Baltimore Activist Alert Jan. 27 – 29, 2014

Baltimore Activist Alert Jan. 27 – Feb. 2, 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] National Downwinders Day – Jan. 27 7] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Jan. 27 – Jan. 31 8] World Without War meeting – Jan. 27 9] End Gun Violence – Jan. 27 10] Interfaith Prayer Vigil to Close Guantanamo – Jan. 27 11] City Hall Youth Poetry Slam – Jan. 27 12] Film "A Force More Powerful" – Jan. 27 13] Pentagon Vigil – Jan. 28 14] Sentencing hearing for Transform Now Plowshares – Jan. 28 15] State of the Union Keystone XL Action – Jan. 28 16] Philadelphia Peace Vigil – Jan. 28 17] Protest JHU’s drone research – Jan. 28 18] First Vegan Drinks event of 2014 – Jan. 28 19] Annual Awards Gala – Jan. 28 20] "Nuclear Weapons: Do We Even Need Them" – Jan. 29 21] Egypt & The Struggle for Democracy – Jan. 29 22] Film "Justice on Trial; The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal" – Jan. 29 23] The Prawer Plan – Jan. 29 24] Go after extreme poverty – Jan. 29 25] Zunar at Busboys and Poets – Jan. 29 26] The Harvest Collective – Jan. 29 27] Red Emma’s host the author of BUCK – Jan. 29 ----- 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] – Monday, January 27 is National Downwinders Day. 7] – 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. 8] – Www.worldbeyondwar.org is birthing a global coalition of peace and justice groups to abolish war. See the pledge at http://worldbeyondwar.org/individual. Can you attend the first Mid-Atlantic/Southeast meeting on Mon., Jan. 27 from 2 to 6 PM at the CODEPINK House, 1241 Evarts St. NE, WDC 20018. Use the Rhode Island Metro. RSVP at desiree.fairooz@gmail.com. 9] – On Mon., Jan. 27 from 4 to 5 PM - End Gun Violence! Join the Washington Chapter of Heeding God’s Call at their second and fourth Monday of the month 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 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 of the Prince George’s (MD) Police Department 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/. 10] – Be at an Interfaith Prayer Vigil to Close Guantanamo on Mon., Jan. 27 at 5:30 PM, but first gather at 5 PM in the NCC Conference Room (110 Maryland Ave NE) before proceeding outside to hold the vigil. The conference room will be used as a warming center. On the eve of President Obama’s 5th State of the Union and after 5 years of the President’s Executive Order directing the closure of the Guantanamo Detention Center, the faith community will gather in prayer and reflection. Lit panels will spell “CLOSE GITMO NOW” to send a message to the President to live up to his promise to close Guantanamo and announce the closing of Guantanamo in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/727874377223625/. 11] – There is a City Hall Youth Poetry Slam (Powerful Youth speaking Powerful Truth) on Mon., Jan. 27 at the Baltimore City Hall, 100 Holliday St. [photo ID required] at the 6 PM. Contact Kenneth Morrison, co-director of Dew More Initiative, at www.dewmorebmore.org or 443 850-8177 or kenneth@dewmorebmore.org. This is the 2nd Annual City Hall Youth Poetry Slam. Does Youth Voice Matter? Can youth inspire change through art? Do adults listen to what youth have to say? 12] – Beyond the Classroom presents "A Force More Powerful" on Mon., Jan. 27 at 7 PM at 1104 South Campus Commons, Building 1, 0200 Calvert Hall, University of Maryland, College Park 20742. This documentary is about one of the 20th century’s most important and least-known stories – how nonviolent power overcame oppression and authoritarian rule. In South Africa in 1907, Mohandas Gandhi led Indian immigrant in a nonviolent fight for rights denied them by white rulers. The power that Gandhi pioneered has been used by underdogs on every continent and in every decade of the 20th century to fight for their rights and freedom. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/201053680095857/. 13] – On Tues., Jan. 28 from 7 to 9 AM, get over to the Pentagon Vigil In Support of the Transform Now Plowshares. The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker (DDCW) Pentagon vigil is held each Monday from 7 to 8 AM, Tuesday when there's a holiday. This vigil is special. Mike Walli (member of the DDCW), Sr. Megan Rice and Greg Boertje-Obed have been jailed since their jury trial conviction last May and face a maximum 30 year prison sentence for their Plowshares action at the Y-12 nuclear weapons complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on July 28, 2012. Numerous people have written to trial Judge Amul Thapar appealing for leniency in stark contrast to the U.S. District Attorney who, in filing its response to defense motions for downward departures in the sentencing guidelines, requested Judge Thapar to sentence the three within the sentencing guidelines, ignoring the nonviolence nature of their action, disposing of them, instead, as though they were armed terrorist saboteurs. The vigil will be outside the Pentagon's south Metro entrance and in the designated "protest zone" behind bicycle fences across from the entrance to the Metro. By Metro, take Yellow Line and get out at the "Pentagon" stop. Do not go to the Pentagon City stop! Go up south escalators and turn left and walk across to protest area. By car from D.C. area, take 395 South and get off at Exit 8A-Pentagon South Parking. Take slight right onto S. Rotary Rd. at end of ramp and right on S. Fern St. Then take left onto Army Navy Dr. You can "pay to park" on Army Navy Dr., and there is meter parking one block on right on Eads St. Payment for both of these spots begin at 8 AM. No cameras are allowed on Pentagon grounds. Restrooms are located inside Marriott Residence Inn on corner of S. Fern and Army Navy Dr. Email artlaffin@hotmail.com. 14] – On Tues., Jan. 28 at 9 AM, the Transform Now Plowshares sentencing hearing will begin. They were convicted for sabotage, jeopardizing national security, trespassing and defacing government property related to their July 28, 2012 nonviolent protest at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant at Oak Ridge, TN. The hearing will be held in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Tennessee, U.S. Courthouse, 800 Market St., Suite 130, Knoxville, TN. There will be a Faith and Resistance gathering the evening before. Max and several other Baltimore activists are going to Knoxville to support the Plowshares. See: transformnowplowshares.wordpress.com. 15] – There will be a State of the Union Keystone XL Action on Tues., Jan. 28 from 11:30 AM to 1 PM. Meet in front of the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. at the corner of 2nd St SE. The closest Metro stations are Capitol South (Blue/Orange) and Union Station (Red). Join 350.org and other activists as they gather to send a message to President Obama: Reject Keystone XL. They will parade the giant pipeline around the Capitol grounds, and send a message to President Obama that he has a choice to make: Pipeline President or Climate Champion? Due to the quick turnaround organizing this action, all appropriate permits have yet to be secured. There will be appointed police liaisons. Contact Rachel at 914-548-8187 or rachel@350.org. 16] – 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. 28. Call 215-426-0364. 17] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 34th & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil. The next vigil is Jan. 28 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637. 18] – On Tues., Jan. 28 at 7 PM @ Red Emma's Bookstore and Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., be at the first Vegan Drinks event of 2014. Come and hang out with other awesome vegans, and enjoy drink specials, food specials, socializing and more! Call 410-230-0450. Go to http://www.redemmas.org. 19] – Get to the Annual Awards Gala on Tues., Jan. 28 at 7 PM at Martin's Crosswinds, Greenbelt. Celebrate the progressive gains with Maryland's best lawmakers, leaders, and candidates. Honor Wal-Mart worker-activists and Ben Jealous, NAACP President, CEO and Baltimore Sun 'Marylander of the Year!' Start with hors d'oeuvres and relaxed mingling among friends and fellow activists, followed by the sit-down multi-course dinner and program. Radio host Marc Steiner will emcee the program. Call 301-494-4998 or visit www.ProgressiveMaryland.org. Email kate@progressivemaryland.org to get pay-what-you-can tickets. I have donated the amount I can afford on Progressive Maryland's form at https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5206/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=2193. Please hold __ ticket(s) for MY NAME: _______ at Email: ______ or Phone: ________. MY GUEST is ------ at Email: __________ & Phone: _________. 20] – On Wed., Jan. 29 from 8 to 9 AM, hear Rebeccah Heinrichs, Heritage Foundation, answer the question "Nuclear Weapons: Do We Even Need Them" at George Washington University, Funger Hall, Room 207, 2201 G St. NW, WDC. RSVP to rebekahj@gwmail.gwu.edu. 21] – Egypt & The Struggle for Democracy is a conference happening on Wed., Jan. 29 from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM at Georgetown University, Fisher Colloquium, 4th floor, Rafik B. Hariri Building. The Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies present four panels on "Critical Stages of the Egyptian Revolution: Was the Coup Inevitable?", "The Current Status of Democracy, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law", "The Role of the Youth Movements and NGOs After the Coup", and "Restoration of Democracy and the Rule of Law in Egypt: The Roles of the Pro-Democracy Groups and the International Community." Email acmcu@georgetown.edu or go to http://www.eventbrite.com/e/egypt-the-struggle-for-democracy-registratio... 22] – See the film "Justice on Trial; The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal" on Wed., Jan. 29 from noon until 1:30 PM at IPS Conference Room, 1112 16th St. NW, Suite 600. Mumia Abu-Jamal was the most recognized death row inmate in the world today, but his death sentence was commuted in December of 2011 to life without parole. Join the Institute for Policy Studies for a screening of a documentary that deconstructs with precision all the things one might want to know about Mumia's case. See http://www.ips-dc.org/events/film_justice_on_trial. 23] – The Prawer Plan: Implications for Palestinian Bedouin in the Naqab is a talk with Dr. Morad Elsana, legal scholar, on Wed., Jan. 29 from 12:30 to 2 PM at The Palestine Center, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW. Approved by the Knesset in June of 2013, the Prawer-Begin Plan, if implemented, will see the destruction of over 40 unrecognized Palestinian Bedouin villages in the Naqab (Negev) desert. The Plan is the second step taken by the Israeli government to confiscate Palestinian land in the Naqab, after the "Negev 2015" plan in 2005 and the appointment of the Goldberg committee in 2007. Dr. Morad Elsana will discuss the implications of the Prawer Plan in more depth, focusing on the impact of the plan's goals on the thousands of Palestinian Bedouin living in the Naqab. Join the Palestine Center and the Jerusalem Fund for the lecture. RSVP to http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/RegisterForEvent/i/43972. 24] – On Wed., June 29 at 6:30 PM at St. John's Episcopal Church Undercroft, 9130 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City 21042, there will be a ONE event. Enjoy food, drinks and a walk through of an easy way to take action in the fight against extreme poverty: how to write a letter to the editor. Contact Sharon Runge at one-help@list.one.org. RSVP at http://act.one.org/event/AIA_LTEs_2014_attend/10933?akid=4758.1600447.UCS_Kd&rd=1&t=2&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email, 25] – On Wed., Jan. 29 at 7:30 PM at Busboys and Poets, 5th & K Sts., hear Malaysian cartoonist Zunar. He will be signing copies. 26] – Be The Change at BloomBars Featuring Davey Rogner on Wed., Jan. 29 from 7:30 to 9 PM at BloomBars, 3222 11th St. NW. After 3,672 miles walked, 201,678 pounds of trash picked up, 8 major eco-art projects, 7,000 students presented to, being named ABC's person of the week, and living in constant, direct community with Pick Up America, Davey Rogner is now back at home and starting The Harvest Collective with the help of many friends, colleagues, and his partner Jayne Matt. They view their work as primarily opening people's minds up to new possibilities of how community can live with each other and nature to bring greater resources to community and shift the power dynamic we live within. The evening will open up as a meditation and continue with a short presentation, discussion, and questions/answers. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1455391991351232/. 27] – On Wed., Jan 29 at 7:30 PM @ Red Emma's Bookstore and Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., MK Asante has written a memoir BUCK about his life as a poet, author, and filmmaker. Also note he was a rebellious boy, who survived a journey through the wilds of urban America and the shrapnel of a self-destructing family. BUCK is a powerful memoir of how a precocious kid educated himself through the most unconventional teachers—outlaws and eccentrics, rappers and mystic strangers, ghetto philosophers and strippers, and, eventually, an alternative school that transformed his life with a single blank sheet of paper. Call 410-230-0450. Go to http://www.redemmas.org. 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