Baltimore Activist Alert Jan. 20 – Jan. 26, 2014

Baltimore Activist Alert Jan. 20 – Jan. 26, 2014 "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] Vietnam Photograph Exhibit – through Feb. 23 6] March on MLK Day – Jan. 20 7] Protest Veolia – Jan. 20 8] MLK Day at Center Stage – Jan. 20 9] "What Will 2014 Bring for North Korea's Nuclear Program?" – Jan. 21 10] Rally & Lobby for the 28th Amendment – Jan. 21 11] Philadelphia Peace Vigil – Jan. 21 12] Demand Justice for West Virginia – Jan. 21 13] Interfaith Prayer Vigil to Close Guantanamo – Jan. 21 14] Protest JHU’s drone research – Jan. 21 15] John Rizzo, CIA lawyer, at Pratt – Jan. 21 16] Heather Mizeur and Delman Coates talk about their vision for Maryland – Jan. 21 17] "50 Years of the Civil Rights Act" – Jan. 21 18] "Making Sense of Nuclear Negotiations with Iran: A Good Deal or a Bad Deal?" – Jan. 21 19] Consistent Life march – Jan. 22 20] "We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: The Promise of Civic Renewal in America" – Jan. 22 21] Pray for Peace – Jan. 22 ----- 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 mobuszewski at Verizon dot net. 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 mobuszewski at Verizon dot 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] – An-My Lê's photographs come to the Baltimore Museum of Art's Front Room. 21 Black-and-white and color photographs explore the roles of the military and war, showing tensions between nature and human influence and machinery. The exhibit runs through Feb. 23 at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive. Call 443- 573-1700. Go to http://artbma.org. 6] – Throughout his life, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a champion of service and community involvement. One of my favorites of his quotes is "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" To honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this year, gather at Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Eutaw St. on Mon., Jan. 20 at noon. 7] – Reclaim Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream - END POVERTY & INJUSTICE! SUPPORT SUPERSHUTTLE DRIVERS! PROTEST VEOLIA’S SYSTEM OF WORKER SLAVERY on Mon., Jan. 20 from 3 to 4 PM at Veolia’s Baltimore Transportation HQ, 2100 Huntington Ave,, Baltimore (21st St. & Huntington Ave. right off of Howard Street near the car wash and Jiffy Lube). If Dr. King Jr. where alive he would be protesting and picketing Veolia for their outrageous treatment of their workers. There is no better way to commemorate Dr. King’s birthday than to join the January 20th protest to demand justice for these workers. See https://www.facebook.com/events/205682259636778/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming. Call Veolia to say you want the company to rehire the fired drivers and treat the workers with dignity and respect, including allowing their right to join a union--BWI SuperShuttle office at 410-859-3427 or Baltimore Veolia Transportation at 410-727-7300. Sign on to a letter in support of the SuperShuttle workers. Invite the workers to speak at your community, union or student group. Volunteer your time and skills by calling 410-218-4835. 8] – Spend MLK, Jr. Day with Center Stage on Mon., Jan 20 at 7 PM. Tickets are free, and can be reserved at https://tix.centerstage.org/Online/seatSelect.asp?BOset::WSmap::seatmap::performance_ids=BD508A3F-081C-456A-8ABE-59F4DC81DC33&utm_source=NEW+Jan_+Newsletter&utm_campaign=jan+Newsletter&utm_medium=emai. Hear performances by some of Baltimore's most talented youth, inspired by the lives and dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Come for messages of peace, dreams, and social equality. African and African American goods from the Afrikan Youth Alliance (AYA) will be on sale. Call 410.332.0033. 9] – On Tues., Jan. 21 from 9 AM to noon, James Schoff, Toby Dalton, Go Myong-Hyun, Choi Kang, Park Jiyoung and Shin Chang-Hoon will address "What Will 2014 Bring for North Korea's Nuclear Program?" at Carnegie Endowment, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC. RSVP at http://carnegieendowment.org/events/forms/?fa=registration&event=4289&lang=en. 10] – Rally & Lobby for the 28th Amendment for Free and Fair Elections in Lawyers Mall, College Ave. and Bladen St., Annapolis on Tues. Jan. 21 at 11 AM, the 4th Anniversary of the Citizens United court ruling. On Jan. 21, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporations have a First Amendment right to spend as much money as they want to promote or defeat candidates. Leading up to the 3rd anniversary of the ruling, people across the country are organizing to protest this Supreme Court ruling and are calling for a constitutional amendment that would ensure democracy is for people, not for corporations. Featured Speakers include Hon. Jamie Raskin, Senate Majority Whip, Hon. Sheila Hixson, chair, House Ways and Means Committee, and Ryan Clayton, executive director, Wolf PAC. Carpool: to offer or seek rides, phone 410.849.0670 or email us your location, name and number(s). There are many co-sponsors, and the lead group is Get Money Out Maryland. The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore is a co-sponsor. RSVP to Charlie at 410-624-6095. 11] – Each Tuesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the Catholic Peace Fellowship-Philadelphia for peace in Afghanistan and Iraq gathers at the Suburban Station, 16th Street & JFK Blvd., at the entrance to Tracks 3 and 4 on the mezzanine. The next vigil is Jan. 14. Call 215-426-0364. 12] – Vigil at the White House to Demand Justice for West Virginia on Tues., Jan. 21 at 5 PM at Lafayette Square, in front of the White House. Join a candlelight vigil to stand in solidarity with West Virginia, and call on President Obama and his administration to ensure clean water during these times of crisis, and intervene to prevent future disasters. Contact whit@energycoalition.org. 13] – Be at Interfaith Prayer Vigil to Close Guantanamo on Tues., Jan. 21 at 5:30 PM at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Join NRCAT at a candlelight prayer vigil on the eve of the five-year anniversary of President Obama's Executive Order directing the closure of Guantanamo. Tragically, five years later Guantanamo remains open. Light up the night as you lift up in prayer the detained men, seek healing for a nation wounded by torture and human rights abuses, and call on President Obama to speed up transfers out of Guantanamo. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/616516055062480/. 14] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 34th & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil. The next vigil is Jan. 21 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637. 15] – John Rizzo will speak on Tues., Jan. 21 at 6:30 PM at the Central Library, Poe Room, 400 Cathedral St., Baltimore 21201. His new book is “Company Man: Thirty Years of Controversy and Crisis in the CIA,” an insider memoir of his career at the CIA under eleven CIA directors and seven presidents. From 1976 to 2009, Rizzo was the lawyer who made legal calls supporting water boarding and the drone assassination program. He should be protested. Go to http://bit.ly/1hKnG3e. 16] – Hear Heather Mizeur and Delman Coates talk about their vision for Maryland at a Baltimore City Community Forum on Tues., Jan. 21 from 7 to 9 PM at the Springwell Senior Living Community, 2211 West Rogers Ave. Email info@heathermizeur.com. 17] – "50 Years of the Civil Rights Act" by Representative Elijah Cummings is happening on Tues., Jan. 21 from 7 to 9 PM in the McDowell Formal Lounge, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW (in McDowell Hall). The American University Student Government Kennedy Political Union proudly presents the Kay Spiritual Life Center's Annual R. Bruce Poynter Lecture. Email kpu@ausg.com or call 202-885-6416. 18] – On Wed., Jan. 22 from 10 to 11 AM, Alireza Nader, RAND, Daryl Kimball, Arms Control Association, and Paul Pillar, Georgetown University, will tackle "Making Sense of Nuclear Negotiations with Iran: A Good Deal or a Bad Deal?" The event is sponsored by RAND, and will take place at 2168 Rayburn House Office Building, WDC. RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lcAwzmbewaMt_o_CMU339R4bjBGGg_cfIozFGy1bCbo/viewform. 19] – On Wed., Jan. 22 from 11 AM to noon, Consistent Life will gather with several other groups in the For Peace & ALL Life meet /march on the National Mall, Mall side of the National Museum of Natural History, between 9th and 12th Streets on the north side of the Mall. Then it will join the March for Life, which ends at the Supreme Court. The closest Metro stop is the Smithsonian, with Federal Triangle and Archives also being fairly convenient. Look for signs and banners with messages connecting different life issues. 20] – On Wed. Jan. 22 at 6:30 PM at Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St. NW, WDC [14th & V Sts.], hear Peter Levine discuss and sign his book, "We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: The Promise of Civic Renewal in America.” Chronic unemployment, de-industrialized cities, and mass incarceration." These grievous social problems will not yield unless American citizens address them. The book is a primer for anyone motivated to help revive our fragile civic life and restore citizens' public role. After offering a novel theory of active citizenship, a diagnosis of its decline, and a searing critique of our political institutions, Levine-one of America's most influential civic engagement activists-argues that citizens must address our most challenging issues. Call 202-387-7638. 21] – You are invited to Pray for Peace at 7:30 PM on Wed., Jan. 22 at the Mission Helpers Center, 1001 West Joppa Road, Towson ( corner of West Joppa Road and Chestnut St.- entrance on Chestnut Street.} There will be special prayers for Judy Cloughen, who entered eternal life on January 10th, a faithful member of the group for the past 11 years. There is a continual search for congregations to host Pray for Peace on, Feb. 22nd, Mar. 22nd and Apr. 22nd. Contact Rev. Charles Cloughen at ccloughen@episcopalmaryland.org or at 410-321-0199. 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