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Planned Parenthood Is Right to Supply Fetal Tissue

Mark Joseph Stern Slate
A woman’s decision to donate her aborted fetus to medical research—and Planned Parenthood’s willingness to transfer the fetal material—is deeply commendable. No woman is eager to have an unwanted pregnancy, but if she decides to terminate it, Planned Parenthood can help turn her misfortune into a mitzvah. That is not an act of killing. It is an act of altruism.

Iran Calls for World's Nuclear Weapons States to Disarm

Julian Borger The Guardian
Iran's foreign minister has put forward three proposals: negotiations on a nuclear weapons elimination treaty; taking nuclear arsenals off high alert (for example, by removing warheads from missiles); and the creation of a zone in the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction. This proposal represents a challenge to the members of the UN Security Council (all nuclear powers) as well as Israel, Pakistan and North Korea.

Bernie Sanders Explains Why You Should Care About What’s Happening to Greece

William Greider The Nation
For those familiar with the senator’s long political career, expressing solidarity with suffering Greeks while teaching a little history is pure Bernie. Political reporters are typically confused by his socialist identity and either joke about this weird, rumpled lefty running for president or try to expose alleged contradictions. But as he often does, Sanders has taken the subject to a higher plane, explaining its significance beyond Greece and beyond Europe.

Friday Nite Videos -- July 31, 2015

Portside
Jack Black and Morgan Freeman Explain the Iran Nuclear Deal. A Brief History of Everything. Street Art for Hope and Peace. Key & Peele - Pro Teaching. Scalia's Poetry Slam.

How Migrant Farmworkers Are Cross-Pollinating Strategies and Winning

Sonia Singh Labor Notes
When farmworkers migrate, they carry with them their organizing experience and transnational networks—and a powerful potential for cross-pollinating fights. Recent struggles in Baja California, Washington State, Vermont and Ontario all demonstrate the power of those connections.

Black Love Matters

Mark Winston Griffith The Nation
A dispatch from the inaugural gathering of a proudly diffuse, rapidly growing, hyper-local movement for black lives.

Five Reasons to Care About Verizon Contract Negotiations

Diana Rosen Jobs with Justice
In anticipation of their current contracts expiring on August 1st, CWA and IBEW recently announced that an overwhelming majority of their members voted to authorize a strike in case labor and management fail to reach fair contracts.

Bernie Sanders Hosts a Nationwide House Party for Over 100,000 Would-Be Foot Soldiers

Nick Corasaniti New York Times
The national organizing day, which featured more than 3,500 events and house parties across the country, centered around a technological infrastructure that uses text-messaging sign-ups and a deep database of volunteers. Attendees at the house parties were asked to text a number to opt in and show interest.

A Crash With Chinese Characteristics

Sean Starrs Jacobin
The massive $3.2 trillion destruction in financial value hasn’t sparked a broader financial crisis in China — an illustration of how China’s financial system is different from other major powers. While the People’s Bank of China has sufficient firepower to reverse a crash of several trillion dollars (far more than most other countries), China’s financial system is also comparatively isolated relative to both global finance and China’s own domestic population.