Table of Contents - January 2009

Commentary

SUMMER SCHOOL: Z Media Institute 2009 Application by Z Staff *

The 2009 Z Media Institute (ZMI) is scheduled for June 3-12 in Woods Hole, Massacusetts. More information about Z Media Institute is available at the ZMI web pages. A printable PDF... More / Printer-Friendly version

MEMORIAL: Odetta, 1930-2008 by Z Staff

Odetta Holmes was a singer, actor, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "the voice of the Civil Rights Movement." Her musical repertoire consisted largely of... More / Printer-Friendly version

FROM THE WEB: Net Briefs by Z Staff *

Student Sit-in According to a press release from RadicalStudentUnion.blogspot.com, at 2:00 PM December 12, 2008 New School students—part of the Radical Student Union (RSU)—along with... More / Printer-Friendly version

JOURNAL OF THE 22ND YEAR: Z Media Matters by Z Staff *

In a January 2008 article "The Greatest Media Revolution Since Gutenberg?" Lydia Sargent wrote, "If you've kept up with the growing concern among media people about the future of... More / Printer-Friendly version

FOG WATCH: Bailouts & Sellouts by Edward S. Herman *

It is amazing to see sums now running into the trillions being allocated almost entirely to substantial market players, many of whom were heavily involved in producing the financial debacle we are... More / Printer-Friendly version

CONSERVATIVE WATCH: Heritage Foundation To "Fight Back" by Bill Berkowitz

In 1981 newly elected president Ronald Reagan embraced a "Mandate for Leadership," a blueprint for conservatism issued by the Heritage Foundation. Two years later, at a dinner celebrating... More / Printer-Friendly version

LAW & ORDER: A "Trojan Horse" for Recruiters by Sherwood Ross

The Pentagon has used the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act as a Trojan Horse to propagandize vulnerable teenage students, invade their privacy, harass them, and get them to enlist. Passage of the... More / Printer-Friendly version

LA MIGRA: Crossing State Lines and Prison Gates by Carlos Perez de Alejo

Under the guise of "national security" and "public safety," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has waged a relentless five-year assault on immigrant communities across... More / Printer-Friendly version

LATIN AMERICA: Operation Disrupt Democracy in El Salvador by Erica Thompson *

International observers have denounced recent activities of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) as designed to overthrow... More / Printer-Friendly version

GAZA: No Lights, No Food, No Medicines: No Change by Andrea Becker

The slow death of Gaza has picked up speed as months have gone by with only the most minimal humanitarian supplies getting through to the population—80 percent of which depends entirely on... More / Printer-Friendly version

EYES RIGHT: Brownshirt Anarchism, Bogus Journalism by Chip Berlet

Anarchists who suggest forming anti-government coalitions with the political right (and even fascists) represent a small phenomenon, but one that deserves exposure when it reoccurs. Many anarchists... More / Printer-Friendly version

Activism

GAY & LESBIAN COMMUNITY NOTES: Prop 8: Same-Sex Marriage and Coalition Building by Michael Bronski

Prop 8 demos— photo by Ellen Shub This past election saw a series of interesting cultural clashes and collisions over... More / Printer-Friendly version

ANTI-WAR ORGANIZING: Brewing GI Joe & Jane by Isabel McDonald

With mounting opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan among active duty soldiers, and military servicepeople experiencing unprecedented stresses as they face second, third, and fourth... More / Printer-Friendly version

WORKER ORGANIZING: Domestic Workers Rising Up by Elizabeth Martinez *

When I had a mild stroke two years ago, some assistance was needed at home to clean, prepare dinner, and help me with my exercises. I called a Bay Area organization, Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA,... More / Printer-Friendly version

Features

EMPIRE BUILDING: There is No Peace Dividend by Paul Street *

Here are 53 words that might help us situate President-elect Barack Obama in the world of power as it really is, not as many of us wish it to be: "As we understand it, Obama has been advised... More / Printer-Friendly version

THE ECONOMY: Epic Recession Revisited by Jack Rasmus

Events and conditions since June 2008 have increasingly confirmed the prediction that the U.S. economy is headed toward a recession of unprecedented dimensions. Despite the several trillions of... More / Printer-Friendly version

THEORY & PRACTICE: The End of Neoliberalism? by Damien Cahill

For the last 20 years neoliberalism has been dominant globally. Across the world, governments of the Right, and many nominally of the Left, have privatized and deregulated—opening up the... More / Printer-Friendly version

GREEN TIDE: Via Campesina Confronts the Global Agrofuel Industrial Complex by John E. Peck

On October 19, 2008, at the opening ceremony of the Fifth International Via Campesina Conference in Maputo, Mozambique, over 600 representatives from more than 50 countries gathered to hear a... More / Printer-Friendly version

Culture

BOOK REVIEW: War Without End by Jeremy Kuzmarov *

By Michael Schwartz; 2008, Haymarket Books, 320 pp. Michael Schwartz's illuminating new book, War Without End: The Iraq War in Context, provides a comprehensive overview of the... More / Printer-Friendly version

Zaps

FREE LISTINGS: Zaps - January 2009 by Various Contributors *

Events MLK DAY - The Martin Luther King Day holiday falls on Monday, January 19 this year. Peace groups are highlighting MLK's oft-overlooked anti-imperialist, antiwar activism as a way... More / Printer-Friendly version

NEW DVD: Elections & Change by Z Staff *

In this short talk in Boston on November 19, 2008, Noam Chomsky discusses the historic U.S. election results, comparing the democratic systems of Latin America (where left movements have been... More / Printer-Friendly version

SPECIAL OFFER DVDS: Goodbye to Bush Offer by Z Staff *

During our Goodbye to Bush Sale, you can subscribe to Z Magazine for $20 and choose from more than 30 DVDs at the special price of $15 each. You must use the printable PDF form to take... More / Printer-Friendly version

SUBSCRIPTIONS: The "Outrageous" Gift Subscription Offer by Z Staff *

Greetings from Z, It's time for our annual Outrageous Offer, which gives subscribers a chance to buy gift... More / Printer-Friendly version