AUSTIN AREA EVENTS (facebook link)

Editors Gary Chartier and Charles W. Johnson will speak about their new book, "Markets Not Capitalism: Individualist Anarchism against Bosses, Inequality, Corporate Power, and Structural Poverty." The book explores the gap between radically freed markets and the capitalist-controlled markets that prevail today, and features discussions of socialism, capitalism, and anarchism.

In January a group of young activists launched a networking event for the progressive community in Austin. The response from folks at the launch party was enthusiastic, so we're back with the new "Third Coast Sunday" series of monthly gatherings. The February event will focus on analyzing the economic crisis and highlighting opportunities to achieve economic justice.

We'll start with a presentation on contemporary capitalism, looking not just at the financial crisis that began in 2008 but on the systemic problems that have produced record levels of economic inequality. That will be followed by a panel discussion with representatives of three Austin organizations working in different areas to respond to these problems:

--Casa Marianella provides emergency shelter services for immigrants, including special homes for women and children escaping violence, and helps people rebuild their lives.

--Cooperation Texas helps people create sustainable jobs through the development, support and promotion of worker-owned cooperatives, addressing social and economic inequality by creating democratically run workplaces.

--Urban Roots is a youth development program that uses sustainable agriculture to transform the lives of young people and increase the access to healthy food in Austin.

After the formal program, there will be time for small-group discussion. And throughout the evening folks can enjoy locally brewed beer from Black Star Co-op, Via 313 pizza, and Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery's vegan donuts. Admission is free, with donations accepted to help with the costs of food.

The Third Coast Sunday theme of "Celebrating Progressive Politics and Radical Roots" reminds us of the need to critique the existing order and create a new world. We ask: What needs to be tore down, and what needs to be built up? This monthly gathering is designed as a place to share ideas, build connections, and find opportunities for action -- both for those new to political organizing and those who've been in the fight for decades.

For more information, contact Braden Latham-Jones, lathamjones@gmail.com.

scott crow will discuss his new book "Black Flags and Windmills: Hope, Anarchy and the Common Ground Collective."

Dr. Bo McCarver, a community activist and leader of the Blackland Development Corporation in Austin, will speak about "Two Battles of Blackland: 32 Years of Community Struggle -- and Counting," with a focus on the neighborhood's fight against the University of Texas' annexation plan and the ongoing fight against gentrification in the area.

An evening of live music with the South East Players, Kiko y la Banda featuring Susan Torres, and DJ Chorizo Funk will benefit the Hutto Visitation Program. The event will also include free appetizers, a silent auction, and remarks by members of the program.

The T. Don Hutto detention facility was used as a family detention center until the families were released in 2009. Now this for-profit private prison is filled with immigrant women, most of whom are seeking asylum.

The Hutto Visitation Program is a way to show friendship and solidarity with the women detained there, monitor conditions at Hutto, and contest a detention system that labels humans as "illegal." In the past year, volunteers have completed close to 50 visits with over 25 women and raised awareness about Hutto and immigration detention.

Doors open at 7:30 pm and the show starts at 8 pm. Tickets are $8 in advance (available at MonkeyWrench Books, 110 E. North Loop) and $10 at the door.

"Critical Conversations" is a new series of discussions with some of Austin's most provocative thinkers. Sponsored by the progressive community center 5604 Manor and held at Austin's cooperatively owned-and-operated brewpub Black Star Co-op, the series offers an opportunity for interaction in a comfortable setting with great food and beverages.

Kicking off the series is University of Texas history professor H.W. Brands, the author of 26 books that have brought American history alive for countless readers. Twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Brands' work has covered foreign and domestic policy, political and business leaders, and the important trends in American history. His most recent book, Greenback Planet: How the Dollar Conquered the World and Threatened Civilization as We Know It, charts the dollar's rise to become the world's principal currency and concludes with a sobering dissection of the 2008 world financial debacle.

The Workers Defense Project, Third Coast Activist Resource Center, and Cooperation Texas came together in 2009 to purchase and renovate the building at 5604 Manor for office, meeting, and event space for the progressive community in Austin.

Black Star Co-op's mission is to foster an environment in which member-owners can realize the principles of co-operative ownership, worker self-management, education and community action through the responsible enjoyment great beer and food.

For more information, contact Robert Jensen at (512) 471-1990 or rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu.

Renowned radical historian Howard Zinn wrote the play "Marx in Soho" to introduce people to Karl Marx's life, analysis of society, and passion for radical change. On stage, Marx launches into a passionate, funny, and moving defense of his political ideas, using current events to show how his ideas still resonate. "Why are you building more and more prisons," he asks. "Yes, capitalism has triumphed. But over whom?"

Zinn's dialogue, which doesn't preach but rather is full of mischievous humor, is brought to life by veteran actor Bob Weick. In seven years of touring "Marx in Soho," Weick has staged 200 productions around the country. Watch video of Weick's captivating performance online.

The performance is sponsored by Third Coast Activist Resource Center. For more information, contact Robert Jensen, rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu. Admission is free, with a $10 suggested donation; no one turned away for lack of funds.

Rinku Sen, a national leader in the racial justice movement, will speak on "Creating Spaces of Belonging: Reflections on Community, Culture and Conflict."

Sen is president and executive director of the Applied Research Center and the publisher of Colorlines.com. She is a columnist at the Huffington Post and a frequent commentator in print and broadcast media.

Sen is the author of Stir It Up: Lessons in Community Organizing, a primer on best practices in community organizing; and The Accidental American, a book about Moroccan immigrant Fekkak Mamdouh, who co-founded the Restaurant Opportunities Center http://rocunited.org/ in the aftermath of September 11.

Prior to ARC, she held various leadership roles at the Center for Third World Organizing and was named one of Utne Reader's "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World" in 2008. Sen is a native of India who grew up in the northeastern factory towns and learned to speak English in a two-room schoolhouse.

The suggested $5 donation at the door (no one turned away for lack of funds) will benefit 5604 Manor, a progressive community center. The event is sponsored by St. James' Episcopal Church, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, and the University of Texas Division of Diversity and Community Engagement. For more information, contact Robert Jensen at (512) 471-1990 or rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu.

Raymond Bonner shines a light on the shortcomings of the justice system in his new book on a mishandled murder case in South Carolina that left an innocent man facing execution. In his talk about his book, the former New York Times reporter will provide an account of the prosecutorial misconduct, inept defense lawyers, and injustice in Edward Lee Elmore's case. Anatomy of Injustice illustrates the widely acknowledged inequality and moral failings of the death penalty, while illuminating the less understood details of a criminal justice system deeply compromised by race and class.

Bonner is one of two journalists who broke the story of the massacre of 900 villagers at El Mozote by the Salvadoran army in 1981. Bonner's reporting was attacked by the Reagan administration, which was backing the repressive Salvadoran government. Under pressure, the New York Times moved Bonner to the business desk and Bonner resigned soon after. He eventually returned to the Times staff and also has been a staff writer at The New Yorker. Bonner is also the author of Weakness and Deceit: U.S. Policy and El Salvador and Waltzing with a Dictator: The Marcoses and the Making of American Policy.

The event is sponsored by the Third Coast Activist Resource Center to benefit 5604 Manor. The suggested donation is $5; no one turned away for lack of funds. For more information, contact Robert Jensen, rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu.

Journalist Seymour Hersh will offer reflections on the multiple crises in the Middle East and the role of the United States in the region. In an onstage conversation with University of Texas journalism professor Robert Jensen, Hersh will talk about his most recent reporting on Iraq, Iran, and Israel, as well as discussing career as an investigative reporter.

Since winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1970 for his reporting on the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, Hersh has been one of the America's most relentless critics of abuses of power. His 1983 book The Price of Power remains the most incisive study of the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the consequences of his failed policies. As a reporter for The New Yorker, Hersh has over the past decade broken a series of important stories about U.S. abuses in Iraq, including the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. His most recent reporting has focused on the dangers posed by U.S. policy toward Iran.

In recent years, Hersh has been a frequent guest on Democracy Now! His reporting regularly rankles the powerful; Richard Perle, a lobbyist and policy adviser to politicians, has called Hersh "the closest thing American journalism has to a terrorist."

Hersh will be in Austin as a guest of the University of Texas' Humanities Institute.

The event is sponsored by the Third Coast Activist Resource Center to benefit 5604 Manor. Seating is limited on a first-come, first-seated basis. For more information, contact Robert Jensen, rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu.

Theologian and social critic Gary Dorrien will speak on "Breaking the Oligarchy" to keynote a weekend gathering on economic justice and faith.

Dorrien, an Episcopal priest and professor at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, is a frequent speaker and commentator on programs such as "Bill Moyers' Journal." Described by Cornel West as "the preeminent social ethicist in North America today," Dorrien is the author of 14 books, including Economy, Difference, Empire: Social Ethics for Social Justice; Imperial Designs: Neoconservatism and the New Pax Americana; Social Ethics in the Making: Interpreting an American Tradition; and The Making of American Liberal Theology.

The event is sponsored by University United Methodist Church, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, and the Third Coast Activist Resource Center.

The event is free; donations will be accepted for the progressive community center 5604 Manor.

For more information, contact Mardi Wareham, mwareham@uumc.org.

Many people look to faith traditions for principles of justice, and then struggle to find the most effective ways to contribute to building a more equitable world. These sessions will outline the contributions theology can make to our understanding of social justice and highlight organizing efforts in the community that are putting principles into action.

Coffee and informal conversation will begin at 8 a.m.

The featured speaker at 8:30 a.m. will be Southern Methodist University professor Joerg Rieger on "Empire and Economics: The Difference Christianity Makes." Rieger is the author of Globalization and Theology and No Rising Tide: Theology, Economics, and the Future.

Beginning at 9:45 a.m., representatives of the Workers Defense Project and Cooperation Texas will speak about their organizing projects.

Lunch at noon will feature a conversation on faith and justice between Rieger and Gary Dorrien, the Friday night keynote speaker. Box lunches will be available for $10.

The event is sponsored by University United Methodist Church, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, and the Third Coast Activist Resource Center.

For more information, contact Robert Jensen, rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu.