Baltimore Activist Alert -- March 24 - 26, 2022

61] Yemen War in Numbers – March 24

62] Nonhuman Rights Project – March 24

63] Refugee Film Festival – March 24

64] White House peace vigil – March 25

65] World House Global Network – March 25

66] DNC National Call Crew – March 25 & 26

67] Where do you stand? – March 25

68] 7th Anniversary of War on Yemen – March 25

69] Talk about election in Colombia – March 25

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61] – The Yemen War in Numbers: Saudi Escalation and U.S. Complicity will be discussed on Thurs., March 24 from noon to 1 PM EDT. President Biden came into office pledging to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen, yet it has become clear that he has not. Now, in the context of rising oil prices, Biden is considering whether to give in to Saudi and Emirati demands that he escalate assistance for their war in exchange for increasing fossil fuel production. Yet as recent events have demonstrated, America’s partners in the Middle East are hedging despite the Biden administration’s extensive support for their defense: they hope to strengthen their relationships with Moscow and Beijing while continuing to reap the benefits of Washington’s largesse. In the seven years since the Saudi-led coalition launched their war on Yemen, the U.S. has been complicit in selling weapons and providing assistance without which the Saudis could not conduct their military operations.  Join The Intercept’s Jeremy Scahill, Yemen Relief and Reconstruction founder Aisha Jumaan, and The Cato Institute’s Justin Logan as they discuss a new brief from the Quincy Institute’s Annelle Sheline, using data to highlight the U.S. role in supporting the war on Yemen and show parallels between Putin’s military assault on Ukraine and Mohammed bin Salman’s seven-year effort to destroy Yemen. The moderator is Quincy Institute Executive Vice President Trita Parsi.  REGISTER at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/5716475417599/WN_FaOzXEBYSSarm6NKX7WRVw?mc_cid=e8375c3a95&mc_eid=f802f2d990s.

62] –  The Nonhuman Rights Project [info@nonhumanrights.org] is organizing a panel discussion on Thurs., March 24 at 12:45 PM ET-- A Landmark Ruling for Animal Rights in Ecuador.  In late 2021, The Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School (ALPP) and the Nonhuman Rights Project jointly filed an amicus curiae brief with the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, urging it to recognize that nonhuman animals can have legal rights after it decided to take up the issue of nonhuman animals’ legal status in response to a case involving a woolly monkey. In a landmark ruling, the Court has done so.  The ruling not only elevates the legal status of animals under Ecuador’s constitutional rights of nature but also requires that new legislation be drafted to protect the rights of animals. NhRP President Steven M. Wise will discuss this exciting news in a panel discussion as part of Harvard Law School’s Animal Law Week 2022.  Sign up at https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cVZt0B1_RZq3rDIQV6bEvw?emci=20b5e94b-e7aa-ec11-997e-281878b83d8a&emdi=29b5e94b-e7aa-ec11-997e-281878b83d8a&ceid=9655543.

63] – Check out the Refugee Film Festival starting on Thurs., Feb. 24 through Thurs., Dec. 8.  There is no charge, but donations are welcome.  The festival is organized by Journey's End to the refugee community in Western New York. All films are shown online on Thursdays, 7 PM ET. Please visit and bookmark www.wnyrff.org to access details of each film. Zoom log-in info will be emailed to you prior to each screening. Due to film licensing, films can only be screened once on the designated date and time. Email volunteer@jersbuffalo.org. See the film Utica, The Last Refuge on March 24.  Go to https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E11271&id=72. On April 28 see the film This is Home.

64] – The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker will host a peace vigil at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, on Fri., March 25 at noon.  Contact the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.

65] – David Hart, Nonviolence International [info@nonviolenceinternational.net] thinks you would be interested in a special session of the World House Global Network on Fri., March 25 at 1 PM ET. SEE https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/nonviolorg.

This interactive gathering is part of a two day Harvard Radcliffe Institute Seminar on active nonviolence. Thanks to the hard work of Michael Honey an impressive group of leaders will be in the midst of deep conversation about how to advance this vital work in this troubled world. The World House Global Network (formerly the Gandhi King Global Network) is led by a great team of scholars and activists including Clayborne Carson, the renowned scholar of MLK. Coretta famously asked him to edit Martin’s extensive papers.

66] – Make Calls virtually with the DNC National Call Crew – on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Call voters in battleground states to build strength for the 2022 Midterms. Please email digitalorganizing@dnc.org. Sign up for calls on Fri., March 25 and Sat., March 26. The times are 2 to 3 PM, 3 to 4 PM, 4 to 5 PM, 5 to 6 PM, 6 to 7 PM, and 7 to 8 PM EDT. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/388091/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_most_popular_virtual.  

67] – The Reentry Work Group of Progressive Maryland is hosting Reentry: Where Do You Stand?, a series of virtual listening sessions with candidates running for statewide and Prince George's County office. At each session, candidates will present their plans to support reentry services for the formerly incarcerated and will take questions from community members during a Q & A session. The last candidate forum will take place over Zoom on Fri., March 25 from 6 to 7:30 PM. This session will be with the Maryland House of Delegates in PG County Districts 26, 27 and 47.  Sign up at https://secure.everyaction.com/5csW_dapMkenSZ-QvfK9pg2?emci=1f93b3bb-ec98-ec11-a507-281878b83d8a&emdi=ce593161-f498-ec11-a507-281878b83d8a&ceid=136680. Contact the Reentry Work Group at reentryworkgroup@progressivemaryland.org with any questions. 

68] – Neda Saleh (Action Corps) [neda@actioncorps.org] indicates that Fri., March 25 will be the 7th Anniversary of War on Yemen. There is Online Webinar at 6 PM ET which will feature Shireen Al-Adeimi and Isaac Evans-Frantz , who will reflect on the war and the campaign to end U.S. complicity in Yemen over the years.  Learn how to plug in as an ally and move the peace movement forward. Register to get the Zoom link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUoduGsrD0vGdetY54Nhzk6ID1NxTaBhuk5?link_id=2&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-save-the-date-special-event-about-our-global-covid-response-campaign-2&email_referrer=email_1479731&email_subject=save-the-date-7th-anniversary-of-war-on-yemen-online-webinar.

69] – Alliance for Global Justice [Afgj-reply@Afgj.org] will provide an election update on Fri., March 25 at 6:30 PM ET/Talking Colombia Friday Talk Show Series.  Visit https://afgj.org/focus-areas/colombia-watch. ‌This year’s elections in Colombia could bring a seismic shift in Colombian politics and rejuvenate a peace process that many had pronounce dead. There is the possibility of a thorough rejection of the far right in the ballot box. People are tired of austerity, poverty, social neglect, and a refusal by the government to honor the 2016 Peace Accord. They are tired of a humanitarian crisis of political violence that has claimed the lives of at 1327 social movement leaders, and 308 signers of the peace agreement, according to Indepaz. The prospect of an election marred by violence and mired in fraud could bring Colombia’s hopes crashing down.

  The viability and success of Colombia’s May 29th presidential election could depend on the presence of international electoral observers. The Alliance for Global Justice, National Lawyers Guild, and the People’s Human Rights Observatory are organizing an Election Accompaniment and Observation Team that will be hosted by and accredited through the Permanent Committee for Human Rights (Comite Permanente de Derechos Humanos-CPDH). If you would like more information, please send an email to James@AFGJ.org.

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