Sunday, April 29, 2018

Are Israeli Snipers Censoring Palestinian Journalists by Murder?

Are Israeli Snipers Censoring Palestinian Journalists by Murder?


Friday, April 27, 2018

“It is both an effort to ensure that the Palestinian story is not told to the world and to tell Palestinians themselves that no one is safe.”


"Being a journalist in Gaza only means death." (Photo: Twitter)
"Being a journalist in Gaza only means death." (Photo: Twitter)

  On April 25, Ahmad Abu Hussein became the second Palestinian journalist Israeli snipers shot to death while covering the Great March of Return demonstrations, a series of weekly, massive Palestinian demonstrations demanding the right to return to their lands. Abu Hussein was 24 years old. Just days before, Israeli live ammunition killed 30-year-old Yasser Mourtaja. Like Abu Hussein, he was wearing a large, bright “Press” jacket that made clear he was a reporter.

   The organization Reporters Sans Frontieres asserts that the Israeli Occupying Forces’ targeting of journalists is deliberate and systemic. This would be in direct violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2222 (2015), which states: “impunity for crimes committed against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in armed conflict remains a significant challenge to their protection and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against them is a key element in preventing future attacks.”

    Any proper inquiry into the shooting should take into account that the demonstrations are not a matter of “armed conflict.” The protests have been largely nonviolent, even celebratory. But Israel is determined to take brutal, punitive measures toward anyone who even approaches the border fence, which marks off its illegally occupied territory. An Israeli investigation into a December 2017 shooting reveals that Israeli soldiers are ordered to shoot anyone who is approaching the border fence, regardless of whether or not they are armed. This military posture has led to hundreds of unarmed Palestinians being hit with live ammunition, including several children.

   According to Diana Buttu, a political analyst and Palestinian citizen of Israel, Israel’s targeting of journalists is not new and not accidental:

For years the Israeli censorship office, as it is called, has used tactics to try to punish journalists covering Israel’s occupation of Palestine. For example, Israel threatened to close down the BBC for its airing of a documentary on Israel’s nuclear weapons. Israel is now threatening to close down the offices of Al Jazeera for doing their job: reporting critically on Israel’s denial of freedom. The targeting of Palestinian journalists in Gaza is an extension of this: in the eyes of Israel’s military establishment there ‘are no innocents in Gaza’ including journalists.

   One might even say, “especially journalists,” or indeed, anyone documenting the military’s actions. The Middle East Monitor notes a new law that punishes anyone who documents army personnel in action: “The draft law calls for anyone who films soldiers during their military service to be handed a -year [sic] jail term which would increase to ten years if the content is classified as ‘detrimental to Israeli security.’ The bill also prohibits the publication of video recordings on social media or disseminating them to the media.”

  Human rights activist and law professor Noura Erakat sums up the situation thus: “It is both an effort to ensure that the Palestinian story is not told to the world and to tell Palestinians themselves that no one is safe.”

  To understand the significance of Israel’s attacks on journalists, it is crucial to understand how their professional lives are inextricable from their private lives under Israeli occupation. Doing journalism under these material, political and military conditions is nearly impossible, in any conventional sense. To try to get the story of what doing journalism is like, I contacted Issam Adwan, a freelance journalist in Gaza. He agreed to listen to my questions, pose them to a few of his colleagues and then translate the interviews. As one begins to learn more about the situation of Palestinian journalists, one understands the particular difficulties of working under not only Israeli censorship and repression, but also under the complexities of the Palestinian political world.

 It is not only the Israeli state that is targeting journalists—the Palestinian Authority does so as well. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports the case of Hazem Naser, who was arrested by Palestinian Authority security forces in the middle of the night at his house. Anas Dahode, a 26-year-old journalist with Al-Aqsa TV, vividly describes the result of these pressures. He told Truthdig:

Being a journalist in Gaza only means death. Either you die trying to cover the massacres of Israeli Occupation forces as what happened to my friends like Yasser Mourtaja and others before him who were killed with cold-blood despite showing their identity as press personnel, or you die of watching others dying, it’s deadly any way. On one hand you face the political disputes between Hamas and Fatah which are derived from different ideologies and affect our media focus and the future or our jobs. On the other hand, the Israeli occupation that violates human rights almost every single day here in Gaza.

  Mohammed Shaheen, 24, from the Voice of Palestine spoke about both the material and psychological challenges of doing his work:

We live in an open-air prison, we have few resources to live daily lives. In terms of my job as journalist, the Israeli authorities occasionally ban cameras, photographic materials, the use of safety gear that we need to do our jobs.
In normal cases, working as journalist omits the normalcy of your life. You should be always ready to work on breaking news to be a successful journalist. Imagine trying to do all this hard work when we are living in Gaza, a place we have martyrs and injuries almost every day. We have drones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You live the war—feeling every single moment of your life, not only because you fear to die in any moment or losing someone you always loved but also that you can wake up at dawn for a call from your agency to start working on some cases that related to Israeli massacres.

Shaheen added a striking, terrible afterword:

It is unfortunate that world community turned a blind eye and deaf ears to the Israeli massacres on Gaza. We have had three deadly wars, with Israel vastly armed against a people with few resources, military and otherwise. Thousands are killed and injured when all they wanted was to return their homes and villages, where their grandparents expelled from. We have been calling for the world community for 70 years—even when they know the truth, do you think it care? Israel always has the support of U.S., which will use the veto in any Palestinian-related voting. This is futile.

  Despite this sense of futility, he and others still try to carry on their work. It is our responsibility to read and listen and watch the news that is brought to us at such a high cost.

© 2018 TruthDig
https://www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_bio_small/public/authors/liu.jpeg?itok=EEzET0LY

David Palumbo-Liu is the Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor of comparative literature and, by courtesy, English at Stanford University. He is the author most recently of "The Deliverance of Others: Reading Literature in a Global Age" and the co-editor of "Immanuel Wallerstein and the Problem of the World: System, Scale, Culture." His work has appeared in The Nation, Salon, The Guardian, Truthout, Al Jazeera, AlterNet and other venues. You can follow him at Twitter at @palumboliu.

Israel: Arms Embargo Needed as Military Unlawfully Kills and Maims Gaza Protesters

Amnesty International – USA April 27, 2018  For Immediate Release

Contact: Mariya Parodi, media@aiusa.org

WASHINGTON - Israel is carrying out a murderous assault against protesting Palestinians, with its armed forces killing and maiming demonstrators who pose no imminent threat to them, Amnesty International revealed today, based on its latest research, as the “Great March of Return” protests continued in the Gaza Strip.

  The Israeli military has killed 35 Palestinians and injured more than 5,500 others – some with what appear to be deliberately inflicted life-changing injuries – during the weekly Friday protests that began on 30 March.

  Amnesty International has renewed its call on governments worldwide to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel following the country’s disproportionate response to mass demonstrations along the fence that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel.

  “For four weeks the world has watched in horror as Israeli snipers and other soldiers, in full-protective gear and behind the fence, have attacked Palestinian protesters with live ammunition and tear gas. Despite wide international condemnation, the Israeli army has not reversed its illegal orders to shoot unarmed protesters,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. 

  “The time for symbolic statements of condemnation is now over. The international community must act concretely and stop the delivery of arms and military equipment to Israel. A failure to do so will continue to fuel serious human rights abuses against thousands of men, women and children suffering the consequences of life under Israel’s cruel blockade of Gaza. These people are merely protesting their unbearable conditions and demanding the right to return to their homes and towns in what is now Israel.”  

  The USA is by far Israel’s main supplier of military equipment and technology, with a commitment to provide $38 billion in military aid over the next 10 years. But other countries, including EU member states such as France, Germany, the UK and Italy, have licensed large volumes of military equipment for Israel.

Protesters shot from behind

  In most of the fatal cases analyzed by Amnesty International victims were shot in the upper body, including the head and the chest, some from behind. Eyewitness testimonies, video and photographic evidence suggest that many were deliberately killed or injured while posing no immediate threat to the Israeli soldiers. 

  Among the victims are 23-year-old football player Mohammad Khalil Obeid, who was shot in both knees as he filmed himself with his back towards the border fence at a protest east of al-Breij Camp on 30 March.

The video, published on social media, shows the moment he was shot. In the footage, he appears to be standing in an isolated area, far from the fence, and not seeming to pose any threat to the lives of Israeli soldiers. He is currently in need of a knee replacement operation to be able to walk again.

“As a Palestinian player my life has been destroyed... I was dreaming of playing football abroad, and to raise the Palestinian flag abroad [to show] that we are not terrorists,” he told Amnesty International. 

“We wanted to convey our message to all organizations, countries and heads of states so that they see what is happening to us, because no one would accept this anywhere in the world.”

Injuries not seen since the war

  Doctors at the European and Shifa hospitals in Gaza City told Amnesty International that many of the serious injuries they have witnessed are to the lower limbs, including the knees, which are typical of war wounds that they have not observed since the 2014 Gaza conflict.
Many have suffered extreme bone and tissue damage, as well as large exit wounds measuring between 10 and 15mm, and will likely face further complications, infections and some form of physical disability, such as paralysis or amputation. Reports of the high number of injuries to the knees, which increase the probability of bullet fragmentation, are particularly disturbing. If true, they would suggest that the Israeli army is intentionally intending to inflict life-changing injuries.

  Doctors also said that they have observed another type of devastating injury characterized by large internal cavities, plastic left inside the body but no exit wounds.

  According to military experts as well as a forensic pathologist who reviewed photographs of injuries obtained by Amnesty International, many of the wounds observed by doctors in Gaza are consistent with those caused by high-velocity Israeli-manufactured Tavor rifles using 5.56mm military ammunition. Other wounds bear the hallmarks of US-manufactured M24 Remington sniper rifles shooting 7.62mm hunting ammunition, which expand and mushroom inside the body.

  According to a recent statement by Médecins Sans Frontières, half of the over 500 patients admitted to its clinics were treated for injuries “where the bullet has literally destroyed tissue after having pulverized the bone”. This information has been confirmed by humanitarian NGOs as well as testimonies collected from doctors by Palestinian human rights groups in Gaza.

  “The nature of these injuries shows that Israeli soldiers are using high-velocity military weapons designed to cause maximum harm to Palestinian protesters that do not pose imminent threat to them. These apparently deliberate attempts to kill and main are deeply disturbing, not to mention completely illegal. Some of these cases appear to amount to willful killing, a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime,” said Magdalena Mughrabi.

  “Unless Israel ensures effective and independent investigations resulting in criminal prosecutions of those responsible, the International Criminal Court must open a formal investigation into these killings and serious injuries as possible war crimes and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.”

  According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, as of 26 April, the total number of injured is estimated at 5,511 – 592 children, 192 women and 4,727 men – with 1,738 injuries from live ammunition. Approximately half of those admitted to hospitals suffered injuries to the legs and the knees, while 225 sustained injuries to the neck and head, 142 others were shot in the abdomen and pelvis, and 115 were injured in the chest and the back. So far, the injuries have resulted in 18 amputations.  

  Four children aged between 14 and 17 are among those killed due to injuries sustained during protests. Two journalists have also been shot dead, despite both wearing protective vests that clearly identified them as members of the press, while several others have been injured.

  Gaza’s hospitals have struggled to cope with the large number of casualties due to shortages in medical supplies, electricity and fuel caused by the Israeli blockade and exacerbated by the intra-Palestinian divide. Meanwhile, Israel has been delaying or refusing the transfer of some patients in need of urgent specialized medical treatment available in other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories due to their participation in protests.
In one case documented by Amnesty International, 20-year-old journalist Yousef al-Kronz had his left leg amputated after the Israeli authorities denied him permission to travel to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank for urgent medical treatment. He was eventually allowed to leave for an operation to save his other leg following legal intervention by human rights groups.

  Paramedics in Gaza have told Amnesty International of difficulties evacuating injured protesters due to the Israeli army firing tear gas canisters at them as well as near field hospitals.

Unlawful killings and life-changing injuries

  The organizers of the “Great March of Return” have repeatedly stated that the protests are intended to be peaceful, and they have largely involved sit-ins, concerts, sports games, speeches and other peaceful activities.

  Despite this, the Israeli army reinforced its forces – deploying tanks, military vehicles, soldiers and snipers along the Gaza fence – and gave orders to shoot anyone within several hundred metres of the fence.

 While some protesters have attempted to approach the fence, threw stones in the direction of Israeli soldiers or burnt tyres, social media videos as well as eyewitness testimonies gathered by Amnesty International, Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups show that Israeli soldiers shot unarmed protesters, bystanders, journalists and medical staff approximately 150-400m from the fence, where they did not pose any threat.
In a petition requesting that the Israeli Supreme Court order the Israeli army to stop using live ammunition to disperse protests, human rights groups Adalah and Al Mezan provided evidence of 12 videos published on social media showing unarmed protesters, including women and children, being shot by the Israeli army. In some cases, people were shot while waving the Palestinian flag or running away from the fence.  

  Video footage widely circulated on social media shows Abd Al-Fattah Abd Al-Nabi, aged 19, being shot on 30 March as he was running away from the fence while holding a tyre, with his back turned to Israeli soldiers. He was shot in the back of the head and died. On Friday 20 April, 14-year-old Mohammad Ayyoub was also killed by a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Background

Over the last 11 years, civilians in the Gaza Strip have suffered the devastating consequences of Israel’s illegal blockade in addition to three wars. As a result, Gaza’s economy has sharply declined, leaving its population almost entirely dependent on international aid. Gaza now has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world at 44%. Four years since the 2014 conflict, some 22,000 people remain displaced.

In January 2015, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court opened a preliminary examination of situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, specifically looking into allegations of crimes committed since 13 June 2014.

Amnesty International has also been calling on all states to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, as well as on Palestinian armed groups, with the aim of preventing violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by all sides. 

Since 30 March, in addition to the protesters, seven other Palestinians have been killed by Israeli air strikes, artillery fire or live ammunition, including a farmer who was harvesting his land near the fence, and six members of Palestinian armed groups.  

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Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.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



PLOWSHARES : WHO ARE THEY? WHAT DO THEY WANT?


PLOWSHARES : WHO ARE THEY? WHAT DO THEY WANT?
Fri, 04/27/2018 – 1:17am TribuneG1
BY: JILL HELTON

It could have been a dinner party at any Camden County home.

As southern Georgians do, they opened their potluck gathering on Friday evening with prayer. With plates of hors d’oeuvres and half full glasses of wine, the guests assembled around the living room for some engaging conversation.

Yet these party guests may not have been welcome in every Camden County home.

This was a gathering for members of the Kings Bay Plowshares, who visited the area to support the anti-nuclear protestors who were arrested at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base earlier this month. They are part of an international Plowshares movement that wants to make real the prophet Isaiah’s command to “beat swords into plowshares.”

The full verse from Isaiah 2:4 (KJV) states, “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more..”

Seven of their members, all Roman Catholic, remain in jail this week after bond was denied in Camden County Magistrate Court. They illegally entered the base on April 4 and staged protests into the early morning hours of April 5 at three areas of the installation: the nuclear weapons storage bunkers, the D5 missile monument and the administration building.

Carrying bottles full of their own blood and hammers, they “attempted to convert weapons of mass destruction,” according to a press release from the organization. The activists defaced the properties with what appears to be their blood, spray-painted messages like “love one another” on sidewalks and pounded with their hammers in a symbolic gesture.

Mark Colville, 55, of New Haven, Conn.; Clare Grady, 59, of Ithaca, N.Y.; Martha Hennessy, 62, of Perkinsville, Vt.; Steve Kelly, 69 of Los Gatos, Calif.; Elizabeth McAlister, 78, of Baltimore, Md.; Patrick O’Neill, 61, of Garner, N.C.; and Carmen Trotta, 55, of New York City; were charged in Camden County Superior Court with interference with government property, possession of tools for the commission of a crime, both felonies, and criminal trespass, a misdemeanor. No federal charges have been filed.

Several Camden County citizens have voiced their outrage on social media because they feel the group wrongly characterizes its demonstrations as non-violent.

“I am all for freedom of speech and expression but there is a time and place. Entering without authorization and vandalizing is not part of it,” said Andrew Bellendir of Kingsland, whose letter to the editor was published in a recent edition.

The Tribune & Georgian Facebook page also elicited mostly negative comments about the seven offenders and their detention at the Camden County jail.

Various peace groups have protested the nuclear weapons on base since the early 1980s with few incidents and appear to be mostly tolerated as they picket at the front gate of the base.

The Plowshares’ actions drew a stronger response, in part because laws were broken, but also because blood can contain disease-causing pathogens and hammers can be used to cause grave bodily injury.

However, they don’t put much into the idea that Camden County citizens, even those who live on base, might be legitimately disturbed or fearful of their safety because of the protest.

Plowshares’ member Bill Streit said he was sorry for anyone who truly felt threatened by the demonstrators, but questioned how one could be fearful of a hammer but not the destructive power of the missiles at Kings Bay. He said it shows how skewed and numb people have become about weapons of mass destruction.

“(The hammers) are not used against any human being,” he said. “Our souls are messed up when we are more afraid of Christians with bolt cutters,” Streit said.

When a reporter suggested that others don’t know what there intent might be, group members emphasized that the hammer was an essential element of this symbolic action.

“Hammers are also used to build things,” added Beth Brockman from Durham. N.C.

In the book, “Religion and War Resistance in the Plowshares Movement,” Plowshares activist Mary Sprunger-Froese explained why they use human blood.

“War has been sanitized … because we mostly do it through our technology and satellite surveillance. Back when people [fought] hand to hand, you would see the blood and gore and you would see the consequences,” she said. “Now we’re so far removed and we watch war coverage on TV like it’s a miniseries. That’s so desensitizing, deadening. So when we use blood, it has a very powerful effect. … The blood is very real, very arresting, shocking, and in your face. It says, ‘This is what we’re talking about — human life.’ All this technology is made to destroy it, to spill human blood.”

The activists realize that some of the blood that is spilled may be their own.

Group members said those who demonstrate spend up to a year preparing with prayer, fasting, political analysis and other rituals before attempting to breach sensitive areas that are often guarded with armed Marines.

The group shared the thoughts of Elizabeth McAlister, one of those arrested, on their Facebook page after the demonstration:

“We raise our voices in a cry to dismantle the weapons — all of them — and we risk life and limb and our future hopes to make this plea: ‘dismantle the weapons.’

“Admirals at Kings Bay, you must know as well or better than we, that the payload of your six Tridents is more than enough to obliterate all life on Earth. We plead with you to examine your priorities. Is this really what you want to be about?

“How can you look at your children and grandchildren and continue to grease the wheels of destruction. Turn it around before it is too late …”

The Plowshares organization has protested at about 100 installations around the world and some of the support team members have themselves been arrested in similar operations. If the trial for the seven base protestors is set in Camden County, the Plowshares said many more peace activists will come to the community in a show of support for the accused.

The Plowshares’ press release said they selected the Georgia base as a demonstration site because April 4 was the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.

Robert Randall, a support team member from Glynn County, said Dr. King was also characterized as radical or even violent because of his actions during the early days of the civil rights movement. He preached nonviolence through sit-ins and marches.

“We want to make sure that message does not get lost,” Randall said.

Streit said he understands that abolishing nuclear weapons is an unpopular proposition in a community where the economy is so heavily dependent on that military program.

“To them, it would be a radical way of thinking,” he said. “We are hoping to reach hearts.”

Brockman said the money spent on the nuclear weapons program could address an endless list of public needs, such as hunger and homelessness.

It seemed to matter little that the group would be fighting an uphill battle to grow its membership in Camden County.

They point to the teachings of Jesus Christ and question how any Christian could feel differently. To them, this is just following the path upon which their faith has placed them.

“We’re not really in charge,” Streit said. “We just do what is right, just and good and then we leave it in better hands than ours.”

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Kings Bay Plowshares posted news stories and up dates so far....

April 5 - Kings Bay Plowshares: 7 Catholic Peace Activists arrested at Kings Bay Naval Base Georgia ... all dear friends and CWers!

April 5 - 7 PROTESTERS DETAINED AT NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE IN KINGS BAY, First Coast News

April 5 - Full Report: Seven Kings Bay Plowshares activists arrested inside Trident nuclear submarine base, Nuke Resister

April 5 - "Plowshares activists arrested for action at Georgia naval base" by James Dearie, NCR
https://www.ncronline.org/news/justice/plowshares-activists-arrested-action-georgia-naval-base

April 5 - "Seven Plowshares Activists Arrested Protesting at U.S. Nuclear Sub Base" Democracy Now Headlines

April 5 -  "Seven Peace Activists Arrested After Entering Nuclear Submarine Base in Georgia" by Jon Queally, Common Dreams
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/04/05/seven-peace-activists-arrested-after-entering-nuclear-submarine-base-georgia

April 6 - "Catholic peace activists face charges after detention at submarine base" Catholic Philly

April 7 - "Bond Denied for 7 Catholic Protesters Who Prayed on Nuclear Submarine Base in Georgia" Sojourners mag

April 8 -  "How Do You Tell the Kids that Grandma Is in Jail for Resisting Nuclear Weapons?" by Frida Berrigan, Truth Out
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/44097-how-do-you-tell-the-kids-that-grandma-is-in-jail-for-resisting-nuclear-weapons 

April 9 - "Seven anti-war activists raid Georgia nuclear submarine base with hammers, bottles of blood" by Leslie Eastman, Legal Insurrection
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/04/seven-anti-war-activists-raid-georgia-nuclear-submarine-base-with-hammers-bottles-of-blood/ 
April 10 - Update on King's Bay Plowshares from .Bill Ofenloch
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/national-cw-e-mail-list/ej3FeG8ZyfM
April 12, - "Article in the New Haven Register about Kings Bay Plowshares" forward from Luz Catarineau-Colville

April 13 - "Armed with a hammer and blood in a baby bottle, Garner man arrested at nuclear submarine base" BY ANNE BLYTHE, News & Observer, RALEIGH
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/national-cw-e-mail-list/bCqlQmmN6iY

April 13 - Kings Bay Plowshares "Tridents must be dismantled" forward message from John Linnehan, passed on by Rosalie Riegle with note.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/national-cw-e-mail-list/BT6z1R9PD58

April 14 - Kings Bay Plowshares - Clare called today!! .... message from Mary Anne Grady Flores
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/national-cw-e-mail-list/F5LQuQNh4po

April 15 - Kings Bay Plowshares - Patrick called this morning .... message from Mary Rider, Patrick O'Neill's wife and fellow Fr. Charlie Mulholland Catholic Worker Garner NC
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/national-cw-e-mail-list/9Vq44sF60z4

April 17 - Kings Bay Plowshares update ... message from Luz Colville

April 17 - Kings Bay Plowshares short reflection from Clare Grady ... forward from Ellen Grady

April 18 - Legal team update for Kings Bay Plowshares ... message from Luz Colville
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/national-cw-e-mail-list/OVItJ1dLFwM

April 21 - Support the Kings Bay Plowshares ... forward by Max Obuszewski
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/national-cw-e-mail-list/MBC8thiJjEs

April 21 - Kings Bay Plowshares "A Reflection by Martha Hennessy" .... forward by Kings Bay Plowshares Support Comm
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Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.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



Baltimore Activist Alert April 29 to May 9, 2018

Baltimore Activist Alert April 29 to May 9, 2018

"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 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net.

1] Books, buttons and stickers
2] Web site for info on federal legislation
3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists  
4] Write Reality Winner
5] Collect donations of Hygiene Kits – through Apr. 30
6] Vegetarian Resource Group Benefit Day – Apr. 29
7] Participate in a protest against the killing of the Palestinians – Apr. 29
8] Paws in the Park – Apr. 29
9] “What Can a Tiny Fish Teach Us About Left-Right Differences in the Brain?” -- Apr. 29
10] Homeless animals benefit – Apr. 29
11] Flint, MI Water Fundraiser – through May 9
12] See an exhibit EVICTED -- Apr. 29
13] See “It’s What We Do,” A Play about the Occupation -- Apr. 29
14] REMAKING BLACK POWER -- Apr. 29
15] Direct Action Training – Apr. 29
16] Holocaust Remembrance – Apr. 29
17] Protest at the Pentagon – Apr. 30
18] Little Friends For Peace Golf Charity Classic -- Apr. 30
19] Poor People's Campaign and Resurrection City – Apr. 30
20] Corean-American Studies Spring Symposium Special – Apr. 30
21] Book talk BIG GUNS – Apr. 30
22] Support the Plowshares – Apr. 30
23] RAF grant deadline -- Apr. 30
24] US Trade Policy under Trump – May 1
25] May Day Festival – May 1
26] Peace Vigil – May 1
27] No more Drone Research at JHU – May 1

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1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available.  “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers are in stock. Call Max at 410-323-1607.

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 6address 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] –  On June 3, 2017 Reality Leigh Winner was arrested and jailed and later charged under the Espionage Act for allegedly releasing a top-secret document to a media outlet, The Intercept.  The document analyzed information about Russian online intrusions prior to the 2016 presidential election. Reality had been employed by a contract agency and worked at the NSA in Augusta, Georgia following her honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force in December of 2016.  Reality has pleaded not guilty to this one charge, and her defense team is working furiously to defend against the Espionage charge, but the Court in Georgia continues to rule against Reality at every turn.  Reality has been denied pretrial bail and awaits trial in a small county jail in Lincolnton, Georgia.

The impact this has had on Reality and our entire family is devastating.  Because of her special diet, Reality’s nutritional and medical needs are not met in jail.  She has been spontaneously denied mail, books, and visits.  In order to assist in her defense, she must be transported to the Federal Courthouse in Augusta, Georgia and spends up to 12 hours in full shackles and is strip-searched multiple times during the day. Please write to Reality at Reality L. Winner, Inmate # 3342, Lincoln County Jail, PO Box 970, Lincolnton, GA 30817.

5] – During the month of April, Havenwood Presbyterian Church, 100 E Ridgely Rd., Lutherville 21093, will collect donations of Hygiene Kits to help CWS help those touched by disaster. Church World Service (CWS) Kits are small packages of supplies assembled by volunteers and shipped to families and communities in need around the world. In the face of natural disasters, violence, or grinding poverty, hygiene kits can mean the difference between sickness and health for struggling families. 132,096 Hygiene Kits were shipped to Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and Cuba in the immediate aftermath of the hurricanes.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/193934531383504/ to discover what should be in a kit. Monetary contributions in lieu of kits is accepted. Make checks payable to Havenwood and mark Hygiene in the memo line. Mail to 100 E. Ridgely Rd - Timonium, MD 21093.

6] – On Sun., April 29 from 10 AM to 9 PM, participate in the Vegetarian Resource Group Benefit Day at Great Sage Restaurant in Clarksville.  Ten percent of sales go to the Vegetarian Resource Group! Support VRG outreach while socializing and enjoying great vegan food.  Brunch is 10 to3 PM with French toast, specialty pancakes, artichoke spinach dip, decadent cinnamon roll, and many other seasonal dishes. Lite fare is 3to 5 PM. Dinner is 5 to 9 PM.  Reservations for parties of 5 or more can be made by calling Great Sage at (443) 535-9400. Say hi to the VRG volunteer at the front door.  Go to http://greatsage.com/.

7] – Richard Ochs is inviting you to join a demonstration on Sunday, April 29 from 10 AM to noon at the corner of Park Heights Ave. and Slade Ave. in Baltimore.  The site is a familiar place for dozens of protests against the Israeli occupation of Palestine.  Please bring signs.  Demand that Israel must stop shooting unarmed protesters.  This is called by the usual suspects.  RSVP to mailto:rjochs@comcast.net.

8] –  On Sun., April 29 from 10 AM to 2 PM, get over to Paws in the Park, hosted by Hampton National Historic Site, 535 Hampton Ln., Towson 21286.  Find your BARK at Hampton National Historic Site!  Enjoy tail wagging, a scavenger hunt, contests, and animal adoptions.  See the unveiling of the Hampton Paw Patrol program - a new volunteer opportunity for dog lovers. There will be on the spot adoptions of dogs and cats so grab a leash or carrier to bring your newest family member home. Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS), Baltimore Humane Society, Baltimore County Animal Services, Greyhound Pet Adoption, and the Maryland SPCA will be on site to help you give a furry friend a forever home.  Get information on the Paw Patrol program at visitvolunteer.gov. Parking is free on a limited first come, first serve basis. Call 410-823-1309. See https://www.facebook.com/events/232702580629343/.

9] – Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 306 W. Franklin St., Suite 102, Baltimore 21201-4661, meets on Sundays, and generally there speaker and discussion from 10:30 AM to noon.  On Sun., Apr. 29, the Sunday Platform is “What Can a Tiny Fish Teach Us About Left-Right Differences in the Brain?” A prevalent myth in popular culture is that one brain hemisphere is dominant over the other; left-brained individuals are rational, analytical and objective while right-brainers are intuitive, artistic and emotional. Such ideas are not solidly based in science, although each side of the brain does execute specialized functions. Marnie Halpern, Staff Member of the Carnegie Institution for Science and Adjunct Professor in the Biology and Neuroscience Departments of the Johns Hopkins University will review some of the scientific literature on lateralization of brain functions across the animal kingdom and describe her lab’s work on left-right differences in the developing brain of zebrafish, a valuable vertebrate research model.

A native of Canada, Marnie Halpern received her B.S. in biology from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and her Master’s degree at the McMaster University Medical Center. She is a member of the Genetics Society of America, the Society of Developmental Biology, the Society of Neuroscience, and in 2014 was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2017, she received a NIH MERIT award to support her research on the brain. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

10] –The Maryland SPCA announced it is the season of fun events that benefit homeless animals.  The next one is on Sun., April 29 from 11 AM to 4 PM at Das Bier Haus, 1542 Light St., Baltimore 21230. Tickets are $25 and include 2 drinks, a pretzel and a chance to win prizes. For tickets, email DBHevents@gmail.com. Go to http://www.mdspca.org/updates/events/ or call 410-235-8826.

11] –  The Flint, MI Water Fundraiser continues at the Zion Hill Baptist Church Incorporated Zion Hill Baptist Church Incorporated, 931 E Preston St., Baltimore 21202, each day at noon until May 9.  Zion Hill is on a mission to raise enough money to take 60,000 bottles to Flint, MI again this summer. The residents of Flint still need fresh drinking water. You can help by donating any amount to reach the goal. Email zionhill931@gmail.com. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/489804621416573/?event_time_id=489804741416561.

12] – On Sun., April 29 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM, see Evicted at the National Building Museum, hosted by Foundry United Methodist Church, 401 F St. NW, WDC 20001. Tickets are available at www.nbm.org. A stable place to call home is one of the best predictors of success. Yet, each year more than 2.4 million Americans, most of them low-income renters, face eviction. While it used to be rare even in the poorest neighborhoods, forcible removal has become ordinary, with families facing eviction from the most squalid, barely inhabitable apartments. Foundry member Sean Murphy will lead a visit to the National Building Museum for an immersive exhibit based on the New York Times’ bestselling book, “Evicted - Poverty and Profit in the American City” by Matthew Desmond. Tickets are free. Meet at the museum at 1:30 PM.  A discussion will follow on Sun., May 20 at 10:10 AM.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1513634702097138/.

13] – See “It’s What We Do,” A Play about the Occupation.  Israeli soldiers speak out against policies they enforced in the Occupied Territories. Their encounters with Palestinians were transformative experiences. Through enacted memories, they show us a reality they can no longer hide. This event is a video presentation of the play.   Giving an introduction and acting as the Q&A facilitator will be Palestinian-American actor Jamal Najjab, who appears in the play.

Get over to the Howard County Library, East Columbia Branch, 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia 21045 on Sun., April 29 from 2 to 4 PM.  The event is free and open to the public, and is recommended for ages 13 & older. The play contains profanity.   This is sponsored by the Committee for Palestinian Rights (Howard County).  Email CPR_Maryland@yahoo.com.

14] – On Sun., Apr. 29 at 3 PM at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W North Ave, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, catch REMAKING BLACK POWER: HOW BLACK WOMEN TRANSFORMED AN ERA.  In this comprehensive history, Ashley D. Farmer examines black women’s political, social, and cultural engagement with Black Power ideals and organizations. Complicating the assumption that sexism relegated black women to the margins of the movement, Farmer demonstrates how female activists fought for more inclusive understandings of Black Power and social justice by developing new ideas about black womanhood. This compelling book shows how the new tropes of womanhood that they created--the “Militant Black Domestic,” the “Revolutionary Black Woman,” and the “Third World Woman,” for instance--spurred debate among activists over the importance of women and gender to Black Power organizing, causing many of the era’s organizations and leaders to critique patriarchy and support gender equality. Call 443-602-7585. RSVP at http://www.redemmas.org

15] –Join the DC Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival on Sun., April 29 from 3 to 7 PM for a Nonviolent Moral Fusion Direct Action Training at Commonwealth Baptist Church, 700 Commonwealth Ave., Alexandria, VA 22301. There is free parking available and the church is Metro accessible. Register for the training here https://goo.gl/YNmv53.   This training is essential if you wish to engage in the DC Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival days of action and any nonviolent moral fusion direct action.  The action date is May 14.  Attending this training does not mean you must participate in the day of action, nor does it mean you are committing to engage in civil disobedience. This training can be a great step in connecting with others in the campaign and learning about opportunities to join the actions. Join the Campaign- https://goo.gl/Qouvcy.

16] – On Sun., April 29 from 7 to 9 PM, come to the Yom HaShoah Commemoration, hosted by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Pl. SW, WDC 20024. Tickets are available at www.ushmm.org.  Join the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Lincolnwood Jewish Congregation/AGBI for the 9th Annual Yom HaShoah program, "Man's Search for Meaning: When Objects Make Meaning Immortal.” Gather together to memorialize the millions of innocent victims who perished during the Holocaust and reflect on our work to keep Holocaust memory alive for generations to come. Following the remarks, a Yom HaShoah memorial will be held.  The featured speakers are Scott Miller, Director of Curatorial Affairs, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Rabbi Yona Reiss, JD, Av Beth Din/Chief Justice, Chicago Rabbinical Council. This program is complimentary, but registration is required. Register by contacting Nicole Bela in the Midwest Regional Office at nbela@ushmm.org or 847.433.8099. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1663250730422498/.

17] – 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 Apr. 30, 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.

18] – Join Little Friends For Peace at its 2018 Golf Charity Classic on Mon., April 30 at the Kenwood Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.  Register your foursome today at https://lffpcharitygolfclassic.wordpress.com/2016/10/20/lffp-charity-golf-classic-information-and-registration-form. Email volunteer@lffp.org or mjpeace@gmail.com.  Call 240-838-4549 or visit www.lffp.org.

19] – The Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute and the Office of the Provost announce the Social Determinants of Health Symposium on Mon., April 30 from 8:30 AM to 5 PM in the Turner Auditorium, 720 Rutland Ave., Baltimore 21205.  Panel Discussion Number Four is The Poor People's Campaign and Resurrection City.  Fifty years ago Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference organized a campaign focused on economic justice for poor people in the United States. After MLK's assassination, Ralph Abernathy led the Poor People's Campaign march to Washington D.C. in May of 1968 where thousands of people would later set up a shantytown for six weeks known as Resurrection City. During this panel discussion, photographer Robert Houston and Marc Steiner will reflect on what it was like to live through and capture those moments. Registration ended April 25, but check out if you can still get a seat at 410-502-6155.

20] – On Mon., April 30 from 1 to 5 PM, hear from Oriana Skylar Mastro, Georgetown University, Rachel Oswald, Congressional Quarterly, and other speakers will be at the Institute for Corean-American Studies Spring Symposium Special in the Senate Dirksen Office Building, Room SD 562, First Street NE and Constitution Ave., WDC 20002. RSVP online. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/icas-spring-symposium-special-tickets-44835944517.

21] – On Mon., April 30 from 7 to 8 PM, Steve Israel will tackle BIG GUNS, Hosted by Politics and Prose Bookstore, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, WDC 20008. Israel, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2017, combines his political insight with a terrific sense of humor for this hard-hitting satire of the gun lobby, political corruption, and Washington power. His second novel follows the fall-out of the Chicago mayor’s campaign to ban handguns. The firearm lobby quickly pressures lawmakers to introduce The American Freedom from Fear Act, which would mandate that every American over age four own a handgun. As cities and towns take sides and legislators of all stripes maneuver to stay on the receiving end of gun industry largesse, the narrative homes in on Asabogue, Long Island, where a mayoral recall election has become the epicenter of the national division over the right to bear arms. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/351381168692425/.

22] – On Mon., April 30 at 7 PM, Paul Magno, Malachy Kilbride and Paki Wieland are inviting you to explore ways to support our sisters and brothers arrested at the trident nuclear submarine Kings Bay facility. Join an educational/ fundraising strategizing meeting at the CODEPINK house, 1241 Evarts St. NE, WDC.  Contact Paki Wieland at 413-695-1877.

23] – Research Associates Foundation (RAF) has announced its next grant cycle, for up to five small grants (maximum $2,500) to Baltimore-based progressive projects and groups.  The deadline for applications in this cycle is April 30, 2018.  Applications and other information can be found at RAFbaltimore.org.  Email info@rafbaltimore.org. 

24] – On Tues., May 1 from 11:30 AM to 2 PM, hear about US Trade Policy under Trump with Lori Wallach, Public Citizen, hosted by Woman's National Democratic Club, 1526 New Hampshire Ave. NW, WDC 20036. Tickets are available at events.r20.constantcontact.com.  At 12:15 PM, lunch is served. Can President Trump’s trade policy actually reduce the US trade deficit and create jobs over the long term? Currently, the trade deficit with China, as well as with Mexico and Canada, is up as the US continues to import more than it exports. At the same time, hundreds of jobs have been outsourced. The PRICE is $25 for members, $30 for non-members (includes lunch) and $10 for only the lecture.  See https://www.facebook.com/events/191785208276174/.

25] – On Tues., May 1 from 5 to 8 PM, get over to the 2018 DC May Day Festival at Malcolm X Park, Euclid St. NW & 16th St. NW, WDC.  On May Day the international working class comes together to celebrate all we have achieved and to continue our fight for a just and equitable future devoid of the menace of capitalism.  March to Malcolm X Park for a lively community festival featuring local speakers, musical acts, art, and tables with incredible local organizations working in the interest of residents of the DC area! Gather at 4 PM at Columbia Heights Civic Plaza with the festival beginning at 5 PM. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1699627670116558/.

26] –  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 May 1.  Call 215-426-0364.

27] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on May 1 from 5:30  to 6:30 PM. Contact Max at mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net or 410-323-1607. 


To be continued.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.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