Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 1

Baltimore Activist Alert Aug. 3 – Aug. 10, 2012


"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] Help out the Green Party

6] Jerusalem Fund Gallery Photography Exhibit through Aug. 16

7] White House vigil – Aug. 3

8] WIB Inner Harbor vigil – Aug. 3

9] WIB Roland Park vigil – Aug. 3

10] Justice for Palestine/Israel vigil – Aug. 3

11] WIB Frederick vigil – Aug. 3

12] Silent peace vigil – Aug. 3

13] Film THE FORGOTTEN BOMB – Aug. 3

14] Sounds of Hope – Aug. 3

15] URINETOWN – Aug. 3 & 4

16] Play LETHAL INJECTION – Aug. 3, 4 & 5

17] Ballroom dancing – Aug. 3

18] Fundraiser against profiling -- Aug. 3

19] Olney peace vigil – Aug. 4

20] Canvass for Marriage Equality – Aug. 4

21] West Chester, PA demo – Aug. 4

22] Silent vigil at Capitol – Aug. 4

23] Young Adult Conference – Aug. 4

24] Silent Death Walk – Aug. 4

25] Film CHOCOLATE CITY – Aug. 4

26] "Between Two Worlds: The American Jewish Culture Wars" – Aug. 4

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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] – Bill Barry [wbarrymd@hotmail.com] is asking for your help in keeping the Maryland Green Party on the ballot line. The Maryland Green Party still needs signatures on petitions. Can you help out? He has the petitions, and would like to know if you can get ten signatures from registered voters. He will get you the petitions.



6] – The Jerusalem Fund Gallery Photography Exhibit continues through Sun., Aug. 19 at 2425 Virginia Ave. NW. More than a romantic idea, Palestinians' cultivation of their land contains the seeds of resistance. Walk the fields through Vivien Sansour's photographs, experience the relationship of farmer to land, see how old ways of planting and harvesting, of cooking old recipes, form a historical continuum, the fruits of their labors feeding the body and the soul of Palestine today.

Vivien will combine stunning large format images of Palestinian farmland with portraits of individual farmers. In addition, she will debut a film on the traditional method of making apricot jam, and include photographic recipe cards. Call 202-338-1958 or email info@thejerusalemfund.org

7] – 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.

8] – 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.

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

10] – 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/.

11] – WIB holds a silent vigil mourning all violence, the first Friday of the month. The next vigil is Aug. 3 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.



12] – There is a silent vigil on Fri., Aug. 3 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.



13] – On Fri., Aug. 3 at 7 PM, see THE FORGOTTEN BOMB as part of the Peace Center of Delaware County First-Friday Large Screen Free Film Series, 1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, PA. The doors open at 6:30 PM for light refreshments. Call 610-544-1818 or go to www.delcopeacecenter.org.



The documentary film (2010, 135 mins.) is, at its core, a globe-trotting search to find out, two decades after the Cold War, what nuclear weapons still mean to us today, and why we need to re-think their very existence so as to do away with them for good. Film features former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, authors Gar Alperovitz and Jonathan Schell, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Father John Dear, Japanese bomb survivors, and many others.



14] – On Fridays, 7 to 10:30 PM at the Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Rd. NW, WDC 20009, hear Sounds of Hope is Good Music, Good Food, for a Good Cause! Go to www.reverbnation.com/venue/soundsofhope. Contact Mary Shapiro, Sounds of Hope Producer at soundsofhopebooking@gmail.com or 202-294-2906.



15] – The Slayton House Conservatory Camp performs “Urinetown,” a post-Apocalyptic musical satire about a company with a monopoly on public toilets. See it Fri., Aug. 3 & Sat., Aug. 4. The show on Friday starts at 7 PM, and the performance on Saturday is at 3 PM. The performances are at the Slayton House in the Wilde Lake Village Green, and admission is $10, but students and seniors pay $8.



16] – In Michael Reimann's new play, LETHAL INJECTION, the audience plays the role of the jury in a case of two brothers accused of murdering an intruder in their Texas home. A conviction means death by lethal injection.



The play, part of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, can be seen on weekends from Fri., Aug. 3 through Sun., Aug. 5. On Fridays and Saturdays, the performance begins at 8 PM. On Sunday, it starts at 2 PM at the Vagabond Players, 806 S. Broadway. Call 410-563-9135. Or go to http://vagabondplayers.org. Tickets are priced from $10-$12.



17] – 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 Aug. 3. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

18] – Be at the Fundraising Against Racial Profiling on Fri., Aug. 3 at 8 PM at 1313 Delafield Pl. NW. On May 26, a bunch of friends had a BBQ in Rock Creek Park. They successfully grilled and consumed their food over several hours. THEN THE PARK POLICE showed up and aggressively targeted a man of color present at the time, demanding to "see your ID." Another friend, refusing to let this blatant act of racial profiling pass, spoke up. The two were quickly arrested and given trumped-up charges. A rapid-response mobilization got them both released that night, but the charges remained. Both friends have hired lawyers to defend themselves against this baseless police attack. TO STAND WITH THEM and help offset the significant legal fees they must pay, come to a dinner/party! Bring your donation$, and enjoy a Colombian-style DINNER, featuring arepas straight off the plane. Go to http://www.facebook.com/events/list.

19] – 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. [Route 97] in Olney, MD. The next vigil is Aug. 4. Call Chuck Harker at 301-570-7167.



20] – Join the Frederick Canvass for Marriage Equality on Saturdays, 11 AM to 1 PM, corner of E. Patrick St. & N Market St., Frederick, MD 21701. RSVP at manley@mdfme.org.



21] – 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.



22] – There will be a peace vigil on the West Lawn of the Capitol at noon on Sat., Aug. 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.



23] – The Methodist Global Ministries Young Adult Conference takes place on Sat., Aug. 4 from noon to 1:30 PM at the Hilton Crystal City, 2399 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. The co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus will give the keynote address. The purpose of this conference, entitled Celebrating Young Adults in Mission: Living Stones for Transformation, is to celebrate and encourage networking amongst persons who have served in Young Adult Mission Service programs sponsored by the United Methodist Church in the United States and around world. Secondly, is to host information sharing sessions that raise awareness on current partner work for justice and to impart new and seasoned tools and strategies to support alumni’s continued involvement in social action initiatives. Go to http://www.umcmission.org/Learn-About-Us/News-and-Stories/2012/April/celebratingyoungadults.



24] – On Sat., Aug. 4 from noon to 1 PM, First Saturday of the month, there will be a PHILADELPHIA CENTER CITY SILENT DEATH WALK. Gather at corner of 12th & Market Sts. Stop the Killing/End the Wars - Protest the U.S. Drone Attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen. Dress in black. RSVP to Marge Van Cleef at 267-763-1644.



25] – See the film "Chocolate City" on Sat., Aug. 4 from 1 to 4 PM at the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Branch Library, 1630 7th St. NW. Join Maximize Good for the screening, followed by a discussion with filmmaker Ellie Walton. Shot in 2003 as over 400 families fought against forced displacement from the Arthur Capper housing project in Washington, DC, “Chocolate City” is a call to action against nationwide gentrification and redevelopment programs. The film explores the impact of rapid gentrification in the area through the work of a local group of women working for justice in their neighborhood. Email info.maximizegood@gmail.com.

26] – On Sat., Aug. 4 from 3:30 to 5:30 PM, the Washington Metro DC chapter of Jewish Voices For Peace is sponsoring a film viewing at the Takoma Park Community Center, Azalea Room, 7500 Maple Ave., called "Between Two Worlds: The American Jewish Culture Wars." This movie is geared towards those who may be interested in learning about the changing dialogue taking place in the Jewish American community over Palestine/Israel. It is for Jews and non-Jews alike. The Facebook page for "Between Two Worlds" viewing can be found here: http://on.fb.me/M3MdPw. Email jvpdcmetro@gmail.com.

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