Movie: Belle

This film is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed race daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay. Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield and his wife, Belle's lineage affords her certain privileges, yet her status prevents her from the traditions of noble social standing. While her cousin Elizabeth chases suitors for marriage, Belle is left on the sidelines wondering if she will ever find love. After meeting an idealistic young vicar's son bent on changing society, he and Belle help shape Lord Mansfield's role as Lord Chief Justice to end slavery in England.

Why Is the Solar System Flat?

Why did the whirling spherical ball of gas that formed our solar system turn into the flat disc that the sun and planets occupy today?

How Seattle Fought for $15 and Won

Alyssa Figueroa Alternet
The organizing director of 15 Now explains the tactics, obstacles and lessons learned from Seattle's fight for $15.

Hatriot Politics Created the Las Vegas Killers

John Avlon Daily Beast
Jerad and Amanda Miller, the Wingnuts whose killing spree left two policemen, a civilian, and themselves dead, were inspired by fright-wing radio hosts and militia movement groups.

Spanish Physicist Brings Radical Politics to Brussels

Michele Catanzaro Nature
Podemos ('We can') is a left-wing party that surprised Spain by winning more than 1 million votes and five seats in the European Parliament elections last month, a mere four months after being founded. Physicist Pablo Echenique is one of those elected.

Foxconn in the EU

Dr. Rutvica Andrijasevic University of Leicester Academic Blogs
There has been much printed about how Foxconn treats workers in China. Here is new information about Foxconn in the Czech Republic and Turkey.

Ruby Dee, a Ringing Voice for Civil Rights, Onstage and Off, Dies at 91

Davis Family; Bruce Weber; Rep. Maxine Waters
Actor, author, activist Ruby Dee took her final bow at home in New Rochelle, New York on June 11, 2014. She was a gifted and talented woman who joined with her late husband, Ossie Davis, to produce and present some of the most enjoyable and inspirational stage productions and movies of the last half century.

Socialist Dialogue Needed in the East/South China Sea

Duncan McFarland Portside
Vietnam is justified in protesting the Chinese oil rig in the South China Sea. China is right in countering the US military buildup in southeast Asia. Duncan McFarland, who was in Vietnam at the height of the dispute in early reports from Vietnam and China. His conclusion: The working class should resist divide-and-conquer.