Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Baltimore Activist Alert -- November 29 -- December 15, 2018


50] Bernie Brown is being evicted!!
51] Exhibition of the work of a Ramallah-based cartoonist – through Dec. 15
52] FCNL Annual Meeting – Nov. 29 - Dec. 1
53] Arrest Mohammed bin Salman – Nov. 29
54] Close US Military Bases Overseas – Nov. 29
55] Food Rescue – Nov. 29
56] Providing Humanitarian Aid in North Korea and Other Authoritarian Settings – Nov. 29
57] Alternative Approaches to Global Security – Nov. 29
58] Montgomery County Meeting of the Poor People's Campaign -- Nov. 29
59] "Resolved: America Needs More Immigrants"– Nov. 29
60] Funding of Anne Arundel Public Schools – Nov. 29
61] Sierra Club meeting – Nov. 29
62] "The Ghosts of Johns Hopkins"-- Nov. 29
63] Animal Testing -- Nov. 30
64] WIB peace vigils – Nov. 30
65] White House vigil – Nov. 30
66] Food Rescue – Nov. 30
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50] -- Our colleague Bernie Brown was given an eviction notice, effective November 22. He is still in his tiny apartment, but he may be evicted any day now.
Several of us are trying to prevent him from becoming homeless.  If this concerns you, let Max know at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

   Do you have any ideas?  One possibility is to clean his abode, and thus prevent eviction.  Another would be to meet with the ownership of the building.  Another option is to find him another abode.  Please let me know if you want to get involved in helping Bernie, a great member of Baltimore’s peace and justice movement.

51] – Just World Educational is working to help a build a better-informed US public (and a better-informed incoming Congress) by hosting an exhibition of the work of the talented, Ramallah-based cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh through Sat.,  Dec. 15.  Visit https://www.thejerusalemfund.org/21159/november-cartoons.  Mohammad's art-- long known for its biting wit and sharp witness-- is now also becoming recognized for its powerful artistic value.  In the artist's statement he composed to accompany the show, Mohammad wrote: I ask how I can share my world, as an artist and a Palestinian, with the rest of the world’s people? Surely, by art! I refuse to keep art only for the elite, in museums or exhibitions. Art should elevate the people’s awareness and the artist should carve the dark world to create beauty—like linocut. Call 202-338-1958 or email dpainter@thejerusalemfund.org.

52] –  The FCNL Annual Meeting officially begins at 9 AM on Thurs., Nov. 29 in the Grand Ballroom at the Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Ave. NW. To schedule lobby visits, contact Amanda Levin at AMLobby@fcnl.org. The keynote address is by Ruth Flower, FCNL’s former associate executive secretary for legislative program.  On Sat., Dec. 1 gather at 7 PM for a conversation with Joe Volk, Executive Secretary Emeritus, and Diane Randall, FCNL’s current Executive Secretary. The dialog will be moderated by our Annual Meeting Planning Committee clerk, and former FCNL Young Fellow, Emily Temple. Afterward, there is a reception featuring special music by Brulée, a band fronted by Aura Kanegis, who is also a former FCNL Young Fellow and currently serves as Director of Public Policy and Advocacy for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). See https://www.fcnl.org/action/events.

53] – On Thurs., Nov. 29 from 10 AM to noon, join a rally at the Argentine Embassy, 1600 New Hampshire Ave. NW, WDC 20009, hosted by CODEPINK: Women For Peace.  Rally to call for the arrest of Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 Summit for war crimes in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Argentine officials are currently considering charges against MbS and are being pressured by groups such as Human Rights Watch to invoke their constitutional power to recognize their jurisdiction in enforcing international law by arresting war criminals. The G20 Summit will begin in Buenos Aires on Friday, Nov. 30.  See https://www.facebook.com/events/200997930779769/.

54] -- Making America Safer and Saving Billions by Closing US Military Bases Overseas: A Trans partisan Coalition Speaks Out on Thurs., Nov. 29 from 1 to 2 PM in the Russell Senate Office Building, Room SR-188, 2 Constitution Ave. NE, WDC 20002.  Military experts from across the ideological spectrum will hold a public event to release an open letter arguing for the closure of wasteful, damaging, and unneeded US military bases abroad. In an era of bitter divisions between right and left, consensus is growing around a long-overlooked but crucial part of how the United States engages with the world: the nearly 75-year-old strategy of maintaining some 800 US military bases in 80 foreign countries. The open letter was drafted by the new transpartisan Overseas Base Realignment and Closure Coalition (OBRACC). The Coalition reflects growing agreement among military experts that reducing the excessive US military footprint could, counterintuitively, make the country safer while saving billions of dollars a year. Signatories to the letter include Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, and Independents. They span retired military officers and peace advocates; a former GOP member of Congress and Noam Chomsky; Clinton, Reagan, and George W. Bush administration officials; and academics and think tank analysts across the ideological spectrum.

The speakers are Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, (US Army, Ret.), former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Phyllis Bennis, Director, New Internationalism Project, Institute for Policy Studies, Dr. Catherine Lutz, Professor of Anthropology and International Studies, Brown University, John Glaser, Director, Foreign Policy Studies, Cato Institute, Sayo Saruta, Director, New Diplomacy Initiative (Japan) and Dr. David Vine, Professor of Anthropology, American University. Contact Dr. Vine at 202-885-2923 or vine@american.edu, Go to www.overseasbases.net. The event will be Livestreamed at https://zoom.us/j/943926933 and you can listen in by phone at 1-646-876-9923 (ID: 943 926 933).

55] – On Thurs., Nov. 29 from 4 to 5 PM, hosted by Food Rescue Baltimore, every Thursday until Feb. 7, 2019 at the Dovecote Café, 2501 Madison Ave., Baltimore 21217.  Bring a bag, bring a friend, and take delicious, nutritious, free rescued food. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/178973439543642/.

56] – The Soh Jaipil Circle on Contemporary Korean Affairs will host a discussion "Providing Humanitarian Aid in North Korea and Other Authoritarian Settings" on Thurs., Nov. 29 from 4 to 6 PM in Room 505, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University, 1975 E St. NW, WDC 20052.  Register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1M-Y8zPsIGmhZI8-H9A_6rquKaMqwLkye8chyHEKWdus/viewform?edit_requested=true.

Increasingly, international and domestic aid workers provide humanitarian aid in countries with authoritarian governments. One of the many dilemmas is ensuring that the most vulnerable receive the allocated aid while concurrently liaising and coordinating with national and local government entities who often don’t prioritize the needs of their at-risk populations.  They may have little interest in channeling program outputs to populations targeted by the project or else perceive of the aid as an opportunity to divert funding or commodities to their allies – whether that be their family, tribe, business partners, members of the military, influential persons/entities, or others.  Finally, they will often establish regulations to ensure that aid workers have limited opportunities to visit project sites. 

During a six-month period in 1998 and 1999, Christy Gavitt was employed by the Private Voluntary Organization Consortium for North Korea (PVOC), a consortium of five US non-governmental relief and development agencies.  Along with six other colleagues, she carried out project assessments and the subsequent monitoring of the distribution of 150,000 MT of US Government-contributed maize and wheat through 152 food-for-work projects in seven provinces in North Korea.  The projects focused on the repair of embankments that had been damaged by the previous years’ floods.  This job entailed repeated contact with as many as 300 North Korean senior counterpart officials.  Ms. Gavitt was one of the three Korean speakers on the team. She began her overseas career as a Peace Corps volunteer in South Korea from 1974-76, followed by a year-long internship with CARE-Korea.

57] --  Alternative Approaches to Global Security, a book launch and symposium on rethinking global security and alternatives to war is happening on Thurs., Nov. 29 from 6:30 to 8 PM at the Georgetown University Leavey Center, Leavey Program Room, 3800 Reservoir Road NW, WDC 20007.  RSVP at https://worldbeyondwar.org/booklaunch. Light refreshments will be served.  The event will also be livestreamed via the World BEYOND War Facebook page: http://facebook.com/worldbeyondwar.  There is a preponderance of evidence that our global system of militarized security does not lead to a stable or positive peace. More often than not, the militarized approach entangles us in a vicious cycle of violence, fostering insecurity from the local to the global, and most troubling: it further legitimizes war. If this system doesn’t work, then what new system(s) might and must emerge? The symposium will also be a book launch for the new edition of “A Global Security System: An Alternative to War (2018-19 Edition),” a publication of World BEYOND War. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.  

The panelists are David Swanson. Director, World BEYOND War, Madison Schramm.  2018-2019 Hillary Rodham Clinton Research Fellow, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace & Security, and three students. The students on the panel are from the course “Rethinking Global Security” (JUPS 412). All are seniors in the Justice and Peace Studies Program.  They will share future perspectives, concerns and possibilities on establishing a nonviolent system of global security. Email education@worldbeyondwar.org.

58] – On Thurs., Nov. 29 from 6:30 to 8 PM, come to the Montgomery County Meeting, hosted by the Maryland Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville, 100 Welsh Park Dr., Rockville 20850.  Plan and discuss how the Maryland Poor People's Campaign will grow in Montgomery County.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1055822841289565/.

59] -- On Thurs., Nov. 29 in Washington, DC attend a spirited, feisty yet civil debate over one of the most contentious issues driving US politics--"Resolved: America Needs More Immigrants.". Then, help us decide who won--the winning side receives a $5,000 award to donate to the non-profit of its choice! This is a Podius Debate: The American Conservative vs. The Nation, moderated by Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour Anchor and Managing Editor.

Arguing for the affirmative are Sasha Abramsky and Michelle Chen for The Nation.  Arguing for the negative will be Helen Andrews and James Antle for The American Conservative. There is a reception at 6:45 PM, and the debate begins promptly at 7:45 PM in the Jack Morton Auditorium, George Washington University, 805 21st St. NW, WDC 20052.  Tickets are free of charge but all attendees must register in advance at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/resolved-america-needs-more-immigrants-a-podius-debate-tickets-51381727129.

60] – On Thurs., Nov. 29 at 7 PM at the Edgewater Community Library, 25 Stepney Lane, Edgewater 21037, hear from Doug Prouty, Vice President of Maryland State Education Association.  He will be speaking about the new education budgeting allocation formula that will be created during the 2019 State Legislative Session and actions we can take to advocate for funding of Anne Arundel Public Schools before and during the session.  Fixing the fund was half the fight is hosted by Take Action AAC. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/253444928657743/.

61] – Sierra Club Greater Baltimore Group Executive Committee Meeting is on Thurs,, Nov. 29 from 7 to 9 PM at 3000 Chestnut Ave., Suite 202, Baltimore 21211. RSVP to Debbie Kleinmann at spicearoni@gmail.com.

62] – On Thurs., Nov. 29 at 7 PM, hear Antero Pietila presents "The Ghosts of Johns Hopkins" at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 1225 Cathedral St., Baltimore 21201.  The author of the essential history of real estate segregation in Baltimore, Not in My Neighborhood, is back with a brand new book!

   Johns Hopkins destroyed his private papers so thoroughly that no credible biography exists of the Baltimore Quaker titan. One of America’s richest men and the largest single shareholder of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Hopkins was also one of the city’s defining developers. In The Ghosts of Johns Hopkins, Antero Pietila weaves together a biography of the man with a portrait of how the institutions he founded have shaped the racial legacy of an industrial city from its heyday to its decline and revitalization. From the destruction of neighborhoods to make way for the mercantile buildings that dominated Baltimore’s downtown through much of the 19th century to the role that the president of Johns Hopkins University played in government sponsored “Negro Removal” that unleashed the migration patterns that created Baltimore’s existing racial patchwork, Pietila tells the story of how one man’s wealth shaped and reshaped the life of a city long after his lifetime. https://www.facebook.com/events/343219369756805/. Call (443) 602 7611 or go to https://www.redemmas.org/.

63] – On Fri., Nov. 30 from 9 AM to 4:30 PM, get over to “Animal Experimentation: Working Towards a Paradigm Shift,” hosted by Johns Hopkins Environmental Health & Engineering, 615 N. Wolfe St., Room E7527, Baltimore 21205.  This is a Book Launch. Russell and Burch introduced the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal experimentation in 1959 in their groundbreaking book, The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique (Russell and Burch, 1959). Their highest goal was to avoid the use of animals wherever possible, and—in cases where animals were still deemed indispensable—to significantly enhance their treatment while also improving the quality of research and testing. There is growing recognition that a focus on human-relevant data is needed for the understanding and possible treatment of chronic, complex diseases, many of which are not well understood and, thus, cannot be readily modeled in other animals. The technology revolution has greatly changed the field of life sciences and now provides us with tools enabling a shift away from animal experimentation. The 51 experts who contributed to “Animal Experimentation: Working Towards a Paradigm Change” review current animal use in science, present new and innovative non-animal approaches to address urgent scientific questions, and offer a roadmap towards the continuing replacement and eventual elimination of animals used in science as envisioned by Russell and Burch almost 60 years ago. See http://caat.jhsph.edu/booklaunch.html for more information or https://www.facebook.com/events/245376606172703/.

64] – On Fri., Nov. 30 from noon to 1 PM, join a Women in Black peace vigil. A vigil will take place in McKeldin Square at the corner of Light and Pratt Sts.  STAY FOR LUNCH at Baba's Kitchen.  Warm-up, dry off, and enjoy a vegetarian chili lunch and lots of good conversation. Bring a side or topping for the chili.  There are still places at the table; invite a friend to come along with you.

Another vigil is at Roland Park Place, 830 W. 40th St, Baltimore. 21211. However, if weather is iffy, contact Anne at awyattbr@gmail.com.  Lunch will take place at 1 PM at the RPP Café, 830 W. 40th St., Baltimore 21211.

A third vigil will be in Chestertown, Kent County at Memorial Park at Cross Street and Park Row.  This vigil is looking for more peace bodies on the Eastern Shore.  Welcome to the network, Chestertown Women in Black.

Wear black. Dress for who knows what kind of weather.  Peace signs will be available. When there are others to stand with, you don't need to carry the burden alone. Do this to be in solidarity with others....when everything around us says “Be afraid of the stranger.” Carpool and parking available. Just send an email that you need a ride to: wibbaltimore@peacepath911.org.

65] – On Fri.,  Nov. 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, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Contract Art @ artlaffin@hotmail.com or at 202-360-6416.

66] – On Fri., Nov. 23 at noon, get over to Grace Baptist Church, 3201 The Alameda., Baltimore 21218, hosted by Food Rescue Baltimore. This occurs every Friday until Feb. 8, 2019.  For Friday Food Rescue, bring a bag, bring a friend, and take delicious, nutritious, free rescued food. See https://www.facebook.com/events/579834149018638/.

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

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