Social and Economic Costs of Endless Wars

Conference on the social and economic costs of endless wars, Friday afternoon April 26th at MIT

Pre-Register at cost-war-apr19.bpt.me/: Students and low income FREE, General Admission 12.00, Supporter 75.00 (thanked at event and in program)

2:00 pm: Welcome: Jonathan King, MIT

2:15 pm: Opening Panel

–  The Costs of War – Prof. Neta Crawford (Boston University)

–  The Bloated Pentagon Budget – William Hartung (Center for International Policy)

–  Saudi Military Aggression in Yemen – Michael Page (Human Rights Watch)

–  The Increasing Risk of Nuclear War – Elaine Scarry, Harvard University (invited)

3:00 pm: Emerging Responses:

Chair Cole Harrison (Mass Peace Action)

–       Build Bridges not Bombs; Bringing Nuclear Disarmament into the State Legislature – Rep Nika Elugardo, Mass State Legislature (invited)

–       Don’t Bank on the Bomb – Divesting from Nuclear Weapons Manufacture – Rep. Mike Connolly (Mass State Legislature)

–       Bringing the Moral Revival to Massachusetts– Savina Martin (Poor Peoples Campaign)

–       The Intensifying Struggle for Affordable Housing – Chuck Collins (Institute for Policy Studies)

–       Massachusetts  Battles to Protect and Promote Public Education – Andrew King (UMass Boston) .

3:45 – Workshops:

–       A) Organizing on Campuses: Facilitator, Brian Garvey, MAPA; Zac Bears (PHENOM); Alice Pote (MIT/anti-Saudi Coalition); Gabby Ballard (MIT Students Against War); Paul Shannon (AFSC).

–       B) Nuclear Disarmament Initiatives: Facilitators, Joseph Gerson and Michelle Cunha; Jerrold Ross (MAPA); Prof. Aron Bernstein (MIT).-

–       C) Moral and People’s Budget: Connecting battles for Economic Justice with Reducing Pentagon Spending: Facilitator, Jared Hicks (Our Revolution); Andrea Burns (MAPA); Andrew King (UMass Boston); John Ratliff (Mass. Senior Action); William Hartung (Center for International Policy).

–       D) The Continuing Links between Militarism and Racism:Facilitator, Rosemary Kean (MAPA); Savina Martin (Poor People’s Campaign); Ceasar Mc Dowell (MIT) (invited));

–       E) Mobilizing Communities of Faith (Facilitator, Keith Harvey (AFSC) (invited); Rev. Vernon Walker (invited);  Rev. Herb Taylor (Harvard-Epworth) (invited); Rev. Leslie Sterling (St. Bartholomew’s) (invited).

5:00: Report backs from Workshops

5:15 PM: Closing Keynote: Danny Sjursen, Major, US Army (ret.)

5:30 Adjourn

Pre-Register at cost-war-apr19.bpt.me/: Students and low income FREE, General Admission 12.00, Supporter 75.00 (thanked at event and in program)

Co-sponsored  by MIT Radius/Technology and Culture Forum), Massachusetts Peace Action, the MIT-Saudi Arabia Divest Coalition, MIT Students Against War, American Friends Service Committee, Institute for People’s Engagement, Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign, and the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security.