Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 1

Baltimore Activist Alert Mar. 22 – Mar. 28, 2013


"I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours.

The initiative to stop it must be ours." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Friends, this list and other email documents which I send out are done under the auspices of the Baltimore Nonviolence Center. Go to www.baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com. If you appreciate this information and would like to make a donation, send contributions to BNC, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218. Max Obuszewski can be reached at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski [at] verizon.net.

Tune into the Maryland Progressive Blog at http://mdprogblog.org.

1] Books, buttons & stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists

4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLa

5] Thousand Little Brothers exhibit – through Mar. 23

6] Film "Harvest of Empire– The Untold Story of Latinos in America" – through Mar. 23

7] Jerusalem Fund Gallery exhibit – through Apr. 12

8] LIGHT by Art Spirit – through May 12

9] White House vigil – Mar. 22

10] WIB Roland Park vigil – Mar. 22

11] Justice for Palestine/Israel vigil – Mar. 22

12] Free Nabeel Rajab – Mar. 22

13] Whistleblowers Tour -- Mar. 22

14] Silent peace vigil – Mar. 22

15] Environmental Film Festival – through Mar. 24

16] Ballroom dancing – Mar. 22

17] “Prosperity Not Austerity" bus tour – Mar. 23

18] Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore Annual Assembly – Mar. 23

19] Olney peace vigil – Mar. 23

20] West Chester, PA demo – Mar. 23

21] Silent vigil at Capitol – Mar. 23

22] Free clothes and soup – Mar. 23

23] Native American Spirit Painting & Healing Ceremony – Mar. 23

24] Book launch “Towards Collective Liberation” – Mar. 23

25] Homage to Harriet – Mar. 23 – June 23

26] Play "Same Neighborhood Different Perspectives; A Conversation Between Colin Powell and Kwame Ture“ -- Mar. 23

27] Witness Against Torture on fast – Mar. 24

28] “A Reconsideration of the History of American Medicine” – Mar. 24

29] Peace and Pancakes – Mar. 24

30] Boycott SodaStream – Mar. 24

31] Imperialism and Palestine – Mar. 24

32] Baltimore Green Forum - Mar. 24

33] Book launch “Tenuous Chapel” – Mar. 24

34] Soul Kitchen - Mar. 24

35] Red Emma’s meeting – Mar. 24

36] Pentagon Vigil – Mar. 25

37] Land Rights Activist on Tour – Mar. 25 - 31







1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available. “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers are in stock. Donate your books to Max. Call him at 410-366-1637.



2] – To obtain information how your federal legislators voted on particular bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/. Congressional toll-free numbers are 888-818-6641, 888-355-3588 or 800-426-8073. The White House Comment Email is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.



3] – THE ORGANIZING LIST will be the primary decision-making mechanism of the National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR]. It will be augmented by conference calls and possibly in-person meetings as needed. It will consist of 1 or 2 representatives from each local, regional, or national organization (not coalitions) that wishes to actively work to carry out the NCNR campaign of facilitating and organizing nonviolent resistance to the war in Iraq.



To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to donmuller@msn.com. Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.



THE NOTICES LIST will include only notices of NCNR actions and related information and is open to any interested person to subscribe. It will be moderated to maintain focus & will include periodic notices about getting involved in NCNR national organizing. To join the NOTICES List, send an email message to ncnrnotices-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. You will get a confirmation message once subscribed. If you have problems, please write to the list manager at ncnrnotices-admin@lists.riseup.net.



4] – You can help safeguard human rights and fragile ecosystems through your purchase of HOCOFOLA Café Quetzal. Bags of ground coffee or whole beans can be ordered by mailing in an order form. Also note organic cocoa and sugar are for sale. For more details and to download the order form, go to http://friendsoflatinamerica.typepad.com/hocofola/2010/02/hocofola-cafe-quetzal-order-form-2010.html. The coffee comes in one-pound bags.



Fill out the form and mail it with a check made out to HOCOFOLA on or before the second week of the month. Be sure you indicate ground or beans for each type of coffee ordered. Send it to Adela Hirsch, 5358 Eliots Oak Rd., Columbia, MD 21044. Be sure you indicate ground (G) or bean (B) for each type of coffee ordered. The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up. Contact Adela at 410-997-5662 or via e-mail at adela4peace@verizon.net.



5] – Thousand Little Brothers is a multimedia exhibition by Hasan Elahi, a former subject of a post 9/11 FBI investigation. Comprised of over 50,000 images, including some of his financial data, communication records, and transportation logs, Elahi's exhibit comments on current investigatory techniques. The exhibit will continue through March 23, 11 AM to 5 PM, at the Maryland Art Place, 8 Market Place, suite 100. Call 410- 962-8565 or visit http://www.MDartplace.org.



6] – Continuing through Sat., Mar. 23, "Harvest of Empire– The Untold Story of Latinos in America" will be showing at the Majestic Theater, 900 Ellsworth Dr., Silver Spring, MD. Screenings are 11:30 AM, 2:15, 5, 7:45, 10:30 PM and 12:45 AM. Go to http://harvestofempiremovie.com/ai1ec_event/majestic-theater-silver-spring-md/?instance_id=.



7] – "Undefeated Despair: Precarity, Public Art, and Solidarity in Palestine and Lebanon" continues through Fri., Apr. 12 at 6 PM at The Jerusalem Fund Gallery, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, WDC 22037. This exhibit brings together examples of work from three mural projects coordinated by Break The Silence Media and Arts Project. Based in San Francisco, BTS/MAP works in the intersection of trauma, memory, creativity, resilience and resistance, aims to engage people on multiple levels through murals, video, art/research, multi and trans media projects to see and imagine new possibilities, think critically and organize to reveal hidden histories and the connections between struggles for social justice globally. Visit http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/sp/i/9242/pid/9242.



8] – The Arts Council of Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church presents LIGHT by Art Spirit, an Arts Collective, through Sun., May 12 at the Great Hall, 3401 Nebraska Ave. NW, WDC 20016. The exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, and Sundays, 9 AM to 12:30 PM. Call 202-363-4900 or go to www.nationalchurch.org.



9] – A peace vigil takes place every Friday from noon to 1 PM at Lafayette Park facing the White House. Join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and friends. Contact Art Laffin: artlaffin@hotmail.com.

10] – There is also a noon Women in Black vigil on Mar. 22 at Roland Park Place, 830 W. 40th St. Call 410-467-9114.



11] – A vigil for Justice in Palestine/Israel takes place every Friday from noon to 1 PM at 19th & JFK Blvd., Philadelphia (across from Israeli Consulate. It is sponsored by Bubbies & Zaydes (Grandparents) for Peace in the Middle East. Email cswartz@pil.net. Go to http://phillyjewishpeace.org/.



12] – Nabeel Rajab, the co-founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and a prominent figure in Bahrain’s pro-democracy struggle, remains in prison in Bahrain. He is serving a two-year sentence for calling for “illegal gatherings,” after already having served three months for tweeting a critical comment about the Bahraini regime. Email CODEPINK at info@codepink.org.



Human rights activists in Bahrain and internationally are organizing a Global Week of Action for Nabeel from Thurs., Mar. 21 through Thurs., Mar. 28. To help free Nabeel, join a demonstration in front of the Bahraini embassy, co-sponsored by CODEPINK and Witness Bahrain. Joe Stork from Human Rights Watch will also be speaking. The demonstration in solidarity with Nabeel Rajab is on Fri., Mar. 22 at 1 PM at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain, 3502 International Dr. NW, WDC 20008.

13] – The Government Accountability Project’s (GAP’s) American Whistleblower Tour: Essential Voices for Accountability takes place on Fri., Mar. 22 from 4 to 6 PM at UDC’s David A. Clarke School of Law, Room 518 (Moot Court Room). The event features Thomas Drake (NSA waste and mismanagement), Rick Piltz (White House climate change scandal), and Jesselyn Radack (unconstitutional treatment by DOJ of John Walker Lindh).

GAP’s Tour is a dynamic campaign aimed at educating the public – particularly university students – about the phenomenon and practice of whistleblowing. This event will feature a moderated discussion that is free and open to all. Goals of the Tour include raising awareness about the vital role whistleblowing has in our democracy, preparing America's youth for ethical decision-making, countering negative connotations associated with whistleblowing, connecting prospective whistleblowers to available resources, and encouraging academic studies of whistleblowing. See www.whistleblowertour.org.

14] – There is a silent peace vigil on Fri., Mar. 22 from 5 to 6 PM outside Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St. Placards say: "War Is Not the Answer." The silent vigil is sponsored by Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings.

15] -- The 21st annual Environmental Film Festival continues through Sun., Mar. 24. With 190 films (and most of them are free!) there's something for everyone of every age. The theme of this year's festival, a variety of films focus on the vital role of rivers in our global environment, such as "Lost Rivers," which journeys into the vast underground museum of hidden river networks, and "Amazon Gold," which documents a trip down the Madre de Dios River to reveal the savage unraveling of the pristine Amazon rainforest as narrated by Sissy Spacek and Herbie Hancock.



On Fri., Mar. 22 at 7:30 PM, see the film “Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth” at the D.C. Environmental Film Festival. It will be shown at the Gala Hispanic Theater, 3333 14th St. NW, WDC. This showing is free and no reservations are required. The screening will be introduced by Natasha Despotovic, executive director, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development. "The ancient Maya believed our present world would end and a new cycle would arise after 5125 years. What lay behind the myth of the Mayan calendar? It did not envision that the sky would fall or the oceans collapse.



The film follows six young Maya in Guatemala and Chiapas through their daily and ceremonial lives. They provide an indigenous perspective in their own words. Their vision of a world in which all life is sacred and interconnected presents a compelling alternative to the prevailing worldview. As corporations attempt to extract all value from Earth’s natural resources, these Maya reveal their determination to resist the destruction of their culture and environment, believing they are the guardians of the Earth. Where the West has focused on the end of the world, they understand their calendar as the closing of a circle, as a way to a new beginning, as a last call to save the Earth. The film is directed, produced and written by Frauke Sandig and Eric Black. Email info@saveourenvironment.org. Go to http://www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org/.



16] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at 8 PM. Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St. Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be Mar. 22. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.



17] – Fund Our Communities will begin its “Prosperity Not Austerity" bus tour/car caravan in Baltimore on Sat., Mar. 23. You can join the tour for the entire day, beginning at 9 AM, or you can participate by coming to one of the stops, each of which will include a program focused on different community needs. The tour will emphasize that we have tremendous unmet needs in our communities, while we are wasting many billions in unneeded military spending. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at Verizon.net.



The tour schedule is as follows: 9 a.m.: Dallas F. Nicholas Senior Elementary School, 201 East 21st St, Baltimore. Address education funding need. 10:20: Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, 2424 McElderry St., Baltimore. Address food and health issues. 12:20: Prince Georges Social Services Office and Prince Georges Community College, Dept of Social Services, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville. Address funding needs for college students, jobs training, Medicaid, cash assistance for need. 2 p.m.: Silver Spring Library, 8902 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Address services for all citizens, including libraries, parks, roads, public health, crisis services. 3:10: Hughes Neighborhood Housing, 10720 Georgia Ave., Wheaton. Address care of the most vulnerable, and in particular housing. 5 p.m.: U.S. Capitol—Rally. See also http://ourfunds.org.



18] – The Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore Annual Assembly is happening on Sat., Mar. 23 at 9 AM at Trinity Washington University, O'Connor Auditorium (Main Hall), 125 Michigan Ave. NE, WDC 20017. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK and Global Exchange, will be the keynote speaker at the Annual Assembly, entitled, "Drone Killing--Not in Our Name." Panel presentations will feature Ray McGovern and Phyllis Bennis. The registration is $25, or $10 for students. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. The program begins at 9:3 AM. To register, email PCMDCB or call 703-255-7081. You can purchase Medea's book in advance, or pre-order the fully revised and updated edition at www.codepink.org/booktour.



19] – Friends House, 17715 Meeting House Rd., Sandy Spring, MD 20860, hosts a peace vigil every Saturday, 10:30 to 11:30 AM, on the corner of Rt. 108 and Georgia Ave. [Route 97] in Olney, MD. The next vigil is Mar. 23. Call Chuck Harker at 301-570-7167.



20] – Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com.

21] – There will be a peace vigil on the West Lawn of the Capitol at noon on Sat., Mar. 23. Look for the blue banner with the message, "Seek Peace and Pursue It.--Psalms 34:14." The vigil lasts one hour and is silent except when one responds to the occasional questions. Go to http://www.quaker.org/langleyhill/seekpeace.htm or email seekpeacevigil@yahoo.com.

22] – Get free clothes and soup from the Lighthouse Baptist Church, 8125 Pulaski Highway, on Sat., Mar. 23, from noon until 4 PM, for anyone in need. Call 410-882-5511.



23] – Enjoy the Native American Spirit Painting from 1 to 5 PM on Sat., Mar. 23 and Sun., Mar. 24 at Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences, 9101 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda MD 20814. Two Native American wisdom keepers and healers, Jean and Roy Reddemann, will guide you to explore the depth of your own sacred communications, intuitions, and dream guidance. Utilizing a sacred form of art, you will experience a connection and communication with your intuition that is effortless yet amazing. There is a fee of $150 for the two-day workshop. Materials and some refreshments will be provided.



Traditional Native American drumming will happen on Sat. Mar. 23 from 7 to 10 PM at 4209 East-West Highway, Bethesda 20814 (at Shanti Yoga Center). Finally, there will be a healing ceremony conducted by Roy Reddemann. There is no fee for any traditional ceremony; however a gift from the heart is appreciated. Do not consume any alcohol on the day of the ceremony. Women should also come to the ceremony in an ankle length skirt or dress with their arms covered. Women should also NOT attend ceremony if they are on their Moon Time (monthly cycle). RSVP to claudia.sobrevila@gmail.com or call 703-732-6736.



24] – Be at the book launch of “Towards Collective Liberation” by Chris Crass on Sat., Mar. 23 from 1:30 to 3 PM at St. Stephens Church, 1525 Newton St. NW, corner of 16th and Newton Sts. Join the Washington Peace Center for a book launch and community celebration with longtime organizer and author Chris Crass. His book is about anti-racist organizing, feminist praxis and movement building strategy. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/509241469134000/.



25] – Homage to Harriet exhibits works about and inspired by the life and legacy of Maryland-born abolitionist Harriet Tubman. The opening reception is on Sat., Mar. 23 from 3 to 5 PM at Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, 830 E. Pratt St. The exhibit will continue through June 23. Call 443-263-1800 or go to http://www.africanamericanculture.org/.



26] – Catch the play by Obi Egbuna "Same Neighborhood Different Perspectives; A Conversation Between Colin Powell and Kwame Ture" at the Howard University Blackburn Center’s Digital Auditorium, 2397 Sixth St. NW, WDC, on Sat., Mar. 23 at 6 PM.



27] – Witness Against Torture will gather for action in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Des Moines, Western Massachusetts, and other cities to denounce the barbaric practice of torture and indefinite detention and to demand justice for the men at Guantanamo. WAT members will fast for 7 days, Sun., Mar. 24 through Sat., Mar. 30, in solidarity with the men in Guantanamo on hunger strike.



You are invited to join the fast for whatever period of time you can. Email witnesstorture@gmail.com. Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell the president to fulfill his promise to close Guantanamo. Call the U.S. Southern Command to decry the conditions at Guantanamo- 305-437-1000. Write Secretary of War Charles Hagel at 1000 Defense Pentagon, WDC 20301.



166 men remain imprisoned at Guantanamo. 86 have been cleared for release. All are being subject to indefinite detention, held at the cost of $800,000 per year for each man, at a prison the President of the United States pledged to close on his first day of office in January 2009.



28] – Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 306 W. Franklin St., Suite 102, Baltimore 21201-4661, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion from 10:30 to 11:30 AM. On Sun., Mar. 24, enjoy the platform address – “A Reconsideration of the History of American Medicine” by Elaine G. Breslaw, author, historian, and BES Member. For most American doctors and in the eyes of the general public, medical science in this country has a long history. It follows then, according to this belief, that the United States has been in the forefront of medical discoveries and innovations during its early history. That unfortunately is not true. She offers a reconsideration of both popular beliefs as she describes some of the health problems faced by early Americans. Although her focus will be the nature of medical care in early America, she also will consider the role of lay practitioners such as midwives, obeahs, herb doctors as well as other non-orthodox remedies. She additionally will trace the declining stature of the medical profession itself during the nineteenth century, a decline partly due to the inadequate education of medical personnel but also a result of underlying social, economic, and ethical values of the time that promoted commercialization and encouraged the nationalistic ideal of American exceptionalism. Those conditions led to an anti-intellectual climate among doctors that denied the scientific discoveries in Europe, discoveries that were leading to the real breakthroughs in medicine. Breslaw retired as professor of history from Morgan State University in Baltimore after 29 years and has taught on an adjunct basis at Johns Hopkins University, Goucher College, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and as a Fulbright Senior Fellow at the University of the West Indies in Barbados. She is the author of Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem: Devilish Indians and Puritan Fantasies (NYU Press 1995), Witches of the Atlantic World: An Historical Reader and Primary Sourcebook (NYU Press, 2000), and Dr. Alexander Hamilton and Provincial America: Expanding the Orbit of Scottish Culture (LSU Press, 2008). Go to http://www.bmorethical.org. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.



29] – Join the Kadampa Meditation Center for Peace and Pancakes on Sundays at 10:30 AM at KMC Maryland, 2937 North Charles St. All are invited to participate in guided meditation and chant praying for world peace. There will be a talk based on Buddhist thought followed by brunch. Call 410- 243-3837. Brunch is $5.



30] – Join a demo with Marc Huppi and tell Best Buy customers to boycott SodaStream products on Sun., Mar. 24 from 2 to 5 PM at Kay Spiritual Life Center, 4500 Wisconsin Ave. NW, WDC 20016. Educate Tenleytown shoppers about the injustice of the Israeli occupation and ask them to refuse to buy SodaStream products and ultimately have them de-shelved because SodaSteam manufactures its beverage carbonating devices in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. Not only does this product help sustain the settler economies it directly exploits local Palestinians; using them as cheap labor, paying them far below minimum wage and not even protecting them under Israeli labor laws. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/515256608517479/.



31] – The Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Institute will study Imperialism and Palestine (led by Mike Hachey) on Sun., Mar. 24 from 3 to 5 PM. The location will be announced upon registration. The Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Institute is a new left political education institute in the D.C. area. The political education projects aim to build leadership and deepen analysis in the struggle against capitalism and imperialism. Register at http://www.tanjera.net/lucy/. Register (fill out the form on the apply tab) and you will get further details (location, readings, etc.).



32] – The next Baltimore Green Forum is on Sun., Mar. 24 from 4 to 5:30 PM at the Maryland Presbyterian Church, 1105 Providence Road, Towson, MD 21286, and Dr. Elliott Campbell will speak about what Every Environmentalist Should Know about Howard T. and Elisabeth Odum and their book, “A Prosperous Way Down.” The late Howard T. Odum received the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in bioscience and was a holistic thinker whom environmentalists in particular should appreciate. His pioneering work in applying systems theory to ecology and analyzing energy flows in particular gives us environmentalists a new understanding of why it has been so difficult for humans to practice conservation and sustainability.



The book is written especially for those who care about the long term survival of human civilization. Elisabeth is also a systems ecologist. The book provides a much more scientific basis than most of us have ever been given to help us make the case for fundamental changes in human society. Learn about the Odums and this book from their grandson, Dr. Elliott Campbell. Elliott is a recent recipient of a doctoral degree from University of Maryland in Ecology and now serves as a Faculty Research Assistant at UMD. He is the grandchild of Elisabeth Odum and step-grandchild of H. T. Odum. See www.prosperouswaydown.com.



The Baltimore Green Forum is a monthly environmental and discussion forum held usually on the last Sunday of each month. It is open to the public and is free of charge, but donations to Maryland Presbyterian Church are greatly appreciated. For questions, to co-sponsor, or to RSVP, contact baltimoregreenforum@gmail.com or 301-345-2234. Go to http://www.baltimoregreenforum.org.



33] – On Sun., Mar. 24 from 5 to 7 PM at Busboys & Poets, 2021 14th St. NW, join Melissa Tuckey, co-founder of Split This Rock, for a book launch and reading from her award-winning book of poems, “Tenuous Chapel” with special guests, Sarah Browning, E. Ethelbert Miller and Joseph Ross. The book was chosen by Charles Simic for the prestigious ABZ first book award. In his forward, Simic writes, "If the hope of any poem is to render the experience in a fresh unsettling way, she has that gift." The book moves from the intimate and personal to the communal and political. It's a search for the sacred in a time of war and environmental destruction. See http://www.ips-dc.org/events/author_event_tenuous_chapel.



34] – The SOUL KITCHEN is open. Gimmie Shelter Productions in conjunction with the Govans Presbyterian Church, 5828 York Road, Baltimore, MD 21212 is hosting a meal for the needy and homeless on Sun., Mar. 24. To help with the serving or cooking of the food, arrive at the church at 5 PM. If you are able to provide musical entertainment, call Alan Barysh at 443-239 5325. To arrange to make a tax-deductible or an in-kind donation, call Rev. Tom Harris, pastor, at 410-435-9188. Go to govanspres.org/govanspres/welcome.



35] – Red Emma’s needs volunteers. Stop in to the weekly Sunday meeting at 7 PM at 800 St. Paul St. or email info@redemmas.org. The next meeting is Mar. 24. There is no meeting on the first Sunday of the month. Call 410-230-0450. If you would be interested in volunteering or becoming a collective member of 2640, send an email to 2640@redemmas.org.

36] – There is a weekly Pentagon Peace Vigil from 7 to 8 AM on Mondays, since 1987, outside the Pentagon Metro stop. The next vigil is Mon., Mar.25, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. Keep Space for Peace signs will be held at this vigils. Email artlaffin@hotmail.com or call 202-882-9649.

37] – Land Rights Activist Lolita Chavez is on tour from Mon., Mar. 25 at noon until Sun., Mar. 31 at 4 PM. For example, catch her on Mon., Mar. 25 at noon at Georgetown Law School and at 6 PM at Busboys and Poets, 5th & K Sts. Lolita is spokesperson for the K’iche’ People’s Council, (CPK in Spanish), an organization which represents 87 Mayan communities in the department of Quiché, Guatemala. GHRC will accompany her on the speaking tour. She will discuss her communities’ struggle for self-determination and control over their land and natural resources. She will also talk about the violence and intimidation activists – particularly women – suffer at the hands of multinational companies and their employees, and the government’s criminalization of community leaders for their resistance.



Lolita herself has been threatened dozens of times for her work in defense of land and territory and has been granted “precautionary measures” by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In June of 2012, several armed men tried unsuccessfully to capture Lolita as she was returning home from a protest against a local mayor. They surrounded the bus that carried her and other protestors and shouted death threats, but were unable to drag her from the bus. Go to ghrc-usa@ghrc-usa.org.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218. Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs