FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
IN THE AFTERMATH OF 9/11
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A Public Forum Series |
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Thursday January 31 2002, 7:00
PM
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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 program of the WTO and to address the concerns of
opposing viewpoints. A lively though civilized debate 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. |
Additional Forums in this
Series
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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.
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AFGHANISTAN TODAY AND
TOMORROW: AN EYE-WITNESS REPORT |
TBA, probably Sunday February 17, 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. |
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THE WAR AND THE
MEDIA | `
Sunday February 24, 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.
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PATRIOTISM, PROPHECY, AND
PEACE |
Sunday March 3, 2002 1:00 PM
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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 Berrigan, 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.
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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.
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