Portside

Diversion is intended to relieve overburdened courts and crowded jails, and to spare low-risk offenders from the devastating consequences of a criminal record. But an examination by The New York Times found that in many places, only people with money could afford a second chance. Though diversion was introduced as a money-saving reform, some jurisdictions quickly turned it into a source of revenue.

In this novel, Whitehead reimagines both slavery and the resistance to it.

Perhaps the Dump Star Wars story could be described as “silly.” But to deny the politics of Star Wars is to throw the franchise’s rich history under a bus the size of an Imperial cruiser. Star Wars may not overflow with civics metaphors in the fashion of “Star Trek,” but the sci-fi films did not exist in a political void.

A soon-to-be-published book by a longtime labor organizer chronicles how a grass-roots democracy movement overcame corporate money.

Our responsibility is to resist, resist and transform. As we have already seen, our increasingly unified movement will act across a broad spectrum of issues and approaches: Opposing confirmation of Trump's most egregious cabinet appointments, and pressing Senators to filibuster oppressive laws. Change will take place in one-on-one conversations with relatives, neighbors and fellow students. It will involve mass marches like the Million Women's March on Inauguration Day.

The madness sweeping Official Washington and the mainstream media about alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election is pervaded by breathtaking hypocrisy, writes Robert Parry.

Lawmakers expected to reject requests to exempt education and health spending from measure UN official calls the most socially regressive in the world

Time cover tromps Trump; Identity politics; Vets at Standing Rock; Bannon, indie filmmaker; Oakland fire; International f.u.

Japanese activists have launched their own Fight for $15 movement, calling for a national minimum wage of 1500 yen per hour. The activists were inspired by the US movement, but also many of them were moved to get involved in social justice work after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. The movement wants to raise wages but also build a broader movement to counter the growing right-wing and anti-immigrant forces in Japan.

For the first time Canada might be capable of shipping significant amounts of oil to markets other than the United States (assuming the project is actually completed — a big question mark given ongoing First Nations' legal challenges and resistance from British Columbians).