Information is power. Our mission at Portside is to seek out and to provide information that empowers you -- that empowers the left. Every day we search hundreds of sources to connect you with the most interesting, striking and useful material. Just once a year we appeal to you to contribute to make it possible to continue this work. Please help.

Reviving the Nuclear Disarmament Movement

Although a widespread movement has developed to fight climate change, no counterpart has emerged to take on the rising danger of nuclear disaster — yet.

US Accused of Obstructing Talks at UN Climate Summit

In a bruising speech before ministers and heads of state, Vanuatu’s foreign minister, Ralph Regenvanu, singled out the US as he excoriated major CO2-emitting developed countries for deliberately hindering negotiations.

How To Elect Democrats Who Actually Answer To Workers

The employer class has eviscerated workplace democracy over the past 40 years. Using many of the same weapons, they’ve got their sights set on civic elections.

The Sanders Institute's Gathering

It was a small conference with big ideas and a deep sense of urgency. "We need to do it all," said one attendee. "We just simply need to do it all." Note: There are many videos in the original Common Dreams article that are not reproduced here.

Media Bits and Bytes - December 11, 2018

Why CNN Fired Hill; Tech To Labor's Rescue; The Need For a Black Press; Regulating AI; News or Nonstop Lies?; Pretzels and Politics; NPR's Restless Temps

Why Immigration Reform Critical for Korea Americans

immigrants saying pledge of alligiance
Multiple news outlets and research centers have shown that the Asian undocumented population is growing faster than the Latin American undocumented population, which in recent years has actually shrunk.

Rational Actors

baby crib
In the United States, women face the prospect of becoming mothers without necessary social protections. Many decide it’s not worth the risk.

The Staggering Death Toll of the Post-9/11 Wars

devastation in Mosul, Iraq from bombings.
Brown University’s Costs of War Project this month released a new estimate of the total death toll from the U.S. wars in three countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Energy Transfer, Banks Lost Billions

anti-pipeline demonstration
These losses show how important it is for companies to fully account for environmental, social, and governance risks before projects get going,” Meaney said in a statement accompanying the report. “Social risks are clearly overlooked in the market.”

North Carolina’s Election Fiasco: Voter Suppression

Making voting harder would only make the problem worse.
Read more

Culture

Message for Portside Culture Readers: There's a Storm Ahead

Portside moderators Portside
We'd like to say that everyone can breathe easier after the midterm elections, which delivered an emphatic judgment on Trump and Trumpism. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this achievement in any way.

food

The Ten Best Books About Food of 2018

Rachel Tepper Paley Smithsonian Magazine
Ten titles from 2018 should satisfy readers hungry to learn more about the history and science of food, including why people around the world eat certain things, how to define “American” food, why some ingredients taste good with other ingredients.

books

The Missing Malcolm X

Garrett Felber Boston Review
Our understanding of Malcolm X is inextricably linked to his autobiography, but newly discovered materials force us to reexamine his legacy.

books

The War Before the War

David Holahan The Christian Science Monitor
The role of the enslaved in the political crisis that led to the Civil War is not as well known as it should be, but this volume adds to our knowledge on this topic.

Labor

labor

Defying Predictions, Union Membership Isn't Dropping Post-Janus

Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene Governing
The Supreme Court’s ruling was expected to diminish union membership. But so far, many unions have actually increased their numbers since the verdict. Conservative groups are working to reverse that trend in the long run.

labor

For Low-Wage Workers Fight For 15 Movement Has Been a Boon

Sarah Jones New York Magazine
Since Fight for 15 launched in 2012, the idea of a $15 minimum wage has become a popular cause for progressive activists, and an increasingly popular talking point for Democrats occupying or seeking elected office.

Friday nite video

video

Bernie's Ideas Aren't on the Fringe Any More

'Where We Go From Here' author and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders talks about the meaning of the midterm election his ideas about where the Democrats and the country need to go from here.

video

Line Riders | Beethoven's 5th

Over three months of painstaking hand drawing went into synchronizing this wild journey of a line rider track to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

video

Roma | Movie

Chronicles of a tumultuous year in the life of a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s. Exclusive Limited Theatrical Engagements on 11/21 and on Netflix 12/14. Full review here.

video

PETA: Don't Drag Us into This

 
Late Night writers Amber Ruffin and Jenny Hagel take a moment to ask PETA to rethink comparing phrases that mention cruelty to animals to racist and homophobic slurs.