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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.

15 Things Your City Can Do Right Now To End Police Brutality

Zak Cheney-Rice Mic
How, besides protesting, can we actually make sure no more black people are killed, beaten or tortured by the police? And how can we promote justice and equity in law enforcement more generally? The Center for Popular Democracy and Policy Link have partnered with various protesters and street-level organizers to find some concrete solutions to this problem.

The Destruction in Syria

Rabie Nasser Jacobin
As part of a series on the devastating civil war in Syria, Jacobin spoke to Rabie Nasser, a Syrian economic analyst who works with the Syrian Center for Policy Research. We discussed the social and economic disaster in the country, the role global and regional powers have played in the war, and how Syria may one day be rebuilt.

Why We Voted No: Young Greeks on the Referendum

Carmen Fishwick The Guardian
Greece’s young voters rejected the bailout package drawn up by creditors by around 2 to 1. Analysts had predicted that the ballot could be swung by the youth vote, with some polls suggesting that 80 per cent of young Greeks would vote against the plan.

Hillary Clinton Pledges to Defend Israeli Apartheid & Fight BDS Movement in Letter to Mega-Donor

Kevin Gosztola Firedoglake
“I am writing to express my alarm over the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, or ‘BDS,’ a global effort to isolate the State of Israel by ending commercial and academic exchanges,” Clinton wrote [PDF]. “I am seeking your advice on how we can work together—across party lines and with a diverse array of voices—to reverse this trend with information and advocacy, and fight back against further attempts to isolate and delegitimize Israel.”

The Confederate Flag at War (But Not the Civil War)

Greg Grandin TomDispatch
“Northerners and Southerners agreed on little” in the years after the Civil War, historians Boyd Cothran and Ari Kelman write, “except that the Army should pacify Western tribes.” Reconstruction -- Washington’s effort to set the terms for the South’s readmission to the Union and establish postwar political equality -- was being bitterly opposed by defeated white separatists. “Many Americans found rare common ground on the subject of Manifest Destiny.”

Support the Iran Deal!

USLAW US Labor Against the War
40 U.S. organizations have sent a message to U.S. Congress and are organizing to support the nuclear agreement being negotiated with Iran. MODERATOR NOTE: Check-out groups to get involved and be heard and seen in support of peace.

No Smiley Faces: Jared Bernstein on the TPP Juggernaut

Steven Mikulan Capital and Main
Economist Jared Bernstein recently sat down with Capital & Main to offer his perspective on a wide range of political and income-inequality topics. Formerly a top advisor to Vice President Joe Biden and, currently, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Bernstein spoke to us again, following the U.S. Senate vote to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

As Wages Go Up, State Health Care Spending Will Decrease

Laurel Lucia UC Berkeley Labor Center
Millions of California workers will see wage increases in the coming years as a result of recently-enacted state and local minimum wage policies. These minimum wage policies will reduce poverty, reduce employee turnover and improve the health of affected workers and their families. Less often discussed is that these wage increases will also reduce state health care spending.
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