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Right and Left in Germany

Victor Grossman Portside
With Bernie in the USA, Corbyn in Britain and various kinds of leftist opposition in Ireland, Spain and Portugal, resistance to billionaire-led governments has been growing, most dramatically last year in Greece until German "austerity" smashed it (though perhaps not permanently). Germany already has the LINKE party, with 64 seats in the Bundestag (out of 630). But it has failed to fill that gap of anger, worry and distrust among working people...

No One Would Serve in the Israeli Army if They Knew; Israel Should Let Conscientious Objector Serve Both Society and Her Conscience

Tair Kaminer; Haaretz Editorial Haaretz
I stand against the government's saber-rattling, against ruling over and harming a civil population. It's important to me to say: No more! I'm not willing to take part in that. I want to represent a different path, to show that there's a choice and that it's possible to resist. Through my refusal I choose to represent a path of solidarity and peace, and I believe this path will create a more secure life for us all.

Paul Krugman Crosses the Line

Gerald Epstein Dollars & Sense
Paul Krugman is not a Political Scientist. Krugman's "brand" is that he is a "brilliant, Nobel Prize winning economist." In fact, much of his early research was brilliant; and, to be sure, Krugman did win the Nobel Prize. BUT, the misleading discussion of economics contained in his piece, "Sanders Over the Edge" does raise this question in my mind: Is Paul Krugman still qualified to write an economics opinion column for the New York Times?

Two Guys From Brooklyn: The Bernie Sanders Interview by Spike Lee

THR Staff The Hollywood Reporter
Spike Lee and the senator from Vermont he supports for president — both of whom hail from Brooklyn — meet for the first time to talk free education, guns, a certain "demagogue" and Obama's legacy on the eve of the crucial New York primary.

How Chicago Activists Won a Trauma Center at U of C

CLAIRE BUSHEY Crain's
University of Chicago Medicine didn't want an adult trauma center. What caused its change of heart? In part one of our two-part series, we examine how activists and their allies upped the pressure on the prestigious university health system.

Can Neighborhoods Be Revitalized Without Gentrifying Them?

Michelle Chen The Nation
The Baltimore Housing Roundtable, a coalition of grassroots groups, envisions a plan to curb displacement and rationalize the twisted housing market. It sees joint ownership as a path to revitalizing community oriented housing.

Finally, the U.S. Steps Closer to Racial Healing With a National Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Yessenia Funes Yes! Magazine
For other countries with racist histories, like South Africa and Canada, healing has involved national Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, public hearings that openly acknowledge what happened and begin the process of resolution. The United States has had only one, which took place in Greensboro, North Carolina, from 2004 to 2006, but nothing of the kind has taken place at the national level. This year, that began to change.

Women’s Economic Agenda Creating an Economy That Works for Everyone

Economic Policy Institute
Over the last several decades women have entered the workforce in record numbers and made great strides in educational attainment. Nevertheless, when compared with men, women are still paid less, are more likely to hold low-wage jobs, and are more likely to live in poverty. Gender wage disparities are present at all wage levels and within education categories, occupations, and sectors—sometimes to a grave degree.