Saturday, December 8, 2012

Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 2

28] Advent Retreat – Dec. 8


29] MUPJ organizing meeting -- Dec. 8

30] Rockin’ for Repeal benefit – Dec. 8

31] The Wall for All – Dec. 9

32] Bridges for Peace – Dec. 9

33] Marriage Equality – Dec. 9

34] Peace and Pancakes – Dec. 9

35] Protest SodaStream – Dec. 9

36] Peace vigil in Philly -- Dec. 9

37] Hear Transform Now Plowshares – Dec. 9

38] Fallujah – Dec. 9

39] Advent Prayer Service – Dec. 9

40] Casa Baltimore/Limay holiday party -- Dec. 9

41] Red Emma’s meeting – Dec. 9

42] Voices & Human Rights Day – Dec. 10

43] Pentagon Vigil – Dec. 10

44] Candlelight Campaign Against Cuts – Dec. 10

43] Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities meeting – Dec. 10

45] Death Penalty Vigil – Dec. 10

46] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Dec. 10 -- Dec. 13

47] Get to the White House – Dec. 10

48] Repeal benefit – Dec. 10

49] Organize for Peoples Assembly – Dec. 10

50] Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities meeting – Dec. 10



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28] – On Sat., Dec. 8 from 1:30-4:40 PM, participate in Letting Our Lights Shine: Half-Day Advent Retreat. L’Arche Greater Washington, D.C. is a community of people with and without intellectual disabilities who share life together. Community life is centered on four homes and 16 adults who have disabilities, who are known as “core people.” Most assistants live in the homes, creating a family-like environment where relationships are priority.



Born in France out of the Roman Catholic tradition in 1964, L’Arche has become a worldwide social justice movement with more than 135 communities on 6 continents. Prayer and trust in God are at the center of each community. Join L'Arche for a free half-day retreat focused on discovering and revealing God's gifts in the Youth Room, St. Francis of Assisi Church, Muncaster Mill Road, Derwood, MD. RSVP to Paul Popernack at ppopernack@gmail.com or 301-802-4792.



29] – There's an organizing meeting on Sat., Dec. 8 from 5 to 7 PM at Turner AME Church, 7201 16th Place, Hyattsville. Get directions at https://plus.google.com/116295430505081980269/about?gl=us&hl=en#116295430505081980269/about?gl=us&hl=en. Afterwards get dinner at Busboys and Poets. Email Paulette.d.Hammond@questdiagnostics.com.



30] –MD CASE is telling us that Maryland stands ready, not only to end the death penalty, but, to simultaneously make a difference in the lives of families most impacted by violence. On Sat., Dec. 8 from 7 to 10 PM, get down for a Rockin' For Repeal Benefit Concert at The Electric Maid, 268 Carroll St. (across from Takoma Metro Station), WDC. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12.00 at the door and $8 for students. Call 301-779-5230 for tickets. Email info@mdcase.org.



31] – 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., Dec. 9 the topic will be “The Wall for All – Protecting of Both State and Religion” by Hugh Taft-Morales, BES leader. Ethical Humanism supports a high wall of separation between the state and religion. Thomas Jefferson noted that such a wall is “essential in a free society.” That is so because it protects the rights of citizens of religious, atheist, and non-theist perspectives. But zealots are trying to deconstruct this wall brick by brick.



Hugh Taft-Morales joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its professional leader in 2010, the same year he was certified by the American Ethical Union as an Ethical Culture Leader. Call 410-581-2322.or email ask@bmorethical.org.



32] – 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/.



33] – Be at St. John’s of Baltimore City United Methodist church, 27th & St. Paul Sts. On Sun., Dec. 9 at noon to hear Wil Rumble and Chris Hong from Foundry United Methodist church share experiences in developing marriage guidelines. The brunch and talk will take place in the Sunday Room, ending around 1:30 PM. Use the 27th Street entrance. Brunch is free.



34] – Join the Kadampa Meditation Center for Peace and Pancakes on Sundays through Oct. 27 at 10:30 AM at KMC Maryland, 2937 North Charles St. All are invited to participate in guided meditation and chant praying for world peace. There will be a talk based on Buddhist thought followed by brunch. Call 410- 243-3837. Brunch is $5.



35] – On Sun., Dec. 9, from 2 to 4 PM, there’s a SodaStream Boycott Day of Action! Join DC’s SodaStream Boycott Action sponsored by the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches, as well as others from the interfaith movement. Boycott actions are being scheduled across the U.S.



This is a chance to educate shoppers about the injustice of the Israeli occupation; ask them to refuse to buy SodaStream products; and call on local store managers to tell their corporate headquarters to stop stocking the products. SodaSteam manufactures its beverage carbonating devices in a West Bank settlement. This protest action will be held in front of Columbia Heights Mall -- at the Columbia Heights Metro Station on 14th St. -- just north of the intersection with Irving St. Email jvpdcmetro@gmail.com or call 301-80-9224. See http://www.whoprofits.org/company/sodastream-soda-club-group.



36] – 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.



37] – Plowshares anti-nuclear activists Megan Rice, Greg Boertje-Obed, and Michael Walli will speak in Baltimore on Sun., Dec. 9 at 4 PM at 1202 Roundhill Road, 21218, between The Alameda and Loch Raven Boulevard. They are facing very serious charges from their July action at the Oak Ridge Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee. Contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions.



The Plowshares advocates could face up to 35 years of imprisonment if they are found guilty of revised criminal charges leveled by federal prosecutors. The Transform Now Plowshares got into the "Protected Area" of the Y-12 National Security Complex. The area is the site's most heavily secured section and home to atomic arms activities and bomb-grade uranium storage. Charges against the defendants now include the Sabotage Act violation of injuring national-defense premises, and a felony offense that supplanted a misdemeanor trespassing penalty previously sought by government attorneys.

38] – On Sun., Dec. 9 at 4:30 PM, enjoy the Brandywine Peace Community Monthly Potluck Supper & Program at the University Lutheran Church, 3637 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA. Bring main dish, salad, or dessert to share. At 5:30 PM, see a large screen showing of "Fallujah: A Lost Generation?" (50 minutes, documentary) in which director Feurat Alani investigates the role that U.S. weapons, including the possible use of uranium weapons, played in Fallujah’s current public health tragedy.



Afterwards, there will be a presentation and discussion on what is being kept away from the eyes of the world and why eight years after the U.S. siege of Fallujah (November - December 2004) with Ross Caputi, Iraq War veteran of the siege of Fallujah; and Dr. Dahlia Wasfi, Iraqi-American medical doctor. This month marks eight years since the U.S. military's siege of the Iraqi city of Fallujah in November/December 2004. It was the U.S.'s second siege of Fallujah, the first taking place the previous spring. As we approach the one year anniversary (December 31, 2011) of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, we need to face the legacy of U.S. war and occupation in Iraq and that is a reckoning with the reality and continuing fact of the U.S.'s crimes of empire. That is the tragedy of Fallujah. Go to www.brandywine.com or call 610-544-1818.



39] – Come to the PAX CHRISTI/BALTIMORE's 2012 ADVENT PRAYER SERIES "PEACE IN ACTION" on Sun., Dec. 9 from 5 to 6 PM with Sr. Katherine “Sissy” Corr, SNDdeN, director of Notre Dame Mission Volunteers. speaking at MISSION HELPERS OF SACRED HEART CHAPEL, 1001 West Joppa Road, Baltimore 21204, Joppa at Chestnut, west of Bosley (in Towson). Free will offering is requested. The annual prayer series is an opportunity to consider the true meaning of Advent and the response to the coming of the Prince of Peace. Contact Chuck Michaels at 410-321-0107. Go to www.paxchristibaltimore.org.

40] – You’re cordially invited to the Casa Baltimore/Limay holiday party on Sun., Dec. 9 at the home of John Reuter, 2902 Louise Ave., Baltimore 21214. Enjoy drinks at 5:30 PM with dinner at 6 PM. The event ends around 9 PM. From Charles Street, head east on Northern Parkway to Old Harford Road, then turn right (south). Go four blocks, turn left on Louise Avenue. House is on the left.

This is also a fundraiser for our delegation of six (6) Baltimoreans heading for Limay, Nicaragua, in late December. To accept the invitation RSVP to Barbara Larcom [mailto:barbara.larcom@gmail.com] or on the Casa Baltimore Limay Facebook page.

The delegation members will provide the dinner's main dishes and beverages. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share, and lots of holiday love. A donation is requested for the delegation, but no one will be turned away.



41] – 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. 25. 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.





42] – Voices for Creative Nonviolence delegates hailing from Milwaukee; Honolulu; Albuquerque; Santa Rosa, CA; Australia; and Northern Ireland, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire, are currently in Kabul, Afghanistan as guests of the Afghan Peace Volunteers. They are meeting with refugee communities, hospitals, and small-scale cooperative organizations to learn about Afghan life and survival amidst war. They will also witness two events, organized by Afghans, to mark International Human Rights Day.



On Dec. 10, the Afghan Peace Volunteers will visit the UN in Kabul to urge the United Nations to initiate a multilateral UN-negotiated ceasefire between all parties currently warring in Afghanistan. On Dec. 11, the Afghan Peace Volunteers and members of the Transitional Justice Council, including Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Sima Simar, will hold a march in Kabul to make the demand for a ceasefire public.



The Afghan Peace Volunteers have chosen to ask for 2 million friends from around the world remembering that in the last 40 years over 2 million Afghan people have died from violence. They believe that a non-military nonviolent solution leading to peace in their country is the way forward and they that calling for a ceasefire in Afghanistan is an urgent, necessary act of conscience in the face of an ongoing and preventable humanitarian emergency. On behalf of the Afghan Peace Volunteers, join in one of the following solidarity events in a city near you and to visit the website of the 2 MILLION FRIENDS campaign to enter your name in support of this important initiative for peace in Afghanistan: http://www.2millionfriends.org.





43] – 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. 26, 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.



44] – On Mon., Dec. 10 at 4 PM, join the “Candlelight Campaign Against Cuts” targeting Steny Hoyer and Chris Van Hollen organized by Labor and community allies. Activists will go to district offices in 51 Monroe St.., Suite 507, Rockville 20850 (Van Hollen), Greenbelt and Waldorf (Hoyer). “Working people need more economic security, not less,” said Metro Council President Jos Williams. “We need to reject proposals to grant more tax cuts for the richest 2% of Americans - at a cost of $1 trillion over ten years – while cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits under the guise of a manufactured fiscal crisis, and hold Congress accountable.” Email lucyduff@earthlink.net.



45] – 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., Dec. 10. Call 410-366-1637.



46] – 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.



47] – Progressive Democrats of America are asking you to join them to Stand with the 99% by being at the White House from 6:30 to 8:30 PM on Mon., Dec. 10 as part of a D.C. Fiscal Cliff Action. Email info@pdamerica.org.



48] – MD CASE is telling us that Maryland stands ready, not only to end the death penalty, but, to simultaneously make a difference in the lives of families most impacted by violence. On Mon., Dec. 10 from 6 to 8 PM, there is a benefit reception at Food, Wine & Co., 7272 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, 20814. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12.00 at the door and $8 for students. Call 301-779-5230 for tickets. Email info@mdcase.org.



49] – On Mon., Dec. 10 at 6 PM, there will be an ORGANIZING MEETING for the NATIONAL PEOPLES POWER ASSEMBLY at 2011 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218. Help make plans for the gathering in New York City on Sat., Dec. 15th. Call 410-500-2168.



50] – 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 Dec. 10. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions. The agenda includes the Bradley Manning support activities, the ongoing drone protests, a protest at the inauguration, the Transform Now Plowshares and other items.

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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