The MAGA storming of the Capitol is one year old. The attempted coup is still happening. The reshaping of the Republican Party as an insurrectionary force and the expansion of armed gangs aim to smash democracy. Please help us to inform, to mobilize and to inspire the forces of multi-racial, radical, inclusive democracy to defeat this threat in 2022.

 

Trump's Muslim Travel Ban Changed Lives Worldwide

A HuffPost investigation found hundreds of immigration cases where the ban irrevocably affected life--and death.

In Oregon Addiction's Not a Crime: This Just Might Work

To reduce stigma and improve the addiction crisis, drug policy must be liberated from the idea that without criminal penalties, no one would ever quit drugs. In fact, arrest, incarceration and having a criminal record can exacerbate drug problems.

Toward a New Political Journalism

The “mainstream media” that is so often accused of being left-leaning is in fact painfully neutral and objective to a fault...that fault being an addiction to false equivalences and an inability and/or unwillingness to call a spade a spade.

Why Putin Doesn't Want to Accept Ukrainian Sovereignty

Underpinning Putin’s goal is Russia’s historical view of Ukraine as a part of its greater empire. Understanding this helps explain Putin’s actions, and how he leans into this to advance his agenda.

Global Left Midweek - January 26, 2022

Self-determination? Western encroachment? Understanding the Ukraine showdown, and other international reports

U.S. and Russian Threats Over Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony Blinken wants a one-way street where spheres of influence are concerned. The U.S., for him, has the right to wield influence everywhere, while others don’t.

Cryptocurrency Is a Giant Ponzi Scheme

Cryptocurrency is not merely a bad investment or speculative bubble. It’s worse than that: it’s a full-on fraud.

Striking Massachusetts Nurses Outwait Corporate Giant

In a year of health care workers organizing amid Covid surges and staffing shortages, St. Vincent nurses stood out for their willingness to strike indefinitely and for the discipline the strikers showed.

Is All This "Polarization" a Cause or a Symptom?

Mistrust of government and the tensions between segments of society have been intentionally constructed and aggravated. Once you recognize that, the solutions to the crises we truly face become more clear.

Media Bits and Bytes - International Tech News

Info tech leaving its mark everywhere
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Culture

books

Save By Books

Erica Wagner The Guardian
A Native American rebuilds her life after a prison sentence in this powerfully topical novel from the Pulitzer winner.

Your Last Opportunity: Let's Make Waves Together

Portside
The MAGA storming of the Capitol is one year old. The attempted coup is still happening. Please help us to inform, to mobilize and to inspire the forces of multi-racial, radical, inclusive democracy to defeat this threat in 2022.

food

The Legacy of Campbell Soup’s Tomato Breeding Program

Jeff Quattrone Modern Farmer
The prime growing area for Jersey tomatoes is a region now known as the Inner Coastal Plain, which covers more than 1,000 square miles in southern New Jersey, bordering the Delaware River to the west.

A Message of Hope and Alarm: 2022

Portside
The MAGA storming of the Capitol is one year old. The attempted coup is still happening. Please help us to inform, to mobilize and to inspire the forces of multi-racial, radical, inclusive democracy to defeat this threat in 2022.

poetry

Small Kindnesses

Danusha Laméris Healing the Divide
As plague years continue, California poet Danusha Laméris writes of “brief moments of exchange” that sustain hope and belief in what is holy.

Labor

labor

Alabama Amazon Workers Are About to Rerun Their Union Election

Alex N. Press Jacobin
A year ago, all eyes were on the unionization election at Amazon’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, where illegal union suppression tactics by Amazon helped sink the drive. Thanks to a court order, that vote is about to be rerun.

labor

Rest in Power Mike Parker, 1940-2022

Alexandra Bradbury Labor Notes
One of Mike’s major contributions was a critical examination of closely linked employer strategies that swept the country in the 1980s and 1990s: lean production, the team concept, and labor-management participation schemes.

labor

Weekly Toll: The Last Shift

Jordan Barab Confined Space
Fire engine on the street at night. On average, almost 100 workers are killed every day in the United States due to traumatic injuries suffered at work.   Ten times as many die from occupational diseases. The accounts below give you a taste of the PREVENTABLE carnage.

labor

The Pandemic as an Employment Shell Game

John Russo Working-Class Perspectives
Reports that focus on workers’ individual choices hide an important reality: corporations don’t want to take the fall for economic problems, but they are benefiting from new workplace practices. The employment shell game lets them off the hook.

Friday nite video

video

If Sharks Were Men by Bertolt Brecht

If sharks were men, would they be nicer to the little fishes? Certainly, they would build enormous boxes in the ocean for the little fish.

video

The Tragedy of Macbeth | Trailer

Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand star in Joel Coen’s bold adaptation of a timeless tale of murder, madness, and wrathful cunning.

video

David Byrne's American Utopia

A one-of-a-kind film directed by Spike Lee. Byrne is joined by an ensemble of 11 musicians, singers, and dancers from around the globe, inviting audiences into a joyous dream world. Now streaming.