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In Science, Failure Sometimes Marks Progress

Alison McCook retractionwatch.com
A huge study -- of 100 scientific papers in psychology, published in high-quality journals -- has failed to confirm the results claimed by about two thirds of the papers. Is this a colossal failure of science? No, say the authors of the study. It's an example of the value of skepticism and the step-by-step, sometimes indirect, process by which uncertainty is reduced.

UE Becomes First National U.S. Union to Endorse BDS

Alan Hart, Managing Editor, UE News Portside
The resolution also endorses the worldwide BDS movement – Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions – to pressure Israel to end its apartheid over the Palestinians just as similar tactics helped to end South African apartheid in the 1980s. UE is now the first U.S. national union to endorse BDS.

The Case for Pragmatism in International Affairs

Robert Parry ConsortiumNews
America’s neoconservatives and their liberal interventionist sidekicks have pushed an aggressive “regime change” strategy that has left bloody chaos in their wake. The cumulative impact, including Mideast refugees flooding Europe and overuse of sanctions, is now contributing to a global economic crisis. According to columnist Robert Parry, international pragmatism, including working with adversaries, may be the only way to prevent a devastating financial crash.

Emmett Till's Cousin: `Murder Never Crossed My Mind' After He Whistled

by Ryan Loughlin & Joie Chen Al jazeera America
On the 60th anniversary of Emmett Till's murder, his cousin says history still hasn't told the whole story. His cousin recalls the night he last saw him. It's been 60 years since the murder of Emmett Till, but his story remains unfinished. His death helped spark the civil rights movement and frame the ongoing debate over racism in America.

I'm a State Senator, and I'm Not Afraid of Race

By Pramila Jayapal The Nation
It's way past time for everyone, and certainly anyone who considers themselves a progressive, to center race in our conversations...I'm able to work on a broad range of issues that affect people's lives, while at the same time building trust back with discouraged people who feel like maybe they can start to trust government again.

The Pope and the Planet

Bill McKibben The New York Review of Books
The pope's contribution to the climate debate builds on the words of his predecessors...He also cites the pathbreaking work of Bartholomew, the Orthodox leader sometimes called the "green patriarch"...Still, Francis's words fall as a rock in this pond, not a pebble...He has, in effect, said that all people of good conscience need to do as he has done and give the question the priority it requires.

Skateboard Diplomacy: A D.C. Group's Plan to Help Thaw Relations with Cuba

Elizabeth Koh The Washington Post
Years before the thaw and the restoration of relations between the United States and Cuba, Miles Jackson and a college friend had been building a different kind of diplomacy: one on wheels. Their hope is that skateboarding can help pry open a notoriously stiff relationship and encourage a new generation of skateboarders to join an international sporting community.

Tidbits - August 27, 2015 - Straight Outta Compton; Bernie Sanders and Labor; China's Currency Devaluation; Leonard Peltier; Herman Benson; and more....

Portside
Reader Comments: Straight Outta Compton; Bernie Sanders and Labor; GOP Racism & Immigration; China's Currency Devaluation; Artic Oil Drilling; NLRB and Faster Union Elections; Amnesty and the Sex Trade; Announcements: Film: Warrior, the Life of Leonard Peltier - New York - September 12; 60 Years of Rebels and Reformers - New York - October 3

UE Convention, Monday Afternoon: All About Organizing

UE UE News
"Our survival is our success.” Retiring UE Director Organization Bob Kingsley told Convention delegates. He credited UE’s survival to its “four pillars: aggressive struggle against the boss, a never-ending effort to organize the unorganzied, independent political action and international labor solidarity.