Civic Events

Muhammad Aslam Khan, Deputy Chief of Mission and Acting Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, will address the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs on “United States-Pakistan Relations,” on Thursday, May 15, 2008, in the Constellation Room of the World Trade Center-Baltimore, 401 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland at 6:00 p.m.

Khan will address the complexities of Pakistan's efforts against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the strains within that nation's internal order, and the range of critical matters affecting Pakistan's relations with the United States.

Reservations are required. There is a $15.00 fee for Non-Members. Members are free of charge; and membership is open to the public. For membership and/or ticket information call (410) 727-2150, write to the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs, World Trade Center, 401 E. Pratt Street, Suite 1611, Baltimore, MD 21202, or e-mail bcfaprograms@verizon.com.

In 2008 many of us understand that our nation - and even the entire planet - are in a state of crisis. The deep longing for positive, lasting change is the bedrock upon which this conference is based. How do we fix our country and our world? And how can we form one mass movement to address the crisis?

Topics to be discussed are cutting-edge, the the speaker lineup is sensational - Kathy Kelly, Michael Parenti, Cindy Sheehan, Lynne Stewart, Robert Jensen, David Swanson, Alice Lovelace, Father Roy Bourgeois, William Blum, and many others.

In Radford, Virginia on May 22-25, thousands of activists, academics, journalists, poets, musicians and policymakers will converge at the 2008 “Building a New World” Conference. If you want to participate in building a new world, sign up now. Hotel and dorm rooms are limited.

"Control of our public utilities, and how people can change it: The situation in Nicaragua and Maryland" is the topic of an educational program sponsored by Casa Baltimore/Limay on Thurs., May 22 at 7 p.m. at 2640 St. Paul St. (Red Emma's in the St. John's Church). Featured speakers are Maria Allwine, MD Coalition Against the BG&E Rate Hikes; and Tom Loudon, of the Quixote Center in Washington, DC.

Allwine is a local peace and justice activist with the MD Coalition Against the BG&E Rate Hikes, the Pledge of Resistance Baltimore, and the Maryland Universal Heathcare Action Network. She will speak about the work of the BGE Coalition, why deregulation happened in 1999 and why nothing has been done in the General Assembly to reverse it. She will also talk about the specifics of deregulation, how many other states are moving to re-regulation and what deregulation means for BGE’s residential ratepayers.

Loudon, who has worked with the Quixote Center, lived in Central America, including Nicaragua, for 15 of the last 20 years. He worked for two years with Witness for Peace and subsequently for base community organizations with alternative technologies. Most recently, he was Central American Regional Representative for American Friends Service Committee, coordinating regional advocacy programs from Nicaragua. The office commissioned/coordinated a series of studies on neo-liberal policy impacts, including formal studies on CAFTA’s potential impacts regionally, and in Nicaragua specifically. He will discuss the fights in Nicaragua against privatization, and the current state of affairs with the Sandinistas in the government around the issue of water, electricity, and other consumer rights.

Free; refreshments will be served.

On June 5th, FairVote, Common Cause and Liberty Tree will join together with hundreds of activists, organizational partners and a remarkable lineup of speakers at the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel for Democracy Day. Now is your time to register to Get Involved, Get Informed and Get Active with today's leaders in innovative electoral and democracy reform strategies.

• See speakers, including the prolific novelist Walter Mosely (Devil in a Blue Dress), progressive journalist Amy Goodman, former Nirvana bassist and activist Krist Novoselic and many more.
• Work with fellow democracy activists and reformers in strategic working groups on topics like Protecting the Vote in 2008, Instant Runoff Voting and Public Financing of Campaigns.
• Meet with democracy leaders from around the region and the nation -- see what's happening in your own community and who is working to change the way each of us is represented and given a voice in the political process.

Scheduled the day before the National Conference on Media Reform featuring such speakers as Bill Moyers and Naomi Klein, Democracy Day is a major conference designed to build support among voting rights advocates, electoral reformers and movement organizations for a broader vision of democracy - one based on elections with universal and secure access to the polls, expanded ballot choices and public financing. Our programming will feature workshops on instant runoff voting, proportional representation and how to engage and empower Americans between elections. Lead organizers include FairVote, Common Cause, Liberty Tree, Public Campaign, FairVote Minnesota, Verified Voting and Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota.

Why Now?

We stand at an important moment in history where change is necessary - and within reach. We must run fair elections in 2008, yet look beyond the election for actions on structural reforms and grassroots engagement to truly preserve our democratic experiment and to continue to broaden and deepen our democratic foundations. For this necessary long-term victory, we must connect short-term strategies to medium and long-term reforms to make real the promise of democracy.

Democracy Day is an opportunity to map out a new road to a democratic future. It is an chance for all of us to articulate the case for short-term strategies around the 2008 election, but also put those strategies in a context of a real, sustainable, and proactive democracy movement. Democracy Day is a combination of high-profile speakers on our "main stage" and hands-on working groups for people ready to roll up their sleeves and work hard for real change.

Alternative Directions, Inc., which helps women and men, both in prison and leaving prison, to become independent, responsible citizens, will benefit from a fundraiser on Tuesday, June 10, 2008, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at the Douglass Myers Maritime Park, 1417 Thames St. in Fells Point. The event includes a silent auction, beer, wine, food and complimentary parking. Tickets are $50.

Honorees include Judge Brenda Murray, long-time activist for prisoners’ rights; Secretary Gary D. Maynard, MD Division of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Baltimore City State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy; Eleanor Lewis, initial member of board of directors 26 years ago; and Marc Steiner, host of the Marc Steiner Show on WYPR for over 14 years.

Also to be honored for their outstanding accomplishments will be five ADI clients: Lillian Dorsey, Stacy Miller, Yvette Stokes, Everett Walker, and WaShanna Washington.

For more information, email nsokoloff@jjay.cuny.edu or call 410–889–5072.