Baltimore Activist Alert - June 9 - 10, 2015

25] Is there rule of law in Colombia? – June 9
26] Book talk Chaos and Counterrevolution – June 9
27] Peace vigil – June 9
28] No JHU Drone Research – June 9
29] Honored Father Robert Drinan -- June 9
30] See two films “Port of Memory” & “The Roof” – June 9
31] Author Talk with Lewis R. Gordon – June 9
32] Film ”Besouro” (The Assailant) – June 9
33] The Shoulder-Fired Missile Threat in the Middle East – June 10
34] National Day of Action for Nan-Hui – June 10
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25] – Amazon Watch and Healing Bridges invite you to a "Green-Bag Lunch" presentation: Is there rule of law in Colombia? This is an update from the struggle to dislodge the Colombian army from indigenous territory, and it occurs on  Tues., June 9 from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM in the Amazon Watch / CIEL conference room, 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, #1100, (South Dupont, above Panera / Cosi), WDC 20036.  Since 2006, the Traditional Authorities, the curacas (shamans), of the Kofan people have worked with other Kofan leaders of Santa Rosa del Guamuéz in Putumayo Department to dislodge the Colombian Army from their territory. They have taken their case to the UN, the Inter American Commission, the US Congress, and many other venues, achieving both a temporary suspension from the Defense Minister in 2009 and a Constitutional Court victory published in 2013. And yet, the struggle only intensifies. Come hear the latest about this struggle taking place in the epicenter of what was once Plan Colombia.  The presentation will be in Spanish, with concurrent English interpretation as needed

26] – On Tues., June 9 from 11:30 AM [EST] to 12:30 PM, Just World Books invites you to join a conference call to mark the launch of Richard Falk's timely new book Chaos and Counterrevolution: After the Arab Spring. In the call, Falk and the Institute for Policy Studies' Phyllis Bennis will discuss the book's main themes with call participants. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/chaos-and-counterrevolution-a-conversation-on-the-middle-east-with-richard-falk-tickets-17139129598. 

In Chaos and Counterrevolution, Falk builds on his amazing expertise as a scholar of international law and his close connections with many Middle Eastern societies to explore political developments in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq over the seminal past five years. With many of these countries currently the locus of intense conflict, widespread atrocities, or terrible oppression, Chaos and Counterrevolution could not be timelier. To join the conference call with Falk and Bennis, call 857-216-6700, and then use the code 279828.   

27] – 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 St. & JFK Blvd., at the entrance to Tracks 3 and 4 on the mezzanine.  The next vigil is June 9.  Call 215-426-0364.

28] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on June 9  from 5:30 to 6:30  PM.  Call Max at 410-366-1637. 

29] –  Since 2005, Council for a Livable World has honored Father Robert Drinan, the first Catholic priest to be elected to the U.S. Congress, by presenting this award to individuals who embody his spirit of creating a more just and peaceful world. During his ten years in Congress, Father Drinan: voiced his opposition to the Vietnam War,  to the secret bombing of Cambodia, and he even supported women’s reproductive rights despite pressure from the Catholic Church. He then served as Chair of Council for a Livable World’s PeacePAC to fundraise for House candidates progressive on national security.

On Tues., June 9 from 5:30 to 8 PM at the Frederick Douglass Museum, 320 A St. NE, WDC 20002, we’ll be honoring Senator Chris Murphy, Representative Keith Ellison, and journalist Laura Rozen, who have each proved in their very own way a commitment to Father Drinan’s vision. For tickets, go to http://cacnp.convio.net/site/Calendar?view=Detail&id=100061.

30] – On Tues., June 9 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, the Jerusalem Fund, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, WDC 20037, invites you to a screening of “Port of Memory” (62 minutes, 2009) & “The Roof” (54 minutes, 2006).  In the first film, Aljafari uses his family and their home as a means to study the town of Jaffa, once a thriving port city now part of Tel Aviv, and what happened to its original inhabitants. Through this narrative we see a portrait of what was once a bustling neighborhood, nearly emptied by fighting during the establishment of the state of Israel, now an image of official neglect. The second film presents a portrait of Aljafari's family in Ramleh and Jaffa, "guided by a nimble camera moving calmly but ceaselessly around the rooms of homes inhabited, damaged and ruined. The title refers to the roof missing from the house where Aljafari's family resettled in 1948, a home unfinished, and an incomplete construction project." Attendance is free and open to the public. Call 202-338-1958 or email info@thejerusalemfund.org.

31] – Go to an Author Talk and Discussion with Lewis R. Gordon at The Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Rd. NW, WDC, on Tues., June 9 at 7 PM.  Gordon offers a portrait of Algerian revolutionary psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon as an exemplar of “living thought” against forms of reason marked by colonialism and racism. Working from his own translations of the original French texts, Gordon critically engages everything in Fanon from dialectics, ethics, existentialism, and humanism to philosophical anthropology, phenomenology, and political theory as well as psychiatry and psychoanalysis. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/471199183043846/.

32] – At Bloombars, 3222 11th St. NW, WDC 20010, on Tues., June 9 from 7 to 9 PM, BloomScreen and the Washington DC Portuguese Language Meetup present a film celebrating the history and tradition of Capoeira in Brazil...”Besouro” (The Assailant) (2009, 95 min), by João Daniel Tikhomiroff.  The film is based on the life of Manuel Henrique Pereira (also known as Besouro Mangangá), who in the early 1920s, rose to fame in Brazil as a freedom fighter and master of Capoeira. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Capoeira instructor, Mestre Raimundo Bomba Dos Santos, who will provide commentary and lead discussion on the history and tradition of Capoeira. The suggested donation is $10. Proceeds support both the Washington Portuguese Language Meetup and BloomBars. Enjoy free organic popcorn. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1602327363349461/.

33] – Hear about The Shoulder-Fired Missile Threat in the Middle East on Wed., June 10 from 10 to 11:30 AM at the Stimson Center, 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW, 8th Floor, WDC 20036.  RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1XxWFu2vIIltN2xnfMT7Lnr6obKMvGnWIVBTsYvTB5OA/viewform. Despite a decade-long international campaign to reduce the threat from man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), terrorists and insurgents continue to acquire and use these highly effective, lightweight missiles. Among the most severely affected regions are the Middle East and North Africa, where armed groups have acquired MANPADS from looted government depots and international trafficking networks. Most notably, these weapons include recent-generation Russian and Chinese systems not previously seen outside of government control. The use of improvised batteries developed by armed groups also gives new life to older missiles. The panelists will provide an overview of illicit proliferation of MANPADS in these regions, the threat that these missiles pose to military and civilian aircraft, and prospects for mitigating this threat.

  This event serves as the official release for the new report Missing Missiles: The Proliferation of Man-portable Air Defence Systems in North Africa and will feature C.J. Chivers, reporter, The New York Times Investigations Desk & The New York Times Magazine, Matt Schroeder, senior researcher, Small Arms Survey, and Rachel Stohl, senior associate, Stimson Center, who will moderate the discussion. Contact Shannon Dick at sdick@stimson.org or 202.464.2681.

34] – On Wed., June 10 from 11:30 AM to 6 PM, join the National Day of Action for Nan-Hui and tell ICE: Release Nan-Hui so she can reunite with her daughter!  Help flood ICE’s inboxes, phone lines, fax machines, and social media to demand Nan-Hui’s immediate release! We ask all of Nan-Hui’s supporters, to show ICE that there is strong support for her across the country. Help organize in your organization or city! June 2015 marks eleven months of needless separation between Nan-Hui and her six-year-old daughter, Vitz Da. For 9 months, Nan-Hui was held in Yolo County Jail awaiting trial without bail. Since April 28, she has been in ICE’s custody in Yuba County Jail, which serves as both county jail and immigrant detention center. Though Nan-Hui has multiple immigration applications pending, including a VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) petition, ICE is still rushing to deport her. Recently, they filed a motion to CANCEL her immigration court hearing scheduled for August! Why is ICE so intent on detaining and deporting a mother to a young US citizen child who needs her? Why does ICE continue to criminalize and harm survivors of domestic violence?  Email contact standwithnanhui@gmail.com or go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1424043477918188/

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