Portside
Material of Interest to People on the Left
Portside
Material of Interest to People on the Left
Why Georgia Is Now on Everyone’s Mind
Agreement in Philadelphia Could Curb the Housing Crisis
Foreign Policy, Sacred Cows, and the U.S. Military
Millions of Americans Face Eviction and Hunger.
Dispatches From the Culture Wars - More Loose Ends
Victims of Nuclear Bomb Tests on U.S. Soil Seek Justice
Far Right Militias Recruiting Vets
‘Crime-free Housing’ Deepens Racial Disparity
A Washington Echo Chamber for a New Cold War
Pivot of U.S. Politics: Racial Justice and Democracy
Culture
film
The Mythic Whiteness of the Hillbilly
Boston Review
Ron Howard’s Netflix adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy continues a long tradition of seeing hillbillies as a symbol of pristine American whiteness. It’s the same nostalgia Trump has mobilized on the far right.
food
The Thanksgiving Myth Gets a Deeper Look This Year
The New York Times
For many Native Americans, the Covid-19 toll and the struggle over racial inequity make this high time to re-examine the holiday, and a cruel history.
tv
Avatar's Biggest Villain Was Really... Wealth Inequality?
CBR.com
Avatar made no secret of its political edge, but the distribution of wealth may be the franchise's most consistent target of criticism.
poetry
Hoax
Plainssong
Chicago poet Donna Pucciani speaks to the cruel conditions facing young refugees, the idea they are not even people.
books
The Long Shadow of Racial Fascism
Boston Review
Recent debates have centered on whether it’s appropriate to compare Trump to European fascists. But radical Black thinkers have long argued that racial slavery created its own unique form of American fascism.
books
The Whole Picture: The Colonial Story of the Art in Our Museums and Why We Need to Talk About It
Marx & Philosophy Review of Books
The grand art museum can serve as a productive source of instruction and insight into the history of colonialism, and the resistance to it, if you know how to look. This book can serve as a useful guide.
film
Brazen Hussies Review – Reclaiming the History of Australia's Women's Liberation Movement
The Guardian
Traversing the rise of second-wave feminism, Catherine Dwyer’s documentary is an important contribution to an overlooked past
Labor
labor
Secret Amazon Reports Expose the Company’s Surveillance of Labor and Environmental Groups
Vice
Dozens of leaked documents from Amazon reveal the company’s reliance on Pinkerton operatives to spy on warehouse workers and the extensive monitoring of labor unions, environmental activists, and other social movements.
labor
Steward's Corner: A Path Out of Fear
Labor Notes
Right now, it feels like fear is saturating us. But fear, confusion, and delusion are combining to squander the power we could have. There is a lot we can do to help each other combat the source of fear. The first step is talking to one another.
labor
Wrestlers Have Always Wanted A Union. Why Don't They Have One?
Organizing Work
Dave Powell breaks down the history of organizing in professional wrestling, and why these workers need a union.
labor
Rebirth of Auto? Unifor and the Detroit Three
The Bullet
Dependence on profit-dominated private corporations comes with hard-hearted limits and permanent insecurity.
labor
Inside the Lives of Immigrant Teens Working Dangerous Night Shifts in Suburban Factories
ProPublica
During the day, immigrant teenagers attend high school. At night, they work in factories to pay debts to smugglers and send money to family. The authorities aren’t surprised by child labor. They’re also not doing much about it.
labor
COVID-19 Takes Toll on Women’s Labor Force Participation, Reversing Trend
AARP Blog
As the pandemic continues, many women have left the labor market as they shoulder more responsibility for caregiving of children and adult family members, family health needs, homeschooling due to school closures, and managing other disruptions
labor
As Racism Plagues Health Care, Unions Offer a Treatment
The American Prospect
Health care workers of color are twice as likely as their white co-workers to catch COVID-19. Unions could be the answer to addressing these disparities.
Friday nite video
video
Trump & Election Results | John Oliver
A week after Joe Biden’s win in the US presidential election, John Oliver discusses Donald Trump’s various attempts to overturn the results, why his claims don’t hold water, and the consequences of indulging him.
video
'We Didn’t Start the Fire’ | The Trump Presidency in 3 Minutes
PATHOLOGICAL LIAR: ‘He’s not learning, now the Earth is burning’ — This parody of ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ sums up the whole Trump presidency in 3 minutes.
video
Jordan Klepper Takes On the Million MAGA March
Somewhere in an alternate reality, Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Jordan Klepper hits up the Million MAGA March to talk to the folks who won’t let that achievement go uncelebrated. #DailyShow #JordanKlepper #MillionMAGAMarch
video
Beethoven 250 tribute
In honor of Beethoven's 250th anniversary, the complex and beautiful cymatic geometry embedded in Beethoven's gorgeous melody are revealed. The imagery is the actual geometry of music imprinted onto pure water and is not computer generated.
video
Feed the Birds (Trump Pence and MAGA) | Roy Zimmerman
"Feed the Birds" words and music by Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman parody lyrics by Roy Zimmerman and Melanie Harby
video
Election Results 2020 | John Oliver
John Oliver discusses the long week of US presidential election results, including Donald Trump’s various attempts to make the election appear illegitimate, and a historic win for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
video
What Are mRNA Vaccines?
The first Covid-19 vaccines employ a biotechnology never before used. Find out how mRNA vaccines work.
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