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Crimea annexes Russia

By Boris Kagarlitsky, Moscow, translated by Renfrey Clarke Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal
In perfectly rational fashion, the population of the peninsula reasoned that Russian rule, with all its shortcomings – which Crimean residents knew intimately – was nevertheless better than the chaos and collapse that were afflicting Ukraine.

A People’s History of Muslims in the United States

By Alison Kysia Zinn Education Project
Students need these stories of Muslims throughout U.S. history in order to talk back to the dominant media stereotypes of Muslims as lying, violent, brown foreigners. If we gave students the historical examples in this article and more, they would realize that the history of Muslims in the United States is not limited to 9/11 and, in fact, spans from the late 15th century through today.

Tidbits - April 9, 2014

Portside
Reader Comments - NLRB and UAW-Volkswagen; Supreme Court and McCutcheon decision; Full employement, jobs, trade, economic policy; Sports, gender and homophobia; NASA study and climate change; Portside discussion - Bernie Sanders for President (Jack Kurzweil); Announcements: Canadian Ecosocialist Ian Angus speaking in Oakland - April 25th

Operatic Drama Swells in Labor Talks at the Met

Michael Cooper The New York Times
An offstage drama that has been playing out in New york City has highlighted the difficult economics of opera in the 21st century, which have forced several companies in the United States to close or scale back. In the city, a spate of recent emails between labor and management at the Metropolitan Opera and a review of the opera house’s financial statements have pulled back the curtain a bit on life at the Met, one of the most important opera houses in the world.

Workers on the Edge

David Bensman The American Prospect
It is a common myth that the shift to precarious, irregular employment reflects either the structure of the new, digital economy or the preferences of workers themselves. But in reality, most contingent work is the result of efforts by employers to undermine wages, job protections and worker bargaining power.

Continental Drift: Europe’s Breakaways

Conn Hallinan Dispatches From the Edge
While the U.S. and its allies may rail against the recent referendum in the Crimea that broke the peninsula free of Ukraine, Scots will consider a very similar one on Sept. 18, and Catalans would very much like to do the same. So would residents of South Tyrol, and Flemish speakers in northern Belgium.