Can you help us distribute peace diplomas on Thursday, May 24 at 8 AM at JHU's commencement?

Friends,

 

We will do our annual Peace Diploma distribution at John Hopkins University’s commencement at Homewood Field, University Parkway across from One World Café, from 8 to 9 AM on Thursday, May 24.  Can you join us? Please RSVP. We will do brerakfast afterwards.

 

Kagiso,

 

Max

 

PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE-Baltimore/Fund Our Communities, 325 East 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218  Ph: 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net

 

CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES & FAMILIES May 24, 2012

 

We, members of the Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore, bestow this Peace Diploma with the hope your life will be one of seeking peace and working for justice.

         

       As you depart from Johns Hopkins University, the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq seem unending.  Sadly, Barack Obama has continued the policies of the previous administration.

 

     The U.S. Empire has created a permanent war economy.  And JHU does research for the empire.  According to the Baltimore Business Journal, November 11, 2011, The Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory [APL] in FY 2011 received $1.27 billion in tax dollars for federal contracts.  A large percentage of these contracts are for research on weapons systems at the APL, including on unmanned aerial vehicles/Reaper and Predator killer drones.  We concur with the opinion stated in the May 3, 2012 editorial “THE APL drones on and on” in The Johns Hopkins News-Letter, “We do, however, object to the APL’s involvement with General Atomics, contributing to the production of these aerial combat drones used by the CIA in covert operations abroad.” 

 

  On May 8, nine members of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance occupied the office of President Ronald J. Daniels’ office in Garland Hall for about eight hours.  A letter was sent to Daniels and to Dr. Ralph Semmel, the APL director, seeking information about the killer drone research and requesting a meeting.  The letter was ignored.  Instead of arresting the anti-drone activists, security and Baltimore City Police allowed the occupation to continue.  It seems JHU wants to avoid any publicity about its research on weapons that violate the U.S. Constitution and probably international law.

 

  As a Canadian citizen, President Daniels does not have a Top Security clearance, and is not able to review the classified research at the weapons lab.  This is clearly an example of the military tail waging the educational dog.

 

   As pointed out in the letter sent to the Hopkins’ officials, the Nuremberg Principles obligate citizens to act where they can to prevent international law violations.  These Principles forbid wars of aggression, attacks on civilians and extrajudicial assassinations, all associated with drone warfare. The ACLU filed a lawsuit demanding the Obama administration release legal and intelligence records on the killing of the three US citizens in Yemen.   

 

       We in the peace movement will continue to speak out.  We urge you to add your voices.