Baltimore Activist Alert -- April 14, 2021

34] Attack on the Palestinian rights movement – April 14

35] Coffee and a Column – April 14

36] Go after Liberty Mutual – April 14

37] Addressing North Korean Threat Perceptions – April 14

38] Cut the Pentagon budget – April 14

39] Sierra Club Federal Efforts Discussion – April 14

40] Intro to Wildlife Gardening – April 14

41] Montgomery County Racial Equity & Policing – April 14

42] Greenbelt Climate Action Network – April 14

43] Defund the Pentagon – April 14

44] What's Next for Public Lands in 2021 and Beyond? – April 14

45] Biden and China – April 14

46] Fight for Medicare for All -- April 14

47] Ban fracking – April 14

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34] – Sumaya Awad, Adalah Justice Project [sumaya@adalahjusticeproject.org] has a message We will not be erased.  April, 1948 was a month of several notorious Zionist massacres that led to the establishment of Israel. The Nakba (the ethnic cleansing campaigns of 1948) is not a historical event; It's an ongoing reality, and Israel and its partners are trying to censor Palestinian's ability to talk and organize against it.  On Wed., April 14 at noon ET, join in for a deep dive into the history of censorship, the attack on the Palestine rights movement in the US, and what we can expect in the coming period. You can tune in on https://www.facebook.com/adalahjusticeproject.  Or register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScD-6JY_bWXg1933iZzfIMVHCJeGIvFmR-wSzEEHgnEUAh6hQ/viewform?gxids=7628&fbclid=IwAR0kWUPAB7x-SJrQi2i4YW6w9t4T0AX6oAt17Y1RJFaPVscTwEoCoxFq4mo.

35] – There will be elections in Palestine for the first time since 2006. This week, Jim Zogby wrote about how there needs to be a leadership overhaul in both Fateh and the PA in order for change to come to Palestine. See Zogby's column "Mahmoud Abbas Should Step Down" at https://jameszogby.com/washingtonwatch/mahmoud-abbas-should-step-down?emci=0d7fcddc-9e9b-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=a3b660f1-689c-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=389907. Register for Coffee and a Column at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYudu-vqzMsHdAwaRmVXzMe4EhDob3EstDk?emci=0d7fcddc-9e9b-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=a3b660f1-689c-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=389907.  You will receive the dial-in information for the Zoom call on Wed., April 14 from 2 to 2:30 PM ET sharp.

36] – Sarmishta Govindhan - Rainforest Action Network [info@ran.org] invites you to a digital rally on Wed., April 14 at 4 PM EDT to demand that Liberty Mutual respect Indigenous rights and stop insuring fossil fuel expansion. Insurance giant Liberty Mutual will be holding its annual policyholder meeting, and the Rainforest Action Network will be there to hold them accountable!  The rally is called "The People vs. Liberty Mutual: Voices from the Frontlines." Last year, Liberty Mutual literally silenced the communities they’ve directly impacted, by refusing to take any questions and cutting their annual policyholder meeting to just 6 minutes! Do not let Liberty Mutual silence the voices of Indigenous and frontline communities this time around. Join in at https://act.ran.org/page/27890/subscribe/1?ea.tracking.id=e_en&en_og_source=e_en&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=EngagingNetworks&utm_campaign=utm_campaign&utm_content=Climate+-+LM+Digi+Rally+-+4.12.21+B&ea.url.id=816114.

37] – On Wed., April 14 at 4 PM ET, get with Fear and Insecurity: Addressing North Korean Threat Perceptions [Online], sponsored by the Institute of World Politics. The speaker will be Patrick M. Cronin, Hudson Institute. Sign up at https://www.iwp.edu/events/webinar-fear-and-insecurity-addressing-north-korean-threat-perceptions/.  You are cordially invited to an Asia Initiative Lecture Series (AILS) webinar presentation. This event will also be streamed live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theiwp/live.

38] – On Wed., April 14 from  6:30 to 7:30 PM ET, attend an Online Event  with the newest member of Congress from Massachusetts, Rep. Jake Auchincloss of the 4th Congressional District. During the campaign Congressperson Auchincloss came out in favor of cutting the Pentagon budget and for ending our forever wars. Now that he’s in the House, the representative has agreed to discuss the prospects for making these crucial changes. Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAscO-hqTguGtBqvKDUWLuwVXw8TGkkgJAQ.

After graduating from Harvard College, Jake joined the Marines. He commanded infantry in Afghanistan and special operations in Panama. He’s now a major in the reserves. With his experience Rep. Auchincloss is uniquely qualified and positioned to lead on cutting the military budget and pulling out of our wars in the Middle East. “Our next Congress must be ready to end our failed forever wars, pivot to emerging strategic priorities in the Pacific, and restore our global standing. I’m ready for that work on Day One, and will push for at least a 10% budget reduction at the Department of Defense [sic].” Moderating the town hall will be Mass. Peace Action member and author of Un-American: a Soldier’s Reckoning of our longest war, Erik Edstrom. Erik Edstrom graduated from West Point in 2007. He was then deployed to Afghanistan, where he served as an infantry platoon leader.

39] – The Sierra Club Federal Efforts Discussion is happening on Wed., April 14 at 7 PM. Join the Natural Places Committee to discuss and lobby Maryland's federal legislators regarding federal legislation dealing with natural places. Discuss the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Reducing the risk of the next pandemic with legislation to reduce wildlife trade (e.g. pangolins), and USDA research for biological control candidates for Lesser Celandine (Fig buttercup).  Contact Lily Fountain at lily.fountain@mdsierra.org or (301) 474-2762.The Maryland Poor People's Campaign (PPC) [maryland@poorpeoplescampaign.org] will meet on Wed., April 14 at 7 PM in the Western Region. Continue developing an outreach plan through local events and phone banking. Email western@mdpoorpeoplescampaign.org.

Join Patterson Park Audubon Center for Wildlife Gardening Workshops! These virtual sessions explore how our gardens can benefit birds and butterflies, including recommended plant species and garden management for Mid-Atlantic gardens. No matter how small your space, you can grow habitat for birds (even in containers)!

40] – There are multiple dates to choose the Intro to Wildlife Gardening as well as the “next-level” Bird-Friendly Garden Design workshop. Sign up for a Virtual Wildlife Gardening Workshop -- Intro to Wildlife Gardening on Wed., April 14 from 7 to 8:30 PM.  Sign up at https://patterson.audubon.org/events/intro-wildlife-gardening-zoom-1?ms=aud-email-engagement_(md)_march_wgws-patterson_park&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=engagement_(md)_march_wgws-patterson_park&emci=98483624-e87d-eb11-85aa-00155d43c992&emdi=34e26263-4d7f-eb11-85aa-00155d43c992&ceid=2504878.

41] – There is a Jews United for Justice Montgomery County Racial Equity & Policing Team Meeting on Wed., April 14 from 7 to  8:30 PM ET. Get updates about current campaigns and take action together. Everyone is welcome!

Your personalized zoom link will be sent in a separate confirmation email.  RSVP at https://jufj.org/event/mc-policing-mtng-apr-2021-1/?ceid=3403859&emci=fcff77d7-ff96-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=1ec8ad72-e897-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef

42] – Join the Greenbelt Climate Action Network for the next monthly Zoom meeting on Wed., April 14 from 7 to 9 PM.  The Zoom link is available at www.chears.org/gcan.Hear a recap on important legislation that died or survived this session.

Bills will include Climate Solutions Now Act, Transit Safety & Investment Act, several recycling bills including the Plastic Bag Reduction Act, several incineration bills, and two bills about beltway widening. Contact Lore Rosenthal at SimplicityGroupsMD@gmail.com at 301-345-2234 (landline). Invite your friends on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/161136655885086. 

43] – Carley, CODEPINK [info@codepink.org] wants you to know about a webinar Defund the Pentagon: Demilitarize the Economy on Wed., April 14 at 8 PM ET. How can we demilitarize the economy? CODEPINK Co-Director Carley Towne will be in conversation with Miriam Pemberton, author of Six Stops on the National Security Tour: Warfare Economies & Other Ambitions about how we can demilitarize the economy. They'll discuss President Biden's recent proposal for a $753,000,000,000 Pentagon budget, the myth that military spending is the best way to generate jobs, and more!  Pemberton has been thinking about how to demilitarize the economy for ... decades. She was an editor and then director of the National Commission for Economic Conversion and Disarmament, and for twenty years a Research Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, where she directed its Peace Economy Transitions Project. Between 2006 and 2012 she headed up the coalition that produced the annual "Unified Security Budget for the United States" and through 2015 led the Budget Priorities Working Group. With William Hartung she edited Lessons from Iraq: Avoiding the Next War (Paradigm, 2008). REGISTER at https://www.codepink.org/04142021divest?utm_campaign=defundpentagonwebinarapril14&utm_medium=email&utm_source=codepink.

44] – Dan Ritzman, Sierra Club [reply@emails.sierraclub.org] wants you to join the webinar What's Next for Public Lands in 2021 and Beyond? It will happen on Wed., April 14 at 8 PM ET with Sierra Club's Executive Director Mike Brune for an update on what public lands activism looks like in 2021 and beyond. Sierra Club's lawyers, organizers, and policy experts will cover what's going on in the courts, in the Capitol, and on the ground this year -- and how you can be involved. Email Kim Pope at kim.pope@sierraclub.org. RSVP at https://sierraclub.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SpVccVooQOWD0B9DICHQoA.

45] –The Asia-Pacific Working Group will host a webinar: “Biden & China – The First 100 Days - Confrontations, Competitions, and Anti-Asian Racism on Wed., April 14 at 8 PM ET. Register at: http://bit.ly/apwgweb2.  The speakers are Christine Hong, Professor, University of California, author of “A Violent Peace: Race, U.S. Militarism, and Cultures of Democratization in Cold War Asia and the Pacific;” Joseph Gerson, Campaign for Peace, Disarmament & Common Security; and Jake Werner, Boston University, Global Development Policy Center and Co-Founder Critical China Scholars.

46] – Our Revolution celebrated a big win in the fight for Medicare for All.  Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., signed on as a cosponsor of the bill (HR 1976). While Rep. Pallone is a Democrat, he did not sign on to Medicare for All in the last session of Congress. So a group of volunteers got to work and pressured him to do the right thing.  National Nurses United is looking for volunteers to get trained on how to host a virtual text bank to talk to people 1:1 in key districts. JOIN a TRAINING at https://act.medicare4all.org/signup/vtb-call/?source=em20210412-98409&t=2&akid=98409%2E162593%2Eem0yQI on Wed., April 14 at 8 PM ET.

47] – Emily Wurth, Food & Water Action [act@messages.fwaction.org] wants you to attend a webinar on Wed., April 14 from 8 to 9 PM ET. Hear from Food and Water Action staff experts and volunteers on the state of the campaign to ban fracking, and how to push forward for real solutions to protect our water & climate from fossil fuels.  RSVP at https://www.foodandwateraction.org/.  The climate crisis is growing more serious by the day, and our dependence on fossil fuels is polluting the water, food, and air we all depend on. And while President Biden and Congressional leaders are talking about investing in clean energy infrastructure, their plans would allow for more fracking, pipelines, and power plants for decades to come. To stop climate change, we need to ban fracking everywhere and end the fossil fuel era. President Biden wants to "Build Back Better" — we need to Build Back Fossil Free.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, 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