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Liberation and Ethics - Is there a connection?

Raymond Suttner Polity (South Africa)
It is no exaggeration to suggest that the legitimacy not only of President Jacob Zuma and the ANC, but also the notion of the liberation struggle itself is in shreds. For some of us, it was unthinkable that such an alliance of forces could degenerate into a moneymaking, lawless and violent operation represented by people who were prepared to trample on the values that we understood the movement to embody. Certainly, this did not happen overnight.

Tidbits - April 14, 2016 - Reader Comments: Mine Safety; Panama Papers Fallout; Chicago Police Spying; Minimum Wage Hikes; Bernie, Hillary; whites and the working class; and more

Portside
Reader Comments: Panama Papers fallout; Controversy over whites as part of the working class; Mine Safety and Blankenship Jail Sentence; Minimum wage hikes discussion; Bernie and labor, Wisconsin victory; Wall Street and Glass-Steagall; Hillary and labor, Wall Street and fracking; Pope Francis; Announcements: Gerald Horne book signings - Baltimore, Washington and New York; China Labor Relations; Communists in the Civil Rights Movement

Standing with Workers Against 'Corporate Greed,' Bernie Joins Verizon Picket Line

Lauren McCauley Common Dreams
On the same day that Bernie Sanders walked the picket line with CWA and IBEW unionists on strike against Verizon, he gained the endorsement on New York's Transit Workers Union. TWU Local 100 president John Samuelsen said, "Bernie Sanders has been fighting against the 'powers that be' in this country on behalf of all American workers his entire life."

Hillary Clinton for President

Greg Heires DC 37 Blog
DC37, AFSCME, the largest municipal public employees union in New York City, urges its members and retirees to cast their vote for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary on April 19. The editorial points out that "Clinton is arguably the most qualified candidate for U.S. President in modern times. Throughout her long career in public service, she has always been a stalwart friend of labor, including our union."

Hillary Clinton for President

Greg Heires DC 37 Blog
DC37, AFSCME, the largest municipal public employees union in New York City, urges its members and retirees to cast their votes for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party Primary on April 19. The editorial says "Clinton is arguably the most qualified candidate for U.S. President in modern times. Throughout her long career in public service, she has always been a stalwart friend of labor, including our union."

Taking It to the Street

Jill Leovy American Scholar
In this review, Jill Leovy looks at two new studies of contemporary US poverty.

Finally, the U.S. Steps Closer to Racial Healing With a National Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Yessenia Funes Yes! Magazine
For other countries with racist histories, like South Africa and Canada, healing has involved national Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, public hearings that openly acknowledge what happened and begin the process of resolution. The United States has had only one, which took place in Greensboro, North Carolina, from 2004 to 2006, but nothing of the kind has taken place at the national level. This year, that began to change.

Can Neighborhoods Be Revitalized Without Gentrifying Them?

Michelle Chen The Nation
The Baltimore Housing Roundtable, a coalition of grassroots groups, envisions a plan to curb displacement and rationalize the twisted housing market. It sees joint ownership as a path to revitalizing community oriented housing.

How Chicago Activists Won a Trauma Center at U of C

CLAIRE BUSHEY Crain's
University of Chicago Medicine didn't want an adult trauma center. What caused its change of heart? In part one of our two-part series, we examine how activists and their allies upped the pressure on the prestigious university health system.