Baltimore Activist Alert March 10 - 11, 2019

Baltimore Activist Alert March 10 - 11, 2019

"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 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net.

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Get involved with NCNR   

4] Buy an Anti-War Veteran hat  

5] “Explore & Live Palestine” from July 11 through July 25, 2019

6] Lawyers Against War

7] Feeding the Homeless & Hungry at Terra Cafe Bmore – Mar. 10

8] “What Do You Really Own Anyway?”  – Mar. 10

9] Meeting of the Montgomery County branch of DSA – Mar. 10

10] Yoga Salutes Nonviolence – Mar. 10

11] Hinenu Discussion: Solidarity and Engagement – Mar. 10

12] Homeless Period Campaign -- Mar. 10 – Apr. 11

13] Beating Guns Tour – Mar. 10

14] Film GHOST HUNTING – Mar. 10

15] Pentagon Protest – Mar. 11

16] International Nuclear Policy Conference – Mar. 11 - 12

17] "Less Waste, Better Baltimore" – Mar. 11

18] Food Rescue – Mar. 11

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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 410-323-1607.

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 U.S. wars.

To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.  Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.  

4] – Get a good-looking black hat which says Anti-War Veteran in the front and Viva House 50^th in the back.  The cost is $10. Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

5] – Jeff Ross, an attorney in Maryland, is interested in gathering with other lawyers to discuss ways in which the legal profession and the law generally can be conceptualized as a peace-building and war-resisting institution and redirected to these ends. Areas to explore might include: 1) ways in which this group could support with legal analysis/writing those lawyers who are representing peace-builders/war-resisters in criminal prosecutions; 2) ways in which, from a more theoretical perspective, the law might be grounded in an ethic of non-violence; and 3) ways in which law students and young lawyers might be exposed to a non-violent vision of the law. All religious, philosophical, and critical perspectives on the law are welcome. The group might want to call itself Lawyers Against War. Jeff can be reached at 443-690-6872 and jross50@hotmail.com.

6] – If you are 18 to 35, don't miss this unique opportunity to visit Palestine! Registration is Now Open at https://kthps.org/join. For more information, please visit: https://kthps.org/.  Know Thy Heritage, Inc. is offering a Leadership Initiative “Explore & Live Palestine” from July 11 through July 25, 2019.  This is a program of The Arab American Institute.  Visit http://www.aaiusa.org/.

7] – On Sun., Mar. 10 from 10 AM to noon, be a part of Neighbors Without Walls: Feeding the Homeless & Hungry at Terra Cafe Bmore, 101 E 25th St., Baltimore 21218.  Homelessness is by far one of the largest issues that plague our city and there is something, no matter how small, we all can do to about it. This event will also happen on Sun., Apr. 14 at 10 AM. Terra Cafe is the proud sponsor of Neighbors Without Walls. On the 2nd Sunday of each month at 10 AM Terra Cafe and a group of volunteers, prep, package and distribute meals, water, clothing and care packages to homeless residents of Baltimore City. See https://www.facebook.com/events/413038186102928/?event_time_id=413038192769594.

8] –  Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 2521 St. Paul St., Baltimore 21218, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion at 10:30 AM.  On Sun., Mar. 10, the platform address is “What Do You Really Own Anyway?”  What is it to “own” something? Is it just to have exclusive access to, or control over, a resource? How did the concept of “ownership” arise? Is it true that “property is theft?” How have the concepts of property and money evolved so as to de-emphasize the shared resources and relationships that don’t fit so easily into the concept of “ownership”? Hugh Taft-Morales explores different ways that members of the Baltimore Ethical Society can approach “owning” our community and our mission.  Hugh 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. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org. 

9] – On Sun., Mar. 10 from 2 to 4:30 PM, come to the general meeting of the Montgomery County branch of DSA at the Silver Spring Library, 900 Wayne Ave., Silver Spring 20910.  Tickets are at www.meetup.com. Meet the newly-elected steering committee, get an update on statewide legislation, and more! RSVP at https://www.meetup.com/mdcdsa/events/258177642/.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/544340732724130/.

10] -- On Sun., Mar. 10 from 2 to 3:30 PM, Yoga Salutes Nonviolence: 108 Sun Salutations.  This is hosted by YogaWorks Columbia, 8325 Guilford Rd.., Columbia 21046.  Yoga Salutes Nonviolence (YSNV) is a charity event to benefit HopeWorks of Howard County, our local rape crisis & domestic violence center. Students and practitioners gather together to participate in 108 Sun Salutations (or as many as they can). The participants, teachers and students alike, are sponsored by family, friends and students. Whether you're a new student, a regular practitioner, or a teacher, you have what it takes to help!  REGISTER AS A PARTICIPANT, DONATE TO SUPPORT EVENT or MAKE AN INKIND DOOR PRIZE DONATION.  Visit the website to register or to make an online donation: www.wearehopeworks.org. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/2309647632434440/.

11] -- On Sun., Mar. 10 from 3 to 5:15 PM, come for a Hinenu Discussion: Solidarity and Engagement, hosted by the Baltimore Justice Shtiebl at Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218.  What does our community mean and intend by “Justice Shtiebel”? Join the Values Committee and other Hinenu members for the first of a three-part Hinenu beit midrash and discussion series, each with a different focus, to help us answer this fundamental question! Build relationships and community with each other, make the way to a collective discernment and articulation of our community values, and enjoy learning together.

At this first session focused on “Solidarity and Engagement,” think in terms of traditional terms for Jewish values such as Hachnasat Orchim (Welcoming Guests), Tikkum Olam (Improving the World), and Tzedek (Justice). Talk about how we relate to struggles like racial justice, feminism, economic justice, queer liberation, disability justice, and immigrant rights; and how we engage with movements for justice and equality in Palestine/Israel, Baltimore, and beyond.

These initial three sessions are meant for sharing, learning, and listening with each other to start discovering where we are and where we want to be as a community. No decisions will be made at this session and no agreement need be reached. All Hinenu members are welcome to an open, respectful environment.  The other two sessions will be focused on “Religious and Spiritual Practice” (March 27) and “How We Relate to Each Other in Community” (April 7).  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/251061485769510/.

12] – On Sun., Mar. 10 through Thurs., Apr. 11 from 4 to 7 PM, be a part of a Homeless Period Campaign, hosted by Project PLASE, Inc., 1814 Maryland Ave., Baltimore 21201.  Tickets are at www.firstgiving.com. Join @Project PLASE in raising awareness and funds to help homeless individuals and their #homelessperiod.  Make a donation at https://bit.ly/2GRF8rM.  Challenge a friend, organization or group to show their support for the #homelessperiod and to keep the challenge going.  Post into your social media posts to keep the challenge going.

In addition to dealing with the everyday hardships that come with homelessness, people who menstruate have an additional level of hardship each month. With the lack of resources to buy menstrual products, they must choose between spending money on these products, or eating. The #HomelessPeriod Campaign is a fundraiser organized by Project PLASE in accordance with the Why Women Cry Conference. It intends to raise funds to create menstrual hygiene kits that can be given to PLASE clients and homeless people. The kits will be distributed by Project PLASE staff and volunteers. Homelessness brings trauma and health issues into one’s life. We believe menstruation care should not be a secondary choice for people, and that all people deserve equal access to period product. Please join Project PLASE in the #homelessperiod Campaign to provide everyone with equitable menstrual care. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/244516872997983/?event_time_id=244516896331314.

13] -- On Sun., Mar. 10 from 5 to 7 PM, get involved with Beating Guns Tour, hosted by Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, 2424 McElderry St., Baltimore 21205.  America, a country in which mass shootings have become almost commonplace, is better at protecting guns than protecting people, say Shane Claiborne and Mike Martin in their new book “Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence.” Holding the shameful record for most gun deaths at about 38,000 per year, it’s clear that this country is in the midst of an epidemic. Bestselling author and activist Claiborne, and Martin, a Mennonite pastor turned blacksmith, offer a Christian response to the crisis, transcending the rhetoric of “thoughts and prayers” with concrete ways to address the problem. “We have the audacity to believe that it is not the will of God for approximately 105 people to die from guns each day in the U.S.,” they say.

Inspired by the biblical prophets’ call to “beat swords into plowshares,” Claiborne and Martin will tour the country this spring with a forge and other blacksmithing tools. The Beating Guns Tour is a 90-minute event that will feature music, art, and stories of people impacted by gun violence, culminating with an invitation for the audience to take the hammer and transform a gun into garden tools. Claiborne and Martin have also launched the Disarming Network to help people connect with safe spaces to disable guns according to Federal ATF guidelines.

Addressing the spiritual dimension of the problem, they point out that violence is not just about guns. As Christians who practice nonviolence, they believe “Christians cannot carry a cross in one hand and a weapon in the other.” Rather, they “plot for peace,” engaging in the practice of de-escalation of everyday interaction. De-escalation of the small things helps keep the big events from happening.”

Tired of waiting for legislative action on common sense gun laws, Claiborne and Martin say "we will not wait on politicians to turn death into life." The beauty of the prophets’ vision is that the people themselves transform their weapons: "Peace begins with the people of God, who refuse to kill and beat their weapons into farm tools. We will make violence extinct by refusing to kill." See https://www.facebook.com/events/996528230540935/.

14] – On Sun., Mar. 10 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, see the film "Ghost Hunting," hosted by the Baltimore-Palestine Solidarity at Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218.  Watch a trailer: https://www.akkafilms.ch/en/ghost-hunting-3/. For more than 25 years, one image has been haunting director Raed Andoni – that of a boy (18), head covered with a bag and handcuffed, sitting inside a prison yard. The same sounds always accompany this image: metal doors opening and footsteps slowly approaching. Through the lower part of the bag, the boy can see a man wearing white sneakers walking away. A survivor of the prison experience himself, Raed has fragmented memories that he can’t distinguish as real or imaginary.  In order to confront the ghost that haunts him, he decides to rebuild the Al-Moscobiya investigation center in an empty warehouse near Ramallah. A casting call for former prisoners results in an eclectic group of construction workers, a blacksmith, an architect and an artist. As they build a copy of their former jail based on their own memories, Raed digs deep into their memories, triggered by reenactments and roleplaying. For this purpose, he focuses on the story of Mohammad (50), whom the resistance to the investigation methods – stoked by laughter and rebellion – made him a hero among Palestinians.

The film will be followed by a brief discussion. Homemade Arabic food will be available before and after the film.  The suggested donation is $5. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.  Note this warning: this film reenacts trauma and torture experienced by Palestinians in Israeli prisons. See https://www.facebook.com/events/306431326686129/.

15] – 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 Mar. 11, 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.

16] – On Mon.,, March 11 at 7 AM and Tues., March 12 at 7 AM, come to the 2019 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference at 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC 20036-2103. Go to https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/03/12/2019-carnegie-international-nuclear-policy-conference-event-6838.

17] –  The Department of Public Works' "Less Waste, Better Baltimore" process is having a second focus group meeting on Mon., Mar. 11 from 9:30 AM to noon at the Shake and Bake Family Fun Center, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave., Baltimore 21217. See https://publicworks.baltimorecity.gov/Less-Waste-Better-Baltimore and https://publicworks.baltimorecity.gov/lesswaste. To see a critique, check out the links at https://www.cleanairbmore.org/solidwasteplan/.

18] – On Mon., Mar. 11 at noon, there will be a Food Rescue at Land of Kush, 840 N. Eutaw St., Baltimore 21201. Food Rescue Baltimore is honored to partner with The Land of Kush each and every Monday to bring access to free vegan/plant-based food in the community. Bring a bag. Take what you want from noon to 1PM or while supplies last. No purchase is necessary to take advantage of the Food Rescue Baltimore give away. Items from The Land of Kush's menu are not included in the give-away but will be available for sale. See https://www.facebook.com/events/415842178868197/.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.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