A Short and Irreverent History Of NATO and G8 with Erik Ruder

Thanks to Erik and the UIUC ISO for hosting this.

From the flyer:
Speaker: Eric Ruder, of the Coalition Against NATO and G8
With the upcoming NATO summit looming over Chicago, it’s time to present the historical background and context for both NATO and the G8. The G8 summit was scheduled to meet in Chicago at the same time as NATO, but was recently relocated to Camp David in the face of mass protest.

As two of the central bodies pursuing the interests of the global 1%, understanding how and when they were formed and for what purpose is essential to making sense of why the 99% should resist them. It’s also essential to understand why Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other city officials are willing to spend millions of taxpayer dollars [and don't forget the generous 'donations' by tax-evading corporations], shred essential civil liberties and lock down the city center to accommodate the 10,000 or so diplomats, policymakers and media teams that will descend on the city.

This teach-in will cover a short history of both NATO and G8, what they’ve done and do in the world, and how their decisions—made by largely unaccountable and unelected people at big summits—shape the lives of the global 99 percent. The immense resources they’ve commanded throughout the last several decades have largely created the world we now inhabit, and understanding these processes—both economic and political— and why we should protest them, is the main objective of this meeting.