SJPD Shuts Down 5 de Mayo
Read an exclusive report by SJ Peace & Justice Center president Sharat Lin at the Indy Bay web site. The report is accompanied by a photo essay showing SJPD in action on May 2 and May 5, 2010. End the Blockade of Gaza
Can We Help Restore Haiti?
HAITI'S STORY of sorrow and tears embodies the promise and hope of our species. Its people have achieved the only successful revolution against slavery in history, to become the first independent black-led republic in Latin America. It is a classic example — in the extreme — of the best and the worst in the history of our existence on the planet: the urge to develop successful, free, creative societies, without controls by private interests, native or foreign, without wars, without colonial domination. Read more...WILPF Donates Books to Grail Family Services The San Jose branch of Women's International League for Peace & Freedom (a community partner of SJPJC) recently donated thirty one new prize-winning children's books to The Grail Family Services children's library. The donated books are past winners and contenders for the Jane Addams Book Award, named in honor of the woman who pioneered community services for immigrants a hundred years ago in Chicago. The Jane Addams Children's Book Awards are given annually to the children's books published the preceding year that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races as well as meeting conventional standards for excellence. For details, see www.janeaddamspeace.org.
Women March in San Jose for International Women's DayMarch, 6, 2010, San Jose, CA Two hundred women and men celebrated the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day with a big march and festival. This history-making event was organized by the South Bay International Womyn's Day Network, a group initiated by Cihuatl Tlatocan-MAIZ, FOCUS-SV, Silicon Valley DEBUG, San Jose Peace and Justice Center, San Jose Code Pink, SJSU WOWI (Womyn on Womyn's Issues), LGBTQ Youth Space, and SOMOS Mayfair. Other endorsers of the march and festival are Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women, Cardea Center for Women, Bay Area Radical Women, Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN), The Seven Trees Leadership Committee, Human Agenda, La Red Xicana/Indigena, YAVE-MAIZ. Two videos showing the enthusiasm and spirit of IWD: From Alianza News by Gerardo Fernandez From Kevin, a supporter of IWD
David Bacon Analyzes Congress' Proposal to Reform Immigration
Senators Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham announced Thursday their plan for immigration reform. Unfortunately, it is a retread, recycling the same bad ideas that led to the defeat of reform efforts over the last five years. In some ways, their proposal is even worse. Schumer and Graham dramatize the lack of new ideas among Washington powerbrokers. Real immigration reform requires a real alternative. We need a different framework that embodies the goals of immigrants and working people, not the olitical calculations of a reluctant Congress. What's wrong with the Schumer/Graham proposal? Read more...Drones, the US War in Pakistan, and What's Missing in the Narrative - A reportback on a talk by Dr. Nosheen Ali, at SJSUby Ramkumar Sridharan, San Jose  On Tuesday Feb 9, around 60 San Jose State University students and members of the community gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in San Jose to hear Dr. Nosheen Ali, a Pakistani sociologist, speak on the war in Pakistan. The talk provided a very different perspective than the normal discourse on the war in the US media, and raised interesting questions. The talk was titled "Droning about Pakistan: The new frontier in the global war", and Ms. Ali drew from her experiences as a researcher and sociologist as well as a progressive peace and justice activist in Pakistan. The event was organized by the Students Association for Middle East Studies at San Jose State University and the Culture and Conflict Forum, a South Bay community organization that organizes events presenting alternative culture and policy perspectives as a means to end injustice.
Read more...
San Jose Loses Two HeroesWe mourn the loss and commemorate the lives of two men who died in San Jose this week: Albert Cobarrubias and Frank Schiavo.
Albert Cobarrubias, 31, a San Jose State grad who had interned at Silicon Valley Debug and was planning to become a lawyer, was shot and killed by a gunman Saturday as he played pool with friends. The Mercury News story is here. "Albert spent his life serving the community,'' said De-Bug Director Raj Jayadev. "Keeping his memory and legacy alive will make us a stronger, more just and compassionate San Jose.' At a fundraising dinner held at Debug Community Center Friday night, Albert's family was presented with a letter from Santa Clara University Law School, which said that Albert would have been accepted into the school.
From San Jose to Gaza (via Cairo)
Supporters of the San José Peace and Justice Center and the Arab American Cultural Center raised the aid - $550 in cash and a renewable ceramic water filter unit with spare parts. Some of the cash was used to purchase LED headlamps for people in the besieged territory that is frequently plunged into darkness by a chronic shortage of fuel needed to generate electricity. SJPJC president Sharat G. Lin, who participated in the Gaza Freedom March, carried the aid from an SJPJC Coordinating Council meeting in San José to the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Cairo, where he was received by Mai Aref and Tarek Arafat (above). Read more...Dr. King Was Not Just a Dreamer Speech delivered at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration, MLK Library, San José, 14 January 2010By Sharat G. Lin It is a great honor for me as a member of the community and representing the San José Peace and Justice Center and its 19 partner organizations to be here today in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. While Dr. King was most well known for his leadership in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement that gave hope to African Americans in the struggle for equality and social justice, it is a pleasure to see here today the great diversity of San José. The struggles for the human rights of Latino immigrants, freedom from racial profiling of Vietnamese Americans, the right to health care for every American, ending war, are all struggles that Dr. Martin Luther King would embrace. Read more...Our Thoughts are With Haiti
March in Cairo against Egyptian blockade
by Sharat G. Lin, Monday, Jan. 4, 2010...On the first anniversary of the Israeli military assault on Gaza, the Gaza Freedom March, trapped in Cairo, marched not only against the Israeli siege on Gaza, but on the Egyptian blockade as well. On New Year's Day 2010, GFM delegates ratified the historic Cairo Declaration, launching a globally-unified boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israeli apartheid. The international delegation of the Gaza Freedom March had originally planned to arrive in Gaza on 29 December 2009 to join a march against the Israeli blockade together with residents of Gaza on 31 December. Instead, most of its delegates remained in Cairo, having been blocked from going to the Rafah border by the Egyptian government, and found itself marching against the Egyptian blockade on Gaza instead. (Story reprinted from IndyBay. More of Sharat's photos and the rest of the article can be seen at the Indybay web site.) Read more...Cairo Declaration: End Israeli Apartheid
We, international delegates meeting in Cairo during the Gaza Freedom March 2009 in collective response to an initiative from the South African delegation, state: In view of:
all of which oppressive acts are based ultimately on the Zionist ideology which underpins Israel; so in the knowledge that our own governments have given Israel direct economic, financial, military and diplomatic support and allowed it to behave with impunity and mindful of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (2007), we reaffirm our commitment to: Read more...South African Poet/Activist Dennis Brutus Dies JOHANNESBURG - South African poet and former political prisoner Dennis Brutus, who fought apartheid in words and deeds and remained an activist well after the fall of his country's racist system, has died. He was 85.Brutus' publisher, Chicago-based Haymarket Books, said the writer died in his sleep at his home in Cape Town on Saturday. He had been battling prostate cancer, according to Patrick Bond, who directs the Center for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, where Brutus was an honorary professor. Brutus was an anti-apartheid activist jailed at Robben Island with Nelson Mandela in the mid-1960s. He helped persuade Olympic officials to ban South Africa from competition from 1964 until apartheid ended nearly 30 years later. In an event organized by South Bay Mobilization, Dennis Brutus read his poetry and met with South Bay peace activists in 2005. US Blackmails the World in CopenhagenNaomi Klein on Secretary of State Clinton's Proposal to Set Up $100 Billion Climate Aid Fund for Developing Countries Tune in to Democracy Now! daily for updates on the Copenhage Summit on Climate Change. Radio: KPFA, 91.7FM at 6 am and 9 am; TV: Comcast cable channel 15 at 8 am (one day delay) Always online: democracynow.org Holiday Peace Fair Raises Funds for Non-profits December 5, 2009...The 27th annual Holiday Peace Fair succeeded in raising funds for local peace and justice non-profits, including the San Jose Peace & Justice Center. The fair featured non-violent toys, books and games, international handcrafts, Fair Trade coffee and cocoa, and politicalT-shirts and buttons. This year's beneficiaries are the Low Income Self Help Center in San Jose and the International Solidarity Movement, which aids people in Gaza. See more photos from the fair here. Iraq War Vets' Contagious Love Experiment by Phil PflagerSaturday, November 7, 2009 A very successful and inspiring event was held at the San Jose Peace and Justice Center when Veterans for Peace (VFP) Chapter 101 and the San Jose Peace and Justice Center hosted two Iraq veterans, Josh Stieber and Conor Curran who have been traveling around the country on foot and bicycle with a message of love and peace. Their project is described on their web site, Contagious Love Experiment.
Read more...
Help Victims of El Salvador Floods Days of heavy rains have left 120 people dead and thousands homeless in El Salvador. A benefit luncheon will be held on November 22 at 12:30 pm at the First Unitarian Church of San Jose, 160 N. Third St. (Check the SJPJC Calendar for more information.) You can also make a donation by writing a check to the San Jose Peace & Justice Center (please remember to put EL SALVADOR in the memo line) and mailing it to us at 48 S. 7th St., San Jose, 95112.Malalai Joya: "End the Occupation"
No Escalation -- Call Congress Now!
Rally on 8th Anniversary of Afghan War & Occupation
In this photo, Betsy Wolfe-Graves presents a letter urging the Congresswoman to sign on to Barbara Lee's legislation, which would prevent more funding for the war. Banner Drop at Fourth St. Garage Friday, September 25...San Jose Code Pink activists, in solidarity with a weekend of actions at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada against the pilotless killer drones, lowered a banner from the Fourth Street Garage that read "War is not a Video Game".Read more for another view of this action. Read more...Cuba Friendship Caravan Visits San Jose
The twentieth Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba successfully returned to the United States on August 3, 2009 with markedly reduced resistance from U.S. Customs authorities in both outbound and inbound border crossings, signalling that the failed U.S. embargo on Cuba is slowing crumbling. Caravanistas and supporters hailed the significance of the Caravan in San Jose. Read more...SJ Loses Long-time Latino Activist
|
What's NewSTORIESNo new stories |
During Cinco de Mayo celebrations, residents of San José faced daytime checkpoints, citations, and arrests on a scale not matched by any other festival of the year. By 10 pm the focus appeared to be diverting cars and mostly-Latino youths from the downtown area, effectively evacuating the city center and shutting down street celebrations on two nights.
The Board of the Peace & Justice Center voted for the following resolution, initiated by our partner group our developing world (odw):
by Elsa Crumpley, published in the Oakland Tribune, March 19, 2010 (Elsa is a long-time supporter of the San Jose Peace & Justice Center.)
Immigration: We Need A Better Alternative by David Bacon (
Frank Schiavo, 70, died suddently of an apparent heart attack on January 26. He was a retired SJSU environmental studies professor whose love for the planet and exemplary life-style influenced thousands of students. Read the Mercury News article about 
The San José Peace and Justice Center delivered over $750 worth of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. But having been blocked by the Egyptian government from entering Gaza, the aid was delivered to the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Cairo for transfer to Gaza. 
In the wake of the huge earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, there are many organizations seeking to provide relief. Please donate what you can. One suggestion:
January 1, 2010... 
The San Jose Mercury News published on Nov. 10 a strong opinion piece by former member of the Afghan parliament Malalai Joya, who spoke recently at San Jose State (sponsored by Culture and Conflict Forum and the Peace & Justice Center). Read her piece, titled 
President Obama is weighing a decision on General McChrystal’s request to escalate militarily in Afghanistan by sending 40,000 more troops. Some Members of Congress have spoken out, but more have not. Some are saying that they want to wait and see what the President announces. But now is the time to have influence on the President’s decision, not afterwards when it is a done deal. That’s why we need Members of Congress to take a stand against escalation now.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009..."Zoe -- just say no! No more deaths, no more dollars, stop funding war!" This was the message of activists who turned out on the 8th anniversary of the war and occupation in Afghanistan to urge Congressional Representative Zoe Lofgren to increase her opposition to the war.
by Sharat G. Lin 
