Baltimore Activist Alert - July 25 - August 8, 2013

27] Trash – July 25 28] Folks need housing – July 25 - 26 29] Bradley Manning sketch artist need rides – July 25 30] DIRTY WARS opens at Charles – July 26 31] Close Gitmo – July 26 32] Justice in Palestine/Israel – July 26 33] Support Bradley Manning – July 26 34] Silent peace vigil against gun violence – July 26 35] Ballroom dancing – July 26 36] Olney Peace vigil – July 27 37] West Chester, PA demo – July 27 38] Rally for Peace in Korea – July 27 39] Protest Drone War Command Center – July 27 40] Silent vigil at Capitol – July 27 41] “Memory of Forgotten War” – July 27 42] Gardening – July 28 43] Peace and Pancakes – July 28 44] Pentagon Vigil – July 29 45] Marc Steiner on WEAA – July 29 – Aug. 2 46] Paid Sick Days Canvass – July 29 47] Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities meeting – July 29 48] Anti-drone ad deadline – July 29 49] Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemorations – Aug. 6 & 8 50] CodePink needs help 51] Max is seeking a place to live 52] Support the Transform Now Plowshares 53] Drones Quilt Project 54] Support Red Emma’s in its move 55] Sign up with Washington Peace Center 56] Join Fund Our Communities 57] Submit articles to Indypendent Reader 58] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records 59] Do you need any book shelves or file cabinets? 60] Join Global Zero campaign 61] War Is Not the Answer signs for sale 62] Fire & Faith 63] Join Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil 27] – Communities on the Frontlines of Environmental Justice, Zero Waste & Climate Resilience are gathering on Thurs., July 25 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM at Friends of the Earth, 1100 15th St. NW. Join Institute for Policy Studies for a briefing that will include community organizers and allied groups involved in these struggles, followed by a strategy discussion about reversing this dangerous deregulation of trash. 28] – There are 4-8 people from the Syracuse Peace Council coming down to attend Bradley Manning's trial and rally from July 24-26, and I'm hoping to find them some housing in the Baltimore or D.C. area. They aim to arrive the evening of July 24, attend court (if in session) on July 25, the rally at Ft McNair on the 26th, and then leave that evening. Contact Mike McKee, BMSN, at 215-888-1570 if you can help with housing. 29] – Kay Rudin, one of the sketch artists who's been attending the Bradley Manning court martial and turning out some nice renderings of the proceedings, is seeking housing so that she can stay and cover the rest of the court martial. Can you offer space for her for that full stretch of time to accommodate a guest for a block of 3-4 days at a time. If you can help, call Mike--215-888-1570. 30] – The film "Dirty Wars" opens at The Charles Theatre on Fri., July 26, and is playing until Thurs., July 31; though if ticket sales are strong, it could be extended. It features independent journalist Jeremy Scahill, the New York Times bestselling author of "Blackwater" and now "Dirty Wars" (the book on which the film is based). The film won the Cinematography Prize at Sundance. Variety says it is "astonishingly hard-hitting" and adds: "This jaw-dropping, persuasively researched pic has the power to pry open government lockboxes." You can see the trailer here: http://dirtywars.org/trailer. 31] – 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. On July 26, as it seems the hunger strike continues, the vigil will Support Guantanamo Hunger Strikers--Close Guantanamo & End Indefinite Detention. The men detained at the U.S. prison in Guantánamo are engaged in a large-scale hunger strike, which began in early February. The vast majority of the 166 prisoners have been held for more than 11 years without any charge or fair trial, with no end to their detention in sight. Demand that President Obama use his authority to close Guantánamo! See www.witnesstorture.org. Email h.schietinger@verizon.net. 32] – 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/. 33] – Whistleblower Bradley Manning, after more than 3 years in prison before trial, he still faces possible life imprisonment under the government's "Aiding the Enemy" charge. Join the Bradley Manning support network on Fri., July 26 at 3 PM. Rally near the Waterfront Metro station in Washington D.C. at 4th and P Sts. SW, and march to Ft. McNair to tell Convening Authority Major General Buchanan to do the right thing and free Manning! Convening Authorities regularly reduce the sentence of soldiers convicted at trial, but if he is to make such a brave move Gen. Buchanan needs to hear our voices. 34] – There is a silent peace vigil on Fri., July 26 from 5 to 6 PM outside the Cathedral of the Incarnation, University Parkway and St. Paul St. The vigil is sponsored by Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings, and was recently moved because of the construction on Charles St. War Is Not the Answer. End gun violence. 35] – 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 July 26. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725. 36] – 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 July 27. Call Chuck Harker at 301-570-7167. 37] – 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. 38] – Rally for Peace in Korea on Sat., July 27 at 11 AM at Lafayette Park, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Gather to call on the U.S. to work for peace in Korea. July 27th will be the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice - and yet there is still no Peace Treaty to truly end that war, and we remain on the verge of renewed conflict on the peninsula Email endthekoreanwar.org@gmail.com. 39] – There will be a peace vigil on the West Lawn of the Capitol at noon on Sat., July 27. 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. 40] – The monthly demonstrations at Horsham Air Guard Station (Easton & County Line Roads) will continue on the last Saturday of each month through September as part of the campaign to stop the planned drone command center announced to open by October 1. On Sat., July 27 from noon until 2 PM, be at the demonstration at the Horsham Air Guard Station, site of the planned Drone War Command Center, Route #611/Easton Road & County Line Road, Horsham, PA. Visit www.brandywinepeace.com or call 610-544-1818. 41] – See “Memory of Forgotten War” screening on Sat., July 27 at 7 PM at Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Rd. NW. This is part of the Korean Peace Weekend. Following the film, there will be a Q&A with co-director Ramsay Liem and a panel featuring: Stephen McNeil (American Friends Service Committee), Sarah Sloan (ANSWER Coalition), and Hyuk-Kyo Suh (National Association of Korean Americans). There will also be a screening of a short by Veterans For Peace to end the Korean War and a solidarity photo booth. Mail endthekoreanwar.org@gmail.com. 42] – 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 noon. On Sun., July 28 the platform address is “Master Gardening and the 'Grow It, Eat It' Project,” led by Rosalie Donatelli, master gardener, BES Member. Donatelli has always embraced the natural path believing that "you are what you eat." She finds true solace and peace working the earth, planting the seed, nurturing the crops, and relishing the harvest. She will share her experience as a Master Gardener - her commitment to the work and the rewards it offers - as well as news about Maryland’s “Grow It, Eat It” project that aims to get 1 million Marylanders to grow edible plants to improve health. Go to http://bmorethical.org/ or Twitter: @bmorethical or Facebook: http://fb.com/bmorethical/or email ask@bmorethical.org. 43] – 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. 44] – 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., July 29, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. Email artlaffin@hotmail.com or call 202-882-9649. 45] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 AM 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. 46] – Join a Paid Sick Days Canvass at the screening of “Norma Rae” on Mon., July 29 at 6:30 PM at the National Mall between 7th & 12th St. Join AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps and Jews United for Justice for a Paid Sick Days for All canvass at Screen on the Green. Walk around and tell folks about the importance of Paid Sick Days laws, then sit down -- with snacks and blankets -- and enjoy NORMA RAE. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/calendar. 47] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore usually meets on Mondays at 7:30 PM, and the meetings take place at Max’s residence. There will be a meeting on Mon., July 29. The proposed agenda will include supporting Bradley Manning, Ed Snowden and Julian Assange, DIRTY WARS, GMO legislation and Hiroshima-Nagasaki activities. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions. 48] – Members and friends of Pax Christi-Baltimore: The deadline for signing on to the anti-drone ad has been extended to Mon., July 29! The goal is 200 to 250 signatures. Pax Christi Metro DC (with the cooperation of Pax Christi Baltimore) is posting an ad in the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) in August, demanding an end to armed drone warfare. Sign-on through www.paxchristimetrodc.org. To sign on and make a donation toward the cost of publication, go to http://www.paxchristimetrodc.org and click on the Donate button on the left, which takes you to a page where you can choose to pay either by PayPal or credit card. Then, click on “Add Special Instructions to the Seller” on the following page, and note that the payment is for the NCR Anti-Drone Ad. State exactly how you would like your name(s) to appear. The suggested donation is $20 for each person or couple signing on to the ad. Look for our ad in the August 16 edition of NCR! 49] – For the 29th year, the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee will remember the atomic bombings of Japan on August 6 & 9, 1945, which killed more than 200,000 people. Other organizations involved in the commemorations are Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee of Homewood and Stony Run Meetings, Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, Crabshell Alliance and Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore. The HIROSHIMA COMMEMORATION is on Tues., Aug. 6, and starts at 33rd & N. Charles Sts. at 5 PM. Demonstrate against Johns Hopkins University’s weapons contracts, including research on killer drones, commemorate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and remember the nuclear energy disaster at Fukushima, Japan. At 6 PM, there will be a potluck dinner at Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles Street. At 7 PM, a Hibakusha guest, Setsuko Thurlow, will speak about the atomic bombing. At 7:30 PM, there will be a performance of an anti-killer drone strike play – THE PREDATOR by Jack Gilory. The NAGASAKI COMMEMORATION is on Thurs., Aug. 8 at Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles St. At 7 PM, remember Nagasaki with the DVD showing of THE MAN WHO SA VED THE WORLD, followed by a discussion led by Dr. Art Milholland. At 8:30 PM, join a discussion of the nuclear energy disaster at Fukushima. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at Verizon.net. 50] – CODEPINK needs a new office and storage space! The group must vacate its current space by the end of August. Know of any office spaces? How about temporary space to store some of the supplies? The group is also looking for spare computers. Any help you can give is much appreciated. Contact tighecp@gmail.com. 51] – Max is seeking a place to live. Let him know of any possibilities. He can be reached at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.dot net. 52] – You can support the Transform Now Plowshares resisters by writing the judge and the prisoners. Greg Boertje-Obed, Michael Walli and Megan Rice are currently in the Irwin County Detention Facility in Ocilla, GA, awaiting their sentencing on September 23, 2013. The three were found guilty by a jury in Tennessee in May on two counts. Judge Amul Thapar revoked their pre-trial release saying they were technically guilty of a crime of violence and must be held. Here are the addresses: Gregory Boertje-Obed 22090 Irwin County Detention Center 132 Cotton Drive, Ocilla, GA 31774 ***Michael Walli 4444, Irwin County Detention Center, 132 Cotton Drive, Ocilla, GA 31774. Megan Rice 22100, Irwin County Detention Center, 132 Cotton Drive, Ocilla, GA 31774. You must make sure to include your entire return address on the outside of the envelope. No staples or paperclips can be included in your mail; no oversized envelopes. Magazines and books must be sent directly from the publisher or bookstore/Amazon. Photocopies of brief articles are likely to be permitted (based on our past experience). If you include inappropriate material or fail to comply with these rules, your mail will not get through—it will be returned to you. The second thing you can do is send a letter to Judge Thapar. We have suggested guidelines for your letter, and we are asking people to send their letter to Bill Quigley, lawyer for Mike Walli (address below), so they can be collected and delivered to the judge. If you want to send a copy of your letter to us, that would be great—our address is also below. Invite Judge Thapar to think about sentencing in light of the fact that this was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience intended to awaken the conscience of the nation, and no evidence was presented that it was an act of terrorism meant to harm anyone. You could write that you share the court's concern that Congress would write a law that wouldn’t allow a judge to distinguish between peace activists and terrorists, and are disturbed that the government defines the crime they stand convicted of as a violent "crime of terrorism.” As testimony of the defendants showed during trial, they carried out their action in a spirit of nonviolence and hope. Without making it the focus of the letter, you could mention that the action was carried out with the clear understanding of the illegality and immorality of nuclear weapons, and intent to uphold higher laws. Encourage him to consider downward departures from the high guidelines for the charges, and to use his discretion at sentencing to bring more justice into the situation by recognizing that the defendants are NOT violent terrorists as the government has implied through its interpretation of the crime; and remind him of the intentions of the three nonviolent activists: to follow the words of the prophet Isaiah to beat swords into plowshares, and build a safer and more secure world for all. Our purpose with these letters is not to reargue the case, nor is it to condemn nuclear weapons production—the judge is not engaging those issues at this time. Our purpose is to address the legal system’s distortion of the nonviolent action of the TNP resisters and to provide support to the judge for a sentencing decision that takes into account the nature of their action and their nonviolent behavior throughout their action. Letters should be sent to US District Judge Amul R Thapar, c/o Professor Bill Quigley, Loyola Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice, 7214 St. Charles Ave., Campus Box 902, New Orleans, LA 70118. If you care to send a copy to OREPA that would also be appreciated--orep@earthlink.net or OREPA, PO Box 5743, Oak Ridge, TN 37831. 53] – The launch of the website to support the U.S. version of the Drones Quilt Project was developed to memorialize the victims of U.S. combat drone strikes. Leah Bolger has about 185 names, and at present there are over 40 completed blocks. Soon the blocks will be sown together to create panels of quilt blocks. She will create educational information about killer drones to accompany the quilts as part of a traveling exhibit. To support the project visit www.dronesquiltproject.wordpress.com. The completed blocks are shown on the web site. The web site also contains information about creating a block, anti-drone resources and endorsing organizations. Follow the project on Twitter: @dronesproject. 54] – Red Emma's has closed the location at 800 St. Paul St., and is reopening in a much larger new space on North Avenue in the fall. The collective is seeking your help. It's time to reinvent the project started in 2004 to build a self-sustaining progressive space in Baltimore, committed to providing a daily reminder that another world was possible and that there were people working in the city to build it. Here's how you can help: donate money, provide skilled help, and share these needs. Email john@redemmas.org or go to http://indiegogo.com/redemmas2. 55] – The Washington Peace Center has a progressive calendar & activist alert! Consider signing up to receive its weekly email: info@washingtonpeacecenter.org. 56] – Fund Our Communities campaign is a grass roots movement to get support from local organizations and communities to work together with their local and state elected officials to pressure Congresspersons and senators to join with Congresspersons Barney Frank and Ron Paul, who have endorsed a 25% cut to the federal military budget. Bring home the savings to state and county governments to meet the local needs which are under tremendous budget pressures. Go to www.OurFunds.org. 57] – MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. Baltimore's Indypendent Reader is looking for individuals interested in creating media - written, photo, audio, or video - that relates to issues like...economic justice, race, prisons & policing, environment, gender & sexuality, war & peace and more! If you would like to create social justice media, then email indypendentreader@gmail.com. Visit http://www.indyreader.org. 58] – If you would like to get rid of books, videos, DVDs or records, contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net. 59] – Can you use any book shelves? Can you use any file cabinets? Contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net. 60] – Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees. This is an historic window of opportunity. With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many. 61] – WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER signs from Friends Committee on National Legislation are again for sale at $5. To purchase a sign, call Max at 410-366-1637. 62] – Go online for FIRE AND FAITH: The Catonsville Nine File. On May 17, 1968, nine people entered the Selective Service Offices in Catonsville, Maryland, and burned draft records in protest against the war in Vietnam. View http://www.prattlibrary.org/digital/. 63] – Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil takes place every day in Lafayette Park, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 24 hours a day, since June 3, 1981. Go to http://prop1.org; call 202-682-4282. 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/. "One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan