[mgj-announce] teach-in on war and globalization April 20th 7pm

[mgj at riseup.net]

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What:  Teach-in on Corporate Globalization and War:  From the Washington
Consensus to the Washington Conquest
 
When:  7-9pm Tuesday, April 20, 2004
 
Where:  2027 Massachusetts Avenue, 1 block from the Dupont Circle Metro
Station
 
Who:  Co-sponsored by the Mobilization for Global Justice and the DC
Anti-War Network

Speakers include: Becky Lozada from the Freedom from Debt Coalition of the
Philippines, Christy Pardew from School of the Americas Watch, Jon Feffer a
author on war and globalization, Nihar Bhatt with the International
Socialist Organization, Andrew Walker with the DC Anti-war network and
Morrigan Phillips with the Mobilization for Global Justice. 
 
Description:  
 
 "The hidden hand of the market will never work without the hidden
fist--McDonald's cannot flourish without McDonnell Douglas, the designer of
the F-15.  And the hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon
Valley's technologies is called the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and
Marine Corps."  -Thomas Friedman, New York Times Magazine, March 1999.
 
In the years since these words were written by the one of the most
well-known defenders of corporate globalization, they have been proven more
true than ever.  Throughout Latin America, Asia, and Africa, military power
suppresses opposition to widely unpopular free-market policies that keep
millions of people in poverty. The Bush administration has helped to
destabilize or overthrow democratically elected governments in countries
like Haiti or Venezuela that are seen as uncooperative with economic
dictates that benefit multinational corporations. And the imposition of
free-market policies in Iraq following its invasion and occupation shows how
military conquest can facilitate corporate agendas through the barrel of a
gun.  
 
This teach-in will open a discussion about the links between military power
and corporate globalization.  On the eve of a week of protests against the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund, speakers will attempt to show
why opponents of war and occupation should also keep international financial
institutions in their sights, and why any campaign against corporate
globalization needs to resist Washington's military offensives.   
 
Make sure to protest the World Bank and the IMF's 60th Anniversary on
Saturday April 24th, 12pm at Franklin Square.