Friday, July 31, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert Aug. 1 - 4, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert Aug. 1 - 4, 2015

 "I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours.
The initiative to stop it must be ours." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Friends, this list and other email documents which I send out are done under the auspices of the Baltimore Nonviolence Center.  Go to www.baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com.  If you appreciate this information and would like to make a donation, send contributions to BNC, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218.  Max Obuszewski can be reached at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski [at] verizon.net.

1] Books, buttons and stickers
2] Web site for info on federal legislation
3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists  
4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLa
5] Two friends are looking to buy a house in Baltimore
6] Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition – through Aug. 16
7] Mother Earth Poetry Vibe – Aug. 1
8] The Humanist Service Corps” – Aug. 2
9] Discussion on race – Aug. 2
10] Memorial Ceremony for Gaza – Aug. 2
11] Pentagon Vigil – Aug. 3
12] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Aug. 3 – Aug. 7
13] Need of transit users meeting – Aug. 3
14] Flowers to Kerry – Aug. 3
15] See Dalai Lama films– Aug. 3
16] The Angle – Aug. 3
17] Pledge of Resistance meeting – Aug. 3
18] "Understanding the Iran Nuclear Deal" – Aug. 4
19] Peace vigil in Chester, PA – Aug. 4                                      
20] Hoops Not Nukes - Peace With Iran! – Aug. 4
21] Respectful Confrontation – Aug. 4
--------
 
1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available.  “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers are in stock. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

2] – To obtain information how your federal legislators voted on particular bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/.  Congressional toll-free numbers are 888-818-6641, 888-355-3588 or 800-426-8073. The White House Comment Email is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.

3] – THE ORGANIZING LIST will be the primary decision-making mechanism of the National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR].  It will be augmented by conference calls and possibly in-person meetings as needed.  It will consist of 1 or 2 representatives from each local, regional, or national organization (not coalitions) that wishes to actively work to carry out the NCNR campaign of facilitating and organizing nonviolent resistance to the war in Iraq.

To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to mobuszewski at Verizon.net.  Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.  

THE NOTICES LIST will include only notices of NCNR actions and related information and is open to any interested person to subscribe.  It will be moderated to maintain focus & will include periodic notices about getting involved in NCNR national organizing.  To join the NOTICES List, send an email message to ncnrnotices-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. You will get a confirmation message once subscribed.  If you have problems, please write to the list manager at ncnrnotices-admin@lists.riseup.net.

4] – You can help safeguard human rights and fragile ecosystems through your purchase of HOCOFOLA CafĂ© Quetzal. Bags of ground coffee or whole beans can be ordered by mailing in an order form. Also note organic cocoa and sugar are for sale.  For more details and to download the order form, go to http://friendsoflatinamerica.typepad.com/hocofola/2010/02/hocofola-cafe-quetzal-order-form-2010.html. The coffee comes in one-pound bags.

Fill out the form and mail it with a check made out to HOCOFOLA on or before the second week of the month.  Be sure you indicate ground or beans for each type of coffee ordered.  Send it to Francine Sheppard at 5639B, Harpers Farm Rd., Columbia 21044. The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up. Contact Francine at 410-992-7679 or FrancineMSW@aol.com.

5] – Janice and Max are looking to buy a house in Baltimore.  Let Max know if you have any leads—410-366-1637 or mobuszewski@verizon.net.

6] – Come to American University, Katzen Arts Center, Third Floor, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC 20016-8031to see the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition. Go to http://www.american.edu/calendar/?id=6383062.

See the Maruki Panel exhibit. Six of the world-famous panels will be exhibited outside Japan for the first time in many years. There will also be a display of artifacts from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as 24 of the All Souls Church Honkawa School Children's drawings.  See the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition through Aug. 16. In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the attacks, this powerful show will include 20 artifacts collected from the debris of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as 6 large folding screens that depict the horrors of the event. The 1995 Nobel Peace Prize nominees, Iri and Toshi Maruki, created a total of 15 screens over 32 years from 1950. This exhibition, made possible by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, is meant to deepen understanding of the damage wrought by nuclear weapons and inspire peace in the 21st century. Call 202-885-1000.  Email museum@american.edu. Admission is free, and the exhibit hours are Tuesdays through Sundays, 11 AM to 4 PM.

7] – Catch the Mother Earth Poetry Vibe featuring Kirwyn Sutherland on Sat., Aug. 1 at 7:30 PM @ Red Emma's.  It's summer, and the issues in our society are hotter than the temperatures outside!  We need the Poetic Arts.  Join a poetry/spoken word open mic of justice, conscious thought, spirituality, fame, real life.  In the tradition of Emma Goldman’s Mother Earth magazine, come drop some progressive “fiyah,” or contribute with your presence and energy!  By the way: it’s a non-erotic poetry, non-“love jones” type of venue, so please don’t go there. 

Sutherland’s first poems were no-holds barred rants tackling subjects from slavery to lynchings to dealing with micro-aggressions.  His goal through writing was to introduce black pain, suffering, and triumph in his own voice.

8] – 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 Aug. 2 the platform address is “The Humanist Service Corps.”  The Humanist Service Corps (HSC) is a project of the Foundation Beyond Belief. Conor Robinson launched the HSC in 2014. He previously founded the Yale Humanist Society and won the 2014 Humanist Visionary Award. He will speak about the HSC and their upcoming work in Africa. He is leading a group of volunteers that will depart for Ghana a few days after this talk.  Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.
9] – Come to Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Sts., WDC, on Sun., Aug. 2 from 5 to 7 PM for A.C.T.O.R. (A Continuing Talk on Race), an open discussion series hosted by Busboys and Poets as a community service. What does it mean to be a black (African-American) male in today's society and what can we do to change the negative perceptions and create opportunities for black males to be successful? The intent is that each person walks away from the discussion feeling something: challenged, educated, uncomfortable, enlightened, refreshed, reassured and hopefully inspired and moved to action!  Visit http://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/event/a.c.t.o.r-a-continuing-talk-on-race4357.

10] – There is a Memorial Ceremony for Gaza on Sun., Aug. 2 at 6 PM at ThanksGiving Place, 1000 E. 33rd St., Baltimore 21218.  Last summer between July 8th and August 26th more than 2,200 Palestinians in Gaza lost their lives to the unrelenting assault of the Israeli military. The Israeli government gave this vicious attack the name "Operation Protective Edge" but for Gaza's Palestinians, those 50 horrifying days--which took the lives of hundreds of children, destroyed 18,000 homes, left 141 schools reduced to rubble, and obliterated entire families--were an utter devastation.

This summer, amidst the collective trauma not only of last summer's assault but also more than half a century of displacement, land dispossession, military occupation, and settler colonialism, many Gaza Palestinians remain homeless, childless, and parentless.  Join Baltimore-Palestine Solidarity as we commemorate the many atrocities suffered by Gaza's Palestinians during Israel's military assault last summer through personal testimonies, prayers, and poems; we will remember those lives, livelihoods, homes, and families lost and rededicate ourselves to amplifying the voices of Palestinians as we act in solidarity with their struggle.

11] -- 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., Aug. 3, 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. 

12] – 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.  

13] – Maryland state legislators are concerned about current conditions at the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA).  Ridership has decreased over the past year, the agency has failed to meet its on time performance goals, and it has failed to meet the 35% fare box recovery rate required by law.  (The fare box recovery rate is the percentage of operating costs paid for by passenger fares.) As a result, the agency has been charged with developing a Transit Performance Plan that aims to solve these issues.

To assist in the formation of this plan, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) will be holding a series of stakeholder meetings.  The first meeting was on June 24th.  This meeting was held to get the input of the business community with regards to what system changes they would like to see. CPHA attended this event and many prominent business leaders, transit advocates, elected officials, and high ranking MDOT officials were in attendance.  We got a chance to hear firsthand about what the priorities were from individuals representing some of the most powerful institutions in the Baltimore area.  It also gave us an opportunity to understand where we need to focus our education efforts when it comes to explaining necessary transit improvements.

The second stakeholder meeting, focusing on the needs of transit users, will be held on Mon., Aug. 3 at 2 to 4 PM at Baltimore Metropolitan Council, McHenry Row, 1500 Whetstone Way, Suite 300, Baltimore 21230.  Attending this event will provide a great opportunity for networking with others interested in improving transit, as well as a chance to meet with key decision makers.  In order to create change it’s important to know who the key players are and their priorities.  All who attend this event will get a chance to have their voice heard from those in a position to formulate MTA policy.

RSVP to ensure there will be enough seats.  To RSVP, contact Philip Dacey, MDOT’s Director of Governmental Affairs, at pdacey@mdot.state.md.us or call 410-865-1090. There will be a third meeting in September where interested parties can give feedback on a draft version of the Transit Performance Improvement Plan.

14] – Secretary Kerry has been under immense pressure by Congress to defend the Iran nuclear deal. Show him some support by delivering flowers to his Georgetown house, 3320 O St. NW, WDC, on Mon., Aug. 3 at 6 PM. CODEPINK will also be spelling out the parasol message for him that you see in the event photo on Facebook (YES IRAN DEAL). CODEPINK needs 11 people to come out and each hold a parasol umbrella to make the words work! This is an excellent opportunity to meet folks working on this issue in the District. The group will meet on the corner of 33rd and O Street at 6 PM, and walk over to his house together.  Email michaela@codepink.org to RSVP. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1064069520277984/.

15] Khashyar Darvich, the producer-director of the two new Dalai Lama documentary films (one of which is narrated by actor Harrison Ford) coming to Washington D.C. for a Special Dalai Lama 80th Birthday Red Carpet Film Celebration. This Special Red Carpet Film Event (which includes a director Q&A) on Thurs. Aug. 3 at 6:30 PM at the Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market, 550 Penn Street NE, WDC.  Visit www.DalaiLamaFilm.com.

Narrated by Harrison Ford, DALAI LAMA AWAKENING presents the profound and life-changing journey of innovative Western thinkers who travel to India to meet with the Dalai Lama. Born from over 500 hours of video shot over a 15 year period, the film is a Director’s Cut of Khashyar Darvich’s award-winning DALAI LAMA RENNAISANCE.

In the inspiring and thought-provoking COMPASSION IN ACTION, the Dalai Lama and some of the most innovative and revolutionary thinkers of our time explore the sources of unhappiness and happiness in our world. This film is a deeper exploration of the ideas presented in DALAI LAMA AWAKENING.  This screening includes a Q&A with the director. Go to https://www.angelikafilmcenter.com/dc/event/dalai-lama-awakening-qa.

16] – Season two of the award-winning web series The Angle is in production. Join to celebrate the return and add your voice to the mix about issues in urban redevelopment--the focus for the second season. See previews of highlights from the upcoming season, and enjoy refreshments and great conversation. There will even be a few giveaways. Every picture tells a story. Every story has an angle. They want to know, what's your angle? Come to the Impact Hub DC, 419 7th St. NW, 3rd Floor on Mon., Aug. 3 from 7 to 9 PM.

The Angle is an award winning docuseries for the web. The Angle combines thoughtful commentary and creative expressions exploring important issues in life and culture. Primarily, but not exclusively, it features people of color, The Angle adds diverse and nuanced voices to important issues of the day and challenges narrow conceptions about communities of color. Go to www.theangleshow.com,  Get tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-angle-season-2-kickoff-tickets-17801502774?ref=enivtefor001&invite=ODE5NjQ5NC90cHNjb3R0QGdtYWlsLmNvbS8w&utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=inviteformalv2&utm_term=eventimage&ref=enivtefor001.

17] – 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 is on August 3. The proposed agenda will include anti-drone activities, Freddie Gray, “Guns Will Make us Free?, the Medicare rally, Bernie Sanders, Gaza, the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration and the September 22 action in D.C. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net.

18] – On Tues., Aug. 4 from noon to 1:30 PM, retired Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney, American Security Project; retired Adm. William Fallon; Trita Parsi, National Iranian American Council; and Laura Rozen, Al-Monitor, will examine "Understanding the Iran Nuclear Deal" at the American Security Project, 1100 New York Ave. NW, Seventh Floor, West Tower, WDC. RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/understanding-the-iran-nuclear-deal-tickets-17880046701.

19] – 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 Aug. 4.  Call 215-426-0364.

20] – On Tues., Aug. 4 at 5:30 PM, join CODEPINK for Hoops Not Nukes - Peace With Iran!  This hooping jam session in front of the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, will in support of President Obama's nuclear negotiations with Iran because this country can't afford the alternative- war. Bring hoops if you have them, but there will be plenty of extras. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/476637275820633/.

21] – On Tues., Aug. 4 from 6 to 9:30 PM, St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1525 Newton St. NW, WDC, will sponsor an introductory evening on Respectful Confrontation.  This introduction is filled with exercises and theory to offer you a comprehensive, experiential overview of what is explored in the foundations of the practices of Respectful Confrontation.  The combination of theory, dynamic exercises, martial arts principles and applicable life tools result in a noticeable shift in behavior, deeper insight into yourself, and an ease with tackling challenging situations with integrity and understanding.  Learn about compassionate engagement, and reframe views on confrontation, assertiveness, and true power leading to greater self-confidence, personal fulfillment and peaceful interactions with others. The evening will be led by Joe Weston, an international workshop facilitator, consultant, creative social activist, advocate for peace, and author of “Mastering Respectful Confrontation.”  The suggested donation of $25 for the introductory evening, but any amount is fine. Email Brian Best <brian.best@saintstephensdc.org>.

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  

 

Meet Jill Stein/The Spirit of Judy Miller Is Alive and Well at the NYT, and It Does Great Damage


The Baltimore Green Party [baltimoregreens@gmail.com] wants you to know Jill Stein will be in Baltimore as the Green Party candidate for president.  There will be a fundraising party on Fri., July 31 from 5 to 9 PM.  NO!  Anyone can come, hear what Jill has to say, and ask her a question. By the end, you just may WANT to give a sizeable donation. Remember, successful campaigns need money. Jill's plan is to raise $5,000 in 20 states so that she can qualify for federal matching funds. Text (443)449-4159 for directions. The evening will begin with snacks and a light dinner.  Then at 7 PM hear from Margaret Flowers and Jill Stein. Contributions will be accepted from 8 to 9 PM.  Note Jill is speaking the next day at a national single-payer march in D.C. Go to http://www.baltimoregp.org/.


 Greenwald writes: "She granted anonymity to government officials and then uncritically laundered their dubious claims in the New York Times."

Glenn Greenwald. (photo: Reuters)
Glenn Greenwald. (photo: Reuters)

The Spirit of Judy Miller Is Alive and Well at the NYT, and It Does Great Damage

By Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept

22 July 15

  http://readersupportednews.org/images/stories/alphabet/rsn-O.jpgne of the very few Iraq War advocates to pay any price at all was former New York Times reporter Judy Miller, the classic scapegoat. But what was her defining sin? She granted anonymity to government officials and then uncritically laundered their dubious claims in the New York Times. As the paper’s own editors put it in their 2004 mea culpa about the role they played in selling the war: “We have found a number of instances of coverage that was not as rigorous as it should have been. In some cases, information that was controversial then, and seems questionable now, was insufficiently qualified or allowed to stand unchallenged.” As a result, its own handbook adopted in the wake of that historic journalistic debacle states that “anonymity is a last resort.”

But 12 years after Miller left, you can pick up that same paper on any given day and the chances are high that you will find reporters doing exactly the same thing. In fact, its public editor, Margaret Sullivan, regularly lambasts the paper for doing so. Granting anonymity to government officials and then uncritically printing what these anonymous officials claim, treating it all as Truth, is not an aberration for the New York Times. With some exceptions among good NYT reporters, it’s an institutional staple for how the paper functions, even a decade after its editors scapegoated Judy Miller for its Iraq War propaganda and excoriated itself for these precise methods.

That the New York Times mindlessly disseminates claims from anonymous officials with great regularity is, at this point, too well-documented to require much discussion. But it is worth observing how damaging it continues to be, because, shockingly, all sorts of self-identified “journalists” — both within the paper and outside of it — continue to equate un-verified assertions from government officials as Proven Truth, even when these officials are too cowardly to attach their names to these claims, as long as papers such as the NYT launder them.

Let’s look at an illustrative example from yesterday to see how this toxic process works. The New York Times published an article about ISIS by Eric Schmitt and Ben Hubbard based entirely and exclusively on unproven claims from officials of the U.S. government and its allies, to whom they (needless to say) granted anonymity. The entire article reads exactly like an official press release: Paragraph after paragraph does nothing other than summarize the claims of anonymous officials, without an iota of questioning, skepticism, scrutiny or doubt.

Among the assertions mindlessly repeated by the Paper of Record from its beloved anonymous officials is this one:

Excerpt with data on IS and leaked documents. (photo: The Intercept)
Excerpt with data on IS and leaked documents. (photo: The Intercept)

Leave to the side the banal journalistic malpractice of uncritically parroting the self-serving claims of anonymous officials, supposedly what the paper is so horrified at Judy Miller for having done. Also leave to the side the fact that the U.S. government has been anonymously making these Helping-The-Enemy claims not just about Snowden but about all whistleblowers for decades, back to Daniel Ellsberg, if not earlier. Let’s instead focus on this: the claim itself, on the merits, is monumentally stupid on multiple levels: self-evidently so.

To begin with, The Terrorists™ had been using couriers and encryption for many, many years before anyone knew the name “Edward Snowden.” Last August, after NPR uncritically laundered claims that Snowden revelations had helped The Terrorists™, we reported on a 45-page document that the U.K. government calls “the Jihadist Handbook,” written by and distributed among extremist groups, which describes in sophisticated detail the encryption technologies, SIM card-switching tactics and other methods they use to circumvent U.S. surveillance. Even these 2002/2003 methods were so sophisticated that they actually mirror GCHQ’s own operational security methods for protecting its communications.

Data covering the “Jihadist Handbook” from 2002-2003. (photo: The Intercept)
Data covering the “Jihadist Handbook” from 2002-2003. (photo: The Intercept)

This “Jihadist Handbook” was written in 2002 or 2003: more than a full decade before any Snowden revelations. Indisputably, terrorists have known for a very long time that the U.S. government and its allies are trying to intercept their communications, and have long used encryption and other means to prevent that.

The New York Times’ claim that ISIS learned to use couriers as a result of the Snowden revelations is almost a form of self-mockery. Few facts from Terrorism lore are more well-known than Osama bin Laden’s use of couriers to avoid U.S. surveillance. A 2011 article from the Washington Post — more than two years before the first Snowden story — was headlined: “Al-Qaeda couriers provided the trail that led to bin Laden.” It described how “Bin Laden strictly avoided phone or e-mail communications for fear that they would be intercepted.”

Terrorists have been using such surveillance-avoidance methods for almost two full decades. In May, we published a 2011 NSA document that quoted Jon Darby, NSA’s then-associate deputy director for counterterrorism, as saying that “[o]ur loss of SIGINT access to bin Laden actually occurred prior to 9/11 — it happened in 1998.”

If one were engaged in journalism, one would include some of these facts in order to scrutinize, question and express skepticism about the claims of anonymous officials that ISIS now uses encryption and couriers because of Snowden reporting. But if one is engaged in mindless, subservient pro-government stenography, one simply grants anonymity to officials and then uncritically parrots their facially dubious claims with no doubt or questioning of any kind. Does anyone have any doubts about what these New York Times reporters are doing in this article?

There’s one more point worth noting about the New York Times’ conduct here. As has been documented many times, Edward Snowden never publicly disclosed a single document: Instead, he gave the documents to journalists and left it up to them to decide which documents should be public and which ones should not be. As I’ve noted, he has sometimes disagreed with the choices journalists made, usually on the ground that documents media outlets decided to publish should have, in his view, not been published.

One of the newspapers that published documents from the Snowden archive is called “The New York Times.” In fact, it is responsible for publication of some of the most controversial articles often cited by critics as ones that should not have been published, including ones most relevant to ISIS. When it comes to claiming credit for Snowden stories, the New York Times is very good at pointing out that it published some of these documents. But when it comes to uncritically publishing claims from anonymous officials that Snowden stories helped ISIS, the New York Times suddenly “forgets” to mention that it actually made many of these documents known to the world and, thus, to ISIS. What the New York Times is actually doing in this article is accusing itself of helping ISIS, but just lacks the honesty to tell its readers that it did this, opting instead to blame its source for it. In the NYT’s blame-its-source formulation: “The Islamic State has studied revelations from Edward J. Snowden.”

When I was first told about the Sunday Times’ now disgraced story claiming that Russia and China obtained the full Snowden archive, my initial reaction was that the story was so blatantly inane and so journalistically corrupted — based exclusively on unproven, self-serving accusations from anonymous U.K. officials — that it wasn’t even worth addressing. I changed my mind and decided to write about it only when I saw huge numbers of journalists sitting around on Twitter that night uncritically assuming that these claims must be True because, after all, government officials said them and a newspaper printed them.

I went through exactly the same process when I saw this Snowden-helps-ISIS claim laundered yesterday in the New York Times. I assumed that the “journalism” here was so glaringly shoddy that nobody needed me to write about it, and that a few mocking tweets would suffice. Everyone knows by now to treat anonymous government claims like this critically and not accept them as true without evidence — or so I reasoned.

But then I began seeing one self-described journalist after the next treat the accusation from these anonymous officials as tantamount to Proven Truth. They just started asserting that Snowden’s revelations helped ISIS without a molecule of doubt, skepticism or critical thought. That’s what makes this process so destructive: once the New York Times uncritically publishes a claim from a government official, even (maybe especially) if anonymous, huge numbers of “journalists” immediately treat it as Truth. It’s shocking to watch, no matter how common it is.

Here are just a few examples: first, from New York Times reporter Alex Burns, stating the Snowden-helped-ISIS claim as fact:

Now here’s long-time journalist Kurt Andersen, demanding that Snowden be confronted and made to say whether he regrets this:

Here’s a tweet claiming the NYT “reported” this, re-tweeted by long-time NYT and CNBC journalist John Harwood:

After I noted that the NYT “reported” no such thing but merely uncritically wrote down what anonymous officials said, here’s Harwood explicitly defending classic stenography as “reporting”:

Here’s a CNN and Miami Herald columnist, Frida Ghitis, nakedly treating the anonymous claim as true by blaming Snowden for helping ISIS:

Here’s a tweet Business Insider sent to its 1.1 million followers this morning:

Here’s self-proclaimed “terrorism expert” Will McCants mindlessly repeating it as fact:

And now the bottom-feeding British tabloid Daily Mail has a just-published screaming, hysterical story based exclusively on the anonymous assertion laundered by the New York Times:

The British tabloid Daily Mail's headline for a New York Times story. (photo: The Intercept)
The British tabloid Daily Mail's headline for a New York Times story. (photo: The Intercept)

Look at what the New York Times, yet again, has done. Isn’t it amazing? All anyone in government has to do is whisper something in its journalists’ ears, demand anonymity for it, and instruct them to print it. Then they obey. Then other journalists treat it as Truth. Then it becomes fact, all over the world. This is the same process that enabled the New York Times, more than any other media outlet, to sell the Iraq War to the American public, and they’re using exactly the same methods to this day. But it’s not just their shoddy journalism that drives this but the mentality of other “journalists” who instantly equate anonymous official claims as fact.

The peak of the Sunday Times’ humiliation was when its lead reporter, Tom Harper, went on CNN and expressly admitted that the paper did nothing other than mindlessly print anonymous government claims as fact without having any idea if they were true. What made Harper a laughingstock was this sentence, captured in a Vine by The Guardian’s HannahJane Parkinson (to listen, click the “unmute” button in the lower right-hand corner):

How is this not exactly what the New York Times, yet again, has done? In fact, if one replaces “British” with “American,” is that not the actual motto describing how this paper so often behaves, one might even say their core function?

C 2015 Reader Supported News

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

 

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert - July 31 - September 22, 2015

46] Film LOOK OF SILENCE – July 31
47] Protest the Jeb Bush Super Pac – July 31
48] Peace vigil at the White House– July 31
49] Black Lives Matter Vigil – July 31
50] Student/Farmworker Alliance party – July 31
51] “Battle Hymns” – July 31
52] Ballroom Dancing – July 31
53] Howard Ehrlich Estate Sale – Aug. 1
54] West Chester peace vigil – Aug. 1
55] Protest Dominican Republic – Aug. 1
56] Empower DC – Aug. 1
57] Healthcare Justice March – Aug. 1
58] Play about the occupation – Aug. 1 - 2
59] Address Sexual Violence – Aug. 1
60] MDASPCA benefit – Aug. 1
61] Benefit for public defenders – Aug. 1
62] Commemorate Hiroshima & Nagasaki – August 6 & 9
63] Climate chaos, poverty & war actions – Sept. 22
64] Sign up with Washington Peace Center
65] Activist needs a driveway or garage
66] Join Fund Our Communities
67] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records
68] Do you need any book shelves?
69] Join Global Zero campaign
70] Join Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil
-------

46] – See "Look of Silence," Then Act to Shatter the Silence.  This powerful new documentary will be showing at the E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW, between 10th & 11th Sts. NW, WDC starting Fri., July 31. See it and then take action on the U.S. role in the massacres in Indonesia depicted in the film. See http://thelookofsilence.com/watch for additional showings around the U.S. Join the campaign to Reveal the Truth, Acknowledge the Crime.  The massacre of up to 1,000,000 communists, leftists, ethnic Chinese, and others in Indonesia in 1965-1967 is a foundational event in modern Indonesian political history, but it remains mostly a footnote for most in the United States and elsewhere.  The documentary THE ACT OF KILLING shocked audiences as perpetrators of the mass murder reenacted their violence. The film has fueled a debate within Indonesia and drawn attention internationally to events unknown to many. Events that the U.S. facilitated and cheered at the time.

THE LOOK OF SILENCE, a companion film to THE ACT OF KILLING, will soon be showing in U.S. theaters. It follows the investigation by Adi Rukun into the murder of his older brother who was killed during the violence.  The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) continues to call for accountability for those in the West who encouraged and assisted in the mass violence in Indonesia. The full truth must come out and the U.S. should declassify all files related to Suharto's U.S.-backed seizure of power and the murderous events which followed. ETAN has prepared a background piece on the events and aftermath of Suharto's brutal seizure of power, where we focus on the U.S. role and responsibility. Read Breaking the Silence: The U.S. and Indonesia's Mass Violence. See http://www.etan.org.

THE LOOK OF SILENCE is Joshua Oppenheimer’s powerful companion piece to the Oscar-nominated The Act of Killing. Through a family that lost their eldest son, the film explores one of the 20th century’s deadliest atrocities, still largely hidden after 50 years—Indonesia’s 1965 army-led purge and killing of as many as one million people. The family discovers years later (from Oppenheimer’s footage) who killed their son and how, and they must confront how privileged, dangerous, and close at hand the killers remain. The younger son, an optometrist named Adi, breaks the half-century of fearful silence with an act the film calls “unimaginable in a society where the murderers remain in power.” While testing the eyesight of the men who killed his brother, Adi confronts them. He challenges them to accept responsibility for their violence. Oppenheimer writes that the film depicts “a silence born of terror,” and “the necessity of breaking that silence, but also … the trauma that comes when that silence is broken."  More information about the film can be found here: http://thelookofsilence.com/.

47] –   On Fri., July 31 at 10 AM, join Move On to protest Jeb Bush's super PAC. Super PACs are influencing elections by enabling a very few corporations and the super-wealthy to overshadow the political power of the people. Bush's super PAC, "Right to Rise" announced that it raised $103 million–-most of it before he had officially announced his candidacy for president. For this reason, Move On is holding a rally to insist that elections cannot be bought and demand that they are returned to the people!  Come to 601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC.  Go to http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=144151&id=126474-8067490-nDbVVPx&t=3.

 
48] – On Fri., July 31 from noon to 1 PM, join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in a vigil urging the powers that be to abolish war and torture, to disarm all weapons, to end indefinite detention, to close Guantanamo, to establish justice for all and help create the Beloved Community! The vigil takes place at the White House on Pennsylvania Ave. NW.  Contact Art @ artlaffin@hotmail.com or at 202-360-6416.

 49] – There is usually a silent peace vigil on Fridays, from 5 to 6 PM, sponsored by Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings, outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St.  The next scheduled vigil is on July 31. Black Lives Matter. 

 50] – Come to Haydees Restaurant, 3102 Mt. Pleasant St. NW, WDC, on Fri., July 31 from 6 to 8 PM for a night of dancing, hanging out, and supporting the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA)! Since the beginning SFA has always depended on the people to help sustain the powerful farmworker and student organizing that powers the Campaign for Fair Food. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1433327506996353/.

 51]   On Fri., July 31 at 7:30 PM @ Red Emma's, the Baffler presents "Battle Hymns." Join editor John Summers and contributor Alex Pareene for a release party to celebrate the latest issue of The Baffler: "Battle Hymns." Long before the triumph of Stand Your Ground gun legislation, the overlapping Grand Guignols of the Iraq invasion and ISIS’s rise, or the release of the latest cinematic blood orgy at the multiplex, America’s political id was drenched in blood. We devised all manner of new American-branded mayhem during our long passage from a frontier republic into, well, a frontier mass republic, as historian Richard Hofstadter notes in a strikingly timely essay abridged in this issue: lynchings, riots, vigilantism, and political assassinations, along with garden-variety domestic knifings, shootings, and bludgeonings carried out on a scale of gruesomeness pretty much unprecedented in the soi-disant civilized West.  

 52] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at  8 PM.  Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St.  Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be July 31. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

 53] – The estate sale for the late Howard Ehrlich, who was board president of Research Associates Foundation, is taking place on Sat., Aug. 1 from 10 AM to 4 PM at 2743 Maryland Ave., Baltimore 21218.  Sale items include books, furniture, appliances and equipment. Leave a message at 410-444-1023.  You will get a call back.  Proceeds after expenses will benefit the Nicaraguan Cultural Alliance.  We will post suggested prices, but these are negotiable - so make an offer! 

 54] –  Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 50, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com

 55] – The Obama Administration must not turn a blind eye to the human rights crisis taking place in the Dominican Republic as Dominicans of Haitian descent and Haitian migrants alike are forcibly removed, coerced, and intimidated to flee their homes, lives, and families. From the Organization of American States (OAS), 17th St. SW at Constitution Ave. NW, WDC, march to the White House and demand that our leaders speak up in the face of grave injustice on Sat., Aug. 1 from 11 AM to 2 PM.  See https://www.facebook.com/events/886185281455887/.

 56] – On Sat., Aug. 1 from noon to 5 PM, the Lamont St. Collective, 1822 Lamont St. NW, is proud to participate this year in the In It Together Fest! As a DIY venue, there is a daytime party with bands playing to raise funds for Empower DC.  The two acts playing (so far) will be Eshovo [see https://eshovo.bandcamp.com/] & MotherKnuckle [see https://www.facebook.com/motherknuckle].  All proceeds raised will go to Empower DC to aid them in their work, organizing District residents to fight for their own empowerment.

 Empower DC is a citywide, multi-issue, membership-based community organizing project. In It Together Fest (IITF, InFestDC, etc.) is a four-day celebration of underground art, music, and activism at all venues propagating independent culture throughout the District of Columbia. Empowered by the hope to build a community among disparate DIY spaces, they've come together to foster participation, encourage new ideas, and highlight the under-appreciated. IITF aims to challenge, embolden the marginalized and help transform their creative community into one free of traditional boundaries and productive in its endeavors. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/943274269066106/.

 57] – On Sat., Aug. 1 from 1:15 to 4:15 PM, history will be made in the fight for healthcare access for all in the United States. Thousands will gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the Healthcare Justice March demanding Expanded and Improved Medicare for All. We have the legislation – H.R. 676 – and now we need the power of the People to stand behind it. Donations are still greatly needed to make this event possible. Visit http://healthcarejusticemarch.org/.

 58] – Come to the Trinidad Theatre - Logan Fringe Arts Space, 1358 Florida Ave. NE, WDC, on Sat., Aug. 1 at 2:45 PM and on Sun., Aug. 2 at 2 PM.  Courageous Israeli soldiers from Breaking the Silence dare to speak out against the Occupation policies they enforce. Their service in the Palestinian territories was a transforming experience. They show a reality they can no longer hide. See https://www.capitalfringe.org/events/572-it-s-what-we-do-a-play-about-the-occupation.

 59] – At BUSBOYS & POETS @ 5TH & K STS, 1025 5th St. NW, WDC, on Sat., Aug. 1 from 5 to 8 PM, join the As One Project as it addresses the epidemic of sexual violence in this society. Come to the launch party.  Go to http://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/event/as-one-project-launch-party.

 60] – On Sat., Aug. 1 at 7:05 PM, it is Maryland SPCA Night at Camden Yards.  Watch the O's take on the Tigers! Tickets are $20 each (upper reserves). $5 from each ticket goes towards the Maryland SPCA! Tickets are limited and only available on a first-come, first-served basis. Click at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001YDbUX11MTflyuYtlWrscU13tFFSdPvRpfzNH2UqCG7WUHsh21sclc3X0WhUMA75fkROoS04AproOXG06tD39DYuHfRqYVFeQ02w_s13jZKxgnO34EeONe-XScbCDhZRxeGs_Ris1Q-SKlJeT6JhI0Z0uHyNpidexsL5Wt-AChIWtH43v5q9-swPqsQjWRQSIMjyv5NPhAfR9Rdq3ft7l196P_D3b8fdP6NjsuTsoEUo=&c=GEpu64Mpd_u7XD_neDpnTruLTKoKYpGaG0VhXJm9Gj3soiPNwfiIvg==&ch=zCE4UAJbdfnr_E5ofRhLv-0TPNp6HZStfivvVYLTY-4Ez_vMJPWZpw==.  Call 410-235-8826 or email give@mdspca.org.

61] – On Sat., Aug. 1 at 7:05 PM, watch the O’s play the Tigers at Camden Yards.  Tickets are $20 each in Section 330. The first 25,000 fans over 15 get a Birds bobble head.  Contact Lou at lcurran@opd.state.md.us or 410-499-8899.  Ticket sales benefit MPILP, UBSPI, Md Legal Aid Bureau, Public Justice Center, MCDAA, NACDL's Foundation for Criminal Justice, Assn for the Public Defender - Maryland (APDMd) and a memorial educational trust fund for the children of the late ex-APD Norm "Stormin' Norman" Usiak. 
62] – The annual Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration will begin on Thurs., Aug. 6 with a 5:30 PM demonstration at 33rd & North Charles Streets to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons and a ban on killer drone strikes and research.  Visitors from Japan will speak, and then we would eat dinner at a Japanese restaurant.

On Sun., Aug. 9, we will enjoy a potluck dinner at 6 PM.  Then Ralph Moore, a long-time Baltimore activist, will address the problems facing Baltimore.  If you are in a social change organization, you would be welcome to inform the gathering about your accomplishments. We are seeking performers.  Let Max know if you have any suggestions. 

63] -- The National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance is planning an action on September 21 or 22 in the D.C. area. We will gather at 10 AM in the office of a member of the House of Representatives to challenge him/her that the wars must end, that Mother Earth must be saved and that we must eliminate income inequality. We will occupy Rep. Paul Ryan’s office.

After delivering a letter and speaking with staff members, we will next gather at 1 PM at the White House.  There we will try to deliver a letter to the White House, raise the same issues and risk arrest. Let Max know if you can join us in D.C. for this action.

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

65] -- There is a bicycle activist who is seeking a space [driveway or garage] where he could park a vehicle without plates.  Let Max know if you have a suggestion.

66] -- 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 former 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

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

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

69] -- 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.

70] – 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