Portside

At life’s end, rediscovering the joys of a childhood favorite.

Estimating civilian casualties of U.S. military operations is extremely difficult . . . “There was essentially no record kept in Afghanistan and Pakistan for a few years of any U.S.-caused civilian casualties, and most especially the killing of children" . . . “the harm to children in war is also indirect--morbidity and mortality due to the destruction of infrastructure which impairs delivery of medical care, makes drinking water unsafe, and makes food scarce.”

Over the past 50 years, the poor have increasingly lived in the 20 most populous counties. In 2010, about one-in-five poor Americans (21%) lived in these high-density counties.

O’Casey changed the way Irish life had been portrayed on stage, from a rural and almost fantasy like setting to a realistic urban one divided by class.

When, in 1976, New Jersey was in a similar situation [to Washington], the Supreme Court shut down the schools for eight days. The fruits of that conflict remain with New Jerseyites to this day, for the need to fund schools more fairly is what led New Jersey in 1976 to adopt a state income tax for the first time.

The comedian sneaked politics and policy—along with Captain America and Oreos—into his CBS debut.

As the partisan Congressional Republican attack on Planned Parenthood heated up this week, a new study released Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute found, "unequivocally that for women in many areas of the country, losing Planned Parenthood would mean losing their chosen provider—and the only safety-net provider around." Safety-net providers provide care and services in low-income, medically underserved, immigrant, and communities of color.

Jeremy Corbyn has been elected leader of the British Labor party, in a stunning first-round victory that dwarfed even the mandate for Tony Blair in 1994. The election of the anti-war activist and rank and file Member of Parliament means the Labor party now has one of the most leftwing, anti-establishment leaders in its 115-year history. Minutes after his victory, Corbyn said the message is that people are “fed up with the injustice and the inequality” of Britain.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has a set a November 19 deadline for people to comment on its proposed relaxation in standards for nuclear power plants, an alarming change in U.S. federal policy that is based on a theory that low doses of radioactivity are good for people. The NRC is supporting changes being pushed by the nuclear industry and “a group of pro-nuclear fanatics,” according to the Nuclear Information and Resource Service.