On my old profile

I've been thinking about rewriting my profile, and editing some other parts of this blog, but I wanted to keep some of the information around, so I'm posting the current version here:

I am a Durham native and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill after studying biology and anthropology.  I am distantly related to Irish bourgeois democratic revolutionary Thomas Francis Meagher, who was also a US general during the Civil War and an acting governor of territorial Montana.  I was a member of AML, which dissolved around 2008 – 2012.  I worked with USMLO's Voice of Revolution newspaper locally for several years without being a member.  I joined the NC Green Party several years ago for electoral work.  Unless otherwise stated, my posts don't represent any group.  My profile image is an uncommon pinxterflower that grew near the edge of RTP in Durham for probably more than 20 years, but that bush and the entire population were seemingly killed by Duke Energy, though they knew about the flowers.  The next nearest pinxterflowers I know of are miles away, so unless there are surviving sprouts or seeds, these rare azaleas are probably not going to return there anytime soon (see my 9/8/2018 DS post).  I reserve the copyright on content I created while other content is posted with permission or under fair use.  I rarely check the listed email. 

I think previous versions gave a few different personal details, covered other groups I worked with and historical figures, and advocated policies.  Most of the time it was minimal and is longer now.  I'm not sure about posting the other profiles again here, though they are still online.  I had to check to see what I had posted previously.

I'm not sure if these versions were all actually posted:

I was born and raised in Durham. I studied biology and anthropology at UNC-Chapel Hill and since then I have done both blue and white collar work, for government and private employers. My profile photo shows Phat Ryan/Rockin' Ruben, the cardinal sculpture in Durham's Central Park.

This might have been posted February 8, 2008:

I was born and raised in Durham. As a communist, I am for a revolutionary democratic working class government that will steadily build socialism. Some steps would be to expropriate Big Business, turning it over to its workers to run within a democratically planned and sustainable economy, end “free trade,” encourage cooperatives, and nationalize land. Government should be open, the anti-democratic “national security state” should be smashed, the people armed, the legislature supreme, and officials should be elected, recallable, and paid like workers. It must support self-determination for all nations, including those in the USA, like Puerto Rico. I support enlarging the Bill of Rights, ending the second class citizenship of LGBT people and other minorities, abolishing the death penalty, preserving biodiversity, fighting climate change with renewable and nuclear power, space development, legalizing industrial hemp and ending the “War on Drugs.” 

I am an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist, supporting revolutionary communist leaders such as Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Enver Hoxha (Albania), and Bill Bland (UK) [I could add AML's Hari Kumar]. I also admire bourgeois revolutionaries such as Thomas Jefferson.

I was born and raised in Durham and studied biology and anthropology at UNC-Chapel Hill and since then have worked for private and government employers. I am distantly related to Irish bourgeois democratic revolutionary Thomas Francis Meagher, who was also a Union [or Federal] general during the Civil War and a territorial governor of Montana. I was a member of Alliance Marxist-Leninist, but since its dissolution in about 2008 I have worked with groups such as USMLO and PCUSA, though I am not a member. In electoral politics I support the Green Party, the closest thing to a left alternative in North Carolina, though punitive rules have kept it off the ballot. This blog covers a variety of issues, but I am most interested in conservation, labor and economic issues, civil liberties and democratic rights, and fighting imperialism, beginning with US imperialism. My profile photo shows appropriately crimson Phat Ryan/Rockin' Ruben, the cardinal sculpture in the Durham Central Park. My email is listed, but I don't check it very often, so if I reply, it might take a long time.  

For several years I used a late December 2009 image of 'appropriately crimson' Phat Ryan/Rockin' Ruben (there was a dispute about the name), a sculpture of a male Northern cardinal in Durham Central Park, for my profile.  I think that was the first image.  Cardinals, also called "red birds" or "redbirds," though only adult males are so showy in scarlet and black, are North Carolina's state bird.  

The current image, added a few years ago, shows the large, old, possibly ill-fated pinxterflower near Research Triangle Park blooming one evening in late April 2013.  I've thought about posting a photo essay of pinxterflowers I know of in the Triangle in bloom some spring.  The flowers remind me of East Asian higanbana/red spider lilies and pink magic lilies (genus Lycoris, in the Amaryllis family, as apparently are daffodils, soon to bloom or maybe already starting here, since it was an unusually mild January).  I might add to this post later on.  

The Phat Ryan/Rockin' Ruben male cardinal sculpture in Durham Central Park around Christmas 2009 ©.

A large pinxterflower, Rhododendron periclymenoides, a native deciduous azalea, flowering near RTP in Durham in late April 2013 ©.

 

 

A note on Durham Spark at 13 and a summer calendar

A note for the 13th anniversary of Durham Spark

My first post was June 6, 2005 ( durhamspark.blogspot.com/2005/06/about-this-blog-or-my-first-post.html ) and I'm proud to have kept this blog going for 13 years (a good prime number), though there are shortcomings; for example I wanted to have more original, journalistic content and detailed analysis, posts aren't very frequent, and I planned to post about this anniversary on June 6th.  The title probably needs clarification.  I was looking for a title along the lines of the Toledo Blade, Charleston Mercury, and Madisonville Meteor, but with an 'industrial' and 'political' quality, and settled on the Durham Spark.  It is hard to recall now, but I don't think I intended to emulate the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party's Iskra (Russian for spark), initially run by Lenin. 

Calendar:

More items will be added later on and some may be listed without full endorsement.

Plastic Free July challenges people to last a month without single-use plastic products:   www.plasticfreejuly.org/  Plastic is becoming common in the oceans, killing oceanic birds and even whales that ingest it.  It is predicted that plastic pollution will outweigh fish in the oceans by 2050.  Plastic litter is also common along roads and in popular parks around here.  I think the General Assembly repealed a ban on plastic bags on the Outer Banks a few years ago.      

June is NC LGBT Pride Month (  governor.nc.gov/news/governor-roy-cooper-proclaims-june-lgbt-pride-month ) 

Chapel Hill Peace Vigil

Is 5 - 6pm on Fridays at the corner of East Franklin and Elliot streets (Village Plaza shopping center, near Whole Foods).

Upcoming library book sales

Friends of the Durham Library sales ( durhamcountylibrary.org/friends/ ):  August 4, September 15-16, October 27, and December 1-2. 

The next Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library book sales will be September 7-9 and December 7-9 ( friendschpl.org/wp/book-sales/ ).

 
Like the Durham libraries, Lee County libraries have ongoing booksales at the branches.

Elected Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown June 28, 2009, with the support of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration.  This rightist coup contributed to the violence and poverty in Honduras, for example the assassination of environmentalist Berta Cáceres March 2, 2016, and the result is high levels of unauthorized immigration to the US ( www.soaw.org/border/ ).  If people in the US want to reduce undocumented immigration, a start would be to stop fomenting and abetting political and economic oppression in Latin America and elsewhere.      

The Stonewall Riots began June 28, 1969.  
 
US - Cuba Friendship Caravan event in Durham
 
The Pastors for Peace project will be at the Community Family Life and Recreation Center in Lyon Park (1309 Fayetteville Street) 3 - 5pm June 30th. 
 
Mexico will have a general election July 1st, and left populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador seems likely to be elected president.    
 
The Battle of Gettysburg was July 1 - 3, 1863 in Pennsylvania, and was the Civil War battle with the most casualties, missing, wounded, or killed.  Together with the Federal victory at Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4th it is seen as a major turning point.   
 
July 3, 1988 the USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 in Iranian airspace and while the ship was in Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, killing 290 civilians (66 children) from several countries.  The US government paid restitution, but refused to apologize and the captain and crew of the Vincennes received various awards.   

The 13 Colonies declared independence from the UK July 4, 1776, though the Revolutionary War/War for Independence had already begun, in 1775. 

There will be a July 4th celebration in Carrboro on the 4th, 10am - 3:30pm at the Town Hall, with tablers including the Triangle branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

Eno River Festival

This 39th edition of the annual celebration will be Wednesday, July 4th and Saturday July 7th at West Point on the Eno ( www.enofest.org/#welcome ).

Emma Goldman:  Dangerous Woman

Dr Sally Ann Drucker will discuss anarchist Emma Goldman's life (June 27, 1869 - May 14, 1940) and activism, July 7th at 2pm at Durham's Southwest Regional Library. 

July 12 is Día del Árbol (Day of the Tree), Mexico's version of Arbor Day (see Wikipedia and www.arborday.org/celebrate/world-dates.cfm ). 

The Storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution was July 15, 1789, and July 15th is an important holiday in France today.

"FIGHT FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND DEFEATING GAG RULE Join those concerned about civil rights outside Senator Thom Tillis's Raleigh office while Population Connection's Health Empowerment Rights meets inside with Senator Tillis's staff to demand an end to Trump's Global Gag Rule. RSVP and learn more on Facebook here [ www.facebook.com/events/844998915695374/ ]. 2:30- 3:30 p.m., Monday, July 16, 310 New Bern Avenue, Suite 122, corner of Person Street.  Amanda period murray at populationconnection period org]" [from the Chapel Hill activist calendar]

#NoPipelines #RiseTogether weeks of action July 16 - 31  ( www.nobayoubridge.global/risetogether )

Rally and Letter Delivery to Save Net Neutrality

It will be Thursday, July 19th at 12pm at 2741 Campus Walk Avenue, Durham 27705 and is part of a national day of action organized by Demand Progress.

Popular Resistance Classrooms Not Computers National Teach - In July 19 and December 28, 8 - 9:30pm EST  ( popularresistance.org )

The Energy Crisis Inside the Greek Debt Crisis

UNC anthropologist Sandy Smith - Nonini will discuss her recent fieldwork in Greece at Recyclique (2811 Hillsborough Road, Durham; communecos.org/ ) Friday, July 20th at 6:30pm.  There is a suggested donation of $5 dollars.  Parking is available behind the building or at the nearby Food Lion. 

 
National Moth Week is July 21 – 29 ( www.nationalmothweek.org/ ). 

The comment period on the US Fish and Wildlife Service's proposal to reduce the protected area for the endangered red wolf in eastern North Carolina ends July 30th ( www.fws.gov/southeast/faq/red-wolf-proposed-10j-rule-and-draft-environment-assessment-announcement/ ). 

Map Your Local News Ecosystem workshop

Saturday, July 21st at 1pm at Durham's Southwest Regional Library News Voices:  North Carolina Director Fiona Morgan will lead a discussion of the local media network, to help participants get more from the media. 

Frank Hyman talk

Durham political activist and writer Frank Hyman will give a talk titled:  "The Founding Fathers Wanted to Avoid a Tyranny of the Majority, but Instead We're Stuck with a Tyranny of the Minority," on the control of the Federal government by a party with a minority of support, enacting unpopular policies, and what can be done.  This will be July 21st at 10am at Durham's Southwest Regional Library. 

The Farmworker Organizing Committee (FLOC) seeks volunteer drivers

FLOC needs some help getting workers from nearby farms to meetings Sunday, July 22nd and Saturday, August 18th.  There is not a great need for drivers, but they could still use more volunteers and there will be future meetings. 

Peacebuilding in the Holy Land

This announcement was sent out on a few email lists:

 "Two speakers on Peacebuilding in the Holy Land, 11:30 July 22

 

Last fall, two NC graduate students traveled to Israel/Palestine in an Interfaith Peace Builders delegation.  This Sunday they will reflect on their journey and their research before and after.

Melissa Gamble, African American Duke Divinity Master’s Program student, will discuss 

“The Theology of Palestinian Liberation as it intersects with Black Liberation Theology."

Kylie Stephens, a student in the Peace and Conflict Resolution program at UNCG, will discuss 

“The Right of Return: Moving Beyond Perceptions and Toward Peacebuilding.”

Come hear from our visitors and join in the discussion, 11:30 a.m., upstairs in the Overlook Room! 

Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church, 304 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill 27514

 

Free Sunday parking is available in the Planetarium lot next to the church." 

 

First Annual Community Love Cookout

Witness for Peace Southeast is organizing this solidarity cookout to celebrate community organizers and share experiences.  It will be a Shelter #4 in Raleigh's Pullen Park (520 Ashe Avenue, Raleigh, 27606), Sunday, July 22nd 5 - 8pm

July 23, 2002 British officials met to discuss US Iraq policy, resulting in the Downing Street Minutes or Memo, which seems to say that a disingenuous case for war was being presented and bombing in preparation for war was already going on, among other revelations.  Several other documents illuminating the path to the war of aggression against Iraq were also leaked. 

The 2018 Gardener's Fair, organized by the Durham Garden Forum, will be Tuesday, July 24th, 6:30 - 8pm at Duke Gardens.  For more information, email durhamgardenforum at gmail period com. 

The 22nd annual International Seminar on Problems of the Revolution in Latin America, organized by the PCMLE and the JRE youth organization, will meet July 25 - 27th in Quito, Ecuador.

Build Relationships with Local Media

News Voices:  North Carolina Director Fiona Morgan will discuss how people can dialogue with journalists for better coverage, Thursday, July 26th at 6:30pm at Durham's East Regional Library.

Raleigh Fundraiser for FLOC

There will be a reading by author Sandra Cisneros at NCSU Thursday, August 2nd to benefit FLOC.  I don't have further details yet. [It will be in the Hunt Library Auditorium at NCSU, 1070 Partners Way, Raleigh, at 7pm.  The NC State Bookstore will sell books for signing after Cisneros' talk, benefitting FLOC.  For more information, call 919 513 3481.]   

Atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 6th and 9th 1945, respectively. 

Fundraising Concert for the NC Farmworker Union, FLOC

Triangle Friends of Farmworkers and the National Farm Worker Ministry are organizing a fundraising event Tuesday, August 7th at 130 Hunt Street in Durham starting at 7:30pm (open at 7pm).  There will be a FLOC update and a concert by folk singer and composer Rod MacDonald.  Free parking is available at the Senior Center across the street.  For more information or tickets, contact daustin at mindspring period com.  Tickets are $20 dollars (negotiable, and larger amounts appreciated), and can  be sent to Dave Austin, 130 Hunt Street, Apt 407, Durham, North Carolina 27701.  To donate to FLOC directly, see:  www.cmwj.org/wordpress/

German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born August 27, 1770 in Stuttgart, Germany; his works were an important influence in the later development of Marxism. 

Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice! national day of action September 8th.  An event is being planned in Raleigh, details TBA:   actionnetwork.org/events/rise-for-climate-action-raleigh?referrer=karen-bearden&source=direct_link

Mexico's Independence Day is September 16th, commemorating Miguel Hidalgo's Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) in 1810.

Henrietta Boggs film showing

September 15th to October 15th is National Hispanic Heritage Month, and there will be a showing of First Lady of the Revolution:  A Southern Belle's Journey Through Love, Exile, and Revolution September 20th at 6:30pm in the Durham Arts Council's PSI Theatre (120 Morris Street).  Henrietta Boggs was born May 6, 1918 in South Carolina, was a debutante in Alabama, and married Costa Rican anti-communist liberal leader Jose Figueres Ferrer, though they divorced in 1954.  She moved back to the US, where she was employed by Costa Rica's UN delegation. 

The North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture report will be published September 26th. 

There will be a general election in NC November 6th (www.dconc.gov/home/showdocument?id=24338 ).     

School of the Americas Watch Border Encuentro 2018 will be November 16 - 18 at the southern border in Nogales Arizona/Sonora ( www.soaw.org/border/2018-encuentro/ ). 

The First International Conference Against US/NATO Military Bases will also be November 16 - 18, in Dublin, Ireland ( NoUSNATOBases.org ).