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The Abdication of the Left

Dani Rodrick Project Syndicate
The experience in Latin America and southern Europe reveals perhaps a weakness of the left: the absence of a clear program to refashion capitalism and globalization for the twenty-first century. From Greece’s Syriza to Brazil’s Workers’ Party, the left has failed to come up with ideas that are economically sound and politically popular, beyond ameliorative policies such as income transfers.

Hey Mr. Policeman

Dwayne Woods portside.org
As the crisis about the use of police power intensifies, the theme of Dwayne Woods's poem pleads for taking care in its most literal sense.

The Butler's Child - A Revolutionary Civil Rights Lawyer

Bob Zellner East Hampton Star (Long Island, NY)
The timeliness of The Butler's Child has just been demonstrated by the death of a black man in Baton Rouge at the hands of two ill trained young white police officers. Fifty years ago Steel thought of the Deep South as a dangerous and racist place. Today, however, it has become clear that racism and trigger-happy cops are national phenomena.

Student Unions as a Weapon for the Working Class

Jesse Cullen RankandFile.CA
By defining students as intellectual workers and transforming student unions into vehicles for social, economic, and racial justice, a new generation of young workers will transform the union movement and challenge the conventional wisdom of neoliberalism.

Athletes Speak Out for #BlackLivesMatter; New York Liberty Sets Inspiring Example for All Athletes

Dave Zirin The Nation
Professional athletes have provided a flicker of hope during these agonizing days by speaking out against police violence. "Shut up and play" clearly doesn't fly when black bodies are falling at the hands of those whose job is to serve and protect. Now, after the filmed deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, athletes' statements - which have the potential to reach an audience far beyond the normal political blather - are starting up yet again.

The Progressive Platform Gains Are Significant - But The Political Revolution Isn't Stopping There

Larry Cohen In These Times
Now that Sanders has declared his support for Clinton, a senior Sanders campaign advisor maps the road ahead. The platform is likely the most progressive ever. The future of the political revolution, however, goes far beyond the platform, rules, convention or even the 2016 election. In the next two weeks, Bernie Sanders will begin to describe how his massive organization of millions can function beyond this moment and help build a movement for social and economic change.

Classical Music Steps In for BlackLivesMatter - Classical Notes Add to Voices of Protest

William Robin; Priscilla Fran The New York Times
On July 13, 2015, Sandra Bland died while in police custody in Texas. On July 13, 2016, the one-year anniversary of her tragic death, The Dream Unfinished held a concert to commemorate her and the large number of Black women impacted by police killings. Whether Black women and girls are killed by police directly; their loved ones are killed by police; or police refuse to intervene or respond - Black women, girls, and femmes are affected by police brutality and killings

"The Crucible" a Stunning Parable of McCarthyism's Attack on America

Lucy Komisar The Komisar Scoop
A crucible is a pot in which metals or other substances are heated to a very high temperature or melted. Miller's story is about events that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. But it's really about the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), America's thought police of the early 50s, which burned through American rights and professed values. It's the best play of the season.(Closes July 17, 2016)

Tidbits - July 14, 2016 - Reader Comments: U.S. "Inequality Trap"; Police Brutality and Racial Terror; Sanders and Democratic Party; Brexit; Tair Kaminer; and more...

Portside
Reader Comments: U.S. Stuck in an "Inequality Trap"; New Wave of Police Brutality and Racial Terror; Photo That Should Be Seen Around the World; Sanders Delivered Most Progressive Platform for Democrats, Ever - Yet Still a Long Way to Go on War and Military Policy, and Trade Policy Still Needs to be Changed; About Demonstrations at GOP Convention; Brexit; James Green; Tair Kaminer; Austrian elections; Remembering Donald Jelinek; Save the Georg Lukacs Archive...