Baltimore Activist Alert - April 15 - May 2, 2015

54] Fight for Fifteen – Apr. 15
55] Energy security challenges faced in the Eastern Mediterranean – Apr. 15
56] The impact of “free” trade on the climate – Apr. 15
57] Bring workers' message to the National Restaurant Association! – Apr. 15
58] "Russia and the West: A New Cold War?" – Apr. 15
59] Lobby visit at Rep. John Sarbanes’ office – Apr. 15
60] Call for $15 & a Union – Apr. 15
61] Vigil at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial – Apr. 15
62] "Bridging the Gap: between Africans at home and abroad" -- Apr. 15
63] Film “Doctors of the Dark Side” – Apr. 15
64] Yemen Panel Discussion – Apr. 15
65] "More Than a Score" – Apr. 15
66] D.C. Emancipation Day Parade – Apr. 16
67] "The Iran Nuclear Negotiations: Critical Issues” – Apr. 16
68] "Operation Protective Edge" -- Apr. 16
69] No “free trade” agreement – Apr. 16
70] Marion Barry’s role as a D.C. emancipator -- Apr. 16
71] D.C.'s Emancipation Day -- Apr. 16
72] D.C. Compensated Emancipation Act -- Apr. 16
73] Annual Reception to raise funds to support LGBTI asylum seekers – Apr. 16
74] Baltimore Science Cafe -- Apr. 16
75] Human Trafficking -- Apr. 16
76] David Swanson speaks at CPSR dinner – Apr. 18
77] MUPJ conference – May 1 & 2
78] Sign up with Washington Peace Center
79] Join Fund Our Communities
80] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records
81] Do you need any book shelves?
82] Join Global Zero campaign
83] Join Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil
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54] – Gather at the McKeldin Library, University of Maryland, College Park 20742 on Wed., Apr. 15 at 11:45 AM and join SLAP for the national day of action for the Fight for Fifteen! They are demanding a campus-wide wage increase of $15/hour and an unprecedented expansion of collective bargaining rights.

55] – American Security Project, 1100 New York Ave. NW, 7th Floor West Tower, WDC on Wed., Apr. 15 from noon to 5 PM, will host a half day conference to examine the energy security challenges faced in the Eastern Mediterranean. Over the course of three panel discussions, the event will first examine the geopolitical importance of the region, focusing on the recent discovery of major natural gas fields in Israel. The next panel will look at the challenges of promoting energy cooperation throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, and will attempt to offer prescriptions for increasing energy security. The final panel will discuss the potential role that the US can play in the region in terms of investment opportunities and regional cooperation. Refreshments will be served from noon to 12:30 PM. Go to http://www.americansecurityproject.org/event/conference-geopolitics-of-energy-security-in-the-eastern-mediterranean/.

56] – Be at American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Kay Spiritual Center, WDC 20016 on Wed., Apr. 15 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM as several speakers will discuss the impact of “free” trade on the climate during Earth Justice Week. Contact EPGA Coordinator Lauren Reese at epga@american.edu. Visit www.american.edu/ocl/kay.

57] – Be at Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. on Wed., Apr. 15 at 2 PM and join ROC DC and other organizations for an action to bring workers' message to the National Restaurant Association! Workers around the nation will take action to improve the restaurant industry, calling for higher wages and an increased voice for workers to shape the future of the sector. From fast-food to fine-dining, people are tired of poverty wages and a corporate restaurant industry that puts profit over people -- not just in the workplace, but throughout the food system -- in a way that affects our health, our environment, and our economy.

The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, together with a coalition of organizations working together to Stop The Other NRA, is headed to DC to take action during the National Restaurant Association’s annual Public Affairs Conference. ROC believes in principles of respect and dignity in the restaurant and food industry that include good jobs for all, food-sourcing transparency, a sustainable food system, and an inclusive democracy.

While hundreds of restaurant-industry lobbyists descend on Capitol Hill to lobby on everything from taxes, to nutrition, to the minimum wage, their top “front burner” legislative agenda that includes health care and union organizing, the coalition is planning to broadcast a loud and clear statement of our own about the future of the restaurant and food industry. The PRESS CONFERENCE will be with RAISE (Restaurants Advancing Industry Standards in Employment), an alternative national restaurant association of high road employers. RAISE employers and elected officials will be expressing their support for One Fair Wage to eliminate the separate, lower minimum wage for tipped workers -- which has been stuck at $2.13/hr since 1991 -- by raising it to match the regular minimum wage. We need you to stand with them. Then, attend a hearing on support for high road businesses and fair wages for workers, room to be confirmed, in the Longworth House Building, 9 Independence Ave. SE. Stay afterwards in Room 1324, Longworth at 2:30 PM to join the Congressional Progressive Caucus, ROC, and Change to Win for a hearing on support for high road businesses and fair wages for workers. RSVP to Ariel at ariel@rocunited.org.

58] – On Wed., Apr. 15 from 3 to 4 PM Matthew Kroenig, Georgetown University, Jeremy Shapiro, Center on the United States and Europe, and Dana Allin, Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, will target "Russia and the West: A New Cold War?" at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2121 K St. NW, WDC. RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/russia-and-the-west-a-new-cold-war-tickets-16418857244?aff=es2.

59] – As part of the national "Educate Congress" Campaign Letter Drops, on Wed., Mar. 18 at 4:30 PM, the Pledge of Resistance will go to Rep. John Sarbanes’ office, 600 Baltimore Ave., Suite 303, Towson, MD 21204, to deliver a letter. The letter urges him to oppose “Fast Track,” more warmongering and killer drone strikes. Let Max know if you can sign on to the letter and go to Sarbanes’ office--410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net. Are you a constituent?

60] – On Wed., Apr. 15 from 5 to 6 PM join the call for $15 & a Union; Stopping Water Shut-offs; and Know Your Rights/Cop Watch campaign organized by the Peoples Power Assembly. Call 443-221-3775. Gather in McKeldin Square, Light & Pratt Sts., downtown Baltimore. Tens of thousands of low wage workers and their supporters will be marching, striking and taking part in actions both on and off the job across the country.

Workers in fast food stores like McDonalds will be joining hands with Walmart and retail workers. Those in the community fighting against police terror and racism will be linking up with students who are planning walk outs in a number of major cities. The Peoples Power Assembly and its sister group, We Deserve Better Workers Assembly, along with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference are calling for a major protest. The Baltimore Metropolitan AFL-CIO Labor Council has endorsed and is putting the word out to their affiliates. APWU postal workers are coming out along with students and youth. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/462707213885677/. Go to www.PeoplesPowerAssemblies.org.

61] – Vigil at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, 1964 Independence Ave. SW, WDC on Wed., Apr. 15 at 6 PM. Individuals will stand up, speak out, and fight for fair pay at the rallies around the globe for the Fight for $15. It's time for McDonald's and billionaire corporations to pay workers enough to support their families. It's time for $15 an hour and union rights. See http://april15.org/find-actions/?gmw_post=tribe_events&gmw_address[]=Washington%2C+DC+20037%2C+United+States&gmw_distance=100&gmw_units=imperial&gmw_form=1&gmw_per_page=1&gmw_lat=38.9042365&gmw_lng=-77.05212890000001&gmw_px=pt&action=gmw_post&source=.

62] – Gather at the ECAC, 733 Euclid St. NW, WDC, across from Howard University, on Wed., Apr, 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM for the Pan-African Community Talk series "Bridging the Gap: between Africans at home and abroad." Email aaprpmd@gmail.com or call 202-294-5593. See http://www.aaprp-intl.org.

63] – Beyond the Classroom: University of Maryland, 1104 South Campus Commons, Building 1, 4230 Knox Road, College Park 20742, on Wed., Apr. 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, see “Doctors of the Dark Side” which exposes the scandal behind the torture scandal — how psychologists and physicians implemented and covered up the torture of detainees in U.S. controlled military prisons. The stories of four detainees and the doctors involved in their abuse show how essential doctors have been to the torture program. Dr. Martha Davis is a psychologist and expert in the video study of interview behavior. After four years researching how physicians and psychologists became involved in detainee torture, she led a team of film professionals to make the film. RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/1553336128270601/.

64] – Catch a Yemen Panel Discussion on Wed., Apr. 15 from 7 to 9 PM at Busboys and Poets Brookland, 625 Monroe St. NE, WDC. Experts on the situation will express their opinions, offer viable solutions, and answer your questions. Two weeks ago a US-backed Saudi led war began with unannounced bombing of Yemen which only worsened a deep humanitarian crisis and security. The Yemeni people are trapped in between a foreign military intervention and internal conflicts in the south. People are suffering daily destructive and murderous airstrikes. In addition to the fear and anxiety they cause, people have no idea how long these will last or who/where will be hit next. Hospitals, IDP centers, dairy and wheat factories, schools, farms and airports have all been hit. According to the UN, more than 500 people have been killed to date and over 1,800 wounded. Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK will moderate. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1566119520323170/.

65] – As students, teachers, and administrators across the country are taking an active stand against high stakes, standardized testing, hear Jesse Hagopian talk about "More Than a Score: The New Uprising against High-Stakes Testing" which he helped launch this national movement. For too long so-called education reformers, mostly billionaires, politicians, and others with little or no background in teaching, have gotten away with using standardized testing to punish our nation's youth and educators. This event is at Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, on Wed., Apr. 15 at 7:30 PM, and will be a discussion between teachers, students and parents of the new uprising against high-stakes testing. The featured speakers are Hagopian, Jessica Shiller, a parent of two public school children and a professor of education at Towson University, Jerry McNutt, member of the Baltimore Algebra Project, and Matthew Prestbury, a parent of Baltimore City Public Schools students. Hagopian teaches history and is the Black Student Union adviser at Garfield High School, the site of the historic boycott of the MAP test in 2013. He is an associate editor of Rethinking Schools, a founding member of Social Equality Educators, and winner of the 2013 “Secondary School Teacher of Year” award from the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences. The evening is co-sponsored by Maryland R.E.F.U.S.E., Baltimore Algebra Project, as well as Haymarket Books and Rethinking Schools. Call 443-602-7585. Go to http://www.redemmas.org.

66] – March with Stand Up! for Democracy in DC (Free DC) in the 2015 DC Emancipation Day Parade! Go to 4th and Pennsylvania Aves. NW, WDC on Thurs., Apr. 16 from 10 AM to 1 PM. The day celebrates and commemorates 4/16/1862 when more than 3,100 enslaved people were freed. They say "We are Still Not Free Until We Free DC!" Wear your Freedom Clothes! March for DC Statehood! Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/443349482506652/.

67] – On Thurs., Apr. 16 from noon to 1 PM, Fred Fleitz, Center for Security Policy, Greg Jones, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, and Henry Sokolski, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, will explore "The Iran Nuclear Negotiations: Critical Issues" at the Heritage Foundation, Lehrman Auditorium, 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE, WDC. You can watch a webcast on the Heritage website. RSVP at http://www.heritage.org/events/2015/04/iran-nuclear?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRoju6zMZKXonjHpfsX56%2B4qXKe0lMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4HRcdnI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D.

68] – On Thurs., Apr. 16 from 1 to 2 PM, the Jerusalem Fund, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, WDC hear about ongoing domestic and international efforts to achieve accountability for "Operation Protective Edge," the massive Israeli military offensive on Gaza in the summer of 2014 that killed over 2,000 Palestinians, including over 500 children. The discussion will bring together human rights defenders from Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, and Defense for Children International Palestine to share key updates from the ground and provide insight into their engagement with international mechanisms. Nadia Ben-Youssef and Brad Parker will discuss their legal work on behalf of victims in Gaza, highlight failures of domestic accountability in Israel, and share international advocacy strategies.

Ben-Youssef is a lawyer and human rights advocate who aims to raise awareness of the institutional discrimination against Palestine citizens. Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel is a legal center and an independent human rights organization based in Israel. Established in 1996, Adalah uses Israeli legal channels to protect and promote the rights of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. Visit www.adalah.org/eng.

Parker is a staff attorney and international advocacy officer at Defense for Children International Palestine. He specializes in issues of juvenile justice and grave violations against children during armed conflict, and leads DCI-Palestine's legal advocacy efforts on Palestinian children's rights. See http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/RegisterForEvent/i/51315. Call 202-338-1958 or email info@thejerusalemfund.org.

69] – Be at American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Kay Spiritual Center, WDC 20016 on Thurs., Apr. 16 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM and hear from Karen Hansen, director of International Strategies at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and William Warren, Trade Policy Analyst at Friends of the Earth. Visit www.american.edu/ocl/kay. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/646501275480328/.

70] – Go to the Carnegie Library, Mt. Vernon Square, 801 K St. NW, WDC on Thurs., Apr. 16 at 2 PM to observe D.C. Emancipation Day - the freeing of 3,100 enslaved persons in D.C. on 4/16/1862. Catch the panel discussion of Marion Barry’s role as a D.C. emancipator, looking at his work to achieve economic inclusion and home rule specifically for the African American residents of the District of Columbia. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1612503852318648/.

71] – Come to the Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Rd. NW, WDC on Thurs., Apr. 16 from 6 to 8 PM and join ONE DC in celebrating DC's Emancipation Day. Explore the history of the day and the role of economic emancipation through worker cooperatives. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/449689861856182/NE.

72] – At the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum, 1925 Vermont Ave. NW, WDC on Thurs., Apr. 16 at 6:30 PM, commemorate the anniversary of the DC Compensated Emancipation Act (DC Emancipation). Engage in a Candle Light Vigil and reading of the names of freed slaves. RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/dc-emancipation-wreath-candle-light-vigil-tickets-16238584042?aff=eac2.

73] – Come to Cobalt, 1639 R St. NW, WDC on Thurs., Apr. 16 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM and join Center Global for the Annual Reception to raise funds to support LGBTI asylum seekers in the D.C. area. Honor two LGBTI activists, including one asylum seeker/asylee, for their work as human rights defenders. The suggested donation is $15 at the door. To purchase tickets in advance, join the host committee or sponsor the event, visit http://thedccenter.org/supporters_centerglobal.html.

74] – On Thurs., Apr. 16 at 7:30 PM at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201 and join in the Baltimore Science Cafe featuring Dr. Nicoline Schiess, MD MPH, assistant professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins. She will discuss Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a debilitating, degenerative disease of the nervous system that affects young people in the prime of their lives. Dr. Schiess will share her experiences treating MS both at the Johns Hopkins MS Center as well as abroad. Call 443-602-7585. Go to http://www.redemmas.org.

75] – On Thurs., Apr. 16 at 7:30 PM attend a talk HUMAN TRAFFICKING - a Scourge on Society. Learn more about the human trafficking problem in this country. Presentations will be made by Maryknoll Sisters Mary Ann Smith and Veronica Schweyen. Learn what you can do about this problem in your own back yard at St. Francis of Assisi Church Parish Center (church basement), 6701 Muncaster Mill Road, Derwood 20855. The talk is sponsored by the St. Francis of Assisi Pax Christi group.

76] – Join us for Chesapeake PSR’s Annual Chapter Dinner on Sat., Apr. 18 from 6 to 9 PM at The Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles Street, Baltimore 21210. Our featured guest speaker is author, activist and radio host David Swanson. David will speak on trends that are driving change in our society. His talk will encompass three areas of great interest and concern to Chesapeake PSR -- peace, environment and democracy. The cost for dinner is $40. Limited financial assistance available. Please RSVP to twitehouse@psr.org or 240-246-4492.

77] – Hold the Dates for the 30th Annual Peace, Justice, & Environment Conference, sponsored by Maryland United for Peace and Justice/Institute For Positive Action. Coordination and Cooperation for Action to Achieve Peace and Social Justice is happening Fri., May 1 and Sat., May 2 at Salem Lutheran Church, Catonsville, MD. Email phamm001@earthlink.net or call 443-418-5479 (c-Paulette). Go to www.mupj.org.

78] -- The Washington Peace Center has a progressive calendar & activist alert! Consider signing up to receive its weekly email: info@washingtonpeacecenter.org.

79] -- Fund Our Communities campaign is a grass roots movement to get support from local organizations and communities to work together with their local and state elected officials to pressure Congresspersons and senators to join with Congresspersons Barney Frank and Ron Paul, who have endorsed a 25% cut to the federal military budget. Bring home the savings to state and county governments to meet the local needs which are under tremendous budget pressures. Go to www.OurFunds.org.

80] -- If you would like to get rid of books, videos, DVDs or records, contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net.

81] -- Can you use any book shelves? Contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net.

82] -- Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees. This is an historic window of opportunity. With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many.

83] – A Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil takes place every day in Lafayette Park, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 24 hours a day, since June 3, 1981. Go to http://prop1.org; call 202-682-4282.

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/.

"One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan