Portside

August 29, 2015, the United States Navy signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for the implementation of one of the largest "peacetime" military build-ups in US history. This will cost between $8 and 9 billion, with only $174 million for civilian infrastructure, which Congress has not released yet. A central aspect of the United States' foreign policy "Pivot to the Pacific," the build-up will relocate thousands of Marines and their dependents from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam.

College is becoming a gamble. For a certain subset of prospective college students, the risk can seem especially daunting.

Claiming to be modern-day anti-slavery ambassador is a highly profitable cause that is increasingly popular in Hollywood circles. Most recently, hundreds of celebrities endorsed an open letter to derail Amnesty International’s draft policy to decriminalize consensual adult prostitution, equating it with "slavery". What does this say about the value placed on Black lives that fighting ‘slavery’ is only popular when it is whitewashed of any Black-led struggles for justice?

Open Source Radio has produced a three-part series about American work: what it is, what it could be, and where we’re all going together. Follow the link to hear the show and to read more about the content. The show features guests Steve Fraser: labor historian and author of The Age of Acquiescence: The Life and Death of American Resistance to Organized Wealth and Power; and Hamilton Nolan: writer, editor, and union organizer at Gawker.

The comedian sneaked politics and policy—along with Captain America and Oreos—into his CBS debut.

When, in 1976, New Jersey was in a similar situation [to Washington], the Supreme Court shut down the schools for eight days. The fruits of that conflict remain with New Jerseyites to this day, for the need to fund schools more fairly is what led New Jersey in 1976 to adopt a state income tax for the first time.

O’Casey changed the way Irish life had been portrayed on stage, from a rural and almost fantasy like setting to a realistic urban one divided by class.

Over the past 50 years, the poor have increasingly lived in the 20 most populous counties. In 2010, about one-in-five poor Americans (21%) lived in these high-density counties.

Estimating civilian casualties of U.S. military operations is extremely difficult . . . “There was essentially no record kept in Afghanistan and Pakistan for a few years of any U.S.-caused civilian casualties, and most especially the killing of children" . . . “the harm to children in war is also indirect--morbidity and mortality due to the destruction of infrastructure which impairs delivery of medical care, makes drinking water unsafe, and makes food scarce.”

At life’s end, rediscovering the joys of a childhood favorite.