More items will be added over coming weeks.
January 25th International Day of Action: No War With Iran!
There will be a CodePink and ANSWER national day of action against a war on Iran Saturday, January 25th. There is supposed to be a protest in Raleigh, location TBA 12 - 1pm: www.codepink.org/01252020raleigh
There is a list of over 210 demonstrations being held around the world at: iacenter.org/2020/01/23/jan-25-global-day-of-protest-no-war-on-iran-list-of-actions-and-endorsers/ They list protests, details TBA in Raleigh and Hendersonville, and a protest in Asheville at 1pm on the 25th at the Vance Monument.
ANSWER: www.answercoalition.org/iran-jan-25
McDougald Terrace carbon monoxide crisis
According to the Durham People's Alliance, supplies can be donated at 51B Ridgeway Avenue Monday through Saturday between 10am and 5pm. They are seeking healthy foods for families, bottled water, paper products, hygiene items, and items for babies, including blankets, mittens, hats, socks, and cleaning products.
People are asked to write to the Durham Housing Authority, City Council, and County Commissioners demanding progress in fixing the problems (which go far beyond the current carbon monoxide danger), transparency, and clarity about when the problems will be fixed.
Durham comprehensive planning input
Provide input to shape Durham's new comprehensive plan and transit plan: engagedurham.com/ComprehensivePlan/
2020 is the last year of the UN's International Decade on Biodiversity ( www.cbd.int/2011-2020/ ) among other international decades ( www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-decades/index.html ), the International Year of Plant Health and the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife ( www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-years/index.html ), and the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.
January is traditionally National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the USA.
Library booksales
The first Friends of the Durham Library book sale of the year will be February 8 - 9th (Saturday 10am - 12pm is members only, while 12 - 4pm is open to all; Sunday is a $10 dollar grocery bag sale open to all from 1 - 4pm) at the usual Northgate Mall location ( durhamcountylibrary.org/friends/ ). The sales are at a space next to the former location of Sears, but that entrance is closed. There are small satellite sales inside the various branches daily.
Possibly there will be a book sale somewhere near the Pit area at UNC, such as outside or at Wilson Library, in March or April. I'm not sure if this is an annual event.
The next Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library sale will be April 17 - 19th: friendschpl.org/
The Wake County Public Libraries' Annual Book Sale will be April 30th - May 3rd in the Expo Center at the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh ( www.wakegov.com/libraries/events/Pages/booksale.aspx ). Around 12,000 people attended last year, buying more than 202,000 books, and other books went to more than 500 Wake County Public Schools teachers for academic use. This might be the biggest annual booksale in the state.
The Friends of the Chatham County Community Library will have a sale April 2 - 4 (9am - 7pm Thursday and Friday and 9am - 2pm Saturday). There will be a 20% discount for purchases of $200 dollars or more on Thursday, April 2nd, half-price sale on Friday, and a $5 dollar bag sale on Saturday: friendsccl.org/
The Friends of the Lee County Library have ongoing sales and occasionally special sales, announced on their website and Facebook: library.leecountync.gov/friends and www.facebook.com/foleelibrary/
Creek Weeks this spring
Durham Creek Week - March 14 - 21: keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
Alamance Creek Week - March 28 - April 4: alamancecreekweek.wordpress.com/
Guilford Creek Week - March 28 - April 4: www.guilfordcreekweek.org/
Forsyth Creek Week - March 21 - 29: forsythcreekweek.squarespace.com/
The Haw River Assembly will have a Haw River Watch Monitoring Weekend March 21 - 22 (contact 919 542 5790 or Emily[at]hawriver[periodorg]
Monthly tours of the South Wake Landfill and Sonoco Recycling Facility
There will be free one hour tours of these facilities near Apex once a month on Wednesdays or Saturdays (private tours for groups with 5 to 14 people can be arranged). For more information and registration see: www.wakegov.com/recycling/outreach/Pages/tours.aspx
Continuing biodiversity losses in China's Yangtze River
A new study published in Science of the Total Environment (volume 210, March 25, 2020) finds that the Chinese paddlefish probably went extinct by 2005, or no later than 2010, due to overfishing and habitat loss due to dams such as Gezhouba Dam, etc., mainly since the late 70's. The population may have become unable to reproduce by 1993 and the last confirmed capture was in 2003. They were last seen in the Yellow River (Huang He) basin in the 60's. These ancient, sharklike fish might have grown up to 23 feet long and used their very elongated snouts to detect crustaceans and fish in turbid river and estuarine waters. There is an American paddlefish, a filter feeder growing up to 6 feet long and having a more paddlelike snout, living historically across the Mississippi basin and in the Great Lakes region. They were once found in the French Broad River close to Asheville. American paddlefish are also threatened, due to dams, poaching for caviar, etc., but are raised commercially or were introduced in the former USSR and Eastern Europe, China, and Cuba. A survey in 2017-2018 found 332 species of fish in the Yangtze River basin, but 140 species that had been reported historically were absent, and most of them are consider very at risk of extinction. The Yangtze river dolphin or baiji is also thought to be extinct due to human activity and very few Yangtze giant softshell turtles (one of the largest living freshwater turtles) are left, among other Yangtze fauna at risk of extinction.
See also: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/01/chinese-paddlefish-one-of-largest-fish-extinct/
Israel attacked Gaza from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009 (Operation Cast Lead), killing or displacing thousands of Palestinians, mostly civilians, while 10 Israeli soldiers were killed, four by friendly fire, and rockets fired by various armed resistance groups killed three Israeli civilians and injured or scared hundreds. Israel was accused of using white phosphorus as a weapon, as well as depleted uranium, and birth defects and blood cancer became more common after the war. Palestinian civilians were used as human shields, Israeli soldiers robbed homes, etc. though there was some prosecution in Israel later. Agricultural, fisheries, and humanitarian aid facilities, universities, schools, mosques, hospitals, and civilian shelters were damaged or destroyed, including the UN Relief and Works Agency headquarters in Gaza City where tons of food, medicine, and fuel for refugee relief was stored. The building was hit by white phosphorus munitions, and the chemical fires could not be extinguished. As in Yemen today, much of this was done with American weapons, which are supposedly not to be used to commit war crimes. December 29th a Free Gaza ship carrying relief supplies, doctors, journalists, and others, including former Congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney was intercepted by the Israeli navy. Free Gaza says their ship was in international waters when shots were fired and it was rammed after refusing to turn back. Another Free Gaza ship was intercepted January 15th. The Gaza War was followed by a joint Israeli and Egyptian blockade. At the time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said "We support Israel, very strongly as a national policy, because it is in our national interest to do so" (and the Democratic Party still has this in its platform, as well as an "undivided" Jerusalem that is the capital of Israel, giving Israel state of the art weapons, and condemnation of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement: democrats.org/about/party-platform/#middle-east ). In June 2010 Chuck Schumer endorsed Israel's policy of collective punishment, saying "...since the Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas, while certainly there should be humanitarian aid and people not starving to death, to strangle them economically until they see that's not the way to go, makes sense." He also said Hamas was waging "total war." Pelosi and Schumer both have long advocated moving the USA's embassy in Israel to disputed Jerusalem, but presidents before Trump and most other countries have the sense not to do this. In the summer of 2008 and again in 2013 Obama went to southern Israel and said war is justified over rockets fired from Gaza, while he did little to end the suffering of the Palestinian people ( revcom.us/a/574/american-crime-case-30-us-armed-backed-massacre-in-gaza-en.html and Wikipedia).
The groundbreaking ironclad USS Monitor sank 16 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras during a storm December 31, 1862. Sixteen crew members were killed while 47 were rescued by the USS Rhode Island, which had been towing the Monitor to the southeast coast of NC. I think I read that the ship had a cat, and I wonder if its remains were found (as were human remains) when the turret was salvaged. Parts of the ship are on display at the Mariners' Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia. The first US national marine sanctuary was established January 30, 1975, to protect the wreck site.
According to Wikipedia, the Soviet supersonic airliner Tupolev Tu-144 first flew December 31, 1968, though that flight wasn't at supersonic speeds. Its first flight, first supersonic flight, and operational use all preceded the Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde, the only other supersonic airliner. There were technical and economic problems, so the Tu-144 was last used to transport passengers in the summer of 1978, but use for mail and research, including by NASA, continued until 1999. The Concorde was retired in 2003, due to financial and environmental issues.
The asteroid Ceres was discovered January 1, 1801 by Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi. 1 Ceres is the first and largest asteroid yet found by astronomers, the largest member of the Asteroid Belt, and the closest dwarf planet. It is geologically active and potentially could support life or once did, and a space colony could be established on Ceres some day.
The Communist Party of Germany's founding congress was December 31, 1918 to January 1, 1919 in Berlin.
January 25th International Day of Action: No War With Iran!
There will be a CodePink and ANSWER national day of action against a war on Iran Saturday, January 25th. There is supposed to be a protest in Raleigh, location TBA 12 - 1pm: www.codepink.org/01252020raleigh
There is a list of over 210 demonstrations being held around the world at: iacenter.org/2020/01/23/jan-25-global-day-of-protest-no-war-on-iran-list-of-actions-and-endorsers/ They list protests, details TBA in Raleigh and Hendersonville, and a protest in Asheville at 1pm on the 25th at the Vance Monument.
ANSWER: www.answercoalition.org/iran-jan-25
McDougald Terrace carbon monoxide crisis
According to the Durham People's Alliance, supplies can be donated at 51B Ridgeway Avenue Monday through Saturday between 10am and 5pm. They are seeking healthy foods for families, bottled water, paper products, hygiene items, and items for babies, including blankets, mittens, hats, socks, and cleaning products.
People are asked to write to the Durham Housing Authority, City Council, and County Commissioners demanding progress in fixing the problems (which go far beyond the current carbon monoxide danger), transparency, and clarity about when the problems will be fixed.
Durham comprehensive planning input
Provide input to shape Durham's new comprehensive plan and transit plan: engagedurham.com/ComprehensivePlan/
2020 is the last year of the UN's International Decade on Biodiversity ( www.cbd.int/2011-2020/ ) among other international decades ( www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-decades/index.html ), the International Year of Plant Health and the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife ( www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-years/index.html ), and the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.
January is traditionally National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the USA.
Library booksales
The first Friends of the Durham Library book sale of the year will be February 8 - 9th (Saturday 10am - 12pm is members only, while 12 - 4pm is open to all; Sunday is a $10 dollar grocery bag sale open to all from 1 - 4pm) at the usual Northgate Mall location ( durhamcountylibrary.org/friends/ ). The sales are at a space next to the former location of Sears, but that entrance is closed. There are small satellite sales inside the various branches daily.
Possibly there will be a book sale somewhere near the Pit area at UNC, such as outside or at Wilson Library, in March or April. I'm not sure if this is an annual event.
The next Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library sale will be April 17 - 19th: friendschpl.org/
The Wake County Public Libraries' Annual Book Sale will be April 30th - May 3rd in the Expo Center at the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh ( www.wakegov.com/libraries/events/Pages/booksale.aspx ). Around 12,000 people attended last year, buying more than 202,000 books, and other books went to more than 500 Wake County Public Schools teachers for academic use. This might be the biggest annual booksale in the state.
The Friends of the Chatham County Community Library will have a sale April 2 - 4 (9am - 7pm Thursday and Friday and 9am - 2pm Saturday). There will be a 20% discount for purchases of $200 dollars or more on Thursday, April 2nd, half-price sale on Friday, and a $5 dollar bag sale on Saturday: friendsccl.org/
The Friends of the Lee County Library have ongoing sales and occasionally special sales, announced on their website and Facebook: library.leecountync.gov/friends and www.facebook.com/foleelibrary/
Creek Weeks this spring
Durham Creek Week - March 14 - 21: keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
Alamance Creek Week - March 28 - April 4: alamancecreekweek.wordpress.com/
Guilford Creek Week - March 28 - April 4: www.guilfordcreekweek.org/
Forsyth Creek Week - March 21 - 29: forsythcreekweek.squarespace.com/
The Haw River Assembly will have a Haw River Watch Monitoring Weekend March 21 - 22 (contact 919 542 5790 or Emily[at]hawriver[periodorg]
Monthly tours of the South Wake Landfill and Sonoco Recycling Facility
There will be free one hour tours of these facilities near Apex once a month on Wednesdays or Saturdays (private tours for groups with 5 to 14 people can be arranged). For more information and registration see: www.wakegov.com/recycling/outreach/Pages/tours.aspx
Continuing biodiversity losses in China's Yangtze River
A new study published in Science of the Total Environment (volume 210, March 25, 2020) finds that the Chinese paddlefish probably went extinct by 2005, or no later than 2010, due to overfishing and habitat loss due to dams such as Gezhouba Dam, etc., mainly since the late 70's. The population may have become unable to reproduce by 1993 and the last confirmed capture was in 2003. They were last seen in the Yellow River (Huang He) basin in the 60's. These ancient, sharklike fish might have grown up to 23 feet long and used their very elongated snouts to detect crustaceans and fish in turbid river and estuarine waters. There is an American paddlefish, a filter feeder growing up to 6 feet long and having a more paddlelike snout, living historically across the Mississippi basin and in the Great Lakes region. They were once found in the French Broad River close to Asheville. American paddlefish are also threatened, due to dams, poaching for caviar, etc., but are raised commercially or were introduced in the former USSR and Eastern Europe, China, and Cuba. A survey in 2017-2018 found 332 species of fish in the Yangtze River basin, but 140 species that had been reported historically were absent, and most of them are consider very at risk of extinction. The Yangtze river dolphin or baiji is also thought to be extinct due to human activity and very few Yangtze giant softshell turtles (one of the largest living freshwater turtles) are left, among other Yangtze fauna at risk of extinction.
See also: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/01/chinese-paddlefish-one-of-largest-fish-extinct/
NC Green Party Winter Gathering 2020 postponed [updated]
The NC Green Party's annual Winter Gathering was supposed to be January 25 - 26th at The Seedbed in Mebane, Alamance County (6602 Nicks Road), but has been postponed.
Instead there will be a planning discussion Sunday, January 26th 2 - 4pm at the Pavilion (formerly The Seedbed) in Mebane. This might only be open to members of the Green Party.
Instead there will be a planning discussion Sunday, January 26th 2 - 4pm at the Pavilion (formerly The Seedbed) in Mebane. This might only be open to members of the Green Party.
Israel attacked Gaza from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009 (Operation Cast Lead), killing or displacing thousands of Palestinians, mostly civilians, while 10 Israeli soldiers were killed, four by friendly fire, and rockets fired by various armed resistance groups killed three Israeli civilians and injured or scared hundreds. Israel was accused of using white phosphorus as a weapon, as well as depleted uranium, and birth defects and blood cancer became more common after the war. Palestinian civilians were used as human shields, Israeli soldiers robbed homes, etc. though there was some prosecution in Israel later. Agricultural, fisheries, and humanitarian aid facilities, universities, schools, mosques, hospitals, and civilian shelters were damaged or destroyed, including the UN Relief and Works Agency headquarters in Gaza City where tons of food, medicine, and fuel for refugee relief was stored. The building was hit by white phosphorus munitions, and the chemical fires could not be extinguished. As in Yemen today, much of this was done with American weapons, which are supposedly not to be used to commit war crimes. December 29th a Free Gaza ship carrying relief supplies, doctors, journalists, and others, including former Congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney was intercepted by the Israeli navy. Free Gaza says their ship was in international waters when shots were fired and it was rammed after refusing to turn back. Another Free Gaza ship was intercepted January 15th. The Gaza War was followed by a joint Israeli and Egyptian blockade. At the time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said "We support Israel, very strongly as a national policy, because it is in our national interest to do so" (and the Democratic Party still has this in its platform, as well as an "undivided" Jerusalem that is the capital of Israel, giving Israel state of the art weapons, and condemnation of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement: democrats.org/about/party-platform/#middle-east ). In June 2010 Chuck Schumer endorsed Israel's policy of collective punishment, saying "...since the Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas, while certainly there should be humanitarian aid and people not starving to death, to strangle them economically until they see that's not the way to go, makes sense." He also said Hamas was waging "total war." Pelosi and Schumer both have long advocated moving the USA's embassy in Israel to disputed Jerusalem, but presidents before Trump and most other countries have the sense not to do this. In the summer of 2008 and again in 2013 Obama went to southern Israel and said war is justified over rockets fired from Gaza, while he did little to end the suffering of the Palestinian people ( revcom.us/a/574/american-crime-case-30-us-armed-backed-massacre-in-gaza-en.html and Wikipedia).
The groundbreaking ironclad USS Monitor sank 16 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras during a storm December 31, 1862. Sixteen crew members were killed while 47 were rescued by the USS Rhode Island, which had been towing the Monitor to the southeast coast of NC. I think I read that the ship had a cat, and I wonder if its remains were found (as were human remains) when the turret was salvaged. Parts of the ship are on display at the Mariners' Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia. The first US national marine sanctuary was established January 30, 1975, to protect the wreck site.
According to Wikipedia, the Soviet supersonic airliner Tupolev Tu-144 first flew December 31, 1968, though that flight wasn't at supersonic speeds. Its first flight, first supersonic flight, and operational use all preceded the Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde, the only other supersonic airliner. There were technical and economic problems, so the Tu-144 was last used to transport passengers in the summer of 1978, but use for mail and research, including by NASA, continued until 1999. The Concorde was retired in 2003, due to financial and environmental issues.
The asteroid Ceres was discovered January 1, 1801 by Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi. 1 Ceres is the first and largest asteroid yet found by astronomers, the largest member of the Asteroid Belt, and the closest dwarf planet. It is geologically active and potentially could support life or once did, and a space colony could be established on Ceres some day.
The Communist Party of Germany's founding congress was December 31, 1918 to January 1, 1919 in Berlin.
The Cuban Revolution triumphed when president Fulgencio Batista fled the country early on January 1, 1959, following the Battle of Santa Clara (December 31st).
NASA's New Horizons probe did a flyby of the Kuiper Belt object known as Ultima Thule January 1, 2019. New Horizons is expected to continue working into the 2030's or even longer as it heads into the outer reaches of the Solar System.
China's Chang'e 4 was the first human probe to land on the lunar far side, January 3, 2019, and it released a rover, Yutu 2. There was some involvement with NASA's lunar programs, despite April 2011 legislation severely limiting scientific collaboration with China.
Zionist terrorist group Irgun Zvai Leumi carried out a truck bombing outside the city hall in Jaffa January 4, 1948 killing 26 and injuring about 100 civilians. The driver wore a uniform of the British army, which occupied Palestine at the time.
World Braille Day is January 4th: www.un.org/en/observances/braille-day
The assassination of Qassem Soleimani and Trump's destabilization of the Middle East
There were demonstrations Saturday, January 4th in Durham [January 8th in Chapel Hill] and elsewhere in the USA denouncing the Trump administration's assassination of Iranian major general Qassem Soleimani, Abd Mahdi al-Muhandis of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, and several more people outside the Baghdad International Airport early on January 3rd. In assassinating Iranian and Iraqi officials, with whom the US is not in a declared war, in Iraq, without consulting other parties, the Trump administration probably violated international law, agreements with Iraq, and US law. Subsequently Trump threatened to attack Iran's cultural heritage, which would most likely be a war crime, similar to actions by IS, the Taliban, Nazi Germany, and the Spanish conquistadors, though it took a while for the media to admit the magnitude of what Trump said (it's like the USA can't commit a war crime, by definition). Would enough military personnel refuse orders from the top to commit war crimes or break US laws?
Many Democratic leaders are suddenly posing as anti-war, though they enabled Trump and didn't condemn Obama's attacks on Libya and Syria and drone assassinations overseas, including of American citizens and children. News briefs on WUNC covered the anti-war day of action, even mentioning International ANSWER and Code Pink by name, unlike their silence (as far as I remember) on the massive demonstrations against the Iraq War, protests against Obama's Libya War, and protests against the missile attacks on Syria and Trump's plots against Venezuela. Listeners might have been shocked when NPR suddenly acknowledged the existence of anti-war groups, maybe even an actual anti-war movement. I can't remember the last time they admitted there was organized domestic anti-war opposition to the US government's foreign policy, though I think they occasionally mentioned disruptions by Code Pink In a similar way anti-war Green Party candidate Jill Stein was mentioned little if at all until after the 2016 election was over. NPR is generally ignoring or mislabeling generally anti-war candidates running this year, yet I think it has often been said on NPR recently that appearing to be against 'regime-change wars' helped Trump win in 2016.
According to Wikipedia the Selective Service's website crashed because people were suddenly concerned about a new draft or believed false information.
As I was working on this Iran announced that its military accidentally shot down the airliner near Tehran. That seems unbelievable, but ultimately this happened because the US under both Democrats and Republicans is carrying out military and economic aggression to dominate Iran and the Middle East, for oil, geopolitics, economic expansion, etc. Even if the US is less dependent on foreign oil now, because of fracking, domination over the Middle East gives the US government power over countries more dependent on imported oil. The Middle East also has other economic uses to US business and the financial system.
There will be a day of action January 25th (see above).
Eris, the most massive dwarf planet, was discovered January 5, 2005, and its discovery is one reason Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet (slightly larger than Eris, but less massive).
Chairman Kim Jong-un was born January 8, 1982 (this is the official date given by the DPRK while other governments assert that the year was 1983 or 1984).
American conservationist Aldo Leopold was born January 11, 1887 in Burlington, Iowa. He is best known for his book A Sand County Almanac, published posthumously in 1949. For more information, see: www.aldoleopold.org/about/aldo-leopold/
Following US calls for full-spectrum dominance, including in space, and missile shields, China used a missile to destroy one of its old weather satellites January 11, 2007. The Dong Neng-3 missile, possibly an anti-satellite weapon, was tested February 5, 2008. More recently Russia and India have also tested anti-satellite weapons. The USSR and the USA worked on such weapons throughout the Cold War, and the first successful interception seems to have been by the USSR in February 1970. The US tested anti-satellite missiles fired from a modified F-15 fighter in 1984-85.
Warfare in space could produce debris that would prevent human use of space long-term and anti-ballistic missile weapons make a nuclear war more likely. One country would think it had an edge and could escape retaliation by using nuclear weapons first, so other countries would be more likely to use their weapons, under the idea of 'use them or lose them.'
The Climate Crisis is Disrupting Ocean Ecosystems and That's Bad for Us!
UNC marine ecologist John Bruno, PhD will talk about how climate change is impacting marine ecosystems in negative ways and his research on biodiversity in the oceans Saturday, January 11th 10:30 - 12pm at the Chapel Hill Public Library (100 Library Drive, off of Estes Drive near the intersection with East Franklin Street). This event is being organized by The Climate Reality Project: Orange County, NC Chapter: www.facebook.com/events/1241779782672269/
Among the Iranian scientists probably assassinated by Israel, the USA, or Arab countries during the Bush-Obama years, Ardeshir Hosseinpour might have been murdered or died in an accident January 15, 2007, Masoud Alimohammadi was killed January 12, 2010, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was killed January 11, 2012, and in January 2015 an assassination attempt was foiled.
Redwood Road/Falls Lake Bag Removal
Join Keep Durham Beautiful in continuing to clean up accumulated litter at Falls Lake near a section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and 5538 Redwood Road. Previously almost 500 bags of trash, as well as tires and other large items, were collected and Sunday, January 12th 1 - 3:30pm they will be moved up to the road and removed by the County: keepdurhambeautiful.org/events
World Braille Day is January 4th: www.un.org/en/observances/braille-day
The assassination of Qassem Soleimani and Trump's destabilization of the Middle East
There were demonstrations Saturday, January 4th in Durham [January 8th in Chapel Hill] and elsewhere in the USA denouncing the Trump administration's assassination of Iranian major general Qassem Soleimani, Abd Mahdi al-Muhandis of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, and several more people outside the Baghdad International Airport early on January 3rd. In assassinating Iranian and Iraqi officials, with whom the US is not in a declared war, in Iraq, without consulting other parties, the Trump administration probably violated international law, agreements with Iraq, and US law. Subsequently Trump threatened to attack Iran's cultural heritage, which would most likely be a war crime, similar to actions by IS, the Taliban, Nazi Germany, and the Spanish conquistadors, though it took a while for the media to admit the magnitude of what Trump said (it's like the USA can't commit a war crime, by definition). Would enough military personnel refuse orders from the top to commit war crimes or break US laws?
Many Democratic leaders are suddenly posing as anti-war, though they enabled Trump and didn't condemn Obama's attacks on Libya and Syria and drone assassinations overseas, including of American citizens and children. News briefs on WUNC covered the anti-war day of action, even mentioning International ANSWER and Code Pink by name, unlike their silence (as far as I remember) on the massive demonstrations against the Iraq War, protests against Obama's Libya War, and protests against the missile attacks on Syria and Trump's plots against Venezuela. Listeners might have been shocked when NPR suddenly acknowledged the existence of anti-war groups, maybe even an actual anti-war movement. I can't remember the last time they admitted there was organized domestic anti-war opposition to the US government's foreign policy, though I think they occasionally mentioned disruptions by Code Pink In a similar way anti-war Green Party candidate Jill Stein was mentioned little if at all until after the 2016 election was over. NPR is generally ignoring or mislabeling generally anti-war candidates running this year, yet I think it has often been said on NPR recently that appearing to be against 'regime-change wars' helped Trump win in 2016.
According to Wikipedia the Selective Service's website crashed because people were suddenly concerned about a new draft or believed false information.
As I was working on this Iran announced that its military accidentally shot down the airliner near Tehran. That seems unbelievable, but ultimately this happened because the US under both Democrats and Republicans is carrying out military and economic aggression to dominate Iran and the Middle East, for oil, geopolitics, economic expansion, etc. Even if the US is less dependent on foreign oil now, because of fracking, domination over the Middle East gives the US government power over countries more dependent on imported oil. The Middle East also has other economic uses to US business and the financial system.
There will be a day of action January 25th (see above).
Eris, the most massive dwarf planet, was discovered January 5, 2005, and its discovery is one reason Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet (slightly larger than Eris, but less massive).
Chairman Kim Jong-un was born January 8, 1982 (this is the official date given by the DPRK while other governments assert that the year was 1983 or 1984).
American conservationist Aldo Leopold was born January 11, 1887 in Burlington, Iowa. He is best known for his book A Sand County Almanac, published posthumously in 1949. For more information, see: www.aldoleopold.org/about/aldo-leopold/
Following US calls for full-spectrum dominance, including in space, and missile shields, China used a missile to destroy one of its old weather satellites January 11, 2007. The Dong Neng-3 missile, possibly an anti-satellite weapon, was tested February 5, 2008. More recently Russia and India have also tested anti-satellite weapons. The USSR and the USA worked on such weapons throughout the Cold War, and the first successful interception seems to have been by the USSR in February 1970. The US tested anti-satellite missiles fired from a modified F-15 fighter in 1984-85.
Warfare in space could produce debris that would prevent human use of space long-term and anti-ballistic missile weapons make a nuclear war more likely. One country would think it had an edge and could escape retaliation by using nuclear weapons first, so other countries would be more likely to use their weapons, under the idea of 'use them or lose them.'
The Climate Crisis is Disrupting Ocean Ecosystems and That's Bad for Us!
UNC marine ecologist John Bruno, PhD will talk about how climate change is impacting marine ecosystems in negative ways and his research on biodiversity in the oceans Saturday, January 11th 10:30 - 12pm at the Chapel Hill Public Library (100 Library Drive, off of Estes Drive near the intersection with East Franklin Street). This event is being organized by The Climate Reality Project: Orange County, NC Chapter: www.facebook.com/events/1241779782672269/
Sergei Pavlovich Korolev was born January 12, 1907. He led the early Soviet space program to early successes such as putting Sputnik I and Yuri Gagarin into orbit, and sending the first spacecraft to the Moon (not intended to be a soft landing). He wasn't named and given credit, to avoid assassination by the US government, until after his death on January 14, 1966. He was honored with the placement of his ashes in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.
Among the Iranian scientists probably assassinated by Israel, the USA, or Arab countries during the Bush-Obama years, Ardeshir Hosseinpour might have been murdered or died in an accident January 15, 2007, Masoud Alimohammadi was killed January 12, 2010, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was killed January 11, 2012, and in January 2015 an assassination attempt was foiled.
Redwood Road/Falls Lake Bag Removal
Join Keep Durham Beautiful in continuing to clean up accumulated litter at Falls Lake near a section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and 5538 Redwood Road. Previously almost 500 bags of trash, as well as tires and other large items, were collected and Sunday, January 12th 1 - 3:30pm they will be moved up to the road and removed by the County: keepdurhambeautiful.org/events
The last recorded sighting of a Las Vegas (or Vegas Valley) leopard frog, native to Clark County, Nevada, was January 13, 1942, when 10 were collected at Tule Springs. The species was thought to be extinct, due to habitat loss, making it the only frog native solely to the USA to have become extinct in historical times, but a 2011 study argues that the Las Vegas leopard frog was genetically to the Chiricahua leopard frog, which is still alive and inhabits a larger area, but is also imperiled, by habitat destruction and the chytrid fungal epidemic.
The Second Battle of Fort Fisher, was January 13 - 15, 1865, ending with the fort's surrender. Known as the "Gibraltar of the South," this was the largest Confederate fortification and part of the defenses around the mouth of the Cape Fear River, leading to the Confederacy's last major port at Wilmington. The final battle is supposed to have involved the largest bombardment and amphibious assault in history up to that time. There is now a Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, but much of the site was destroyed for US 421 and a WWII landing strip, as well as by coastal erosion. Conservation of this historic site only began in 1960 and it is a biologically rich park as well. Visitors in the general area could see whales, painted buntings, giant swallowtail butterflies, and golden silk orbweaver spiders. The area is also known for the Fort Fisher Hermit, Robert E Harrill, born February 2, 1893. He is officially supposed to have died of a heart attack June 3, 1972, but appears to have been murdered, possibly to remove an obstacle for "development."
The Second Battle of Fort Fisher, was January 13 - 15, 1865, ending with the fort's surrender. Known as the "Gibraltar of the South," this was the largest Confederate fortification and part of the defenses around the mouth of the Cape Fear River, leading to the Confederacy's last major port at Wilmington. The final battle is supposed to have involved the largest bombardment and amphibious assault in history up to that time. There is now a Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, but much of the site was destroyed for US 421 and a WWII landing strip, as well as by coastal erosion. Conservation of this historic site only began in 1960 and it is a biologically rich park as well. Visitors in the general area could see whales, painted buntings, giant swallowtail butterflies, and golden silk orbweaver spiders. The area is also known for the Fort Fisher Hermit, Robert E Harrill, born February 2, 1893. He is officially supposed to have died of a heart attack June 3, 1972, but appears to have been murdered, possibly to remove an obstacle for "development."
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were tortured and killed in Berlin January 15, 1919 by the Freikorps working with the Social-Democratic government of Germany.
Martin Luther King Jr was born January 15, 1929 and MLK Jr Day is Monday, January 20th this year.
Martin Luther King Jr was born January 15, 1929 and MLK Jr Day is Monday, January 20th this year.
January 15th is Chosŏn'gŭl Day in the DPRK, celebrating the creation of Korea's writing system in the 1444. The South has Hangul Proclamation Day, October 9th (1446).
UNC - Chapel Hill apparently opened January 16, 1795, but did not have any students until that February.
UNC - Chapel Hill apparently opened January 16, 1795, but did not have any students until that February.
George HW Bush launched the Gulf War against Iraq, over its occupation of Kuwait, January 16, 1991. There is a theory that the Bush administration led Iraq to believe the US would not oppose an attack on Kuwait, and today the Trump administration seems to be even wilder in the conflicting signals it sends to other countries, increasing the risk of war.
Meet and Greet: Carolina Wetlands Association
There will be a meet and greet with the board of directors of the Carolina Wetlands Association ( carolinawetlands.org/ ) and discussion of upcoming events Thursday, January 16th 6:30 -8:30pm at Fortnight Brewing in Cary ( 1006 SW Maynard Road): www.facebook.com/events/479425419431540/
Candidate-Palooza
Hear from this year's local, state, and national Democratic Party candidates or their representatives and ask questions January 16th 6:30 - 9:30pm at the Orange County Democratic Party office in Carrboro (209 Floyd Street). There will be a second event in February, TBA. This is being organized by the Progressive Democrats of Orange County. For more information see: www.facebook.com/events/792922007888724/
Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii was overthrown January 17, 1893 with the involvement of the US (though President Grover Cleveland was apparently against the overthrow), creating the Republic of Hawaii, which was annexed as a US territory in 1898. Hawaii did not become a state until 1959, apparently because territorial status was better for capitalist interests. There was a brief pro-monarchy uprising in January 1895. The US lease of Pearl Harbor as a naval base began January 20, 1887 and that year King Kalakāua was forced to accept a constitution limiting the monarchy and empowering Americans and Europeans over native Hawaiians, Asians, and those with less than a certain amount of income or wealth.
Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the newly independent Democratic Republic of Congo, was executed January 17, 1961, with the involvement of Belgium (the former colonial power), the UK, and the USA. November 25, 1965 Mobutu seized power and later renamed the country Zaire; he wasn't deposed until 1997 and was supported by the US and Maoist China.
As part of the movement against the Afghanistan War and the Bush administration's plans for an invasion of Iraq, poorly covered by the US media at the time, there were demonstrations around the world and in the USA in January 2003, including massive demonstrations January 18th in Washington, DC and San Francisco, as well as smaller demonstrations elsewhere, organized by International ANSWER and Not In Our Name (NION).
MLK Rally and Service
There will be a rally at Peace and Justice Plaza opposite UNC at 9am with guest speaker Tai Huynh, coffee and conversations at 10am and a interfaith community service 11am - 1pm at the First Baptist Church (106 North Roberson Street) with keynote speaker Gene Nichol. In case of rain, the rally will be at the Church. This is being organized by the Chapel Hill/Carrboro NAACP: www.facebook.com/events/530751717531807/
MLK Day Eastway Elementary Tree Planting
People can join Keep Durham Beautiful, TreesDurham, the Latino Community Credit Union, and Partners for Youth Opportunity January 20th 10am - 1pm to plant 33 trees and mulch at Eastway Elementary School: keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
MLK Day Litter Cleanup - Long Meadow Park
Volunteers can also join Keep Durham Beautiful and students from the Emily K Center Monday, January 20th at 2pm to clean up litter around Long Meadow Park and Liberty Street: keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
MLK Day Southside Tree Planting
Join Keep Durham Beautiful, TreesDurham, and the Durham County Master Gardeners January 20th 2 - 5pm to plant 30 trees in the Southside community: keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
The last king of France, Louis XVI (citizen Louis Capet), was executed by guillotine January 21, 1793.
A unit of DPRK special forces attempted to storm the ROK's Blue House and assassinate authoritarian president Park Chung-hee January 21, 1968. About a decade later the director of the ROK's Korean Central Intelligence Agency assassinated Park, October 26, 1979.
The Vietnam War Battle of Khe Sanh began January 21, 1968 and lasted until July 9th.
The DPRK seized the spy ship USS Pueblo in or near its coastal waters January 21, 1968.
The Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision was handed by the Supreme Court down January 21, 2010; for example see: www.counterpunch.org/2020/01/21/another-date-that-will-live-in-infamy-10-years-after-citizens-united/
Italian communist leader Antonio Gramsci was born January 22, 1891. He was a leader of the Communist Party of Italy, founded January 21, 1921 and is well-known for works such as the Prison Notebooks, written while imprisoned by Italy's Fascist government. Prison conditions resulted in his death April 7, 1937. Some of his works are online at: www.marxists.org/archive/gramsci/index.htm
Meet and Greet: Carolina Wetlands Association
There will be a meet and greet with the board of directors of the Carolina Wetlands Association ( carolinawetlands.org/ ) and discussion of upcoming events Thursday, January 16th 6:30 -8:30pm at Fortnight Brewing in Cary ( 1006 SW Maynard Road): www.facebook.com/events/479425419431540/
Candidate-Palooza
Hear from this year's local, state, and national Democratic Party candidates or their representatives and ask questions January 16th 6:30 - 9:30pm at the Orange County Democratic Party office in Carrboro (209 Floyd Street). There will be a second event in February, TBA. This is being organized by the Progressive Democrats of Orange County. For more information see: www.facebook.com/events/792922007888724/
Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii was overthrown January 17, 1893 with the involvement of the US (though President Grover Cleveland was apparently against the overthrow), creating the Republic of Hawaii, which was annexed as a US territory in 1898. Hawaii did not become a state until 1959, apparently because territorial status was better for capitalist interests. There was a brief pro-monarchy uprising in January 1895. The US lease of Pearl Harbor as a naval base began January 20, 1887 and that year King Kalakāua was forced to accept a constitution limiting the monarchy and empowering Americans and Europeans over native Hawaiians, Asians, and those with less than a certain amount of income or wealth.
Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the newly independent Democratic Republic of Congo, was executed January 17, 1961, with the involvement of Belgium (the former colonial power), the UK, and the USA. November 25, 1965 Mobutu seized power and later renamed the country Zaire; he wasn't deposed until 1997 and was supported by the US and Maoist China.
As part of the movement against the Afghanistan War and the Bush administration's plans for an invasion of Iraq, poorly covered by the US media at the time, there were demonstrations around the world and in the USA in January 2003, including massive demonstrations January 18th in Washington, DC and San Francisco, as well as smaller demonstrations elsewhere, organized by International ANSWER and Not In Our Name (NION).
MLK Rally and Service
There will be a rally at Peace and Justice Plaza opposite UNC at 9am with guest speaker Tai Huynh, coffee and conversations at 10am and a interfaith community service 11am - 1pm at the First Baptist Church (106 North Roberson Street) with keynote speaker Gene Nichol. In case of rain, the rally will be at the Church. This is being organized by the Chapel Hill/Carrboro NAACP: www.facebook.com/events/530751717531807/
MLK Day Eastway Elementary Tree Planting
People can join Keep Durham Beautiful, TreesDurham, the Latino Community Credit Union, and Partners for Youth Opportunity January 20th 10am - 1pm to plant 33 trees and mulch at Eastway Elementary School: keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
MLK Day Litter Cleanup - Long Meadow Park
Volunteers can also join Keep Durham Beautiful and students from the Emily K Center Monday, January 20th at 2pm to clean up litter around Long Meadow Park and Liberty Street: keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
MLK Day Southside Tree Planting
Join Keep Durham Beautiful, TreesDurham, and the Durham County Master Gardeners January 20th 2 - 5pm to plant 30 trees in the Southside community: keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
The last king of France, Louis XVI (citizen Louis Capet), was executed by guillotine January 21, 1793.
A unit of DPRK special forces attempted to storm the ROK's Blue House and assassinate authoritarian president Park Chung-hee January 21, 1968. About a decade later the director of the ROK's Korean Central Intelligence Agency assassinated Park, October 26, 1979.
The Vietnam War Battle of Khe Sanh began January 21, 1968 and lasted until July 9th.
The DPRK seized the spy ship USS Pueblo in or near its coastal waters January 21, 1968.
The Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision was handed by the Supreme Court down January 21, 2010; for example see: www.counterpunch.org/2020/01/21/another-date-that-will-live-in-infamy-10-years-after-citizens-united/
Italian communist leader Antonio Gramsci was born January 22, 1891. He was a leader of the Communist Party of Italy, founded January 21, 1921 and is well-known for works such as the Prison Notebooks, written while imprisoned by Italy's Fascist government. Prison conditions resulted in his death April 7, 1937. Some of his works are online at: www.marxists.org/archive/gramsci/index.htm
A peasant uprising began in western El Salvador January 22, 1932 but it was quickly defeated. Afterward the government killed tens of thousands of people alleged to be communists or Indians.
The first Boeing 747 jetliner went into regular service with Pan Am (Pan American World Airlines) January 22, 1970, flying between New York and London. This iconic humpbacked passenger jet was the original "jumbo jet" and the first wide-body airliner. It is still being produced or was until recently, but the cost of initial development almost destroyed Boeing. A prototype first flew February 9, 1969. Apparently at the time it was thought that supersonic airliners would soon make the 747 obsolete, except as a cargo carrier.
Evo Morales became president of Bolivia January 22, 2006 and was elected to two more terms, until he was toppled by a violent US-backed coup and received asylum in Mexico November 12th last year. An unelected rightist and anti-Indian government now rules Bolivia and while the security forces refused to protect the elected government, they violently repressed and killed Morales supporters.
Transportation and Land Use: Addressing Climate Change in our Community
The first Boeing 747 jetliner went into regular service with Pan Am (Pan American World Airlines) January 22, 1970, flying between New York and London. This iconic humpbacked passenger jet was the original "jumbo jet" and the first wide-body airliner. It is still being produced or was until recently, but the cost of initial development almost destroyed Boeing. A prototype first flew February 9, 1969. Apparently at the time it was thought that supersonic airliners would soon make the 747 obsolete, except as a cargo carrier.
Evo Morales became president of Bolivia January 22, 2006 and was elected to two more terms, until he was toppled by a violent US-backed coup and received asylum in Mexico November 12th last year. An unelected rightist and anti-Indian government now rules Bolivia and while the security forces refused to protect the elected government, they violently repressed and killed Morales supporters.
Transportation and Land Use: Addressing Climate Change in our Community
From the Facebook announcement: "The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) mitigation report describes how we need to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled so we can address the transportation-related climate emissions that are now the largest national source. They also note that this cannot be done without addressing land use. Join us to learn how these issues are connected and how we can improve our well-being at the same time. Melissa McCullough is a community sustainability professional who helped with the government review of the IPCC chapter related to these topics. Come learn with us and enjoy complimentary pizza from Alfredo’s - first come, first served. BYORB - bring your own reusable bottle. Chapel Hill Public Library in Meeting Room B."
This will be Wednesday, January 22nd 6 - 8pm and is hosted by the Orange-Chatham Sierra Club: www.facebook.com/events/2609004989136109/
Around midnight on January 24, 1961 a B-52 from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base disintegrated in the air near Goldsboro, releasing two thermonuclear bombs. One bomb parachuted down, but the other one ploughed into the ground, breaking into pieces, some estimated to be up to 180 feet underground. In one of the bombs every switch necessary for a nuclear explosion was on, except for one. Reportedly the explosive yield wouldn't have been as powerful as designed, much greater than the atomic bombs used on Japanese cities; instead only the first fission-based part of the bomb would have gone off, and not the second fusion-based component. Parts of the buried bomb were recovered, but much of the bomb, including uranium and plutonium, is still buried, on land now owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, and the groundwater is occasionally tested for radioactivity. In Eureka, three miles north of the bomb site, there is a relatively new state historical marker titled "Nuclear Mishap." Of the 8 person crew, 3 were killed, and this is the only time someone is known to have bailed out of the top hatch of a B-52 without using an ejection seat.
There is an eye-opening list of military nuclear accidents at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_nuclear_accidents , in some instances potentially risking WWIII. Among other accidents around this time of year, February 13, 1950 a USAF B-36 Peacemaker bomber jettisoned a simulated but still radioactive bomb (a dirty bomb) in British Columbia, Canada; January 31, 1958 a USAF B-47 carrying an armed nuclear bomb crashed and burned in Morocco; February 5, 1958 a nuclear bomb was jettisoned and lost in the ocean off Georgia; February 28, 1958 at a USAF base in the UK a B-47 ejected its external fuel tanks, setting a parked and manned B-47 carrying a nuclear bomb on fire for 16 hours, and the incident was kept secret for decades; January 18, 1959 a parked F-100 Super Sabre fighter carrying a nuclear bomb burned at an undisclosed US base in the Pacific; January 13, 1964 a B-52 carrying nuclear weapons broke up over Pennsylvania; January 17, 1966 a collision during midair refueling in Spain released four nuclear bombs, and the conventional explosives in two of the bombs went off, scattering plutonium over the countryside; January 21, 1968 a B-52 carrying four bombs crashed near the Thule Air Base in Greenland, where an explosion could have been confused with a nuclear attack, and the crash caused a nuclear weapons scandal in Denmark.
January 24, 1978 Kosmos 954, a malfunctioning nuclear-powered Soviet naval surveillance satellite disintegrated over Canada, requiring clean up of radioactive debris and the USSR paid restitution, though only half of what Canada asked for. Another malfunctioning nuclear-powered satellite, Kosmos 1402, fell to Earth early in 1983, but completely burned up or sank into the ocean.
Around midnight on January 24, 1961 a B-52 from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base disintegrated in the air near Goldsboro, releasing two thermonuclear bombs. One bomb parachuted down, but the other one ploughed into the ground, breaking into pieces, some estimated to be up to 180 feet underground. In one of the bombs every switch necessary for a nuclear explosion was on, except for one. Reportedly the explosive yield wouldn't have been as powerful as designed, much greater than the atomic bombs used on Japanese cities; instead only the first fission-based part of the bomb would have gone off, and not the second fusion-based component. Parts of the buried bomb were recovered, but much of the bomb, including uranium and plutonium, is still buried, on land now owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, and the groundwater is occasionally tested for radioactivity. In Eureka, three miles north of the bomb site, there is a relatively new state historical marker titled "Nuclear Mishap." Of the 8 person crew, 3 were killed, and this is the only time someone is known to have bailed out of the top hatch of a B-52 without using an ejection seat.
There is an eye-opening list of military nuclear accidents at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_nuclear_accidents , in some instances potentially risking WWIII. Among other accidents around this time of year, February 13, 1950 a USAF B-36 Peacemaker bomber jettisoned a simulated but still radioactive bomb (a dirty bomb) in British Columbia, Canada; January 31, 1958 a USAF B-47 carrying an armed nuclear bomb crashed and burned in Morocco; February 5, 1958 a nuclear bomb was jettisoned and lost in the ocean off Georgia; February 28, 1958 at a USAF base in the UK a B-47 ejected its external fuel tanks, setting a parked and manned B-47 carrying a nuclear bomb on fire for 16 hours, and the incident was kept secret for decades; January 18, 1959 a parked F-100 Super Sabre fighter carrying a nuclear bomb burned at an undisclosed US base in the Pacific; January 13, 1964 a B-52 carrying nuclear weapons broke up over Pennsylvania; January 17, 1966 a collision during midair refueling in Spain released four nuclear bombs, and the conventional explosives in two of the bombs went off, scattering plutonium over the countryside; January 21, 1968 a B-52 carrying four bombs crashed near the Thule Air Base in Greenland, where an explosion could have been confused with a nuclear attack, and the crash caused a nuclear weapons scandal in Denmark.
January 24, 1978 Kosmos 954, a malfunctioning nuclear-powered Soviet naval surveillance satellite disintegrated over Canada, requiring clean up of radioactive debris and the USSR paid restitution, though only half of what Canada asked for. Another malfunctioning nuclear-powered satellite, Kosmos 1402, fell to Earth early in 1983, but completely burned up or sank into the ocean.
International Education Day is January 24th: www.un.org/en/observances/education-day
The Lunar New Year is January 25th.
January 25, 1995 a scientific rocket was launched from Norway to study the aurora borealis and Russia thought it could be a nuclear missile and prepared to launch a nuclear counterattack, marking the first and only time a nuclear power is known to have activated its "nuclear football" and prepared to fire off its weapons, though nuclear war almost began during the Cuban Missile Crisis as well.
Astronauts Day
Astronauts Day commemorates deaths in the US space program, many of which happened in late January and early February, and is on the last Friday of January each year (January 31st this year).
The revolution that overthrew Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak began with demonstrations on January 25, 2011 (National Police Day). Like the revolution in Tunisia, several people set themselves on fire in protest, starting January 18th.
The NC Museum of Natural Sciences is hosting Astronomy Days January 25 - 26th: naturalsciences.org/calendar/astronomy-days/
Power Hour: Why Your Vote Matters
This will be January 25th 12:30 - 2pm at the Community House in Chapel Hill (1315 MLK Jr Boulevard) and is hosted by I AM SOTEIRA. New Chapel Town Council member Tai Huynh, who won by 24 votes, will speak about the value of voting and there will be pizza and games: www.facebook.com/events/467121097298815/
Public Forum: Organizing Against Fascism and War
This will be Saturday, February [January] 25th 1 - 3pm at The Vital Link School/As-Salaam Islamic Center in Raleigh ( 214 East Lenoir Street, zip 27610) and is being organized by Muslims for Social Justice and the Movement to End Racism and Islamophobia (MERI).
From the Facebook announcement ( www.facebook.com/events/470844300248702/ ):
"This forum will provide information about the movement against fascism in India, Kashmir Freedom Movement, antiwar movement in the USA and the Black Freedom Movement. Our goal is to build a stronger movement to challenge oppressions at home and abroad."
There will be a Justice Town Hall with Nina Turner and LaTarndra Strong Saturday, January 25th 2:30 - 4:30pm (doors open 2pm) at Extraordinary Ventures in Chapel Hill ( 200 South Elliot Road): www.facebook.com/events/520030028644146/ There was a Housing for All Town Hall in Durham the evening of January 24th at the Holton Career and Resource Center.
Democracy Raleigh Coalition meeting
The Democracy Raleigh Coalition will meet Sunday, January 26th 3 - 4:30pm at Wake County's East Regional Library 946 Steeple Square in Knightdale). This is hosted by Democracy North Carolina. For information and RSVP (requested) see: www.facebook.com/events/525072785033142/
The Siege of Leningrad by German and allied Finnish forces during WWII lasted from September 8, 1941 until January 27, 1944, killing well over a million Soviet citizens, civilians and military personnel.
The Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Soviet Red Army January 27, 1945 and January 27th is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The Vietnam War ended January 27, 1973, from the US point of view, with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, between the USA, the Republic of Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and the Provisional Revolutionary Government, but fighting continued in divided Vietnam.
Transit Plan for Durham
The Coalition for Affordable Housing and Transit will discuss Durham's future comprehensive and transit plans, Monday, January 27th 12 - 1pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Durham (305 East Main Street): www.facebook.com/events/316002609324813/
José Martí, one of the leaders of the movement for Cuban independence from Spain and the US, was born January 28, 1853 and died in the Battle of Dos Ríos against the Spanish military, May 19, 1895. The US later entered what became Spanish-American War and seized Cuba, the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. This is often seen as the beginning of US imperialism, though the idea of Manifest Destiny and the seizure of Hawaii occurred came earlier.
Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed and the seven crewmembers killed January 28, 1986 shortly after liftoff, due to the failure of an O-ring on one of the solid rocket boosters.
Transit Plan for Durham
The Coalition for Affordable Housing and Transit will discuss Durham's future comprehensive and transit plans, Monday, January 27th 12 - 1pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Durham (305 East Main Street): www.facebook.com/events/316002609324813/
José Martí, one of the leaders of the movement for Cuban independence from Spain and the US, was born January 28, 1853 and died in the Battle of Dos Ríos against the Spanish military, May 19, 1895. The US later entered what became Spanish-American War and seized Cuba, the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. This is often seen as the beginning of US imperialism, though the idea of Manifest Destiny and the seizure of Hawaii occurred came earlier.
Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed and the seven crewmembers killed January 28, 1986 shortly after liftoff, due to the failure of an O-ring on one of the solid rocket boosters.
During the night on January 29, 2001 someone used a commandeered bulldozer to destroy the Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial, near the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. A few days later the memorial's US flag was stolen. Except for the granite base, the memorial had to be rebuilt from scratch, and was re-dedicated that November. No suspects were arrested. The memorial was first dedicated August 8, 1992. For more information see: docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/195/
The Obama administration used a drone to kill US citizen and alleged al Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki September 30, 2011 in Yemen, the first such assassination of a citizen. October 14th that year they killed his 17-year-old son Abdulrahman Anwar al-Awlaki, also an American citizen and not known to be involved in terrorism. Allegedly the military had been trying to kill someone else, not present at the time. January 29, 2019 Anwar al-Awlaki's 8-year-old daughter Nawar (Nora) al-Awlaki, another US citizen, was killed during a US-UAE raid in the Yakla area of Yemen, and took two hours to die from a bullet wound. According to the Wikipedia article, more non-combatants (25) were killed than al Qaida members (14), including a three-month-old and other children and a pregnant woman, and more than 120 livestock were killed and over 12 buildings damaged. US losses were one soldier and an Osprey aircraft.
Governor Roy Cooper will be at Chapel Hill's Carolina Coffee Shop (138 East Franklin Street) 5:30 - 7pm January 29th for a 2020 Kick Off Reception. People can protest nearby, but going in will cost at least $50 dollars.
Durham's Siembra Solidarity Monthly Meeting
Supporters of Siembra NC will have their monthly meeting January 29th 6:30 - 8pm at the Self-Help Center (302 West Main Street, Durham). Among other items, there will be discussion of organizing childcare so people can attend Siembra meetings more easily, trainings for ICE monitoring volunteers, and fundraising: www.facebook.com/events/2839412659618541/
How to Win the Green New Deal
This is a meeting hosted by The Climate Reality Project: Orange County, NC chapter Wednesday, January 29th 7 - 9pm at 2 Winnawana Walk in Hillsborough: www.facebook.com/events/3061271877233958/
The Triangle Friends of Farmworkers will have a monthly meeting January 29th at 7pm at 130 Hunt Street, Durham.
[TFF is also seeking donations to fund solidarity efforts with FLOC.]
Duke Energy Carolinas Rate Hike Hearing! (Graham)
This is being organized by Clean Water for NC, Vote Solar, and Appalachian Voices: www.facebook.com/events/442199143354679/
From the Facebook announcement:
"ZERO Rate Hikes for Dirty Energy!
Duke Energy is attempting, yet again, to raise YOUR electricity bills to help pay for DUKE’s coal ash mess. Now is your chance to speak directly to the NC Utilities Commission and let them know, we are NOT going to keep quiet. Duke is raking in record profits but claiming they don’t have the money to fix a problem THEY created. Not to mention, Duke’s proposed rates exclude any direct investment in renewable energy or energy efficiency!
Tell NC Utilities Commissioners no rate hikes for dirty energy - Duke needs to clean up their own mess! No rate hikes for coal ash!
Don’t miss your chance to give comments at the public hearing! Your voice is crucial to making sure Duke pays what it owes.
Please show up by 6:00 PM to sign up to speak!
Duke Energy Carolinas Rate Hike Hearing:
Thursday, January 30th, 7:00 PM
Alamance County Courthouse
1 SE Court Sq, Graham
***If you can’t attend a hearing, you can still submit comments via email to statements[at]ncuc[period]net with the subject line “DOCKET NO. E-7, SUB 1214”
The National Liberation Front's Tet Offensive began January 30, 1968 during the Vietnam War (see: michaelharrison.org.uk/2017/02/31st-january-1968-tet-offensive-vietnam/ ).
Durham DA's Office Town Hall
The District Attorney and staff will hold a town hall January 30th 6 - 8pm at the St Joseph AME Church (2521 Fayetteville Street, Durham): www.facebook.com/events/551312472123182/
Astronauts Day (the last Friday in January) and International Zebra Day are supposed to be January 31st.
The Southern Workers School will be January 31 - February 1st in Durham (contact the NC AFL-CIO for more information).
Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed during reentry February 1, 2003, due to damage from insulating foam that came off of the large brown external tank during launch. The seven-member crew was killed. The shuttle's remains landed in East Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. NASA management might have been able to prevent the loss, but did not allow a search for damage while Columbia was in space.
NCSSM Powwow - The Pathway to Our Future
The NC School of Science and Math in Durham will host its 23rd annual American Indian powwow Saturday, February 1st, with dance performances (possibly with some audience participation), music, arts and crafts vendors, and food. Earlier in the day NCSSM will have an open house. Tickets cost $5 dollars, while admission is free for children 5 and under. For more information see: www.ncssm.edu/news/ncssm-celebrates-native-american-culture-23rd-annual-powwow-e2-80-a8 and www.ncssm.edu/news/ncssm-celebrates-native-american-culture-23rd-annual-powwow-e2-80-a8
Tree Planting at Durham School of the Arts
Join Keep Durham Beautiful and TreesDurham Saturday, February 1st 1:30 - 4:30pm to plant 25 mostly native tree species for shade and flowers at DSA: keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
The Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo was signed February 2, 1848, ending the Mexican-American War and ceding a large part of Mexico to the USA (though I imagine much of this territory was still controlled by Indian groups, who might have been living there for hundreds or thousands of years, and was only claimed by the Mexican government or controlled to a limited extent).
World Wetlands Day is February 2nd, marking the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands February 2, 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, and this year's theme is "Wetlands and Biodiversity" - www.worldwetlandsday.org/
A Conversation with the Candidates
The Durham Council of PTAs will host this event with local and state candidates running in the March 3rd primary election, Monday, February 3rd and the Carolina Theatre (309 West Morgan Street, Durham). People will be able to mingle with the candidates 6 - 6:45pm in the foyer of Cinema One and there will be hors d'ouevres. The main event will be at 7pm, moderated by Stormie Forte and Dr Deitrich Danner, and the audience will be able to submit questions for the candidates. This is a free event, but registration is encouraged, at: www.eventbrite.com/e/durham-council-of-ptas-presents-a-conversation-with-the-candidates-tickets-85500896483 ; also: www.facebook.com/events/1489139847917409/
World Cancer Day is February 4th.
February 5, 2003 Colin Powell spoke before the UN Security Council, claiming that Iraq had mobile biological weapon labs and was developing nuclear weapons, helping pave the way for the war the US and UK launched in late March. During press conferences by Powell and John Negroponte a tapestry copy of Pablo Picasso's Guernica hanging in the UN headquarters was covered with a blue curtain, allegedly just for the aesthetics of TV broadcasts.
A Date with the Candidates
This will be February 5th at 6:30pm at the Robert and Pearl Seymour Center in Chapel Hill (2551 Homestead Road). From the Facebook event ( www.facebook.com/events/308188370119218/ ):
"Meet the candidates for Orange County Board of County Commissioners and District Court Judge in a “speed dating” environment.
Small groups will sit with the candidates to discuss issues and the candidates will rotate group every 10 minutes to give constituents a chance to talk with everyone.
March 3 is Election Day! Early voting starts Feb 13. Spread the word!"
This is being organized by the Democratic Women of Orange County NC.
The Orangeburg Massacre was February 8, 1968 at South Carolina State University, killing 3 and injuring 27.
The 14th annual HKonJ People's Assembly and Moral March (Historic Thousands on Jones Street) will be in downtown Raleigh Saturday, February 8th: naacpnc.org/hkonj-peoples-assembly-coalition/ There was some chatter about the date being February 8th, but nothing is posted on the old HKonJ website, so I thought there wouldn't be a demonstration this year.
The Obama administration used a drone to kill US citizen and alleged al Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki September 30, 2011 in Yemen, the first such assassination of a citizen. October 14th that year they killed his 17-year-old son Abdulrahman Anwar al-Awlaki, also an American citizen and not known to be involved in terrorism. Allegedly the military had been trying to kill someone else, not present at the time. January 29, 2019 Anwar al-Awlaki's 8-year-old daughter Nawar (Nora) al-Awlaki, another US citizen, was killed during a US-UAE raid in the Yakla area of Yemen, and took two hours to die from a bullet wound. According to the Wikipedia article, more non-combatants (25) were killed than al Qaida members (14), including a three-month-old and other children and a pregnant woman, and more than 120 livestock were killed and over 12 buildings damaged. US losses were one soldier and an Osprey aircraft.
Governor Roy Cooper will be at Chapel Hill's Carolina Coffee Shop (138 East Franklin Street) 5:30 - 7pm January 29th for a 2020 Kick Off Reception. People can protest nearby, but going in will cost at least $50 dollars.
Durham's Siembra Solidarity Monthly Meeting
Supporters of Siembra NC will have their monthly meeting January 29th 6:30 - 8pm at the Self-Help Center (302 West Main Street, Durham). Among other items, there will be discussion of organizing childcare so people can attend Siembra meetings more easily, trainings for ICE monitoring volunteers, and fundraising: www.facebook.com/events/2839412659618541/
How to Win the Green New Deal
This is a meeting hosted by The Climate Reality Project: Orange County, NC chapter Wednesday, January 29th 7 - 9pm at 2 Winnawana Walk in Hillsborough: www.facebook.com/events/3061271877233958/
The Triangle Friends of Farmworkers will have a monthly meeting January 29th at 7pm at 130 Hunt Street, Durham.
[TFF is also seeking donations to fund solidarity efforts with FLOC.]
Duke Energy Carolinas Rate Hike Hearing! (Graham)
This is being organized by Clean Water for NC, Vote Solar, and Appalachian Voices: www.facebook.com/events/442199143354679/
From the Facebook announcement:
"ZERO Rate Hikes for Dirty Energy!
Duke Energy is attempting, yet again, to raise YOUR electricity bills to help pay for DUKE’s coal ash mess. Now is your chance to speak directly to the NC Utilities Commission and let them know, we are NOT going to keep quiet. Duke is raking in record profits but claiming they don’t have the money to fix a problem THEY created. Not to mention, Duke’s proposed rates exclude any direct investment in renewable energy or energy efficiency!
Tell NC Utilities Commissioners no rate hikes for dirty energy - Duke needs to clean up their own mess! No rate hikes for coal ash!
Don’t miss your chance to give comments at the public hearing! Your voice is crucial to making sure Duke pays what it owes.
Please show up by 6:00 PM to sign up to speak!
Duke Energy Carolinas Rate Hike Hearing:
Thursday, January 30th, 7:00 PM
Alamance County Courthouse
1 SE Court Sq, Graham
***If you can’t attend a hearing, you can still submit comments via email to statements[at]ncuc[period]net with the subject line “DOCKET NO. E-7, SUB 1214”
The National Liberation Front's Tet Offensive began January 30, 1968 during the Vietnam War (see: michaelharrison.org.uk/2017/02/31st-january-1968-tet-offensive-vietnam/ ).
Durham DA's Office Town Hall
The District Attorney and staff will hold a town hall January 30th 6 - 8pm at the St Joseph AME Church (2521 Fayetteville Street, Durham): www.facebook.com/events/551312472123182/
Astronauts Day (the last Friday in January) and International Zebra Day are supposed to be January 31st.
The Southern Workers School will be January 31 - February 1st in Durham (contact the NC AFL-CIO for more information).
Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed during reentry February 1, 2003, due to damage from insulating foam that came off of the large brown external tank during launch. The seven-member crew was killed. The shuttle's remains landed in East Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. NASA management might have been able to prevent the loss, but did not allow a search for damage while Columbia was in space.
NCSSM Powwow - The Pathway to Our Future
The NC School of Science and Math in Durham will host its 23rd annual American Indian powwow Saturday, February 1st, with dance performances (possibly with some audience participation), music, arts and crafts vendors, and food. Earlier in the day NCSSM will have an open house. Tickets cost $5 dollars, while admission is free for children 5 and under. For more information see: www.ncssm.edu/news/ncssm-celebrates-native-american-culture-23rd-annual-powwow-e2-80-a8 and www.ncssm.edu/news/ncssm-celebrates-native-american-culture-23rd-annual-powwow-e2-80-a8
Tree Planting at Durham School of the Arts
Join Keep Durham Beautiful and TreesDurham Saturday, February 1st 1:30 - 4:30pm to plant 25 mostly native tree species for shade and flowers at DSA: keepdurhambeautiful.org/creek-week
The Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo was signed February 2, 1848, ending the Mexican-American War and ceding a large part of Mexico to the USA (though I imagine much of this territory was still controlled by Indian groups, who might have been living there for hundreds or thousands of years, and was only claimed by the Mexican government or controlled to a limited extent).
World Wetlands Day is February 2nd, marking the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands February 2, 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, and this year's theme is "Wetlands and Biodiversity" - www.worldwetlandsday.org/
A Conversation with the Candidates
The Durham Council of PTAs will host this event with local and state candidates running in the March 3rd primary election, Monday, February 3rd and the Carolina Theatre (309 West Morgan Street, Durham). People will be able to mingle with the candidates 6 - 6:45pm in the foyer of Cinema One and there will be hors d'ouevres. The main event will be at 7pm, moderated by Stormie Forte and Dr Deitrich Danner, and the audience will be able to submit questions for the candidates. This is a free event, but registration is encouraged, at: www.eventbrite.com/e/durham-council-of-ptas-presents-a-conversation-with-the-candidates-tickets-85500896483 ; also: www.facebook.com/events/1489139847917409/
World Cancer Day is February 4th.
February 5, 2003 Colin Powell spoke before the UN Security Council, claiming that Iraq had mobile biological weapon labs and was developing nuclear weapons, helping pave the way for the war the US and UK launched in late March. During press conferences by Powell and John Negroponte a tapestry copy of Pablo Picasso's Guernica hanging in the UN headquarters was covered with a blue curtain, allegedly just for the aesthetics of TV broadcasts.
A Date with the Candidates
This will be February 5th at 6:30pm at the Robert and Pearl Seymour Center in Chapel Hill (2551 Homestead Road). From the Facebook event ( www.facebook.com/events/308188370119218/ ):
"Meet the candidates for Orange County Board of County Commissioners and District Court Judge in a “speed dating” environment.
Small groups will sit with the candidates to discuss issues and the candidates will rotate group every 10 minutes to give constituents a chance to talk with everyone.
March 3 is Election Day! Early voting starts Feb 13. Spread the word!"
This is being organized by the Democratic Women of Orange County NC.
The Orangeburg Massacre was February 8, 1968 at South Carolina State University, killing 3 and injuring 27.
The 14th annual HKonJ People's Assembly and Moral March (Historic Thousands on Jones Street) will be in downtown Raleigh Saturday, February 8th: naacpnc.org/hkonj-peoples-assembly-coalition/ There was some chatter about the date being February 8th, but nothing is posted on the old HKonJ website, so I thought there wouldn't be a demonstration this year.
According to Wikipedia, the first and only time a submarine has sunk another submarine while both were underwater happened February 9, 1945, when HMS Venturer intercepted and sank U-864 off Norway. U-864 was carrying jet engine and missile guidance system components, as well as mercury, to aid German ally Japan.
Playwright Bertolt Brecht was born February 10, 1898 in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany.
World Pulses Day, devoted to important food plants such as kidney beans, lima beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, broad beans, and lentils, is February 10th. The UN General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses: www.un.org/en/events/pulsesday/ and www.fao.org/world-pulses-day/en/
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is February 11th: www.un.org/en/events/women-and-girls-in-science-day/index.shtml
The Biodiversity in Palestine Conference and Workshop will be held in Bethlehem, Palestine February 11 - 12th. For information about registering, contact info[at]palestinenature[periodorg] or call +970 2 2773553; the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability of Bethlehem University's website is: www.palestinenature.org/
World Radio Day is February 13th: www.un.org/en/events/radioday/
$15 for NC: A People's Hearing
From the Facebook announcement ( www.facebook.com/events/1473214782841683/ ):
"Join workers and allies demanding a $15/hr minimum wage! On Feb. 13 at 6pm [6 - 8pm in Raleigh], workers, clergy, small business owners, and other community leaders will testify about what it's like to be a working person in NC and call for a $15/hr minimum wage statewide. Candidates will attend, listen, briefly respond to testimonies, and give their position on wages. In January 2020, 21 states (blue, purple, and red) raised their minimum wage. North Carolina was not one of them. Southern workers keep being left behind. We can’t live on $7.25/hr-- it's past time to raise the NC minimum wage. Groups like Raising Wages NC made those wage increases happen in other states. We can do it here. 2020 is an election year-- join us on 2/13 to demand our candidates support a $15/hr minimum wage in NC!
Follow our page to get updates on location, accessibility, and parking!
Raising Wages NC is a statewide coalition of working people, unions, religious leaders, community organizations, and policy advocates united to raise wages in North Carolina [hosted by Raising Wages NC, United for a Fair Economy, Just Economics of WNC, and the NC AFL-CIO]."
Valentine's Day is Friday, February 14th, and is controversial from a left or nationalist point of view in some countries (and a right or religious point of view elsewhere), according to Wikipedia. Apparently the 14th day of each month has romantic allusions in the ROK, and April 14th is Black Day, for people who didn't have a valentine.
Allegedly to prevent the potential of injuries from a toxic hydrazine leak on a malfunctioning surveillance satellite, the US Navy was ordered to destroy it with an anti-ballistic missile on February 14, 2008. This also conveniently allowed the military to test a space weapon.
Following an explosion, the USS Maine sank in Havana, Cuba February 15, 1898, killing 260 crew. The explosion was probably accidental, but [a] spark for the Spanish-American War later that spring.
[Military construction on Great Gull Island, New York during the War was a factor in the extinction of the Gull Island vole, discovered by science and then exterminated in a few months.] In 1962 the US military proposed various terrorist acts to justify war with Cuba (Operation Northwoods), including blowing up a US ship in Guantánamo Bay.
World Pangolin Day is February 15th (the third Saturday of the month): www.pangolins.org/world-pangolin-day/
The Report will be shown somewhere in Asheville February 16th, hosted by the Western NC ACLU.
February 17, 1864 Confederate submarine Hunley sank the USS Housatonic outside of Charleston Harbor using a spar torpedo (a pole tipped with an explosive), becoming the first submarine to sink an enemy ship, though the Hunley wasn't underwater during the attack. It was not meant to be a suicide mission, but the eight volunteers operating the Hunley were killed, possibly instantaneously. Five crew members were killed on the USS Housatonic. The Hunley was raised in 2000 and can be seen at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston and there was a movie about it on TNT. Apparently there were other Confederate submarines, a Union submarine lost off Cape Hatteras, and a submarine was even deployed in the Revolutionary War, but it was unsuccessful.
China invaded Vietnam February 17, 1979 in retaliation for Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia (called Democratic Kampuchea) to topple the Khmer Rouge government. China, the USA, Thailand, and other countries supported the Khmer Rouge against Vietnam, which was an ally of the USSR.
President Ford signed Executive Order 11905 February 18, 1976, among other things banning "political assassination." Similar executive orders were signed by Carter on January 24, 1978 and Reagan on December 4, 1981.
The Polish-Soviet War began February 14, 1919 and ended in October 1920. The March 18, 1921 Peace of Riga agreement established the Soviet-Polish border that held during the interwar period.
Clyde W Tombaugh discovered Pluto February 18, 1930. Pluto was considered the 9th planet, but the International Astronomical Union now classifies it as a dwarf planet (the largest yet discovered) and the first member of the Kuiper Belt to be discovered.
Construction of the Soviet space station Mir (meaning peace) began February 19, 1986. Due to lack of funding Russia de-orbited it into the South Pacific March 23, 2001.
World Pulses Day, devoted to important food plants such as kidney beans, lima beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, broad beans, and lentils, is February 10th. The UN General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses: www.un.org/en/events/pulsesday/ and www.fao.org/world-pulses-day/en/
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is February 11th: www.un.org/en/events/women-and-girls-in-science-day/index.shtml
The Biodiversity in Palestine Conference and Workshop will be held in Bethlehem, Palestine February 11 - 12th. For information about registering, contact info[at]palestinenature[periodorg] or call +970 2 2773553; the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability of Bethlehem University's website is: www.palestinenature.org/
World Radio Day is February 13th: www.un.org/en/events/radioday/
$15 for NC: A People's Hearing
From the Facebook announcement ( www.facebook.com/events/1473214782841683/ ):
"Join workers and allies demanding a $15/hr minimum wage! On Feb. 13 at 6pm [6 - 8pm in Raleigh], workers, clergy, small business owners, and other community leaders will testify about what it's like to be a working person in NC and call for a $15/hr minimum wage statewide. Candidates will attend, listen, briefly respond to testimonies, and give their position on wages. In January 2020, 21 states (blue, purple, and red) raised their minimum wage. North Carolina was not one of them. Southern workers keep being left behind. We can’t live on $7.25/hr-- it's past time to raise the NC minimum wage. Groups like Raising Wages NC made those wage increases happen in other states. We can do it here. 2020 is an election year-- join us on 2/13 to demand our candidates support a $15/hr minimum wage in NC!
Follow our page to get updates on location, accessibility, and parking!
Raising Wages NC is a statewide coalition of working people, unions, religious leaders, community organizations, and policy advocates united to raise wages in North Carolina [hosted by Raising Wages NC, United for a Fair Economy, Just Economics of WNC, and the NC AFL-CIO]."
Valentine's Day is Friday, February 14th, and is controversial from a left or nationalist point of view in some countries (and a right or religious point of view elsewhere), according to Wikipedia. Apparently the 14th day of each month has romantic allusions in the ROK, and April 14th is Black Day, for people who didn't have a valentine.
Allegedly to prevent the potential of injuries from a toxic hydrazine leak on a malfunctioning surveillance satellite, the US Navy was ordered to destroy it with an anti-ballistic missile on February 14, 2008. This also conveniently allowed the military to test a space weapon.
Following an explosion, the USS Maine sank in Havana, Cuba February 15, 1898, killing 260 crew. The explosion was probably accidental, but [a] spark for the Spanish-American War later that spring.
[Military construction on Great Gull Island, New York during the War was a factor in the extinction of the Gull Island vole, discovered by science and then exterminated in a few months.] In 1962 the US military proposed various terrorist acts to justify war with Cuba (Operation Northwoods), including blowing up a US ship in Guantánamo Bay.
World Pangolin Day is February 15th (the third Saturday of the month): www.pangolins.org/world-pangolin-day/
The Report will be shown somewhere in Asheville February 16th, hosted by the Western NC ACLU.
February 17, 1864 Confederate submarine Hunley sank the USS Housatonic outside of Charleston Harbor using a spar torpedo (a pole tipped with an explosive), becoming the first submarine to sink an enemy ship, though the Hunley wasn't underwater during the attack. It was not meant to be a suicide mission, but the eight volunteers operating the Hunley were killed, possibly instantaneously. Five crew members were killed on the USS Housatonic. The Hunley was raised in 2000 and can be seen at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston and there was a movie about it on TNT. Apparently there were other Confederate submarines, a Union submarine lost off Cape Hatteras, and a submarine was even deployed in the Revolutionary War, but it was unsuccessful.
China invaded Vietnam February 17, 1979 in retaliation for Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia (called Democratic Kampuchea) to topple the Khmer Rouge government. China, the USA, Thailand, and other countries supported the Khmer Rouge against Vietnam, which was an ally of the USSR.
President Ford signed Executive Order 11905 February 18, 1976, among other things banning "political assassination." Similar executive orders were signed by Carter on January 24, 1978 and Reagan on December 4, 1981.
The Polish-Soviet War began February 14, 1919 and ended in October 1920. The March 18, 1921 Peace of Riga agreement established the Soviet-Polish border that held during the interwar period.
Clyde W Tombaugh discovered Pluto February 18, 1930. Pluto was considered the 9th planet, but the International Astronomical Union now classifies it as a dwarf planet (the largest yet discovered) and the first member of the Kuiper Belt to be discovered.
Construction of the Soviet space station Mir (meaning peace) began February 19, 1986. Due to lack of funding Russia de-orbited it into the South Pacific March 23, 2001.
Hungarian revolutionary Béla Kun (Béla Kohn) was born February 20, 1886 in a Transylvanian village that was part of Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time and is now in Romania. Some of his writings are online at: www.marxists.org/archive/kun-bela/index.htm and otheraspect.org/bela-kun-and-hungarian-soviet-republic/
The World Day of Social Justice is February 20th: www.un.org/en/events/socialjusticeday/
The last known Carolina parakeet died February 21, 1918 at the Cincinnati Zoo, apparently in the same place where the last captive passenger pigeon, Martha, died September 1, 1914. He was named Incas and died shortly after his mate Lady Jane. The last known wild bird was killed in Florida in 1904, though there were reported sightings in swamps near the Santee River in South Carolina, but of course the habitat was later destroyed.
The World Day of Social Justice is February 20th: www.un.org/en/events/socialjusticeday/
The last known Carolina parakeet died February 21, 1918 at the Cincinnati Zoo, apparently in the same place where the last captive passenger pigeon, Martha, died September 1, 1914. He was named Incas and died shortly after his mate Lady Jane. The last known wild bird was killed in Florida in 1904, though there were reported sightings in swamps near the Santee River in South Carolina, but of course the habitat was later destroyed.
UNAC 2020 National Conference
The United National AntiWar Coalition's 2020 Conference: Rise Against Militarism, Racism, and the Climate Crisis - Building Power Together will be February 21 - 23 at The People's Forum in New York City. For more information see: www.unacconference2020.org and www.facebook.com/events/1031747913836142/
Sunrise Durham Orientation Day!
This will be Saturday, February 22nd 10:30am - 5pm in Durham: www.facebook.com/events/479587406320652/
According to Wikipedia, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the first agreement to lease Guantánamo Bay from Cuba February 23, 1903. This was one of the demands of the Platt Amendment giving the US control of Cuba in exchange for ending the direct military occupation following the Spanish-American War. The Platt Amendment was added to Cuba's constitution verbatim December 25, 1901 and the same demands were included in a treaty signed May 22, 1903. Today the US government attempts to hide some of its crimes, such as extrajudicial detention and torture, by carrying them out on Cuban territory.
National Invasive Species Awareness Week is being divided into two parts this year. The first part, February 24-28th, is being devoted to legislative advocacy and part two, May 16-23, is for promoting local awareness: www.nisaw.org/
The night of February 26 - 27, 1991 the US, British, Canadian, and French forces intercepted Iraqi forces retreating from Kuwait, creating the famous Highway of Death. Last year the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was condemned for having a Highway of Death created by a Russian attack on fleeing civilians in fictional Urzikstan. Wikipedia also mentions that players can use white phosphorus as a weapon. As we know from the mainstream "Western" media, the US only violates the rules of war inadvertently and intermittently, unlike Russia and other countries the US government (joined by the "free" and "independent" media) has a problems with.
International Polar Bear Day is Thursday, February 27th ( polarbearsinternational.org/get-involved/international-polar-bear-day )
The siege of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas began February 28, 1993 and came to a fiery end April 19th.
The elected government of Haiti was toppled February 28, 2004, with the involvement of the USA, Canada, and France. Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide says US special forces forcible flew him to exile in the Central African Republic as paramilitaries approached the capital. This was the second coup to overthrow Aristide and there were several assassination attempts.
March 2nd is Tree Planting Day in DPR Korea. This is similar to Arbor Day and Earth Day and was instituted by Kim Jong Il. For more information see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbor_Day#Korea nsnbc.me/2013/03/02/tree-planting-day-in-the-dpr-korea-embodies-socialist-and-traditional-asian-cultural-values/
March 2, 1978 Vladimír Remek became the first person in space not from the USSR or USA, he is the only cosmonaut from Czechoslovakia (and he represented his country ethnically, having a Czech mother and a Slovak father), and he is considered the first astronaut from the EU. Through the Interkosmos program, he was part of the Soyuz 28 mission March 2 - 10, 1978 to the USSR's Salyut 6 space station. He represented the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia in the European Parliament 2004 - 2013 and was appointed Czech ambassador to Russia in January 2014. Asteroid 2552 Remek is named after him.
World Wildlife Day is March 3rd: www.un.org/en/events/wildlifeday/
Sunrise Durham Orientation Day!
This will be Saturday, February 22nd 10:30am - 5pm in Durham: www.facebook.com/events/479587406320652/
According to Wikipedia, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the first agreement to lease Guantánamo Bay from Cuba February 23, 1903. This was one of the demands of the Platt Amendment giving the US control of Cuba in exchange for ending the direct military occupation following the Spanish-American War. The Platt Amendment was added to Cuba's constitution verbatim December 25, 1901 and the same demands were included in a treaty signed May 22, 1903. Today the US government attempts to hide some of its crimes, such as extrajudicial detention and torture, by carrying them out on Cuban territory.
National Invasive Species Awareness Week is being divided into two parts this year. The first part, February 24-28th, is being devoted to legislative advocacy and part two, May 16-23, is for promoting local awareness: www.nisaw.org/
The night of February 26 - 27, 1991 the US, British, Canadian, and French forces intercepted Iraqi forces retreating from Kuwait, creating the famous Highway of Death. Last year the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was condemned for having a Highway of Death created by a Russian attack on fleeing civilians in fictional Urzikstan. Wikipedia also mentions that players can use white phosphorus as a weapon. As we know from the mainstream "Western" media, the US only violates the rules of war inadvertently and intermittently, unlike Russia and other countries the US government (joined by the "free" and "independent" media) has a problems with.
International Polar Bear Day is Thursday, February 27th ( polarbearsinternational.org/get-involved/international-polar-bear-day )
The siege of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas began February 28, 1993 and came to a fiery end April 19th.
The elected government of Haiti was toppled February 28, 2004, with the involvement of the USA, Canada, and France. Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide says US special forces forcible flew him to exile in the Central African Republic as paramilitaries approached the capital. This was the second coup to overthrow Aristide and there were several assassination attempts.
March 2nd is Tree Planting Day in DPR Korea. This is similar to Arbor Day and Earth Day and was instituted by Kim Jong Il. For more information see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbor_Day#Korea nsnbc.me/2013/03/02/tree-planting-day-in-the-dpr-korea-embodies-socialist-and-traditional-asian-cultural-values/
March 2, 1978 Vladimír Remek became the first person in space not from the USSR or USA, he is the only cosmonaut from Czechoslovakia (and he represented his country ethnically, having a Czech mother and a Slovak father), and he is considered the first astronaut from the EU. Through the Interkosmos program, he was part of the Soyuz 28 mission March 2 - 10, 1978 to the USSR's Salyut 6 space station. He represented the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia in the European Parliament 2004 - 2013 and was appointed Czech ambassador to Russia in January 2014. Asteroid 2552 Remek is named after him.
World Wildlife Day is March 3rd: www.un.org/en/events/wildlifeday/
Super Tuesday 2020 Primary Election
Presidential primary elections for various parties will be on Super Tuesday, March 3, 2020 in North Carolina and other states, so NC will have much more influence than usual in the presidential primaries and candidates are actually visiting the state.
The NC Board of Elections now certifies voting machines that could steal the vote electronically, but Durham is still using machines that collect a paper ballot marked by the voter, leaving a voter-marked paper trail for manual recounting.
The NC AFL-CIO endorsed Jessica Holmes for NC Commissioner of Labor and 15 other candidates: aflcionc.org/
The first woman in space, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, was born March 6, 1937, and went into space June 16, 1963.
International Women's Day is Sunday, March 8th.
Russian revolutionary and Soviet statesman Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was born March 9, 1890.
The first human in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, was born March 9, 1934 and went into space April 12, 1961.
In the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu, March 13 to May 7, 1954, the Viet Minh, under General Võ Nguyên Giáp, defeated the US-backed French military. The First Indochina War ended soon after, as did the government of French prime minister Joseph Laniel. France agreed to withdraw from Indochina, which became divided Vietnam, with an election on re-unification to be held in July 1956; Laos; and Cambodia.
International Days of Action Against Sanctions and Economic War
The UNAC is calling for actions March 13 - 15th against the economic warfare being conducted by the USA and its allies to dominate the world, most effecting the poorer and weaker parts of a sanctioned country's population. UNAC says 39 countries are being targeted, equaling a third of the world's population: sanctionskill.org
The NC Museum of Natural History's 25th annual Reptile and Amphibian Day will be Saturday, March 14th: naturalsciences.org/calendar/reptile-and-amphibian-day/
US soldiers carried out the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam March 16th, 1968.
The Advanced Carolina Labor School will be March 17 - 20th in Raleigh (details at: aflcionc.org/ ).
The 21st annual National Farmer Worker Awareness Week is March 25-31: www.saf-unite.org/content/national-farmworker-awareness-week
SOAW will hold a Training Day and Action Convergence March 27 - 29th in Tucson, Arizona.
Earth Hour 2020 is Saturday, March 28th 8:30 - 9:30pm, when people are encouraged to turn off unnecessary lights as a symbol of commitment to dealing with climate change and other environmental problems (and it could reduce light pollution for a short time). National Dark-Sky Week is supposed to be held annually the week of the New Moon in April, which is the week of April 20th this year, coinciding with Earth Day on the 22nd, and highlights light pollution and stargazing.
The annual Pilgrimage for Peace and Justice walk across North Carolina will probably be in early April.
Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated April 4, 1968 while organizing in support of black public workers in Memphis.
BW Wells Heritage Day is usually in April at Falls Lake State Recreation Area ( www.ncparks.gov/falls-lake-state-recreation-area/home ).
April 9, 1948 a neutral Palestinian village near Jerusalem, Deir Yassin, was attacked by Zionist terror groups, which later became part of the Israeli military. The residents were killed during and after the fighting. The Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center was built over the remains of the village.
April 12th is the UN International Human Space Flight Day/Cosmonautics Day/Yuri's Night in honor of the first human space flight and orbit of the Earth, by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in the Vostok 1 spacecraft, in 1961. Apparently the first orbital flight by a space shuttle happened to be on this day in 1981. US Astronauts Day is supposed to be every year on the last Friday in January.
The Jordan Lake Festival will probably be in April at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area ( www.ncparks.gov/jordan-lake-state-recreation-area/home ).
Greensboro will celebrate Earth Day April 18th 11am - 4pm at Greensboro County Park.
The annual Party for the Pine at Weymouth Woods - Sandhills Nature Preserve will be April 18th: www.partyforthepine.org/ and www.facebook.com/friendsofweymouthwoods/
International Workers' Day / May Day (May 1st) is on a Friday this year. There will probably be events around the 1st, but I haven't come across any announcements yet.
The annual Haw River Festival will be May 2nd 4 - 8pm in Saxapahaw ( hawriver.org/events/haw-river-festival/ ).
Alan Shepard became the first American to reach space May 5, 1961, in a suborbital trajectory, and his spacecraft, Mercury-Redstone 3/Freedom 7, allowed for some manual control, unlike Yuri Gagarin's Vostok 1. According to Wikipedia, National Astronaut Day celebrates this anniversary.
International Migratory Bird Day is May 9th (the second Saturday in May)
Mother's Day in the US is Sunday, May 10th and has pacifist and social welfare roots.
I've heard that this is also the time to see mountain laurels blooming at Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, south of Hillsborough, and probably elsewhere along the Eno (www.ncparks.gov/occoneechee-mountain-state-natural-area ). The end of the ice ages left brown elfin butterflies stranded on Occoneechee, white pines at the White Pines Nature Preserve south of Pittsboro, and Eastern hemlocks at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary. In many cases species that live on mountains are very at risk from climate change, because they can only retreat up, and at some point there may be nowhere left to go (see the extinction of the golden toad below). In these examples the species are also found elsewhere, so local extinction wouldn't be complete extinction. Hemlocks also face a threat from a non-native insect, but it has been gotten rid of locally.
May 13, 1985 police surrounded the MOVE house in Philadelphia and a few hours later bombed it by helicopter. In all, 11 members of MOVE, including 5 children, were killed, with 2 survivors (1 adult and 1 child), and around 61 houses in the neighborhood burned to the ground.
The last known sighting of a Costa Rican golden toad was May 15, 1989 and they are thought to be extinct. The species was first described scientifically in 1966. There is still debate about the cause, but this might be an early example of anthropogenic climate change killing a species. Possibly the cause was a chytrid fungus epidemic, possibly assisted by climate change, and a major threat to frog species in many countries.
Endangered Species Day is supposed to be May 15th: www.endangered.org/campaigns/endangered-species-day/
National Invasive Species Awareness Part II is May 16-23: www.nisaw.org/
The NC AFL-CIO endorsed Jessica Holmes for NC Commissioner of Labor and 15 other candidates: aflcionc.org/
The first woman in space, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, was born March 6, 1937, and went into space June 16, 1963.
International Women's Day is Sunday, March 8th.
Russian revolutionary and Soviet statesman Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was born March 9, 1890.
The first human in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, was born March 9, 1934 and went into space April 12, 1961.
In the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu, March 13 to May 7, 1954, the Viet Minh, under General Võ Nguyên Giáp, defeated the US-backed French military. The First Indochina War ended soon after, as did the government of French prime minister Joseph Laniel. France agreed to withdraw from Indochina, which became divided Vietnam, with an election on re-unification to be held in July 1956; Laos; and Cambodia.
International Days of Action Against Sanctions and Economic War
The UNAC is calling for actions March 13 - 15th against the economic warfare being conducted by the USA and its allies to dominate the world, most effecting the poorer and weaker parts of a sanctioned country's population. UNAC says 39 countries are being targeted, equaling a third of the world's population: sanctionskill.org
The NC Museum of Natural History's 25th annual Reptile and Amphibian Day will be Saturday, March 14th: naturalsciences.org/calendar/reptile-and-amphibian-day/
US soldiers carried out the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam March 16th, 1968.
The Advanced Carolina Labor School will be March 17 - 20th in Raleigh (details at: aflcionc.org/ ).
Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov stepped outside of his spacecraft, the first ever extravehicular activity (EVA) in space, March 18, 1965.
Chinese revolutionary and wife of Mao Tse-tung, Jiang Qing/Chiang Ching, was born March 19, 1914.
The Spring Equinox is March 19th this year.
The Iraq War began around March 20, 2003, though the US carried out economic and "kinetic" warfare against Iraq throughout the period between 1991 and 2003.
World Sparrow Day is March 20th: www.worldsparrowday.org Specifically this day refers to house or English sparrows, which are not native to the US, but are or were common in places like strip malls. Now house finches, also non-native, seem to be replacing house sparrows here. House sparrows are also in decline in places where they are native, such as in India. American sparrow species aren't closely related to house sparrows.
Arbor Day is Friday, March 20th ( www.arborday.org/celebrate/dates.cfm ). There is usually a Durham Arbor Day celebration.
The Hungarian Soviet Republic was declared March 21, 1919, but was overthrown by outside military intervention in August 1919. It was led by Béla Kun, born February 20, 1886.
The Haw River Assembly's annual Clean-Up-A-Thon will be Saturday, March 21st. For information on volunteering or sponsorship call 919 542 5790 or contact krooks[at]hawriver[periodorg].
World Water Day is Sunday, March 22nd: www.un.org/en/events/waterday/
Chinese revolutionary and wife of Mao Tse-tung, Jiang Qing/Chiang Ching, was born March 19, 1914.
The Spring Equinox is March 19th this year.
The Iraq War began around March 20, 2003, though the US carried out economic and "kinetic" warfare against Iraq throughout the period between 1991 and 2003.
World Sparrow Day is March 20th: www.worldsparrowday.org Specifically this day refers to house or English sparrows, which are not native to the US, but are or were common in places like strip malls. Now house finches, also non-native, seem to be replacing house sparrows here. House sparrows are also in decline in places where they are native, such as in India. American sparrow species aren't closely related to house sparrows.
Arbor Day is Friday, March 20th ( www.arborday.org/celebrate/dates.cfm ). There is usually a Durham Arbor Day celebration.
The Hungarian Soviet Republic was declared March 21, 1919, but was overthrown by outside military intervention in August 1919. It was led by Béla Kun, born February 20, 1886.
The Haw River Assembly's annual Clean-Up-A-Thon will be Saturday, March 21st. For information on volunteering or sponsorship call 919 542 5790 or contact krooks[at]hawriver[periodorg].
World Water Day is Sunday, March 22nd: www.un.org/en/events/waterday/
The 21st annual National Farmer Worker Awareness Week is March 25-31: www.saf-unite.org/content/national-farmworker-awareness-week
SOAW will hold a Training Day and Action Convergence March 27 - 29th in Tucson, Arizona.
Earth Hour 2020 is Saturday, March 28th 8:30 - 9:30pm, when people are encouraged to turn off unnecessary lights as a symbol of commitment to dealing with climate change and other environmental problems (and it could reduce light pollution for a short time). National Dark-Sky Week is supposed to be held annually the week of the New Moon in April, which is the week of April 20th this year, coinciding with Earth Day on the 22nd, and highlights light pollution and stargazing.
The annual Pilgrimage for Peace and Justice walk across North Carolina will probably be in early April.
Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated April 4, 1968 while organizing in support of black public workers in Memphis.
BW Wells Heritage Day is usually in April at Falls Lake State Recreation Area ( www.ncparks.gov/falls-lake-state-recreation-area/home ).
April 9, 1948 a neutral Palestinian village near Jerusalem, Deir Yassin, was attacked by Zionist terror groups, which later became part of the Israeli military. The residents were killed during and after the fighting. The Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center was built over the remains of the village.
April 12th is the UN International Human Space Flight Day/Cosmonautics Day/Yuri's Night in honor of the first human space flight and orbit of the Earth, by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in the Vostok 1 spacecraft, in 1961. Apparently the first orbital flight by a space shuttle happened to be on this day in 1981. US Astronauts Day is supposed to be every year on the last Friday in January.
The Jordan Lake Festival will probably be in April at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area ( www.ncparks.gov/jordan-lake-state-recreation-area/home ).
Greensboro will celebrate Earth Day April 18th 11am - 4pm at Greensboro County Park.
Russian revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin was born April 22, 1870.
Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22nd.
Easter Rising for Irish independence began April 24, 1916.
Save the Frogs Day is the last Saturday in April, the 25th this year ( www.savethefrogs.com/d/day/index.html ).
The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan launched the Saur Revolution April 27, 1978, followed by US support for Islamist terrorists, prior to the Soviet intervention in December 1979 that overthrew the more radical faction of the PDPA.
The last French soldiers withdrew from Vietnam April 28, 1956, but US intervention increased and turned into the Vietnam War.
Workers' Memorial Day is Tuesday, April 28th, and there is usually an NC AFL-CIO commemoration in Raleigh.
Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22nd.
Easter Rising for Irish independence began April 24, 1916.
2020 North Carolina Statewide Star Party
There will be stargazing events across the State April 24 - 25, part of the NC Science Festival throughout April. This year's theme is "Seeing the Universe" This is the 8th year for this annual event. For more, see: www.ncsciencefestival.org/starparty
Save the Frogs Day is the last Saturday in April, the 25th this year ( www.savethefrogs.com/d/day/index.html ).
The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan launched the Saur Revolution April 27, 1978, followed by US support for Islamist terrorists, prior to the Soviet intervention in December 1979 that overthrew the more radical faction of the PDPA.
The last French soldiers withdrew from Vietnam April 28, 1956, but US intervention increased and turned into the Vietnam War.
Workers' Memorial Day is Tuesday, April 28th, and there is usually an NC AFL-CIO commemoration in Raleigh.
International Workers' Day / May Day (May 1st) is on a Friday this year. There will probably be events around the 1st, but I haven't come across any announcements yet.
The annual Haw River Festival will be May 2nd 4 - 8pm in Saxapahaw ( hawriver.org/events/haw-river-festival/ ).
Alan Shepard became the first American to reach space May 5, 1961, in a suborbital trajectory, and his spacecraft, Mercury-Redstone 3/Freedom 7, allowed for some manual control, unlike Yuri Gagarin's Vostok 1. According to Wikipedia, National Astronaut Day celebrates this anniversary.
International Migratory Bird Day is May 9th (the second Saturday in May)
Mother's Day in the US is Sunday, May 10th and has pacifist and social welfare roots.
I've heard that this is also the time to see mountain laurels blooming at Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, south of Hillsborough, and probably elsewhere along the Eno (www.ncparks.gov/occoneechee-mountain-state-natural-area ). The end of the ice ages left brown elfin butterflies stranded on Occoneechee, white pines at the White Pines Nature Preserve south of Pittsboro, and Eastern hemlocks at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary. In many cases species that live on mountains are very at risk from climate change, because they can only retreat up, and at some point there may be nowhere left to go (see the extinction of the golden toad below). In these examples the species are also found elsewhere, so local extinction wouldn't be complete extinction. Hemlocks also face a threat from a non-native insect, but it has been gotten rid of locally.
May 13, 1985 police surrounded the MOVE house in Philadelphia and a few hours later bombed it by helicopter. In all, 11 members of MOVE, including 5 children, were killed, with 2 survivors (1 adult and 1 child), and around 61 houses in the neighborhood burned to the ground.
The last known sighting of a Costa Rican golden toad was May 15, 1989 and they are thought to be extinct. The species was first described scientifically in 1966. There is still debate about the cause, but this might be an early example of anthropogenic climate change killing a species. Possibly the cause was a chytrid fungus epidemic, possibly assisted by climate change, and a major threat to frog species in many countries.
Endangered Species Day is supposed to be May 15th: www.endangered.org/campaigns/endangered-species-day/
National Invasive Species Awareness Part II is May 16-23: www.nisaw.org/
The 11th annual Longleaf Festival will be May 16th at Harris Lake County Park in Wake County ( www.wakegov.com/parks/harrislake/Pages/Longleaf-Festival.aspx ).
Jackie Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier May 18, 1953 flying a Canadair Sabre fighter, borrowed from the Royal Canadian Air Force, over Rogers Dry Lake, California. She made several aviation records as a female pilot and Wikipedia says she has the most speed and distance records of any pilot in history.
World Turtle Day is Wednesday, May 23rd: www.worldturtleday.org/
During the Tulsa Race Riot May 31 - June 1, 1921 in Oklahoma there was fighting on the ground and private airplanes dropped incendiaries.
June 3, 1844 a breeding pair of great auks (Pinguinus impennis), the original penguin, though they aren't related to the Antarctic penguins, and their egg were killed by commercial collectors (Jón Brandsson, Sigurður Ísleifsson, and Ketill Ketilsson) on the island of Eldey, Iceland, eliminating the last known breeding pair. The UK's last known auk was killed in Scotland in July 1840, suspected of being a malevolent witch. Wikipedia says one auk was seen in 1852 off Newfoundland, Canada. There were conservation laws starting in 1553, but auks were hunted to extinction on both sides of the Atlantic, and specimens became more in demand as their numbers dwindled. During the winter these large penguinlike birds, related to puffins, ranged as far south as the coast of South Carolina and possibly further. Fossils have been found in southern France and Italy. There has been discussion of attempting to bring the auk 'back to life,' which would be good, though cloning isn't the same as resurrecting a species exactly as it once was.
The Carolina Labor School will be held July 19 - 24th in Wilmington (see the NC AFL-CIO for more information.
The NC AFL-CIO's 63rd Annual Convention will be September 24 - 25th in Raleigh.
Jackie Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier May 18, 1953 flying a Canadair Sabre fighter, borrowed from the Royal Canadian Air Force, over Rogers Dry Lake, California. She made several aviation records as a female pilot and Wikipedia says she has the most speed and distance records of any pilot in history.
World Turtle Day is Wednesday, May 23rd: www.worldturtleday.org/
During the Tulsa Race Riot May 31 - June 1, 1921 in Oklahoma there was fighting on the ground and private airplanes dropped incendiaries.
June 3, 1844 a breeding pair of great auks (Pinguinus impennis), the original penguin, though they aren't related to the Antarctic penguins, and their egg were killed by commercial collectors (Jón Brandsson, Sigurður Ísleifsson, and Ketill Ketilsson) on the island of Eldey, Iceland, eliminating the last known breeding pair. The UK's last known auk was killed in Scotland in July 1840, suspected of being a malevolent witch. Wikipedia says one auk was seen in 1852 off Newfoundland, Canada. There were conservation laws starting in 1553, but auks were hunted to extinction on both sides of the Atlantic, and specimens became more in demand as their numbers dwindled. During the winter these large penguinlike birds, related to puffins, ranged as far south as the coast of South Carolina and possibly further. Fossils have been found in southern France and Italy. There has been discussion of attempting to bring the auk 'back to life,' which would be good, though cloning isn't the same as resurrecting a species exactly as it once was.
The Carolina Labor School will be held July 19 - 24th in Wilmington (see the NC AFL-CIO for more information.
The NC AFL-CIO's 63rd Annual Convention will be September 24 - 25th in Raleigh.
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