Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Activist Alert - Part 1

Baltimore Activist Alert June 2 – June 25, 2010

 

"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] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLA  

5] Used stamps for humanitarian causes

6] A cat needs a home – ASAP

7] Philadelphia vigil – June 2

8] Chestnut Hill, PA vigil – June 2

9] Mubarak Awad speaks in Baltimore – June 2

10] WIB Towson vigil – June 3

11] Israel/Palestine roundtable – June 3

12] First Thursday Against the Massacre – June 3

13] Film SLEEPLESS IN GAZA & JERUSALEM – June 3

14] ROOTS OF STEEL – June 3

15] Health Care Forum – June 4

16] Arrest BP executives – June 4

17] White House vigil – June 4         

18] Justice for Palestine/Israel vigil – June 4

19] WIB Inner Harbor vigil – June 4

20] WIB Roland Park vigil – June 4      

21] WIB Frederick vigil – June 4

22] Homewood vigil – June 4

23] Justice Café – June 4

24] Film LEMON TREE – June 4

25] BARCS fundraiser – June 4

26] Higher Taste – June 4

27] Vigil at Walter Reed – June 4

28] Ethic of Life – June 4

29] Watch Wal-Mart movie – June 4

30] Ballroom dancing – June 4

 

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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. The White House Comment Email is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.


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] – You can help safeguard human rights and fragile ecosystems through your purchase of HOCOFOLA Café Quetzal. Bags of ground coffee or whole beans can be ordered by mailing in an order form. Also note organic cocoa and sugar are for sale.  For more details and to download the order form, go to http://friendsoflatinamerica.typepad.com/hocofola/2010/02/hocofola-cafe-quetzal-order-form-2010.html.

 

Be sure you indicate ground (G) or bean (B) for each type of coffee ordered. Make the check out to HoCoFoLA and send it with your order form to Nancy Meier, 10 Pepperdine Circle, Catonsville, MD 21228.  Contact Pat McLaine at 410-964-0960 or pamcl@aol.com.  The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up.

 

5] – Brad Hathaway spearheads an effort to sell donated used stamps to raise money for different humanitarian causes around the world. Go to www.mattapoisettquakers.org, and click the link for the stamp ministry.  Carefully clip canceled postage stamps and send to Quaker Missions, PO Box 795, Mattapoisett, MA 02739. Send no small flag stamps or Liberty Bell Forever stamps.

 

6] –A sweet young gray and white female cat, fixed of course, needs a new home, because her daddy is moving to Beirut, Lebanon to live with his new wife! All the supplies come with her-litter box and litter, food, flea meds. Contact Ellen Barfield at ellene4pj@yahoo.com to give this lovely companion a warm and inviting home.

 

7] – Each Wednesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the House of Grace Catholic Worker holds a weekly vigil for peace in Iraq outside the Phila. Federal Building, 6th & Market Sts. The next vigil is June 2. Call 215-426-0364.

 

8] – Each Wednesday, the Northwest Greens hold a peace vigil from 7 to 8 PM outside the Borders Book Store, Germantown Ave. at Bethlehem Pike in Chestnut Hill, PA. The next vigil is June 2. Call 215-843-4256 or email nwgreens@yahoo.com.

9] Baltimore Friends of Sabeel proudly announces a public presentation by Dr. Mubarak Awad, a 21st century Palestinian-American Apostle of Nonviolence, and founder of Nonviolence International, Inc. Speaking on Wed., June 2 at 7:30 PM, he will address the subject  "Nonviolence and the Responsibility of Christian People In and For the Middle East" at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1609 Kurtz Ave., Lutherville, MD 21093. A reception will follow.  Contact Paul Verduin, Maryland coordinator, Friends of Sabeel–North America at 301-495-7891 or PaulVerduin@starpower.net. Friends of Sabeel is a nonprofit ecumenical Christian organization dedicated to educating Americans on nonviolent approaches to finding freedom for all the people in the Holy Land. Go to www.fosna.org.

10] – There is a WIB peace stand on Thurs., June 3, noon-1PM in Towson at northwest corner of Washington & Chesapeake Aves., across the street from the post office, near the courthouse. Contact mbrainzo@aol.com. This vigil takes place on the first Thursday of the month.

11] – On Thurs., June 3, the WEEKLY ROUNDTABLE SEEKING A JUST PEACE IN PALESTINE/ISRAEL takes place from 12:30 - 1:30 PM at Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Road NW, WDC.  Join a civil discourse which explores the history, issues, myths, realities, and truth of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Contact Alice Azzouzi at 202-232-5483.

 

12] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore hosts an End the War! End the Occupation! rally on Thurs., June 3 from 5 to 6:30 PM in Mount Vernon at Centre & Charles Sts.  The Pledge gathers in Mount Vernon on the first Thursday of the month to protest the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  This Thursday, though, the vigil will focus on the Israeli massacre and attack on the members of the Free Gaza Movement.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

13] – The Dialogue Under Occupation continues through Thurs., June 3 at 9 PM.  The dialogue will take place at American Univ., Ward Circle Bldg., Room 1, 4400 Mass. Ave. NW, WDC.  Use the Red Line Tenleytown/AU stop.  The focus of "Dialogue Under Occupation" is the ongoing exploration of dialogue and discourse in areas of the world experiencing occupation. Go to http://www.dialogueunderoccupation.org/washdc2010/.

 

A screening of SLEEPLESS IN GAZA AND JERUSALEM is on for Thurs., June 3 from 7 to 9 PM at American University, sponsored by Amnesty International USA. Several panelists including Shelley Cohen Fudge, chair of Jewish Voice for Peace in the DC region, will examine the situation of Palestinians under occupation

 

14] – On Thurs., June 3 at 7 PM at Red Emma’s, 800 St. Paul St., Deborah Rudacille will discuss her book ROOTS OF STEEL.  Go to http://redemmas.org.  The book details the working-class history of Dundalk and the Sparrows Point Steel mill, mixing personal memoirs of the author's youth, oral history and research into the dynamics of race, class, and gender in and around the now vanished steel economy.

 

15] – A forum Health Care IS a Matter of Faith is happening on Fri., June 4, 9 AM to 4 PM at the Bishop Claggett Center, near Frederick, MD.  The full program may be found on the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland Health Care Task Force web page.   This event welcomes all people of Faith.  Please register by Wed., May 26!  Directions are on the web site. Contact Wayne Spiggle at wspiggle@mac.com. The conference features a discussion of what the new health system reform law means to you and what next steps are needed.  Dr. Margaret Flowers and Vinnie DeMarco will be giving their perspectives, followed by an interactive discussion.

 

16] – Public Citizen is organizing the power of the people to help charges against BP and to outfit the company in fitting attire for a criminal: an orange jumpsuit.  This citizen's arrest will happen at BP's Washington, D.C. headquarters on Fri., June 4 at noon at 1101 New York Ave., NW. Meet at the green space right across the street from BP's office building at 11:45 AM.  Email publiccitizen@mail.democracyinaction.org. Go to www.BeyondBP.org.

 

17] – A peace vigil takes place every Friday from noon to 1 PM at Lafayette Park facing the White House.  Join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and friends. Contact Art Laffin: artlaffin@hotmail.com 

 

18] – A vigil for Justice in Palestine/Israel (now in its 8th year) takes place every Friday from noon to 1 PM at 19th & JFK Blvd., Philadelphia (across from Israeli Consulate.  It is sponsored by Bubbies & Zaydes (Grandparents) for Peace in the Middle East. Email cswartz@pil.net. Go to http://phillyjewishpeace.org/.

 

19] – Every Friday from noon to 1 PM, Women in Black, Baltimore, host a vigil at Pratt and Light Sts. in the Inner Harbor. Peace signs and flyers about the siege will be available. See http://www.peacepath911.com/ or write wibbaltimore@hotmail.com or call 410-467-9114.

20] – There is also a noon vigil, weather permitting, on Fri., June 4 at Roland Park Place at 830 W. 40th St.  Call 410-467-9114.

 

21] – WIB holds a silent vigil mourning all violence, the first Friday of the month.  The next vigil is June 4 from 12 noon to 12:30 PM, War Memorial Park, intersection of W. 2nd & N. Bentz Sts. in Frederick.  Please dress in black; no additional signs.  Call 301-834-7581 or email wibfrederick@mizmail.com.

 

22] – There is a silent vigil on Fri., June 4 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 and Stony Run Meetings.

23] –  Attend the UDC Justice Café, co-sponsored by the Progressive Democrats of America, from 6 to 10 PM on Fri., June 4  in the Firebird Inn, Building 39, B-Level, 4200 Conn. Ave. NW, WDC 20008, which is hosted by the University of the District Columbia David Clarke School of Law. The suggested donation is $15, $10 for students and $5 for children. No one would be turned away. The event will feature food, music, poetry, an open mic session, tabling and more. Contact: mikehersh2007@gmail.com FOR A FREE TABLE.  Use the Van Ness UDC Metro Station (Red Line).

 

24] – On Fri., June 4 watch LEMON TREE  [2008], which is being shown as part of the "JUST-REEL” First Friday Free Film Series at the Peace Center of Delaware County, 7 PM, 1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, Delaware County, PA. The evening will include light refreshments and an after-film discussion. It is co-sponsored by the Brandywine Peace Community. Call 610-544-1818. Go to www.delcopeacecenter.org.

 

Inspired by a true story...Between Palestinians and Israelis, a wall cuts across orchards - and lives, the film includes Hiam Abbass (Salma Zidane) who was in THE VISITOR. She is the proud, handsome 45-year-old Palestinian woman at the center of LEMON TREE, an allegory of Israeli-Palestinian strife. Salma has the misfortune of living in the wrong place at the wrong time. Widowed for 10 years, with a son in the United States, she earns a meager living from a lemon grove on the Green Line separating Israel from the occupied territories of the West Bank. The grove has been in her family for 50 years. Her solitary life suddenly turns upside down when the Israeli defense minister, Israel Navon (Doron Tavory), moves into a fancy new house that abuts the grove. Overnight a watchtower is constructed, and security guards and soldiers begin patrolling the property. No sooner have Navon and his beautiful, cultured wife, Mira (Rona Lipaz-Michael), moved into the new house than Salma receives an official letter informing her that the grove poses a security threat; and as a military "necessity" the trees must be uprooted.

 

25] – The Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) will be a symphony of activity over the next two months with activities celebrating a unique opportunity to raise money for the care of its animals. Renowned classical pianists and Baltimore residents Leon Fleisher and Katherine Jacobson Fleisher will perform together in a “Duet for Pets,” one night only – June 4 – at the Miriam Friedberg Hall, Peabody Conservatory of Music, in a benefit concert for BARCS. The Miriam Friedberg Hall opens at 6:30 PM on June 4, and the concert is at 8 PM. There will be a silent auction starting at 6:30 PM featuring exciting items such as a piano lesson with Leon Fleisher, original artwork and gift baskets from Baltimore area retailers.

 

Leading up to the event, BARCS will feature special events to promote the concert and increase animal adoptions, such as an animal composer look-alike contest, a “Barking Meowing” symphony and a classical music name contest.  The talented and philanthropic Fleishers are donating their time and talent to raise money and awareness for BARCS, the largest companion animal shelter in the State of Maryland. Tickets, starting at $35 are available online by visiting www.baltimoreanimalshelter.com. Premier seating at $125 per ticket includes admission to a post-concert reception with the artists. Contact Frank Caesar Branchini at Frank.Branchini@baltimorecity.gov or 410-396-4695.

 

26] – BHAKTI SWARUP SRIDHARA MAHARAJ will speak on THE PROCESS FOR HIGHER TASTE on Fri., June 4 at 7 PM at 4209 East West Hwy., Chevy Chase MD 20815. Swamiji was born in Orissa, India in 1972. Since 1998 he has been the director of Chaitanya Chandra Ashram. RSVP to shantiyoga2@earthlink.net. Go to www.schooloflife.org.

 

27] – On Fri., June 4 at 7:30 PM, the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, 503 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW, WDC 20010, presents its monthly Clarification of Thought gathering on The Gospel of Life and Peace:  The Challenges of the Consistent Ethic of Life - Speaker: James Kelly.  Kelly, professor of sociology at Fordham University, and member of University Faculty for Life, will trace the history of the pro-life movement, the radical beginnings of some of the opposition to abortion, the insight that objections to war and abortion are rooted in the nonviolence movement, and the contribution of people like Catholic Worker Tom Cornell. There will be no evolution away from the violence of war and abortion unless the movements are conjoined.  Join an evening of reflection on the gospel of life and peace.  Call Kathy Boylan at 202 882-9649.  

 

28] – 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. The vigil calls for peace, care for the wounded, and full benefits for all veterans.  Contact Bruce Wolf - Haunteddog@aol.com.

29] – Are you concerned about the Wal-Mart development coming to 25th and Howard?  Silvia Fabela from Wake Up Wal-Mart will host a screening of the documentary “The New Age of Wal-Mart” and moderate a discussion of concerns about the possible impact the proposed Wal-Mart will have on the area. Bmore Local is a Facebook group, which will host the screening on Fri., June 4 from 7:30 to 10 PM in Howl's rear lot, 3531 Chestnut Ave. Bring lawn chairs or blankets.

30] –  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 June 4. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

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

 

"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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