Volume 20, Number 12
Workers Centers
Colin Asher
Block Battle
Michael Gould-Wartofsky
Organizing Domestics
Ari Paul
Commentary
Downwinders
Lisa Mullenneaux
Winter Soldier Campaign
Iraq veterans against the war -- Ivaw
Eighty and Still Protesting
James Lamb
Nut House Econ
Edward Herman
Behind Burma's Repression
Marc Pilisuk
Gayspeak/Christianspeak
Michael Bronski
Nukes Are Back
Harvey Wasserman
Culture
Burns’s War
Ron Linville
Getting Off
Eleanor j. Bader
2 Book Reviews
Vijay Prashad
Shock Doctrine
Joshua Sperber
Features
Year 501
Noam Chomsky
Corporate Democrats
Paul Street
Corporate SCHIP
Kip Sullivan
Healthcare Reform
Roger Bybee
Auto Industry
Jack Rasmus
U.S. & Eygpt
Sara Abbas
India SEZs
Sriram Ananthanarayanan
Zaps
ZAPS
Z Staff
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
EXHIBIT - Gaza Zoo, an exhibition of 40 prints by activist and artist Laray Polk at the Haley-Henman Gallery in Dallas, runs through January 5; hours, Wednesday-Saturday, 12-5 PM; Thursdays, until 8 PM by appointment.
Contact: Haley-Henman Gallery, 2335 Hardwick Street, Dallas, TX, 75208; 214-749- 1277; info@ haley henman.com; www.haley henman.com.
HR DAY - December 10 is Human Rights Day as declared by the United Nations. On that date in 1948, 48 members of the UN, including the United States, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. See the official website for this potentially revolutionary document in over 300 languages, along with related info and press.
Contact: OHCHR-UNOG, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; www.unhchr. ch/udhr.
DAY OF ACTION - The World Social Forum has called for a Global Day of Mobilization and Action on January 26, 2008, to feature educational events and demonstrations against corporate oligarchy and in favor of grassroots alternatives. This day was called instead of having a central WSF in 2008.
Contact - globalaction@wsf 2008.net; www.wsf2008.net.
Proposals Wanted
LA FORUM - A Los Angeles Social Forum is being proposed for April 2008; planning meetings are open and ongoing in December and January and organizations are encouraged to attend and offer proposal ideas.
Contact: LA Social Forum, PO Box 79612, Los Angeles, CA 90079; 213-596-8226; info@lasocialforum.org; www.lasocialforum.org.
LEFT FORUM - The 2008 Left Forum is scheduled for March 14-16 at the Cooper Union in NYC and panel proposals will be accepted through December 15.
Contact: Left Forum, c/o PhD Program in Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016; 212-817-2003; leftforum @leftforum.org; www. leftforum.org.
EDUCATION - Proposals for the 2008 Rouge Forum Conference, “Education: Reform or Revolution?” will be accepted until December 15. The Rouge Forum—a group of educators, students, and parents seeking a democratic society—focuses on education this year, as one of the major socializing influences in our lives, hosted by Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, March 14-16.
Contact: rougeforum@pipeline.com; www.rougeforum.org.
WORKING CLASS - The Center for Study of Working Class Life is accepting proposals until December 17 for its 2008 conference, “How Class Works,” to be held at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, June 5-7, 2008. Guidelines for papers, presentations, and sessions available on the website.
Contact: www.workingclass. sunysb.edu.
Campaigns
ABORTION - In 1976, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment, which forbids federal funding for abortion. The only exceptions are in cases of rape, incest, and danger to the life of the woman. We urge you to join the “Hyde–30 Years is Enough!” campaign demanding an end to this injustice.
Contact: Hyde–30 Years is Enough! Campaign, c/o the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), 42 Seaverns Ave., Boston, MA 02130; 617-524-6040; info@nnaf.org; www.hyde30years.nnaf.org.
FNB - Three city governments in the United States are trying to stop Food Not Bombs from publicly feeding the hungry and working for peace. Amnesty International has declared Food Not Bombs volunteers “Prisoners of Conscience” if convicted for their work.
Contact: Food Not Bombs, PO Box 424, Arroyo Seco, NM 87514; 800-884-1136; menu@foodnotbombs.net; www.foodnotbombs.net.
GIFTS - This holiday season, Leonard Peltier offers all his supporters an opportunity to give something back and honor the Lakota people. He respectfully requests your help making these holidays a little brighter and this winter a little warmer for the children at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Please send new toys, coats, socks, shoes, and clothing.
Contact: Leonard Peltier Holiday Gift Drive, C/O LPDC, 3800 N. Mesa #A2, El Paso, Texas 79902; 570-524-0749; info@leonardpeltier.net; www.leonardpeltier.net.
SOCIAL SECURITY - The 2007 Social Watch Report “In Dignity and Rights: Making the universal right to social security a reality” provides an overview of social security systems worldwide, with an approach that emphasizes the right of people to live in dignity with secure livelihoods.
Contact: Social Watch, Jackson 1136, Montevideo 11200, Uruguay; socwatch@socialwatch. org www.socialwatch.org.
UNIONS - New Unionism is the collective name for unions who want to make change and set agendas, rather than just reacting to them.
Contact: NewUnionism.Net, Suite 7 Peel House, 30 The Downs, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA142PX, UK; communications@newunionism.net; www.newunionism.net.
Organizations
ANARCHISM - The objective of the Institute for Anarchist Studies is to create an opening for voices of hope. Their work includes grants and editorial assistance to writers and translators documenting resistance, the Renewing the Anarchist Tradition conference, Perspectives—a broad- based radical journal, the National Conference on Organized Resistance, and a new collaborative book series between AK Press and the IAS.
Contact: Institute on Anarchist Studies, PO Box 15586, Washington, DC 20003; info@anarchist-studies.org; www.anarchist-studies.org.
CENTRAL AMERICA - With its head office in Guatemala, Rights Action is a multi-faceted community development enviro- and human rights organization for funding people, communities, and human rights campaigns in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and El Salvador.
Contact: Rights Action, PO Box 50887, Washington, DC 20091; 202-783-1123; info@rightsaction.org; www.rightsaction.org.
RADICAL SITE - Launched just before the protests against the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, focusing first on real-time coverage, rabble.ca today is “news for rest of us”—articles, podcasts, book reviews, discussions, announcements, news links, art, and more. Always free.
Contact: information@rabble.ca; www.rabble.ca.
Films
ISRAEL - Through the example of Israeli Refuseniks we learn what happens when soldiers act out of conscience in the new documentary Raised to Be Heroes.
Contact: Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543-3764; info@bullfrog films.com; www.bullfrogfilms. com.
PANAMA - The Academy Award winning documentary The Panama Deception, about the illegal 1989 U.S. invasion, is now available as an extended version DVD.
Contact: Empowerment Project, 8218 Farrington Mill Rd., Chapel Hill NC 27517; 919-928- 0382; info@empowermentproject.org; www.empowerment project.org.
PRISON - A documentary on death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, In Prison My Whole Life, takes a new and personal look at the frame-up.
Contact: info@inprisonmy wholelife.com; www.inprisonmy wholelife.com.
VIETNAM WAR - The Sixth Side of the Pentagon is a chronicle of the 1967 Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam protest march on the Pentagon by documentary essayist Chris Marker.
Contact: First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court Street, 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 718- 488-8900; mailroom@ frif.com; www.frif.com.
Books
WAR - War With No End reveals the anti-war movement among America’s literary community, showcasing a wide range of views on “the long war,” from Arundhati Roy on the unsustainability of an “American way of life” to Naomi Klein on war as a lifestyle.
Contact: Verso Books, 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014; 212-807-9680; versony@versobooks.com; www.versobooks.com.
POETRY - Poets Against the Killing Fields is a new anthology by the Liberation Poetry Collective featuring ten poets who participated in a series of public anti-war readings in the Boston area over the past several years.
Contact: Trilingual Press, PO Box 391206, Cambridge, MA 02139; 617-331-2269; triling ualpress@tanbou.com; www. tanbou.com/trilingualpress.
CULTURE - For over a decade LiP: Informed Revolt concocted a deeply imaginative, iconoclastic mix of politics, culture, sex, and humor that took clear, sometimes uproarious aim at mass mediocracy and capitalist miserablism. Tipping the Sacred Cow, edited by Brian Awehali, is a collection of some of the best stories in its 11-year history.
Contact: AK Press, 674-A 23rd St, Oakland, CA 94612; 510-208-1700; info@akpress. org; www.akpress.org.
HISTORY - In the historic A Slave No More, Yale University’s David W. Blight tells the story of John Washington and Wallace Turnage, two slaves plotting their escape and then making their way as free men in a nation still raw from the Civil War.
Contact: Harcourt Trade Publishers, 15 East 26th St., New York, NY 10010; 800-543-1918; www.harcourtbooks.com.
CLASS - In The Unaffordable Nation: Searching for a Decent Life in America, Jeffrey Jones addresses the people of the U.S. in the most basic and equal of terms: in their capacities as working persons dependent upon their occupations, their employers, and the government.
Contact: Prometheus Books, 59 John Glenn Dr., Amherst, NY 14228; 800-421-0351; www.prometheusbooks.com.
GENDER - Jude Browne brings together prominent thinkers to address the elusive concept of The Future of Gender, addresses this crucial question with scholars from diverse backgrounds.
Contact: Cambridge University Press, 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013; 212-924-3900; www.cambridge.org/us.
ORGANIZING - In Calling All Radicals: How Grassroots Organizers Can Help Save Our Democracy, Gabriel Thompson argues that we can reclaim our democracy in the old fashioned way: through grassroots organizing.
Contact: Nation Books, 387 Park Ave. S., New York, NY 10016; 212-822-0250; www.nationbooks.org.
FOREIGN POLICY - In Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia, John Gray offers a disquieting survey of contemporary right wing apocalyptic philosophy and politics currently holding and taking power in the West.
Contact: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 19 Union Square West, New York, NY 10003; 888-330-8477; sales@ fsgbooks.com; www.fsg books.com.
FOOD POLITICS - Manifestos on the Future of Food & Seed edited by Vandana Shiva is a pocket-sized collection that grapples with these enormous questions, daring to imagine a food system and world that is sustainable, healthy, and ultimately just.
Contact: South End Press, 7 Brookline St. #1, Cambridge, MA 02139; 800-533-8478; www.southendpress.org.
LEBANON - The War on Lebanon: A Reader, edited by Nubar Hovsepian, offers a collection of essays examining the ethical, legal, and strategic issues of the conflict, and the regional and global consequences in the wake of the Israeli invasion.
Contact: Olive Branch Press, 46 Crosby St., Northampton, MA 01060; 1-800-238-LINK; info@intelinkbooks.com; www.interlinkbooks.com.
Corrections
The photo in the Vietnam Veterans Against the War Conference article in the October 2007 issue was misattributed to Bob Gronko. The photo was taken by Brooke Anderson.
The interview with Noam Chomsky in the November issue was conducted by Gabriel Matthew Schivone.
Z Magazine Archive
Announcements
OCCUPY TOGETHER - Occupy Together is the unofficial hub for the various occupations springing up across the country in solidarity with Occupy Wall St. Towns and cities worldwide are participating.
Contact: http://www.occupytogether.org/.
MAY DAY - May 1 is May Day, also International Workers Day, celebrating the successful fight of workers for rights such as the eight-hour workday. A General Strike is called for May Day by many groups, and events are planned worldwide.
Contact: http://maydayunited.org/; http://www.may1.info/; info@maydayunited.org.
LABOR - The 2012 Labor Notes Conference, themed Solidarity for the 99%, will be held May 4-6, in Chicago. Thousands of union members, officers, and grassroots labor activists will attend the event, which features workshops, meetings and organizing opportunities.
Contact: 313-842-6262; http:// labornotes.org/conference.
MARIJUANA MARCH - On the first Saturday of May (this year: May 5) marijuana legalization activists will hold informational and educational events, rallies and marches in over 300 cities around the world.
Contact: http://globalcannabismarch.com; http://cannabis.wikia.com.
AMERICAN MUSLIMS - KinderUSA will celebrate its 10th Anniversary with a Fundraising Banquet Dinner in Los Angeles on May 5. The keynote speaker will be Norman Finkelstein. KinderUSA was founded as a group of concerned humanitarians and physicians, and has become a leading American Muslim charity organization helping families through health development and emergency relief.
Contact: http://www.kinder usa.org/.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE - SWAN (Service Women’s Action Network) will present Truth and Justice: The 2012 Summit on Military Sexual Violence in Washington, D.C. on May 8. The conferences will give survivors the opportunity to share their stories with congressmembers, policy experts and the general public; with key panels by military law and policy experts on major topics involving military sexual violence and survivors’ access to justice.
Contact: http://truthandjustice summit.org/.
MEDIA - The Alliance for Community Media Youth Summit 2012 will be held May 8 at Pierce College in Philadelphia, PA. The summit will consist of four one-day symposia that provide a public forum for discussion about media and news literacy in America. Participants will include educators, community leaders, media professionals, journalists, nonprofit leaders, policymakers and students.
Contact: http://www.allcommunitymedia.org.
MOMS/BOMBS - Moms Against Bombs and the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action will honor the long history of women’s resistance to injustice, war and nuclear weapons on May 12. A full day of activities is planned, including Orientation to the Trident Nuclear Weapons System, Nonviolence Training, Action Planning and Preparation, Mother’s Day Proclamation for Peace, and a Vigil and Nonviolent Direct Action at the Bangor Trident Submarine Base.
Contact: Anne Hall, 206- 545-3562, annehall@familyhealing.com; gznonviolencenews@yahoo.com; www.gzcenter.org.
MOTHER’S DAY/PEACE - The Mother’s Day Walk for Peace began in 1996 for families who had lost their children to violence. On a day that celebrates mothers and children, the Walk became a place for families and friends to feel support and love with thousands of others who pledge their commitment to peace.
The day has also become a way for thousands of people to financially support the work of the Louis Brown Peace Institute. Mother’s Day is May 13.
Contact: http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/; http://www.ldb peaceinstitute.org/.
BRECHT FORUM - The Beginning Is Near: An Evening with Michael Moore & Cornel West, a special benefit for the Brecht Forum, will be held May 18 at Hunter College in New York City.
Contact: https://brechtforum.org.
LABOR - The Pacific Northwest Labor History Association’s 44th annual conference, A Century of Bread and Roses, is scheduled for May 18-20 in Tacoma, WA.
Contact: PNLHA, 2402-6888 Station Hill Drive, Burnaby, BC, V3N 4X5; 604-540-0245; pnlha@shaw.ca; www.pnlha.org.
HOMELESSNESS - PM Press and First Presbyterian Church will host author Summer Brenner at the Conference on Homelessness on May 19 in Palo Alto, CA.
Contact: First Presbyterian Church, 1140 Cowper Street, Palo Alto, VA 94301; http://www.pmpress.org/.
NATO/G8 - The Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda is organizing protests at the NATO and G8 meetings being held in Chicago, May 19-21. A legal, permitted, family-friendly march and rally are planned for May 19. An Occupy Chicago month-long occupation is being planned to begin May 1. The Network for a Nato-Free Future and American Friends Service Committee will also be hosting a Counter-Summit for Peace and Economic Justice May 18-19 at People’s Church in Chicago.
Contact: http://cang8.wordpress.com/about/; http://www.natofreefuture.org/.
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.radical montreal.com/;http://www.anarchist bookfair.ca/.
TRUTHDIG - Truthdig.com will be gathering May 20-25 in New Mexico with other concerned people to assess current prospects for progressive change. Speakers include Dennis Kucinich and Chris Hedges.
Contact: http://www.truthdig.com/event/santafe.
FEMINIST SCI-FI - The feminist science fiction convention WisCon 36 is scheduled for May 25-28 in Madison, Wisconsin, featuring discussion and debate of sci-fi/fantasy ideas relating to feminism, gender, race and class.
Contact: WisCon, c/o SF3, PO Box 1624, Madison, WI 53701; concom35@wiscon.info; www.wiscon.info.
MULTICULTURE - The 25th Annual National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE) holds its annual conference May 29 -June 2 in New York City.
Contact: Southwest Center for Human Relations Studies, 3200 Marshall Avenue, Suite 290, Norman, OK 73072; 405- 325-3694; www.ncore.ou.edu.
BIKING - 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.
RADIO - The 37th Annual Community Radio Conference is scheduled for June 13-16 in Houston, TX with discussions and workshops.
Contact: National Federation of Community Broadcasters, 1970 Broadway, Suite 1000, Oakland, CA 94612; 510-451 -8200; conference@nfcb.org; www.nfcb.org.
PEOPLE’S SUMMIT - The People’s Summit for Social and Environmental Justice during Rio+20 is an event by global civil society that will take place between the 15 and the 23 of June at Flamengo, in Rio de Janeiro—alongside the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), Rio+20.
Contact: contato@rio2012. org.br; http://cupuladospovos.org.br/en/.
ADC CONFERENCE - The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ACD) holds its annual conference June 21-24 in Washington, DC, with panel discussions and workshops on civil rights, media, the Mideast, etc.
Contact: ADC, 1732 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington DC, 20007; 202-244-2990; convention@adc.org; www.adc.org/convention.
MEDIA - The 14th annual Allied Media Conference will be held June 28-July 1 at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. Participatory workshops and skillshares will emphasize DIY alternative media to advance visions of a just and creative world.
Contact: Allied Media Projects, 4126 Third St., Detroit, MI 48201; www.alliedmediacon ference.org.
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.
PEACESTOCK - On July 14 the 10th Annual Peace- stock: 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 and has a peace-themed agenda.
Contact: Bill Habedank, 1913 Grandview Ave., Red Wing, MN 55066; 651-388-7733; billhabedank@yahoo.com; http://www.peacestockvfp.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 for this intensive training. 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
July1-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 July 21-29, and finally a return back to the U.S. 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.
VETERANS - Veterans for Peace is holding the 27th annual convention 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
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.
