Portside

The day I first arrived at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Leavenworth, Kansas on 22 August 2013, I announced my status as a trans woman intent on transitioning as soon as possible. At the time, the idea of a trans woman in a US military prison was considered unprecedented and even outlandish to the military brass and the outside world. However, I was not the only trans woman at the facility, nor was I the first one to make such requests for treatment.

Chicago Community Bond Fund’s mission is to help people get out of Cook County Jail. Growing out of a grassroots effort to bond out five activists arrested at an August 2014 community vigil for Desean Pittman, CCBF has now set its sights on less obviously political pretrial detainees. The group of activists, attorneys, and community members has established a revolving bond fund that will pay bond for people who simply cannot pay it themselves.

On January 29th, Uber had reduced fares in more than eighty cities in the U.S. and Canada. Drivers in some of those cities, including San Francisco, San Diego, Tampa, and New York City, have reacted with strikes and protests.

Watching Moore’s film may be the first time many Americans get a bird’s eye view of Portugal’s groundbreaking approach to drug policy. It may also be the first time many of them see the prisons in Norway, where inmates are taught how to reintegrate into society by allowing them to live as much like normal people and as little like prisoners as possible. Kudos to Michael Moore for showing what’s possible when we shift from punishing people to finding ways to help them...

Cubans are now divided on whether they think normalization is a good thing for Cuba. A younger generation desiring greater economic opportunities, as well as entrepreneurs, small-business owners, artists, and others well-placed to reap the benefits, have welcomed the changes. But many of the older Cubans I spoke with—particularly those who work in the state sector of the economy - now seemed to believe more firmly that normalization will have a negative impact.

Dozens of Palestinians active in joint peace groups will no longer be able to cross into Israel to give workshops on reconciliation and dialogue.

There seems to be no shortage of bizarrely sexist assumptions as to why I, a Millennial feminist, am not voting for Hillary Clinton. But speaking as a Millennial feminist, let me assure you: None of them is accurate. But the reason for my political disaffection is plain: There's no persuading me that the Democratic establishment — from where it sits now — has the capacity to represent me, or my values.

Beyoncé once; Beyoncé twice; Rape guys hide; UN, Zika & abortion; Plumbers to Flint; BernieBro Confidential

The New York Times, which historically tends to ignore Chomsky, ran a prominent review in its Arts section, going so far as to praise the film and calling Requiem a "well-paced and cogent seminar." Reviewer Daniel Gold writes, "citing Aristotle, Adam Smith and James Madison, among others, he melds history, philosophy and ideology into a sobering vision of a society in an accelerating decline.

This piece was published a month ago, on the anniversary of the assassination of Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht.