Portside

What does it mean for a society to fight for democracy when the ranks of its disenfranchised keep growing?

New Jersey is among the prime specimens of post-recession America’s lasting political and economic malaise. . . . Most importantly, it’s a bellwether of who, in the final accounting, is going to foot the bills when things go wrong.

Through workers associations, work centers, and “alt-labor” groups, millions of workers — along with part-time workers, temporary workers, and those who work for employers that have no union — are using new tactics to fight against that inequality of bargaining power. The groups are not competing with traditional unions, but rather working alongside them and in tandem.

Through workers associations, work centers, and “alt-labor” groups, millions of workers — along with part-time workers, temporary workers, and those who work for employers that have no union — are using new tactics to fight against that inequality of bargaining power. The groups are not competing with traditional unions, but rather working alongside them and in tandem.

City puts human rights under threat with water privatization scheme.

Even when change is still necessary, even when injustice still continues, there can be an upward spiral, growing from past transformations into future ones.

The regime has repeatedly carried out artillery and air attacks on city centers, creating a humanitarian catastrophe—which is all but ignored by the US political-media establishment.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby Monday, allowing "closely held" businesses to claim religious rights and avoid federal healthcare regulations that require employers to include birth control in insurance plans.

Al Jazeera journos jailed; NYT beats war drums; Giants behaving badly; Facebook messes with your mind; News biz renaissance; Newspaper requiem.