June 2014
Volume 27
Number 6
ZMAG MISSION
Z Magazine is an independent monthly magazine founded in 1988. Our mission is to publish in depth articles that critique society's political, economic, and social life and institutions. We see the race, class, and gender dimensions of personal life as equally important to understanding current circumstances and as necessary for developing visions and strategies for progressive change. (See “About Z” in the table of contents.)
Now Publishing Z BOOKS
Recently Released:
Z Reader on the Environment!
Coming in June:
The Chomsky Z Collection
DONATIONS
We survive through income from paid subscriptions, sales of videos and books, online Sustainers, individual donations. and periodic fundraising. We are non-profit, tax exempt under the Institute for Social and Cultural Communications. We are currently in dire need of funds. To donate by mail, send checks payable to Z Magazine, 18 Millfield Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 (508- 548-9063). To donate online go to: www.zcom munications.org and become a Sustainer.
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Commentary
Companies will be allowed to pay Internet service providers for special, faster lanes to send video and other content to their customers...
What reveals the superficiality of the outrage about racism in sports is the dissociation between this outrage against black people and the ongoing assault in sports on indigenous people.
U.S. media made much noise about fighting terror, restoring democracies, and heralding freedoms, the neo-cons highlighted redrawing the map of the Middle East to slow the rise of China
The effects of global warming. The Biloxi-Chitimacha stand on the frontlines of this ecological transformation.
Activism
A tale of the success of support and solidarity
The Cowboy and Indian Alliance to stop Keystone
Features
An interview with Abdulla al-Arian
The overall share of incomes from Capital is rising at the expense of workers
The use of oppositional defiant disorder
In the Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts, people decided they didn’t trust a license plate reader system that would share data outside of their community.
It is no accident that many United States citizens seem bewildered when it comes to current events. It’s hard to make sense of a complex world when huge swaths of reality are denied serious and honest coverage and commentary in the nation’s reigning corporate “mainstream media” (“MSM”).
The Cecily McMillan Trial
Reviews
This volume should be seen as a history of transnational radicals and visionaries, who saw the need to unite the entire international working-class to dismantle both capitalism and imperialism
The title of The New Mole is taken from Marx to refer to the revolutionary impulse, which burrows quietly underground until it comes to the surface of history.
ZAPS
CUBAN 5 - From May 30 to June 5, a number of intellectuals, authors, labor and religious figures, attorney, and supporters of the Cuban 5 will gather in Washington, DC to advocate for a dialogue between the U.S. and Cuba, to raise awareness about the case of the Cuban 5 and to demand a humanitarian solution that will allow the return of these men to their homeland.
Contact: [email protected]; info@the cuban5.org.
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; [email protected]; 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; [email protected] 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 co--operative, urban garden, community development project, social research centers, and educational & medical institutions.
Contact: [email protected]; http://www.globaljusticecenter.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/.
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 13, 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; [email protected]; http://www.peacestockvfp.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: [email protected];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: [email protected]; http://east.usworker.coop/.
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; [email protected]; 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.falconridg folk.com/; [email protected]
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 long U.S. history of antimilitarism.
Contact: 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012; 212-228-0450; [email protected]; 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; [email protected]; 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: [email protected]; http://www.nomas.org/.
OCCUPY - An Occupy National Gathering will be held in Kalamazoo, MI, August 21-25.
Contact: [email protected]; http://occupynationalgathering.net/.
COMMUNITIES - The Dissident Arts Festival will take place August 24, at the Brecht Forum in New York City. The Dissident Arts Festival is the annual showcase of radical arts and activism, where revolutionary New Music meets Topical Song and Free Jazz cavorts with Dissident Poetry, Theatre, and Film.
Contact: John Pietaro, 646-599-0060; [email protected]; http://www.dissidentarts.com/.
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/.
ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR - The 8th annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair, will be held on unceded Coast Salish Territory in Victoria, British Columbia, September 14-15. Events include workshops, book, and information tables, readings, films, presentations, and more.
Contact: [email protected]; http://www.victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca.
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.haiti water.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.
Contact: http://www.democratic communications.net/conference/udc-2013.
CUBA/WOMEN - The 2013 Women’s Research Delegation to Cuba & International Women’s Conference in Havana will be held November 22-December 1.
Contact: http://www.womenandcuba.org/.
GITMO - A new petition on change.org has been launched asking President Obama to close Guantanamo Bay
Contact: http://www.change.org/petitions/president-obama-close-detention-facility-at-guantanamo-bay.