Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 1

Baltimore Activist Alert Aug. 10 – Aug. 16, 2011

 

"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.

 

The Baltimore IndyMedia Center publicizes peace-related events. Go to http://www.radicalendar.org/group/_baltimore.

  

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists  

4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLA  

5] Used stamps for humanitarian causes

6] "Inventing the Nation" – ongoing

7] Go to Colombia with Witness For Peace – Aug. 13

8] Art Along the Trials – through Sept. 3

9] Jobs Not Cuts – Aug. 10

10] Philadelphia peace vigil – Aug. 10

11] Chestnut Hill, PA vigil – Aug. 10

12] Film THE BIG BANANA – Aug. 11

13] Film SOUTH OF THE BORDER & Cuba report back – Aug. 11

14] Ryan Harvey at 2640 – Aug. 11

15] White House vigil – Aug. 12

16] WIB Inner Harbor vigil – Aug. 12

17] WIB Roland Park vigil – Aug. 12

18] Justice for Palestine/Israel vigil – Aug. 12

19] Silent vigil – Aug. 12

20] Ballroom dancing – Aug. 12

21] Farmers Market – Aug. 13

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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 donmuller@msn.com.  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 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] – Brad Hathaway spearheads an effort to sell donated used stamps to raise money for different humanitarian causes around the world. Go to www.mattapoisettquakers.org, and click the link for the stamp ministry.  Carefully clip canceled postage stamps and send to Quaker Missions, PO Box 795, Mattapoisett, MA 02739. Send no small flag stamps or Liberty Bell Forever stamps.

 

6] – "Inventing a Nation" at the Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St., is now ongoing. It's collaboration between the historical society and the Maryland State Archives and displays artifacts from the American Revolutionary War, and the gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 AM to 5 PM and on Sundays from noon to 5 PM.  Go to http://www.mdhs.org/museum/exhibitions.  Call 410-685-3750.  Admission for adults is $6, seniors, $5, students with ID/children (between the ages of 3 and 18 years old), $4, and children (younger than 3 years old), free.

 

7] – There's still time to sign up for a delegation to Colombia with Witness For Peace, which departs on Aug. 13.  As the free trade debate on Capitol Hill continues, Witness for Peace gives you the opportunity to hear the opinions of Colombian activists and marginalized communities - and take their messages to those in power.  Contact Ken Crowley, national delegations organizer, Witness for Peace, 3628 12th St. NE. 1st Fl., WDC 20017.  Call 202-547-6112 or go to witness@witnessforpeace.org.

 

8] – Art Along the Trails continues at Carrie Murray Nature Center Leakin/Gwynne Falls Park, 1901 Ridgetop Road, Baltimore, MD 21207.  The exhibit is up through Sept. 3.

 

9] – MoveOn is urging you to join the "Jobs, Not Cuts" event on Wed., Aug. 10 at noon to send a strong message.  All around the country activists will be delivering Contract for the American Dream to their district office. Go to Congressperson Dutch Ruppersberger's office, 375 West Padonia Road in Timonium.  

 

10] – Each Wednesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the House of Grace Catholic Worker holds a weekly vigil for peace in Iraq outside the Phila. Federal Building, 6th & Market Sts. The next vigil is Aug. 10. Call 215-426-0364.

 

11] – Each Wednesday, the Northwest Greens hold a peace vigil from 7 to 8 PM outside the Borders Book Store, Germantown Ave. at Bethlehem Pike in Chestnut Hill, PA. The next vigil is Aug. 10. Call 215-843-4256 or email nwgreens@yahoo.com.  

 

12] – See the film "The Big Banana" on Thurs., Aug. 11 at  6:30 PM at Busboys & Poets, 1025 5th Street NW, WDC.  Banned in Cameroon, "The Big Banana" illustrates the poor working conditions in banana plantations in the Plantation du Haut Penja (PHP) and exposes the adverse impact of corporatocracy government on the people, while reaping super profits for corporations. A discussion led by director Franck Bieleu will follow the film screening.  He is a filmmaker of Cameroonian origin. He graduated from London Metropolitan University with a degree in film studies, then moved back to Cameroon to produce films that address issues of social justice.  The Big Banana is his second feature length documentary. A suggested donation of $5 to help with the space will be appreciated but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.  RSVP to netfa@ips-dc.org.

 

13] – On Thurs., Aug. 11 at 7 PM at the Solidarity Center, 2011 N. Charles St., see the film SOUTH OF THE BORDER and a report back from Cuba. Oliver Stone takes a road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media's misconception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents, including Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales. Hear from participants in the Venceremos Brigade who converged in Cuba with Pastors for Peace to commemorate the life of Rev. Lucius Walker and to learn and work in Cuba for two weeks. There is a request for a $5 donation, but no one would be turned away. Call 443-909-8964 or email apcbaltimore@pipeline.com.  

 

Also that there is ongoing organizing to WELCOME CYNTHIA MCKINNEY AND THE TRUTH TOUR TO BALTIMORE.  We in Baltimore have an opportunity to hear from former U.S. Congressperson Cynthia McKinney who is reporting back from a delegation that she led to Libya where she witnessed first hand the impact of the U.S./NATO war.  See her recent New York City rally at the historic Riverside Church where Rev. Dr. King Jr. spoke: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/16383033. McKinney will be in Baltimore on Aug. 25 at the Union Baptist Church at 7 PM. If you want to be an endorser of the event, email apcbaltimore@pipeline.com.

 

14] – On Thurs., Aug. 11 at 7 PM @ 2640, 27th & St. Paul Sts., catch Ryan Harvey's "Ordinary Heroes" Release Show!  He returns from a U.S. tour to perform in Baltimore with violinist and journalist Michael Fox before heading on a European tour!  "Ordinary Heroes" is a collaborative album, dedicated to Howard Zinn, which emphasizes and celebrates social movements as a means of overcoming injustice.  The aim of the album, Ryan says, is "to spread a hope that's grounded in practicality, a hope that's born from an understanding that things improve when people organize to change them."  Ryan and Michael will be joined by Spoonboy from Plan-it-X Records. A $5 - $10 sliding scale donation is suggested.  Ryan's songs can be downloaded for free at http://www.ryanharveymusic.com/.  Songs from Riot-Folk members can be found at http://www.riotfolk.org/".  Tune in to Michael Fox's work at http://www.blendingthelines.com/. Go to http://www.redemmas.org/2640.

 

15] – A peace vigil takes place every Friday from noon to 1 PM at Lafayette Park facing the White House.  Join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and friends. Contact Art Laffin: artlaffin@hotmail.com.   

 

16] – Every Friday from noon to 1 PM, Women in Black, Baltimore, host a vigil at Pratt and Light Sts. in the Inner Harbor. Peace signs will be available. See http://www.peacepath911.com/ or write wibbaltimore@hotmail.com or call 410-467-9114.

 

17] – There is also a noon vigil, weather permitting, on Aug. 5 at Roland Park Place at 830 W. 40th St.  Call 410-467-9114.

18] – A vigil for Justice in Palestine/Israel (now in its 8th year) takes place every Friday from noon to 1 PM at 19th & JFK Blvd., Philadelphia (across from Israeli Consulate.  It is sponsored by Bubbies & Zaydes (Grandparents) for Peace in the Middle East. Email cswartz@pil.net. Go to http://phillyjewishpeace.org/.

19] – There is a silent vigil on Fri., Aug. 12 from 5 to 6 PM outside of Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles St., in opposition to war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Placards say: "War Is Not the Answer." The silent vigil is sponsored by AFSC, Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings. 

 

20] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at 8 PM.  Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St.  Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be Aug, 12.  Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

 

21] – Go to the West Baltimore Farmer's Market for fresh fruits, vegetables, breads and other treats every Saturday from 8 to noon.  CPHA has worked with the West Baltimore Marc TOD and Transit Inc. (WBMTTI) to establish a Farmer's Market at the West Baltimore Marc Train stop at Smallwood Road at Franklin and Mulberry Sts.  Since opening in June, over 300 people buy fresh groceries there every Saturday morning. WBMTTI will continue to include the community in the transit-oriented developments on the west side and continue to improve the area around "the highway to nowhere" until it becomes the highway to somewhere. Go to www.cphabaltimore.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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