Archive | Portside

Demonstrating Quantum Supremacy

October 25, 2019

A major milestone in quantum computing research opens up new possibilities for this technology. The Google AI Quantum team demonstrated how a quantum computer can perform a task no classical computer can in an experiment called "quantum supremacy."

Lebanon protests: 'I feel proud to be Lebanese'

October 25, 2019

Protests against the government in Lebanon are continuing, despite the army moving to reopen key roads.

October 25, 2019

The Trump-Ukraine Scandal: More than a Quid Pro Quo, It’s Extortion

David Corn Mother Jones

And the president is again trying to gaslight the public.

October 25, 2019

Climate Change Will Cost Us Even More Than We Think

Naomi Oreskes and Nicholas Stern The New York Times

Economists greatly underestimate the price tag on harsher weather and higher seas. Why is that?

October 25, 2019

Millions of Black People Affected by Racial Bias in Health-Care Algorithms

Heidi Ledford Nature

Study reveals rampant racism in decision-making software used by US hospitals — and highlights ways to correct it.

October 25, 2019

Most Witches Are Women, Because Witch Hunts Were All About Persecuting the Powerless

Bridget Marshall The Conversation

Perhaps the most salient point about witch trials is gender. Witch trials weren’t just about baseless accusations. They were also about a justice system that escalated local grievances to capital offenses and targeted a subjugated group.

October 25, 2019

The Double Standard at Work: European Corporate Investment and Workers' Rights in the American South

AFL-CIO AFL-CIO

In their home countries, European companies respect workers’ organizing and bargaining rights and commit themselves to international core labor standards. But they do not always live up to these global standards in their Southern U.S. operations.

October 24, 2019

The Republicans Sink Even Lower: Matt Gaetz’s Stunt Outside the SCIF is Despicable and Dangerous

Max Burns New York Daily News

If Americans needed any further proof that Donald Trump’s toxic presidency has corroded the Republican Party beyond recognition, Rep. Matt Gaetz just proved the argument in grand fashion.

October 24, 2019

Chile Protests: What Prompted the Unrest?; Eyewitness Report: It’s Not 30 pesos, It’s 30 Years

Charis McGowan; Daniel Morgan (special to Portside) Al Jazeera

Chile has been gripped by a nationwide movement against high living costs and inequality. A 30 peso fare increase was the last straw after all the other abuses of this neoliberal economic and social model. We saw what happened in Ecuador...

October 24, 2019

The Enduring Power of Anticapitalism in American Politics

Jamelle Bouie The New York Times

From Debs to Sanders to Ocasio-Cortez, an ideal persists. If Sanders actually makes it to the White House, then he’ll be able to continue this work from the summit of American politics. If he doesn’t, then unlike Debs, he’ll have a natural successor.