Baltimore Activist Alert -- December 16 - 17, 2020

47] Join the Safety through Solidarity Powerhour – Dec. 16

48] GOTV with Southern Poverty Law Center -- Dec. 16

49] Maryland Legislative Preview – Dec. 16

50] UN Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons – Dec. 16

51] Hypersonic Hype and the Ethics of Emerging Weapons Technology – Dec. 16

52] Jewish Voice for Peace – Dec. 16

53] Flip the Senate/Demote McConnell Team Call – Dec. 16

54] North Korea’s Financial ‘Reform’ Measures – Dec. 17

55] Biden Administration and Iran -- Dec. 17

56] Reclaim the moral narrative with Biden-Harris – Dec. 17

57] Takoma Park celebrates its Nuclear Free Zone – Dec. 17

58] Collective bargaining – Dec. 17

59] Defund the Pentagon webinar – Dec. 17

60] Plastic Wars -- Dec. 17

61] Statewide Forum on COVID – Dec. 17

62] Barbara Lee is hosting her annual holiday party – Dec. 17

63] Young Communists Speak – Dec. 17

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47] – Join the Safety through Solidarity Powerhour, hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace.  Take action and skill up for the final fights of 2020 and beyond! The weekly event is a one-stop virtual gathering on Wednesdays through Dec. 16 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Take collective action, from the U.S. to Palestine. Learn skills for the fights ahead. Find political grounding & community. Sign up at https://act.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/a/2020-11-powerhour?sourceid=1001261&contactdata=aQpk8iw9qKrJY%2bVSEu6X7i0JvCWwDvQ0pRJ9RMoavCLPjSJdRIdpWX9P96H9qsQSBafT31c8aaaOMTP%2fTkGzUQcPrhZ6KXzMUQvYkdKoqbnt8JdVogzfMk8GzumHHneV%2bkn0RrmxsAP9pLIaoCm46kxTQxoAzU6ViWWyYmLA8%2bWoJ7bwiV9VIflk0fN7XtptEwMhIc%2f2x5lh4Yi31eF0Y94v%2b7izfkzuba2pB5vs3u3QQ1ZNbTqMXKFHWc6iok1rlu1%2biVw1JfVbG9Z6cCBUlg%3d%3d&emci=bc58f1d3-b529-eb11-9fb4-00155d03affc&emdi=c4f1a056-c429-eb11-9fb4-00155d03affc&ceid=237778. Look at See www.jvpaction.org.

48] – The Southern Poverty Law Center [info@southernpovertylawcenter.org] is seeking help to get Georgia voters to the polls s have the power to decide which party controls the U.S. Senate. On Wed., Dec. 16 from 6 to 7 PM ET. Sign up at https://action.splcenter.org/a/december-16th-splc-power-hour-virtual-phone-bank.

49] – CCAN Action Fund [info@ccanactionfund.org] want you to attend on Dec. 17 at ‌ 7 PM ‌a Maryland Legislative Preview.‌ Three of the Maryland government’s foremost climate champions -- State Senator Paul Pinsky, and Maryland Delegates David Fraser-Hidalgo and Lorig Charkoudian -- will be there to walk us through the major environmental bills, and how we can ensure they get passed. Register at https://act.ccanactionfund.org/page/24703/data/1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=utm_campaign&utm_content=MD-CE-PreviewLastChance-1220-c4+C&ea.url.id=695340.

50] –‌ ‌The large and growing number of nations who have endorsed the elimination of nuclear weapons will lead to the global stigmatization of these weapons, as has occurred with other weapons of mass destruction (like chemical weapons).  The goal is for all nations eventually to adopt this UN Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons and create a secure world without nuclear weapons.  To learn more about the TPNW and its entry into force go to http://www.nuclearban.us or attend NuclearBan.us's webinar at 7 PM ET on Wed., Dec. 16. To register, click here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy4bUkW2-5rBMo23HNx_clKnWBp-NdJldnLvy4UnLPGsMPoA/viewform?emci=568ad013-193f-eb11-a607-00155d43c992&emdi=4e2a11b1-1b3f-eb11-a607-00155d43c992&ceid=269591. Call (413) 7273704 or email info@nuclearban.us.

51] –‌   It seems the Biden administration is poised to continue on the reckless, irresponsible path of spending some $1.2 trillion on nuclear weapons and new weapons technologies over the next 30 years.  There are calls for the incoming administration to prioritize supposedly superior hypersonic missiles, spending billions of dollars per year in the process. But a hypersonic arms race would only heighten tensions and increase the likelihood of conflict between the United States, China, and Russia. Call (617) 547-5552. The Union of Concerned Scientists invites you to take a closer look at Hypersonic Hype and the Ethics of Emerging Weapons Technology on Wed., Dec. 16 from 7:30 to 8:30 PM ET. Register for the online discussion at https://secure.ucsusa.org/a/12-16-2020-ax-webinar-hypersonics-equity?contactdata=FY7HKToEtFOwoRJtjk%2fELdfD4oI1x0MOklFC2FSJLnXigZ3c5JMojKNvb5woSn%2bY6b2x58ZSePiyVqP7sxFaEEPQAihEDqVzop05MMDLcrl7H16xVDa5CUsiNUOiaJ7v%2fwgzgCl08y0qmZbDEJ80eHX0y7o5CNw6vnfjibiRqVu7MQOo%2b5BYGvKFYOSUVt%2bj6t%2fwDftRK%2bMZ8Ra8vJNOfgn41%2fpaN%2bYcCBzQau9DBpHznbne%2bthA9Vbrn4fcgJl6q0ag8UlKlAD4zjpTyKg0%2bA%3d%3d&utm_campaign=email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email&emci=af371477-aa38-eb11-9fb4-00155d43b2cd&emdi=06a9d15e-8339-eb11-9fb4-00155d43b2cd&ceid=1507036.

52] – Jewish Voice for Peace indicated that this is a lie --Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had labeled anti-Zionism, BDS, and the organizations that support BDS as anti-Semitic.  The best way to resist this dangerous and ridiculous lie is to be even more ourselves – even more vibrantly Jewish, even more staunchly anti-Zionist – and to show up even harder for Palestinian liberation.  That’s why this Hanukkah, you are invited to eight nights of events as a way for everyone a way to get engaged, be in community, and be in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. See the full schedule and sign up at https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/hanukkah-5781/?emci=14e8f14c-7d36-eb11-9fb4-00155d43b2cd&emdi=daed12a9-d038-eb11-9fb4-00155d43b2cd&ceid=237778.  Sign a light on abolition: the movement of activists and scholars trying to think beyond prisons as a tool to solve society’s problems. Whether you want to learn about the connections between the abolition movement and the movement for Palestinian freedom, experience performances, have a stronger understanding of the Torah, be in community with other anti-Zionist Jewish people of color, or deepen your Jewish practice, this is your chance. For example, on Night 7 check out Prison Abolition: an International Struggle on Wed., Dec. 16 at 8 PM ET.  Abolition means much more than an end to brick-and-mortar prisons. Abolition as a framework ignites our imagination for how we live in the world. Join as we learn from Families for Justice as Healing, an organization putting that imagination into practice. Night 8 is on Thurs., Dec. 17 at 8 PM ET Fight the Deadly Exchange. On the last night of Hanukkah, JVP members and supporters nationally will be meeting to convene a space for collective action, ritual, and poetry to condemn US-Israeli law enforcement exchanges and offer an alternative vision of Jewish community beyond policing. Join us to keep the Hanukkah flame of abolition from the U.S. to Palestine! 

53] – Join Progressive Democrats of America for its Flip the Senate/Demote McConnell Team Call on Wed., Dec. 16 at 9 PM ET.  Email mikefox@pdamerica.org to get the link.

54] – The GW Institute for Korean Studies [gwiks@gwu.edu] is inviting you to Assessing North Korea’s Financial ‘Reform’ Measures: Mobilizing Domestic Financial Resources amid Sanctions. The speaker is Moon-Soo Yang, Professor, University of North Korean Studies, and he will make his presentation on Thurs., Dec. 17 from 9 to 10 AM EST. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/north-korea-economic-forum-special-public-webinar-registration-132057955901. North Korea has been introducing new financial initiatives in the Kim Jong Un era, including commercial banks and upgraded electronic payment systems. In dealing with the economic hardships caused by tough U.N. sanctions in 2017 and 2018 and by Covid-induced border closures this year, Pyongyang stepped up its efforts to mobilize domestic financial resources for the state’s fiscal needs. North Korea’s financial ‘reform’ measures should be understood in this context. Please join the North Korea Economic Forum of the GW Institute for Korean Studies for an online discussion on Pyongyang’s financial coping mechanism amid economic sanctions.

55] – On Thurs., Dec. 17 at 10 AM, tune into the Biden Administration and Iran—Confrontation or Accommodation [Online].  Iran will almost certainly be a top priority of the incoming Biden administration. Not only are dealing with Iran’s nuclear ambitions expected to be high on the U.S. agenda, but escalating tensions on the ground between Iran, Israel, and the United States in 2020 may well intensify in 2021, and the United States will need to be prepared to contain them.  How do Tehran and Jerusalem intend to approach the new administration; what priorities, calculations, and attitudes will shift? And how will the Biden foreign policy team deal with the complex challenge of re-entering and/or re-negotiating the Iran nuclear accord as well as engaging the other international parties still committed to the JCPOA? Finally, what role will domestic politics in Washington, Tehran, and Jerusalem play in shaping events as they unfold?  The sponsor is Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the speakers are Suzanne Maloney, Brookings Institution; Karim Sadjadpour, Carnegie; Michael Singh, The Washington Institute; and Aaron David Miller, Carnegie.  Check out https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/12/17/carnegie-connects-biden-administration-and-iran-confrontation-or-accommodation-event-7507.

56] – Reclaim the moral narrative in 2021 with a Biden-Harris administration. Catch a conversation on Thurs., Dec. 17 at 1:30 PM ET about what the future holds with prominent religious leaders, scholars, authors and activists.  On this Facebook Live discussion, hear from Sister Simone Campbell of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Lisa Sharon Harper of Freedom Road, Melissa Rogers, who led President Obama’s faith-based office, Jemar Tisby, a New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism and Maggie Siddiqi, the Director of the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress. Register at http://fpl.actionkit.com/sign/faith-politics-biden-panel/?t=4&akid=2519%2E87934%2EFEBYBf.

57] – On Thurs., Dec. 17 at 3 PM, get with the Secure MD Wage Act Town Hall and support essential workers from BWI, the Port of Baltimore, and Penn Station as they meet with legislators to share their stories and discuss the vital need to pass the Secure MD Wage act which would increase wages for all workers at our state's transportation hubs. Register to join via ZOOM and support these essential workers: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeTUEU5JINBRAJdk6hU-Zlh7_HYQXyHkQBlKiRR7DS1CaK-7w/viewform.

58] – Join the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) on Thurs., Dec. 17 from 4 to 5:15 PM and hear from experts on collective bargaining and a nurse who was part of a recently successful union drive. A full appreciation of the need for comprehensive labor law reform requires an understanding of the serious shortcomings in current law and how they were exploited by employers resisting efforts by their workers to form unions. This event highlights a new paper from EPI’s Unequal Power (UP) initiative, “Explaining the erosion of private-sector unions: How corporate practices and legal changes have undercut the ability of workers to organize and bargain,” by EPI Distinguished Fellow Lawrence Mishel, Georgetown University Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor Associate Director Lane Windham, and EPI Senior Fellow Lynn Rhinehart. This paper documents how corporations exploited the weak labor law regime in the United States to legally and illegally thwart union organizing and robust bargaining, especially in the 1970s, thus closing off unions’ ability to bring in new members and grow along with the economy. Sign up on Zoom at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZILNOrkTS2WjzvR48VdmdQ?utm_source=Economic+Policy+Institute&utm_campaign=0d2a620b32-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_02_06_32_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e7c5826c50-0d2a620b32-59830565&mc_cid=0d2a620b32&mc_eid=72ea77dbdd.

59] – CodePink co-director Carley Towne will be having a Defund the Pentagon webinar with Stephen Semler on Thurs., Dec. 17 at 5 PM ET. RSVP at https://www.codepink.org/12172020. Do you know if your representative voted to approve a $740,000,000,000 Pentagon budget in the midst of a global pandemic?  How much money in campaign contributions do they receive from weapons contractors? Semler, Co-Founder of the Security Policy Reform Institute, will answer these questions. 

60] – The Sierra Club December Film Panel discussion is about Plastic Wars on Thurs., Dec. 17 from 6 to 7 PM ET. This is organized by the Maryland Chapter, and you can contact Sonia Demiray at sonia@demirayink.com and (202) 744-2948.  See this 2020 PBS Frontline Documentary “Plastic Wars.” This film dives into the fight over the future of plastics, the crisis of water pollution, and whether the plastic industry used recycling to sell more plastic. Learn more about the industry and about what each of us can do to reduce the plastic pollution.  Watch the free film here: https://www.pbs.org/video/plastic-wars-8wxame/ (about 1 hr.)  Then send your questions to the panelists at filmclub@mdsierra.com. 

61] - One way to stay informed is to join Progressive Maryland at a Statewide Forum on COVID on Thurs., Dec. 17 from  6:30 to 8 PM. Hear from the Right Care Alliance about where we are and where we are headed in this pandemic and what to know about vaccines. Also discuss key pieces of a comprehensive COVID response plan we need the Maryland General Assembly to enact in the upcoming session. RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsceiurD8qGNBHqM75GlMcH7Y14ApyfcvZ?emci=eea8a70b-3d36-eb11-9fb4-00155d43b2cd&emdi=a6f2e42b-3f36-eb11-9fb4-00155d43b2cd&ceid=2201856.

62] – Team Barbara Lee [info@barbaraleeforcongress.org] is letting you know Congresswoman Barbara Lee is hosting her annual holiday party and she’d love for you to join in on Thurs., Dec. 17 at 8 PM ET. Please RSVP for your free ticket to this ZOOM meeting: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/121720holiday. A contribution is welcome but not required!  Contact Sudip Dutta at (919) 451-5647 or sudipkdutta@gmail.com.

63] – Join younger members of Workers World Party who will discuss the impact of these ongoing crises on young people and on the need to join a revolutionary, Marxist-Leninist party to organize to defeat capitalism. Young people across the world face unprecedented challenges due the pandemic, the changing climate, and ultimately, the decay of the capitalist system. Unemployment, housing and food insecurity, police terror, forced migration, trillions in debt, and the subsequent trauma of this declining system have created the basis for a revolutionary generation. It can be claimed that young people across the world are leading the fight to end capitalism and to build socialism. From the Black Lives Matter rebellions to struggles against austerity and empire, young people are looking more than ever towards building for revolution. Sign up at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XlnltGNZQciz3tug4Cp3Mg to participate on Thurs., Dec. 17 at 8 PM ET.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Baltimore, MD 21212.  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