Events, Campaigns, Books, & Films

 Events

OCCUPY TOGETHER - Occupy Together is the unofficial hub for the various occupations springing up across the country in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street.

Contact: http://www.occupytogether.org.

VETERANS/ART - The “War Is Trauma” portfolio will be shown at the Hot Shops Art Center in Omaha, NE, July 2-29. An opening night featuring poetry is scheduled for July 14. The portfolio consists of handmade prints produced by the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative in collaboration with the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW).

Contact: Hot Shops Art Center, 1301 Nicholas Street, Omaha, NE 68102; 402-342-6452; manager@hotshopsart center.com; http://www.ivaw.org/war-is-trauma.

LA RAZA - The annual National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Conference is scheduled for July 7-10 in Las Vegas, with workshops, presentations, and panel discussions.

Contact: NCLR Headquarters Office, Raul Yzaguirre Building, 1126 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036; 202-785-1670; www.nclr.org.

COKE - Killer Coke is planning actions for a special meeting of the shareowners of the Coca-Cola Company, in Atlanta, GA on July 10.

Contact: http://killercoke.org.

PEACESTOCK - On July 14, the 10th Annual “Peacestock: A Gathering for Peace” will take place at Windbeam Farm in Hager City, WI. Peacestock (formerly “Pigstock”) is a mixture of music, speakers, and community for peace. The event is sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Chapter 115.

Contact: Bill Habedank, 1913 Grandview Ave., Red Wing, MN 55066; 651-388-7733; billhabedank@yahoo.com; http://www.peacestockvfp.org.

CHILDREN’S DEFENSE - The Children’s Defense Fund national conference will gather 3,000 leading researchers, educators, policymakers, faith leaders, and advocates including 1,000 young adult leaders from July 22-25 in Cincinnati, OH. The conference will address problems like 16.4 million poor children and 8.3 million children without health care.

Contact: cdfinfo@childrensdefense.org; http://www.childrensdefense.org.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), in partnership with the National Organization for Men Against Sexism will hold their conference “Preserving Our Roots While Looking to the Future,” July 22-25, in Denver, CO.

Contact: http://www.ncadv.org; http://www.nomas.org.

POPULAR ECONOMICS - The Center for Popular Economics is holding its 2012 Summer Institute July 23-27 at Columbia University in New York City. No background in economics is needed. This year’s theme is “Economics for the 99%.”

Contact: Center for Popular Economics, PO Box 785 Amherst, MA 01004; 413-545-0743; programs@populareconomics.org; www.populareconomics.org.

CUBA/PASTORS - The 23rd annual Pastors for Peace Friendship Caravan to Cuba is scheduled for July 1-July 31. Volunteers will travel across the U.S and Canada collecting aid and educating about the unjust blockade against Cuba, before an orientation in Texas July 15-18, followed by an education program in Cuba from July 21-29. People can participate by attending or hosting local events, donating materials, or sponsoring a traveler.

Contact: IFCO/Pastors for Peace, 418 W. 145th St., New York, NY 10031; 212-926- 5757; cucaravan@igc.org; www.pastorsforpeace.org.

COMMUNITY MEDIA - The Alliance for Community Media 2012 National Conference is scheduled for July 31-August 2 in Chicago. Hands-on workshops and skillshares will be offered by this grassroots coalition of community media groups. This year’s theme is, Collaborate.

Contact: ACM, 1760 Old Meadow Road, Suite 500, McLean, VA 22102; www.alliancecm.org.

FOOD CONFERENCE - The 6th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference will be held August 2-5 in Burlington, VT. The conference brings together food service professionals, farmers, educators, policy makers, students, and many others. This year’s theme is “Digging In!”

Contact: http://farmtocafeteria conference.org.

VETERANS - Veterans for Peace is holding its 27th annual convention from August 8-12 in Miami, FL. This year’s theme is “Liberating the Americas: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Contact: Veterans For Peace, 216 S. Meramec Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105; 314-725-6005; www.vfpnationalconvention.org.

ECONOMICS - The Union For Radical Political Economics will hold a conference from August 10-13 in High Falls, NY. The theme is “Political Economy of the 99%: Today and Tomorrow.”

Contact: urpe@labornet.org; http://www.urpe.org/.

DISSIDENT ARTS - The Dissident Arts Festival is scheduled for August 17 (Brooklyn, NY) and 18 (Manhattan). The Festival is presented by Dissident Arts, the Brecht Forum, and 17 Frost Theatre of the Arts; organized by John Pietaro.

Contact: John Pietaro, 646-599-0060; leftmus@earthlink.net; http://www. dissidentarts.com/.

FOOD NOT BOMBS - The Food Not Bombs World Gathering will be held August 20-26 in Tampa, FL. Many events are planned. The gathering is being held in the run-up to the 2012 Republican National Convention which begins August 27 in Tampa.

Contact: http://www.foodnotbombs.net.

PEOPLE’S CONVENTION - The Vermont Workers’ Center has called for a massive grassroots cross-movement event August 21-September 2 in Burlington, Vermont to  serve as a people’s alternative to the corporate influenced and controlled political process.

Contact: http://www.workerscenter.org.

COMMUNITIES - The Communities Conference is a networking and learning opportunity for co-operative or communal lifestyles, with workshops, events and entertainment; scheduled for August 31-September 3 at the Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, Virginia.

Contact: Twin Oaks Communities Conference, 138 Twin Oaks Road, Louisa, VA 23093; 540- 894-5126; conference @twinoaks.org; www.communitiesconference.org.

WALL STREET SOUTH - From September 1-6, poor and working people from across the world plan to march on the Wall Street of the South in Charlotte, North Carolina. The march includes over 60 organizations.

Contact: http://wallstsouth.org.

CUBA/WOMEN – U.S. Women & Cuba Collaboration delegation, “Global Economic Crisis: Women Working Together to Advance Economic Justice and Human Rights,” will be held September 1-11. Applications are due by August 1.

Contact: http://www.womenandcuba.org.

ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR - The 7th annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair, will be held on unceded Lekwungen Territory in Victoria, British Columbia, September 7-8. Events include workshops, book, and information tables, readings, films, presentations, and more. In addition to the Bookfair, a “Festival of Anarchy” will take place from September 1-7 at different venues.

Contact: info@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca; http://www.victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca.

OCCUPY WALL STREET - September 17 is the one- year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. A “People’s Picket on Wall Street” is planned in New York City, as well as nationwide.

Contact: occupywallst.org.

FOOD/MONSANTO - The week of September 17 is a week of action against Monsanto’s control of the world’s food supply at the expense of food democracy. Events are planned worldwide.

Contact: http://occupymonsanto.com.

PEACE DAY - September 21 is the UN’s International Day of Peace. The UN’s website features a worldwide calendar of events throughout the month promoting peace and opposing violence and war in diverse places worldwide.

Contact: www.international dayofpeace.org; international dayofpeace.org/participate /events_calendar.html.

CLIMATE CHANGE - The Peace and Justice Studies Association with Tufts Initiative on Climate Change and Climate Justice, will hold its annual conference October 4-6 at Tufts University. This year’s theme is “Anticipating Climate Disruption: Sustaining Justice, Greening Peace.”

Contact: http://www.justice withpeace.org.

HEALTHCARE - A demonstration for Universal Healthcare has been called for October 6 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Organizing groups include Healthcare-NOW!

Contact: http://duh4all.org; http://www.healthcarenow.org..

TEACHERS - The 12th Annual Conference “Teaching for Social Justice: Acts of Courage and Resistance” will be held October 6 in San Francisco, CA. The free event features workshops, resources, and free childcare.

Contact: 415-676-7844; teachers4socialjustice@yahoo.com; http://www.t4sj.org/.

IRAN/WAR - United For Peace and Justice has initiated and launched the Iran Pledge of Resistance with numerous member groups and other peace and social justice organizations. The pledge is to take action against war with Iran.

Contact: http://www.iranpled ge.org; http://www.unitedforpeace.org.

Opportunities & Resources

ESSAYS WANTED - The Daniel Singer Millennium Prize Foundation invites submissions to the 2012 Daniel Singer Prize competition of up to 5,000 words on the question: “From Tahrir and Syntagma Squares to the Indignados and 99% movement, 2011 saw people in the streets challenging the monopoly of political, economic and financial power by elite minorities. What is new about these movements and can they change the status quo?” The submission deadline is August 1. 

Contact: The Daniel Singer Millennium Prize Foundation, PO Box 2371, El Cerrito, CA 94530; danielsingerfdn@gmail. com; http://www.danielsinger.org/.

WOMEN FILMMAKERS- The Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival (POWFest) is now accepting entries for its sixth annual festival scheduled to take place March 7-10, 2013. POWFest showcases the art and cinematic contributions of women directors from around the world and seeks to present films that have been directed or co-directed by women.

Contact: http://www.powfest.com.

Books

FEMINIST/LABOR - Woolworth’s department store was the Walmart of the early 20th century. Women who worked the counters, cash registers, and storerooms were overworked, underpaid, and sexually harassed. Detroit Woolworth’s Strike of 1937 by Dana Frank, is the story of how these women fought back against corporate exploitation and oppression, by employing the first successful female sit-down strike in American history.

Contact: Haymarket Books, PO Box 180165, Chicago, IL 60618; 773-583-7884; info@haymarket books.org; http: //www.haymarket books.org/.

LABOR/CORPORATE - Dead Man Working by Carl Cederstrom and Peter Fleming, follows the dead worker working from the daily tedium of the office, to the humiliating mandatory team building exercises, to the awkward encounters with the funky boss who pretends to hate capitalism and tells you to be authentic. When the corporation has colonized life itself and even our dreams, the question of escape becomes ever more pressing and desperate.

Contact: http://www.zerobooks.net.

POLICE BRUTALITY - Stolen Lives: killed by law enforcement, provides important and compelling exposures of the nationwide epidemic of police brutality and murder. People who have been killed, their families and loved ones, and communities under the gun speak through the pages and tell their stories.

Contact: The October 22nd Coalition; 800-NO-BRUTALITY; info@October22.ORG; http://www.stolenlives.org.

OVERLOOKED STORIES - Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco. The book focuses on five commonly overlooked segments of the national mosaic, including the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; Camden, NJ’s corruption and poverty problems, and others.

Contact: Nation Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016; 212-340-8100; press@nationbooks.org; http://www.nationbooks.org.

FOOD - Food and the City: Urban Agriculture and the New Food Revolution by food journalist Jennifer Cockrall-King, examines alternative food systems in cities around the globe that are shortening their food chains, growing food within their city limits and taking their “food security” into their own hands.

Contact: Prometheus Books, 59 John Glenn Drive, Amhert, NY 14228; 716-691-0133; mquinn@prometheusbooks.com; http://www.prometheusbooks.com.

CLASS/WELFARE - Killing the Poormaster: A Saga of Poverty, Corruption, and Murder in the Great Depression investigates the story of an unemployed mason accused of murdering Hoboken, NJ’s poormaster, Harry Barck, in 1938. Author Holly Metz  explores the transformation of the case into an indictment of larger social issues and the American welfare system.

Contact: Chicago Review Press, 814 N. Franklin St., Chicago, IL 60610; 312-337-0747; front desk@chicagoreviewpress.com; http://www.chicagoreviewpress.com.

OBAMA - Columnist and political cartoonist Ted Rall’s The Book of O(bama): From Hope and Change to the Age of Revolt traces the Obama years and the frustrations of people with what has come of the “hope and change” of 2008.

Contact: Seven Stories Press, 140 Watts Street, New York, NY 10013; 212-226-8760; info @sevenstories.com; http:// www.sevenstories.com.

CIA - The CIA’s Greatest Hits by Mark Zepazauer, details the history of the agency from its inception in 1947 through 1994. Newly revised edition includes the wars in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan; the 9/11 attacks; the Valerie Plame scandal; and the ongoing use of torture by the agency.

Contact: Soft Skull Press; 510-704-0230; sarah.cantor@counterpointpress.com; http://softskull.com.

FEDERAL BUDGET - A People’s Guide to the Federal Budget by Mattea Kramer and National Priorities Project, is for everyone who wants to understand and participate in a process that affects us all.

Contact: Interlink Publishing Group, 46 Crosby Street, Northampton, MA 01060- 1804; 413-582-7054; http://www.interlinkbooks.com.

NUCLEAR - The Path to Zero: Dialogues on Nuclear Dangers is a series of reasoned dialogues from scholars and practitioners of peace, Richard Falk and David Krieger. The dialogues probe key questions about our nuclear reality.

Contact: Paradigm Publishers, 5589 Arapahoe Ave., Suite 206A, Boulder, CO 80303; 303-245-9054; peteh@paradigmpublishers.com; http://www.paradigmpublishers.com.

POETRY/PRISON - Marilyn Buck was a lifelong militant who spent over 30 years as a political prisoner in U.S. prisons. After working as a leader of SDS, she aligned with the Black Liberation Movement. In 1985, she was convicted of conspiracy for the successful escape of Assata Shakur from prison. Inside/Out is a collection of poems Marilyn wrote during her imprisonment.

Contact: City Lights Books, 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, CA 94133; 415-362-8193; http://www.citylights.com.

CONSERVATION - Mr. Hornaday’s War is a biography of William Temple Hornaday, first director of the Bronx Zoo, who helped launch the American conservation movement. The book explores the contradictions of Hornadays life as a crusader against the wholesale slaughter of wildlife and also as a former trophy hunter.

Contact: Beacon Press, 25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA, 02108; 617-742-2110; http://www.beacon.org.

Film

MILITARY RAPE - The Invisible War is a new movie by Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated; Twist of Faith) about one of American’s most shameful and best kept secrets: the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. The film paints a startling picture: a female soldier in combat zones is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The Department of Defense estimates there were 19,000 violent sex crimes in the military in 2010.

Contact: Docurama Films, New Video Group, 902 Broadway FL 9, New York, NY 10010; 212-206-8600; http://www.docurama.com;http://invisible warmovie.com.

FARMING/MONSANTO - Bitter Seeds, the final film in Micha Peled’s Globalization Trilogy (When Walmart Come To Town and China Blue) exposes the havoc Monsanto has wreaked in rural farming communities in India, and serves as a fierce rebuttal to the claim that genetically modified seeds can save the developing world.

Contact: Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543- 3764; info@bullfrogfilms.com; http://www.bullfrogfilms.com.

MURRAY BOOKCHIN - Bookchin on Bookchin is an independent documentary about Murray Book- chin, who made history as a founder of the social ecology movement and was a significant Left social theorist.

Contact: http://www.indiegogo.com/Bookchin.

SB1070 - The documentary SB1070  aims to show the political, economic, social, and human conditions under which the state of Arizona stands and the repercussions that the controversial law has had on the country.

Contact: Renato Avalos Broadcasting LLC, 5800 N 19 Ave #209, Phoenix, AZ 85015; 602-919-0060; RenatoAvalos @hotmail.com; http://www. sb1070 thefaces.com.

EGYPT - Egypt: The Story Behind the Revolution, covers the Egyptian uprising of 2011. Director Khaled Sayed traveled to his native Cairo soon after the mass protests hit the news. The film explores why the Egyptian people were compelled to come out against the U.S.-backed Mubarak regime and the strategies they used in order to maintain their hold over the streets and public squares.

Contact: http://behindtherevolution.com.