Iran's Supreme Leader: Nuclear Weapons 'A Sin'

Upcoming events in the Asheville area this week

UPCOMING EVENTS

04/30/12 “RACE AND THE BALLOT BOX” FORUM
The Martin Luther King Jr. Assoc. of Asheville and Buncombe County will host a forum on “Race & the Ballot Box” as part of the YWCA’s annual Stand Against Racism. The event will be at Westwood Baptist Church, 150 Westwood Place in West Asheville, beginning at 7 PM on Monday, Apr. 30, 2012. The panel discussion is free and open to the public.

04/30/12 MAY DAY SHOWS - SONGS OF LAND AND LABOR
The May Day Shows will feature Michael Luketan, radical folk band Red Wind, the May Day Chorus and the Saro/Brian/Asher Trio! We will be performing music and songs in 3-part harmonies from independence movements in the last 200 years- from the Chartist Movement of the 1840s, the Easter Rebellion in Ireland 1917 to the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912.  And of course, we will have several songs about spring and land, honoring May Day's origins in the celebration of Beltaine!   Monday, April 30th, Goodstuff, Marshal, 7 PM.

05/01/12 OCCUPY WALL STREET CALLS FOR MAY DAY GENERAL STRIKE
This event will be held from 4 to 7 PM in Asheville at Pack Square.  From 4 to 5 PM is speechifying, in English and Spanish, general fun and hanging out, milling about.  Starting at 5 PM on the dot, a picket will form at the uphill end of the park and begin to move through downtown.  We'll be back in the park around 6 PM and people are welcome to hang out and picnic in the park (bring something for yourself or to share).  There will be Beltane ritual, songs, etc.  Much fun and interesting conversations to be had.

05/01/12 OCCUPY CHICAGO
Adbusters has issued a Call to Action to Occupy Chicago for the NATO summit this coming May.

05/01/12 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE PLANNING MEETING

Planning meeting for International Day of Peace event Tuesday at 6 PM, First Congregational United Church of Christ, 20 Oak St., Asheville. Jonah Bolt will be our leader. Please join us May 1.

05/02/12 SIERRA CLUB MEETING
Sierra Club will take a look at issues in the North Carolina state legislature that concern Western North Carolina: Asheville's water system, clear cutting around billboards, steep slopes, and stream reclassification that allows for development close to banks. Will Morgan, Sierra Club's state lobbyist, will present a summary of laws that passed in 2011, a preview of 2012 legislation, and an analysis of upcoming elections on Wednesday, May 2, at 7 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Asheville, 1 Edwin Place, corner of Charlotte & Edwin.   Contact: judymattox@sbcglobal.net, 828-683-2176

05/03/12 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street (the corner of Haywood and Roberts), Asheville. VFP CHAPTER 099: http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

05/03/12 to 05/06/12 DIFFERENT STROKES!  PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTIVE
On May 4th as a featured part of the YWCA of Asheville’s annual Stand Against Racism Campaign we will open “A Lesson Before Dying” by Rommulus Linney.  On May 5th, an alternate cast, of the opposite racial make-up, will open the same story.  This is the story of Jefferson, an innocent young man, who has been condemned to death in backwoods Louisiana in 1948.  One script, two casts, two perspectives… and two plays?  The Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective presents A Lesson Before Dying. www.differentstrokesavl.com.  Location is Asheville High School.

05/04/12 SPRING HERB FESTIVAL AT FARMERS MARKET
More information at www.ashevilleherbfestival.com.

05/05/12 EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
The organization 350.org will hold a day of action to "Connect the Dots" between extreme weather events and climate change via distributed actions.  http://www.350.org

05/05/12 GREEN PARTY MEETING
The Buncombe County GREEN Party's business meeting is free & open to the public. It will be held from 10 AM to noon, upstairs in the Fortune Building, 729 Haywood Rd., West Asheville. Contact Ronald @ 828-LUCK-180 or Larry @ 828-225-4347 for more information.

05/07/12 MALAPROP’S EVENT
Monday, May 7, at 7 pm at Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Zach Wahls, the young man whose You-Tube film defending his two moms lit up the internet, will present and sign his timely new book, My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family. Come learn about Zach Wahls and his family -- and remember to vote in the North Carolina Primary Election the following day, Tuesday, May 8!

05/08/12 PRIMARY ELECTION DAY

05/09/12 BUS TO CHARLOTTE TO PROTEST BANK OF AMERICA
The Bus from Asheville May 9, Leaving 5:20 AM from Earth Fare (Westgate).  BREAK UP Bank of America Action at Shareholders Meeting at 8 AM - March to Share Holders Meeting for ACTION.  Late morning:   March to Bank of America Stadium for more Action & Speeches.  Mid afternoon:   March to Old City Hall for Demonstrator Action PARTY.  At 6 PM leave Charlotte bound for Asheville, arrival at 8 PM.  Cost $25 round trip. Call Jim at 828-777-4433 for more information or to reserve a ticket.  A few 1/2 scholarships are available. WHO wants to come & bring a friend??? Fun Fun Fun!  This protest is being organized by Meet, Talk, Act Non-violently Affinity Group.

05/09/12 NC COALITION AGAINST CORPORATE POWER
For all those who have looked wistfully back at the sixties as a time when people in the streets made a difference, and been jealous of the opportunities for protest, fun and power which existed then:  The NC Coalition against Corporate Power is organizing people who would be interested in planning and participating in nonviolent CD in Charlotte at BofA Shareholders meeting on May 9. I know you have all been organizing for this event. Please let me know if you or others are interested in potentially arrestable actions there.  Please also spread the word to your friends and allies. Time if short so these plans need to come together soon.  Thanks. Contact Steven at earthsun2@gmail.com.

05/09/12 AVL GREEN DRINKS MEETING
Asheville Green Drinks: Community Resilience & Emergency Preparedness forum.  In the spirit of responsibility and prudence, and building on the rich heritage of the Appalachian traditions of self-sufficiency and interdependence with our neighbors, you are invited to come join our solutions building session on community building through preparedness.  This will be on Wednesday, May 9th, 2012, at 6 PM at Posana Cafe, 1 Biltmore Avenue, downtown Asheville.  A very special event organized and sponsored by: Transition Asheville & the Food Security Cluster of the Asheville-Buncombe Food Policy Council.  A panel of our city and county’s emergency response team and community leaders to discuss -  Food Security in times of Crisis, Transition, and Emergency: A Community Forum On Resilience and Emergency Preparedness.  Confirmed Panelists:  Martha Salyers, Public Health Preparedness Consultant Chris Pelly, Asheville City Council Scott Bernette, Asheville City Fire Chief Jerry Vehaun, Buncombe County Emergency Services Alphie Rodriguez, YWCA Preventive Health Director Red Cross Representative, TBD J. Clarkson, Director of Resource Development, Manna Food Bank

05/10/12 - 05/11/12 PROTEST ALEC SPRING MEETING
Spring Task Force Summit Meeting in Charlotte NC.  More info:  http://www.alec.org/meetings/

05/10/12 IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR EVENT
Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW)’s Right to Heal tour will be coming through Asheville on May 10 at the Firestorm Cafe.  The tour includes speakers who will highlight IVAW's Operation Recovery work at Fort Hood and how folks can get involved.  So mark your calendars. Here is a link to more info about the Asheville tour stop: http://www.ivaw.org/right-heal-tour-asheville.

05/11/12 SOCIAL JUSTICE PROGRAM AT UU CHURCH ASHEVILLE
The Social Justice program of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of AVL (corner of Charlotte St. & Edwin Pl.) will be: "Peru: Organic Agriculture & Water Protection in the Sacred Valley", a journey via colorful slides, with Cathy Holt telling of her 8 months in Peru - from initiating a Listening Project - to teaching a hands-on organic agriculture class at a local school.  Woven throughout is native culture, beautiful ceremonies honoring Mother Earth, and the water - how to purify the now polluted Sacred River.  Cathy has partnered with an organization aiming to provide permaculture classes this August. Permaculture is a system of designing with nature that helps to heal the land while improving productivity and sustainability, thus promoting community self-reliance.  Discussion to follow; No admission; donations will help support upcoming Permaculture classes.  For more: Lew Patrie 299-1242 or Cathy Holt 545-9681.  Time is 7 PM.

05/12/12 ASHEVILLE HOMELESS NETWORK BENEFIT
This will be an open mic at Firestorm Cafe and Books, and it starts at 7 PM.  Come one, come all - houseless, musicians, poets, comedians, street people, punks, occupiers, tent campers - all are invited.

05/17/12 CHILD & FAMILY ADVOCACY DAY IN NC
Action for Children NC will host a day of advocacy at the NC General Assembly, training on key issues, special guest speakers. More information to follow.

05/17/12 SAFE ALTERNATIVES FOR FUTURE ENERGY CAROLINAS MEETING
SAFE Carolinas will hold a meeting (place to be announced) in Asheville at 6:30 PM.  We are concerned citizens from WNC collaborating to STOP the WS Lee Nuclear Plant in Gaffney, SC, just 60 miles from Asheville.  ALL ARE WELCOME.  For more info contact:  Laura at Lsredoak@gmail.com or Kris at krissysjake@gmail.com.

05/18/12 WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MEETING
The next WNC PSR monthly meeting will be at a private home near the VA Hospital.  Brown Bag lunch at noon with meeting from 12:30 to 2 PM.  Everyone is welcome.  Please go to www.wncpsr.org  for more information, which includes how to get there and other details.

05/19/12 - 05/21/12 NATO IN CHICAGO
“Won’t you please come to Chicago, for the help that we can bring?  We can change the world, rearrange the world, it is dying - to get better.”  G-8 SUMMIT MOVED TO CAMP DAVID.

05/20/12 NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN MEETING
More information to come.

05/20/12 ETHICAL SOCIETY OF ASHEVILLE MEETING
Our next platform meeting will celebrate the founding of the Ethical Culture movement (May 15, 1876) with "Ethical Heroes – From Jacob Riis to Eleanor Roosevelt" presented in reader theater style Sunday, May 20th, 2:00-3:30 PM, at the Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road in North Asheville.  The play written by Ethical Society of Boston member, Stanley Wayne, features seven ethical heroes and will be performed by members of the Ethical Society of Asheville.  There will be a discussion period following the presentation. Following the meeting, there will be time for informal conversation. All are welcome!

05/20/12 HOMEWARD BOUND FUNDRAISER
Paul Robeson Through His Words & Music will be performed by Derrick McQueen at NC Stage Company 15 Stage Lane (off Walnut St., across from Zambra) in Asheville.  Tickets $50.  Time is 5:15 for refreshments and 6 PM for the preformance.  Go to www.hbofa.org or 828 258-1695 x254 for more information.  Indicate “Tickets” in the purpose line if you donate online.

oh, this is amazing.....

One blue sky above us
One ocean lapping all our shore
One earth so green and round
Who could ask for more
And because I love you
I'll give it one more try
To show my rainbow race
It's too soon to die.

Some folks want to be like an ostrich,
Bury their heads in the sand.
Some hope that plastic dreams
Can unclench all those greedy hands.
Some hope to take the easy way:
Poisons, bombs. They think we need 'em.
Don't you know you can't kill all the unbelievers?
There's no shortcut to freedom.

Go tell, go tell all the little children.
Tell all the mothers and fathers too.
Now's our last chance to learn to share
What's been given to me and you.

UPDATE:  Well, that sucks.  It was available a few minutes ago.

Further update:  Here is a clip of the singing, without the English translation or the part where they were singing in English.  It does give you a taste of what it was like in Oslo, when they were singing this.  They did it because the Christian terrorist that murdered scores last summer, said this was a Marxist song that brainwashed kids to embrace multiculturalism.

Obama kills by drones

Photo is from Business Insider article.  It is attributed to the ACLU.

The President is now allowing the CIA and the military to launch drone strikes against targets in Yemen without actually knowing who will be killed in the attack. – Business Insider

I guess it does not matter to them who they kill with the drones, or at least, does not matter to Obama.

The United States has begun launching drone strikes against suspected al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen under new authority approved by President Obama that allows the CIA and the military to fire even when the identity of those who could be killed is not known, U.S. officials said. - Washington Post

Obama and his people are just evil.  

Remembering the ones who had morals back in 2007

On December 18th of 2007, the US Senate voted to give more money to funding the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.  Now, when I visited the US Senate offices in 2006, I found that about half the Democrats and nearly all of the Republicans did not give a rat’s ass about what was happening to the Iraqi people AT ALL.  I determined this by walking into their offices and handing them a letter about an Iraqi who was suffering due to the US occupation of Iraq.   I judged the responses of the staff there.  And like I said, most of them showed they did not care at all.

Sometimes, however, I got to speak face to face with one of the Senators, and could judge the responses that way.  Senators Graham, Dole, Burr, McCain and Levin showed me that they could not have cared less.  Below are the names of the Senators who voted against this war.  It roughly corresponds to the same Democratic Senate offices where the staff acted like they did care about the horror and suffering we have visited on the Iraqi people.   Maybe it was all an act, but better to act like you have some morals and decency than to act like you don’t care about mass murder and genocide.  And what we did in Iraq was genocide.  What we are doing in Afghanistan is mass murder.

The good and moral people of the US Senate in 2007:

Akaka (D-HI)                    Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)                  Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)              Cardin (D-MD)
Durbin (D-IL)                   Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)                  Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)                  Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)                    Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)                  Menendez (D-NJ)
Murray (D-WA)               Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)         Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)              Stabenow (D-MI)
Whitehouse (D-RI)          Wyden (D-OR)

Their names!

In honoring their memory, I write their names below, and the little we know about them: that nine of them were children, three were women.

The dead:
Mohamed Dawood son of Abdullah
Khudaydad son of Mohamed Juma
Nazar Mohamed
Payendo
Robeena
Shatarina daughter of Sultan Mohamed
Zahra daughter of Abdul Hamid
Nazia daughter of Dost Mohamed
Masooma daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Farida daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Palwasha daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Nabia daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Esmatullah daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Faizullah son of Mohamed Wazir
Essa Mohamed son of Mohamed Hussain
Akhtar Mohamed son of Murrad Ali

The wounded:
Haji Mohamed Naim son of Haji Sakhawat
Mohamed Sediq son of Mohamed Naim
Parween
Rafiullah
Zardana
Zulheja

Upcoming events in the Asheville area this week

UPCOMING EVENTS

04/23/12 TRAINING FOR CONSUMERS AGAINST RATE HIKES
Time is 7 to 9 PM and location is WNC Alliance Office at 29 N. Market Street, Asheville. Bill Gupton, of NC WARN, will be in Asheville at the WNC Alliance Office on Monday evening, April 23rd. He will provide the Consumers Against Rate Hikes training to mobilize WNC communities against potential Duke/Progress sponsored legislation which will result in annual utility rate hikes with minimal public oversight (i.e., no public rate hike hearings). These rate hikes are used by Duke/Progress to pay for the construction of new nuclear power plants. This is organized by SAFE Carolinas and WNC Alliance. For more info contact: Laura at Lsredoak@gmail.com or  Kris at krissysjake@gmail.com.

04/23/12 HUMANITIES LECTURE AT UNCA

Ann Dunn, lecturer in Humanities, will present her lecture titled, “Where Have We Been? Where Are We? Where Are We Going? The Ebb and Flow of Empires” at 11:25 a.m. in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. It is free and open to the public. For more information visit www.humanities.unca.edu or call 828/251-6808.

04/24/12 SPEECH ON MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL AT WWC
Larry Gibson from Keeper of the Mountain's Foundation and Debbie Graff will speak about mountaintop removal and it’s effects on them and their communities.  This will be at Cannon Lounge at Warren Wilson College at 7:30 PM.  Larry Gibson has been fighting for his mountain, calling for an end to the destruction of the Appalachian Mountains through Mountaintop Removal coal mining for more than the last twenty years. He is an internationally known voice who has been named one of CNN's "Heroes", has appeared on ABC's 20/20, and has appeared before the United Nations. He has most recently been honored by Ohio Citizen Action, which awarded him the 2010 Enduring Courage Award.  Free and open to the public.

04/24/12 SOLIDARITY WITH HOMELESS CAMPERS RALLY
On 4/17/12, the Asheville Police Department did a sweep of campsites giving people who were homeless a seven day notice of eviction. After seven days, tents and other belongings will be destroyed. Let us be clear that all people have a right to survive. Shelter is a basic necessity and should be a right of all citizens. We stand convicted that our city must provide safe space for all her citizens.  Evicting people from the only safe shelter that they have is no solution. The city’s Homeless Initiative (10 Year Plan to End Homelessness) represents a real solution through the housing first model. Many of those who are camping currently are waiting for housing through the Homeless Initiative. This sends a mixed message to these folks. Our ends and our means much match. Towards the real solution we are all seeking: to end the suffering of our citizens who are homeless, we call for the following actions by our city:  1) In the short term, an immediate end to police sweeps of homeless encampments and either enough shelter space for ALL our homeless citizens or a safe space to camp legally.  2) In the long term, decriminalizing homelessness in Asheville. It should not be a crime to be without a home.  Solidarity with Homeless Campers Campaign and Rally will be at 4:15 at City Hall. More information from BeLoved House at 828-242-8261.

04/24/12 “RACISM:  I CAN FIX IT” PRESENTATION

This is at the Sage Café at Warren Wilson College at 7 PM.

04/26/12 HANDS OFF BUNCOMBE’S WATER
Join us Tuesday April 24 at 4:30 PM for a "Stop it, Moffitt: Hand's off Buncombe's Water" rally at City-County Plaza followed by a visit to Asheville City Council, where city leaders will discuss Moffitt's attack on the water system.

04/26/12 LATINO EDUCATION IN NORTH CAROLINA
Latino Education in North Carolina: Challenges & Solutions, Thursday, April 26 at 7 PM at the MAHEC Health Education Center. Hosted by the Hispanics in Philanthropy and the Community Foundation of WNC.

04/26/12 DINING OUT FOR LIFE
This is to raise support for HIV/AIDS services.

04/26/12 SONGS IN SOLIDARITY
April marks the centennial anniversary of the Paint-Creek/Cabin-Creek Wars (1912-1913), an integral part of Appalachia's labor history and a precursor to the 1921 March and Battle of Blair Mountain during which nearly 15,000 people rebelled against their corporate-owned government. Come learn about the West Virginia mine wars in an interactive setting and learn about the current fight to end mountain-top removal mining on Blair Mountain.  Location is Firestorm Café and Books, and time is 7 PM.

04/27/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM MARCH AND RALLY
Isaac Dickson students march to Pack Park for a rally at noon.

04/27/12 HEALTH DISPARITIES
Sharon West presentation on Health Disparities in the Glenn Theater. www.missionhospitals.org.  Time is 2 PM and location is Mission Hospital.

04/27/12 ROMA CULTURE
We will be doing discussion groups around the Roma people - Gypsies. How do we define Community? Identity? Heritage? What forces do we put on other people to conform to our norms? Our Culture? Facilitated by Lisa Eby.  Time is 8 to 5 PM and location is Buncombe County Health and Human services.  Part of Stand Against Racism.

04/27/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM
www.ywcastand.org

04/27/12 OCCUPY THE WEEKEND

This is an informational event, and will be held in Hendersonville.  This will be a camp-in/teach-in/information table event.  The fun kicks off on Friday at noon.  Meet at the vacant lot across from Wells Fargo on South Main Street in Hendersonville.  This event will continue until noon on Sunday. On Friday, we will be setting things up, getting organized, etc.  We may have a speaker Friday afternoon or evening. There also may be a march Friday afternoon, but that has yet to be confirmed.  Friday night we will camp at the property. Saturday we will stage a picket from noon to 4 PM. We are also lining up several more presentations throughout the day, and engaging with the general public in conversation. Camping again Saturday night. We will break camp and leave at noon on Sunday. If you aren't camping, we still need you to come around and help man the table, talk to people, picket and march when you're able.  A few things to keep in mind if you plan to camp. This will not be an open ended occupation. This is strictly for the weekend at this point. While the basic needs such as a porta john, water, ice and such will be provided, campers are responsible for bringing their own camping gear and food. Also, campers (or anyone attending) should know that Occupy Hendersonville prohibits the possession and use of illegal drugs, drinking alcohol in the camp area, and weapons of any kind.

04/27/12 OCCU-PARTY AT VANCE MONUMENT
Time is 6 PM.

04/27/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM PUZZLE
Friday, April 27, at 10 AM at the Jewish Community Center.  Jewish Family Services of WNC and the Jewish Community Center presentation of Jewish community "Stand Against Racism" puzzle created by participants from JCC Shalom Children's Center, Just Kids Afterschool Enrichment, Congregation Beth Israel, Congregation Beth HaTephila, Chabad House and Jewish Family Service Elder Day Club. Also a presentation by the pre-school of Dr. Suess’s “The Sneer.” 

04/28/12 NATIONAL PROTEST AGAINST THE WAR ON WOMEN
This will be held at state capitols across the nation.  10 AM.

04/28/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM RALLY
Saturday, April 28, Noon, Pritchard Park.  Stand Against Racism Rally hosted by the Jubilee Community.

04/28/12 BLUE RIDGE PRIDE EVENT
Saturday, April 28, 1:00 pm, at First Congregational UCC.  This is a Collaborative Art Project hosted by Blue Ridge Pride and is part of Stand Against Racism events. www.blueridgepride.com

04/28/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM EVENT

Saturday, April 28, 3:00 pm, Pritchard Park.  Occupy Asheville will pause to mark the Stand Against Racism. Together we'll read parts of the Stand Against Racism Purpose Statement and also our own Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples Resolution. If you have ideas for agenda items related to anti-racism please contact facilitation@occupyasheville.org, so that we can incorporate them into the agenda.

04/28/12 - 04/29/12 DRONE SUMMIT IN DC BY VETERANS FOR PEACE AND CODE PINK

04/29/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM COLLABORATIVE ART PROJECT
Saturday, April 28, 1:00 pm, First Congregational UCC.  Collaborative Art Project hosted by Blue Ridge Pride. www.blueridgepride.com

04/29/12 DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH COLUMBIA (STAND AGAINST RACISM)
The US is deeply complicit in Colombia's decade-long civil war, which has displaced some 5 million people, the worst such humanitarian crisis in the world. Attention to Colombia touches on all three of what Dr. King called the "giant triplets" of racism, materialism and militarism.  This is sponsored by Circle of Mercy Congregation.  Time TBA.

04/29/12 YOUTH STAND AGAINST RACISM SUNDAY
Youth STARS (Stand Against Racism Sunday). This is an interactive program for high school students.  Time is 1 PM and location is the Carver Center in Black Mountain.

A safer world is our right

Youth declaration for nuclear abolition 16 April 2011 • Oak Ridge, Tennessee

We are the future and we are here to claim it. Today, we live in the shadow of a bomb.

The Department of Energy has announced plans to build a new nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, right in our backyard.

Not only are bombs destructive to the environment, they threaten our future.

President Obama promised us a world free of nuclear weapons, yet his policies reflect otherwise, with increased spending on weapons production and the construction of a new facility to build bombs.

His promise for change is hollow, as the United States maintains a stockpile of more than 1,500 nuclear weapons.

We must hold our government accountable; we cannot continue to produce nuclear weapons.

We renounce the false security of weapons, rejecting their use as a means for national defense.

We cannot expect foreign powers to diminish their stockpiles if we are not willing to do the same.

We must set the standard.

We must be heard. We must declare ourselves the last generation to live in the shadow of a bomb.

We want to raise our children in a safer world, a world free of nuclear weapons.

We speak with one voice, proclaiming the end of all nuclear weapons. Our hopes and dreams do matter. Our leaders must understand that.

All countries must rid themselves of these devastating weapons. We want to be proud of our country and our world. We are the youth of the United States of America. A safer world is our right.

A safer world is our right www.orepa.org

I support the Occupy Movement!

\

Antidote

Be an antidote to Iran war fever. Urge your Representative to support Rep. Barbara Lee's bill, HR 4173, which would, among other things, direct the President to repeal the State Department's "no contact" policy and appoint a Special Envoy to Iran to help prevent war. And urge the President not to heed voices calling for the U.S. to remove a group believed responsible for the assassination of Iranian scientists from the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations, a move that would further escalate tensions.

Want to prevent war with Iran? Engage Congress!

Global Day of Action on Military Spending

Election training and information

Some things I learned at Saturday morning training for the upcoming election:

Buncombe County has 37 ballot styles for the May election.
Wake County has 180 ballot styles!

Part of this is due to the fact it is a primary, and part of this is due to the fact that there is a proposed Constitutional Amendment on the Primary ballot -- those citizens who are 17 but will turn 18 before the General election can vote on the candidates, but not the Amendment One.

The politicians in Raleigh put the Amendment in the primary because they think it will get more votes FOR the Amendment. This should be outlawed.

But the MAIN REASON there are so many ballot styles is all the gerrymandering that has been done with redistricting. They have split up nearly all precincts, and this is true for both state and national races. In some cases there are as few as TWO voters who will be in a certain US Congressional District inside their precinct. I think that negates a secret ballot right there, unless the TWO VOTERS happen to both vote and both vote for different candidates --- and there are only two candidates.

WHAT A MESS THE NC REPUBLICANS HAVE MADE!!!!

Oh, and all the claims about voter fraud? In the 2010 election, there were 6,000,000 voters in NC. And there were 40 cases of voter fraud, although at least some of those were just confused elderly people who voted absentee and then forget and voted again at the polls.

Another Republican "solution" searching for a "problem".... and a way to waste our TAX DOLLARS ON NOTHING.

Also, I confirmed that the paper ballots are HAND COUNTED in the after-election verification process. Four people are involved in this. The State BOE randomly picks precincts to count in EVERY county, and then randomly picks which race to recount.

And the differences between the paper ballots and the Opti-scanner results are nearly always due to..... VOTERS DO NOT FILL IN THE CIRCLE CORRECTLY!!

I am so very grateful for paper ballots and opti-scanners in our NC elections! I know a lot of people did a lot of work to get that outcome, and I am very grateful for their efforts.

Upcoming events in the Asheville area

UPCOMING EVENTS

04/15/12 PRACTICUM ON AFFINITY GROUPS AND SPOKES COUNCILS
Several groups in our area are presenting a basic training on the formation of Affinity Groups, Application in Creative Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigns, Decision Making & Coordination Through Spokes Councils, and Skill Share and Organizing Strategies for Actions Against Injustice on all fronts.  Time is 2 to 5 PM and location is Jubilee Community Church on Wall Street in Asheville.  For more information, contact Steve at earthsun2@gmail.com or Clare at NewSouthNetwork@gmail.com

04/15/12  “IRAN: WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE” LECTURE
Researcher, journalist, and Quaker Helena Cobban will discuss the impact of US-Israeli involvement with Iran on our country and our world.  Time is 6 PM and the location is Cathedral of All Souls in Biltmore Village.  For more information, contact Tony at tonyb@earlham.edu.  Sponsored by Western Carolinians for Peace & Justice in the Mid East.

04/15/12 ASHEVILLE “LETS” SEEDLING SWAP AND BIRTHDAY PARTY
An orientation to Asheville LETS will be held at 12 noon at Magnolia Park in Montford, follow by a potluck and seedling swap from 1 to 3 PM.  This is the 5th anniversary of Asheville LETS.  All are welcome.

04/15/12 ETHICAL SOCIETY OF ASHEVILLE MEETING
"GERMANY'S RESPONSE TO ITS HOLOCAUST PAST" will be presented by Lotte Meyerson, a holocaust survivor, and Mark Boyd, PhD at the Sunday, April 15th meeting of the Ethical Society of Asheville, 2:00-3:30 PM, held at the Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road, Asheville.  Mrs. Meyerson, who lived in Darmstadt, Germany the first fourteen years of her life before immigrating with her family to Chicago, IL, has been back to Germany three times, the last two as guest of the City of Darmstadt. Dr. Boyd, a Chemical Physicist and Computer Scientist, was profoundly changed as the result of teaching Humanities classes at UNC Asheville. He converted to Judaism and developed an avocation as a bicycle tourist which contributed to spending several summers in Europe where developed several close long-term relationships with Germans. He and Mrs. Meyerson will discuss many ways Germany has owned up to the evil it did, and the programs of education and restitution it instituted, both governmental and private. Come hear their fascinating first hand experiences. All are welcome!

04/15/12 NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN MEETING
This meeting will be on Sunday, April 15th. We'll meet at 3pm at the Roof Garden of the Battery Park Apts. Put in the code and my friend will buzz you in.  Contact Debbie for the code.  Light refreshments will be served. Feel free to bring something to share, if you like.  Contact Debbie for more information at ashevillenow@live.com

04/16/12 ISRAELI PALESTINIAN FOREIGN POLICY LECTURE
Helena Cobban, journalist, author and researcher, will address the forces shaping U.S. Foreign Policy towards Israel and Palestine, the inaccuracy of mainstream media and expose special interests that frame the narrative during a presentation at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 20 Oak St. Free.  Time is 7 PM.  Info: dec25carol@yahoo.com. Sponsored by Western Carolinians for Peace & Justice in the Mid East.

04/17/12 GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION ON MILITARY SPENDING

04/17/12 TAX THE 1% PROTEST BY MOVE ON AND DEMOCRATIC PARTY GROUPS
This will be at 4:30 PM at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville.  Help the call to raise taxes on the rich, so the US can afford more wars.  And going after the 1% will give Obama an advantage in the upcoming election, since he can call Romney part of the 1%...... keep in mind that BOTH candidates are raising the vast majority of their campaign funds from the 1%, and will answer to their financial supporters after the election.  When the 1% say “jump” both Obama and Romney will say “how high?”  Also keep in mind that income inequality is worse under Obama than it was under Bush.

04/17/12 THE COSTS OF INEQUALITY – BY OCCUPY HENDERSONVILLE
Occupy Hendersonville presents “The Costs of Inequality” on Tax Day 2012 from 2 to 4 PM and 6 to 7:30 PM at Kaplan Auditorium in Hendersonville Library at 3rd & Washington.  They have stated:  “We have a common, collective interest in full employment and shared prosperity – We are the 100%.”

04/17/12 INFORMATIONAL PICKET FOR POSTAL SERVICE WORKERS
Join Occupy Asheville and Postal Service Workers for an Informational Picket from 11 AM to 1 PM at the downtown Asheville Post Office on Coxe Avenue.  USPS wants to close 230 area mail processing facilities in the one on Brevard Road.  This picket is to demand that they keep the Brevard Road processing facility OPEN.

04/18/12 FUND RAISER FOR HEALTH CARE ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION
“Dance Like There's Nobody Watching” is a dance to support Like o’ Mike programs:  Patient Pals & Family Friends, Start from Seed and True Stories.  Featuring Blind Boy Chocolate and the Mojomatics.  Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.  Time is 6 PM to 9 PM.  Location is Highland Brewing Company at 12 Old Charlotte Highway, Asheville.

04/18/12 CURRENT US FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS THE MIDDLE EAST
A presentation by Dr. Robert Olson - Professor of Middle East History and Politics University of Kentucky.  Time is 6 PM in Gladfelter’s Canon Lounge at Warren Wilson College.  What is the contemporary role of the United States in the Middle East?. How has the US responded to “The Arab Spring,” Israeli – Iranian tensions, the uprising in Syria, Iraqi instability, etc.? Dr. Olson, a seasoned observer of the Middle East and author of numerous studies on this important region, will share his insights with us. His lecture is sponsored by Warren Wilson College’s Peace & Justice Program and the Departments of History/Political Science, Global Studies, Anthropology/Sociology.  Contact person: Prof. Paul J. Magnarella, pmagnarella@warren-wilson.edu.  Free and open to the public.

04/19/12 EARLY VOTING BEGINS

04/19/12 WILD AND SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL
The Western North Carolina Alliance presents the first-ever Wild & Scenic Film Festival, on tour in Asheville during the week leading up to Earth Day!  For nearly a decade, the festival has been touring the country and this year the festival will make its first appearance in Western North Carolina.   Time is 7 to 10 PM and the location is the Fine Arts Theatre in Asheville.  http://wnca.org/events/wild-scenic-film-festival/
04/19/12 ETHICAL SOCIETY AND MAIF FILM SHOWING
Time is 10 AM and location is YWCA of Asheville.  The Ethical Society of Asheville will join with Mountain Area Interfaith Forum in showing the film, "Traces of the Trade." which will be followed by a discussion led by Father Jim Abbott.

04/19/12 BLACK AND WHITE GALA
YWCA Black & White Gala. Kick off for the Stand Against Racism. www.ywcaofasheville.org

04/19/12 MOVE TO AMEND MEETING
Move to Amend of Buncombe County meeting is scheduled for 7:00 PM in Classroom 4 of Asheville's Unitarian Universalist Church. We will be considering action on resolutions beyond the City of Asheville, including further efforts in regards to Buncombe County and more.

04/19/12 to 04/23/12 KATUAH EARTH FIRST SOUTHEAST RENDEZVOUS
This will be held near Erwin, Tennessee.  Five days of workshops, skill-shares, networking and eco-defense.  More information at www.katuahearthfirst.org.

04/20/12 UNCA STAND AGAINST RACISM
At 9 AM, the Center for Diversity Education will host an interactive workshop at 114 Highsmith Student Union on developing skills to assess and create office spaces that are welcoming and inclusive for all.  Participants can take the tool back to the places of business to evaluate their own office space for equality and inclusion.  Contact dmiles@unca.edu for more information.  More information on The Stand Against Racism at www.ywcaofasheville.org.    Also, from 11:30 to 1:30 PM, there will be a “rant and rave against racism” where students will speak out against racism.  Public is invited to join them.

04/21/12 MARCH FOR BABIES
Join March for Babies Chair (and County Commission Chair) David Gantt in supporting the March of Dimes' efforts to raise awareness of the need for research to help prevent and treat premature birth, birth defects and other threats to babies' health. This one walk, on one day, brings the Asheville area together as one voice to help babies be born healthy. The 3-mile walk through downtown Asheville begins and ends at Pack Square Park. It's designed to be a family-friendly event, with music, food and activities for kids. Registration begins at 8:30 am, the Walk begins at 10:00 am. For more info call 828-258-1234 or go to www.marchforbabies.org.  

04/21/12 EARTH DAY
Celebration from noon to 10 PM on Lexington Avenue.

04/21/12  OAK RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL PEACE ALLIANCE RALLY
"The Folly of Icarus", an Oak Ridge Rally will be held on Saturday, April 21st. It is sponsored by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA). Security made possible from nuclear weapons is as rational as Icarus' mythical wings, but much more dangerous, because they still endanger all human life on earth.  The April 21 event is one more important effort to halt progress toward the first new thermonuclear weapon production plant in 40 years, at Oak Ridge, TN.  People are invited to gather in downtown Oak Ridge TN at 12:30 PM in Bissell Park and set out on a march to the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant. www.orepa.org

04/21/12 to 04/27/12 EARTH WEEK
Interfaith Moral Action on Climate's call for actions during Earth week, in D.C. and locally, April 21-27 http://www.interfaithactiononclimatechange.org

Cops of the world

well, this is old... Bush has been replaced by Obama, and this was before the Occupy Movement, but it is still the same, still the same...

From The Shock Doctrine

An amazing book – The Shock Doctrine – by Naomi Klein.  After reading just a few chapters, I knew it was an amazing book.  I got my first copy from WPVM, a local low power FM radio station.  They gave out the book for a donation I made.  I donated that book to the local library, since I wanted people to have access to this book.  I then bought another copy, which I gave to my brother for Christmas.  This was a few years back, but here are some things I wanted to share from that amazing book.

Here are a few quotes from the book that I retyped:

“Once you accept that profit and greed as practiced on a mass scale create the  greatest possible benefits for any society, pretty much any act of personal enrichment can be justified as a contribution to the great creative cauldron of capitalism, generating wealth and spurring economic growth – even it it’s only for yourself and your colleagues.”

……”In the seventies, when the corporatist crusade began, it used tactic that courts ruled were overtly genocidal: the deliberate erasure of a segment of the population. In Iraq, something even more monstrous has happened – the erasure not of a segment of the population but of an entire country; Iraq is disappearing,
disintegrating. It began, as it often does, with the disappearance of women behind veils and doors, then the children disappeared from the schools – as of 2006, two-thirds of them stayed home. Next came the
professionals: doctors, professors, entrepreneurs, scientists, pharmacists, judges, lawyers. As estimated three hundred Iraqi academics have been assassinated by death squads since the US invasion, including several deans of departments; thousands more fled. Doctors have fared even worse: by February 2007, an estimated two thousand had been killed and twelve thousand had fled.  In November 2006, the UN High Commission for Refugees estimated that three thousand Iraqis were fleeing the country every day. By April 2007, the organization reported that four million people had been forced to leave their homes - roughly one in seven Iraqis.”

…. “The unanticipated violence that now engulfs Iraq is the creation of the lethally optimistic architects of the war – it was preordained in that original seemingly innocuous, even idealistic phrase: “a model for a new Middle East.” The disintegration of Iraq has its roots in the ideology that demanded a tabula rasa on which to write its new story.  And when no such pristine tableau presented itself, the supporters of that ideology proceeded to blast and surge and blast again in the hopes of reaching that promised land.”

This book, “The Shock Doctrine” tells the story of how the University of Chicago’s school of economics developed a doctrine of 100% capitalism and 100% free-market system, then applied it around the world.  However, under ordinary circumstances, the majority of the population would reject these economic theories (developed by Milton Friedman).  It was only after “shocks” were applied that the economic theories could be applied by ‘the Chicago Boys’ on a society or country.  So, shock was applied, and while the shock was in effect, the policies were applied, whether the population wanted that or not.  It was done from Chile in 1973 to Iraq in 2003 to New Orleans in 2005….. and is still going strong.  It is a plan to privatize government assets (after the taxpayers had funded it) and turn them over to private hands.  It is a plan to take money from the ordinary taxpayers and funnel it up to the very wealthy, and to crush the
ordinary people along the way.

This summary does not do justice to the book – please go and read it – it is a very valuable piece of work that explains a lot of the policies behind US foreign policy.    I highly recommend this book.

Peace Activist, Leah Bolger, Protests the Congressional Super Committee

I love Veterans for Peace!

The rape and murder of Abeer Qassim Hamza

Swords into Plowshares

Upcoming events in the Asheville area

Shenandoah River State Park in spring 2012.

UPCOMING EVENTS

04/09/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM EVENT
Monday, April 9, 7 PM, at Firestorm Cafe & Books.  George Friday of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee will present clips from the video "Mirrors of Privilege" and lead a discussion about what it takes to stand against racism.   www.firestormcafe.com

04/11/12 HELEN CALDICOTT SPEAKS IN ASHEVILLE
Dr. Helen Caldicott a global campaigner for a Nuclear-Free Planet will speak in Asheville on
April 11 at the First Congregational Church at 7pm.  A pediatrician from Australia, world wide speaker , author of seven books and the co-founder of four organizations still active in the United States, Dr. Caldicott is the single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises  Dr. Caldicott will reflect on the state of Nuclear world-wide in the wake of the Fukushima Daiici disaster one year ago  and will  discuss health issues tied to radiation here in the Southeast. To read more about her work go to (www.nuclearfreeplanet.org) Sponsored by : SAFE Carolinas, Asheville Green Drinks, Mt. Voices, Sierra Club. Contact Joy:  828-258-8737 or info@ashevillegreendrinks.com

04/12/12 BUNCOMBE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
Meetings begin with a closed session that typically starts at 5:30 p.m. and the general session at 6:30 p.m.  Regular monthly meetings are held at the Administrative Services Building, 175 Bingham Road, in the Board Auditorium.  There will be further discussion on the presentation of some religious materials in our schools, while other religious material is not allowed to be presented to students.  This is the time to express your opinions on the First Amendment and how it needs to be respected in our local school system.

04/12/12 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios at the corner of Haywood and Roberts Street in Asheville. VFP CHAPTER 099: http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

04/12/12 FUNDRAISER AT FINE ARTS THEATRE
Adam Larsen will show his very special film NEUROTYPICAL, a film about autism from the perspective of autistics on April 12th. Proceeds will benefit the Asheville TEACCH Scholarship Fund.  Time is 7 PM.

04/12/12 MONTHLY TRANSITION ASHEVILLE POTLUCK
Monthly Transition Asheville Potluck from 5:30-7:30 PM at UCC Friendship Hall, 20 Oak Street, Asheville.  This month's focus: Water. So necessary for community gardens. Come learn how we could be sequestering more on-site and the role community garden's could play in making Asheville a water self-sustainable city.  Good food, great conversation, useful ideas. Come find out what we are doing and let us know what you have to offer.

04/12/12 LAKOTA SOLIDARITY PROJECT
As the Strong Heart Lakota Solidarity Project to benefit Lakota elders on Pine Ridge quickly grows, so too does the urgency of getting people and resources in place to address the ongoing crisis. For detailed information about these elders and the crisis, please visit http://cantetenza.wordpress.com or come to our next Lakota Solidarity presentation and fundraiser on Thursday April 12th from 7:00 – 9:00pm at Wall Street Café in downtown Asheville.

04/12/12 SPRING ACTION TRAINING

This will be held at Mars Hill College from 5 PM to 8 PM. 

04/13/12 WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MEETING
The next WNC PSR monthly meeting will be at a private home near the VA Hospital.  Brown Bag lunch at noon with meeting from 12:30 to 2 PM.  Everyone is welcome.  Please go to www.wncpsr.org  for more information, which includes how to get there and other details.

04/14/12 - 04/17/12 SOA WATCH DAYS OF ACTION IN DC
Four days of lobbying, conferences, strategy sessions, concerts and street theater.  Prior to the Days of Action, from April 11-13, we will hold a Direct Action Training camp to train movement activists in the skills needed to carry out effective actions.  http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5cR1JW7Z3KLARiECufCoW8UkZA/WO+zK

04/14/12 FUND RAISER FOR BRAIN INJURY ASSOCIATION OF NC
The Brain Injury Association of North Carolina (BIANC) is holding its 6th annual Walk & Roll-athon at Carrier Park.  Registration for the walk includes a t-shirt and lunch. Music, food, display booths, and activities for the whole family will be provided at the event. This event is a great way to help shine a light on brain injury, promote a sense of community among participants and supporters, and help support BIANC in their mission to offer help, hope, and a voice for people with brain injury and their families.  For more info on donating, registering, or sponsoring, visit www.bianc.net or call 800-377-1464.

04/14/12 OCCUPY SPRING FESTIVAL
On April 14th, Occupy Asheville will host an all day event at Pritchard Park beginning at noon.  We will have music from local bands and musicians beginning at 1pm, performances by The Occupy Asheville Street Theater Group, interactive tables demonstrating how tax dollars are spent by the US government, food, a fun kids and art area, info tables from The Anti Nuclear Caucus, The Occupy Asheville Media Group, The War Tax Resisters, and The Asheville Homeless Network.  The General Assembly will be held at 3pm, followed by an open mic/soapbox.  The festivities will wrap up with the sound offerings of local DJ’s, who will be spinning some hot dance music until 7 PM! After 7 PM, all are welcome to continue Occupying the park until 10 PM and are encouraged to bring instruments, hoops, singing voices, etc.

04/14/12 NATIONAL ORGANIZING MEETING FOR THE PROTEST AT THE DNC
On April 14, the Coalition to Protest at the DNC will be holding a national organizing meeting in Charlotte, NC.  We’ll also be joined by organizers from the Coalition to March on the RNC in Tampa, FL who will be sharing plans and preparations for protests when the Republicans meet there one week prior to the DNC.  Time is 10 AM and the location is Charlotte School of Law, 2145 Suttle Avenue, Charlotte.

04/14/12 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL NORTH CAROLINA MEETING
Join us at the Amnesty International North Carolina state meeting! During this awesome day of learning and empowerment, some of the issues we will be focusing on are the Death Penalty and the Racial Justice Act, Immigration, with speakers from the Dream Act movement, and a planning session on the upcoming Democratic National Convention, just to name a few! Our keynote speaker will be Darryl Hunt. Having spent 19 years in jail, he was finally released from prison only after officials realized who the true murderer was. Through education on the criminal justice system, Hunt hopes to bring attention to the wrongly committed currently spending time in jail. This event is open to all who want to make positive change in the world. Lunch will be provided, please RSVP by April 11th to ebrickhouse@aiusa.org. Learn more on our website or visit our Facebook event.  Time is 9:45 AM to 5:20 PM and location is Duke University French Science Building on Duke University West Campus in Durham NC.

04/14/12 TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG ZINE READING
Together We Are Strong Zine Reading is an ongoing zine project put together by Our Voice. It is a collection of stories, poems, and art by people affected by sexual violence, including survivors, friends, family and community members.  This is a at Firestorm Café and Books and the time is 7 PM.

04/14/12 SPRING ACTION TRAINING

This will be held at Cumberland Village in Hendersonville and the time is 10 AM to 5 PM. 

04/15/12 ASHEVILLE “LETS” SEEDLING SWAP AND BIRTHDAY PARTY
An orientation to Asheville LETS will be held at 12 noon at Magnolia Park in Montford, follow by a potluck and seedling swap from 1 to 3 PM.  This is the 5th anniversary of Asheville LETS.  All are welcome.

04/15/12 ETHICAL SOCIETY OF ASHEVILLE MEETING
"GERMANY'S RESPONSE TO ITS HOLOCAUST PAST" will be presented by Lotte Meyerson, a holocaust survivor, and Mark Boyd, PhD at the Sunday, April 15th meeting of the Ethical Society of Asheville, 2:00-3:30 PM, held at the Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road, Asheville.  Mrs. Meyerson, who lived in Darmstadt, Germany the first fourteen years of her life before immigrating with her family to Chicago, IL, has been back to Germany three times, the last two as guest of the City of Darmstadt. Dr. Boyd, a Chemical Physicist and Computer Scientist, was profoundly changed as the result of teaching Humanities classes at UNC Asheville. He converted to Judaism and developed an avocation as a bicycle tourist which contributed to spending several summers in Europe where developed several close long-term relationships with Germans. He and Mrs. Meyerson will discuss many ways Germany has owned up to the evil it did, and the programs of education and restitution it instituted, both governmental and private. Come hear their fascinating first hand experiences. All are welcome!

04/15/12 NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN MEETING
This meeting will be on Sunday, April 15th. We'll meet at 3pm at the Roof Garden of the Battery Park Apts. Put in the code and my friend will buzz you in.  Contact Debbie for the code.  Light refreshments will be served. Feel free to bring something to share, if you like.  Contact Debbie for more information at ashevillenow@live.com

04/15/12 SPRING ACTION TRAINING

This will be held at AB Tech in Asheville from 11 AM to 6 PM.    

04/16/12 ISRAELI PALESTINIAN FOREIGN POLICY LECTURE
Helena Cobban, journalist, author and researcher, will address the forces shaping U.S. Foreign Policy towards Israel and Palestine, the inaccuracy of mainstream media and expose special interests that frame the narrative during a presentation at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 20 Oak St. Free.  Time is 7 PM.  Info: dec25carol@yahoo.com. Sponsored by Western Carolinians for Peace & Justice in the Mid East.  

04/17/12 GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION ON MILITARY SPENDING

04/17/12 TAX THE 1% PROTEST
This will be at 4:30 PM at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville.

04/18/12 FUND RAISER FOR HEALTH CARE ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION
“Dance Like There's Nobody Watching” is a dance to support Like o’ Mike programs:  Patient Pals & Family Friends, Start from Seed and True Stories.  Featuring Blind Boy Chocolate and the Mojomatics.  Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.  Time is 6 PM to 9 PM.  Location is Highland Brewing Company at 12 Old Charlotte Highway, Asheville.

04/19/12 EARLY VOTING BEGINS

04/19/12 WILD AND SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL
The Western North Carolina Alliance presents the first-ever Wild & Scenic Film Festival, on tour in Asheville during the week leading up to Earth Day!  For nearly a decade, the festival has been touring the country and this year the festival will make its first appearance in Western North Carolina.   Time is 7 to 10 PM and the location is the Fine Arts Theatre in Asheville.  http://wnca.org/events/wild-scenic-film-festival/  

04/19/12 ETHICAL SOCIETY AND MAIF FILM SHOWING
Time is 10 AM and location is YWCA of Asheville.  The Ethical Society of Asheville will join with Mountain Area Interfaith Forum in showing the film, "Traces of the Trade." which will be followed by a discussion led by Father Jim Abbott.

04/19/12 BLACK AND WHITE GALA
YWCA Black & White Gala. Kick off for the Stand Against Racism. www.ywcaofasheville.org

04/20/12 UNCA STAND AGAINST RACISM
At 9 AM, the Center for Diversity Education will host an interactive workshop at 114 Highsmith Student Union on developing skills to assess and create office spaces that are welcoming and inclusive for all.  Participants can take the tool back to the places of business to evaluate their own office space for equality and inclusion.  Contact dmiles@unca.edu for more information.  More information on The Stand Against Racism at www.ywcaofasheville.org.    Also, from 11:30 to 1:30 PM, there will be a “rant and rave against racism” where students will speak out against racism.  Public is invited to join them.

04/21/12 MARCH FOR BABIES
Join March for Babies Chair (and County Commission Chair) David Gantt in supporting the March of Dimes' efforts to raise awareness of the need for research to help prevent and treat premature birth, birth defects and other threats to babies' health. This one walk, on one day, brings the Asheville area together as one voice to help babies be born healthy. The 3-mile walk through downtown Asheville begins and ends at Pack Square Park. It's designed to be a family-friendly event, with music, food and activities for kids. Registration begins at 8:30 am, the Walk begins at 10:00 am. For more info call 828-258-1234 or go to www.marchforbabies.org.

04/21/12 EARTH DAY
Celebration from noon to 10 PM on Lexington Avenue.

04/21/12 to 04/27/12 EARTH WEEK
Interfaith Moral Action on Climate's call for actions during Earth week, in D.C. and locally, April 21-27 http://www.interfaithactiononclimatechange.org

04/26/12 LATINO EDUCATION IN NORTH CAROLINA
Latino Education in North Carolina: Challenges & Solutions, Thursday, April 26 at 7 PM at the MAHEC Health Education Center. Hosted by the Hispanics in Philanthropy and the Community Foundation of WNC.  More info coming soon to Stand Against Racism at YWCA website: http://ywcaofasheville.org/

04/26/12 DINING OUT FOR LIFE
This is to raise support for HIV/AIDS services.

04/26/12 LATINO EDUCATION IN NC
Latino Education in North Carolina: Challenges & Solutions. Hosted by the Hispanics in Philanthropy, the Community Foundation of WNC and Asheville-Buncombe Community Relations Council.  Time is 7 PM and location is MAHEC Health Education Center.

04/27/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM MARCH AND RALLY
Isaac Dickson students march to Pack Park for a rally at noon.

04/27/12 HEALTH DISPARITIES
Sharon West presentation on Health Disparities in the Glenn Theater. www.missionhospitals.org.  Time is 2 PM and location is Mission Hospital.

04/27/12 ROMA CULTURE
We will be doing discussion groups around the Roma people - Gypsies. How do we define Community? Identity? Heritage? What forces do we put on other people to conform to our norms? Our Culture? Facilitated by Lisa Eby.  Time is 8 to 5 PM and location is Buncombe County Health and Human services.  Part of Stand Against Racism.

04/27/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM
www.ywcastand.org

04/28/12 NATIONAL PROTEST AGAINST THE WAR ON WOMEN
This will be held at state capitols across the nation.  10 AM.

04/28/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM RALLY
Saturday, April 28, Noon, Pritchard Park.  Stand Against Racism Rally hosted by the Jubilee! Community.
 
04/28/12 BLUE RIDGE PRIDE EVENT
Saturday, April 28, 1:00 pm, at First Congregational UCC.  This is a Collaborative Art Project hosted by Blue Ridge Pride and is part of Stand Against Racism events. www.blueridgepride.com

04/28/12 - 04/29/12 DRONE SUMMIT IN DC BY VETERANS FOR PEACE AND CODE PINK

04/29/12 STAND AGAINST RACISM COLLABORATIVE ART PROJECT
Saturday, April 28, 1:00 pm, First Congregational UCC.  Collaborative Art Project hosted by Blue Ridge Pride. www.blueridgepride.com

04/29/12 DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH COLUMBIA (STAND AGAINST RACISM)
The US is deeply complicit in Colombia's decade-long civil war, which has displaced some 5 million people, the worst such humanitarian crisis in the world. Attention to Colombia touches on all three of what Dr. King called the "giant triplets" of racism, materialism and militarism.  This is sponsored by Circle of Mercy Congregation.  Time TBA.

04/29/12 YOUTH STAND AGAINST RACISM SUNDAY
Youth STARS (Stand Against Racism Sunday). This is an interactive program for high school students.  Time is 1 PM and location is the Carver Center in Black Mountain.

04/30/12 “RACE AND THE BALLOT BOX” FORUM
“Race and the Ballot Box” Forum hosted by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee and the League of Women Voters.  Time is 7 PM and location is Westwood Baptist Church.

05/01/12 OCCUPY WALL STREET CALLS FOR MAY DAY GENERAL STRIKE

05/01/12 OCCUPY CHICAGO
Adbusters has issued a Call to Action to Occupy Chicago for the NATO summit this coming May.  

05/03/12 to 05/06/12 DIFFERENT STROKES!  PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTIVE
On May 4th as a featured part of the YWCA of Asheville’s annual Stand Against Racism Campaign we will open “A Lesson Before Dying” by Rommulus Linney. On May 5th, an alternate cast, of the opposite racial make-up, will open the same story. This is the story of Jefferson, an innocent young man, who has been condemned to death in backwoods Louisiana in 1948. One script, two casts, two perspectives… and two plays?  The Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective presents A Lesson Before Dying. www.differentstrokesavl.com.  Location is Asheville High School.

05/04/12 SPRING HERB FESTIVAL AT FARMERS MARKET
More information at www.ashevilleherbfestival.com.

05/05/12 EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
The organization 350.org will hold a day of action to "Connect the Dots" between extreme weather events and climate change via distributed actions.  http://www.350.org

05/08/12 PRIMARY ELECTION DAY

05/10/12 - 05/11/12 PROTEST ALEC SPRING MEETING
Spring Task Force Summit Meeting in Charlotte NC.  More info:  http://www.alec.org/meetings/

The universe.....

I am a child of the universe.
I deserve total recognition of this in the light of God.
Being a child of the universe,
I want to live in a world without war
I want to live in a world without starvation
I want to live in a world without pestilence
I want to live in a world of love, peace and harmony
Because I am a child of the universe.
~ Cambodian Poet

These beautiful photos were taken by Alex Churney in 2011.  They were taken off the southern coast of Australia.

War is a RACKET by Smedley Butler

McPherson Square

 McPherson Square in DC on 3-31-12.  I was walking to the NOW DC event and went past this encampment.  They are not allowed to sleep in their tents either.  On this day, they were holding a family friendly circus.  The food tent was less messy, but it smelled like urine to me.  Not appealing.

 In this photo, you can see where tents used to be, and how it killed the grass.  It is easy to see the footprint of the former tents.

I thought these little tiny tents were very cute!  They were still setting up for the family circus event, but had not started yet when I walked by their camp.

CATO Institute and Iran panel

Conference on Iran at CATO INSTITUTE

March 30, 2012

Part one – Can Diplomacy Work?

Is the current policy — or any diplomatic offer — likely to work? Has the administration defined "diplomacy" as being limited to sanctions and pressure? Could a different approach hold a better chance of success? How is success defined?

Michael Adler, Woodrow Wilson Center
Justin Logan, Cato Institute
Alireza Nader, RAND Corporation
Barbara Slavin, Atlantic Council

NADER:  Missed this speech, due to traffic.

SLAVEN:  Obama has stopped the rush to war.  The Supreme Leader praised Obama saying it was a step out of delusions.  Sactions are shutting down the banks, and Iran oil production going down.  Production was 4.1 million barrels a year ago, 3.8 million barrels a few months, and 3.3 million barrels now.  Unemployment and discontent is up.  She mentioned MEK and getting them off terrorists lists, which Iran will not like.  Her hope is that the US has a goal to try to manage situation – sees the main problem as trying to contain Israel.

US Congress passed resolution to contain Iran, but Senator Rand Paul stopped it saying it would lead to war.   She then talked about Iran’s internal politics, and said that the Supreme Leader and Ahmadinejad are in conflict.  She said the US goal should be to prevent nuclear weapons, not nuclear weapons capabilities.  She said there are no military solutions because facilities and centrifuges are scattered around the country.  If US fails to stop nuclear weapon, then we would have to go to containment which has worked for 30 years.  The question is, will the US be smart and creative and courageous enough to go this route?

ADLER:  He talked about signs that Iran is open to compromise.  Supreme Leader (SL) believes Iran is in existential battle with US due to revolution in 1979 and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  SL believes progress in nuclear program is way to flaunt US, and believes sanctions will make Iran more self-sufficient.  SL has survived a lot, and sanctions have hurt Iran economy, including currency being devalued.  SL believes US influence is going down and US in on the decline.  SL says Obama is delusional but SL my be delusional.  Adler says not many think military strike will work and that diplomacy is the solution.  SL is not open to really settling the issue.  Iran has not decided to weaponize nuclear program at this time.  He feels democratic Iran will be solution to nuclear crisis.

LOGAN:  He supports diplomacy, but sees it as less likely and maybe not realistic.  The Central Bank Sanctions on Iran has 57 demands and there is no “off” ramp by the US Congress…..therefore, no way to resolve the issue.  Logan says the US Congress has not covered themselves in glory.  He mentioned that the Congress used to declare war in the past, now does not, but sees this as probably good even if it is un-Constitutional.  Congress has shown NO hope for diplomacy.  Obama has called for diplomacy, but does not have the political capital to try diplomacy. 

Since the US has much more material and military power, diplomacy must include credible assurances to Iran about safety even with credible intentions.  Libya is an example of the US going back on their assurances, since Libya did stop nuclear program and got overturned anyway.  Logan says what might happen cannot work, and what might work cannot happen.  He believes the US will have to give LARGE CONSESSIONS to convince Iran we are serious.  The US should be willing to walk back on sanctions, but domestic politics prevent this.  He fears diplomacy will not work.

QUESTIONS:  Sanctions are a substitute for war and diplomacy and have taken a momentum of their own.  The US treasury is coming up with clear ways to destroy Iran’s economy.  The US is good at sanctions, not diplomacy.  Slaven says that if Obama is reelected, hope he will be more proactive on diplomacy with Iran.  Logan says that Republicans should not take advice from Rove.

At this point, Ray McGovern stands up and says he is going to talk about the elephant in the room.  His first point is the Israeli Lobby and how that is impacting on the US treatment of Iran, and secondly, that Iran is NOT working on a nuclear weapon – yet the discussion is how do we stop Iran from working on a nuclear weapon.

My question, if they had called on me, would have been to point out that ALL countries with nuclear power capability also have nuclear weapons capability and Iran has not invaded or started a war, so why is it a problem if Iran has this capability? 

Part two – The Options if Diplomacy Fails

If diplomacy fails, what are the military and non-military options the U.S. administration would have? What are the prospects for success? What likely repercussions would follow from bombing Iran?

Jamie Fly, Foreign Policy Initiative
Matthew Kroenig, Georgetown University
Nuno Monteiro, Yale University
Joshua Rovner, U.S. Naval War College

KROENIG:  He said that there are three possible outcomes – 1) diplomacy; 2) live with a nuclear Iran; and 3) military action.  He went on and on about how Iran is not being diplomatic so feels one of the next two options becomes reality.  (He did not mention how the lack of stated conditions to an end to the sanctions was impacting the diplomatic solution. – Susan) Kroenig feels that if Iran has nukes they will behave badly and get more aggressive, and feels military strike is least bad option. (No self-awareness of that option showing the US behaving badly and getting WAY more aggressive than Iran has ever been. – Susan) He feels downside of military action is exaggerated.  He believes that Iran could do some military retaliation, possibly close Strait of Hormuz, and promote terrorism in the region and the US.  The military retaliation probably would not be large, because Iran realizes the US could wipe them out, so they will go for “token retaliation”.  (Of course, this asshole will not be putting his life in any danger. – Susan)

NO MENTION OF INNOCENT LIVES THAT WOULD BE ENDED OR DAMAGED FOREVER.  THIS ASSHOLE IS TOTALLY EVIL AND DOES NOT CARE. – Susan.

MONTEIRO:  He feels possible end game is no weaponizing of nuclear energy.   He argues that if Iran goes for nuclear weapons, then the US could hit them with nuclear weapons also.  He pointed out the falsity that striking before the bomb is built means Iran will respond in restrained manner, but that somehow, they will NOT be restrained if they have nukes.  He says escalation is NOT likely to be a result of nuclear Iran.  What an attack on Iran would mean:  it would be costly, it would generate retaliation, the attack will only delay weapons program but not stop it, so we would still need containment and that would be harder.  He feels Iranian resolve would be boosted and likely end game would be weaponization.  He gives North Korea as a better model – we are living with the fact that they have nuclear weapons. 

FLY:  He says negotiations and sanctions are not working, thereby believes in military options.  He does not feel that limited strike is the best option, since he feels the nature of the regime is the problem.  Claims that Iran has been killing Americans and our allies for years and has horrible human rights record.  (No mention of the fact that the US has killed far more, and has a worse human rights record. – Susan) He feels there will be a cascade of proliferation in the region if Iran develops a nuclear bomb.  And he thinks a bomb will embolden Iran’s proxy terrorists.  He feels the Iran regime will not last five years.  He thinks Pakistan is the model for where Iran will be headed if they get a nuclear bomb.  He brought up A.Q. Khan but did not mention the US part in the development of Khan.  He thinks the military option should have been done years ago, and advocates more extensive strike than Kroenig.  Says to go after navy facilities, go after command and control, provide space for opposition groups to rise up and overthrow the regime like in Libya.   And then he said the downside of containment is clear.  He also stated (during questions) that the US over learned the WMD fiasco lesson.

LIKE KROENIG, HE MADE NO MENTION OF THE INNOCENT LIVES THAT WOULD BE ENED OR DAMAGED FOREVER.  THIS ASSHOLE IS TOTALLY EVIL AND HE DOES NOT CARE.  HE IS EVEN MORE EVIL THAN KROENIG.  – Susan

ROVNER:  He started by saying the problem is how to detain an emerging nuclear power.  He said there is an argument that Iran is not a rational actor, he does not agree.  He thinks what we really need to deter is:

1. rapid expansion of Iran nuclear program
2. transfer of nuclear materials to other groups/countries
3. use of nuclear weapon as cover for aggression (will be emboldened)
4. the use of such weapons by Iran in a war

He feels we can deter a nuclear Iran and address the points above by:

1. deter by world wide approbation
2. make sure we can do nuclear forensics
3. feels that Iran will not be emboldened, and this is exaggerated.  Proxy actors are overblown too.
4. this one can be done easily, because Iran knows we can bomb much more than they can.

He feels deterrence will get harder if Israel launches an attack.   Deterrence requires threats and assurances, and assurances will go away completely with an attack.  We will continue to contain Iran, and the only way we can fail to contain Iran is if we attack Iran.

Side note:  As I was leaving the auditorium for a visit to the restroom, either Fly or Kroenig said that the military action needed to take out Iran’s nuclear program would take “days, maybe weeks, but no longer” and as I was walking past the CSPAN guys I said “where have we heard that before?” and they started laughing.  And at the end of the program, I was talking to a CATO employee on how I think Fly and Kroenig are totally, totally evil.  She agreed with me and gave me her card.  I looked at it later and her last name is “Innocent” which I found ironic!

Link to recordings of the event:

http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=9076