Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert - April 29 - May 1, 2015

49] "Chemical Safety and Security: New Frontiers in Reducing the Threat of Chemical Weapons” – Apr. 29
50] "Deterrence Instability and Nuclear Weapons in South Asia," – Apr. 29
51] Why Classroom Diversity Matters in Early Education – Apr. 29
52] The Japan Council Against A & H Bombs – Apr. 29
53] Solidarity with Freddie Gray -- Apr. 29
54] Speak Out – Black Lives Matter – Apr. 29
55] Promoting Healthy Minds – Apr. 29
56] Movies from the street – Apr. 29
57] "Screening and Discussion of Winds of Chemical Warfare" – Apr. 29
58] Debriefing of its legislative agenda – Apr. 30
59] The Japan Council Against A & H Bombs – Apr. 30
60] Film CHASING ICE – May. 1
61] MUPJ conference – May 1 & 2
62] Sign up with Washington Peace Center
63] Join Fund Our Communities
64] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records
65] Do you need any book shelves?
66] Join Global Zero campaign
67] Join Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil
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49] – From noon to 2 PM on Wed., Apr. 29, Michael Luhan and James Markarian, International Center for Chemical Safety and Security, will tackle "Chemical Safety and Security: New Frontiers in Reducing the Threat of Chemical Weapons” at Green Cross International, 1100 15th St. NW, Suite 1100, WDC. RSVP to Paul Walker by email. pwalker@globalgreen.org. The Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare is an annual event held on April 29 as a "tribute to the victims of chemical warfare, as well as to reaffirm the commitment of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the elimination of the threat of chemical weapons, thereby promoting the goals of peace, security, and multilateralism." It is officially recognized by the United Nations (UN) and has been celebrated since 2005. On the 2013 observance day, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave a speech where he stated: “On this Remembrance Day, I urge the international community to intensify efforts to rid the world of chemical weapons, along with all other weapons of mass destruction. Let us work together to bring all States under the Convention and promote its full implementation. This is how we can best honor past victims and liberate future generations from the threat of chemical weapons.” [Wikipedia]

50] -- Deterrence in South Asia is becoming less stable with the passage of time and an increase in nuclear weapon capabilities. India and Pakistan have not addressed basic issues in dispute, nor have they agreed to set them aside. In 2015, the two countries are no closer to resolving their differences than they were seven years ago, after members of Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out attacks against Mumbai landmarks.

The Stimson Center is publishing a collection of essays, "Deterrence Instability and Nuclear Weapons in South Asia," edited by Michael Krepon, Joshua T. White, Julia Thompson, and Shane Mason. These essays by Manoj Joshi, Shashank Joshi, Michael Krepon, Jeffrey D. McCausland, Rasul Bakhsh Rais, Sarang Shidore, and Joshua T. White and Kyle Deming clarify how doctrinal, strategic, and technological developments contribute to growing deterrence instability in South Asia. Taken together, these chapters point to serious challenges associated with increased nuclear dangers unless leaders in India and Pakistan work to resolve their grievances, or consider measures to mitigate their costly and risky strategic competition. A book launch and an on-the-record discussion with a light lunch and free copies of the book made available at The Stimson Center, 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW, 8th Floor, WDC 20036 on Wed., Apr. 29 from 12:30 to 2 PM. RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DdfZvda1T2Aa9g67QMrErLb_5IwRsT5PuPYX5YMYCm8/viewform. FOLLOW: @Stimson Center on Twitter for event news, and use #StimsonToday to join the conversation.

51] – The Century Foundation and the Poverty & Race Research Action Council invite you to attend a Capitol Hill Briefing on a new report, A Better Start: Why Classroom Diversity Matters in Early Education on Wed., Apr. 29 from 2 to 3 PM--arrive 15 minutes early to allow time to clear security—in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2226 (House Judiciary Committee Hearing Room), 45 Independence Ave. SW, WDC 20219. Opening Remarks will be made by Mark Zuckerman, President, The Century Foundation & Congressperson Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), Ranking Democratic Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. After that, there will be a panel discussion. Over the past decade, public investments in early childhood education have increased, and policymakers have focused on creating high-quality, sustainable preschool programs. However, largely missing from early childhood policy discussions is consideration of classroom diversity and how it affects the equity, quality, and sustainability of preschool programs. Studies have shown that socioeconomically and racially diverse preschool classrooms offer important cognitive and social benefits for children, but few children enrolled in public preschool programs have access to these types of classrooms. Email events@tcf.org. Research for A Better Start was supported by The Century Foundation and the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and led by Jeanne L. Reid and Sharon Lynn Kagan of the National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College, Columbia University. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/capitol-hill-briefing-why-classroom-diversity-matters-in-early-education-tickets-16399401050.

52] – On Wed., Apr. 29 from 2 to 3:30 PM, the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Area and All Souls Church, in cooperation with Peace Action, will gather with a delegation of approximately 50 Japanese nuclear disarmament activists at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The delegation represents the Japan Council Against A & H Bombs, the largest peace group in Japan and is coming to the nation’s capital directly from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference held every five years at the United Nations. The delegation will include Ms. Sachie Yoshizaki, born in Nagasaki on April 21, 1940. At age 5, she suffered from the atomic bombing together with her family members. She is a long-time peace activist who toured the U.S. in 1985.

During the visit, the delegation will tour the Air and Space Museum and see the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the Hiroshima Bomb, and visit the Holocaust Museum. At the White House, they will gather signatures for the Signature Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Over the years, Gensuikyo has gathered tens of millions of signatures calling for nuclear disarmament. Contact John Steinbach at 703-822-3485.

53] – On Wed., Apr. 29 at 3 PM at Freedom Square at Towson University, raise your voice and take a stand in solidarity with Freddy Gray and his family! At 4:22 PM. The students will board the Collegetown Shuttle as well as take cars to Baltimore’s Penn Station to meet up with students from other universities and high schools in the Baltimore area as well as community activists. March to City Hall. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1114419315250140/.

54] – Every 28 hours a Black person is killed in America by law enforcement officers. Go to a speak-out in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. on Wed., Apr. 29 at 5:30 PM. Remember Rekia Boyd and honor the lives of the many Black Women, Transwomen, and Girls impacted by violence. This event will be a time for healing and reflection. Bring your signs. #BlackLivesMatter #RekiaMatters #Blackgirlsmatter. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/471843469632767/.

55] – On Wed., Apr. 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM attend Promoting Healthy Minds to Support Safe Communities: A Community Conversation About Behavioral Health at 605 Rhode Island Ave. NE, WDC 20001. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/362918153917774/.

56] – On Wed., Apr. 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, Street Sense, D.C.’s economic opportunity media center, presents the first three productions from its groundbreaking filmmaking cooperative. Cinema from the Street is made up of eight currently or formerly homeless men and women. The Street Sense Filmmakers’ Co-op trains individuals technically and conceptually in the art of visual images. At the Landmark E Street Cinema, 555 11th Street NW, WDC, in part one of a two-part showcase, grapple with a Street poet fighting for his life as he recounts his past to himself, and the world, for the first time. Run with an aspiring Late Show intern in NYC as he attempts to force a meeting with David Letterman and free himself from a third decade in transitional housing. And go toe-to-toe with D.C.’s homeless-run advocacy group as they take on local politicians and stage a rally. The screening concludes with a Q&A with the filmmakers. Tickets are free to the public, but space is limited. Donations may be accepted on site. Visit http://streetsense.org/event/cinema-from-the-street/#.VRwJVPzF-Sr.

57] – On Wed., Apr. 29 from 7 to 8:30 PM, Paul Walker, Green Cross International, Labienne Lips-Dumas, filmmaker and Andrew Weber, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, will discuss "Screening and Discussion of Winds of Chemical Warfare" at the Carnegie Endowment, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC. RSVP at https://www.armscontrol.org/civicrm/event/register?id=40&reset=1.

58] – On Thurs., Apr. 30 from 11 AM to 2 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA, 4444 Arlington Blvd., 22204VACOLAO invites you for a debriefing of its legislative agenda. This lunchtime discussion will focus on bills impacting immigrants introduced during the 2015 Virginia General Assembly. In addition to the legislative record, there will be a discussion of new issue advocacy efforts including the push to provide access to driver’s licenses to aspiring citizens in support of safer roads and the strengthening of Virginia’s economy. Register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Ef6chrNRg81evvd-yLhSybECDPLqVjb5mLFEdblU7Mw/viewform?c=0&w=1. Call 703-772-1555.

59] – On Thurs., Apr. 30 at 6:30 PM at All Souls Church, 1500 Harvard St. NW, WDC, there will be a community welcome for a delegation from the Japan Council Against A & H Bombs. See “Pictures from A Hiroshima School Yard, a film about how the children from All Souls Church and the children from Honkawa School near ground zero in Hiroshima, in 1946, reached out to each other in friendship following the atomic bombings.

At 8 PM, there will be a community program welcoming the Gensuikyo. In addition to Ms. Yoshizaki’s testimony about her suffering during the Nagasaki bombing, the gathering will hear from Professor Peter Kuznick, Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, and Kevin Martin, Executive Director of Peace Action, the nation’s largest grass roots peace group. In addition there will be reports from the NPT Conference and time for questions.

60] – The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee, Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee of Homewood and Stony Run Meetings and Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility are continuing the FILM & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS DVD SERIES. CHASING ICE [USA, 2012] will be shown with a discussion to follow on Fri., May 1 at Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218, around 7:15 PM. There is no charge, and refreshments will be available. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at Verizon.net.

This documentary is about James Balog and his team on the Extreme Ice Survey as they assemble a multiyear chronicle of the planet's rapidly melting glaciers. Jeff Orlowski expertly films this risky attempt to "chase ice." Balog has photographed many stories and films for National Geographic, often about endangered species. This time he made repeated expeditions to Greenland, Iceland, Alaska and Montana to install stop-motion cameras in order to view the devastation wreaked by climate chaos on glaciers. The Extreme Ice Survey has been collecting the results since 2007, and it is terrifying to see glaciers retreating from ice mountains to expose the rock they rest on. Determined to continue the project, this scientist has to undergo knee surgery, after all of those mountain treks. Yet you will see him returning to inspect his cameras — on crutches. This documentary qualifies as a horror film.

61] – 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.

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

63] -- 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.

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

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

66] -- 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.

67] – 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

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