Portside

Democracy is not only the right to vote: participation, social justice and equality are fundamental to the democratic ideal and are widely absent throughout India.

Big money groups like Justice for All NC could reshape how justice is carried out in North Carolina. This year, seven top state judicial seats are up for election, including four on the seven-member NC Supreme Court, which is now ruled by a narrow 4-3 conservative majority.

In 2011 the transit authority cut its budget by 15 percent, eliminating 29 bus routes. It laid off 180 workers and reduced hours for more. The cuts continued the following year, and the region lost tens of thousands of bus riders. Some switched to cars, if they had one, or carpooling. Others walk now.

In three recent cases the National Labor Relations Board ordered the re-opening of a facility it said was closed to avoid negotiating with a union; ordered a trucking company to re-hire workers and bargain with their union; and ordered the reinstatement of three non-union packing house workers who struck to protest working conditions.

Researchers say there is no evidence that modern humans' cognitive superiority led to demise of Neanderthals

There’s no reason to believe lethal injection is a more humane way to end a life than electrocution, poison gas, hanging, firing squad or even guillotine. Of course, we’ll never know. We can tell ourselves any story we want about how quickly and painlessly death arrived, and the one person who could prove us wrong will never speak again.

When you hear somebody trying to scare you about food, ask what they’re selling. If you distrust Big Ag and Big Pharma, you won’t find any better treatment from Big Juice

Most fast-food jobs aren’t even full-time; the average salary for average hours is under $12,000. Last year, fast-food wages fell to levels not seen since 2006. Meanwhile, compensation for fast-food executives has more than quadrupled since 2000. Those CEOs pocketed an average $23.8 million in 2013, making them among the highest paid people in America.