Luminaries, Comrades and Objectors: A Growing Army of Zuma’s Opponents

Greg Nicolson Daily Maverick (South Africa)
South African President Jacob Zuma’s apology April 4th has done little to resolve the political crisis wracking South Africa. The March 31st Constitutional Court ruling he used his position for personal gain and “failed to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution,” came on the heels of allegations by respected members of the African National Congress that an influential business family allied with Zuma had offered them cabinet posts in return for political favors.

Friday Nite Videos -- April 15, 2016

Portside
Berning Ted and Donald on 'NY Values.' Burning Issues: The Money Hidden In Shell Companies. Street Music | Hotel California. The Dirtiest Trade Deal And What's In It. "Because I’m Latino, I can’t have money?" Kids on Race.

Berning Ted and Donald on 'NY Values'

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders brings the hammer down on Ted Cruz in response to the GOP candidate's negative remarks about "New York values."

Street Music | Hotel California

Amazing street performance of Hotel California in Amsterdam by guitar master Eugenio Jedi Martinez. (Laid back atmospherics courtesy of the street audience.)  

Bernie Sanders Stresses 'Common Good' in Vatican Attack on Capitalism

Stephanie Kirchgaessner The Guardian
Bernie Sanders delivered one of his most sweeping indictments of modern capitalism and unchecked market forces on Friday at an address at the Vatican. He called for a focus on "the common good" as a moral imperative, drawing on the teachings of the Catholic Church for insights into the plight of the most vulnerable members of society.

And a Union

Stephanie Luce Jacobin
After Occupy in 2011, and the wave of fast-food strikes the following year in New York City, the movement to raise wages took a new turn and a bolder stance: $15 an hour and a union. When the campaign first began, that pay demand seemed like a pipe dream. Yet the call for $15 resonated. Now, the movement has scored victories in two of the biggest states in the country.

How Politics Played a Major Role in the Signing of Jackie Robinson

Chris Lamb The Conversation
Branch Rickey certainly deserves credit for confronting his fellow owners and their racist attitudes by signing Jackie Robinson and, in doing so, advancing the cause of civil rights. However, there is more to this story than Rickey and Robinson. In fact, the desegregation of baseball came after a decade-long campaign by black and left wing journalists and activists.