Portside

Islamist militancy in Nigeria is being strengthened by western and regional fossil fuel interests. The roots of the country's security and instability go back to its formation by the British during colonial times: the Muslims in the North, the Christians and animists in the South. The country's Civil War/Biafran War, from 1967 to 1970, was the first rupture because of ethnicity.

Today is the biggest strike in fast food history and it's phenomenal. Actions in support of $15/hour wages and the right to form a union without retaliation have spread across the globe. Workers went on strike in 158 American cities, according to FastFoodGlobal.org, including in 56 U.S. cities where there had not been a strike previously, International worker solidarity actions are taking place in 93 international cities spread across 36 countries.

In India, even as prominent left parties falter, radicalism persists.

The national association of electrical engineers said the disaster represented "murder, not an accident". It accused the mine operators of neglect and using obsolete equipment. Inadequate ventilation systems meant carbon monoxide and other toxic gases could spread more quickly, it said.

Throughout the centuries, the history of Ukraine has revealed the turning points in the history of Europe. This seems still to be true today. Of course, which way things will turn still depends, at least for a little while, on the Europeans.

"I don't want to reach for melodrama here, but on some level there's the question of whether we have a federal government or a Confederacy," Chilton tells Facing South. "Does North Carolina get to nullify part of the Constitution it doesn't like? I thought we settled that question."

Massachusetts Teachers Association delegate Barbara Madeloni elected next union president. She is known for refusing to participate in a standardized teacher-licensing program at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She is part of a growing teachers insurgent movement being elected across the country.

Fast-food workers plan to strike in 150 cities on Thursday, including 33 international sites. There's a protest planned at a Burger King in Germany, strikes are set for fast-food restaurants in Venice, Milan, and Rome. And a demonstration will take place at a Buenos Aires McDonald's. There are flash mobs planned at five McDonald's in the Philippines.

Economist Joseph Kile in written testimony has warned that "revenues from the users of roads and from taxpayers are the ultimate source of money for highways, regardless of the financing mechanism chosen." The significance of Kile's statement can be seen in the fact that one partner - the private sector - has almost no financial skin in the game. Meanwhile, the public partner - that is, the taxpayers - carries nearly the full financial burden.

This is publication day for Greenwald’s new book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Security State, about his last near-year swept away by the Snowden affair. It’s been under wraps until now for obvious reasons. This essay is a shortened and adapted version of Chapter 1 of Glenn Greenwald’s new book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Security State, and appears at TomDispatch.com with the kind permission of Metropolitan Books.