Published Library Journal, June 15, 2011, under "Nonfiction, Economics."
Ferrara, Peter. America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb: How the Looming Debt Crisis Threatens the American Dream—and How We Can Turn the Tide Before It’s Too Late. Broadside. Jun. 2011. c.448p. ISBN 9780062025777. $25.99. ECON
Beyond an economic warning, this is an ambitious roadmap to economic reform and recovery for America. Voluminous statistics, numerous sources, and substantive issues make the book extremely credible. Readers will find explanations of the 2008 financial crisis and proposals to improve the situation. They will also be disabused of media distortions and inconsistencies that mislead the public’s economic understanding. Ferrara (President Obama’s Tax Piracy)—director of the Institute for Policy Innovation, former Reagan White House Office of Policy Development member, and former associate deputy attorney general under the first President Bush—outlines the calamitous path America has traveled and proposes multiple reforms that need both liberals’ and conservatives’ attention to avoid detonating the bankruptcy bomb. The reforms repeatedly demonstrate how present policies hurt poor and low-income Americans; restrain economic growth; endanger health care, education, Social Security, pensions, and states; and create disincentives that cause increased welfare enrollment, crime, and counterproductive activities. A comparison with Chilean Social Security, for example, shows U.S. ineptitude. Ferrara’s plea: “Can we talk?” VERDICT: Enlightening for serious readers, politicians, and those concerned about America’s future.—Joanne B. Conrad, Geneseo, NY
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
MAGAZINE REVIEW, Social Policy, Newpages.com
Published 6/15/11:
Social PolicyVolume 41 Number 1
Spring 2011
Quarterly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
Unless one is a regular reader of Social Policy magazine, there may be some confusion, despite Wade Rathke's "Publisher’s note." He says the Spring 2011 issue is “in perfect harmony with the heart and spirit needed in these times, despite the challenges of adversity…and challenges of our…heroic strengths and weaknesses.” If Social Policy is “[the] key site for intellectual exchange among progressive academics and activists from across the United States and beyond,” it would be instructive and helpful to say so in the boilerplate masthead or logo. Their website says, “Social Policy seeks to inform and report on the work of labor and community organizers who build union and constituency-based groups, run campaigns, and build movements for social justice, economic equality, and democratic participation in the U.S. and around the world.” Again, why not say so in the magazine? Its cover does include "Organizing for Social and Economic Justice."
The articles about the United Farm Workers’ Union purges and a forty-year-old transcribed talk by Cesar Chavez are distracting. Perhaps explaining that the first two articles were historical might have helped. The first article about UFW purges, with no dates, contains twelve footnotes, but the cited references are nowhere to be found—which seems to be the publication's modus operandi as they are missing in other articles as well.
On the other hand, the articles "Social Justice Unionism," by Bill Fletcher, Jr. and Fernando Gapasin, and "The Theory of Comparative Advantage, Why It is Wrong," by Ian Fletcher are well-written and enlightening, although sometimes abstruse. Again 32 footnotes are missing cited references in the latter article.
"The Maharashtra Model" in India, by Wade Rathke, meanders about before making its point that it, Canada, and New York State are models for organizing informal workers, e.g. lower-paid workers and others. Again, footnotes are not identified.
Five other articles "Radical: A Portrait of Saul Alinsky" by Nicholas Von Hoffman; "Learning from Poverty in Canada and the U. K." by Amy Leaman; "Public Employees and the Public Interest" by Philip Mattera; "Egypt: First Cut Off the Internet" by Noorin Ladhani; and "Backstory" about the Gamaliel Foundation, a faith-based community organization, by Wade Rathke round out the issue.
Slick, with heavy gloss pages (which are expensive), Social Policy is informative if one has time and perseverance to read and elicit the information. As a quarterly, that may provide enough time. It contains minimal, but relevant, photos and artwork, but credit is missing for the back cover artwork about Wisconsin's union protests. This is not written for mass consumption, but, rather, for organizers and other progressive elitists.
[www.socialpolicy.org]
Social PolicyVolume 41 Number 1
Spring 2011
Quarterly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
Unless one is a regular reader of Social Policy magazine, there may be some confusion, despite Wade Rathke's "Publisher’s note." He says the Spring 2011 issue is “in perfect harmony with the heart and spirit needed in these times, despite the challenges of adversity…and challenges of our…heroic strengths and weaknesses.” If Social Policy is “[the] key site for intellectual exchange among progressive academics and activists from across the United States and beyond,” it would be instructive and helpful to say so in the boilerplate masthead or logo. Their website says, “Social Policy seeks to inform and report on the work of labor and community organizers who build union and constituency-based groups, run campaigns, and build movements for social justice, economic equality, and democratic participation in the U.S. and around the world.” Again, why not say so in the magazine? Its cover does include "Organizing for Social and Economic Justice."
The articles about the United Farm Workers’ Union purges and a forty-year-old transcribed talk by Cesar Chavez are distracting. Perhaps explaining that the first two articles were historical might have helped. The first article about UFW purges, with no dates, contains twelve footnotes, but the cited references are nowhere to be found—which seems to be the publication's modus operandi as they are missing in other articles as well.
On the other hand, the articles "Social Justice Unionism," by Bill Fletcher, Jr. and Fernando Gapasin, and "The Theory of Comparative Advantage, Why It is Wrong," by Ian Fletcher are well-written and enlightening, although sometimes abstruse. Again 32 footnotes are missing cited references in the latter article.
"The Maharashtra Model" in India, by Wade Rathke, meanders about before making its point that it, Canada, and New York State are models for organizing informal workers, e.g. lower-paid workers and others. Again, footnotes are not identified.
Five other articles "Radical: A Portrait of Saul Alinsky" by Nicholas Von Hoffman; "Learning from Poverty in Canada and the U. K." by Amy Leaman; "Public Employees and the Public Interest" by Philip Mattera; "Egypt: First Cut Off the Internet" by Noorin Ladhani; and "Backstory" about the Gamaliel Foundation, a faith-based community organization, by Wade Rathke round out the issue.
Slick, with heavy gloss pages (which are expensive), Social Policy is informative if one has time and perseverance to read and elicit the information. As a quarterly, that may provide enough time. It contains minimal, but relevant, photos and artwork, but credit is missing for the back cover artwork about Wisconsin's union protests. This is not written for mass consumption, but, rather, for organizers and other progressive elitists.
[www.socialpolicy.org]
MAGAZINE REVIEW, Anarchy, Newpages.com
Published 6/15/11:
Anarchy A Journal of Desire Armed
Issue 70/71
Biannual
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
Published by C.A.L. Press, Berkeley, CA, Anarchy purports to "Disarm authority! Arm your Desires! with provocative, creative, and critical anti-authoritarian discourse and art."
The editor's "On the Winter of Wikileaks" comments on the "glut of disinformation," including Wikileaks' "uncensored and unvarnished truth" and that the "mythical Public…is so inured to talking heads spoonfeeding them soundbites that it remains questionable…whether unfiltered information can be…any use for radical challenges to statecraft." "Inside Anarchy" decries the demise of a related publication, Counterpoise, and appeals for help from contributors, subscribers, et al. Three appraisals are also cited in this issue of The Coming Insurrection, a French document by an anonymous The Invisible Committee, for which some French were arrested and later released, and promises two more reviews in issue 72. Egypt, Greece, England, and other uprisings are cited as "against all manifestations of entrenched bureaucracy and dictatorship [that] make anarchists happy."
The first review of TCI (The Coming Insurrection) by Lupus Dragonowl, aims to "develop insurrectionary anti-politics into a movement actually able to destroy global capitalism." The second review by Lawrence Jarach critiques a book about TCI by Chris Spannos that Jarach says contains "apoplectic and delirious rantings.” The third review of TCI by Wolf Landstreicher says, "the book is not anarchist; it is communist." Well, maybe issue 72 will clarify.
A "Recent Events" article, "On Violence Against the Police," in England, says "Someone has to say it: mass violence against the police is necessary as part of any social struggle….The reason is simple: the police defend the state unconditionally, the state defends capital unconditionally, and capital attacks us without remorse."
In addition to sections for recent events, book reviews, essays, columns, and letters, Anarchy contains media reviews of sister alternative magazines such as Anarchist Studies, The Anvil Review, Arena One: On Anarchist Cinema, The Authoritarian Artist, Brief History of the Working Class, Cabal-Argot, Come Hell or High Water, Fire to the Prisons, The Laugh of the Medusa, and This is Not a Love Story.
Dali-esque or Dali-grotesque artwork by Bernard Dumaine, Christian Edler, Karena Karras, Peter Van Oostzanen, Rodney Gee, Ton Haring, and others, hard to decipher, is interspersed throughout. Recognizable were distortions of Madame Defarge (Dickens's Tale of Two Cities) and Dorothea Lange’s famous picture of Florence Owens Thompson of the Great Depression. One wonders if the artists ever title their works as they must have messages. To Anarchy's credit, they do identify all artists.
Rounding out the issue are eight pages of "Letters" and four "Columns," decrying a September 24th FBI raid, saying, "We encourage anarchists to stand with the victims of these actions, for it will only be a matter of time until the FBI targets anarchists again in their quest to silence those who dissent against the global capitalist system" and "It is the U.S. government that operates as an empire with military occupations of countries all over the world…and underwriting oppression." John Zernan writes in "Love" that our "affective state is the very texture and timbre of our lives" and that "every political struggle is an affective one." Spencer Sunshine writes a review of Nietzsche and the anarchist tradition and says "give me…a social anarchism that engages with, and is inspired by the thoughts of Frederich Nietzsche."
It is a magazine of dissent and sometimes nebulous philosophies for elitist audiences, and, as one letter writer says, "Time for a serious Anarchist-Communist attempt at a solution to the current crisis or we might as well just listen to the preachers tell us everything depends on Jesus or Obama or head for the hills."
[www.anarchymag.org]
Anarchy A Journal of Desire Armed
Issue 70/71
Biannual
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
Published by C.A.L. Press, Berkeley, CA, Anarchy purports to "Disarm authority! Arm your Desires! with provocative, creative, and critical anti-authoritarian discourse and art."
The editor's "On the Winter of Wikileaks" comments on the "glut of disinformation," including Wikileaks' "uncensored and unvarnished truth" and that the "mythical Public…is so inured to talking heads spoonfeeding them soundbites that it remains questionable…whether unfiltered information can be…any use for radical challenges to statecraft." "Inside Anarchy" decries the demise of a related publication, Counterpoise, and appeals for help from contributors, subscribers, et al. Three appraisals are also cited in this issue of The Coming Insurrection, a French document by an anonymous The Invisible Committee, for which some French were arrested and later released, and promises two more reviews in issue 72. Egypt, Greece, England, and other uprisings are cited as "against all manifestations of entrenched bureaucracy and dictatorship [that] make anarchists happy."
The first review of TCI (The Coming Insurrection) by Lupus Dragonowl, aims to "develop insurrectionary anti-politics into a movement actually able to destroy global capitalism." The second review by Lawrence Jarach critiques a book about TCI by Chris Spannos that Jarach says contains "apoplectic and delirious rantings.” The third review of TCI by Wolf Landstreicher says, "the book is not anarchist; it is communist." Well, maybe issue 72 will clarify.
A "Recent Events" article, "On Violence Against the Police," in England, says "Someone has to say it: mass violence against the police is necessary as part of any social struggle….The reason is simple: the police defend the state unconditionally, the state defends capital unconditionally, and capital attacks us without remorse."
In addition to sections for recent events, book reviews, essays, columns, and letters, Anarchy contains media reviews of sister alternative magazines such as Anarchist Studies, The Anvil Review, Arena One: On Anarchist Cinema, The Authoritarian Artist, Brief History of the Working Class, Cabal-Argot, Come Hell or High Water, Fire to the Prisons, The Laugh of the Medusa, and This is Not a Love Story.
Dali-esque or Dali-grotesque artwork by Bernard Dumaine, Christian Edler, Karena Karras, Peter Van Oostzanen, Rodney Gee, Ton Haring, and others, hard to decipher, is interspersed throughout. Recognizable were distortions of Madame Defarge (Dickens's Tale of Two Cities) and Dorothea Lange’s famous picture of Florence Owens Thompson of the Great Depression. One wonders if the artists ever title their works as they must have messages. To Anarchy's credit, they do identify all artists.
Rounding out the issue are eight pages of "Letters" and four "Columns," decrying a September 24th FBI raid, saying, "We encourage anarchists to stand with the victims of these actions, for it will only be a matter of time until the FBI targets anarchists again in their quest to silence those who dissent against the global capitalist system" and "It is the U.S. government that operates as an empire with military occupations of countries all over the world…and underwriting oppression." John Zernan writes in "Love" that our "affective state is the very texture and timbre of our lives" and that "every political struggle is an affective one." Spencer Sunshine writes a review of Nietzsche and the anarchist tradition and says "give me…a social anarchism that engages with, and is inspired by the thoughts of Frederich Nietzsche."
It is a magazine of dissent and sometimes nebulous philosophies for elitist audiences, and, as one letter writer says, "Time for a serious Anarchist-Communist attempt at a solution to the current crisis or we might as well just listen to the preachers tell us everything depends on Jesus or Obama or head for the hills."
[www.anarchymag.org]
MAGAZINE REVIEW, Adbusters, @ Newpages.com.
Published 6/15/11.
Adbusters Journal of the Mental Environment
The Philosophy Issue
Number 95
May/June 2011
Bimonthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
This issue of Adbusters, subtitled POST—with an Arabic word insertion—WEST, is at first glance an irreverent avant-garde (the publishers probably think using avant-garde is passé) mish-mash of advertisements, graphics, photographs, art, essays, book excerpts, observations, and poetry about economics, capitalism, politics, jihad, revolution, militarism, overpopulation, aquaculture, genetic modification, anarchy, and you name it.
It is an alternative way for "a global network of culture jammers and creatives working to change the way information flows, the way corporations wield power, and the way meaning is produced in our society." It would help a new reader if somewhere in the journal was included their website concern "about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces" at www.adbusters.org. Based in Vancouver, BC, Adbusters is a non-profit and claims a circulation of 120,000, "dedicated to examining the relationship between human beings and their physical and mental environment." At second glance, it provides both provocative and thoughtful observations.
This issue's contents, in very nontraditional form, are "What Matters in Life, Jihad (Striving), What Matters in Death, How do I Love? and How can we be of service to one another in the world?” Seven other content titles are in either Arabic or Hebrew, so one needs an interpreter. Ads by Versace, Burberry, Boeing, Casio, Coca Cola, Lexapro (an antidepressant), Goldman Sachs, and Vogue are included as counterpoint to tradition.
Essays about military drones, enhanced interrogation, sovereign wealth funds buying cheap land in underdeveloped countries, pollution, population control, and advertising evils are included. A Finnish writer, Pentii Linkola, in "A Demographic Plan," calls for the licensing of procreation, saying every woman should be allowed to bear only one child. Perhaps he overlooks the demographic need for fertility for workers to pay for old age benefits.
A more extended essay about Beijing, China in 2010, titled "and then it hit me…in the future…we will all be Chinese," by Charles Humphrey says it is the end of the world and that Beijing is Ground Zero, a "collapse of order and reason." It is:
development without progress, change without context, work without purpose. This is the end of our psychic world… We like to accuse the Chinese government of withholding the rule of law, to blame them for the impoverishment of the Chinese spirit and eradication of 5000 years of Chinese culture. The reality is that the Chinese are merely very fast learners. Western societies have developed and imposed a model of social organization on the world that is devoid of the conceptual distinctions that are central to creating meaningful social and psychic content… Beijing is the End of the World not because China is the future, but because in the future we have chosen to pursue, we will all be Chinese.
There are diatribes against consumption, foreign aid, even old age, and a call for revolution against corporatocracy akin to the American revolution for independence from Great Britain. An essay about the Qur'an promoting "compassion, justice, and equity" is puzzling.
The mag eschews any stated goal and prints text on dark backgrounds, making it difficult to read. Its masthead information is at the back of the journal. It is very thorough about providing credit to contributors, although one wonders if advertisements require any attributions. If it clearly purported its objectives, it would be a valuable contribution to increasing intellectual dialog for concerned persons.
[www.adbusters.org]
Adbusters Journal of the Mental Environment
The Philosophy Issue
Number 95
May/June 2011
Bimonthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
This issue of Adbusters, subtitled POST—with an Arabic word insertion—WEST, is at first glance an irreverent avant-garde (the publishers probably think using avant-garde is passé) mish-mash of advertisements, graphics, photographs, art, essays, book excerpts, observations, and poetry about economics, capitalism, politics, jihad, revolution, militarism, overpopulation, aquaculture, genetic modification, anarchy, and you name it.
It is an alternative way for "a global network of culture jammers and creatives working to change the way information flows, the way corporations wield power, and the way meaning is produced in our society." It would help a new reader if somewhere in the journal was included their website concern "about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces" at www.adbusters.org. Based in Vancouver, BC, Adbusters is a non-profit and claims a circulation of 120,000, "dedicated to examining the relationship between human beings and their physical and mental environment." At second glance, it provides both provocative and thoughtful observations.
This issue's contents, in very nontraditional form, are "What Matters in Life, Jihad (Striving), What Matters in Death, How do I Love? and How can we be of service to one another in the world?” Seven other content titles are in either Arabic or Hebrew, so one needs an interpreter. Ads by Versace, Burberry, Boeing, Casio, Coca Cola, Lexapro (an antidepressant), Goldman Sachs, and Vogue are included as counterpoint to tradition.
Essays about military drones, enhanced interrogation, sovereign wealth funds buying cheap land in underdeveloped countries, pollution, population control, and advertising evils are included. A Finnish writer, Pentii Linkola, in "A Demographic Plan," calls for the licensing of procreation, saying every woman should be allowed to bear only one child. Perhaps he overlooks the demographic need for fertility for workers to pay for old age benefits.
A more extended essay about Beijing, China in 2010, titled "and then it hit me…in the future…we will all be Chinese," by Charles Humphrey says it is the end of the world and that Beijing is Ground Zero, a "collapse of order and reason." It is:
development without progress, change without context, work without purpose. This is the end of our psychic world… We like to accuse the Chinese government of withholding the rule of law, to blame them for the impoverishment of the Chinese spirit and eradication of 5000 years of Chinese culture. The reality is that the Chinese are merely very fast learners. Western societies have developed and imposed a model of social organization on the world that is devoid of the conceptual distinctions that are central to creating meaningful social and psychic content… Beijing is the End of the World not because China is the future, but because in the future we have chosen to pursue, we will all be Chinese.
There are diatribes against consumption, foreign aid, even old age, and a call for revolution against corporatocracy akin to the American revolution for independence from Great Britain. An essay about the Qur'an promoting "compassion, justice, and equity" is puzzling.
The mag eschews any stated goal and prints text on dark backgrounds, making it difficult to read. Its masthead information is at the back of the journal. It is very thorough about providing credit to contributors, although one wonders if advertisements require any attributions. If it clearly purported its objectives, it would be a valuable contribution to increasing intellectual dialog for concerned persons.
[www.adbusters.org]
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