Baltimore Activist Alert April 30 – May 1, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert April 30 – May 1, 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] Two friends are coming to Baltimore, and need a place to stay – May 8 & 9
7] Get your animal friend in the Maryland SPCA 2016 calendar – through May 15
8] Out of Rubble exhibit – through May 16
9] Out of Rubble talk – April 30
10] May Day Rally -- May 1
11] Silent Peace Vigil – May 1
12] What about the Kurds? – May 1
13] Protest at the Australian Embassy – May 1
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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] – Two friends are coming to Baltimore, and need a place to stay the evenings of May 8 & 9. Let Max know if you have any suggestions—410-366-1637 or mobuszewski@verizon.net.

7] – Enter a photo of your animal friend in the Maryland SPCA 2016 Calendar for $50. Each entry also includes one (1) free calendar! Participants can send photos after registration, so don't worry if you need a little extra time to find the purr-fect photo of Fluffy! To enter, go to www.mdspca.org/photo and use discount code "SPCAcalendar" during checkout, or contact Jennifer Mion at petcalendar@mdspca.org or 410-235-8826, ext. 133.

The 2016 Pet Calendar will be a full-color wall calendar, released in the fall of 2015. Thirteen of the best photos will be selected for the cover and pet-of-the-month pages. Photographs must be of animals, no people, and must be in color. High-resolution horizontal photos are preferred. Small photos, especially those taken by phones, are difficult to enlarge. All entered photos will appear in the calendar. A maximum of 400 photos will be accepted through May 15, 2015. The calendar is an important fundraiser for the Maryland SPCA. Proceeds benefit the needy and homeless animals in our care!

8] – Out of Rubble is an exhibit currently on display at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture until May 16 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The exhibition reacts to the wake of war — its realities and its representations. The rubble that each war leaves behind shapes today and tomorrow — physically, psychologically and spiritually. Responding to a wide range of violent encounters taking place over four continents, Out of Rubble presents works by seventeen artists and architects from over ten countries who consider its causes and consequences, its finality and future, moving from decimation and disintegration to the possibilities of regeneration and recovery. Featured artists and architects include Susanne Slavick, who curated the exhibit is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University.

9] – On Thurs., Apr. 30 at 7 PM, she will deliver a public lecture on the exhibition in the 132 Performing Arts and Humanities Building. Slavick will speak about the exhibition and the accompanying book of the same title. Slavick’s work, as an artist and as co-founder of 10 Years + Counting, led her to research and edit Out of Rubble, an anthology of works by contemporary artists who address the aftermath of current and past wars. The book includes essays by Slavick and Holly Edwards and works by numerous international artists from Diana Al-Hadid to Xu Zhen. The Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM and is located in the Fine Arts Building. Call 410-455-3188.

10] – Go to WMATA HQ, 600 5th St. NW, WDC on Fri., May 1 at 11:30 AM, join Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) for a May Day Rally! Help hold WMATA accountable to its paratransit passengers and workers, to provide a dependable and accessible MetroAccess system, as well as a living wage for paratransit employees. The closest Metro stops are Judiciary Square and Gallery Place. See https://www.facebook.com/events/874172962624894/.

11] – On Fri., May 1 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.

12] – At the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Choate Room, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC on Fri., May from noon to 1:30 PM, hear about the rise of the Kurds as a key player in the fight against the Islamic State and how this has put U.S. relations with the governments in Baghdad and Ankara to the test. The Middle East Institute's Center for Turkish Studies is pleased to host a panel discussion on these and other aspects of the challenges and opportunities in U.S. relations with Turkey and with Iraq in light of the growing regional influence of the Kurds. Visit http://www.mei.edu/events/kurds-new-clout-us-ties-turkey-and-iraq.

13] – On Fri., May 1 at noon, it will be noted that indigenous people have been displaced all over Tuttle Island. There will be an educational rally on the problem & the wider issue of colonization as it applies to all Indigenous people. From McPherson Square, participants will march to the Australian embassy 1601 Massachusetts Ave. NW WDC 20036. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1415696225404706/

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