Massachusetts Peace Action
invites you to two panels at Left Forum
Saturday, May 30, 2015, New York City
John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York
524 W. 59th St at Amsterdam Ave.
Foreign Policy for All:
Re-thinking U.S. Foreign Policy for the 21st Century
Saturday 3:15pm – 5:00pm in Room 1.83
Abstract: After over a decade of disastrous war in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are fighting again in the Middle East. But growing numbers of Americans are debating the values and goals of U.S. foreign policy, with its heavy reliance on military intervention. Why has it been so unsuccessful? What is the appropriate role for our nation in today’s world? How does our investment in a gigantic, costly military establishment affect our foreign policy decisions? The workshop seeks to outline a positive vision of U.S. global engagement that addresses the actual security needs of people around the world, consistent with the principles of peace and justice for all. It is based on a working paper written by a Boston based working group and discussed at two Boston area conferences. Read the working paper:: http://masspeaceaction.org/fp4a-working-paper
Subrata Ghoshroy — MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society
Cole Harrison — Massachusetts Peace Action
Hayat Imam — Dorchester People for Peace
The New World Order and Warfare in the 21st Century: Drones, space and cyber weapons
Saturday 5:10pm – 7:00pm in Room 1.85
Abstract: The 21st Century was greeted with great optimism that it would bring peace and security in the world since the Cold War was over. A decade on, those hopes have faded with the unleashing of an unprecedented U.S. military might on defenseless people. Hundreds of thousands civilians have been killed and millions more rendered homeless in these wars. A new kind of war is being waged with unmanned aircraft with names such as Predator or Reaper, which can attack a target with hellish Hellfire missiles. The “pilots,” who don’t fly, pull the trigger from thousands of miles away. Instead of the much heralded “peace dividend,” military spending worldwide continued to rise and crossed the hitherto inconceivable trillion-dollar mark with the U.S. accounting for more than half. Yet, we cannot find adequate sums to fund research to address climate change, for example. A large amount of the U.S. defense budget focuses on the research and development of new weapons. The close collaboration between research universities and the military continues unabated. New developments in science and technology fuels the military’s desire for evermore sophisticated weapons that have enormous destructive power. The presentation will provide context to the post-Cold War order and a brief history of the development of major weapon systems over the last 25 years and show how they are evolving today with the emphasis on offensive cyber and space weapons that threaten global peace and security.
Subrata Ghoshroy — Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hugh Gusterson — George Washington University
William Hartung — Center for International Policy
Left Forum is the largest annual conference of the broad Left in the United States. Each spring thousands of conference participants come together to discuss pressing local, national and global issues; to better understand commonalities and differences, and alternatives to current predicaments; or to share ideas to help build social movements to transform the world.
This year’s theme of Left Forum is
“No Justice, No Peace: Confronting the Crises of Capitalism and Democracy”
This year even features 1,600 Speakers and 420 Panels, Workshops and events
Please register online at www.leftforum.org
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