dancewater: Upcoming events for the week of November 3, 2013

This photo came from this story about Michael Hastings.

UPCOMING EVENTS

11/04/13 REMEMBER TO WEAR RED TODAY TO SHOW SUPPORT TO NC TEACHERS

11/04/13 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION MEETING IN CHARLOTTE

Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting for comments. The location is Hilton Charlotte University Place in Charlotte. There will be a bus from Asheville to Charlotte. This bus will leave Earthfare Parking Lot at 2:00 PM and return at midnight. Cost is $15, with some scholarships available. For reservations: Mary at 242-5621 or maryo@nirs.org; or contact Laura at 545-4443 or Lsredoak@gmail.com. JUMP ON THE BUS FROM ASHEVILLE TO CHARLOTTE - more information at end of this email.

11/04/13 STORIES THAT BEND TOWARD JUSTICE AND PEACE

This Middle East Film Series runs from November 4 thru December 5, with showings in Back Mountain and Asheville. Time is 7 PM, and location is Black Mountain Library on Mondays and Brooks-Howell Home on Merrimon Avenue in Asheville on Thursdays. Films sponsored by Western Carolinians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East. Free and open to the public. The people featured in the five films include: a young Jewish American woman who discovers the injustices of life on the Occupied West Bank, a Palestinian father and his daughter who discover the power of nonviolence to protect their village, six Israeli secret service officers who reveal their misgivings with their “counterterrorism mission,” a family in Gaza who seeks a bone marrow transplant for their son, and an Israeli young man and a Palestinian young man who discover they were switched at birth. Today’s film will be “Budrus” and it will be shown at Black Mountain Library. Ayed Morrar, an unlikely community organizer, unites Palestinians from all political factions and Israelis to save his village from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. For more information, contact Bill at 314-374-7446.

11/04/13 US AND ARAB SPRING PANEL

A panel discussion on the United States and the Arab Spring will be held at UNCA in the Highsmith University Union Grotto. Free. Time is 7:30 PM. For more information, call 251-6298.

11/04/13 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL LECTURE AT UNCA

This will be at 7:30 PM and will be held in the Reuter Center. Topic is “Revolution Interrupted” and the cost is $8.

11/04/13 RALLY FOR EDUCATION IN HENDERSONVILLE

A “Rally for Education” will be held at 4:00 PM, Monday, November 4. Having been denied the right of peaceful assembly in front of the Historic Court House, the rally will be held on the two sides of the 1500 block of Fifth Ave. West in Hendersonville. This is a follow-up to the August 24th Rally for Education held at the same location. The Rally is in support of teachers (see the Times-News October 22nd article, “Teachers, administrators will fight new state rules on pay raises, tenure”) and other aspects of grades pre-K through 12 Public School rules changes and budget. The budget has a negative impact on our teachers, administrators and support staff as well as, most importantly, the estimated 13,575 public school students in Henderson County. Speakers will address the impact of new state rules and the 2013-2014 budget on pre-K through 12 in our Public Schools both locally and statewide.

11/05/13 ELECTION DAY - PLEASE VOTE!!

11/05/13 to 11/29/13 IRANIAN POSTER ART

Selections from “In Search of Lost Causes: Images of the Iranian Revolution” will be shown at the River Arts District’s Flood Gallery and Courtyard Gallery (in the Phil Mechanic Building on Roberts Street in Asheville). This is poster art from Iran, about the time of revolution inside their country. These will also be on display at UNCA’s Ramsey Library until November 8 and at Firestorm Café & Books until later this month.

11/05/13 ASHEVILLE TRANSIT MEETING

This will be held on the First Floor Conference Room at Asheville City Hall. Time is 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

11/05/13 STANDING UP MOUNTAINS

The Sustainability Speakers Fund presents “Standing Up Mountains: The Power of the Law and Grassroots Activism to Save Sacred Places”. Time is 6:30 PM and location is Cannon Lounge, Gladfelter Student Center at Warren Wilson College. Presentation is followed by a book signing. Free and open to the public. Jay Leutze shares the story of how Dog Town, a community along the Appalachian Trail in Avery County, rallied to protect the surrounding wilderness from the development of a gravel mine.

11/5/13 PROTECTING SPECIAL PLACES

Fall is here, and that means breathtaking views of changing fall leaves in places like Pisgah National Forests and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Unfortunately, these special places are threatened by encroaching development and pollution. Even worse, over the last two years legislators in Raleigh gutted state preservation funding, calling into question the future of the state's premiere conservation program—the Clean Water Fund. If we're going to protect North Carolina's natural heritage, we need more people to take action and meet with their legislators on a regular basis; educate friends and neighbors about the importance of conservation; learn how to use local media outlets to focus on the benefits of conservation; get petitions signed and so much more. Join us at Malaprops Bookstore on Tuesday at 7:30 PM and find out how you can protect places like the Blue Ridge Parkway.

11/05/13 GIRL RISING MOVIE

A screening of “Girl Rising” a documentary about educating young women around the world, will be held in UNCA’s Humanities Lecture Hall. Free. Time is 7 PM. Info at 251-6808.

11/06/13 RESCHEDULED – DR. CORNEL WEST LECTURE

Cornel West has had to reschedule his public lecture at UNC Asheville due to a family emergency. The public lecture, originally scheduled for October 16 in Kimmel Arena, will now take place at 7:30 p.m., on Wednesday, November 6, in Kimmel Arena at UNC Asheville's Sherrill Center. For more information, visit the university's Cultural Events website or call 828.251.6674.

11/06/13 HOWARD ZINN READ-IN

Please join the Asheville branch of the International Socialist Organization on November 6th at 6:00 PM at the Pack Memorial Library (Ground Floor, Activity Room) to preserve the incredible histories of people fighting for their rights, their lives, and a better world. “A Peoples History of the United States” by Howard Zinn has been a definitive text for educators, activists, and revolutionaries on the Left for more than three decades. For more information, contact Asheville-socialism@googlegroups.com.

11/06/13 SIERRA CLUB MEETING

Join the Western North Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club on Wednesday November 6 at 7 PM for a presentation by Buncombe County Commissioner Brownie Newman. He will be speaking about plans for Buncombe County to reduce its carbon footprint by 80%. Come learn about the plans and what you can do to make it happen. Free & open to the public. Location is Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville. Contact: judymattox@sbcglobal.net, or 828-683-2176 for more information.

11/07/13 BENEFIT FOR LEAF SCHOOLS & STREETS

November 7th, 2013 at 7 PM, please join LEAF, Bob and Carol Deutsch and the Fine Arts Theatre for a special benefit and screening of “Defiant Requiem”. This film highlights the most dramatic example of intellectual and artistic courage in the concentration camp of Theresienstadt (Terezin) during World War II: the remarkable story of a brilliant young and passionate Czech opera-choral conductor. This is a film about how a rare form of courage, hope, and survival sparked an entirely unique method of fighting Nazi oppression, enabled the prisoners to maintain their dignity and humanity while battling the worst of mankind with the best of mankind. All proceeds from the event will benefit LEAF Schools & Streets. Location is the Fine Arts Theater. General admission is $20, students $10.

11/07/13 TRANSITION HENDERSONVILLE EVENT

Transition Hendersonville will host a “Preparing for the Future by Reclaiming our Self-Reliance” forum at the Blue Ridge Community College in the Blue Ridge Conference Hall. Free. Time is 7 PM. For more information, go to transitionhendersonville.com.

11/07/13 STORIES THAT BEND TOWARD JUSTICE AND PEACE

This Middle East Film Series runs from November 4 thru December 5, with showings in Back Mountain and Asheville. Time is 7 PM, and location is Black Mountain Library on Mondays and Brooks-Howell Home on Merrimon Avenue in Asheville on Thursdays. Films sponsored by Western Carolinians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East. Free and open to the public. The people featured in the five films include: a young Jewish American woman who discovers the injustices of life on the Occupied West Bank, a Palestinian father and his daughter who discover the power of nonviolence to protect their village, six Israeli secret service officers who reveal their misgivings with their counterterrorism mission, a family in Gaza who seeks a bone marrow transplant for their son, and an Israeli young man and a Palestinian young man who discover they were switched at birth. Today’s film will be “Budrus” and it will be shown at Brooks-Howell Home. Ayed Morrar, an unlikely community organizer, unites Palestinians from all political factions and Israelis to save his village from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. For more information, contact Bill at 314-374-7446.

11/07/13 FILM AT YWCA ABOUT WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE

In honor of those who fought for the right for women to vote, please join the YWCA in Asheville for a free film screening of “Iron Jawed Angels”. Dinner will be served. Time is 6 PM A follow-up conversation around the film, current challenges to voters' rights, and the importance of getting out the vote will take place on November 14 at 6 PM with a dialogue moderated by WCQS's Greta Johnsen. This film is the story of two important women in the history of suffrage in the United States. Alice Paul and Lucy Burns began a more radical branch of women fighting for the right to vote. They found themselves up against powerful men, an atmosphere of chauvinism, an unconcerned President (Woodrow Wilson) and even their own more conservative counterparts. These women risk their lives to fight for what they believe in.

11/09/13 PRESENTATION ON THE REAL COST OF FREE TRADE

“The Real Cost of Free Trade in Colombia” will be presented by Witness for Peace Southeast. We are proud to present Anibal Perez as our speaker for the 2013 Speakers Tour. Perez is a striking example of the courage and determination that many Colombians possess as they fight for the right to live peaceably on their land, free from economic, political, and environmental violence. Location is Firestorm Café & Books and time is 7 PM.

11/09/13 EMPTY BOWL EVENT

The Lord's Acre's first Empty Bowls Event will be held on NOVEMBER 9th from 6:00 - 8:30 pm at Trinity Episcopal (60 Church Street, Asheville 28801) in Tudon Hall. For a donation of $25 you will have the opportunity to choose a handmade ceramic bowl which will be filled with your choice of yummy soup from local restaurants. Bread, drink, desserts, and music round out the fare. Proceeds benefit The Lord's Acre. Reservations are limited. Get yours now: http://www.thelordsacre.org/wp/.

11/11/13 ARMISTICE DAY

11/11/13 STORIES THAT BEND TOWARD JUSTICE AND PEACE

11/12/13 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING

Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street in Asheville. VFP Chapter 099: http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

11/14/13 STORIES THAT BEND TOWARD JUSTICE AND PEACE

11/16/13 TO 11/17/13 DRONE CONFERENCE IN DC.

Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance, Washington DC

11/17/13 ETHICAL SOCIETY OF ASHEVILLE

“Medical Ethics in a Hospital Setting” will be presented by Mary L. Caldwell, Clinical Ethicist at the Sunday, November 17th meeting of the Ethical Society of Asheville. Time is 2 – 3 PM at the Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road in North Asheville (off Merrimon Avenue near UNCA). Caldwell will give an overview of Ethics and the work of an ethicist in a hospital setting, ethical theory and principles and typical ethics consultation in a hospital setting.

11/18/13 MOVE TO AMEND BUNCOMBE COUNTY MEETING

Time is 7 PM and location is North Asheville Library.

11/18/13 STORIES THAT BEND TOWARD JUSTICE AND PEACE

11/19/13 CONCERT AND RECEPTION TO HONOR LOCAL ACTIVISTS

Charlie King and Karen Brandow are musical storytellers and political satirists. They sing and write passionately about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. This Perelandra Studio Concert will be held in east Asheville on November 19th. 6 PM reception with Charlie and Karen. 7 PM Concert. Both the reception and the concert will celebrate Asheville area participation in the Walk for our Grandchildren and Moral Mondays. Email hras@humanrightsaction.net or or call 314-374-7446 to arrange for tickets which are $20 (only advance tickets available).

11/19/13 HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR TALK AT UNCA

In this talk, “From Mozart to Murder: A Holocaust Survivor Muses About Radical Evil” Professor Walter Ziffer will relate his personal encounters with such evil (genocide) to a number of attempts by scholars to explain how such monstrosities come into being, considering our human genetic potentials for such, as well as situations that trigger these potentialities to transform into acted atrocities. Time is 7 PM and location is Lipinsky Auditorium at UNCA.

11/19/13 PRESENTATION ON WOMEN’S HEALTH

The story of women's health is a major indicator for children's health. Learn more at “Findings from the NC Women's Health Report Card: A Snapshot of Women's Health Disparities” on Tuesday, November 19th, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM. Location is the MAHEC Education Building (121 Hendersonville Road, Asheville). The key presenter is Dr. Wendy Brewster, Director of The Center for Women's Health Research - UNC Chapel Hill. She will be joined by local experts. The event is free and sponsored by Women for Women. Go here to register: http://ncwomenshealth.eventbrite.com/.

11/21/13 STORIES THAT BEND TOWARD JUSTICE AND PEACE

11/22/13 to 11/24/13 SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS WATCH CONVERGENCE ON FORT BENNING

11/22/13 SOCIAL JUSTICE FILM AT UU CHURCH

The November 22nd film will be the award-winning film "Chasing Ice". More information to follow.

11/28/13 THANKSGIVING DINNER TO BENEFIT ROOM IN THE INN

Looking for Thanksgiving plans? Enjoy a free Thanksgiving meal at FIG Bistro in Biltmore Village from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Diners will be encouraged to donate to the FIG Fund, with all donations benefiting our Room in the Inn program! Reservations are required and can be made by visiting www.figbistro.com.

12/02/13 STORIES THAT BEND TOWARD JUSTICE AND PEACE

12/05/13 STORIES THAT BEND TOWARD JUSTICE AND PEACE

12/6/13 - RECONCILIATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Director of Musalaha, Dr. Salim Munayer, will be visiting the United States to speak about his organization and their efforts towards peacemaking and reconciliation in the West Bank, Israel and beyond. Musalaha (Arabic for 'Reconciliation') is a non-profit organization in Bethlehem that seeks to promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. For more info about Salim and his organization, visit: www.musalaha.org. This is a FREE event, donations to support the organization are encouraged. 6 PM. It will be held at the Haywood St. Methodist Church (297 Haywood Street, corner of Patton and Clingman Ave.)

12/08/13 PAN HARMONIA BENEFIT CONCERT

Join us on December 8th at 4 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church downtown for a special holiday performance by Pan Harmonia of the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah. The suggested donation of $25 will benefit Pan Harmonia, an independent artist collective, and our work to end homelessness.

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ONGOING EVENTS

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TUESDAY

Veterans for Peace have a weekly vigil at 4:30 PM at Pack Square, Vance Monument

WEDNESDAY

Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood County Courthouse in Waynesville

THURSDAY

Asheville Homeless Network meeting at 2 PM at Firestorm Cafe

FRIDAY

Women in Black have a weekly vigil at noon at the City Hall in Hendersonville

SATURDAY

Transylvanians for Peace and WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have a weekly vigil at noon in front of the courthouse in Brevard

Third Saturdays – Asheville’s Green Grannies invites the public to “sing for the climate” at Vance Monument.

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ACTIONS AND READINGS

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GET ON THE BUS!!

Nuclear Regulatory Public Hearing on Waste: Monday, Nov 4 in Charlotte

Meeting 7:00 - 10:00 pm

Hilton Charlotte University Pl, 8629 J.M. Keynes Dr., Charlotte, NC 28262

A BUS from Asheville to the meeting will leave at 2pm. from Earthfare (Westgate Parking Lot), to be back around midnight-- $15 per seat.

We need your help to fill this bus!

WHY is this meeting / mobilization important?

The U.S. NRC has been told by a federal judge to do an environmental impact statement on storing the most highly radioactive waste (fuel rods after they have been removed from a reactor core). Strangely, this "look" has never been done before because NRC had always said "the Department of Energy is going to take this waste; it is only temporary here and it is safe, no impact."

The judge said "Not good enough" and directed NRC to look at short term including fuel pool fires, and to look at middle term (assuming a repository is built) and also to look at what if there is NEVER a repository. This is the best chance that the public has ever had to speak out on radioactive waste policy / regulation / generation / end of generation (5 reactors closed this year, and 5 proposed reactors have been canceled).

Contact: Mary Olson, 828-242-5621, maryo@mirs.org (Nuclear Information and Resource Service), http://www.nirs.org/

Contact: Laura Sorensen, 828-545-4443, Lsredoak@gmail.com.

Pre-register to speak at the hearing by calling 301-287-93-92 or emailing WCRegistration@nrc.gov no later than Nov 1.

If you can't attend, fax: Secretary, US NRC, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking & Adjudication Staff, Docket# 210-0246

or email: rulemaking.comments@nrc.com, docket # 210-0246

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Tues. 11/5 - Quantum Leap Radio Show with Guest Lou Zeller

9 PM - 11 PM Eastern Time

Lou is the Executive Director of BREDL (Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League)

He will be discussing the human health impacts of nuclear power & the experiences of those who live near radioactive sites. The experiences are similar wherever people are from; they oppose radioactive poisons and the facilities that use them.

GOT ANY QUESTIONS - CALL IN at 310-421-4053 or skype freedomscreen2

Please join us on revolutionradio@freedomslips.com studio B.

Tune in Online: http://tunein.com/radio/Revolution-Radio-Studio-B-s198602/http://freedomslips.com/

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FROM NC NAACP:

We invite you to participate in our Moral Monday Service of Redemption at the State Capitol in Raleigh on Monday, December 23, 2013.

We hope that this Service will be a time to celebrate Gov. McCrory's successful Special Redemption Session, and the General Assembly's grace and wisdom in rescinding the two inhumane laws of rejecting funds for Medicaid and unemployment benefits. However, if Gov. McCrory, Speaker Tillis, President Pro Tempore Berger, and Budget Director Art Pope insist on maintaining their course of destruction, we will hold a service of Redemptive Witnessing modeled after previous Moral Mondays. We will witness against these policies which go directly against our deepest constitutional values and our deepest moral values. The Forward Together Moral Movement will not allow hundreds of thousands of our neighbors in North Carolina to be crucified without a moral witness.

Join the NC NAACP listserve to receive updates about Moral Monday Service of Redemption on December 23rd, 2013.

Rev. Dr. Barber, NC NAACP

http://naacpnc.nationbuilder.com/

Open Letter to Governor McCrory by North Carolinians of Good Will

Dear Governor McCrory:

We, the undersigned concerned clergy and people of good will in North Carolina, have seen the devastating impacts of the immoral policies of our state legislature, supported and approved by you. We write to remind you that the measure of a society is its treatment of the least among us -- the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the incarcerated.

Our state's policies and practices are being weighed on the scales of justice. They, and all of us who stand on the sidelines and watch them go into effect without raising our voices, are judged on the criteria established in our faith traditions and the principles in our documents which first constituted our nation and state. No matter which measure of human decency is used, our moral profile is a scandal. We ask you to focus on two of the most arrogant and hurtful policies you supported and approved.

Your denial of Medicaid insurance to some 500,000 of our neighbors will cause many to be without health care. The denial of health care is not because of their inability to pay or their lack of concern for their health. Rather it is caused by their own government! When this ideological policy goes into effect, it will result, according to some estimates, in 2,000 of our North Carolina neighbors each year dying untimely, otherwise preventable, deaths. We therefore implore you to accept the federal funds available for medical insurance for our half million neighbors which you rejected for ideological reasons at the beginning of your term.

Meaningful employment and a living wage are necessary for human dignity. We believe everyone able to work, should work. We must acknowledge we are in financially difficult circumstances. Thousands of our neighbors are still struggling to find work. North Carolina has the fifth highest unemployment rate in the nation. We therefore implore you to accept the federal funds available for unemployment insurance for our 170,000 neighbors which you rejected for ideological reasons earlier this year.

You have the power to address these two inhumane policies. In less than 70 days their full fury will be felt by our neighbors, as they both go into effect on January 1, 2014. We respectfully request that you call a Special Redemption Session of the Legislature, and use your powers to guide them out of the ideological and moral dead-ends of these dumb inhumane policies. We would be pleased to celebrate with you, on the Moral Monday that falls on December 23, 2013, when you lead the state away from these acts of moral irresponsibility.

We shall hold a Moral Monday Service of Redemption. The many faith and ethical traditions our Moral Monday movement represent all have special days we celebrate during this season.

You have said that as you govern you are "not afraid to step on toes." As you step on toes, we pray you will not step on God's toes. We pray you have the grace and wisdom to accept the federal funds for the medicaid and unemployment insurance for those who are eligible. We pray you will heed God's call. We pray you will listen to all faiths and ethical commands. We pray you will uphold our constitution.

In the spirit of our Holy Scriptures and the Constitution,

Rev. Dr. Rodney Sadler

Rev. Dr. William Turner

Rev. Dr. William Barber, II

Elder Carrie Bolton

If you wish to sign on to this letter, go here: http://naacpnc.nationbuilder.com/open_letter_to_governor_mccrory?recruiter_id=11578

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