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Contents:
Peace Calendar
Action and Information
How to Contact Your Representatives
Ongoing Peace Activities
Regular Meetings
Radio and TV
Other Activities
Ways to be Helpful to the Peace Community
Contact Information and Disclaimer
The
events and actions listed here are not necessarily endorsed by
the Peace Coalition nor by any of the Coalition organizations
other than the author of the listed item. They are provided as a
community service. The Peace Coalition and most of
the constituent organizations do not endorse political parties
nor candidates for office.
Please consider
the environment before printing this calendar.
Suggestion: DO NOT PRINT THE WHOLE DOCUMENT. IT
WILL WASTE PAPER AND TREES. Instead open a new Word
document (or a document in whatever word-processing program you
use), highlight only the portions of this Calendar that interest
you, copy and paste them into the new Word document. Format the
document with narrow margins, choose the size type you want,
delete anything that seems extraneous and then print that much
shortened version--or don’t print it at all. Just read it on
your computer monitor.
New items in blue. Distant places in green.
PEACE
CALENDAR –
MAY 13, 2008
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Though it seems that among the people of the
world, relatively few want or enjoy wars, and very many suffer
in many ways during wars, man persists in this senseless
behavior century after century.
. . . Brock Chisholm, first director-general of the
World Health Organization
˙
[back to top]
A Farewell to Ric Masten
Ric Masten retrospective:
on AMP Channel 24: Wednesday, 3 am and 9 am; Saturday 4 pm;
Sunday 4 am and 10 am. and 9 pm. The program includes video
from 2000,2002,2004,2005, 2006, 2008. played chronologically.
www.ampmedia .org . . . Hebard
Is your voter registration up to date? Register and Vote!
The voter registration deadline for the June 3 election is
May 19.
…Credo
Wednesday, May 14, 6:30 pm,
Fidel: The Untold Story,
a documentary about Fidel Castro, will be screened at the
Monterey Public Library. Open to the public; no admission
charge. Doors open at 6.
This is an engrossing documentary with a
historical overview, including US involvement, that few
Americans are aware of. The audience in Carmel for the screening
last month was fascinated, and Sandee Scott had phone calls
asking when it will be shown again. This event is a fund-raiser
for the Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba with humanitarian
supplies in July. Members of the Monterey-Cuba Friendship
Coalition will be on hand to answer questions about the Caravan.
Fidel
offers a unique opportunity to view the man through exclusive
interviews with Castro himself, historians, public figures, and
close friends, with footage from the Cuban State archives.
Alice Walker, Harry Belafonte, and Sydney Pollack
discuss the personality of the man. Former and current US
government figures including Arthur Schlesinger, Ramsey Clark,
Wayne Smith, Congressman Charles Rangel and a former CIA agent
offer political and historical perspectives on Castro and the
long standing US embargo against Cuba. Family members and close
friends, including Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia
Marquez, offer a window into the personal life of Fidel. We see
him swimming with bodyguards, visiting his childhood home and
school, joking with Nelson Mandela, Ted Turner and Muhammad Ali,
meeting with Elian Gonzales, and celebrating his birthday with
members of the Buena Vista Social Club. Fidel tells a previously
untold story and presents a new view of this powerful and
compelling figure.
The New Direction Film Series
is a project of the Monterey Peace and Justice
Center. This showing is Co-Sponsored by the Monterey-Cuba
Friendship Coalition. Information: 238-6675 or 277-0949.
Wednesday, May 14, 6:30 – 8:30 pm,
COPA (Communities Organized for Relational Power in
Action) is conducting a Monterey County Supervisor candidate
forum at Cypress Church on Highway 68. The forum will be the
community's chance to ask candidates their views on the
non-partisan issues of health, safety, economics, and affordable
housing. COPA is looking for a large turnout at this event, to
convince candidates that these issues are, indeed, ones that
matter to their constituency. Please attend and carpool with
others .
Wednesday, May 14, 6:30 pm, CANDIDATES FORUM FOR LOCAL
CANDIDATES
Organized by NAACP and LULAC, LECTURE FORUM 3,
MPC COLLEGE, Fremont Boulevard, Monterey. Attend the Forum.
Share your concerns. Ask Questions. Make a right choice. The
FORUM will feature local candidates running for Assembly
District 27, Supervisorial District 4, Judges and County Central
Committee.
Everyone is welcomed....
Political Action Committee, NAACP, Monterey Branch
www.kathrina.us <http://www.kathrina.us/>
Santa Cruz Film Festival through May 17. Go to http://www.santacruzfilmfestival.com/
for details.
Thursday, May 15, 12:30 pm,
Victoria Rowell, author, actress and foster care
advocate, will be discussing and signing her memoir The
Women Who Raised Me at Borders , 2080 California Ave.,
Sand City. 831-899-6643
Book Description: The story of a remarkable woman's rise out of
the foster-care system to attain the American dream—and of the
unlikely series of women who lifted her up in marvelous and
distinctive ways. Born as a ward of the state of Maine—the child
of an unmarried Yankee blueblood mother and an unknown black
father—Victoria Rowell beat the odds. The Women Who Raised Me
is a story that belongs to each of us as it shines a glowing
light on the transformational power of mentoring, love, art, and
womanhood.
VICTORIA ROWELL: A versatile actress of theatre, primetime,
daytime and feature films, Victoria Rowell is known around the
world for her various roles. She is an icon in daytime
television as the feisty Drucilla Winters on CBS's highly-rated
daytime series, "The Young and the Restless." She has been
nominated twice for a Daytime Emmy and awarded 11 NAACP Image
Awards. " She also co-starred in the CBS hit primetime
television series "Diagnosis Murder" with Dick Van Dyke for
eight seasons while simultaneously continuing her role on the
"Young and the Restless." Now, Rowell can add best-selling
author to her credits.
Sound Out! sings for peace and unity in our
world.
We sing at local
events, gatherings, protest marches or churches—wherever the
power of
music will uplift the human spirit. Everyone is welcome at our
lively
practices! No experience necessary—we all learn together. We
create a
place for every voice to be heard, and where we can bank the
embers of
hope for our beautiful world.
Information: 392-6330 (24-hr message line)
Practices: Thursdays at
6:30 pm.
St. James Episcopal Church,
corner of
High and Hellam (one block from Franklin) in Monterey. Please
Join Us!
Friday, May 16, 6:30 pm, What is life like for
Muslim Americans since 9-11?
Minds on Fire,
a video series of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the
Monterey Peninsula, presents a series of short videos from
LinkTV's US Muslim Film Contest that help answer this question.
Follow a hip young woman as she tries to find a discreet place
to pray. Visit the garage of a talented artist. Find out why one
young woman finds the Quran's requirement of modesty liberating.
Learn about the arrest and detention without change of a Muslim
American. Hear what day-to-day life is like. And then comes
lively dialog featuring you. The Unitarian Universalist Church
is at 490 Aguajito Rd. in north Carmel. We're at the
intersection of Highway 1, Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove. Just
look for the solar panels. Information: Jolinda Stephens, Acting
Director for Lifespan Religious Programming,
jolindast@gmail.com
Friday, May 16,
6:30 pm, Third Friday Free in Watsonville The
Farmworkers Journey with Dr. Ann Aurelia Lopez,
local author and teacher presenting a slide show and book
signing (English with Spanish translation)
Dr. Ann Lopez tells of the dark side of
the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its impact
on farmers from West
Central Mexico. She also talks about the struggles women migrant
farmworkers face in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties and how
current trade policies often force Mexican farmworkers to
migrate into California's corporate agricultural fields. And
she'll tell you how to help!
United Presbyterian Church, 112 East Beach Street, Watsonville
(parking in the church lot, in back of the
Watsonville Cabrillo lot)
All Free, All Welcome!
6:30 Mexican dinner
(bring a drink or dessert to share if you wish)
7:00 Poetry and song by Bob Gomez,
local activist, teacher, musician and poet
7:20 Slide presentation by Dr. Ann Lopez
with time for questions.
Presented by
Pajaro Valley Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
Co-sponsors: Alma Gifts and Culture, Agriculture and Land-based
Training Association (ALBA), Santa Cruz County Immigration
Project (SKIP),
Watsonville/Aptos Adult School
Info: Jean Piraino 724-3846 or Barbara Hayes barbara@greybird.com
More information about Dr. Ann Lopez and her organization at
www.farmworkerfamily.org/origins.html
Saturday, May 17,
10 am – 4 pm, Non-Violent
Direct Action Workshop with Jessica Bell.
Jessica is an organizer with the California Food and Justice
Coalition, Bay Rising and Direct Action to Stop the War.
Who should attend:
-
Anyone who
knows they want to participate in civil disobedience or are
willing to support others as they participate.
-
Anyone who is
considering civil disobedience or would like to know more
about civil disobedience as practiced by Gandhi and Martin
Luther King.
-
Anyone who
participates in vigils/demonstrations and would like to learn
what to do if confronted bylaw enforcement
In this interactive, dynamic and fun workshop, you will develop
the theoretical and practical skills you need to determine when
and how to engage in non-violent direct action to achieve your
goals of social change. Specific topics that we will cover
include: types of direct action, best practice principles of
direct actions, strategic planning so you can determine when
direct action should be used, preparing for an action, action
roles and dealing with conflict during the action. Participants
will also practice designing and role-playing actions.
Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula
490 Aguajito Road, Carmel
Suggested donation: $10.00. No one will be turned away. Bring a
brown bag lunch. Sponsored by the Women’s International
League for Peace and Freedom. Contact: Sue Hubbard
831-444-8645 or shubbard@redshift.com
Saturday, May 17 & Sunday, May 18, AMP RADIO:
Jane Parker
discusses the finer points of differences between her and her
opponent for 35 minutes.. Jane Parker to be interviewed by Ed
Mitchel Sat 3 pm and 9 pm, Sun 3 am and 9 am
. . . Hebard
Sunday, May 18, 7:30 pm, Benefit
Concert for Children in
Iraq:
A Tribute to Duke Ellington
at
Monterey Live,
414 Alvarado St., Monterey. Proceeds will be donated to UNICEF
(the United Nations Children's Fund) to provide humanitarian aid
to children in Iraq. Eleven of the Central Coast's top
musicians perform the music of the legendary American composer
Duke Ellington. Scheduled performers include:
Drums: Andy Weis
Bass: Heath Proskin
Sax: Roger Eddy, Paul Tarantino
Flute: Kenny Stahl
Vocal: Adama Abe, Kotomi Abe
Piano: Phillip Crawford, Eric Shifrin, Dick Whittington
Guitar: Gino Raugi
Tickets are $20 in advance at www.montereylive.com
For more information, contact: Phillip Crawford at 415-902-2392
or Monterey Live: 831-375-LIVE (5483)
Monday, May 19, 6:30 pm,
The Power of Community.
Join Sustainable Seaside for the second in a film series.
Oldemeyer Center,
Hilby Avenue, Seaside. (Turn off Fremont at Wendy’s). This film,
awarded both New Zealand and international prizes, documents the
creativity of the Cuban people as they struggled with a sudden
astronomical increase in oil and food prices following the fall
of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Here is how one country has
faced severe shortages and successfully adapted by changing
their way of life. See how Cuba survived Peak Oil and why there
is still hope for our future. The screening will be followed by
a discussion led by Denyse Frischmuth and Mark Folsom
of Citizens for a Sustainable Monterey County . For more
information, call Kay at 899-7934.
SANTA CRUZ
Tuesday, May 20, 7:00 p.m., Santa Cruz WILPF General Meeting,
Friends' Meeting House, 225 Rooney Street, Santa Cruz.
Nuclear weapons, nuclear power, nuclear waste – how should we
deal with these deadly problems? What about the risk of
terrorist attack on nuclear facilities, and the proliferation
issues that arise from the intersection of nuclear power and
nuclear weapons?
Dan Hirsch, Lecturer in Sociology at College 8, UCSC,
will bring us his extensive knowledge of the current status of
nuclear weapons, power, and waste Admission free, donations
always welcomed. Contact 457 6797 for more information. To see
Professor Hirsch in action, check out
http://www.committeetobridgethegap.org.
May 22-25
in
Radford, Virginia.
Building a New World: Radical Visions with Cindy
Sheehan, William Blum, David Swanson, Mike Whitney, Alice
Lovelace, Michael Parenti, Robert Jensen, and more ...
First
Summit of the World Prout Assembly
In
2008 many of us understand that our nation and our planet are in
a state of crisis. The deep longing for positive, lasting change
is the bedrock upon which this conference is based. How do we
fix our country and our world? And how can we form one mass
movement to address the crisis?
Thousands of activists, academics, journalists, poets, musicians
and policy-makers will converge at the 2008 "Building a New
World" Conference. If you want to participate in building a new
world, sign up now. Hotel and dorm rooms are limited.
Learn more at
http://www.wpaconference.org/
Registration is $110.00, Dorm rooms from $26.00 - $36.00
Optional buffet meal tickets are $23.00 per day.
Find out more and register now at www.wpaconference.org.
APTOS
Friday, May 23, 7:30 pm
Free showing of the film
Earthlings
at Cabrillo College. Sponsored by the Sustainability Club at the
Student Activity Center - East room 225; SAC-East is one of the
new buildings on Soquel Avenue. 
 Parking is best along
Soquel Avenue. EARTHLINGS is an
award-winning documentary about humanity's absolute economic
dependence on animals raised for pets, food, clothing,
entertainment, and scientific research. It contains
never-before-seen footage that's graphic, but important because
it reveals truths that few are aware of. For information about
the film, visit the official site at ISawEarthlings.com where
you can read review
Sunday, May 25 - D R A W T H E L I N E ! S T O P T H E
S P R A Y I N M O N T E R E Y.
B E N E F I T C O N C E R T & S I L E N T A U C T I O
N, Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado, Monterey
You are invited to a great event,
the
spirit of which is to stop the spray in Monterey for all
of California!
Featured artists include ….
Rushad Eggleston,
Grammy Nominee for Fiddler's 4 CD in 2003
Alisa Fineman & Kimball Hurd, "The best of the next
generation of singer-songwriters"
Superior Olive, "The hottest band in Santa Cruz"
Red Beans and Rice, Voted "Best local band on the
Monterey Peninsula in 2008"
Nico Georis. Longtime local favorite pianist
MC: “Chicago Steve” Barkley, Veteran comedy
headliner
Speakers
Bill Monning,
Monterey Pesticide Coalition Co-Founder and Attorney
Tony Madrigal, Santa Cruz City Council
The reason behind the benefit...
The California Dept of Food & Agriculture aerially sprayed
pesticides over Monterey and Santa Cruz counties in the fall 07.
Over 640 people reported adverse health effects from it. The
CDFA currently plans to resume aerial spraying of a new chemical
concoction every 30-90 days, 9 out of 12 months, for the next
2-10 years. Aerial applications may begin as soon as August 17,
2008 in (or when the EIR is completed as ordered by Judge
Burdick in Santa Cruz and yesterday by Judge O’Farrell in
Monterey) and expand north affecting 7 more counties and more
than 3 million Californians. Concerned citizens are pushing for
safer alternatives and for rigorous studies of short- and
long-term health impacts before spraying. The pesticide
treatments have been unsafe, ineffective and unneeded.
Show your support. Buy tickets. Attend this great concert on
May 25th.
For tickets, go to www.goldenstatetheatre.com.
For additional information, call (831) 402 8754 or eaglesorhi@aol.com.
SANTA CRUZ
Friday, May 30 8:00 pm
Free showing of the film Earthlings at Om Room
School of Yoga. The Om Room is at 300 Natural Bridges Dr on the
west side of Santa Cruz. (See May 23 for description).
SANTA CRUZ
Saturday, May 31, 2 pm and 8 pm. The
Story of Rachel Corrie: A Death in Rafah,
A
dramatic reading about Rachel Corrie, a young woman of peace
whose courage and sense of justice led to her death in the Gaza
Strip. A contemplative drama based on her correspondence with
family and fellow solidarity workers. Directed by Brian Heath,
with April Bennett as Rachel, Suzanne Schrag as her mother,
Nabil Ghachen as an Israeli soldier, and Marc Nicholson as her
co-worker. Actors' Theatre, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz
Tickets - $15 - $20; call Roz at 459-8079, or for
information, call Judy at 427-0980. Tickets also available at
East Cliff Video (17th and Portola), Cedar St. Video (Cedar &
Cathcart), or Video 9 – 12250 Hwy 9, Boulder Creek.
Presented by the Women’s International
League for Peace and Freedom,
Santa Cruz Branch.
Third in our series of dramas In
Celebration of Courageous Women.
Sunday, June 1, 12:30 – 1:30, First Sunday PEACE VIGIL in
MONTEREY sponsored by Women’s International League for Peace and
Freedom, Monterey County Branch. The
Vigil is moving back to Four Corners in June (Soledad and Munras,
near the ramp to the Highway One Freeway – near the Del Monte
Shopping Center).
All
peace-supporters welcome. Bring your own signs.
Sunday, June 8, 10 am and all day,
PAINT THE BUS!
The Monterey Cuba Friendship Coalition invites you to a day of
work and to unleash your artistic talents. Local caravanistas
are still collecting medical aid to fill the bus before they
join with the Pastors for Peace and their 19th Caravan to Cuba
delivering medical aid to the people of Cuba through a network
of their churches. Then the bus itself will be donated in Cuba
to the new Hip Hop Center in Havana. This year's caravan will
also be including Hip Hop Artists and Musicians from throughout
California and the United States who will join with their
sisters and brothers in Cuba for cultural exchanges and
performances of their medium.
Contact Chea for directions to
Aromas where the painting party will take place.
cheaberra@hotmail.com We will be joined by the Santa Cruz
Cuba Study Group, the Watsonville Brown Berets, Artistas Unidos
from Salinas and South County, and folks like you.... all levels
of talent or not are encouraged to join in the painting. If
you'd like to be involved in the design work, contact Janet.
moptop@redshift.com 643-2705 Also save June 22nd 1-3 for a
Caravan Departure Party! Details coming soon to a newsletter
near you!
Sunday, June 15,
3 – 5 pm,
The
Relevance of Nuremberg to Bush Policies.
The Honorable
Albert H. Maldonado
will speak on one of his favorite topics:
The Bush Administration’s Interrogation
Procedures on the battlefield and in prisons—a conflict with the
Geneva Conventions, United Nations Charter, and Nuremberg
Trials—an intercession by the United States Supreme Court.
Judge Maldonado believes that judgment at Nuremberg in 1947 is
highly relevant to American policy on torture, Geneva
Convention, and International Law. The talk will take place at
the bi-monthly Community Meeting of the Peace Coalition of
Monterey County at the Unitarian Universalist Church
of the Monterey Peninsula,
490 Aguajito, Carmel. The meeting is free and open to the
public.
Judge Albert Maldonado served in the
US
Army, and saw duty in Vietnam, for which he was awarded the
Bronze Star. He earned his BA in Government at the University of
Redlands, California, and his law degree from UC Berkeley Boalt
Hall School of Law. Licensed to practice in California, in the
Central and Northern Districts of the US Federal Courts in
California, in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and in the
United States Supreme Court, he served as an attorney for 20
years. Since 1995 he has been a Judge of the Municipal and
Superior Court for Monterey County. Judge Maldonado has been
married to his wife, Gayle, for 38 years. They have three
daughters and three grandsons.
ACTION AND INFORMATION
FOR
JUNE 3, 2008
INSIDE CA BALLOT PROPOSITIONS
by George Riley,
georgeriley@hotmail.com
IMPORTANT ISSUE-----EASY CHOICE
NO
ON 98, YES ON 99
Eminent domain law allows government to take private
property for public benefit with just compensation. In
2005, the US Supreme Court ruled that government could use
eminent domain to take a person’s home and give it to a
private developer for a larger scale development that has
some public benefit (the infamous KELO decision). The rub
here is that such a taking becomes part of the profit
calculation for private development, and is viewed by many
as a gift of public funds, which is forbidden. More than 40
states have reformed their laws to protect homeowners, but
not CA. These two Props go at it:
NO on Prop 98. This is sponsored by realtors,
mobile home park owners, apartment owners and property
rights advocates. It addresses the home owner, but goes way
beyond KELO. P98 redefines rent control as a taking,
elevates the rights of property owners in all eminent domain
proceedings, expands owners rights to terminate rent control
and mobile home rentals, and prevents government from some
takings altogether, like acquiring a water service.
P98 goes way too far, and serves the profiteering interests
of selected property owners, all to the detriment of
low-income families and renters. It also escalates the cost
of eminent domain, which will restrict its use by
governments. It is a power grab using the opportunity
presented by the questionable KELO decision.
YES on Prop 99. This directly reforms the law
to protect homeowners from the abuse that the KELO decision
offers. It is straightforward and simple. It is supported
by cities and counties, AARP and League of Women Voters, and
a wide range of chambers of commerce and conservation
interests.
George Riley speaks for himself.
The Peace Coalition of
Monterey County has not taken a position on
the ballot measures. Riley is a former chair of the Peace
Coalition and has shared his analysis of ballot measures
with us over the years.
˙
[back to top]
HOW TO REACH YOUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Suggestion: Highlight this list, copy it, paste it into
another document and print it for future reference!
IT WILL NOT ALWAYS BE PRINTED IN THE CALENDAR
Last Updated: 09/04/2007
10:05:23 AM PDT
Senate Majority Leader Reid
528 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
Or 202-224-3542
Fax 202-224-7327
775-687-5750 (Reno)
reid@senate.gov/contact
California Legislature
State Senate
Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-San Luis Obispo
15th District, Chair Agriculture Committee
590 Calle Principal, Monterey, CA 93940
Fax: 831-657-6320
Phone: 831-657-6315
Web site:
republican.sen.ca.gov/web/15/
E-mail:
senator.maldonado@sen.ca.gov
Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced
Salinas office: 369 Main St., No. 208
Salinas CA 93901
769-8040
Web site:
republican.sen.ca.gov/web/12/
E-mail:
senator.denham@sen.ca.gov
State Assembly
Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz
27th District
Monterey office: 99 Pacific St., Ste. 555D, Monterey, CA 93940
649-2832
Web site:
democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a27/
E-mail:
Assemblymember.Laird@assembly.ca.gov
Assemblyman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas
28th District
Salinas: 100 W. Alisal St., Suite 134, Salinas, CA 93901
759-8676 Fax: 759-2961
Web site:
democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a28/
E-mail:
Assemblymember.Caballero@assembly.ca.gov
Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building, Sacramento CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2841
FAX: (916) 445-4633
Web site:
www.governor.ca.gov
E-Mail:
www.govmail.ca.com
Congress
U.S. House
Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel
17th District
Washington: 1221 Longworth House Office Building, Washington
D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2861
Salinas: 100 W. Alisal St., Salinas 93901
Phone: 424-2229 or (800) 340-FARR
Web site:
www.house.gov/farr/
E-mail:
samfarr@mail.house.gov
U.S. Senate
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D
Washington: 112 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.
20510
Phone: (202) 224-3553
San Francisco: 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA
94111
Phone: (415) 403-0100
E-mail: Use e-mail form listed on the website
www.boxer.senate.gov
Web site:
www.boxer.senate.gov
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D
Washington: 331 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington D.C.,
20510
Phone: (202) 224-3841
San Francisco: One Post St., Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 393-0707
E-mail: Use e-mail form listed on the website
www.feinstein.senate.gov
Web site:
www.feinstein.senate.gov
President
George W. Bush
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Phone: (202) 456-1111
Fax: (202) 456-2461
E-mail:
president@whitehouse.gov
This list of addresses for elected
officials has been compiled by The Herald staff
with the
assistance of city hall employees and the office holders.
If
additions or corrections are needed,
please send them to
Clark
Coleman at
clcoleman@montereyherald.com,
AND to Peace Calendar Editor at jvan@mbay.net
AND the webmaster of this site at
salistas11@hotmail.com
tp://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-onestate8-2008may08,0,3112598.story?page=3
For some Palestinians,
one state with
Israel is better than none
From the Los Angeles Times
Frustrated by years of failed
peace talks for a two-state solution, some are giving up
hope of independence and pushing the idea of a single
democratic state with equal rights for all.
By Richard Boudreaux and Ashraf Khalil, Los
Angeles Times Staff Writers, May
8, 2008
JERUSALEM — Frustrated by years of on-and-off peace talks
with Israel, Palestinians are
losing hope for an independent homeland, and some are
proposing a radically different cause: a shared state with
equal rights for Palestinians and Jews.
A "two-state solution" has been the basis for
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations for nearly 15 years and
remains the declared aim of both groups' highest elected
leaders and the Bush administration. But its advocates are
increasingly on the defensive, and not just against
militant Islamists and Jewish settlers who have long
opposed partitioning the land.
Majorities on both sides dismiss the current U.S.-backed
peace talks as futile. And a small but growing number of
moderate Palestinians contend that Israel's terms for
independence offer less than they could gain in a single
democratic state combining
Israel, the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
As a result, the 60th anniversary this month of Israel's
birth is a time of insecurity and flux. Conventional
wisdom about the long-standing formula for peace is being
turned on its head.
No Israeli leader accepts the idea of sharing power with
Palestinians; nor has such a plan been offered to the
Israeli government. But a collapse of the two-state effort
would leave Israel in de facto control of a region
where by the next generation, Jews probably will be a
minority.
That scenario inspires Hazem Kawasmi, who recently gave up
on the two-state ideal and runs brainstorming workshops in
the West Bank on single-state proposals.
Sooner or later, the former Palestinian Authority official
predicts, the growing burden of occupation and threat of
Islamic extremism will make Israelis receptive to the idea
of a bi-national system that protects the rights of Jews.
"Israel
cannot be a dominating power forever," Kawasmi, 43, said
between puffs on a water pipe in a cafe in Ramallah, the
West Bank's
administrative center. "Time is on our side."
Israel
captured the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East
War, but efforts to incorporate the territories by
encouraging massive Jewish settlements fell short. It took
a generation after the war for Israeli and secular
Palestinian leaders to recognize each other and start
discussing statehood for the occupied territories.
The Palestinians' rethinking of that goal has been
influenced by Hamas' ascendancy. Its rise has unnerved
moderate Palestinians who don't want to be ruled by the
militant Islamic group and made many in Israel, which
Hamas refuses to formally recognize, more averse to a
two-state accord.
The near-daily rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza
have turned Israel's defense minister into a powerful
critic of a peace process he once led.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, struggling to
propel peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian
Authority led by the secular Fatah movement, warned last
week that the lack of progress was causing younger
Palestinians to give up on the goal of an independent
state.
"Increasingly, the Palestinians who talk about a two-state
solution are my age," said Rice, who is 53.
The
U.S. revived
the peace talks in November with the aim of an accord by
the end of President Bush's term, but disillusionment set
in quickly. Hebrew University <http://www.huji.ac.il/huji/eng/>
and the Palestine Center for Policy and Survey Research
<http://www.pcpsr.org/>
"The number of people who believe in two states for two
peoples is decreasing, and that worries me," said Yasser
Abed-Rabbo, a Palestinian official involved in the talks.
"And I'm talking about a circle of rational intellectuals,
people with an open mind. On the street, the two-state
idea has become a joke."
Fatah's leadership has begun a quiet, informal debate of
its options if talks for an independent state fail.
The emergence of one-state proposals, said Kadura Fares, a
member of Fatah's revolutionary council, are "a sign that
the current strategy has been exhausted and it's time to
rethink all our goals."
Ali Jarbawi, an independent
West Bank
political scientist who advises the Palestinian
leadership, has urged Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas to resign and abolish the government, which
would oblige
Israel to take
direct responsibility for managing the
West Bank and
Gaza and paying public employees.
"I would say, 'Be my guest. Continue your occupation. But
we're going to declare this is all one state and ask for
equal rights. Are you going to be able to keep us under
control for another 40 years?' " Jarbawi said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert cited just such a
scenario last year to make the case for shedding the
territories quickly, while the Palestinians still have
leaders who want their own state.
Israel, he
warned, faces a demographic threat. There are 5.7 million
Jews and 1.4 million Arab citizens in
Israel and its
West Bank settlements, according to
Israel's
Central Bureau of Statistics; the bureau's Palestinian
counterpart tallies nearly 3.8 million Palestinians in the
West Bank and
Gaza.
By 2025, Israeli demographer Sergio Della Pergola
predicts, Jews will make up no more than 46% of the people
living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea,
an area slightly smaller than
Maryland.
Rid of the territories, Olmert told reporters in November,
Israel would have a sustainable Jewish majority within its
borders, enabling it to preserve its Jewish character
within a democracy.
"If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses
and we face a South African-style struggle for equal
voting rights, the state of Israel is finished," he said.
But resistance to a two-state accord has risen not only
from right-wing allies of Olmert who support continued
Jewish settlement in the West Bank but also from Ehud
Barak, who leads the dovish Labor Party.
As prime minister in 2000, Barak made Israel's first
concrete offer of a Palestinian state. (Yasser Arafat
rejected his terms.) Now defense minister, Barak has
privately dismissed the current talks as "a fantasy."
Until
Israel
upgrades its missile defenses, which could take several
years, Barak says, he favors keeping troops in the
West Bank and continuing frequent
incursions into Gaza. Israel
withdrew its army bases and civilian settlements from Gaza
in 2005.
Many Palestinians take Barak's shift as a sign that
independence is unattainable.
Kawasmi, the former Palestinian Authority official, said
his moment of disenchantment came last year in June during
an encounter with Israeli peace activists at an unofficial
Middle East
forum in Italy.
The
Jerusalem native had been campaigning 15
years for an independent Palestinian state. The dream had
brought him home from studies in England
in 1994 to help the newly created Palestinian Authority
set up a ministry of economy.
But the Israeli peaceniks dismissed two cherished
Palestinian aspirations. Like Olmert's government, they
wanted to avoid talk of giving Palestinian refugees and
their families the right of return to homes in Israel that
they fled in 1948 or of sharing
Jerusalem as
capital of both Israel and a Palestinian state.
At that moment, Kawasmi said, he realized "there is zero
chance" for a two-state solution. He didn't sleep well for
months. Then he embraced the single-state option, which
had been debated for several years among Palestinians
living abroad, and set out to create a buzz for it in the
territories.
Several dozen intellectuals and activists are engaged in
the debate, in books, newspaper articles, seminars and
discussions on such websites as Electronic Intifada. <http://electronicintifada.net/>
Some call for a power-sharing government, others for a
federation with separate administrations for Palestinians
and Jews.
Sari Nusseibeh, president of Al Quds University in
Jerusalem, suggests that many
Palestinians would feel more at home in a democracy shared
with Israelis than in a Palestinian state run by Hamas.
A bi-national system, Nusseibeh said, would "need to come
about by consent and not by force; it will need a complete
new strategy and thinking."
Perhaps after decades of fruitless bloodshed, he said, "we
might find ourselves having no option but to coexist
within one state."
A single state, other proponents say, would resolve
disputes that have long bedeviled peace talks. Jews could
keep their settlements, the thinking goes, but
Palestinians, now restricted to a disproportionately small
area, could live and travel anywhere the country. So could
returning Palestinian refugees.
Most Israelis dismiss single-state proposals as recipes
for dystopia or tactics in a Hamas-guided scheme to
overrun the Jews and impose Islamic rule.
"Such an idea of one country with two peoples, it will
never happen," said Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, the
infrastructure minister. "Bloodshed will happen. The Arabs
will not accept us. We will not accept them."
But Palestinians who favor the idea say they would have no
problem living with Jews as equals. If Jews were to give
up their superior status and allow Palestinians the right
to vote and move about the country, they say, Islamic
extremists would lose their appeal.
"I'm envisioning a state where Jewish, Muslim and
Christian communities live equally with full rights,"
Kawasmi said. If Israelis cannot accept that, "it's up to
them to face an Islamic power that will not accept them."
It might be months or years, he acknowledges, before
Palestinian leaders embrace the single-state vision and
another generation before Israelis take it seriously. He
plans to spend the year hammering out a detailed proposal
and getting it launched by a political party, even if he
has to start one himself.
Israelis, meanwhile, are weighing the choices that will
shape the country's seventh decade if the two-state talks
fail: Israel could declare that the wall it has built
along the length of the West Bank is now a border and
retreat behind it, unilaterally defining an Israel with a
Jewish majority but exposing itself to rocket fire. Or it
could try to prevent the attacks by occupying the
territory more thoroughly, and re-occupying Gaza, with the
risks of long-term fatigue and international condemnation.
Either option could mean years of conflict, an outlook
that weighs on Israel as it celebrates 60 years of
national rebirth and achievement.
Meron Benvenisti, a historian and former deputy mayor of
Jerusalem, is one of the few prominent Israelis who see a
way out by sharing a state with the Palestinians.
He has proposed that Israeli Jews start debating the shape
of such a state. They could best protect Israel's gains
and the haven of a Jewish homeland, he suggests, by opting
for a federal system with autonomous administrations for
Jews and Palestinians.
"Israelis and Palestinians are sinking together into the
mud of 'one state,' " he writes. "We need a model that
fits this reality. . . . The question is no longer whether
it will be bi-national, but which model to choose."
reported that three-fourths of the Palestinians and just
over half the Israelis they polled in March said the talks
serve no purpose and should be halted. Other polls show
that at least one-fourth of Palestinians favor a single
state.
boudreaux@latimes.com <mailto:boudreaux@latimes.com>
ashraf.khalil@latimes.com <mailto:ashraf.khalil@latimes.com>
Batsheva Sobelman of The Times' Jerusalem Bureau
contributed to this report.
HOTEL WORKERS’
UNION HONORS MEMBERS OF THE YEAR
Jing Wright, a longtime
Seaside
resident and Filipino immigrant, and John Aliotti, a
Monterey father of four, have been chosen by UNITEHERE!
Local 483 as its members of the Year. Ms. Wright and Mr.
Aliotti were honored at the Monterey Bay Central Labor
Council’s (MBCLC) annual awards dinner on May 2 at the
Hyatt Regency for their work helping to better the lives
of working people and their families in this community.
Virgilia “Jing” Wright, a housekeeper at the Hyatt
Regency Monterey for 14 years, has been an active
participant in her union, volunteering time to improve
conditions at the workplace and standing up for all
working people. She is a Local 483 shop steward at the
Hyatt, serves on the Union Steering Committee, and just
completed a term on the Executive Board. Ms. Wright was
also honored as the winner of the MBCLC’s Irene Agosta
Award for outstanding achievement in rights for union
women. “We’re proud of Jing’s years of hard work defending
working women and very happy she’s been honored by both
the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council and Local 483,”
says UNITEHERE Local 483 Secretary-Treasurer, Leonard
O’Neill.
John Aliotti, a 10-year bellman at the Lodge at
Pebble Beach, is a respected baseball coach in the
community and a trusted friend to his coworkers in the
union. He is a chief shop steward at the Lodge, as well as
a Local 483 Steering Committee and Executive Board member.
Mr. Aliotti’s four boys are part of a strong union family,
as John’s spouse, Toni Aliotti, is a UFCW Local 5 member
of the grocery workers’ union, and his father was in the
fisherman’s union. “John is one of those rare people who
people turn to when they really need someone they can
count on. He is an inspiration to those not only at the
Pebble Beach Lodge but all over the Monterey Bay area,”
comments the top executive of the 1,600-member union,
Leonard O’Neill.
Ms. Wright and Mr. Aliotti will
be honored before their membership at Local 483 meetings
on Wednesday, May 28 at both 11 a.m.
and 5 p.m. at Seaside’s
Oldemeyer Center.
Registration is now open for the Jane Addams Peace Camp
to be held from August 4 - 8 at Orchard School
in Aptos.
This is a one-week day camp where, through games, crafts,
music, and drama, children learn about community building,
peace keeping skills, and care for the environment. For
girls and boys entering grades 1-6 and youth leaders ages
12 - 17.
The Jane Addams Peace Camp has been in operation for 9
years here in Santa Cruz and is part of a peace camp
movement around the world. It will be held at the
beautiful rural Orchard School in Aptos.
Campers will spend part of their day in small groups by
age, part of the day self-selecting from a variety of
activity choices, and part of the day with the entire
camp. There will be a staff of experienced counselors and
volunteers. Cost for the week is $150 and scholarships are
available. Sponsored by Women’s International League for
Peace and Freedom.
Contact Wilma Gold at
wilmagold@gmail.com, call her at 728-8778 (tambien habla espanol),
or Gaby Litsky at
glitsky@aol.com <mailto:glitsky@aol.com>
, or call 462-9023.
RESPONSIBLE CARE FOR NUCLEAR MATERIALS
http://www.joannamacy.net/html/nuclear.html
˙
[back to top]
ONGOING PEACE ACTIVITIES
Updated October 2007
PEACE VIGILS
All of the vigils listed welcome any peace-loving
person. It is wise to call the sponsors to learn specific rules
for signs, dress, etc. and also because changes in time and
place are not always reflected here in a timely way.
MONTEREY COUNTY
First Sunday in Monterey, 12:30 - 1:30 pm,
Moving
back to Four Corners at intersection of Soledad and Muras, Hwy 1
ramp.
Women’s
International League for Peace and Freedom.
Every Saturday in
Salinas, 11 – noon,
Blanco & South Main Street. Monterey Peninsula Friends Meeting
(Quakers) and Salinas Action League 753-9557 or 206-5043.
www.salinasaction.org
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
Every Friday in
Watsonville, 4 –5 pm (Time changes with the season)
at the Watsonville Plaza on Main Street. Pajaro
Valley WILPF and Watsonville Peace Coalition.
barbara@greybird.com,
Every Friday in Soquel, 5
– 6 pm,
on the main square of Soquel Village, outside the Ugly Mug.
Hosted by Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom of
Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz: The First Friday Family Vigil for Peace has
moved to the corner of Ocean and Water Streets, big intersection
near the County building. 5 – 6 pm, Hosted by Families
Against War, Women in Black SC, the SC Peace Coalition, Code
Pink SC, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom of
SC, Veteran's for Peace SC, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship of SC,
Pax Christi, Quakers of SC, United Methodists for Peace, and
Interfaith Vigil for Peace.
Women in Black of
Santa Cruz - Peace Vigil and Witness, Fridays 5:00 - 6:00,
Corner of Pacific Avenue and Cooper Street in Downtown Santa
Cruz, in front of O’Neil’s Surfshop. (See sponsors above).
Every Wednesday, The Felton Peace
Vigil,
5:30 - 6:30 pm
at the corner of Highway 9 and Graham Hill Road.
Sound Out! Community Singing Group
Sound Out! sings for peace and justice in our world. We sing
regularly at local events, gatherings, and churches—wherever the
power of music will uplift the human spirit.
Everyone - absolutely everyone - is welcome! Information:
392-6330 or
soundoutnow@gmail.com.
Practices: Thursdays at 6:30 pm.
St. James Episcopal Church, corner of High and Hellam (one block
from Franklin) in Monterey
Democracy Unlimited of Monterey County, formerly known
as Abolish Corporate Personhood Committee,
third Monday of the month at 6:30 pm. Info: Sue Hubbard shubbard@redshift.com
or 444-8645. Call for location and to join email list. Our
objective is to end corporate personhood. We act locally to
educate citizens about this subject and advocate on local issues
involving corporations. We believe that the rights in the
Constitution and the Amendments should apply to all people but
not to corporations. When corporations gain rights under the
Constitution they become more powerful than humans and we wish
to reclaim the power of “We the People.”
HAMBA Meeting Calendar 2008
(Humanists) Monterey Library, Madison & Pacific
Streets, Monterey
Date
Day Time
June 11, 2008 Wednesday 6:45 PM
July 9, 2008 Wednesday 6:45 PM
August 13, 2008 Wednesday 6:45 PM
September 17, 2008 Wednesday 6:45 PM
October 7, 2008 Tuesday 6:45 PM
November 4, 2008 Tuesday 6:45 PM
December 10, 2008 Wednesday 6:45 PM
Monterey 9/11 Truth, meets
first
Monday, 6:30 pm, Monterey Library Solarium. Peggy Olsen
hebard@mbay.net
or 375-2096 or Barbara Honegger
barhonegger@aol.com
Middle East Peace Action, Meetings
The Monterey County Citizens for Middle East Peace have
announced the schedule of their monthly meetings for the rest of
the year. All meetings will be held in Seaside on a Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Meeting Days: November 17 / December
15
For meeting location and other information, contact Richard at
rikimo@redshift.com
or Lynne at
lsexton@tostevin.com
Monterey Peace and Justice Center
OPEN for book and video browsing 1 – 5 pm Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday,
Free lending library.
801 Lighthouse, Suite 102, Monterey.
Board of Directors meets monthly. 373-1061.
Karen Araujo, Executive Director,
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