FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
UPDATED NOTICE
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| IN THE AFTERMATH OF 9/11 |
| A Public Forum Series |
| Directions to
Church via Staten Island Ferry via Verrazzano Bridge |
Unitarian Church of Staten
Island 312 Fillmore Street, Staten Island NY |
Statement on 9/11 |
| Thursday January 31 2002, 7:00
PM | |
| RELIGION, PROTEST, AND HUNGER:
FREE TRADE SOLUTIONS AFTER SEPTEMBER 11TH | |
| A Special Evening with the World Trade Organization* | |
Herri Baatasuna, LL.D. Agriculture, International Relations, & Public Relations Counselor* Percival Fress, M.D. Agriculture, Pharmaceutics, & Public Relations Counselor* Both WTO* speakers will be in New York City to attend the World Economic Forum, Jan 31- Feb 4. Previously, the WEF has been hosted in Davos, Switzerland. This is the first time it has been held in New York City, and a significant number of anti-globalization protests are expected. Drs. Baatasuna and Fress intend both to explain the relevance of the WTO's post- September 11th global agenda, and to openly address the concerns of faith-based opposition to free trade as manifested in that agenda. A lively though civilized debate from both sides is expected at this first Public Forum of the series. Herri Baatasuna has served as a legal counsel to the World Trade Organization* for the past five years, where he has been directing a new program which aims to understand and address faith-based opposition to free trade. He holds an LL.D. from Stanford Law School, and he previously worked for the AS Agency for International Development in Nepal and in Washington, DC. Percival Fress is a specialist in the relationship of international trade to human health. He has been with the press office of the World Trade Organization* for the past three years, fulfilling a mandate from the WTO* to address the relationships of social needs to global trade. Dr. Fress has an M.D. from Columbia University, and has held previous posts with Novartis, Cargill-Dow, and Monsanto. Following the program, coffee and sandwiches will be served in the Parish Hall. | |
| Planning to attend this event? Please RSVP
so we can estimate attendance. | |
| *Rumors that the speakers are
actually members of the renowned international political satire group The YesMen cannot be confirmed or denied at this time. |
Additional Forums in this Series | |
| U.S.FOREIGN POLICY BEFORE AND AFTER SEPTEMBER 11TH | |
|
Sunday February 10, 2002 1:00 PM Phyllis Bennis Author, editor, journalist, and Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, DC.. Ms. Bennis has covered Middle East and United Nations issues for 25 years. She led the first US congressional staff delegation to Iraq to investigate the impact of US-led sanctions on the civilian population. She has written and and edited numerous books on Palestine, Iraq and the New World Order, The topic of her presentation comes from the title of her new book, due to be published in March or April. | |
| TERRORISM AND PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST | |
| Sunday February 17, 1:00 PM The Reverend Stephen Goldstein, Executive Secretary for Mission Personnel, General Board of Global Ministries,United Methodist Church.BR> Reverend Goldstein is affilated with Americans for Middle East Understanding, a group that has worked for 35 years to create in the United States a deeper appreciation of Middle Eastern culture, history and current events. Rev. Goldstein visited the Middle East in 1992 as part of a Study Tour that visited ecumenically sponsored church projects in Israel/Palestine and in Egypt, and participated in extensive briefings with leadership involved with the current situation in Israel/Palestine and in Egypt. Rev. GolsHe teaches and speaks about the Middle East in local and district church programs, and has returned annually to the Middle East for conferences and research. |
| AFGHANISTAN TODAY AND TOMORROW: AN EYE-WITNESS REPORT | |
| TBA, probably Sunday February 24, 1:00
PM Sarah Zaidi, Research Director, or Roger Normand, Director, Center for Economic and Social Justice. Established in 1993, the Center for Economic and Social Rights is one of the first organizations to challenge economic injustice as a violation of international human rights law. Through its projects abroad and in the United States, CESR has developed an effective strategy that combines research, advocacy, collaboration, and education. CESR believes that economic and social rights -- legally binding on all nations -- can provide a universally accepted framework for strengthening social justice activism. Roger Normand and Sarah Zaidi have been visiting Afghanistan firsthand for some time before September 11th. Their first-hand reports are certain to be very informative. |
| PATRIOTISM, PROPHECY, AND PEACE | |
| Sunday March 3, 2002 1:00 PM | |
| Rev. Daniel Berrigan Poet, author, activist, beater of swords into plowshares, jailbird for peace and justice. In 1968 Rev. Berrigan traveled to Hanoi with professor Howard Zinn of Boston University to assist in obtaining the release of three American pilots. Later that year, with his brother Philip, he destroyed draft registration files in Catonsville, MD. For this act of civil disobedience he was sentenced to three years in prison in 1970. He went underground for several months until federal authorities arrested him on Block Island. After serving 18 months in prison, he was paroled in 1972. But he was not silenced. In 1980 he participated with his brother in the first Plowshares Action (1980), a protest at the General Electric Plant at King of Prussia, PA. Living among Jesuits, writing and conducting retreats, and "speaking truth to power," he has been arrested regularly for his protest actions at weapons manufacturers and other sites. Rev. Berrigan has written over 50 books and appeared in at least four films. |
| THE WAR AND THE MEDIA | |
| Sunday March 10, 1:00 PM Stanley Aronowitz Director, Center for Cultural Studies, The Graduate Center, City University of New York. A leading American social critic, Professor Aronowitz has for decades focused on the relationships between science, technology, education, labor, art, and culture. Among his books: False Promises (1973); Science as Power (1988); The Politics of Identity (1992); Education Under Siege (1993); Roll Over Beethoven (1993); Dead Artists, Live Theories (1994); The Death and Rebirth of American Radicalism, (1996); (with William DiFazio) The Jobless Future: Sci-Tech and the Dogma of Work (1995); (editor, with Michael Menser and Barbara Martinsons) Technoscience and Cyberculture (1996); The Knowledge Factory (2000.) In this presentation Dr. Aronowitz will focus on the relationship between the media and the government and how this has shaped public perception of the War on Terrorism. |
| SAME OLD WORLD ORDER: STARVING MILLIONS | |
| TBA Oliver Ulich Director, United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Mr. Ulich is one of the most knowledgeable sources in the world on humanitarian relief efforts, not only in Afghanistan but across the globe. |
All Forum presentations will be approximately one hour in length, will include a period of audience questions and participation, and will be followed by coffee and sandwiches in the Parish Hall. | |
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work, use these interet browser addresses: | |
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Directions to the Church: http://members.aol.com/uucsi/Forum/directions.htm Church Statement on 9/11 and its Aftermath: http://members.aol.com/uucsi/Forum/UUposition.htm RSVP to Event: uucsi@aol.com | |