Portside
Material of Interest to People on the Left
Portside
Material of Interest to People on the Left
Women Who Performed Illegal Abortions Decades Ago
Trump's Trade War Is Waged to Make the Rich Richer
Donald Trump's Sneak Attack on Social Security
Rhiannon Giddens and What Folk Music Means
Tidbits - May 23, 2019-Reader Comments, Announcements
How Congress Came Together to Screw the Poor, Again
Coalition-Building in the Era of Educator Activism
How the U.S. Media Could Help Prevent War with Iran
Economist Letter to Congress Endorses Medicare for All
Global Left Midweek - May 22, 2019
Culture
books
No Waverers Allowed: Looking Back on The Northern Ireland "Troubles."
London Review of Books
The reprinting of a classic book on the Northern Irish "Troubles" of 50 years ago is the occasion for a relook at warring nationalisms, armed violence and ethnic oppression that divided a population, leaving capital and British imperialism unscathed.
books
Maoism: A Global History
LSE Review of Books
Julia Lovell’s fascinating new history of the international career of Maoism reveals the resonance of the ‘Great Helmsman’ in a populist age.
film
Netflix Releases ‘The Wandering Earth’ Without Announcement or Fanfare
Bleeding Cool
The movie is as good (or as bad, if you feel that way) as recent Hollywood CGI-ridden blockbusters like 2012 or San Andreas but is significant from a geopolitical and cultural point of view.
food
Lawsuit claims Post falsely advertises 'real cocoa' in its cereals
FoodDive
A lawsuit filed last month accuses Post Consumer Brands of misrepresenting the ingredients in its products. The case argues that highlighting the ingredient for its simplicity wrongly implies that it is "nutritionally and organoleptically superior."
tv
Superstore’s Finale Changes Everything. Showrunner Justin Spitzer Explains.
Vox
Superstore’s season four finale is unlike anything else the show has ever done. The corporate offices of the Cloud 9 chain of Walmart-esque department stores, in an attempt to quash talk of unionizing call in Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
poetry
Elexxxion
Rattle
New York poet John Paul Davis reflects on the multitude of political candidates, their promises, their lies.
books
Los Angeles: City of Segregation
Counterfire
The book under review documents a century of struggle against the partitioning of groups on the basis of race through property markets, constructions of community, and the scourge of neoliberalism, revealing racialist ideology and means to end it.
Labor
labor
End of the Road for the Socialist Revolutionary Workers’ Party? And What Future for Numsa?
Daily Maverick
Poor showing of NUMSA (National Union of Miners of South Africa) backed independent workers party calls strategy behind the breakaway decision into question.
labor
New Calls for a General Strike in the Face of Coming Climate Catastrophe
Labor Press
“There are not going to be any good union jobs if we have a dead planet.”
labor
Elder Care Homes Rake in Profits as Workers Earn a Pittance
Associated Press
Residential senior care homes profit handsomely by paying their workers poverty wages. The profit margins can be huge and, for violators of labor laws, hinge on the widespread exploitation of thousands of caretakers, many of them poor
labor
Sara Nelson: “People Are Ready to Fight”
Jacobin
On May 10, 2019, Assoc. of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson gave a speech to the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America’s annual Eugene Debs–Lucy Gonzalez Parsons–A. Philip Randolph Dinner. Here is the speech, lightly edited for publication.
labor
Sara Nelson: “People Are Ready to Fight”
Jacobin
On May 10, 2019, Assoc. of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson gave a speech to the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America’s annual Eugene Debs–Lucy Gonzalez Parsons–A. Philip Randolph Dinner. Here is the speech, lightly edited for publication.
labor
AFL-CIO Budget Is a Stark Illustration of the Decline of Organizing
Splinter
In 2008, just before Trumka assumed power, 12.4 percent of American workers were union members. A decade later—with organizing spending much reduced—union density in this country stands at 10.5 percent.
labor
Uber Drivers Not Employees-NLRB
Quartz
The future for Uber drivers won’t be decided by the US government.
Friday nite video
video
Green New Deal
With the Green New Deal sparking a national conversation about all the ways to combat climate change, John Oliver looks at a few potential solutions. Guest Bill Nye the Science Guy literally torches complacency about global warming.
video
Nothing Happened
How many excuses for not holding Donald Trump accountable for his many, very public and thoroughly documented high crimes and misdemeanors?
video
Trailer for George Clooney's Catch-22
George Clooney brings Joseph Heller's classic but unfortunately relevant novel about the inherent insanity of war to the small screen. A vivid, frenetic, violent and deeply impactful short series streaming on Hulu, starting May 17.
video
New Unredacted Information Re: Obstruction
Former head of the Office of Legal Counsel Walter Dellinger tells Lawrence O'Donnell that there is already enough evidence to find that "the president obstructed justice in the worst of high crimes and misdemeanors."
video
Amber Ruffin Explains Alabama’s Abortion Ban
Amber Ruffin, Jenny Hagel and Ally Hord discuss Alabama’s newly passed abortion law while having their bodies controlled by other people.
video
Lethal Injections | John Oliver
John Oliver discusses the lethal injection process, which is definitely not as pleasant as talking about a squeaking frog
video
Walking Blues | Keb' Mo'
In honor of blues legend Robert Johnson's birthday, Playing for Change shares "Walking Blues," featuring Keb' Mo' along with musicians from six countries. Originally written and recorded by Son House in 1930. The PFC version starts in Argentina with Roberto Luti and Nico Bereciartua playing slide guitars, and adds friends to create a blues jam around the world.
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