Sunday, December 6, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert December 6 - 11, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert December 6 - 11, 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] “The Experience of Homelessness.”  -- Dec. 6
7] Rise Up/End Mass Incarceration & Rally for Freddie Gray – Dec. 6 & 7
8] World Aids Day Service – Dec. 6
9] Pentagon Vigil – Dec. 7
10] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Dec. 7 – Dec. 11
11] Affirmative Action debate – Dec. 7
12] Art in Exile – Dec. 7 – 10
13] Common Cause invitation – Dec. 7
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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 Dec. 6 hear the address “The Experience of Homelessness.”  Speakers who have personally experienced homelessness will share their stories of that experience and talk about ways that the general public can get involved in ending this injustice. A panel of three speakers will be led by Bonnie Lane, who experienced homelessness intermittently over 10 years in Michigan and Maryland. Ms. Lane is now a legally filed candidate for Mayor of Baltimore in 2016.

The Baltimore Area Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau is a collection of individuals who have all experienced homelessness personally. Members of the Bureau will share their personal experience of homelessness and talk about ways that we all can fight to end this injustice. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

7] – On Sun., Dec. 6 from 2 to 4 PM at the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore, 514 N. Charles St., there will be a Rise Up/End Mass Incarceration Network meeting.  The trial of William Porter, the first police officer involved in the murder of Freddie Gray, has begun. Gather on Mon., Dec. 7 at 5:30 PM in front of the courthouse at Calvert and Fayette Sts. Call 917-776-4927 or Email bmoreriseupsmin@yahoo.com. Visit http://www.stopmassincarceration.net/.

8] – Your presence is wanted at a World AIDS Day Worship Service.  The focus will be on HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa, and the guest speaker is Dr. Nomonde Nolutshungu, the Health Minister, South African Embassy.

   “If My people which are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”  2 Chronicles 7:14

The service will be performed on Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 3 PM at St. James Memorial United Methodist Church, 1901 W. Lexington Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21223.  The pastor is Rev. Dr. Iris Farabee-Lewis.  The host of the service is Rev. Dr. Mankekolo Mahlangu-Ngcobo, Life Restoration Ministries founder & servant. Email mankekolo@aol.com.

9] -- 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., Dec. 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. 

10] – 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.

11] – On Mon., Dec. 7 from noon to 1:30 PM, the Century Foundation, 1333 H St., 10th Floor, WDC. 20005, you're invited to a debate about the future of affirmative action in higher education. The issue of affirmative action will return to center stage next week with the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled to hear oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas II. Hear from a diverse panel of experts as they debate key questions about the future of affirmative action. Will the Supreme Court continue to push universities to consider alternatives to racial preferences? What are the costs and benefits of new paths to diversity? And could the court be influenced by recent protests on college campuses across the country?  Speakers will include Lia Epperson, Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs, American University Washington College of Law. Former director, education law and policy group, NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund (LDF) and Lani Guinier, Bennett Boskey Professor of Law, Harvard Law School. Email events@tcf.org.  A light lunch will be served at 11:30 AM. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/whats-next-for-affirmative-action-in-higher-education-tickets-19658859177?utm_source=TCF+Email+Updates&utm_campaign=4c04c1ef00-CAP_Fisher_Event_Rick11_20_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e5457eab21-4c04c1ef00-92529845.

12] – Come to 812 7th St. NW, WDC, on Mon., Dec. 7 at 3 PM through Thurs., Dec. 10 at 6 PM for Art in Exile, a platform and community for artists across disciplines living through times of tyranny, exile and conflict to showcase their work.  The 2nd Annual Art in Exile Festival, hosted at the Goethe-Institut and sponsored by the Heinrich Boell Foundation, will feature artists, photographers and filmmakers from the Middle East who together tell the story of a generation of refugees fleeing conflict and turmoil in the region. The Art in Exile Festival will feature filmmakers and actors for discussions on themes of each of the films. Go to http://www.eventbrite.com/e/art-in-exile-festival-voices-from-the-middle-east-tickets-19524168313.

13] – Common Cause invites you to a fun event on Mon. Dec. 7 at 7 PM for light fare, interesting conversation, and a legislative preview from Delegate Cory McCray. RSVP at http://act-md.commoncause.org/site/Calendar?view=Detail&id=103245&autologin=true.  Join legislators, staff and board, and members of Common Cause Maryland in a discussion of what lies ahead. Light refreshments will be served. The suggested donation is $50, but not required. It is taking place at Stony Run Friends Meeting House, 5116 N. Charles St, Baltimore 21210.

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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