Baltimore Activist Alert - September 14 - 16, 2014

Baltimore Activist Alert September 14 – September 16, 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] Food drive – through Nov. 8
6] “Relationships Through Bars” – Sept. 14
7] Peace and Pancakes – Sept. 14
8] Film DISRUPTION – Sept. 14
9] Community discussion about Palestine and apartheid Israel's most recent bombing of Gaza – Sept. 14
10] SodaStream Boycott Day of Action – Sept. 14
11] NRA Gun Violence Prevention Vigil – Sept. 14
12] Hear from a Green Party candidate – Sept. 14
13] Get Money Out Maryland phone calling – Sept. 14
14] Jews United for Justice Community Meeting – Sept. 14
15] AFTER GAZA: MOVING BEYOND PARTITION– Sept. 14
16] Pentagon Vigil – Sept. 15
17] Support El Salvador, and challenge the World Bank – Sept. 15
18] Iranian Nuclear Circle: Defining Uranium Enrichment Capacity – Sept. 15
19] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Sept. 15 – Sept. 19
20] "Nuclear Weapons Testing: History, Progress, Challenges" – Sept. 15
21] Congressional hearing on D.C. Statehood – Sept. 15
22] Protest the annual U.S. Air Force Association Annual Arms Bazaar – Sept. 15
23] GMOM conference call – Sept. 15
24] Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities meeting – Sept. 15
25] Support a Just Peace ad in the National Catholic Reporter – deadline Sept. 15
26] "Nuclear Security and the Future" – Sept. 16
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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] – The Men and Families Center, 2222 Jefferson St., Baltimore, continues its food drive 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.

6] - 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., Sept. 14, hear about “Relationships Through Bars” with Hugh Taft-Morales, BES leader. Due to reactionary tough-on-crime politics and the over-criminalization of drug use, the U.S. penal population has grown from 300,000 to over 2 million over the past three decades. The retributive model of criminal justice is inhumane and ineffective. It has become a cultural cancer eating away at our social fabric, devastating families and neighborhoods. Most poignantly it denies children opportunity for relationships with incarcerated parents. Taft-Morales continues to advocate reform of our system, in particular a recognition that family connections should be nurtured so as to bring out the best in those who are incarcerated, those who love them, and us all. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

7] - 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.

8] - See the film “Disruption” -- a brand new movie about the science, politics, and movement around climate change. It will be screened on Sun., Sept. 14 at 11:30 AM at the Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, Columbia, MD. RSVP at http://act.350.org/event/disruption_attend/8474/signup/?t=2&akid=5056.75494.I2xQW_. This is a movie by and for the movement. It could galvanize a new wave of climate action and leadership this fall -- starting with the People’s Climate March in New York City on September 21st.

9] – The Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 5301 N. Capitol St. NE, WDC, will host a community discussion about Palestine and apartheid Israel's most recent bombing of Gaza on Sun., Sept. 14 at 1:15 PM. RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/1539623166267878/.

10] – There is a SodaStream Boycott Day of Action on Sun., Sept. 14 from 2 to 3:30 PM in front of the Columbia Heights Mall, at the Columbia Heights Metro Station on 14th St. and just north of the intersection with Irving St. Help educate D.C. area shoppers about the injustice of the Israeli occupation, and call for an end to the siege of Gaza. Ask shoppers to refuse to buy SodaStream products, and call on local store managers to tell their corporate headquarters to stop stocking the products. SodaStream manufactures its products in an illegal Israeli settlement. Email jvpdcmetro@gmail.com or call 240-425-7581. Visit www.JewishVoiceForPeace.org/ DCMetro. Sign the national Boycott Soda Stream petition at http://sodastreamboycott.org. "Join" the action on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/691620167582424/ and spread the word!

11] – On Sun., Sept. 14 at 2 PM there is a monthly NRA Gun Violence Prevention Vigil in remembrance of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shootings on Dec. 14, 2012 and in front of the NRA Headquarters, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030.

12] – Hear from Tim Willard, Green Party candidate for County Council at Large on Sun., Sept. 14 from 2 to 4 PM at 2305 Gold Mine Rd.,
Brookeville, MD. Tim is running on a platform of making Montgomery County into a sustainable community: take stronger action to reduce global warming emissions, create a sustainable development plan, and ensure that all citizens have access to affordable housing and first class schools. These issues will require community pressure on the Council which has often been all too ready to follow the wishes of out-of-state developers and big corporations. RSVP at http://timforcouncil-mocogreens.nationbuilder.com/house_party_at_jean_athey_s_home.

13] - Get Money Out - Maryland (www.GetMoneyOutMD.org) will be calling people who are supporters in the Annapolis / Baltimore area to let them know about a Town Hall on Mon., Sept. 22 with author, constitutional law professor, and MD State Senator Jamie Raskin, possibly the best speaker there is on How to Get Money Out of Politics. People attending the Town Hall will learn that there is a way to beat corruption in the U.S. Congress - by working at the state level! Spread the word by RSVP-ing on the Facebook Event page--https://www.facebook.com/events/308411895986271/.

On Sun., Sept. 14 at 2 PM you can be a caller by coming to Mark Patro's house in Nottingham (Baltimore County, near the corner of Joppa Road and Belair Road). RSVP to Mark at markpatro@gmail.com or 443-255-1484, and he will give you the address. You will have a script, and no experience is needed. You’ll need a cell phone and charger. If you bring a laptop, you will be taught how to update each person’s information on the online database, if you want. Even if you can't attend this phone bank - or the September 22nd event - please reply and let them know you're interested. You can call GMOM at 410-849-0670 or email admin@GetMoneyOutMD.org.

14] – On Sun., Sept. 14 from 4 to 6 PM, there will be a Jews United for Justice Community Meeting at Temple Shalom, 8401 Grubb Rd., Chevy Chase. The group brings the local Jewish community together to take action together to win on social justice issues. Sign up for the meeting, and help select the next campaign. RSVP at http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5483/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=71594. Contact Maryland organizer Katie Ashmore at katie@jufj.org.

15] – On Sun., Sept. 14 at 4:30 PM, the Brandywine Peace Community Monthly *Potluck Supper and Program begins at University Lutheran Church, 3637 Chestnut St., Phila. 19104 (37th & Chestnut Sts.). Bring a main dish, salad, or dessert to share. After dinner, Mike Merryman-Lotz will discuss AFTER GAZA: MOVING BEYOND PARTITION, looking at what events led up to the brutal bombing, what its impact has been, and what the future might hold. As a part of the discussion Mike will offer some of his thoughts on the radical changes that need to occur in order to move beyond the failures of the 20 year old US led Oslo Peace Process so that a just and lasting peace can be realized in Palestine and Israel. He is the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Palestine-Israel National Program Director, working closely with AFSC’s offices in Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and throughout the US. See http://www.afsc.org/content/mike-merryman-lotze.

16] -- 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. 8, 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.

17] – Gather in Edward R. Murrow Park in front of the World Bank, 1818 H St. NW, Room MC C1-110, WDC on Mon., Sept. 15 at noon, join the Institute for Policy Studies’ Global Economy Project, International Allies against Mining in El Salvador, Oxfam, the AFL CIO, Casa de Maryland, Committee In Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), and other groups on the Day of Independence for El Salvador to protest at the World Bank Group’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) hearing of a lawsuit against the Salvadoran people! At issue is whether the government and people of El Salvador should be punished for not allowing a foreign corporation to operate a mining project that threatens to poison the country’s drinking supply. The fate of millions of Salvadoran people is being debated behind doors at the World Bank’s ICSI--a tribunal that few know exist- on Sept. 15, ironically El Salvador’s independence anniversary day. Oceana Gold/Pacific Rim Mining Corporation is suing the government of El Salvador for over $300 million because El Salvador is refusing to let it mine gold. At least four anti-mining community members were slain under suspicious circumstances as the conflict over mining deepened.

Also join pre-protest leafleting of the area at 8, 9, 10 and 11 AM. Go to http://www.ips-dc.org/events/protest-world-banks-icsid-hearing-lawsuit-el-salvador/

18] – On Mon., Sept. 15 from 9:30 to 11 AM, Squaring the Iranian Nuclear Circle: Defining Uranium Enrichment Capacity and Other Key Issues will be discussed at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Root Room, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC 20036. Next week, negotiators from the United States, other world powers, and Iran will resume talks in New York to try to reach a comprehensive nuclear deal. While significant progress has already been made on a number of key issues, negotiators remain far apart on how to define the size and scope of Iran's uranium enrichment program. But a win-win formula is possible, if both sides are willing to be creative and move beyond maximalist positions.

At this briefing, three leading experts will outline the key issues, the major hurdles, the political dynamics inside Iran, and realistic options for getting to "yes" -- including a new Arms Control Association/International Crisis Group proposal on how to define Iran's uranium enrichment program under a comprehensive deal. Panelists include Kelsey Davenport, nonproliferation analyst, Arms Control Association, Paul Pillar, nonresident senior fellow, Center for Security Studies, Georgetown University, James Walsh, research associate, Security Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Daryl G. Kimball, (moderator), executive director, Arms Control Association. RSVP at https://www.armscontrol.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=33. Call 202-463-8270 or email tim@armscontrol.org.

19] – 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.

20] – On Mon., Sept. 15 from 12:30 to 5 PM, Energy Secretary Ernest Monix, Rose Gottemoeller, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Frank Klotz, administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration, Lassina Zerbo, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, and other speakers will address "Nuclear Weapons Testing: History, Progress, Challenges." The event, sponsored by the Kazakh Embassy and other organizations, will take place at the U.S. Institute for Peace, 2301 Constitution Ave. NW, WDC. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nuclear-weapons-testing-history-progress-challenges-tickets-12779073553.

21] – The first Congressional hearing on D.C. Statehood in 20 years will be on Mon., Sept. 15 at 3 PM in Room 340 Dirksen Senate Office Building - Homeland and Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), who co-introduced the bill in the U.S. Senate. It's critical to be at the hearing!

22] – On Mon., Sept. 15 from 6 to 7:30 PM, join Dorothy Day Catholic Worker outside of the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, 201 Waterfront St., National Harbor, MD 20745, to protest the annual U.S. Air Force Association Annual Arms Bazaar being held in the hotel. The protest is co-sponsored by Pax Christi Metro D.C.-Baltimore. Contact Art Laffin at 202-882-9649. Visit http://dccatholicworker.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/protest-the-air-force-association-arms-bazaar-3/.

23] – 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. 15, the call will focus on the Sept. 22 town hall in Annapolis. Go to http://www.getmoneyoutmd.org/.

24] – 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., Sept. 15. The proposed agenda will include anti-drone activities, including the trial of the NSA Three and getting a drone resolution passed in Baltimore’s City Council, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Ukraine, Climate Chaos march in NYC, the Sept. 23 action at the White House, and lobbying Rep. John Sarbanes. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions.

25] – Pax Christi Metro D.C.- Baltimore is sponsoring an ad in the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) about moving the Catholic Church beyond the “just war” doctrine (or just war teaching (JWT)) to a “just peace” teaching. The sign on ad will run in the NCR this October (prior to the annual US bishops’ meeting in November in Baltimore). The ad will exemplify that it’s time for the Church to reject “just war” as inconsistent with the teaching and example of Jesus. To see the text of the ad, along with a short paper providing more information for NCR readers who see the ad, go to website, www.paxchristimetrodc.org

The hope is to get at least 300 signatories. The sign on suggested donation is $20 for each person or couple, and $25 for each organization. Donations can be made online at the Pax Christi Metro D.C. website- www.paxchristimetrodc.org. Click on the “Donate” button on the left. On the next screen, enter the dollar amount of your donation and log in to PayPal if you have a PayPal account. If you don’t have a PayPal account, click on the “Review Donation and Continue.” On the NEXT screen, click on the “Add special instructions to the seller” link, and in that box that opens, type “Just War Theory” Ad or just “JWT” Ad. Also, state exactly how you would like your name(s) to appear in the ad. Then, click on the “Donate” button at the bottom of your screen. All donations for the sign on ad (by online donation) must be received no later than Mon., Sept. 15.

26] – On Tues., Sept. 16 from noon to 1:30 PM, Amb. Bonnie Jenkins will talk about "Nuclear Security and the Future" at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Ninth Floor Board Room, WDC. Register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Et_M3CzX14TpJy1pLtmoQj-4c9mq4BpRKKvNqxDCrb4/closedform.

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