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Tidbits - December 1, 2016 - Reader Comments: Fidel Castro, Cuba, Socialism and Solidarity; Resisting the Trump Presidency; Debating workers vote and "Russian fake news; Announcements, Resources; and more....

Portside
Reader Comments: Fidel Castro's Impact; New York Activists to Gather in Tribute Sunday at Cuban Mission; Resisting the Trump Presidency - No to Muslim Registry; Yes to Women's March on Washington; How Did Workers Vote; Needed a History of Beer and the Socialist Brewers; About the so-called Russian fake news - readers don't agree; Resources for Immigrants; Labor Scholarships Available at UMASS; Trump World Order - NYC forum; and more ....

Lessons From the Leveller Revolution

Dominic Alexander Counterfire
A look at the English Revolution's first decade, where radicals forced parliamentary leaders to complete the revolt against the monarchy, creating a some two decades-long republic through a genuine social revolution. The book's author is credited with bringing an activist's perspective to it and situating the uprising and the corresponding invention of the pamphlet as the basis for English popular sovereignty, despite the Glorious Revolution's return to a monarchy later.

More Than Ever - We Need You, We Need Each Other

Portside Labor Moderators Portside
Every year, Portside asks our readers for their help and support. This, however, is not like other years. What months ago was a scary thought is now our, and the world's reality - a Trump presidency. We need to work together, to build, to organize, and to understand what works, and what doesn't. Portside provides reportage, inspiration, investigation and analysis that are needed more than ever. We promise to do our part. Will you help?

On the Trail of an Ancient Mystery

John Markoff The New York Times
Although it was not programmable in the modern sense, some have called it the first analog computer.

The CIA's Student-Activism Phase

Tom Hayden The Nation
In the 1960s, the agency sought to fight Communism through the students’ rights movement. There’s little reason to think its tactics have changed.

Can Chuy beat Rahm in the Race for Mayor?

Steve Bogira Chicago Reader
If anyone can overcome the hurdles for a Latino mayoral candidate in Chicago, it's Garcia given his lifetime commitment to a multiracial coalition—not just talking the talk, but 30 years of walking the walk.

Patrolling the Boundaries Inside America

Robert B. Reich Robert Reich's blog
The boundary separating white Anglo upscale school districts from the burgeoning non-white and non-Anglo populations in downscale communities is fast becoming a flashpoint inside America.

The Fall of Big Don, King Coal’s Brutal Baron

Mike Roselle CounterPunch
Even though the four counts do not include cold blooded murder, we in West Virginia and the rest of the world know that the big man is on trial for the deaths of those men just as the nation knew that Al Capone’s trial on tax evasion was for his part in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. There will be no one in the courtroom or on the jury that doesn’t remember that morning. There is no one in Raleigh County that doesn’t know who ran Massey Energy.

Union Fights 'Teacher Jail'

Samantha Winslow Labor Notes
Hundreds of Los Angeles teachers have been put on leave and in limbo. It’s been called “teacher jail,” and it’s not far off from the “rubber rooms” New York City tabloids have made famous. In both places, the tactic is used to scapegoat teachers and unions.

Buoyed by Election Results, ALEC Lays Blueprint for 2015

Brendan Fischer Center for Media and Democracy
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), emboldened by the mid-term success of conservative Republicans at the state and federal levels, will be meeting December 3-5 in Washington, D.C. to develop its policy agenda for 2015 and beyond. ALEC will be seeking, among other things, to "preempt" state and local level minimum wage increases, promote local "right to work" legislation, forestall shareholder activism, and increase school privatization.