Baltimore Activist Alert -- November 11, 2021

48] Gather on Armistice Day – Nov. 11

49] Celebrate new leadership – Nov. 11

50] Throwdown Thursdays – Nov. 11

51] Examine the History & Future of Muslim - Christian Relations – Nov. 11

52] U.S. nuclear umbrella and first strike doctrine – Nov. 11

53] Help Chesa Boudin – Nov. 11

54] What’s Next for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy – Nov. 11

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48] – An important ongoing Veterans For Peace campaign is to challenge the glorification of war and the military which the 11th of November has become, and to reclaim it as it was originally conceived, to express relief that World War One had finally ended on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, to grieve the dead, and to uphold the dream that that was "a war to end all wars." So the Baltimore Phil Berrigan VFP will gather at noon on Thurs., Nov. 11 on the steps of the War Memorial downtown at Fayette and Gay Sts, across the park from City Hall. A banner will be displayed with a photo of WW1 doughboys celebrating the war's end, and the exhortation to "Honor Veterans by Ending War", and will hold VFP flags. Come join in to challenge using veterans as lures to recruit more cannon fodder for the never-ending wars our nation keeps perpetrating.  There may be parking in a nearby church lot. Contact Ellen Barfield [ellene4pj@yahoo.com].

49] – CPD Action [info@cpdaction.org] hopes you celebrate on Thurs., Nov. 11 from 6 to 9 PM ET and welcome new leadership at the Center for Popular Democracy and CPD Action. Sign up at https://whova.com/portal/registration/glat_202007?utm_source=email&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=leading_together.

50] – On Throwdown Thursdays, phone bank and text bank with the Progressive Maryland Team at 6 PM ET. Contact voters across the state about a number of key issues. Start using these Thursdays to throw down for progressive candidates that need help to win. This Thursday, text to help turn out folks for the exciting New Era Candidate Slate Launch event before transitioning to voter outreach! New to texting? New to election work? No problem, you will be trained! Eventually once there is a roll out of election endorsements in the coming months, the time will be used to elect as many progressives into office as possible!! Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/progressivemarylandneweraproject/event/416692/?emci=79147e4b-523b-ec11-9820-c896653b26c8&emdi=34ba16cc-573b-ec11-9820-c896653b26c8&ceid=136680.

51] – The American Muslim Institution <info@americanmusliminstitution.org> is hosting a New York Times Contributing Opinion Writer Mustafa Akyol and Professor Craig Considine on Nov., 11 at 7 PM EDT to examine The History & Future of Muslim - Christian Relations.  Akyol is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, where he focuses on the intersection of public policy, Islam, and modernity. Since 2013, he has also been a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, covering politics and religion in the Muslim world. Dr. Considine is an award winning professor and the best–selling author of The Humanity of Muhammad – A Christian View. He is recognized as an authority in interfaith dialogue, particularly Christian and Muslim relations. Dr. Considine has written seven books for the field of Islamic studies, including People of the Book – Prophet Muhammad’s Encounter with Christians, Muslims in America: Examining the Facts, and Islam, Race, and Pluralism in the Pakistani Diaspora. Dr. Considine’s peer-reviewed articles have appeared in Sociology and Religions and his op-eds have been published in Newsweek and Foreign Policy. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iV8gYHn4S_md_STsZkLFNA.

52] –  On Thurs., Nov. 11, Armistice Day, at 7 PM ET, the Campaign for Peace Disarmament and Common Security [jgerson80@gmail.com] will host an international webinar on the impacts of and opposition to the U.S. nuclear umbrella and first strike doctrine with A-young Moon, Yayoi Tsuchida, Ira Helfand and Joseph Gerson.  Register at https://tinyurl.com/evzeakh5.  The speakers will describe the impacts of the Nuclear Umbrella and Why the U.S. First Strike Doctrine Must Go.  They will provide background about the doctrine and its humanitarian consequences.

The Pentagon’s timing is exquisite. Its terrorizing red flag is being waved in the midst of the Biden Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and Congressional debates over funding for Washington’s first-strike nuclear war fighting arsenal. As the Washington Post recently reported, the Biden Administration – including the Pentagon – are locked in a Nuclear Posture Review debate over the possible adoption of a “sole use” retaliatory, as opposed to first strike, nuclear doctrine. (A sole use doctrine wouldn’t eliminate the danger of nuclear war. It would restrict U.S. presidents to pushing the nuclear button in retaliation, only after the U.S. had suffered a nuclear attack.) There is meaningful opposition in Congress and beyond to deploying a new generation of the land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles based in the northern plains states, destabilizing standoff air launched cruise missiles, and new B-61 nuclear weapons for warfighting in Europe.

The Pentagon report claims that in the face of the Chinese threat, we have no choice except to, as General Milley advocates, maintain and modernize our tried and true first-strike nuclear war fighting doctrine and to spend the estimated $1.7 trillion needed to build and deploy the offensive and defensive weapons that are essential to threatening or actually initiating a nuclear war.

53] – Real Justice [info@realjusticepac.org] wants you to help Chesa Boudin on Thursday, Nov. 11 from 9:30 PM to midnight ET. If you follow the money, you will see who the real corrupt interests are attempting to oust justice-minded District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Sign up now to join a Stand with Chesa virtual phonebank! Your calls will help us generate real grassroots support for Chesa and his change-making policies and push back against big donors with people-powered organizing. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/chesaantirecall/event/399637/?source=em20210818-67199-rj&utm_source=em20210818-67199-rj.

54] – On Fri., Nov. 12 at 9 AM, tune into Beyond AUKUS and the Quad: What’s Next for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy. This is a Conversation with National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, Kurt Campbell. The Biden administration has focused considerable attention on the Indo-Pacific region, declaring it central to advancing a range of U.S. economic, political and security interests. This U.S. commitment to allies and partners in the region and the intensifying geopolitical competition with China have animated several new U.S. diplomatic initiatives. The Quad grouping held its first ever in-person Leaders’ Summit in September. And that same month, the Australia-United Kingdom-United States agreement opened the door to sharing sensitive defense [sic] technologies with Australia. Together, these groupings are intended to demonstrate U.S. leadership and cooperation in defense [sic], public health, education, infrastructure, investment, high technology and more.  Sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Peace, sign up at https://www.usip.org/events/new-date-beyond-aukus-and-quad-whats-next-us-indo-pacific-strategy.

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