Portside

Portside readers have weighed in, as you often do, on the issue of Trump, Putin, Russia, the revival of a new-Cold War, and foreign interference in our electoral process. Here a number of readers, including some Portside moderators, express their individual views, on what they feel should be the position of the left, for democracy, and opposed to militarism, increases in the military budget, and re-vamped calls for a new-nuclear laden Cold War against Russia.

The world today is overwhelmed with problems. Policymakers seem to be confused and at a loss. But no problem is more urgent today than the militarization of politics and the new arms race. Stopping and reversing this ruinous race must be our top priority. While state budgets are struggling to fund people's essential social needs, military spending is growing.

Reader Comments: Time's Trump Cover Is a Subversive Work of Political Art; Reader's Disagree - Is Trump Passing Secrets to Putin - or is Borowitz Satire or Incredible Reality Check; Why Does the Media Misjudge Fascists; Trump Nominee Meets with Austrian Nazis; Teacher Shortages; Trump's Job Plan; Hotel Workers Beat Trump; Los Angeles Fashion Industry; Discussion - Building Mass Socialist Party; Cuban Art Exhibit in New York; and more...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to receive daily U.S. intelligence briefings in the place of the President-elect.

There is no way to know whether Russian 'fake news' efforts proved decisive in electing Trump, but researchers say it was part of a broadly effective strategy. The tactics included penetrating the computers of election officials and releasing troves of hacked emails that embarrassed Clinton in the final months of her campaign.

Putin has just delivered a speech every American deserves to hear and consider. Few will have done so for the simple reason that our media declined to tell you about the Russian leader’s presentation to an annual gathering of leaders and thinkers called the Valdai International Discussion Club, a Davos variant. Readers can now decide: What they think of the speech and what they think of the American media for not reporting it.

In Germany heads fall - Lenin's head still needs to be kept buried, and Berlin's once-popular gay mayor bows out. Another head featured in the press belongs to a man who is certainly not gay nor a Lenin. Sadly, current references to Vladimir Putin, evoke all too sharply recollections of German language used against every Russian leader since the start of World War I a hundred years ago.

The State Department’s handling of the Ukraine crisis may go down as a textbook diplomatic fiasco, doing nothing to advance genuine U.S. interests while disrupting cooperation with Moscow and pushing Russia and China back together, reports Robert Parry.