By Debra Sweet

Memorable moments from the World Can't Wait panels this weekend at the Left Forum, attended by 240, and soon to be available on video:

Vast Surveillance of Whole Populations: The NSA Revelations One Year Out
Abi Hassen of the National Lawyers Guild asking everyone in the room “how many federal laws are there?” The answer, he said, was that no one really knows, but it's reasonable to assume that every adult is likely to have broken at least one, since there are so many. The intense surveillance provides a basis for arrest, prosecution and prison of anyone, adding to the epidemic of mass incarceration. And that's one one reason why the claimg that “If you've done nothing wrong, you don't have to worry about being spied on” is so dangerously wrong.

Bringing CUNY into the US War Machine – Students and Faculty Rise Up
Rutgers University student protesters and their families telling the story of successfully preventing Condoleezza Rice from delivering the commencement speech. They were almost disappointed that Rice conceded five days after their sit-in, as they had much more protest planned.

Imperialist Wars & Global Ecological Degradation
Dr.  Mozhgan Savabieasfahani describing the U.S. military's 10 acre “burn pits” going for 7 years in Iraq, as part of how they left Iraq a “total military wreck.” Larry Everest's contention that, as the U.S. and capitalism has “savaged countries” and the planet, if people respond to the moral challenge with the kind of urgency needed, through revolution, a whole new system that would repair and take care of the earth is possible.

US “Dirty” Drone Wars, Targeted Killing & Secret Operations Supercede Military Occupations — But Are Still Illegitimate
Syracuse University grad student Ben Kuebrich describing class work with writing students who researched U.S. use of drones. Through being exposed to the reality of secret programs, civilian deaths, and the fouting of international law, 16 of his 19 students came to oppose these programs, and wrote eloquently about why.