International

While the interconnections and similarities among occupations in many cities have occupied much of the information and discussion in the US, precursors and off-shoots of
#OWS exists in different parts of the world. In this session reports from people involved in North American #OWS will be discussed together with reports from Asia, Europe and Latin America. By bringing together historical, analytical and tactical questions, we hope to illustrate these movements' common grammar of autonomy, direct democracy, and international solidarity. Presentations will be structured around themes related to: history of specific actions, public reaction, political repertoires of struggle, internal organizational dynamics and broader political impact.

The rise in economic size and political weight of the BRICS countries (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) has some commentators suggesting they will soon rival the US in strategic terms, providing breathing space for underdeveloped countries vis-a-vis imperialist countries. Some go so far as to say that BRICS itself could turn into an alternative development model.
But other analysts say BRICS is part of the imperialist schema, its members harshly exploiting their own workers and engaged in standard capitalist investment and political relationships with other countries. Our panelists, who have long been active not only in analyzing such issues but in activism around them, will assess the strengths and weaknesses of the contending arguments.

Almost no one in the United States has any reason or interest to see our country get into a war about the Ukraine crisis. We must find ways to speak to the concerns on people's minds, and make public issues of them. The United States government cannot even run the United States properly! A third of the people without adequate access to health care, one child in four classified food-insecure, 50 million in poverty and half the population close to it - in the richest country in the world! No US military involvement in Ukraine! No US arms to Ukraine! We won't fight, we wont't kill in Ukraine! No US involvement with the illegal Nazi junta in Kiev! Talk to Russia, don't threaten it!

Massive antiwar sentiment in the US and throughout the world has made it difficult for the US to conduct wars today as they did in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. People do not want to see another quagmire with US military boots on the ground. As a result, the US has turned towards militarized drones, special operations forces and the use of US allies, proxies and right-wing forces to push its imperialist agenda in country after country. This is the case in Syria, Africa, Venezuela and with its intervention in Ukraine. The panel will discuss the mechanisms that the US uses to make this happen and the response needed from the antiwar movement today.

Many antiwar groups have joined with the U.S. in condemning Russia or ISIS or others that the U.S. government sees as its enemy. This has led some to not take up the fight against U.S. military attacks in Libya, Syria or Ukraine. However, it is the U.S. that is the main terrorist force and the cause of war in all these areas. This panel will discuss the role of the U.S. military abroad and how we can stop it

Hosted by Mat Callahan, this session will bring together the music of international artists as they merge folkloric and global sounds.