Baltimore Activist Alert -April 15, 16, 2013

48] Unseen side of the "9/11 wars" – Apr. 15


49] Women and War - A Discussion – Apr. 15

50] Film THE ISLAND PRESIDENT – Apr. 15

51] Gun Violence Forum at Goucher College – Apr. 15

52] Drone Research/Training, actions/teach-ins - Apr. 16 – 18

53] RALLY AT KILLER DRONES HEARING – Apr. 16

54] WORKSHOP: Legality, Politics, and Ethics of Militarized DRONES - Apr. 16

55] Philadelphia Peace Vigil - Apr. 16

56] “NEW EVIDENCE OF SERIOUS HARM FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS” – Apr. 16

57] War Is Not the Answer – Apr. 16

58] An International Film Festival – through Apr. 21

59] Book talk “After Capitalism.” - Apr. 16

60] Film THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE – Apr. 16



48] – On Mon.,, Apr. 15 from 6:30 to 8 PM, come to a compelling discussion about the unseen side of the "9/11 wars," as IPS Fellow Phyllis Bennis interviews author Victoria Brittain about her new book, “Shadow Lives: The Forgotten Women of the War on Terror,” at Busboys & Poets, 2021 14th Str. NW. The book reveals the impact the "9/11 wars" has had on the wives and families of men incarcerated in Guantanamo, or in prison or under house arrest in Britain and the US. After the discussion, there will be the customary book signing by Brittain. The book talk is sponsored by Institute for Policy Studies' New Internationalism project, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), ACLU of the Nation's Capital, Teaching for Change and Busboys and Poets. Email info@ips-dc.org.



49] – Women and War - A Discussion will be happening on Mon., Apr. 15 from 7 to 9 PM at 21 Maryland Ave., Rockville 20850. Jean Athey, chairperson, Fund Our Communities Coalition will speak about Women and War. She organized a highly successful bus tour from Baltimore to the Capitol, with stops in Baltimore, Hyattsville, Silver Spring and Wheaton. She will discuss the suffering inflicted on families and society at large due to the costs of weapons and the horrors of warfare. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/230091493800314/?ref=ts&fref=ts. There is garage parking across the street, but the library validates for 2 free hours.



50] – Beyond the Classroom presents "The Island President" on Mon., Apr. 15 from 7 to 9 PM at 1104 South Campus Commons, Building 1, College Park. This is part of the Spring 2013 Series on "People Power: Activism for Social Change."



Jon Shenk’s “The Island President” is the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, a man confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced—the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. After bringing democracy to the Maldives after thirty years of despotic rule, Nasheed is now faced with an even greater challenge: as one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands of the Maldives enough to make them uninhabitable.



The Island President captures Nasheed’s first year of office, culminating in his trip to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009, where the film provides a rare glimpse of the political horse-trading that goes on at such a top-level global assembly. Nasheed is unusually candid about revealing his strategies—leveraging the Maldives’ underdog position as a tiny country, harnessing the power of media, and overcoming deadlocks through an appeal to unity with other developing nations. When hope fades for a written accord to be signed, Nasheed makes a stirring speech which salvages an agreement. Despite the modest size of his country, Mohamed Nasheed has become one of the leading international voices for urgent action on climate change. Go to www.BeyondTheClassroom.umd.edu.



51] – Get over to a Gun Violence Forum at Goucher College on Mon., Apr. 15 at 8 PM in the Hyman Forum of the Athenaeum. The forum will feature a balanced panel of experts who will debate as part of the Spring 2013 President's Forum. The panel is composed of Colleen Barry, associate professor and associate chair for research and practice, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Josh Horwitz, executive director, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence; David Keene, president of the National Rifle Association of America; and Jeffrey Swanson, professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Duke University School of Medicine. This event is free and open to the public, but tickets must be reserved at www.goucher.edu/tickets or by calling 410-337-6333.



52] – From Tues., Apr. 16 through Thurs., Apr. 18, join in – Drone Research/Training, actions/teach-ins, etc. at colleges & universities that do drone research or pilot training. Demand an end to research and training related to drone warfare. Contact the coordinator Marge Van Cleef at mvc@igc.org.



53] – Code Pink is mobilizing around the Tues., Apr. 16 hearing on the use of drones abroad at 10 AM at Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226 (room location is tentative; check Senate Judiciary Committee website to confirm – http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/). Rally outside 9 to 10 AM at the: United States Capitol. The Constitution Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counter-terrorism Implications of Targeted Killing.” The hearing will "focus on the constitutional and statutory authority for targeted killings; the scope of the battlefield and who can be targeted as a combatant; and establishing a transparent legal framework for the use of drones."



Amnesty International is calling on all activists and interested individuals to raise their voices and join our call of action by demanding an end to the use of drones for unlawful killings. Since 2004, less than 2% of all individuals killed by drones were high profile targets. The rest were civilians (http://drones.pitchinteractive.com/). Amnesty International activists will stage an action on Capitol Hill to remember the victims of unlawful drone attacks, to highlight the unlawful use of drones, and demand an end to such human rights violations. Contact Jiva Manske at jmanske@aiusa.org or at 202-509-8151.



54] – Participate in the WORKSHOP: Legality, Politics, and Ethics of Militarized DRONES, sponsored by the Human Rights Working Group – Johns Hopkins University, with FRANK JANNUZI, deputy executive director, Amnesty International USA (catch him in this interactive setting before his Foreign Affairs Symposium talk at 8 PM the same day), MEDEA BENJAMIN, co-founder, CODEPINK: Women for Peace, and author, “Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control,” and SHAHID BUTTAR, executive director, Bill of Rights Defense Committee. It takes place on Tues., Apr. 16 from 4 to 6 PM on JHU’s Homewood campus, Remsen 1. Enjoy refreshments from Trinidad Gourmet and Charmington’s. Contact the Human Rights Working Group at Johns Hopkins University at HRWGcontact@gmail.com.



55] – Each Tuesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the Catholic Peace Fellowship-Philadelphia for peace in Afghanistan and Iraq gathers at the Suburban Station, 16th Street & JFK Blvd., at the entrance to Tracks 3 and 4 on the mezzanine. The next vigil is Apr. 16. Call 215-426-0364. Call 410- 230-0450 or go to http://www.redemmas.org.



56] – GMO Free DC hosts “NEW EVIDENCE OF SERIOUS HARM FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS” -- an Evening With JEFFREY SMITH and SALLY FALLON MORELL on Tues., Apr. 16 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM at the Friends Meeting (Quaker House) of Washington, 2111 Florida Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008. Go to http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_27298.cfm.



57] – There is a vigil to say "War Is Not the Answer" each Tuesday since September 11, 2001 at 4806 York Road. Join this ongoing vigil. The next vigil is Apr. 16 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637.



58] – An International Film Festival is ongoing through Apr. 21 at Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is proud to be a Community Partner for this year's 27th Annual FilmFest DC, which will feature more than 80 movies, documentaries, comedies, and shorts from across the world. The festival features a special section called Justice Matters that highlights the tradition of using film to expand awareness of social justice issues. This year's entries include "When I Saw You," directed by Palestinian filmmaker and poet Annemarie Jacir.



In Jacir's moving follow-up to her award-winning debut “Salt of This Sea” (FFDC 2011), a young boy and his mother personify the emancipating dream every refugee has imagined. Displaced to a Jordanian refugee camp in 1967, free-spirited Tarek and his mother temporarily settle in the Harir camp, and in the chaos they are separated from Tarek's father. They anxiously wait to be reunited with him but to no avail. A few miles away, in the encampments that border Israel, the atmosphere is radically different as Palestinian freedom fighters train for battle. When Tarek and his mother cross paths with the combatants, the boy chooses to stay with them, forcing his mother to follow suit. “When I Saw You” is a mature, moving evocation of the very real barriers surrounding the Arab diaspora and the life-affirming spirit of those who struggle to break free of them. -Toronto International Film Festival. The film, in Arabic with English subtitles, will be showing Tues., Apr. 16 and Wed., Apr. 17 at 6:30 PM. Visit http://www.filmfestdc.org/.



59] – On Tues., Apr. 16 at 7 PM @ Red Emma's, 800 St. Paul St., Dada Maheshvarananda presents his book “After Capitalism.” Global capitalism, based on corporate power and militarism, is destroying our economy, our society and our planet. Economic democracy that economically empowers people and communities allows us to share the resources of the planet for the welfare of everyone. Discover positive examples of economic democracy that are taking place in Latin America and in the United States. Call 410-230-0450 or email info@redemmas.org.



60] – See THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE, the latest film from acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns in partnership with his daughter Sarah Burns and David McMahon. The film, which is a WETA co-production, tells the story of the five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who were wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park in 1989. THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE premieres on WETA Television on Tues., Apr. 16 at 9 PM.

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