Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 1

Baltimore Activist Alert Nov. 17 – Nov. 23, 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] Interfaith Power & Light -- Nov. 17

6] What We Live For! – Nov. 18

7] Bridges for Peace – Nov. 18

8] Save the Planet rally and march – Nov. 18

9] System Change – Nov. 18

10] Building a Global Movement – Nov. 18

11] Peace vigil in Philly -- Nov. 18

12] Vegan Potluck – Nov. 18

13] Red Emma’s meeting – Nov. 18

14] Pentagon Vigil – Nov. 19

15] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Nov. 19 – Nov. 22

16] Protest the death penalty – Nov. 19

17] Film HOT COFFEE – Nov. 19

18] Take Back the Land – Nov. 19

19] Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities – Nov. 19

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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] – Interfaith Power & Light, a key ally in the regional movement to stop climate change, is expanding to Baltimore and celebrating on Sat., Nov. 17 from 6 to 9 PM at the Knott Science Center at Notre Dame of Maryland University, 4701 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21212.  Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University and an expert reviewer for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is an author, with her husband — evangelical Christian pastor Andrew Farley — of "Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions.  She speaks to religious communities on moral implications of climate change.

Interfaith Power & Light has worked over the past eight years to engage hundreds of congregations in the DC area in saving energy, going green, and responding to climate change. Now, join us to learn about the extraordinary ways that Baltimore faith communities are already striving to care for creation, and celebrate Interfaith Power & Light’s planned expansion to engage all of Maryland’s faith communities in this good work!

The evening will open with havdalah, a brief Jewish ceremony for concluding Shabbat; learn about Baltimore’s wealth of grassroots green initiatives during an expo and reception; hear an important update about the science of what is happening to our world; and commit to working together to take action as people of faith.  A suggested donation of $5 at the door will be requested.  RSVP at tinyurl.com/iplbaltimore.

6] – Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 306 W. Franklin St., Suite 102, Baltimore 21201-4661, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion from 10:30 to 11:30 AM.  On Sun., Nov. 18 the topic will be “What We Live For” led by Bart Worden, executive director of the American Ethical Union.  The hope is that Ethical Societies would inspire people to experience profound purposefulness coupled with both an expansive vision of humanity and a passion realizing each person’s worth and dignity – with the hope being that these conjoined beliefs would lead us toward a richly humane and just society. Call 410-581-2322.or email ask@bmorethical.org.

7] – Maryland Bridges for Peace welcomes you to stand for peace Sundays from noon (or thereabouts) to 1 PM on the Spa Creek Bridge in Annapolis.  Contact Lucy at 410-263-7271 or mdbridgesforpeace@toadmail.com. Signs are not allowed to be on a stick or pole.   If there is interest, people will be standing on the Stoney Creek Bridge on Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena [410-437-5379 or magicalgodmom@aol.com]. Go to http://BridgePeace.blogspot.com/.

8] – Come to Washington to kick off the next phase of the climate movement and stop the Keystone XL pipeline! On Sun., Nov. 18, check out the Do the Math Tour & march against Keystone XL pipeline.  The Tour is at 1 PM at the Warner Theatre, 513 13th St. NW, W DC 20004.  The march begins at 3 PM at the nearby. Tickets for Do the Math are $10. Email info@pdamerica.org.

Bill McKibben and 350.org will be there with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.   RSVP at www.eventbrite.com/event/4585376986.  There will be music and special guests both in person and via video, plus all of the best climate organizers.  The climate change math is fairly simple:  We can burn 565 more gigatons of carbon and stay below 2°C of warming -- anything more than that risks catastrophe for life on earth. The problem is the fossil fuel corporations now have 2,795 gigatons in their reserves, five times the safe amount. And they’re planning to burn it all, because the industry thinks that their bottom line is worth more than a livable planet. RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/event/4585376986,

9] – System Change, Not Climate Change: Radical Responses to the Ecological Crisis is happening on Sun., Nov. 18 from 4 to 6 PM at the Baltimore Free School, 512 W. Franklin St. With the climate crisis worsening and mainstream politicians not even pretending to address the looming catastrophe, it’s increasingly clear that we need a change. Is green capitalism possible, or do we need a new political and economic system? What would a truly sustainable society look like?  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/342840265811741/.

10] – A Panel Discussion: Building a Global Movement is on Sun., Nov. 18 at  4 PM at Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Institute for Education and Justice, 501 3rd St. NW. The discussion will be moderated by veteran trade unionist Dennis Serrette, and the panel will include Bill Fletcher, Jr., Victoria Menjivar Barbara Ehrenreich, Elmer Labog (via video) and Kilusang Mayo Uno. Email info@lucygonzalezparsonsinstitute.org or call 202-618-0297.

11] – Every Sunday, 4 to 5 PM, there is a Quaker Peace Vigil at Independence Mall, North side of Market between 5th and 6th Sts., Philadelphia. Call 215-421-5811.

12] – Enjoy a Pre-Thanksgiving Vegan Potluck hosted by the Vegetarian Resource Group.  It is the 31st annual potluck dinner. Participants are to bring a vegan dish and serving utensils that serves four on Sun., Nov. 18 at 5 PM at the North Baltimore Mennonite Church, Address: 4615 Roland Ave.  The price is $4 for adults, and free for others.

13] – Red Emma’s needs volunteers.  Stop in to the weekly Sunday meeting at 7 PM at 800 St. Paul St. or email info@redemmas.org.  The next meeting is Nov. 18. There is no meeting on the first Sunday of the month.  Call 410-230-0450. If you would be interested in volunteering or becoming a collective member of 2640, send an email to 2640@redemmas.org.

14] – There is a weekly Pentagon Peace Vigil from 7 to 8 AM on Mondays, since 1987, outside the Pentagon Metro stop.  The next vigil is Mon., Nov. 19, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.  Keep Space for Peace signs will be held at this vigil. Email artlaffin@hotmail.com or call 202-882-9649.

15] – There is usually a vigil to abolish the death penalty every Monday from 5 to 6 PM, outside the prison complex and across the street from Maryland’s Super Max Prison, at the corner of Madison Ave. and Fallsway in Baltimore.  Maryland’s death row was moved out of Baltimore, but it was decided to continue the vigil. The next one is scheduled for Mon., Nov. 19. Call 410-366-1637.

16] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7 PM on WEAA 88.9 FM, The Voice of the Community, or online at www.weaa.org.   The call-in number is 410-319-8888, and comments can also be sent by email to steinershow@gmail.com. All shows are also available as podcasts at www.steinershow.org.   

17] – Beyond the Classroom presents the film "Hot Coffee" on Mon., Nov. 19 from  7 to 9 PM at 1104 South Campus Commons, Building 1, University of Maryland, College Park.   An eye-opening documentary with jaw-dropping revelations, it exposes how corporations spend millions on propaganda campaigns to distort our views of lawsuits – forever changing the civil justice system. By examining the impact of tort reform on the lives of ordinary citizens, the film shows how Americans give up their Constitutional rights in many ways without knowing it – for example, by voting for caps on damages or signing away their rights in contracts. Through interviews with politicians, judges, lawyers and ordinary citizens, first-time filmmakers and former public-interest lawyer Susan Saladoff delves into the facts of four cases to tear apart the conventional wisdom about “jackpot justice.” Go to http://www.beyondtheclassroom.umd.edu/.

18] – Take Back the Land DC/Movement is holding a Catalyst Event Planning Meeting on Mon., Nov. 19 at 7 PM at an address in the Petworth neighborhood.  : Email lizzie@movementcatalyst.org to RSVP and get the address of the meeting.   Help plan an event for December 17. Go to www.movementcatalyst.org or www.takebacktheland.org.

19] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore usually meets on Mondays at 7:30 PM, and the meetings now take place at Max’s residence.  The next meeting takes place on Nov. 19.  Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions.  The agenda includes the Bradley Manning support activities, the visit to Baltimore by Oliver Stone, the forum on drone strikes at JHU on Nov. 15, the ongoing drone protests and other items. 

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25^th 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