San José, CA – On July 19, some 25 people gathered at the San José Peace and Justice Center to watch the film USA vs. Al-Arian. The event was organized by the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression (SBCAPR) and emceed by Donna Wallach of the SBCAPR.

San José, CA – On July 1, interest rates for federally subsidized student loans to pay for college are set to double, rising from 3.4% to 6.8%. This will affect almost 10 million students who will be taking out new loans this coming year. Over the life of their loans, this rise in interest rates could add about $4000 to the cost of college for a student entering college in the fall of 2013.

Lucha y Resiste! comentario

El 17 de abril, un grupo bipartidista de ocho senadores lanzó su propuesta de “reforma integral de inmigración.” Si hay partes de la propuesta que mejore las vidas de millones de indocumentados, pero también incluye muchas partes malas que no pueden ser compatibles. Lo que hay que hacer es la reconstrucción de un movimiento amplio y militante por la legalización y contra más militarización de la frontera y contra de la represión laboral. Tenemos que darle fuerte para movilizar el 1 de mayo y mantener la presión sobre los políticos para llegar a un mejor proyecto de reforma migratoria.

Fight Back! commentary

On April 17, a bipartisan group of eight senators released their proposal for “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” While there are parts of the proposal that would improve the lives of millions of undocumented, it falls far short of a real legalization plan and it includes many bad parts that cannot be supported. What needs to be done, first and foremost, is to rebuild a mass and militant movement for legalization and against more militarization of the border and against workplace repression. We need to go all out to mobilize for May 1 and keep the pressure on politicians to come up with a better immigration reform bill.

Santa Clara, CA – On Feb. 22, 200 people came to the Muslim Community Association (MCA) here to hear a panel on the fight against the World War II concentration camps for Japanese Americans and the fight to free the Holy Land Foundation 5. The program was organized by the Muslim Legal Fund of America and presented by the MCA Social Committee.

On Feb. 17, the San José Day of Remembrance program commemorated the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942.

San José, CA – On Feb. 17, the San José Day of Remembrance program commemorated the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. 300 people came to the San Jose Buddhist Church hall to remember E.O. 9066, which led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II. At the beginning of the program the emcee, Will Kaku, said that the official apology from the government stated that the concentration camps “were due to racial prejudice, wartime hysteria and a failure of political leadership. Although those words pertain to events from 71 years ago, they serve as a warning to us today.”

_Economic expansion continues...for now _

San José, CA – On Jan. 30, the Commerce Department reported that Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, fell by a very small amount (0.1% at an annual rate) in the last three months of 2012. The drop in GDP was largely because of a big drop in federal government purchases of goods and services, in addition to a drop in inventories (meaning that stores sold goods that were sitting on their shelves instead of having more produced) and a drop in exports.

U.S. to back Japan in conflict

San José, CA – In the past few days, the Japanese government has accused China provoking Japanese navy ships near the Chinese Diaoyu Islands, which lie about 120 miles northeast of Taiwan. The new nationalist Japanese government is continuing to increase military tensions with China by sending naval forces and military aircraft to the islands, which are occupied by Japan, which calls them the Senkaku Islands. In addition, the U.S. still recognizes the Japanese occupation and says that it will back Japan militarily under the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty.

Federal Financial Aid to be cut 8.4% starting March 1

San José, CA – On March 1, the automatic spending cuts demanded by the 2011 Budget Control Act are scheduled to go into effect. These cuts were originally scheduled to go into effect Jan. 2, but were delayed as part of the solution to the so-called ‘fiscal cliff.’ Included in the spending cuts is an 8.4% reduction in federal financial aid. While the large Pell Grant program is exempted, other federal financial aid, including the Stafford Loans, Work-Study, Perkins Loans and others would be all reduced by 8.4%. This would lead to less aid to students receiving financial aid, and some would be cut off entirely.

San José, CA – On Jan. 29, one day after a group of eight U.S. Senators announced their bipartisan proposal for immigration reform, President Obama made his own proposal. While the President’s proposal was better than the bipartisan Senate proposal in several areas, in particular calling for recognition of same-sex partners of U.S. citizens or legal residents who are seeking legal residency; overall it offered the same approach of harsh treatment of the undocumented and a pro-business approach.

We need legalization for all starting now!

San José, CA – On Monday, January 28, a bipartisan group of eight Senators, four Democrats and four Republicans, announced a framework for “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” or CIR. On Jan. 29, President Obama will be putting out his position, marking the beginning of an effort to “reform” U.S. immigration law this year.

San José, CA – Starting Jan. 1, payroll taxes paid by workers went up from 4.2% to 6.2%. This increase will affect about 77% of all households. Depending on other deductions and taxes, this will lower the take-home pay of workers by 2% or more.

San José, CA – On Jan. 23, Congressional Republicans caved in and voted for a three-month extension to the Federal Debt Limit. Up until Jan.23, the Republicans in the House of Representatives had refused to raise the debt limit, raising the specter that the U.S. government would have to choose between delaying Social Security payments, Medicare payments, payments to military, and/or interest on the national debt.

San José, CA – On Jan. 4, the U.S. Department of Labor released its report on the labor market for December 2012. The overall official unemployment rate stayed the same as in November, at 7.8%, and 155,000 new jobs were added. But the unemployment rate for adult women (20 years and older), increased from 7.0% in November to 7.3% in December, rising above the unemployment rate for adult men, which stayed the same at 7.2%.

Many tax cuts for wealthy also kept

San José, CA – Early New Year’s Day, the U.S. Senate voted 89-8 to pass a compromise bill to put off the so-called ‘fiscal cliff.’ The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, where Republicans are likely to try to get even more tax breaks for the rich.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been attacking the Obama administration for “cutting” Medicare, and Romney has promised to restore these cuts. While Romney is saying that he will protect Medicare, in fact he is protecting health insurance companies, while out-of-pocket costs for seniors will go up.

San José, CA – On July 6, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that only 80,000 net new jobs were created in June. This was less than most mainstream economists predicted and far less than what is needed to put the millions of unemployed back to work. So it was no surprise that the official unemployment rate stayed the same from May to June, at 8.2%.

San José, CA – On June 25 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against most of the parts of Arizona’s SB1070, which had ignited nationwide protests against the anti-immigrant law. But at the same time the court upheld part of the law that would allow for expanding federal and local joint efforts to deport more undocumented people.

Agreement won’t help Spain’s economic depression

San José, CA – On June 9, Spain and the European Union made an agreement to bail out Spain’s troubled banking sector. This agreement means Spain is the fourth country (along with Portugal, Ireland and Greece) in the eurozone to have to take a bailout.