Baltimore Activist Alert -- December 15 through 19, 2023

59] What’s happening in Ukraine? – Dec. 15

60] Weekly Town Hall Podcast about Media & Democracy – Dec. 15

61] Peace vigil at the White House -- Dec. 15

62] Women in Black vigil – Dec. 15

63] AFSC Action Hour for ceasefire – Dec. 15

64] Common Cause Election Protection phone bank – Dec. 15 & 19

65] Community control of safety and the environment – Dec. 15

66] ICE out of Arlington – Dec. 15

67] ACLU Leadership Day – Dec. 16

68] Food pantry – Dec. 16

69] Fundraiser for East Palestine – Dec. 16

70] Food Pantry and Food Donation Center – Dec. 16

71] Pax Christi USA’s Young Adult Caucus – Dec. 16

72] Reclaim Renewable Energy Act of 2024 – Dec. 16

73] Film ISRAELISM – Dec. 16

74] Medical supplies are needed in Ukraine

75] Tell JHU president to renounce nuclear weapons contracts

76] Read Dave Eberhardt’s book "For All the Saints- a Protest Primer"

77] Do you need a doctor?

78] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records

79] Do you need any book shelves?

80] Join the Global Zero campaign.

81] Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil

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59] – On Fri., Dec. 15 at 1 PM ET, prize-winning Worldview columnist Trudy Rubin will interview retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of the United States Army Europe, and one of the foremost U.S. military experts on the Ukraine war. They will delve into the current state of the counteroffensive and the Ukrainian strategy for an endgame. Lt. Gen. Hodges will also shed light on the significance of the new weapons the U.S. is sending — or still withholding. This event will examine what a “win” for Ukraine would mean; when negotiations might become possible; and why a clear outcome is so important for Ukraine, Europe, and the United States. As U.S. aid to Ukraine becomes a subject of debate in Congress and in the 2024 presidential run-up, don’t miss this chance to gain invaluable insights — and ask Lt. Gen. Hodges questions — about how the war could play out. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inquirer-live-worldview-with-trudy-rubin-tickets-772218415067?aff=oddtdtcreator&sfmc_id=0031U00001h2eTpQAI&sub_source=Live_Events_Combined&list_name=All%20Subscribers&int_promo=email&et_rid=249560247&utm_source=email&utm_term=&utm_content=475689&utm_id=141b2122-e84e-4389-8305-11546d31a8a4&sfmc_id=249560247&sfmc_activityid=06b889c5-b0d1-41a2-a8f2-948b61a5aff1&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AD_worldview_1292023

60] – The Democratic National Committee is holding a Weekly Town Hall Podcast about Media & Democracy on Fri., Dec. 15 from noon to 1:30 PM ET.  Tune in at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/546677/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_most_popular_virtual. The podcast will continue through Fri., Jan. 26 from noon to 1 PM ET

61] – The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker will host a peace vigil at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, on Fri., Dec. 15 at noon.  Contact the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.

62] – Every Friday from noon to 1 PM, Baltimore Women in Black vigil for peace with men and women who live in Roland Park. WIB invites all to join, and any peace sign is welcome, such as "Defuse Nuclear War."  The vigil takes place outside Roland Park Place at the corner of West 40th Street and Elm Street. Parking is free at RPP or at the Rotunda across the street. Contact Ann Vinup at annvinup@gmail.com.

63] – The American Friends Service Committee holds an Action Hour for a Cease-fire Now every Friday at noon ET. Join AFSC staff to hear updates from Gaza. Then, take action by contacting elected officials and call for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian access to Gaza. Our elected officials need to keep hearing from us. RSVP at https://afsc.org/events/action-hour-cease-fire-now?ms=EMA24EI1103&emci=17faec34-887a-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&emdi=9695a439-f87c-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&ceid=764241

64] – On Fri., Dec. 15 from 5 to 7 PM and Tues., Dec. 19  from 6 to 8 PM ET, there is a Common Cause organized Election Protection phone bank.   Work together to 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 and help strengthen the phone bank team to protect our democracy. These shifts will also always include training for first-timers before you make calls, so if this is your first time, no worries! Register at https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations.

65] – Young People for Progress will host a community discussion centered around community control of safety and the environment on Fri., Dec. 15 at 6:30 PM ET. An Environmental Justice organizer, SirJames, will be a featured guest speaker at this event. Register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScN0RkD45O4fjYQnh6IM83A6RbyUGnPjKsWs6jxpzJED8ol5w/viewform?emci=be9983fe-6b98-ee11-8925-002248223f36&emdi=cde8e1ab-7398-ee11-8925-002248223f36&ceid=136680

66] – The #ICEoutofArlington campaign on Sat., Dec. 16 at 8 AM ET is asking you to be at the Arlington board meeting, County Board Meeting Room, Bozman Government Center, 2100 Clarendon Blvd. Ste. #307, 22201, to deliver the updated #ICEoutoutofArlington Petition demanding Arlington County to remove section 7 from the Trust policy and accept a range of IDs in Arlington County.   RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwhDJ5gpWNFkbuWnfgmRdfDhjcEs0n0QY9EUIsMia9yzNYlA/viewform?link_id=8&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-pack-the-last-arlington-board-room-meeting-of-the-year-with-iceoutofarlington&email_referrer=email_2142229&email_subject=pack-the-last-arlington-board-room-meeting-of-the-year-with-iceoutofarlington

67] --  Gather with activists from around Maryland at the ACLU of Maryland’s 5th annual Grassroots Legislative Leadership Day on Sat., Dec. 16 from 10 AM To 1 PM ET. Hear the latest on police accountability, voting rights, racially just marijuana reform, education equity, and more to prepare for the 2024 Maryland General Assembly in January. RSVP at https://action.aclu.org/webform/md-grassroots-legislative-leadership-day-mdga24?initms_aff=md&initms_chan=eml&utm_medium=eml&initms=231212_affcampaign_legislative-session_sail&utm_source=sail&utm_campaign=affcampaign&utm_content=231212_legislative-session&ms_aff=md&ms_chan=eml&ms=231212_affcampaign_legislative-session_sail  After you RSVP, you will receive the Zoom link for joining the event.

68] – St. Matthew United Methodist Church, 101 Avon Beach Rd., Turner Station, MD 21222, holds a Food Pantry every Saturday from 10 AM to noon ET.  Please bring nonperishable items such as canned fruits & vegetables, pasta, cooking oil, mixes, etc. to the church or make out a check payable to St. Matthew UMC with "food pantry" in the memo line. Visit https://stmatthewts.org/

69] --  A 12 hour FUNDRAISER TO MAKE CHRISTMAS HAPPEN FOR EAST PALESTINE, OHIO is organized by Working People. It’s been 10 months since the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train and the subsequent “controlled release” and burn-off of toxic vinyl chloride changed life forever for people living in and around East Palestine, Ohio. While most media outlets, politicians, and members of the public have largely moved on, residents of East Palestine have been left to fend for themselves in the toxic fallout of the Feb. 3 derailment. On Sat., Dec. 16 from 10 AM to 10 PM ET, the Working People podcast is teaming up with residents in East Palestine to put on a livestream fundraiser, which will be hosted at the East Palestine Eagle’s Club to raise as much money as possible for families in need this holiday season.  The livestream will be broadcast on the Working People YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7bOmS4Ohll4C10ZX-lsGlg\

70] – On Sat., Dec. 16 from noon to 2 PM EST, get over to the Food Pantry and Food Donation Center at First and Franklin Presbyterian Church, 210 W. Madison St., Baltimore. This Food Pantry is open every Saturday. Get a grocery bag – breakfast, jelly and peanut butter (a good source of protein) for lunch, the makings for a balanced dinner such as beans and rice, pasta and sauce, soup, vegetables, fruit, and a paper goods. Also added is a little fun food, such as popcorn or cookies, for everyone enjoys a treat.  Contributions of shelf stable foods can be brought to Reid Chapel every Saturday between noon and 2 PM. If shopping is difficult for you, monetary donations earmarked food pantry may be sent to the church.  How else can you help? Volunteers are needed to help collect and distribute food. Contact the church office to volunteer. You can also help by spreading the word to those you know who are facing food insecurity. See https://www.facebook.com/firstfranklinbaltimore.

71] -- On Sat., Dec. 16 from 12 to 3:30 PM ET, (PCYAC) will hold its annual Advent retreat, focused on the theme of renewal and reform. Peacemakers in their 20s and 30s are welcome — you do not need to have attended earlier Pax Christi events in order to participate. Use this link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMpdO6gqTkqEtI7cDkbMMDiPR0fYKJTvNku#/registration

72] – The Environmental Justice Task Force will meet on Sat., Dec. 16 from 1 to 3:30 PM at Enoch Pratt Library Brooklyn Branch, 330 E. Patapsco Ave., Baltimore 21225.  Participants will write handwritten letters to their representatives, advising them to support the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act of 2024. This legislation aims to remove trash incineration from the state's renewable energy program. If you would like to attend this event, register at https://www.mobilize.us/progressivemaryland/event/595451/?referring_vol=5726532&share_context=dashboard-event-details&sharer_role=SharerRole.ORGANIZER.

73] – IfNotNow Baltimore is hosting a screening with snacks of Israelism, followed by a discussion on Sat., Dec. 16 from 6:30 to 9:30 PM ET at 2640 Space, 27 & St. Paul Sts., Baltimore 21218.  Tickets are $18.  There is a reception at 6:30, the film at 7 and discussion at 8:30 PM ET. For info and tickets, here is the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/israelism-screening-and-discussion-tickets-770464278397?aff=oddtdtcreator

74] --  If you are able to donate any kind of surplus medical supplies for field hospitals in eastern Ukraine, please email Brendan.walls@seaseton.org or call 410-721-5770 x231.  There is a colleague whose father is a medic on the front line. One container is shipped every month to the Donbass region. Donations can be picked up in Baltimore and Columbia every Thursday, and on other days in Annapolis and Crofton.

75] -- This is A PLEA TO CONVINCE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY TO OBEY INTERNATIONAL LAW. The world reached a historic milestone on January 22, 2021: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons [TPNW] entered into force and become binding international law -- https://www.icanw.org/the_treaty.

Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland has called attention to the growing danger of nuclear war and the outrageous $1.7 trillion dollars we are spending to upgrade the nuclear arsenal. On July 18, 2017, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, a U.S. Navy - affiliated research center received a seven-year, $92 million contract to continue its systems engineering and research-and-development services for the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. Help convince JHU to renounce nuclear weapons contracts. Contact the president, Ron Daniels, to urge him to reject all nuclear weapons contracts: Office of the President, 242 Garland Hall, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland 21218.  Call his office at (410) 516-8068 or email president@jhu.edu.

76] – David Eberhardt was a member of the Baltimore Four with Father Philip Berrigan, Tom Lewis and Rev. James Mengel.  The group poured blood on draft files on October 27, 1967.  They would be convicted and sentenced to prison. Dave has written a book "For All the Saints- a Protest Primer"- documenting the Baltimore Four action and many others up to and including the most recent Plowshares action – Kings Bay Plowshares 7.  

  Dave just printed 50 new copies of For All the Saints, a Protest Primer- 250+ pp w photos-therefore #'s 351-400 making it o so collectable with two Berrigan book reviews added. The books are signed, and the price remains $25. Will send free if need b- he is not in it for the money! If you want one, send him a check: or contact Dave Eberhardt, 4 Hadley Square North, Baltimore, MD 21218 by email at 1941mireille@gmail.com . 

77] – Yousef Zarbalian [mailto:yzarbali@gmail.com] started his own medical practice in December before the pandemic hit. It is called East-West Medicine and Rheumatology, and its website is EastWestMD.com.  Yousef is licensed in Maryland and Virginia. He is doing primary care as well as rheumatologic care (focusing on joint problems and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and sjogren's).  He is offering telemedicine visits, and he has very reasonable rates for uninsured individuals.  He makes use of herbs (which can be sent directly to patients from the herbal dispensary) as well as prescribing medications to their local pharmacy if needed.  

78] -- If you would like to get rid of books, videos, DVDs, records, tarps and table cloths, contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net.

79] -- Can you use any book shelves? Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net.

80] -- Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees.  This is an historic window of opportunity.  With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many.

81] – A Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil takes place every day in Lafayette Park, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 24 hours a day, since June 3, 1981. Go to http://prop1.org; call 202-682-4282.

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/.

“One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan