Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 2

30] Pack the Room for Worker’s Right – Mar. 4


31] Support laws to reduce gun violence – Mar. 4

32] Protest SodaStream – Mar. 4

33] Progressive Summit Mar. 4

34] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Mar. 4 – Mar. 7

35] Protest death penalty– Mar. 4

36] Healthcare Now! Annual Meeting – Mar. 4

37] Get lowdown on Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement – Mar. 4

38] Hiroshima-Nagasaki meeting – Mar. 4

39] Palestinian refugees – Mar. 5

40] Post-conflict environments conference – Mar. 5 – Mar. 8

41] Philadelphia peace vigil – Mar. 5

42] War Is Not the Answer vigil – Mar. 5

43] Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition meeting – Mar. 5

44] Pet Bereavement Counseling – Mar. 5

45] Peacebuilding – Mar. 6

46] Deliver letter to Cummings – Mar. 6

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30] – Pack the Room for Worker's Rights on Mon., Mar. 4 at 9:30 AM at the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Urge the government to show that DC needs to do more for workers who are denied their rightful wages. Workers will be testifying for the first time about their experience with wage theft. Pack the oversight hearing for the Department of Employment Services to tell the D.C. Council to end wage theft. Contact Ari Weisbard at advocacy@dcejc.org.



31] – IF AUSTRALIA, AND GREAT BRITAIN CAN IMPLEMENT GUN REGULATIONS AND BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS WHY CAN'T THE UNITED STATES? Gather in front of the White House on Mon., Mar. 4 from 11 AM to 1 PM. Demonstrate to *Reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban, *Ban high capacity ammunition magazines, *Enforce a 28 day waiting period and require universal background checks, *Require gun safety training and *Outlaw bullets that shatter in the body AND THUS prove to the people that Congress is putting the welfare of its citizens above the welfare of the leadership of the NRA. Contact Barbara Elsas at barbara.elsas@gmail.com.



32] – On Mon., Mar. 4 from 4 to 5 PM help end gun violence by joining the Washington Chapter of Heeding God’s Call at its weekly vigil at REALCO Guns, 6108 Marlboro Pike, District Heights, MD 20747. This is an effort to convince the gun shop owner to sign the 10-Point Code for responsible gun dealers based on the one signed with Wal-Mart by Mayors against Illegal Guns. According to The Washington Post, Realco Guns in District Heights sold 86 guns linked to homicides within the last twenty years with 300 guns sold there being linked to non-fatal shootings, as of 2010. In that article Major Andy Ellis is quoted as saying, “I can only imagine how much lower our violent-crime rate would be if Realco sold shoes instead of guns.” Go to http://www.heedinggodscall.org/.

33] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore usually meets on Mondays at 7:30 PM, and the meetings now take place at Max’s residence. There will be no meeting on Mon., Mar. 4, however, as Pledge members are going to the 2013 Progressive Summit & Lobby Night on Mon., Mar. 4 from 4:30 to 7 PM. Meet in the House of Delegates Ways & Means Hearing Room, Room 131, 6 Bladen St., Annapolis, Maryland. Join Progressive Maryland, lawmakers, and leading progressive organizations to network, discuss issues, and organize to advance legislative priorities, some of which include: economic justice (raising the minimum wage, establishing paid sick days, protection of labor rights, etc), fair elections and democracy (establishing a system of public campaign finance, providing same-day voter registration, etc), and justice for all/civil rights (repealing the death penalty, and ending discrimination against Trans* persons, etc. RSVP to kate@progressivemaryland.org.

34] – 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.



35] – 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. Join us on Mar. 4. Call Max at 410-366-1637.



36] – Join Healthcare Now! of Maryland for its Annual Meeting on Mon., Mar. 4 from 7 to 9 PM at the Episcopal Diocesan Center in Baltimore, N. Charles St. & University Pkwy. for a presentation by Dr. Walter Tsou, M.D., M.P.H. on the pressing need to improve our healthcare system beyond the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Specifically, Dr. Tsou, a National Board Advisor for Physicians for a National Health Program, past president of the American Public Health Association and former Health Commissioner of Philadelphia, will be sharing the crucial moral and economic reasons why we must work towards single payer in Maryland and nationwide! Contact Rod Ryon at info@mdsinglepayer.org or 410-889-0329.

37] – Beyond the Classroom Living & Learning Program Critical Conversations on Civic Issues: “People Power” Series presents The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade Agreement: Global Development and Prosperity for Whom? Hear about this awful transfer of wealth on Mon., Mar. 4 from 7 to 9 PM at 1102 South Campus Commons, Bldg. 1, College Park, MD 20742. Melinda St. Louis, Global Trade Watch, a program of Public Citizens, will explain the proposed trade and investment rules that will govern the global economy in the 21st century. Learn about this secret, but potentially dangerous trade and investment agreement. See www.BeyondTheClassroom.umd.edu.

38] – There is a Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee meeting on Mon., Mar. 4 at 7:15 PM at Mel Hardy’s home, 8070 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring Innovation Center, MD 20910. Call 703-822-3485.



39] – The theme Palestinian Refugees in a Changing Middle East will be examined on Tues., Mar. 5 from noon to 1 PM at the Middle East Institute, Boardman Room, 1761 N St. NW. Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will offer an update on the rising tensions in the region, the international community’s response and new dangers that lie ahead from the perspective of the Palestine refugee. While profound changes sweep across many parts of the Middle East today, the plight and status of the Palestine refugees—a present day reminder of one of the very first Middle East crises in 1948—remain left behind, unresolved and in the shadows of these uncertain times. RSVP at info@fmep.org or 202-835-3650.



40] – Building Capacity and Advising for Mentors and Advisers in Post Conflict Environments will be discussed on Tues., Mar. 5 at noon until Fri., Mar. 8 at noon at the US Institute of Peace, 2301 Constitution Ave. NW, WDC. Learn how to strengthen the capacity of individuals, institutions, and society as a whole in post-conflict environments. Master the transfer of knowledge including adult-learning principles, building rapport, developing conflict sensitivity, assessing local capacity, and supporting local ownership and sustainability. Visit http://www.usip.org/.



41] – Each Tuesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the Catholic Peace Fellowship-Philadelphia for peace in Afghanistan and Iraq inside, during the winter, the Suburban Station, 16th Street & JFK Blvd., at the entrance to Tracks 3 and 4 on the mezzanine. The next vigil is Mar. 5. Call 215-426-0364.



42] – There is a vigil to say "War Is Not the Answer" each Tuesday since September 11, 2001 at 4806 York Road. Join this ongoing vigil. The next vigil is Mar. 5 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637.



43] – The regular Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition meeting is usually on the first Tuesday. The next meeting is on Mar. 5, 7 to 9 PM, at the Electric Maid Community Exchange, 268 Carroll St. NW, DC/MD border, one block from Takoma Metro. Go to www.mococivilrights.wordpress.com.



44] – There is Free Pet Bereavement Counseling at Baltimore Humane Society at 7 PM on the first Tuesday of the month. Andrew Mazan leads a pet bereavement support group that meets at the Baltimore Humane Society, 1601 Nicodemus Road. Call 410-833-8848 or go to http://www.baltimorehumane.org.

45] – Peace Direct, the Alliance for Peacebuilding, and Oxfam America invite you to a briefing and discussion on the challenges and opportunities of putting local leadership at the forefront of peace and development on Wed., Mar. 6 from 10:30 AM to noon at Oxfam America, 1100 15th St. NW, Suite 600. The speakers are Carolyn Hayman, chief executive, Peace Direct, UK, Shannon Scribner, Humanitarian Policy Manager, Oxfam America and Saba Ismail, executive director, Aware Girls, Pakistan. The dialogue would be moderated by Melanie Greenberg of the Alliance for Peacebuilding.



How are organizations changing their policies and practices to better empower community-based leaders as primary agents of change? What are the challenges and opportunities different types of organizations face in these efforts? What more can we do to shift policies and practices to better support local capacities in development and peace building? Join us to hear about Peace Direct's new Local First campaign and how international organizations like Oxfam and local groups like Aware Girls are working to empower local leaders in transforming their countries. RSVP by Mon., Mar. 4 to Berenike Schott at intern@peacedirectusa.org. Go to http://www.peacedirectusa.org/local-first-peace-development-21st-century/.

46] – Since Rebuilders and fellow progressives started making thousands of phone calls to Congress, more than 20 representatives have signed the Grayson-Takano letter vowing to vote against any cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits. But now that automatic budget cuts are going into effect, legislators are feeling more pressure than ever. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is holding a letter delivery at Rep. Cummings' regional congressional office at 745 Frederick Road, Catonsville 21228 on Wed., Mar. 6 at noon.

Rep. Cummings has commendably said he "opposes" benefit cuts, but so far has not given the airtight promise to vote against them. To truly impact negotiations, that promise is needed. See http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/RSVP_ss_grayson_cummings_typea/?source=rebuild.



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