Portside

The General Strike in Winnipeg, Canada was “one of the greatest ruptures between the workers and the upper classes in the history of commercial society (second only to the Paris Commune of 1871),” according to Brandon University professors Reinhold

The historical record is clear: democracy was only won when poor people waged disruptive class struggle against the rich. We'll need more of it to save democracy today.

"Intelligence and military officials in Europe as well as in the United States said that over the past year, most aggressive moves have originated not in Tehran, but in Washington."

Exorbitant emergency room fees present an unconscionable dilemma

Scholar, activist, and Grammy-award winning writer Maurice Jackson, along with his co-editor, Blair A. Ruble, have assembled a new and original group of essays that examines jazz and it's Washington, DC history.

African Revolutions! EU and the Planet! Elections in India and Spain! United Against Erdogan! Cuba and Venezuela!

Rising inequality means rising distrust: A study published last year by the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the upper classes are more likely to engage in what has traditionally been considered unethical behavior. . . Economic inequality, political inequality, and an inequality-promoting legal system all mutually reinforce one another. . . As always, it is the poor and the unconnected who suffer most from this, and who are the most repeatedly deceived.

Edward Snowden's Christmas message - together we can end mass surveillance, otherwise "'a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all.' Listen to message broadcast on England's Channel 4; and Washington Post story, based on 14 hours of interviews conducted in Moscow. "All I wanted was for the public to be able to have a say in how they are governed," Snowden said.

Pope Francis, in his messages and appointments, seems to be steering the Roman Catholic Church into more moderate terrain, away from some of the conservative ideological interpretations of the recent period. Jim Williams reviews The Radical Jesus. "Who was Jesus anyway? What did his life and teaching mean? There are so many views - from the Religious Right to Rev. Cornell West. My view is that Jesus is whoever you want him to be. You can find the quotes to fit."

Dave Van Ronk's ex-wife, Terri Thal, reviews the film, Inside Llewyn Davis. Llewyn Davis differs from David. - there are so few similarities. The Coens say the movie isn't about Dave, and they are correct. Most of the acting is very good. Oscar Isaac is excellent -- he's real, and he brings pathos and anger to Llewyn Davis. His performances of David's songs are good. The music? It's done well, but the movie never shows how it comes about.