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How “Brother” Bernie Is Making Labor’s Day

Steve Early Portside
Whether he wins or loses, Sanders is already helpfully tapping into rank-and-file discontent about who gets to decide what in our unions. While other big union endorsements of Clinton may soon be announced, the Labor Day buzz—at the grassroots, in early primary states—is largely about Bernie.

Amnesty International’s Sex Trade Decision: Not in Our Name

Janice G. Raymond Portside
On August 11th, delegates at the 2015 International Council Meeting of Amnesty International voted to back the decriminalization of the sex industry, one of the more controversial decisions in its 54 years history. But, Amnesty's policy goes far beyond decriminalizing the women but also decriminalizes the perpetrators, says Janice G. Raymond the former co-director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), explaining her opposition to Amnesty’s decision.

The Greatest Threat to Europe is “Strategic Inhumanity”

Laurie Penny New Statesman
The greatest threat to the European “way of life” is not migration. It is that Europeans will swallow the lie that some human lives matter less than others. The behavior of the British and European elite towards migrants is not simple inhumanity. It is strategic inhumanity, weaponized inhumanity designed to convince populations fracturing under hammer-blows of austerity and economic chaos, that there is an “us” that must be protected from “them”.

Obama Approves “Reckless” Arctic Oil Drilling Plan

Katherine Bagley Inside Climate News
President Obama’s approval for Shell Oil drilling in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea has undermined his recent push to protect the environment and provoked an angry reaction from environmentalists. The August 17th decision comes two weeks after the release of the United States' most aggressive attempt to limit greenhouse gas emissions, the Clean Power Plan, and just days after Obama announced he will visit Alaska later this month to highlight the impacts of climate change.

Syriza Opponents of Austerity Deal Form New Party

Press Project Newsroom The Press Project
Following the resignation August 20th of Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras and the announcement of snap parliamentary elections, 25 Syriza lawmakers who opposed the recent bailout deal formed a new Popular Unity Party and will challenge Tsipras and Syriza in September elections. Former Syriza Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis will head the new party. With its 25 members, the Popular Unity Party becomes the third largest party in the Greek parliament.

Why We Cannot Speak of Economic Injustice Alone, or, Why Race Matters

Bill Fletcher Jr. teleSUR
One can delude one's self into believing that race can be avoided; but at the most awkward moments, it rears its ugly head and tears movements apart. In fact, it is the #BlackLivesMatter movement that has elevated this question to a national discussion point. There is an important segment of the progressive movement who strongly believe that economic injustice and a narrowly defined version of class can and must serve as the unifying feature of a progressive movement.

The Nuclear Accord and the “Death to America” Chants in Iran

Reese Erlich Global Post
Last month in Vienna the US and Iran agreed to unprecedented inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities in return for lifting of sanctions. Yet, at Friday prayers and political rallies, hardline Iranians continue to shout "death to America," as they have for decades. Conservative US politicians cite the chant as proof Iran remains hostile to the US and can't be trusted to implement the nuclear accords. But Iranians have a very different interpretation of the slogan.

On the Iran Deal, American Jewish ‘Leaders’ Don’t Speak for Most Jews

Todd Gitlin and Steven M. Cohen The Washington Post
More than three-fifths of American Jews who express an opinion support the Iran deal, compared with a bit more than half of Americans overall. But among the official “Jewish leaders,” this is hardly the case. Plainly, the idea that American Jews speak as a monolithic bloc needs early retirement. So does the idea that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads, or represents, the world’s Jews.