Baltimore Activist Alert -- March 11 - 12, 2020

36] Tune in to foreign minister from Venezuela – Mar. 11

37] Rally for Student and Worker Freedom of Expression – Mar. 11

38] Sanctions Kill – Mar. 11

39] “The Military Case for Extending New START” -- Mar. 11

40] TreeKeepers 101 – Mar. 11

41] How to Help Refugees – Mar. 11

42] "Changing the System through Non-Violent Direct Action" – Mar. 11

43] Foreign Intervention in Africa – Mar. 11

44] Dismantling Racism Training – Mar. 12

45] Picket Line at the Marriott Waterfront Baltimore – Mar. 12

46] Film The Dorothy Day Story -- Mar. 12

47] The Lines Between Us – Mar. 12

48] Council President Transportation Forum – Mar. 12

50] Meet & Greet Bill Henry – Mar. 12

50] Baltimore Peace Action meeting – Mar. 12

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36] – On Wed., Mar. 11 from noon to 1 PM, hear an interview    on US-Venezuela Relations with Carlos Ron, hosted by CODEPINK: Women For Peace. Ron is Venezuela’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for North America. Tune in on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/events/1310437179156878/.or via Zoom >>> https://zoom.us/j/514310708.

37] - On Wed., Mar. 11 at noon, Rally For Student And Worker Freedom Of Expression, hosted by JHU Sit-In in the Mattin Center, JHU Homewood Campus, Baltimore 21218.  Specific grad student workers are being targeted for campus protest. This is an open mic- come ready to speak out and hear about next escalations.  Check out https://www.facebook.com/events/602290790320679/.

38] – CODEPINK is reminding us that the sanctions on Iran have impeded the delivery of medicines and generally exacerbated a dire medical situation for people dealing with the coronavirus.  It is through the Treasury Department that sanctions are implemented, so what is to be done? Protest to lift the sanctions outside the Treasury Department (right next door to the White House on Wed., March 11 from 1:30 to 2 PM.  Let passersby know more about how SANCTIONS KILL!

39] – Get over to “The Military Case for Extending New START” featuring Frank G. Klotz, former NNSA Administrator, with remarks by Ernest J. Moniz, NTI Co-Chair and CEO, on Wed., March 11 from 5 to 6:30 PM with a reception to follow.  The discussion will take place at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, 1776 Eye Street NW, Suite 600, WDC 20006.  Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz (U.S. Air Force, Ret.), the former Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), will focus on his new analysis, “The Military Case for Extending the New START Agreement,” published by the RAND Corporation. New START is set to expire in February 2021 unless the leaders of the United States and Russia agree to extend the agreement for up to five years. Lt. Gen. Klotz will explain how New START supports U.S. military objectives and how the expiration of the treaty in 2021 would have serious implications for U.S. national security policy.  Check out https://www.tfaforms.com/4807319.

40] - On Wed., Mar. 11 from 6 to 9 PM, catch up to TreeKeepers 101: Trees and Baltimore, hosted by TreeBaltimore at the Carrie Murray Nature Center, 1901 Ridgetop Road, Baltimore 21207.  Tickets are at treebaltimore.org.  This the first of four classes. This weeknight session is entirely indoors. Food is provided. TK 101 is a required course for certification, and a prerequisite for TK 201. The series is offered every March and September. Email info@treebaltimore.org or call the Forestry Division front desk at 410-396-6109. The Saturday morning March 21st event, TK 201 will have an outdoor portion. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1132204363779993/.

41] – On Wed., Mar. 11 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, attend a meeting - How to Help Refugees, hosted by WISE at the Anne Arundel County Public Library, 45 W. McKinsey Road, Severna Park 21146.  Catch a COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF REFUGEES WORLDWIDE.  Get information on how you can volunteer to help immigrants IN OUR AREA.  The Immigration Huddle will be sponsoring the March WISE General meeting. Karen Green from HIAS will speak. See https://www.hias.org. For over 130 years, HIAS, a non-profit organization, has been helping refugees rebuild their lives in safety and dignity. Karen will be presenting an engaging slide show that gives a comprehensive history of refugees worldwide, ending with the current day crises. Also, at the end of the presentation, meet Kelly Price and Suzanne Martin from Annapolis Immigration Justice Network. Visit https://www.aijnetwork.org. They will provide information on how you can volunteer to help immigrants IN OUR AREA connect with needed legal services and meet federal immigration requirements.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/498200417738598/.

42] –  The Greenbelt Climate Action Network is hosting "Changing the System through Non-Violent Direct Action" on Wed., March 11 from 7 to 9 PM at the Greenbelt Community Center, Room 114, 15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt 20770.  According to the IPCC, if we are to have a 67% chance of limiting global heating to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, we had on January 1st of 2018 only about 420 gigatonnes of C02 left to emit. At our current emissions rate, that budget will be exhausted in 8 years, although many scientists reason that these numbers are too moderate. A recent climate model by 100 of the top French climate scientists outlines a worst case scenario of a 6-7 degree Celsius rise in temperature by 2100, a figure well above the worst case scenario in the IPCC reports.

 It has become clear that our political institutions are either unwilling or incapable of responding to this crisis with the scale and urgency demanded by the science. In response to this reality, last September saw the largest climate protests in the history of the movement. Catalyzed by the youth led school strikes, an estimated 4 million people participated in actions in over 99 countries. In D.C., a coalition of social justice and climate activists occupied intersections across the city and shut down business as usual. Speakers from various local climate groups (Extinction Rebellion, #ShutDownDC, Beyond Extreme Energy, The Climate Mobilization) will be presenting various upcoming plans for further "Non-Violent Direct Action" (NVDA). In the words of Greta Thunberg, "...if solutions within the system are so impossible to find, then maybe we should change the system itself."

The first hour will feature four guest speakers. The second hour will be devoted to updates on the city, county, and state level. Contact Lore Rosenthal at SimplicityGroupsMD@gmail.com or 301-345-2234.  See https://www.facebook.com/events/726104001129562/.

43]  -- On Wed., Mar. at 7 PM, Elizabeth Schmidt presents "Foreign Intervention in Africa after the Cold War: Sovereignty, Responsibility, and the War on Terror" in conversation with Imani Countess at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 1225 Cathedral St., Baltimore 21201. To outsiders, the word “Africa” often conjures up images of a continent in crisis, riddled with war and corruption, imploding from disease and starvation.  Africans are regularly blamed for their plight.  This book challenges such popular myths.  Many of the predicaments that plague the continent today are not solely the result of African decisions, but also the consequence of foreign intrusion into African affairs. During the Cold War and its aftermath, dictators, warlords, and insurgents supported by outside powers manipulated local ethnic, political, and religious tensions for their own ends.  When strongmen were overthrown or cut adrift, other opportunists, including international terrorist networks, filled the power vacuums. 

  Focusing on foreign political and military intervention in Africa during the quarter century after the Cold War (1991–2017), the book explores the motives for foreign political and military interventions, the rationales used to justify those interventions, and their consequences.  Special attention is paid to the role of the United States from the Bill Clinton administration through the first year of the Trump administration.  Schmidt is a Professor Emeritus of history at Loyola University Maryland.  Countess has worked with US-based Africa advocacy, development and social justice organizations for 30 years.

44] – On Thurs., Mar. 12 from 8:30 AM to 5 PM, get over to Dismantling Racism Training, hosted by Presbytery of Baltimore at Knox Presbyterian Church, 1300 N Eden St., Baltimore 21213. This is a one-day training for Teaching Elders and other congregational leaders led by Baltimore Racial Justice Action (BRJA). The training is rooted in an understanding of historical & systemic racism and is intended to equip participants to lead and participate in constructive conversations within their congregations and the Presbytery that promote racial equity and begin dismantling racism within ourselves and our institutions.  A Continental Breakfast & Lunch will be provided.  The cost is $20 for required participants, and $200 for others with scholarships available).  Visit https://baltimorepresbytery.org/events/dismantling-racism/ and https://www.facebook.com/events/177150390316786/.

45] -- On Thurs., Mar. 12 from 3 to 5 PM, get over to a Picket Line at the Marriott Waterfront Baltimore, 700 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore 21202, hosted by Unite Here Local 7. Hyatt & Hilton workers have won contracts that raise the Baltimore standard with All minimum rates at $15/hour or higher in 2020, Greater percentage of gratuity for Banquet workers, Affordable health care for all, Job security & rights on the job. Marriott is the largest hotel corporation in the world but has not agreed to raise the Baltimore standard at the Marriott Waterfront. Tell Marriott One Job Should Be Enough for All Baltimore Hotel Workers! Look at https://www.facebook.com/events/403583914132179/.

46] -- There is an advance screening of "Revolution of the Heart: The Dorothy Day Story," followed by a discussion with filmmaker Martin Doblmeier.  The film profiles one of the most extraordinary and courageous women in U.S. history, the co-founder (along with Peter Maurin) of the Catholic Worker Movement.  It began as a newspaper to expose rampant injustices during the Great Depression. It soon expanded to become a network of houses of hospitality to welcome the poor and destitute.  Over the years, Dorothy Day developed her understanding of how to follow the Biblical challenge to be “peacemakers” by resisting all forms of military intervention. She protested America’s involvement in World War II and was severely criticized. Day was arrested multiple times for protesting America’s nuclear buildup, and she led nationwide resistance against the war in Vietnam.

Now nearly a century after it began, the number of Catholic Worker houses continues to grow and the newspaper is still speaking truth to power. The documentary includes rare archival photographs and film footage plus interviews with actor/activist Martin Sheen, public theologian Cornel West, popular author Joan Chittister, theologian Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine, and many others. The screening will take place on Thurs., March 12 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in Knott Hall - Room B01, Loyola University Maryland, 4501 North Charles Street, Baltimore 21210.  The closest parking lots are the Beatty and Jenkins lots. Entrances to both are located on Cold Spring Lane. See https://www.eventbrite.com/e/revolution-of-the-heart-the-dorothy-day-story-screening-and-discussion-tickets-97214444019?ref=eattnewsrecs&utm_source=eventbrite&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_algo&utm_content=baltimore-md.p2020_11&utm_term=eattnewsrecs&afu=219117122755&rank=1&recommended_events_quantity=4&aff=eattnewsrecs.

47] – Join the University of Baltimore and the ACLU of Maryland for a conversation with award-winning journalist and author of “The Lines Between Us: Two Families and a Quest to Cross Baltimore’s Racial Divide,” Lawrence Lanahan. Lanahan will be joined in discussion with Associate Dean of Faculty Research & Development, Dean Julius Isaacson Professor of Law, Audrey McFarlane, Managing Attorney for ACLU of Maryland’s Fair Housing Project, Barbara Samuels, and Nicole Smith, Columbia, MD resident and focus of The Lines Between Us. The discussion will be moderated by Roger Hartley, Dean, College of Public Affairs, and will be followed by an audience Q & A. 

  The event is happening on Thurs., March 12 at 6 PM at the H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons at University of Baltimore, 1415 Maryland Ave., Baltimore 21201.  A Book Signing & Dessert will happen at 7:30 PM. Contact the ACLU at trust@aclu-md.org or 410-889-8444.

48] – On Thurs., Mar. 12 from 6 to 8 PM, get over to a Council President Transportation Forum, hosted by Bikemore at 231 Holliday St., Baltimore 21202.  Voting local is the single most important thing you can do to make Baltimore a more livable city. Hear from City Council President candidates about their visions for Baltimore's transportation future.  The confirmed candidates are Nick Mosby, Leon Pinkett, Shannon Sneed, Dan Sparaco and Carl Stokes.  The forum will also be streamed live and recorded. Look at https://www.facebook.com/events/560805294545782/.

49] – On Thurs., Mar. 12 from 6 to 8 PM, join Bill Henry at the Pierpoint Restaurant, 1822 Aliceanna St., Baltimore 21231. Councilperson Bill Henry has a plan to get better results for Baltimore as the next Baltimore City Comptroller, the most important office for government accountability and transparency.

Bill believes we need a City Comptroller who will provide thorough, independent oversight of the City’s fiscal and policy affairs. As Comptroller, Bill will protect the public interest through the office’s crucial roles in budgeting, auditing, and managing the City's real estate. Check out https://www.facebook.com/events/2477296242492326/.

50] – Baltimore Peace Action meets every second Thursday of the month.  The next meeting is on March 12 at 7 PM at First & St. Stephens UCC, 6915 York Road, Baltimore (near corner of Register Ave.) ​The AGENDA is as follows: 1. Stop war with Iran, 2. US Troops out of Iraq. 3. Stop arms ship to Saudis, 4.  Oppose ICE roundups, 5. Racist & Political Repression, 6. Chelsea and Julian Assange, 7. Lobbying Congress, 8. JHU APL drones & AI, 9. Green New Deal, Sunrise & Extinction Rebellion and 10. Suggestions for website: www.bmore4peace.org.  Email Richard Ochs [mailto:rjochs@comcast.net].

To be continued

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  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