Baltimore Activist Alert Apr. 5 – Apr. 7, 2013

Baltimore Activist Alert Apr. 5 – Apr. 11, 2013


"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 & stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists

4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLa

5] Jerusalem Fund Gallery exhibit – through Apr. 12

6] Fasting for the climate – through Apr. 30

7] LIGHT by Art Spirit – through May 12

8] Homage to Harriet – through June 23

9] White House vigil – Apr. 5

10] Book BROKERS OF DECEIT – Apr. 5

11] WIB Roland Park vigil – Apr. 5

12] Justice for Palestine/Israel vigil – Apr. 5

13] National Religious Campaign Against Torture Strategy Session – Apr. 5

14] Silent peace vigil – Apr. 5

15] Film EIGHT MEN OUT – Apr. 5

16] Impacts of Mining in El Salvador – Apr. 5

17] Ecumenical Advocacy Days – Apr. 5

18] Film PARADISE NOW – Apr. 5

19] Franciscan Mission Service benefit – Apr. 5

20] Historians Against The War keynote speakers – Apr. 5

21] RAF info session – Apr. 5

22] Bradley Manning talk – Apr. 5

23] Ballroom dancing – Apr. 5

24] Historians Against The War conference – Apr. 6 – 7

25] Herring Run Stream Cleanup – Apr. 6

26] Training for Social Justice Trainers – Apr. 6 - 7

27] Visions in Feminism 2013 Conference – Apr. 6

28] North America Nuclear Policy Conference – Apr. 6 – 7

29] Olney peace vigil – Apr. 6

30] West Chester, PA demo – Apr. 6

31] Silent vigil at Capitol – Apr. 6

32] SILENT DEATH WALK – Apr. 6





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] – "Undefeated Despair: Precarity, Public Art, and Solidarity in Palestine and Lebanon" continues through Fri., Apr. 12 at 6 PM at The Jerusalem Fund Gallery, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, WDC 22037. This exhibit brings together examples of work from three mural projects coordinated by Break The Silence Media and Arts Project. Based in San Francisco, BTS/MAP works in the intersection of trauma, memory, creativity, resilience and resistance, aims to engage people on multiple levels through murals, video, art/research, multi and trans media projects to see and imagine new possibilities, think critically and organize to reveal hidden histories and the connections between struggles for social justice globally. Visit http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/sp/i/9242/pid/9242.



6] – Through Tues., Apr. 30, join fasting for the climate, go to http://www.1future.net.



7] – The Arts Council of Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church presents LIGHT by Art Spirit, an Arts Collective, through Sun., May 12 at the Great Hall, 3401 Nebraska Ave. NW, WDC 20016. The exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, and Sundays, 9 AM to 12:30 PM. Call 202-363-4900 or go to www.nationalchurch.org.



8] – Homage to Harriet, works about and inspired by the life and legacy of Maryland-born abolitionist Harriet Tubman, continues through June 23 at Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, 830 E. Pratt St. Call 443-263-1800. Go to http://www.africanamericanculture.org/.

9] – 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. However, on Good Friday, it takes place from 11:30 to 12:30 PM. Contact Art Laffin: artlaffin@hotmail.com.

10] – Attend a book lecture on Fri., Apr. 5 from noon to 1:30 PM at the SEIU Conference Center, 1800 Massachusetts Ave., WDC 20036. In his new book, BROKERS OF DECEIT: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East, renowned Middle East scholar and Journal of Palestine Studies Editor Rashid Khalidi examines three historical moments to reveal why the American brokered negotiations, going back thirty-five years, have not only failed, but have actively undermined progress towards a peace settlement. The misuse of language has corrupted both thought and action surrounding Palestine and Israel, notes Khalidi, especially with regards to terms such as “terrorism,” “security,” and “self-determination.” America’s oft repeated mantra about a “peace process,” he writes in the introduction, has long “served to disguise an ugly reality: whatever process the United States was championing, it was not in fact actually directed at achieving a just and lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.” Email info@fmep.org.



11] – There is also a noon Women in Black vigil on Apr. 5 at Roland Park Place, 830 W. 40th St. Call 410-467-9114.



12] – A vigil for Justice in Palestine/Israel 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/.



13] – There is a National Religious Campaign Against Torture Strategy Session on Fri., Apr. 5 from 2 to 4 PM at the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City (Arlington), VA in the Madison/Monroe Rooms. This will precede the start of Ecumenical Advocacy Days. RSVP at nrcatlist@nrcat.org. Participants will be divided into two groups, one group on the issue of prolonged solitary confinement and another group for U.S.-sponsored torture of post-9/11 detainees and other torture issues.



Following the Strategy Session, there will be two film showings of NRCAT’s films, both of which could be used during Torture Awareness Month (June 2013): “Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard” at 4 PM and “Ending U.S.-Sponsored Torture Forever” at 4:30 PM in the Madison/Monroe rooms.

14] – There is a silent peace vigil on Fri., Apr.5 from 5 to 6 PM outside Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St. Placards say: "War Is Not the Answer." The silent vigil is sponsored by Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings. On the first Friday of the month, there will be a potluck dinner at 6:30 PM, followed by the showing of a DVD.

15] – The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee, Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee of Homewood and Stony Run Meetings and Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility are continuing the FILM & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS DVD SERIES. There is no charge, and refreshments will be available. Contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net.



The series theme is WHY CAN’T WE GET ALONG? On Fri., Apr. 5, see EIGHT MEN OUT [USA, 1988], based on Eliot Asinof's 1963 book by the same name. Written and directed by John Sayles, the film is a dramatization of Major League Baseball's Black Sox scandal, in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox allegedly conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series. Much of the movie was filmed at the old Bush Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. See John Cusack, Charlie Sheen and David Straithairn play baseball players before there was a union. A special treat is to see Studs Terkel in the role of a sports reporter.



16] – Impacts of Mining in El Salvador s examined on Fri., Apr. 5 from 6 to 8 PM at the Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Road NW. Join Sandra Carolina Ascencio an expert in public health, who is on the Commission of Human Rights at the Queen of Peace Parish in Soyapongo, El Salvador, to learn about the dangers of renewed metal mining. El Salvador is currently facing the threat of a Canadian company attempting to force El Salvador to give it a permit to open a mine in Cabanas. Cyanide and arsenic used to extract the gold from that mine could pollute the Rio Lempa and poison the drinking water for more than half of El Salvador’s population. While the event is free, there is a suggested $5 donation to defray costs. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Contact Javier Rojo at 202-787-5273 or javier@ips-dc.org.

17] – From Fri., Apr. 5, registration at 6:15 PM, through Mon., Apr. 8, Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice presents At God’s Table (Luke 14:12-24) – Food Justice for a Healthy World at the Doubletree Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, VA (300 Army Navy Drive). Go to www.AdvocacyDays.org.

18] – On Fri., Apr. 5 at 7 PM, see "PARADISE NOW,“ as part of the Peace Center of Delaware County First-Friday Large Screen Free Film Series, 1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, PA 19064. The doors open at 6:30 PM for light refreshments. Call 610-544-1818 or go to www.delcopeacecenter.org.



The 2005 film is in Arabic, with English subtitles, and English, and was filmed on location in the Palestinian West Bank. It is a deeply disturbing yet moving tale of two young Palestinians and childhood friends who are drafted as suicide bombers inside Israel. Instead of portraying the men as soulless monsters, the film helps us glimpse how a person, driven by desperation and the shame of daily injustice, hatred, and brutal occupation, might commit the most heinous acts. Directed by Hany Abu-Assah, it was the first Palestinian film to be nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category.



19] – On Fri., Apr. 5 at 7 PM, enjoy the Franciscan Mission Service World Care Annual Benefit and Celebration with keynote speaker Melinda Henneberger of the Washington Post speaking on the topic “Keeping the door of faith open: Remaining in the Catholic Church today.” Sister Pat Farrell, OSF, will be presented with the eighth annual Anselm Moons, OFM award. Held at St. Francis Hall, 1340 Quincy St. NE, WDC 20017, tickets are $75. Go to https://secure.commonground.convio.com/FranciscanMission/2013annualevent/.



20] – You're invited to attend Historians Against The War National Conference. It opens with two keynote speakers on Fri., Apr. 5 at 7 PM at 2640, 27th & St. Paul Sts.: Alfred McCoy of the University of Wisconsin, much-published author on US policies and Col. Ann Wright, former US military officer and diplomat, prominent antiwar activist.



21] – Research Associates Foundation provides grants up to $2500 to selected Baltimore-area organizations and individuals who are engaged in transformative community activism. Completed applications are due by Mon., Apr. 22. See www.rafbaltimore.org for guidelines, application forms and a list of previous grantees. Email info@rafbaltimore.org. Attend an information session which will answer specific questions about the application process on Fri., Apr. 5 at 7:30 at Red Emma's, 800 St. Paul St., Baltimore 21202.

22] – A Talk on "Bradley Manning--Whistleblower for Truth and Peace" will be held on Fri., Apr. 5 at 7:30 PM at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, 503 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW, WDC 20010. Malachy Kilbride will lead the discussion. Call the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker at 202-882-9649.

23] – 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 Apr. 5. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

24] – Historians Against the War invite you to The New Faces of War: A Conference at Towson University, Sat., Apr. 6 and Sun., Apr. -7, co-sponsored by the Towson University College of Liberal Arts. It is free for Baltimore area residents. For others, there is a $50 fee with students getting in for $30. The theme “The New Faces of War” highlights the many ways that war-making has changed in recent decades, especially in the early 21st century, exploring the evolution and effects of U.S. wars in the aftermath of 9/11. Email conf@historiansagainstwar.org or go to http://www.historiansagainstwar.org/conf2013/. Max will be on a panel Law and the Rules of War at 10 AM on Sat., Apr. 6.

Here is a sampling of the confirmed panels: “Distancing Acts: Imperial War from Counterinsurgency to Drones,” “Standing for Civil Freedoms on Crumbling Constitutional Grounds,” “Understanding and Responding to the Asia-Pacific Pivot,” “The New Conscientious Objectors: Soldiers Who Refuse to Commit War Crimes in a Particular War,” “The Politics of Drone Warfare and the University,” “Teaching the War on Terror” and “Indefinite Detention and War Against Iran: How Are These Two Strands of US Foreign Policy Connected?”

25] – Join in the Herring Run Stream Cleanup on Sat., Apr. 6 from 9 AM to noon. Meet at the Echodale Bridge, 2100 block of Echodale. Afterwards enjoy pizza. The event is supported by the Baltimore City Green Party and the Lauraville Improvement Association. Call Bill Barry at 410-426-3966.

26] – There is a Training for Social Justice Trainers on Sat., Apr. 6 from 9 AM through Sun., Apr. 7 at 5 PM. If you've been through trainings (facilitation, nonviolent direct action, organizing, etc) and want to learn how to lead them..., then this is for you. This weekend is intended for organizers and activists who have some experience with training but are newer to leading them to deepen their knowledge and skills and connect with others doing different types of organizing around DC. The weekend is being organized by the Washington Peace Center, the Wayside Center for Popular Education and friends and will be held in D.C. The fee is on a sliding-scale fee of $20-$100 (fundraising advice available and meals provided). See http://washingtonpeacecenter.net/trainingap.

27] – Be at Visions in Feminism 2013 Conference: "Bringing Feminism to Unfeminist Spaces" on Sat., Apr. 6 from 9 AM to 5 PM at American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Ward Circle Building. Each year, Visions in Feminism seeks to provide a forum for diverse perspectives within a feminist framework to keep the movement relevant, inspire action by its attendees, and destabilize patriarchy and other forms of oppression. This year, the conference will explore how we can bring feminism into areas of society that have been under-served by, do not openly identify with, or are unsympathetic to feminism’s goals. By focusing on these efforts, the movement can expand to reach those individuals who would not readily align themselves with feminism and successfully demonstrate the necessity of feminist approaches in continuing the anti-oppression work of the future. Email visionsinfeminism@gmail.com.

28] – On Sat., Apr. 6 and Sun., Apr. 7, join the International Network of Emerging Nuclear Specialists for the "North America Nuclear Policy Conference" at George Washington Univ., 1957 E St. NW, WDC. Register at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dE5xWjExaDdrV0VCd0RCX3JHcGtZMFE6MQ#gid=0.



29] – 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 Apr. 6. Call Chuck Harker at 301-570-7167.



30] – 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.

31] – There will be a peace vigil on the West Lawn of the Capitol at noon on Sat., Apr. 6. 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.

32] – In April, there are Across-the-Country Actions Against Drone Warfare organized by the National Network to Stop Drone Surveillance and Warfare. Go to http://www.knowdrones.com/. In Philadelphia, Stop Drone War Research at UPenn and Drexel on Sat., Apr. 6 at noon, as part of the monthly ANTI-DRONE/ANTI-WAR SILENT DEATH WALK & KITE FLYING FOR PEACE. Gather at the corner of 34th & Walnut Sts., Philadelphia 19104. There will be a death walk through campus. Protest U.S. Drone Attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. End drone warfare research at UPenn (and neighboring Drexel), which receives millions of dollars in research grants for drone research and technology application. Dress in black. Masks will be provided. RSVP Marge Van Cleef at 267-763-1644.



At 1 PM, get into KITE FLYING FOR PEACE (Woodland Walk field, between UPENN and Drexel University, behind corner of 34th & Walnut streets). Kite flying, a widespread form of play throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan, expresses the children’s hope for peace and an end to the war and drone strikes. Bring your kite to fly, your children, and an umbrella in the event of rain.

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