Portside

Gentrification is no myth, and saying so is magical thinking. Through oral histories and a solid grasp of urban history and urban geography, journalist GW Gibson shows not just its quite palpable and direct contribution to the displacement of low-income people, but, using New York City as his template, traces the radical decline of affordable housing city-wide. Case closed!

How the minimum wage hurts us all. Is $15 an Hour a Realistic Goal for Fast-Food Workers? -- Even the Wall Stree Journal says YES -- If all workers earned at least $15 an hour, there would be a ripple effect through hundreds of occupations.

Obama's strategy is to change Cuba, not through regime change, but by promoting capitalism within the country through support of a petty bourgeoisie. The fundamental objective of US policy has always been to bring Cuba back into the capitalist orbit. Today in Cuba a socialist state is actively promoting cooperatives, thereby devolving economic power to people at the grassroots level. There is a rejuvenation of civil society underway - a socialist civil society.

Best-selling author Carl Hiaasen reflects on the national epidemic of police going after African Americans: When is the last time you heard of a white man in a Mercedes-Benz being pulled over for driving with a broken taillight? It has probably happened somewhere, some time, but there's a better chance of your car being hit by a meteor.

How do Syriza's origins and Greece's political economy affect its capacity to govern? Jacobin interviews Michalis Nikolakakis, political adviser to the minister of economy, infrastructure, maritime affairs and tourism. Before joining Syriza, Nikolakakis was also active in the youth wing of Synaspismos. Here he discusses the origins of the Greek crisis, the relationship between Syriza and the state, and what accounts for the rise of the radical left in Greece.

Reader Comments - Chicago election; Police Killings; Reparations; Prisons; Jewish Anti-Zionism; Charter Schools vs. Public Schools; Cuba; Latin America; Iran; Burkina Faso; Guatemala; Scientologists; Game of Thrones; Science Fiction and the Hugo Awards; San Francisco and Labor History; April 26 - Peace and Planet for nuclear abolition; Remembering Jim Knutson

Poor wages, precarious jobs, absence of benefits, no social security and denial of union rights are the patterns of the global fast food industry which relies on the labor of millions of workers employed by a few giant coporations operating under the names of different brands.

The Republican rising star struggled for two days to get clarity with regard to his appearance at a "white pride" - Ku Klux Klan event in 2002. Initially, his office tried to keep things vague, suggesting it was "likely" Scalise attended. He was a veteran state legislator then, elected from the same precincts where David Duke once ran strong. When it became clear he was not just present but a presenter, Scalise started spinning scenarios that might explain it all away.

Kenworthy thinks that capitalism working at its best—an Americanized version of the Nordic model—would be worth fighting for. I agree.

When unions serve the interests of the few, they lose their way and their ability to be forward-looking. But one of the better-kept secrets is that invariably, they also quietly become alienated from their own members. Inevitably, if the leadership of the PBA continues to ignore and fail on this challenge, new leadership will be destined to take it up.