Interview Opportunity at Left Forum next weekend

Below please find the information for Left Forum this coming weekend. It would be great if a few of us could check it out and try to collect some interviews, or at least make potential contacts for people we could speak with. I know that we're looking for a few more articulate speakers from the "left" to speak with us. I highlighted the workshops in red that I think would best fit some of the themes that we're dealing with and certainly feel free to make suggestions.

Let me know your thoughts.

For info on the conference:
http://www.leftforum.org/leftforum2008/leftforum_2008.html

RACKS IN THE EDIFICE

Each spring in New York City, Left Forum gathers intellectuals and activists from around the world to address the burning issues of our times. The theme for 2008 is "CRACKS IN THE EDIFICE". We will examine the context of an empire in the throes of collapse and discuss the possibilities for social movements to build a better world in its place.

We are living in a time of economic and political meltdown. Even once-stable governments in the advanced capitalist nations are not immune from decay, while in other parts of the world war and genocide have become the rule. The disintegration of the social fabric has brought insurgencies, some presenting a progressive alternative to corrupt regimes but others led by religious fundamentalists.

The U.S. President -- with the collaboration of both parties in Congress -- has pursued an agenda heavy on imperial interests despite the myriad domestic problems we face. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and U.S. military and civilians have been killed in this oil-soaked war, but the urgent needs of the majority of our own civilians remain unfulfilled.

How can we address and challenge such catastrophe when our collective voices often seem weak and our alternatives underdeveloped? Left Forum provides a unique space for the generation of ideas crucial to theorizing and building a resurgent Left. This year the Forum will include participants from all corners of North America, as well as Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. It will truly be a rare opportunity for a global left dialogue.

The primary questions are as critical as they are classic: What is the nature of the current conjuncture, and how can the Left intervene effectively?

The Left Forum 2008 will feature over 100 panels on topics including:

Remembering 1968
Crises In Africa
China, India, & A World In Transition
Proliberalism & Nation-States
Political Satire In a Serious World
Social Movements & Electoral Politics
The Latin American Right
Anarchism In Theory & Practice
The Solidarity Economy
Palestine, Israel & Chaos In the Middle East
The Saga of New Orleans Continues
Mainstreaming Racism & Professional Sports
The Housing Meltdown
Anti-Capitalist Movements From the Left & Right
Global Labor Unions & International Solidarity
Building a Better Feminist Movement
Homelessness & Resistance In New York City
Literature & Politics
Utopian Visions For the 21st Century
Ecology & Catastrophe
Puerto Ricans in Diaspora
New Student Movements
War In Iraq & the Struggle to End It
Activism Across Generations
Fighting Gentrifi cation In the Global Barrio

-----> Click here to view and print the 2008 Left Forum brochure