Upcoming events for this week in the Asheville area

UPCOMING EVENTS

09/30/12 TO 10/06/12 BANNED BOOK WEEK IN ASHEVILLE
Join us downtown for “Paint the Town REaD” Asheville’s own celebration of Banned Books Week (no more details).

10/1/12 CANDIDATE FORUM
Monday from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Pack Library, 67 Haywood St, Asheville.  Buncombe County Commission Dist. 1, NC House District 114.  This is coordinated by the League of Women Voters, and is open to all.  For more information about the League of Women Voters and its fall forums, visit the League website at ablwv.org or call 828-258-8223.

10/01/12 FAITH COMMUNITY AND ELECTION PROCESS
What is the role of faith community in the election process?  What can clergy do to encourage their congregations to participate in the political process?  Please encourage broad participation in the event at the Grant Southside Community Center (Depot and Livingston Streets in Asheville) on October 1, 2012 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM.   FMI, contact James at 828-777-3777 or Carol at 828-505-0528.

10/02/12 ‘WORTH IT’ FORUM BY TOGETHER NC
If you want to better understand the impact of state budget cuts to our community and what can be done to restore investments in education, health, safety, and environment then join Children First/CIS and Together NC at the NC's Worth It forum on October 2nd at 6:30 PM.  Location is Valley Springs Middle School on Long Shoals Road in Arden. The NC’s Worth It forum is an opportunity to connect the dots between the decisions that legislators make in Raleigh and the consequences for real people across the state. The Buncombe County forum will feature presentations from members of Together NC and local organizations, and will focus on the impact of budget decisions both statewide and in our local community. We’ll also be discussing the upcoming debate over the state’s revenue system and changes that are likely to be considered by next year’s General Assembly. Registration is via Facebook.

10/02/12 PROTEST OPPORTUNITY IN ASHEVILLE
Doors open at 1:30 at Justice Center at UNCA for Vice-president Biden.  Event begins at 3 PM.  Protest his support of wars and drone killings.

10/03/12 AN EVENING WITH ANDREW BOWEN
Location is Lenoir-Rhyne University's Center for Graduate Studies in Asheville (Chamber of Commerce Building - 3rd Floor).  Time is 7 PM.  For Andrew Bowen, theology is a playground. A perpetual student and champion for inter-religious peace and reconciliation, Andrew create Project Conversion in 2011, a year-long personal immersion into the culture, practices, beliefs, and rituals of 12 belief systems from around the world. He now speaks and writes about his pluralistic adventures as an Immersionist and his efforts to end the war between within, and outside the world of faith." For more information, please visit http://asheville.lr.edu/news-events/andrew-bowen

10/03/12 SIERRA CLUB MEETING
Travis Hargett & Ken Brame will discuss Fracking:  Dirty, Dangerous, and Run Amok.  NC Legislative updates included.  Time of meeting is 7:15 and location is Unitarian Church at the corner of Charlotte Street & Edwin Place.  For more information, contact Judy at judymattox@sbcglobal.net.

10/4/12 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street in Asheville. FMI:  http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

10/6/12 BUNCOMBE COUNTY GREEN PARTY MEETING
The Buncombe County GREEN Party's business meeting is 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.

10/06/12 KEEP SPACE FOR PEACE WEEK
International Week of Protest to Stop Militarization of Space

10/06/12 OCCUPY ASHEVILLE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Time is 4 PM and location is Pritchard Park.  All are welcome.

10/07/12 PROTEST THE WAR ON AFGHANISTAN
Protest the Afghanistan War in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, LA.  This war has been going on for 11 years.  http://october7actions.net/

10/07/12   Veterans Peace Team (VPT) Protest the Afghanistan War  in New York City, NY  Some local Veterans for Peace will be attending.

10/8/12 CANDIDATE FORUM
Monday, Oct. 8 from 6:30-8:30p.m. at Black Mountain Library, 105 N. Dougherty Street, Black Mountain.  Buncombe County Commission Dist. 2, NC House District 115.  This is coordinated by the League of Women Voters, and is open to all.  For more information about the League of Women Voters and its fall forums, visit the League website at ablwv.org or call 828-258-8223.

10/10/12 IMMIGRATION FOR EDUCATORS
What teachers, administrators, counselors and others need to know about the challenges faced by students and families from other countries.  Open to the public.  Sponsored by Asheville Buncombe County Community Relations Council, Center for Diversity, YWCA, Mountain BizWorks and others.  Come at 5:30 PM to visit community exhibits.  The program runs from 6 to 8 PM.  Location is Mountain Area Health Education Center at 121 Hendersonville Road near I-40, behind TGIF.  Register online at www.buncombe.k12.nc.us.

10/12/12 SOCIAL JUSTICE FILM NIGHT AT UU CHURCH

“A Message From The Marcellus - What NC Needs To Know About Fracking” is a 20-minute short film created byTodd Tinkhamand Molly Matlock to help stop fracking from becoming legal in North Carolina. The filmmakers traveled to PA and NY and LA interviewing people from all walks of life about the impacts of natural gas fracking on their communities.  Time is 7 PM and location is UU Church located at Charlotte & Edwin Street.

10/13/12 FIESTA LATINA
This is at City-County Plaza from 12 to 9 PM.

10/15/12 CANDIDATE FORUM
Monday, Oct. 15 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Skyland Volunteer Fire Dept., 9 Miller Road, Arden.  Buncombe County Commission Dist. 3, NC House District 116.  This is coordinated by the League of Women Voters, and is open to all.  For more information about the League of Women Voters and its fall forums, visit the League website at ablwv.org or call 828-258-8223.

10/15/12 FREE CLASS ON TRANSFORMING BELIEFS
Time is 7 to 9 PM.  Free class, "Challenging & transforming self-limiting language & beliefs," with Cathy Holt. Center for Holistic Medicine, 779 Haywood Rd., West Asheville. Pre-register: cathyfholt@gmail.com or 545-9681. More info: www.centerholistic.com. First in series, "Tools for Self-Healing."

10/16/12 ASHEVILLE TRANSIT MEETING RETREAT
The Asheville Transit Commission's annual retreat will be held on October 16, 2012 from 9:00am to 3:30pm in the Human Resources Training Room, 6th Floor, 70 Court Plaza, City Hall.  The public is welcome to attend.

10/19/12 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.
 
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ACTIONS AND READINGS
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Breaking News: Congress Terminates Funding for New Nuclear Bomb Plant.

Lobbying by FCNL and our colleagues successfully terminated funding for a new nuclear bomb plant in Los Alamos, New Mexico on Saturday.
This action, which came as part of the continuing resolution for the federal budget that Congress sent to the president last weekend, represents an important step to cutting the deficit and promoting disarmament. “The defeat of the $4 to $6 billion bomb plant was due to the hard work of many local and national organizations in New Mexico and Washington, DC,” FCNL’s David Culp told the Albuquerque Journal. Thank you for being part of FCNL’s efforts to promote nuclear disarmament and curb weapons spending.

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Just Foreign Policy's Robert Naiman is traveling to Pakistan as part of a peace delegation to protest U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan. He will deliver a petition from Americans to the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan, and also deliver it to Pakistani officials in opposition to U.S. drone strikes.

Join me in sign this petition against U.S. drone strikes:

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/pakistan-drones

Thanks!

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Peace Voter Pledge

            
Prioritize funding our communities and human needs, not the Pentagon
Poll after poll shows people want the government to cut Pentagon spending and fund human needs. A recent survey showed 80% of voters in Congressional districts represented by Democrats and 74% in Republican districts favored lower military spending - putting them at odds with their Congressional representatives.
   
Join the Peace Action Alert Network today by visiting http://bit.ly/wKyAtD

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Democracy is coming to the USA

It's coming through a hole in the air,
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It's coming from the feel
that this ain't exactly real,
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
from the sirens night and day,
from the fires of the homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming through a crack in the wall;
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
from the staggering account
of the Sermon on the Mount
which I don't pretend to understand at all.
It's coming from the silence
on the dock of the bay,
from the brave, the bold, the battered
heart of Chevrolet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

It's coming to America first,
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
It's here they got the range
and the machinery for change
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
It's here the family's broken
and it's here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the women and the men.
O baby, we'll be making love again.
We'll be going down so deep
the river's going to weep,
and the mountain's going to shout Amen!
It's coming like the tidal flood
beneath the lunar sway,
imperial, mysterious,
in amorous array:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on ...

I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
       - by Leonard Cohen

Living Under Drones

Veteran dies from cancer

This information came from Courage to Resist.  I saw him speak once, he was impressive.

In Memory of Joshua Casteel

By Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist. August 31, 2012

An Arabic translator, Joshua Casteel deployed to Iraq with the 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion in 2004.  He served as an prisoner interrogator at the now-infamous Abu Ghraib prison from June 2004 to January 2005.  During his deployment, Joshua told his command about his intention to apply for a conscientious objector discharge.  His command at Abu Ghraib assigned him to the "non-combat" role of working at the massive and toxic burn pit.  Into this burn pit went plastic, rubber, body parts and other medical waste, and all manner of other garbage.  It burned 24/7.  After his return stateside, Joshua was eventually honorably discharged as a conscientious objector in May 2005.  Joshua was diagnosed less than a year ago with stage IV lung cancer.  This cancer was already present in his liver, spine and adrenals.  He died in New York City a few days ago on August 25, 2012.  He was 32 years old.  Joshua believed that the cancer was a direct result of his burn pit duty, yet he explained, "I have a certain sense of relief that I get to share in the sufferings of the Iraqis. We were conducting those burn pits in agricultural fields.... Americans are gaining awareness of the impacts of burn pits on soldiers, but not the impact they will have on Iraqi civilians."  Joshua's courage to resist was unsurpassed.

++++++++++
Rest in Peace, Josh.

UNAC Statement on recent attacks

UNAC Statement on attacks on US Embassies in Libya and other Middle Eastern, North African and SW Asian Countries
 

Adding Insult to Injury

The massive, angry demonstrations and attacks on U.S. embassies sweeping through the Muslim world comes in the context of a campaign against Muslims carried out by the U.S. government in an attempt to justify their wars against Muslim countries. This campaign includes preemptive prosecutions where FBI agents create phony plots and encourage behavior that can be prosecuted and attacks on civil liberties at home; the Peter King hearings; NYPD spying on Muslims; raids and detentions; and states that have passed anti-Muslim laws. It includes the physical attacks on Muslims, on mosques and on people who racist whites think are Muslims, like Sikhs, and opposition to Muslim building projects like Park 51 and much more.

This atmosphere encourages the kind of hateful anti-Muslim video that was produced. At some point, it had to be expected that Muslims around the world would react. The U.S. will spin this by focusing on the film and implying that all Muslims are crazy and do not support freedom of speech. However, this is a self-serving lie and a diversion from the real root causes. Humiliation is a necessary component of the cycle of abuse. It should be noted that similar attacks on Judaism and the Holocaust are prosecuted as hate crimes and that artists and musicians who have created work offensive to many Christians have been vilified and threatened.

We need to put the blame squarely where it belongs -- on the U.S., which has been at war with the Muslim world in order to dominate and control resources and power. We have seen the utter destruction of Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan; drone attacks on Muslim countries we are not at war with, including Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia; and the persistent economic starvation and political suffocation of the Muslim people in Egypt, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and other countries by US backed dictators enforcing Western dominance in the region. So-called 'targeted assassinations' kill many innocent non-combatants and are viewed simply as 'collateral damage' rather than murders, demonstrating how little the U.S. government values non-Western lives. The fact that these protests came as a surprise to the U.S. State Department is a reflection of the arrogance and stupidity of a government that claims it is bringing freedom and democracy to the region through drone missiles, sanctions, assassinations, and occupations and expects the people to be grateful.

The unfortunate deaths of the American Ambassador in Libya and members of his security team are the direct result of violent, hypocritical, internally conflicted US policies in the region, whether the unanticipated result of the rioting triggered by the film or blowback for longstanding U.S. atrocities rooted in the ongoing wars. It is long past time to reject those policies and begin a new era based on respect for the dignity and humanity of every individual and of all the various cultures and religions of the world.  We must stand in solidarity with all the victims of U.S.-sponsored violence and repression.

END THE WARS & OCCUPATIONS! BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME NOW!

NO DRONE ATTACKS! NO SANCTIONS! HANDS OFF SYRIA & IRAN!

END RACIST REPRESSION, RAIDS, FRAME-UPS & ISLAMOPHOBIA AT HOME!

Email to staff at Hagan's office 9-20-12

Hi Matt,

I find the reports this week of the women and girls killed by NATO bombings quite disturbing.  As usual, NATO bombers do not know males from females, adults from children, or sticks (they were collecting firewood) from weapons. They cannot tell combatants from non-combatants.  Earlier this month, 29 people were killed by US drones in Yemen.  Reportedly, four of them were children.  If the US government had any decency, they would follow up on every drone strike to see what the results are - but they do not care.

And a report came out from Human Rights Watch on how the Bush administration sent prisoners (that they had kidnapped) to Gaddafi to be tortured.  This was back when Gaddafi was our "friend".  The men tortured were reportedly Islamic extremists.  And Ambassador Stevens, killed in Libya, died from the very violence he helped unleash.  In that attack, the US flag came down and an al Qaeda flag went up.  Violence begets violence, always has and always will. 

On top of all that, an innocent man died in Guantanamo this week.  He spent a third of his life there, was cleared for release, and was not allowed out.  Like so many hundreds of thousands, he found the freedom of the grave thanks to US policies, after horrific years of abuse and torture. 

People in Iraq, especially children, are still suffering horribly from our war of aggression and occupation of their country.  Cancers and birth defects are exploding.  An Iraq War Veteran recently said this:  "I have a certain sense of relief that I get to share in the sufferings of the Iraqis. We were conducting those burn pits in agricultural fields.... Americans are gaining awareness of the impacts of burn pits on soldiers, but not the impact they will have on Iraqi civilians."  This veteran died of cancer last month, which he thinks came from his time in Iraq in 2004.  His name was Joshua Casteel.  Yes, we bring the freedom of the grave even to our own.  He was wrong that Americans are gaining awareness of what is happening to our veterans.  No one is noticing or caring, as far as I can tell.

Below is a link to the Human Rights Report on how Americans torture and other evil things.

US:  Torture and Rendition to Gaddafi's Libya

(Washington) – The United States government during the Bush administration tortured opponents of Muammar Gaddafi, then transferred them to mistreatment in Libya, according to accounts by former detainees and recently uncovered CIA and UK Secret Service documents, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. One former detainee alleged he was waterboarded and another described a similar form of water torture, contradicting claims by Bush administration officials that only three men in US custody had been waterboarded.

The 154-page report, “Delivered into Enemy Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya,” is based on interviews conducted in Libya with 14 former detainees, most of whom belonged to an armed Islamist group that had worked to overthrow Gaddafi for 20 years. Many members of the group, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), joined the NATO-backed anti-Gaddafi rebels in the 2011 conflict. Some of those who were rendered and allegedly tortured in US custody now hold key leadership and political positions in the country.
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/05/us-torture-and-rendition-gaddafi-s-libya

Upcoming events for this week in the Asheville area

UPCOMING EVENTS

09/24/12 CANDIDATE FORUM
Monday, Sept. 24 from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at Ferguson Auditorium, AB Tech, Asheville.  Meet & Greet for countywide offices and Forum for Chair, Buncombe County Commission.  This is coordinated by the League of Women Voters, and is open to all.  For more information about the League of Women Voters and its fall forums, visit the League website at ablwv.org or call 828-258-8223.

09/24/12 COORDINATING COUNCIL OF OCCUPY ASHEVILLE
Since the First Congregational Church is not available, the Coordinating Council will meet at 6:30 at Pritchard Park.

09/25/12 PROTEST OPPORTUNITY IN BREVARD
John Bolton, former ambassador to the UN, will lead a presentation on “Threats to American Security:  A Closer Look at the World’s Trouble Spots” in the Porter Center at Brevard College.  Bring very large mirrors so Bolton can clearly see that HE is a major threat to American security.  Time is 7 PM, admission is $20.  If you attend, be sure to bring a bucket for when you throw up.  Info at 884-3151.

09/26/12 MOVE TO AMEND BUNCOMBE COUNTY FILM SHOWING - CANCELLED
Special film that MABCO is showing:  “The United States of Alec”.  This is scheduled for 7 PM, Wednesday, Sept. 26 in our usual meeting space, Religious Education Commons, lower level in Asheville Unitarian Universalist Church on Charlotte Street. Come and learn about one of the most influential corporate-funded political organizations and what they are planning.

09/27/12 BENEFIT FOR BUILDING BRIDGES:  “Hair Spray”
A musical about stereotypes, race, dreams and disappointments set in the 1960's in Baltimore, MD. A moving and entertaining performance featuring Asheville's best. BB Reception is at 6:30 pm (in the Stargazer's Garden). Show time is 7:30 pm.  Asheville Community Theater at 35 East Walnut Street, Asheville. FMI: http://www.ashevilletheatre.org/. Ticket Cost: $25 includes reception. Proceeds benefit Building Bridges of Asheville

09/28/12 ASHEVILLE CHAPTER OF 350.ORG EVENT
What are the facts about how our climate is changing?  Do recent weather extremes here and around the world foreshadow changes to come? 350 Asheville, the Asheville chapter of 350.org, invites you to hear Jake Crouch of the National Climatic Data Center speak Friday, September 28 at 7 pm at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 789 Merrimon Ave. Jake will be happy to take your questions in the discussion period to follow.

09/28/12 GROWING UP IN THE NUCLEAR SHADOW OF ROCKY FLATS
“Full Body Burden” is a haunting work of narrative nonfiction about a young woman, Kristen Iversen, growing up in a small Colorado town close to Rocky Flats, a secret nuclear weapons plant once designated “the most contaminated site in America.” It’s the story of a childhood and adolescence in the shadow of the Cold War, in a landscape at once startlingly beautiful and—unknown to those who lived there—tainted with invisible yet deadly particles of plutonium.  For more information about Rocky Flats, see Kristen’s blog or visit: www.falloutreport.com.  Time is 7 PM and location is Malaprops.

09/30/12 TRUE STORIES ABOUT HEALTH CARE
Come and get answers to questions about health care.  Time is 3 to 5 PM and location is the chapel of the First Baptist Church at 5 Oak Street in Asheville.  Free, and open to the public.  This is organized by WNC Health Advocates.  FMI http://www.wnchealthadvocates.org/

09/30/12 EPIC TEMPAH REUBEN CHALLENGE BENEFIT
Local food company and chefs come together to support local efforts to end hunger on Sunday, September 30, from 2 to 6 PM at Asheville Music Hall.  Tickets are $12 in advance, and $15 at the door. The event will bring together local chefs to create their versions of the sandwich with the only constant ingredient being Smiling Hara Tempeh.  But there is more to the CHALLENGE than establishing bragging rights. This event will also work against food insecurity by raising food and funds for MANNA FoodBank. Tickets:  http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/269400 More info:  http://mannafoodbank.org/most-epic-tempeh-reuben-challenge

10/1/12 CANDIDATE FORUM
Monday from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Pack Library, 67 Haywood St, Asheville.  Buncombe County Commission Dist. 1, NC House District 114.  This is coordinated by the League of Women Voters, and is open to all.  For more information about the League of Women Voters and its fall forums, visit the League website at ablwv.org or call 828-258-8223.

10/01/12 FAITH COMMUNITY AND ELECTION PROCESS
What is the role of faith community in the election process?  What can clergy do to encourage their congregations to participate in the political process?  Please encourage broad participation in the event at the Grant Southside Community Center (Depot and Livingston Streets in Asheville) on October 1, 2012 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM.   FMI, contact James at 828-777-3777 or Carol at 828-505-0528.

10/02/12 ‘WORTH IT’ FORUM BY TOGETHER NC
If you want to better understand the impact of state budget cuts to our community and what can be done to restore investments in education, health, safety, and environment then join Children First/CIS and Together NC at the NC's Worth It forum on October 2nd at 6:30 PM.  Location is Valley Springs Middle School on Long Shoals Road in Arden. The NC’s Worth It forum is an opportunity to connect the dots between the decisions that legislators make in Raleigh and the consequences for real people across the state. The Buncombe County forum will feature presentations from members of Together NC and local organizations, and will focus on the impact of budget decisions both statewide and in our local community. We’ll also be discussing the upcoming debate over the state’s revenue system and changes that are likely to be considered by next year’s General Assembly. Registration is via Facebook.

10/03/12 SIERRA CLUB MEETING
Travis Hargett & Ken Brame will discuss Fracking:  Dirty, Dangerous, and Run Amok.  NC Legislative updates included.  Time of meeting is 7:15 and location is Unitarian Church at the corner of Charlotte Street & Edwin Place.  For more information, contact Judy at judymattox@sbcglobal.net.

10/4/12 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street in Asheville. FMI:  http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

10/6/12 BUNCOMBE COUNTY GREEN PARTY MEETING
The Buncombe County GREEN Party's business meeting is 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.

10/06/12 KEEP SPACE FOR PEACE WEEK
Oct 6 -13 International Week of Protest to Stop Militarization of Space

10/07/12 PROTEST THE WAR ON AFGHANISTAN
Protest the Afghanistan War in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, LA.  This war has been going on for 11 years.  http://october7actions.net/

10/07/12   Veterans Peace Team (VPT) Protest the Afghanistan War  in New York City, NY. Some local Veterans for Peace will be attending.

10/8/12 CANDIDATE FORUM
Monday, Oct. 8 from 6:30-8:30p.m. at Black Mountain Library, 105 N. Dougherty Street, Black Mountain.  Buncombe County Commission Dist. 2, NC House District 115.  This is coordinated by the League of Women Voters, and is open to all.  For more information about the League of Women Voters and its fall forums, visit the League website at ablwv.org or call 828-258-8223.

10/15/12 CANDIDATE FORUM
Monday, Oct. 15 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Skyland Volunteer Fire Dept., 9 Miller Road, Arden.  Buncombe County Commission Dist. 3, NC House District 116.  This is coordinated by the League of Women Voters, and is open to all.  For more information about the League of Women Voters and its fall forums, visit the League website at ablwv.org or call 828-258-8223.

10/15/12 FREE CLASS ON TRANSFORMING BELIEFS
Time is 7 to 9 PM.  Free class, "Challenging & transforming self-limiting language & beliefs," with Cathy Holt. Center for Holistic Medicine, 779 Haywood Rd., West Asheville. Pre-register: cathyfholt@gmail.com or 545-9681. More info: www.centerholistic.com. First in series, "Tools for Self-Healing."

10/21/12 ETHICAL CULTURAL SOCIETY
Joe Haun’s book, “Unbelievable! Faith, Reason, & the Search for Truth” is the topic for our October platform meeting, October 21st.  Time is 2 PM and the location is Asheville Friends Meeting.

10/24/12 ‘SO RICH, SO POOR’ FORUM
Pisgah Legal Services’ 2nd Annual Poverty Forum featuring anti-poverty advocate Peter Edelman. Peter Edelman's most recent book, So Rich, So Poor: Why It's So Hard to End Poverty in America, examines the disturbing trends of deepening poverty and inequality in the United States. Please join us as we learn from Mr. Edelman's vast experience and knowledge about the causes of poverty and explore the public and civil actions needed to help the poor in Western North Carolina.  Location is Diana Wortham Theatre, Asheville. Reception is 5:30 PM and Forum is 7 PM. Tickets are $50 for reception and forum, $15 for forum only. Purchase tickets at www.pisgahlegal.org. Contact Betsy at betsy@pisgahlegal.org for more information.

11/08/12 THE GENERAL’S SON: JOURNEY OF AN ISRAELI IN PALESTINE
In 1997, a tragedy struck the family of Israeli-American Miko Peled: His beloved niece Smadar was killed by a suicide bomber in Jerusalem. That tragedy propelled Peled onto a journey of discovery. It pushed him to re-examine many of the beliefs he had grown up with, as the son and grandson of leading figures in Israel's political-military elite, and transformed him into a courageous and visionary activist in the struggle for human rights and a hopeful, lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.  Miko Peled will discuss his book at the Friends Meeting House in Black Mountain at 5 PM.  This is sponsored by Western Carolinians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East.  Open to the public.

11/08/12 - 11/11/12 LAKE JUNALUSKA PEACE CONFERENCE
The fifth annual Lake Junaluska Peace Conference, "Love in Action: the Transformative Power of Nonviolence," will draw upon the lessons of nonviolent campaigns and their leaders who discovered a force that can change the world. Participants will explore the principles and learn the applications of nonviolence as taught by Gandhi, King, and many spiritual leaders who offered this alternative paradigm for resolving conflict, achieving justice, and building peace.  For more information:  www.lakejunaluska.com/peace.

Nov 11 - Armistice Day:  Ring Bells For Peace @ 11am

11/16/12 PROTEST THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS AT FORT BENNING

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ONGOING EVENTS
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TUESDAY
Veterans for Peace have a weekly vigil at 5 PM at Pack Square, Vance Monument

WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood Country Courthouse in Waynesville.
Asheville Cop Watch meeting at 5 PM at Firestorm Cafe.

THURSDAY
Asheville Homeless Network meeting at 2 PM at Firestorm Cafe.
Anti-racism Group Discussion at 5:30 PM on the third Thursday of the month at Firestorm Cafe.

FRIDAY
Women in Black have a vigil at 5 PM at Pack Square (Asheville) on the first Friday of the month.
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.
Occupy Asheville General Assembly on the first Saturday of the month.  4 PM at Pritchard Park.

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ACTIONS AND READINGS
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From Earthjustice:

All Hands On Deck In The Fight Against Fracking!

If New York takes a tough stance on fracking, it will send a strong message that the tides are turning against dirty energy. Join the movement today!

Tell Your Representative To Protect Appalachian Communities

People living near mountaintop removal mining are at increased risk of cancer, major diseases and birth defects. A new bill in Congress aims to protect the people of Appalachia from this ruinous mining practice.

200 Polluted Communities Are Enough

New legislation would prohibit the EPA from ever setting federal protections against coal ash. This toxic pollution will continue to flow into our waters, and a problem that already threatens our health and environment will only get worse.

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*Action: JFP/NIAC: Tell Meet the Press: Real Journalism Requires Challenging False Information on Iran

On Sunday, Meet the Press allowed Netanyahu to give his stump speech for war on the Iran nuclear issue, without challenging his scaremongering with reference to known facts. Just Foreign Policy and the National Iranian American Council are teaming up to challenge pro-war distortions in the mainstream media with our "Iran Fact Check" campaign. Our first target: Meet the Press. Tell Meet the Press: real journalism requires challenging politicians when they spew false information on Iran.
http://www.iranfact.org/tell-mtp-challenge-false-information-on-iran/

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*Action: FCNL: Ask Your Senator to Speak Out Against Drumbeat for War
Call your Senator and ask that he or she speak out on the Senate floor against the drumbeat for war, and in support of the bipartisan Iran Project report from national security experts on the tremendous costs and dubious benefits of a war with Iran. FCNL has set up a toll-free number for you to call your Senator: 1-855-68-NO WAR

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Subject: No Banker Is Too Big To Jail

Eric Schneiderman, the lawyer assigned to investigate the Wall Street fraud that crashed our economy, said when he was appointed in January that we wouldn’t have to wait six months to start seeing results. It’s now *eight* months later, and there has barely been a peep from Schneiderman or his Financial Crisis Task Force.
But it gets worse: the statue of limitations is about to run out on most of the financial fraud that led to the Great Recession – meaning that if Schneiderman doesn’t take action right now, the chance to prosecute the big banks will be gone forever.
ENOUGH.

Join me in telling Attorney General Schneiderman the time to indict Big Banks is *before* it’s too late:
http://other98.com/eric-schneiderman-indict-wall-street-or-step-down-in-protest

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VFP Action Alerts

Sign the DU petition: Calling for the US to stop opposing depleted uranium resolutions at the UN September 14, 2012

Urgent Action: VFP’s Pre-Presidential Election Campaign Against Sanctions and War on Iran          Aug  28, 2012

Petition to Save South Korea's beautiful Jeju Island from destruction  Aug 21, 2012

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More photos from the International Day of Peace Rally

 Children performing on the stage in front of splashville.

 City Hall in the background.

 Closing circle at the end of the rally.

Quaker pictures from the International Day of Peace Rally

 Katherine holding peace sign.

 Visitors looking at display about the US budget, and discussing how they would like to invest our tax dollars.

 Another visitor signing letters to Senator Hagan and Dole.

 Laura staffing the display table.

Katherine and Laura at the display table.  It was fun!   And having a table for Asheville Friends Meeting made it even more fun.

About Colin Powell

Letter to the NYT on 8-30-12:

In the article “Powell Was More Skeptical About Iraq Than Previously Thought, Annan Says” (NYT, August 30, 2012) Mr. Annan was quoted as writing “I could only be impressed by the resilience of this man, who had endured so much to argue for a war he clearly did not believe in.”

This is an astounding admission.  Our former Secretary of State argued for a war of aggression, presented so-called “evidence” against the country who was the victim of this war, and the former Secretary General of the UN feels Powell has “endured so much”?  I would claim that Mr. Powell has endured nothing.  There has not even been so much as a truth commission on the actions that lead to this war of aggression on Iraq that was based on false claims of WMDs.  There has been no accountability at all for those responsible for the war on Iraq.  
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This was never published.  The merry-go-round continues in American/UN politics and in the corporate American media.

One year anniversary of the killing of Troy Davis

He was most likely an innocent man.

Missives from an Outpost of Empire

How did I end up in South Korea?  Never knew I wanted to visit the place before but the director of an anti-militarization group  (www.space4peace.org ) asked me if I would go to the Gangjeong Village to witness and report on these gentle people's struggle to preserve their way of life.

The problem:  there is a huge port now under construction to accommodate U.S warships.  It will be able to accommodate nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers along with all the accompanying support infrastructure that implies. 

Gangjeong is a peaceful village of fewer than 2,000 people who's livelihood depends primarily on raising tangerines, strawberries and fishing.  One of their traditions for many years has been to go out to Karumbai Rock, a large, flat expanse of lava flow at seaside, to worship and give thanks to life.

April 2012 this all changed.  Samsung, the main contractor, erected a fence around Karumbai Rock and surrounding areas and started blasting.  Only fragments of this sacred rock remain. 

This is all part and parcel  with President Obama's foreign policy “pivot” towards the Asian-pacific region that he articulated late last year. 

In some insane notion that the United States might someday “need” to go to war against China, our military planners (the military-industrial complex) have deemed it necessary to strengthen our stance of belligerence in the region.  This might not be the only new naval basing in the region. We are negotiating with the Philippines and Viet Nam to be able to place naval forces there also, but South Korea, having been a vassal state of the American empire for over fifty years now, was the easiest place to get started on this new confrontational stance.  

Remember the much talked about peace dividend we were going to reap with the collapse of the Soviet Empire?  I do.  Somehow we let that dividend slip out of our grasp.  The military planners and beneficiaries of empire have again manipulated the American people to, if not support, then at least be complicit in, a new global cold war.  And the people of Gangjeong Village and Jeju Island are paying an astronomical price for our hubristic and unrealistic dreams of greater empire.

My friend and I are now staying in a modest hotel here in Gangjeong village.  I noticed that there are few locked doors here and there is very little crime.  The people are friendly and seem to truly appreciate the life that they live.   As currently planned,  U.S. aircraft carriers will dock at this island paradise and perhaps 3,000 sailors at a time will take shore leave.  Ask the Philippinos what that is like.  Our naval base at Subic Bay supported a large industry of bars and brothels, pawn shops and tattoo parlors, and there is no reason to believe that it will be any different in Gangjeong.  Philippinos know, Okinawans know, and the people of Jeju Island know.

While Americans are being told that their social security is no longer secure and that our society can not afford to take care of everyone's medical problems, could it be that we are complicit in a multi- billion dollar strategy to destroy a sacred coastal region?  While we are told that huge cuts to our federal budget are necessary, we plan on supporting a hegemonic presence of military might to shore up flagging economic and moral authority around the world. 

Here in Gangjeong Village life is rather spartan comparatively speaking.  Electricity is readily available but is used sparingly.  Bath towels are the size of an American's hand towels and  bicycles and motorscooters are a common mode of transportation.  But the people are content with their way of life.  They have friends, family and a faith in a world that has always been kind and supportive.  They have good health because of good food, clean air and water, and plenty of exercise in their daily lives. Health care is reasonably priced and readily available.  Life is good for now, but the handwriting is on the wall and they rightly feel that their way of life is nearing extinction.

The naval base now under construction here is a product of outmoded, unrealistic thinking; the same thinking that brought us the recent wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.  It is a moral catastrophe being wrought upon people who's voice in this matter is but a cry in the dark.  While lecturing other nations around the world on their human rights abuses our country appears to take carte blanc to destroy the lives of anyone anywhere in the world that stands in the way of empire.

The people of Gangjeong Village say NO to the US naval basing.  They say NO to war and wish that they could live in peace with all people, including the Chinese.

A huge U.S. Naval presence here means that they will be a prime target in the imagined future conflict

between the U.S. and China.  Why should these gentle people pay such a heavy price for our unsustainable way of life? 

Chalmers Johnson in his trilogy of books starting with “Blowback”  outlines how the quest for empire crowds out democracy and that democracy and empire are really incompatible. 

If we, the people cannot stop our government from these reckless overseas pursuits then I'm afraid that our form of constitutional democracy is lost.  And that would be a tragedy for our children and grandchildren, not just the people of Jeju Island. - written by Ken Ashe, member of Veterans for Peace Chapter 099

Free Bradley Manning

Bradley Manning comment: 
"If you had free reign over classified networks ... and you saw incredible things, awful things ... things that belonged in the public domain, and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington DC ... what would you do? ... God knows what happens now. Hopefully worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms. ... I want people to see the truth ... because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public."

Photo was taken at a rally for Bradley Manning a few years back.

Obama

Obama's attacks on activists is nothing compared to his attacks on whistle- blowers, which is nothing compared to his human rights abuses in Gitmo and elsewhere, which is nothing compared to his sending in Special Forces into scores of foreign countries, which is nothing compared to his drone bombings in a half dozen or more countries, which is nothing compared to his escalation of the war in Afghanistan.  And today, we have more troops in Afghanistan than when he started being President.  And many more dead innocent civilians.

He did follow Bush's agreement to get out of Iraq, although he tried hard not to.  And he followed Bush's plans for bailing out the financial sector and not fixing any of the problems there.  He has followed Bush's environmental policies (until August 2012) and has been worse on immigration policies (until August 2012), but I suspect this is a temporary change of course. 

But he is better on gay rights, and on keeping abortion legal. 

Occupy Asheville observes Occupy 1st Anniversary

  In the beginning - this is the pre-march rally, with the parade marshal giving directions.

 On the move - through downtown Asheville.

  Our Occupy sign.

 The front of the march going down Wall Street in Asheville NC.

  A short break in the march, where we stopped in front of the Federal Building.  This is where the encampment started.

  On to City Hall, where we gathered for some soapboxing and for a General Assembly.  I counted 48 people at City Hall to start with.  I did not include the police or legal observers.

 The soapbox is in place, and the first speaker steps up.  They have 99 seconds to say their piece.

  This was the start of the General Assembly, and the picture below showed that the crowd thinned out for this, but it was 2 hours after the event first started in Pritchard Park.

  I love these pictures of the kids filling in the OCCUPY sign.  They are so cute.