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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.

What Little Babies See That You No Longer Can

Susana Martinez-Conde Scientific American
Before developing perceptual constancy, three- to four-month-old babies have a striking ability to see image differences that are invisible to adults. They lose this superior skill around the age of five months

My 40 Years in Prison

Leonard Peltier CounterPunch
I believe that my incarceration, the constitutional violations in my case, and the government misconduct in prosecuting my case are issues far more important than just my life or freedom. I feel that each of you who have fought for my freedom have been a part of the greater struggle of Native Peoples — for Treaty rights, sovereignty, and our very survival. If I should be called home, please don’t give up on our struggle.

Union Membership Creeps Upward in the South

Chris Kromm Facing South
In the 13 Southern states, the number of workers belonging to unions grew from 2.2 million in 2014, or 5.2 percent of the workforce, to 2.4 million by the end of 2015, or 5.5 percent of Southern workers.

New England Fights Fracked Gas Pipeline

In a letter submitted into the public record at the DPU, Deerfield states its Board of Health has forbidden within the town all activities of Kinder Morgan and will enforce this order. Anyone entering onto private properties, without permission from the property owners, for activities related to the proposed natural gas pipeline will be arrested for trespassing, the Select Board has warned.

The French Justice Minister’s Resignation and the “Droit Du Sol”

Sarah Wood The Conversation
French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira resigned January 27 to protest President Francois Hollande’s new anti-terrorism law that strips those with dual nationality of their French citizenship if convicted of terrorism. Taubira, who was born in French Guiana, says this divides French citizens into two categories with different rights. Taubira, the target of numerous racist and misogynist attacks, played a critical role in the passage of France’s same-sex marriage law.

Friday Nite Videos -- February 5, 2016

Portside
Jesus Reads Quotes From Republican Candidates. Six Responses to Bernie Sanders Skeptics. Movie 'Requiem For The American Dream.' New York Times Parody Edition. President Obama Speaks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore.

What Do Our Wealthiest Deserve?

Sam Pizzigati Too Much
Our world’s billionaires don’t merit either their billions, the economist Didier Jacobs suggests, or the right to claim we’re all living in a ‘meritocracy.’

Ben Jealous, Danny Glover Back Bernie Sanders

The Baltimore Sun
With relatively little media coverage, some prominent Black leaders have recently endorsed Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign, with a former head of the NAACP saying “Bernie Sanders has been a principled, courageous, and consistent fighter against the evils that Dr. King referred as the 'giant triplets of racism, militarism, and greed.’” Are these actions a sign that the presumed 'firewall' of support for Hillary Clinton in the Black community is eroding?

Steps Toward a Third Reconstruction

Reverend Dr. William J. Barber, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove Alternet
Reverend Dr. William J. Barber has been leading the grassroots, progressive movement in North Carolina. Here are his principles for successful organizing.
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