Song by David Rovics

Very well done, and very true.  And very, very, very sad.

Occupy the Holidays!!

This photo is of a billboard in Hendersonville, and was taken by Andy and put on Facebook.  Please note how it says "shop locally" in the air - that is not part of the billboard. I see no evidence that it is part of their events. But they are using the OCCUPY logo that was used in Hendersonville and Asheville and a whole lot of other places. And you may not see it, but the word "Holiday" is crossed out and the word "Christmas" is emphasized.

This group has absolutely nothing to do with the Occupy movement, even though they claim otherwise. There was a discussion on Facebook as to whether or not it is acceptable to use the word "OCCUPY" in that format, but I don't see how there is anything that can be done to stop them. The main objection that people had was that they were using "OCCUPY" to promote one religion (Christianity) and exclude others (everyone else). Their website clearly shows it is strictly Christian.

So, I don't know if these folks have gotten their panties in a wad over the so-called 'WAR ON CHRISTMAS' but I suspect so, since they marked out "Holiday" on their billboard. And that is something that I HAVE NO PATIENCE FOR AT ALL. It is beyond ridiculous to think that Christians are being prosecuted in this country in any way, shape or form. It is quite the opposite - they are the center of attention and they take up nearly all the space available. They are the ones who are forcing their beliefs and religion on other people. They are the ones all in a huff if you say "Happy Holidays" to them. Apparently, the teachings of Jesus Christ have made exactly NO impression on them, or they would NEVER get their panties in a wad over something so trivial and silly. If they cannot "turn the other cheek" to a sincere well-meaning greeting, then they are as far from being real Christians as anyone can get. I would bet that they are further confused about the true meaning of Christmas, which is not buying fancy sweaters to show off, giving presents to kids, having prizes and competitions, or singing songs. But boy, they sure do love to whine!!!!!!

Sanctions - More Deadly Than the Atomic Bomb?

What the USA has done to Iraq is massively, massively, massively evil.  And the murdering of Iraqis continues to this day.

Gaza - Help is on the way

A child with amazing eyes

I said: what about my eyes?
God said: Keep them on the road.
I said: what about my passion?
God said: Keep it burning.
I said: what about my heart?
God said: Tell me what you hold inside it?

I said: pain and sorrow?
He said: Stay with it.
The wound is the place where the Light enters you.
~ Rumi

Upcoming events for the week of November 25, 2012

Recent Solidarity with Gaza rally

UPCOMING EVENTS

11/27/12 BUILDING AN ABUSE FREE COMMUNITY
This is a four-part series focusing on the reality of abuse in our society.  The goal is to empower the community by enabling and energizing a broader base of advocates to take action in preventing abuse and supporting victims in their recovery. Time is 7 PM and location is the Fellowship Hall at Grace Presbyterian Church on Merrimon.  For more information, contact jimrwallis@aol.com. Part Four:  How does one stop the cycle?  Where can a person turn?

11/29/12 “THE CIRCLE OF HEALING”
Thursday, Nov. 29th, 7-9 PM, Montford Books, 31 Montford Ave.: "The Circle of Healing" with Cathy Holt. Connect with the deep wisdom of your body, learn self-healing skills. Cost: $25, includes class and book, The Circle of Healing: Deepening Our Connections with Self, Others and Nature. Please pre-register: 828-545-9681.

12/01/12 OCCUPY ASHEVILLE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
This event will be held at 4 PM at Pritchard Park.  General Assemblies are held on the first Saturday of the month.  All are welcome.

12/01/12 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.

12/03/12 NUCLEAR FAMINE: A BILLION PEOPLE AT RISK
WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have arranged this presentation by Dr. Ira Helfand at The Asheville Jewish Community Center. Refreshments and social at 6:30 PM and lecture at 7:00 PM.  The presentation is also sponsored by Veterans for Peace Chapter 099.  Ira Helfand, MD will describe the range of dangers posed by nuclear weapons including nuclear terrorism and the possibility of large scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia.  Drawing on his new study Nuclear Famine: A Billion People at Risk he will also present the data released this year on the catastrophic world-wide climate disruption that would follow even a limited nuclear war as might occur between India and Pakistan.  He will discuss concrete steps we need to take and what citizens can do to lessen the danger. Contact Lew at patrie.wncpsr@main.nc.us for more information.

12/03/12 “HEARTSPEAK – MORE PEACEFUL RELATIONSHIPS”
Monday, December 3, 7-9 PM, Center for Holistic Medicine, 779 Haywood Rd. "HeartSpeak - More Peaceful Relationships through Listening and Speaking from the Heart," with Cathy Holt. Cost: $10-$15 sliding scale. Please pre-register: 828-545-9681.

12/05/12 SIERRA CLUB MEETING
This meeting is their holiday potluck with recognition awards.  Please bring a dish and a book to swap.  Program starts at 7 PM and location is Unitarian Church at Edwin Place and Charlotte Street.

12/06/12 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street in Asheville. VFP Chapter 099: http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

12/7/12 BIBLIO WORKS ANNUAL BENEFIT AND AUCTION
Biblio Works believes that healthy communities require healthy minds. That’s why we have been building libraries, supplying books, and training librarians in the poorest communities of Bolivia since 2005. To raise awareness and funding for our worthy cause, Biblio Works is hosting a holiday event with live music, local beer and a silent auction.  More information here: http://biblioworks.org/ Time is 8 to 11 PM and location is Loretta’s Café, Third Floor at 114 N. Lexington Avenue.  $15 admission, which includes two drink tickets.

12/11/12 JUSTICE FRIENDS’ NIGHT
Kicking off a regular social event to be held at Firestorm Cafe. This is an informal gathering of Greens together with other folks in the Asheville community, people with an activist mindset who are interested in topics related to justice. This is a discussion group and a social event. Additional live performance: Musician/songwriter, Jack Herranen accompanied by Sam Harding perform Jack's own blend of Bolivian/Appalachian Folk, as well as covers of old songs by Woodie Guthrie and famed Anarchist & Wobbly, Joe Hill.  Time is 7 PM.

12/11/12 CHILDREN FIRST/CIS EVENT
“Building a Strong North Carolina” - Tuesday, December 11th, 8:30 to 11:00 am at the AB Tech Enka campus. Children First/CIS is proud to cosponsor this annual event with the United Way that brings together community, business, and nonprofit leaders to hear how policy decisions in the state legislature impact the education, income, and health of our community.  Of special note this year is a presentation on tax modernization for NC scheduled to be led by Elizabeth Brazas (Community Foundation of WNC) and Jack Cecil (Biltmore Farms).  For more information and to reserve your space, go to this link: http://www.unitedwayabc.org/civicrm/event/info?id=122&reset=1.

12/14/12 SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVIE NIGHT AT UU CHURCH
Social Justice Film night will feature “I AM” a film about a man’s personal journey after a bicycle accident, ‘the nature of humanity’ and the ‘world’s ever-growing addiction to materialism’.  Time is 7 PM and will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Charlotte and Edwin Place.  Donations accepted.  Info from devwilliams@juno.com.

12/14/12 to 12/16/12 MOVE TO AMEND CONVERGENCE IN FLORIDA
https://movetoamend.org/events/gainesville-fl-move-amend-south-regional-convergence

01/02/13 SIERRA CLUB MEETING
Wayne Coldwell and Steve Woody will discuss Cataloochee and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Program starts at 7:15 PM and location is Unitarian Church at Edwin Place and Charlotte Street.

01/21/13 to 01/25/13 MLK WEEK AT UNCA
Check http://msp.unca.edu/mlk2013 in January for a full list of activities.

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

WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood Country Courthouse in Waynesville.

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.

Appeal from Veterans for Peace

This came out before a cease-fire was called.

+++++++++++++++++++++
**Veterans For Peace Appeals to Israeli Soldiers to Lay Down Their Arms**

Israel's military has in recent days attacked the Gaza strip with drones and F-16s, and has apparently been preparing for a possible ground war. Israel is using weaponry provided by the United States at the expense to U.S. taxpayers of $3 billion per year.  Veterans For Peace member Doug Rawlings addresses the following statement to members of the Israeli
military:

I have been to where you are going.  From my heart, I beseech you not to join me.  In 1969, I was sent to Vietnam as a reluctant soldier, a draftee, who did not have the courage of my convictions.  I chose to follow the orders of my government rather than to follow the dictates of my conscience.  It’s been over forty years now, and I still remember the faces of the Vietnamese people who were victimized by my lack of moral autonomy. I became one of Pharaoh’s army, and, to this day, I have been wading through the miasma of that murderous indecisiveness.  Had I heeded Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. instead of General William Westmoreland, I would have refused to serve as a pawn in my government’s immoral invasion and occupation of Vietnam.

Westmoreland was one of many who appealed to some kind of base sense of national self-righteousness that relegated a whole people the “enemy” -- to a form of sub-human existence.  He, too, heard from chauvinist generals like yours who demanded that we “bomb the Vietnamese people back to the Stone Age.”  Dr. King, on the other hand, was imploring us to not exploit others, to recognize the sacredness of all people, and to not “trample over others with the iron feet of oppression.” He recognized that “peace is not
merely a distant goal we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.”

You, my friends, have become the means of your government, and it is up to you to say that you would rather be warriors for peace than serve in Pharaoh’s legions. Follow the lead of the Dr. Kings of the world, not the generals who are willing to use the blood of others to seek some kind of political goals. Rejoin the ‘beloved community’ of world citizens who recognize the sanctity of all human life.  Reject the immoral orders of those who would send you to do their bloody bidding.  Refuse orders to attack Gaza. The world is waiting for the first army of peace-makers to turn back the tide of war.  Why not start with you?

Veterans For Peace is a national organization, founded in 1985 with approximately 5,000 members in 150 chapters located in every U.S. state and several countries.  It is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization recognized as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by the United Nations, and is the only national veterans' organization calling for the abolishment of war.

We will break down this wall....

Giving thanks today....

even as I stay home with a cold - sure glad it is ONLY a cold!  And I am grateful for my many friends who sustain me, for my really good job which provides many benefits, and the beautiful part of the world I live in.  I have many blessing in my life today!

Code Pink 10 year anniversary

I have such respect for these members of Code Pink.  I wish we had a group locally, but I have not felt energetic enough to start one (yet). 

From our Hypocrite-in-Chief

Obama had drone bombed Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Iraq, and probably the Philippines since he took office in 2008. 

WNC Veterans for Peace

Note from a listserve email

On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 1:21 PM, Brian Willson wrote:

Very scary. Vertical power is always threatened by people power, i.e., threatened by actual democracy. And in the same interview, Wilkerson says what is happening in the USA with the power of the military is that it is more dangerous than a traditional coup:

"But the insidious increase in power, and the influence over foreign policy that the military has, is very dangerous. And maybe in the long run it's even more dangerous than a coup. Because what happens is, the power shifts gradually, and gradually, and incrementally, over to the war making side, to where you wake up one morning and all you're doing is making war. And you have so many people, from Lockheed Martin to the Congress of the United States, to the Armed Forces, to you name it, who are making so much money off that war making, that you can' t stop it. That's not a coup, but it is something worse in my view." - Wilkerson

Eisenhower's words about the MIC ringing truer everyday.

Original Link to Wilerson's comments.

Upcoming events in the Asheville area this week

UPCOMING EVENTS

11/19/12 MOVE TO AMEND MEETING
After a long lapse, we will finally have another meeting of our local group. We will meet again in the lower level Religious Education space at 7:30 Pm, Monday, November 19th. This is at Unitarian Universalist Church at Charlotte and Edwin Sts. There will be a 20 minute DVD, "Unequal Justice – The Relentless Rise of the 1% Court". Historically, it features unequal justice for workers, medical patients and everyone.

11/19/12 GAZA SOLIDARITY DEMONSTRATION
This event is hosted by the WNC branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Time is 1 PM and location is Vance Monument in downtown Asheville.

11/23/12 BLACK FRIDAY WALMART ACTIONS
Occupy Asheville will be meeting at the south Asheville Wal-Mart on Hendersonville Road at 2 PM to picket and hand out information on Wal-Mart. This is in support of the workers at Wal-Mart and their efforts for justice. Please bring signs!

11/23/12 SOLIDARITY WITH GAZA
There will be a solidarity with Gaza rally at Vance Monument in downtown Asheville at 4:30 PM.  Please bring signs.  This is sponsored by local peace activists Ymani Simmons and Susan Oehler.  More information at dancewater2@gmail.com.

11/27/12 BUILDING AN ABUSE FREE COMMUNITY
This is a four-part series focusing on the reality of abuse in our society.  The goal is to empower the community by enabling and energizing a broader base of advocates to take action in preventing abuse and supporting victims in their recovery. Time is 7 PM and location is the Fellowship Hall at Grace Presbyterian Church on Merrimon.  For more information, contact jimrwallis@aol.com. Part Four:  How does one stop the cycle? Where can a person turn?

11/29/12 “THE CIRCLE OF HEALING”
Thursday, Nov. 29th, 7-9 PM, Montford Books, 31 Montford Ave.: "The Circle of Healing" with Cathy Holt. Connect with the deep wisdom of your body, learn self-healing skills. Cost: $25, includes class and book, The Circle of Healing: Deepening Our Connections with Self, Others and Nature. Please pre-register: 828-545-9681.

12/01/12 OCCUPY ASHEVILLE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
This will be held at 4 PM at Pritchard Park.  General Assemblies are held on the first Saturday of the month.  All are welcome.

12/01/12 BUNCOMBE COUNTRY 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.

12/03/12 NUCLEAR FAMINE: A BILLION PEOPLE AT RISK
WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have arranged this presentation by Dr. Ira Helfand at The Asheville Jewish Community Center. Refreshments and social at 6:30 PM and lecture at 7:00 PM.  The presentation is also sponsored by Veterans for Peace Chapter 099.  Ira Helfand, MD will describe the range of dangers posed by nuclear weapons including nuclear terrorism and the possibility of large scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia.  Drawing on his new study Nuclear Famine: A Billion People at Risk he will also present the data released this year on the catastrophic world-wide climate disruption that would follow even a limited nuclear war as might occur between India and Pakistan.  He will discuss concrete steps we need to take and what citizens can do to lessen the danger. Contact Lew at patrie.wncpsr@main.nc.us for more information.

12/03/12 “HEARTSPEAK – MORE PEACEFUL RELATIONSHIPS”
Monday, December 3, 7-9 PM, Center for Holistic Medicine, 779 Haywood Rd.: "HeartSpeak - More Peaceful Relationships through Listening and Speaking from the Heart," with Cathy Holt. Cost: $10-$15 sliding scale. Please pre-register: 828-545-9681.

12/05/12 SIERRA CLUB MEETING
This is their holiday potluck with recognition awards.  Please bring a dish and a book to swap.  Program starts at 7 PM and location is Unitarian Church at Edwin Place and Charlotte Street.

12/06/12 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street in Asheville. VFP Chapter 099: http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

12/11/12 JUSTICE FRIENDS’ NIGHT
Kicking off a regular social event to be held at Firestorm Cafe. This is an informal gathering of Greens together with other folks in the Asheville community, people with an activist mindset who are interested in topics related to justice. This is a discussion group and a social event. Additional live performance: Musician/songwriter, Jack Herranen accompanied by Sam Harding perform Jack's own blend of Bolivian/Appalachian Folk, as well as covers of old songs by Woodie Guthrie and famed Anarchist & Wobbly, Joe Hill. Time is 7 PM.

12/14/12 SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVIE NIGHT AT UU CHURCH
Social Justice Film night will feature “I AM” a film about a man’s personal journey after a bicycle accident, ‘the nature of humanity’ and the ‘world’s ever-growing addiction to materialism’.  Time is 7 PM and will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Charlotte and Edwin Place.  Donations accepted.  Info from devwilliams@juno.com.

12/14/12 to 12/16/12 MOVE TO AMEND CONVERGENCE IN FLORIDA
https://movetoamend.org/events/gainesville-fl-move-amend-south-regional-convergence

01/02/13 SIERRA CLUB MEETING
Wayne Coldwell and Steve Woody will discuss Cataloochee and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Program starts at 7:15 PM and location is Unitarian Church at Edwin Place and Charlotte Street.

01/21/13 to 01/25/13 MLK WEEK AT UNCA
Check http://msp.unca.edu/mlk2013 in January for a full list of activities.

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

WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood Country Courthouse in Waynesville.

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.

*******************************************
ACTIONS AND READINGS
*******************************************

RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK LEADS PROTEST AGAINST BANK OF AMERICA FUNDING COAL

One more step in the campaign to bring climate change and the big banks under control. Thanks to RAN, and students, activists, environmentalists, grandparents and great grandparents who participated in this attempt to keep the earth liveable for future generations.

http://ecowatch.org/2012/nine-arrested-coal-protest/

******************

VETERANS FOR PEACE INFORMATION

VFP CHAPTER 099: http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

NEW PUBLICATION OF WAR CRIMES TIMES:http://www.WarCrimesTimes.org/
A publication of Veterans For Peace -- exposing the true costs of war.

Visit VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street (the corner of Haywood and Roberts), Asheville, 28801. (828-258-1800). Hours: Tue-Sat 11 to 3 pm

Solidarity with Gaza rally in Asheville

 We had a small group of activists who showed their support for Gaza and their disapproval for Israel's violence towards Gaza.  My sign should say "Violence is not the answer".  Ymani is the main organizer and she is standing with the other sign.  There will be another Solidarity vigil on Monday at noon, and next Friday at 4:30.  Both are at Vance Monument in downtown Asheville.

Solidarity with Gaza

There will be a vigil on Friday November 16th in solidarity with the people of Gaza.  It will be from 4:30 to 5:30 PM at Vance Monument at Pack Square in downtown Asheville.

My heart is sick over what is being done to Gaza.

Power to the People!

Soldiers of Peace

Soldiers of peace are not fighting a war
Are not looking for enemies behind every door
Are not looking for people to kill or to maim.
Soldiers of peace are just changing the game.

Men who were fighting for all of our lives
Are now fighting for children, for homes and for wives,
Fighting for the memory of all who fell before,
But the soldiers of peace just can't kill any more.

So come all you warriors who live for the fight,
Come listen to somebody, somebody who might
Have been there before you and they have the right,
They've been dying to tell you the score.
The old warriors don't want you to hurt any more.

Soldiers of peace can still hear the cries
When the people were screaming and losing their lives,
When bodies were broken and spirits were torn
The soldiers of peace do not want you to mourn.

So come all you warriors who live for the fight,
Come listen to somebody, somebody who might
Have been there before you and they have the right,
They've been dying to tell you the score.
The old warriors don't want you to hurt any more.

Soldiers of peace are not fighting a war.
No more, no more, no more, no more.

Upcoming events in the Asheville area this week

Sunset in Asheville on Armistice Day 2012.

UPCOMING EVENTS

11/11/12 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL FOR ARMISTICE DAY
Ground the Drones! Bring the troops home! 24 hour Armistice Vigil. This will be going on overnight tonight. The vigil will end at 9 AM on Monday 11/12/12. Location is Vance Monument. There are a few photos and more information on the blog:  http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

11/12/12 HONOR CARDS (HOLIDAY CARDS) KICK-OFF
Come hear artist William Mangum tell the story behind his holiday cards, and hear the inside story told by the actual men depicted who reside at the Veteran’s Restoration Quarters.  Time is 7 PM and location is Veterans’ Restoration Quarters on Tunnel Road. Proceeds from the sale of the cards support Steadfast House and Veterans Restoration Quarters.

11/12/12 BOOK PRESENTATION AT MALAPROPS
Christal Presley will present her memoir “Thirty Days with My Father:  Finding Peace with Wartime PTSD”.  Time is 7 PM.

11/13/12 BUILDING AN ABUSE FREE COMMUNITY
This is a four-part series focusing on the reality of abuse in our society.  The goal is to empower the community by enabling and energizing a broader base of advocates to take action in preventing abuse and supporting victims in their recovery. Time is 7 PM and location is the Fellowship Hall at Grace Presbyterian Church on Merrimon.  For more information, contact jimrwallis@aol.com. Part Three:  How can one be abused on the internet?  Why should one be more aware while on Facebook?

11/13/12 PEOPLE OF FAITH FOR JUST RELATIONSHIPS
This group of clergy and laity, from a variety of faith traditions, is committed to creating a more just society where benefits are available to people of all sexual orientations.  Meets at First Congregational United Church of Christ on Oak Street at noon.  More info from pfjr@gmail.com or www.pfjr.org.

11/14/12 ANDY SUMMER MEMORIAL LECTURE
You and your friends are invited to the Andy Summer Memorial Lecture on Nov. 14 in Canon Lounge in the Gladfelter Student Center at Warren Wilson College.  Time is 7:00 PM.  Mallory McDuff, Ph.D., professor of environmental studies and outdoor leadership at Warren Wilson College, will deliver the annual Andy Summers Memorial Lecture.  Title: Sacred Acts: A religious-environmental road trip.  Free and open to the public.

11/15/12 SCREENING OF “MISS REPRESENTATION”
The National Association of Social Workers will host a screening of “Miss Representation” which challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls. This will be at the Renaissance Hotel on Woodfin Street in Asheville at 5:30 PM. Information and registration at www.missrepnaswnc.event-brite.com. Cost is $10.

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

11/17/12 MOVIE SHOWING BY WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
They will be showing the blockbuster expose film “9/11: EXPLOSIVE EVIDENCE-THE EXPERTS SPEAK OUT” at the Transylvania County Library at 2 PM on Saturday, November 17. The film blows the "Official Conspiracy Theory" of the Bush administration apart by focusing on the 3 WTC buildings. The film is FREE but we'll accept small donations to offset the cost imposed by the library. Also sponsored by Transylvanians For Peace. Contact Don at gaia@comporium.net for more information.

11/1712 BLUE RIDGE LIBERTY PROTEST AT VANCE MONUMENT
Chase Rachaels and Justin Stow representing blueridgelibertyproject.com and announced a protest/rally AT 2 PM as an introductory event for the organization and an effort to align people with their purposes: antiwar action, avoiding initiation of force, proactive parenting.

11/17/12 OCCUPY ASHEVILLE AND THE HOLIDAY PARADE
Occupy Asheville will be handing out Occu-cards at the Holiday Parade in Asheville. Parade route is Biltmore Avenue and Charlotte Street up to Patton Avenue, and then down Patton to French Broad Avenue. If you want to participate, check our blog for meeting time and place and then show up and Occupy Asheville will give you Occu-cards to hand out along the parade route.  http://occupyashevillenc.blogspot.com/

11/18/12 ETHICAL SOCIETY OF ASHEVILLE MEETING
“Criminalization of the Homeless” will be presented by John Spitzberg at the Sunday, November 18th meeting of the Ethical Society of Asheville, 2:00-3:30 PM, held at the Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road in North Asheville (off Merrimon Avenue near UNCA). Spitzberg, an author and retired educator, is current Asheville Homeless Network president and out-going president the local Veterans for Peace group, as well as a member of the Ethical Society of Asheville and the Asheville Baha’i Community. The topic will cover a growing trend in our country and provide information regarding steps that can be and have been taken to deal with this population. There will be a discussion period following the presentation. Following the meeting, there will be time for informal conversation. All are welcome! For more information contact: asheville@aeu.org, www.aeu.org, ethicalsocietyasheville@gmail.com or 828 687-7759.

11/19/12 MOVE TO AMEND MEETING
After a long lapse, we will finally have another meeting of our local group. We will meet again in the lower level Religious Education space at 7:30 Pm, Monday, November 19th. This is at Unitarian Universalist Church at Charlotte and Edwin Sts. There will be a 20 minute DVD, "UNEQUAL JUSTICE - THE RELENTLESS RISE OF THE 1 % COURT". Historically, it features unequal justice for workers, medical patients and everyone.

11/27/12 BUILDING AN ABUSE FREE COMMUNITY
This is a four-part series focusing on the reality of abuse in our society. The goal is to empower the community by enabling and energizing a broader base of advocates to take action in preventing abuse and supporting victims in their recovery. Time is 7 PM and location is the Fellowship Hall at Grace Presbyterian Church on Merrimon. For more information, contact jimrwallis@aol.com. Part Four: How does one stop the cycle? Where can a person turn?

12/03/12 NUCLEAR FAMINE:  A BILLION PEOPLE AT RISK
WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have arranged this presentation by Dr. Ira Helfand at The Asheville Jewish Community Center. Refreshments and social at 6:30 PM and lecture at 7:00 PM.  The presentation is also sponsored by Veterans for Peace Chapter 099. Ira Helfand, MD will describe the range of dangers posed by nuclear weapons including nuclear terrorism and the possibility of large scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia. Drawing on his new study “Nuclear Famine: A Billion People at Risk”, he will also present the data released this year on the catastrophic world-wide climate disruption that would follow even a limited nuclear war as might occur between India and Pakistan. He will discuss concrete steps we need to take and what citizens can do to lessen the danger. Contact Lew at patrie.wncpsr@main.nc.us for more information.

12/05/12 SIERRA CLUB MEETING
This is their holiday potluck with recognition awards.  Please bring a dish and a book to swap. Program starts at 7 PM and location is Unitarian Church at Edwin Place and Charlotte Street.

12/14/12 SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVIE NIGHT AT UU CHURCH
Social Justice Film night will feature “I AM” a film about a man’s personal journey after a bicycle accident, ‘the nature of humanity’ and the ‘world’s ever-growing addiction to materialism’. Time is 7 PM and will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Charlotte and Edwin Place. Donations accepted. Info from devwilliams@juno.com.

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

WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood Country Courthouse in Waynesville.

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.

Veterans Day 2012

U.S. Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler, lamenting his career, said,

I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

The art of corporate mind control

Two Poems from Guantanamo

Hunger Strike Poem – by Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif

They are artists of torture,
They are artists of pain and fatigue,
They are artists of insults and humiliation.
Where is the world to save us from torture?
Where is the world to save us from fire and sadness?
Where is the world to save the hunger strikers?

The US military censored the rest of this poem.



Humiliated in the Shackles – by Sami al Haj

When I heard pigeons cooing in the trees,
Hot tears covered my face.
When the lark chirped, my thoughts composed
A message for my son.

Mohammad, I am afflicted.
In my despair, I have no one but Allah for comfort.
The oppressors are playing with me,
As they move freely about the world.

They ask me to spy on my countrymen,
Claiming it would be a good deed.
They offer me money and land,
And freedom to go where I please.

Their temptations seize my attention
Like lightning in the sky.
But their gift is an evil snake,
Carry hypocrisy in its mouth like venom.

They have monuments to liberty
And freedom of opinion, which is well and good.
But I explained to them that
Architecture is not justice.

America, you ride on the backs of orphans,
And terrorize them daily.
Bush, beware.

The world recognizes an arrogant liar.
To Allah I direct my grievance and my tears.
I am homesick and oppressed.
Mohammad, do not forget me.

Support the cause of your father, a God-fearing man.
I was humiliated in the shackles.
How can I now compose verses? How can I now write?
After the shackles and the nights and the suffering and the tears,
How can I write poetry?

My soul is like a roiling sea, stirred by anguish,
Violent with passion.

I am a captive, but the crimes are my captors'.
I am overwhelmed with apprehension.
Lord, unite me with my son Mohammad.
Lord, grant success to the righteous.

 
Sami al Haj was finally released and he re-joined his family. It is hard to believe that this evil still continues today. 

Comment from FCNL

Assassination: A Permanent Foreign Policy?

By Bridget Moix on 11/02/2012 @ 05:37 PM

Tags: Drones, Weapons

The below is a guest post by former FCNL legislative secretary Bridget Moix.

The title of the article alone should have sent us all straight to FCNL’s legislative action center to write a letter of protest to our members of Congress. “Plan for hunting terrorists signals U.S. intends to keep adding names to kill lists,” the October 23, Washington Post headline read, the latest in its “Permanent War” series. My stomach turned as I read. “Hunting”? “Kill lists”? Is this really how far our foreign policy has fallen?

No. It’s worse actually.

The article, which should be required reading for every member of Congress, goes on to describe how the U.S. government is developing a new “disposition matrix”, a high-tech database designed to go beyond current kill lists and drone strikes to more deeply institutionalize the policy and practice of targeted killing “for the long haul”, with little to no accountability or transparency.

There was a time when such a report would have led to public outrage and congressional hearings, when assassination was not publicly acceptable as a tool of U.S. foreign policy (even if it was still covertly practiced), and when the thought of it violated our fundamental understanding of democracy and rule of law, as well as our national moral conscience.

But no longer. The global war on terror begun by the Bush administration and fervently pursued in modified form under Obama has permeated nearly every aspect of our national life and, according to the Post article, is only reaching its “midpoint.” So, never mind Iraq and Afghanistan, we’ve got at least 10 more years of killing ahead of us, and now we’ve got a fancy global database to make it easier. Thank you, U.S. taxpayers.

In fact, the policies and practices now being institutionalized as core parts of U.S. foreign policy – from kill lists to drone strikes to this new, all-too Hollywoodesque “matrix” – would have once turned the stomachs of most Americans and sparked at least congressional debate if not legislative restraining action. Governments that practiced assassination were once shunned because voters and decision-makers alike understood that such policies threaten national and global security, fuel violence and attacks, waste enormous amounts of taxpayer dollars, undermine the rule of law, and violate our moral conscience. If one government, no matter how powerful, decides it can kill who it wants, where and when it wants, what’s to stop other countries from deciding they can as well?

Unfortunately, policymakers and the public seem to be forgetting that history, replacing it with a new “all war, all the time” mentality that is driving U.S. foreign policy – straight into the ground. Assassination as foreign policy has become not only acceptable, but largely accepted by the U.S. public and Congress. Permanent war is becoming the norm. U.S. government officials pride themselves on how many “terrorists” have been killed on their watch; presidential candidates argue over who will be the best at targeted killing. Most worrisome, few in the public and even fewer in Congress stand up in protest.

So what’s the antidote to permanent war mentality and high-tech matrix assassination? Forgive me for repeating myself, but, we are. Concerned citizens like us who still become disgusted and outraged by articles that tell us our government is engaging in such immoral and ineffective policies, and who write letters, visit our members of Congress, and urge policymakers to institutionalize peaceful prevention of deadly conflict, not permanent war. No database, drone, or kill list can yet compete with the power of individual conscience and human relationship.

And after all, if we don’t do it, who will?

Comment from five years ago

Comment (somewhat updated) made on 11/7/07 on Iraq Today blog.

Whenever we put these posts together, we do read a lot.  And a great deal of it is confusing.  I have read that America invented al Qaeda, al Qaeda is the true Iraqi resistance, and al Qaeda is run and funded by Saudi Arabia.  I read that the Kurds causing trouble for the Turks are actually Turkish Kurds.  I read the US is really running the PKK.  I read about tribes in Iraq turning on al Qaeda - but it seems to me that they are fighting US troops LESS not because they turned on al Qaeda, but because the US is paying them off (I am all for that, by the way, although it does have it's problems).

I remember the US military saying their policy was to "villainize Zarqawi, leverage xenophobic response"-- which just makes me sick to think they have (had?) a policy of making ordinary people afraid.  But of course, that was the whole point behind "shock and awe" wasn't it?

So, would they invent al Qaeda?  Is Sy Hersch right in claiming that the bush administration is arming and funding Sunni extremist groups in parts of the Middle East?  I think so.  But there are a few things that are true - I know they are true – in this post.  First, is the picture of the ordinary man calling his family to reassure them.  That is (or was) 95% of Iraqi people.  And a couple more true things are in the articles under COMMENTARY below.

Americans are willfully ignorant.

And, we are also a nation of people deep in denial - we have a new candidate for Attorney General who cannot figure out if torture is torture - or if it is illegal.  And that is because about 40% of our willfully ignorant nation supports torture.  They stupidly believe that it will give us good information, and excuse it on that ground.  And then there is a small minority who are just sick sadistic fucks.  And lately, we have the myth being pushed by our politicians that the occupation of Iraq was a noble endeavor, with great sacrifice and bravery by our US troops, that was just mismanaged AND/OR ruined by the ingrate Iraqis.  In short, our intentions are good and our actions are benign (or we try our best to be benign).

THIS IS A FUCKING LIE.

I recently came across articles from Rep. Waxman asking if was worth it to have US troops die for Mylaki's corruption..... with no mention of the corruption and plunder done by US citizens and troops in Iraq, which is vastly worse.  I often here or read about US Democratic candidates talking about how our "brave" and "unselfish" troops are just being asked to do too much, and do it under incompetent leadership (meaning Bush - they
never see their own part in it - they too are willfully ignorant).  They never seem to notice the Iraqi people and how many of them are suffering from the presence of US troops in their country.  I really recommend reading the articles under the COMMENTARY (link above) in full.

And I wonder if American society can ever be stopped from all this militarism and war-mongering and human rights abuses -  in short, from all this EVIL.

I really wonder.

COMMENTARY

Mad Cow Nation: America'sWilling Surrender

Michael Massing has written a very important story about at very important truth: the main reason that the American people are so deeply uninformed about the reality of the war of aggression being waged in their names in Iraq is that they do not want to know.

Massing shows that the rigorous self-censorship practiced by the American people and the media is actually worse than the machinations of Big Brother in Orwell's 1984; at least in that fictional world, the draconian repression of reality was imposed by force at the hands of an all-powerful state – but today we are doing it to ourselves. Not that the Bush Regime isn't giving Big Brotherism the old college try, but as Massing points out, there are too many venues and formats of information dissemination for the state to control it all, especially in the United States, where many vestiges of freedom remain. Yet one of the most disheartening aspects of American society today is how very little use the people make of those freedoms they still have.

Indeed, Massing's observations on Americans' self-censorship – the surrender of the awareness of reality in exchange for self-regarding fantasy – have implications far beyond war reportage. In our time, we are witnessing a society voluntarily surrendering its liberties, its rights – its gumption – to a harsh and malevolent authority. We are
witnessing a society surrendering its pride and its moral core to torturers and thieves, liars and killers. And it is a willing surrender, as if vast swathes of the American people are relieved that they can finally lay down the burdens and responsibilities of freedom.

We are the Thought Police

Orwell's Big Brother never showed up. Instead of centralized Iraq war propaganda, we have an America in which the public and the press jointly impose their own controls.
……How can such a critical feature of the U.S. occupation remain so hidden from view? Because most Americans don't want to know about it.  The books by Iraqi vets are filled with expressions of disbelief and rage at the lack of interest ordinary Americans show for what they've had to endure on the battlefield. In "Operation Homecoming," one returning Marine, who takes to drinking heavily in an effort to cope with the crushing guilt and revulsion he feels over how many people he's seen killed, fumes about how "you can't talk to them [ordinary Americans] about the horror of a dead child's lifeless mutilated body staring back at you from the void, knowing you took part in that end."

Writing of her return home, Kayla Williams notes that the things most people seemed interested in were "beyond my comprehension. Who cared about Jennifer Lopez? How was it that I was watching CNN one morning and there was a story about freaking ducklings being fished out of a damn sewer drain -- while the story of soldiers getting killed in Iraq got relegated to this little banner across the bottom of the screen?"  In "Generation Kill," by the journalist Evan Wright, a Marine corporal confides his anguish and anger over all the killings he has seen: "I think it's bullshit how these fucking civilians are dying! They're worse off than the guys that are shooting at us. They don't even have a chance. Do you think people at home are going to see this – all these women and children we're killing? Fuck no. Back home they're glorifying this motherfucker, I guarantee you."

…..In most wars, nations that send their men and women off to fight in distant lands don't want to learn too much about the violence being committed in their name. Facing up to this would cause too much shame, would deal too great a blow to national self-esteem. If people were to become too aware of the butchery wars entail, they would become much
less willing to fight them. And so the illusion must be maintained that war is a noble enterprise, that the soldiers who wage it are full of valor and heroism, that in the end their intentions are good and their actions benign.

Election Day

Meet the Idiot Press, Six Years Ago

From Meet the Press on 11/5/06:

>SEN. ELIZABETH DOLE (R-NC): You know, I think what this shows is that the Iraqis are putting their past behind them, the establishment of the rule of law. I feel that, you know, this, this will mean they’re moving forward.  Certainly, a madman who had, in his focus, the preparation of nuclear weapons, this will, I think, be received as the right thing, and you know, I don’t expect that it’s going to, to have that much effect one way or the other.<

She sure says “you know” a lot – funny coming from someone who (apparently) doesn’t know what she is talking about.

>SEN. DOLE: Let me, let me talk about David Fromme, who is one of the people in the article, and his concern about the way it was publicized, the press release. David Fromme’s bottom line is, the war, just as the same—the same as in 2003, the war was right, we need to win the war and it would be disastrous to lose. That’s his bottom line. That’s, that’s what he’s concerned about. And you know, it’s almost as if the Democrats, you know, it’s like they’re content with losing because to pull out, to withdraw from this war is losing. No question about it. You look at...

MR. RUSSERT: The Democrats are content with losing.

SEN. DOLE: The Democrats appear to be content with losing because
they’re to...<

Well, Mrs. Dole, it was the REPUBLICAN congress and REPUBLICAN president that started and conducted this war, not the Democrats.  So the Democrats were not in charge of “losing” at all – that is something you and your buddies did all by yourself.

>SEN. DOLE: ...because when you pull out, this is losing. That we know that it becomes a breeding ground.....a breeding ground for terrorists. We’ve got Iran and Syria sitting there on each side of Iraq.<

And of course, the current Iraq war, as it is being run, is just a breeding ground for hope, peace, democracy and stability, and certainly not more terrorism.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT………

Notice how she went from blaming the Democrats to starting to blame Syria and Iran?  It’s always someone else’s fault with Mrs. Dole and her companions.  Now, if the Bush administration decides to negotiate with the countries of Syria and Iran, then one would suspect that Mrs. Dole’s head would explode - along with all the other idiots who believe that they should blame everyone except the guilty parties for the mess in Iraq THAT THEY CREATED ALL BY THEMSELVES!!!

Upcoming events in the Asheville area

Sunset on the Blue Ridge Parkway in October 2012.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

11/05/12 HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL AT UNCA
The film starts at 7 PM and is sponsored by Amnesty International UNCA.  Location is Highsmith University Union, Room 143 (Grotto). “The Invisible War” brings to light the sexual abuse within the US military.  People who were raped by fellow service-men present their personal stories alongside an investigation into why rape occurs at such a high incidence within the military, and how it is handled.  There are scenes of violence in this movie.

11/06/12 ELECTION DAY
Do not sit out an election - no one gains a voice or more power by not participating.  Some recommendations for non-partisan races at the end of this email.

11/07/12 SIERRA CLUB MEETING
Chris Mathis will discuss “Why Building Matter:  Sustainability Challenges”.   Instruction on improving efficiency, ventilation and air quality will be available. Program starts at 7:15 PM and location is Unitarian Church at Edwin Place and Charlotte Street.  For more information contact judymattox@sbcglobal.net.

11/07/12 CONCERT TO HONOR BREAD AND ROSES STRIKE
Charlie King and Karen Brandow will present extraordinary songs of ordinary people and a second-set performance marking the 100th anniversary of the history-making Bread and Roses textile strike, on November 7 at 7:30 at UNC Asheville’s Highsmith Student Union.  Tickets are free for UNC Asheville students, faculty and staff and $10 for the general public. This is co-sponsored by the UNC Asheville Foreign Languages and Political Science departments and HOLA. FMI, contact hras@humanrightsaction.net or call 314-374-7446.

11/07/12 HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL AT UNCA
The film starts at 7 PM and is sponsored by Amnesty International UNCA.  Location is Highsmith University Union, Room 143 (Grotto). “Bidder 70” will be shown.  At a federal auction for land parcels in Utah, young Tim DeChristopher bids for land that he can-not afford, in an attempt to halt and draw attention to the process. In spite of a nullified sale, his act of civil disobedience was harshly pursued by the judicial system.

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.

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. Peled's title for his talk is "Moving Beyond Zionism: a New Paradigm for Israel and Palestine."  Location is Simpson Hall at A-B Tech.  Time is 7 PM.  This is sponsored by Western Carolinians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East.  Open to the public.  For more information, email Tony at bingtony@yahoo.com.

11/08/12 COMMUNITY EVENT AROUND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
“PRIVATE VIOLENCE” is a collaborative community event to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence in our region. A portion of the proceeds will go to support domestic and sexual violence programs in our community.  This will be at the Fine Arts Theater.  No further information at this time.

11/08/12 HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL AT UNCA
The film starts at 7 PM and is sponsored by Amnesty International UNCA.  Location is Highsmith University Union, Room 143 (Grotto). “Taking Root: the Vision of Wangari Maathai” will be shown.  This film tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy—a movement for which this charismatic woman became an iconic inspiration.

11/08/12 CHEMTRONICS SUPERFUND SITE
A community advisory group will meet at the East Asheville Recreation Center on Tunnel Road at 3:30 PM.  There will be a discussion of what will become of the Chemtronics Superfund site, now owned by Halliburtion Company. Info at http://avl.mx/ly.

11/09/12 SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVIE NIGHT AT UU CHURCH
Social Justice Film night will feature “Peaceable Kingdom” a film about the awakening conscience of several farmer who came to question the killing of animals. Time is 7 PM and will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Charlotte and Edwin Place.  Donations accepted.  Info from devwilliams@juno.com.

11/09/12 HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL AT UNCA
The film starts at 7 PM and is sponsored by Amnesty International UNCA.  Location is Highsmith University Union, Room 143 (Grotto).  “Brother Number One” will be shown.  After traveler Kerry Hamill’s ship is blown off course into Cambodian waters, he and his friend are captured by the Khmer Rouge, tortured as enemies of the Cambodian people, and put to death. Decades later, his brother travels to the first trial of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, a special U.N. sponsored judicial body created to try former operatives in the Khmer Rouge, where a former warden of prison camp S-21 tries to deflect his responsibility for the murders he committed.

11/10/12 BUNCOMBE FRUIT AND NUTS CLUB
The Buncombe Fruit and Nuts club announces the Carnival of Nuts!  You’ve known it all along: Asheville is nuttier than a fruitcake! So come enjoy some true nuttiness at the West End Bakery on November 10 from 5:30-9pm, and bring the kids for family fun. All funds raised go to the Buncombe Fruit Nuts, a group of nut and fruit enthusiasts who are happy to plant and nurture shrubs and trees in the parks all over town.  There’ll be awesome door prizes (win your own nut tree), games like the Acorn-Squirrel toss for kids, nut-cracking demonstrations featuring the Nutcracker himself, acorn magic, special viewings of the nut-blimp, the nuttiest poem, and more.

11/10/12 THE GENERAL’S SON: JOURNEY OF AN ISRAELI IN PALESTINE
This event is in Charlotte NC.  Time is 6 PM and location is Muslim American Society
4301 Shamrock Drive.  Donations accepted.  FMI at cpwj.contact@gmail.com.

11/10/12 STUDIES IN NONVIOLENCE
Studies in Nonviolence: Ethics & Applications, An Activists’ Dialogue.  This will be at the Lake Junaluska Peace Conference and the time will be 3 to 4:30 PM.  There is no charge for this presentation.  See below for more information and carpooling.

11/11/12 RING BELLS FOR ARMISTICE DAY
Armistice Day:  Ring Bells For Peace @ 11am.   Asheville Friends Meeting will ring a bell 11 times at 11 AM (close of worship) to mark this occasion.

11/11/12 ALL DAY (24 HOUR) VIGIL BY LOCAL VETERANS FOR PEACE
This is to mark Armistice Day. Contact Tom at tpeacenik@gmail.com for more information.

11/11/12 EAT AT MIKE’S
Location is First Congregational UCC in Asheville on Oak Street downtown.  Time is 5 PM to 8 PM.  This is the WNC health Advocates' annual dinner and auction. Tickets are a minimum donation of $20 and will be on sale at The Downtown Market, or call 828-243-6712 or e-mail leslie@wnchealthadvocates.org.

11/11/12 REMEMBER FALLUJAH WEEK

11/12/12 HONOR CARDS (HOLIDAY CARDS) KICK-OFF
Come hear artist William Mangum tell the story behind his holiday cards, and hear the inside story told by the actual men depicted who reside at the Veteran’s Restoration Quarters.  Time is 7 PM and location is Veterans’ Restoration Quarters on Tunnel Road.  Proceeds from the sale of the cards support Steadfast House and Veterans Restoration Quarters.

11/13/12 BUILDING AN ABUSE FREE COMMUNITY
This is a four-part series focusing on the reality of abuse in our society.  The goal is to empower the community by enabling and energizing a broader base of advocates to take action in preventing abuse and supporting victims in their recovery. Time is 7 PM and location is the Fellowship Hall at Grace Presbyterian Church on Merrimon.  For more information, contact jimrwallis@aol.com. Part Three:  How can one be abused on the internet?  Why should one be more aware while on Facebook?

11/15/12 VETERANS FOR PEACE ISSUES MEETING
This will be at 6:30 PM at the Phil Mechanic Building on Roberts Street in Asheville.  NOT CLEARED YET WITH LANDLORD.

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

11/17/12 MOVIE SHOWING BY WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
They will be showing the blockbuster expose' film “9/11: EXPLOSIVE EVIDENCE--THE EXPERTS SPEAK OUT” at the Transylvania County Library at 2 PM on Saturday, November 17. The film blows the "Official Conspiracy Theory" of the Bush administration apart by focusing on the 3 WTC buildings. The film is FREE but we'll accept small donations to offset the cost imposed by the library.  Also sponsored by Transylvanians For Peace.  Contact Don at gaia@comporium.net for more information.

11/1712 BLUE RIDGE LIBERTY PROTEST AT VANCE MONUMENT
Chase Rachaels and Justin Stow representing blueridgelibertyproject.com and announced a protest/rally AT 2 PM as an introductory event for the organization and an effort to align people with their purposes: antiwar action, avoiding initiation of force, proactive parenting.

11/18/12 ETHICAL SOCIETY OF ASHEVILLE MEETING
“Criminalization of the Homeless” will be presented by John Spitzberg at the Sunday, November 18th meeting of the Ethical Society of Asheville, 2:00-3:30 PM, held at the Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road in North Asheville (off Merrimon Avenue near UNCA). Spitzberg, an author and retired educator, is current Asheville Homeless Network president and out-going president the local Veterans for Peace group, as well as a member of the Ethical Society of Asheville and the Asheville Baha’i Community. The topic will cover a growing trend in our country and provide information regarding steps that can be and have been taken to deal with this population. There will be a discussion period following the presentation. Following the meeting, there will be time for informal conversation. All are welcome! For more information contact: asheville@aeu.org, www.aeu.org, ethicalsocietyasheville@gmail.com or 828 687-7759.

11/27/12 BUILDING AN ABUSE FREE COMMUNITY
This is a four-part series focusing on the reality of abuse in our society.  The goal is to empower the community by enabling and energizing a broader base of advocates to take action in preventing abuse and supporting victims in their recovery. Time is 7 PM and location is the Fellowship Hall at Grace Presbyterian Church on Merrimon.  For more information, contact jimrwallis@aol.com. Part Four: How does one stop the cycle?  Where can a person turn?

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

WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood Country Courthouse in Waynesville.

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 Roots Action:

Even the New York Times wants out of Afghanistan.  Who's left supporting 2 (or 12?) more years in Afghanistan? Oh yeah, those 4 guys. Obama, Biden, Romney, Ryan.

Sign a letter to let them know what you think:  http://bit.ly/SZqg6k

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Studies in Nonviolence: Ethics & Applications - An Activists’ Dialogue
Saturday, Nov. 10 from 3-4:30 p.m, in conjunction with the Lake Junaluska Peace Conference

Pacifism, Nonviolence, Diversity of Tactics; How can we engage these concepts in ways that build toward a broader, deeper justice movement?  Join Peace Conference speaker Michael Nagler, NC Peace Action, Veterans For Peace, the New South Network of War Resisters & Occupy Asheville's Nonviolent Direct Action Trainers Group in an interactive dialogue on effective strategies and tactics of resistance to racism, militarism, sexism, poverty and ecological destruction.

For directions, go to conference website:  Lake Junaluska Peace Conference

Attendance at the Activists' Dialogue is open to all without charge.  You are also welcome to stay (at no charge) for the Saturday evening program with Nobel prize winner and
Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee.  For information in Asheville and possible carpooling, call 828-242-5610 or 828-301-6683.  If you are going and have room in your vehicle, please let us know at newsouthnetwork@gmail.com.

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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NON-PARTISAN RACES

NC Supreme Court:  Sam Ervin IV
NC Court of Appeals Judge: Linda McGee
NC Court of Appeals Judge: Wanda Bryant
NC Court of Appeals Judge: Cressie Thigpen
Soil & Water Conservation Dt. Supervisor:  Jim Coman
County Board of Education At-Large:  Paul (Dusty) Pless, Jr.
County Board of Education (North Buncombe):  Ann B. Franklin
County Board of Education (Owen District):  Ben Craig
County Board of Education (Roberson District):  Steven Weir Sizemore

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