Capitalism vs. Democracy
Thursday, February 2nd @ 7pm
Grace United Methodist Church

(3325 W. Wrightwood)

w/ LANCE SELFA, author of "The Democrats: A Critical History"

As the world's financial managers and heads of state have continued to extoll the virtues of democracy, protesters have begun to realize that their own rights are being bought and sold to the highest bidder.

From the Arab Spring to the occupy movement, millions have demanded the removal of corporate influence from politics, but still the dollar seems to rule. More and more the same conclusion presents itself: a system driven by nothing but the pursuit of profit [Capitalism] is irreconcilable with Democracy.

Join us for a discussion!

Sponsored by the International Socialist Organization

Visit the Logan Square Socialists on Facebook

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (Kevin Gebhardt)

Tuesday, January 17th @ 7:30pm
Experimental Station
6100 S Blackstone Ave, Chicago, IL 60637

Martin Luther King is justifiably famous for being the untiring leader of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Less well known is that toward the end of his life, MLK began to see that a radical, socio-economic change would have to take place in society before African Americans could truly be free from racism and oppression. As he told a reporter in 1968, “you could say we’re involved in the class struggle.”

Come hear a presentation by activist and Socialist Worker columnist, Keeanga Yamahtta Taylor, and join us for a discussion on the radical Martin Luther King.

RSVP on Facebook

Thursday, January 26th @ 7pm
Many Peoples Church
(1507 W. Morse Ave in Rogers Park)

Every day in Chicago, young people in black and brown neighborhoods are subjected to random searches and harassment by the police. Racial profiling by police forces around the country remains a documented fact as black incarceration rates in the U.S. dramatically surpass those of apartheid-era South Africa.

Faced with the powerful Occupy movement and the prospects of mass protests during the NATO and G-8 summits this May, mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to grant Chicago cops even more power to harass and intimidate the people of our city. Undoubtedly, African-American, Latino, and immigrant communities will suffer the brunt of these expanded police powers. This public forum will look at the implications of Rahm’s assault on our rights and what it means for those fighting the racism of a reactionary police force.

The year of revolt

December 16, 2011

You Can't Evict An Idea Whose Time Has Come:
cops, capitalism, and revolution

The whole world has watched as police have pepper-sprayed, beaten and
arrested non-violent protesters from California to New York.

This coordinated assault hasn’t broken our spirits but it does raise critical questions:
Why are politicians unleashing such brutal repression? How can we turn popular
protest into victories against budget cuts and union-busting? What role can workers
play in the fight for a better world? And ultimately, what kind of struggle will
it take to uproot corporate greed, poverty and inequality once and for all?

Join us for a discussion on the politics we need to win fight for our future.

Thursday, December 8th @ 7pm
Columbia College • Hockin Lecture Hall • room 109
623 S. Wabash

RSVP on Facebook

The Occupy struggle needs to represent and involve all of the 99 percent--and that means putting issues affecting people of color at the center of our movement.
by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

OCCUPY WALL Street has sent a bolt of electricity through American society and politics in a way that hasn't happened in decades. It has made the powerful and wealthy of this society the focal point for decades of class rage that has simmered beneath the surface.

The Occupy Movement has forced the mainstream media to report on and discuss poverty, economic inequality, and the corruption and money that pollute the political system in this country.

Maybe most important is the way the movement has popularized the notion that there is a basic divide in this society and around the world: the 1 percent versus the 99 percent. As a result, mainstream media outlets are featuring stories that ask: "Who is the 1 percent?" or "Who are the 99 percent?" Even the rich acknowledge the divide--in Chicago's financial district, traders dropped fliers on the Occupy Chicago headquarters, bragging, "We are the 1 percent."

The slogan of "We are the 99 percent" has captured the way in which a microscopic minority of elites has access to an inordinate amount of wealth and power. All the measures of the quality of life in the U.S. show the effects of this economic inequality--and moreover, that economic inequality often overlaps with racial and ethnic inequality and injustice as well.

At over 16 percent, official unemployment for African Americans is twice what it is for whites. Home foreclosures have disproportionately impacted Black and Latinos because minority communities were steered into predatory sub-prime loans by mortgage lenders. As a result, Black median wealth has plummeted to historic lows of less than $6,000 compared to over $100,000 for whites.

Racism not only compounds the effects of an economic crisis that has been devastating for all working people, but it makes life generally worse for Blacks, Latinos and people of color.

So, for example, not only do African Americans have to worry about unemployment, eviction or foreclosure, but we also must think about the constant threat of police brutality and misconduct. Thus, Chicago has the highest rate of Black poverty in the country at 33 percent, but since January, the police have shot 51 people, the vast majority of them African American. Despite being only 12.6 percent of the U.S. population, African Americans were almost 40 percent of the total U.S. jail and prison population in 2009.

Likewise, not only do Latinos have to fear losing their homes to foreclosure, but they must also worry about police harassment that has been legitimized by racist immigration policies across the country.

In the latest example of vicious anti-immigrant legislation at the state level, Alabama has given police the authority to question anyone they think might be in the U.S. illegally. Of course, there is no way to distinguish between legal and undocumented immigrants, so any brown-skinned person will do. It is a recipe--in fact, a command--for racial profiling and police harassment.

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THE INTERSECTION of economic injustice and racial injustice met, quite literally, on the streets of New York City just five days after the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement began. On September 22, hundreds of thousands of activists around the world mobilized for a "day of outrage" after the execution the night before of African American prisoner Troy Davis. In New York, a spirited demonstration of 2,000 people avoided police blockades to march to Zuccotti Park, headquarters of OWS in lower Manhattan.

In fact, it seems clear that the fury and determination of the protests for Troy Davis in the days leading up to his execution helped gather momentum for the Occupy movement, as we were all witness to the most extreme demonstration of the inequality at the heart of U.S. society.

Despite these initial ties between OWS and the explicit anti-racist politics at the core of the struggle to save Troy Davis, questions have arisen about the Occupy movement's commitment to diversity, inclusion and anti-racism.

Are they valid? First, it's important to distinguish between questions that are raised as attacks on the movement without an interest in advancing the struggle, and those that come from a genuine concern about the need to have more Blacks, Latinos, Arabs and Muslims, and people of color at the heart of the Occupy movement.

For example, some articles written by liberals have either parroted mainstream media critiques of the Occupy demonstrations as filled with unkempt white youth, or made wild generalizations that the Occupy movement as a whole is unrepresentative and not interested in taking on racism.

Even CNN got in on the discussion in a segment that questioned whether the Occupy Movement really represented the 99 percent because "only" 20 percent of protesters were Black and Latino, a lower percentage than the demographics of New York City as a whole. Professor James Peterson of Lehigh University, in an interview with CNN, asked back why the media never poses these same questions to the Tea Party. He added that the Occupy movement is at least attempting to expand the number of people of color involved.

Actually, CNN might be better off asking about its own commitment to diversity after the NAACP questioned the network as to why it doesn't have a single Black anchor for any of its prime-time programs.

But Kenyon Farrow, writing for American Prospect, got a much wider hearing when he wrote an incendiary article on "Occupy Wall Street's Race Problem" that effectively dismissed the movement out of hand as racist and clueless:

Given the stark economic realities in communities of color, many people have wondered why the Occupy Wall Street movement hasn't become a major site for mobilizing African Americans. For me, it's not about the diversity of the protests. It's about the rhetoric used by the white left that makes OWS unable to articulate, much less achieve, a transformative racial-justice agenda.

After comparing the movement to Rush Limbaugh, Farrow conflates the naiveté of some white activists about the role of police with the Occupy movement as whole--which he derisively writes off as the "white left."

Is this really an accurate representation of the Occupy Movement? This critique is pretty unfair to a movement that has existed for just over a month. The movement should be judged not by how it began, but what, if anything, it is doing to make itself more representative and diverse.

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THE BLANKET criticism of Occupy as "too white" ignores the way in which the movement, though it varies greatly from city to city, is actively grappling with how to include all of the 99 percent.

In Oakland, for example, activists renamed their encampment Oscar Grant Park to honor the young African American man who was shot in the back and killed by police almost three years ago. Atlanta renamed its park after Troy Davis.

Occupy Wall Street in New York has a "People of Color" working group whose whole existence is organized around bringing more Blacks and Latinos into the movement. Occupy Chicago has organized teach-ins on "Racism in Chicago," "Our Enemies in Blue" and "Evictions and Foreclosures," which disproportionately impact Blacks and Latinos. Occupy Los Angeles is planning a teach-in on the history of the civil rights movement.

Most significantly of all, African American activists in New York who noticed the lack of Black participation in the OWS protests organized "Occupy the Hood," whose aim has been to raise the profile of the Occupy Movement in communities of color across the country and widen the number of people involved.

A few weeks ago, more than 30 protesters from OWS--among them, author Cornel West--were arrested demonstrating against the NYPD policy of racial profiling known as "stop and frisk," which has led to the arbitrary questioning and search of hundreds of thousands Blacks and Latinos throughout New York. In Boston, the launch of Occupy the Hood in the Roxbury neighborhood brought out 400 people, mostly African Americans, to speak out against evictions, foreclosures and police brutality, among other things. Just in the last week, a new initiative for Occupy Harlem brought together more than 100 activists.

Moreover, in cities where the Occupy Movement has successfully collaborated with organized labor, the demonstrations and direct actions have been more diverse. This isn't surprising since Black and Latino workers are disproportionately more likely to be union members--especially in public-sector unions that are under particular attack right now. OWS saw a dramatic increase in the numbers of people of color present at the occupation and in its demonstration after working together with labor on days of action against corporate and bankers greed.

None of this is to say that there aren't problems with an under-representation of communities of color in the Occupy Movement, only that in many places, organizers recognize this and are actively attempting to overcome it.

We live in cities that are divided by racism and segregation. It would be utopian to believe that the political, social and economic issues that often lead to the isolation of Black and brown communities will be overcome overnight by a new movement--regardless of the intentions of the activists involved.

Moreover, writing off the Occupy Movement as "the white left" denigrates the efforts of people of color who have been involved in pushing for more inclusion of issues that affect communities of color.

The critique also underestimates how this movement--by legitimizing and promoting political protest in almost every major city in the country--can help to generate confidence for others to fight their own particular grievances. For example, there are a growing number of reports of Black and Latino families "occupying" their homes in the face of foreclosure and eviction, after being inspired by the Occupy movement.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WE CAN do even more to make our movement multiracial by taking up issues that are crushing communities of color.

The Occupy movement should demand an end to the "war on drugs," to the record levels of incarceration of Black men and women in the racist criminal justice system, and to police brutality in communities of color. We should call for halting the deportations of the undocumented and an end to the legalized racial profiling targeting Latinos in states like Arizona and Alabama. We should challenge the Islamaphobic practices of the NYPD, CIA, FBI and other police forces that target Arabs and Muslims.

Our movement should organize marches to institutions that are responsible for the conditions in Black and brown neighborhoods. That means marches on racist police precincts to highlight police brutality, on the local Board of Education if it is planning, as it is in Chicago, to close more schools in Black neighborhoods, on the many banks responsible for the rash of home foreclosures in Black communities, or on the main post office in your city to protest the planned mass layoffs of postal workers, large numbers of whom are Blacks or other minorities.

Our movement should call attention to the way that economic and racial injustice and inequality overlap by calling for affirmative action and prioritization of African American and Latino placement in higher education, jobs and housing programs. This would be a recognition that racial oppression often compounds economic marginalization, leading to more Black unemployment, foreclosures and a general lack of access and opportunity.

One immediate thing the Occupy movement everywhere can do is expand its leading activists to include more women and persons of color. Too often, the core organizers in many cities, those who constitute an informal leadership, are young white men. While this may have been where the movement started in particular locales, there is no justifiable reason for it to remain that way.

As activists, we should always strive for our organizing to reflect the best of our aims for a just society that we are fighting for--and that includes women, Blacks, Latinos, Arabs and Muslims, and other people of color at the center of our movement for a different and better world.

Finally, in the U.S., the central way that the 1 percent maintains its grip on society is by dividing the 99 percent. One of the most central of these divisions has been racism against Blacks, immigrants and other ethnic minorities. Our side must make every effort to include those who are oppressed by racism so that this movement does belong to all of us.

The Occupy movement can do this by emphatically putting issues that affect people of color at the center of the movement--to signal our solidarity with the oppressed and our fundamental agreement with the old union slogan that "an injury to one is an injury to all."

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is on the editorial board of the International Socialist Review. She is a frequent contributor on the subject of race and class and has written extensively on the struggle for housing justice. Her articles have also appeared on the Black Commentator, CounterPunch and Gaper's Block Web sites.

Saturday, Oct. 29th • 11:30am-7:30pm

DePaul University • 2320 N. Kenmore Ave • SAC room 161

$5-$20 registration

childcare available* • evening party

Schedule:
11:30AM-Noon Registration

Three public ISO forums this week!

Global Crisis and Revolt: Could There Be a Revolution in the US?

Capitalism is in crisis. But everywhere, people are fighting back. From Egypt to Greece from London to Madison, people are joining in struggle to defend their lives, their rights, and their future. What will it take for our resistance to stop the crisis? What kind of an alternative do we need to fight for? Join the Chicago International Socialist Organization for a discussion of how we can deepen the struggle here in the U.S. and fight for a world based on genuine equality and justice.

Logan Square
Wednesday, September 28 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Grace United Methodist Church (3325 W Wrightwood Ave)

Pilsen
Thursday, September 29 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Casa Aztlan (1831 S. Racine Ave)

Rogers Park
Thursday, September 29 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Many Peoples Church (1507 W. Morse Ave)

Nicole Colson reports on the state of Georgia's setting of an execution date for death row prisoner Troy Davis--and how activists are gearing up to stop it.

THE STATE of Georgia is attempting to execute an innocent man--again.

Troy Davis has come close to death three times before, but the signing of a new death warrant on September 6 means he could have less than two weeks left to live if Georgia officials get their way. Troy's legal appeals have been exhausted, so his last hope is the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, which is holding a clemency hearing on September 19.

Troy's case has long stood as one of the worst examples of the bias and flaws inherent in the death penalty system. He was convicted of murdering off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989, but there has long been compelling evidence of his innocence. Even so, Georgia officials are pushing to kill Troy--and have scheduled his execution for 7 p.m. on September 21.

In response, activists in the U.S. and around the globe are gearing up to send one message to Georgia officials: Don't allow an innocent man to be executed!

A coalition of anti-death penalty organizations has reportedly selected Friday, September 16 for a global day of action to support Troy. In Georgia's capital of Atlanta, Troy's supporters will gather at Woodruff Park downtown and march to the famous Ebenezer Baptist Church for a service at 7 p.m. Activists in other cities are planning demonstrations in solidarity, plus tablings and petitionings to put pressure on the pardons board.

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THE CASE against Troy Davis is built on sand.

He was convicted largely based on the testimony of eyewitnesses, but seven of the nine witnesses who testified against Troy at his original trial have since recanted, with several saying they were coerced by police into falsely identifying Troy as the man who shot MacPhail.

Witness Dorothy Ferrell, for example, signed an affidavit in 2000 admitting she had felt pressure from police to identify Troy as the killer because she was on parole at the time. "I don't know which of the guys did the shooting, because I didn't see that part," she said in her statement. Of the two witnesses who haven't recanted, one is Sylvester "Red" Coles--the man who has since been identified by several witnesses as the actual shooter.

Likewise, no murder weapon was ever uncovered, nor was there ever any physical evidence connecting Troy to the shooting.

The courts, however, have continually refused to consider this compelling evidence. Last year, in a review ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. claimed that a reasonable jury would still find Troy Davis guilty today. Moore dismissed the testimony of witnesses who said that they lied when they originally identified Troy as the shooter as "smoke and mirrors."

But the real "smoke and mirrors" is the state's claim that executing Troy Davis has anything to do with "justice."

As Marlene Martin, national director of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, said:

The case against Troy has fallen apart--nearly all of the witnesses have recanted their original testimony, no DNA connects him to the crime, and another man has admitted to committing the crime, according to several witnesses. At the very least, Troy should have been granted a new trial. But instead, we see the state of Georgia is set to kill him.

What is the definition of cold-blooded murder? I would have to say this is it.

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THIS IS the fourth time since 2007 that state officials have scheduled Troy's execution. In the past, the courts have stepped in--sometimes at the last minute--to stay the order. In March of this year, however, the Supreme Court refused to hear Troy's appeal of Moore's decision, opening the door to this latest execution order and clearing some of the last legal hurdles for the state on its mission to kill Troy.

As Troy's sister and advocate Martina Correia told SocialistWorker.org earlier this year when the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of Moore's ruling [1]:

I cannot imagine facing three execution dates and the possibility of a fourth...In this fight, Troy is no longer voiceless and my family is no longer invisible, yet the court still refuses to hear what we have to say. Innocence does matter and beyond a reasonable doubt should be of utmost.

One thing for certain is that the global concern about this case is growing and yet the highest court in the United States is not willing to address the issue of innocence and new evidence. We live in country that is supposed to promote democracy and human rights for other countries, yet it is not unconstitutional for us to execute innocent people in the U.S. if the courts feel they received a fair trial...

No matter the final outcome of this case, my war against the death penalty is far from over. I will no longer be a victimized by this system in the United States, where justice depends on your ability to pay for it.

A clemency hearing before the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has been set for September 19, but activists can't wait for the board to do the right thing. Every day between today and the date of Troy's scheduled execution is a day to organize to stop the killing of an innocent man. As Martina Correia told Atlanta's WSAV News on Wednesday:

I'm very disappointed in Georgia, because there's still doubt, but I'm holding the parole board to their standard that when there's doubt that they won't execute...We believe in Troy's innocence, and we're going to fight to prove that until the very end--and no matter what the outcome when we get the clemency hearing, we're still going to fight until we clear Troy's name.

The death penalty represents the worst aspects of a "justice" system that is fundamentally biased against minorities and the poor, where actual innocence matters less than scoring easy convictions. As Marlene Martin said:

Troy's case, like so many others on death row, has everything to do with race and class. When I asked Troy if he thought he would have gotten the death penalty had he been the son of a white senator, he said that not only would he not have been sentenced to death, he never would have been arrested in the first place.

This fight to save Troy is going to be tough, but we can do it. Kenneth Foster Jr. won a commutation from Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2007, not because the governor felt anything toward Kenny, but because of the grassroots fight that Kenny's family and activists built to push his case into the forefront of the news.

Troy's case has a much broader level of support, both nationally and internationally, and that means these next two weeks will be critical in mobilizing actions that can pressure the parole board to do the right thing and grant Troy clemency.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
What you can do

Troy Davis needs your help--today more than ever before.

Come to Atlanta for a demonstration on the Global Day of Solidarity for Troy--supporters will meet at Woodruff Park downtown at 6 p.m. Or organize an action in your own city--find out what's going on locally at the Campaign to End the Death Penalty [2] website.

Get everyone you can to contact the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles and voice their support for Troy. Call 404-656-5651, e-mail webmaster@pap.state.ga.us [3] and fax 404-651-8502.

Devote time at a meeting of your union or organization to spread the word about Troy and get people to show their support. Consider whether you and fellow activists can hold a speakout for Troy--and try to write an article for your school newspaper or church bulletin, and contact local radio stations and other news outlets to urge them to cover this case.

Hold a petitioning event in your community for Troy. Think through meetings, events, church services, farmers' markets, bus stops, busy intersections, etc., that might be good places to collect signatures for Troy. Fact sheets, petitions, and clemency letters are available at the CEDP [4] website.

Public Forum
Thursday • August 25th • 7-9pm
Many Peoples Church
1507 W. Morse Ave

The riots that took place in Britain last week left the media and politicians scrambling for an explanation for the massive social unrest. Of course, incredible social inequality, racism, and police brutality lie at the root of the rebellion.

These are the very same problems that sparked riots in this country 40 years ago, when people took to the streets of Detroit, Watts, and even Washington DC to express their outrage.

But, what about the United States today? Could riots happen here again? Keeanga Yamahtta-Taylor will look at the reasons for these rebellions and what they mean for people interested in a world free of racism.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is on the editorial board of the International Socialist Review. She is a frequent contributor on the subject of race and class and has written extensively on the struggle for housing justice. Her articles have also appeared on the Black Commentator, CounterPunch and Gaper's Block Web sites.

Millions of people around the world continue to fight the dehumanizing and brutal experiences of oppression because of their race, gender, sexuality, nationality, or any number of ways that people are divided.
But this oppression has not always been with us – and a world free of oppression is possible. This public discussion will look at the roots of oppression, who continues to benefit from it, and how we can fight back.

Public Forums:
3 locations in Chicago: Logan Square, Pilsen, and Rogers Park

Wednesday • August 10th • 7pm
Logan Square • Grace United Methodist Church
(3325 W. Wrightwood Ave)

Thursday • August 11th • 7pm
Pilsen • Casa Aztlán
(1831 S. Racine Ave)

Thursday • August 11th • 7pm
Rogers Park •Many People’s Church
(1507 W. Morse Ave)

from Socialist Worker online

Nicole Colson reports from Chicago on the Socialism 2011 conference--a gathering of important left voices and activists from both the U.S. and around the globe.

Socialism 2011 participants join in a final rally to cheer the struggles unfolding around the world (Jeff Boyette | SW)Socialism 2011 participants join in a final rally to cheer the struggles unfolding around the world (Jeff Boyette | SW)

MORE THAN 1,300 socialists and activists from across the U.S. and around the globe turned out in Chicago June 1-4 for "Socialism 2011: Revolution in the Air," sponsored by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change and cosponsored by the International Socialist Organization.

The conference is the largest annual gathering of socialists in the U.S.--this year's was the largest single conference in the more than two decades that it has been held. Multiracial and multi-generational, participants expressed new optimism about fighting for a better world, especially after the inspiring revolutions and rebellions in the Middle East, and the mass workers' protests in Madison, Wis.

As he began his discussion of "Civil Liberties Under Obama," Salon.com columnist Glenn Greenwald told the crowd:

I speak at a lot of events these days, a lot of college campuses and conferences and the like, and this is definitely the most--what's the word?...energetic gathering that I've ever been at.

It's interesting, a lot of times, that if people gather for the purpose of engaging in systemic critiques of political systems and political power and the like, this sort of gloominess sets in--I'm sure you're familiar with it and have encountered it--that's grounded in this defeatism...

The exact opposite energy has been really palpable at this conference. Not just this commitment to talking about the need for change, but a real belief in the possibility for it. It's really encouraging and inspiring to be around a gathering of so many people from so many different age groups and backgrounds who really are committed to that vision.

Phil Smith, an ISO member in Denton, Texas, was at his first Socialism conference. "I thought it was excellent," he said, "I live in a very conservative state and, by necessity, [left-wing activists are] very close in Texas. It's really great to come up to Chicago and have people from all over the country. You don't even know these people, and you're instantly just as close-knit. I've never experienced anything like this."

Smith said one of the best meetings he attended was SocialistWorker.org columnist Sherry Wolf speaking on "The Myths of Zionism." "The energy in the room was really fantastic," he said. "Everyone in the room was for [Palestinian liberation], and it was interesting being in a room with 80 people totally down for Palestine. A room of atheists, Jews, Muslims."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

THERE WERE more than 120 talks throughout the weekend on topics ranging from the Marxist theory of the state, to the need for a new abortion rights movement, to the uprisings in the Middle East.

Talks by Electronic Intifada founder Ali Abunimah and Omar Barghouti, a founder of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, were packed with Palestinian rights activists talking about their attempts to promote the boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) campaign.

Meanwhile, at a meeting on "Abortion Without Apology: The Case for a New Movement," a packed room of activists from across the U.S. spoke not just of the need for a new women's rights movement, but of what they are doing now to make it happen.

Lyndie Ngobeni, a member of the ISO from Boston who also was attending the conference for the first time, said, "It was awesome to see just how many people there were attending. I've been at UMass-Boston organizing, and to actually see this on a bigger scale puts things in perspective--what you're building for when you're doing something on your campus, and what it's part of in the larger sense.

Mark Clements, an organizer with the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and former prisoner who served 28 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, said, "It was an exciting opportunity to allow people to grow." He spoke along with Leela Yellesetty on "Challenging the New Jim Crow."

Clements added: "That's what activism is all about, teaching people about what needs to be confronted. We're dealing with so many different issues--from housing, to discrimination of rights, down to juveniles being mistreated by our criminal justice system. I think that [the conference] was dynamite. I'm waiting on next year already."

Dr. John Carlos--the 1968 Olympic medalist who, along with Tommy Smith, raised the Black Power salute at the Mexico City Games--also spoke at Socialism. "To come back to the Socialism conference is fantastic--to see so many young, enthusiastic people trying to make it a better society for all people and have no fear for who the enemy may be," he said. "They are trying to make what's wrong right."

Carlos spoke alongside Nation sportswriter Dave Zirin, on "Sports and Resistance," and he also premiered his book The John Carlos Story, cowritten with Zirin. As Carlos said, "For me to come back and have an opportunity to convey some of my thoughts and feelings, and some of my history and my experiences, it's a wonderful feeling.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SOME OF the most inspiring moments of the weekend came from activists from the Middle East who have witnessed firsthand the power of ordinary people to change the world.

"We are at a moment now where we see the utter bankruptcy of the political system in this country as a vehicle for progressive change on any issue," Ali Abunimah told a packed plenary session of more than 1,000 people. "If we want this change to happen, we're going to have to go out and do it ourselves, just like they're doing it in Egypt."

Mostafa Omar, an activist living in Cairo, spoke of the importance of bringing together activists from various struggles not only around the U.S., but across the globe:

The thing that I really got from the conference is that there are so many socialists and activists involved in a wide variety of struggles--many, many struggles all around this country. If you look at them from the inside, they might look small. But if you look at the bigger picture, these struggles are incredibly important, whether they win or lose. Every single struggle in the United States really is a stepping stone towards developing consciousness and organization.

The other thing that I noticed is the tremendous amount of commitment from those socialists and activists on a daily basis. A commitment, not only to fight those small struggles, but to prepare for a bigger battle to change the whole system. We've also had many, many small struggles in Egypt--and sometimes, people didn't know where these struggles would go. But ultimately, every single struggle they fought over the years made a difference in January and February 2011.

These are lessons that activists in the U.S. are learning as well. At the weekend's final plenary session, Sam Jordan, a long-time member of the ISO in Madison, Wis., spoke about the battle over workers' rights in Wisconsin:

We're at a point where we can see the day when...we can cast aside the parasites who exploit us every day. There's a real possibility to build a socialist movement in the United States, capable of ushering in a society that is organized to meet human need, not corporate greed.

Recordings from many of the conference talks will be available at WeAreMany.org.

Fight for a World Without Sexism!
The Socialist Case for Gender Equality

Today's sexism—from widespread violence and degrading ideas to inequality at the workplace and unpaid labor at home—reaches into every corner of our lives. But sexism has not always existed. Women's oppression stems from the nature of our deeply unequal society, and a system that needs to divide and conquer in order to survive.

And people of all genders are fighting back! Grassroots mobilizations against sexual assault, victim-blaming and attacks on our reproductive rights are providing a glimpse of the potential to build a new movement for women's rights. From Egypt to Yemen to Madrid, women are demanding a place at the forefront of struggles for democracy and economic justice.

Come join us for a discussion of how to carry these struggles forward and challenge the capitalist system as a whole—to win a world based on genuine equality and true democracy, run from the bottom up.

Wednesday, June 8th @ 7pm • Grace United Methodist Church
(3325 W. Wrightwood Ave. in Logan Square)

Thursday, June 9th @ 7pm • Many People's Church
(1507 W. Morse Ave. in Rogers Park)

Thursday, June 9th @ 7pm • Casa Aztlán
(1831 S. Racine Ave. in Pilsen)

Revolution is in the air - the epic revolutions spreading throughout North Africa and the Middle East have shown that masses of ordinary people can take control over their own lives. And the heroic struggle of Wisconsin workers to defend their unions have inspired people across the country to fight for their own rights.

We need an alternative to the current system of austerity, war, and profiteering - an alternative based on the interests of working people instead of Wall Street. Come to this public forum & get involved with the socialist movement!

two community forums:

Thursday, May 19th @ 7pm
Caza Aztlan - 1831 South Racine Ave in Pilsen
RSVP on facebook

Thursday, May 26th @ 7pm
Many People's Church - 1507 W. Morse Ave in Rogers Park
RSVP on facebook

Rogers Park Branch Meeting
Thursday, 5/12, 7pm-9pm
1507 W Morse (Neighbors United for New Possibilities storefront)

Our branch meeting this week will be a discussion of the developments in Egypt since the fall of Mubarak, including the emergence of independent trade unions and workers parties, and the continued crackdown on democratic movements by the military. Below are a series of short articles for some background on the situation. This should be a great conversation!

Proposed agenda for the branch meeting:
* Permanent Revolution in Egypt (readings below) - 60 mins
* Socialism 2011 conference update - 15 mins
* Revolution in the Air public meeting 5/26 - 15 mins

Egypt's Spreading Strikes, Socialist Worker, February 18

Labor Activists Organize Despite Legal Hurdles, [on the WDP], Almasryalyoum, April 15,

In Egypt, Revolution Moves into the Factories, NPR, April 20

Workers struggle against bureaucracy to create new unions, Almasryalyoum, April 29,

Empowering Egypt's Workers Revolution [on the WDP], Al Jazeera, April 25,

Revolution in the Air
Socialism 2011
revolutionary politics, entertainment & debate
Chicago, July 1-4

From the Middle East to the American Midwest, working people have come together to make their own history. In 2011, mass mobilizations have ousted seemingly unmovable dictatorships, and hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers have rallied to draw the line against union busting and scapegoating of public-sector workers for budget crises unleashed by Wall Street’s disastrous profit seeking.

After years of devastation in the clutches of the Great Recession, masses of people are discovering their power to change the world. The movements sweeping the Middle East, from Tunis to Cairo to Tripoli, have revived the politics of class struggle and revolution for the 21st century. Instead of cutbacks, unemployment and repression that our rulers offer us, solidarity in struggle shows that "another world is possible."

Socialism 2011 will provide an unparalleled opportunity for new and veteran activists and scholars to discuss what these events mean for our world, and for our own movements today.

Last year, more than 1,500 people turned out to explore the history of struggles of ordinary people, to learn about radical figures who led social movements and to debate theoretical questions that can help us change the world.

Don’t miss the chance to meet, talk and hang out with hundreds of others like you who want to build an alternative to a system of greed, racism, war and oppression.

Would you like to bring others from your school, community and/or workplace to Socialism 2011?

Visit SocialismConference.org for more info & materials

Celebrate May Day with the ISO!
Saturday, April 30 at 7:30pm - May 1 at 12:00am
Casa Aztlan
1831 S. Racine - Chicago, IL

Celebrate International Workers Day with the Chicago Socialists! There will be music, food and drinks for purchase.

Come with a short 2-3 min speech, writing, poem from a favorite socialist, radical, worker, etc. There will be an open mic to celebrate past and present fighters, organizers and agitators!

All proceeds go to fund Socialism 2011 Conference: http://www.socialismconference.org/

RSVP on Facebook

Meet up with socialists in Rogers Park
Thursday, April 21st · 7pm - 9pm
Loyola Park Fieldhouse
corner of Greenleaf Ave. & Sheridan Rd.

Corporate profits rose at a faster rate last year than at any time in the
past six decades, reaching $1.659 trillion. Meanwhile, the majority of
people continue to struggle with unemployment, home foreclosures,
and mounting bills as Washington promises to make things worse.
We need a real alternative that demands money for people’s needs
instead of bailouts for the banks & Wall St.

Facebook Event

Malalai Joya: The Case for Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Thursday, March 31 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Chopin Theatre
1543 W. Division • Chicago, IL

"The bravest woman in Afghanistan"
--BBC News

"Joya's life has been singular and heroic"
--New York Times Book Review

Malalai Joya is the author of A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of a Woman Who Dared Raise Her Voice

Students FREE, $5 suggested donation at door, no one turned away
Seating is first come, first served

AT A CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY in Kabul in 2003, Malalai Joya stood up and denounced her country’s powerful U.S./NATO-backed warlords. She was only 25 years old. Two years later, she became the youngest person elected to Afghanistan’s new Parliament. In 2007, she was suspended for her persistent criticism of the warlords and drug barons. Beloved by her people for daring to speak out against U.S.-backed war criminals that dominate the government, Joya has survived at least 4 assassination attempts. Having come face-to-face with the brutality of war, Joya has been demanding an end to the occupation for years. In her book A Woman Among Warlords, just out in paperback, Joya explains the situation of ordinary Afghans: “We are caught between two enemies—the Taliban on one side and the U.S./NATO forces and their warlord allies on the other."

Please join us during Joya's rare visit to the U.S. as she discusses an end to the occupation, women's rights, and a just solution to the conflict for the people of Afghanistan.

PRESENTED by Haymarket Books and TruthOut. To cosponsor, contact sarah@haymarketbooks.org

NATIONAL TOUR DATES: www.afghanwomensmission.org

CONTACT: sarah@haymarketbooks.org

Facebook Event

Saturday, April 2nd · 7pm - 9pm
Grace Place
637 S. Dearborn Ave.
Chicago, IL

The mass protests in support of Wisconsin workers showed that we can fight back against austerity. Inspired by the great struggle against Egyptian dictator Muburak students, teachers, firefighters, nurses and Teamsters occupied the State Capitol building for three weeks and marched in the hundreds of thousands to say no to union-busting, no to concessions and no to social services cuts.

Walker got his bill through but the struggle isn't over. Now workers in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan are resisting anti-union and anti-working class legislation. What strategies can win? How can we build on this inspirational demonstration of working class mobilization, solidarity and unity? What is the role of socialists and radicals in rebuilding working class struggle and organization?

a public forum with
LEE SUSTAR, labor editor–SocialistWorker.org
SAM JORDAN, Wisconsin Resists*ID purposed only
SARAH BLASKEY, Madison Area Technical College student

Facebook Event

Wednesday, March 16 · 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Haymarket Pub & Brewery
737 W. Randolph, at corner of Halsted & Randolph
Chicago, IL

THE TWO HUNDRED year story of the global working-class and its many struggles for justice comes to life in this book through the voices of remarkable individuals: child laborers in Dickensian England, visionary women on Parisian barricades, gun-toting railway strikers in America’s Wild West, and beer-swilling German metalworkers who tried to stop World War I. It is a story of urban slums, self-help cooperatives, choirs and brass bands, free love, and self-education by candlelight. And, from Mason's interwoven reportage from the frontlines of contemporary labor disputes in the global south; to current events from Egypt to Wisconsin, this living history of defiance, idealism, and self-sacrifice is still with us today.

4 blocks west of Clinton Green/Pink line; 6 blocks south of Grand Blue line; #8 Halsted Bus, #56 Milwaukee, www.haymarketbrewing.com
6:30 pm Drinking and Writing Theater opens for food and drink
7:00 pm Presentation begins
FREE

*

PRAISE FOR LIVE WORKING OR DIE FIGHTING

"Brilliant.” —Ken Loach, filmmaker, The Wind That Shakes the Barley

"By relating a series of struggles for worker and human rights over the past two hundred years and comparing them to current struggles, Mason has produced a history of the struggle against the excesses of capitalism. There's a bit of anarchism in this book. There's also socialism, communism, syndicalism and plain old unionism...No matter what Mason is writing about: the workers' culture created by the Bund in early 20th century Germany; the May 4th Movement in China from around the same time, or the silk weavers' revolt in Lyon, France, it is the regular folks that star. Anger is present in the histories told here and so is hope." —Counterpunch

*

Living Working or Die Fighting features chapters on the Paris Commune, the IWW, antiwar unionists during WWI, and many more subjects of mass, creative, working-class revolt, including Chicago's own Haymarket martyrs and the movement for the 8-hour day.

*

PAUL MASON is an award-winning journalist and blogger who reports regularly on labor rights and social justice stories as economics editor for BBC World News America, BBC Newsnight, and his popular blog, IdleScrawl. In addition to Live Working or Die Fighting, which was shortlisted as a 2007 Guardian First Book Award, Mason is the author of Meltdown: The End of the Age of Greed (Verso Books).

Read an excerpt, "This is the Dawn," on the Paris Commune at Scribd.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34329382/Excerpt-Live-Working-or-Die-Fighting-...

Watch an interview with Mason on Democracy Now!
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/24/paul_mason_on__live_working

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, contact Sarah Macaraeg, sarah@haymarketbooks.org

Live Working or Die Fighting
How the Working Class Went Global
By Paul Mason
ISBN 9781608460700
320 pages
http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/Live-Working-or-Die-Fighting

March & Rally on 8th Anniversary of the invasion of Iraq
12 Noon, Saturday, March 19, Michigan Avenue & Congress Parkway
our own 'Freedom' Square! Short rally followed by a march on Michigan Avenue

• Funding for Jobs, Healthcare & Education, not for War and Occupation
• Iraq, Palestine, Egypt: US Out of the Middle East
• End FBI raids, political repression and corporate welfare at home

Why we march:

March 19th marks 8 years of US war and occupation in Iraq, where despite President Obama's claim that combat operations have 'ended', more than 50,000 troops remain, backed by tens of thousands of mercenary private contractors. 4,436 American soldiers and over 1 million Iraqis have died, with millions more maimed and displaced. This war has lasted longer than WW II and cost more than $1 Trillion – more than $200 Billion this year alone.

The US occupation of Afghanistan has extended into Pakistan, where last year alone the US military dropped more drone bombs than in the last decade combined. The US government continues to back and bankroll Israel's war against Palestinians and the siege of Gaza. While the US government claims to support 'democracy and freedom', it continues to back repressive regimes and right-wing movements across the Middle East, Latin American and beyond. The toppling of US backed Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak has inspired millions the world over, exposing the great gulf between US rhetoric and reality.

Here at home, antiwar activists and whistleblower projects like Wikileaks are targeted for jail or worse. Muslims and immigrants are scapegoated. Undocumented immigrants face deportation and discrimination. Millions are unemployed and uninsured while the government is slashing funds for basic needs like heat and food for poor children. Funding for public education, environmental protection and job safety is being gutted. Workers rights are under attack, while the government continues to pour billions into the coffers of the banksters and corporate predators that created the current economic catastrophe. Our tax dollars are bankrolling a corporate welfare system that funds CEO salaries and war and occupation abroad at the expense of basic human needs right here at home.

We reject war and bloodshed. We demand jobs, healthcare, education, justice and equality -- and the real democracy that puts people before profits and human needs before corporate greed.

Join us on March 19 to demand an end to the US occupation of Iraq. March in solidarity with the great struggles raging from the Mideast to the Midwest and across the world for liberation and self-determination.

12 Noon, Saturday, March 19
Michigan Avenue & Congress Parkway
Short rally followed by a march on Michigan Avenue

Visit the Facebook event page and help spread the word!

Current endorsers are:
8th Day Center for Justice • Albany Park, North Park, Mayfair Neighbors for Peace and Justice • American Muslims for Palestine • ANSWER Chicago • Chicago Anti Eviction Campaign • Chicago Area CodePINK • Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism • Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights (CCDBR) • Chicago Jobs With Justice • Chicago Vietnam Veterans Against the War • Chicago World Can't Wait • Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine • Committee Against Political Repression • El Techno Colibri, NFP • Families United For Justice In America (FUJA) • Fellowship of Reconciliation Chicago Chapter • Freedom Road Socialist Organization • Gay Liberation Network • Industrial Workers of the World–Chicago Branch • International Socialist Organization • International Solidarity Movement–Chicago • Jewish Voice for Peace–Chicago • Join the Impact Chicago (JTIC) • Justice for Shifa Supporting Committee • Justice Mission • La Voz de los de Abajo • Labor Beat/Labor Express • Moratorium and Deportation Project • Near West Citizens for Peace and Justice • News and Letters Committees • North Shore Coalition for Peace, Justice and the Environment • North Suburban Peace Initiative • Northwest Suburban Peace & Education Project • Oak Park Coalition for Truth & Justice • Our Lady Of Guadalupe • Palestine Solidarity Group–Chicago • Party for Socialism and Liberation • Southsiders For Peace • Students for Justice in Palestine at School of the Art Institute • Third Unitarian Church • U.S. Boat to Gaza–Chicago Network • Unity Temple Social Mission Committee • Veterans for Peace–Chicago Chapter • West Suburban Faith-based PEACE Coalition

For information or to endorse, email CCAWR@aol.com

Tuesday, March 8 • 6:00pm - 9:00pm
UIC Student Center East • 750 S Halsted St., Room 605 (in the Tower) • Chicago, IL

International Women's Day is an important holiday that started as a way to honor working women and their struggle for freedom. This year, the International Socialist Club, in partnership with several campus organizations, will be celebrating that legacy by hosting Sharon Smith, Chicago-based activist and author of Women & Socialism: Essays on Women's Liberation. The lecture will discuss the history of International Women's Day, ...as well as explore the currrent state of the movement for liberation--including the fight against the ongoing assaults to abortion and reproductive rights; violence against women; sexism in culture; and workplace and labor issues. The event will also include Q & A and discussion time about what we can do today to build a new fight for equality and freedom. We hope you will join us to revive the true spirit of International Women's Day at this event!

Co-Sponsored by the International Socialist Club and the Student Activities Funding Committee. Endorsed by the Campus Advocacy Network, Feminists United, & Medical Students for Choice. Please contact us if you would like to endorse or co-sponsor this event.

Facebook Event Page

Millions of people in the streets of Tunisia and Egypt have spoken and they wont stand for wretched economic policies and U.S. backed dictators. The ongoing revolutionary situation in Egypt and the protest movements spreading to the rest of the region have given inspiration and confidence to people all over the world that another world is possible.

Join Ahmed Shawki, socialist, journalist, and editor of the International Socialist Review, to hear a firsthand account of the Egyptian revolution, the future of its people in the months to come, and its impact on struggles throughout the Middle East and the rest of the world.

Monday, February 28 • 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Grace Place (637 S. Dearborn, Chicago, IL)

Facebook Event

Just the beginning! Statement from the Revolutionary Socialists, Egypt

February 11, 2011 — A statement issued by Revolutionary Socialists in Egypt

Glory to the martyrs! Victory to the revolution!

What is happening today is the largest popular revolution in the history of our country and of the entire Arab world. The sacrifice of our martyrs has built our revolution and we have broken through all the barriers of fear. We will not back down until the criminal “leaders” and their criminal system is destroyed.

Mubarak’s departure is the first step, not the last step of the revolution

The handover of power to a dictatorship under Omar Suleiman, Ahmed Shafiq and other cronies of Mubarak is the continuation of the same system. Omar Suleiman is a friend of Israel and America, spends most of his time between Washington and Tel Aviv and is a servant who is faithful to their interests. Ahmed Shafiq is a close friend of Mubarak and his colleague in the tyranny, oppression and plunder imposed on the Egyptian people.

The country’s wealth belongs to the people and must return to it

Over the past three decades this tyrannical regime corrupted the country’s largest estates to a small handful of business leaders and foreign companies. 100 families own more than 90 per cent of the country’s wealth. They monopolise the wealth of the Egyptian people through policies of privatisation, looting of power and the alliance with Capital. They have turned the majority of the Egyptian people to the poor, landless and unemployed.

Factories wrecked and sold dirt cheap must go back to the people

We want the nationalisation of companies, land and property looted by this bunch. As long as our resources remain in their hands we will not be able to completely get rid of this system. Economic slavery is the other face of political tyranny. We will not be able to cope with unemployment and achieve a fair minimum wage for a decent living without restoring the wealth of the people from this gang.

We will not accept to be guard dogs of America and Israel

This system does not stand alone. Mubarak, as a dictator, was a servant and client directly acting for the sake of the interests of [the United States] and Israel. Egypt acted as a colony of [the United States], participated directly in the siege of the Palestinian people, made the Suez Canal and Egyptian airspace freezones for warships and fighter jets that destroyed and killed the Iraqi people and sold gas to Israel, dirt cheap, while stifling the Egyptian people by soaring prices. Revolution must restore Egypt’s independence, dignity and leadership in the region.

The revolution is a popular revolution

This is not a revolution of the elite, political parties or religious groups. Egypt’s youth, students, workers and the poor are the owners of this revolution. In recent days a lot of elites, parties and so-called symbols have begun trying to ride the wave of revolution and hijack it from their rightful owners. The only symbols are the martyrs of our revolution and our young people who have been steadfast in the field. We will not allow them to take control of our revolution and claim that they represent us. We will choose to represent ourselves and represent the martyrs who were killed and their blood paid the price for the salvation of the system.

A people’s army is the army that protects the revolution

Everyone asks: “Is the army with the people or against them?” The army is not a single block. The interests of soldiers and junior officers are the same as the interests of the masses. But the senior officers are Mubarak’s men, chosen carefully to protect his regime of corruption, wealth and tyranny. It is an integral part of the system.

This army is no longer the people’s army. This army is not the one which defeated the Zionist enemy in October 1973. This army is closely associated with [the United States] and Israel. Its role is to protect Israel, not the people. Yes we want to win the soldiers for the revolution. But we must not be fooled by slogans that “the army is on our side”. The army will either suppress the demonstrations directly, or restructure the police to play this role.

Form revolutionary councils urgently

This revolution has surpassed our greatest expectations. Nobody expected to see these numbers. Nobody expected that Egyptians would be this brave in the face of the police. Nobody can say that we did not force the dictator to retreat. Nobody can say that a transformation did not happen in Middan el Tahrir.

What we need right now is to push for the socioeconomic demands as part of our demands, so that the person sitting in his home knows that we are fighting for their rights. We need to organise ourselves into popular committees which elects its higher councils democratically, and from below. These councils must form a higher council which includes delegates of all the tendencies. We must elect a higher council of people who represent us, and in whom we trust. We call for the formation of popular councils in Middan Tahrir, and in all the cities of Egypt.

Call to Egyptian workers to join the ranks of the revolution

The demonstrations and protests have played a key role in igniting and continuing our revolution. Now we need the workers. They can seal the fate of the regime. Not only by participating in the demonstrations, but by organising a general strike in all the vital industries and large corporations.

The regime can afford to wait out the sit-ins and demonstrations for days and weeks, but it cannot last beyond a few hours if workers use strikes as a weapon. Strike on the railways, on public transport, the airports and large industrial companies! Egyptian workers! On behalf of the rebellious youth, and on behalf of the blood of our martyrs, join the ranks of the revolution, use your power and victory will be ours!

Glory to the martyrs!

Down with the system!

All power to the people!

Victory to the revolution!

Send messages of support to info@e-socialists.net

republished in solidarity with our comrades in Egypt

Statement of the Revolutionary Socialists, Egypt

Glory to the martyrs! Victory to the revolution!

What is happening today is the largest popular revolution in the history of our country and of the entire Arab world. The sacrifice of our martyrs has built our revolution and we have broken through all the barriers of fear. We will not back down until the criminal 'leaders' and their criminal system is destroyed.

Call to Egyptian workers. Statement from the Revolutionary Socialists, Egypt:

The demonstrations and protests have played a key role in igniting and continuing our revolution. Now we need the workers. They can seal the fate of the regime. Not only by participating in the demonstrations, but by organising a general strike in all the vital industries and large corporations.

The regime can afford to wait out the sit-ins and demonstrations for days and weeks, but it cannot last beyond a few hours if workers use strikes as a weapon. Strike on the railways, on public transport, the airports and large industrial companies! Egyptian Workers! On behalf of the rebellious youth, and on behalf of the blood of our martyrs, join the ranks of the revolution, use your power and victory will be ours!

Form revolutionary councils urgently.

This revolution has surpassed our greatest expectations. Nobody expected to see these numbers. Nobody expected that Egyptians would be this brave in the face of the police. Nobody can say that we did not force the dictator to retreat. Nobody can say that a transformation did not happen in Middan el Tahrir.

What we need right now is to push for the socio-economic demands as part of our demands, so that the person sitting in his home knows that we fighting for their rights. We need to organize ourselves into popular committees which elects its higher councils democratically, and from below. These councils must form a higher council which includes delegates of all the tendencies. We must elect a higher council of people who represent us, and in whom we trust. We call for the formation of popular councils in Middan Tahrir, and in all the cities of Egypt.

Statement of the Revolutionary Socialists, Egypt on the role of the army:

Everyone asks: Is the Army with the people or against them?

The army is not a single block. The interests of soldiers and junior officers are the same as the interests of the masses. But the senior officers are Mubarak's men, chosen carefully to protect his regime of corruption, wealth and tyranny. It is an integral part of the system.

This army is no longer the people's army. This army is not the one which defeated the Zionist enemy in October 73. This army is closely associated with America and Israel. It's role is to protect Israel, not the people... Yes we want to win the soldiers of the revolution. But we must not be fooled by slogans that 'the army on our side'. The army will either suppress the demonstrations directly, or by restructuring the police to play this role.

The War at Home: Fighting For Jobs and Housing in Chicago
Thursday, February 10 · 6:00pm - 8:00pm
333 S. Ashland Ave

Chicago's general unemployment rate stands above the national average of 9 percent. In some African Americans communities on the south and west side of Chicago unemployment of African American men is well over 40 percent The crisis in jobs and employment across Chicago has contributed to a serious housing crisis that has seen thousands of people in Chicago alone--not including suburban areas--lose their homes to either eviction, foreclosure or the permanent closure of publicly subsidized housing across the city. There were more than 50,000 filings for eviction of tenants in both public and private housing last year. in 2010 there were also more than 51,000 foreclosure filings were made in Cook County, compared to 17,000 made in 2006. Despite national attention consistently raised about the illegal means by which the banks are stealing people's home and their callous demand to evict, the government bails them out leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves. This combination of unemployment and housing insecurity amounts to nothing less than a war on the poor and working people of Chicago.

Come to this important discussion with community activists and others directly affected by foreclosure, eviction and unemployment to see how these issues affect Chicago and how you can get involved in the movement to fight for jobs and housing in the city.

Endorsers:
Chicago Jobs with Justice
Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign
Caucus of Rank and File Educators
Bridgeport Unemployed Action Center
South Austin Community Coalition Council

Defend free speech and the right to organize!
Opposing war & occupation is not a crime!
Rally against FBI & Grand Jury Repression

January 25th, 4:30 pm
Dirksen Federal Building, 219 S. Dearborn

In December, nine more peace activists were subpoenaed by the FBI to appear before the grand jury. They are activists and ordinary people critical of war and concerned about Palestinian rights. To date 23 people have received subpoenas. Patrick Fitzgerald’s office is ordering the nine to appear at a grand jury in Chicago on January 25th.

Fitzgerald’s expanding web of repression already includes 14 people subpoenaed when the FBI stormed into homes on September 24th. In October, the 14 activists from Chicago, Minneapolis, and Michigan each decided to not participate in the secret proceedings of Fitzgerald's grand jury. However, three women from Minneapolis—Tracy Molm, Anh Pham, and Sarah Martin—are facing re-activated subpoenas. They need us to stand with them, and with the newly subpoenaed nine activists.

Chicago is the location of the grand jury. Chicago is where the largest number have been subpoenaed. We must show Fitzgerald and the FBI that we will not be intimidated!

Tell Patrick Fitzgerald to call off the Grand Jury!
Stop FBI Repression and Grand Jury Investigation of Peace Activists and Palestine Solidarity Activists!

Click here for more info

The Crisis of Capitalism & Resistance from Below

- a public forum with Joel Geier, Marxist economist and associate editor of International Socialist Review magazine

thursday • feb 3rd • 7-9pm
grace place • 637 s. dearborn st.

Around the world, economies are being wrecked by crisis. In addition to the trillions of dollars handed over to Wall Street, the governments of Ireland, Greece, and Portugal required similar bailouts while Spain and Italy are also seeking a way out of the financial crisis.
Of course, working class people everywhere are being forced to pay for the crisis; through joblessness, wage-cuts, and the slashing of social services. Likewise, these austerity programs have provoked fightbacks from hundreds of thousands of workers and students across Europe.
But, how can we understand the roots of the crisis; beyond the soundbites, headlines, and lies? Hear Joel Geier, a long-time Marxist economist, discuss the evolving crisis and prospects for global capitalism.