Portside

Net Neut fight grows more dire; SNAFU USA; The Seder caper; Internet amidst the Big Melt; Bitcoin bamboozle; The Booker story

Information is power. Our mission at Portside is to seek out and to provide information that empowers you -- that empowers the left. Every day we search hundreds of sources to connect you with the most interesting, striking and useful material.

'The Public' follows a group of homeless library patrons, who, after learning that emergency shelters are at capacity during a brutal Midwestern cold front, refuse to leave Cincinnati’s downtown public library at closing. What begins as a nonviolent Occupy sit-in and ragtag act of civil disobedience quickly escalates into a stand-off with local riot police, a no-nonsense crisis negotiator, and a savvy DA with lofty political ambitions.

The left often falls victim to the myth that globalization and migration pose big threats to jobs and wages. This is a mistake. International migration is high, but not significantly so. And the idea that labor market competition can be overcome by raising borders, defending the “nation,” and excluding immigrants is a Sozialismus der dummen Kerle [a socialism of chumps, of numpties]. New movements must challenge the left's stubborn embrace of the "national."

Jollof rice is a dish hugely popular in countries such as Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cameroon. Somehow, Mark Zuckerberg got into the fray about which country's recipe is best.

China's communist party held its nineteenth congress which adopted Xi Jinping Thought and inspirational plans to build a modern socialist country by mid-century. Western capitalist press accounts were generally negative and focused on Xi's consolidation of power. However successful implementation of the program despite difficulties will have great bearing and positive impact on the global balance of forces between socialism and capitalism and prospects for world peace.

It should come as no surprise that Donald Trump has declared that the US is recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. For seasoned US-Israel watchers, it merely confirms what we have been saying for decades: Washington is no honest broker in negotiations to end the Palestine-Israel conflict.

The 2017 elections to Cuba’s National Assembly was the first without Fidel Castro.

“This is a real tragedy, and it’s one that’s backed up by sound statistics and sound science that lays out how important of a calamity it is."

Yes, we do need a vision of future possibilities, but right now we live in a moment where the other side has so much power, we must apply ourselves to effective defense. I am growing weary of the deprecation of "just playing defense". Every sports fan knows that championship teams are built on sound defense.