Military Industrial Complex at 50 - A National Conference in Charlottesville, Va.

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David Swanson

David Swanson is a longtime peace and justice activist and author of 'War Is a Lie'

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August 9th, 2011 9:40 AM

Military Industrial Complex at 50 - A National Conference in Charlottesville, Va.

By David Swanson

A Conference on Moving Money from the Military to Human Needs -- http://micat50cville.org

Reserve your spot to attend this conference now! The fees increase after September 1st: Register.

Over 20 speakers will lead the discussion, planning, and organizing. Speakers will include retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, author Bruce Levine, retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and former Pentagon desk officer Karen Kwiatkowski, author Robert Jensen, international affairs analyst Helena Cobban, retired CIA officer Ray McGovern, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space Bruce Gagnon, executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee Shahid Buttar, author and West Point graduate Paul Chappell, and many more. See additional speakers and agenda.

In Charlottesville, as around the country, increasingly the best place to look for a job is in the military-weapons-logistics-spying-reconstruction industry. There were 161 military contractors in Charlottesville taking in $919,914,918 through 2,737 contracts from the federal government between 2000 to 2010. And the trend is ever upward, the budget "crisis" notwithstanding.

This flood of money creates jobs less efficiently than investment in most other industries or even tax cuts. We are putting over half of every dollar of federal income tax and borrowing into the military. We could cut this by 85% and still be the top-spending nation in the world militarily. Meanwhile we are failing to invest in infrastructure, green energy, education, housing, jobs, and care for our young, old, and ill. The current trend will ruin us economically, as well as in terms of civil liberties, representative government, environmental destruction, social cohesion, hostile blowback, and weapons proliferation. Reining in the MIC has become a matter of survival.

We can and must turn this around!

Reserve your spot to attend this conference now! The fees increase after September 1st: Register.

The low registration fees (just $30 or $15 for students) are made possible by sponsorships and donations from those who are able.

Sponsor this conference as an organization or an individual.

Volunteer to help before or during the conference.

Offer a guestroom in your Charlottesville home for one of our speakers or another participant from out of town.

Coming from out of town?

Request a free place to stay! (no guarantee).
Request a supply of brochures, flyers, or posters.

WHEN: September 16-18, 2011

WHERE:

Friday, September 16, 2011, at the Haven, 112 W Market Street, Charlottesville, Va. Map.
Saturday and Sunday, September 17 and 18, 2011, at The Dickinson Fine and Performing Arts Center at Piedmont Virginia Community College, 501 County Road 338, Charlottesville, Va. 22902-7589. Map.

Learn more:
http://micat50cville.org