Baltimore Activist Alert - May 4-5, 2013

27] Workshop on Nonviolent Action – May 4


28] An Immigration Forum – May 4

29] DC Labor Chorus' Spring Concert – May 4

30] Washington Peace Center's 50th Anniversary – May 4

31] Support Transform Now Plowshares – May 5 – 7

32] “Re-humanizing Race.” – May 5

33] Peace and Pancakes – May 5

34] Food for the Soul – May 5

35] Analysis of the 2013 General Assembly – May 5

36] Book "What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk About the Next American Revolution" – May 5

37] Film “Trigger – The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence” – May 5

38] Pentagon Vigil – May 6

39] "Reducing Global Weapons Dangers" – May 6

40] Support of Common Sense Legislation on Gun Violence – May 6

41] Actions on behalf of the Guantanamo prisoners – May 6

42] Marc Steiner on WEAA – May 6 – May 9

43] Muslim women discussion – May 6

44] Film presents "For Once In My Life" – May 6

45] Defending Maryland's Firearm Safety Act – May 6

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27] – There is a Global Peace Services Workshop on Nonviolent Action: Concept and Practice taking place on Sat., May 4 from 1 to 5 PM near Takoma Park Metro Station in northwest Washington, D.C. Detailed directions will be provided to those who RSVP. RSVP to Anna Amato at 202-216-9886 or email GPSUSA2013@gmail.com.



The workshop will explore the role and power of nonviolent approaches in dealing with conflict ranging from personal to community and international settings. Workshop leaders and presenters, including Global Peace Service members, with backgrounds and experience in nonviolent conflict resolution will make brief presentations and lead discussions about the principles of nonviolent conflict prevention and resolution, accompanied by examples of these principles in practice. Participants will come away with resources on further study into non-violence and how to incorporate non-violence into their lives.



28] – On Sat., May 4 at 7 PM, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington's Office of Multicultural Ministries and the Filipino American Ministry of Northern Virginia present An Immigration Forum, an opportunity to educate, inform and engage in light of Catholic Social Teaching. It features Tony Cube, national manager, USCCB Justice for Immigrants Campaign; Denise Hunter, staff attorney, Catholic Charities' Hogar Immigrant Services; Corinne Monogue, director, Catholic Diocese of Arlington's Office of Multicultural Ministries. Learn what you can do to make comprehensive immigration reform a reality at Msgr. Burke Hall, Cathedral of St. Thomas More, 3901 Cathedral Lane, Arlington 22203.



29] – The DC Labor Chorus' Spring Concert is on Sat., May 4 at 8 PM at Plymouth Congregational Church, 5301 N. Capitol NE (near Fort Totten Metro). Proceeds will be shared with M.O.M.I.E.'s TLC (Mentors of Minorities in Educationa's Total Learning Center). Tickets can be purchased for $20 online. Visit the DC Labor Chorus Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DC-Labor-Chorus/98743285182 or http://www.laborheritage.org/?p=3074.



30] – Celebrate May Day and the Washington Peace Center's 50th Anniversary on Sat., May 4 from 9 to 11:45 PM for a dance party and celebration at St. Stephen's Church, 1525 Newton St. NW (near Columbia Heights Metro - Green/Yellow Lines. Tickets are $5 to $50, sliding scale, payable at the door. RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/524820254235566/?ref=ts&fref=ts.



31] – Brian Barrett, Dave Eberhardt and Max Obuszewski are going to support the Plowshare Activists While They're on Trial! There is still one more seat in the car. Join a support demo on Sun., May 5 at 5 PM at the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant. Then there is a potluck and Festival of Hope at 6:30 PM at the Church of the Savior UCC, 934 Weisgarber Road, Knoxville. On Mon., May 6 at 8:45 AM vigil outside the US Federal District Court, Knoxville during jury selection. The trial will start on Tues., May 7.



Last year, activists from Transform Now Plowshares performed a disarmament action, and the government has been trying to underplay its significance ever since, trying to keep the focus off of the dangerous criminality of the nuclear arsenal housed at the Oak Ridge Y12 plant in Tennessee. Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rise and Michael Walli are facing two felony charges, including a charge under the Sabotage Act, and risking 30 years in prison. Go to http://transformnowplowshares.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/come-to-knoxville-in-may/.



32] – 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., May 5, Bruce Jacobs will talk about “Re-humanizing Race.” He will explore how we can reclaim the ability to know and care for one another across manufactured barriers and how we can use this as the foundation for confronting one another’s bigotries and blindness. Bruce will speak with both mind and heart, drawing upon his own personal experiences, what he has learned from others, and his perspectives on our society.



Jacob’s latest book – “Race Manners for the 21st Century” – offers ways to compassionately challenge ourselves and others as well as the rules by which we have been taught to live. Once we begin to peel away the influence of our society’s manufactured bigotries, we all have what it takes to start to truly know one another. His blog about race, justice, and humanness is aliasbruce.typepad.com. Go to http://www.bmorethical.org. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.



33] – Join the Kadampa Meditation Center for Peace and Pancakes on Sundays 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.



34] – On Sun., May 5 from 1 to 4 PM, Go Green: Food for the Soul – The Quixote Center is hosting an interfaith panel on the ways food and faith speak to one another! The Center's Food and Faith Network Director Jeremy John will be speaking on a panel at the Interfaith Cultural Center in Montgomery Village, MD. Learn How to Create an Organic Vegetable Garden and about Container Gardening Activity. Another workshop is How Vegetables Provide Food for the Soul. There will be a shuttle from Shady Grove Metro at 12:30 PM. RSVP to Samia Haque at 240-396-5350.



35] – Progressive Maryland and Progressive Neighbors invite you to a Wrap-up and Analysis of the 2013 General Assembly: Gains and Remain on Sun., May 5 at 2:30 PM at the Silver Spring Civic Center, One Veterans' Place, Silver Spring 20910, with Sen. Jamie Raskin and Delegates Sheila Hixson, Tom Hucker, Heather Mizeur, Ana Sol Gutierrez, Al Carr, Eric Luedtke and Bonnie Cullison. RSVP at http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5206/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=334690.



36] – Be at the Gar Alperovitz Book Launch: "What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk About the Next American Revolution” on Sun., May 5 from 5 to 7 PM at Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Dr. Alperovitz will highlight how, in an age of political deadlock and economic decay, hope can be found in the growing movement across the country to build a new, more sustainable and more egalitarian economy based in cooperation and community. He will suggest that a movement aiming at the “evolutionary reconstruction” of the American system—away from rampant inequality and corporate control, and towards a more just distribution of wealth and renewed democracy—is poised to take center stage in the national conversation. Visit http://www.politics-prose.com/event/book/gar-alperovitz-what-then-must-we-do-straight-talk-about-next-american-revolution.



37] – Nardene Jeffries, who is featured in the film “Trigger – The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence” will be at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, 10701 Old Georgetown Road, North Bethesda 20852, for the screening on Sun., May 5 at 7 PM. Ms. Jeffries' teenage daughter Brishell was shot and killed in Washington, D.C. The effort to reduce gun violence and prevent more senseless death from guns is a very long struggle that will last for the rest of our lives. That reality doesn't stop us from doing the next right thing day after day, whether it is to reduce gun violence or lift up the poor from hunger and disease.



38] – 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., May 6, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. Email artlaffin@hotmail.com or call 202-882-9649.



39] – On Mon., May 6 from 9 AM to 1:30 PM, hear Ellen Tauscher, former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and four other speakers, discuss "Reducing Global Weapons Dangers: Bolstering the NPT and Building the New ATT Regime." This is taking place as part of the Arms Control Association annual meeting at the Carnegie Endowment, Root Room, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC. Go to http://www.armscontrol.org/events/ACA-2013-Annual-Meeting.



40] –Demonstrate in support of Common Sense Legislation on Gun Violence Prevention and Gun Safety on Mon., May 6 from 11 AM to 1 PM at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Join a concerned group of citizens who will not give up or give in! Don’t be afraid of the NRA LEADERSHIP. Require universal background checks; require gun safety training; Reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban; Ban high capacity ammunition magazines; and Outlaw bullets that shatter in the body.



41] –CODEPINK is calling for a series of actions on behalf of the Guantanamo prisoners. It's time to put pressure on the Obama administration to shut down Guantanamo. Wear orange if you can! On Sun., May 5 from noon until 2 PM, protest at the White House. On Mon., May 6 at 8 AM, protest outside of the State Department, 22nd and C Sts. NW. On Tues., May 7 at 10:30 AM, get over to Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW and message Michelle Obama: tell President Obama to shut down Guantanamo! Finally, on Wed., May 8 from noon to 2 PM, meet at the atrium of the Hart Senate Building to read aloud names of the prisoners who have been cleared for release. From there visit various senators. Email info@codepink.org.



42] – 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.



43] –On Mon., May 6 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM at the Fairlington Community Center, Room 118, 3308 S. Stafford St., Arlington, VA 22206, DOES ISLAM PROMOTE THE MISTREATMENT OF WOMEN? The featured speaker is DR. ZAINAB ALWANI, Islamic Scholar, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Howard University School of Divinity, Researcher. A panel of Muslim women will share their perspectives. Registration is required to < sandra. bryan AT me. com >. The event is sponsored by Muslim Women of Northern Virginia.



44] –Beyond the Classroom presents "For Once In My Life" on Mon., May 6 from 7 to 9 PM at 0200 Calvert Hall, College Park, Maryland 20742. This is an inspirational documentary featuring the Spirit of Goodwill Band, a true story about a special group of people and their dream to make music! The 28 band members have a wide range of mental and physical disabilities—as well as musical abilities that extend into ranges of pure genius. In a cinema veríte style, the film explores the struggles and triumphs, and the healing power of music, as the band members' unique talents are nurtured, to challenge the world's perceptions. Visit http://www.beyondtheclassroom.umd.edu/.



45] –Attend a forum on Defending Maryland's Firearm Safety Act on Mon., May 6 at 7:30 PM at the Silver Spring Civic Center, Great Hall. “The Future of Gun Violence Prevention" will include Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Sen. Brian Frosh, Delegate Kathleen Dumais and others at the Safe Silver Spring meeting. Contact Tony Hausner at 301-587-6943. Go to http://safesilverspring.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