Sunday, August 23, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert - August 23 - 25, 2015


Baltimore Activist Alert Aug. 23 - 25, 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 and 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] Call the offices of Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski

7] Do you have a Free Eddie Conway button?

8] Estate Sale of Howard Ehrlich’s effects – Aug. 23

9] Asian Americans – Aug. 23

10] Pentagon Vigil – Aug. 24

11] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Aug. 24 – Aug. 28

12] Demand Dignity – Aug. 24

13] Palestinian citizenship – Aug. 24

14] Police accountability hearing – Aug. 24

15] Pledge of Resistance meeting – Aug. 24

16] Peace vigil in Chester, PA – Aug. 25                                      

17] No JHU Drone Research – Aug. 25

18] "Iran: What Next After the Nuclear Deal? – Aug. 25

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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 410-366-1637.



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

6] – The vote Congress will take in early September on the Iran deal will likely be the most important vote on war and peace of the decade—equal in importance to the 2002 vote to go to war with Iraq. Without this deal, we could soon be in yet another devastating war in the Middle East.

The vote will be close, and Maryland is one of just ten states that could determine the outcome of the deal.  Senator Cardin is still deciding whether to support it, and as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his voice is influential. 

That is why we must ensure that Senator Cardin hears from us that this deal is the best path to peace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, hanged by the Nazis in 1945, said, “Not to speak is to speak . . .  Not to act is to act.”  We agree—we believe that peace demands action.  And so we beg you to:

Call Senator Cardin’s office at (202) 224-4524.  Tell the receptionist that you want peace with Iran and that Senator Cardin should support the Iran deal.  If you’ve already phoned his office, make another call!  If you can, also call Senator Mikulski's office, and tell her the same thing:  (202) 224-4654.

7] – Do you have a Free Eddie Conway button?  It is needed for a button exhibition and would be returned. Contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at Verizon dot net.  

8] – Consider purchasing items formerly belonging to Howard Ehrlich: books, furniture, personal items and more on Sun., Aug. 23 from 10 AM to 5 PM at 2743 Maryland Avenue, Baltimore 21218.   NO EARLY BIRDS!! Call 410-444-1023.  Proceeds after expenses will benefit the Nicaraguan Cultural Alliance.

ITEMS STILL AVAILABLE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING (AND MORE): cookbooks (many ethnic), books for wine and beer aficionados; books on sociology, social psychology, social anarchism; also a few on self-help, home and garden, fiction, Nordic Track ski exercise machine with arm weight pulls, large black gas stove, Hotpoint, about 3 years old, 4 burners and oven & broiler, king-size bed, almost-new mattress, with headboard/ shelving which can be sold separately, large refrigerator in good condition - Kenmore Coldspot, 2005, two (2) wine racks - one all metal with a 12-bottle capacity, one wood and metal with a 42-bottle capacity, two (2) window air conditioners in good working order, two-seat couch, muted green & gold stripes, large plywood conference table (or use it for ping pong!), large office desk with 3 drawers on left, 2 on right (one is for files), four (4) smaller desks, one or two with 3 drawers on each side, one with 2 shallow drawers at top, one with 2 drawers on each side, six (6) office files - one with 2 file drawers, two with 4, and three with 5; all for letter-size files, IKEA-type wardrobe, wood finish with translucent panels on the front - one foot broken, folding steel table (wood-finish top), about 70" L, 27" D, 27" H, queen-size mattress, pioneer piece of equipment, looks like a reel-to-reel recorder (? needs further assessment), cupboard, suitable for any room - about 3' H, 6' W, 2 side doors with interior shelves, 2 middle glass doors also with interior shelves, bookshelves of various sizes, both steel and wood, numerous chairs for office, dining room, and kitchen, several chests of drawers, varying sizes, IKEA-type narrow shelves, about 6' tall, suitable for bathroom, kitchen table, sewing machine stand/cabinet, typewriter table, card table, two end tables with shelves underneath; one of these is on wheels, three-speed oscillating white floor fan, modern-looking table lamp, electric floor polisher, two rotating brushes, toaster which also poaches eggs on the side, lightweight aluminum folding table, and more!

9] – 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 Aug. 23 the platform address is Asian, American, and Asian American Issues.  BES member Tevis Tsai will offer an introduction to some of the common challenges faced by Asian Americans, ranging from their historical roots to their modern manifestations. He will discuss some of the problems with terminology and identity as they pertain to Asian Americans, as well as points of contention both internal and external to the Asian American community. He will address the persistence of the “fresh off the boat” stereotype, the model minority myth, and the use of Asian Americans as the “wedge minority.” Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.



10] -- 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., Aug. 24, 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. 



11] – 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.  



12] – Participate in Destination Dignity- March for Dignity and Change in Mental Health starting at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave. NW, WDC on Mon., Aug. 24 at 11 AM.  Join with individuals with mental health challenges, supported by allies, to demand: Human Rights! A valued place in communities! The right kind of help when and where people need and want it! Demand dignity! March! Visit http://www.destinationdignity.org/.



13] – Come to the Palestine Center, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, WDC, on Mon., Aug. 24 from 1 to 2 PM and hear Fateh Azzam argue that since Palestine is now recognized as a state, the next bold step would be for it to confer citizenship on its stateless refugees and enter into bilateral agreements with other states regarding the status of Palestinian citizens in each country. Making the case for such a move entails entering treacherous political waters. However, he argues that it is a proposal worth considering in all its aspects, including the potential problems, as it could be a long over-due move to strengthen the legal status of Palestinian refugees – in particular the stateless refugees - and to improve their situation in their countries of current residence. It would also create facts on the ground, and may become the building blocks for revamping Palestinian politics of representation. This proposal was first published by al-Shabaka: the Palestinian Policy Network, where Azzam serves as a Policy Advisor. His argument engendered an interesting discussion with little agreement, but Azzam feels that the idea has not been thoroughly studied or researched enough to be dismissed yet. Go to http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/EventDetails/i/53676.



14] – The Speaker of the House of Delegates has appointed Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk as a member of the Public Safety and Policing Workgroup, which is tasked with looking into police accountability in Maryland.  There was an organizational meeting on June 8.  There will be monthly meetings in Annapolis, which are open.  The next meeting will be on Mon., Aug. 23 at 1 PM in the Joint Hearing Room, Legislative Services Building, and the topic is Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBOR).  Email Joseline.Pena.Melnyk@house.state.md.us.



15] – 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 August 24. The proposed agenda will include anti-drone activities, Freddie Gray, getting our legislators to support the Iran deal and the September 22 action in D.C. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net.

16] – Each Tuesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the Catholic Peace Fellowship-Philadelphia for peace in Afghanistan and Iraq gathers at the Suburban Station, 16th St. & JFK Blvd., at the entrance to Tracks 3 and 4 on the mezzanine.  The next vigil is Aug. 25.  Call 215-426-0364.

17] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on Aug. 25  from 5:30 to 6:30  PM.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.



18] – On Tues., Aug. 25 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, Ariane Tabatabai, Georgetown University, Kelsey Davenport, Arms Control Association, Reza Akbari, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, and Sam Cutler, Ferrari & Associates, will address "Iran: What Next After the Nuclear Deal?" The discussion is sponsored by PS21 and takes place at OpenGov Hub, 1110 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 500, WDC. RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/ps21-dc-event-82515-iran-what-next-after-the-nuclear-deal-tickets-18105206159.



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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