Net Briefs
News Items
Various Contributors
Commentary
ENVIRONMENTAL TIDBITS
War on the Environment
Don Monkerud
MIDEAST REPORT
U.S. Arab Disconnect
Ramzy Baroud
FOG WATCH
Assassination Rights
Edward S. Herman
CONSERVATIVE WATCH
Billionaire Phillip Anschutz
Bill Berkowitz
GAY & LESBIAN COMMUNITY NOTES
Queer Anarchism
Michael Bronski
WATER WARS
Water Rights
Erica Carlino
Activism
MINING DISASTERS
The San Jose Project
Ed Williams
NUCLEAR FALLOUT
Nuclear Battle
John Raymond
LABOR ORGANIZING
Labor Must Play Its Wild Card
Roger Bybee
Features
ECONOMIC NEWS
Obama's Jobs Proposal
Jack Rasmus
LAW REVIEW
Court Allows U.S. Citizens to Sue Rumsfeld
Stephen Bergstein
CLASS WAR
The Filthy RIch
Paul Street
POWER STRUGGLE
"Soft Power" in the Middle East
Anthony Newkirk
MILITARISM
The World of Drones
Tim Coles
Reviews
BOOKS
Five Reviews
Various Reviewers
Zaps
Listings
Various Orgs...
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.
Zaps
EVENTS
OCCUPATION - Inspired by the courageous, nonviolent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Greece, Spain and elsewhere, over 50 populist organizations and thousands of activists have joined the October 2011 movement and are planning protests on October 6 at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC. The event will begin with a concert and rally at noon, with the stated goal “to kick off massive sustained occupation and nonviolent civil resistance to rampant corporatism and militarism.”
Contact: october2011.org.
LGBTQ/FILM - The 24th annual Out On Film Festival will take place September 29-October 6, in Atlanta, GA. Out On Film is one of the oldest LGBTQ film festivals in the country. Films include Cho Dependent and Legalize Gay.
Contact: info@outonfilm.org; http://outonfilm.org.
CLASS WAR - “The War on the Working Class” is the title of a conference scheduled for October 1 at
Contact: Union for Radical Political Economics, Gordon Hall, University of Massachusetts, 418 N. Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01002; 413-577- 0806; urpe@labornet.org; www.urpe.org.
EDUCATION - The
Contact: chloe@dignityin schools.org; http://www. dignityinschools.org.
OCCUPATION - United for Peace and Justice (UJP) -
Contact: ujpcoalition@yahoo.com; http://justicewith peace.org.
WAR RESISTANCE - Warrior Writers are hosting the Veterans and Community Conference: Coming Home Through Art and Dialogue, in Chicago, on October 9. The conference will feature writing and art-making workshops, seminars on building healthy relationships between veterans and allies, and discussion panels exploring local support for veterans.
Contact: info@warriorwriters.org; http://www.warriorwriters.org/home.html; http://ivaw. org.
REPRESSION - For over 200 years the
Contact: lindaannie@gmail.com; http://soaw.org/call-to-action.
CLIMATE JUSTICE - Climate Justice Action is a global network of people and groups committed to taking urgent actions needed to prevent catastrophic climate change. October 12-16 is a week of actions dedicated to this end.
Contact: info@climate-justice-action.org; http://www.climate-justice-action.org.
PEACE CONFERENCE - The Peace in Asia and the Pacific conference will be held October 21 & 22 in
Contact: JGerson@afsc.org; http://afsc.org/peace-asia-pacific-conference.
POLICE BRUTALITY - October 22 is the National Day Against Police Brutality. The October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation will have various events around the country.
Contact: october22-ny.org; www.october22.org.
GREEN FESTIVAL - Green Festivals are scheduled for
Contact: http://www.greenfestivals.org.
SPACE FOR PEACE - The annual International Days of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space is scheduled for October 1-8. Resources to help plan educational events or demonstrations are available online and by request. Participants include United Against Drones (US/UK), and the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom.
Contact: globalnet@minds pring.com; http://www.space4 peace.org/; http://unitedagainst drones.wordpress.com.
TEACHERS - The 11th annual conference, “Teaching for Social Justice-The Power of Community” will be held Sunday, October 9, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at
Contact: Teachers for Social Justice,
FOOD - The Organic Consumers Association is organizing the March Against Monsanto, on World Food Day, October 16. Hundreds of events are scheduled throughout the
Contact: http://organicconsumers.org/monsanto/index.cfm.
ENVIRONMENT/FILM - The Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival is scheduled for October 20 in
Contact: 802-223-2328; notter@vnrc.org; http://www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org.
LABOR - United Workers, a National Economic & Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) partner, has organized the first Fair Development Conference in Baltimore, October 28-30. The gathering of organizers, low-wage workers, academics, faith leaders, artists, activists, students and others aims to develop a collective vision for public participation in job creation.
Contact: conferenc@unitedworkers.org; http://www.nesri.org.
LITERACY - The
Contact: modernherbalmedicine@gmail.com; http://www.indiegogo.com/CommonsCampaign.
ENVIRONMENT - 1,252 people were arrested outside of the White House during The Tar Sands Action between August 22 - September 3, protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline. The group is currently raising funds for future actions.
Contact: tarsandsaction@gmail.com; http://www.tarsandsaction.org.
LABOR - The Proletarian Center for Research, Education and Culture is currently considering several calls to radical action, including encouraging workers to start or join unions; a student-loan payment strike; and other actions.
Contact: josephwaters3@gmail.com; http://prolecenter.word press.com.
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION - The National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) will host its 21st annual conference in Chicago, November 2-5. This year’s theme, “Reworking Intersections, Reframing Debates, Restoring Hope,” will be addressed in intensive institutes, talks and workshops.
Contact: name@NAMEorg.org; http://nameorg.org.
RESISTERS - The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) is holding the “Nuclear Weapons: Don’t Buy Them, Don’t Own Them,” conference in
Contact: nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org; http://www.nwtrcc.org.
DIRECT ACTION - The annual November vigil to protest the School of the
Contact: SOA Watch,
CLASS - The Center for Study of Working Class Life has announced the “How Class Works - 2012 Conference,” to be held at the
Contact: Center for Study of Working Class Life, Dept. of Economics, SUNY at Stony Brook,
BOOKS
WOMEN - At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance, A New History of the Civil Rights Movement; and Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC are two new books attempting to upend both traditional and radical histories of the modern civil rights movement by placing women at the center of their narrative and interpretive process.
Contact: Alfred A. Knopf, 1745 Broadway 10th floor,
SOCIAL SECURITY - The People’s Pension: The Struggle to Defend Social Security from Reagan to Obama is a new book by Eric Laursen about the history of the Social Security debate. The book tries to imagine a future for Social Security that radically democratizes it and returns it to its roots in mutual aid.
Contact: AK Press,
CLASS - Chris Lehmann’s new book, Rich People Things: Real-Life Secrets of the Predator Class, addresses the various dogmas and delusions of plutocratic rule in the
Contact: Haymarket Books,
FREE SPEECH/EDUCATION - In Let the Students Speak!: A History of the Fight for Free Expression in American Schools, David L. Hudson Jr. details the history and growth of the First Amendment in public schools. Topics addressed include dress codes, cyberbullying and the “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” case, Morse v.
Contact: Beacon Press,
FICTION - Christopher Howard’s debut novel, Tea of Ulaanbaatar, tells the story of a disaffected Peace Corps volunteer who flees life in late-capitalist
Contact: Seven Stories Press,
LGBTQ - In Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law, Dean Spade raises revelatory critiques of the current civil rights and “equality” strategies of mainstream gay and lesbian organizations. Going beyond just legal inclusion, the book is a call for justice and trans liberation, and the radical transformation it will require.
Contact: southend@southendpress.org; http://www.southendpress.org.
FILM
FINANCIAL CRASH - A new documentary, The Flaw, tells the story of the credit bubble that caused the financial crash of 2008, explaining how excessive income inequality leads to economic instability.
Contact: Bullfrog Films,
PALESTINE - I Want To See, blurring the lines between documentary and fiction, follows French actress Catherine Deneuve from a banquet in Beirut to South Lebanon, where she witnesses first-hand the devastation caused by Israel’s 2006 invasion.
Contact: Typecast Films, 888-591-3456; info@typecastfilms.com; http://typecast films.com.
Listings in Z are free. Send Zaps (rtf) and display ads (jpeg) to zmag@zmag.org.
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.
