Baltimore Activist Alert - March 14 - 17, 2015

28] FCNL Lobby Training – Mar. 14 - 17
29] We Can Achieve Youth Advocacy” – Mar. 15
30] NUCLEAR WEAPONS: Their Danger, Cost, and Elimination – Mar. 15
31] Hiroshima meeting – Mar. 15
32] Protect the Climate Seder – Mar. 15
33] Pentagon Vigil – Mar. 16
34] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Mar. 16 – Mar. 20
35] Global Arms Trade, Recent Trends & Looking Ahead – Mar. 16
36] "A Nuclear Deal, Iran’s Regional Role and U.S. Relations with the Persian Gulf" – Mar. 16
37] "Managing and Reducing 21st Century Nuclear Security Threats" – Mar. 16
38] Presentation by Christine Riddiough – Mar. 16
39] "Spinoza and Zionism" – Mar. 16
40] Life under Israel’s long military occupation - Mar. 16
41] Pledge of Resistance/FOC meeting – Mar. 16
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28] – The Friends Committee on National Legislation Lobbying session began on Sat., Mar. 14 at the Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle NW, WDC. On Sun., Mar. 15 it begins at 8 AM with breakfast. Then programs go from 9 AM to 5:30 PM. On Mon., Mar. 16 it begins at 8 AM with breakfast. Then programs go from 9 AM to 5 PM. There will be some lobbying in the afternoon. On Tues., Mar. 17, the activities take place at the Church of the Reformation (Capitol Hill) with an 8 AM breakfast. This is a Lobby Day, and FCNL Staff will be on hand to accompany groups to lobby visits. Go to http://fcnl.org/events/slw/.

29] – 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 AM to noon. On Mar. 15, the platform address is “We Can Achieve Youth Advocacy” by Adrian Muldrow. He will speak about his work with the Baltimore Chapter of the NAACP, increasing opportunities for youth offenders to obtain expungement of their criminal records, and the “We Can Achieve” Youth Advocacy Project. Muldrow spent over 20 years in and out of Maryland’s prison system and was wrongly accused and sentenced to Life and 20 years in prison. He is founder of the We Can Achieve Project (WCAP) Baltimore that has worked with youth and adults returning from prison. Many youth and adults have since obtained High School Diplomas, employment, and other opportunities. As CEO of Promotional Concepts, a Consulting/Advertising agency, he creates marketing materials for businesses, and has received several official acknowledgements and various awards for his community work, including ones at the Mayoral and Senatorial levels. Mr. Muldrow is 3rd Vice President of The Baltimore Branch NAACP. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

30] – Catch the discussion NUCLEAR WEAPONS: Their Danger, Cost, and Elimination on Sun., March 15 at 3 PM at the Phila. Ethical Society, 1906 RITTENHOUSE SQUARE, PHILA., PA 19103. There is now an International Campaign to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons. The 2015 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Convention is meeting at the United Nations on April 27 continuing talks regarding the banning and elimination of more than 17,000 nuclear warheads worldwide. Talk is good, but action speaks a lot louder.

The speakers are as follows: Daniel Wolk, Physicians for Social Responsibility, "The Medical and Environmental Consequences of Nuclear Weapons;" Tammy Murphy, Project for Nuclear Awareness - "Monetary Costs, and Negotiation and non-proliferation: Iran and North Korea," Elisabeth Leonard, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom - Current U.S. Missile and Warhead Modernization; Ed Aguilar (Coalition for Peace Action), " Republic of Marshall Islands Goes to the World Court for Nuclear Weapons Ban;" and Joseph Gerson, American Friends Service Committee (and coordinator of anti-nuclear peace events in New York City, April 24 and April 25) - " Increased Superpower Tension and What We Can Do to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons." Hugh Taft-Morales will be the moderator from the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia. Visit www.brandywinepeace.com/events.

31] -- At 9612 Wire Ave., Silver Spring 20901, on Sun., Mar. 15 at 4 PM, go to the next meeting of the Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capital Area. The agenda will include the following items: an update on NPT organizing, Gensuikyo visit to DC, the program at All Souls Church, Maruki Exhibit at AU, summer 2015, 70th Commemoration, Rissho Kosei Kai Japanese delegation to All Souls and a date for the next meeting. Email John Steinbach johnsteinbach1@verizon.net.

32] – Go to Beth Am Synagogue, 2501 Eutaw Place, Baltimore, on Sun., Mar. 15 at 4 PM to examine the use of incinerators. Using the structure of the Passover Seder, explore a pressing threat to social justice in Baltimore City. The nation's largest trash burning incinerator is being planned in Curtis Bay, one of the City's most polluted neighborhoods. The incinerator would dump 240lbs of mercury and 1000lbs of lead every year, as well as many other toxic substances, on a neighborhood that is already treated as Baltimore's dumping ground. Residents of Curtis Bay already suffer from elevated risks of heart disease, cancer, and lung disease from nearby industrial pollution, and the incinerator threatens to make this even worse. At the Social Justice Seder, we will be take lessons from the Jewish tradition and from the environmental justice movement to raise awareness, ask critical questions, stop the incinerator and find positive alternatives. Go to http://jufj.org/content/baltimores-social-justice-seder%20.

33] -- 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. 9, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. Email artlaffin@hotmail.com or call 202-882-9649. The vigil will be outside the Pentagon's south Metro entrance and in the designated "protest zone" behind bicycle fences across from the entrance to the Metro. By Metro, take Yellow Line and get out at the "Pentagon" stop. Do not go to the Pentagon City stop! Go up south escalators and turn left and walk across to protest area. By car from D.C. area, take 395 South and get off at Exit 8A-Pentagon South Parking. Take slight right onto S. Rotary Rd. at end of ramp and right on S. Fern St. Then take left onto Army Navy Dr. You can "pay to park" on Army Navy Dr., and there is meter parking one block on right on Eads St. Payment for both of these spots begin at 8 AM. No cameras are allowed on Pentagon grounds. Restrooms are located inside Marriott Residence Inn on corner of S. Fern and Army Navy Dr.

34] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Friday from 10 AM to noon on WEAA 88.9 FM, The Voice of the Community, or online at www.weaa.org. The call-in number is 410-319-8888, and comments can also be sent by email to steinershow@gmail.com. All shows are also available as podcasts at www.steinershow.org.

35] – The Stimson Center's Managing Across Boundaries Initiative on Mon,, Mar. 16 from 10 to 11:30 AM is Global Arms Trade, Recent Trends & Looking Ahead, which will feature Aude Fleurant, Director, Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, SIPRI, and Jeff Abramson, Founder, Forum on the Arms Trade, at the Stimson Center, 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW, 8th Floor, WDC 20036. The talk will be moderated by Rachel Stohl, Senior Associate, Managing Across Boundaries, Stimson Center. RSVP at http://www.forumarmstrade.org/events.html.

The global arms trade impacts countries and societies in conflict and at peace. Internal security challenges as well as regional and international instability all drive demand for weapons, sometimes with unanticipated consequences. Today's complex global conflicts and shifting security partnerships underscore the need for examining recent trends in the global arms market. Each year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) publishes a report on recent trends in international arms transfers. Drawn from the world’s most detailed public database on global arms transfers, these reports identify top exporters and importers of major conventional weapons as well as shifts in the international and regional arms trade. This event is co-hosted by the Forum on the Arms Trade and the Stimson Center. Contact Shannon Dick at sdick@stimson.org.

36] – On Mon., Mar. 16 at 2 PM, Richard LeBaron, former Ambassador to Kuwait, Alireza Nader, RAND, Ilan Goldenberg, Center for a New American Security, will examine "A Nuclear Deal, Iran’s Regional Role and U.S. Relations with the Persian Gulf" at the Atlantic Council, 12th Floor, 1030 15th St. NW, WDC. RSVP http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/events/upcoming-events/registration/a08i0000016IEFBAA4.

37] – On Mon., Mar. 16 from 6 to 8:30 PM, Duyeon Kim, Carnegie Endowment, former Sen. Sam Nunn (GA), Nuclear Security Initiative, former Sen. Richard Lugar (IN), Lugar Center, Desmond Browne, former U.K. Defense Minister, and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (NE), will take on "Managing and Reducing 21st Century Nuclear Security Threats" at Georgetown University, Bunn Intercultural Center, 37th St. NW, WDC. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/panel-discussion-managing-and-reducing-21st-c-nuclear-security-threats-tickets-15879727693.

38] – On Mon., Mar. 16 at 6:30 PM at 215 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Suite 1, WDC, catch a presentation by Christine Riddiough, former DSA Political Director, former staffer for NOW and leader of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union; organizer of first conference of Openly Gay and Lesbian Officials, 1985; current honorary Vice Chair of DSA, etc. She has been an activist in the women’s and LGBT movements since 1970. Chris today is on the board of the Americans for Democratic Action Education and a Principal Technical Training Consultant with the SAS Institute, as well as a contributor of posts on feminism and LGBT issues for DSA's Democratic Left blog.

39] – The next dialogue of the Jewish-Islamic Dialogue Society of Washington (JIDS) is promoting an event on Mon., Mar. 16 at 6:30 PM at the Washington Goethe Institute, 812 7th St. NW, WDC, at the intersection of 7th and I Sts. Use the Chinatown Metro stop. There will be a presentation on "Spinoza and Zionism." The session will be sponsored by the Washington Spinoza Society. Visit http://www.jids.org/new/home/.

40] – Go to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill, 301 A St. SE, WDC 20003, on Mon., Mar. 16 at 7 PM and hear from Thomas Abowd, Lecturer in Anthropology, Tufts University. He illuminates everyday life under Israel’s long military occupation as it is defined by processes and conditions of "apartness" and separation as Palestinians are increasingly regulated and controlled. The professor examines how both national communities are progressively divided by walls, checkpoints, and separate road networks in one of the most segregated cities in the world. Drawing upon recent theories on racial politics, colonialism, and urban spatial dynamics, “Colonial Jerusalem” analyzes the politics of myth, history, and memory across an urban landscape integral to the national cosmologies of both Palestinians and Israelis and meaningful to all communities."

Thomas Philip Abowd is an urban anthropologist and historian who received his Ph.D in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University in 2003. His book on spatial politics in contemporary Jerusalem, “Colonial Jerusalem: the Spatial Construction of Identity and Difference,” was published in 2011 by Syracuse University. In 2006 he received a Post-Doctoral Research Award from the Palestine-American Research Center (PARC), to study housing politics in contemporary Jerusalem. From 2008 to 2009 Dr. Abowd was the recipient of a Faculty Fellowship from the Humanities Center of Wayne State University, to continue research on housing politics and housing-rights activism in Jerusalem. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1567341316856838/.

41] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore usually meets on Mondays at 7:30 PM, and the meetings take place at Max’s residence. The next meeting will be on Mon., Mar. 16. The proposed agenda will include anti-drone activities, lobbying in Annapolis, the Spring Rising, a march from the EPA to the Pentagon, lobbying John Sarbanes and the ISIS forum. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net.

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