Portside

"If we don’t have a responsive democracy, all the debates [on progressive issues we care about] aren’t real debates. When elections are not democratic, even the most populist discussions become superficial, disconnected from real power; they are theatre."

The Israeli Defense Ministry stated Sunday it has closed its Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings to Gaza in response to a single rocket fire from Gaza, which resulted in no injuries, deaths, or damages. Palestinian rights campaigners warn that the closures are especially dangerous as traumatized and displaced Gaza residents struggle to rebuild from Israel’s recent seven-week military assault in which 2,000 Palestinians—at least 75 percent of them civilians—were killed.

In what appears to be the largest-ever joint protest by senior Israeli security personnel, a group of 106 retired generals, Mossad directors and national police commissioners has signed a letter to PM Netanyahu urging him to “initiate a diplomatic process” based on a regional framework. Retired generals have occasionally made joint statements in the past, but never in such numbers and rarely on political matters that aren’t directly related to army business.

The bargaining power of most American workers is at a historical low point. The best way to restore it is to get the economy back to full employment.

Mayor Emanuel replaces the outgoing treasurer with another executive from his friend's investment firm.

Of the 14 students who were ultimately expelled, 12 were Black even though only 40 percent of the district’s students are Black.

An exclusive Truthout investigation - released today on a day of national protest against police brutality - reveals that the City of Chicago fails to recognize, let alone sanction, police guilty of repeated episodes of violence, including the shooting deaths of unarmed civilians.

Henry Segerman and Saul Schleimer paint beautiful shadows based on the maths of stereographic projection, a method originally used by cartographers to map the Earth

UC Santa Cruz Review writer Dan White had separate in-depth conversations this summer with Toni Morrison and Angela Davis about their past collaboration, their longstanding friendship, and their bedrock belief in the power of literature. Davis introduced Morrison while she was in Santa Cruz to deliver the Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture at the Rio Theater on October 25. The subject: “Literature and the Silence of Goodness.”

Of the Southern states that have reported early voting counts, percent of registered voters who have voted early: 12.7