REDWOOD SEQUOIA CONGRESS

PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE DATE: September 12, 2002 SUBJECT: Congressman Dennis Kucinch Appearance, September 14, 2002, at Wheeler Auditorium, U.C. Berkeley Campus. FROM: Social Justice Committee, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1606 Bonita, Berkeley CA 94709 CONTACT: Richard Challacombe: 510-233-3175; cell: 510-685-5145 email: rscongress@bfuu.org www.bfuu.org/rscongress CONGRESSMAN KUCINICH KEYNOTING THE THIRD REDWOOD SEQUOIA CONGRESS Congressman Dennis Kucinich, chair of the House Progressive Caucus and author of bills for a Department of Peace and against weaponization of space, will deliver the keynote speech, “Democracy or Empire,� of the Third Redwood Sequoia Congress. Also featured will be Supervisor Keith Carson, Country Joe McDonald and performance artist Sherry Glaser. This session will be held Saturday evening, September 14, 7pm, at Wheeler Auditorium on the University of California Berkeley Campus. The subject, “Democracy or Empire?� will be further examined and debated during the two day session of the Third RS Congress, Saturday and Sunday, September 14th and 15th. Panels and speakers will analyze the nature and significance of the dramatic alterations in our political, economic, and landscape since September eleven. A special part of the program will present candidates standing for election in November and invite questions and dialogue. All the events of the Third RS Congress, other than the keynote address, will be held at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar at Bonita, in Berkeley. More information about the RS Congress can be seen at www.bfuu.org/rscongress. Tickets for the keynote address are available in the East Bay at Avenue Books, Black Oak, Boadecia’s, Cody’s, Walden Pond and in San Francisco at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, City Lights & Modern Times. They are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, and will benefit the Berkeley Fellowship Building Restoration Fund. Donations are suggested for the other events. All events are wheelchair accessible. ---ooo--- ========= THIRD REDWOOD SEQUOIA CONGRESS Program PREFACE: Neo-colonialism, its extent and its effects, is the subject of the Third Redwood Sequoia Congress 2002 to be held in Berkeley, California, September 14 & 15, 2002. The theme, Democracy or Empire, Which side are you choosing? is stated as a question to remind us that democracy in our time is not a given. Absent our proactive choice through nurturing of community and mutual goals and agreements, the forces bent on empire and colonial exploitation win by default. Saturday, September 14 9:00-9:30am: Registration & Introduction. Venue: Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar at Bonita, Berkeley, CA 9:30am-NOON: Forestry Panel: 'Standing Together For The Trees' (Facilitators: Darlene Pratt, BACH; Redwood Mary, Plight of the Redwoods;) The great forests. humankind’s original community. Their condition an indicator of the state of the planet. The efforts to protect them here and abroad. Indigenous forest communities struggle against the oiligarchies. (Panelists: Kirsten Kirk, Forests Forever; Greg Van Mechelen, Green Building; Philip Batcheldor, San Bruno Mountain Watch; Keven Koenig, Amazon Watch; Lelia Salazar, Ecudorian Rainforest. Music: Erica Luckett; Hali Hammer, Freedom Song Network.) Saturday, September 14 1:30pm - 3:30pm: “The New World Order—Democracy or Empire?� (Facilitator, Pratap Chatterjee, KPFA) Panel on the contest between communities and supranational corporations. Historical origins of the colonial culture. The drive by central powers to acquire what have been the “commons� of the earth. Our place and role in the long sweep of historical processes. How communities have fought back and the successful techniques they have used. Delaying tactics, genuine change, and co-optation. Africa as the classic colonial expression then and now. Demands for reparations & debt relief. (Panelists: Prof.Gray Brechin, Richard Challacombe, Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, Prof. Jim Syfers) Venue: Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar at Bonita, Berkeley, CA. Saturday, September 14 7pm - 10pm Keynote Evening. Master of Ceremonies: Supervisor Keith Carson. Music: Country Joe McDonald. Performance: Sherry Glaser. Keynote Speech: Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich. Venue: Wheeler Auditorium, Berkeley Campus. Sunday, September 15 10am - 12pm Green Sunday Service at the Fellowship Hall. Richard Challacombe: “The Nature Of Our Relationship With The Living Earth.� Sunday, September 15 1pm - 2:45pm (Facilitator, Cynthia Johnson) Panel discussion of military plans to control the populations of the Earth from space. The Kucinich Bill to create a federal Department of Peace. Venue: Fellowship Hall (Panelists: Garth Smith, Earth Island Institute; Carol Rosin, Institute for Cooperation in Space) Sunday, September 15 3pm - 5pm Forum of candidates, state and local, standing for election in November, 2002. Hear platforms and ask questions. The election of elect capable, responsive representatives is essential to our form of democracy. Venue: Fellowship Hall Sunday, September 15, 5pm Closing remarks. NOTE: This schedule for the RS Congress 2002 Program last updated on September 12, 2002. Third Redwood-Sequoia Congress, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. Contact: 510-233-3175. email: rscongress@bfuu.org - www.bfuu.org/rscongress