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Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it.

Manafort Plea Fail Is Good News for Oligarchs

David Corn and Dan Friedman Mother Jones
Oleg Deripaska and Dmytro Firtash—and maybe other players in Russia and Ukraine—probably ought to be relieved that Manafort is talking to Mueller no more.

Aiming for a Science of All Humanity

Daniel Hruschka The Conversation
More than 90 percent of studies recently published in psychological science’s flagship journal come from countries representing less than 15 percent of the world’s population.

When Chimamanda Met Hillary: A Tale of How Liberals Cosy Up to Power

Fatima Bhutto The Guardian
Hillary Clinton and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Nigerian American novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s interview of Hillary Clinton is another example of writers embraced by the establishment who not only fail to confront the colossal violence inflicted by the West; but often hail and endorse it.

The New Attack on Linda Sarsour Is With Vile Lies

Linda Sarsour; Bend the Arc; Allison Kaplan Sommer (in Haaretz) Haaretz
Linda Sarsour: The constant defamation of my character is more than any one human being can bear. Bend the Arc: We are disgusted by concerted efforts to spread lies about Linda Sarsour’s sincere support for the victims of the Tree of Life shooting...

America’s Post-9/11 Wars Have Cost $5.9 Trillion

William D. Hartung The Nation
240,000 civilian deaths and 21 million more have been displaced. And yet a congressional commission is urging yet more money for a bloated Pentagon. We should be spending less time figuring out how to fight wars, and how to forge partnerships...

Class Prejudice and the Democrats’ Blue Wave?

Jack Metzgar Working-Class Perspectives
The exclusive focus on suburbs as if they are wall-to-wall white middle-class professionals supports a Democratic political strategy that wants to run against Trump’s offensive style and values rather than on a substantive economic-justice program...

Securing Ramaphosa’s Presidency – At What Cost?

Raymond Suttner Polity (South Africa)
People cherished many expectations for Cyril Ramaphosa's presidency. Many of these were not necessarily realistic and may have derived from a sense of relief in the departure of Jacob Zuma, rather than what may have been possible for Ramaphosa to do.
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