Portside

Most pundits are careful about not advocating for direct U.S. military intervention in Syria (that is left to the Republican politicians who appear on the Sunday shows). But their message boils down to a concern over the credibility of the president's threats of violence more important than the credibility of his evidence. The White House has been saying their reticence is informed by the Iraq debacle; many pundits don't seem to have learned a similar lesson.

The U.S. was wrong to use health workers to target Osama bin Laden.

When the votes were tallied at the NLRB regional office in Oakland yesterday, NUHW support in Kaiser’s largest bargaining unit had increased by 15 percent—but SEIU, the vocal opponent of striking, won again with 18,844 votes versus NUHW’s 13,101. (Another 334 workers chose no union.)

May Day - Bangladesh, Hong Kong & Baghdad; LGBTQ Leaders Support Bradley Manning as SF Pride Grand Marshal; Reader's Comments - Good Jobs; Korea; Kissinger; Israel, Syria; Tamerlan Tsarnaev; Labor History; Leo Branton; AOL problems & Portside; Annoucements - Workers Unite Film Festival, NYC - May 10-17; Harlem Housing Forum - May 30; Commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Rosenbergs' Executions - New York - June 16 Today in History - The Birmingham Children's Crusade

Pete Seeger is often described as an icon. This is an apt term for someone who popularized the notion of socially responsible singing in the 20th century, and, along with Harry Belafonte, was among the leading combined cultural figure/activists of his time. Seeger linked Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan, and then added a connection to Bruce Springsteen; the latter revived many of Seeger's songs in his landmark The Seeger Sessions recording.

Songs for and inspired by May Day - The Last Internationale Demand That 'Workers of the World Unite!'; Union Town by Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman; "This Land Is Your Land" with Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie & Fred Hellerman; L'Internationale - Pete Seeger in English and the original French; "The Internationale" conducted by Arturo Toscanini--BANNED by U.S. censors!; Max Roach: We Insist! Freedom Now Suite

The only way back to political relevance for socialists lies through realistic engagement with politics as it exists today.

Teachers at one of Chicago's largest charter- school networks - run by the United Neighborhood Organization - have voted to organize into a union. Public school teacher, responds to question - what is behind charter schools. Idea of a motivated community of adults - parents, teachers, administrators - creating a unique school from the ground up, designed to serve that particular community - are not charter schools. AFT calls for moratorium on Common Core testing.