Portside

1. The Vanguard of Humanity
2. Argentina: General Strike Called Against Turbo-Market Reforms
3. The Myanmar People’s Determination to Win Has Begun to Bear Fruit
4. Quebec Strikers Blaze a Trail
5. Indigenous Peoples in Action
6. UK Reports
7. South Korea Reports
8. Splits in Euro Left Parties
9. ‘Unrigged’ Unites Left Media in Canada
10. Some Takeaways from 2023

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The Vanguard of Humanity

Tamsin Metelerkamp / Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)

The Gaza Strip has become one of the most dangerous places in the world to simply exist. Airstrikes have not distinguished between adults and children; between fighters and aid workers. Yet the overwhelming destruction has not stopped health workers, journalists and ordinary citizens from doing their jobs and helping others. Across the Strip, stories of bravery and resilience have emerged.

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Argentina: General Strike Called Against Turbo-Market Reforms

Buenos Aires Times

Javier Milei will face his first general strike after just more than a month in office; Argentina’s top umbrella union group calls for a nationwide protest against his plans to deregulate the country’s economy.

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The Myanmar People’s Determination to Win Has Begun to Bear Fruit

Kyaw Zwa Moe / The Irrawaddy (Yangon)

Myanmar's ruling military has now been exposed, both internally and on the battlefield, as a demoralized and broken institution. Twenty-three towns and more than 400 junta military bases and outposts have been seized by the Brotherhood Alliance and their allied resistance armies. 

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Quebec Strikers Blaze a Trail

Morgan Lowrie / The Canadian Press (Toronto)

A successful resolution to Quebec’s massive public sector strikes could serve as an inspiration to other workers in the province and elsewhere, a labour policy researcher said after two union groups took major steps toward settling agreements with the government. The new year finds workers increasingly confident and willing to fight for better pay and working conditions.

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Indigenous Peoples in Action

• ‘Born to Defend the Land’   Eliana Lafone and Rebecca Wilson / NACLA Report (New York)
   
• In a Mexican Forest   Anjan Sundaram / Vox (New York)
   
• From Mapuche Territory to Palestine   Moira Millán / NACLA Report

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UK Reports

• Long Fight Against Fascism   / BNN Breaking (Hong Kong)
   
• TUC Leader Sees a Busy Year   Hannah Westwater / Big Issue (London)
   
• Low Pay Keeps the Doctors Away   Taj Ali / Tribune (London)

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South Korea Reports

• Health Workers Win   / Peoples Dispatch (New Delhi)
   
• The Marginalized   Lee Hyo-jin / The Korea Times (Seoul)
   
• North/South Tensions  / South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

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Splits in Euro Left Parties

Marga Ferré / Jacobin (New York)

Left-wing forces in Spain, France, Germany and Greece all recently suffered damaging splits. They each stumbled over a common problem: how to influence institutions while focusing on priorities ignored by the dominant media-political class.

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‘Unrigged’ Unites Left Media in Canada

Marc Edge / Canadian Dimension (Winnipeg)

The group is called Unrigged because “it’s time to unrig how we access information about our communities,” says Kevin Taghabon of The Hoser in Toronto. A coalition of 20 local, regional and national media outlets from across Canada, Unrigged was conceived in the wake of the Online News Act fiasco which has seen Meta block news here, leading to huge online audience losses. 

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Some Takeaways from 2023

• Authoritarian Austerity in Global Context   Ahilan Kadirgamar / Daily Mirror (Colombo)
   
• Another COP-out   C.P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh / IDEAs (New Delhi)
   
• BRICS: Sub-Imperialism as Anti-Imperialism   Patrick Bond and Federico Fuentes / Links (Sydney)
   
• The New Russian Question   Anatoly Kropivnitskyi / Posle
   
• US/China: The War Around the Corner   Michael Klare / TomDispatch