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Cuba: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise

Frei Betto El Cohete
I do not wish the future of Cuba to be like the present of Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras or even Puerto Rico...The United States was never satisfied with having lost the Cuba subjected to its ambitions.

Striking Coal Miners Return to New York to Picket Investor

Steven Wishnia Labor Press
“They don’t want to pay the profit back that we earned that company,” UMWA District 20 vice president Larry Spencer told the rally. "Give us a fair contract and we’ll go back to work in these coal mines" The strike is the longest in Alabama history.

Heine’s Heartmobile

Michael Hofmann The New York Review of Books
The liveliness and invention of Heinrich Heine’s writing changed 19th century German literature for the better. Poet, writer, literary critic, satirist and ironist, but banned in his homeland and expatriated to Paris, he was well appreciated by Marx

The Roots of Black Incarceration

Joy James Boston Review
This recently unearthed text portrays the life of a 19th Century African American who spent much of his life in prison. Joy James guides us through this "startling," yet "instructive" book.

Donald Blankenship Sentenced to a Year in Prison in Mine Safety Case

Alan Blinder The New York Times
Former Massey Energy Company CEO was sentenced to a year in prison. He was convicted of misdemeanor conspiracy for willfully violating mine safety standards at Upper Big Branch Mine, West Virginia. 29 men died in the explosion in 2010.

The Panama Papers Could Lead to Capitalism’s Great Crisis

Rana Foroohar Time magazine
The Panama Papers illuminate a key aspect of why the system isn’t working–because globalization has allowed the capital and assets of the 1 % (be they individuals or corporations) to travel freely, while those of the 99 % cannot. I think we’re heading towards a root to branch re-evaluation of how our market system works–and doesn’t work.