Portside

Reader Comments- Selma - the movie; Labor, Racism, PBA's Patrick Lynch, Police Police Unions; Sports, Athletes, Equality and Anti-Racism; the 1914 Christmas Truce; It's a Wonderful Life, Comrade; Prosecute those responsible for Torture; Okinawa rejects "Pivot to Asia"; Fighting Anti-Semitism and Jim Crow; Announcements- Invisible Lives, Targeted Bodies - Impacts of Economic Injustice on Vulnerable LGBTQ Communities; Symposium: Dynamics of Possible Nuclear Extinction

Ayn Rand helped the FBI investigate whether `It's a Wonderful Life' was commie propaganda. When the movie first came out, it fell under suspicion from the FBI and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) as Communist propaganda, part of the Red Scare that soon would lead to the blacklist and witch hunt that destroyed the careers of many talented screen and television writers, directors and actors.

Reader Comments- Ebola, Capitalism, Cuba, Disease Control; Elections- Black Vote, Voter Restrictions; War against Islamic State; Detroit; U.S. Jews Debate Israel; Berkeley Free Speech Movement, Education- Philadelphia and Common Core; Mexico, NAFTA; Wealth Inequality; New Voters in Ferguson; Announcements- Black & Brown Unity Event-Los Angeles-Nov 8; New York City Labor Chorus Honoring Pete Seeger-New York-Nov 15; SHE'S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE'S ANGRY-New York showing-Nov 16

Reader Comments - Fast Food Workers; Ralph Fasanella; US-Africa Leaders Summit; School's Back and Growing Inequality; Twin Plagues of ISIS and Ebola; Diablo Canyon Nuke Plant; Brazil's Elections; Argentina; Victory for Market Basket Workers and Consumers; Fed-Ex Workers Can Organize; New Culture on the Left; Call for papers on Harry Braverman's Labor and Monopoly Capital; Today in History - Paul Robeson Returns to Peekskill; Jewish Woman Among the Interned Japanese

Reader Comments - Gaza War - Israel, Palestine, the Jewish community and Zionism; Why Is Washington Risking War With Russia?; Labor - Kellogg Lockout and Coal Miners Anger; The Whitewashing of James Brown; Criminal Prosecution for Environmental Crimes; Bill Gates and the testing industry; Teacher Tenure (video); Celebrate the Life of Vito Marcantonio - Aug 9; 9th annual Dissident Arts Festival - Aug 16 - both in New York Today in History

Reader Comments - Woody Guthrie; On the Waterfront; McCarthyism; Screenwriters and the Blacklist; Third Party politics; Israel, Palestine, Gaza, Israeli peace movement and War Crimes; Zionism and the Jewish community; Saudi Arabia's role; Prisoners, Parole (or lack) and Obama; Teachers; Food; Thank you, Anonymous and contributions to Portside; Screenwriters and the Blacklist: Before, During, and After - New York - August 22-September 2

Actor, author, activist Ruby Dee took her final bow at home in New Rochelle, New York on June 11, 2014. She was a gifted and talented woman who joined with her late husband, Ossie Davis, to produce and present some of the most enjoyable and inspirational stage productions and movies of the last half century.

Most people know Charlie Chaplin, whose 125th birthday was April 16, as a giant figure in the history of film. Chaplin's films were as funny as they were deeply revelatory of the human condition. His raucous cinematic assault on fascism, discussed here, helps enrich our understanding about what made this clown one of our most sublime and important artists.

Racism and the end of net neutrality; Warrant-less cyber-search; Paramount Pictures go digital; Now it can be downloaded; Payment card data theft skyrockets

Reader Comments - Pope Francis, Catholic Church and The Sound of Music; Year in Review, 2014 and Bernie Sanders for President; Inside Llewyn Davis and Dave Van Ronk; Duck Dynasty; Universal Healthcare; Corporate Greed and Financial Speculators; Fast Food Workers; Hollywood and McCarthyism; Facebook is Dead? Niilo Koponen - R.I.P.; Seeking memories of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade