Saturday, January 10, 2015

Hanan Ashrawi (Francis A. Boyle)

Francis A. Boyle is an attorney and a professor of international law.  He's also the author of many books including, most recently, United Ireland, Human Rights and International Law.  This is a poem he's written about Palestinian activist and politician Hanan Ashrawi.  This is Boyle's poem and he retains all rights to it.




Hanan Ashrawi

Fall 1991
There we were
At the Grand Hotel
Supposed to be negotiating peace
 
When Hanan got word
That the Israelis were expelling
Women and children
From their homes in Silwan
During the pouring rain
You could watch it on CNN
 
So Hanan called a press conference
Down in the lobby
I marched down with her
The klieg lights were on
The jackals were there
It was Hanan against them
With a young female aide
 
As Hanan spoke
And the jackals pounced
She fought most valiantly
For Palestine
 
Then embraced her young aide
A tear fell from her eye
Madonna with Child.
 
Fab
 
 
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.

Champaign, IL 61820 USA










Clay Hunt SAV Act Re-Introduced in House (IAVA)

This is from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America:


PRESS CONTACT
Gretchen Andersen
Press Secretary
Tel: 212-982-9699

press@iava.org


Washington, D.C. (January 7, 2015) – Today, Representatives Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Chairman of the VA Committee Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) announced the reintroduction of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act, a bill supported by veterans and their advocates to help prevent veteran suicide and ensure our nations heroes get the care and support they need.


The legislation, named in honor of the late Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran and suicide prevention advocate Clay Hunt, unanimously passed the House of Representatives in the 113th Congress and had broad support in the Senate, but was blocked from becoming law by a lone Senator. Representatives Walz, Miller, and Duckworth first introduced their bipartisan legislation last summer after spending months working together to write final legislation with veterans and their advocates.


“Currently, 22 veterans die by suicide each and every day,” Rep. Walz, the highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress, said. “These folks aren’t just our former warriors either; they’re our mothers and fathers. They’re our grandfathers and grandmothers. They’re our brothers and sisters. They’re our neighbors and friends. While no piece of legislation will completely end this heartbreaking epidemic, we cannot stand idly by while more of our heroes struggle with the invisible wounds of war. We must take action, and I continue to believe that this bipartisan bill is a step in the right direction. We can and must work urgently to send this bill to the President’s desk without delay.”


“Despite record mental health staffing and budget levels at the Department of Veterans Affairs, an average of 18 to 22 veterans have been taking their own lives each day for more than a decade. Solutions to this horrific problem will only come from comprehensive, new ideas that improve the accessibility and effectiveness of mental health care available to our veterans. The Clay Hunt SAV Act will ensure VA’s mental health and suicide prevention efforts receive crucial independent, third party oversight while creating a greater accounting of available services and fostering an enhanced community approach to delivering veterans suicide prevention and mental health care treatment. I urge all my colleagues to once again join us in helping preserve the lives of our nation’s most at-risk returning heroes,” said Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs


“As a nation, we have a commitment to our Veterans to make sure that they receive the care that they need, and that means reducing barriers to care however we can. When an average of 22 Veterans commit suicide every day, we are failing them,” Representative Duckworth said. “I am proud to join with Congressman Walz and Chairman Miller in introducing this legislation that is a crucial step in reducing Veteran suicide.”
“IAVA applauds Chairman Miller, and Representatives Walz and Duckworth for reintroducing the Clay Hunt SAV Act in the House today,” said IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff. “After last year’s overwhelming bipartisan support, we now urge the House to move quickly in passing this bill, which will help curb the veteran suicide rate. Twenty-two veterans die by suicide each day and our country can provide the tools to help reverse that number. No veteran should have to cut through bureaucratic red tape to access the mental health care they earned. As Congress begins a new year, veterans and their families are watching Washington closely to see who has our back.”


A 2012 study from the Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that 22 veterans are lost each day to suicide. That’s over 150 veteran suicides per week, over 600 per month, and over 8,000 per year. To put these staggering numbers in perspective, it is estimated that more veterans take their own lives each year than have been Killed in Action since 9/11.


The Clay Hunt SAV Act seeks to quell this growing epidemic by:



Increasing Access to Mental Health Care and Capacity at VA to Meet Demand
  • Requires the VA to create a one-stop, interactive website to serve as a centralized source of information regarding all VA mental health services for veterans.
  • Addresses the shortage of mental health care professionals by authorizing the VA to conduct a student loan repayment pilot program aimed at recruiting and retaining psychiatrists.

Improving the Quality of Care and Boosting Accountability at VA

  • Requires evaluations of all mental health care and suicide prevention practices and programs at the VA to find out what’s working and what’s not working and make recommendations to improve care.

Developing a Community Support System for Veterans

  • Establishes a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning Servicemembers with accessing VA mental health care services.


Rep. Walz spent 24 years in the Army National Guard and is the highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress. Rep. Duckworth served in the U.S. Army for 23 years and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard.



Note to media: Email press@iava.org or call 212-982-9699 to speak with IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff or IAVA leadership.


Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org) is the nation's first and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and has nearly 300,000 Member Veterans and civilian supporters nationwide. Celebrating its 10th year anniversary, IAVA recently received the highest rating - four-stars - from Charity Navigator, America's largest charity evaluator.















Iraq snapshot

Saturday, January 10, 2014.  Chaos and violence continue, Americans oppose ground troops in Iraq in a poll the press ignores, Juan Cole slimes the military, and more.



Cher weighs in on Iraq:



The damage was done and the damage continues.  Margaret Griffis (Antiwar.com) notes 139 violent deaths in Iraq yesterday with 21 more injured.


How is Barack's bombing campaign (passed off as a 'plan') reducing violence?


As we ponder that, let's move over to note how it's always interesting what gets attention and what doesn't.  Everyone and their dog (that would be the Christian Science Monitor) weighed in on the poll regarding the number of Republicans who believed (wrongly) that WMD (one of the false reasons given for the illegal war on Iraq) were discovered there.  We covered the poll in Wednesday's snapshot but we covered it: "32% of Democrats in the US and 51% of Republicans wrongly believe WMDs were discovered in Iraq."  Though many outlets used the poll -- which has issues that should question some of the validity of the results -- to do another slam book post on Republicans and Fox News, that 32% of Democrats believe the lie is telling.

A few wanted to insist that the bad New York Times article was responsible.

No.

One report can't do that.

Not even if it's amplified.

The issue is no one was held accountable.  When no one's held accountable, the message is no one needs to be held accountable because no one was wrong.

You go into Jack In The Box and order fries, walk out the door, look in the sack and discover they gave you onion rings, you can walk back in and they will take accountability for their mistake and give you the fries you ordered.

One of the reasons given for the 'need' to go to war on Iraq was that Iraq had WMD and was seeking out Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Uranium or some such nonsense.

And these reasons have not led to accountability.

Except maybe for Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson.

Joe is the former US Ambassador to Iraq who exposed Bully Boy Bush's lie about the yellow cake uranium and he was held accountable for that truth telling by the BBB administration which went on to illegally out his wife Valerie Plame as a CIA operative.  (Thanks to his father, Poppy Bush, it is illegal for a US government official or employee to out a CIA operative.  It is not a crime for others to do so.  Which is why columnist Robert Novak committed no crime -- a fact that David Corn -- in his never ending eagerness to suck the phallus of the CIA -- frequently was confused over.)

So Joe and Valerie suffered.

Cindy Sheehan and others across the US suffered as they saw their family members perish in the Iraq War or return home wounded.

The American people -- for many generations -- are suffering -- and will suffer -- as a result of the financial debt the illegal war has created.

But despite all the suffering and consequences being doled out to various people, the ones who lied were never held accountable.

Colin Powell is treated as 'respectable' by the media despite his public lying.  He's far from the only one.

And let's not forget that his cuddle buddy, Lawrence Wilkerson, was given free reign by the media (especially MSNBC and Democracy Now!) to rewrite history and present Colin Powell -- human filth since Vietnam -- as a victim and a truthful person.

When no one's held accountable for lying, when there are no prosecutions for deceiving the American people and starting an illegal war, people will assume the lies were true.

But, as usual, that was too much for the media in this country to address.

Heaven forbid we address the glaring lack of accountability.

And heaven forbid we address a real poll -- one whose methodology raises no questions.

See there were two polls that had to do with Iraq that were released this week.

And if you wanted to slam book Republicans and Fox News, you focused on the questionable one (and generally ignored the 32% of Democrats who believed the lie of WMD found).

And if you support war, you'll continue to ignore the other poll.

57% of Americans oppose sending US troops into combat in Iraq.  (Yes, they are already in combat.  Dropping bombs from planes is combat and, throughout the US Air Force's history, people have long received decorations for those combat missions.)

57% oppose.

That's a majority.

That, however, wasn't big news this week.

A search of even Antiwar.com doesn't even turn up a report or citation.

The poll was conducted by the Brookings Institute -- a centrist organization not known for pacifist sentiment.

It was released on Thursday.

I missed it until a friend at Brookings asked why I wasn't noting it.

Antiwar.com probably missed it for the same reason.

But what about the MSM which usually can't stop presenting Brookings as a "trusted voice."

One poll offered easy scorn towards a group of Americans -- a group of Americans that many in the MSM look down upon, let's be honest.  And they glommed on that poll -- and zoomed in on the results they loved about the people they dislike (Republicans) while ignoring the results on their kindred (Democrats).

But a poll that speaks against what the administration wants?

That poll receives pretty much no attention at all.

Shibley Telhami, who conducted the survey, notes, "If airstrikes are not enough to stop ISIS, 57 percent of Americans oppose sending U.S. ground troops into Iraq to fight the Islamic State.  On the other hand, 53 percent of Republicans favor sending ground troops."

That the number for Republicans is only 53% is rather amazing.  It's also a number, if peace activists were familiar with it, that could be worked on.

You better believe that the War Hawks are aware of the poll.  You better believe they'll be working to lower the 57%.

You better believe that includes the White House.

As far back as June, US President Barack Obama (rightly) insisted that the only answer for Iraq's crises was a political solution.

But the US government hasn't focused their efforts on that, have they?

Instead, the DoD and the State Dept -- and the State Dept -- have focused on roping in other countries to join in the bombings and pressuring these countries to put troops on the ground -- whether they're billed as 'advisors' or what have you.

The White House hasn't been able to get the ground forces it needs.

As we've noted before, many State Dept efforts on this have been greeted with foreign officials responding, 'Why should we be sending in combat forces when you government isn't?"

This repeated reaction from officials in other countries forced the White House to show its hand last month.


That's when they sent US Secretary of State John Kerry to argue, December 9th, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Congress must pass an authorization for Barack's actions in Iraq and Syria and that this legislation must include that Barack can send US combat troops into Iraq.


Secretary of State John Kerry: However, while we certainly believe this is the soundest policy, and while the president has been clear he's open to clarifications on the use of U.S. combat troops to be outlined in an AUMF, that does not mean we should pre-emptively bind the hands of the commander in chief oo  or our commanders in the field -- in responding to scenarios and contingencies that are impossible to foresee. 


Barack wants ground troops in Iraq.

Or, if you're an idiot like Ray McGovern, a rogue John Kerry wants them!

His Hips Are Plenty Wide To Hide Barack!

Who knew?

John has such a narrow frame.

But just as Barack hid behind Hillary's skirt during his first term, he now hides behind John's rather bony ass.

And a lot of liars and idiots are willing to go along with that nonsense and pretend that when Kerry goes before the Senate -- and sends his written remarks, his opening statement, 48 hours before appearing -- the White House is caught by surprise that Kerry's asking for ground troops.

Not only are they caught by surprise but poor little Barack can't even stand up to John.

Not only that, Barack's unable to tell the press he rejects the call for ground troops.

He's a prisoner!

Do men like Ray McGovern portray Barack as such a weakling because it lets them get off on their sexual fantasies where they're strong and important and rescue the damsel Barack?


There were two polls this week.

One led to mockery.

Which one is really important in 2015?

Which one matters right now as the White House wants Congress to give them the right to put US forces into combat in Iraq?


That would be the poll the press ignored, that would be the Brookings poll.

Something else that matters is Asa Fitch and Ghassan Adnan's report for the Wall St. Journal which notes thug Nouri al-Maliki is still plotting to return as prime minister.

After finally being forced out of office in August (though he continues to refuse to leave the prime minister's house), Nouri al-Maliki continues to plot and conspire.  Haider al-Abadi, Iraq's current prime minister, is seen as weak and not all that different from Nouri when it comes to sectarian positions.

We'll note this from the article:


Mr. Maliki still harbors major political ambitions of his own, say insiders such as Ali Dabbagh, who worked as Mr. Maliki’s spokesman in his first term as prime minister but now opposes him.

“Maliki is still dreaming, and this is going to kill him,” he said. “I think finally he should accept the reality. This is politics and this is like a wheel, down and up, and you are down. I don’t think that anybody would allow you to come up—ever.” 

That's Ali al-Dabbagh.

We used to mock Ali in the snapshots, note what a liar he was for Nouri and how the day would come when Nouri would turn on him (as Nouri turns on everyone).

That came with the $4 billion weapons deal with Russia.

The deal was corrupt (on the Iraqi side).  Nouri's son was one of the many profiting from the deal.

As the corruption was exposed -- in the Iraq press -- Nouri began looking for fall guys.

Ali al-Dabbagh fled the country (and his post as spokesperson) when Nouri attempted to scapegoat him.

al-Dabbagh feels safe enough now not only to return to Iraq but also to publicly criticize Nouri.

That criticism won't go unnoticed by Nouri, a petty man who will nurse a grudge like it's a bottle of vintage scotch.



Juan Cole was an Iraq War cheerleader -- he also cheerleaded the assault on Libya.  Friday morning we noted his latest nonsense and we'll continue that conversation briefly by noting this, "Sharif was about to go to Iraq in 2005, himself, to fight Bush's troops there."  I realize that the nomad lacked basic education in his formative years and never really took courses in US history and civics but the military is not the military of an individual, even if that person is occupying the Oval Office.

In a column where he blames Bush repeatedly, attacks him repeatedly, for him to then type "Bush's troops"?

Now he can mock them, he can ridicule them.

But he can also face the fall out.

And that fall out should include his stupidity in assuming that the US troops belong to any Oval Office occupant.  They are not toys, they are not possessions.

They are also not the ones calling the shots.  How easy it is to attack a group of people -- especially ones who do not make policy.


Turning to the issue of veterans, Senators Patty Murray and Johnny Isakson deliver a win to veterans.  Senator Murray is the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee and serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  Senator Johnny Isakson serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee as well.  Senator Murray's office issued the following:





For Immediate Release                                                      CONTACT: Murray (202) 224-2834
Friday, January 9th, 2014                                                                                        Isakson (202) 224-7777
Top U.S. Army Official Fixes Retirement Benefits Issue After Calls from Murray, Isakson
 
In a November letter to Army Secretary McHugh, the Senators called for immediate reversal of previous policy
  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) applauded U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh for reversing a policy that caused a significant number of Army officers to retire at a lower rank and lose significant retirement benefits, as much as $1,000 per month for the rest of their lives.  

 
Under the now-reversed policy, a significant group of Army captains and majors (former non-commissioned officers who were recruited for Officer Candidate School after September 11, 2001) were forced to retire at their highest previous enlisted rank, instead of their rank as officers, as a result of the Army’s use of Enhanced-Selective Early Retirement Boards (E-SERB).  In November, the Senators sent a letter to Sec. McHugh calling for this change. The new policy will result in a significant increase in lifetime retirement benefits for the impacted soldiers, for some as much as $1,000 per month or more, or just over $1 million over a 40 year retirement in the case of a captain forced to retire as a sergeant first class.   

 
“I heartily share your concern regarding those officers…who were informed they must retire in their previous enlisted grade,” Secretary McHugh wrote to the Senators.  “I am pleased to inform you that…I have waived the minimum requirement for those officers, allowing them to retire as officers without regard to the number of years they  have in active commissioned service.”  
 

The full text of Secretary McHugh’s letter can be viewed HERE.  
 


"These brave men and women answered the Army’s call to duty not just once, but twice, and I applaud Secretary McHugh’s swift action to correct this policy and ensure we fully honor the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes,” Senator Murray said. “I'm grateful to my friend and colleague, Senator Isakson, for joining me in this fight.”
 
“I am thrilled Secretary McHugh responded quickly and is taking the steps necessary to rectify this situation and allow these deserving men and women to retire at the rank they have earned and appropriately honor their service to our nation,” said Isakson, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
  

Read a one-page summary of the issue here.

 
Under the previous Army policy, a soldier must have served at least 8 years of active service as a commissioned officer in order to retire as a commissioned officer.  Soldiers who served 20 years total, but less than 8 years as commissioned officers, were retired at their highest enlisted rank. 

 
During the “Grow the Army” effort, the Army dramatically increased the number of officers commissioned via its Officer Candidate School (OCS).  The Army expanded to a post 9-11 peak of 570,000 soldiers in 2010 and is currently executing an end strength reduction designed to shrink the Army to 450,000 soldiers.  Many of those OCS graduates are now being forced to retire through the E-SERB process as the Army shrinks.  Officers with more than 18 years active service are screened by E-SERB and those selected will be forced to retire on the first day of the month following the month they reach 20 years of service. These former non-commissioned officers stepped up and volunteered for OCS at a time the Army badly needed officers and served honorably for between 6 and 7 years, but many were being retired at enlisted ranks they had not held in years. 

Senators Murray and Isakson were joined in sending their initial letter by: Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Bernard Sanders (D-VT) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
 
###
Sean Coit
Press Secretary
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
202-224-2834










the christian science monitor

Friday, January 09, 2015

Senator Murray and Isakson get results

 



Senator Patty Murray (above) is the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee and serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  Her office issued the following:




For Immediate Release                                                      CONTACT: Murray (202) 224-2834
Friday, January 9th, 2014                                                                                        Isakson (202) 224-7777

Top U.S. Army Official Fixes Retirement Benefits Issue After Calls from Murray, Isakson
 
 
In a November letter to Army Secretary McHugh, the Senators called for immediate reversal of previous policy
  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) applauded U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh for reversing a policy that caused a significant number of Army officers to retire at a lower rank and lose significant retirement benefits, as much as $1,000 per month for the rest of their lives.  

 
Under the now-reversed policy, a significant group of Army captains and majors (former non-commissioned officers who were recruited for Officer Candidate School after September 11, 2001) were forced to retire at their highest previous enlisted rank, instead of their rank as officers, as a result of the Army’s use of Enhanced-Selective Early Retirement Boards (E-SERB).  In November, the Senators sent a letter to Sec. McHugh calling for this change. The new policy will result in a significant increase in lifetime retirement benefits for the impacted soldiers, for some as much as $1,000 per month or more, or just over $1 million over a 40 year retirement in the case of a captain forced to retire as a sergeant first class.   

 
“I heartily share your concern regarding those officers…who were informed they must retire in their previous enlisted grade,” Secretary McHugh wrote to the Senators.  “I am pleased to inform you that…I have waived the minimum requirement for those officers, allowing them to retire as officers without regard to the number of years they  have in active commissioned service.”  
 

The full text of Secretary McHugh’s letter can be viewed HERE.  
 


"These brave men and women answered the Army’s call to duty not just once, but twice, and I applaud Secretary McHugh’s swift action to correct this policy and ensure we fully honor the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes,” Senator Murray said. “I'm grateful to my friend and colleague, Senator Isakson, for joining me in this fight.”
 
“I am thrilled Secretary McHugh responded quickly and is taking the steps necessary to rectify this situation and allow these deserving men and women to retire at the rank they have earned and appropriately honor their service to our nation,” said Isakson, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
  

Read a one-page summary of the issue here.

 
Under the previous Army policy, a soldier must have served at least 8 years of active service as a commissioned officer in order to retire as a commissioned officer.  Soldiers who served 20 years total, but less than 8 years as commissioned officers, were retired at their highest enlisted rank. 

 
During the “Grow the Army” effort, the Army dramatically increased the number of officers commissioned via its Officer Candidate School (OCS).  The Army expanded to a post 9-11 peak of 570,000 soldiers in 2010 and is currently executing an end strength reduction designed to shrink the Army to 450,000 soldiers.  Many of those OCS graduates are now being forced to retire through the E-SERB process as the Army shrinks.  Officers with more than 18 years active service are screened by E-SERB and those selected will be forced to retire on the first day of the month following the month they reach 20 years of service. These former non-commissioned officers stepped up and volunteered for OCS at a time the Army badly needed officers and served honorably for between 6 and 7 years, but many were being retired at enlisted ranks they had not held in years. 


Senators Murray and Isakson were joined in sending their initial letter by: Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Bernard Sanders (D-VT) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
 
###
 
 
Sean Coit
Press Secretary
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
202-224-2834
 

  










Paralyzed Veterans of America's Veterans Benefits Department Leads VSOs in Average Monthly Awards

Paralyzed Veterans of America notes:




Paralyzed Veterans of America's Veterans Benefits Department led the pack by garnering the highest average monthly awards among the Big 6 veterans service organizations, according to the latest Veterans Benefits Administration 2014 productivity report. Monthly awards include disability compensation, pension, and survivor payments to clients represented by each organization.


Veterans Benefits VSO Dec 2014 graphic




Sherman Gillums Jr., deputy executive director of Paralyzed Veterans of America, explained the wide variance in outcome that sets his organization apart: "Our service officers don't just focus on obtaining timely and accurate awards. They pursue the maximum benefit possible for our clients, which often requires going the extra step beyond the initial decision," he said. "Also, they're highly trained in special monthly compensation, a tier of benefits that involves developing and prosecuting complex, multifaceted, catastrophic disability cases. Honing this unique expertise takes a lot of work; but the impact it has on the lives of those we represent makes it worth the effort."  




Learn more about Paralyzed Veterans of America's Veterans Benefits Department







Happy New Year from the Zed Collective

Zed Books announces a new partnership.

Happy New Year from the Zed collective
Happy 2015!  We've got tons to look forward to this year and plenty to keep us busy here at Zed.  We're excited to officially announce our new partnership with the University of Chicago Press, who will now be our main distributor for North America. 

As well as this, in February, we will be a hosting an evening of collective thinking at Bloomsbury's Horse Hospital.  'The Coming Insurrection in Publishing: self management, digital content and social change' will kick off a discussion about the future of publishing.  Our panel consists of:

Eric Hazan, publisher at La Fabrique and author of First Measures of the Coming Insurrection (Zed Books, May 2015)
Michael Bhaskar, author of The Content Machine: Towards a Theory of Publishing from the Printing Press to the Digital Network
Fredrico Campagna, author of The Last Night: Anti-Work, Atheism and Adventure
Kika Sroka-Miller and Kim Walker, Commissioning Editors at Zed Books

Below are some highlights we are looking forward to in 2015, enjoy!



First Measures of the Coming Insurrection
Eric Hazan and Kamo

First Measures of the Coming Insurrection

Available May 2015

We have witnessed a beginning, the birth of a new age of revolt and upheaval. In North Africa and the Middle East it took the people a matter of days to topple what were supposedly entrenched regimes. Now, to the west, multiple crises are etching away at a 'democratic consensus' that has, since the 1970's, plagued and suppressed any sparks of revolutionary potential. It is time to prepare for the coming insurrection.

In this bold and beautifully written book, Eric Hazan and Kamo provide a short account of what is to be done in the aftermath of a regime's demise: how to prevent any power from restoring itself and how to reorganise society without a central authority and according to the people's needs. Arguing that neither the reshuffling of political leadership, in the guise of 'democratic transition' or 'constitutional progress', nor a 'transition period', classically advocated by 20th century communists, between a capitalist social order and a communist horizon will do, First Measures of the Coming Insurrection is more than the voice of a new generation of revolutionary, it is the manual for the coming, global revolution.



The Racket
A rogue reporter vs. the masters of the universe
Matt Kennard

The Racket

Available April 2015


While working at the Financial Times, investigative journalist Matt Kennard uncovered a scam - a deception and rip-off of immense proportions.

Kennard's unbridled access over four years to the crème de la crème of the global elite left him with only one conclusion: the world as we know it is run by a squad of cigar-smoking men with big guns, big cash and a reach much too close to home.

But, through encounters with high-profile opponents of the racket, such as Thom Yorke, Damon Albarn, Gael Garcia Bernal and others, Kennard shows that human decency remains. Now it's time for the world's citizens to also uncover the racket.
     


The PKK
Coming Down from the Mountains
Paul White

The PKK

Available May 2015

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is infamous for its violence. The struggle it has waged for Kurdish independence in south-eastern Turkey has cost in excess of 40,000 lives since 1984. Less known, however, is the fact that the PKK now embraces a non-violent end to the conflict, with its leader Abdullah Öcalan having ordered his fighters to ceasefire and engage in a negotiated peace with the Ankara Government. Whether these tentative attempts at peacemaking mean a long-term end to the bloodshed remains to be seen, but either way the ramifications for Turkey and the wider region are potentially huge.

Charting the ideological evolution of the PKK, as well as its origins, aims and organizational setup, Paul White provides the only authoritative and up-to-date analysis of one of the most important non-state political players in the contemporary Middle East.



Thank You, Madagascar
The Conservation Diaries of Alison Jolly
Alison Jolly



Available March 2015

Madagascar is one of the world's natural jewels, with over ninety per cent of its wildlife found nowhere else on Earth. Few people knew it better than the pioneering primatologist and conservationist, Alison Jolly. Thank You, Madagascar is her eyewitness account of the extraordinary biodiversity of Madagascar, and the environment of its people.

At the book's heart is a conflict between three different views of nature. Is the extraordinary forest treasure-house of Madagascar a heritage for the entire world? Is it a legacy of the forest dwellers' ancestors, bequeathed to serve the needs of their living descendants? Or is it an economic resource to pillage for short-term gain, to be preserved only to deliver benefits for those with political power?

Exploring and questioning these different views, this is a beautifully written diary and a tribute to Madagascar.



Zed's 2014 Highlights


Assata: An Autobiography

Digital Inspection Service
Assata: An Autobiography republished with foreword from Angela Davis and launch event at Black Cultural Archives

After more than a decade of civil rights activism with the Black Panthers and the Black Liberation Army, Assata was convicted for the murder of a New Jersey state trooper in 1973.  Escaping from maximum security prison in 1979, she has been a fugitive ever since.  In 2013 she became the first ever woman to make the FBI's most wanted terrorist list.

The Assata: An Autobiography book launch not only a beautiful evening of music, readings and spoken word, but opened up a powerful debate between Zena Edwards, Daniel Maitlin and Esther Stanford-Xosei in a panel chaired by Akala. They passionately voiced their opinions on black struggle, the dangers of being a revolutionary, concepts of democracy and on physical resistance.

Watch the launch here.

  


A Kingdom in Crisis

Digital Inspection Service

A Kingdom In Crisis  banned in Thailand as a threat to 'stability, order and good morality'

Back in November, Andrew MacGregor Marshall's A Kingdom in Crisis: Thailand's Struggle for Democracy in the Twenty-First Century was banned by Thailand's
National Police General Somyot Poompanmoug, carrying with it a potential jail sentence and a fine of 60,000 baht (£1,160).

The book gives a comprehensive analysis of the current crisis in Thailand, noting that Freedom of Speech is routinely denied, democracy is looking increasingly distant, and many Thais fear that the death of current King, Bhumibol Adulyadej, will unleash even greater instability.

A Kingdom in Crisis was launched 12th November at London's Frontline Club. The panel consisted of author Andrew MacGregor Marshall along with two academics, Eugénie Mérieau and Claudio Soppranzetti, and labour rights activist Junya 'Lek' Yimptasert.  Mérieau argued that he is not committed to the survival of the institution, whilst Soppranzetti noted that A Kingdom in Crisis is "saying out loud what we are all thinking."  Yimprasert, who joined the panel via Skype also argued that 'the monarch contradicts with democracy.'


Watch the discussion here



Critique. Influence.                    Change.


Digital Inspection Service
Critique. Influence. Change. Series Launched

The Critique. Influence. Change. series launched this year and brings together pivotal texts by notable academics and activists from Zed Books’ publishing of the last thirty-five years. Paradigm-changing when first published, these books have retained and often grown in their relevance. Over time, their calls for the rejection of neoliberal economics and policies - be that in the developing world then or developed world now - their vision for a world of greater equality, and their advocacy of alternatives to global capitalism have lost none of their importance. On the contrary, read again with hindsight they offer clear alternatives and calls to action.

Each title has been prefaced by a leading scholar in its field. Beautifully designed, and available at an attractive £12.99 for the first time, these books constitute a library for change for students, activists and the politically passionate.
Watch the launch here.
    


Best of 2014
Feminism and                            Men
Bread, Freedom, Social Justice
Killing Hope
Leadership in the                                              Cuban Revolution




America's Deadliest                                              Export
Girl Trouble
The Radical Imagination
Confessions of a                                              Terrorist




Digital Inspection Service
ZED DIGITAL ACADEMIC INSPECTION COPY SERVICE
Teaching academics wishing to consider a Zed title as an essential text or recommended reading for students on relevant courses can now request access to an online digital reading copy of published books. Simply follow the link from the individual book pages on www.zedbooks.co.uk, register with the service and you can have access for up to three books simultaneously for the period of a month. We hope you will find the system simple and efficient. If you have any difficulties contact rights@zedbooks.net


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Zed Books is a critical and dynamic publisher, run as a cooperative and committed to increasing awareness of important international issues and to promoting diversity, alternative voices and progressive social change. We publish on politics, development, gender, the environment and economics for a global audience of students, academics, activists and general readers.


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