Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 1

Baltimore Activist Alert Nov. 3 – Nov. 9, 2011

 

"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.

 

Tune into the Maryland Progressive Blog at http://mdprogblog.org.

   

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists  

4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLA  

5] Occupy Freedom Plaza – Oct. ??

6] Occupy Baltimore -- Oct. ??

7] March for a Financial Transaction Tax – Nov. 3

8] Protest Sheraton Hotel – Nov. 3

9] Transform Baltimore – Nov. 3

10] First Thursday vigil against war – Nov. 3

11] Congress: Hands off D.C. – Nov. 3

12] Offshore Wind Farm Town Hall – Nov. 3

13] Sustainable Jew -- Nov. 3

14] Making City Hall Work For You – Nov.  3

15] Peace Action Montgomery meeting – Nov. 3

16] Immanuel Wallerstein at 2640 – Nov. 3

17] Palestine Center Annual Conference – Nov. 4

18] March to Chamber of Commerce – Nov. 4

19] White House vigil – Nov. 4

20] WIB Inner Harbor vigil – Nov. 4

21] WIB Roland Park vigil – Nov. 4

22] Justice for Palestine/Israel vigil – Nov. 4

23] WIB Frederick vigil – Nov. 4

24] Silent vigil/Potluck Dinner at Homewood Friends – Nov. 4

25] See film THE VISITOR – Nov. 4

26] Protest Koch brothers – Nov. 4

27] Film MIRAL – Nov. 4

28] CPT fundraiser – Nov. 4

29] Resistance for the Long Haul – Nov. 4

30] Play ALTERNATIVE METHODS – Nov. 4

31] Ballroom dancing – Nov. 4

32] Farmer's Market – Nov. 5

33] Olney peace vigil – Nov. 5

34] West Chester, PA demo – Nov. 5

35] Canvas with Bill Barry – Nov. 5

36] Wells Fargo protest – Nov. 5

37] Silent vigil at Capitol – Nov. 5

38] Stop the Wars – Nov. 5

39] Silent Death March – Nov. 5

40] Play ALTERNATIVE METHODS – Nov. 5

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1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available.  "God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions" stickers are in stock. Donate your books to Max. Call him 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. The coffee comes in one-pound bags.

 

Fill out the form and mail it with a check made out to HOCOFOLA on or before the second week of the month.  Be sure you indicate ground or beans for each type of coffee ordered.  Send it to Adela Hirsch, 5358 Eliots Oak Rd., Columbia, MD 21044.  Be sure you indicate ground (G) or bean (B) for each type of coffee ordered. The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up.  Contact Adela at 410-997-5662 or via e-mail at adela4peace@verizon.net.

 

5] – The occupation of Freedom Plaza, 14th & Pennsylvania Ave. NW, continues as U.S. troops, contractors and mercenaries remain in Afghanistan now for an 11th year.  The idea is to make the space a Tahrir Square, Cairo or Madison, Wisconsin.  NONVIOLENTLY resist the corporate machine by occupying Freedom Plaza to demand that U.S. resources be invested in human needs and environmental protection instead of war and exploitation.  Stop the Machine! Create a New World! Go to http://october2011.org/.

 

6] – Occupy Baltimore continues at McKeldin Square, Pratt and Light Sts.  General assemblies take place at 8 PM each evening.  Sign up at http://groups.google.com/group/occupy-baltimore/.  Ask for the digest or you get hundreds of emails. 

 

7] – The occupation of Freedom Plaza is organizing events every day, including protest actions, lectures, workshops, and dance parties.  To join in, just show up. To follow along, just visit http://october2011.org.  Join a march leaving Freedom Plaza at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 3rd, and heading just a few blocks over to the White House and the Treasury.  At 3 PM, the nurses will lobby on Capitol Hill.

 

With the G20 about to meet in France, the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) will be up for consideration as a way to heal the world's economies broken by the economic crash of 2008. Demonstrations in support of people-friendly solutions to economic recovery are planned in France and in Washington, DC. Despite the broad international support, and the popular support in the U.S., the Obama Administration opposes the adoption of the FTT. The FTT could raise up to $350 billion per year to provide living wage jobs, guaranteed healthcare, a secure retirement for all and fund and protect public education.  Demand that Obama's Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner stop blocking international efforts to tax the big banks.  RSVP to bgallagher@nationalnursesunited.org.

 

8] – Stand with Hotel Workers on Thurs., Nov 3 at 4:15 PM at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, S. Eads St and 18th St. in Arlington, VA- near Crystal City Metro.

 

9] – Transform Baltimore on Thurs., Nov 3 from 4:30 to 7:30 PM at the War Memorial Building (across from City Hall).  This Speak Out will call on the government to Build Schools. Build Neighborhoods.  Over the recent weeks, we've heard about rain leaking into classrooms, a part of a ceiling falling in on a student and pipes bursting.  Baltimore City's crumbling school buildings are being neglected and students, teachers, and neighborhoods suffer as a result.  Last month, Transform Baltimore members talked to thousands of parents, teachers, and students at Back-to-School nights throughout the city.  Go to www.transformbaltimore.org.  

 

A team of Transform Baltimore members will be meeting with the Mayor earlier in the day on November 3rd. Call 410.889.8550 x 123 or email transform.bmore@gmail.com. 

 

10] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore will host an End the Wars vigil on Thurs., Nov. 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 U.S. wars.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

11] – There is a White House Candlelight Vigil on Thurs., Nov. 3 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM.  Join DC Vote and Inter-Faith Clergy in a protest against Congress using the federal budget process to meddle in the District's local affairs. Join a candlelight vigil at the White House and pray for President Obama to stand with us and to stand up for DC Home Rule during the FY 2012 budget battle. Call 202.462.6000 or email info@dcvote.org.

 

12] – The Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club informs us that there will be an Offshore Wind Townhall Meeting on Thurs., Nov. 3 from 6 to 9 PM at the Mid County Community Center, 2004 Queensguard Rd. Silver Spring, MD 20906. 

 

13] – Representatives of Kayam Farms, a local Jewish Organic farm, will lead a homemade applesauce demonstration and talk about sustainability, urban homesteading, and the Jewish connection. The Sustainable Jew: Making a Greener Religion takes place on Nov. 3 from 6 to 9 PM at the Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd St. Call 410-732-6400 or go to http://www.jewishmuseummd.org.

 

14] – On Thurs., Nov. 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, there will be a Community Law Center Workshop: Making City Hall Work For You at 3355 Keswick Road, Suite 200. Email info@cphabaltimore.org or call 410-366-0922.  Go to www.communitylaw.org.  There is a $25 charge.

 

15] – On Thurs., Nov. 3 at 7 PM, there will be a Peace Action Montgomery meeting at the home of a member. E-mail info@peaceactionmc.org for directions. Go to www.PeaceActionMC.org,

 

16] – "Upsurge in Movements Around the Globe: 1968 Redux?" is a talk to be given by Immanuel Wallerstein on Thurs., Nov. 3 at 7 PM at 2640, 27th & St. Paul Sts.  Wallerstein is a distinguished scholar and author of the essential "The Modern World System," a classic three volume study of the emergence of capitalism, which has recently been republished alongside a brand new fourth volume.  Dr. Wallerstein, currently Senior Research Scholar at Yale University, is not only one of the most respected sociologists of our times, but has been, for decades, a tireless ally of struggles in the global South, and a major theorist of the radical potential of anti systemic movements to challenge the global capitalist status quo.

 

Responding to his talk will be Beverly Silver, author of "Forces of Labor: Worker's Movements and Globalization Since 1870," herself a major contributor to the study of the world system and the implications for a radical politics, as well as William Connolly, author of "A World of Becoming," and a theorist of the politics of complexity. Go to http://www.iwallerstein.com and http://redemmas.org/2640.

 

17] – The 2011 Palestine Center Annual Conference is on Fri., Nov. 4 from 8 AM to 5 PM.  After welcoming remarks the panels will begin at 9:15 AM. The conference takes place at 2425 Virginia Ave., NW, WDC 20037.  Call 202.338.1290.

 

18] – On Fri., Nov. 4 at 11:30 AM at Freedom Plaza, 14th and Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, join a march to the Chamber of Commerce and AHIP against the health-industrial complex.

 

19] – 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.   

 

20] – 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 will be available. See http://www.peacepath911.com/ or write wibbaltimore@hotmail.com or call 410-467-9114.

 

21] – There is also a noon vigil on Nov. 4 at Roland Park Place at 830 W. 40th St.  Call 410-467-9114.

 

22] – 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/.

 

23] – WIB holds a silent vigil mourning all violence, the first Friday of the month.  The next vigil is Nov. 4 from 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.

 

24] – There is a silent vigil on Fri., Nov. 4 from 5 to 6 PM outside of Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles St., in opposition to war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Placards say: "War Is Not the Answer." The silent vigil is sponsored by AFSC, Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings. Since it is First Friday, there will be a potluck dinner after the vigil, followed by a film.

 

25] –  The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee, Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility and Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee of Homewood and Stony Run Meetings are hosting the FILM & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS DVD SERIES.  The next film THE VISITOR [USA, 2008] will be shown on Fri., Nov. 4 at Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218.  The Meeting hosts a potluck dinner from 6 to 7 PM on First Fridays after the vigil.  At 7 PM, the DVD will be shown with a discussion to follow.  There is no charge, and refreshments will be available.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

THE VISITOR [USA, 2008] tells the story of a widowed professor, played by character actor Richard Jenkins, who reconnects with some previously lost part of himself after he befriends two "illegal" immigrants living in New York City.  Written and directed by Tom McCarthy, who made his debut with the understated and beautifully shaped "The Station Agent" in 2003, it is pleasurable on so many levels.  Walter is called to New York to deliver a paper he co-wrote (we later learn that the paper held so little interest for him that he barely had a hand in its writing). He's kept an apartment there for years.  When he unlocks the door, he's startled to find that two people -- both of them undocumented immigrants -- have taken up residence there: A Syrian musician named Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and his woman friend, Zainab (Danai Gurira), who is originally from Senegal and who makes jewelry, which she sells from a table on the street. Tarek is arrested, and not as the result of any wrongdoing. His mother, Mouna (played by the extraordinary actress Hiam Abbass, star of "The Syrian Bride" and "Satin Rouge"), treks from Detroit to New York to try to help him.  Watching the film, one must decide who the visitor is.

26] – March for the 99% on Fri, Nov. 4 from 6 to 9:30 PM starting from McPherson Square, 15 & K Sts. NW, WDC.  OccupyDC will undertake an action at the "Defending the American Dream Conference" taking place at the Washington Convention Center. Rally until 6:30 PM and then march from McPherson Square to the Convention Center.

 GOP extremist presidential candidate Herman Cain has teamed up with the nefarious Koch brothers to turn the American Dream into a real life nightmare for middle-class families. On Fri., Nov. 4, the Koch brothers' front group Americans for Prosperity is hosting a gala dinner as part of a conference in Washington, D.C., that has been cynically titled "Defend the American Dream." Join the 99% for Occupy the Kochs: Guerrilla Drive-In, a fun counter-event featuring edgy videos that expose the Koch brothers' plot to buy our government in the name of the 1%.  At 7 PM, be at 1025 7th St. NW, WDC. Go to http://healthcareforamericanow.org.

 

27] – On Fri., Nov. 4 at 7 PM, see the film MIRAL as part of the Peace Center of Delaware County First-Friday Large Screen Free Film Series, 1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, PA. MIRAL, 2010, USA, 112 mins., is directed by Julian Schnabel, screenplay by Rula Jebreal, based on her autobiographical novel.  It stars Freida Pinto, Hiam Abbass and Vanessa Redgrave. The acclaimed film sweeps across decades of the Mideast conflict, telling the story of three generations of Palestinian women in a land under military occupation, torn apart by hatred and violence...told from the view of a young Palestinian girl named Miral. Go to www.delcopeacecenter.org.

 

The doors open at 6:30 PM for light refreshments. Call 610-544-1818.

 

28] – There is a Christian Peacemaker Teams Fundraiser and Folk Music Concert on Fri., Nov. 4 from 7 to 10 PM at Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Rd, NW, WDC. Enjoy dinner and dessert along with music by folk musicians Blair Pettyjohn and Jesse Palidofsky, while supporting the work of CPT. Along with the music, members of CPT will along be telling stories from their peacemaking work around the world.  Blair has a CD entitled "Conscientious Objector" which is centered around the themes of Christian nonviolence and unconditional love. Go to http://www.blairpettyjohn.com/about_blair and http://www.jessepal.net/bio.html.

 

29] –  On Fri., Nov. 4 at 7:30 PM, hear a talk "Resistance for the Long Haul"  by Sr. Carol Gilbert and Sr. Ardeth Platte - Dominican sisters and members of the Jonah House Community.  This is a Clarification of Thought session, and they will share their Y-12 resistance action, trial, imprisonment experiences and their hopes for the future. Their quest for nuclear disarmament and a banning of war forever spans decades of years and encompasses legal, political and direct action. They see these weapons of mass destruction as the taproot of all violence: poverty, homelessness, hunger, lack of basic human needs and rights, climate disasters, unemployment, etc. They see their lives to be given for justice and peace.  The event will be Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, 503 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20010. Contact Art @ 202-360-6416 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.

30] – There will be a staged reading of "Alternative Methods" by Patricia Davis, followed by a panel discussion on Fri., Nov. 4 at 7:30 PM in Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW, WDC 20036.  Directed by Marietta Hedges, the readings are part of Catholic Univ. Drama Department's Reading and Discussion Series. The play is about an Iraqi doctor who is detained, suspected of treating an Al-Qaeda leader. With the clock ticking, interrogators must quickly get the doctor to reveal where the safe house is. Susan, a young interrogation psychologist, witnesses severe acts of torture that still yield no intelligence. She takes matters into her own hands. The panel will include Juan Mendez, UN Rapporteur on Torture, Leonard S. Rubenstein, senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School, and Glenn Carle, former CIA black site interrogator.

31] – 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 Nov. 4.  Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

32] – Go to the West Baltimore Farmer's Market for fresh fruits, vegetables, breads and other treats every Saturday from 8 to noon.  CPHA has worked with the West Baltimore Marc TOD and Transit Inc. (WBMTTI) to establish a Farmer's Market at the West Baltimore Marc Train stop at Smallwood Road at Franklin and Mulberry Sts.  Since opening in June, over 300 people buy fresh groceries there every Saturday morning. WBMTTI will continue to include the community in the transit-oriented developments on the west side and continue to improve the area around "the highway to nowhere" until it becomes the highway to somewhere. Go to www.cphabaltimore.org.

 

33] – Friends House, 17715 Meeting House Rd., Sandy Spring, MD 20860, hosts a peace vigil every Saturday, 10:30 to 11:30 AM, on the corner of Rt. 108 and Georgia Ave. in Olney, MD.  The next vigil is Nov. 5. Call Chuck Harker at 301-570-7167. 

 

34] –  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. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com.

 

35] – Contact Bill Barry at wbarrymd@hotmail.com if you help canvas on Sat., Nov. 5 at 11 AM for his campaign as a Green Party candidate for city council.  Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bill-Barry-For-City-Council/288013304548751?sk=wall or go to www.citizensforbillbarry.org.

 

36] – Move your money from corporate Wall Street banks and put your money into credit unions and local financial institutions. On Sat., Nov. 5 at 11:15 AM, protest at the Wells Fargo Bank Branch, 725 S. Eden St., at Lancaster St., Baltimore, MD 21231.  Prior to the demonstration, gather at Occupy Baltimore, McKeldin Square -Inner Harbor, at 10 AM. The march to the Wells Fargo demonstration is about 1.2 miles.  MAKE WALL STREET PAY.  The big Wall Street banks have avoided accountability for what they've done to our economy and our communities—until now.

 

37] – There will be a peace vigil on the West Lawn of the Capitol at noon on Nov. 5. 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.

 

38] – On Sat., Nov. 5 - Stop the Wars and Build the Resistance: Philadelphia in a noon rally at Broad & Susquehanna Sts. Go to http://www.blackisbackcoalition.org/nov5.shtml.  This is a Make Wall Street Pay action.

 

39] – FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH, Nov. 5, at the PHILADELPHIA CENTER CITY, there is a SILENT DEATH WALK from noon to 1 PM.  Gather at corner of 12th & Market Sts. Stop the Killing/End the Wars - Protest the U.S. Drone War in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen. Wear black clothes. White masks will be provided. People will walk with banners and signs, photo of a drone bomber, and hand out flyers to bring attention to the continuing wars and their victims, and what is being done in our names and with our money. RSVP Marge Van Cleef at 267-763-1644 or mvc@igc.org.

 

40] – There will be a staged reading of "Alternative Methods" by Patricia Davis, followed by a panel discussion on Sat., Nov. 5 at 7:30 PM in Catholic Univ.'s Callan Theater, (part of Hartke Theatre), 3801 Harewood Rd. NE, WDC.  Directed by Marietta Hedges, the readings are part of Catholic Univ. Drama Department's Reading and Discussion Series. The play is about an Iraqi doctor who is detained, suspected of treating an Al-Qaeda leader. With the clock ticking, interrogators must quickly get the doctor to reveal where the safe house is. Susan, a young interrogation psychologist, witnesses severe acts of torture that still yield no intelligence. She takes matters into her own hands. Go to http://drama.cua.edu. The panel will include Nancy Sherman, Georgetown ethics professor, Mary Harding, board member of TASSC International, and Carle.

 

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. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

"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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