Info
Z Info
Z Staff
Z Holiday Gift Offer
Offer
Z Staff
Editorial
JOURNAL OF THE 25TH YEAR
Distribution
Z Staff
Net Briefs
War
Various Contributors
Commentary
FOG WATCH
Beyond Hypocrisy
Edward S. Herman
COLLUSION
Obama & OIRA
Michael Bradburn-ruster
MIDEAST
Anti-Muslim Films
Ramzy Baroud
TRAFFICKING
War on Drugs
Buddy Bell
Activism
DRUG WARS
Peace Caravan
Gloria Williams
LABOR NOTES
Labor
Hilary Wainwright
Interviews
Israel and Palestine
Ricardo Lezama
Hungry Ghosts
Collin Harris
Features
EMPIRE BUILDING
Cuba
Jane Franklin
WAR RHETORIC
Showdown
William Lepak
Reviews
Books
Various Reviewers
Election Cartoon Extravaganza
Cartooning
Various Contributors
Zaps
Events
Various Contributors
NOTE: Z Magazine subscribers and sustainers have access to all Z Magazine articles here and in the archive. The latest Z Magazine articles available to everyone are listed in the Free Articles box at the top of the table of contents, and are starred in the list below. Questions? e-mail Z Magazine Online.
Press Releases from Progressive Organizations and Projects
SLAVERY - Not For Sale’s 2012 Global Forum will be held November 1-2 in
Contact: http://www.nfsglobalforum.org/.
VETERANS - Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will have its annual convention November 2, in
Contact: http://www.ivaw.org/.
MEDIA - the 12th annual Media Democracy Days Vancouver (MDD) will host free public events, including a film screening, public talks, hands-on workshops and panel discussions on the state of
Contact: http://mediademocracyday.org/.
RESISTERS - The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) is celebrating its 30th anniversary November 2-4 in
Contact: http://www.nwtrcc.org/.
RACISM - On November 3-4 the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations is sponsoring a rally, march and conference in
Contact:
WOMEN’S STUDIES - The National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) will host its annual conference November 8-11, in Oakland, CA, under the theme: Feminism Unbound: Imagining a Feminist Future. The conference is the only annual meeting in the
Contact: NWSA,
BOOKFAIR - The 2012 Boston Anarchist Bookfair will be held at
Contact: http://www.bostonanarchistbookfair.org/.
WOMEN/LAW - The Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN) will host its Women, Law & Public Policy conference November 9-11, in
Contact: www.plen.org.
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM - The Shadbush Environmental Justice Collective will host the Shalefield Justice Action Camp November 10-12 near
Contact: info@shadbushcollective.org; http://shadbushcollective.org/.
ENVIRONM
ENT - The San Francisco Green Festival will take place November 10-11 at the SF Concourse Exhibition Center.
Contact: http://www.greenfestivals.org/sf/updates/.
ARTS EDUCATION - The 75th annual Conference for Community Arts Education will be held in
Contact:
RACE - The Facing Race 2012 conference will be held in
Contact: arc.org/facingrace/.
TEACHERS - The 12th Annual Teaching For Social Justice Curriculum Fair will be held November 17 in
Contact: http://www.teachersforjustice.org/.
DIRECT ACTION - The annual November vigil to protest the School of the
Contact: SOA Watch,
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION - The National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) will host its 22nd annual conference in
Contact: http://nameorg.org.
JOBS - Jobs with Justice will celebrate its 25th anniversary November 29 in
Contact: http://www.jwj.org/.
ROOTS CAMP - RootsCamp will be held November 30 in
Contact: http://neworganizing.com/.
Contact: http://heymancenter.org/ events/why-remember-guantanamo/.
RACISM/MIGRANTS - December 18 is the Global Day of Action Against Racism and for the Rights of Refugees, Migrants, and Displaced People, as ratified at the 2011 World Social Forum.
Contact: info@globalmigrantsaction.org; http://globalmigrants action.org/.
SYRIA/MIDDLE EAST - The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) is currently seeking funds to assist more than 200,000 refugees fleeing violence in
Contact: https://www.meca forpeace.org.
Contact: http://pacbi.org/; http://www.bdsmovement.net/; http:// www.boycottisraelnetwork.net/.
SCHOOL/FOOD NOT BOMBS - Food Not Bombs activists have started the Free Skool in
Contact: http://foodnot bombs.net/.
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
Contact: http://www.iranpled ge.org; http://www.unitedforpeace.org.
Books
BLACK PANTHER - My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain, is the story of Aaron Dixon, the founding member of the Seattle Black Panther Party in 1968 at age 19. The memoir begins with the story of his enslaved ancestors and takes us on a journey throughout
Contact: Haymarket Books,
DISABILITY - A Disability History of the United States by Kim E. Nielsen, is the first book to cover the entirety of disability history, from pre-1492 to the present. Throughout the book, Nielsen illustrates how concepts of disability have shaped the American experience—from deciding who was allowed to immigrate to establishing labor laws and justifying slavery and gender discrimination.
Contact: Beacon,
MUMIA - Veronica and the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, as told to her sister Valerie Jones, is the posthumous memoir of a key witness in the frame-up conviction of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Contact: Rachel Wolkenstein, 917-689-4009; icffmaj@aol.com.
LIBERATION - From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation is a short guide to overthrowing a dictatorship by nonviolent means, including 198 specific methods to consider depending on circumstance.
Contact: The New Press,
ARTISTS - Live Through This: On Creativity and Self-Destruction, is a look at the bizarre entanglement of destructive and creative forces. It explores the uses of art to overcome abuse, incest, madness, depression and impulses towards self-destruction.
Contact: Seven Stories Press,
WWII - In Unpatriotic History of the Second World War, James Heartfield argues that the Second World War was not fought to stop fascism, or to liberate Europe, but that it was a war between imperialist powers to decide which among them would rule over the world, a division of the spoils of empire, and an iron cage for working people enslaved to the war production drive.
Contact: http://www.zerobooks.net.
LESSER EVIL - The Least of All Possible Evils: Humanitarian Violence from Arendt to Gaza by Eyal Weizman, explores the principle of the “lesser evil”—the acceptability of pursuing one exceptional course of action in order to prevent a greater injustice.
Contact: Verso Books,
Film
WATER - Bullfrog Films has just released Chasing Water, a documentary that follows the
Contact: Bullfrog Films,
WHITE - Not Quite White: Arabs, Slavs, and the Contours of Contested Whiteness is a documentary that explores the complicated relationship of Arab and Slavic immigrants to American notions of whiteness.
Contact: http://typecastfilms.com/.
HEALTHCARE - Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Health- care tackles one of the most pressing issues of our time: how can we save our badly broken healthcare system? The film follows dramatic human stories as well as leaders fighting to transform healthcare at the highest levels of medicine, industry, government, and even the
Contact: info@ourtimeprojects.com; http://escapefiremovie.com/.
Music/Media
RAP -
Contact: http://www.yearoftheblacksmith.com/.
OCCUPY
Contact: http://occupationrecords.com/.
Z Magazine Archive
Announcements
LABOR - May 1 is May Day. Workers of the world will celebrate the 124th anniversary of International Worker’s Day. Born out of a call for an 8-hour workday in the United States, this day is an opportunity for all workers to show their solidarity with one another, as well as to renew the call for labor rights.FARM CONFERENCE - The Farm Conference on Community and Sustainability will be held May 24-26 in Summertown, TN, in partnership with the Fellowship of Intentional Communities. Tour green homes, see sustainable food production, learn about solar installations, alternative education, midwifery, and more.
Contact: Douglas@thefarmcommunity.com; http://www.thefarmcommunity.com/.
PALESTINE - The Conference of the Palestinian Shatat in North American will be held June 3-5 in Vancouver. The conference will examine the future of the Palestinian liberation movement.
Contact: palestinianconference@gmail.com; http://www.palestinianconference.org/.
LABOR - The Pacific Northwest Labor History Association’s 45th annual conference will be held May 3-5, in Portland, OR. This year’s theme is Labor Under Attack: Learning from the Past and Preparing for the Future. A call for presentations, workshops and papers is currently underway.
Contact: PNLHA, 27920 68th Ave. East, Graham, WA 98338; 206-406-2604; PNLHA1@aol.com; http://www3.telus.net.
MARIJUANA - On the first Saturday of May marijuana legalization activists will hold informational and educational events, rallies and marches in over 300 cities around the world.
Contact:http://globalcannabismarch.com/.
ECONOMICS - The Union For Radical Political Economics will hold its 39th annual conference May 9-11 in New York City.
Contact: http://www.ramapo.edu/eea/2013/.
RECLAIM THE DREAM - The 2013 Poor People’s Campaign & March from Baltimore to Washington D.C. will be May 11. Communities, schools and unions interested in participating are encouraged to contact the Baltimore People’s Assembly.
Contact: 410-500-2168; 410-218-4835; BaltimorePeoplesAssembly@gmail.com; Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Baltimore and the Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly, 2011 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218.
MOTHER’S DAY - The 17th Annual Mother’s Day Walk For Peace will be May 12th, in Dorchester, MA. The walk began in 1996 for families who had lost children to violence. The day has become a way for thousands of people to financially support the work of the Louis Brown Peace Institute.
Contact: http://www.ldbpeaceinstitute.org/; http://mothersdaywalk4peace.org/.
NATO 5 - An International Week of Solidarity with the NATO 5 has been called for May 16-21. Supports call on supporters to raise awareness of the NATO 5 and support funds for the defendants on the one-year anniversary of their preemptive arrests.
Contact: nato5solidarity@gmail.com; https://nato5support.wordpress.com.
MOUNTAINTOP - The 2013 Mountain Justice Summer Activist Training Camp will be held May 19-27 in Damascus, VA. It will be a week of workshops, field trips to view Mountain Top Removal coal mines, direct actions, and service project.
Contact: http://rampscampaign.org/.
FEMINIST SCI-FI - The feminist science fiction convention WisCon 37 is scheduled for May 24-27 in Madison, WI.
Contact: WisCon, ? SF3, PO Box 1624, Madison, WI 53701; concom37@wiscon.info; http://www.wiscon.info/.
ANARCHY FEST - A month-long Festival of Anarchy is scheduled for May in Montreal. The festival includes The Montreal Anarchist Bookfair (May 19-20).
Contact: http://www.anarchistbookfair.ca/; http://www.radicalmontreal.com/.
LABOR - The International Labor Rights Forum will present: Down the Supply Chain, Driving Corporate Accountability, on May 22 in Washington, DC. The Labor Rights Awards Ceremony and Reception will honor pioneers in supply chain worker organizing, working solidarity and international labor rights policy.
Contact: http://laborrights.org/.
MULTICULTURE - The 26th annual National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE) will take place May 28-June 1, in New Orleans.
Contact: SWCHRS, 3200 Marshall Avenue, Suite 290, Norman, OK 73072; 405-325-3694; ncore@ou.edu; www.ncore.ou.edu.
MEDIA - The 2013 Alliance for Community Media Annual Conference will be held May 29-31, in San Francisco, CA. Participants will include educators, community leaders, media professionals, journalists, nonprofit leaders, policymakers and students.
Contact: http://www.allcommunitymedia.org/.
RADIO - The 38th Annual Community Radio Conference is schedule for May 29-June 1, in San Francisco, CA, with discussions and workshops.
Contact: 1101 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004; 202-756-2268; comments@nfcb.org; http://www.nfcb.org/.
BRADLEY MANNING - On June 1, a rally will be held at Fort Meade in support of Bradley Manning.
Contact: http://www.bradleymanning.org.
BIKES - Bikes Not Bombs is holding its 24th annual Bike-A-Thon and Green Roots Festival in Boston, MA on June 3, with several bike rides scheduled, music, exhibitors and more.
Contact: Bikes Not Bombs, 284 Amory St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130; 617-522-0222; mail@bikesnotbombs.org; www.bikesnotbombs.org.
LEFT FORUM - The 2013 Left Forum will be held June 7-9, at Pace University in New York City.
Contact: 365 Fifth Avenue, CUNY Graduated Center, ? Sociology Dept., New York, NY 10016; http://www.leftforum.org/.
VEGAN FEST - Mad City Vegan Fest will be held in Madison, WI, June 8. The annual event features food, speakers, and exhibitors.
Contact: 122 State Street, Suite 405 B, Madison, WI 53701; madcityveganfest@gmail.com; http://veganfest.org/.
ADC CONFERENCE - The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) holds its annual conference June 13-16, in Washington, DC, with panel discussions and workshops on civil rights, media and other topics.
Contact: 1990 M Street, Suite 610, Washington, DC, 20036; 202-244-2990; convention@adc.org http://convention.adc.org/.
CUBA/SOCIALISM - A Cuban-North American Dialog on Socialist Renewal and Global Capitalist Crisis will be held in Havana, Cuba, June 16-30. There will be a 5 day Seminar at University of Havana, plus visits to a cooperative, urban garden, community development project, social research centers, and educational & medical institutions.
Contact: cuba@globaljusticecenter.org; http://www.globaljusticecenter.org/.
NETROOTS - The 8th Annual Netroots Nation conference will take place June 20-23 in San Jose, CA. The event features panels, trainings, networking, screenings, and keynotes.
Contact: 164 Robles Way, #276, Vallejo, CA 94591; registration@netrootsnation.org; http://www.netrootsnation.org/.
MEDIA - The 15th annual Allied Media Conference will be held June 20-23, in Detroit.
Contact: 4126 Third Street, Detroit, MI 48201; http://alliedmedia.org/.
GRASSROOTS - The United We Stand Festival will be hosted by Free & Equal, June 22 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The festival aims to reform the electoral process throughout the U.S.
Contact: http://freeandequal.org/.
SOCIALISM - The Socialism 2013 Conference is scheduled for June 27-30 in Chicago, featuring talks and panel discussions.
Contact: info@socialismconference.org; http://www.socialismconference.org.
LITERACY - The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) will hold its conference July 12-13 in Los Angeles under the heading, Intersections: Teaching and Learning Across Media.
Contact: 10 Laurel Hill Drive, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003; http://namle.net/conference/.
IWW - The North American Work People’s College will take place July 12-16 at Mesaba Co-op Park in northern Minnesota. The event will bring together Wobblies from branches across the continent to learn new skills and build One Big Union.
Contact: http://workpeoplescollege.org/.
PEACESTOCK - On July 13th, the 11th Annual Peacestock: A Gathering for Peace, will take place at Windbeam Farm in Hager City, WI. The event is a mixture of music, speakers and community for peace. Sponsored by Veterans for Peace.
Contact: Bill Habedank, 1913 Grandview Ave., Red Wing, MN 55066; 651-388-7733; billhabedank@yahoo.com; http://www.peacestockvfp.org.
CHILDREN’S DEFENSE - July 15-19, join clergy, seminarians, Christian educators, young adult leaders and other faith-based advocates for children at CDF Haley Farm in Clinton, Tennessee, for five days of spiritual renewal, networking, movement building workshops, and continuing education about the urgent needs of children at the 19th annual Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry.
Contact: cdfinfo@childrensdefense.org; http://www.childrensdefense.org.
ACTIVIST CAMP - Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp will have sessions in July and August in Ben Lomond, CA; Portland, OR; Charlton, MA. YEA Camp is designed for activists 12-17 years old who want to make a difference in the world.
Contact: info@yeacamp.org; http://yeacamp.org/.
LA RAZA - The annual National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Conference is scheduled for July 18-19 in New Orleans, 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.
LABOR - The Eastern Conference For Workplace Democracy: Growing Our Cooperatives, Growing Our Communities, will be held at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, July 26-28.
Contact: info@east.usworker.coop; http://east.usworker.coop/.
WOMEN/LYNNE STEWART- Radical Women is asking for support letters and cards to be sent to Lynne Stewart. Stewart is a civil rights attorney and political prisoner who is currently in jail. She has breast cancer and authorities have denied her request for transfer from her Texas prison to the New York City hospital where she received medical attention during a prior bout of breast cancer. Send messages and cards to: Lynne Stewart 53504-054, Federal Medical Center Carswell, P.O. Box 27137, Fort Worth, TX 76127.
Contact: 747 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109; 415-864-1278; RadicalWomenUS@gmail.com; http://lynnestewart.org/; http://www.radicalwomen.org/.
HAITI/WOMEN - Haiti’s government is considering a legal reform measure that would prohibit and punish all sexual assault, including marital rape. MADRE and the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict are launching a petition to raise international support for this push to address violence against women in Haiti.
Contact: 121 West 27th Street, #301, New York, NY 10001; 212-627-0444; madre@madre.org; http://www.madre.org.
SYRIA/MIDDLE EAST - The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) is currently seeking funds to assist more than 200,000 refugees fleeing violence in Syria.
Contact: https://www.mecaforpeace.org.
FOLK FESTIVAL - The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival will be held August 2-4, in the Berkshires, NY.
Contact: http://www.falconridgefolk.com/; falcridge@aol.com.
WAR RESISTERS - The War Resisters League will hold its 90th anniversary conference, Revolutionary Nonviolence: Building Bridges Across Generations and Communities, August 1-4, at Georgetown University. The event will focus on the U.S.’ long history of antimilitarism.
Contact: 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012; 212-228-0450; wrl@warresisters.org; http://www.warresisters.org.
POPULAR ECONOMICS - The Center for Popular Economics is holding its 2013 Summer Institute August 4-9 at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. No background in economics is needed for this intensive training. This year’s theme is, The Care Economy: Building a Just Economy with a Heart.
Contact: Center for Popular Economics, PO Box 785 Amherst, MA 01004; 413-545-0743; programs@populareconomics.org; www.populareconomics.org.
VETERANS - Veterans for Peace is holding the 28th annual convention August 6-11 in Madison, WI. This year’s theme is, Power To The Peaceful.
Contact: http://www.vfpnationalconvention.org/.
DEMOCRACY - The Democracy Convention will take place August 7-11 in Madison, WI. The convention brings together nine conferences including topics such as media, education, defense, race, environment and others.
Contact: https://democracyconvention.org/.
MEN - The 38th National Conference on Men & Masculinity: Forging Justice: Creating Safe, Equal and Accountable Communities, presented in partnership with HAVEN, will be held in Detroit, MI, August 8-10.
Contact: ccardinal@haven-oakland.org; http://www.nomas.org/.
OCCUPY - An Occupy National Gathering will be held in Kalamazoo, MI, August 21-25.
Contact: natgat2013@gmail.com; http://occupynationalgathering.net/.
COMMUNITIES - The Communities Conference is a networking and learning opportunity for co-operative or communal lifestyles, with workshops, events and entertainment; scheduled for August 30-September 2 at the Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, Virginia.
Contact: http://www.communitiesconference.org/.
LABOR DAY - The 29th annual Bread and Roses Festival, a celebration of the ethnic diversity and labor history of Lawrence, MA, will be held September 2, in honor of the 1912 Bread and Roses Strike. There will be music, dance, poetry, drama, ethnic food, historical demonstrations, walking & trolley tours.
Contact: PO Box 1137, Lawrence, MA 01842; 978-794-1655; http://www.breadandrosesheritage.org/.
OCCUPY WALL STREET - September 17 is the two-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Events are planned in New York City and worldwide.
Contact: http://occupywallst.org/.
TEACHERS - The 13th Annual Conference, “Teaching for Social Justice: The Politics of Pedagogy,” will be held October 12 in San Francisco, CA. The free event features workshops, resources, and free childcare.
Contact: 415-676-7844; teachers4socialjustice@yahoo.com; http://www.t4sj.org/.
HAITI - International Action, which brings clean water and chlorinators to Haiti, seeks office space capable of housing up to six people and their office equipment.
Contact: Zach Bremer, Zbrehmer@haitiwater.org; 202-488-0735; http://www.haitiwater.org/.
MEDIA - The Union for Democratic Communications and Project Censored are sponsoring a joint conference on media democracy, media activism and social justice to be held November 1-3 at the University of San Francisco. Proposals for presentations, workshops and panels from activists and critical scholars are invited.
