Justice welcomes your comments and ideas. Please email your thoughts to info@sdcpj.org

Click Here
To Support Our Work

STOP BLACKWATER!

A Letter from Jeremy Scahill


(slightly abridged)
I've got some bad news. My friends at the Courage Campaign asked me to convey it to you personally by email, given this community's activism against Blackwater over the last year.

Thursday, June 5th, after a federal judge cleared the way, Blackwater opened a large training facility in San Diego, just three blocks from the border that separates California and Mexico.

As you may know, I wrote a book ("Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army") chronicling how this dangerous private security corporation leveraged over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan to build an elite Praetorian Guard for the "global war on terror." Now, Blackwater is setting its sights on the so-called "war on drugs" and recently opened its own private CIA, called "Total Intelligence Solutions," marketing "CIA-type services" to Fortune 500 companies.

Blackwater is aggressively building up a parallel infrastructure to the U.S. national security apparatus as its owner, Erik Prince, promotes Blackwater as the "Federal Express" of the military industrial complex.

And now Blackwater has set up shop in California a stone's throw from the Tijuana International Airport. But this battle with Blackwater is not over. Grassroots activists in San Diego, led by relentless local groups like Citizens' Oversight Projects, Activist San Diego, and the Peace Resource Center of San Diego, are ramping up their campaign to shut down Blackwater's base of operations on the border.

Chris Hedges, the former Middle East Bureau Chief for the New York Times, brilliantly captures the threat that Blackwater represents to us in this excerpt from his review of my book:

"These hired guns... appeared on the streets of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. They operate, at home and abroad, beyond the bounds of legal constraints and are controlled by secretive puppet masters, such as Erik Prince, who have close ties to the radical Christian right.

Should our nation enter a period of instability following another terrorist attack on American soil, an economic collapse, or a series of environmental disasters, the tyranny that groups such as Blackwater impose on others could become the tyranny they impose on us. The rise of this unchecked mercenary force... could presage the final stage in the collapse of American democracy."

Those are harrowing words, I know. But this is not hyperbole -- it's reality. And that's why we need to spread the word that Blackwater has just opened a base of operations inside California. If we don't act soon to push these mercenaries out of California, the nightmare scenarios described above could be realized right before our eyes.

Thank you for taking time to read this message and send it to your friends.

Jeremy Scahill

P.S. If you are interested in reading more about Blackwater, and would like to buy my book, please consider making it a two-for-one action by making a donation to my good friends at the Courage Campaign.

If you contribute at least $50 to the Courage Campaign, I'll sign a copy of "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" and Courage will send it to you as soon as possible:

.............. The Courage Campaign is an online organizing network empowering nearly 100,000 members to make this a new era for progressive politics in California. In 2008, the Courage Campaign will work with grassroots and netroots activists to increase California's importance in the race for the White House, hold our elected officials accountable, and defeat the November initiative that would ban marriage equality.

*   *    *    *    *

BLACKWATER PULLS APPLICATION FOR POTRERO TRAINING CENTER!!!

THE SDCPJ THANKS ALL THOSE WHO HELPED THE PEOPLE OF POTRERO
OPPOSE BLACKWATER PROPOSED EAST COUNTY OPERATION


Click for Article

CLICK HERE FOR SOME PHOTOS
FROM THE PROTEST HELD ON APRIL 5TH, 2007 IN SAN DIEGO
CLICK HERE FOR A NEWS REPORT ON BLACKWATER


Click Here
To Support Our Work


Some resources about Blackwater USA:


Click here to view a page showing the KPBS Full Focus special about Blackwater West

Click here for an excellent website about the Blackwater West Mercenary Camp

Informational flyer about Blackwater with contact information


NPR Audio - Journalist Scahill Charts the Rise of Blackwater USA on NPR's Fresh Air

National news article about Blackwater's local plan - RawStory.com

Blackwater West - What is it?

Blackwater West Project Description
Blackwater West-Impact on Potrero
Blackwater West - Open Letter from Jan Hedlun

Documents regarding the :Blackwater West" project and the scoping meeting can be found at: www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/docs/PR/4-27-07/0620001.html

Jeremy Scahill's Nation Magazine article about Blackwater, "Bush's Shadow Army" and view short video at www.thenation.com/doc/20070402/scahill

San Diego Reader article, Feb. 22, 2007, on "Blackwater West"
www.sdreader.com/php/cityshow.php?id=1566

PEACE RESOURCE CENTER WEBCALENDAR

March 15, 2008

Five Years of War
Look at the Cost
End the Occupation of Iraq
Troops Out Now

PHOTOS FROM THE MARCH 15TH, 2008 MARCH AND RALLY HELD IN CITY HEIGHTS TO COMMEMORATE THE 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR AND OCCUPATION IN IRAQ

(Click on photos to see more photos from Michael Gomel)




DOWNLOAD WINDOW PEACE SIGNS!

PEACE WINDOW SIGNS TO DOWNLOAD!
SHOW YOUR COLORS
MAKE A STATEMENT
COLOR THEM IF YOU LIKE

Here is an example of some of the signs that have been colored in -

Be Creative! Choose either
"Another Family for Peace" or
"Another Home for Peace"

MAKE COPIES AND PASS THEM OUT!
TAKE THEM TO SCHOOL
DECORATE YOUR CAR AND CUBICLE
A GREAT PROJECT FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES!

Strategic Guidelines

Below are the "strategic guidelines" as adopted by the Coalition at the June 19, 2006 meeting

San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice
Strategic Guidelines

The peace movement has experienced remarkable success in shaping public opinion with regard to the war on Iraq. Recent polls substantiate that nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose the war. Unfortunately, public sentiment has not been reflected in public policy. A disempowered Congress, a toothless media, and an unyielding administration bent on "staying the course" necessitate our finding new ways to engage with power. With this in mind, the San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice adopts the following guidelines to be used in the planning and implementation of future SDCPJ activities:

1) SDCPJ will engage in nonviolent activities

2) SDCPJ will engage in anti-war activities of high visibility

3) SDCPJ will engage in activities that increase the political costs of the war

4) SDCPJ will engage in activities that directly impede the administration’s ability to prosecute war

5) SDCPJ will plan and implement activities which reflect a high degree of moral outrage with the continuing occupation of Iraq

6) SDCPJ will carry out activities proportional to the crimes committed in Iraq

7) SDCPJ will engage in activities virtually assured to penetrate media blackout

8) SDCPJ will engage in activities that demand response from elected officials

9) SDCPJ will engage in activities that empower participants and challenge the climate of fear

10) SDCPJ will prioritize outreach to new groups and individuals, and the formation of new alliances

The San Diego Coalition for Peace & Justice welcomes your comments and ideas. Please email your thoughts to info@sdcpj.org

POSTED MONDAY, DECEMBER 20TH

Please see the document below (SDCPJ Statement) for the coalition's statement on NBC's revelation of the Pentagon's spying on counter-recruitment and anti-nuclear organizations.

You can see MSNBC's orginal article, including link to 8-page excerpt from Pentagon's database at:

MSNBC Article

The database itself is a secret 400-page Department of Defense document isting more than 1,500 "suspicious incidents" across the country over a recent 10-month period. The 8-page excerpt lists one San Diego event at the 32nd Street Naval Station. This event was a demonstration during the trial of Pablo Paredes.

CLICK HERE (pdf file): SDCPJ Statement
 

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  • Attend SDCPJ's regular meetings to help plan
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  • Attend vigils, bannerings, teach-ins, and more

Donate online using our secure donations page.

 

THE LATEST EDITION OF THE PEACE & JUSTICE NEWS!
VIEW ONSCREEN OR DOWNLOAD

CLICK HERE TO DISPLAY NEWSLETTER
 

Mondays, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Attend San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice Meetings

First Church of the Brethren, 3850 Westgate Place. Meetings are generally the first and third Monday of each month. If unsure, or for more information, call 619-263-9301 or email info@sdcpj.org.

[map] [directions]

 

OTHER EVENT LISTINGS:

The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice current schedule of speakers and films is available at peace.sandiego.edu.

Progressive events are also listed at Activist San Diego.