Saturday 12/12: ISO Holiday Party

You are invited to the annual NYC ISO Holiday Party this Saturday!

Join socialists and radicals in New York City at a holiday benefit party for the Center for Economic Research and Social Change (CERSC).

Don’t miss DJ Picante, dancing, drink specials, and live musical performances

Haymarket Books and the International Socialist Review will also be present with holiday specials.

Saturday December 12th at 9pm

Sixth Street Community Center

(638 E. 6th street between Avenue B and C)

www.sixthstreetcenter.org

Email nyciso@gmail.com for more information.

Cost is $20 for all you can drink, $10 cover for non-drinkers with unlimited refreshments, OR $3 per beer and wine.

All money goes to benefit the Center for Economic Research and Social Change, publisher of Haymarket Books and the International Socialist Review.

Saturday 12/12: Protest Columbia’s Expansion Plans!

VICTORY DEMONSTRATION AND MARCH ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT BOLLINGER`S 116 ST. MANSION

SATURDAY, DEC. 12
12 NOON: MEET/RALLY IN FRONT OF FLORIDITA RESTAURANT
(125th St. & Broadway), MARCH TO COLUMBIA, 12:30PM
SPEAKERS 1PM (ending within 45 minutes)

COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF WEST HARLEM AGAINST COLUMBIA`S USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN – SAYS COLUMBIA`S THREAT OF EMINENT DOMAIN IS ILLEGAL:
Approving eminent domain to benefit a `private elite educational institution`  violates the U.S. and N.Y. State constitutions, and the `first principles of the social contract` .

WE DEMAND: That our elected officials finally give the community some real support in fighting eminent domain and call on Bollinger and his employees at the ESDC to stop the appeal and to give up the documents that have been FOILed by
the major litigants and to make public all documents that were sent between ESDC and their consultants, as well as with Columbia.

CONTACT: (917) 969-0669, (646), 812-5188, espanol: (212) 234-3002 or
visit www.stopcolumbia.org ESPANOL, OTRO LADO

This Thursday: ISO Public Meeting

R E F O R M  or  D E F O R M?
WHAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE DOING TO RUIN HEALTH CARE REFORM…
AND WHY WE NEED A SINGLE-PAYER ALTERNATIVE

Since the election of President Obama, we’ve all been hoping that a Democratic president and Congress would finally do something to fix this screwed-up health care system that is a source of misery and suffering for so many people. But the “reform” on the table forces millions of people to buy high-cost, low-coverage insurance policies from private companies. Even the “public option” has been compromised—giving up on effective regulation of all but the worst practices of the medical-insurance complex. And disgustingly, it contains an amendment that would create the most expansive government restriction yet imposed on women’s right to choose.

The heart of the issue is that it leaves untouched what is the chief source of the health care crisis—domination of the system by private companies and their thirst for profit. Instead, we a single-payer alternative—a government-run system that covers everyone, and cuts out the private insurance industry.

Clearly, we cannot leave hope for change solely in the hands of Democratic politicians. Join us for a discussion on what kind of change is needed, and what it’s going to take to get it:

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10TH, 7:30PM
628 KENT HALL

Checkout these background readings from Socialistworker.org and the International Socialist Review:
1. “The Deform of Reform” by Alan Maass and Helen Redmond
http://socialistworker.org/2009/11/11/deform-of-reform

2. “Infected by Greed and Waste” By Elizabeth Schulte
http://socialistworker.org/2009/12/03/infected-by-greed-and-waste

3. “Health vs. Wealth: National Healthcare, a Dream Deferred” by Nancy Welch
http://www.isreview.org/issues/56/feat-healthwealth.shtml

Sponsored by: Barnard/Columbia Branch of the International Socialist Organization
Socialistworker.org  | Columbia.iso@gmail.com

Thursday 12/3: Noam Chomsky at Columbia

JOIN THE BARNARD/COLUMBIA BRANCH FOR THIS EVENT ON CAMPUS (instead of our regular branch meeting):

The Edward Said Memorial Lecture with Noam Chomsky: “The Unipolar Moment and the Culture of Imperialism”

Thursday, December 3, 6:15pm

Altschlul Auditorium, 417

International Affairs Building

Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor and professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, delivers the 5th Annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture. Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is well-known in the academic and scientific community as one of the fathers of modern linguistics. Since the 1960s, he has become known more widely as a political dissident, an anarchist, and a libertarian socialist intellectual.

Noam Chomsky has been a dedicated opponent of war and injustice for more than half a century. His dozens of books and writings for innumerable journals have made him one of the best-known radical voices in the U.S. and around the world, responsible for contributing to the commitment and shaping the thinking of countless people. Noam Chomsky is a regular contributor to the International Socialist Review (ISR) and has a new book coming out with Haymarket Books. Today, principled voices against US Imperialism are more important than ever as Obama sets to send tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan.

Check out this article by Chomsky on “This Century’s Challenges” in Issue 61of the ISR at: http://www.isreview.org/issues/61/feat-chomsky.shtml

Keep up with new coverage from a socialist perspective at: socialistworker.org

For more info on the Barnard/Columbia branch of the ISO, contact us at: columbia.iso@gmail.com

Sunday, 4pm: How Can We Build the Fight for LGBT Equality?

How Can We Build the Fight for LGBT Equality?

Sunday, December 6 @ 4pm

Stephen Donaldson Lounge, Basement of Furnald Dorm

Columbia University

Last month, over 200,000 people marched on Capitol Hill to demand full equality for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states! Since then, we’ve witnessed the enactment of a federal hate crimes legislation, but we’ve also seen the right wing mobilize to prohibit same sex marriage in Maine, as well as numerous acts of homophobic violence.

There are more reasons than ever to build a national LGBT equality movement!

Please join us to:

1. Discuss the current state of the fight for same sex marriage and LGBT equality
2. Brainstorm ideas on how we can build that struggle here on campus/in NYC
3. Discuss creating a political LGBT group on campus oriented on helping build a national movement for LGBT equality

Today 5pm: Remember Jorge Steven López Mercado! No more LGBT hate-crimes!

COLUMBIA/BARNARD STUDENTS: We’ll be meeting at the gates (116th st and Broadway) at 4:25pm SHARP to hop on the train and head down to the rally/vigil!

Check out the statement from Equality Across America in Socialist Worker

 

IN MEMORIAM – Rally for JORGE STEVEN LÓPEZ MERCADO

Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009

Time: 5:00pm – 8:30pm

Location: HUDSON PIER 45 AT CHRISTOPHER ST

Street: Christopher Street & West Side Highway

City/Town: New York, NY

THOUSANDS OF NEW YORKERS GATHER FOR VIGIL IN MEMORIAM OF JORGE STEVEN LÓPEZ MERCADO, VICTIM OF HATE CRIME

 

In an act of solidarity, New Yorkers will gather at Pier 45 in NYC for a vigil followed by optional *mass on Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 5:00 pm.

 

NEW YORK, NY – On the night of Friday, November 13, 2009, 26-year-old Juan Martinez Matos picked up 19-year-old Jorge Steven López in Caguas, Puerto Rico, and drove him to the nearby town of Cidra, PR. After discovering that Mercado, who was dressed as a female, was a man, Matos, in a whirlwind of rage, not only murdered Mercado, but beheaded and dismembered his body. Its remains were partially set on fire. Mercado’s body was discovered in the nearby town of Cayey, PR. A search for the murderer immediately began.

 

Matos has been apprehended, has confessed, and is imprisoned with bail set at four million dollars. Initial reports seem to indicate that the line of defense will be invoking “gay panic,” a strategy used commonly in recent times with varying degrees of success. In a troubling interview with Univisión, police investigator Ángel Rodríguez Colón is on record as saying (as translated into English), “These types of people, when they enter this lifestyle and go out into the streets know that this could happen.” We find this unacceptable, and furthermore call for a stop to victim blame in this case. Never in Puerto Rico’s history has a crime been prosecuted with hate crimes provisions attached, despite the existence of said provisions since 2002. We want to make sure this is the first case.

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In response to sudden and widespread outrage due to the murder, thousands of New Yorkers will gather at Manhattan’s Pier 45 (at Christopher Street) on Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 5:00 PM for a vigil ceremony.

The Manhattan vigil will occur in conjunction with satellite Sunday vigils in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Durham, and other American cities. The resulting photographic and video footage will be used in efforts for full prosecution of this case.

Speakers slotted include major political, social, and artistic leaders of New York City.

We thank GLAAD, The LGBT Community Center, Dignity, Anti-Violence Project, Latino Commission on AIDS, and the office of Speaker Quinn for their continued support in these efforts.

Reference Link: http://mercado-vigil.tumblr.com/

Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/4tkNLm

Thursday 11/19: Reform or Deform in the Age of Obama?

Join us for a discussion to assess the current state of US politics and possibilities for change in the Obama era.

REFORM OR DEFORM IN THE AGE OF OBAMA?

Obama took the White House almost a year ago by tapping into working class hopes for change after eight long years of the Bush Administration. Obama’s promised to take on the health insurance corporations to deliver universal health care reform. Obama promised LGBT people an end to “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”. Many viewed Obama as an anti-war candidate because he campaigned for a “troop withdrawal” from Iraq. And I’m sure everyone can think other things that were expected…

But since taking office, what Obama is delivering seems to be far below our expectations (not to mention the Democrats are the majority in Congress). The health care bill looks like it will benefit the insurance industry more than the uninsured. Obama is escalating the war in Afghanistan. And the economy is recovering for Wall Street while leaving workers behind. What’s going on? It seems that if there were anytime for Obama to deliver on his promises to working people–especially when unemployment numbers continue to rise–now would be the time!

Bring your ideas and questions for discussion. Here are some articles from Socialist Worker Online that provides analysis and a basis for discussion/debate:

 

The double-digit jobs disaster
There’s plenty of money for more economic stimulus–if Barack Obama would fight for it.
November 18, 2009

The deform of reform
Alan Maass and Helen Redmond analyze the legislation passed by the House in the name of health care reform.
November 11, 2009

The warlords’ president
Eric Ruder analyzes the latest developments that handed a re-election victory to Hamid Karzai–in the context of the debate in the U.S. political establishment over how to escalate its war and occupation.
November 4, 2009

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19th, 7:30-9:15pm
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
628 KENT HALL

Wed 11/18: Roundtable on Caribbean Marxists CLR James and Hubert Harrison

Caribbean Intellectuals and the African Diaspora: Hubert Harrison and C.L.R. James

November 18, 2009

Wednesday, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m

A lunch-time symposium with:

Professor Robert A. Hill (UCLA)

Michael T. Ryan, Director Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University

and author Jeffrey B. Perry

Sponsored by the Institute for Research in African-American Studies, Columbia University and hosted by Professor Fredrick Harris.

At Jed D. Satow Hall, 5th floor Conference Room, Lerner Hall, 115th and Broadway, Columbia University, New York, NY.

http://www.iraas.com/node/116

Tuesday 11/17: Jeremy Scahill at Columbia

Join the Barnard/Columbia Branch of the International Socialist Organization (ISO) in attending:

Jeremy Scahill & Susan Burke on Private Contractors in Iraq & Afghanistan

In Our Name, Beyond Our Laws?: Private Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan

A conversation with Susan Burke and Jeremy Scahill about private military contractors, human rights, and the future of warfare.

* Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 8:00pm

Jerome Greene Hall, Room 104 [one entrance is on W. 116 St., just east of NW corner of Amsterdam]

Sponsor: Amnesty International – Columbia University

Susan Burke is a partner with Burke ONeil LLC, a law firm specializing in International Human Rights law. The firm is currently bringing civil actions against private military contractors in Iraq in an effort to hold the companies accountable for the various human rights abuses they have committed throughout the conflict. Susan serves as lead counsel on a number of these cases, specifically those related to the shootings of Iraqi civilians by Blackwater Xe employees and the torture of Iraqi victims at the Abu Ghraib prison by private military contractors.

Jeremy Scahill is the author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. His book was a groundbreaking effort in exposing the political and moral conflicts surrounding one of the most notorious private military contractors in the Iraq war. He has since become an authority on Private Military Contractors, and is a frequent contributor to “The Nation” magazine, and a regular guest on Democracy Now and The Rachel Maddow Show.

See Jeremy Scahill debate Obama’s Iraq withdrawl on Democracy Now:

Check out this round table discussion with Jeremy Scahill and Anthony Arnove (Author of Logic of Withdrawl) in Socialist Worker online on the same topic.

 

Thursday 11/12: ISO organizing meeting

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The next meeting of the Barnard/Columbia Branch of the International Socialist Organization (ISO) will be on Thursday, November 12th in 628 KENT HALL (end of the hall) at 7:30pm.

—–

Part I will be a strategy discussion about next steps for ongoing LGBT organizing on campus. Last month, there was the National Equality March (NEM) in Washington of 200,000 people demanding equal rights for LGBT people. But last week Maine passed it’s own Proposition 8 (called Question 1) taking away the right of same-sex couples to get married. Since Maine, 300 people mobilized twice in NYC and hundreds more mobilized in cities across the country demanding equality. Organizers of the NEM are calling on activists to seize the momentum and build grassroots LGBT rights organizations to affiliate with a new national organization called Equality Across America (EAA). We want to discuss as a branch the potential for starting a group like this on campus.

Here are some good background articles to prepare for this discussion: 1. “We’ve Just Begun to Fight” by Sherry Wolf (Author of Sexuality and Socialism, and National Organizer for NEM)

2. “What Does Maine Tell Us” by Sherry Wolf

—–

Part II will be a discussion about stragegy and tactics for building a stronger branch of the ISO. The Columbia/Barnard branch helped to bring over 100 students from Barnard and Columbia to the NEM. We hosted the Regional Conference of the ISO called “Crisis and Resistance” attended by over 700 people with speakers such as Malalai Joya. Just think of what we could do with a bigger campus chapter ! We are not only building for the struggles today, we are also trying to build the kind of organization that can fight long-term for a radically different society–one where human needs determine how things are run, not profit.

Join us for these discussions, get involved, and ask questions!

Afterward, join us for pizza & beer at V&T’s (110th and amsterdam). This is a great way to continue talking politics, learning more about the ISO and socialism.

Sponsored by the Barnard/Columbia branch of the International Socialist Organization (ISO)
Socialistworker.org | NYCsocialist.org
isreview.org | Haymarketbooks.org