Portside

Like other states, Israel pleads "security" as justification for its aggressive and violent actions. But knowledgeable Israelis know better. As historically has often been the case, massive bombings and other assaults do not destroy the support of populations for movements or governments, but tend to solidify it. Israeli policy is reducing civilized life for Palestinians in a major way and yet increasing the urge both to fight on and the desire for revenge.

This is a response by Greg Grandin to a review of his book, The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World. The review was titled, “Slavery: Not Black or White.” It appeared in the Economist and was unsigned.

The truth is that a huge number of young, well-educated, professional Israelis have already decamped, or are making plans to do so, to more hospitable climes in Europe or elsewhere. They do so for many reasons: some are economic, seeking greater financial, professional or educational opportunities. Some are security-related. And some find the climate in Israel to be stifling either culturally or politically.

When the Supreme Court ruled that unions could not collect dues from the home-care workers they represent, the justices set workers and their clients on a course that could harm them both.

NPR taketh away; The team with a racist name; Truthy-ness; Net neutrality; El Machete strikes

Pete Seeger marched and performed at hundreds of rallies for different unions over the years. "Pete has always had an interest in the labor movement and has been associated with unions," said, Henry Foner, who had known Seeger for more than 60 years. "Whenever there was a problem that a union had, Pete was always available."

"Our Food Is Dishonestly Priced": Michael Pollan on the Food Movement's Next Goal of Justice for Food Workers

Racism and the end of net neutrality; Warrant-less cyber-search; Paramount Pictures go digital; Now it can be downloaded; Payment card data theft skyrockets

The Full Employment Caucus is formed amidst a cry for the President to address growing income inequality and as Democrats in Congress push for an increase to the federal minimum wage.

“War on poverty”, “ladders of opportunity”, “upward mobility” and “fight against inequality”: How do the terms used to describe a basic social problem in the U.S. differ, and why is it important?