Baltimore Activist Alert January 13 – 15, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert January 13 – 15, 2015

"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.
1] Books, buttons & stickers
2] Web site for info on federal legislation
3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists
4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLa
5] Witness Against Torture – Jan. 12
6] GMOM conference call – Jan. 12
7] Pledge/FOC meeting – Jan. 12
8] "Growth & the Future of the Chesapeake Bay"-- Jan. 13
9] The Peace Corps Today – Jan. 13
10] No JHU Drone Research – Jan. 13
11] "Too damn Muslim to be trusted"-- Jan.13
12] Get Money Out - Maryland – Jan. 13
13] Poetry collection about the Arab diaspora – Jan.13
14] IWW meeting – Jan. 13
15] Moving Forward on Climate Kick-off Rally – Jan. 14
16] Dictators and Democracy in African Development – Jan. 14
17] The case for NUMSA – Jan. 14
18] How to engage in grassroots funding – Jan. 14
19] NVDA training – Jan. 14
20] No Business As Usual in D.C. - Jan.15
21] Interfaith Moral Action on Climate – Jan. 15
22] Restore trust in our police forces – Jan. 15
23] No Business As Usual in Baltimore – Jan. 15
24] Roundtable discussion of alternative politics – Jan. 15
25] Martin Luther King Jr. Day teach-in – Jan. 15
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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 Francine Sheppard at 5639B, Harpers Farm Rd., Columbia 21044. The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up. Contact Francine at 410-992-7679 or FrancineMSW@aol.com.

5] -- Witness Against Torture is doing two actions in Washington D.C. on Mon. Jan. 12. To get more details, go to www.witnesstorture.org or email witnesstorture@gmail.com.

6] -- Get Money Out - Maryland holds statewide conference calls every Monday from 6:30 to 7 PM at 619-326-2772, Code #1136243. Visit http://www.getmoneyoutmd.org/.

7] – 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., Jan. 12. The proposed agenda will include anti-drone activities, including getting a resolution passed in Baltimore’s City Council, the MLK parade, lobbying John Sarbanes, preparing for legislation in Annapolis, Witness Against Torture activities, a march from the EPA to the Pentagon and a talk about ISIS. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions.

8] -- There is a conference about the environment "Growth & the Future of the Chesapeake Bay" in Frederick, MD, at Hood College from Tues., Jan. 13 through Wed., Jan. 14. Go to the Bay Journal website for (1) conference registration (2) flyer and (3) a draft agenda--http://bayjournal.com/growthconference. Hear from Herman Daly, the father of economics-without-growth ("Steady State Economics"). He first wrote on this subject in the 1970s. Another speaker is Tom Horton, the conference organizer, an expert on the problems of the Bay and their causes. Here is the link to Tom's Salisbury U. faculty webpage: http://www.salisbury.edu/environmentalstudies/faculty/tom_horton.html. Another speaker is Tim Jackson, who will expound on "Prosperity without Growth: The Path to a Sustainable Future."

9] – American University SIS Dean's Discussion focuses on the Peace Corps Today with Carrie Hessler-Radelet, the Director, Peace Corps, on Tues., Jan. 13 from 3:30 to 5 PM in Abramson Family Founders Room, New Mexico Avenue and Nebraska Ave., WDC 20016. RSVP at https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07ea0gncut27a19956&oseq=&c=&ch=. The event, sponsored by SIS, the University Library and the AU Peace Corps Community, will be web streamed.

10] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on Jan. 13 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

11] – At the Washington Peace Center, 1525 Newton St. NW, WDC, on Tues., Jan. 13 at 6:30 PM, Dr. Maha Hilal will present her dissertation research which examined the relationship between policy design and implementation of War on Terror policies, and Muslim American political participation, alienation, and withdrawal. Further, the data in this study shows that Muslim Americans across a range of backgrounds question the degree to which they are entitled to equity in both cultural and legal citizenship, including procedural justice. Dr. Hilal recently earned her doctorate from the Department of Justice, Law and Society, at American University in Washington, D.C. The title of her dissertation is "Too damn Muslim to be trusted": The War on Terror and the Muslim American response. Her expertise and research interests are in the fields of conflict resolution, human rights, and public policy. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/895579993810064/?ref=6&ref_notif_type=plan_user_invited.

12] – There is a privacy workshop at the Emergence Community Arts Collective, 733 Euclid St. NW, WDC, on Tues., Jan. 13 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. Contact Jabari Zakiya at 202-390-6398 or jzakiya@gmail.com. The cost is a $10 donation.

13] – On Tues., Jan. 13 at 7:30 PM at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, hear from “This House, My Bones” by Elmaz Abinader. She will read from her newest poetry collection about the Arab diaspora and the effects of war. She will be joined by readings from local authors Willona Sloan and Derrick Weston. Call 443-602-7585. Go to http://www.redemmas.org.

14] – On Tues., Jan. 13 at 7:30 PM in the Free School Classroom, Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, there is a Monthly IWW GMB Meeting. Just sign up for the OBU (One Big Union)! The Baltimore Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World urge you to come and pay your dues, sign up for a red card, and find out what the Wobblies are working on. Call 443-602-7585. Go to http://www.redemmas.org.

15] – Register at https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/288/personal2.asp?formid=meetedfund&c=7223864 for the Maryland League of Conservation Voters’ Moving Forward on Climate Kick-off Rally in Lawyer’s Mall, 100 State St., Annapolis, MD 21401! With a new governor and a record number of new legislators, join the rally at 10:30 AM on Wed., Jan. 14, the opening day of the legislative session, and support a clean energy bill that requires utilities to obtain 40% of their electricity from clean sources by 2025, effectively doubling the existing requirement of 20% by 2022 under Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard law. Contact Danielle Lipinski [mailto:edfundinfo@mdlcv.org]. Go to www.mdlcv.org.

16] – American University SIS is hosting a Book Launch: “Dictators and Democracy in African Development: The Political Economy of Good Governance in Nigeria” with Carl LeVan, assistant professor, SIS, on Wed., Jan. 14 from 6 to 8 PM in Abramson Family Founders Room, American University’s Abramson Family Founders Room - SIS Building, New Mexico Avenue and Nebraska Avenue, WDC.

RSVP at https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07eabmq03s2b976c36&oseq=&c=&ch=. Special guests include Congressman John Conyers and former U.S. Ambassadors to Nigeria: Princeton Lyman, U.S. Institute of Peace, John Campbell, Council on Foreign Relations, Robin Sanders, FEEEDS Advocacy Initiative, and Howard Jeter, Four Ways Enterprises.

17] – Get over to Busboys and Poets, 5th and K Sts., 1025 5th St. NW, WDC, on Wed., Jan. 14 at 6:30 PM to hear from Irvin Jim, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) General Secretary. He will speak about NUMSA and the exciting new developments with the Preparatory Assembly of the United Front in South Africa. Actor, activist, and filmmaker Danny Glover will join Irvin for this event, and Grammy nominated musician Carolyn Malachi will perform.

NUMSA is the biggest metalworkers trade union in South Africa with more than 339,567 members (as of January 2014). On Nov. 8, 2014, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) expelled NUMSA, its largest affiliate. Visit http://www.numsa.org.za. NUMSA leadership has never shied away from criticizing South Africa democratic government led by African National Congress (ANC), the ruling majority party, and Irvin is no different. He believes some of the ANC’s strategic decisions were erroneous. While he does not deny the victory the democratic breakthrough represents, Irvin believes ANC government needs to take responsibility for South Africa’s growing inequality and the fact that infrastructure, education, water resources and health systems remain unfairly distributed across the societies of South Africa. The talk is co-sponsored by the Institute for Policy Studies, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and Busboys and Poets. See http://www.ips-dc.org/events/south-african-labor-leader-talks-numsa/.

18] Get over to St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1525 Newton St., WDC, on Wed., Jan. 14 from 7 to 9 PM for a skillshare which will cover how to engage in grassroots funding. In an environment where foundations and corporate donors dictate organization’s priorities in ways that disservice clients, staff, and community partners, grassroots funding is an important tool to do the work that is needed. This workshop will help with questions such as: What is grassroots funding and how does it differ from tradition foundation funding? What does the organization need in order to start its own grassroots fundraising program, and how to ask clients to become donors? This skillshare is being facilitated by Alexis Stombelis, CISPES.

The DC Trainers’ Network monthly skillshare is a structured, interactive space where people can share skills and gain confidence in their training abilities and everybody is both a teacher and a learner. This is an inclusive practice space to experiment with different approaches for learning and teaching. This skillshare seeks to strengthen the D.C. activist community’s ability to meet the needs of progressive social movements. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/906358899381795/?ref=22&source=1.

19] On Wed., Jan. 14 from 7 to 10 PM at Amnesty International Offices, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., WDC, partake in NVDA Training, catered towards POC organizers. This will be the first of a series of trainings for trainers, and very narrowly focused on preparing and coordinating a team of people for Saturday's mass action training. For this first workshop, it would be very helpful if PoCs attend who already have facilitation/training skills and/or NVDA experience. There will be follow up workshops for people who would like to be trainers who do not already have this background very soon! RSVP https://www.facebook.com/events/1545780755703602/?ref=3&ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular.

20] On Thurs., Jan. 15 at 8 AM in Washington, D.C., join in No Business As Usual - Shut It Down. STRIKE AGAINST RACISM. Organize student strikes, community strikes, workers strikes and march. If Dr. King were alive today, he would be in the streets with the youth. Call 442-221-3775.

21] –There will be an Interfaith Moral Action on Climate at noon on Thurs., Jan. 15 at the site of the Republican Congressional Meeting, the Hershey Lodge, 325 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033. This is a Call to Action on Dr. Martin Luther King's 86th Birthday, a day when Republican members of the US Senate and the House of Representatives will be in the middle of a three-day meeting at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pa. "We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action." Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Interfaith Moral Action on Climate is calling upon people of faith, spirituality and good will to come to Hershey for an interfaith service outside of the Hershey Lodge, followed by a spiritual procession around the building. Congressional Republicans in particular should reflect upon the climate denial they have embraced, virtually uniformly, and resolve at their meeting that it is long past time to change direction. 2015 will be a year of unprecedented opportunity, with international climate talks set to conclude with an agreement in Paris in December. The United States must lead the international community in dealing with the climate catastrophe we have done so much to create, and Congressional support for responsible climate policies here at home is an important part of that needed action. Go to http://www.interfaithactiononclimatechange.org, or contact Cindy Harris at imaclimate@gmail.com.

22] On Thurs., Jan. 15 at 12:15 PM, come to Dupont Circle for series of actions. For example, there is a panel discussion at 2111 Florida Ave NW, WDC, bringing together citizens, and representatives of the D.C. legal community, government and police to seek common solutions. Work together to find ways to ensure equity and restore trust in our police forces. From 5:30 to 6:30 PM. there will be live streaming of the American Friends Service
Committee’s National Panel Discussion from Baltimore; from 6:30 to 7 PM, a light supper will be provided; and finally from 7 to 8:30 PM hear the panel discussion co-sponsored by American Friends Service Committee and the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Friends Meeting of
Washington. Call AFSC-DC at (202) 544-0324 or spread the word by texting SOAR DC to 69866.

23] – The People's Power Assembly is gathering on Thurs., Jan. 15 from 4 to 5:30 PM at McKeldin Square, Light & Pratt Sts. January 15 is Dr. King's Birthday - "Strike Against Racism" #BlackLivesMatter." The STRIKE envisions No Business As Usual – Shut it down! Join a Money for Jobs, a Livable Wage & Education, Not Police Terror & Killings RALLY & MARCH. Join a focus group or form a “strike committee” at your college, high school or work place. Plan a feeder march or activity from your school or neighborhood. The Strike is initiated and endorsed by Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly (like us on Facebook), Greater Baltimore Chapter, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, FIST youth group, UNITE/HERE Local 7, IWW and many others. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/688350891271982/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming. Call 443-221-3775 or visit www.PeoplesPowerAssemblies.org.

24] – At the Hunan Dynasty, 215 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Ste 1, WDC 20003, on Thurs., Jan. 15 at 6 PM, join Eugene Puryear, Lucy Duff, Wally Malakoff, Lisa Stand and Metro D.C. DSA for a roundtable discussion of alternative politics in Maryland & D.C. Activists will speak about our successes and disappointments in the most recent local elections and our prospects for future political progress. If you plan to order dinner, please do so by 6:10 PM in order to minimize disruptions during the respective talks and subsequent discussion. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1595507900670614/?ref=6&ref_notif_type=plan_user_invited.

25] – On Thurs., Jan. 15 at 7 PM, attend the National Black United Front Martin Luther King Jr. Day teach-in on what to do when stopped by the cops? The event will take place at We Act Radio Station, 1918 MLK Ave. SE. Take the Green Line to the Anacostia Metro. Call 301-836-1826 or nbufdc@gmail.com.

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