'Alabama' John Coltrane and Martin Luther King

The composition "Alabama" was released in 1963 shortly after the horrific murder of four little girls in a church in Birmingham, AL. Some jazz writers claim that the tune is not about these four girls. Steve Rowland disagrees and thinks that Coltrane might have based his composition on Martin Luther King's moving eulogy. See what you think!

Love Letters to Richard Dawkins

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins reads "fan mail" he has received from some of his not-so-great admirers. Parental Discretion Advised.

Rhiannon Giddens -- She's Got You

From Rhiannon Giddens' debut solo album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, due February 10 on Nonesuch Records. Reviving, interpreting, and recasting traditional material from a variety of sources has been central to Giddens’ career, especially in her groundbreaking work with the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Friday Nite Videos -- January 23, 2015

Portside
Rhiannon Giddens -- She's Got You. Love Letters to Richard Dawkins. 'Alabama' John Coltrane and Martin Luther King. The History of Vaccines. Majority Retort.

Tidbits - January 22, 2015 - Iran War Demand; Martin Luther King; Social Security & Disability cuts, more...

Portside
Reader Comments- Jobs and Higher Wages; Boehner, Netanyahu, Israel, Iran; Martin Luter King - radical anti-capitalist; Charlie Hebdo - racism, nationalism, free speech; Broken Criminal Justice system; Social Security, Disability; Erosion of Collective Bargaining = Income Inequality; Podemos; Solidarity Forever; Selma; Guantanamo protest; Roe v. Wade Anniversary; Announcements- Forums- Ending the Embargo of Cuba; After The Greek Elections; March Delegation to Venezuela

Satire - And the Unknown North Korea

Mark Solomon Portside
The historic resumption of diplomatic relations with Cuba could be (and should be) a precedent for a new approach to North Korea - a country three times larger than Cuba, perhaps more strategically sensitive than the latter and involving a nuclear potential that demands serious diplomacy.

The Hunting of Billie Holiday - How Lady Day found herself in the middle of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics' early fight for survival

Johann Hari Politico
Billie Holiday had been effectively murdered by a conspiracy to break her, orchestrated by the narcotics police - but what could she do? At Billie's funeral, there were swarms of police cars, because they feared their actions against her would trigger a riot. In his eulogy for her, the Reverend Eugene Callender said: 'We should not be here. This young lady was gifted by her creator with tremendous talent . . . She should have lived to be at least eighty years old.'

More than Half of US Public School Students Live in Poverty, Report Finds

Jana Kasperkevic The Guardian
Low income students are now a majority of the schoolchildren attending the nation's public schools, according to this research bulletin. The latest data collected from the states by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), show that 51 percent of the students across the nation's public schools were low income in 2013.

"American Sniper" - Dishonest, Racist Film Spawns Death Threats against Arabs and Muslims

Alex von Tunzelmann; Rania Khalek; Zaid Jilani
The film piles on Bush-era propaganda and sharp-shoots the facts. The message of American Sniper is that Kyle is the real victim of the war. The Iraqis he shot deserved it, because - as it has established to its own satisfaction - they were savages. As for non-savage Iraqis who may have reasonable grounds to complain about what happened to their country following the invasion, they must be in some other movie.