Volume 21, Number 1
2007 Anti-War Protests
Jeff Nall
Commentary
20th B-Day!
Readers & writers
Media Revolution?
Lydia Sargent
Left Electoral Campaign
Michael Albert
Venezuela Referendum Lessons
Josh Lerner
Darfur PR Scam?
Bruce Dixon
Transforming Culture
Bill Berkowitz
Homegrown Terrorism Act Factsheet
Center for constitutional rights
Prison Quiz
Wisconsin books to prisoners
Culture
Review: "The Bubble"
Michael Bronski
Words of Choice
Eleanor j. Bader
Telephone Ringing
Gregg Mosson
Insurgent Art
James Seckington
John Hammond
Bill Nevins
Features
We Own The World
Noam Chomsky
Annapolis Conference
Edward Herman
Largely About Oil
Paul Street
Global Warming
Brian Tokar
Trade & Ghana
Chris Benjamin
Zaps
ZAPS
Various submissions
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 - January 2008
Events
MLK DAY - The Martin Luther King Day holiday falls on Monday, January 21 this year. Diverse events are planned across the country, from volunteering in Memphis to a non-violent protest at Lockheed Martin in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Contact: Volunteer Memphis, 22 North Front Street, Suite 780, Memphis, TN 38103; 901-523- 2425; www.volunteermemphis.org/mlkday.html. Lockheed Protest - Brandywine Peace Community, 610-544-1818; www.brandywinepeace.com.
DAY OF ACTION - The World Social Forum has called for a Global Day of Mobilization and Action on January 26, 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@ wsf2008.net; www.wsf2008.net.
EXHIBIT - Through a combination of techniques such as painting, mono-printing, and sewing, Artist Annemarie Zwack began to create the series of quilted paintings against the war titled “Where the Wheel Was Born.” From February 2 through March 2, 2008 Zwack’s exhibit will find a home at the Hopper House Art Center in Nyack, New York.
Contact: Annemarie Zwack, 607-589-7649; zwack@zwack art.com; www.zwackart.com.
THEATER - The Bread and Puppet Theater will be in Boston from February 4-10 offering performances, an art exhibit on Palestinian youth, and a “Cheap Art” Sale at the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama.
Contact: Bread & Puppet Theater, 753 Heights Road, Glover, VT 05839; 802-525-3031 or 802-525-1271; breadpup@together.net; www.breadandpuppet.org.
EVOLUTION - Evolution Weekend is scheduled for February 8-10 to demonstrate that religious people from many faiths and locations understand that evolution is sound science and poses no problems for their faith, affiliated with the Clergy Letter Project repudiating anti-science fundamentalism.
Contact: www.evolutionweekend.org.
FILM FESTIVAL - Amnesty International presents Justice without Borders, the 16th Annual Seattle Human Rights Film Festival from February 13-17, featuring films of social conscience with lively forums responding to the human rights issues facing contemporary residents of empire.
Contact: Amnesty International Puget Sound, PO Box 45777, Seattle, WA 98145; 206-228-8369; filmfest@aiwashington.org; www.aiwashington.org.
TEACH-IN - The 7th Annual Local to Global Justice Teach-in comes to Arizona State University in Tempe on March 1-2, 2008. Our theme this year is “Turning Walls into Bridges.” This free event will feature talks by POOR magazine founder Tiny Gray-Garcia, labor activist and muralist Mike Alewitz, and social justice educator Mara Sapon-Shevin. Also enjoy workshops from local grassroots groups, delicious food, and great music, all dedicated to forging ties across diverse struggles.
Contact: localtoglobal@riseup.net; www.localtoglobal.org.
MEDIA CONFERENCE - The 5th Annual 2008 NYC Grassroots Media Conference is scheduled for Sunday, March 2 from 9 AM to 6 PM at Hunter College. The theme is Speaking Truth to Power: Media Justice in Our Communities and will feature workshops, skills sharing, and exhibits.
Contact - NYC Grassroots Media Coalition c/o NACLA, 38 Greene St. 4th Floor, NY, NY 10013; info@nycgrassrootsmedia.org; www.nycgrassrootsmedia.org.
ACTIVIST CONFERENCE - The 11th Annual National Conference on Organized Resistance (NCOR) will be held March 7-9, 2008 in Washington, DC. This weekend of learning and discussing local and international social justice issues through workshops, panel discussions, and skillshares is held on the main campus of American University.
CONTACT: NCOR, Mary Graydon 271, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016; ncor@riseup.net; www.ncor2008.org.
WOMEN’S STRIKE - International Women’s Day, March 8, has also been a day of protest, education, and direct action to redress the ongoing oppression of women who do two-thirds of all the world’s work—most of it without pay or formal benefits and often in slave conditions.
Contact: www.globalwomenstrike.net.
WINTER SOLDIER - From March 13-16, 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will gather in Washington, DC to give first-hand testimony to the brutality, criminality, and stupidity of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Winter Soldiers, according to founding father Thomas Paine, are those who stand up for the soul of their country, even in its darkest hours. The event also honors the influential Winter Soldier campaign of Vietnam Veterans in 1971.
Contact: IVAW, PO Box 8296, Philadelphia, PA 19101; 215-241-7123; wintersoldier@ivaw.org; www.ivaw.org.
EDUCATION - The 2008 Rouge Forum Conference, “Education: Reform or Revolution?” will be hosted by Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, March 14-16. The Rouge Forum is a group of educators, students, and parents seeking a democratic society.
Contact: Adam Renner, 502-452-8135; arenner@belarmine.edu; www.rougeforum.org.
LEFT FORUM - The 2008 Left Forum is scheduled for March 14-16 at the Cooper Union in NYC. Discussion panels, workshops, info tables, and more are offered at this largest gathering in North America of the U.S. and international Left. Participants include: Naomi Klein, Grace Lee Boggs, Tariq Ali, Staughton Lynd, Billionaires for Bush, Mahmood Mamdani, Adam Hochschild, Jeremy Scahill, David Harvey, Max Elbaum, Stanley Aronowitz, Frances Fox Piven, Bill Fletcher, Jr., Patricia McFadden, Patrick Bond, John Bellamy Foster, Michael Albert, Carlos Vilas, Dennis Brutus, Deepa Fernandes, and many more.
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.
PEACE DEMOS - March 19 is the five-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Demonstrations and marches will occur around the country in commemoration and to pressure the U.S. government to stop its ongoing criminal occupation, with a large gathering for nonviolent civil disobedience planned in Washington, DC.
Contact: UFPJ, PO Box 607, Times Square Station, NY, NY 10108; 212-868-5545; www.unitedforpeace.org; www.5yearstoomany.org.
BOOKFAIR - The 2008 Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair will take place on March 22-23 at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park.
Contact: Anarchist Bookfair c/o Bound Together, 1369 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117; info@bayareaanarchistbookfair.org; www.sfbookfair.wordpress.com.
LABOR CONFERENCE - Calling all troublemakers. The annual Labor Notes conference is scheduled for April 11-13 in Dearborn, Michigan. Young and old will come together for workshops and strategy in fighting back and taking what's ours from the corporate oligarchy. This year's theme: Rebuilding Labor's Power.
PEACE CONFERENCE - War and Its Discontents: Understanding Iraq and the U.S. Empire is a conference for historians and activists, co-sponsored by the Peace History Society. The conference will take place April 11-13, 2008, in Atlanta, GA.
Contact: www.historiansagainstwar.org.
LA FORUM - The Los Angeles Social Forum is scheduled for April 25-27, with planning still underway and opportunities available for organizations and individuals to help.
Contact: LA Social Forum, PO Box 50359, Los Angeles, CA 90050; 213-596-8226; info@lasocialforum.org; www.lasocialforum.org.
CLASS STUDY - The Center for Study of Working Class Life will have its annual conference, “How Class Works” at the State University of New York at Stony Brook June 5-7.
Contact: Michael Zweig, Director, Center for Study of Working Class Life, Department of Economics, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794; 631-632-7536; michael.zweig@stonybrook.edu; www.workingclass.sunysb.edu.
PEACE - Table/booth reservations are filling up for the 18th Annual A Call to Peace Festival, August 9 at the World Peace Sanctuary in Amenia, New York.
Contact: 845-877-6093; info@worldpeace.org; worldpeace.org.
Audio/Video
RADIO - Non-corporate radio news and music available in Boston and on the web from WZBC.
Contact: WZBC 90.3 FM, Boston College, McElroy Commons 107, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467; 617-552-3511; www.wzbc.org.
BOLIVIA - A documentary of geopolitics, people’s movements, indigenous culture, Cocalero is “a luminous portrait of working people in rare triumph against U.S. imperialism.”
Contact: First Run Features, The Film Center Building, 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036; 212-243-0600; info@firstrunfeatures.com; www.firstrunfeatures.com.
SOUTH AFRICA - Angels in the Dust is the story of Marion Cloete who—with her husband and two daughters—abandoned a privileged life in a wealthy Johannesburg suburb to establish Boikarabelo, a village and school providing shelter, food and education to more than 550 South African children orphaned by AIDS.
Contact: Cinema Libre Studio, 8328 De Soto Ave, Canoga Park, CA 91304; 818-349-8822; info@cinemalibrestudio.com; www.cinemalibrestudio.com.
Books
BOLIVIA - Revolutionary Horizons: Past and Present in Bolivian Politics by Forrest Hylton and Sinclair Thomson chronicles the roots and results of Bolivia’s revolutionary moment.
Contact: Verso, 180 Varick St, New York, NY 10014; 212-807- 9680; versony@versobooks.com; www.versobooks.com.
CHINA - In Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the 21st Century, Giovanni Arrighi argues that the United States’ disastrous failure in Iraq has made China the true winner of the War on Terror.
Contact: Verso, 180 Varick St, New York, NY 10014; 212-807- 9680; versony@versobooks.com; www.versobooks.com.
COLLECTION - Breakfast for Anarchists is the newest collection of rebel verse, urban tall tales, “news” poems, short fiction and anarcho-agitprop recipes from Montreal cabaret artist Norman Nawrocki.
Contact: info@nobarcodepress.org; www.nobarcodepress.com.
COMMUNITIES - Communities Directory is a comprehensive guide to intentional communities and cooperative living with up-to-date information on over 900 intentional communities in North America.
Contact: Fellowship for Intentional Community, 138 Twin Oaks Road, Louisa, VA 23093; 660-883-5545; www.ic.org.
DATEBOOK - The Women Artists Datebook is a collection of artwork and poetry created by women. Also included are unique annotations, lunar cycles and menstrual calendars.
Contact: Syracuse Cultural Workers, 800-949-5139; www.syracuseculturalworkers.com.
EDUCATION - Please Stop Laughing at Us: One Survivor’s Extraordinary Quest to Prevent School Bullying is an intimate exposé of vulnerabilities in the American educational system, providing realistic solutions and advice.
Contact: Independent Publishers Group, 814 North Franklin St., Chicago, IL 60610; 800-888- 4741; www.ipgbook.com.
HAITI - Damming the Flood analyzes how and why Aristide’s enemies in Haiti, the United States, and France made sure that his second government, popularly elected with an overwhelming majority in 2000, was toppled by a further coup in 2004.
Contact: Verso, 180 Varick St, New York, NY 10014; 212-807- 9680; versony@versobooks.com; www.versobooks.com.
SATIRE - In As the World Burns: 50 Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial, two of America’s most talented activists—author Derrick Jensen and artist Stephanie McMillan—team up to deliver a bold and hilarious satire of modern environmental policy.
Contact: Seven Stories, 140 Watts St., New York, NY 10013; www.sevenstories.com.
SPOOF - The graphic novel Shooting War by Anthony Lappé and Dan Goldman is an irreverent spoof of the network news, the war in Iraq and the burgeoning “citizen journalist” movement, set in the near future.
Contact: Grand Central Publishing, 237 Park Ave., New York, NY 10017; www.hachettebookgroupusa.com.
ZIONISM - Combining family memoir with an account of the trajectory of Zionism during the 20th century, If I Am Not For Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew by peace activist Mike Marqusee offers a complex personal and historical quest to understanding the Israel/Palestine debate.
Contact: Verso, 180 Varick St, New York, NY 10014; 212-807- 9680; versony@versobooks.com; www.versobooks.com.
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.
