Portside

“The media tries to paint this picture of war as all bloody and visceral, like that one picture of that one Marine in Fallujah with the bloody face and the cigarette, but that’s all just propaganda man. Proper, modern warfare is a lot more like playing Command and Conquer.”

Five writers reflect on Nelson Mandela's impact on the world on them personally

Five years ago the workers at Republic Windows sat-in to demand the boss pay them their vacation and severance pay. Today, the former owner of Republic Windows was sentenced to four years in prison for stealing the workers money. Since then, the workers, members of the United Electrical Workers Union, have formed a workers owned co-op, New Era Windows.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his friends in the Republican Party here in the USA want a war with Iran. There really is no other conclusion.

An interview with Sarah Harrison of Wikileaks: Julian Assange's associate and Edward Snowden's guardian angel. She spent the last four months with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and arrived in Germany over the weekend. "When whistleblowers come forward we need to fight for them, so others will be encouraged. When they are gagged, we must be their voice. When they are hunted, we must be their shield. When they are locked away, we must free them."

Reader Comments - Philippine Recovery and Climate Change; Human Origins; "Strange Fruit;" North Carolina; Delbert Tibbs; Adjunct Unions; Corporate Profits-great infographic; South Africa - COSATU-ANC-SACP Alliance; Education; Healthcare; ALEC; Occupy; Steve Kindred; Race and Cuba; Announcements - The Invention of the White Race; Celebrating the Life of Father Paul Mayer; Pete Seeger's new book

South Africa and the world today mourn the death of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela - leader in the fight against apartheid, head of the ANC and first president of a free South Africa. Statement by COSATU - The Congress of South African Trade Unions - "the greatest ever South African and most inspirational leader in our struggle for liberty and democracy..." Mandela's speech, "I Am Prepared to Die." from the dock in the Rivonia Trial in 1964 (full text and audio recording).

Statement by COSATU - The Congress of South African Trade Unions on the death today of Nelson Mandela - "the greatest ever South African and most inspirational leader in our struggle for liberty and democracy, our beloved Comrade, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela."