Thursday, October 2, 2008

Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 1

Baltimore Activist Alert Oct. 2, 2008 – April 4, 2009

"I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours.

The initiative to stop it must be ours." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Friends, this list and other email documents which I send out are done under the auspices of the Baltimore Nonviolence Center. Go to www.baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com. If you appreciate this information and would like to make a donation, send contributions to BNC, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218. Max Obuszewski can be reached at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski [at] verizon.net.

The Baltimore IndyMedia Center publicizes peace-related events. Go to http://www.radicalendar.org/group/_baltimore.

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists

4] Eyes Wide Open exhibit available

5] Resettled refugees need jobs

6] Looking for a venue to host Hiroshima exhibit in October

7] Adopt a dog month

8] First Thursday protest of the war – Oct. 2

9] Candidates forum – Oct. 2

10] Common Cause meeting – Oct. 2

11] Do you want to visit Nicaragua – Oct. 2

12] Pax Christi Montgomery meeting – Oct. 2

13] Protest Northrop Grumman – Oct. 3

14] Protest WYPR management – Oct. 3 - ?

15] WIB Inner Harbor peace vigil – Oct. 3

16] WIB Roland Park vigil – Oct. 3

17] White House vigil – Oct. 3

18] Silent vigil at Homewood Friends – Oct. 3

19] Vigil at Walter Reed – Oct. 3

20] Discussion on AFRICOM – Oct. 3

21] Ballroom dancing – Oct. 3

22] Station North Fleamarket – Oct. 3

23] Peace vigil in Chester, PA – Oct. 4

24] Peace vigil at Capitol – Oct. 4

25] Plan response to Steve Sachs spy review – Oct. 4

26] Protest at Lockheed Martin – Oct. 4

27] Olney vigil to end the war – Oct. 4

28] Protest at the NSA – Oct. 4

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1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available. “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers in stock. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

2] – To obtain information how your federal legislators voted on particular bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/. Congressional toll-free numbers are 888-818-6641, 888-355-3588 or 800-426-8073.

3] – THE ORGANIZING LIST will be the primary decision-making mechanism of the National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR]. It will be augmented by conference calls and possibly in-person meetings as needed. It will consist of 1 or 2 representatives from each local, regional, or national organization (not coalitions) that wishes to actively work to carry out the NCNR campaign of facilitating and organizing nonviolent resistance to the war in Iraq.

To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to donmuller@msn.com. Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.

THE NOTICES LIST will include only notices of NCNR actions and related information and is open to any interested person to subscribe. It will be moderated to maintain focus & will include periodic notices about getting involved in NCNR national organizing. To join the NOTICES List, send an email message to ncnrnotices-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. You will get a confirmation message once subscribed. If you have problems, please write to the list manager at ncnrnotices-admin@lists.riseup.net.

4] – The Baltimore American Friends Service Committee office has assembled an exhibit Maryland Eyes Wide Open which details the Human Cost of the Iraq War and reflects the costs of war to the state of Maryland. The exhibit consists of at least 40 pairs of combat boots, representing the US military deaths from Maryland; civilian shoes, tagged with names and ages of a very small fraction of the tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis who have died; a representative pair of combat boots and 7 red poppies, representing the estimated number of wounded US military personnel (approximately 7 times the number of dead); and signs and literature detailing the human and financial costs of the war on the cities and counties of Maryland.

AFSC will help with logistics and contribute to your planning for auxiliary events or activities presented in conjunction with the exhibit. For information on obtaining and displaying the exhibit, call 410-323-4200, extensions 20 or 21 or e-mail at tsteele@afsc.org or ggillespie@afsc.org. Go to www.afsc.org/midatlantic/baltimore-programs.htm.

5] – Holly Leon-Lierman is working for the International Rescue Committee. Go to www.theIRC.org. The IRC resettles refugees, and these people eventually need employment. She is working as an Employment Coordinator. If you know someone with hiring power, please contact Holly, who is currently resettling people from Iraq, Burma, and Bhutan. She can be reached at holly.leon-lierman@theIRC.org or 410 558 3167.

6] – The Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation is looking for a group to sponsor a visit by its chairperson, Steve Leeper, and a Hibakusha (a-bomb survivor) in late October and early November. There still exist over 20,000 nuclear weapons worldwide, so this visit with its A-bomb exhibit would be an opportunity to educate the broader community. Contact Max at 410-366-1637.

The Peace Memorial Museum is working with Leeper on the A-bomb exhibition project in the USA. It is hoping that an exhibition, which would consist of a poster exhibition, could be set up in the Baltimore area between Oct. 27 and Oct. 30. Please let Max know if you can get involved in this project.

7] – This October get a dog during American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month. Visit www.americanhumane.org/aadm.

8] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore hosts an End the War! End the Occupation! rally on Thurs., Oct. 2 starting at 5 PM in Mount Vernon at Centre & Charles Sts. The Pledge gathers in Mount Vernon on the first Thursday of the month to protest the war. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

9] – There will be a forum for candidates running for the 8th Congressional District seat on Thurs., Oct. 2 at the Rockville Regional Library beginning with a Meet and Greet on the second floor, outside of Meeting Room #2 at 6:15 PM. The candidates include Chris Van Hollen, Gordon Clark of the Green Party and Deborah Vollmer. The event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters and Friends of the Library.

10] – There is a Baltimore "Common Coffee" on Thurs., Oct. 2 at 7 PM at Café Hon, 1002 W. 36th St. This is an opportunity to put together Common Cause Maryland's legislative agenda for next year. Bring your ideas, concerns and hopes for the direction Maryland should be taking. The casual chats will be held every Thursday night through Oct. 30 with a statewide conference call. The idea is to hold these events at diners and beaneries in Silver Spring, College Park, Aberdeen, Baltimore, Columbia, Salisbury and Towson. Call 202-833-1200.

11] – On Thurs., Oct. 2 at 7:30 PM, Casa Baltimore/Limay will be hosting a meeting at St. John’s, 27th & St. Paul Sts., to discuss joining a delegation to Nicaragua, January 2-16. The cost of the trip is $1300 including airfare. There will be group fundraising efforts. Call 410-662-6292.

12] – Thurs., Oct. 2 at 7:30 PM, Pax Christi Montgomery will meet at St. Francis of Assisi Parish (rectory basement), 6701 Muncaster Mill Road, Derwood, MD. There will be a presentation on the Platform for the Common Good by Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United.

13] – As part of Keep Space for Peace Week, the Jonah House is holding a vigil on Fri., Oct. 3 at the new Northrop Grumman weapons production plant in Linthicum Heights, 1570 W. Nursery Rd. at 11 AM. Email at disarmnow@verizon.net or call 410-233-6238. Visit http://www.space4peace.org. Each year the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space organizes International Days of Protest against the Militarization and Nuclearization of Space. This year Keep Space for Peace Week is observed from October 4 - 12 with acts of protest and education internationally. Events strive to expose the deadly, destabilizing arms race in space already well underway and to halt the arms race in the heavens.

In the Baltimore area, Northrop Grumman is a premier developer, producer and supporter of manned and unmanned aircraft, spacecraft, high-energy laser systems, microelectronics and other systems for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; communications; battle management; strike operations; electronic warfare; missile defense; earth observation; space science; and space exploration. Northrop Grumman is intensifying its presence in Maryland in conjunction with the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC).

14] – Protest the illegal termination of The Marc Steiner Show from noon to 1 PM Monday through Saturday in front of WYPR, 2216 N. Charles St. You may consider calling the station to complain at 410-235-1395. Contact Max at 410-366-1637 to join Take Back YPR.

15] – Women In Black sponsor a peace stand/vigil on Fri., Oct. 3 from noon-1 PM at the Inner Harbor, corner Pratt and Light. Everyone welcome, wear black if you can. See http://www.peacepath911.com/ or write wibbaltimore@hotmail.com or call 410-467-9114.

16] – There is also a noon vigil on Fri., Oct. 3 at Roland Park Place at 830 W. 40th St. Call 410-467-9114.

17] – A peace vigil takes place every Friday from noon to 1 PM on Pennsylvania Ave., by the press gate to the White House. It is organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. Call 202-882-9649.

18] – There is a silent vigil on Fri., Oct. 3 from 5 to 6 PM outside of Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles St., in opposition to war with Iraq. Placards say: "War Is Not the Answer." The silent vigil is sponsored by AFSC, Homewood Friends Meeting and Stony Run.

19] – SHED LIGHT ON US WAR CASUALTIES: FROM THE FRONT LINE TO THE BACK DOOR of Walter Reed Army Medical Center (North Gate), every Friday night, from 7 to 9 PM in the middle of the 7100 block of Georgia Ave., NW. Call 202-441-3265. Go to http://www.codepinkalert.org/Local_CODEPINKs_Washington_DC.shtml.

20] – On Fri., Oct. 3 at 7:30 PM, there will be a Clarification of Thought at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House, 503 Rock Creek Church Rd., WDC. This October the U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) becomes the newest military Unified Combatant Command. Mark Francher, chair of the International Section of the National Conference of Black Lawyers, will discuss the NCBL’s public position and legal work against AFRICOM. Contact Mike Uca-Dorn at mike.uca.dorn@gmail.com and visit www.gardensorgraves.org.

21] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at 8 PM. Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St. Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be Sept. 26. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

22] – Don’t forget the Station North Artists Flea Market on Sat., Oct. 4 (and every 1st Saturday) from 9 AM to 2 PM at the Howard Street Bridge - 100 block of West North Ave. in the Station North Arts & Entertainment District. For $10 a spot, vendors will be selling mid-century modern and post modern maybes. Plus there will be the usual casual junk, precious fake jewels and more than a few useful items you didn’t think you needed. Go to http://www.loadoffun.net/FleamarketVendor.html or call David at 410-962-7075.

23] – Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. This vigil has been the target of counter-demonstrators and harassment from the "Chester County Victory Movement" but has grown and persisted. Go to www.ccpeace.org.

24] – There will be a peace vigil on the West Lawn of the Capitol at noon on Sat., Oct. 4. Look for the blue banner with the message, "Seek Peace and Pursue It. --Psalms 34:14." The vigil lasts one hour and is silent except when one responds to the occasional questions. Go to http://www.quaker.org/langleyhill/seekpeace.htm or email seekpeacevigil@yahoo.com.

25] – Steve Sachs completed his review of the Maryland State Police spy scandal on Sept. 30. The next meeting of the Baltimore Coalition Against the Death Penalty will be on Sat., Oct. 4 at noon at AFSC, 4806 York Road. At this meeting, we will discern a group response to the review and plan to announce it in a public forum. Call 410-488-6767 or 443-838-3221.

26] – On Sat., Oct. 4 at 1 PM, there will be a KEEP PEACE in SPACE/PEACE on EARTH DEMONSTRATION at LOCKHEED MARTIN, Mall and Goddard Blvds, Valley Forge/King of Prussia (behind the King of Mall). Contact the Brandywine Peace Community at 610-544-1818 or brandywine@juno.com. Go to www.brandywinepeace.com.

27] – Friends House, 17715 Meeting House Rd., Sandy Spring, MD 20860, hosts a peace vigil every Saturday, 3:15 to 4:15 PM, on the corner of Rt. 108 and Georgia Ave. in Olney, MD. The next vigil is Sept. 27. Call 301-774-9792.

28] – As part of the October 4 – 12 Keep Space for Peace Week: International Week of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space, the Pledge of Resistance has called for a demonstration at the National Security Agency from 5 to 6 PM on Sat., Oct. 4. Call Max at 410-366-1637 to carpool. Go to http://www.space4peace.org.

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

"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

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