Baltimore Activist Alert Apr. 14 – Apr. 20, 2014

Baltimore Activist Alert Apr. 14 – Apr. 20, 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] Celebration of the Journey of Harriet Tubman – through Apr. 20
6] "Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race" – through Apr. 30
7] Human, Soul & Machine: The Coming Singularity – through Aug. 31
8] "Years of Living Dangerously" – Apr. 13
9] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Apr. 14 – Apr. 18
10] End Gun Violence – Apr. 14
11] Film "Bidder 70l" – Apr. 14
12] HONORABLE RICARDO ZWAIG at UMBC – Apr. 14
13] Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities meeting – Apr. 14
14] Onondaga Nation at the White House – Apr. 15
15] Tax Day Demonstration – Apr. 15
16] Philadelphia Peace Vigil – Apr. 15
17] Jet That Ate the Pentagon – Apr. 15
18] Condemn drone research at JHU on Tax Day – Apr. 15
19] Support restaurant workers meeting – Apr. 15
20] NSA surveillance and university complicity – Apr. 15
21] Documentary “Growing Cities” – Apr. 15
22] DivestFest OPEN MIC – Apr. 15
23] Baltimore Ethical Society Spring Flower Sale – ends Apr. 15
-----
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] – The exhibit Northern Star: A Celebration of the Journey of Harriet Tubman will run until Sun., Apr. 20 at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Central Library, 400 Cathedral St. Call 410-396-5430. Go to http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/central.

6] – The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's production, "Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race" will be exhibited at the Health Sciences and Human Services Library at University of Maryland, Baltimore, Frieda O. Weise Gallery, 601 W. Lombard St. The exhibition will feature photos, films, testimonials and other documentation of Nazi racial experimentation and theories. The exhibit will continue through April 30. Call 410-706-7545. See http://hshsl.umaryland.edu/gallery/.

7] – See the exhibit Human, Soul & Machine: The Coming Singularity, which
delves into the various ways technology affects lives through the perspective of inventors, futurists and 40 plus visionary artists. The intent is to bring new thoughts on artificial intelligence, robotics, genetics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, and big data, and you can see it through August 31 at the American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. Call 410-244-1900. Go to http://avam.org. A ticket costs $20.

8] – People across the country are coming together for the nationwide premiere of a major new show about climate change: "Years of Living Dangerously." It shines a light on some important stories around the world. You can join a local watch-party in Baltimore on Sun., Apr. 13 at 7 PM. RSVP at http://act.350.org/event/years_attend/7135/signup/?t=3&akid=4435.75494.9FZjXX.

9] – 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.

10] – On Mon., Apr. 14 from 5 to 6 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/.

11] – Beyond the Classroom presents the film BIDDER 70 on Mon., Apr. 14 from 7 to 9 PM at the University of Maryland, 1104 South Campus Commons, Building 1, College Park, Maryland. It tells the story of an extraordinary, ingenious and effective act of civil disobedience demanding government and industry accountability. In 2008, University of Utah economics student Tim DeChristopher committed an act which would redefine patriotism in our time, igniting a spirit of civil disobedience in the name of climate justice. Follow Tim, BIDDER 70, from college student to incarcerated felon. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/459629574163568/.

12] – On Mon., Apr. 14 at 7:15 PM at UMBC in the ADMINISTRATION BLDG, ROOM 101, THE HONORABLE RICARDO ZWAIG, first male Latino judge in the State of Maryland, is to speak. The recipient of the 2013 UMBC Outstanding Alumnus Award in the Humanities, he is an associate judge, District Court of Maryland, District 10 - Howard County. The event is sponsored by The Spanish Language Latino Culture and the Legal Profession (UMBC).

13] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore usually meets on Mondays at 7:30 PM, and the meetings take place at Max’s residence. The next meeting will be on Mon., Apr. 14. The proposed agenda will include a report on the appeal of conviction of the CIA Five, anti-drone activities, including the Spring Actions, the NSA discussions at JHU, the visit to Sarbanes’ office, Earth Day, and May Day. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions.

14] – On Tues., Apr. 15 at 11 AM in the White House Picture Postcard Zone, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., members of the Onondaga Nation, a treaty-recognized sovereign Indian nation with homelands in upstate New York, will file a petition against the United States with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Since 1788, 2.5 million acres of land have been stolen from the Onondaga Nation by New York State, and the failure of the domestic court system has left the Nation with no choice but to seek assistance for human rights violations from the international community.

Chiefs from the Onondaga Nation and supporters will demonstrate in front of the White House in traditional dress and with a historic wampum belt commissioned for the Nation by President George Washington to signify peace and friendship while ratifying the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua. The Nation is not seeking evictions, monetary damages or a casino. Instead, it is asking to continue a healing process between themselves and others who live in the region, and for a ruling that would allow the Nation to continue its role as an environmental steward of the land it once conserved for centuries. See http://www.onondaganation.org/.

15] – On Tues., Apr. 15 from noon to 1 PM, join a Tax Day Demonstration at the Media Post Office, Baltimore Pike & Monroe St., Media, PA 19063. Join with the Peace Center of Delaware County in saying Taxes for Need...Not War & Greed! Call 610-544-1818.

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 Apr. 15. Call 215-426-0364.

17] – As part of the Global Day of Action on Military Spending, find out about the Jet That Ate the Pentagon on Tues., Apr. 15 from 4:45 to 7 PM at Veterans Park, Bethesda at the intersection of Woodmont and Norfolk. The street theatre will bring attention to the need to cut Pentagon spending and instead fund jobs, community services, and carbon-free energy. The group plans on “flying” a mock F-35 that will fall apart. The F-35 is the poster child for wasteful Pentagon spending: during its life, it is projected to cost $1.5 trillion, which is more than the combined spending on the Korean and Vietnam Wars (in inflation-adjusted dollars)—and it doesn’t even work. Contact Jean Athey at jlathey@hprg.com or 301.570.0923.

18] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 34th & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on Apr. 15 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. This Tuesday, the vigil will be part of the Global Day of Action on Military Spending. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

19] – On Tues., Apr. 15 from 7 to 8 PM at the Plymouth Congregational United Church, 5301 N. Capitol St. NE, WDC 20011, attend a planning meeting for the protest at the National Restaurant Association’s Conference on April 29. Call 410-218-4835.

20] – The Human Rights Working Group and the New Political Society at Hopkins will present a panel discussion about NSA surveillance and university complicity. The panel will feature Hopkins cryptologist Matt Green (whose blog post "A Few Thoughts on Cryptographic Engineering” was
critical of NSA spying and was briefly censored by university administrators), as well as two leading critics of government surveillance, Chris Soghoian of the ACLU and Shahid Buttar of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. The event is happening on Tues., Apr. 15 at 7 PM in Mergenthaler 111 on JHU’s Homewood Campus. For the Working Group, go to http://hrwgjhu.wordpress.com/, and for the JHU New Political Society, see http://jhunps.com/.

21] – BloomScreen & the Center for Science in the Public Interest present the documentary “Growing Cities” on Tues., Apr. 15 from 7 to 9 PM at 3322 11th St. NW, WDC. The film examines the role of urban farming in America and asks how much power it has to revitalize our cities and change the way we eat. See http://tinyurl.com/growing-cities-trailer.

In their search for answers, filmmakers Dan Susman and Andrew Monbouquette take a road trip and meet the men and women who are challenging the way this country grows and distributes its food, one vacant city lot, rooftop garden, and backyard chicken coop at a time. Join them as they discover that good food isn't the only crop these urban visionaries are harvesting. They're producing stronger and more vibrant communities, too. The screening will be followed by a discussion hosted by Catherine Kastleman, Project Coordinator for Food Day. Visit http://www.foodday.org/. The suggested donation is $10. Light healthy refreshments will be served. See https://www.facebook.com/events/662141177166337/?ref=2&ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming.

22] – DivestFest OPEN MIC night takes place on Tues., Apr. 15 from 7 to 9 PM at the Amphitheater of American University. Fossil Free AU has been building a beautiful campaign to push the Board of Trustees to divest from the endowment fossil fuel companies. We are welcoming performers of ALL (singers, dancers, slam poets, musicians, mimes and MORE!) kinds to our next community event! Join the Fossil Free AU Coalition for an evening of expression in the Amphitheater on Tuesday, April 15th. Come watch and sign up here to share at the open mic! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/110owfJzK1bv7cWRRr7u_mbw8FpJ0VTtjn2mKUBQOJjA/viewform?edit_requested=true.

23] – The Baltimore Ethical Society Spring Flower Sale ends Tues., Apr. 15. Get your seeds and bulbs through Flower Power and the Baltimore Ethical society gets 50% of the proceeds in return. BES member and master gardener Rosalie Donatelli attests to the high quality of the bulbs and plants. Also, purchases have a 100% money back guarantee and are shipped at the appropriate time for planting in your location. You can either pick up a catalogue and order form at BES or just go on-line to the BES Flower Power page. The catalogue has more complete information about the products, but ordering on line is fast and easy! Go to http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/campaign?campaign_id=17633&user_campaign_id=407705.

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