Thursday, November 13, 2008

Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 1

Baltimore Activist Alert Nov. 13, 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] Max is seeking housing

6] FCNL AGM – Nov. 13-16

7] Film WHEN THE LEVEES – Nov. 13

8] Film DEFEAT OF A DICTATOR – Nov. 13

9] Red Emma’s Art Auction – Nov. 13                         

10] Peace Corps cofounder to speak – Nov. 13                         

11] Night of Remembrance – RSVP by Nov. 13

12] George Lakey will lecture on nonviolence – Nov. 14

13] Protest “clean coal” – Nov. 14

14] WIB Inner Harbor peace vigil – Nov. 14

15] WIB Roland Park vigil – Nov. 14

16] White House vigil – Nov. 14

17] Protest WYPR management – Nov. 14 - ?

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1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available.  “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers are 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] – Max is in need of housing.  If you have any leads, please call him at 410-366-1637.

6] – The FCNL Annual Meeting: What Direction for Iran Policy? takes place Nov. 13-16.  Barbara Slavin, a former senior diplomatic reporter for USA Today and an assistant managing editor at the Washington Times, will speak and talk about the history of missed opportunities on both sides and prospects for negotiations or military action under the next administration. Helen Thomas will also speak.  This meeting will set FCNL's lobbying priorities for the 111th Congress. Hear congressional staff talk about how to lobby effectively.  The regular rate is $325, and there is a young adult rate (under 30) is $275.

The meeting takes place at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd., NW, WDC.  Meeting check-in begins at 3 PM on Thursday, and ends at noon on Sunday.  Call 800-630-1330.

7] – There is a Human Rights Film Series that continues through Fri., Nov. 14 on the campus of Washington College of Law (WCL) and the campus of AU's Wechsler Theatre. All screenings are FREE and open to the public. Visit the website for film synopses and full event details.

On Thurs.., Nov. 13 at 5:30 PM, the film WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE will be shown, and producer Sam Pollard will be in attendance, at the Wechsler Theatre. Email socialmedia@american.edu or call 202-885-3107. Go to http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org.

8] – The Light Street Presbyterian Church, 809 Light St., Baltimore, MD 21230, is hosting the final film in its Discussion Series on Nonviolence on Thurs., Nov. 13, 6 to 7:30 PM.  The film to be shown is CHILE – DEFEAT OF A DICTATOR.  Overcoming a decade of paralyzing fear, Chilean copper miners trigger a national day of protest of the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, leading to years of nonviolent organizing and culminating in victory in a plebiscite to end his rule.

 

 The evening will include a simple supper of soup and bread, the viewing of a half-hour segment of "A Force More Powerful," and a guided discussion.  The church's pastor, Rev. Roger Scott Powers, will lead the discussions.  He is co-moderator of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and co-editor of Protest, Power, and Change: An Encyclopedia of Nonviolent Action from ACT-UP to Women's Suffrage (Garland, 1997). 

 

The film is free and open to the public, and is part of the six-part PBS documentary "A Force More Powerful."  Narrated by Ben Kingsley, the documentary explores one of the 20th century's most important but least-understood stories -- how nonviolent power was able to overcome oppression and authoritarian rule all over the world. Call 410-539-0125.

 

9] – On Thurs., Nov. 13 at 7 PM at 2640 St. Paul St., Red Emma's will host its first ever art auction!  This is a major fundraiser for Red Emma’s.  Art donations are still being accepted.  Email pr@redemmas.org.  At Red Emma's, they believe the revolution must be FUN.

 

10] – You have the opportunity to hear from one of the Peace Corps founders, Bill Josephson, author of the TOWERING TASK (the blueprint for the original Peace Corps) and lifelong friend of Sargent Shriver, on Thurs., Nov. 13 at 7 PM in UMBC's Library 7th Floor. Parking for the event will be marked upon entering campus, and directions to UMBC can be found at www.umbc.edu.  A dessert reception will follow.

 

Josephson will present his ideas for a 21st Century Peace Corps with the transition to new national leadership in this critical historical moment. He is also a leading expert on the Electoral College, so it will be interesting to learn his thoughts on the election.  Call 410-455-5398 or email joby.taylor@umbc.edu.  Go to www.shrivercenter.org.

11] – The second annual Night of Remembrance, a night of fellowship and remembrance in the celebration of life and healing, is scheduled for Fri., Nov. 21 from 6:30 to 8 PM at New Life United Methodist Church, 4400 Parkside Dr., Baltimore, MD. 21206.  As part of the evening, five of Baltimore’s most distinguished men will be honored: Rev Eric W. King I, Rev. Heber Brown III, Cameron E. Miles, David Miller and Lamarr D. Shields.  Contact Kimberly Armstrong-Hughes at 443-845-3116 or just4me.diamond@gmail.com. Please RSVP By Thurs., Nov. 13 if your business would like to be included in the program.

12] – The Fall 2008 Sustaining Activism Speaker Series, Program on Justice and Peace, presents George Lakey on "Nonviolent Warriors, Yesterday and Today,” on Fri., Nov. 14 at 11 AM in Healy Hall 104, Georgetown University.  Lakey has given over 1,500 workshops on five continents in nonviolence theory, strategy and tactics, and has been engaged in campaigns with U.S. mineworkers, South African anti-apartheid activists, Cambodian human rights organizers, British anarchists, and many others. The former director of Training for Change, he's taught at the Univ. of Pennsylvania, Haverford College, Temple Univ. and is currently the Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor for Issues in Social Change at Swarthmore College. His books include "A Manual for Direct Action" (Quadrangle Books, 1965), "Powerful Peacemaking: A Strategy for a Living Revolution" (Library Company of Philadelphia, 1987) and "Nonprofit Leadership: A Guide for Organizations in Changing Times" (New Society Publishers, 1998).

 

13] – BALTIMORE RISING TIDE is calling for a coal finance day of action to mobilize to STOP foreclosure on the climate!!! Coal is the dirtiest of all fossil fuels and has a hugely negative impact on the climate, yet the coal industry and elected officials are accepting it as a solution to the climate crisis. Join Baltimore Rising Tide's first action to demand the banks stop investing in coal and mountain top removal, destroying Appalachia. The action will be outside Bank of America and Citi Bank, the corner of E. Baltimore St. and Calvert St., on Fri. Nov. 14 from 11 AM to 1 PM.  Email BaltimoreRisingTide@gmail.com or call 301-318-0968.

 

14] – Women In Black sponsor a peace stand/vigil on Fri., Nov. 14 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.

 

15] – There is also a noon vigil on Fri., Nov. 14 at Roland Park Place at 830 W. 40th St.  Call 410-467-9114. 

 

16] – 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.

17] –  Protest the illegal termination of The Marc Steiner Show from noon to 1 PM Monday through Friday 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. 

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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