Tidbits: January 25, 2006
1. FMLN Leader Schafik Hándal (CISPES)
2. Party for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
3. Bay Area Banquet to Build Progressive Majority (CCDS)
4. FILIBUSTER ALITO NOW! (PDA)

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Schafik Hándal dies after heart attack in El Salvador

January 25, 2006

Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
http://www.cispes.org/english/Updates_and_Analysis/scha
fik.html

Longtime FMLN leader Jorge Schafik Hándal died
yesterday in El Salvador. Hándal was returning from
Bolivia where he attended the inauguration of Bolivian
President Evo Morales; as he was walking through the
Comalapa Airport in El Salvador he collapsed from an
apparent heart attack and was treated by paramedics
before being taken to the Hospital de la Mujer by
helicopter. There, he was pronounced dead at around
5:00 in the afternoon. Schafik Hándal was 75 years old.

The FMLN held a press conference to announce the tragic
death of the party's historic leader, and called for
three days of mourning in his honor. Members of the
FMLN and the Salvadoran social movement immediately
began congregating outside the hospital and at the
party's headquarters in San Salvador. The praise for
Hándal and his role in the 12-year war against the US-
backed Salvadoran military regime began pouring in.
Said Guadalupe Erazo, a leader of the Popular Social
Bloc (BPS), 'just as we continue struggling in the
example of Schafik, he will continue living in the
hearts of Salvadorans.'

Jorge Schafik Hándal first became active in 1944 during
the famous strike of 'brazos caidos' which lead to the
fall of the dictator Maximiliano Hernández Martínez. He
later became leader of the Salvadoran Communist Party,
and spent many years in exile before returning to El
Salvador to help lead the rise of the FMLN and guide
the armed struggle that ultimately fended off death
squads, the right-wing military regime, and significant
US intervention to produce the 1992 Peace Accords.
Hándal was one of the signers of the accords, and he
helped lead the FMLN's transition from guerrilla force
to leftist political party as a member of the party's
political commission and as a deputy in the National
Assembly.

CISPES has worked with Hándal over the years, most
recently when he was the guest of honor at our 10th
National Convention in San Francisco in 2003. We stood
by his valiant campaign for the presidency in 2004,
thwarted by ARENA's dirty campaign and political
intervention by the Bush Administration. CISPES members
also joined Hándal and the FMLN at the celebration of
the 25th anniversary of the party last October.

Said FMLN general coordinator Milton Mendez, who was
with Hándal at the airport when he collapsed, 'He was a
man who was constantly struggling for change - Schafik
gave himself completely to the Salvadoran people.'* He
will be remembered as a consummate internationalist, a
tough and resolute leader, committed for all his life
to the revolutionary struggle in El Salvador, and to
building a united left throughout Latin America and the
rest of the world. Schafik Hándal, Presente!

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ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

www.unitedforpeace.org

Please forward widely!

Party for Peace and Justice

Does the thought of watching President Bush give the
State of the Union address (scheduled for January 31)
leave you feeling a bit depressed?  We have the
solution:  throw a house party to support UFPJ and your
local peace and justice group. And have fun!

To support your efforts in hosting a house party, we
have prepared a "Parties for Peace & Justice" kit, with
instructions and a timeline for throwing a house party,
a sample invitation, RSVP form and other support
materials. 

Download Party for Peace and Justice kit
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/downloads/Party_for_Peace_and_Justice.doc

We encourage you to use this party planning kit
throughout the year to support UFPJ and your local
group's work.  While you decide how to share the money
raised, we recommend a 50-50 split  between the local
group and UFPJ. (If you're not part of a local group,
you can of course throw a house party and donate the
entire proceeds to UFPJ!)

When you download the kit, please register your party
with United for Peace and Justice.  If you register
your party, we will send a weekly reminder to keep you
on top of your to-do list and give you other pointers
and resources so you can make your party a success.

As the date for the State of the Union address nears,
we'll be posting a whole array of party games and other
materials you can use during your event, including our
"Track the Lies" tally sheet. Keep checking this web
page for updates.

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Second Annual Banquet Gathers to Build Progressive
Majority (Berkeley)

The second annual CCDS and Kendra Alexander Foundation
Banquet will take place on Sunday, February 19 at the
Redwood Gardens community room in Berkeley with Van
Jones, a pioneering human rights activist known as a
steadfast opponent of police brutality and mass
incarceration, as keynote speaker.

Jones, 37, is the founder and executive director of the
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, headquartered in
Oakland, which is helping lead the national fight for
alternatives to the U.S. incarceration industry.  Jones
is now working to create environmentally friendly,
"green-collar" jobs for formerly incarcerated persons.
He is currently organizing relief and solidarity for
hurricane survivors of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
Jones will be speaking on the political implications of
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The banquet is titled "Towards Building a Progressive
Majority" and benefits the Committees of Correspondence
for Democracy and Socialism and the Kendra Alexander
Foundation.  The Foundation was named in honor of the
visionary leader of the Committees of Correspondence.

Reception and dinner will be at 2 p.m. and the program
will start at 3 p.m.  Redwood Gardens is located at
2951 Derby Street, Berkeley.  Local activists Michael
Eisenscher, Jon Fromer, Andrea joyce Turner and Steve
Willett will be honored on the program. Donation
requested is $35. Sponsors who contribute $100 or more
are recognized on the program.  There is also a fund
for helping youth attend.  For more information or to
RSVP, call the office at 415-863-6637 or email
[log in to unmask]

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FILIBUSTER ALITO NOW

Progressive Democrats of America
http://pdamerica.org/index.php

Senate Democrats refuse to signal whether or not they
will filibuster Alito. They appear to have 41 votes,
since Ben Nelson (D-NE) is the only one of 44 Democrats
who supports Alito. Jim Jeffords (I-VT) should oppose
Alito, and 5 Republicans - Lamar Alexander (TN),
Lincoln Chafee (RI) Susan Collins (ME), Olympia Snowe
(ME), and Ted Stevens (AK) - are undecided.

We've called and called, but we need to call our
Senators again and DEMAND A FILIBUSTER: TOLL FREE -
888-355-3588 or 888-818-6641

For extra credit, use the same numbers to call all the
2008 Presidential candidates who are sitting Senators -
Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold,
and John Kerry - and tell them to either LEAD THE
FILIBUSTER or FORGET ABOUT YOUR SUPPORT. You can also
send that message to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee (202-224-2447) and the Democratic National
Committee (202-863-8000).