Baltimore Activist Alert -- May 26 -27, 2020

23] Understanding Career Foreign Fighters – May 26

24] How is #Covid-19 Transforming Journalism? – May 26

25] Nuclear Deterrence with Russia and China – May 26

26] Outside Bread for the Journey Soup Kitchen – May 26

27] Brandon for Baltimore | Voter Outreach – May 26

28] Tell JHU President Ron Daniels to renounce weapons contracts – May 26

29] Phonebank for Clean Water Action Maryland Candidates!  – May 26 & 27

30] Virtual Mayoral Forum – May 26

31] Phonebank for Brandon Scott for Mayor – May 26

32] Support a progressive candidate – May 26

33] Occupation 101 – May 27

34] Creative Resistance During the Pandemic – May 27

35] Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century – May 27

36] COVID-19 and the Pentagon – May 27

37] 2021 Fiscal Year Budget Hearing – Taxpayers’ Night – May 27

38] Special livestream with Elizabeth Warren – May 27

23] – On Tues., May 26 from 9:30 to 10:45 AM, check out Understanding Career Foreign Fighters, hosted by the United States Institute of Peace. See www.usip.org.  Understanding and addressing the foreign fighter phenomenon, particularly the wave of foreign fighters that joined violent extremist groups in Iraq and Syria, has become a key policy priority in recent years. Currently, research focuses on why individuals travel outside of their home countries to join armed groups, as well as the prospective security threat they pose after they return. But what about those who do not return but go on to join new groups or new wars?

A recent RESOLVE Network Research Report, “Career Foreign Fighters: Expertise Transmission Across Insurgencies,” examines this question and explores how policymakers can incorporate lessons learned into future prevention efforts. Join USIP for a virtual conversation with the report’s authors as they explain their findings and share insights on the unique challenges that career foreign fighters pose, what we know about their “career” trajectories, their impact in local conflicts, and the implications for current policy and programmatic challenges. They will also highlight recommendations for future efforts to address violent extremism and conflict and to prevent conflict careerists based on their pioneering study.  RSVP at https://www.usip.org/events/understanding-career-foreign-fighters.  Look at https://www.facebook.com/events/287644279071134/.

24] – On Tues., May 26 from 11 AM to noon, see How is #Covid-19 Transforming Journalism?  This is hosted by the International Journalists' Network (IJNet). Look at us02web.zoom.us. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sEmRJqf-QX-4SRnMOEK9og.  The effects of COVID-19 are already being framed as an “extinction event” for journalism, causing dozens of news outlets to collapse around the world. Tens of thousands of newsroom jobs have been lost or reshaped by the pandemic. That’s why ICFJ and the Tow Center have launched a global survey to track and assess the impacts of the pandemic on journalism worldwide and to help reimagine its future. This webinar officially launches the study, and it will feature celebrated editor and CEO Maria Ressa (Rappler), CNN’s Executive Editor of Digital Worldwide Inga Thordar, prominent South African editor Ferial Haffajee (Daily Maverick), Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, Prof. Emily Bell, and ICFJ’s Global Director of Research, Dr. Julie Posetti. Together, they will identify and debate the key challenges confronting journalism at a transformative moment and consider the prospects for recovery.

It is the first in a series of webinars from the Journalism and the Pandemic Project – a research collaboration between ICFJ and the Tow Center that is studying the implications of the crisis for journalism. https://www.facebook.com/events/754390805096692/.

25] – On Tues., May 26 from noon to 1 PM, hear about Nuclear Deterrence with Russia and China: Are U.S. Course Corrections Needed? The Cato Institute is hosting Fiona Cunningham, George Washington University, Michael Kofman, CAN and Amy F. Woolf, Congressional Research Service. Visit https://www.cato.org/events/nuclear-deterrence-russia-china-are-us-course-corrections-needed.

26] – On Tues., May 26 from  1:30 to 2 PM, check out Outside Bread for the Journey Soup Kitchen individual lunches given out by Amazing Grace Lutheran Church in Baltimore.  This Tuesday soup kitchen will until Dec. 1. The church is at 2424 McElderry St., Baltimore 21205.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/602052220539690/?event_time_id=602052307206348.

27] – On Tues., May 26 from 5 to 8 PM get with Brandon for Baltimore | Voter Outreach with the Baltimore Bern Unit.  Help Team Brandon write a new chapter in Baltimore history! Make calls to voters with the support of staff and experienced volunteers who will be with you at every step via video-chat. If you have questions prior to the event, or any technical problems joining the meeting, call Jake at 443-808-3221.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/258307542078031/?event_time_id=258307548744697.

28] – The Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" at 33rd and N. Charles Sts. on Tuesdays from 5 to 6 PM is postponed until further notice. Contact Max at mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net or 410-323-1607.  You may consider contacting President Ron Daniels and telling him that the university should reject all military contracts, including those for killer drone and nuclear weapons research.  The president’s mailing address is Office of the President, 242 Garland Hall, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland 21218.  You can also reach his office by Phone: (410) 516-8068, Fax: (410) 516-6097 or email: president@jhu.edu.

29] – On Tues., May 26 and Wed., May 27 from 5:30 to 8 PM, get with Phonebank Parties for Baltimore's Clean Water Action Maryland Candidates! See cleanwater.org. In the next two weeks, Baltimore City voters will receive their ballots by mail and choose who will lead the city for the next two years. As normal campaign activities are suspended (especially the personal door-to-door outreach that Clean Water Action has always prioritized) many voters across the city are undecided, and it's harder than ever to get timely, accurate information. But you can help us fix that - without leaving your own home - by joining a virtual phonebank party!  RSVP via the links below, and the morning of the party, you will be sent a videoconference link and all the materials you need! Take a little time to chat about the election and practice what to say, then spend the evening together calling fellow Clean Water Action members to make sure they know how to vote during this unprecedented election.  On May 26, tune in at https://cleanwater.salsalabs.org/mdbaltimorephonebankparty2/index.html, and on May 27 go to https://cleanwater.salsalabs.org/mdbaltimorephonebankparty3/index.html.  Look at https://www.facebook.com/events/176095577073520/?event_time_id=176249323724812.

30] – On Tues., May 26 from 5:30 to 7 PM, come to a Virtual Mayoral Forum, hosted by Baltimoreans for Educational Equity – BEE. BEE is pleased to announce it is hosting a forum, focused on public education. The purpose of this event is to understand and make public the education priorities of the candidates running for mayor in the June 2nd Primary Election. Also, questions may be submitted, prior to the event, via email to baltedequity@gmail.com. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/552754185643327/.

31] – On Tues., May 26 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, phone bank for Brandon Scott for Mayor, hosted by the Sunrise Movement Baltimore and the Baltimore chapter of Progressive Maryland. Send email to sunrisemovementbaltimore@gmail.com and you will be sent the Zoom link.  There will be a brief training, then folks will call Baltimore voters to make sure they mark their mail-in ballots for Brandon Scott.  He supports policies to stop climate change, achieve environmental sustainability, create millions of good jobs, and realize economic prosperity for all.  Also every Thursday at 5 PM you can phone bank. Go to https://www.brandonforbaltimore.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/events/330406191256814/.

32] - Progressive Democrats of America [mailto:info@pdamerica.org] are supporting progressive candidates.   The group is hosting a Virtual Town Hall with Dr. Arati Kreibich on Tues., May 26 at 9 PM ET. If you would like to attend, email mikefox@pdamerica.org.
Dr. Arati is a Democratic Councilmember in Glen Rock, NJ, a neuroscientist, and a mom. She immigrated to the U.S. when she was 11 years old with her parents and two younger brothers because they believed in the promise of America.  She is 100% solid on our issues like Expanded and Improved Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, social, economic and racial justice, peace, and fair taxation and the removal of the influence of big money in our democracy. Her opponent is a DINO incumbent in NJ-05 that must go. 

33] – Occupation 101: Freedom of Movement, Annexation and What Lies Ahead is happening on Wed., May 27 at noon ET. Register at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vKsrp6RKSVyU0Ut6L-ZJ7Q.

34] – On Wed., May 27 from noon to 1 PM, consider Creative Resistance During the Pandemic: A Global South Perspective, hosted by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC). See www.nonviolent-conflict.org. This webinar is presented by Ingabire Merab, Luke Espiritu & Phil Wilmot. Register at https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/creative-resistance-during-pandemic-a-global-south-perspective/. ICNC invites you to explore what activists in the Global South are doing to navigate public health concerns and authoritarian conditions to advance their causes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists based in the Global South will discuss the challenges in their contexts and what their movements and networks are doing to seize the moment to build power for their progressive agendas. Ingabire Merab will represent movements in Uganda under Yoweri Museveni’s regime, Luke Espiritu will represent movements in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte, and Phil Wilmot will address the North-South paradigm and how pop culture narratives influence resistance behavior. Check out https://www.facebook.com/events/813887579136633/.

35] –   Join authors William A. Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen on Wed., May 27 at 2 PM ET  for a discussion of From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century. Through their assessment of the intergenerational effects of white supremacy on black economic well-being, Darity and Mullen confront the injustices of slavery, Jim Crow, and modern-day discrimination to make the most comprehensive case to date for economic reparations for U.S. descendants of slavery.  Go to https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_L9VBm68JTUCN65trFAEYuA?utm_source=Economic+Policy+Institute&utm_campaign=ea7c461225-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_02_06_32_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e7c5826c50-ea7c461225-59830565&mc_cid=ea7c461225&mc_eid=72ea77dbdd.

36] – COVID-19 and the Pentagon: The Road Ahead on Defense [sic] is hosted by Project On Government Oversight.  Experts across the political divide will discuss how COVID-19 will likely impact the Pentagon’s budget and other upcoming legislation on Wed., May 27 at 3 PM ET. Register at https://www.crowdcast.io/e/covid-19-and-the-2/register?emci=b0e84183-8294-ea11-86e9-00155d03b5dd&emdi=c3e9ff10-9794-ea11-86e9-00155d03b5dd&ceid=105470.

37] – On Wed., May 27 from 5 to 6 PM, attend a 2021 Fiscal Year Budget Hearing – Taxpayers’ Night, hosted by Council President Brandon M. Scott.  Visit https://baltimore.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=764991&GUID=314462E8-668E-4CC4-B6CF-153474629D12&Options=&Search= and https://www.facebook.com/events/2708729385921054/.

38] --Indivisible is inviting you to join on Wed., May 27 at 5 PM a special livestream with Elizabeth Warren and special guests!  Learn how to demand safe voting in your state. The coronavirus pandemic is not only a public health emergency and an economic crisis -- it’s also a threat to democracy as we know it. RSVP at https://act.indivisible.org/signup/052720_WD_safe_voting_Town_Hall?source=email_20200524link1&utm_source=email&utm_medium=link1&t=5&akid=59826%2E839288%2EOkrLzb.

To be continued.

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