Baltimore Activist Alert June 23 – June 29, 2014

Baltimore Activist Alert June 23 – June 29, 2014

"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.

Tune into the Maryland Progressive Blog at http://mdprogblog.org.

1] Books, buttons & stickers
2] Web site for info on federal legislation
3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists
4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLa
5] See THE EXONERATED – through July 6
6] Human, Soul & Machine: The Coming Singularity – through Aug. 31
7] Marc Steiner on WEAA – June 23 – 27
8] Time for Action on Coal – June 23
9] Addressing Prison Rape – June 23
10] Protest at FERC – June 23 - 27
11] Back from Iran – June 23
12] Get Out the Vote Rally – June 23
13] End Gun Violence! – June 23
14] Guantánamo Public Memory Project – June 23
15] Present condition of LBGT rights – June 23
16] What is the role of faith locally and globally? – June 23
17] “The Gospel of John: Confronting and Healing the Fear of Death” – June 23
18] Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities meeting – June 23
19] What’s next for Israel and the Palestinians? – June 24
20] Philadelphia Peace Vigil – June 24
21] "No Drone Research at JHU" – June 24
22] The Gospel of John: The Last Supper Discourse – June 24
23] “The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis” – June 24
24] Join Team Mizeur-Coates for an Election Night Celebration – June 24
25] Torture Survivors Conference – June 25
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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 Adela Hirsch, 5358 Eliots Oak Rd., Columbia, MD 21044. Be sure you indicate ground (G) or bean (B) for each type of coffee ordered. The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up. Contact Adela at 410-997-5662 or via e-mail at adela4peace@verizon.net.

5] – Enjoy “The Exonerated,” a thrilling docudrama by the Vagabond Players. The play transports viewers into the hearts and minds of 6 death row inmates who are actually innocent. It is thought provoking and provocative, and will make viewers recognize the madness of a death penalty. The performances will continue through July 6 at 806 S. Broadway. Call 410-563-9135 or go to http://vagabondplayers.org.

6] – See the exhibit Human, Soul & Machine: The Coming Singularity, which
delves into the various ways technology affects lives through the perspective of inventors, futurists and 40 plus visionary artists. The intent is to bring new thoughts on artificial intelligence, robotics, genetics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, and big data, and you can see it through August 31 at the American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. Call 410-244-1900. Go to http://avam.org. A ticket costs $20.

7] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 AM 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.

8] – This is a Time for Action on Coal. Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility believes that all coal-fired power plants must install what is referred to as “Reasonably Available Control Technologies” to reduce the amount of pollution they emit into the atmosphere. It is unacceptable that the Crane and Wagner Plants in the Baltimore area and two other plants in Maryland do not have these technologies. Young children, pregnant mothers, those with pre-existing health conditions, the elderly, and outdoor workers are hurt the most by the pollution from these plants.

How can you help? Attend the Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE) power plant stakeholder meeting on Mon., June 23 from 9 AM to noon at the Maryland Department of the Environment headquarters, 1800 Washington Blvd., Baltimore. MDE is on the verge of requiring all coal-fired power plants to install these technologies; but they are getting strong industry pushback, and MDE may scale back their proposal. Contact Tim Whitehouse at 240-246-4492.

9] – On Mon., June 23 from 10 AM to 5 PM at American University Washington College of Law 4801 Massachusetts Ave. NW, the Project on Addressing Prison Rape is sponsoring a Teach-in On the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) to mark the 5th Anniversary of the release of the Report and Draft National PREA Standards by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission. All events are free and open to the public. To see a full schedule, please go to http://www.wcl.american.edu/endsilence/nprecommission.cfm.

10] – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) -- the five-member commission that holds the fate of the Cove Point fracked gas export project in its hands -- typically operates outside of the public spotlight. Indeed, when you routinely put the interests of the oil and gas industry before people’s health and environment, that’s the only way you can operate. Chesapeake Climate Action Network is organizing a picket line each day during the week of Mon., June 23 through Fri., June 27, from noon to 1:30 PM at FERC’s headquarters in downtown D.C., just a block from Union Station and at the main entrance on First Street NE.

FERC has made it clear that it intends to grant a permit to allow construction of the massive Cove Point export terminal in Maryland without even conducting a customary Environmental Impact Statement. Sign up to join the picket at http://org.salsalabs.com/o/423/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=7875.

11] – On Mon., June 23 from 2 to 3 PM in FCNL’s Wilson Conference Room, 245 2nd St. NE, WDC 20002, hear Back from Iran: a discussion with Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed after a recent Interfaith Delegation to Iran. This interfaith delegation was led by Dr. Joel Hunter, a spiritual adviser to President Obama. He served in the inaugural year on the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, which advised President Barack Obama on interfaith relations and other substantive policy issues. The delegation attended a conference titled "World Free of Violence and Extremism from the Perspective of Abrahamic Religions" in Tehran on May 25 and met with various religious and political leaders in Iran.

Syeed resumed responsibilities as National Director of ISNA’s Office of Interfaith and Community Alliances, in Washington, DC, from March 2006. Bring your lunch, and know coffee and tea will be provided. RSVP to kate@fcnl.org (helpful but not required).

12] – On Mon., June 23 from 5 to 6:30 PM, Heather Mizeur will be speaking at her final public event before the polls close. Join this Get Out the Vote Rally at 1727 N. Charles St., Baltimore. RSVP at 202-316-1202.

13] – On Mon., June 23 from 5 to 6 PM - End Gun Violence! Join the Washington Chapter of Heeding God’s Call at their second and fourth Monday of the month vigil at REALCO Guns, 6108 Marlboro Pike, District Heights, MD 20747. This is an effort to convince the gun shop owner to sign the 10-Point Code for responsible gun dealers based on the one signed with Wal-Mart by Mayors against Illegal Guns. According to the Post, Realco Guns in District Heights sold 86 guns linked to homicides within the last twenty years with 300 guns sold there being linked to non-fatal shootings, as of 2010. In that article Major Andy Ellis of the Prince George’s (MD) Police Department is quoted as saying, “I can only imagine how much lower our violent-crime rate would be if Realco sold shoes instead of guns.” Go to http://www.heedinggodscall.org/.

14] – Since 2012, students from 15 universities and hundreds who served, lived, and were held at Guantánamo have worked together to unearth its hidden histories. The result is the Guantánamo Public Memory Project, a traveling exhibit of surprising stories, images, and documents--from before 9/11 and after--with dialogues from Phoenix to Pensacola on why GTMO's past matters today. On Mon., June 23, join a reception program from 6 to 8 PM. Some of the exhibit's creators include Major General Michael Lehnert who commanded refugee camps in 1995--then opened detention facilities in 2002; Judge Sterling Johnson who closed Guantanamo's Haitian HIV camps in 1993; Virgilio Franqui who was held at GTMO in 1993--then served there in 2004; and Carol Rosenberg, an award-winning Miami-Herald reporter breaking news from GTMO since 2002. The exhibit will be on view 9 AM to 8 PM in the Rayburn House Office Building Foyer, 45 Independence Ave. SW. RSVP at http://gitmomemory.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/GPMP-in-DC-Flyer-June-23.pdf.

15] – Catch the discussion at UDC David A. Clarke School of Law, 4340 Connecticut Ave. NW. Room 505, on Mon., June 23 from 6 to 7:30 PM, on the present condition of LBGT rights, the issues this community is facing, and where the struggle goes from here. The panel is hosted by Chai R. Feldblum, who has served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since 2010. Prior to her appointment to the EEOC, Commissioner Feldblum was a Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center where she has taught since 1991.

16] – At the Irish Whiskey Public House, 1207 19th St. NW on Mon., June 23 from 6:30 to 8 PM, hear an answer to the question what is the role of faith locally and globally? In times of conflict, faith has often been used to help guide nonviolent social movements. Joe Eldridge, American University Chaplain and United State Institute of Peace Board member, and Colman McCarthy, an American journalist, teacher, lecturer, pacifist, progressive, an anarchist, are both long-time peace activists Washington, D.C. with a wealth of experience on this matter. The event, co-sponsored by the Institute of Policy Studies, is the first of events within Inspire BBQ's "Making Monday Matters" series.

17] – On Mon., June 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson will present “The Gospel of John: Confronting and Healing the Fear of Death” at the Community Room/ The Ritz, 1631 Euclid St. NW, WDC 20009.

18] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore usually meets on Mondays at 7:30 PM, and the meetings take place at Max’s residence. The next meeting will be on Mon., June 23. The proposed agenda will include news that Max is moving, a report on the appeal of the conviction of the CIA Five, anti-drone activities, including the arrests at the NSA on May 3, the July 4 visit to the NSA, a report on the conference in Chicago, Real News Network, Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration, and Vashti McCollom. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions.

19] – Post Peace Talks: What’s next for Israel and the Palestinians? Ask your Member of Congress to attend this important briefing on Tues., June 24 in the Cannon Office Bldg, R 121, from 3 to 4:30 PM. Four panelists will discuss the failure of the peace process and what positive steps can be taken moving forward. Help pack the room, and call your congressperson and encourage her/him to attend. Go to http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/sample-script. RSVP to congress@jvp.org.

The featured speakers are Yousef Munayyer, executive director, The Jerusalem Fund, Phyllis Bennis, fellow, Institute for Policy Studies, and Rabbi Joseph Berman, Rabbinical Council, Jewish Voice for Peace. They will discuss the recent collapse of peace talks and why this moment requires new thinking on Israel/Palestine.

20] – 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 June 24. Call 215-426-0364.

21] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on June 24 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

22] – On Tues., June 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson will present The Gospel of John: The Last Supper Discourse – Footwashing and Abiding in Christ at the Community Room/ The Ritz, 1631 Euclid St. NW, WDC 20009.

23] – Kaye Whitehead presents “Notes From a Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis” on Tues., June 24 at 7:30 PM @ Red Emma's, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201. The book examines the life and experiences of Davis, a freeborn twenty-one-year-old mulatto woman, through a close reading of three pocket diaries she kept from 1863 to 1865. Whitehead explores Davis's worldviews and politics, her perceptions of both public and private events, her personal relationships, and her place in Philadelphia's free black community in the nineteenth century. Call 443-602-7585. Go to http://www.redemmas.org.

24] – You are invited to join Team Mizeur-Coates for an Election Night Celebration! Watch the returns come in and join in celebrating the historic grassroots campaign we built together. The Celebration is on Tues., June 24 from 8 to 11 PM at the Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St., Baltimore 21201. RSVP at 301-328-5842.

25] – On Wed., June 25 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) is hosting a Torture Survivors Conference in the Pryzbyla Center, Conference Room B, Catholic University of America. RSVP to TASSC at info@tassc.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