Portside

• Re: Germany Votes, Wins and Losses (James Young)
• Re: Add It Up: The Average American Family Pays $6,000 a Year in Subsidies to Big Business (Leanna Noble)
• Re: Monsanto Spends Millions to Defeat Washington GMO Labeling Initiative (Laurel MacDowell)
• Re: Pope Rejects Church of 'Small-Minded Rules' in Jesuit Interview (Sharon Lehrer)
• Political Economy of the Environment -- URPE Conference in Brooklyn - Oct. 5
• A Message from Cynthia Nixon - Curriculum of Change Celebration - New York - Oct. 17
• New Populisms and the European Right and far Right Parties (new resource)

Re: Germany Votes, Wins and Losses

Victor Grossman's coverage of Germany's recent elections stands out for its thorough -- if necessarily brief -- look at the situation, a perspective sadly lacking in most other media outlets, including the BBC, which managed to stage a long, four-person review of the balloting and future possibilities without mentioning the Link Parties' emergence as the third-largest in votes or even listing it along the bottom of the TV screen with the CU, SD, and Greens.  We could benefit from an expansion on Grossman's analysis.  

James Young

Re: Add It Up: The Average American Family Pays $6,000 a Year in Subsidies to Big Business

Tell it! Fightback! Continue the Struggle for justice and peace for workers! Claim OUR future!

Leanna Noble
Posted on Portside's Facebook page
 

Re: Monsanto Spends Millions to Defeat Washington GMO Labeling Initiative

I find it disgusting that there are no limits on spending so that the process is fair to everyone. I find it offensive that Monsanto is so self-interested and doesn't give a damn about the public interest.

And I think people should use their consumer muscle and support local organic food, farmer's markets and other countercultural approaches so that these odious corporations lose business.

Laurel MacDowell
Toronto, Canada

Re: Pope Rejects Church of 'Small-Minded Rules' in Jesuit Interview

This pope is good.  We, of all faiths, need to protect him, circle him in a light of protection.

Sharon Lehrer

Political Economy of the Environment -- URPE Conference in Brooklyn - Oct. 5

POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE ENVIRONMENT

A Conference of the Union for Radical Political Economics Co-sponsored by New Politics

St. Francis College, Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, October 5, 2013

Registration includes lunch onsite and a wine & cheese reception following the programming.

We are living in a period of increasing environmental crisis and growing inequalities within and between the countries of the world. The obstacles to sustainable development and the equitable distribution of the products of our labor lie in the ways in which our political economic system operates. Understanding and challenging capitalism is therefore essential for the building of local, national and international environmental movements. The goal of this conference is both to clarify areas of agreement among progressive environmental activists and to promote friendly discussion of disagreements. Join us in these discussions!

For more information including online registration visit our website at urpe.org

• Preliminary Program
• Online Registration
• Facebook Event (please share!)
• Download Flyer (please post!)

A Message from Cynthia Nixon - Curriculum of Change Celebration - New York - Oct. 17

October 17, 2013
6pm Reception
7pm Program

United Federation of Teachers Building
52 Broadway (Between Rector and Morris Streets)
New York City
Trains: 4/5 to Wall Street or Bowling Green

Of all the characters I've played on stage and screen, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt is the one that I think of most when I am talking about my work with the Alliance for Quality Education. Just like AQE, Mrs. Roosevelt was a passionate advocate for children and to dismantle inequities across race and class lines. Throughout her many endeavors, she challenged us asking, "What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?"

AQE raises those stakes every day, fighting for more equitable funding for our schools, to promote quality teaching and community engagement and in support of programs like pre-K and extended learning time that ensure student success. AQE demands that none of New York's students are left behind to fail, that our schools don't fall short and that every student, regardless of race, income or zip code has access to high quality education.

My real life children are public school students in New York City and that's why I am proud to be involved with AQE as a parent activist.  I want them to keep growing, learning and succeeding in a state where all of our schools are A+ and where every student has the opportunity and support to achieve their fullest potential. That's the vision - that New York's schools cannot fail - that my family and I will be celebrating on October 17th at CURRICULUM OF CHANGE: CHAMPIONS OF EDUCATION. http://www.aqeny.org/champions-of-education/

Won't you join us?
 
Cynthia Nixon 

New Populisms and the European Right and far Right Parties (new resource)

New populisms are haunting Europe. These populisms are shaping the European political rights. Both in the West and in the East. These new waves of the old discriminations, from the social, cultural, political, racial etc. point of view, are sharpened by the new discriminations due to the changes in the contemporary world.

Download here.