Portside

In all of these cases, the government pursued maximum punishments and generally took zero-tolerance approaches to plea negotiations. These prosecutions reflected an obvious institutional terror of letting the public see the sausage-factory locked behind the closed doors not only of the state, but of banks and universities and other such institutional pillars of society. This is a Wizard of Oz moment, where we are being warned not to look behind the curtain.

A mass extinction caused by volcanic activity wiped out some of the dinosaurs' competitors, allowing them to assume ascendancy. Of course, another mass extinction, caused by a meteor impact caused their demise. Earth is not as hospitable to life as we might like to think.

Workers at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, have been working without a first contract for 2 years, and bargaining for 18 months. The property is one of only a handful on the Las Vegas Strip that does not have Culinary Union 226 union standards in place, including employer paid healthcare, pension, and housekeeping workload provisions. Over 2,000 workers have picketed the Cosmo 3 times in 2 months.

Where can we turn politically? Who is on our side, to fight for an alternative?

It is very important for progressives to keep building a movement to demand a plan for jobs – like the Back to Work Budget.

A crucial lesson as we stand up to the escalation of Obama’s drone war and continue to challenge those who call for war against Iran.

US peace activist was killed by Israeli bulldozer in Gaza as she tried to block the demolition of a Palestinian home.

Bradley Manning, Cyprus, peace movement and more