Upcoming Events - 01/11/09

Next meeting of the WNC Peace Coalition will be January 20, 2009 at 7 PM. Location will be Asheville Unitarian Universalist Church at Charlotte and Edwin Streets. Please enter on the north side. Meeting is in the basement. Please join us in planning a March Peace Rally.

Events and late breaking news can be listed in the comments.

EVENTS

01/17/09 Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast at Grove Park Inn at 8:30 AM. Tickets are $20.

01/17/09 The Mizero Children of Rwanda will perform in Black Mountain at the White Horse. Time is 2 PM, These orphaned children were the most powerful experience we have ever had at LEAF. The UNITED NATIONS brought them back to the US for a special concert. Come! Celebrate the Traditional Music and Dance of Rwanda! Hear the Powerful Voices of the Children of Rwanda! Experience the Sound of Forgiveness! Reserve Ttckets online: www.whitehorseblackmountain.com or by phone: 828/686-8742. VIP $25/ Adult $12/ Kid 10 & Under $5 - 100% of Proceeds will go directly to benefit Mizero & LEAF International Orphans in Rwanda.

01/17/09 Peace Shindig in Hendersonville at the Black Bear Coffee Company at 318 N. Main Street at 7:30 PM. Learn about the Department of Peace and HR 808. For more information, contact Marge at 828-696-8727.

01/18/09 The Ethical Society of Asheville will meet at 2 PM at the Botanical Gardens Visitor Center at UNCA. Speaker will be Bob Smith, Executive Director of the Asheville-Buncombe Community Relations Council. More information below.

01/19/09 Martin Luther King Day

01/19/09 “Shoe Action” against Bush on his last day in action. Several groups will be throwing shoes at the White House. Convergence is 11 AM at Dupont Circle in DC. All shoes will be donated to those in need after the action.

01/20/09 WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility will meet at noon at Unitarian Universalist Church in Asheville. Meeting will be in classroom 4 on the lower level. For more information, go to http://www.wncpsr.org/. Brown bag lunch at noon, presentation at 12:30.

01/20/09 Join thousands to demand "Bring the troops home now!" at the Obama Inauguration

01/20/09 A Peace presence at the Inauguration (Washington Peace Center website)

01/20/09 WNC Peace Coalition will have a meeting at 7 PM in the basement of Unitarian Universalist Church in Asheville.

01/22/09 Veterans for Peace will meet at 6:30 PM at Atlanta Bread Company on Merrimon Avenue. They will be discussing plans for March 2009 events and planning for the UU Human Rights Fair.

02/07/09 Buncombe County Greens will meet at 10 AM at the Fortune Building on Haywood Street. Call David at 828-683-1783 or email ireland.dw@juno.com for more information.

02/08/09 Human Rights Fair at UU Church in Asheville from 10 AM to 1 PM. Free and open to the public.

02/14/08 H K on J March – Historic Thousands on J Street in Raleigh March, under the direction of the NC NAACP. Buses will be going from Asheville, more details when they are available.

03/13/09 to 03/19/09 “Stay Home” strike called by United for Peace and Justice and Iraq Veterans Against the War. No work, no school, no shopping. Boycott those that profit from war. There are also plans of civil disobedience. This is to mark six long years of death and destruction in the country of Iraq.

03/20/09 to 03/23/09 Department of Peace Campaign National Conference, March 20-23, 2009 in Washington, DC.

03/21/09 Massive day of protest against the Iraq occupation and war. – by ANSWER
Mass Actions on the 6th Anniversary of the Iraq War -- March 21, 2009
Bring All the Troops Home Now -- End All Colonial Occupations!
Fund People's Needs, Not Militarism & Bank Bailouts!

04/04/09 Mass march and rally in NYC by United for Peace & Justice. More information to follow.

04/29/09 to 04/30/09 Join Christian Peace Witness for Iraq in Washington DC. This is with the Episcopal Peace Fellowship.

06/07/09 to 06/09/09 Churches for Middle East Peace will hold a conference at the Kellogg Center in Washington DC. http://www.cmep.org

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ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ACTIONS
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"Martin Luther King, Jr's Dream: How close is Asheville to reaching it?" will be the topic presented by Bob Smith, Executive Director of the Asheville-Buncombe Community Relations Council. at the January 18th meeting of the Ethical Society of Asheville, 2:00-3:30 at the Botanical Gardens Visitor Center, 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd. The Asheville-Buncombe Community Relations Council has a Board of Directors consisting of 18 members: six appointed by City Council, six appointed by the Buncombe County Commissioners, and six appointed by the other 12 members of the Board. The board and Mr. Smith, as the organization's Executive Director, are responsible for solving problems relating to race, ethnicity, religion and class. Mr. Smith has served in this capacity for more than two decades and is a native of Asheville. He will share many insights and measure our community using Dr. King's yardstick. There will be a discussion period following Mr. Smith’s presentation and, following the meeting, there will be time for informal conversation. All are welcome! For more information contact: asheville@aeu.org, www.aeu.org or 687-7759.

Ethical Culture is a humanist, educational, philosophical, non-theistic alternative to traditional religions. It is affiliated with the American Ethical Union and the International Humanist and Ethical Union. Members are inspired by the ideal that the supreme aim of human life is working to create a more humane society. Their commitment is to the worth and dignity of the individual and to treating each human being so as to bring out the best in him or her.

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Dear United For Peace & Justice Member Groups,

At UFPJ's 4th National Assembly, we decided to launch a Yes We Can campaign. Borrowing this optimistic phrase from the Obama campaign, the purpose of our effort is to link solving the economic crisis to ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is already widespread agreement that there needs to be a government economic stimulus plan to start to turn around the economic crisis. At the same time, there is hand-wringing about the exploding deficit. What is missing from this discussion is that ending the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and occupations would free up billions of dollars needed for this stimulus.

We are launching the UFPJ Yes We Can: Beyond War A New Economy is Possible campaign next weekend as the nation honors the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We hope your group will join the many other UFPJ member groups in this effort. From January 17-19, the MLK holiday weekend, there will be hundreds of events celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. all over the country. The people who plan and attend these events are the very people we need to ally with to build an economy based on human needs, not one based on militarism and greed.

We suggest that our member groups link up with these local activities now. The events most likely are already planned, but we all know the last week is crucial to get out attendance. It's not too late to contact the organizers and let them know you want to help to publicize their events.
We have prepared camera ready materials for you to use during these events:
Click here for a set of posters you can download and reproduce.
Click here for a leaflet that draws heavily from King's speech against the war in Vietnam and is still relevant today.
And don't forget to invite these local planning committees -- and attendees -- to become part of the Yes We Can campaign.

Forty two years ago, on April 4, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at Riverside Church in New York City. In this historic speech, he came out strongly against the war in Vietnam and asserted that this country would never be able to address human needs if it poured its treasure into wars abroad.

Today the situation is the same. Those of us who have spent the last six years trying to end the war in Iraq need to link up with the groups who have been active in the economic/social justice movement. Together we can demand both an end to war and that money be spent on creating jobs, rebuilding the infrastructure, transformation to a green economy, stopping housing foreclosures, and providing health care.

The campaign we launch next weekend will include several important dates for coordinated national activity over the next few months, including the 6th anniversary of the war in Iraq, culminating in a huge mobilization in NYC on April 4th, 42 years after that historic speech and 41 years after King's assassination in Memphis. In the coming weeks we will be sending you more information about the campaign.

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From United for Peace & Justice:

President-elect Barack Obama has promised to close the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo and end the use of torture by the U.S. We intend to help make that a reality.

This Sunday, January 11, Witness Against Torture -- a Catholic Worker-led UFPJ member group -- will mark the 7th year of the use of Guantanamo as a detention and torture center with a rally and procession in Washington, D.C. And on January 20, the 100 Days to Close Guantánamo & End Torture will begin in Washington and around the country.

United For Peace and Justice has co-sponsored this timely effort, and we encourage you to participate in it and lend your support.

*Order a copy of the recently published Witness Against Torture Book and DVD.
*Buy a Witness Against Torture T-Shirt.
*Make a donation.
*Sign on as an endorsing organization.
*Spread the word! Forward this e-mail, download and distribute flyers, or put a button on your website.
www.100dayscampaign.org

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UFPJ Calls for Week of Concentrated Media Work on Gaza Crisis

As vital as it is to keep up the public protest, and as important as it is that we make sure our elected officials in Washington hear from us, this is also a crucial moment to bring our message to the mainstream media. We hope your group will join this nationwide week -- starting today, January 9 and running through next Friday, January 16 -- of focused efforts on media work.

There are two major goals of our media work:
1) Coverage of our protest events and other public activities.
As you continue to organize rallies, marches, vigils and other protests, be sure to contact all of the media outlets in your area! We have heard from some groups that they have been able to get good coverage of their events, so let's try to expand this as widely as possible.

2) Bringing our message to a much wider audience.
As we all know, the people the mainstream media usually have doing the "analysis" are more often than not retired State Department or military officials, representatives of the Israeli government, or others who give a one-sided or biased perspective. There have been some notable instances of other voices breaking through, such as the Norwegian doctor in Gaza who has been on CBS and other outlets. But it is rare to see a Palestinian or anyone else with a critical view of what Israel is doing being interviewed.

For talking points and updates be sure to check the website of UFPJ and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, as well as the website of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee.

A concentrated, nationwide effort to bring another perspective into the mainstream media could make a difference. Click here for a comprehensive list of media outlets in your area.

Making sure our voices are heard and read means asking many people to take up this effort, so please share this memo as widely as you can. We are encouraging you to work on any or all of these four specific things:

1) An outpouring of letters to the editors, in every size and every type of publication.
Letters are more likely to be printed if they are short.
It often helps if the letter is in response to an article printed in the publication.
If there is a connection to some local issue or group, that can be very helpful.
2) Opinion pieces and/or guest columns in your daily newspapers.
These are often hard to get in, but are worth pursuing. Call your local paper to find out about requirements and the process for submitting a piece.
It is often easier to get a piece printed if it comes from someone who has recently been to the area, someone respected in your community (a religious leader, an elected official, etc.) or someone who has a personal relationship to the issue.
3) A massive push to call into local radio talk shows.
Millions of people listen to talk radio in every corner of the country, every day: we can reach people who might not otherwise ever see or hear our message.
Many talk shows have an open format - you can raise any issue. It's best to know the one or two points you want to make on the call since there will most likely not be time for too much.
4) Use the online tools of media outlets.
Just about every media outlet now has some online way for people to express their opinions. Be sure to check out what's available in your area and then use those tools!
Finally, let us know if your group is taking up this work! Send a quick note to us at organizing@unitedforpeace.org And be sure to let us know if there are specific resources you would like UFPJ to produce that can help make your efforts stronger and more successful.

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Do you believe we need to break the cycles of violence in our country and our world?

The Department of Peace and Nonviolence House of Representatives legislation HR 808 would create a Secretary of Peace to help our leaders understand that there are nonviolent ways to deal with violent situations both at home and abroad.

You can learn more about this at the

PEACE SHINDIG
Saturday night – Jan. 17, 2009
Black Bear Coffee Company
318 N. Main Street, Hendersonville
7:30 - 9:30 PM

For kids and everyone else. Let's learn and talk together.
Sponsored by the Department of Peace and Nonviolence Advocates of Henderson County
For more information: Marge - 828-696-8727

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From Jewish Voice for Peace:

Write your representative now and tell her or him that you expect the United States to take a balanced approach. Tell them that it is in the best interests of Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians for Israel to accept a ceasefire, end the blockade, and achieve peace through an end to Israel's 40-year old occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Cecilie Surasky, Jewish Voice for Peace

Senator Hagen’s email: Senator_Hagen@hagen.senate.gov

Contact Rep. Shuler via a webpage: http://shuler.house.gov/zipauth.htm

Call the Obama-Biden transition office with the same message. Their number is 1-202-540-3000; press 2 to reach a person.

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From United for Peace & Justice:

President-elect Barack Obama has promised to close the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo and end the use of torture by the U.S. We intend to help make that a reality.

This Sunday, January 11, Witness Against Torture -- a Catholic Worker-led UFPJ member group -- will mark the 7th year of the use of Guantanamo as a detention and torture center with a rally and procession in Washington, D.C. And on January 20, the 100 Days to Close Guantánamo & End Torture will begin in Washington and around the country.

United For Peace and Justice has co-sponsored this timely effort, and we encourage you to participate in it and lend your support.

*Order a copy of the recently published Witness Against Torture Book and DVD.
*Buy a Witness Against Torture T-Shirt.
*Make a donation.
*Sign on as an endorsing organization.
*Spread the word! Forward this e-mail, download and distribute flyers, or put a button on your website.
www.100dayscampaign.org

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From Courage to Resist:

André Shepherd, Iraq vet, applies for asylum in Germany

By Sarah Lazare, Courage to Resist for AlterNet.org. January 8, 2009

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From: Mary Olson <nirs@main.nc.us>

Subject: [Rt-list] [Fwd: [COAL ASH in TN: sick people and med testing -- request for funds for testing of TVA victims]

All -- the message below is from attorney Chris Irwin, an activist in Knoxville -- I have known Chris for years -- he is a "credible" source of information. I asked Chris to provide info on how people (YOU) can contribute (TVA ash spill victims need to be tested ASAP for heavy metals -- but they have LOST so much, most cannot afford it -- but if they wait, the tests will not be meaningful) to the cost of labs. Here it is:

Any contributions for the cost of heavy metal testing for the people of Harriman can be donated using the paypal account on the United Mountain Defense website at www.unitedmountaindefense.org or make a check to United Mountain Defense (put "testing" in the memo line). Mail to:

UMD
541 Dante Road
Knoxville, TN 37918

This coal ash flood is one of the biggest disasters in this region -- thank you for making even small donations of support for those who are suffering directly. We all have electric power from coal. No Nukes, No Coal, No Kidding,
Mary Olson
NIRS Southeast

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A couple of interesting links:

Rabbi Brant Rosen’s blog

Song for Gaza