[CCPJ Update] October 11 Edition

[CCPJ News]

*Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice*
**
 ...a simple truth that “*since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the
minds of men that the defense of peace must be constructed*…”

Email: ccpjnews at gmail.com

Mailing Address:
The Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice
P.O. Box 2012
Charlottesville, VA 22902
CCPJ Board members

William Anderson  wha at virginia.edu
Kirk Bowers engineer1950 at comcast.net
Brandon Collins  brandoncollins at comcast.net
Tony Russell  taorivertony at gmail.com

Announcements:

WEEKLY THURSDAY DEMONSTRATIONS

Join Us for weekly Thursday demonstrations from to 5-6 pm. Come join us at
the corner of McIntire, Main and Water Streets, in front of the Federal
Building.  Drop-ins welcome! If we quit making war, we could stop spending
$800 billion every year for the military budget and fix our deficits fast.
Wouldn’t that be better than throwing our seniors under the bus?!!

Charter of Compassion

The Charter of Compassion is a cooperative effort to restore not only
compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action to the
center of religious, moral and political life. Compassion is the principled
determination to put ourselves in the shoes of the other, and lies at the
heart of all religious and ethical systems. One of the most urgent tasks of
our generation is to build a global community where men and women of all
races, nations and ideologies can live together in peace. In our globalized
world, everybody has become our neighbor, and the Golden Rule has become an
urgent necessity.
Watch the Video on the Charter for Compassion at  charter for compassion .

CCPJ November Meetings:

Time : Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Location: Quaker Meeting House
               1104 Forest Street
               Charlottesville, VA

Agenda items for discussion this month-

No War Toys Campaign
Occupy DC Demonstrations
Review of CCPJ Events and Calendar

And anything you want to add! All are welcome. We have no requirements for
membership. We ask for a willingness to participate and Volunteer in our
programs supporting Peace and Justice.
Annual Goals and Fundraising Meeting
Time: Saturday, November 12, 2011 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Location: To Be Announced

This is our second annual Planning and Goals Setting meeting for the CCPJ
Board members and all interested CCPJ supporters and members. We use this
time to discuss events for the coming year, fundraising, networking, and
general items of interest and policy. Please attend and participate in
submitting ideas and events for the next planning year.

Volunteers NEEDED to join us and participate in events. Please contact us
via email to let us know of your availability and interest in CCPJ. Drop us
a line at http://www.charlottesvillepeace.org/contact or just show up at our
monthly meetings!

*THANK YOU!!*

CCPJ would like to extend our gracious thanks and appreciation to all
organizations and individuals who participated and supported the MIC 50
Conference and the International World Peace Day Events.

*International Day of Peace Participating Organizations*

Amnesty International Group
157
Baha’i Community of Charlottesville
Blue Ridge Virginia Chapter United Nations Association
Casa Alma: the Charlottesville Catholic Worker
Center for Non-profit Excellence
Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice
Charlottesville Friends Meeting
Charlottesville Mennonite Church
Church of the Incarnation
Clergy and Laity United for Justice and Peace
Congregation Beth Israel
Havurah P’nai Yisrael in Charlottesville
Interfaith Cooperation Circle of Central Virginia
International Rescue Committee
Islamic Society of Central Virginia
JABA - Jefferson Area Board for Aging
Olivet Presbyterian
On Our Own of Charlottesville
PACEM (People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry)
Peace Lutheran Church
Quality Community Council, Inc.
SARA - The Sexual Assault Resource Agency
Senior Center, Inc.
Sojouners United Church of Christ
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Ivy
St. Paul's Memorial Church
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church Unitarian Universalist
Trinity Episcopal Church
Unity of Charlottesville
Vinegar Hill Toastmasters Club
Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church
Westminster Presbyterian Church

The International Day of Peace Challenge and Celebration project has been a
collaborative effort by all of these organizations.  Our coordinating
committee is comprised of people from several of these groups.  We greatly
appreciate everyone’s efforts to move our community toward peace and
non-violence and to join millions of people in a world-wide celebration of
this day.

*WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO*

Mayor Dave Norris
Charlottesville Womens Choir
Barbershop Belles
Inner Peace
Presence Center for Applied Theatre Arts
The Haven
Piedmont Virginia Community College


*UPCOMING LOCAL AND STATE EVENTS *

*Public Comments for George Washington National Forest Use Plan *

Please submit any comments that you have on the Forest Use Plan.
The George Washington National Forest is one of the most important
blocks of public land in Virginia and is used by citizens across the
commonwealth.  There will likely not be any further comment
opportunity for the public to make comments before the Forest Service
picks the final plan.  The final plan will determine how the George
Washington National Forest is managed for the next 10-15 years.

A sample comment letter can be found below.

Mailed comments can be sent to the Forest Service at George
Washington Plan Revision; George Washington & Jefferson National
Forests; 5162 Valleypointe Parkway; Roanoke, VA 24019.

Electronic comments can be submitted to the following address:
comments-southern-georgewashington-jefferson at fs.fed.us .

Comments must be postmarked by October 17, 2011 (if mailed) or
received by the Forest Service by midnight Oct. 17, '11 (if emailed).

See http://vasierraclub.org/2011/06/george-washington-national-forest/
for further details.


*A Call to Action - Oct. 6, 2011 and onward*

October 2011 is the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan and the
beginning of the 2012 federal austerity budget. It is time to light the
spark that sets off a true democratic, nonviolent transition to a world in
which people are freed to create just and sustainable solutions.

We call on people of conscience and courage – all who seek peace, economic
justice, human rights and a healthy environment – to join together in
Washington, D.C., beginning on Oct. 6, 2011 in nonviolent resistance similar
to the Arab Spring and the Midwest awakening.

Ten years ago tomorrow, the longest war in U.S. history began.  That's ten
years of missiles and bombs, ten years of kicking in doors and disappearing
people, ten years of fighting *and funding* the Taliban, ten years of
developing hatred of the United States, ten years of demolishing
Afghanistan's natural environment, and ten years of profiteering to the tune
of hundreds of millions of dollars a day.

And there’s no end in sight.

In Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., thousands have just begun an
occupation planned months ago and energized in recent weeks by our brothers
and sisters at OccupyWallStreet.  We're bringing the occupation to the
government that Wall Street corrupts -- to the government that launches war
without end.  Corporate exploitation abroad depends on the threat of war.
War funding depends on the defunding of human needs.

We aim to shift our public priorities. These are our goals:
•       Tax the rich and corporations
•       End the wars, bring the troops home, cut military spending
•       Protect the social safety net, strengthen Social Security and
institute enhanced Medicare for All
•       End corporate welfare for oil companies and other big business
interests
•       Transition to a clean energy economy, reverse environmental
degradation
•       Protect worker rights including collective bargaining, create jobs
and raise wages
•       Get money out of politics

If you share this agenda, as most of the U.S. public does, join us:
http://occupywashingtondc.org<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=shte0oD6ksf1Mp3kv3chk56rCDD%2FvsLh>

Whether you can join us or not, sign this statement of
solidarity<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XhY1MqV8ftnTXDvAZOjeMJ6rCDD%2FvsLh>that
I will read to the people occupying our nation's capital night and
day.

Forty-seven years ago, Mario Savio, an activist student at Berkeley, said,
"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious—makes
you so sick at heart—that you can't take part. You can't even passively take
part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels,
upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And
you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it,
that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all."

Those words have an even greater urgency today. We face ongoing wars and
massive socio-economic and environmental destruction perpetrated by a
corporate empire which is oppressing, occupying and exploiting the world. We
are on a fast track to making the planet unlivable while the middle class
and poor people of our country are undergoing the most wrenching and
profound economic crisis in 80 years.

OccupyDC is a clarion call for all who are deeply concerned with injustice,
militarism and environmental destruction to join in ending concentrated
corporate power and taking direct control of a real participatory democracy.
We will encourage a culture of resistance — using music, art, theater and
direct nonviolent action — to take control of our country and our lives. It
is about courageously resisting and stopping the corporate state from
destroying not only our inherent rights and freedoms, but also our
children’s chance to live, breathe clean air, drink pure water, grow edible
natural food and live in peace.

As Mother Jones said, "Someday the workers will take possession of your city
hall, and when we do, no child will be sacrificed on the altar of profit!"

We are the ones who can create a new and just world. Our issues are
connected. We are connected. Join us in Washington, D.C. to Stop the
Machine.

*Saturday, October 22:  Hotel Trail – Cold Mountain Loop

*This six to seven mile circuit hike in Amherst County starts in the
Mount Pleasant Scenic Area and crosses Cold (or Cole, depending on
your source) Mountain on the Appalachian Trail.  There are several
short climbs, with a total elevation  loss/gain of about a thousand
feet.  This is a moderate hike, and the summit of Cold Mountain offers
360 degree views of many well-known and loved peaks.  The open space
on Cold Mountain is artificially maintained, but it is unique in this
area, and I am impressed anew each time I see it.

Meet at 9:30 AM at the Mount Pleasant parking area.  Bring lunch,
water and clothing for the weather.  Call 434 263-6199 early that
morning for a recorded message if the weather is questionable.

Directions:  Take 60 west from Amherst; go about 18 miles and turn
right on Coffeytown Road; go a mile and a half and turn right on 755
(Wiggins Spring Road); follow gravel road (right fork at a Y) to the
parking area. From Lovingston, allow twenty minutes to Amherst and
another half hour to the trail head.

*Sunday, October 23 - Hardscrabble Knob, Ramsey's Draft Wilderness

*Explore the northern reaches of the Ramsey's Draft Wilderness and
summit its highest peak, Hardscrabble Knob, at 4,282 feet. This hike
climbs steeply from the North River up Springhouse Ridge along the
Wild Oak National Scenic Trail and then combines the Hiner Spring,
Ramsey's Draft, and Hardscrabble Knob Trails to reach the summit.

Designed as an out and back hike of about 7 miles, there are a couple
of route options that can make this a one-way hike of either 7 or 8
miles. This would require some shuttling of vehicles. These options will
be considered, if the group wishes.

Regardless of the route chosen, this hike will be a workout. Although
not long in distance, there is 2,000 feet of elevation gain with 1,000 of
that within the first mile. However, being immersed in this wilderness
setting near autumn's peak colors should more than make up for the
physical efforts.

You should plan on being in the woods a good part of the day. Bring
water, snacks and lunch. Sturdy trail shoes or boots are recommended.
Other gear and clothing suggestions based on weather and trail
conditions will be provided by the hike leader.

Since we will be in a federally designated wilderness area for part of
this hike, group size is limited. Early registration is advised. Contact
Ron Fandetti at fanjet50 at gmail.com or (401) 529-8025 by Sunday,
October 16th to reserve a spot. Additional details including start time,
directions, and car pool arrangements will be provided.

*******************************************************************************************************************
This E-mail comes from the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice
(CCPJ)
http://www.charlottesvillepeace.org
CCPJ's work depends on your participation and on your funding.
Please contribute what you can here: http://charlottesvillepeace.org/donate
To submit Peace and Justice related events to the CCPJ website: Please use
the 'Submit Your Event for Listing' form at
http://www.charlottesvillepeace.org (Events submitted to the website will be
considered for inclusion in this weekly email newsletter.)
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