Alice's Restaurant, 50 Thanksgivings Later

Arlo Guthrie's now-classic song was released in 1967, but the story begins, as the song explains, two years earlier. And 50 years into the story, its themes are strangely and sadly still relevant. And the movement it appeals for is no less needed.

Burma: Much Talk About Democracy, Little About Ethnic Cleansing

Murtaza Shaikh OpenDemocracy
The Western media regards the status of the Rohingya people in Burma (Myanmar) as a minor detail in the wooing of a country known for its precious natural resources. While the electoral victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy represents a momentous event in Burma, the horrific treatment of the one million Rohingya Muslims who were denied the right to vote, stand for office, or even inclusion in a recent census, also demands our attention.

Friday Nite Videos -- November 27, 2015

Portside
Nebraska Republicans Squash the Death Penalty. Alice's Restaurant, 50 Thanksgivings Later. Killer Mike Introduces Bernie Sanders in Atlanta. In America: Walmart Workers. How Puerto Rico's Economic 'Death Spiral' is Tied to Legacy of Colonialism.

Killer Mike Introduces Bernie Sanders in Atlanta

Rapper and rights activist Killer Mike gives an eloquent introduction to Bernie Sanders at an Atlanta rally: "In my heart of hearts, I truly believe that Sen. Bernie Sanders is the right man to lead this country." 

In America

In America, on Thanksgiving, people working for our country's largest employer don't make enough to buy the food they need. Here are some of their voices, and what you can do.

 ISIS Wants a Clash of the Civilizations: Let’s Not Give In

Juan Cole The Nation
For Baghdadi to call his band of human traffickers, rapists, drug smugglers, and looters the “Islamic State” is rather like a Mexican drug cartel adopting the moniker “the Vatican,” and our adopting that term thereafter (“The Vatican kidnapped 30 people today”) when reporting on its violence. Journalists would resist such linguistic coercion in the case of Catholics; they should resist it in the case of Muslims as well.

'Suffragette' Foregrounds Working-Class Women

Linda Gordon Portside
Suffragette is the first film to depict a women's movement with major Hollywood stars. And Gavron's introduction, skyped in at the preview I saw, was superb, emphasizing global women's struggles and class and race inequality as well as the historical fight for suffrage. As more celebrities come out as feminists, we can hope for more.

Message to Black Clergy: Think of Trump's Rhetoric Before Meeting With Him

#TEAMEBONY Ebony
An open letter from more than 100 Black religious leaders and scholars to the African American ministers scheduled to meet with Donald Trump warn that such a meeting will serve to "de-radicalize the Black prophetic political tradition" and "give Trump the appearance of legitimacy" that he will use to harm Black communities.