Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert - October 29 -30, 2015

46] Rethinking UN Security Council Resolution 1540 – Oct. 29
47] Animal advocacy – Oct. 29
48] Housing for All – Oct. 29
49] Burning a Buddhist Temple – Oct. 29
50] BUILD ONE BALTIMORE – Oct. 29
51] Film CHE – PART 1 – Oct. 29
52] Phyllis Bennis on ISIS – Oct. 29
53] Pledge of Resistance meeting – Oct. 29
54] Book STAND YOUR GROUND – Oct. 29
55] Peace vigil at White House – Oct. 30
56] Women in Pakistan – Oct. 30
-------

46] – There is a workshop, cosponsored by the Stimson Center and the Washington Foreign Law Society, in cooperation with ISS, entitled Nonproliferation in a Noncompliant World: Rethinking UN Security Council Resolution 1540 at the Stimson Center, 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW, 8th Floor, WDC 20036, on Thurs., Oct. 29 from 9 to 11:30 AM.  RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GiQiowSVWBSunkDjm47PgeEqIgPF2wbkk4a_DFXcFY0/viewform.

The U.N. Security Council adopted resolution 1540 in 2004 partly as a response to revelations about black market nuclear networks that affected proliferation and highlighted also the potential terrorism risks. The implementation of the resolution, which calls for criminalization of possession and transfer of weapons of mass destruction, is facilitated by the 1540 Committee, whose mandate was extended until 2021. The Security Council required a comprehensive review of the resolution in 2016. As part of this effort, former U.N. 1540 experts gathered their thoughts on the challenges related to implementing the resolution. This event will present some of these thoughts and solicit input from broader civil society on how efforts can be improved. In breakout groups, lawyers, researchers, policymakers, students, NGOs will be able to discuss among themselves and with the experts issues that may range from strategic trade controls to harmonization of criminal penalties to new approaches for capacity building. Resulting ideas will be shared with the Security Council’s 1540 Committee. Current & Former 1540 U.N. experts will be featured, including the work of the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and its forthcoming publication of the former experts’ ideas. Copies of the publication and a light breakfast will be available.

47] – Mark your calendars, animal advocates! You're invited to special animal advocacy meetings across Maryland this fall to discuss hot topics—including puppy mills and dog fighting—and give you insider tips on how you can make Maryland a more humane state.   On Thurs., Oct. 29 from 6 to 7:30 PM at the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS), 301 Stockholm St., Baltimore.  The special guests include Jen Brause of BARCS and Katie Flory of Maryland SPCA and the Baltimore Mayor's Anti Animal Abuse Commission. RSVP at http://www.aspca.org/fight-cruelty/advocacy-center/maryland-were-coming-your-town-fall?ms=em_ade_MD-advocate-for-animals-meetings-article-advocacy-alert-20151026&initialms=em_ade_MD-advocate-for-animals-meetings-article-advocacy-alert-20151026&utm_source=MD-advocate-for-animals-meetings-article-advocacy-alert-20151026&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=advocacy. Contact Chloe Waterman at chloe.waterman@aspca.org.

48] – Support CNHED’s efforts on behalf of affordable housing and community economic development in the District of Columbia and help raise 15% of their operating budget at Room & Board, 1840 14th St., WDC on Thurs., Oct. 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. This year’s event will celebrate CNHED’s successful Housing For All Campaign, and notably the $100 million for the Housing Production Trust Fund. It is through the lens of historic budget victories that CNHED envisions a bold approach to fostering just and equitable community development solutions that address the needs and aspirations of low- and moderate-income District residents.  To get information about ticket prices, go to https://www.cnhed.org/.

49] – There is a forum focusing on Buddhists on Thurs., Oct. 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in GW Dworetzky Auditorium, # 103, Funger Hall, 2201 G St. NW, WDC.  The forum will provide a space for interfaith dialogue, with a particular focus on religious tolerance and the burning of Buddhist temples in Bangladesh. There will be a panel discussion followed by questions from the audience. Discuss the political, cultural, and religious implications of this conflict and ways that stakeholders in religious conflicts can overcome them.  The panelists will represent the U.S. State Department, the Islamic Society of North America, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the Embassy of Bangladesh, the Hindu-American Foundation and a representative from a Buddhist Temple. The forum is co-sponsored by the Council of Churches of Greater Washington and the George Washington University Protestant Campus Ministry Association. Sign up for the event at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/forum-on-religious-liberty-the-burning-of-temples-in-bangladesh-tickets-19179020968.

50] – BUILD ONE BALTIMORE-- A City With Jobs; A City for Youth; A City that's Safe: A City that Votes; and A City for All.  Join BUILD at Zion Baptist Church, 1700 N. Caroline St., Baltimore 21213, to ratify this agenda on Thurs., Oct. 29 at 7 PM. Try to arrive at 6:45 PM.  BUILD is planning a city wide voter registration drive.  Vote to make change. 

51] – Come to The Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 1099 30th St. NW, WDC, on Thurs., Oct. 29 at 7 PM to see the film CHE, Part 1.  This month marked 48 years since the revolutionary hero Che Guevara was assassinated in Bolivia. In his honor, the Latin American Film Club is proud to present one of the most acclaimed movies about his life, a 2008 film directed by Steven Soderbergh and featuring Benicio del Toro. The film portrays events from the life of Ernesto “Che” Guevara that are unknown to many, from the beginning of the Cuban Revolution to two years after the overthrow of the dictator Batista. Professor Piero Gleijeses of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University will offer remarks after the film. Professor Gleijeses is an expert on Cuban and U.S. foreign policy. He wrote a book “The Cuban Drumbeat: Castro's Worldview,” published in 2009.

52] – Come to the Potter's House 1658 Columbia Rd. NW, WDC, on Thurs., Oct. 29 from 7 to 9 PM to hear Phyllis Bennis, a Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies and of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. She writes and speaks widely on US wars and foreign policy and is the author of numerous books including “Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” and “Before & After: US Foreign Policy and the War on Terror.” She plays a leading role in US and global movements against wars and occupation.  The US is back at war. A new version of what was once known as George W. Bush's “global war on terror” has become the central component of American foreign policy. The US/NATO assault on Libya in 2011, thousands of troops on the ground in Iraq, plans to keep combat troops in Afghanistan, drone wars rising in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere—and now new air wars are underway against ISIS and others in Iraq, Syria and perhaps beyond.

In this newest addition to Interlink’s wide-ranging Understanding Global Issues series, Phyllis Bennis asks and answers the basic questions facing so many Americans: What is ISIS? Why are they so violent? Should Obama have kept troops in Iraq? Is ISIS the same as al-Qaeda? Can you really go to war against terror? How should the US respond to ISIS violence? What dangers lie ahead? Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1492429494386950/.

53] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore now meets on Thursdays at 7:30 PM, and the meetings take place at Max’s residence.  There will be a meeting on Thurs., Oct. 29 at 7:30 PM.  The agenda will include Freddie Gray & local organizing, killer drones and Obama, the Drone Report, the presidential debate, the oppression of the Palestinians and the unending wars. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net.

54] – On Thurs., Oct. 29 at 7:30 PM @ Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, an Episcopal priest, presents “Stand Your Ground.” She is a professor of religion at Goucher College, who will speak about her new book on injustices perpetrated on the black community and her response as a mother, an African American and a person of faith.  Dr. Douglas examines the myths and narratives underlying a 'stand-your-ground' culture, taking seriously the social as well as the theological questions raised by this and similar events, from Ferguson to Staten Island. She has written at least four books. Call 443-602-7585.  Go to http://www.redemmas.org

55] – On Fri., Oct. 30 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! This vigil will take place at the White House on Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Contract Art @ artlaffin@hotmail.com or at 202-360-6416. 

56] – Go to ICC 270, Georgetown University, 37th and O Sts. NW, WDC 20057 on Fri., Oct. 30 at 12:30 PM as author Anita M. Weiss will speak about her book “Interpreting Islam, Modernity, and Women's Rights in Pakistan.”  She analyzes the resultant "culture wars" that are visibly ripping Pakistan apart, as groups talk past one another - each confidant that they are the proprietors of culture and interpreters of religion while others are misrepresenting it.  Myriad constituencies are grappling with reinterpreting women's rights.  This book analyzes the Government of Pakistan's attempt to understand what constitutes women's rights. Visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/interpreting-islam-modernity-and-womens-rights-in-pakistan-with-dr-anita-weiss-tickets-19122441738

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 

No comments: