Portside
Material of Interest to People on the Left
Portside
Material of Interest to People on the Left
Climate Change Causing New Refugee Crisis—Inside the US
Minneapolis Puts 'Defund the Police' to a Vote
The NIMBY Threat to Renewable Energy
Lessons From 50 Years Covering Foreign Policy
Global Left Midweek - Indigenous World
Big Pharma’s Democrats
We Need a Shorter Workweek to Free Us From the Tyranny
German Elections: Who With Whom Elections
UN Critical of Mass Expulsion of Haitian Asylum-Seekers
Media Bits and Bytes - September 21, 2021
Culture
books
Strong and Certain: On Deesha Philyaw’s “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies”
Los Angeles Review of Books
This award-winning collection of short stories, writes reviewer Simms, "stands within a tradition of writing that’s about the beauty and burden of Black life within oppressive social systems."
film
‘Fire Music’ Review: An Impassioned Case for Free Jazz
The New York Times
The beautiful souls that created free jazz — including Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry and Carla Bley — light up this new documentary from Tom Surgal.
food
On Salt and The Impossible Pursuit of Food Sanctity
From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy
Alicia Kenned who writes a weekly newsletter on food culture, politics, and media, says it’s no exaggeration that nostalgia can drive our food lives or that watching how someone salts their food tells quite a bit about their entire cooking philosophy
tv
Experts Explain What Physical Gets Right About Eating Disorders
Bustle
The new AppleTV+ series explores an aspect of eating disorders rarely depicted on TV.
poetry
Happy Hour
California poet Jerry Dyer captures the crazy rush for the good old days:
“voices mix wisdom with the lies./
Bars are filling their pulpits and their pews.”
books
United States of Amnesia. The Tulsa Massacre
London Review of Books
A noted historian digs deep into the latest work by an equally eminent scholar who spent much of his career fruitfully exposing the 1921 massacre of thousands of black Tulsa citizens. The book and the review coincided with the mass-murder’ centennial
books
The Kremlin Letters
The Guardian
This newly published edition of this exchange of letters between the leaders of the three major countries of the anti-fascist alliance sheds new light on an almost forgotten aspect of the World War II years.
Labor
labor
‘We’re Trying to Survive’: Workers Face Cuts as US Public Sector Lags in Recovery
The Guardian
About 815,000 jobs have been lost in the American public sector since the start of the pandemic and job recovery in the public sector has lagged behind the private sector.
labor
‘We’re Trying to Survive’: Workers Face Cuts as US Public Sector Lags in Recovery
The Guardian
Working in US public sector feels untenable for many amid lack of benefits, low pay and lack of general investment.
labor
Unions Squeeze Pro-Labor Priorities into Democrats’ Spending Bill
Yahoo/News
Tucked amid the investments in child care, higher education and clean energy are below-the-radar provisions that would make it easier for workers to organize.
labor
Labor Unions Were Occupy Wall Street’s Key, Forgotten, Conflicted Ally
Jacobin
The labor movement played a key role in the success of Occupy Wall Street. But the alliance of unions and Occupy never succeeded in reaching its full potential.
labor
After Voting Down Four Tentative Agreements, Washington Carpenters Strike
Labor Notes
After narrowly rejecting a contract offer, the union representing 11,600 working carpenters in Washington state is set to start a strike.
labor
Four Million Jobs
Economic Policy Institute
Budget reconciliation package and bipartisan infrastructure bill would support more than 4 million jobs per year
labor
The Future of Labor Is Growing in South Dakota
The New Republic
Kooper Caraway, the head of the state’s AFL-CIO, is done with thinking small.
Friday nite video
video
10 Years Since Occupy: What Did We Learn?
Ten years ago, Occupy Wall Street transformed American politics.
video
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America
Based on Jessica B. Harris’ award-winning book, High On The Hog traces the moving story of a people's survival and triumph via the food that has knit generations together and helped define the American kitchen.
video
9/11 and My Immigrant Experience | Hasan Minhaj
Hasan Minhaj talks about how racism impacts the immigrant experience in America.
video
The War in Afghanistan: What Else Should We Never Forget?
While Americans are supposed to “never forget” 9/11, many have already forgotten the needless civilian casualties and high costs that came with the war in Afghanistan. #DailyShow #TrevorNoah #Afghanistan
video
My Name Is Pauli Murray | Documentary
They are one of the most influential human rights advocates in American history. Told largely in Pauli’s own words, My Name is Pauli Murray is a candid recounting of a unique and extraordinary journey. Coming to theaters Sept 17, streaming on PrimeVideo Oct 1.
video
Rep. Barbara Lee: We Need an Afghan War Inquiry
Rep. Barbara Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the Afghan war. Now she shares how her worst fears about “forever wars” came true.
video
What Really Happened During the Attica Prison Rebellion | Orisanmi Burton
Dig into the Attica Prison Rebellion, where prisoners took control of the facility in response to inhumane living conditions, and the violent retaking that followed.
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