dancewater: May 2016

Monday, May 30, 2016

Soldiers of Peace

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Upcoming events for the week of May 29, 2016

The above peace dove came in an email from WNC 4 Peace.

UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR BY DANCEWATER

05/30/16 MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY BY VETERANS FOR PEACE

Please join your fellow VFPers and others next Monday, May 30 (Memorial Day) at the downtown Veterans' Memorial at Pack Square (to the left of the main stage). The ceremony will start at 10 AM and will be approximately 30 minutes long. It will include music, song, poetry, prayer and presentation of the VFP wreath. We commemorate those who have suffered and died in past wars but concentrate on expressing our commitment to bringing about peace in our time and for all time. Please invite your friends as well.

05/31/16 MUDDY WATER WATCH TRAINING DATES

The French Broad Riverkeeper and riverkeepers around North Carolina previously held dozens of Muddy Water Watch training programs around the state, training more than 150 volunteers and reporting hundreds of sediment runoff instances from construction sites. “The Muddy Water Watch program is a great way for people to have an immediate impact that benefits our local environment and water quality,” Carson said. “Western North Carolina’s rivers are some of our greatest treasures and economic assets. Both locals and visitors paddle, fish and play in these waters and we need to protect them.” Time is 5 to 8 PM and location is Haywood Community College, Regional High Technology Center, room 3021 at 112 Industrial Park Drive in Waynesville.

05/31/16 SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national network of groups educating and organizing white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for racial justice. Asheville SURJ hosts a weekly discussion group on risk-taking, accountability, mutual interest and how to call more white people into racial justice work. Anyone with a passion for working with white people on racial justice is welcome. Time is 10 AM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

06/01/16 SIERRA CLUB MEETING / GREEN DRINKS

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, Danny Bernstein visited 71 park units in the Southeast and wrote the book “Forests, Alligators, Battlefields: My Journey through the National Parks of the South”. After the Sierra Club talk and slideshow, Danny will sign books and donate two dollars per book as she does at all non-profit group presentation. (Cash or checks only, no credit cards, please.) Meeting starts at 7 PM and location is the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Edwin and Charlotte Streets in north Asheville. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Judy at judymattox@sbcglobal.net or call 828-683-2176.

06/02/16 FUNDRAISER FOR JUST US UNITED

On Thursday, June 2nd, Just Us United will hold a Speakeasy Soirée at Lex 18 from 6 to 8 PM. The event will consist of an auction and fundraiser, with live music, food, drinks, and guest speakers participating. Businesses across Western North Carolina will be helping to make sure this event is a success by sponsoring our fundraiser, or making in-kind donations. Funds from our 2016 Speakeasy Soirée would allow us to hire the necessary field staff to run a campaign in house district 118. Throughout this campaign we will engage and educate voters through phone calls, door to door contacts, mailers, and media, to elect a representative who promotes policies that are in line with the needs of North Carolina families. Just Us United is a nonprofit based in Western North Carolina that engages in a combination of voter engagement, community outreach, legislative accountability, and advocacy, with the goal of promoting policies that support North Carolina families. We are committed to accomplishing our five point plan in North Carolina: improving public education, expanding access to affordable health care, promoting safe energy alternatives, supporting fair tax reform for the middle class, and restoring competitive democracy to our state. For more information, including how to register, contact kelsey.tavares@justusunited.org.

06/02/16 CREATION CARE ALLIANCE MEETING

Creation Care Alliance General Meeting will be from 5:30 - 7 PM at First Baptist Church of Asheville at 5 Oak Street, room MB306 (upstairs). Join us as we inspire one another to good work, hear about summer opportunities and our work empowering care for creation. We will connect with one another, explore ways to care for creation. Following our regular meeting is a Potluck Dinner with Rev. Jim Antal and the Green Team of First Congregational Church. For more information contact Creation Care Alliance of Western North Carolina at creationcare@mountaintrue.org or call 828-258-8737.

06/02/16 DOCUMENTARY ON 9/11 MYTHS

On the evening of Thursday, June 2, Richard Gage of “Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth” will be making a presentation here in Asheville. Richard will be screening a new documentary focusing on the testimonies of Firefighters on 9/11, called “Firefighters, Architects and Engineers Expose 9/11 Myths.” Time is 7 PM and location is St. Matthias Episcopal Church at 1 Dundee Street (On Charlotte Street, downtown) in Asheville. Contact Michael at mivey67@charter.net for more information. $10 suggested donation.

06/03/16 CLIMATE ACTION WORKSHOP

Bringing hope to the climate crisis through faith and action is the purpose of the climate action workshop in partnership with the First Congregational Church. Location is 20 Oak Street in Asheville. Time is 10 AM to noon. Rev. Dr. Jim Antal is the Conference Minister and President of the Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ. Come to this workshop to be inspired by courageous initiatives already underway, and to consider how you and others might harness your religious communities to meet the greatest moral challenge humanity has ever faced. Email Karen Richardson Dunn at krichdunn@gmail.com for more information.

06/03/16 RURAL PRIDE SUMMIT SERIES

A day of conversations and information sharing around LGBT people, families, youth, and communities. The NC LBBT Rural Summit will be held at the Asheville Art Museum at 2 South Pack Square in Asheville. Time is 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Everyone is invited, free to the public and lunch with be served. This is hosted by the Campaign for Southern Equality, True Colors Fund, USDA, and National Center for Lesbian Rights. Must register. For more information including how to register, call 202-720-3808 or email LGBTRuralSummit@ascr.usda.gov.

06/06/16 to 06/10/16 SUMMER SEMINAR ON ECOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

How can we think and act holistically about our interrelated challenges - ecological degradation, social inequity, and climate change - all of which find their focus around food? And for people of faith, how can we eat with a deeper sense of gratitude and communion? These are just some of the questions that will be explored in this annual 5-day course. All of this takes place in a beautiful mountain setting in one of the most diverse bioregions in the world at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa. Sponsored by the Food, Faith, and Religious Leadership Initiative at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity. More information under Wake Forest University School of Divinity.

06/07/16 SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

06/07/16 CURRENT EVENTS BOOK CLUB

Current events book club will discuss “The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government” by Mike Lofgren at 7 PM at Malaprops. Call Malaprops for more information.

06/08/16 JUST PEACE FOR ISRAEL/PALESTINE MEETING

This meeting will be at 9:30 AM at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church at 117 Montreat Road in Black Mountain. Contact Suchi at suchi1025@bellsouth.net for more information.

06/10/16 AUTHOR EVENT AT FIRESTORM

“Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better” looks at how prison tears families and communities apart, creating a rippling effect that touches every corner of our society. Through the stories of prisoners and their families, as well as her own family’s experience of her sister’s incarceration, Schenwar shows how the institution that locks up 2.3 million Americans—and decimates poor communities of color—is shredding the ties that, if nurtured, could foster real collective safety. The destruction does not end upon exiting the prison walls: the 95 percent of prisoners who are released emerge with even fewer economic opportunities and fewer human connections on the outside than before. Locked Down, Locked Out shows how incarceration takes away the very things that might enable people to build better lives. Time is 7 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Street in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

06/11/16 PTSD TOWN HALL MEETING

A program for all military veterans, active duty personnel, their families and supporters will be held on Saturday, June 11 beginning at 11 AM, going until 6 PM. Location is Mission Health/AB Tech Conference Center at 340 Victoria Road in Asheville. Hosted by Vietnam Veterans of America NC State Council. Call Allan at 808.383.7877 for more information.

06/11/16 CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY MEETING

Citizens Climate Lobby meets the second Saturday of each month at Kairos West Community Center, 742 Haywood Road in west Asheville. We are advocating for a Carbon Fee & Dividend, which would impose a fee on fossil fuels at point entry; this fee will be refunded to individuals and families. There is bipartisan support in Congress as this will create jobs and help grow the economy, boosting renewables. Time is 12:30 to 3 PM. For more information, contact asheville@citizensclimatelobby.org.

06/13/16 MORAL MONDAY EVENT IN SYLVA

A coalition of organizations led by the Jackson County Branch of the NAACP are coordinating a Moral Monday gathering to be held at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva on Monday, June 13, starting at 5 PM, rain or shine. Program starts at 5:30 PM. Reverend Dr. William Barber II will speak. To date, coalition partners include the Asheville, Hendersonville, Transylvania and Haywood County Branches and Working Groups of the NAACP, Liberty Baptist Church of Sylva, St. John’s Episcopal Church of Sylva, First Baptist Church of Sylva, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church of Sylva, Democracy NC, The Canary Coalition, WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility, Occupy WNC, Equality NC, WNC Jews for Justice, Jackson County Veterans Support Group, Mountain People’s Assembly and Mountain Voices Alliance. A number of organizations who are coalition partners will be setting up information tables and booths at Bridge Park. The Jackson County Branch of the NAACP will be providing voter registration forms and guidance in filling them out. Membership forms will also be available for those who may wish to join the NAACP. For more information about the event please contact Avram Friedman, 1st Vice-President of the Jackson County Branch of the NAACP, 828-631-3447.

06/14/16 OCCUPY WNC GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Occupy WNC: Corporations Ain't People! Working Group. Open General Assembly-every 2nd & 4th Tuesdays from 7 - 8:30 PM at The Sneak E Squirrel's Community Room at 1315 W Main Street in Sylva, NC. More information at (828) 351.1524.

06/15/16 GREEN DRINKS

Asheville Green Drinks is a networking party and part of the self-organizing global grassroots movement to connect communities with environmental ideas, media and action. People who are interested in environmental issues and topics meet up for a drink and occasionally listen to an expert in environment, ecology, and social justice. Location has been changing a lot lately, so call and ask where they are meeting. Time is 5:30 to 7:30 PM. Call 855-232-4723 for more information.

06/18/16 HOW DO WE FIX OUR BROKEN WORLD?

We need hope, we need change, we need justice - and we have help. In this divided world Maitreya, the world teacher, is stepping forward. His mission has begun. Mastery and his group of enlightened teachers, are here to help us reverse the damage we have done to our planet and inspired us to create a new civilization based on sharing the world’s resources and justice - the way to lasting peace. Free presentations at 2 PM at Asheville Friends Meeting at 227 Edgewood Road in Asheville NC. Please call McNair at 828-398-0609 for more information. Sponsored by Share International Southeast.

06/20/16 MUDDY WATER WATCH TRAINING DATES

The French Broad Riverkeeper and riverkeepers around North Carolina previously held dozens of Muddy Water Watch training programs around the state, training more than 150 volunteers and reporting hundreds of sediment runoff instances from construction sites. “The Muddy Water Watch program is a great way for people to have an immediate impact that benefits our local environment and water quality,” Carson said. “Western North Carolina’s rivers are some of our greatest treasures and economic assets. Both locals and visitors paddle, fish and play in these waters and we need to protect them.” Time is 4 to 7 PM and location is Madison County Public Library at 1335 N. Main Street in Marshall.

06/20/16 UNITED 2 RESTORE DEMOCRACY

The June 20 meeting will be at the North Asheville Library on Merrimon Avenue with HB2 as the topic.

06/24/16 JUST PEACE FOR ISRAEL/PALESTINE MEETING

This meeting will be at 2:30 PM at Brooks-Howell Home on Merrimon Avenue in Asheville. Meet in the media room. We will watch “Occupation of the American Mind” then discuss how to use this powerful up-to-date documentation of the Israeli government’s contracted PR specialists marketing the hasbara (propaganda) that controls almost all of US media’s representation of the situation. Contact Suchi at suchi1025@bellsouth.net for more information.

06/28/16 OCCUPY WNC GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Occupy WNC: Corporations Ain't People! Working Group. Open General Assembly every 2nd & 4th Tuesdays from 7 - 8:30 PM at The Sneak E Squirrel's Community Room at 1315 W Main Street in Sylva, NC. More information at (828)351.1524.

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

ONGOING EVENTS

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

TUESDAY

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

Showing Up for Racial Justice is from noon to 2 PM at Firestorm Cafe and Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Educating and organizing white people for racial justice. Free.

Orientation session for Asheville Timebank. 4 PM at Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Email help@ashevilletimebank.org for information and to register.

WEDNESDAY

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

French Broad Riverkeeper has a paddle-n-plant to prevent sediment erosion most Wednesdays and Saturdays. Registration required at anna@mountaintrue.org.

THURSDAY

Political Prisoners Letter Writing at Firestorm Cafe & Books at 6 PM on first Thursday of the month. Materials provided.

FRIDAY

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

Women in Black have a monthly vigil at 5 PM at Vance Monument in Asheville (first Friday only)

SATURDAY

Transylvanians for Peace and WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have a weekly vigil at noon in front of the courthouse in Brevard. Call 884-3435 to confirm.

French Broad Riverkeeper has a paddle-n-plant to prevent sediment erosion most Wednesdays and Saturdays. Registration required at anna@mountaintrue.org.

SUNDAY

Youth OUTright meeting from 4 to 6 PM at First Congregational United Church of Christ at 20 Oak Street in Asheville. Ages 14 - 23 only.

Friday, May 27, 2016

"Before the Deluge" by Jackson Browne

Some of them were dreamers

And some of them were fools

Who were making plans and thinking of the future

With the energy of the innocent

They were gathering the tools

They would need to make their journey back to nature

While the sand slipped through the opening

And their hands reached for the golden ring

With their hearts they turned to each other’s heart for refuge

In the troubled years that came before the deluge

Some of them knew pleasure

And some of them knew pain

And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered

And on the brave and crazy wings of youth

They went flying around in the rain

And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered

And in the end they traded their tired wings

For the resignation that living brings

And exchanged love’s bright and fragile glow

For the glitter and the rouge

And in the moment they were swept before the deluge

Now let the music keep our spirits high

And let the buildings keep our children dry

Let creation reveal it’s secrets by and by

By and by…

When the light that’s lost within us reaches the sky

Some of them were angry

At the way the earth was abused

By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power

And they struggled to protect her from them

Only to be confused

By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour

And when the sand was gone and the time arrived

In the naked dawn only a few survived

And in attempts to understand a thing so simple and so huge

Believed that they were meant to live after the deluge

Now let the music keep our spirits high

And let the buildings keep our children dry

Let creation reveal it’s secrets by and by

By and by…

When the light that’s lost within us reaches the sky

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

From Doctors Without Borders website

Speech by Dr. Joanne Liu

International President, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

United Nations Security Council Briefing

May 3, 2016, New York, USA

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Last Wednesday, airstrikes obliterated Al Quds Hospital in Aleppo.

They blew apart at least 50 men, women and children.

It killed one of the last remaining pediatricians in the city.

A murderous airstrike.

There were almost 300 airstrikes in Aleppo over the last 10 days. Civilians, often in crowds, were repeatedly struck.

What are individuals in wars today? Expendable commodities, dead or alive.

Patients and doctors are legitimate targets.

Women, children, the sick, the wounded and their caregivers, are condemned to death.

Stop these attacks.

I went to Kunduz, Afghanistan, following the U.S. attack on our trauma center on October 3, 2015.

One of the survivors, an MSF nurse whose left arm was blown off during the relentless airstrike, told me something that haunts me daily.

He said that when fighting erupted in Kunduz, MSF told its staff that its trauma center was a safe place.

“We believed you,” he said. “Did you know that we would be bombed?”

I told him that until October 3, I truly believed that the hospital was a safe place.

I cannot say that anymore about any medical facilities on the frontlines today.

In Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, hospitals are routinely bombed, raided, looted or burned to the ground.

Medical personnel are threatened. Patients are shot in their beds.

Broad attacks on communities and precise attacks on health facilities are described as mistakes, are denied outright, or are simply met with silence.

In reality, they amount to massive, indiscriminate and disproportionate civilian targeting in urban settings, and, in the worst cases, they are acts of terror.

The effects of the attacks against health facilities emanate far beyond those immediately killed and injured.

They demolish routine and lifesaving healthcare for all. They make life impossible. Full stop.

On October 26, 2015, a Saudi-led coalition airstrike hit an MSF hospital in Haydan, in the north of Yemen, leaving at least 200,000 people without lifesaving care.

It was the first of three MSF facilities partially or completely destroyed in Yemen over a period of three months.

Attacks on MSF facilities provide only a glimpse into the brutality of war.

Attacks on other hospitals and clinics—and schools, markets, houses of worship—are routine. Local health workers bear the brunt of these abuses.

We are at a deadly impasse.

We can no longer assume that fully functioning hospitals—in which patients are fighting for their lives—are out of bounds. Hospitals and patients have been dragged onto the battlefield.

In Jasim, a town in Southern Syria, citizens have protested in front of a hospital to prevent its re-opening. They know what happens to functioning hospitals.

We are facing an epidemic of attacks on health facilities, impeding our ability to do our core work.

And to date, our calls for independent investigations have gone unheeded.

Accountability begins with independent and impartial fact finding.

Perpetrators cannot be investigators, judges and juries.

Make no mistake: we will relentlessly denounce attacks on healthcare.

We will speak out loudly and with force about what we witness in the field.

Medicine must not be a deadly occupation. Patients must not be attacked or slaughtered in their beds.

We physicians take an oath when we join the medical profession.

We treat every individual, regardless of who they are, regardless of their religion, their race, or on which side they may fight. Even if they are wounded combatants, or if they are labelled as criminals or terrorists.

Hospitals must not be attacked or forcibly entered by armed personnel, including to search for and capture patients.

To turn our back on these basic principles is to turn our back on the foundation of medical ethics.

Medical ethics cannot be buried by war.

The neutrality of war-time medical care cannot be stamped out by state sovereignty or domestic law. Especially in an age of counter-terrorism and counter insurgency – characterized by shifting alliances and murky rules of engagement.

While the nature of warfare may have changed, the rules of war have not.

You are charged with protecting peace and security.

Yet four of the five permanent members of this council have, to varying degrees, been associated with coalitions responsible for attacks on health structures over the last year.

These include the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, the Russia-backed, Syrian-led coalition.

You therefore must live up to your extraordinary responsibilities, and set an example for all states.

I repeat: Stop these attacks.

The discussion here today cannot amount to empty rhetoric.

This resolution cannot end up like so many others, including those passed on Syria over the past five years: routinely violated with impunity.

In Syria, where healthcare is systematically targeted, and besieged areas are cynically denied medical care.

Uphold your obligations.

Ensure the protection of the impartial provision of healthcare in conflict.

Also support the obligations of health workers to treat all sick and wounded without discrimination.

Dr. Maaz, the paediatrician murdered in Aleppo last week, was killed for saving lives.

Today, we remember his humanity and bravery, shared by so many patients, nurses, doctors, communities and MSF staff caught up in areas of conflict.

For their sake: translate this resolution into action.

Re-commit, unambiguously, to the norms that govern the conduct of war.

This resolution must lead to all states and non-state actors stopping the carnage.

You must also pressure your allies to end attacks on healthcare and populations in conflict areas.

We will not leave patients behind. And we will not be silent.

Seeking or providing healthcare must not be a death sentence.

You will be judged not on your words today, but on your actions. Your work has only begun.

Make this resolution save lives.

Thank you.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Homeland Security is sick, very sick

Part of the Department of Homeland Security keywords/phrases:

cloud, pork, pirates, SWAT, lockdown, police, cloud, food poisoning, pork, flu, Subway, smart, delays, cancelled, la familia, pirates, hurricane, forest fire, storm, flood, help, ice, snow, worm, warning, social media.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Upcoming events for the week of May 22, 2016

UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR BY DANCEWATER

05/23/16 POTLUCK AND AUTHOR TALK AT BILTMORE UNITED METHODIST

Dr. Jeff Halper is the author of “War Against the People: Israel, Palestine and Global Pacification”. Dr. Jeff Halper has been a peace and human rights activist for more than three decades. Born in Minnesota, he participated in the civil rights and Peace movements of the 1960s. Halper immigrated to Israel in 1973 after attending rabbinical school. In 1997, Halper co-founded the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD) to challenge and resist the Israeli policy of demolishing Palestinian homes. As a Coordinating Director of ICAHD, Halper organized and led nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience against Israel’s occupation policies and authorities, at times facing bulldozers in front of Palestinian homes. He also organizes Israelis, Palestinians, and internationals to help rebuild demolished Palestinian homes. Time of the potluck is 6 PM and location is Biltmore United Methodist Church. RSVP to 828-348-9884.

05/23/16 MUDDY WATER WATCH TRAINING DATES

The French Broad Riverkeeper and riverkeepers around North Carolina previously held dozens of Muddy Water Watch training programs around the state, training more than 150 volunteers and reporting hundreds of sediment runoff instances from construction sites. “The Muddy Water Watch program is a great way for people to have an immediate impact that benefits our local environment and water quality,” Carson said. “Western North Carolina’s rivers are some of our greatest treasures and economic assets. Both locals and visitors paddle and fish and play in these waters and we need to protect them.” Time is 5 to 8 PM and location is Sycamore building, classroom 106, at A-B Tech in Asheville.

05/23/16 TIMEBANK POTLUCK

Come join us and bring your friends. This is a great way to get to know other Time Bank members and connect so that you do more exchanges. We will provide an orientation for new members or old members who want a refresher after the dinner and fun. Time is 6 PM to 8:30 PM. Location is Parish Hall at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church at 337 Charlotte Street in Asheville. This is a facebook event.

05/24/16 AUTHOR TALK AT HIGHLAND FARMS IN BLACK MOUNTAIN

Dr. Jeff Halper is the author of “War Against the People: Israel, Palestine and Global Pacification”. Dr. Jeff Halper has been a peace and human rights activist for more than three decades. Born in Minnesota, he participated in the civil rights and Peace movements of the 1960s. Halper immigrated to Israel in 1973 after attending rabbinical school. In 1997, Halper co-founded the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD) to challenge and resist the Israeli policy of demolishing Palestinian homes. As a Coordinating Director of ICAHD, Halper organized and led nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience against Israel’s occupation policies and authorities, at times facing bulldozers in front of Palestinian homes. He also organizes Israelis, Palestinians, and internationals to help rebuild demolished Palestinian homes. Time is 3 to 4:30 PM and location is Highland Farms Community, Black Mountain room, in Black Mountain. Contact Ken at jonesk@maine.edu for more information.

05/24/16 AUTHOR EVENT AT MALAPROPS

Dr. Jeff Halper is the author of “War Against the People: Israel, Palestine and Global Pacification”. Dr. Jeff Halper has been a peace and human rights activist for more than three decades. Born in Minnesota, he participated in the civil rights and Peace movements of the 1960s. Halper immigrated to Israel in 1973 after attending rabbinical school. In 1997, Halper co-founded the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD) to challenge and resist the Israeli policy of demolishing Palestinian homes. As a Coordinating Director of ICAHD, Halper organized and led nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience against Israel’s occupation policies and authorities, at times facing bulldozers in front of Palestinian homes. He also organizes Israelis, Palestinians, and internationals to help rebuild demolished Palestinian homes. Time is 7 PM. Please contact Malaprops for more information.

05/26/16 EARLY VOTING STARTS TODAY

This is for the second primary, for US House of Representatives and for NC Supreme Court elections. FYI - the June 7 election (as well as early voting or absentee) also includes a judicial race that voters need to be aware of. The unconstitutional ruling of the judicial "retention" process made this ballot measure necessary. Candidates for North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2016 are: Seat 2: Robert H. Edmunds Jr. (R) (Incumbent); Sabra Jean Faires; Michael R. Morgan; and Daniel G. Robertson. Voting location is Buncombe County Administrative Building at 200 College Street in Asheville.

05/26/16 ANARCHY & ANTI-FASCISM IN THE BALKINS SOLIDARITY TOUR

Stories of autonomy, solidarity, mutual aid, and resistance to hierarchy in all forms. The speaker shares their experiences doing autonomous organizing in Belgrade, Serbia. The primary focus will be the 'Koko Lepo,' a youth solidarity collective coordinating a mutual aid program with residents of “the Dump”, a 'favela-type slum' in Belgrade inhabited by Roma people. The speaker will also discuss squatting movements, refugee solidarity efforts, and anti-racist organizing in the region.Time is 7 PM and location is Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact Firestorm at info@firestorm.coop for more information.

05/27/16 JUST PEACE FOR ISRAEL/PALESTINE MEETING

This meeting will be at 3:15 PM at Brooks-Howell Home on Merrimon Avenue in Asheville. Meet in the media room. Contact Suchi at suchi1025@bellsouth.net for more information.

05/28/16 GREENWORKS STREAM CLEANUP

Join RiverLink, GreenWorks and Mountain True for 40th annual Clean Streams Day cleanup and kick off to the summer season. Boats and gear provided, but you're welcome to bring your own ride. Stick around after the cleanup for food and locally crafted beverages. Time is 10 AM to 2 PM and location is 144 Riverside Drive in Asheville. Schedule to pick up supplies by calling Kate at 828-254-1776 or email volunteer@ashevillegreenworks.org.

05/30/16 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEMORIAL DAY EVENT

As we did last year, at 10 AM on Memorial Day VFP 099 is planning to honor all veterans with a short wreath laying ceremony at the Veterans Memorial off Pack Square (a dedication to honor those who gave their lives in so many wars and expressing the hope of no more wars). For more information, contact gewalker@gci.net.

05/31/16 MUDDY WATER WATCH TRAINING DATES

06/01/16 SIERRA CLUB MEETING / GREEN DRINKS

06/02/16 FUNDRAISER FOR JUST US UNITED

06/02/16 CREATION CARE ALLIANCE MEETING

06/03/16 CLIMATE ACTION WORKSHOP

06/03/16 RURAL PRIDE SUMMIT SERIES

06/06/16 to 06/10/16 SUMMER SEMINAR ON ECOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

06/08/16 JUST PEACE FOR ISRAEL/PALESTINE MEETING

This meeting will be at 9:30 AM at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church at 117 Montreat Road in Black Mountain. Contact Suchi at suchi1025@bellsouth.net for more information.

06/10/16 AUTHOR EVENT AT FIRESTORM

06/11/16 PTSD TOWN HALL MEETING

06/15/16 GREEN DRINKS

Asheville Green Drinks is a networking party and part of the self-organizing global grassroots movement to connect communities with environmental ideas, media and action. People who are interested in environmental issues and topics meet up for a drink and occasionally listen to an expert in environment, ecology, and social justice. Asheville Green Drinks moves to a bi-monthly format in May. The location of Green Drinks will be the The Spot at 76 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville. Time is 5:30 to 7:30 PM. Call 855-232-4723 for more information.

06/18/16 HOW DO WE FIX OUR BROKEN WORLD?

06/20/16 MUDDY WATER WATCH TRAINING DATES

The French Broad Riverkeeper and riverkeepers around North Carolina previously held dozens of Muddy Water Watch training programs around the state, training more than 150 volunteers and reporting hundreds of sediment runoff instances from construction sites. “The Muddy Water Watch program is a great way for people to have an immediate impact that benefits our local environment and water quality,” Carson said. “Western North Carolina’s rivers are some of our greatest treasures and economic assets. Both locals and visitors paddle, fish and play in these waters and we need to protect them.” Time is 4 to 7 PM and location is Madison County Public Library at 1335 N. Main Street in Marshall.

06/20/16 UNITED 2 RESTORE DEMOCRACY

The June 20 meeting will be at the North Asheville Library on Merrimon Avenue with HB2 as the topic.

06/24/16 JUST PEACE FOR ISRAEL/PALESTINE MEETING

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

ONGOING EVENTS

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

TUESDAY

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

Showing Up for Racial Justice is from noon to 2 PM at Firestorm Cafe and Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Educating and organizing white people for racial justice. Free.

Orientation session for Asheville Timebank. 4 PM at Firestorm Cafe & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Email help@ashevilletimebank.org for information and to register.

WEDNESDAY

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

French Broad Riverkeeper has a paddle-n-plant to prevent sediment erosion most Wednesdays and Saturdays. Registration required at anna@mountaintrue.org.

THURSDAY

Political Prisoners Letter Writing at Firestorm Cafe & Books at 6 PM on first Thursday of the month. Materials provided.

FRIDAY

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

Women in Black have a monthly vigil at 5 PM at Vance Monument in Asheville (first Friday only)

SATURDAY

Transylvanians for Peace and WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have a weekly vigil at noon in front of the courthouse in Brevard. Call 884-3435 to confirm.

French Broad Riverkeeper has a paddle-n-plant to prevent sediment erosion most Wednesdays and Saturdays. Registration required at anna@mountaintrue.org.

SUNDAY

Youth OUTright meeting from 4 to 6 PM at First Congregational United Church of Christ at 20 Oak Street in Asheville. Ages 14 - 23 only.

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ACTIONS AND READINGS

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WNC 4 Peace announces a contest in which students across Buncombe county can enter via their schools creative works that promote the importance of peacemaking. There will be 4 "Winners" for Best Poem, Best Video, Best Artwork, and Best Essay on Peace . Please forward this message to Schools, Teachers and Students and help spread the contest. All students will be honored on our website with their contribution .

The School from which winning students submit their poem, video, artwork or essay will be given $100 checks from WNC 4 Peace. The $100 prizes will be presented to schools (or homeschooling associations) to encourage students there to enter, as well as helping schools provide resources for them to teach peace related skills.

WNC 4 Peace and our peacemaker partner groups will raise funds to support this important youth project. We will invite Mountain Xpress and other local media to announce the competition and to also print the names of winning entries and their schools.

We are naming awards in honor of recently deceased local peace heroes:

*Isaac Coleman, who died recently, and was founder of Read to Succeed and former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s;

*Judith Hallock, co-founder of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and leader of previous local International Days of Peace;

*Tony Bing, former leader of the Palestinian/Jewish Egalitarian Team (formerly called Western Carolinians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East).

*Ron Harayda, former chairman of Veterans of Peace Chapter 099 and host of their weekly WPVM radio program for years.

Deadline for submissions will be August 15, 2016. All entries should be sent to WNC 4 Peace wnc4peace@gmail.com . In the case of videos, send an email to the address above and give the name of the video, which has been uploaded to YouTube by the entrant. Artwork should be uploaded as a. PDF attachment and sent in an email to WNC 4 Peace. All students from elementary through high school are eligible to participate. Be sure all entries include entrant's name, school, grade level, and contact information.

Two or Three local people will be selected and asked to judge for each category.Volunteers are welcome to step forward to be a judge for the four awards. Winners will be announced in September for International Day of Peace. Details about the date and place to honor all entrants and winners will be announced at a later date. Cut off date for all entries is 15 August 2016 . For more information, contact WNC 4 Peace wnc4peace@gmail.com , or call 828-378-0125.

On Behalf of the WNC 4 Peace Team.

Rachael Bliss

Colin Neiburger

Craig Klawuhn

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