Sunday, September 27, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert Sept. 27 - 28, 2015


Baltimore Activist Alert Sept. 27 - 28, 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 and 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] “Peace, Poverty, and the Planet” – Sept. 27

7] The Walk 2015 – Sept. 27

8] U.S. – Cuba Relations – Sept. 27

9] Sustainability at JHU – Sept. 27

10] Dave Zirin at Book Festival – Sept. 27

11] Pentagon Vigil – Sept. 28

12] Rebrand the football team – Sept. 28

13] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Sept. 28 – Oct. 2

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1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available.  “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers are in stock. Call Max 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.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 ncnrnotices-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. You will get a confirmation message once subscribed.  If you have problems, please write to the list manager at ncnrnotices-admin@lists.riseup.net.



4] – You can help safeguard human rights and fragile ecosystems through your purchase of HOCOFOLA CafĂ© 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] – Janice and Max are looking to buy a house in Baltimore.  Let Max know if you have any leads—410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at Verizon dot net.

6] – 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 Sept. 27 the platform address is “Peace, Poverty, and the Planet.” Hugh Taft-Morales explores what it will take to bring lasting peace to the planet. While grateful for the energy and time diplomats and strategists contribute to contain violence, he wonders if such efforts will fail without a radical change of perspective on the part of most of the human race. From a Humanist perspective, the recent Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis entitled “Our Common Home” can be instructive. It emphasizes the fundamental interrelatedness of all of nature and society. War, greed, and exploitation feed off each other. To build peace, we need sustainability and justice. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.



7] – An INTERFAITH EVENT: "THE WALK 2015," is happening on Sun., Sept. 27 at 1:30 PM as THE TRADITION CONTINUES.  As many of you have read, the organization of 9/11 Unity Walk has closed its doors.  The interfaith community is grateful for their contribution and wishes them well in their future endeavors.  In response to both the heartfelt inquiries following their announcement and in recognition of the faith communities along the route committed to the event, a small group of volunteers is moving forward with providing an opportunity to come together again.  Please see the message below regarding The Walk 2015.



Keep the Flame of Interfaith Journeys Burning! Since communities along Embassy Row have confirmed their desire to continue to host a program with opening ceremonies beginning at Washington Hebrew Congregation at 1:30 PM, there will once again be a glorious and unique opportunity to journey together.  Just days after Pope Francis visits our nation's capital with a call to action for all of humanity, not Catholics alone, we are joining the Archdiocese's campaign, https://walkwithfrancis.org/ to honor the Pope's humble call to service and to note the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the ground breaking encyclical which called for interfaith dialogue between and among religions throughout the world.  What actions can we take, individually and collectively, to, in the words of Gandhi, "be the change we wish to see in the world?" Email or go to http://thewalkdc.wix.com/online-flyer-event or https://walkwithfrancis.org/.



8] – On Sun, Sept. 27 from 1:30 to 4 PM the Howard County Friends of Latin America invite you to a discussion U.S. – Cuba Relations:  New World or More of the Same?  Mavis Anderson, senior associate of the Latin America Working Group, has worked to end the embargo on Cuba for nearly two decades.  This discussion will be held at the East Columbia Branch Library, 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia 21045. Contact Leslie Salgado at 410-381-4899.



9] – The BALTIMORE GREEN FORUM, a monthly environmental education and discussion forum, will occur on Sun., Sept. 27 starting at 4 PM at the Maryland Presbyterian Church, 1105 Providence Road, Towson 21286.  This month’s topic is What We Have Learned from 9 Years of a Sustainability Program at Johns Hopkins University. Ashley Pennington, program manager for the Office of Sustainability, will examine Evolution of the University Wide Sustainability Initiative, 2006-2015, and What We Have Learned.

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She will describe all the efforts to prevent the otherwise inevitable loss of initiative.  These efforts include constant adjusting of tactics, recalibrating priorities, addressing new challenges to campus efforts and engagement, and cultivating a wide network of peers, partners and programs.  All this complex web of efforts and strategies will continue to be needed to achieve the necessary changes, sustain them, and make the university a world leader in sustainability.  



During the optional roundtable discussion period from 5:45 - 6:30 pm, you will no longer be restricted by the above support group rules.  So, you are free to critique your support group experience and the rules and to make other suggestions.  If you are interested in participating again, you can help plan the next one.  



BGF is willing to facilitate such a group on a regular basis.  The group will probably want to meet at times and places other than the regular BGF monthly meetings.   But a small group could meet at the church during a BGF event in a different room.  A small parlor room is available.   In any case, the consensus a year ago after the first Support Group on 5-18-14 was that we should offer one at least once a year.



The Forum seeks to educate and stimulate dialogue about what humans can do to make modern civilization more sustainable, including adjusting to finite resource limits and preserving biodiversity and a healthy environment. This is done through 8 monthly meetings a year.  The topics are far ranging.  They vary from local to planetary and from philosophical to scientific to very practical. The Meeting Format:  There is a speaker and Q&A from 4-5:15 PM.  Then there are brief announcements by representatives of other organizations that also seek sustainability and environmental protection.  The idea is to promote collaboration among these organizations.  Next, there is an optional roundtable discussion until 6:30 PM.  Finally, there is often a small gathering at a nearby restaurant.



BGF is open to the public and is free of charge, but donations to Maryland Presbyterian Church are collected during the meeting to thank the church for their generous gift of the space to us. Call Sam Hopkins at 410 554 0006 or email baltimoregreenforum@gmail.com.  Visit http://www.baltimoregreen forum.org. 





10] –  On Sun., Sept. 27 at 5 PM, Dave Zirin is joined by Adam Mansbach, author of  the novels "Angry White Black Boy" and "The End of the Jews," at the Radical Bookfair Pavilion at the Baltimore Book Festival, Inner Harbor, Light and Pratt streets. Call 410-752-8632 or go to baltimorebookfestival.com. 

  

11] -- 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., Sept. 7, 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. 



12] –  At Farragut West Metro Station, 18th and I Sts. NW, WDC, on Mon., Sept. 28 as 8 AM to 10 AM, join Rebrand Washington Football, a new grassroots organization, to circulate petitions demanding that Dan Snyder, owner of Washington’s football team, change the team’s name, which is a slur against Native Americans.  Petitions will be circulated at Metro stations around the area this fall.  Or download a petition from the website and circulate it on your own!  Contact rebrandwf@gmail.com.



13] – 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.  



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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