Monday, June 9, 2014

Baltimore Activist Alert June 9 – June 15, 2014

Baltimore Activist Alert June 9 – June 15, 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] See THE EXONERATED – through July 6
7] Protest Westboro Baptist Church – June 9
8] Lobby Congress to free the Cuban Five – June 9
9] Marc Steiner on WEAA – June 9 – 13
10] March to the Bureau of Prisons Headquarters – June 9
11] End Gun Violence – June 9
12] Attorney General candidate debate – June 9
13] Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities meeting – June 9
14] MARC ELRICH FUNDRAISER – June 9
15] Lobby Congress to free the Cuban Five – June 10
16] "Nuclear Flashpoints: U.S. - Iran Tensions Over Timetables and Terms" – June 10
17] “Child Migration and Human Rights in a Global Age" – June 10
18] Book talk “Poison Spring” – June 10
19] Press conference on behalf of Qatari poet Mohammad al-Ajami – June 10
20] Philadelphia Peace Vigil – June 10
21] "No Drone Research at JHU" – June 10
22] Secure Computer Use – June 10
23] Just Neighbors – June 10
24] Hatha Yoga class at Shanti Yoga Ashram – June 10
25] IWW General Membership Branch Meeting – June 10
26] Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense [sic] for Nuclear Matters speaks – June 11
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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] – Enjoy “The Exonerated,” a thrilling docudrama by the Vagabond Players. The play transports viewers into the hearts and minds of 6 death row inmates who are actually innocent. It is thought provoking and provocative, and will make viewers recognize the madness of a death penalty. The performances will begin on Fri., June 6 and continue through July 6 at 806 S. Broadway. Call 410-563-9135 or go to http://vagabondplayers.org.

7] – On Mon., June 9 from 8:15 to 8:45 AM, protest the Westboro Baptist Church, which is coming to visit Woodrow Wilson High School, 3950 Chesapeake St. NW. The students would like to welcome them with open rainbow covered arms outside the school. Woodrow Wilson High School students are hosting a second annual Pride Day in June, and the church has announced they will visit the school to protest. Last year's Pride event at WWHS involved over 20 LGBTQ youth community organizations and included the signing of a student pledge to respect LGBTQ classmates. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/695876413782189/?ref=3&ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular.

8] – On Mon., June 9 from 9 AM to 5 PM, there will be VISITS TO CONGRESS calling on legislators to help free the Cuban Five. Contact Lobbying Coordinator Nancy Kohn at or 617-504-9773. Go to www.thecuban5.org.

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] – Rally on Mon., June 9 from 11:30 AM to 1 PM to raise three concerns with the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Headquarters, 320 First St. NW and its director, Mr. Charles E. Samuels, Jr.: Immediate medical attention for inmate Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (Reg.# 99974-555); transfer him to a different facility where his medical needs are more assured of being met, such as the prison medical facility located in Butner, North Carolina: and a review of imprisonment policies relevant to the prisoners being housed under extraordinary conditions, such as the Supermax in Florence, Colorado and the so-called "Controlled Management Units" (CMUs) in different areas of the country. Email peacethrujustice@aol.com.

11] – 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/.

12] – There is an Attorney General Debate at the University of Baltimore, 1401 N. Charles St., at 6:45 PM on Mon., June 9. RSVP at ben@brianfrosh.com.

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., June 9. The proposed agenda will include a report on the appeal of the conviction of the CIA Five, anti-drone activities, including the arrests at the NSA on May 3, the July 4 visit to the NSA, Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration, and Keep Space for Peace Week. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions.

14] – Progressive Neighbors is urging you to attend the MARC ELRICH FUNDRAISER, as part of his campaign to be re-elected as a progressive voice on the Montgomery County Council. Marc has been supporting affordable housing, adequate minimum wage and other progressive issues since 2006. The fundraiser is on Mon., June 9 at 7:30 PM at El Golfo Restaurant, 8739 Flower Ave., Silver Spring 20901. Go to http://www.progressiveneighborsmd.org/.

15] – On Tues., June 10 from 9 AM to 5 PM, there will be VISITS TO CONGRESS calling on legislators to help free the Cuban Five. Contact Lobbying Coordinator Nancy Kohn at or 617-504-9773. Then at 7 PM, there will be a CLOSING POLITICAL/CULTURAL EVENT with keynote speakers Dolores Huerta and Ignacio Ramonet at Bolivarian Hall, 2443 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC 20008. Latin American music will be performed by Patricio Zamorano and his group. Contact Netfa Freeman at or 301-938-4628. Go to www.thecuban5.org.

16] – On Tues., June 10 from 9:30 to 11 AM, hear Stephen Hadley, U.S. Institute of Peace, Daryl Kimball, Arms Control Association, Jon Wolfsthal, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, and Robert Litwak, Wilson Center, tackle Nuclear Flashpoints: U.S. - Iran Tensions Over Timetables and Terms at The Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, 6th Floor Flom Auditorium, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC 20004. RSVP http://pages.wilsoncenter.org/61014IranEventatWC_MEPEventPanelwithoutKeynote_Event-SingleSpeaker_registration.html.

17] – At 1316 34th St. NW on Mon., June 9 from 6 to 8 PM, the Women’s Refugee Commission and KIND are hosting a book launch for Harvard human rights scholar Jacqueline Bhabha’s new book “Child Migration and Human Rights in a Global Age." This book provides the first comprehensive account of the widespread but neglected issue of child migration around the world. The narrative explores the challenges children and adolescents face when they move to join their families, are forcibly moved to be exploited, and move simply to survive. RSVP to Rebecca Katz at RebeccaK@wrcommission.org.

18] – In the Poe Room, Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral St. on Mon., June 9 at 6:30 PM, hear McKay Jenkins, professor of English, journalism and environmental humanities at the University of Delaware and the author of several books including “What's Gotten Into Us.”Half a century after Rachel Carson's “Silent Spring” comes an insider account of the agency created to protect Americans and our environment. Co-authored by McKay Jenkins and E.G. Vallianatos, who spent 25 years at the EPA, “Poison Spring” shows how pressure from politicians and threats from huge corporations have turned the public's watchdog into a "polluter's protection agency." The talk is presented in partnership with Baltimore Green Works as part of the Sustainable Speakers Series. See http://calendar.prattlibrary.org/event/mckay_jenkins_poison_spring_the_secret_history_of_pollution_and_the_epa#.U5CaGna9afO.
19] – On Nov. 16, 2011, Qatari poet Mohammad al-Ajami was handed a life sentence (which was later reduced to 15 years)–– for writing a poem! CODEPINK has teamed up with his support group, PEN, and Human Rights Watch to host a press conference on behalf of Al-Ajami on Tues., June 10 @ noon at the National Press Club in the Zenger Room, 529 14th St. NW, WDC 20045.
20] – 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 St. & JFK Blvd., at the entrance to Tracks 3 and 4 on the mezzanine. The next vigil is June 10. Call 215-426-0364.

21] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on June 10 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

22] – A course, Secure Computer Use, will be happening at the Emergence Community Arts Collective, 733 Euclid St. NW, on Tues., June 10 from 7 to 9 PM. This course will be a hands on workshop which will teach people how to use various Open Source Software (OSS) programs and apps that provide secure and private communication and information (file) sharing via the Internet. Participants will bring their laptops, tablets, and smart phones, and leave with working software and practices to communicate and share data securely (encrypted) and anonymously (privately).

Many of the applications covered are listed on the website https://prism-break.org. Please review the website to see what software you may want to learn to use. Also, please install the latest Firefox browser on your devices (laptops, tablets, phones) before coming if possible, as it will be the reference browser for add-ons and extensions. The suggested donation is $10. Contact Jabari Zakiya at 202-390-6398 or jzakiya@gmail.com.

23] – On Tues., June 10 at 7 PM, help make this corner of the world better. In partnership with Calvary Baptist Church, 755 8th St. NW, Just Neighbors, a new initiative, advocates for justice and aims to serve the underserved in the surrounding Chinatown and Penn Quarter communities. Clergy from Calvary Baptist, Trinity Lutheran Church, and Rabbi Scott will facilitate a discussion on the issues that matter most, including gentrification, poverty, rising housing costs, homelessness, or other problems you wish to see addressed. The conversation aims to help you create a connection with neighbors you never knew by working to remedy these pressing issues. A Happy Hour will follow. See http://www.sixthandi.org/event/just-neighbors/.

24] – You are invited to join a Hatha Yoga class at Shanti Yoga Ashram, on Tues., June 10 from 7 to 8:15 PM. 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.

25] –There is an IWW General Membership Branch Meeting on Tues., June 10 at 7:30 PM in the Free School Classroom at Red Emma's. Support the One Big Union! Get involved in the local branch of the Industrial Workers of the World - one of the oldest and most radical labor unions of all time.

26] – On Wed., June 11 from 9 to 10:30 AM, Vahid Majidi, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense [sic] for Nuclear Matters, will speak at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW, WDC. RSVP to Sarah Weiner at http://csis.org/email/49989/field_contact_email.

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

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