Pacifica Riptide

Veterans Day Began as a Pledge to End All Wars

CLICK FOR ORIGINS OF VETERANS DAY

Support Student Peacemaker of the Year Award

As part of our new focus on creating a “culture of peace” in Pacifica, we (Pacifica Peace People -- PPP) will choose a high school senior to receive our second annual Student Peacemaker of the Year Award. Last year’s award went to a wonderful young woman at Oceana. This year the award will go to a student at Terra Nova.
 
Students applying for this year's award are participating in peacemaking activities during the Season of Nonviolence, which extends from January 30 to April 4. These dates mark the time between the assassinations of Gandhi (1/30/48) and Martin Luther King Jr. (4/4/68).
 
This new project, created for participating students this year, encourages development of personal reflections after peaceful activities have been completed. At the end of the project, a committee will interview students about their peacemaking activities and find out how these activities have been integrated into their daily lives. In addition, students will share their visions of world peace and provide examples of what they will do to build a peaceful world. As we did last year, we will look for a student who demonstrates a peaceful heart, identified by characteristics such as:
 
•Compassion
•Kindness
•Courage (to speak out, to lead)
•Optimism (to see the best in people and possibilities)
•Persistence (to never give up trying to make changes)
 
The Student Peacemaker of the Year will receive $500. Please help us encourage our local young people to develop a path toward peace in our world by making a donation in support of this award. Any amount you can afford will help us reach this year’s $500 goal. You can donate on PPP’s website (pacificapeacepeople.net) using PayPal or by writing a check to Pacifica Peace People. A third option, if you would like your donation to be tax-deductible, is to make your check payable to our partner in this endeavor, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a 501(c)3 organization, tax ID 23-1352010. (Please note on your check that it’s for the Pacifica Student Peacemaker of the Year.) Mail your check, whether payable to PPP or AFSC, to Leslie Davidson, 1302 Rosita Road, Pacifica, CA 94044.

Pacifica Peace People March @ Fog Fest 2010

Jeffrey Shurtleff, Pacifica People People, "Peacemakers on the March," 9/25/2010

Student Peacemaker Award: Oceana High School

Pacifica Peace People (PPP) is working with Oceana High School Principal Caro Pemberton to honor a student who “has a peaceful heart.” PPP’s selection criteria are compassion, kindness, courage, optimism, and persistence. PPP wants to identify and reward a student whose values and behaviors promote nonviolence, tolerance, diversity, interpersonal communication skills, and community service. To support the Student Peacemaker Award, send a check to Pacifica Peace People (earmarked student fundraiser), 1302 Rosita Road, Pacifica, CA 94044. Or donate online by PayPal at PACIFICA PEACE PEOPLE. Donations are not tax-deductible.

Unhappy Anniversary: Sixth Year of Iraq War

Unhappy Anniversary: March 19, 2009

March 19 marked the sixth anniversary of the war and occupation in Iraq. United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) organized people to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pacifica Peace People (PPP) joined the protest at both Colma and Daly City BART stations, handing out UFPJ's "Happy Un-birthday" brochures during the morning and evening commutes. This was their message:

1. The War in Iraq isn't over. We still have 130,000 soldiers in Iraq. Obama has pledged to withdraw 12,000 soldiers in September. We must keep up the pressure to ensure that they come home, and the sooner the better. Obama himself has said that he needs our support to make sure there is change. This is one way we can help him.

2. Afghanistan is not an exit strategy for Iraq. It is not The Good War. There is a growing consensus, even among military strategists, that there is no "military solution" in Afghanistan. Instead of a military surge, we need a surge in diplomacy. We need to invest in diplomacy and development assistance that will lead to a comprehensive peace. Some specific ideas include:

-Define the goal: What is the U.S. trying to achieve?
-End aerial bombing, house raids, and other offensive tactics that harm civilians and increase anti-U.S. sentiment.
-Lead with diplomacy, including meetings with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia to discuss shared interests and possible cooperation to promote peace and stability in the region.
-Reduce India-Pakistan tensions.
-Talk to the Taliban.
-Promote accountability and participatory government to re-establish a peace and reconciliation plan.
-Invest in Afghan-led development and peacemaking.
-Promote security through civilian rule of law.
-Draw down, do not expand military operations. Shift from fighting wars to promoting international justice, including a timetable for full withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces.
-Increase regional and international cooperation in police efforts and support development of the Afghan justice system.
-Increase non-military aid to Pakistan.

3. The current economy has created a new urgency. Military spending is bankrupting our country financially and morally. We are experiencing an unprecedented recession. Unemployment in California is now over 10.1 percent (as of February 2009), and 26,000 teachers have received pink slips. No one is secure. Seniors have seen their savings disappear, leaving their golden years uncertain; young people can't find a job, and the middle generation is trying to hold both ends while dealing with layoffs and furloughs in every sector of economy. We need the $738 billion spent on the military and the wars to be spent in our communities. Every city and every community in every state is hurting. What kind of security do we really have when our libraries are shuttered, our literacy rates are falling, our streets are full of homeless people, our citizens suffer from poor health often exacerbated by their inability to pay for medicine? We need to invest in the kind of spending that will reinvent our communities to meet the challenges of the future, not feed the nightmares of the past.                                 

For information on Pacifica Peace People, email leslie@pacificapeacepeople.net

Help Make Pacifica a City for Peace

Pacifica Peace People (PPP) has been gathering signatures on a petition to encourage the City Council to pass an official resolution declaring Pacifica a City for Peace. We have almost 1,000 signatures so far, but we have not been able to find a council member to sponsor our resolution. We’ve decided to make the declaration OURSELVES, as Pacifica citizens. PPP will run a FULL PAGE ad in the Pacifica Tribune on January 28. A draft of the ad is shown above. If you would like to show your support for making Pacifica a City for Peace, please email leslie@pacificapeacepeople.net with your full name as you would like it to appear at the bottom of the ad. In addition, if you can help us pay for the ad with a $5 donation, we would very much appreciate it. (Your name will appear in the ad even if you are unable to donate.) To donate, please use the PayPal link on PACIFICA PEACE PEOPLE. Or include a note in your email to leslie@pacificapeacepeople.net and she will provide an address where you can send a check. Please make all checks payable to Pacifica Peace People. Thanks for your help in making Pacifica a City for Peace!

PACIFICA PEACE PEOPLE 

Local Mideast Peace Rally Turns Ugly

Tonight around 6, as people gathered peacefully at Highway 1 and Linda Mar to protest the war in Gaza, an enraged motorist stopped in traffic and engaged in a shouting match with the demonstrators. Then he parked his car at the shopping center and returned to the scene, shouting and shoving demonstrators, slightly injuring one of them. When the agitated man ran through the parking lot, several demonstrators followed him to take his picture and hold him for police, who shortly came on the scene to question the man and several witnesses. No one pressed charges, so because police did not see the incident occur, they took down the man's information and released him. One bystander noted that as soon as the police detained him, his demeanor changed drastically, and he spoke calmly with police as if nothing had happened. But this reporter had heard the man shouting earlier and had seen him up close as he ran through the parking lot, his face and eyes full of hate and fear.

JOHN MAYBURY
EDITOR & PUBLISHER

Jewish Opposition to Israeli Attacks on Gaza

Download Jewish Opposition to Israeli Attacks

International Action Center: Stop Gaza Attacks

SIGN APPEAL TO STOP ATTACKS ON GAZA

Another Middle East Resource: Shalom Achshav (Peace Now)

Israeli peace group Shalom Achshav: PEACE NOW