dancewater: October 2017

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

National Lynching Memorial Preview

Monday, October 30, 2017

Trudeau

From Facebook. He sure is good looking, but some of his policies and decisions are very, very ugly.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Upcoming events for the week of October 29, 2017

Above graphic came from Facebook.

UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR BY DANCEWATER

10/30/17 ASHEVILLE SURJ MEETING

Asheville SURJ weekly evening meeting: Monday, 6:30-8:30pm at Asheville Unitarian Universalist Congregation (downstairs main building). Accountability group for folks seeking to focus on anti-racism work. Meetings include opportunities such as discussion, educational opportunities, or role-playing difficult conversations, and building connections. For more info email avlsurj@gmail.com.

10/30/17 CANDIDATES FORUM ON FOOD POLICY

Candidates Forum on food policy and action. Join ABFPC, Bountiful Cities, and Youth Empowered Solutions (YES!) for a public candidates forum on Food, Health, and Agriculture. Date: Monday, October 30, 2017. Time: 6:30-8:30. Location: Lenoir-Rhyne University, 36 Montford Ave, Asheville. This event is FREE and open to the public, childcare and Spanish translation services will be provided. Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council welcomes Asheville City Council and Mayoral candidates in a public forum on food policy and action. This event will provide a venue for the public to hear the positions of each candidate on issues related to food, health and agriculture. The question and answer forum will be moderated by Ameena Batada, associate professor of Health and Wellness at UNC Asheville and Crystal Guevara-Alday Youth Empowered Solutions Youth Staff. An informal reception will follow. The event is co-sponsored by Bountiful Cities and YES, refreshments provided by Gypsy Queen. Please RSVP for childcare, contact Kiera Bulan at coordinator@abfoodpolicy.org.

10/31/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL - BECAUSE THE WARS STILL GO ON

Every Tuesday, Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 holds a vigil at Vance Monument in downtown Asheville. Time is 5 PM. This has been happening since 2002. No matter the weather, no matter if it falls on a holiday, they are out there standing for peace. Last year, our former president dropped 26,000 bombs on seven different countries. The current president seems to be trying to match or beat that horrible record. Meanwhile we are banning refugees from those countries we have destroyed. Show you are publicly against our country's endless wars and occupations by standing with Veterans for Peace. From Veterans for Peace newsletter: “The president’s speech at its core is more of the same disastrous policies that we have seen for sixteen years, except this administration wants to completely abandon pursuit of a political solution and shroud the war in a cloak of secrecy. Veterans For Peace, once again, calls for a different direction other than war. We call for U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan and a robust pursuit of a political solution to end the war.”

10/31/17 SURJ - DO!SCUSSIONS

10 AM to 12 PM. Location: Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Rd, Asheville. Focused 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. Meetings facilitated by Matilda Bliss. Contact Firestorm for more information.

10/31/17 TO 11/19/17 AMERICANS WHO TELL THE TRUTH EXHIBIT

This runs from September 30th to November 19th. Don’t miss it! It is a great exhibit. This exhibit is at the YMI at 39 South Market Street in downtown Asheville. Activate Your Moral Imagination ... Never underestimate the power of art and story to change the world. Three powerful exhibits to encourage bold civic action: Robert Shetterly's Americans Who Tell the Truth Models of Courageous Citizenship/portrait prints; Regional Youth as Citizen Artists/ portraits; Unstoppable Courage in Our Midst/posters of local activists. The exhibits will be on display at the YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market Street in Asheville through November 19th. Gallery Hours are Tuesday-Saturday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Sunday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Come and be inspired. The exhibit features portraits of citizens who address issues of social, environmental, and economic fairness and will be on display through November 19, 2017. Contact Ellie at elliebhope@gmail.com for more information. There is a need for docents, contact Melody at meljshank@gmail.com. This exhibit is well worth seeing.

10/31/17 ENDING AMERICA’S LONGEST WAR: FROM DARKNESS INTO LIGHT

America has waged a war on drugs for over 100 years. Since America's formal War on Drugs began in 1971, the United States has spent well over $1 trillion and is now, on a per capita basis, the world's leading jailer. The burden of prison has fallen most heavily on the poor and minorities. The black market created by this war has spread violence across the land and brought billions of dollars to criminals. The war has destroyed millions of lives, tearing apart families and whole communities, in our own country and around the world. It has turned criminals into millionaires and sick people into criminals. Yet, the supply of drugs of all kinds has vastly increased, including easy availability to those most at risk--our youth. In short, the drug war has done exactly the opposite of what it was intended to do. It has been the equivalent of pouring gasoline on a fire to put it out. The way to reduce the market for drugs is to reduce the demand for them. That means healing the mind and body of the addict and creating the social and emotional supports necessary to foster recovery. Only then will America begin to heal the incalculable damage done by its disastrous and misguided War on Drugs. This four-part series will present an enlightened understanding of drug use, abuse, and addiction based on the latest discoveries in brain science and the work of leading experts in the field of addiction research and treatment. This knowledge will lead to a more successful and compassionate way of dealing with the problems related to drug use, abuse, and addiction. All programs at Unitarian Universalists of Transylvania County at 24 Varsity Street in Brevard. Please arrive early, as seating is limited. For details contact Jim Hardy: 828-862-6969 or jh2@comporium.net. Sponsored by Transylvania County NAACP and UUTC – Unitarian Universalists of Transylvania County. Part Four: Tuesday, October 31, 7:00 pm: Into the Light: Local Sources of Hope and Compassionate Support and Healing for Those Dealing with Drug Abuse and Addiction: A panel of regional experts who are using best practices to treat and heal those dealing with substance abuse and addiction.

11/01/17 HOLOCAUST EDUCATION SEMINAR FOR TEACHERS

Dr. Walter Ziffer to Speak at Holocaust Education Seminar. The NC Council on the Holocaust will host a teacher workshop on Wednesday, November 1 in Burnsville and provide sub pay for teachers. Dr. Walter Ziffer will give the Survivor Testimony. Teacher Workshop on the Holocaust: History of the Holocaust, Burnsville/Yancey County, NC. Wednesday, November 1, 2017 from 8:00 am - 3:30 pm. Topic: History of the Holocaust. Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2017. Time: 8:00 am - 3:30 pm. Location: Burnsville Town Center, 6 South Main Street, Burnsville. The NC Council on the Holocaust, an agency of N.C. Department of Public Instruction, reimburses the County School District (LEA) for substitute teachers. Attending teachers must sign a substitute reimbursement form for his/her county. For more information, contact Audrey Krakovitz, Director of Teacher Workshops, ncholocaustworkshops@gmail.com

11/01/17 NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP FORUM IN ASHEVILLE

Bring Your Brave Face to the WNC Nonprofit Pathways Leadership Forum. 2017 Nonprofit Leadership Forum-Bring Your Brave Face. We're Gonna Talk Race, Equity and Inclusion. Please join us for the 2017 Nonprofit Leadership Forum with Denise Barreto, where we will dive deep into the sudden urgency driving equity and inclusive leadership and why it's so difficult for the majority of American's leaders to act. Doors open at 1:30 pm, Program 2:00 pm-5:00 pm, Networking reception 5:00 pm-6:00pm. WNC Non Profit Pathways is offering a Leadership Forum with speaker Denise Barreto “Bring your Brave Face - We’re Gonna Talk Race, Equity, and Inclusion” Wednesday, November 1, 2:00 – 6:00 PM at the Asheville Double Tree. The DoubleTree by Hilton-Biltmore in Asheville at 115 Hendersonville Road, Burghley Room, Asheville. Contact Debbie Haeger, WNC Nonprofit Pathways, at 828-242-9028 or debbie@nonprofitpathways.org for more information, including how to register.

11/01/17 CITIZENS-POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

This meeting is organized by the City of Asheville. This meeting is free and open to the public. They meet in the first floor Conference Room at the Public Works Building at 161 South Charlotte Street in downtown Asheville. Time is 5 PM. Call 251-1122 for more information.

11/01/17 SIERRA CLUB MEETING

Sierra Club Nov. 1: Methane, Pipelines, and Climate Change. Sierra Club’s November 1 program will feature Kelly Martin, Director of Sierra Club's national Beyond Dirty Fuels program. She will discuss how the Sierra Club's efforts to curb methane pollution by keeping fossil fuels in the ground is making a difference. Learn how the club’s efforts are helping stop the creation of fracked gas pipelines and are leading to the enactment of public health safeguards. This event is free and open to the public. Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2017. Location: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place (corner of Charlotte and Edwin) Time: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Contact: Judy Mattox, judymattox@sbcglobal.net, (828) 683-2176.

11/01/17 CANDIDATE FORUM

November 1, 6 PM - 7 PM @ Pack Memorial Library. Asheville Municipal Candidates. Presented by League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County.

11/01/17 RACE RELATIONS STATION - CANCELED

Wed, Nov 1 @ 7:00pm. Race Relations Station. A pilot program where diverse groups of people meet once a month to share stories, build trust and break down barriers which will aid the community in healing, connecting and regeneration. What is the Race Relations Station? The Race Relations Station is a lightly guided structure for diverse groups of three people to meet once a month to share stories, knock down walls, overcome assumptions and connect authentically. We believe that by sharing stories, we can weave a thread of understanding, healing and community together. The conveners of this project are very different humans when it comes to race, religion, age, experience and so much more, yet we are committed to walking together in curiosity, care and love. Over the past 18 months we've "walked" together once a month with tremendous success and are now launching a pilot initiative here in Asheville for others to experience the power of healing and connecting through story and intimate conversations. We invite you to join the catalysts of this initiative for a short presentation followed by questions and responses. This is at Firestorm at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Contact them for more information. This will be rescheduled at a later date.

11/02/17 WOMEN IN STEM - MEDICINE AT UNCA

Asheville’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) will present a new lecture series, Women in STEM, covering disciplines this fall ranging from astronomy to medicine. The Women in STEM lectures are free and open to everyone and will take place from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Reuter Center on campus. The series will highlight the significant contributions made by women in STEM, and shed light on the obstacles women have faced historically as well as persisting issues of gender bias in the sciences. Laura Jones, UNC Asheville assistant professor of health & wellness who also teaches in the university’s Neuroscience Program and is a National Certified Counselor and Approved Clinical Supervisor. Amanda Rollins Maxwell, M.D., UNC Asheville adjunct assistant professor of chemistry and health & wellness, who trained in the MAHEC Rural Family Medicine Program in Hendersonville. The Women in STEM lectures will continue in the spring 2018 semester with talks focusing on physics, nursing and forestry. For more information, contact olli@unca.edu or call 828.251.6140.

11/02/17 WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE FOR HOMELESS VETERANS AND FAMILIES

Kick off drive – 11/2/17 at The Block Off Biltmore from 6 to 8 PM. Music by Ron Clearfield on cello and The Serendipity Trio. Bring winter clothing items for the drive and have a beverage, 10% of all sales will go to the funding. Please collect the following items for men, women and children: winter coats, hats, gloves, blankets, sleeping bags, boots, shoes and socks. Other items of care: body and hand lotion, chap stick, sun glasses and sewing kits. Cosponsors are The Block off Biltmore, Veterans for Peace Chapter 099, Aura Home for Women Veterans, Peace Day Asheville. If you have questions or wish to help out, contact herbzone@gmail.com for more information. Check the date - another email said it was happening on Tuesday night. This is a Thursday.

11/02/17 CANDIDATE FORUM

Time is 5:30 pm and location is Stephens Lee Recreation Center at 30 George Washington Carver Avenue near downtown Asheville. Sponsor: Asheville Buncombe County NAACP

11/02/17 CREATION CARE ALLIANCE MEETING

Creation Care Alliance Meeting. Thursday, November 2, 5:30-7pm. First Baptist Church Room MB306 Upstairs. 5 Oak Street, Asheville. Please park near the Playground closer to Charlotte Street. We will share stories of hope from our faith communities as well as explore upcoming events and experiences.

11/02/17 DEMOCRACY NC PLANNING MEETING

We have an important planning meeting coming up for the month of November where we'll discuss and plan our events and actions for the month. Since we didn't have a coalition meeting this month, please join us to synthesize the various events we've held in the last month as well as look ahead to the ending of this GOTV cycle. RSVP for our Planning Meeting coming up on November 2 in Asheville to help plan our strategy this fall. Join us for our November Planning Meeting on Thursday, November 2, at 6 p.m. to plan events for fall in Asheville. WHERE: Wesley Grant Center (285 Livingston St, Asheville, NC 28801). If you have questions, you can contact Darlene Azarmi at 828-216-3430 or darlene@democracy-nc.org. Contact her for information on how to RSVP. For more information, you can also contact JaNesha Slaughter at 828-216-3430 or jslaughter.demnc@gmail.com.

11/03/17 DEMOCRACY SCHOOL COMES TO ASHEVILLE

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), a non-profit, public interest law firm is sending representatives to Asheville for their flagship education program titled, Daniel Pennock Democracy School. Named for a boy in Pennsylvania who died after exposure to sewage sludge, the Democracy School is a stimulating and illuminating course that teaches residents and activists how to reframe exhausting and often discouraging single issue work (such as opposing fracking, pipelines, GMOs, etc.) in a way that we can confront corporate control and state preemption on a powerful single front: people’s inalienable rights. The event, hosted by Community Roots, takes place on Friday, November 3 from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm and Saturday November 4 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at Lenoir Rhyne University at 36 Montford Ave, Asheville. Tickets are $90 with scholarships available. At the event, Democracy School explores the limits of conventional regulatory organizing and offers a new organizing model that helps citizens confront the usurpation by corporations of the rights of communities, people, and earth. Lectures cover the history of people’s movements and corporate power, and the dramatic organizing over the last decade in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon by communities confronting agribusiness, the oil and gas industry, corporate hegemony over worker rights, and others. Included with enrollment in the Democracy School is a 300 plus-page notebook of background reading material. We encourage those interested to purchase tickets early, as space is limited and participants are encouraged to read background information prior the event. Contact Ben Harper at 985-789-2690 at benharper1984@gmail.com.

11/04/17 ASHEVILLE TIMEBANK POTLUCK LUNCH

Saturday, Nov. 4, 12:30pm: Asheville TimeBank potluck lunch at Kairos in West Asheville, downstairs from Firestorm Books; enter from State Street. All are welcome. Come learn about an online system for exchanging services without cash, join this expanding community banking their skills and getting their needs met! Share delicious food, meet and network with interesting folks. Contact Cathy Holt at cathyfholt@gmail.com for more information.

11/04/17 GERRYMANDER WALK/RUN

Gerrymander 5K Walk/Run, on Sat. Nov. 4 at 1 pm, will follow the actual dividing line between Congressional districts 10 and 11 as it winds through West Asheville. It’s an eye-opening experience to walk or run this route because you can see firsthand the scope of what has been called “surgically precise” gerrymandering. This event is an opportunity to demonstrate your concern about the serious voter suppression issue of gerrymandering. By participating, you can stand with the League, calling for a permanent solution—the creation of a nonpartisan commission to redraw voting districts. We are still looking for more walkers and more sponsors. Support a fair vote and walk the line with the League. Time : 1pm-3pm. Where : West Asheville along Districts 10 & 11. Start @ Admiral Parking Lot. End @ The WALK. Registration fee is $20 for adults, and $10 for children. Must register. Contact alexnuesse@gmail.com for more information, including how to register. Also: Author of "Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count," a senior fellow at FairVote, and the former editor-in-chief of Salon will be joining the League at the Gerrymander 5k for meet n' greet and book signing on November 4th.

11/05/17 INTERFAITH INITIATIVE TO SPONSOR GREEN ENERGY FORUM

The Interfaith Initiative, made up of representatives of 14 faith communities in the Asheville area, has organized a Green Energy Forum. This will be an action forum about local green energy efforts to help individuals and congregations enrich their lives by being good stewards in caring for our earth. The meeting will take place at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 20 Oak Street in Asheville beginning at 2:30 PM. It is free and open to the community. Panelists will include representatives from Creation Care Alliance/MountainTrue, Southern Coalition for Clean Energy, Citizens Climate Lobby, Energy Savers’ Network and the First Congregational United Church of Christ. Each will have handouts and other information available. The program is Co-Chaired by Eman Moustafa and Yolanda Adams. CONTACT Marilynne Herbert at (828) 551-7005 or mherbert1@aol.com or Eman Moustafa at emantherapynow@gmail.com for more information.

11/06/17 ASHEVILLE SURJ MEETING

11/07/17 GENERAL ELECTION FOR ASHEVILLE CITY COUNCIL

Vote at your local precinct. Must be a registered voter.

11/07/17 LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS CONSTITUTIONAL STUDY COURSE

Join us for "We The People" a six-week study of the history and contemporary role of the Constitution of the United States. Sessions will examine relevant topics such as freedom of speech, the right to assemble, executive power, voting rights, and procedural due process. Organized by the League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County the series is being co-sponsored by additional nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations including AAUW - Asheville, NC, YWCA of Asheville, and ACLU of NC - Western NC Chapter. Sessions are FREE and open to the public. They will be held at the YWCA on Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 pm on October 3, 10, 17, 24 and November 7, 14. Email we.people.us@gmail.com to reserve your seat.

11/07/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL - BECAUSE THE WARS STILL GO ON

Every Tuesday, Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 holds a vigil at Vance Monument in downtown Asheville. Time is 4:30 PM. This has been happening since 2002. No matter the weather, no matter if it falls on a holiday, they are out there standing for peace. Last year, our former president dropped 26,000 bombs on seven different countries. The current president seems to be trying to match or beat that horrible record. Meanwhile we are banning refugees from those countries we have destroyed. Show you are publicly against our country's endless wars and occupations by standing with Veterans for Peace. From Veterans for Peace newsletter: “The president’s speech at its core is more of the same disastrous policies that we have seen for sixteen years, except this administration wants to completely abandon pursuit of a political solution and shroud the war in a cloak of secrecy. Veterans For Peace, once again, calls for a different direction other than war. We call for U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan and a robust pursuit of a political solution to end the war.”

11/08/17 ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY CLIMATE BILL OF RIGHTS

Public comment on Asheville’s Community Climate Bill of Rights is open. Be part of crafting Asheville’s renewable future, join us to learn more about North Carolina’s first Community Bill of Rights and influence what it says. A Community Bill of Rights is a city ordinance that allows the people to make decisions about what happens where we live, not letting the state or corporations decide. This Bill of Rights focuses on our right to a healthy climate and a sustainable energy future. To truly reflect the wishes of our entire community, this Bill needs input from all residents of Asheville. Community Climate Bill of Rights forums will be held in several venues throughout the city. Come learn about how we as citizens can take back our rights over our land, air, and water. Upcoming public comment session: Wednesday, Nov. 8,@ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Edington Center Community Room, 133 Livingston Street in Asheville. Contact Cathy Holt at cathyfholt@gmail.com for more information.

11/09/17 HENDERSONVILLE GREEN DRINKS

Nov 9, 5:30 PM: Hendersonville Green Drinks Citizen’s Climate Lobby presentation and social, location to be determined. Citizens Climate Lobby - Asheville Chapter

11/09/17 CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY TALK IN SYLVA

Nov 9, 6:00 PM: Sylva CCL talk @ City Lights Bookstore. Citizens Climate Lobby - Asheville Chapter

11/11/17 A WORLD WITHOUT POLICE

Start:11/11/2017 - 12:00:00 PM. End:11/11/2017 - 2:30:00 PM. A World Without Police is a collective of organizers from across the U.S. and internationally with the goal of connecting people struggling against everyday violence of the police, and to provide practical, organizational and theoretical tools for use in our movement. Join us for a presentation and community discussion about police abolition in 2017. We'll talk about: - What role do the police play to uphold capitalism and white supremacy in society? -What are the limits of police reform and why must we work towards abolishing the police? - What are strategies and ideas to build community power & disempower, disarm, and disband the police? West Asheville Library at 942 Haywood Road in west Asheville. No contact information.

11/12/17 CONNECTION PRACTICE

Sunday, Nov. 12, 1:30-4:30pm: Discover the synergistic power of empathy and insight! The Connection Practice is an experiential course taught by Cathy Holt, where you'll gain skills in calming emotions, giving empathy to ourselves and others, and attaining insight - the wisdom of our own hearts. Drawn from Non-Violent Communication and HeartMath, these scientifically-based skills help people to have more inner peace and harmonious relationships. Sponsor: Wellness Team. Suggested Donation: $15. All welcome. To reserve your space, please RSVP to Cathy Holt, cathyfholt@gmail.com.

11/13/17 ASHEVILLE SURJ MEETING

11/14/17 LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS CONSTITUTIONAL STUDY COURSE

11/14/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL - BECAUSE THE WARS STILL GO ON

11/14/17 OCCUPY WNC

Occupy WNC's next meeting is Tuesday November 14th in the Community Room at the Sneak E Squirrel at 7:00 PM. The group gathers at 6:00 pm for supper. Typically the non-partisan group meets on 2nd and 4th Tuesdays. Visitors and new members are always welcomed. Contact Lucy at lucy.christopher42@gmail.com for more information.

11/15/17 INDIGENOUS FILM FESTIVAL AT UNCA

Nov. 15 – Rhymes for Young Ghouls – at 6:00 pm-8:00 pm at Humanities Lecture Hall. Set in 1976 on a Canadian Indian reserve, this film’s teenage protagonist is forced into a residential school and plots revenge. This is the fourth of four films in UNC Asheville's 2017 Indigenous Film Festival. Set in 1976 on a Canadian Indian reserve, this film’s teenage protagonist is forced into a residential school and plots revenge. Through cinema, the series will present the experiences and perspectives of indigenous peoples around the world, not often reflected on American movie screens. The screenings are free and open to everyone and a short Q&A will follow the film. The Indigenous Film Festival is curated and will be hosted by UNC Asheville faculty members Trey Adcock, assistant professor of education and director of American Indian Outreach; Agya Boakye-Boaten, associate professor of Africana studies and director of Interdisciplinary, International and Africana Studies Programs; Juan G. Sánchez Martinez, assistant professor of Spanish; and Jeremias Zunguze, assistant professor of Africana and Lusophone studies. For more information about the Indigenous Film Festival, contact Juan G. Sánchez Martinez at jsanche1@unca.edu or 828.251.6277.

11/15/17 WORKSHOP AT FIRESTORM IN ASHEVILLE

Nov 15- Accounting for Ourselves- Practicing self accountability in an Age of Blame. (led by James and Kat). Workshop runs from 5 to 7pm at Firestorm Coop at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Free. For more information, contact: callistocollective@protonmail.com.

11/15/17 STORY MEDICINE FOR RACIAL HEALING

Story Medicine for Racial Healing A Five-Week Class. Presented by Meta Commerse, MFA, CWP. Meta is a certified wellness practitioner, an author, seasoned teacher and healer focused deeply on issues of oppression since the early 1990s. In that timeframe, she worked with groups and individuals using story medicine in numerous formats. She’s a proud graduate of Goddard College in Vermont where she earned her MFA in fiction writing. Seven Learning Tools: 1. An indigenous frame of reference, 2. The power of words, 3. The value and sacredness of story, 4. Memory as raw material and community resource, 5. Heart-centered language for what has happened to us, 6. Creating community study, dialogue, and healing, 7. New self-care skills necessary for working with this subject. When: Wednesdays, November 15 thru December 13, 2017, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Cost: $175.00 Where: Heart House, Flatiron Writers Room, 5 Covington Street, Asheville. Space is limited. To register, email us at Storymedicineworldwide@gmail.com or call 828-407-3367. Class Tuition is $175.00, payable in full by October 30, 2017. Refunds for cancellation will be issued on a pro-rata basis up to the second meeting only. We are trying to close registration for the November class (starting 11/15) by the end of this month (October).

11/16/17 ASHEVILLE CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY MEETING

Nov 16, 6:30 PM: November CCL Asheville Monthly Meeting @ Kairos West Community Center. Citizens Climate Lobby - Asheville Chapter

11/18/17 Hard-2-Recycle Collection

Time is 10 AM to 2 PM. Location is 2310 Hendersonville Road in Arden. Quick List of accepted items: Books, cardboard, batteries, cartridges, electronics (TV's & CRT monitors - $10 recycling fee), all metals, appliances/white goods (NO refrigerators), packing Styrofoam, select EMPTY personal care & beauty containers, building supplies, hardware, cabinets, furniture, plumbing, sporting goods, animal sanctuary items, used cooking oil.

11/20/17 ASHEVILLE SURJ MEETING

11/21/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING

On the third Tuesday of each month, Western North Carolina Veterans for Peace meets to coordinate group activities and programs.Veterans For Peace is a global organization of Military Veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices. We inform the public of the true causes of war and the enormous costs of wars, with an obligation to heal the wounds of wars. Our network is comprised of over 140 chapters worldwide whose work includes: educating the public, advocating for a dismantling of the war economy, providing services that assist veterans and victims of war, and most significantly, working to end all wars. Time is 6:30 PM and location is the Center for Art and Spirit at Saint George, address is One School Road in west Asheville. For more information, contact Gerry at gwerhan@gmail.com.

11/21/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL - BECAUSE THE WARS STILL GO ON

11/27/17 ASHEVILLE SURJ MEETING

11/28/17 VETERANS FOR PEACE VIGIL - BECAUSE THE WARS STILL GO ON

11/29/17 WORKSHOP AT FIRESTORM IN ASHEVILLE

Nov 29- Sustainable Call Ins- an introduction to the trifold method on addressing abuse and assault in subcultural communities (led by Kat). Workshop runs from 5 to 7pm at Firestorm Coop at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. Free. For more information, contact: callistocollective@protonmail.com.

11/26/17 WNC SOLIDARITY CONCERT SERIES

The final Sunday of each month in 2017, two groups of WNC-based musicians and their ensembles will each perform a benefit concert to raise funding for WNC nonprofits. The music performed each week will fluctuate between jazz, rhythm & blues, soul, jazz funk, jazz fusion, and swing. Each event will host two groups, playing, consecutively between 3 and 5 PM with a brief intermission. All of proceeds go to the nonprofit organization. The nonprofit for today is Quutopia. Act I is Ruth Cooney Quintet (Joni Mitchell Tribute) and Act II is Alina Quu and Friends. Location is The Block Off Biltmore at Eagle and South Market Streets in downtown Asheville. Suggested donation is $10, and are available the day of the event. Please call The Block Off Biltmore for more information.

11/28/17 CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY MOVIE NIGHT

Nov 28, 6:30 PM: Collider MOVIE NIGHT Before the Flood, Film 7pm at The Collider w. CCL. Citizens Climate Lobby - Asheville Chapter. asheville@citizensclimatelobby.org.

11/29/17 WORKSHOP AT FIRESTORM IN ASHEVILLE

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ONGOING EVENTS

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MONDAY

Asheville SURJ weekly meeting at 6:30 pm at UU Congregation in Asheville, downstairs

TUESDAY

Veterans for Peace have a weekly vigil at 5 PM at Pack Square, Vance Monument during most of the year, but after standard time kicks in, they meet at 4:30 PM.

SURJ Discussion at Firestorm Coffee & Books at 610 Haywood Road in west Asheville. 10 AM-11:30 AM. Followed by Do!sessions from 11:30-1:30 PM.

Rally at historic Courthouse in Hendersonville at 5 PM on the first Tuesday of the month. Organized by the Progressive Organized Women.

Gathering of people who like to stitch and otherwise puncture the status quo at 68 Haywood Street Outdoor Space at 9 AM.

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.

Green Drinks meets at 6 PM at The Block Off Biltmore on the third Wednesday of the month.

Sierra Club meets at 7 PM at Unitarian Universalist in Asheville on the first Wednesday of the month.

Indivisible Asheville does political letter writing at 5:30 every Wednesday at The Block Off Biltmore.

THURSDAY

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

Welcome Home Tour by Homeward Bound on the third Thursday of the month at 11 AM. Call 258-1695 for more information.

Asheville Prison Books Program is held at Downtown Books & News from 4 to 7 PM.

FRIDAY

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

SATURDAY

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

Mountain True holds urban forest workdays on the second Saturday of the month at Richmond Hill Park from 9 AM to 1 PM. Call 258-8737 for more information.

Citizen’s Climate Lobby meeting at 12:30 PM at Kairos West Community Center on second Saturday of the month.

Food Not Bombs serves free vegan/vegetarian food every Saturday at noon at Pritchard Park.

Dances of Universal Peace on the third Saturdays at 7:30 at 1 School Road in Asheville.

SUNDAY

Asheville National Organization for Women meeting at 2:30 PM at YWCA of Asheville on second Sunday of the month.

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ACTIONS AND READINGS

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Hood Tour Tickets

An interactive tour focusing on Asheville’s African American resilient history and future in the arts, environmentalism and entrepreneurship. The tour visits neighborhoods with existing and active green spaces, art, and grassroots initiatives. Tours run most Thursdays at 1 PM and Saturdays at 3 PM, and by appointment for groups by emailing info@hoodhuggers.com. Tours last approximately 1.5 hours. Cost is $25 per person. Tours begin at the Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Avenue.

Hood Huggers International, LLC offers sustainable strategies for building support pillars for resilient historically African American neighborhoods, providing a framework for community capacity building while increasing the effectiveness of existing service programs. These strategies incorporate the arts, environmental education and social enterprise.

DeWayne Barton is the founder/CEO of Hood Huggers. A sculptor and poet, Barton has been involved in community improvement and youth development for over 20 years. He serves on the African American Heritage Commission, CoThinkk, and the City of Asheville Neighborhood Advisory Board.

Please call (828) 275-5305 or email blove@hoodhuggers.com for more information including how to register for these tours.

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Saturday, October 28, 2017

Iraq's Lost Generation

Iraq’s lost generation: ‘I have forgotten what happiness is’

By Sally Williams

Zanab Ismail wanted to be a doctor, Raghda Ali was studying to be a nurse – then Isis destroyed Mosul. Three years on, can they start over?

……..

Mosul was once a vibrant city with a population of 1.4 million, rivers, forests, markets, a famous university and some of the oldest churches and mosques in the world. But when we arrive, the street scene is post-apocalyptic: mountains of rubble and shattered stone; surfaces cracked and fractured; the Ibn Sina teaching hospital broken open, like a child’s toy.

It is estimated that about 920,000 people fled or were evacuated during the fighting. By 27 June, just over 200,000 had returned. The hard work of rebuilding has begun, but initial repairs are expected to cost more than $1bn, according to the UN, which some say is still not enough. And the damage is more than just structural.

This month, Oxfam issued a warning about the long-term consequences for a generation of Iraqis coming of age in war. Young people constitute the largest sector of Iraq’s population: 61% are below the age of 24 and 20% are between 15 and 24, according to 2014 figures. Oxfam’s Iraq youth report includes a long list of the problems faced by young people during the Isis occupation, from interrupted education to loss of freedom, trauma, shock and fear, and the more practical difficulty of finding a job in the aftermath. “The implications of not appropriately addressing youths’ educational, socioeconomic, civic and psychosocial concerns are potentially far reaching,” the report warns, hinting at dark “repercussions” through the generations if such issues are ignored. “Understanding the concerns, hopes and recommendations of youth is critical to the long-term stability of the country.”

The rest of the article is here.

It is a sin beyond measure what the US government and military have done to Iraq.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Tenth Anniversary of a broken promise

“I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank.” - Candidate Barack Obama, October 27, 2007.

++++++++++

First, Obama did not get the troops out right away when he was in the office of President. He followed Bush's withdrawal schedule. Then, a couple years later, he started bombing them and putting 'special forces' back in there. And we now have thousands of troops back in Iraq and we are still bombing the snot out of them. This war of aggression is a massive crime, and it is a real shame (in my eyes) that the American people are not suffering like they have made the Iraqi people suffer over the last few decades. We started bombing Iraq in 1991 and never really stopped. The Iraqi people and their government did nothing to us.

This is far from the only promise that Obama did not keep.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Stop the war on Yemen

Stop the Unconstitutional War in Yemen

By RO KHANNA, MARK POCAN and WALTER JONES

OCT. 10, 2017

WASHINGTON — Imagine that the entire population of Washington State — 7.3 million people — were on the brink of starvation, with the port city of Seattle under a naval and aerial blockade, leaving it unable to receive and distribute countless tons of food and aid that sit waiting offshore. This nightmare scenario is akin to the obscene reality occurring in the Middle East’s poorest country, Yemen, at the hands of the region’s richest, Saudi Arabia, with unyielding United States military support that Congress has not authorized and that therefore violates the Constitution.

For nearly three years, the United States has been participating alongside a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in a brutal military campaign in Yemen. The United States is selling the Saudi monarchy missiles and warplanes, assisting in the coalition’s targeting selection for aerial bombings and actively providing midair refueling for Saudi and United Arab Emirates jets that conduct indiscriminate airstrikes — the leading cause of civilian casualties. Meanwhile, the Saudi coalition is starving millions of Yemenis as a grotesque tactic of war.

This is horrifying. We have therefore introduced a bipartisan congressional resolution to withdraw American armed forces from these unauthorized hostilities in order to help put an end to the suffering of a country approaching “a famine of biblical proportions,” in the words of Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council. After all, as Foreign Policy has reported, the Saudi coalition’s “daily bombing campaign would not be possible without the constant presence of U.S. Air Force tanker planes refueling coalition jets.”

The rest of the article is here.

The authors of this piece are all members of the US House of Representatives. I wish they would stop all the other wars too.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Crimes in Gaza

Sharing the post of Miranda Pinch. This is from Facebook.

“I am almost afraid of accepting friend requests from those in Gaza. Afraid, because I can hardly bear to read their pleas anymore. They used to cry out for money to help them with education or to buy medicine or to build a roof over their heads, now they scream out in desperation, in agony, in utter despair wondering what the point is in anything anymore.

2 million people crammed together in an absolute hell hole with no means of escape, forced to live a slow agonising death.

Children are being born malformed or dying from untreated infections, injuries or the polluted water. Adults, who have old injuries and disabilities and no way of helping themselves or their children.

ALL are suffering from constant stress and fear as Israeli drones constantly fly overhead, monitoring without any care, and killing with impunity. They are quiet, but the war planes constantly flying overhead are not.

Then there are the illnesses and deaths from the herbicides sprayed onto their crops close to the border, not only destroying farmland and livelihoods, but drifting beyond.

The firing by Israel on fishermen desperate to feed even themselves from the polluted waters and shot at even for venturing near the limits imposed on them.

The refusal to allow even children out for treatment without their becoming informers or spies for Israel and where they cannot be threatened into it, the plain refusal and slow death.

There are educated and erudite people in Gaza. There are people who in different circumstances would live lives like you or me, but because of an accident of birth, of having the misfortune to be born Palestinian and who have been born in Gaza, have fled to Gaza or have been forced to Gaza are now condemned to die a slow agonising death and the world just turns away and allows it.

I feel so hopeless and ashamed and guilty, yet I am, like many of my friends trying to do something even though it often feels futile, but there are so many 'educated' people who either are ignorant, turn the other way, accuse the innocent of being the cause of their own demise, or who only see the trade deals and not the suffering. I feel utterly ashamed to be Jewish and British and Christian and European or a member of Western nations. I am all of those and despite my education, freedoms, riches, I feel utterly impotent.”

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Crimes in Fallujah

Adrian Rossi is in Sanaa, Yemen. This is his account. This came from a Facebook post.

This is a first-hand account of the reprehensible war crimes I witnessed General James Mattis and the US-NATO coalition committing against Iraq and its civilians during the Fallujah massacres. Whoever can read and share this will have my unwaivering gratitude. Thank you in advance.

I was almost twenty eight years old when I first entered Iraq as a doctor- headed to Fallujah chock full of naive, quixotic ideals and an ever-growing repulsion towards the USA's foreign policy. Grew up in Italy, went to medical school in the US. Having grown up surrounded by a family of doctors and humanitarian aid workers, one might say medicine was the natural evolution. Our team was comprised of 15 people of nine different nationalities - two of them Iraqis from Baghdad. It was mid-April as we made our way toward what was a small clinic where we were to deliver medical supplies and start our work immediately.It was pure, unadulterated madness as we sneaked into the city, away from prying US-Military eyes. We were greeted by Maki al-Nazzal, who had been assigned to take care of what was one of the two remaining clinics in Fallujah, there to treat the entire city after the US military had bombed its hospitals to a crisp. He was not a doctor. He was with the Fallujah Aid Association - known today as the Iraqi Aid Foundation. The second clinic, as we would later that day find out - was in fact just a mechanic's garage. The doctors' desperation while opening the medical supplies was almost feral in nature. A type of desperation I had yet to fully understand at that time. Unfortunately this was just the beginning of what was going to turn into an experience that has left me and our entire team emotionally handicapped for life.

According to the official narrative, US Marines led by then head of Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division - General James Mattis, were fighting terrorists who had killed four Blackwater security contractors in what was called "Operation Vigilant Resolve". Officially, by mid-April US marines were in a "state of confusion" as they slaughtered well over a thousand unarmed, terrified civilians, supposedly in self defense. That is the contrivance-ridden euphemism and convolution tactic the US Army likes availing itself of whenever caught with its war crime pants down. In reality, Blackwater Security, now known as Academi - had been supplying advanced weaponry to the US Army, along with other military logistics that had led to the gratuitous murders of Iraqi civilians at the hands of the MNF-I long before any of this had happened. Civilians turned fighters whose unbridled fury at witnessing the slaughter of their families and friends was no doubt justified. Unfortunately, mainstream media chose to portray them as "insurgents" instead. Most certainly an attempt at sanitizing the war crimes the US Military and its Foreign Liaison Missions were committing, as well as masquerading themselves as saviours -- all courtesy of what we now know as the "Deep State". As it happens, Blackwater's first major Iraq contract came in the form of a $21 million one, deploying a Personal Security Detachment and two helicopters for Paul Bremer, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) of Iraq - whose June 2004 CPA Authority Order no. 17 made sure Blackwater, Dyncorp and their MNF-I comrades could operate within Iraq exempt of Iraqi law.

Alas, the translation to this June 2004 order would be written in the blood of hundreds of thousands of civilians - well over five thousand of them slaughtered in the second siege of Fallujah by Mattis's Marines which started on November 7th 2004, and ended on December 23rd. Apocalypse was a daily occurrence in Iraq's Fallujah, as I witnessed US Marines led by Mattis engage in horrific war crimes the likes of which the ICC hadn't dealt with in a long time. Atrocities including but not limited to: targeting mosques filled with innocent civilians, bombing all of Fallujah's hospitals filled with doctors and patients to a crisp , grossly violating cease-fires, silencing and sometimes murdering both local and foreign journalists officially classified as "collateral damage", dropping Depleted Uranium, White Phosphorus and Napalm on scores of civilians and non-combatants whose ages ranged anywhere from a few months to 50 and older forever altering their DNA, and burning them to the bone. Unbeknownst to the public, the US had long classified White Phosphorus as both an incendiary and a chemical weapon. Specifically, after Kuwait. To this day, the increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia, stillbirths and genetic birth defects in the Iraqi city of Fallujah far exceed those reported by survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Under the immunity courtesy of Bremer's CPA Order 17, the US-led coalition ( otherwise known as the MNF-I), Blackwater, Dyncorp and other such private military entities were able to slaughter, rape, torture engage in human trafficking and photograph themselves with civilians' limbs at will, not having to fear any reprisals from US, International, or Iraqi law. One would think US Marines would know that this did not fall under the incidence of war trophy DD 603-1 policies, which only include certain types of weapons. The truth is they did not care as they could afford that luxury. To them, war trophies went far beyond used up AK47s. It focused mainly on videos of rapes and executions. On November 12th, I was shot in the lower left abdomen by US marines as I opened the ambulance doors for a few civilians desperately trying to escape the Julan district - the most affected area of Fallujah at the time. The adrenaline rush and preoccupation with the patients I had managed to get into the ambulance made for a slow realization of my own injury. Our driver lost his eye to the shattered window glass as we made our way out of Julan District while still under fire.

It is important to note that, at the time, I was already a US citizen with full rights. Each of us would take 15 minute naps in rotation, knowing we couldn't possibly operate on civilians under the haze of severe sleep deprivation. Unfortunately, there came the time when we had to do just that, as civilians started pouring in at a rate that no longer allowed for breaks of any kind. Civilians would come in by the hundreds with holes in their necks; some after exposure to the Depleted Uranium and White Phosphorus; blood and vomit shooting out of their throats like geysers as their families cried and slapped themselves in pain and horror, begging us to save their loved ones. People would come in with missing limbs, sometimes held by their relatives in the hope of surgical reattachment, or a miracle. People whose faces were half gone and whose families refused to accept the reality that not even a miracle could revive them. At some point, the US Military cut the power off, rendering us unable to operate on patients and having to store the lifeless bodies of those we couldn't save in slowly melting freezers.

By the end of December, Fallujah had been bombed to the ground. All that was left was a silent wasteland. The type I remember likening to winter mornings before people wake up and go about their day. A bone chilling silence broken by a few shots here and there, some screams or the idle banter US soldiers would have in between the mockery they'd make of the few remaining civilians in Fallujah - especially in the Julan district. Those were the only signs of life left. As doctors, we had to avoid stepping on the hundreds of dead bodies left in the wake of Mattis's frenzy. We were not allowed to take them away in order to avoid an epidemic since US soldiers had fun stepping on them, spitting on their lifeless bodies and calling them savages. I witnessed US Marines roll over wounded people in the streets with tanks - children included; beheading them and raping Iraqi women in front of their husbands, fathers and children - all the while having their fellow marines film these atrocities; dragging lifeless bodies along and throwing them into the Euphrates as though they were animal carcasses , or worse - expired merchandise there to be discarded; turning civilians into live target practice and laughing themselves silly in the process.

These individuals returned to the US and were hailed as heroes It was a Sunday morning when I shared my bottle of water with Ahmed. A seven year old boy whose mother and father had been slaughtered by US Marines led by general James Mattis just weeks earlier. At that point he was living with his uncle, struggling to survive. He too had lost his wife and children to the Fallujah massacre that had started in November. We had struck some kind of friendship I can't convey into words. In some way I believe we became each other's tether emotionally speaking. He probably saw a fatherly figure in me, while I, on the other hand, saw him as a reminder to stay sane. He was drinking from my bottle of water as two US Marine snipers shot him in the neck from what was the crumbling rooftop of a pottery trader who had been slaughtered and thrown into the Euphrates just days earlier.

Both started laughing uncontrollably as they watched him collapse. I ran three miles with that child in my arms, not once stopping. Fortunately, he survived. His two year old cousin wasn't as lucky. It pains me to say that the case of Abeer Qassim Hamza is far from singular. It is rather the tip of an iceberg floating in a bottomless ocean no one wants to ransack because, according to US officials, it would "bring discredit upon the armed forces". Although the US Army 's manifesto was out-terrorizing everyone, thus making sure Iraqis would yield to the occupation, I firmly believe the US Marines I saw engaging in these horrific war crimes had to have had both mental and emotional problems so deeply rooted, no amount of therapy or deprogramming could change. One that stemmed not from the atrocities of war they themselves had created, but the upbringing and indoctrination courtesy of a country and culture whose delusions of exceptionalism still reigns supreme. A sadistic pleasure that seemed to emanate from the their very core.

Even more troubling is the fact that the US maintained Bremer's revised Authority Order 17 until late 2005, during which time the murders, rapes and every war crime one can think of continued throughout Iraq. An eloquent example of this is the 2007 Nisour Square massacre, where Blackwater Security shot over 40 unarmed Iraqi civilians, killing seventeen and injuring over twenty in Nissour Square, Baghdad while escorting a US embassy convoy. Their defense? Claiming the unarmed Iraqi civilians had provoked the attack. It took the US Federal Court almost seven years to try and convict four of the Blackwater employees responsible for what was nothing short of a war crime, yet only one of them was convicted of murder while the other three got off with manslaughter charges. The fact that Blackwater and other such private military companies continued to engage in atrocious war crimes after the dissolution of both the CPA and its Authority Order is a testament to the USA's American Exceptionalism driven thirst for power at all costs, including genocide with impunity.

As if that wasn't enough, the 4 year Saleh v Bush lawsuit where Sundus Saleh, an Iraqi single mother coming from a once prosperous family displaced by the Iraq invasion sued members of the Bush administration finally ended after the Ninth Circuit availed itself of the Westfall Act , reaffirming immunity for the executive branch, despite the horrendous scale of the crimes committed. This is coming from the same Ninth Circuit that ruled in favour of the plaintiff in the 1992 Siderman case, adding : "the right to be free from official torture is fundamental and universal". What's even more disheartening ( but not surprising ) is the fact that the Ninth Circuit ruled against president Donald Trump's travel Ban on February 9, supposedly in an attempt to maintain and honour the separation of power with blunt acumen in the face of an administration whose predilection towards unilateral action was no secret. One more example of the infinite corruption and politicization of the USA's justice system, or rather -- its remnants.