L.A. Tackles the Infrastructure Crisis

Marc Haefele Capital and Main
Former CA Governor Schwarzenegger once called it “stuff [I] used to blow up in the movies.” America’s infrastructure—highways, railways, bridges and thruways—now face a doom worse than the Terminator ever imagined: destruction from the rust, decay and corrosion of trillions of dollars worth of old tracks, canals, ports, structures and causeways that carry our trade and traffic all over the United States. Every $1 billion of federal investment creates about 13,000 jobs.

Veterans Urge Drone Operators to Refuse Orders to Fly

David Swanson World Beyond War
An increasing number of United States military veterans are counseling United States military drone operators to refuse to fly drone surveillance/attack missions – the veterans are even helping sponsor prime time television commercials urging drone operators to “refuse to fly.”

Against All Odds: Voices of Popular Struggle In Iraq

US Labor Against the War
Collected from dozens of interviews and reports from Iraqi feminists, labor organizers, environmentalists, and protest movement leaders, Against All Odds presents unique voices of progressive Iraqi organizing on the ground. Dating back to 2003, with emphasis on the 2011 upsurge in mobilization and hope as well as the subsequent embattled years, these voices belong to Iraqis asserting themselves as agents against multiple local, regional, and global forces of oppression.

Skin of Dust

James P. Lenfestey EARTH IN ANGER
Minnesota poet James P. Lenfestey's "Skin of Dust" offers an aerial view of our environmental holocaust, the Earth as a living body endangered.

The Miracle Drug You Need to Take

Jordan D. Metzl Science Friday
It reduces cancer risk, promotes weight loss, slows type 2 diabetes. Prevents heart disease, addresses high blood pressure and cholesterol. Reduces strokes and heart attacks. Improves immunity. Blocks dementia and relieves depression. This is something you really have to know about.

Save Alexander Hamilton. Dump Andrew Jackson.

Alexandra Petri The Washington Post
The Treasury has finally decided to put a woman on our currency by 2020. Fine. Great. But what cretin decided to take Hamilton off of the $10 and let Andrew Jackson stay on the $20?

Inside the Mind of Bernie Sanders: Unbowed, Unchanged, and Unafraid of a Good Fight

Paul Lewis The Guardian
He is the rising star of the battle to be the Democratic nominee for president. But who is the real Bernie Sanders? His close friends and family shed new light on what is motivating the 73-year-old senator, while never-before-seen documents from his first foray into politics – as a Vermont mayor – reveal activist roots that were 30 years ahead of their time

Movie: Black and Cuba

An award-winning documentary that follows street-smart Ivy League students, outcasts at their elite university, as they adventure to Cuba. Enthralling scenes of Cuban life including hip hop performances, block parties, and candid spontaneous encounters with AfroCuban youth. 

Lacey Schwartz Talks 'Little White Lie'

Filmmaker Lacey Schwartz talks about growing up white and Jewish in Woodstock, discovering at the age of 18 that her father was Black, and making a documentary film about this discovery and how it changed everything for her family. Screening and other information here. 

 

Neil Young: Rockin' in the Free World

Donald Trump used Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" to introduce his candidacy for President this week. So why play it on Portside? Funny story. The Donald evidently had no idea what this song is about (or that Neil Young supports Bernie Sanders).