People Powered Democracy Confronts Corporate Rule
2012 Peace Symposium and Democracy Convergence 
April 20 - 22, 2012

David Barsamian is the award-winning founder and director of Alternative Radio.  He is the author of numerous books with Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Eqbal Ahmad, Tariq Ali, Arundhati Roy and Edward Said. His latest book is Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism with Richard Wolff.

Fundamental change is necessary to avoid future collapses.

The wedding of state and corporate power is at unprecedented levels. The implications for democracy are ominous. Elections are formalities, often more like auctions to be sold to the highest bidder. From the boarded up storefronts to foreclosed homes to the homeless and unemployed, the signs of decay in the U.S. are all too apparent. Gone up in smoke are their savings, pensions, homes and jobs.  People are in the streets pushing back and saying, Enough. "We are the 99%.”  Occupy Wall Street has gone global. The Occupy movement is a popular citizen response to grievances and inequities not being addressed and a universal feeling the system is rigged to favor the rich.  Fundamental change is necessary to avoid future collapses. It's long past time to examine Capitalism itself.

Protests are ongoing, national and global

"The protests that began in Wisconsin and which now also fill the streets of Manhattan, Boston, Chicago, and this week, Washington D.C., have gotten the attention of the American political class. And how could they not? 2011 is becoming a remake of the 1999 Battle of Seattle, except this time the protests are ongoing, national and global, and the target is not just the World Trade Organization, but the entire edifice of corporate capitalism."

Ben Manski is the Executive Director of the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution, co-founder of United for Peace and Justice, former national director of the Movement for Democracy in Education MDE/180 and spokesperson for Move to Amend.

Ms. George Friday’s work addresses issues of oppression and privilege as key to building effective social movements that embrace the true meaning of we are the 99%.  She is the field organizer for the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and the National Coordinator for the Independent Progressive Politics Network and spokesperson for Move to Amend.

“The world is being destroyed,

the federal government is engaged in unending war, and we live in an unjust, unsustainable and undemocratic country. It's time to take ourselves seriously-- both about what is at stake and what it will require to actually assume and democratically exercise real power. We must address the reality that if we want real democracy, we cannot look to the federal courts. It's time to follow the lead of the American Revolutionaries, the abolitionists, the suffragists, the trade unionists, and the Civil Rights activists and to build a broad-based, multi-partisan democracy movement in the United States.”

“The real crime is the corporate hijacking of our democracy.”

David Cobb a Steering Committee Member for Democracy Unlimited is the spokesperson for Move To Amend, a national coalition calling for a constitutional amendment to abolish “Corporate Personhood”.  He is a lawyer, political activist, and engaged citizen, who has dedicated his adult life to making the promise of a democratic republic a reality in the United States.

David West
is the Director of the Native American Studies Program at Southern Oregon University. He is the Program Director of the Konaway Nika Tillicum, a residential Native American youth summer academy.

Alice Dimicele
For more than 23 years, Alice DiMicele has been playing her unique blend of Americana, groove folk, and acoustic soul to crowds across the United States. Based in the Pacific Northwest, DiMicele's music celebrates the natural world and the people in it. Well-known for unique voice, original songs, and soulful delivery Alice has the ability to both turn a noisy bar silent within a few notes, and rock any festival stage with her full band.