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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.

Temporary Work, Lasting Harm

Michael Grabell, Olga Pierce and Jeff Larson ProPublica
Since the 2008 recession, companies have increasingly turned to temporary employees to work in factories and warehouses and on construction sites. The temp industry now employs a record 2.8 million workers.The trend carries a human cost. A ProPublica analysis of millions of workers’ compensation claims shows that in five states, representing more than a fifth of the U.S. population, temps face a significantly greater risk of getting injured on the job.

Charts: The Worst Long-Term Unemployment Crisis Since the Depression

Dave Gilson, Tasneem Raja, and AJ Vicens Mother Jones
Charts illustrating that while corporate profits have rebounded, more than four million Americans have been without work for six months or longer, and the price of continuing long-term unemployment isn't just borne by the jobless and their families. It's dragging down the entire economy—to the tune of $1 trillion a year.

Corrected: Mandela is Dead. Why Hide the Truth About Apartheid?

Fidel Castro Cuba Debate
[Moderator's Note: The translation below was sent from Cuba's Permanent Mission to the United Nations. The translation previously posted by Portside had many problems which is why we are re-posting. Below the English translation is the original in Spanish.]

Wall Street Moving in on American Dream

Mary Ellen Podmolik Chicago Tribune
The arrival of national landlords has raised questions about the long-term effects on mom-and-pop landlords, neighborhoods and affordability.

Economic Opportunity Is Lowest In the Former Slave States

Eric Zuesse Op Ed News
New Dixie has replaced the aristocracy's black slaves of Old Dixie, by the local (white) aristocracy's institutionalized bigotry against poor people, now of all ethnic groups. What used to be their purely racist bigotry has, it seems, devolved into a crushing, pervasive, classist, bigotry in the South.

Report: NSA Paid RSA to Make Flawed Crypto Algorithm the Default

Peter Bright, Bruce Schneier Ars Technica
Reuters' report suggests that RSA wasn't merely following the trends when it picked the algorithm and that contrary to its previous claims, the company has inserted presumed backdoors at the behest of the spy agency.

U.S. Turns Blind Eye as Saudis Fund Jihadists in Syrian Conflict

Patrick Cockburn Democracy Now!
So, you know, it is extraordinary that al-Qaeda has been the great sort of winner of the conflicts over the last—whenever it is, since 9/11, and they’ve—and managed to make such tremendous gains without much opposition from Washington or London or Paris.
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