WINNER "Best New Title" in Utne Reader's Alternative Press Awards! New Perspectives on Politics,, Culture, Media and Life April/May 2001 New World Water Consumption, Contamination, and Scarcity The' Siege of Toledo DaimlerChrysler and Anti-Capitalism Welcoming George W. Bush Protesting the Inauguration The Criminalization of Anarchism Lessons from American History ighting theTTAA • Submission Hold • Media Credibility InferrjaMJjoise Brigade • Subverting the Service Industry "74470"96769""9 www clamormagazine org V. Vale and Re/Search • Lungfish • Gynomite • and more! There is an antidote to the homogenized, 57 channels and nothing's on, no-calorie, sanitized for your protection, lowest-common-denominator world. The antidote is called The Well. An online gathering place like no other. A sanctuary where sharp, impassioned dialogue and the lost art of conversation trump the sound bite. Where substance is celebrated over style and the currency is ideas. Where members put their real names to their commentary. All in an environment that is refreshingly free of advertising. For 16 years, those with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and a healthy skepticism of the status quo have called The Well home. To find out more, go to www.well.com/clamor THE W(^>LL LOG ON SMART. LOG OFF WISE. "I think the main thing a musician would like to do is to give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things he knows of and senses in the universe." -John Coltrane We think CLAMOR Magazine paints a picture of the world that is rarely found in other maga- zines. Why is this? Because every other month. we publish the stories, opinions, ideas, and art of everyday people who make this world the vi- brant work-in-progress that it is. However, this approach does not guarantee us success in the mainstream magazine world, and we rely on subscribers and donations to continue publishing CLAMOR. If you enjoy reading this magazine, please con- sider purchasing a special sponsor subscrip- tion for yourself or a friend. With your help, we can continue publishing a magazine that is rel- evant, interesting and necessary in a time of dumbed-down mainstream media. With your sponsor subscription, you will not only receive six issues of truly independent media, you will also receive a 8.5 x 11 mosaic print of John Coltrane done by the artist Nino Russo that is suitable for framing. Thanks for your support! return this coupon to start your sponsor subscription and receive a free Coltrane print! i 1 OConsider me a supporter of independent media! Enclosed is my payment for a sponsor subscription: o$50 o$100 o$200 o$ Please charge my Visa/Mastercard for the above amount. exp. / (mo/yr) Please send my subscription and "Coltrane" print to: address email (optional) Return this coupon to: CLAMOR MAGAZINE PO BOX 1225 BOWLING GREEN OH 43402 1 EDITORS 1. New World Water Jen Angel Jason Kucsma From Barron 's aptly named "Precious Liquid" feature in their most recent issue to Mos Def's song "New PROOFREADERS World Water" (from the Black On Both Sides album), water is a hot topic these days. While the former pro- Tony Cavaltario, Hal Hixson, Phil Motion claims water as the next big commodity for venture capitalists to cash in on, the latter laments "used to be Sickness, Scott Puckett, Martha Riecks. free, now it costs you a fee." Will the environmental damage we've done to our water supplies create a world Kristen Schmidt. Mike Wendling where those with the most fresh water will rule? And will water shortages instigate war' We've decided to focus this issue on water because these days are not far away. Already Middle Eastern LAYOUT & DESIGN and African countries are fighting over water supplies, while bottled water is one of the largest beverage Jen Angel • Jason Kucsma growth industries in the West. The scarcity of safe drinking water isn't just an issue for developing countries. (Sub)urban sprawl is threatening drinking supplies by stifling plant cover and wetlands with asphalt and COVER PHOTO modular housing. In rural areas, like the one CLAMOR hails from, the water supply is contaminated by the courtesy of Dustin Amery Hostetler obscene amount of pesticides and herbicides absorbed into the earth and drained off into the water supply. What you'll read here in CLAMOR is the real-life, down-to-earth version of how water consumption, ADVERTISING contamination, and scarcity affects each one of us: from Brian Matthews' story about water contamination rates and deadlines available upon possibly contributing to the premature birth of his child, to the advent of caffemated water, to examples of request, please call 419-353-7035 how we all live, work, and play around this most basic of liquids. Sunfrog's column on living in rural America PRINTING: reminds us how much we take basic plumbing for granted, while Theo Witsell's article on the winter's ice storms the destructive of water. Beth Barnett explains of history Dartmouth Printing Co., Hanover, NH shows us power some the and process of P: 603-643-2220 /F: 603-643-5408 treating our water supplies while Martha Riecks reflects on the cultural phenomenon of water filtration and bottled water. WEB DESIGN: All in all, water is now, most certainly, a commodity, co-opted by corporations and turned into water Derek Hogue parks and bottled water or redirected from it's natural course to serve the needs of economic privilege. One thing that shouldn't be lost in the discussion of water ownership and commodification is that this life source MISC ILLUSTRATIONS: should be a commons for all. In the words of Jean Roberts (author of Water is a Commons) "If access to water Nate Powell. Shawn Granton, JT Yost, were to be governed by the law of scarcity, its price would skyrocket in such a way that the poor would not get Dead Stars a drop of it. Even if it seems wise to impose high water tariffs on industries, agribusiness and private over- consumers, the poor's access to gratuitous water must be guaranteed." CLAMOR is a bi-monthly magazine. Single copies are $4 ppd and 6 issue subscrip- 2. Why Corporate Marketing Firms Are Parasites at the Bottom of the Food Chain. tions are $18 ppd in the US (Outside of the US single issues are $6 and 6-issue Recently, the PBS news program Frontline aired an episode called "Merchants of Cool." discussing how subscription is $25 in US Funds). Checks advertising interacts and influences culture, primarily in the United States. It's no secret that there is virtu- may be made payable to Become The ally no distinction between "art" and product when it comes to mainstream music, television and even film to Media. some extent What is startling is exactly how intimate marketing executives and the culture creators (nice ring to it, eh?) are with each other. "Merchants of Cool" detailed exactly how marketing executives have perfected BACK ISSUES are available for the a well-honed machine that targets the disposable income of youths not by cultivating brand loyalty, but by standard single copy rate. commodifying the elusive element of "coolness." By latching onto the "cool kids." marketers can claim own- DISTRIBUTION: ership of the next cool thing and simultaneously cannibalize it. making it "uncool" as soon as they get their CLAMOR is distributed to stores and hands on it. Only in American consumer culture could such planned obsolescence be considered successful. distributors by Big Top Newsstand Throughout the entire episode of Frontline, you get the feeling that teens and young adults are all Services, 2729 Mission Street Suite 201, dupes of marketing gurus. The narrator asks if there is any room for kids to create a culture of their own. and San Francisco, CA 941 10-3131 we both thought about our readers and contributors as the kids and adults that are making their own way in [email protected] this increasingly mediated culture. That is what CLAMOR is all about, as well as zines. underground music of all kinds, and activism. Listening to a marketing director at Sprite lay claim to hip hop's popularity is enough CLAMOR is also available through these to make anyone puke, but fortunately there are people like you to counterbalance such crass consumerism. fine distribution outlets: AK Press, Armadillo, Gordon & Gotch, Ingram, Media 3 May Day Solutions. Milhgan, Newborn, RPM, Small Changes, Stickfigure. Tower, Tree of Although we don't have any articles specifically about May Day. this May 1 is a good time for each of us Knowledge, and Ubiquity. to sit down and consider what role work plays in our lives. As we have both fluctuated between hopelessly unemployed and horribly overemployed in the last year (yeah, three jobs at once isn't necessarily a good idea), Do you sell CLAMOR at your indepen- we've had time to reflect on what work means to us. Neither of us is earning a living off of CLAMOR at this dently-owned store? Let us know and we'll point, though we will welcome the opportunity when it presents itself Dissing work as a drain on our lives is list you on our website! often dismissed as laziness or lack of motivation, but the critique runs deeper. Many of us would work our fingers to the bone if it were meaningful work that captured our interests and expressed our creativity while also having a direct impact on our selves and our communities So. this May 1. take a moment to reflect on how your work is or could be meaningful and fulfilling As always, thanks for reading.