Baltimore Activist Alert June 6 – June 8, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert June 6 – June 8, 2015

"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.

1] Books, buttons & stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation
3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists
4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLa
5] Two friends are looking to buy a house in Baltimore

6] Cyprus Friendship Program

7] Get your animal friend in the Maryland SPCA 2016 calendar – through June 15

8] Mothers In Charge rally – June 6

9] Regional Peoples Assembly & Tribunal – June 6

10] West Chester, PA demo – June 6

11] Raise funds for the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music – June 6

12] SOA Watch Backyard Bash – June 6

13] “Cognitive Enhancement: The Promise and Peril of Programmable People” – June 7

14] Campaign for paid sick days – June 7

15] Baltimore Green Forum – June 7

16] Film THE JUNIOR AND THE SWAN – June 7

17] Hear from Nancy Morejón, a Cuban poet – June 7

18] Pentagon Vigil – June 8

19] Marc Steiner on WEAA – June 8 – June 12

20] Workers' Guide to Health and Safety – June 8

21] Happy hour for Washington Animal Rescue League – June 8

22] Status of black women hearing – June 8

23] Pledge of Resistance/FOC meeting – June 8

24] WMC Progressive Women's Voices Trainings –- deadline June 8

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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] – Two friends are looking to buy a house in Baltimore.  Let Max know if you have any leads—410-366-1637 or mobuszewski@verizon.net.

 

6] – Since a civil war in 1974 the island of Cyprus has been divided in two with a United Nations patrolled border. Turkish/Muslim Cypriots are in the north. Greek/ Christian Cypriots are in the south. Animosities and prejudices run deep. Experts believe that Cyprus is at a crossroads between renewed conflict or becoming as example in the Middle East of how two such cultures can live in peace.

 

The Cyprus Friendship Program, based on the successful model that helped build peace in Northern Ireland, brings over a Muslim and Christian teen to stay with an U.S. host family for the month of July (or ½ month if paired with another host family). This bonding experience in a neutral environment almost always results in a strong friendship. Programming here and after their return to Cyprus turns them into peace builders who are trained in how to influence their peers.  The teens are chosen for their maturity, leadership potential, and English speaking ability. You choose the gender and age (from 15 to 17). To learn more contact Tom McCarthy at 301-774-7069 or Thomas.McCarthy@RaymondJames.com.

 

7] – It's time to look through all your pet photos and to enter your favorites in the Maryland SPCA 2016 Pet Calendar Contest. The 2016 Pet Calendar will be a full-color, wall calendar, released in the fall of 2015. Thirteen of the best photos will be selected for the cover and pet-of-the-month pages. All entered photos will appear in the calendar. Only 400 photos will be accepted through June 15, so enter today! One free calendar is provided for each photo entered; each entry is $50 to the Maryland SPCA.  Call 410-235-8826 or email give@mdspca.org.

 

Photographs must be of animals, no people. High-resolution photos are preferred. Small photos, especially those taken by phones, are difficult to enlarge (photos filtered through Instagram and other social sharing apps are often low-resolution and will appear grainy in print). There is a $10 discount for each online photo entry. Be sure to use discount code SAVE10 at checkout! Go to https://www.kintera.org/AutoGen/Register/ECReg.asp?ievent=1135915&en=4dIxHFPfE3LGKPMiF2JDLLNsFeLBIKNoHhIJKMPvHeKCJQOrEfIRKRNlE6IFLWPEE.

 

8] – On Sat., June 6 at 10 AM at 2 Lincoln Memorial Circle NW, WDC, meet up with Mothers in Charge, a national organization of mothers and other family members who have lost loved ones to homicide.  The group is holding a national rally to draw attention to the trauma and needs of families left behind after homicide. EJUSA is standing with Mothers in Charge.

 

Homicide is a national tragedy that should be treated like the public health epidemic that it is. Families left behind after violence should have the help they need to address the trauma and rebuild their lives. No surviving family member should be denied victims’ services or compensation.  If you have lost a loved one to violence, be sure to bring a picture of your loved one! Visit http://act.ejusa.org/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=73787&track=RsvpMic-EM.

 

9] –  Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com. 

 

10] –   The People's Power Assembly is hosting a Regional Peoples Assembly & Tribunal: STOP POLICE TERROR & RACISM – JOBS & LIVABLE WAGES on Sat., June 6 from 2 to 7 PM @ New Unity Church, 100 W. Franklin St., 21201. The Uprising in Baltimore – Where do we go from here?  Come out & speak out.  Testify if you have been abused by the police. Be a part of the tribunal process.  Come out and listen to the community. Join the “Know your rights/cop watch” teams.  Fight for jobs, livable wages, education, not jails!  BUILD COMMUNITY POWER. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/414834378698833/. The tribunal is also sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Greater

Baltimore Chapter.  Call 443-221-3775.

 

11] – On Sat., June 6 from 4 to 7 PM,  the Jerusalem Fund, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, WDC 20037, invites you to a showcasing of the work of Shaun Rabah, a Jordanian-American abstract artist of Palestinian descent.  His collection is on display to raise funds for the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. One hundred percent of the proceeds of this sale will go to donations.  Rabah, who says "music was my first love," is especially interested in the Gaza branch of the conservatory, where music can play such an important part in healing. Indeed, UNICEF estimates that 373,000 children in Gaza are in desperate need of psychosocial support. Rabah’s art work has been met with a warm reception by collectors and interior designers alike. He is represented by major art galleries and his work has been seen in Home & Design magazine and selected for private collections in the Washington, DC and New York City metropolitan regions. Click here to see the art work that will be displayed: http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/sp/i/9242/pid/9242. Call 202-338-1958 or email info@thejerusalemfund.org.

 

12] – There is a School of the Americas (SOA) Watch Backyard Bash, BBQ, Outdoor Movie Screening at the May Day House, 1226 Crittenden St. NW, WDC, on Sat., June 6 at 6 PM.  The film will be shown once it gets dark.  Enjoy a cash bar, a bonfire, torches, and BBQ.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1590069257914308/.

 

13] – 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 June 7, the platform address is “Cognitive Enhancement: The Promise and Peril of Programmable People.” BES member Nathan Whitmore will address ethical issues regarding cognitive enhancement. He will briefly outline some of the technologies involved and the issues that come with them, such as ensuring safety, how to regulate such technology, distributive justice, and coercion. He will explain how open source and citizen science projects are trying to address these issues and then offer an alternative model for developing cognitive enhancement technology. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

 

14] – Come to 9915 Apple Ridge Rd., Gaithersburg on Sun., June 7 from 2 to 3:30 PM to join Moms Rising and Jews United for Justice for a free family story and play time, where families can have fun and take action to support the local campaign for paid sick days in Montgomery County... so that all families can stay home and get better. No one should have to choose between their health - or their children's health - and their job. But families across Maryland and in Montgomery County are struggling. Without access to paid sick days, parents have to send sick kids to school (where they can infect others!) or lose much-needed pay and risk losing their jobs. Visit http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5483/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=77880.

 

Or go to 8300 Meadowbrook Lane, Chevy Chase on Sun., June 7 from 3 to 4:30 PM to join Moms Rising and Jews United for Justice to raise attention for the need for paid sick days in Montgomery County.

 

15] – The BALTIMORE GREEN FORUM, a monthly environmental education and discussion forum, will occur on Sun., June 7 starting at 4 PM at the Maryland Presbyterian Church, 1105 Providence Road, Towson 21286.  This month’s topic is the Second Annual ‘Support Group’ for Greens.  Learn about and experience the benefits of a ‘support group.’  This event is offered for all who are upset about or at least discouraged by the lack of progress in preserving biodiversity, protecting the environment and making civilization more sustainable.  Since last year the impact of fracking and the worsening of climate change, e.g., California drought and arctic warming may be of particular concern.

 

What Is a ‘Support Group?’ A support group is a proven method for helping individual participants feel better, despite many difficulties they have been facing.  This can happen just from listening to others – but also from speaking. If you would like more details about how a support group works, just sent me an email request at sbh@HopkinsAndAssociates.com.   You can get a hard copy on June 6.   

 

During the optional roundtable discussion period from 5:45 - 6:30 pm, you will no longer be restricted by the above support group rules.  So, you are free to critique your support group experience and the rules and to make other suggestions.  If you are interested in participating again, you can help plan the next one.  

 

BGF is willing to facilitate such a group on a regular basis.  The group will probably want to meet at times and places other than the regular BGF monthly meetings.   But a small group could meet at the church during a BGF event in a different room.  A small parlor room is available.   In any case, the consensus a year ago after the first Support Group on 5-18-14 was that we should offer one at least once a year.

 

The Forum seeks to educate and stimulate dialogue about what humans can do to make modern civilization more sustainable, including adjusting to finite resource limits and preserving biodiversity and a healthy environment. This is done through 8 monthly meetings a year.  The topics are far ranging.  They vary from local to planetary and from philosophical to scientific to very practical. The Meeting Format:  There is a speaker and Q&A from 4-5:15 PM.  Then there are brief announcements by representatives of other organizations that also seek sustainability and environmental protection.  The idea is to promote collaboration among these organizations.  Next, there is an optional roundtable discussion until 6:30 PM.  Finally, there is often a small gathering at a nearby restaurant.

 

BGF is open to the public and is free of charge, but donations to Maryland Presbyterian Church are collected during the meeting to thank the church for their generous gift of the space to us. Call Sam Hopkins at 410 554 0006 or email baltimoregreenforum@gmail.com.  Visit http://www.baltimoregreen forum.org.  

 

16] –  On Sun., June 7 from 5 to 7 PM see the film THE JUNIOR AND THE SWAN at BUSBOYS @ HYATTSVILLE, Howard Zinn Room, 5331 Baltimore Ave., Suite 104, WDC.  Almost ten years after the fall of the Wall, three US citizens are convicted of spying for East Germany. What motivation did these three agents have, and why did they believe they were fighting for a just cause? In the last Cold War spy trial, three US citizens were convicted of working as agents for East Germany: Kurt Stand (“Junior”), his wife Theresa Squillacote (“Swan”), and James Clark (“the Professor”). The verdict ended their long careers as “Kundschafter”. Very few Americans sympathized with Communist East Germany. Spying for the country was unthinkable. Why did these three individuals believe they were fighting for a just cause? Kurt Stand’s parents fled from Nazi Germany to the US where his father became an important source of information for the East German government. He remained undetected all his life. Stand’s parents also put their son in contact with the East German intelligence. “Junior” was instructed to search for collaborators, and he found the “Swan” and the “Professor”. They were trained in spying techniques and expected to infiltrate high levels of the US power structure. This film was 16 years in the making and developed into a unique story about the fall of the Wall. It meets the agents, their handlers, relatives and friends, and features one of the last interviews with legendary singer Pete Seeger. A spy tale, a story about lost hope and betrayal, mistakes and misjudgments, idealism and naiveté. In German, with English subtitles. Go to http://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/event/film-screening-the-junior-and-the-swan.

 

17] – On Sun., June 7 from 5 to 7 PM at BUSBOYS @ 14TH & V Sts., Langston Room and Gallery, 2021 14th St. NW, WDC, hear from Nancy Morejón, a Cuban poet, critic and essayist. Her work explores a range of themes including the mythology of the Cuban nation, the experience of Black Cubans within the nation and the plights of women in Cuban Society. She has produced a number of journalistic, critical, and dramatic works. One of the most notable is her book-length treatments of poet Nicolás Guillén, who in 2001 won Cuba's National Prize for Literature, awarded for the first time to a black woman. This prize was created in 1983.

 

  The A.C.T.O.R. (A Continuing Talk on Race) open discussion series is hosted by Busboys and Poets as a community service. It provides the opportunity for people to come together and speak openly and honestly about issues of race. The intent is that each person walks away from the discussion feeling something: challenged, educated, uncomfortable, enlightened, refreshed, reassured and hopefully inspired and moved to action! Each month there is a new topic for discussion. A.C.T.O.R. is held on the first Sunday of every month at Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Sts., at 50 PM. Go to http://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/event/a.c.t.o.r-a-continuing-talk-on-race-featuring-nancy-morejon.

 

18] -- 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., June 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. 

 

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., June 8 from 12:30 to 1:30 PM, join the International Labor Rights Forum, Solidarity Center, 888 16th St. NW, Suite 400, WDC, to hear Miriam Lara-Meloy, co-author of this groundbreaking new resource-- Workers' Guide to Health and Safety, talk about the book and the participatory process that involved workers from 25 countries in its making.  RSVP to Rachel Grinstein at rachel@hesperian.org.

 

The book is easy to use, beautifully illustrated resource from Hesperian, the people who developed Where There is No Doctor, the "bible of basic health care.” The Workers’ Guide brings forward the issues that factory workers say affect them most, from poverty wages and violence to chemicals and ergonomic injuries, and will become an indispensable tool for workers, union leaders, students and teachers of labor studies and occupational health, factory managers, and nonprofit staff members of organizations that work with workers and their communities. This event is sponsored by the International Labor Rights Forum, Berger-Marks Foundation, and Worker Rights Consortium. Check out http://laborrights.org/events/book-release-workers-guide-health-and-safety.

 

21] – Come to Cantina Marina, 600 Water St. SW, WDC, on Mon., June 8 from 5 to 8 PM for a special fundraising happy hour benefiting the Washington Animal Rescue League. Enjoy drinks with 100% of the proceeds going to the Washington Animal Rescue League. Play with the puppies of the Washington Animal Rescue League, or find one to adopt! RSVP at http://www.washingtonpeacecenter.net/node/15105.

 

22] – There is a briefing about the status of black women in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2167, 200 D St. SW, WDC 20024, on Tues., June 9 from 10 to 11:15 AM.  The briefing will highlight findings and recommendations from IPS’ report, “And Still I Rise: Black Women Labor Leaders’ Voices, Power and Promise,” which examines the successful efforts of black labor women to organize into unions where on average they earn more than $2 more per hour and are 20 percent more likely to have health care; enact minimum wage increases and protections for workers who are not covered by current labor law; ensure that local development initiatives include local hiring practices and community involvement; and prepare black women for public service as elected officials committed to economic justice. Visit http://www.ips-dc.org/events/briefing-black-working-women-matter/.

 

23] – 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 is on June 8. The proposed agenda will include anti-drone activities, Freddie Gray, John Sarbanes/Ben Cardin, the annual July 4 visit to the NSA, the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration and a September action in D.C. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net.

 

24] – The Women's Media Center is accepting applications for the next two WMC Progressive Women's Voices Trainings. The deadline is June 8. WMC Progressive Women’s Voices is the premier media and leadership training program for women in the country. Participants represent a range of expertise and diversity across race, class, geography, sexual orientation and gender identity, ability, and generation. They receive advanced, comprehensive training and tools to position themselves as media spokespeople in their fields, thereby changing the conversation on issues that fill headlines. Graduates join a supportive network of alumnae who support each other in their media goals.

 

Upcoming WMC Progressive Women’s Voices training dates in Washington, D.C. are July 11 – 12 OR July 18 – 19. Applicants wishing to be considered for the next WMC Progressive Women's Voices trainings can find more information and the application form here at http://www.womensmediacenter.com/pages/pwv-application-process.   The 2015 class will be announced on June 19, 2015. Email pwv@womensmediacenter.com.  

 

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