Kucinich, Keb' Mo' top peace confab
Originally published by the Oakland Tribune
Article Last Updated: Friday, October 22, 2004 - 3:45:02 AM PST
Kucinich, Keb' Mo' top peace confab
Berkeley conference will push creation of federal department
By STAFF WRITER
Former presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Grammy Award-winning blues artist Keb' Mo' will be among those appearing at a Berkeley conference pursuing the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace.
Kucinich, D-Ohio, has been advocating for such an agency for years. His current bill, HR 1673, would establish the department and charge it with developing new policies on such issues as child abuse, domestic violence, mistreatment of the elderly and cultural and racial acts of violence.
Internationally, it would research and analyze foreign policy and make recommendations to the president on how to address and eradicate war's basic causes while securing human rights.
The Peace is Possible conference, sponsored by the Department of Peace Campaign and The Peace Alliance, is scheduled for Nov. 5-7 at the Martin Luther King Middle School auditorium, 1781 Rose St., Berkeley. Tickets for the Nov. 5 opening session -- with Kucinich, Keb' Mo' and best-selling author Marianne Williamson -- are available at www.dopcampaign.org
The idea for a federal Department of Peace has East Bay roots: Then-Rep. Ron Dellums, D-Oakland, sought some peaceful counterpart to the Defense Department during the Vietnam era.
Among the Kucinich bill's 52 co-sponsors are Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland; Pete Stark, D-Fremont; George Miller, D-Martinez; Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma; and Mike Honda, D-San Jose.
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