Capernaum |Movie

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Nadine Labaki's Capernaum ("Chaos") tells the story of Zain (Zain al Rafeea), a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the "crime" of giving him life. Full review.

Message from Portside: There's a Storm Ahead

Portside moderators Portside
We'd like to say that everyone can breathe easier after the midterm elections, which delivered an emphatic judgment on Trump and Trumpism. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this achievement in any way.

Oh, Say Can You See

Jacqueline Allen Trimble Poet Lore
Alabama poet Jacqueline Allen Trimble points to the slave origins of the Star Spangled Banner linking the song to today’s Black Lives Matter and other protests.

Gilets Jaunes: A Pioneering Study of the ‘Low Earners’ Revolt

Le Monde Diplomatique
The scale of the movement and the speed with which it was formed are striking, outside trade-union organizations and political parties. Who are the gilets jaunes? What do they want? Are we witnessing a renewal of the forms of protest and politics?

What’s Good for the Country? New Owners for GM

Toni Gilpin Labor Notes
GM recently declared that it will close three major assembly and two smaller transmission facilities in North America. This despite GM’s recent robust profit reports - while labor costs make up less than 10 percent of the average vehicle.

Dialectics of Christmas

Fred Halliday Verso
A vintage holiday treat from the UK's Black Dwarf, Christmas 1969*, where the author analyzes the dialectic of Christmas in which the desire for happiness is marshaled into a tool of subjection (and alcoholic oblivion).