Portside

An interview: In his new book, Haiti: Dilemas e Fracassos Internacionais (“International Crossroads and Failures in Haiti,” ), Seitenfus takes a long view of the electoral crisis that he witnessed in 2010. In his account, Haiti’s tragedy began over two centuries ago in 1804, when the country committed what Seitenfus terms its “original sin,” an unpardonable act of lèse-majesté: it became the first (and only) independent nation to emerge from a slave rebellion.

While the union blamed right-wing politicians and ‘outsiders,’ it is clear, as Sam Gindin emphasizes in this Bullet, that the reasons for the defeat, and its implications are much more complex and require a broader rethinking of union strategies and politics. Though levels of unionization in Canada have not hit the lows of the U.S., the need for a profound rethinking applies as well to the Canadian trade union movement.

Progressive analysts note that proposed cuts to boots on the ground-style forces will not weaken US's global hegemony.

For nine days early this month, eight of the LAPD’s highest ranking officers toured Israel on a trip organized by LAPD Deputy Chief and commander of the Counter-Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau, Michael Downing, and headed by LAPD Information Technology Bureau commander Horace Frank. It’s likely that the grant that paid for the LAPD’s Israel trip came from DHS.

Wisconsin was the first state to grant public-sector unions the right to negotiate contracts. Before Gov. Gaylord Nelson signed that law in 1959, only unionized workers in private companies had a government-protected right to bargain collectively. The Wisconsin idea soon spread around the country. Act 10 is an about-face, and Gov. Walker and his Republican supporters see it as a tough-minded strategy that other states can follow. History repeating itself, if in reverse.

Comcast is bad; Comcast is worse; Today Comcast, tomorrow the world; Immigration coverage; US press freedom on the skids; PBS for sale

Over 40 protestors staged an action in the Guggenehim museum Saturday, to call attention to the construction of a Guggenheim branch being built in Abu Dhabi by migrant workers. Protestors say numerous reports have found that the workers are being treated inhumanely.

Unions can win in the South, and doing so is an essential part of the broader goal of defeating the reactionary political and economic agenda nationwide. The key is cultivating and mobilizing community support for workers’ rights to organize.