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Friday Nite Videos -- August 22, 2014

Portside
How Economic Inequality Harms Societies. Peter Case -- House Rent Party. The Racial Wealth Gap in America. Guantanamera Around the World. The Racism of the US Criminal Justice System in 10 Charts.

Tidbits - August 21, 2014

Portside
Reader Comments - We need a special prosecutor ((Cornell William Brooks, NAACP); Ferguson, Racism, Economic Inequality, Michael Brown, Police Militarization; Racism and Misuse of Genetics; Rosetta Comet; Jewish Resources for Resisting Nationalism; Robin Williams; Israel, Gaza and Hamas; NFL's New Low - Asks Performers to Pay to Play at Super Bowl; Today in History - Nat Turner's Rebellion; Tomorrow - Fannie Lou Hamer & the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

For Many Politicians, Ferguson Isn't Happening

George Zornick TheNation.com Blog
Here are some people who have been silent on the situation in Ferguson - GOP Presidential contenders Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, Chris Christie. Also quiet is Hillary Clinton. Senator Mitch McConnell was alone among House and Senate leaders in not sending out a statement on Ferguson last week.

"Potential Upset of the Century": Zephyr Teachout's Lesson for Andrew Cuomo

Joan Walsh Salon
The Dean 2004 vet explains why she's running for NY governor -- and how the left can take over the Democratic Party. Teachout's run is as much a challenge to the fatalistic, anti-electoral politics left as to Cuomo. The Fordham Law professor says progressives shouldn't merely complain about the corporate takeover of the Democratic Party; they should fight for its soul.

Why the Climate Movement Must Stand with Ferguson

Deirdre Smith, Strategic Partnership Coordinator 350.org
It was not hard for me to make the connection between the tragedy in Ferguson, Missouri, and the catalyst for my work to stop the climate crisis. To me, the connection between militarized state violence, racism, and climate change was common-sense and intuitive. We're all impacted by climate change, but we're not all impacted equally. It isn't incidental, it's institutional, and it's rooted in history.

The Hushed-Up Hitler Factor in Ukraine and the Neo-Nazi Brigade Fighting Pro-Russian Separatists

Dovid Katz and Tom Parfitt
Kiev throws paramilitaries - some openly neo-Nazi - into the front of the battle with rebels. Whether it is hero-worship of Hungary's Miklós Horthy, leaders of Croatia's Hitlerist Ustasha, the Nazis' Waffen SS divisions in Latvia and Estonia, or the likes of Ukraine's Bandera and his OUN and UPA, and the Waffen SS, it seeks to honor eastern European collaborators with Hitler and the Holocaust by repackaging these rightists, a reality shielded from the U.S. public.

World Leaders 'Failing to Help' over Ebola Outbreak in Africa

Lisa O'Carroll The Guardian
Brice de la Vigne, the operations director of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said politicians in industrialised countries urgently needed to take action, or risk the outbreak spreading much further. "Globally, the response of the international community is almost zero," he told the Guardian. "Leaders in the west are talking about their own safety and doing things like closing airlines – and not helping anyone else."

The Meaning of Ronald Reagan

by Christopher Phelps Jacobin
The lawsuit against Rick Perlstein is a distraction from a much-needed debate over Reagan’s rise.

Ferguson Violence Exposes America's Political Decay

By Thomas Adams The Age (Sydney, Australia)
For more than a generation there has not existed in the United States a political force capable of demanding the kinds of changes that would curtail the daily oppressions faced by people like the residents of Ferguson and tens of millions of Americans like them. Opposition to these injustices takes the form of sign carrying, hashtags, morality plays, and the occasional thrown rock.

How the Left Is Revitalizing Itself

Gara LaMarche The Nation
There’s more collaboration between progressive groups—and more coordination among donors—than ever before.