Baltimore Activist Alert May 26 – June 1, 2014

Baltimore Activist Alert May 26 – June 1, 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] Human, Soul & Machine: The Coming Singularity – through Aug. 31
6] Marc Steiner on WEAA – May 26 – May 30
7] March with Heather Mizeur – May 26
8] End Gun Violence – May 26
9] Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities meeting – May 26
10] Left and Right – May 27
11] Philadelphia Peace Vigil – May 27
12] "No Drone Research at JHU" – May 27
13] Scoville Fellowship Program – May 27
14] Join Jews United For Justice – May 27
15] InterFaith Conference – May 27
16] "Iranian Nuclear Negotiations" – May 27
17] Film "Madame Parliamentarian" – May 27
18] Hatha Yoga class at Shanti Yoga Ashram – May 27
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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] – 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.

6] – 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.

7] – On Mon., May 26, are you ready to march with Heather Mizeur? She will be marching in the 70th Annual Rockville Memorial Day Parade. This is a great opportunity to display your support for Heather’s campaign. Meet at the corner of Mannakee St. and Martins Lane at 9:45 AM, and then wrap it up by noon. Make sure you bring comfortable clothing, preferably something light blue or orange. See http://www.heathermizeur.com/memorialday.

8] – On Mon., May 26 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/

9] – 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., May 26. The proposed agenda will include a report on the appeal of conviction of the CIA Five, anti-drone activities, including the Spring Actions, the Close Gitmo demonstrations, Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration, the May 21 visit to Rep. Sarbanes’ office, the New Populism and handing out peace diplomas at the JHU commencement. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions.

10] – Attend on Tues., May 27 from 9 AM to 5 PM a one day gathering at the Carnegie Institute of Washington, 1530 P St. NW, at which leading experts from the Left and Right (such as Jim Hightower, Judson Phillips, Medea Benjamin, Bruce Fein, Ron Unz and others) will try to find common ground on many of the key issues of our time. Admission is free and a complimentary light breakfast and lunch will be served! Issues to be discussed are civil liberties, minimum wage, corporate welfare, the imperial perpetuation of U.S. wars et al.

In his new book “Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State,” Ralph Nader explores the emerging political alignment of the Left and the Right against converging corporate-government autocracy and crony capitalism. The purpose of the gathering is to convene unlikely allies to tackle the bold ideas of convergence presented in Unstoppable and turn them operational. RSVP to Matthew Marran at mmarran@csrl.org.

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 May 27. Call 215-426-0364.

12] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on May 27 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

13] – On Tues., May 27 from 6 to 8 PM, be at the annual reception for the Scoville Fellowship Program – a unique, collaborative effort among national peace and security organizations to identify and develop the next generation of leaders. It will be held at Open Society Foundation’s Roof Terrace, 1730 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The featured speaker will be Tom Andrews, director of the Win Without War coalition, president of United to End Genocide and former member of Congress. RSVP to Paul Revsine at 202-446-1565 or info@scoville.org.

14] – On Tues., May 27 from 6:30 to 9 PM, join Jews United For Justice at Impact Silver Spring, 8807 Colesville Road for a series of trainings in activism skills. Folks are asked to commit to coming to at least two of the three sessions (though all three are recommended), since the trainings build on each other, and participants will the have the opportunity to build relationships. The suggested donation is $18. Price should not be a barrier, so pay what you can. Visit http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5483/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=8642.

15] – On Tues., May 27, the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington will bestow on Ms. Kit Bigelow and Mr. Ron Halber the InterFaith Bridge Builders Award, and will honor Rev. Ed. White with the Founders Award. This is the 10thyear in which the IFC, on behalf of its 11 member faith communities, has made these awards in tribute to individuals and organizations that have made important contributions to interfaith understanding.

Bigelow is the former Director of External Affairs for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, and Halber is the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. Rev. White is the former General Presbyter of the National Capital Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church USA and a past IFC President. All three have been champions of interfaith relations.

The event will take place at Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec St. NW, near Connecticut Ave. NW and the Cleveland Park Metro Station on the Red Line. The reception begins at 6:30 PM, with the awards program from 7:30 to 9 PM. Admission is $75. This year's InterFaith Bridge Builders Awards will also recognize several emerging interfaith leaders. To register, go online at www.ifcmw.org.

16] – On Tues., May 27 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, Gareth Porter, investigative journalist and historian, will discuss "Iranian Nuclear Negotiations" at the Metropolitan Club, 1700 H St. NW, WDC. RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/empire-salon-gareth-porter-metropolitan-club-tuesday-may-27th-tickets-11037305879. The event is sponsored by the Committee for the Republic.

17] – See a 15 minute independent documentary entitled "Madame Parliamentarian," followed by an open discussion and Q&A segment with the film producer and Stephenie Foster, Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Global Women's Issues, at the State Department. The documentary was directed, produced and narrated by Lebanese-American filmmaker Rouane Itani.

The event takes place on Tues., May 27 at 7 PM at 5th & K Sts. NW, which is a few blocks north of the Red Line Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro Station and a few blocks east of the Convention Center Metro on the Yellow Line. Contact Dima Calnan at dcalnan@adc.org or call the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee office at 202-244-2990. As space is limited, seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

18] – You are invited to join a Hatha Yoga class at Shanti Yoga Ashram, continuing each Tuesday until June 10. The class will meet from 7 to 8:15 PM each Tuesday. Drop-ins are welcome, but registration is encouraged at shantiyoga2@earthlink.net. The pre-registered fee is $66. The class meets at 4217 East West Hwy., Bethesda 20814.

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