Portside

Building off the momentum and power of 2016, we’re excited to announce the 2017 Renter Nation Series: Strategies and Solutions to defend against displacement and build rebel cities for the people and planet.

Half a century after United States B-52 bombers dropped more than 500,000 tonnes of explosives on Cambodia's countryside Washington wants the country to repay a $US500 million ($662 million) war debt. The demand has prompted expressions of indignation and outrage from Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.

By halting a proposed $150 million police precinct, Seattle activists have made headway in redirecting funding toward services like affordable housing and education.

As immigration dominates restaurant discussions, many chefs who have never considered mixing politics with business are wondering if now is the time to start. The sanctuary restaurant movement involves taking a pledge to prohibit harassment based on factors like religion, sexual orientation or immigration status.

In his first book, Seattle-based union organizer Jonathan Rosenblum recounts the personal stories of clergy, activists and airport workers who mounted the first successful campaign for a $15 minimum wage in the U.S. Here is an interview with Rosenblum.

Trump’s proposed budget would eliminate funding for public broadcasting, which has a proven record of helping kids in poor families.

There’s the Women’s March, the Women’s Strike, the Day Without a Woman, International Women’s Day, U.S. Soccer with Equal Play Equal Pay. All of that has been going on in the last couple of months and we’re now playing a role in that as the women’s hockey team.

Raising consciousness about capitalism’s predations, even in beer, could encourage a movement to socialize brewing. In a democratically managed economic system, the freewheeling ethos of the microbrew movement would be free to flourish without being blackballed out of the market by the majors, or bought out if they manage to succeed. Now that would be a happy hour!

(Fair warning: some of these are fairly wonky, so if you’re not the type that gets excited by telecom law, you can always skip to the part where you call your senators and representative and tell them not to repeal the FCC’s ISP privacy rules—because if we raise our voices together, we can stop Congress before it’s too late.)

This study isn’t the only one to show the positive impacts of sugary beverage taxes. This study on Berkeley’s soda tax found a whopping 21 percent decrease in sugary beverage consumption. At Harvard, researchers predicted that Philadelphia’s sugary beverage tax, which went into effect this year, could prevent 36,000 cases of obesity over 10 years, prevent more than 2,000 cases of diabetes in the first year after the tax reaches its full effect, and save $200 million.