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Vindicating Freedom Fighters

The Friendship 9 were beaten, prosecuted and convicted for sitting-in against segregation in South Carolina in 1961. This week Ernest Finney, the attorney that represented them in 1961, and South Carolina prosecutor Kevin Brackett asked the court to clear their names.

Israelpolitik, the Neocons and the Long Shadow of the Iraq War

Danny Postel Pulse
A Review of Muhammad Idrees Ahmad’s book ‘The Road to Iraq: The Making of a Neoconservative War.’ The central question Ahmad attempts to answer is: Why did the 2003 Iraq War happen? In one of the book’s most valuable sections, felicitously titled ‘Black Gold and Red Herrings’, he goes through several prevalent explanations/theories and takes them apart one by one.

Measles: Not Just for Anti-Vaxxers

Beth Skwarecki Plos Blogs
Anti-vaxxers, your children don’t catch measles and then take it home like a jar of fireflies to enjoy alone or with a few close friends. Instead, they may unwittingly spread it to babies, people with certain medical issues, and a small percentage of the people who have done all they can to try to protect themselves but in whom the vaccine doesn’t work.

A Nickel a Ticket Makes Health Care Affordable

William Rogers Left Labor Reporter
Airline food service workers on January 29 launched a nationwide campaign for affordable health care by holding demonstrations and other actions in cities across the US.

'Turning Back on American People,' US Senate Votes to Approve Keystone XL Pipeline

Deirdre Fulton, staff writer Common Dreams
"The senators who voted in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline know they don't have the votes to override President Obama's veto, so ultimately this was a symbolic vote for them - a testament to their loyalty to dirty money over rational public policy," said Kyle Ash of Greenpeace.

The Greek Earthquake

Conn M. Hallinan Foreign Policy in Focus
Syriza will not easily sweep the policies of austerity aside, but there is a palpable feeling on the continent that a tide is turning. The victory of Greece's left-wing Syriza Party was, on one hand, a beacon for indebted countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland. It is also a gauntlet for Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and the "troika" - the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund.

Why Selma Matters: A Mother's Perspective

Stephanie Shonekan Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership
The Black Lives Matter movement and other such responses to the tragic nexus of murders last year are the twenty-first century versions of the civil rights and black power movements, so I hoped that Selma would provide critical context for my children. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s is extremely painful to watch. Young African Americans, including my own children, are reluctant to dig deeper into that era because it is simply too difficult.

Tidbits - January 29, 2015 - Boehner, Bibi, Israel, Iran; SYRIZA & Podemos Inspire Us; Civil Rights Lessons-Selma & King; and more...

Portside
Reader Comments - Boehner, Netanyahu, Israel and Iran; Labor in the 21st Century; Public School Poverty; Billie Holiday; Pete Seeger; The New Europe - SYRIZA and Podemos; 'American Sniper'; Social Security; Agent Orange; Ukraine; Martin Luther - Militant Radical for Our Times; more... Resource: Energy Democracy in Greece; Announcements (New York)- Sri Lanka Killing Fields documentary; Anniversary of Malcolm X Assassination

Union Faces Fresh Questions in West Coast Longshore Standoff

Mark Brenner Labor Notes
If ILWU members don’t figure out how to use their ship-side strength to bolster unionization across the logistics industry, they will see their power erode, as shippers and terminal operators continue to shift work off the docks and away from the waterfront. The ILWU’s members, with their rich history, deserve as much from their union. They still have time to avoid the fate of once-strong unions like the UAW.