Baltimore Activist Alert August 31 – September 1, 2014

Baltimore Activist Alert August 31 – September 6, 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] Human, Soul & Machine: The Coming Singularity – through Aug. 31
6] Kickstarter campaign for film on the Sandinistas – through Sept. 10
7] Climate change – Aug. 31
8] Peace and Pancakes – Aug. 31
9] Support Gaza vigil– Aug. 31
10] O’s games benefit – Aug. 31 – Sept. 1
11] "A World More Concrete: Real Estate and the Remaking of Jim Crow South Florida" – Aug. 31
12] Pentagon Vigil – Sept. 1
13] Food Drive – Sept. 1 – Nov. 8
14] Celebrate the life of Bishop P. Francis Murphy – Sept. 1
15] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Aug. 25 – Aug. 27
16] GMOM conference call – Sept. 1
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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 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] – 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.

6] – Support Kickstarter funding for the film Memorias del Fuego! This is a feature-length documentary about the disappearing stories of women who fought to win Nicaragua's Sandinista Revolution. The first portion, in which the filmmakers interviewed former Sandinista commanders, couriers, and journalists, was shot without any funding, but the project is raising funds to be able to return and capture the stories of FSLN party members and female combatants from rural area.

Why did they first take a stand? How did they fight and win the Revolution? What did they hope for? Your help is needed to document these untold stories before they disappear. This Kickstarter project will only be funded if at least $57,000 is pledged by Wed., Sept. 10 at 9:15 AM PDT. To view the trailer and make a pledge, go here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/182573130/memorias-del-fuego-women-and-revolution-in-nicarag?ref=category_popular.

7] - 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 Sun., Aug. 31, hear about “Climate Change.” It is drawing increased attention around the world, no longer only from climate scientists and activists, but also more unlikely sources like the Pentagon, which recently pronounced climate change a “severe threat” to national security. Publication of new and rapidly mounting evidence has changed everything we thought we knew about climate change, and how to stop it. Kate LaClair and Monique Stins (both biologists and members of BES) will explore the science behind this new understanding of climate change, and what it means for all of us alive today. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

8] - Join the Kadampa Meditation Center for Peace and Pancakes on Sundays at 10:30 AM at KMC Maryland, 2937 North Charles St. All are invited to participate in guided meditation and chant praying for world peace. There will be a talk based on Buddhist thought followed by brunch. Call 410- 243-3837. Brunch is $5.

9] – Attend a silent vigil for Gaza on Sun., Aug. 31 at Park Heights Ave. and Slade Ave., Baltimore. Show your opposition to Israel’s violence in Gaza, and call for an end to the occupation. Stand at the intersection on the grass from 11 AM to 1 PM. RSVP to rjochs@comcast.net. Bring signs. Here are suggestions: stop occupation, justice for Palestine, stop massacre or stop US arms & aid to Israel.

10] – Enjoy a Baltimore Orioles game on Public Defender NIGHTS AT CAMDEN YARDS! Contact Lou Curran for tickets at lcurran@opd.state.md.us or 410-499-8899. The games benefit the Legal Aid Bureau, the Public Justice Center, the MCDAA, NACDL’s Foundation for Criminal Justice, & the Association for the Public Defender – MD. All seats Upper Reserved behind home, & under cover in case of showers. On Sun., Aug. 31 at 1 PM, the O’s play the Twins and kids get a jersey giveaway & can run the bases. Tickets are in Sec. 330, and cost $13. On Labor Day, Sept. 1, at 7 PM (Adam Jones bobblehead giveaway) the O’s play the Twins. Tickets are in Sec. 334, and the cost is $13.

11] – On Sun., Aug. 31 at 7:30 PM @ Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, Nathan Connolly presents "A World More Concrete: Real Estate and the Remaking of Jim Crow South Florida." Many people characterize urban renewal projects and the power of eminent domain as two of the most widely despised and often racist tools for reshaping American cities in the postwar period. In his book, Connolly uses the history of South Florida to unearth an older and far more complex story. Connolly captures nearly eighty years of political and land transactions to reveal how real estate and redevelopment created and preserved metropolitan growth and racial peace under white supremacy. Using a materialist approach, he offers a long view of capitalism and the color line, following much of the money that made land-taking and Jim Crow segregation profitable and preferred approaches to governing cities throughout the twentieth-century. Call 443-602-7585. Go to http://www.redemmas.org.

12] -- 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., Sept. 1, 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.

13] – The Men and Families Center, 2222 Jefferson St., Baltimore, has a food drive starting Mon., Sept. 1 through Sat., Nov. 8. The organization is collecting canned and unperishable goods so that food pantries in the center are stocked for the holidays! Call Quandra or Rodney at 410-614-5353 or email menandfamiliescenter.org.

14] – On Mon., Sept. 1 at 9 AM, celebrate the life of Bishop P. Francis Murphy. There will be a liturgy, refreshments and a remembrance at Blessed Sacrament Church, 4103 Old York Road, Baltimore. The celebration is sponsored by the P. Francis Murphy Initiative for Peace and Justice. RSVP to Rosemary Thompson at 410.823.8585 x.244 or PFMJPI@missionhelpers.org.

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.

16] – Get Money Out of Maryland has a MONDAY EVENING CONFERENCE CALL. The CALL STARTS at 7 PM--1-619-326-2772, code #1136243. On Sept. 8, the call will be designed to bring newer supporters up to speed on GMOM, Wolf PAC and the resolution for The Democracy Amendment. Go to http://www.getmoneyoutmd.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