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Left's Love-Hate Relationship With Zionism
Portside -
Wed, 2012-11-14 23:10
Left's Love-Hate Relationship With Zionism:
Robert Wistrich's Details Long and Strange Path
By Tony Michels
The Jewish Daily Forward
November 09, 2012.
forward.com/articles/165232/lefts-love-hate-relationship-with-zionism/
“From Ambivalence to Betrayal: The Left, the Jews, and
Israel” By Robert S. Wistrich University of Nebraska
Press, 648 pages, $55
Imagine this: It’s the summer of 1947 and you’re a
Communist or a fellow traveler or a Socialist or
another kind of anti-Stalinist. Despite myriad
differences with political rivals, you share the same
basic position on the question of Palestine. You insist
that the United Nations grant Jews a state alongside an
Arab one. When the [...]
Categories: Portside
Economists Say Jobs First; Reject The Grand Swindle
Portside -
Wed, 2012-11-14 23:09
Economists Say Jobs First; Reject The Grand Swindle
By Isaiah J. Poole
Campaign for America's Future
November 14, 2012
blog.ourfuture.org/economists-say-jobs-first-reject-the-grand-swindle/
The fight to head off a so-called "grand bargain" that
would end up being a grand swindle of economic
recovery and opportunity for working-class
Americans gets kicked up another notch today when
a group of 350 prominent economists and experts
release a statement [jobsnotausterity.org/]
warning President Obama and Congress to turn
away from the "obsessive concern with cutting
deficits" and focus on "jobs first." (Click here for
audio of the news conference:
tinyurl.com/b8zbltb [...]
Categories: Portside
Why We Are Striking Against Austerity in Europe
Portside -
Wed, 2012-11-14 23:09
Why We Are Striking Against Austerity in Europe
European workers' representatives tell us their reasons for
taking part in today's European day of action
The Guardian
November 14 2012
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/14/why-we-striking-against-austerity-europe
Spain: Fernando Lezcano: 'The sacrifice is not being shared'
The European Trade Union Confederation has called a day of
action and solidarity throughout Europe on 14 November to
fight against the austerity policies being deployed
throughout Europe. This day of action will mean a general
strike in this country, which, for the first time in recent
history, will also be simultaneously held in other European
countries. [...]
Categories: Portside
Anti-Austerity Protests Rock Dominican Republic
Portside -
Wed, 2012-11-14 23:08
Anti-Austerity Protests Rock Dominican Republic
Here's How Bad the Deficit Problem Is in the
Dominican Republic
Dominicans attend a demonstration against the
fiscal reform in Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012. The measure
will increase the general sales tax to 18
percent from 16 percent, will raise the price
of gasoline and impose taxes on basic food
products. The sign reads in Spanish: "Social
inequality is more violent than any protest."
(Manuel Diaz/AP Photo)
tinyurl.com/ar2h4kt [...]
Categories: Portside
In Spielbergâs âLincoln,â Passive Black Characters
Portside -
Wed, 2012-11-14 23:06
In Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln,’ Passive Black Characters
By Kate Masur
The New York Times
November 12, 2012
www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/opinion/in-spielbergs-lincoln-passive-black-characters.html
Evanston, Ill.
THE latest film by Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln,” which
opens nationwide on Friday, has the makings of an Oscar
shoo-in, particularly for Daniel Day-Lewis’s
performance in the title role. The first scene is
arresting: Two black soldiers speak with the president
about their experiences in combat. One, a corporal,
raises the problem of unequal promotions and pay in the
Union Army. Two white soldiers join them, and the scene
concludes as the corporal walks away, movingly reciting
the final lines of the [...]
Categories: Portside
Europe unites in austerity protests against cuts and job losses
Portside Labor -
Wed, 2012-11-14 21:49
Europe unites in austerity protests against cuts and job
losses
Millions take part in strikes, stoppages and marches on
day of co-ordinated action as eurozone teeters on return
to recession
Tom Kington in Rome, Helena Smith in Athens, Kim
Willsher in Paris and Martin Roberts in Madrid
guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday 14 November 2012 14.30 EST
www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/nov/14/europe-unite-austerity-protests
Hundreds of thousands of Europeans mounted one of the
biggest coordinated anti-austerity protests across the
continent on Wednesday, marching against
German-orchestrated cuts as the eurozone is poised to
move back into recession. [...]
Categories: Portside
How Teachers Unions Lead the Way to Better Schools
Portside -
Tue, 2012-11-13 23:46
How Teachers Unions Lead the Way to Better Schools
Diane Ravitch upends the "bad teachers" narrative.
By Amy Dean
November 12, 2012
In These Times - Web Only Feature
www.inthesetimes.com/article/14160/how_teachers_unions_can_lead_the_way_to_better_schools
I have a concern: Teachers are getting pummeled. Too often,
they are being demonized in the media and blamed by
politicians for being the cause of bad schools. Right-wing
governors, power-hungry mayors and corporate "reformers" -
all ignoring root issues such as poverty and inequality -
have scapegoated the people who have devoted their lives to
educating our children. Moreover, these forces are seeking
to destroy the collective organizations formed [...]
Categories: Portside
Why We Need Redistricting Reform
Portside -
Tue, 2012-11-13 23:46
Why We Need Redistricting Reform
By Keesha Gaskins & Sundeep Iyer
November 8, 2012
Brennan Center for Justice Blog
www.brennancenter.org/blog/archives/why_we_need_redistricting_reform/
On November 7, Americans woke up again to a Republican-
controlled House of Representatives. And whether they like it
or not, Americans should get used to this leadership.
Republican control of the lower chamber could extend well
past the 113th Congress, thanks in part to the once-a-decade
process of redistricting. [...]
Categories: Portside
Dispatches from the Culture Wars - Post- Election Fall Out Edition
Portside -
Tue, 2012-11-13 23:45
Dispatches from the Culture Wars - Post- Election Fall Out
Edition, November 13, 2012
Published by Portside
# # #
Quote of the Day: America's Billionaires are Pissed Off at
Karl Rove
By Kevin Drum
November 7, 2012
Mother Jones
www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/11/quote-day- americas-billionaires-are-pissed-karl-rove
"The billionaire donors I hear are livid," one Republican
operative told The Huffington Post. "There is some holy hell
to pay. Karl Rove has a lot of explaining to do ... I don't
know how you tell your donors that we spent $390 million and
got nothing."....If conservative billionaires are looking
for something else to be mad about, [...]
Categories: Portside
Grassroots Groups Have Taken Over Sandy Relief
Portside -
Tue, 2012-11-13 23:44
Grassroots Groups Have Taken Over Sandy Relief
From Gerritsen to Coney, trusted local organizations and ad-
hoc operations have stepped into a void left by overstretched
city departments and low-profile federal agencies.
By Neil deMause|
Nov 13, 2012
The Brooklyn Bureau
www.bkbureau.org/node/3746/
But unlike many of the other city neighborhoods struggling in
the wake of Hurricane Sandy - the Rockaways, Coney Island,
Midland Beach, Red Hook - Gerritsen Beach was officially
mapped as Zone B, a designation that led many residents to
remain in their homes as the storm began to rage on October
29. It did not stop the [...]
Categories: Portside
'Corporations Are Not People' in Montana, Colorado
Portside -
Tue, 2012-11-13 23:44
'Corporations Are Not People' in Montana, Colorado
Common Dreams staff
November 7, 2012
www.CommonDreams.org
www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/11/07-0
In a landslide victory Tuesday night, Montana voters approved
an initiative stating "that corporations are not entitled to
constitutional rights because they are not human beings" --
corporations are not people.
The initiative directly challenges the now infamous Citizens
United decision, which allows corporations to contribute
unlimited amounts of money for campaign groups know as super
PACS and 'shadow money' organizations. [...]
Categories: Portside
Anti-austerity Strikes Sweep Southern Europe
Portside Labor -
Tue, 2012-11-13 21:26
Anti-austerity Strikes Sweep Southern Europe
Reuters
Terra.com
Nov. 13, 2012
news.terra.com/anti-austerity-strikes-sweep-southern-europe,77ee3f3a609fa310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html
Spanish and Portuguese workers will stage the first
coordinated general strike across the Iberian Peninsula
on Wednesday, shutting transport, grounding flights and
closing schools to protest against spending cuts and
tax hikes.
Unions in Greece and Italy also planned work
stoppages and demonstrations on a "European Day of
Action and Solidarity" against austerity policies,
which labor leaders blame for prolonging and worsening
the continent's economic crisis. [...]
Categories: Portside
How Chicago Teachers Got Organized to Strike
Portside Labor -
Tue, 2012-11-13 01:44
How Chicago Teachers Got Organized to Strike
Norine Gutekanst
Labor Notes
November 12, 2012
labornotes.org/2012/10/how-chicago-teachers-got-organized-strike
The seven-day Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike in
September didn't just beat back a mayor bent on
imposing some very bad "education reforms." The union
also developed a deep new layer of member leaders and
won broad public support. One poll showed 66 percent of
parents sided with us. [...]
Categories: Portside
Wal-Mart's Catastrophic Health Plan
Portside -
Mon, 2012-11-12 22:36
Wal-Mart's Catastrophic Health Plan
by Al Norman
www.sprawl-busters.com/search.php?readstory=3992
2012-11-12
Bentonville, AR.
Wal-Mart corporate issued a press release about a month
ago, touting its "first-of-its-kind" program that will
offer its employees free health coverage for such
catastrophic expenses as heart, spine and transplant
services using 6 "Centers of Excellence." Patients must
be healthy enough to travel for the surgeries.
But that announcement seems trivial compared to the
story which came out today saying that Wal-Mart's basic
health plan premiums were going to rise by as much as
36%, with employees paying a minimum of $1,750 in
deductibles, plus the monthly premiums, [...]
Categories: Portside
Middle East: The Next Four Years
Portside -
Mon, 2012-11-12 22:35
Middle East: The Next Four Years
Dispatches From The Edge
Conn Hallinan
Nov.11, 2012
Over the next four years the U.S. will face a number of
foreign policy issues, most of them regional, some of
them global. Dispatches From The Edge will try to
outline and analyze them, starting with the Middle
East.
Syria
The most immediate problem in the region is the
on-going civil war in Syria, a conflict with local and
international ramifications. The war--which the
oppressive regime of Bashar al-Assad ignited by its
crushing of pro-democracy protests-- has drawn in
Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Iran, and the
[...]
Categories: Portside
The Strike in Southern Europe
Portside -
Mon, 2012-11-12 22:35
The Strike in Southern Europe
Sahra Wagenknecht
The B u l l e t
Socialist Project * E-Bulletin No. 728
November 12, 2012
www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/728.php#continue
A storm is brewing in Southern Europe. In Greece on
November 6 and 7 another general strike will take
place. On November 14 Portuguese, Cypriot, Spanish and
Italian trade unions intend to go on strike in
opposition to the austerity policies of the European
Union. Belgian and British trade unions, as well as the
European and German trade union confederations, are
also calling for action. If the mobilization is
successful, this transnational strike will be a
[...]
Categories: Portside
Hawks and Hypocrites
Portside -
Mon, 2012-11-12 22:35
Hawks and Hypocrites
Paul Krugman: NY Times Op-Ed: 11/12/2012
www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/opinion/krugman-hawks-and-hypocrites.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Back in 2010, self-styled deficit hawks -- better
described as deficit scolds -- took over much of our
political discourse. At a time of mass unemployment and
record-low borrowing costs, a time when economic theory
said we needed more, not less, deficit spending, the
scolds convinced most of our political class that
deficits rather than jobs should be our top economic
priority. And now that the election is over, they're
trying to pick up where they left off. [...]
Categories: Portside
Tidbits - Reader Comments & Announcements
Portside -
Mon, 2012-11-12 22:34
Tidbits - Reader Comments & Announcements - November 12, 2012
* Historians against the War Call for Proposals
* Re: The Worst Didn't Happen; Now another Solution Lurks
(Martin Gittelman, Jean Damu)
* Re: It's Appalling That Gerrymandering Is Legal(Paul Lauter)
* Re: Contaminated Food Makes 48 Million Americans Sick Every
Year (Cynthia Phinney)
* An Anti-War Installation Worth Checking Out: The Abraham
Lincoln War Veteran Projection - New York City
* "Labor and the Political Process" - A Panel Discussion
Featuring Members of the Labor Community - Dec. 4 - New York [...]
Categories: Portside
Sandy Sweeps Away New York City's Only Day Laborer Center
Portside Labor -
Mon, 2012-11-12 10:30
Sandy Sweeps Away New York City's Only Day Laborer
Center
BY J.A. MYERSON
In These Times
WEDNESDAY NOV 7, 2012 12:46 PM
www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/14145/sandy_sweeps_away_new_york_citys_only_day_laborer_center/
A storm surge from Hurricane Sandy unmoored the Bay
Parkway Community Job Center, New York City's only
center for day laborers, and moved it a couple hundred
feet inland from the Bensonhurst shore, cracking one of
its walls in the process. Ligia Guallpa of the Worker
Justice Projects, which operates the center, and
Lionel, one of the center's founders, tried to show it
to me Tuesday afternoon, but the New York Police
Department objected. [...]
Categories: Portside
Puerto Rico Referendum: Divided Views
Portside -
Mon, 2012-11-12 01:45
(1)
Puerto Rico Statehood Vote Wins Largest Share And Governor
Luis Fortuno Concedes Defeat
By BEN FOX and DANICA COTO
Huffington Post
11/07/12
www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/puerto-rico-statehood-vote_n_2088254.html
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A majority of Puerto Ricans have
opted for the first time to become the 51st U.S. state
in what jubilant members of the pro-statehood party call
a resounding sign that the island territory is on the
road to losing its second-class status. [...]
Categories: Portside
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