Baltimore Activist Alert April 3 - 18, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert April 3 - 18, 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] Two friends are looking to buy a house in Baltimore
6] Good Friday Stations of the Cross--Justice, Peace, and Nonviolent Resistance to Lockheed Martin – Apr. 3
7] Peace vigil at White House – Apr. 3
8] Good Friday Justice Stations of the Cross – Apr. 3
9] Silent Peace Vigil – Apr. 3
10] Film IDA – Apr. 3
11] Ballroom Dancing – Apr. 3
12] West Chester, PA demo -- Apr. 4
13] Anti-drone march – Apr. 4
14] March for the workers – Apr. 4
15] Support workers – Apr. 4
16] Paint your pup – Apr. 4
17] “The Tao of Ethical Culture” -- Apr. 5
18] Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Committee meeting – Apr. 5
19] A.C.T.O.R. – Apr. 5
20] Minimum wage – Apr. 5
21] Pentagon Vigil – Apr. 6
22] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Apr. 6 – Apr. 10
23] Film BLACK ICE -- Apr. 6
24] Venezuela, a threat? – Apr. 6
25] Mass surveillance meeting -- Apr. 6
26] Peace vigil – Apr. 7
27] No JHU Drone Research -- Apr. 7
28] Film “Nothing But a Man” – Apr. 7
29] Caravana 43 -- Apr. 7
30] Tawakkol Karman at Loyola – Apr. 7
31] “Octavia's Brood” – Apr. 7
32] Film MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY [USA, 2006] -- Apr. 10
33] David Swanson speaks at CPSR dinner – Apr. 18
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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] – Two friends are looking to buy a house in Baltimore. Let Max know if you have any leads—410-366-1637 or mobuszewski@verizon.net.

6] – On Fri., Apr. 3 at noon, engage in the Good Friday Stations of Justice, Peace, and Nonviolent Resistance to Lockheed Martin, world's #1 war profiteer at Mall & Goddard Boulevards, King of Prussia, PA--directly behind the King of Prussia Mall, and across from the UA King of Prussia movieplex. Bring an umbrella in case of rain.
Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest war profiteer and the United States’ chief Pentagon contractor (more than $40 billion annually), is among the chief manufacturers of drone warfare technology -- the remote-controlled planes, the Hellfire missiles they fire, and the space-based satellites which direct the drones from bases in the continental U.S., such as the drone war command center being established in Horsham, PA. Join a Journey of Mourning and Truth. Call the Brandywine Peace Community, (610) 544-1818, if you are interested in participating in the nonviolent resistance/civil disobedience and are willing to face arrest. There will be an on-site meeting at 11 AM for those planning on doing the civil disobedience.

7] – Pax Christi Baltimore will hold its 29th annual Good Friday outdoor Stations of the Cross in downtown Baltimore on April 3. Gather at noon at City Hall. The procession will stop at several sites in the downtown area, and a brief prayer service at each site will connect that site to a contemporary issue and a traditional Station. The procession takes about two hours and returns to City Hall. Rain or shine. All are welcome. Contact Chuck Michaels at 443-846-5207.

8] – On Fri., Apr. 3 from noon to 1 PM, join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in a vigil urging the powers that be to abolish war and torture, to disarm all weapons, to end indefinite detention, to close Guantanamo, to establish justice for all and help create the Beloved Community! The vigil takes place at the White House on Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Contact Art @ artlaffin@hotmail.com or at 202-360-6416.

9] – There is usually a silent peace vigil on Fridays, from 5 to 6 PM, sponsored by Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings, outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St. The next vigil is on until Apr. 3. On that Friday it will remind us that War Is Not the Answer and that there is the need to stop torture, and prosecute the torturers.

10] – Go to Peace Center of Delaware County, 1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, PA 19064 for the First-Friday Free Large Screen Film Series on Fri., Apr. 3 at 7 PM to see the 2015 Oscar winner 'Best Foreign Film' IDA. The Polish film was directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, and written by Pawlikowski and Rebecca Lenkiewicz. Go to http://www.delcopeacecenter.org/ or call 610-544-1818.

Set in 1962 Poland, the film depicts a young woman on the verge of taking her final vows to become a Catholic nun. Orphaned as an infant during the German occupation of Poland during World War II, she is now 18. Her mother superior insists that she visit her aunt before becoming a nun. Her aunt, a cynical Communist Party member, tells her that she was born to Jewish parents murdered during the Holocaust. This revelation triggers a heart-rending journey to uncover the repressed secrets of the past within the eerie days of postwar Communism. Watch a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXhCaVqB0x0. Doors open at 6:30 PM for light refreshments. The event is co-sponsored by the Brandywine Peace Community.

11] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at 8 PM. Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St. Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be Apr. 3. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

12] – Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com.

13] – On Sat., Apr. 4 from noon to 1 PM, join the Center City Anti-War/Anti-Drone Silent Death Walk/Vigil. Gather at 12th & Market Sts. Wear back. Signs and white masks will be provided. RSVP to Marge Van Cleef at 203-804-3013. Come together for the Anniversary of the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (April 4, 1968, Memphis, TN).

14] – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered fighting poverty and defending the right to unionize. On Sat., Apr. 4, join the Philadelphia march for full employment, the right of fast-food and all low wage workers to organize, and a $15 an hour livable minimum wage. The march is sponsored by the MLK Day of Action, Resistance and Empowerment. Be at a 1 PM rally against poverty at the New Vision UMC Church, N. Broad and Westmoreland Sts. March to Germantown and Erie Aves. [Broad and Erie subway stop]. Learn more at #ReclaimMLKPHL

15] – On Sat., Apr. 4 from 2 to 4 PM at George Washington University, 801 22nd St. NW, Phillips B152, come to a meeting which might be the first of many and that a coalition of D.C schools could come together in solidarity to win a bigger raise for all workers in D.C. RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Fy6qAoDuYOThSmO5DxFVDOjAjk99bctG9IoC02a. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1389529594697266/.

Last week Portland, Oregon became just the latest city to win a minimum wage increase joining a host of other West coast cities including Seattle and San Francisco. An increase in wages citywide or statewide would represent a commitment to workers that our universities have continuously deemed unnecessary.

16] – There is a Paint Your Pet Fundraiser on SAT., APR. 2 t 6 PM @ Slainte in Fell's Point. Your animal friend will be TURNED YOU INTO A REGULAR PUP-CASSO! Participants will create a 16x20 custom painting of their animal friend while enjoying drink and food specials! Tickets are $65 each and MUST be purchased in advance. TICKETS are at www.mdspca.org/paint.

17] – Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 306 W. Franklin St., Suite 102, Baltimore 21201-4661, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion from 10:30 AM to noon. On Apr. 5, however, see a video presentation of “The Tao of Ethical Culture.” Both Ethical Culture and the broader tradition of Humanism in general use reason to liberate us from superstition so we can build a better world. Sometimes, however, we can get sucked into overly intellectualized debates about how many atoms fit on the head of a pin. This is why, the Taoist sage Laozi reminds us to think less and simply “be.” What would the founder of Ethical Culture, Felix Adler, think of such wisdom? In trying to answer this question, Hugh Taft-Morales relies on Benjamin Hoff’s The Tao of Pooh in an attempt to keep things simple. Hugh Taft-Morales joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its professional leader in 2010, the same year he was certified by the American Ethical Union as an Ethical Culture Leader. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

18] – The next meeting of the Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capital Area will be held Sun., Apr. 5 at 4 PM at Shizumi's home, 9612 Wire Ave., Silver Spring 20901. The agenda will primarily focus on the NPT activities in NYC & the Gensuikyo reception on Apr. 30 at All Souls Church. Also to be discussed will be the Maruki Exhibit at American University, the 70th Commemoration and setting the next meeting. Call John at 703-822-3485.

19] – At Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Sts. (2021 14th St, NW), WDC on Sun., Apr. 5 at 5 PM, the A.C.T.O.R. (A Continuing Talk on Race) open discussion series is hosted by Busboys as a community service. It provides the opportunity for people to come together and speak openly and honestly about issues of race. The intent is that each person walks away from the discussion feeling something: challenged, educated, uncomfortable, enlightened, refreshed, reassured and hopefully inspired and moved to action! Each month there is a new topic for discussion. See http://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/info/in-house-series.

20] – Strategize about a ballot initiative that would raise the minimum wage for all workers at 1100 Florida Ave. NW, WDC on Mon., Apr. 6 from 2 to 4 PM. This is a monthly community meeting of restaurant workers! Grab some food and/or a drink and learn about a campaign to raise the wages for all restaurant workers. ROC-DC will provide the food and drinks! RSVP to jeremiah@rocunited.org or 240-772-1356. See https://docs.google.com/a/rocunited.org/forms/d/15_IvkJjVeszhdJMIYswGrcu.

21] -- There is a weekly Pentagon Peace Vigil from 7 to 8 AM on Mondays, since 1987, outside the Pentagon Metro stop. The next vigil is Mon., Apr. 5, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. Email artlaffin@hotmail.com or call 202-882-9649. 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.

22] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Friday from 10 AM to noon 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.

23] – Beyond the Classroom: University of Maryland, 1102 South Campus Commons, Building 1, 4230 Knox Road, College Park 20742, on Mon., Apr. 6 from 7 to 9 PM, see "Black Ice: The Story of the Arctic 30" as part of a Seminar Series on People Power: Activism for Social Change. “When preventing a crime makes you the criminal, giving up is not an option!” When the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise set sail to protest the first ever oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean, none of the people on board could have known what was coming. Seized at gunpoint by Russian special forces, the ‘Arctic 30’ were thrust into headlines all over the world, facing up to 15 years in prison and finding themselves at the center of a bitter international dispute. Their imprisonment, which saw worldwide media cast the Arctic 30 in the same mold as political prisoners like Pussy Riot and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, lasted months. However, their resolve to try and stop oil drilling in the Arctic was never broken. Complete with never-before-seen footage and behind-the-scenes access, ‘Black Ice’ tells the story of the Arctic 30 from the moment they set sail to protest at the controversial Prirazlomnaya oil platform, to their arrest, imprisonment… and what happened next. See https://www.facebook.com/events/920930904606554/.

24] – Come to the Baltimore Solidarity Center, 2011 N. Charles St. on Mon., Apr. 6 from 7 to 8:30 Pm to discover what is behind President Obama’s “Executive Decree” calling Venezuela “an extraordinary and unusual threat” to the national security of the U.S. What is at stake for the people in the U.S. and Latin America? The FIST & WWP Baltimore round table discussion is hosting special guest speaker - BERTA JOUBERT-CECI. She is a contributing editor to Workers World/Mundo Obrero, who attended the International Seminar “The Parties and the New Society,” held March 12-14 in Mexico City, with representatives of 132 political parties from 40 countries and five continents. Venezuela was the main topic of discussion and several actions were proposed on behalf of Venezuela including a day of international solidarity on April 19.

Also to be discussed are the upcoming SOA activities around the 43 disappeared Mexican students. Finally, a very brief video filmed and produced by Berta at a special women's conference in Venezuela will be shown. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/885010581558799/

25] -- Are you still concerned about mass surveillance? Join a meeting on Mon., Apr. 6 for a potluck dinner and action spokescouncil planning events for this spring. The meeting will be at the Code Pink house, 1241 Evarts St. NE, WDC. The dinner is at 6:30 PM, and the meeting will begin at 7:30 PM. While it's been some time since we convened local activists opposed to the NSA dragnet, several recent & impending events suggest bringing the band back together again. This spring, Congress will consider whether to extend three provisions of the PATRIOT Act set to expire in June. If past is prologue, this process will be rushed at the last minute, allowing no time for debate. We can expect something to happen before the end of May, so events before then could be very opportune and well timed. We recently had some rare good news in the bipartisan introduction of a measure (H.R. 1466, the Surveillance State Repeal Act or #SSRA) that would repeal both of the laws on which the NSA dragnet rests: the 2001 PATRIOT Act, and the 2008 FISA Amendments. Go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18BkM4tUHIspsT7rw-fNJT8p1g0RHR-XCNHVT1uZZHQI/viewform to indicate (a) how many people are coming and (b) what dish you plan to bring.

26] – 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 Apr. 7. Call 215-426-0364.

27] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on Apr. 7 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

28] – At Bloombars, 3222 11th St. NW, WDC 20010, on Tues., Apr. 7 from 7 to 9 PM, BloomBars and DC Moving Pictures present a landmark independent film and a lost classic of 1960’s cinema. “Nothing But a Man” (1964, 95 min), by Michael Roemer - tells the story of a black railroad worker who falls in love with the town’s preacher’s daughter, and tries to maintain his respect in the white racist South in the early 1960s. The story depicts their struggle to find a “meaningful place” in their society. Ivan Dixon and Abbey Lincoln star in this painfully honest, enormously moving drama about African-American life in the South. NOTHING BUT A MAN is widely regarded as one of the very finest American films of the 1960s and a masterpiece of independent cinema. Catch http://tinyurl.com/nothing-but-a-man-trailer.

The screening will be followed by audience discussion and Q&A with filmmaker Can Tuzcu, and Chis Rue, of DC Moving Pictures – a movie screening project dedicated to showcasing great movies and great filmmakers at local spaces in and around the District. The suggested donation is $10. Proceeds support BloomBars. Enjoy free organic popcorn. BloomScreen Indie Film Night is a weekly series of independent and foreign films, accompanied by discussions with filmmakers, experts and other guests. Visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/846131312140607/

29] – Join the Caravana 43 representatives and family members directly affected by police violence here in the U.S., including a representative of Mothers Against Police Brutality, to discuss the issues of state violence, and the domestic and international conditions that allow it to continue to flourish. This is at Howard University Armor J. Blackburn Center, WDC on Tues., Apr. 7 at 6:30 PM. On September 26, 2014, 43 students from the Ayotzinapa rural school in Guerrero, Mexico were brutally attacked and forcibly disappeared by police working with the military and drug cartels. Family members of the Ayotzinapa 43 have embarked on a tour of the U.S. Caravana 43, to raise awareness and solidarity with their search for justice and that of millions of others in Mexico who are suffering due to the Drug War and state violence. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1014039321960009/.

30] – Tawakkol Karman will deliver Loyola University Maryland’s third Hanway Lecture in Global Studies on Tues., Apr. 7 at 7 PM in McGuire Hall. The event is free, but tickets are required. Karman, a journalist, human rights activist, and politician in Yemen, has played a major role in the peace-building movement and revolution, protesting for human rights and against government corruption, in her country. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her leadership in the non-violent fight for women’s rights and peace.

She was the first Yemeni, the first Arab woman, and the second Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and at the time was the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate at age 32. Known as the "mother of the revolution" and "the iron woman," Karman began organizing weekly protests in Yemen’s capitol in 2007. The protests continued until 2011, when Karman asked protestors to support Arab Spring—demonstrations and protests in the Arab world that began in the early 2010s. Karman has been imprisoned numerous times for her pro-democracy and pro-human rights protests. In addition to leading protests, Karman has also written several articles and created a national dialogue on these issues. Call 410-617-2000.

31] – On Tues., Apr. 7 at 7:30 PM @ Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, adrienne maree brown presesnts “Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories From Social Justice Activists." It's a book of Science Fiction in the service of the revolution, with social justice activists making critical forays into the present by way of speculative futures, all carried out under the sign of Octavia Butler. The book is co-edited by adrienne maree brown and Walidah Imarisha, and published by AK Press in cooperation with the Institute for Anarchist Studies. Call 443-602-7585. Go to http://www.redemmas.org.

32] – The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee, Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee of Homewood and Stony Run Meetings and Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility are continuing the FILM & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS DVD SERIES. MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY [USA, 2006] will be shown with a discussion to follow on Fri., Apr. 10 at Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218, around 7:15 PM. There is no charge, and refreshments will be available. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at Verizon.net.

In the summer of 2004, director/cinematographer Laura Poitras begins chronicling the efforts of Riyadh al-Adhadh, a Sunni physician, father of six, who runs for office in Iraq's first democratic election. As a member of a political minority, the doctor tries to convince his fellow party members not to boycott the election, but with the entire political process hanging by a thread, he faces an uphill battle. Poitras is the director of CITIZENFOUR, the documentary about Edward Snowden.

Working alone in Iraq over eight months, Poitras created a portrait of Iraqis living under U.S. occupation. Dr. Riyadh, an outspoken critic of the occupation, is equally passionate about the need to establish democracy in Iraq. Yet all around him, Dr. Riyadh sees only chaos, as his waiting room fills each day with patients suffering the physical and mental effects of ever-increasing violence. Recognizing the chaotic situation, he visits the Abu Ghraib Prison after the notorious photographs surface. The documentary presents an Iraqi who is in agony over the tragic contradiction of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and its claim to spread democracy in the Middle East. The viewer sees the madness of the U.S. military occupation, complete with private security mercenaries, U.S. journalists and U.N. officials who orchestrate the elections. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski [at] verizon.net for further information

33] – Join us for Chesapeake PSR’s Annual Chapter Dinner on Sat., Apr. 18 from 6 to 9 PM at The Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles Street, Baltimore 21210. Our featured guest speaker is author, activist and radio host David Swanson. David will speak on trends that are driving change in our society. His talk will encompass three areas of great interest and concern to Chesapeake PSR -- peace, environment and democracy. The cost for dinner is $40. Limited financial assistance available. Please RSVP to twitehouse@psr.org or 240-246-4492

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