This was accidentally posted before I finished editing. More items will be added during coming weeks.
Garbis Altinoglu (pen name Gumus Velli) passed away in mid October and his funeral was October 21st in Belgium. At one time he was a leader in the underground Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Turkey and was active in the International Struggle Marxist-Leninist project more recently. He was born April 4, 1946 in Armenia but lived in Turkey from a young age. After the military coup in 1980 he was arrested and held for 11 years, with torture and harsh conditions, after which he was exiled and became a refugee in Belgium. He wrote or translated a number of essays and books; for some of his English-language works posted online see:
, on repression, political prisoners, torture, and assassinations in Turkey up to 2000 (but still relevant today, as can be seen in Turkey's continuing suppression of leftists and activism and its fight against Kurdish self-determination both inside Turkey and in Syria and Iraq);
CHOCE is holding vigils every Friday morning 8 - 10am outside UNC's coal-fired Co-generation Plant (504 Cameron Avenue). For more information contact Richard (period) Gary 057 (at) gmail (period com).
There is or was a peace vigil for about 20 years or more every Friday afternoon 5 - 6 or 4:30 - 5:30pm, most recently at Village Plaza in Chapel Hill.
On late summer nights, and it seems especially on cool late September nights, many copperheads enter rural and suburban roads and then can't or won't move away when cars approach. I usually see copperheads only in late summer or early fall, though there is evidently a large population. Since September was warm, copperheads might be out longer than usual, into October. Despite being venomous copperhead bites are not very dangerous and bites are often the result of people stepping on a snake or trying to kill one, and sometimes people get punctured just handling dead copperheads. At this time of year someone could step on a copperhead and get a defensive bite while walking on a residential street without a flashlight. Like other snakes, the vast majority of which are non-venomous, and which people often can't actually identify, copperheads would prefer to be left alone and not waste valuable venom biting non-prey items, and they help control rodents and other small animals. I use a grabber to remove copperheads from roads or I try to persuade them to move off, staying far enough away to avoid being bitten. Non-venomous species, such as rat snakes and Eastern kingsnakes, which eat copperheads, can be found on rural roads during the day and frequently get killed. Snakes seem more common, diverse, and larger in rural areas than in my neighborhood, so it is up to cats and birds of prey to control rodents here (assuming large snakes really are rare), while copperheads could benefit from the absence of most of their predators.
This iconic building with a black cat logo has been a landmark on Old Oxford Road near Penny's Bend on the Eno in East Durham for 100 years, and is to be demolished for construction. A
is being circulated to support moving it a short distance to a site by the new Sandy Ridge Elementary School and renovate it as a community center. Closer to the Eno there are several threatened plant species, and hopefully someone checked the Catsburg area before the new project was approved, though endangered plants have fewer protections than endangered animals due to legal history. The
It is almost too late to complain about this NPR affiliate's news coverage and editorial line as it renews its broadcasting license (though it is apparently possible to make licensing comments electronically), but there is a general Federal Communications Commission complaints page that includes radio stations at:
North Carolina radio station license renewal applications had to be made by August 1st and the previous licenses expire December 1st, but comments have to be made about a month before the expiration date. License renewal dates are listed by state at:
Local supporters can join a picket line at a service and operations distribution center in Charlotte: GM CCA, 10815 Quality Drive, zip code 28278.
GM received a $11.7 billion dollar bailout under TARP and concessions from its workers, but now GM wants to close five factories in Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio; hire more full-time, temporary, lower wage workers doing the same jobs as unionized workers, a practice that began after the bailout; and the company wants workers to pay more for health insurance. GM's sales figures are online at:
The Farm Labor Organizing Committee and supporting groups have begun protesting outside Greenleaf Nursery near Tarboro. FLOC has had problems with Barajas, the contractor that provides farmworkers for Greenleaf, and when organizers leafleted at the nursery Friday, October 25th they were forced out and the Sheriff was called, resulting in second degree trespassing charges. FLOC says workers said they were being paid less than what is required by law. I'm not sure if protest details are meant to be public, so call FLOC's NC office (
) or contact Triangle Friends of Farmworkers for information. There apparently isn't anywhere to park at the site, so people are meeting elsewhere and there is carpooling from Durham.
The Embassy Protectors, Americans who occupied Venezuela's embassy in Washington with the permission of the elected Maduro administration, to prevent the US government and coup supporters from seizing the building, were removed by the US and now face trials on various charges, and some could be imprisoned for up to a year and fined $100,000 dollars. They are seeking tax-deductible donations to pay $50,000 in legal fees and solidarity messages and actions by other groups. For more information see:
The Friends of the Durham Library will have booksales October 5 - 6th and December 7 - 8th, and the hours for all of these sales will be 10am - 12pm members only and 12 - 4pm open to all on Saturdays and 1 - 4pm $10 paper grocery bag sales open to all on Sundays. The sales are at Books Among Friends (Suite 252) inside Northgate Mall (1058 West Club Boulevard, Durham), formerly next to Sears (with Sears closed, people will have to enter through Entrance 8, between Foot Locker and Plato's Closet; Books Among Friends has a back service door, but it probably won't be left open). There are small satellite sales inside the library branches daily (
The Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library's last book sale of the year will be December 6 - 8th (
Friends of the Lee County Library has occasional weekend book sales and a continuous book sale:
This pioneering native plant nursery a few miles southwest of Carrboro is going out of business (
). It is no longer possible to order online, but they will be open and there will be sales until their last day of operation, October 18th. Plants can't be reserved, sales are final, and there won't be exchanges, credits, or itemized receipts. The nursery itself is for sale. Niche is at 1111 Dawson Road (look for a gravel driveway on the left); from Carrboro take Jones Ferry Road across University Lake, turn right on to Old Greensboro Road, and Dawson Road is on the left after 7.5 miles, a short distance before Old Greensboro Road crosses the Haw River into Alamance County. Besides the retail nursery there are display gardens. NCSU graduate Kim Hawks founded Niche Gardens on Dawson Road in 1986, when gardening with native plants was a more unusual concept. The nursery was also a pioneer in selling plants online. Hawks sold the nursery to employee Blair Durant in 2002.
World Space Week is October 4-10th, which includes the launch of Sputnik 1 October 4, 1957 and the signing of the Outer Space Treaty October 10, 1967: www.un.org/en/events/spaceweek/
Big Sweep trash cleanups
There will be trash cleanups across the state this fall as part of the annual Big Sweep; Big Sweep in Durham is usually the first weekend in October, though the City/County will collect trash picked up and placed on the side of roads at other times as well (see keepdurhambeautiful.org/big-sweep/ for Durham events).
Astronomy Day is October 5th, as well as
World Teachers' Day:
en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldteachersday
The
Cominform (Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties), a partial replacement for the Comintern, was founded October 5, 1947 (disbanded April 17, 1956).
World Can't Wait organized demonstrations against US wars in more than 200 locations, with almost every state having at least one protest, October 5, 2006.
The
Celebrate Fuquay-Varina Festival will be October 5th 10am - 4pm:
www.facebook.com/events/508833136533875/ and
www.celebratefv.com
The
Taste of China Food Festival (also covering other aspects of Chinese culture) will be October 5th 11am - 5:30pm at Raleigh's Bicentennial Square:
www.facebook.com/events/961908034006638/
The
Bass Lake Nature Festival in Holly Springs will be October 5th 1 - 4pm:
hollyspringsnc.us/350/Bass-Lake-Day (the date and time should be correct, but this could be an old post)
The
400th Anniversary : Year of Commemoration and Return will be the night of October 5th 6pm - 1am at the Sheraton Imperial in RTP and will include Ghanaian historian Kojo A Yankah, NC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green, curator Earl Ijames, NC Senator Floyd McKissick, and Rev Dr John Mendez. This is organized by the Triangle Area Asanteman Kuo:
www.eventbrite.com/e/400th-anniversary-year-of-commemoration-and-return-tickets-62276648131
The
JamborEno - at the Confluence festival will be October 5 - 6th at the Confluence Natural Area in Hillsborough:
www.eventbrite.com/e/jamboreno-at-the-confluence-2019-tickets-69933768785
Moth Night @ Woodcroft
Join landscape ecologist Stephen Hall to look at some of the fall moths flying in Durham. This will be along the paved Third Fork Creek Trail in the Woodcroft neighborhood October 5th at 8pm. There is parking at the Woodcroft Swim and Tennis Club and volunteers will direct people to the location. Participants should bring flashlights, close-toed shoes, and there could be mosquitoes. This event is organized by the Woodcroft Eco-Friendly Landscape Committee.
German-American Day is October 6th and commemorates the arrival of 13 German families in Philadelphia in 1683. They founded Germantown, Pennsylvania and are supposed to have been the first to petition (in 1688) for the abolition of slavery in the English colonies and the first call for equal human rights in the USA.
October 6th is also supposed to be
National Noodle Day.
The
1973 Arab-Israeli War, also known as the Yom Kippur, Ramadan, or October War, was October 6 - 25th.
The
Forest Theatre 100th Anniversary Celebration will be October 6th 2-4pm at the amphitheatre nestled in forested Battle Park in Chapel Hill, with performances including PlayMakers Repertory Company, Paperhand Puppet Intervention, and other groups. Parking at UNC is free on Sundays and this is a free event, but RSVP are requested:
bit.ly/forest100 and
www.facebook.com/events/430794910891321/
October 6 - 12th is
Mental Illness Awareness Week.
The German Democratic Republic was founded October 7, 1949. The Federal Republic of Germany was founded May 23rd, formally dividing the country.
World Habitat Day is October 7th (the first Monday each October):
www.un.org/en/events/habitatday/
The dubious Afghanistan War began October 7, 2001 and continues to this day, fighting the Taliban and other groups that didn't exist in 2001. Despite what some prominent Democrats seem to think, the Taliban was not directly connected to the 9/11 attacks and conditionally offered to turn Osama bin Laden over for prosecution, but the US, which had economic dealings with the Taliban during the Clinton administration, refused to consider peaceful means.
Friends of Bolin Creek Community Forum and Candidate Meet and Greet
This is a chance to meet candidates for Carrboro's Board of Aldermen and discuss your environmental concerns. Meet the candidates at 6:30pm and the forum will be 7 - 8:30pm Monday, October 7th in the Carrboro Town Hall Chambers. The Friends of Bolin Creek's website is:
bolincreek.org/blog/
Following the release of what is informally called the
Starr Report on September 9, 1998,
the House of Representatives voted to hold hearings on impeaching President Clinton October 8, 1998, but he was ultimately acquitted by the Senate February 12, 1999. In December 1998 the US intensified its bombing of Iraq, which some saw as an attempt to divert attention from the impeachment process.
Local Elections Tuesday, October 8th
There will be local elections in Durham (including for mayor and city council), Chapel Hill, Raleigh, etc. this fall:
www.dcovotes.com/ [See above for some candidate forums and there will be others after the 8th. There are usually candidate questionnaires posted on the
Independent Weekly, Durham People's Alliance, and possibly other newspaper, civic groups, and union websites.] It looks like there will be elections in Durham and Raleigh October 8th and in Durham, Chapel Hill, Morrisville, and possibly in Raleigh (if a run-off is necessary) November 5th. Early voting is through October 4th, and the Durham locations are: the Criminal Justice Resource Center (East Main Street near Queen Street), the South and North regional libraries, and the Turner Law School Building at NCCU. During this period it is possible to register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day. An ID is not required to vote this year. The NC Green Party and the Socialist Party are jointly supporting Joshua Bradley in District A of Raleigh.
There will be a
Chapel Hill Local Candidates Panel October 8th 6 - 7pm in Manning Hall 209 (just northwest of Davis Library) at UNC, organized by the UNC Young Democrats:
www.facebook.com/events/518299588998965/
Lief Erikson Day is October 9th, though the date commemorates the arrival of Norwegians in 1825 rather than the arrival of the first Norse to cross the Atlantic.
Argentine revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, best known for his role in the Cuban Revolution, was executed in Bolivia October 9, 1967, with CIA involvement.
An international postage crisis created by the Trump administration was in the news recently, and
World Post Day is October 9th, commemorating the founding of the Universal Postal Union in 1874:
www.un.org/en/events/postday/
The
Republic of China's National Day is October 10th, commemorating the beginning of the
Wuchang Uprising in 1911, part of the Xinhai or Chinese Revolution, overthrowing the last Qing emperor and establishing a republic under President Sun Yat-sen.
Party Foundation Day is October 10th in the DPRK, commemorating the 1945 founding of a predecessor to today's Workers' Party of Korea:
www.naenara.com.kp/en/event/?part=20151010/
According to
Wikipedia, October 10th is also Vietnam's
Capital Liberation Day and Cuban
Independence Day, commemorating the
Grito de Yara at the beginning of the Ten Years' War in 1868. It took two more wars before Spanish rule was successfully overthrown in 1898, followed by a few years of occupation and decades of subservience to the USA.
The
Outer Space Treaty, banning the placement of nuclear weapons in space, military activities on the Moon, claims of sovereignty over celestial bodies, etc., came into effect October 10, 1967.
World Mental Health Day is October 10th: www.who.int/mental_health/world-mental-health-day/en/ and is during Mental Illness Awareness Week.
Demand an End to War: Rage Against the War Machine
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee's
ADC 2019 Conference will be October 11 - 12 in Cerritos, California (
www.adc.org).
World Migratory Bird Day is October 12th (the second Saturday every October), this year focusing on the threat posed by plastic pollution (
www.worldmigratorybirdday.org ). It is common to see limping and ostracized waterfowl at ponds and lakes in the Triangle, possibly due to fishing lines or hooks, and ingestion of plastic is another problem. Over the summer there was a report of a black-backed skimmer, a large bird that skims the surface with its beak as it hunts for food along the North Carolina coast, feeding plastic to its young.
UNC's
Tar Heel Service Day is October 12th, also
University Day:
alumni.unc.edu/things-to-do/volunteer/tar-heel-service-day/ [A cornerstone was placed October 12, 1793, and UNC-Chapel Hill is one of the oldest public universities in the country.]
Indigenous People's Day is October 12th.
The
Fire in the Pines Festival will be October 12th 10am - 3pm at Halyburton Park in Wilmington. There will be parking at 3147 South 17th Street (near the intersection of Independence and South 17th streets) and a free trolley. The NC Native Plant Society will be tabling.
Chapel Hill's annual
Festifall will be Saturday, October 12th 11am - 3pm along West Franklin Street and includes political groups:
www.chapelhillfestifall.com/ [Also
www.facebook.com/events/631608994027653/ ].
Festival of Nations
This international festival will be October 12th 11am - 4pm at Duke Homestead (2828 Duke Homestead Road), and will have food and beer from around the world, international music and dance groups, art exhibits, children's events, raffles, a silent auction, and door prizes. Admission is $5 (free for children under 12). For more information see:
www.sistercities-durham.com/
Durham Monarch Festival
This festival celebrates the large orange, black, and white monarch butterflies migrating through the state around now towards a few groves in the mountains of Mexico where they spend the winter. Monarchs are also having problems, apparently because current farming practices have reduced the population of milkweed species, which monarchs eat as caterpillars, and probably because of illegal logging in Mexico. I think this event is held every two years in mid-October and will be held this year, at Sandy Creek Park, near the border with Orange County. If there is an event it will be announced at: keepdurhambeautiful.org/ [Nothing is listed, so there probably will not be a Durham Monarch Festival this year for some reason, but the butterflies can still be seen migrating through.]
Earth Sciences Week is October 13 - 19th this year: www.earthsciweek.org/
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day is October 15th.
The fourth official Democratic presidential candidates debate will be October 15 - 16th in Ohio. It was recently announced that Tulsi Gabbard will be included, after being one of the progressive candidates excluded in September. [Tom Steyer, who is campaigning with a focus on fighting climate change and could be relatively progressive, will also be included.]
Albanian revolutionary and statesman Enver Hoxha was born October 16, 1908 in Gjirokaster, in what is now southern Albania, at the time part of the Ottoman Empire.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was October 16 - 28th, 1962, and came close to sparking a nuclear war. Among other narrow misses, it was later revealed that a Soviet submarine low on air, being harassed with depth charges, and unaware of whether a war had begun came close to launching a nuclear torpedo, and one dissenting officer (Vasily Arkhipov) might have prevented a third world war. To end the crisis, Soviet nuclear weapons were withdrawn from Cuba, the US removed nuclear missiles placed near the USSR, and the US promised not to invade Cuba again. Other things were done to reduce tensions in coming years, but now the US is abandoning arms control treaties, trying to overthrow the Cuban government (and the governments of Venezuela and Nicaragua), and is developing new nuclear weapons to threaten Russia and China, though they are all now more or less in agreement about capitalism.
World Food Day is October 16th: www.fao.org/world-food-day
How Safe is Pittsboro's Drinking Water? A Public Forum
This forum organized by the Haw River Assembly ( www.hawriver.org ) will discuss industrial chemicals found contaminating Pittsboro's drinking water. Panelists will include Duke environmental chemist Dr Heather Stapleton, NCSU civil and environmental engineering professor Dr Detlef Knappe, UNC environmental toxicologist Dr Jamie Bangma, and representatives from the NC Department of Human Services and NC Department of Environmental Quality. The Forum will be October 16th 6 - 8pm at the Chatham County Agricultural and Conference Center (1192 US 64 Business in Pittsboro): www.facebook.com/events/742060146235911/
International Credit Union Day is October 17th (the third Thursday each October).
Up to 300 Algerian protesters, peacefully demonstrating against the Algerian War (November 1, 1954 - 1962), were killed by French police in the
Paris Massacre of 1961, on October 17th. The related Charonne Massacre happened February 8, 1962, when the police killed nine trade unionists demonstrating against a French terrorist group. Only in recent years has France admitted that torture was systematic during the war, and even French citizens were tortured and killed extrajudicially.
The
Million Worker March was October 17, 2004 in Washington, DC. Thousands participated (and there were one or more buses from the Triangle and elsewhere in North Carolina) and while there were not actually one million people there, according to the
Wikipedia article the endorsing unions represented about 3.5 million workers.
National Opossum Day is apparently also October 17th, celebrating and raising awareness of the USA's last marsupial, a possibly misunderstood beneficial animal frequently hit on roads during the winter. Since they are marsupials, a female possum could have young in her pouch or riding on her back, and even if the mother is killed, the baby possums might be able to be saved by a rehabilitator. Various people who should know have told me that opossums either can't get rabies or are very unlikely to, so a good Samaritan is unlikely to get infected helping injured opossums, though it would still be best to wear gloves, wash afterward, etc. Unfortunately a few species are barred by law from rehabilitation in North Carolina because of the danger of rabies, but opossums are not on that list and I have handled injured opossums without any problems (I'm surprised that one didn't even try to use its teeth or claws).
The
Land Trust Alliance Rally 2019 will be October 17 - 19th at the Raleigh Convention Center; pre-registration ended, but it might be possible to register on site:
www.triangleland.org/company-news/land-trust-alliance-rally-2019-coming-to-raleigh
The NC State Fair in Raleigh will be October 17 - 27th, and usually includes tabling by organizations such as the NC Green Party, NC Native Plant Society, the Wildlife Resources Commission (visitors can get a different wildlife button each year), etc. ( www.ncstatefair.org/ ).
Special FLOC VUSE Boycott Rally with the National Lawyers Guild and TFF
Continuing the boycott campaign against Reynolds American Inc., focusing on its VUSE brand at Circle K gas stations, there will be a Triangle Friends of Farmworkers protest, joined by a delegation from the National Lawyers Guild, at the Circle K at 3301 Guess Road in Durham October 18th 12 - 1:45pm (for parking, it is recommended to go to Carver Street at park on a residential side street):
www.facebook.com/events/440390856827521/
Libyan leader Qaddafi was killed brutally and without trial October 20, 2011, after having given up Libya's nuclear weapons program, such as it was, and opening up to the US and EU imperialists. Hillary Clinton laughed watching the video. This is the model being offered to the DPRK if it unilaterally "denuclearizes," leaving probably nuclear-armed US forces in the south and nearby countries.
Christopher Columbus first encountered the New World early on October 21, 1492; apparently October 12th, Columbus Day, is the date under the old Julian calendar.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators (maybe 50,000) participated in the March on the Pentagon October 21st, 1967, protesting the Vietnam War. Rage Against the War Machine will be in Washington October 11-12th this year (see above).
UNC Boyd Tinsley Distinguished Professor Gene Nichols will speak October 21st about
How Progressive Policies Will Help Alleviate Poverty in NC, organized by the Progressive Democrats of Orange County. This is a free and open event in Hillsborough (in the Whitted Human Services Building), with snacks and networking 6:30 - 7pm, and the talk and questions 7 - 8:30pm:
www.facebook.com/events/371366647082455/
American journalist and revolutionary John Reed was born October 22, 1887 in Portland, Oregon. He wrote
Ten Days That Shook the World, a first-hand account of the Great October Socialist Revolution, and he is one of three Americans honored with burial in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.
The Democratic Women of Orange County NC is organizing
A Date with the Candidates, a speed dating style meet and greet with the candidates for office in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough, October 23rd 6:30 - 8pm at the Chapel Hill Public Library:
www.facebook.com/events/2333619130236733/
Lunchbox Talk: Botanical Gardens 2045: Adapting to the Most Diverse Nation in History
NCSU professor of landscape architecture Kofi Boone, ASLA will talk about how botanical gardens are adapting to demographic changes Thursday, October 24th 12 - 1pm. From the calendar: "The year 2045 marks the date when the United States will no longer be a White majority nation. The majority of American citizens will be Black and Brown. Many institutions are rethinking their missions to assess the impact this shift will have on their leadership, programming, and facilities. These institutions are asking how best to engage with what will be the most diverse population in the nation’s history. How can Botanical Gardens extend their relevance and influence in this new era? This talk will share broad trends impacting institutions across the country highlighting case studies where shifts in leadership, programming, and facilities are helping institutions adapt to a new normal." This is a free event, but registration is required ( ncbg.unc.edu/calendar/ ).
The USA under Reagan and a few forces from neighboring countries attacked the Caribbean nation of Grenada October 25 - 29, 1983 with some US losses, but killing more Grenadan soldiers, civilians, and Cubans, as well as injuring Soviet citizens and many others.
Tens of thousands marched against the Iraq War as well as against the Patriot Act and for other causes, October 25, 2003 in Washington, DC, San Francisco, Reno, and elsewhere in the USA and internationally. The marches in Washington and San Francisco were co-organized by International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and UFPJ (United for Peace and Justice)
Intersex Awareness Day is October 26th.
Annual Fall Trash Cleanup at Jordan Lake
The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is October 27th: www.un.org/en/events/audiovisualday/ There are local events during the year for viewing and copying old family moves on VHS, etc. Traditional analog data storage technologies such as paper are fragile, but how much of the information stored in data centers or at home on electronic devices will survive even to the end of the century? A lot of video has already been lost.
The UK's
Black Cat Appreciation Day is October 27th.
[Joe Biden spoke at Durham's Hillside High School October 27th after 4pm. Elizabeth Warren will campaign in North Carolina for the first time in Raleigh in early November]
The 18th
International Animation Day is October 28th, commemorating an animation shown in Paris in 1892:
asifa.net/international-animation-day
National Cat Day, celebrating cats and raising awareness of unhoused or feral cats, is October 29th in the USA. An alternative celebration is International or World Cat Day on August 8th, while Japan has a cat day February 22nd and Russia's is March 1st
El Centro Hispano is hosting a
Durham City Council Candidate Forum Wednesday, October 30th 6 - 9pm at the Maureen Joy Charter School:
www.facebook.com/events/770362740085085/
UNC Art and Art History events on nuclear warfare
Nuclear Visions: The Atomic Photographers Club will be on display through October 31st in the John and June Allcott Gallery (event information:
www.unc.edu/event/john-and-june-allcott-gallery-nuclear-visions-the-atomic-photographers-guild/ ; venue:
art.unc.edu/venue/john-and-june-allcott-gallery/ )
Seeing the Unseeable: Hanes Visiting Artist Lecture Series with nuclear historian Robert Jacobs October 29th in Hanes Art Center Room 121 with a reception afterward and a pop-up library of related books from the Sloane Art Library.
World Cities Day is October 31st: www.un.org/en/events/citiesday/ and the percent of humanity living in cities is increasing.
Hallowzine Open House
Organized by the Rare Book Collection at UNC's Wilson Library, participants can drop in and make zine or button and peruse some of the Collection's spookiest books, October 31st 3 - 4:30pm in the Fearrington Reading Room (up one floor from the Main Lobby):
calendar.lib.unc.edu/event/5843903 "Book-themed" costumes welcome. The ad for the event is itself a folded zine like a little book.
Brexit
Just in time to scare people on Halloween, the United Kingdom is supposed to leave the European Union October 31st, possibly "crashing out" without a withdrawal agreement, resulting in problems such as the return of a "hard" international border between British-held Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and the possibility of renewed fighting. Brexit could also encourage the disintegration of the UK if constituents such as Scotland or Northern Ireland vote to secede in coming years, and there are already calls for referenda.
American Indian Heritage Month events
Paris to Pittsburgh film screening
The Trump administration has refuses to address climate change, but local governments and activists are taking steps, as this documentary shows
(see the trailer at www.paristopittsburgh.com/ ).
Paris to Pittsburgh will be shown at the EcoLounge (2811 Hillsborough Street in Durham, enter through the west side entrance) Friday, November 1st at 6:30pm. There will be light refreshments and a passing of the hat.
The 25th annual
Open Studio Tour, organized by the Orange County Artists Guild, will be November 2-3 and 9-10:
ocagnc.org/ The
Third Annual Alamance Artisans Extravaganza 2019 was October 26 - 27th at the Vailtree Event Center in Haw River, and there was a Preview Exhibit at Chapel Hill's Frank Community Gallery September 28-29th. For next year, see:
alamanceartisans.com/extravaganza
Día de los Muertos
There will be a celebration of this traditional Mexican and Latin American holiday Sunday, November 3rd 2 - 3:30pm in Dunn, organized by Student Action with Farmworkers, Western North Carolina Workers' Center, North Carolina Farmworkers' Project, and the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry ( www.facebook.com/events/2477957405591857/ ). It will be at the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry 2989 Easy Street (or is this supposed to be East Street?), Dunn, NC 28334-7994.
From the Facebook announcement:
"Acompañe a los miembros de la Red Defensora de los Trabajadores Agrícolas (FAN) para celebrar la costumbre de Día de los Muertos y honrar el trabajo de los trabajadores agrícolas.
Aparte del programa, habra comida, bebida, y actividades para niños.
*****************************************************************
Join the members of the Farmworker Advocacy Network (FAN) to celebrate the traditional Día de los Muertos and to honor the work of farm workers.
Apart from the program, there will be food, drink, and activities for children."
NC WARN will hold a webinar on the proposed Duke Energy rate increase November 4th at 7pm; RSVP
here.
World Tsunami Awareness Day is November 5th:
www.un.org/en/events/tsunamiday/ Besides the impact of meteors, it is possible that a massive landslide in the Canary Islands or Cape Verde could send tsunamis to the Atlantic coast of the USA, and the Pacific is more tsunami-prone.
November 11, 1975 Governor-General Sir John Kerr, representing Queen Elizabeth II, removed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party, and installed a member of the Liberal Party. There were allegations of US involvement, allegedly to prevent the Labor Party from closing US military bases in Australia.
Close the School of the Americas
School of the Americas Watch is organizing a demonstration outside Fort Benning, Georgia (near Columbus and the border with Alabama) November 15 - 17. November 16th is the 30th anniversary of a massacre at the Central American University in San Salvador, El Salvador in 1989.
Robeson County Coalition to Protect Our Lands and Waters - March for Justice
There will be a march and rally against liquefied natural gas infrastructure and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, planned in the Robeson County homeland of the Lumbee Indians and near the majority black town of Maxton. The demonstration will be November 16th 10am - 4pm:
www.ncwarn.org/event/robeson-march-for-justice/ This is being organized by Robeson County Coalition to Protect Our Lands and Waters and NC WARN.
What Are You Hiding Wendy's? march
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Alliance for Fair Food, and Student /Farmworker Alliance are organizing a march and rally for farmworker human rights in New York City Monday, November 18th 5 - 7:30pm:
www.facebook.com/events/1526715417470579/
Africa Industrialization Day is November 20th:
www.un.org/en/events/africaday/
The Durham Night Market will be Thursday, November 21st 5:30 - 10:30pm at 307 South Roxboro Street with more than 40 local vendors selling handicrafts, live music, food trucks, alcohol and more:
www.facebook.com/events/802005426904196/
The
Global Holiday Festival and Market will be November 23rd 11am - 8pm in Raleigh's Moore Square (the International Festival will be March 6 - 8th and the State Fairgrounds, and there will be smaller events in October, such as an India-themed Pop-Up event in Moore Square on the 4th, 6 - 8pm):
internationalfocus.org/global-holiday-festival-and-market/
The
2020 election filing deadlines are December 2nd - 20th, and to run as a Green a person needs to register Green 90 days before filing, meaning the deadline was September 20th:
www.ncsbe.gov/Elections/Candidate-Filing
The 27th annual
Chatham Studio Tour will be December 7-8 and 14-15:
www.facebook.com/events/chatham-county-north-carolina/2019-chatham-studio-tour/409473116262398/
The
presidential primary election will be on Super Tuesday, March 3, 2020, so North Carolina actually has influence this time, and candidates are campaigning here already. Not long ago, by the time North Carolina got to vote in presidential primaries the left liberals, such as Dennis Kucinich or Mike Gravel, had withdrawn or were all but defeated by the bipartisan consensus-backing neoliberals.
IThere will be local elections in the Triangle October 8th (see above) and November 5th. [Also see above for candidate forums, and there are probably others not listed.]
The NC Board of Elections now certifies voting machines that could steal the vote electronically, though in previous elections Durham has used machines that scan a voter-marked paper ballot, so there is an independent record of votes.
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