Weekly Activist Alert: To Nuke or Not to Nuke
In This Week's Action Alert
Action: Disarm Now! For Peace and Human Needs
Th 4/8-Discussion with Cuban Medical Students
Fr 4/9-Eat Out in Support of ECAC
Fr 4/9-Party with a Purpose! A Benefit to Support ONE DC
Fr 4/9-Tenant Talent Show Hosted by Latino Economic Development Corp
Sa 4/10-EMPOWER DC's 6th Annual Membership Meeting
Sa 4/10-Eyewitness Accounts from Egypt and Palestine
On the horizon is an increased attack on nuclear empowered non-NATO nations while those countries that hold permanent seats on the UN Security Council not only maintain their nuclear capabilities but are looking at ways to increase. This contradiction is highlighted in Obama's recent move to request a 14% increase in nuclear weapons for the 2011 DoD budget while in the same breathe signing a new policy that focuses on deterring the use of nuclear technology. This confusing move (highlighted in this week's featured article) by the US President leads global citizens in a paradox to which political path to follow. It is no wonder why the question remains: to nuke, or not to nuke?
In the fog of racist Tea Party activism and the quick sound bites of corporate media that dissuade any logical conclusion that may be reached in this charged political era, it is important to not only keep your head on straight but to brave the pack of confusion and take action. A bad political move is a bad political move - regardless of race or other considerations. At the crossroads of global politics, consider the impact of militarism or nuclear weaponry on the present and the future and make your political move. We hope it brings you to action against US hegemony and a burning desire to be on the front lines of change. We also hope it leads you that some of your political action involves volunteering with the Washington Peace Center and help us define the tools needed to change the world.
Are you getting ready to organize a mobilization that includes direct action? Have you set your goals? Or have you prepared your constituency on knowledge of the risks involved? Whether you are a seasoned activist or new to organizing, before taking on your next action, check out our Direct Action Checklist page and please let us know if you have anything to add!
12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
The Palestine Center
6:00 PM
University of Maryland
Tydings Building room 011
Two Cuban Medical Students, Yenaivis Fuentes Ascencio, 23 and Aníbal Ramos Socarrás, 30, will speak to an open audience about their lives and experiences as Cuban medical students and as Cuban citizens. They are eager to share their experiences and perspectives. This event is open and FREE to the general public. The reception begins at 6:00 PM and the dialogue session will begin at 7:00 PM sharp. Food and Drinks will be served during the reception
from 7am until 11pm
G II Restaurant
2632 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington, DC
For more information, click here.
St Stephen Church
Corner of 16th & Newton St NW
Featuring:Hip hop, Mexican folk music, gospel, tango, dance, a puppet show about affordable housing, & more!
Tickets: $10-20 sliding scale (includes a plate of food) children under 12 free
For more information,
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Thurgood Marshall Academy Charter School
2427 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave, SE
All are welcome to attend & Participate
Only Dues-Paying Members Can Vote on Resolutions
Saturday, April 10, 2010
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
The Potter's House
1658 Columbia Road, NW
Alice Azzouzi, Jihan Hafiz and Athena Viscusi will talk about their trip and experiences trying to reach GAZA.
Saturday April 10
8pm-12am
8th St NW
(Between Varnum & Webster)
CISPES formally invites you to:
2nd Annual BIG GAY BEAUTY PARLOR...under the sea!
Get made up and dance the night away with DJ's, Cash Bar, and an Under-the-Sea formal dance.
$10-30 sliding scale gets you unlimited primping and includes: Manicure, Pedicure, Massage, Hairstyling, Facials and MUCH MORE!
African American Dance Concert
Sunday, April 11
4:00pm
Publick Playhouse
5445 Landover Road
Cheverly, MD 20784
The African American Dance Ensemble is an internationally acclaimed dance troupe that uses dramatic staging, rhythms, choreography and colorful costumes to present a dance concert of dramatic excitement. The Ensemble's mission is to preserve and share the finest traditions of African and African American dance and music, celebrating traditional African culture, aesthetics and values.
Tickets: $20/person; $15/person DancePass holders.
2010 Arab American Heritage Month Festival
Sunday, April 11
12pm - 4pm
Activity Center at Bohrer Park
506 South Frederick Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD. "In Unity, WeBuild a Caring Community" is the theme for the 2010 Arab American Heritage Month Festival, hosted by the City of Gaithersburg's Multicultural Affairs Committee along with Arab Americans of Montgomery County. The free festival will feature poetry readings, arts and crafts,folkloric dance and music, Middle-Eastern food, cultural exhibits, vendors, henna, calligraphy, and children's activities.
6:30pm - 9:30pm
2850 Quebec St, NW
This year's seder will focus on our region's social safety net crisis, as city and state budgets are cut in ways that disproportionately affect working families and low-income residents. The seder will feature singing, storytelling, discussion, reflection, and action, as well as local workers, activists, rabbis, and an original haggadah. Planning for the seder is now underway; email seder@jufj.org if you'd like to be involved.
For more information, click here
Tuesday, April 13
7:30-9:30pm
Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church
4th and Independence Ave., SE
Washington DC
Rhythm Workers Union is hosting a seminar for activists and organizers on the subject of effectively using drumming and rhythm in marches, meetings, assemblies and other gatherings.
Drumming and rhythm can give a lot of energy to your activists! You will learn how to make/obtain cheap/free drums and rhythm instruments; how to meet drummers who are also activists and who can support your events; tips on incorporating rhythms in your meetings and events; how to use drums to support and energize your chants and cheers; how to lead drummers and non-drummers in rhythm.
March 16, 2010 on www.alternet.org
Despite his attempts to alert the public of future nuclear leaks, Obama still considers nuclear power a viable alternative to coal-fired plants. The atom lobby must be pleased.
He may soon be called the nuclear industry's Golden Child. No president in the last three decades has put more taxpayer dollars behind atom power than Barack Obama. And there may be good reason why the president is salivating over the prospect of building new nuclear power plants around the country.
It was one of the most important issues of the 2008 presidential campaign. The perceived threat of global warming began to make even the most skeptical of politicians a bit nervous. Both the Democrats and Republicans proposed searching for more domestic oil supplies, promising to drill up and down the spine of the Rocky Mountains and even off the fragile coastlines of Florida and California. The future of planet Earth, they claimed, is more perilous than ever.
Al Gore made his impact.
Too bad the Gore effect is like a bad hangover: all headache and no buzz. The purported solution the Obama administration has heaved at the imminent warming crisis, nuclear technology, is just as hazardous as our current methods of energy procurement. Yet, Obama isn't the first Democrat in recent years to tout nuclear virtues.
