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I wish a Happy 20th Birthday to Z and its entire team. This forum has been a great vehicle in apprising people of the recent happenings in the world and what I call the other side of the news, that which is not reported in the mainstream media. Z has meant a lot to me and it has enabled me to analyze the information from a different perspective. The articles have amazing content and are thought provoking. I was introduced to Z by one of my professors and I cannot be more thankful to him. Congrats once again. I hope you continue for many years to come. – Muhammad Bilal Don’t trust any magazine over 20—except Z. From its first issue to its most recent, it has maintained a combination of openness to new ideas and voices with an unswerving commitment to participatory democracy that goes beyond easy accommodations with class, race, and gender inequality. May Z never lose its sting. – Jeremy Brecher As a teacher I have to frame the world in order to teach about it. Z Magazine was the base I used to frame issues. The analysis put across by the various writers fitted me with new “lenses” to see the world. My responsibilities as a teacher expanded. I became more than an educator, I became an instigator, an agitator, an organizer. Over the years I have felt isolated and misunderstood;Z and particularly Noam Chomsky, has been my beacon and lifejacket. In the darkest times it lights the way. Thanks, Z. You opened a world to me that no other magazine could have. You assumed that I could understand complex ideas and arguments. I benefited from this and my students have benefited also. You have been my “peer tutor.” I can’t believe it’s been 20 years. – Brock Brown, teacher Congratulations—twenty years is quite an achievement, but it feels like you’re probably yet to reach your prime. So keep going. What an inspiration Z Magazine, and ZNet, has been to me and to Media Lens. It’s an important resource to anyone who cares about peace, social justice, humanity, compassion, and the state of the planet. As we Scots say, “Lang may yer lum reek.” – David Cromwell I first heard Noam Chomsky speak in August 2001 on Cape Cod. At the time, Chomsky’s central concern was so-called missile defense. He mentioned that much of the publicly available evidence he cited was almost never reported in the U.S.—except with rare exceptions like Z Magazine. Aghast with my own ignorance, I hastened to read Z. What I found was an ethic of uncontroversial evidence toward intellectually honest discussion. Z has been the single essential oasis of uninterrupted sanity. As hysteria engulfed nearly every media outlet in America (and up here, in Canada) after 9/11, I continually harken to the Z cover of October 2001. It was all text and it expressed sympathy with and compassion for those affected and then expressed the need for clear-headedness, especially in times of emotional distress. Without exception, Z Magazine has since stood alone as the most important and clear-headed resource of evidence-based, determined, and uncompromising journalism raging against intellectual dishonesty. May its spirit remain strong. – Darren Gilmour As one of the proud editors of Z Magazine for the Balkans (a Z Affiliate at www.freedomfight.net), I could say so much about our exciting new adventure. I will limit myself, however, to saying that our part of the Z family is widely read in the countries of former Yugoslavia. It has even been declared “inappropriate” for sensitive Croatian readers. Z Balkans already represents, after only three issues in print, an important part of the Balkan Left. So, in the name of all of us proudly participating in Z politics here in the Balkan countries—happy birthday. – Andrej Grubacic Z helped me educate myself. What’s more empowering than that? – Adam Hammick I am a theater activist and a regular reader and sharer of the materials of Z. It’s a great place for me to get information, perspectives, and ideas in order to enrich my groups’ activities. I am very grateful for Z. – S. Jeyasankar Z Magazine reaches people in places I suspect they never imagined they would, as it is thanks to Z that a young man with a huge heart and an open mind was able to stumble on their pages in the midst of rural Arkansas. Thanks to Z, I have grown into a social crusader. Thanks for everything and for twenty more years of reaching those who did not know your reach was needed. – Nathan Jones My gosh, where to begin. Z Magazine helps me stay sane in a world full of insane institutions. More, it presents thoughtful and critical analysis of existing institutional structures, a lively and rich discussion of better alternatives, and diverse strategies to get from here to there. To our movement for a better world, Z Magazine is a beacon of hope. Thanks. – Arash Kolahi Z has meant that the left has a continuing voice. In this dire era it means a lot to maintain such an organ of analysis and hope. – Saul Landau Congratulations on two decades of being an important voice on the left. – Joanne Landy It’s a great honor to be associated with Z. Its influence is felt on this side of the Atlantic and around the world. It has done a tremendous job in promoting issues that the media corporations have tried to stifle. Here’s to the next 20 years. – With my best wishes Z Magazine is a beacon of light across a murky political landscape. It offers a rich and diverse range of investigative journalism and progressive political analysis. With courage and dedication, it goes where few publications dare to tread. Happy Annniversary. – Michael Parenti Z Magazine and ZNet have helped me not to feel like a lone-thinker by providing the information and intellectual connectivity among all of us who do not wish to give up the dream for a better world. – Athan Petridis Congrats on 20 years. This is what Z means to me: When I get down about the status quo, I look to Z; when I get angry at the status quo, I look to Z; when I try to ignore and accept the status quo, I still look to Z. Most importantly, when I say “Let’s change the status quo,” I look to Z. – Michael Phoenix Z is more than a good friend and mentor, more like family, really. If I had to tell someone in one letter how to explain my political affiliation, that letter would be “Z.” For me, navigating political groups, conflicts, and situations in my own local world and trying to build solidarity with struggling people in distant countries, Z is home. Happy birthday. – Justin Podur At a gathering of volunteers for Jesse Jackson’s run for the presidency in 1988, someone had a magazine that intrigued me. It was Z. I have read it since. Z began as a movement magazine and it will always remain a movement magazine. Peace. – Vijay Prashad The history of the “birth” of ZMagazine was presented to the Greeks in the progressive magazine Anti in its May 31, 2002 issue. I cannot know the number of Greeks that were influenced by the Anti article, but I know that quite a number of serious journalists used the articles in Zto give a foundation of sanity and honesty in their work. My best wishes for all the people of Z. – Nikos Raptis Extraordinary—20 years resisting and challenging neoliberalism, 20 years constructing critical thinking and transformation, from the “belly of the beast” around the globe. – Carola Reintjes From the bowels of what was New York’s Garment District, in the place known as Gotham (or is it the new Babylon?), and just in time as we at Globalvision also mark our 20th year. We have special respect for those running this marathon with us, surviving to fight another day and staying true to their values and commitment to spreading truth. Congratulations to Z from a comrade in this struggle for a better world. May it come soon. – Dannny Schechter Just want to say “thank you” for the first 20 years. Z has always been a place where I have felt that I could get serious consideration for my writing and the opportunity to read and communicate with like-minded others. These 20 years would have been much worse without the hope, inspiration, and challenge presented by each of you and the community that has developed around the magazine and the website. – Kim Scipes Happy birthday, Z. Here’s to 20 more years of your relentlessly provocative, unstintingly radical pages. – Sonia Shah In this dark age of corporate, co-opted, and commercialized media, Z Magazine stands out as a shining reminder that a considerable number of radically anti-authoritarian journalists, commentators, scholars, editors, and activists refuse to compromise their principles. It remains committed to telling the truth about things that matter to people who care and are determined to create a just, democratic, participatory world. – Paul Street In an age of shortening attention spans and sound bite politics, Z has provided a unique forum for extended, thoughtful, radical analysis of the issues and movements of our times. Congratulations on 20 years of cutting-edge publishing. – Brian Tokar When I read my first issue of Z Magazine, I felt as if I’d discovered my own Rosetta Stone. I suddenly could see the world with new eyes and there was no turning back. Happy 20th Birthday—from one Z to another. – Mickey Z Z Magazine has been a unique and heroic oddity in the corrupt world of American journalism. It has been both topical and theoretical, always bold and independent. I have so often encountered people in various parts of the country whose one lifeline to sensible radical ideas was Z Magazine. Congratulations on battling the odds for 20 years. – Howard Zinn
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