Baltimore Activist Alert --- November 15 - 29, 2022

30] Legally Protecting Environmental Human Rights – Nov. 15

31] Election Protection phone bank – Nov. 15, 17 & 20  

32] Russia out of Ukraine -- Nov. 15

33] PSR Annual Gala -- Nov. 15

34] Returning Citizens Task Force – Nov. 15

35] Weekly Text Party – Nov. 15, 22 & 29

36] Barry Farm: Community, Land and Justice in Washington, D.C. -- Nov. 15

37] Interrogate Zionism and the institutionalized Apartheid – Nov. 15

38] Sojourners Power Week – Nov. 15

39] Ranked Choice Voting -- Nov. 15

40] Human Toll of America’s Air Wars -- Nov. 15

41] Women’s March debrief – Nov. 15

42] Letter to the Editor Party – Nov. 15

43] Midterms, Libertarians and Foreign Policy – Nov. 15

44] Sunrise Welcome Call -- Nov. 15

45] Is the war in Ukraine entering a new stage? – Nov. 16

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30] – The ActionNetwork.org [claire@mdehr.org]wants your attention on Tues., Nov. 15 at noon ET to hear about Legally Protecting Environmental Human Rights.  Last July, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a fundamental human right. Now, in response, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers are calling on their 48 member states to actively consider legally protecting each person’s right to a healthful environment in their laws and constitutions. This committee is also calling on member states to “take adequate measures to protect the rights of those who are most vulnerable to or at risk from environmental harm.”

  This is exactly why we need a constitutional right to a healthful environment in Maryland. You can learn more about the work in Maryland at www.mdehr.org and about the impact of similar amendments in NY and Montana, RSVP  at https://actionnetwork.org/events/montana-and-ny-impact-of-an-environmental-rights-amendment?source=direct_link&&link_id=2&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&email_referrer=email_1701089&email_subject=the-brief-latest-news-in-legally-protecting-environmental-human-rights.

31] –Join an Election Protection phone bank hosted by Common Cause on Tues., Nov. 15 from 4 to 6 PM, Thurs., Nov 17 from 5 to 7 PM and Sun., Nov. 20 from 6 to 8 PM ET.  Demand bold changes to our democracy to create a government that represents all of us, not big corporations or special interests.  Register for a shift to make calls to protect our democracy.  These shifts also always will include training for first-timers before you make calls—so if this is your first time, no worries! Visit https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations.

32] – Join the Baltimore Nonviolence Center on Tues., Nov. 15 from 4 to 5 PM ET at 33rd and N. Charles Sts. The invasion of Ukraine has the potential to become a war extending throughout Europe.  Putin has destroyed Aleppo and Grozny and has threatened the use of nuclear weapons.  Russian soldiers were sent into the area around the contaminated and still radioactive Chernobyl nuclear plant. Now they are stationed in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe.   People who believe in peace and justice should come forward and take the risks of peace. The burial sites continue to expose ruthless war crimes by the invaders, Contact Max at mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net or 410-323-1607.

33] – Physicians for Social Responsibility [psrnatl@psr.org] is holding its Annual Gala on Tues., Nov. 15 at 6 PM ET.  Register at psr.org/gala. The speakers are Anna Ikeda with Soka Gakkai International, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, professor of Public Health at Michigan State University and Dr. Natasha Dejarnett, board member and assistant professor at the University of Louisville. Get your ticket, become a sponsor or donate TODAY!  The Gala will be broadcast on PSR's YouTube channel; click the subscribe and notification "bell" to receive an alert when the event goes live: https://www.youtube.com/psrnational.

34] – The Returning Citizens Task Force will hold its regular bi-weekly meeting on Tues., Nov. 15 from 6 to 7 PM ET. The agenda will include a discussion of setting plans and goals for the New Year, a brief review of Maryland's election results (and the country’s), and a report from the Housing Committee. To get involved, email kurt@progressivemaryland.org.

35] –‌ Join the Working Family Party Weekly Text Party on Tues., Nov. 15, 22 & 29 from 6 to 8 PM ET Post-Midterms! Keep an eye on the post-midterm needs: make sure every vote is counted; fight for our candidates in runoff elections; and continue to build the Party of our dreams together! Organize, win, repeat!  Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/pfaw/event/427058/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations.

36] – Metro DC DSA [info@mdcdsa.org] at the Socialist Night School is hosting a film screening on Tues., Nov. 15 at 6 PM ET. The screening of Barry Farm: Community, Land and Justice in Washington, D.C. will be in hybrid form. The film is about the site of one of D.C,’s first thriving Black communities during Reconstruction — which was developed into public housing in the 1940s. Residents lived in the Barry Farms Dwellings up until 2019, when the final community members were removed for redevelopment. The documentary film is about this community, followed by discussion with the filmmakers, former Barry Farm residents, and special guests, including newly elected DSA DC Council member Zachary Parker. To see it in person, go to the UDC Theater of the Arts, 4250 Connecticut Ave. NW, WDC 20008.  Sign up now to join us in person or virtually!

37] – Just World Ed [helena@justworldeducational.org] on Tues., Nov. 15 at 6:30 PM ET wants you to know that Katie Halper's super-timely conversation with Miko Peled will be livestreamed from the People's Forum in mid-town Manhattan. This conversation-- between two super-smart (and as it happens, Jewish) thought leaders in the movement to interrogate Zionism and the institutionalized Apartheid it embodies-- could not be more timely! The Israeli electorate has just brought into power the most racist, hate-filled, rightwing leadership the country has ever seen. Hear it at https://www.dropbox.com/s/n1s204evkj322aj/Live%20in%20NYC%2C%20Insta%20post%281%29.jpg?dl=0.

38] – The Interfaith Immigration Coalition [media@interfaithimmigration.org] is letting us know that Sojourners is hosting a Power Week From Tues., Nov. 15 through Thurs., Nov. 17 at 7 PM ET.  Come together to discern what can be done together for the next phase of building justice. During these three nights talk about, "what now?" On Nov. 15 - How to engage in political change from a faith-rooted place without promoting Christian nationalism; Nov. 16 - How to fight for change without burning out; and Nov. 17 - How to share your story in powerful ways.  Join Sojourners for a virtual series of post-midterm gatherings at https://act.sojo.net/page/45692/survey/1.

39] – RepresentUs [hq@represent.us] wants to celebrate on Tues., Nov. 15 at 7 PM ET.  Nevadans said YES to Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) and open primaries. RCV won almost everywhere that it was on the ballot, sending a clear message that voters have had enough of party insiders and special interests running our government. Voters want politicians to be accountable to us – the people. While this is a huge win, the measure has to pass again in 2024 before it becomes official. Join in for a discussion about where to go from here, and how you can help. RSVP at https://vol.represent.us/a/2022-election-recap-whats-next-anticorruption-movement?akid=182949.680940.RxSBOa&ms=ak-em-ew-20221108-National&rd=1&t=8&utm_campaign=ew&utm_content=20221108&utm_medium=em&utm_source=ak&utm_term=National.

40] – UMass Amherst History Department [communications@history.umass.edu] on Tues., Nov. 15 at 7 PM ET is hosting the Inaugural Ellsberg Lecture with Pulitzer Prize Winner Azmat Khan who will speak about the Human Toll of America’s  Air Wars. Register at https://blogs.umass.edu/feinberg/the-human-toll-of-americas-air-wars/.  In recent American wars, the United States traded many of its troops on the ground for an arsenal of aircraft, high flying drones, and precision weapons, often directed by controllers thousands of miles away. Successive U.S. administrations have boasted America’s air wars are the “most precise” in the history of warfare, replete with pledges of transparency and accountability. Investigative reporter Azmat Khan set out to test those claims on the ground in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, and within confidential troves of documents she obtained through years-long lawsuits against the Department of Defense [sic]. In this lecture, Khan will detail the culmination of her findings and the pattern of impunity within this new way of war. 

41] – On Tues., Nov. 15 at 8 PM ET, join  Women's March in Making Sense of the Midterms with a Post-Election Debrief Call.  Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/pfaw/event/543013/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations.• Making Sense of the Midterms - Post Election There is so much and so many to celebrate and there is so much to learn. As feminists, they make sense and meaning and find their way forward in conversation with others.

42] – Join a Letter to the Editor Party, hosted by Common Cause, on Tues., Nov. 15 from 8 to 9 PM ET. Write letters to local media outlets about issues facing our country, from voting rights to ending mass incarceration. For this letter to the editor party, we will be discussing Moore v. Harper and work to civically engage our communities on the importance of this case. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/418654/?followup_modal_context=newsletter. You will be provided tools to quickly send a letter to all local news outlets.  

43] -- Massachusetts Peace Action [info@masspeaceaction.org] is hosting on Tues., Nov. 15 at 8 PM ET Midterms, Libertarians and Foreign Policy as part of the CODEPINK Capitol Calling Party! Hear from Erik Sperling, the executive director of Just Foreign Policy, Scott Horton, the director of The Libertarian Institute, Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, and Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK. Hear about the impact on foreign policy by a Republican-controlled House, the Republican lock on Florida’s Senate seats and a tight Senate race in Georgia where an anti-interventionist libertarian candidate could decide whether the Republicans or Democrats control the Senate.  Register at https://www.codepink.org/11152022?emci=ac0d4f39-4161-ed11-ade6-14cb651ee1db&emdi=429786fd-6563-ed11-ade6-14cb65342cd2&ceid=269591.

44] – Sunrise Movement Baltimore [team@baltimore.smvmt.org] wants you to join a Welcome Call on Tues., Nov. 15, 22 or 29 from 8:30 to 8:30 PM ET.  This is the best way to get to know what Sunrise Movement is all about, and you’ll meet young people from across the U.S. who care about the climate crisis as much as you do. Sign at https://www.mobilize.us/sunrisemovement/event/354486/?emci=859d8925-a763-ed11-ade6-14cb65342cd2&emdi=118fdfe4-a963-ed11-ade6-14cb65342cd2&ceid=177631.

45] – Moscow ordered its forces to retreat from Kherson after Ukrainian victories on the battlefield. What’s next for Ukraine’s southern counteroffensive? Ukraine’s impressive counter-offensive on the battlefield continues to result in substantial gains for the Ukrainian army in the south and east. Following an extended string of retreats and defeats, Russian forces have withdrawn from Kherson, the capital of one of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claimed to have annexed in late September. Though Moscow has ordered its forces to retreat from the right bank of the Dnipro River, Ukrainian officials have urged caution, claiming that some Russian forces still remain in Kherson and may be reorganizing on the other side of the river.  Could the retreat be a Russian bluff? Will Ukrainian forces continue their momentum heading into the winter? Is the war in Ukraine entering a new stage?

  Get answers on Wed., Nov. 16 at 10:30 AM ET as Melinda Haring, deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, moderates a conversation featuring Jennifer Cafarella, chief of staff at the Institute of the Study of War, Gen. (Ret.) Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Ambassador John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, and Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk, distinguished fellow at the Eurasia Center and former minister of defense of Ukraine.  The sponsoring organization is the Atlantic Council. Speakers, and you can join in at https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/russia-retreats-from-kherson/.

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