Saturday, January 9, 2016

Baltimore Activist Alert January 9 - 15, 2016

Baltimore Activist Alert January 9 - 15, 2016

"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] Witness Against Torture Fast for Justice – Jan. 9 - 10
7] Protest CIA drone strikes – Jan. 9
8] West Chester peace vigil – Jan. 9
9] War on Muslims – Jan. 9
10] Four hundred years of racism – Jan. 10
11] Multi-Faith MLK Service – Jan. 10
12] What’s happening in Cuba – Jan. 10
13] Work for Bernie – Jan. 10
14] Pentagon Vigil – Jan. 11
15] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Jan. 11 – Jan. 15

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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 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] – 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] – You’re invited to Washington, D.C., to join the Witness Against Torture community through January 13 to fast, reflect and lift the voices of the men unjustly detained at Guantanamo Bay Prison.  Jan. 11, 2016 marks 14 years of torture and indefinite detention at the prison, as well as President Obama’s 8th year of broken promises. This is the final chance to hold his administration accountable to its promise to release those unjustly detained and close the prison. Right now 107 men remain detained, 48 of whom have been cleared for release and are held without charge or trial.  Go to http://www.witnesstorture.org/events/.

   Participants are staying at the First Trinity Lutheran Church, 501 4th St. NW (entrance on 4th St.), WDC 20001 (4th and E Sts. NW).  Use Judiciary Square Metro. 

7] – On Sat., Jan. 9, WAT members will join the monthly vigil against killer drone strikes at the CIA at 10 AM held at the 900 block of Dolly Madison Blvd. (Route 123), Langley, Virginia.  Oppose CIA & US Military drones used in extrajudicial killings.  US killer drone strikes are illegal, immoral, and must stop now!  The vigil is supported by Pax Christi Metro DC, Northern Virginians for Peace & Justice, and others.

8] – 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

9] – On Sat., Jan. 9 from 7 to 9 PM, a panel will examine the physical confinement and conditions under which the Muslim body has been held in the War on Terror in the sanctuary of First Trinity Church. Further, the discussion will focus on the ways in which Muslims have been criminalized by virtue of their religious and racialized identity and subjected to a separate system of justice. Using specific examples, panelists will speak both to prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, and Communication Management Units, two prisons that are notorious for their treatment of Muslim prisoners. Underscoring all of these issues, the panel will also interrogate the degree to which state violence has become law. The panelists are Major Raashid Williams, Counsel of Ammar Al-Baluchi, Abdul Ali (Avon Twitty), current leader of Dar At-Tawhid Masjid and Former Communication Management Unit prisoner, and Dr. Maha Hilal, Executive Director, National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms. There will be artwork available for purchase by Mohammed Shnewer, Muslim prisoner of the Fort Dix Five Case. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1684672801776341/.

10] – 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 Jan. 10, the topic is “400 Years: How History Fuels My Anti-Racism” 400 years is a long time. In 2019, three years from now, we will mark the 400th anniversary of the first time Africans were brought to this continent against their will. How can anyone possibly process the stunning juxtaposition of systemic oppression of people of color set in the context of expressions of noble democratic ideals? Hugh Taft-Morales shares his personal journey from minimization of this reality, through guilt and humility, to empowerment. Today he begins work on a project to mark the coming 400th anniversary. Come hear how he embraces anti-racism activism in a way that makes his life more meaningful and fulfilling. 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. He also serves as Leader of the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia. 
Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

11] – On Sun., Jan. 10 from 3 to 5:30 PM come to a Multi-Faith MLK Service at St. Paul AME Church, 4901 14th St. NW, WDC.  Hosted by Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington (IFC), go to http://www.ifcmw.org.    The InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington (IFC), created in 1978, now brings together the Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Jain, Jewish, Latter-day Saints, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Sikh and Zoroastrian faith communities in this region to promote dialogue, understanding, and a sense of community among persons of different faiths and to work cooperatively for social and economic justice in metropolitan Washington.

12] – On Sun., Jan. 10 at 5 PM at the Impact Hub DC, 419 7th St. NW, 3rd Floor, WDC., join Witness Against Torture for music, poetry, and movement building with The Peace Poets!!  As January 11th, 2016 will mark 15 years of indefinite detention and torture in Guantanamo, musicians, poets and activists will come together to work towards a world where human beings are no longer locked in prisons cells. During CODEPINK and Witness Against Torture's recent trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, they witnessed the impact on the Cuban people being denied their home by the continued occupation of the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo. They confronted the reality of the men that have had years of their lives stolen away from loved one and families. Join them as they dream of homecomings for the Cuban people and those locked away in Guantanamo and domestic prisons.  Witness Against Torture and CODEPINK will discuss their most recent trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Center of Constitutional Rights will share the stories of the men they represent in Guantanamo. Email witnesstorture@gmail.com.

13] – Get to work for Bernie on Sun., Jan. 10 from 6 to 8 PM EST by phone banking at 803 East Lake Ave., Baltimore 21212.  Contact Gabrielle Marshall at 410-258-6049 or 410-464-0497. House members don't wear shoes, and two cats live there.

14] – You are invited to a nonviolent witness at the Pentagon on Mon., Jan. 11 at 7 AM.  Meet on corner of Army-Navy Drive and S. Eads St.

Join members of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and other peacemaking friends in a nonviolent witness for a world of nonviolence, peace and justice. Call 202-882-9649 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.

15] – 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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