Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert - March 17 - 18, 2015

42] Life under Israel’s long military occupation - Mar. 17
43] No JHU Drone Research -- Mar. 17
44] Environmental Film Festival – Mar. 17 – Mar 29
45] Training and performances centering on forced marriages – Mar. 18
46] Women and Iran – Mar. 18
47] What’s happening in Palestine – Mar. 18
48] Lobby John Sarbanes -- Mar. 18
49] Spring Rising – Mar. 18
50] Homecare Workers Town Hall Meeting – Mar. 18
51] A conversation on Africa -- Mar. 18
------
42] – Go to the Palestine Center, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, WDC 20037 on Tues., Mar. 17 from 1 to 2 PM and hear from Thomas Abowd, Lecturer in Anthropology, Tufts University. Drawing upon recent theories on racial politics, colonialism, and urban spatial dynamics, “Colonial Jerusalem” analyzes the politics of myth, history, and memory across an urban landscape integral to the national cosmologies of both Palestinians and Israelis and meaningful to all communities." The book illuminates everyday life under Israel’s long military occupation as it is defined by processes and conditions of "apartness" and separation as Palestinians are increasingly regulated and controlled. The professor examines how both national communities are progressively divided by walls, checkpoints, and separate road networks in one of the most segregated cities in the world.

Thomas Philip Abowd is an urban anthropologist and historian who received his Ph.D in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University in 2003. His book on spatial politics in contemporary Jerusalem, “Colonial Jerusalem: the Spatial Construction of Identity and Difference,” was published in 2011 by Syracuse University. In 2006 he received a Post-Doctoral Research Award from the Palestine-American Research Center (PARC), to study housing politics in contemporary Jerusalem. From 2008 to 2009 Dr. Abowd was the recipient of a Faculty Fellowship from the Humanities Center of Wayne State University, to continue research on housing politics and housing-rights activism in Jerusalem. RSVP at http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/RegisterForEvent/i/50559.

43] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on Mar. 17 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

44] –From Tues., Mar. 17 through Sun., Mar. 29, enjoy the DC's Environmental Film Festival. Go to https://www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org/event/film-tool-peace-climate-change/. Below are some of the films to be shown.

WHAT WE HAVE LEFT BEHIND IN IRAQ (USA, 2015, 7 min.) World Premiere An Iraq war veteran who served two deployments tells what he saw we are leaving behind in Iraq and recorded with over 3,000 photos. It is directed and produced by Alice Day and Lincoln Day.

ECOSYSTEMS, WAR AND CLIMATE CHANGE (USA, 2015, 4 min.)World Premiere Four scientists describe the impact of climate change on wildlife and fragile ecosystems, and underline the destructive role of warfare in undermining our capacity to protect and sustain our essential natural resources. It is directed and produced by Alice Day and Lincoln Day.

ENVIRONMENTAL PATHWAYS TO PEACE BUILDING (USA, 2015, 6 min.) World Premiere Building peace parks, sharing common ecosystem needs, such as access to scarce potable water, and providing children and adults with first-hand experience of nature, are presented as specific, do-able strategies for maintaining peace and furthering sustainable practices toward the earth’s natural systems. It is directed and produced by Alice Day and Lincoln Day.

TOP PRIORITY (USA, 2015, 3 min.) World Premiere A Lt. General (ret.) says that a top priority is raising consciousness in the military about the need for protection of the environment for future generations. As long as the national leadership is not strongly on its side, it is unlikely that the military will recognize the importance of natural security to national security. It is directed and produced by Alice Day and Lincoln Day.

Some films from the environmental film festival suggested by Interfaith Power and Light include:

WED., Mar. 18 @ 7 PM - The Wisdom to Survive, Washington National Cathedral.

FRI., Mar. 20 @ 7:30 PM - Journey to Planet Earth, St. Columba's Episcopal Church.

45] – Go to a Training Workshop on forced marriages from 9 AM to 1 PM on Wed., Mar. 18 at American Bar Association, 1050 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 400. It is open to service providers who would like to learn how to help individuals facing or fleeing forced marriage in the United States. Breakfast will be served at 8:30 AM.

There will be a MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE & COMMUNITY FORUM from 6:30 to 8 PM on Wed., Mar. 18 & Thurs., Mar. 19 at Busboys and Poets, 2021 V St. NW in the Langston Room. The forum will kick off with the play “When We Leave” and the film “Caged” by the authors of the comic book, “Heartbeats: The IZZAT Project.” The performance will be followed by a Q&A session and a reception. Complimentary copies of the “Heartbeats” book will be available. A reception will start at 6 PM. Visit www.tahirih.org/heartbeats or http://www.tahirih.org/2015/02/tour-to-end-forced-marriage-comes-to-dc/.

46] – On Wed., Mar. 18 from 12:30 to 1:45 PM at ACMCU, ICC #270, 3700 O St. NW, WDC, catch Ayatollahs of Iran" with Mirjam Künkler, Assistant Professor, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University. The significant role of women participating in, and shaping, the scholarly tradition through the centuries is still hardly reflected in either Western scholarly or public perceptions. Nearly all classic accounts of religious authority in Islam proceed from the assumption that this authority is male: the possibility that women might exercise various aspects of religious authority is usually not discussed. Yet, when we dissect religious authority into its various manifestations (leading prayer, preaching, providing religious counseling, issuing fatwas, transmitting hadiths, judging in court, shaping the Islamic scholarly tradition), nuances emerge that call the exclusively male character of religious authority in Islam into question. This talk provides an overview of the study of women as Islamic authorities, and discusses in more detail several examples from modern Iran. Seating is limited, and lunch will be provided. For directions and more information, visit acmcu.georgetown.edu/about/contact/. Go to http://guevents.georgetown.edu/event/female_religious_authority_and_the_women_ayatollahs_of_iran_with_mirjam_kunkler_9411#.VQhcA3bwuUk.

47] – Go to the Palestine Center, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, WDC 20037 on Wed., Mar. 18 from 1 to 2 PM and hear from Nadia Hijab, Executive Director, Al Shabaka Palestinian Policy Network. Hijab will describe the limits on the Palestinian struggle for justice due to the paralysis and fragmentation of the Palestinian national movement - despite certain achievements such as the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, among others. She will also address the dilemmas this prevailing disarray poses to Palestinian activists as well as the international solidarity communities. For example, should activists push for recognition of a Palestinian state or not? How should they refer to Mahmoud Abbas? What about issues like corruption, or the aid "industry"? And how should activists deal with different scenarios, such as if Israeli-Palestinian resume? See http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/RegisterForEvent/i/50830.

48] – As part of the national "Educate Congress" Campaign Letter Drops, on Wed., Mar. 18 at 4:30 PM, the Pledge of Resistance will go to Rep. John Sarbanes’ office, 600 Baltimore Ave., Suite 303, Towson, MD 21204, to deliver a letter. The letter urges him to oppose “Fast Track,” more warmongering and killer drone strikes. Let Max know if you can sign on to the letter and go to Sarbanes’ office--410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net. Are you a constituent?

49] -- Get involved in the beginning at Plymouth United Church of Christ, 5301 N. Capital St. NE, WDC on Wed., Mar. 18 from 5 to 8 PM. “Spring Rising” is four days of creative resistance, theater, teach-ins, rallies and marches marking the anniversary of the United States’ "shock and awe" attack on Iraq and its invasion and occupation in a completely illegitimate, immoral war. Together participants will use this time to oppose the plans and calls for growing military intervention. Join World Can't Wait and 40+ organizations! See http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php/calls-to-action/8654-spring-rising-an-antiwar-intervention-in-washington-dc.

50] -- On Mar. 18 at 6 PM, U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, economist Julianne Malveaux and the Rev. Graylan Hagler are among the community and national leaders who will meet with D.C. homecare workers in a Town Hall Meeting at Plymouth Congregational Church, 5301 North Capitol St. NE. The Town Hall meeting will address the home care crisis in DC. Too many people in the District don’t have access to care and DC’s homecare workers have suffered widespread violations of labor laws. Call 1-800-956-8918 or go to www.WeCareforDC.org.

51] – Join a conversations about the roots of issues that affect Pan-African Communities, Africa & people of African descent around the world at the Emergence Community Arts Collective, 733 Euclid St. NW, WDC, on Wed., Mar. 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Visit http://www.aaprp-intl.org or contact aaprpmd@gmail.com.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218. Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.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

No comments: