March, 2005

Click HERE for Pictures from this event...

Thursday, March 24th, 5:00 PM

Stop the Budget Cuts! Mass Protest Against Schwarzenegger in downtown San Jose!

Outside the Fairmont Hotel
Downtown San Jose
Cesar Chavez Plaza
170 South Market St., San José

Over 1,000 teachers, firemen, students and others protested
against Schwarzenegger's policies on March 24th in downtown San Jose.

For more pictures of the March 24th protest, click here...


"You Lied & Cheated our Children. Now Who is the Girlyman?"


My favorite protest sign from the event.

Slash funding for education and teacher's salaries?
Cut state pensions and privatize retirement security?
Rollback hospital safety standards?

Download the flyer... (114 KB)

The picture above was taken by Tian Harter. View his website here: tian.greens.org

On March 20th, 2005, over 2,500 people
marched in San Jose and shouted NO to WAR!

San Jose March & Rally
Sunday, March 20th, 2005

Organized by the Peninsula / South Bay Peace Council
Visit our official web page here:
www.peaceandjustice.org/march20

This march and rally was organized by the Peninsula/South Bay Peace Coordinating Council,
a collaboration of over 35 peace organizations based in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

Out Of Iraq Now!
NO to War & Occupation of
Iraq, Palestine, Haiti, Afghanistan, Cuba
and now Iran!

On the 2nd Anniversary of the U.S. Invasion of Iraq

- Save Social Security
- Healthcare, Jobs, Housing & Education for All
- Stop the Corporate Assault on the Environment
- Defend Civil Liberties, Civil Rights & Labor Rights

The People of Santa Clara County
Are Paying
$1.76 Billion for War!

For more information or to volunteer, please call
South Bay Mobilization - (408) 998-8504

A Call to Participate in a Public Show Of No-Confidence in the Bush Administration On March 20, 2005, a broad coalition of peace and social justice organizations are planning a major demonstration of protest and demands directed at the administration in Washington. Delegations from groups on the Peninsula and the South Bay will gather at the Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose to give voice to a rising feeling of doubt and anger at the direction in which the Bush administration is leading our country. Ranging from the floundering occupation of Iraq to the coming assault on one of our nation’s sacred institutions, Social Security, from the clearly outlined world imperial project to the bankrupting policy of tax giveaways for the wealthy, from the alienation of even this nation’s traditional friends to the assault on our civil liberties, the people of the Bay Area will express their opinions, and their remedies, for the looming disaster we perceive on the horizon if no organized opposition were to emerge. Since this event is planned with the intention of laying down a challenge to a huge array of issues, both foreign and domestic, there will be an extraordinary range of groups, each with its own basic concerns about our nation’s future. We are seeking the support, the endorsement, the participation and their financial support to make this exceptional event a booming success. Any and all groups with progressive agendas, either foreign or domestic, are urged to respond to this call. The program will feature a march and a rally with speakers. The most salient feature will be a fair in which the participating groups will be invited to set up tables to display their literature and engage each other in conversation.

Additional Transportation Information:
- A schedule of Caltrain trains for March 20th is here.
- A list of all the Caltrain stations is here.
- Parking at the Caltrain station is $1.50.
- Caltrain #430 has been designated the Peace Train bringing everyone together on March 20th.
- To find Caltrain #430's schedule, look at the last table on the web page called,
"Weekend and Holiday Southbound Service".
- The Peace Train (Caltrain #430) leaves the Palo Alto station at 1:02 pm and
arrives at the San Jose Diridon Station at 1:36 pm.
- The buses that go to the San Jose Diridon Caltrain station are: County bus lines: 22, 63, 64, 65, 68, 180, and for those coming from Santa Cruz, Highway 17 Express.

Initial Endorsing Organizations (alphabetical order): (45 as of 3/20/05)

Americans for a Palestinian State, American Muslim Voice, Arab American Democratic Caucus,
Barrio Defense Committee, BAYAN-USA Northern California, Bay Area A.N.S.W.E.R., Californians For Justice, Campus Greens of SJSU, Community Homeless Alliance Ministry (CHAM), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Critical Filipina and Filipino Studies Collective, Democratic World Federalists (DWF), EMPAQ (Embracing the Movement of Pinays & Queers), Filipino Community Council, First Unitarian Church of San Jose, Green Party of Santa Clara County, Health Care for All, ILPS Northern California (International League of Peoples' Struggle), Iranian Society for Human Rights (Northern California), Jewish Voice for Peace, Justice for Palestinians, Labor Party San Jose Local Organizing Committee, Los Altos Voices for Peace, Mountain View Voices for Peace, Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice, Musicians & Fine Artists for World Peace, Northern California War Tax Resistance, Open Voting Consortium, Party for Socialism and Liberation (SF Branch), Peace Umbrella of Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, San Jose Peace Center, SEIU Local 715 Civil and Human Rights Committee, Silicon Valley Debug, Social Education & Action Cmte of the (Santa Clara Cty) Council of Churches, South Asians for Collective Action (SACA), South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council, South Bay Labor for Peace and Justice, South Bay Mobilization, Students for Justice, United for Peace and Justice (San Jose), Annie and the Vets/Veterans for Peace Cultural Project, Veterans for Peace: Chapters 101 and 69, Women's International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF): San Jose Branch and Peninsula Branch, World Centric.

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The "Cost of Perpetual War" - Statistics for the Flyer


Breakdown of Economic Costs of War (as of 3/1/05):

Source: - See page 15 of the following publication from the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). "A Failed Transition: The Mounting Costs of the US War on Iraq", 88 pgs, IPS (2/17/05) [ local copy ]

April 2003 Emergency Supplemental November 2003 Emergency Supplemental June 2004 Emergency Supplemental Total Next appropriation before Congress

Operations 53.3 51.1 25.0

Reconstruction 3.3 18.4 0.0

Total 56.6 69.5 25.0 151.1 81.9

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Peace Train, by Cat Stevens

Now I’ve been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun

Oh I’ve been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be, some day it’s going to come

Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again

Now I’ve been smiling lately, thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun

Oh peace train sounding louder
Glide on the peace train
Come on now peace train
Yes, peace train holy roller

Everyone jump upon the peace train
Come on now peace train

Get your bags together, go bring your good friends too
Cause it’s getting nearer, it soon will be with you

Now come and join the living, it’s not so far from you
And it’s getting nearer, soon it will all be true

Now I’ve been crying lately, thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss

Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again