Thursday, May 4, 2023

Baltimore Activist Alert -- May 5 - 11, 2023

57] Peace vigil at the White House May 5

58] Women in Black vigil – May 5

59] Defund Police Organizing Retreat – May 5

60] Fire Drill Friday – May 5

61] Election Protection phone bank – May 5, 7, 9 & 11

62] El Salvador Women in Resistance - May 5 

63] Habitat volunteers in Patterson Park – May 6

64] How Zionism Forged an Apartheid State May 6

65] Food Pantry and Food Donation Center – May 6

66] Don’t Nuke the Pacific – May 6

67] Medical supplies are needed in Ukraine

68] Tell JHU president to renounce nuclear weapons contracts

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

70] Do you need a doctor?

71] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records

72] Do you need any book shelves?

73] Join the Global Zero campaign.

74] Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil

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57] – The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker will host a peace vigil at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, on Fri., May 5 at noon.  Contact the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.

58] – 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.

59] – The Northern Virginia Democratic Socialists of America [novabranch@mdcdsa.org] indicated that on Sat., May 6 from 12:30 to 2:30 PM ET in Arlington , there is a Defund Police Organizing Retreat. Go over past initiatives and figure out new work the working group wants to take on. Please join and share your thoughts and help strategize. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to socialize. Email your interest, and you will get location details.

60] – Jane Fonda for Fire Drill Fridays [info@greenpeaceusa.org] hopes you will participate on Fri., May 5 at 2 PM ET for Fire Drill Fridays.   Read any good books lately? Jane Fonda has a favorite. This Friday, she is welcoming the author, Arlie Russell Hochschild, of Strangers in Their Own Land.  Arlie tells the spectacular and eye-opening story of her journey deep into Louisiana bayou country. In an effort to “scale the empathy wall” to understand the American far right, she investigates Tea Party members’ relationships to environmental pollution and discovers … well, you’ll have to tune in to find out. Also joining in is General Russel Honoré, a decorated lieutenant general featured in the book, who now leads the GreenARMY to protect against pollution and fight climate change. Hochschild is a sociologist at University of California, Berkeley and the actual title of her book is Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right.  Honoré is a decorated 37-year army veteran and a global authority on leadership, disaster management, and climate preparedness. As the commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, he became known as the “Category 5 General” for his leadership in coordinating military relief efforts in post-hurricane New Orleans. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/firedrillfridays/event/560057/?utm_source=fdfemail&sourceid=&emci=8ed2d942-91e7-ed11-8e8b-00224832eb73&emdi=91d2d942-91e7-ed11-8e8b-00224832eb73&ceid=1705696 or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/firedrillfriday?sourceid=&emci=8ed2d942-91e7-ed11-8e8b-00224832eb73&emdi=91d2d942-91e7-ed11-8e8b-00224832eb73&ceid=1705696.

61] – On Fri., May 5 from 4 to 6 PM, Sun., May 7 from 6 to 8 PM ET, Tues., May 9 from 4 to 6 PM ET & Thurs. May 11 from 5 to 7 PM 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. Make calls Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and/or Sundays. 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.  

62] – Brian Garvey, MAPA [info@masspeaceaction.org] wants you to know about El Salvador: Women in Resistance/Mujeres en La Resistencia, a webinar on Fri., May 5 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM ET. The Cambridge, Massachusetts El Salvador Sister City Committee, the Cambridge Women’s Commission and Office of the Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui invite you to hear from Salvadoran women organizing in the past and present. You will hear from Diana Becerra, U Mass History and Gender professor and a popular educator and historian. As a former undocumented immigrant and survivor of domestic violence, she is committed to building powerful movements. Her book manuscript, Insurgent Butterflies, tells the history of how women in El Salvador shaped the theory and practice of the revolutionary left.

Diana will be joined by local women activists for reflections and connections to local organizing.  Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-in-resistancemujeres-en-la-resistencia-from-the-past-to-the-present-tickets-590059452707?emci=c8940c45-00e9-ed11-8e8b-00224832eb73&emdi=6b4571fa-dae9-ed11-8e8b-00224832eb73&ceid=269591.

63] – Join a habitat team of volunteers in Patterson Park on Sat., May 6 from 9 to 10:30 AM ET. Help build bird habitat in Audubon’s native plant gardens in Patterson Park! There is a need for volunteers to make sure they remain healthy habitats for the park’s birds and butterflies, as well as safe spaces for learning and exploring. Come to weed, mulch, and/or plant while spending the morning outdoors with friends, family, and Audubon. For questions, email baltimore@audubon.org.  Meet at the wetland garden, uphill & northwest of the boat lake in Patterson Park.  Register at https://patterson.audubon.org/events/habitat-team-volunteers-patterson-park-1.

64] – Friends of Sabeel North America [friends@fosna.org] let me know that on Sat. , May 6 at noon ET there is a webinar about a book "Palestine Hijacked: How Zionism Forged an Apartheid State From the River to the Sea" with the author Thomas Saurez.  This is taking place in commemoration of the anniversary of the 75th Nakba. Suárez has published widely on the issue of the injustices committed against the Palestinian people by Israel and the Zionist movement. Illan Pappe called his book State of Terror: How Terrorism Created Modern Israel (Olive Branch Press, 2016), “The first comprehensive and structured analysis of the violence and terror employed by the Zionist movement and later the state of Israel against the people of Palestine.” State of Terror has been translated into Arabic and French. His book Writings on the Wall: Palestinian Oral Histories (Interlink, 2019) collects and preserves oral testimonies of what Palestinians have experienced under seven decades of Israeli rule. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItc-qqqjosHdJwUTS7oi2Bi1HedgEmD7Oq#/registration.

65] – On Sat., May 6 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.

66] – Get with the webinar: Don’t Nuke the Pacific on Sat., May 6 at 8 PM ET. In response to the Japanese government and TEPCO’s unilateral decision to dump radioactive wastewater from Fukushima into the Pacific as early as this summer, we need to deepen our understanding of this issue and engage in actions to stop the discharge. Dr. Arjun Makhijani, president, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, and Dr. Hikaru Amano, former Principal Researcher, Head of Environmental Research Laboratory, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, will hold a study session. Those who register for the webinar will receive a copy of the study material, "Expert Panel Memorandum." Please review it in advance. Should you have any questions, please send them to koreumikaigi@gmail.com. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kEgamr3lQM-GO_Z0qoD9pw#/registration?link_id=31&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-challenge-and-resist&email_referrer=email_1891468&email_subject=challenge-and-resist.

67] --  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.

68] -- 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.

69] – 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 . 

70] – 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.  

71] -- 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.

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

73] -- 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.

74] – 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

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