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Why Bernie? What Should the Left Do? Views from Two Veteran Progressive Activists

David McReynolds; Ted Glick Portside
It would be very healthy for a democratic socialist to press the flesh, meet ordinary folks, let them see what a socialist looks like, what socialism stands for. Now we have a socialist doing that. Bernie Sanders is off and running, to huge and enthusiastic crowds. The campaign is sharpening the differences, functioning as a pole of attraction to bring together a mass popular alliance that is a key aspect of a strategy for taking power away from the corporate rulers...

15 Things Your City Can Do Right Now To End Police Brutality

Zak Cheney-Rice Mic
How, besides protesting, can we actually make sure no more black people are killed, beaten or tortured by the police? And how can we promote justice and equity in law enforcement more generally? The Center for Popular Democracy and Policy Link have partnered with various protesters and street-level organizers to find some concrete solutions to this problem.

Solitary Confinement Isn't Punishment, It's Torture

Jasmine Heiss The Guardian
Albert Woodfox – who has the dubious honor of being the United States’ longest serving prisoner in solitary confinement – is just one of an estimated 80,000 people held in solitary confinement on any given day in the United States.

Innovative Toolkit Maps Israeli Violations in Gaza

Amnesty International
The Gaza Platform, launched by Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture, records the time and location of each attack on an interactive map and classifies it according to numerous criteria including type of attack, site struck and number of casualties to highlight patterns. The aim is to identify and publicize patterns which can help in the analysis of whether particular attacks constitute violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes.

Film Review: ‘Amy,’ an Intimate Diary of Amy Winehouse’s Rise and Destruction

Manohla Dargis The New York Times
This documentary lets nobody off the hook. Discomfort is crucial to the film's complexity and is why it works as somewhat of an ethical and intellectual provocation. Mr. Kapadia isn’t simply revisiting Ms. Winehouse’s life and death, but also — by pulling you in close to her, first pleasantly and then unpleasantly — telling the story of contemporary celebrity and, crucially, fandom’s cost.

NLRB Strikes Major Blow to USPS-Staples Deal

American Postal Workers Union
The Postal Service violated the law when management entered into the deal with Staples without first bargaining with the union, the complaint alleges.

The Confederate Flag at War (But Not the Civil War)

Greg Grandin TomDispatch
“Northerners and Southerners agreed on little” in the years after the Civil War, historians Boyd Cothran and Ari Kelman write, “except that the Army should pacify Western tribes.” Reconstruction -- Washington’s effort to set the terms for the South’s readmission to the Union and establish postwar political equality -- was being bitterly opposed by defeated white separatists. “Many Americans found rare common ground on the subject of Manifest Destiny.”