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Latin America’s Rightwing Parties Are Falling Apart

Grace Livingstone Le Monde Diplomatique
Rightwing parties in Latin America give themselves populist names, keep the manifesto rhetoric modest and talk of appealing to the street. But they aren’t winning many votes. Meanwhile business is learning to work with governments of the left.

‘And Still We Rise’: Palestinian Soccer Stands Tall

Dave Zirin The Nation
The Palestinian team has had to confront a lack of resources, poverty, isolation, but above all else, obstacle after obstacle imposed upon their development by the state of Israel. The national team has been crippled for decades by the violent targeting of soccer players on both the Olympic and national teams by the Israeli Defense Forces.

John Oliver: Net Neutrality

Letting cable companies set the terms for communicating over the Internet is like hiring a dingo as your babysitter. John Oliver explains the "net neutrality" controversy and lets viewers know how they can voice their displeasure to the FCC.

Can Big Oil Retake Richmond?

Steve Early The Nation
Mike Parker, a key Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) organizer who spent thirty-two years as a union reformer and skilled tradesman in Detroit, is leading a citywide slate of progressive candidates in a run for Mayor. Now, as municipal elections loom in the fall, the business community—led by America’s third-most-profitable company, Chevron—wants to make a political comeback by defeating those who've curbed its influence.

Strange Animals May Have Their Own Distinct Nervous System

John Timmer Ars Technica
If you think this suggests that early animals started out simple and gradually evolved new features, and things like sponges branched off before they were added, you wouldn't be alone. Over the years, lots of researchers argued the same thing. But a recent genome sequence indicated that the oldest branch of the animal family tree that led to the comb jellies, with muscles, nerves, and tentacles, were an older branch than sponges.

The History of Black Cooperatives

Bernard Marszalek CounterPunch
African Americans have a long, rich history of cooperative ownership, especially in reaction to market failures and economic racial discrimination . . . My research suggests that African Americans, as well as other people of color and low-income people, have benefitted greatly from cooperative ownership and democratic economic participation throughout the history of the United States -- from the introduction to Collective Courage

Fasanella Captured The Pain, Joy Of Working-Class America

Bill Mosley Portside
Fasanella copied no one: not Van Gogh, nor Grandma Moses or Edward Hicks. He was sui generis, and when his paintings finally came to be appreciated, it was for their uniqueness, not their adherence to any school or formal style. Most of all, they are celebrated for forcefully conveying the ideals he lived and worked by, as summarized in his motto: “Remember who you are. Remember where you came from. Don’t forget the past. Change the world.