The Top Fifty Songs of the Decade ft. Hurray for the Riff Raff, Janelle Monáe, Arcade Fire, Beyoncé & more

As 2020 dawns this is our look at what we think are the fifty best songs of the decade.

With entries from artists like Beyoncé, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, Chance the Rapper, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Hozier, Janelle Monáe, Alabama Shakes, Childish Gambino, Miguel, Lana Del Rey, John Prine, Bon Iver and many others here is our salute to the music of the 2010s.

(See also: The 20 Best Songs of 2019 ft. Brittany Howard, Kesha, William Prince, The Highwomen & more!)

Staring with:

A painfully honest, raw, wonderful song.

#50) Pristine - Snail Mail



Moving, with a near perfect interplay between the two singers.

#49) May I Have This Dance - Francis and the Lights f. Chance the Rapper



From one of the very best albums of the decade, Lemonade.

#48) All Night - Beyonce



Great song with a terrific video.

#47) Make You Better - The Decemberists 



An unflinching song about loss, aging and death, If We Were Vampires is beautifully written and profoundly haunting and sad.

"If we were vampires and death was a joke
We'd go out on the sidewalk and smoke
And laugh at all the lovers and their plans
I wouldn't feel the need to hold your hand

Maybe time running out is a gift"

#46) If We Were Vampires - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

A song that ages very well. It gets better with time and repeated playing.

#45) Simple Song - The Shins



Timberlake's masterpiece. Truly moving song and video.

#44) Mirrors - Justin Timberlake



Any number of Lana Del Rey songs could have made this list (and this is not the last). An artist who has grown to be one of the most consistently original and interesting out there.

#43) West Coast - Lana Del Rey



A marvelous celebration of lust and sexuality.

#42) Coffee - Miguel 



A deeply humanistic song that also improves with age.

#41) Call it Dreaming - Iron & Wine



A stunning song by an artist who is going to go great places.

#40) Great One - Jessie Reyez 



Intense. Almost like a musical anxiety attack.

#39) Pedestrian At Best - Courtney Barnett



Haunting and ethereal.

#38) Strange Weather - Anna Calvi & David Byrne 




Deeply philosophical and poetic.

#37) 33 "God" - Bon Iver



An absolutely brilliant, feminist re-imagining of an iconic country song.

"We are The Highwomen
Singing stories still untold
We carry the sons you can only hold
We are the daughters of the silent generations
You sent our hearts to die alone in foreign nations
It may return to us as tiny drops of rain
But we will still remain

And we'll come back again and again and again
And again and again
We'll come back again and again and again
And again and again"

#36) Highwomen - The Highwomen



Marvelously romantic, an incredible love song with great depth and feeling.

#35) The Spark - William Prince



Wonderful celebration of diversity and humanity.

#34) Fam Jam (Fe Sum Immigrins) - Shad



Lady Gaga's great triumph.

#33) You and I - Lady Gaga



Powerful, powerful song that features the exceptional gospel vocals of the iconic Mavis Staples. Packs a hell of an emotional and lyrical punch in under 3 minutes.

#32) Witness - Benjamin Booker



A great song off of what was possibly the greatest album the decade, Modern Vampires Of The City.

#31) Diane Young - Vampire Weekend



Middle fingers up.

#30) Sorry - Beyonce



Hypnotic.

#29) Like a Dream - Francis and the Lights



Terrific song and collaboration.

#28) Woman - Cat Power (feat. Lana Del Rey)



Phenomenal song that celebrates both change and tradition.

#27) Seasons (Waiting On You) - Future Islands



One of the decade's finest straight ahead rock songs.

#26) Here Comes My Man - Gaslight Anthem



Devastating.

#25) Take Me to Church - Hozier



An anthem of rage and a call for justice. A "Three Penny" Opera style rejection that is so richly deserved to a social order and patriarchy that has to end.

#24) Rich, White, Straight, Men - Kesha 



A truly wonderful, wonderful song. Uplifting, full of heart and a deep embrace of humanity and life, Howard of Alabama Shakes fame gives us a feel good masterpiece.

#23) Stay High - Brittany Howard



Strikingly original. Lana Del Rey's finest moment to date.

#22) National Anthem - Lana Del Rey



Incredibly powerful, beautifully written and performed.

#21) Glory - Common & John Legend



Raw, beautifully produced and realized.

#20) 4:44 - Jay Z



Based on the intense and magnificent "Stadium Pow Wow", this collaboration is a home run on every level. Will make you heart beat just a little too fast.

#19)  R.E.D. Ft. Yasiin Bey, Narcy & Black Bear - A Tribe Called Red



A love song to a certain New York.

#18) Step - Vampire Weekend



From the marvelous Glen Hansard...tremendous vocals, wonderfully written.

#17) Her Mercy - Glen Hansard




Just wonderful. Romantic, soaring vocals, touching, heartfelt.

About as good a love song as you will ever hear.

#16) Beyond - Leon Bridges



Visceral, challenging, intense and breathtaking...a stunning song that is both a throwback and an announcement while also a devastating piece of social commentary.

#15) Creature Comfort - Arcade Fire




This is a searing, incisive and really amazing political and musical statement.

They confront the racist brutality of their own society head on in a way that does not attempt to whitewash or make excuses.

Lyrically stunning, musically perfect.

#14) What it Means - Drive By Truckers




Haunting.

#13) From Eden - Hozier 




The legendary John Prine. Back again with this emotionally devastating song about the opioid crisis, love, longing and loss.

#12) Summer's End - John Prine




With Prince influences, clever lyrical twists, amazing hooks...Monáe strikes in ways both new and familiar.

#11) Make Me Feel - Janelle Monáe



A strikingly powerful and moving meditation on death.

#10)  Brendan's Death Song - Red Hot Chili Peppers



I love everything about this song and its stunning video. Guaranteed to make you feel better about the world for a few minutes at least!

#9) Sunday Candy - Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment w. Chance the Rapper




The song and video are a body blow. An expression of fightback and resistance.

The interpretative dance about the police murder is one of the most powerful things I have ever seen.

#8) 16 Shots - Vic Mensa



This song just kicks ass...from the great folks of Alabama Shakes...

#7) Hold On - Alabama Shakes




A devastating, disturbing and exceptionally powerful song.

#6) The Body Electric - Hurray for the Riff Raff



Disturbing, intense, irreverent, angry, comic...a song for our time.

#5) This Is America - Childish Gambino 



This song is a masterpiece on basically every level. A stunning, confrontational, angry, reverential, historic, amazing piece of art.

It has led to both praise and criticism and sometimes both had equal merit. It is self-contradictory and yet anthemic. It is a song that stresses individualism and that yet came to symbolize resistance.

Mesmerizing, beautiful, magnificent.... All Hail Beyonce.

"You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation"

#4) Formation - Beyonce

A song of great power, reflection and sadness.

#3) Afterlife - Arcade Fire




What can you say about this one? It is like 3 songs in 1, it is intense and wild, a genuine work of art.

Absolutely love everything about it. Just amazing.

#2 - Q.U.E.E.N. - Janelle Monáe feat. Erykah Badu



Comrades and friends...THIS is the song we have been waiting for and, especially now in this time of great challenges, needed.

A beacon of hope and revolt in the face of darkness.

Anthemic, rousing, revolutionary, sad, despairing yet uplifting, it even features a sample of Pedro Pietri’s poem “Puerto Rican Obituary”.

Profoundly moving it is sure to become a leftist anthem:

"From el barrio to el assyeo, ¡Pa’lante!
From Marble Hill to the ghost of Emmett Till, ¡Pa’lante!
To Juan, Miguel, Miradros, Manuel, ¡Pa’lante!
To all who came before, we say, ¡Pa’lante!
To my mother and my father, I say, ¡Pa’lante!
To Julia, and Sylvia, ¡Pa’lante!
To all who had to hide, I say, ¡Pa’lante!
To all who lost their pride, I say, ¡Pa’lante!
To all who had to survive, I say, ¡Pa’lante!
To my brothers, and my sisters, I say, ¡Pa’lante!
¡Pa’lante!
¡Pa’lante!
To all came before, we say, ¡Pa’lante!"

Power to the People!

#1) Pa'lante - Hurray for the Riff Raff



Happy New Year and New Decade.

The 20 Best Songs of 2019 ft. Brittany Howard, Kesha, William Prince, The Highwomen & more!

Our annual list of the 20 best songs of the year. This year's list is a little earlier than usual as we will be doing a countdown of the best songs of the decade closer to New Year.

From A Tribe Called Red to Carly Rae Jepsen to Hozier, The Highwomen, Tenille Townes, Lana Del Rey, Brittany Howard and so much more...here we go!



#20) PUP - Morbid Stuff

Intense both musically and lyrically and just a great crank it song...from their Polaris Prize nominated album.



#19) Miami Memory - Alex Cameron

Explicit and very powerful...an undeniably great song.



#18)  Jersey on the Wall (I'm Just Asking) - Tenille Townes

Raw and devastating. It asks the question we all would if we could. Why, if there is a God, would that car have crashed?



#17) The OG - A Tribe Called Red Ft. Black Bear

Exceptional piece from an exceptional band. Has a brilliant, political use of voice over.



#16) SonReal - Healing (Feat. Jessie Reyez)

Lovely song that makes the most of its guest vocalist, the simply stunning Jessie Reyez.

Just let this one carry you away...



#15) No Drug Like Me - Carly Rae Jepsen

There are so many songs to love off of Carly Rae Jepsen's new pop mini-masterpiece of an album Dedicated, but the largely overlooked No Drug is just about as good as anything she has ever done. Marvelously produced and atmospheric.




#14) Shovels & Rope - "Mississippi Nuthin'"

Off the By Blood album Mississippi Nuthin' is about working-class dreams gone wrong and lives derailed. Moving along at a breathtaking pace it draws you into the lives of two people in a way both involving and sad. One has had their life go a very different way than the other.




#13) Almost (Sweet Music) - Hozier 

Hozier is back with this marvelously charming song...an homage to music, jazz and love.
“Almost (Sweet Music)”

#12) Juice - Lizzo 

Iconic. Wonderful.



11) Fuck it I love you / The Greatest - Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Ray continues with some of the most creative and interesting music of the era.



10) Not - Big Thief

Terrific intensity. Fantastic song.

"It's not the room
Not beginning
Not the crowd
Not winning
Not the planet
That's spinning"



#9) Cellophane - FKA twigs

Disturbing and visceral. A challenging song magnificently performed.



#8) Heavy - Dizzy

Lyrically stunning and infused with an almost aching, haunting sadness, this is a song that stays with you through repeated listening.



#7) Voicemail For Jill - Amanda Palmer

A difficult, emotionally saw song that is completely brilliant in its execution, Amanda Palmer lays herself bare in this powerful reflection on miscarriage, abortion and the terrible judgement and silences that women have to endure.



#6) Seventeen - Sharon Van Etten 

A reflection on growing older and the impossible wish that you could send your wisdom now to that more free and reckless version of you all those years ago, this song hits it on every level.



#5) Thirteen -  Haviah Mighty

Her album won the Polaris prize and this very moving, powerful song makes it very clear why.

4)

#4) Highwomen - The Highwomen

An absolutely brilliant, feminist re-imagining of an iconic country song.

"We are The Highwomen
Singing stories still untold
We carry the sons you can only hold
We are the daughters of the silent generations
You sent our hearts to die alone in foreign nations
It may return to us as tiny drops of rain
But we will still remain

And we'll come back again and again and again
And again and again
We'll come back again and again and again
And again and again"



#3) The Spark - William Prince

Marvelously romantic, an incredible love song with great depth and feeling.



#2) Rich, White, Straight, Men - Kesha

An anthem of rage and a call for justice. A "Three Penny" Opera style rejection that is so richly deserved to a social order and patriarchy that has to end.



#1) Stay High - Brittany Howard

A truly wonderful, wonderful song. Uplifting, full of heart and a deep embrace of humanity and life, Howard of Alabama Shakes fame gives us a feel good masterpiece.

The 20 Best Songs of 2018 ft. Janelle Monáe, John Prine, Childish Gambino, Leon Bridges & more!

Our annual list of the 20 best songs of the year. From Chvrches to The 1975 to John Prine to Childish Gambino, Brandi Carlile, Kacey Musgraves, Janelle Monáe and so much more...here we go!


Chvrches' album Love is Dead was a pop triumph. And this song, something of a throwback, is a wistful, bittersweet standout.



#20 Graffiti - Chvrches



Off her exceptional album By the Way, I Forgive You -- which got a much deserved but surprise Grammy nomination nod -- this is Carlile at her best.

#19 - Every Time I Hear That Song, Brandi Carlile



What is not to like about this rousing, old school song? Great stuff!

#18 A Little Honey, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats



Turn the volume up to 11 on this one and open the windows to bug the neighbours....great straight-up rock song.

#17) That's What Heaven Feels Like, The Dirty Nil




Co-written with a veteran of American wars, this powerful country-folk song expresses the mixed and difficult feelings that many have after they come home from years of brutality and violence. While the video debuted at the end of last year, the album and song were officially released in 2018.

"And they thank me for my service and wave their little flags
They genuflect on Sundays and yes, they'd send us back
But I believe in God and country and in the angels up on high
And in heaven shining down on us through bullet holes in the sky"

#16) Bullet Holes in the Sky, Mary Gauthier



Written by the exceptionally talented Jason Isbell, this terrific song off the superb soundtrack for A Star is Born is lyrically powerful and shows that Bradley Cooper in an alternate universe is a huge country music star!

#15) Maybe It's Time, Bradley Cooper



This hypnotic song lulls you with its tone, length and mesmerizing repetition...perfect with headphones on repeat...over-and-over....

#14 Venice Bitch, Lana Del Ray



Off the nearly perfect album Golden Hour -- which also garnered an unexpected and richly deserved Grammy nomination for Album of the Year -- this is one of her very best songs...and not her last entry on this list.

#13) High Horse, Kacey Musgraves



As far as original mainstream movie songs go...they don't get much better than this! A great duet, a terrific, soaring Broadway style feel...a near certain Oscar winner...

#12 Shallow, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper



A painfully honest, raw, wonderful song. Lindsey Jordan, who is only 19, is going great places...

#11) Pristine, Snail Mail


Dirty Computer is the masterpiece album of 2018...Janelle Monáe has always been incredible, but it is hard to imagine she will top this...here is hoping.

Any number of songs could have made this list, but this one, which is not the last, is an all around standout and embodies the sound and vision of the whole project.

#10) Django Jane, Janelle Monáe



I always had a soft spot for these guys...but this is an almost out-of-nowhere elevation to different level...an intense song that oppressively reminds of the disorientation of our times while providing surprising musical contrasts...a band now to watch...

#9) Love It If We Made It, The 1975




Her second entry on this year's list...the "You can have your space...cowboy" lyric with the pregnant pause is brilliant.

p.s....the guy is clearly a schmuck.

#8) Space Cowboy, Kacey Musgraves



Dream like, hypnotic, nostalgic, a little piece of anxious genius.

#7) Boyish, Japanese Breakfast



I don't care what anyone says, he was the best host of Q to date....and this is a fantastic song off a fantastic album.

#6) The Fool Pt 1, Shad


Wanderer is an incredible album and if I did not have a philosophical rule against putting covers on best of lists her cover of Stay would also be here...

This a great song and a great collaboration.

#5) Woman, Cat Power (feat. Lana Del Rey)

cat power

I can listen to this song three times daily and five times on Sunday!

Just wonderful. Romantic, soaring vocals, touching, heartfelt.

About as good a love song as you will ever hear.

#4) Leon Bridges - Beyond



Disturbing, intense, irreverent, angry, comic...a song for our time.

#3 Childish Gambino - This Is America



The legendary John Prine. Back again with this emotionally devastating song about the opioid crisis, love, longing and loss.

If you have not heard this...and it has not gotten much mainstream play...it is stunning.

#2) Summer's End, John Prine




It is pretty hard to imagine a greater stand alone song this year. With Prince influences, clever lyrical twists, amazing hooks...Monáe strikes in ways both new and familiar.

Stunning.

#1) Make Me Feel - Janelle Monáe 

See also: The 20 Best Songs of 2017 ft. Hurray For The Riff Raff, Arcade Fire, Jay-Z, Jessie Reyez and more!

Notwithstanding, Indian Protests, Tesla & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos September 9 - 16

This week's list of articles, news items, opinion pieces and videos that I see as a must if you are looking for a roundup that should be of interest to The Left Chapter readers.



This list covers the week of September 9 - 16.



1) 10 Most Damning Quotes From the Court Ruling Striking Down Doug Ford’s Law Rigging Toronto’s Election

Press Progress

Ontario’s Superior Court just ruled Doug Ford’s gerrymandering law is undemocratic and unconstitutional.

2) Premier Doug Ford to use notwithstanding clause to cut size of Toronto city council

John Rieti · CBC News

Ontario Premier Doug Ford will invoke the constitutional notwithstanding clause to override a judge's decision that blocks his government from slashing the size of Toronto city council nearly in half.

3) Doug Ford Says the Government of Ontario Does Not Need to Respect the Constitution or the Rule of Law

Press Progress

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will override Canada’s Constitution to overturn a court decision that ruled his move to redraw Toronto’s political boundaries in the middle of the city’s municipal election is “unconstitutional.”

4) Ford’s legislation to cut Toronto council passes first reading as protests rock the Ontario legislature

Robert Benzie and Kristin Rushowy, The Toronto Star

Doug Ford’s unprecedented overriding of Charter freedoms triggered mayhem in the legislature — with protesters handcuffed and turfed, and most New Democrat MPPs ejected for banging on their desks and shouting.

5) CORPORATE INTERESTS BEHIND FORD’S ATTACK ON LOCAL DEMOCRACY

David McKee, People's Voice

In the morning of September 10, the Twitterverse exploded with 280-character celebrations, after an Ontario Superior Court judge struck down Doug Ford’s legislation cutting Toronto’s city council in half. Within hours, however, Ford had announced that he would invoke Section 33 of the Constitution, the “notwithstanding clause,” to force the legislation through.

(Related: Petty, vengeful and crass, bully boy Ford's toddler tantrum a dangerous sign of things to come)

6) Involving everyone in the commemoration of Havana’s 500 years

 Yaima Puig Meneses, Granma 

Involving everyone, the population as well as national, provincial, and municipal entities, in efforts to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Havana is a challenge, but the key to a better realization of the project.

Michael de Adder, Chronicle Herald

7) ‘Of course Serena Williams was angry’: writer Soraya Chemaly on why women should unleash their rage

Coco Khan, The Guardian

In Chemaly’s book Rage Becomes Her, she writes that women are taught from birth to suppress their anger. It’s time now, she says, to let it all out.

8) Twitter users slam 'repugnant, racist' cartoon of Serena Williams

Al Jazeera 

A cartoon depicting Serena Williams has triggered uproar after it was compared with racist illustrations of the Jim Crow character and images of black people in the Sambo books from the early 20th century.

9) For black women at church, it's more than the Aretha Franklin eulogy

The Canadian Press

A black pastor's controversial eulogy at Aretha Franklin's funeral laid bare before the world what black women say they have experienced for generations: sexism and inequality in their houses of worship every Sunday.

10) Kaepernick Thanks 1st NFL Players to Kneel for National Anthem

Telesur

Kaepernick is the most visible face among NFL players who have been using the anthem over the past two years to protest against social injustice and police brutality.

11) Even terminal illness won’t guarantee a spot in Toronto’s subsidized housing

Gilbert Ngabo, The Toronto Star

Rona Achilles’ apartment is filled with boxes and bags stuffed with all her belongings. Apart from a few books and papers scattered on shelves and tables, some shoes and a computer — on which she watches political speeches and browses Facebook — plastic bottles of medical pills are the only other things visible in her living and study room.

12) The FMLN Announces Its Presidential Formula for El Salvador

Telesur

The FMLN announced for a third consecutive term of office Hugo Martínez for the Presidency and Karina Sosa for the Vice Presidency.

13) Abortion activists are sending Susan Collins a grim reason not to vote for Kavanaugh

Carter Sherman, Vice News 

Susan Collins’ office has been deluged with a grim reminder of the days before Roe v. Wade, thanks to abortion rights advocates.

14) Unions call for four-day working week

Rebecca Wearn, BBC News

A four-day working week will be possible this century if businesses are forced to share the benefits of new technology with their workforce.

15) Israeli music festival left in shambles as 20 acts — including Lana Del Rey — withdraw in support of BDS

Josef Federman, The National Post

The cancellations turned the weekend festival, held in the bucolic setting of an Israeli kibbutz, into the latest battleground between Israel and the boycott movement that says it seeks to end Israeli rule over Palestinians.

16) How can we defend human rights while selling arms to Saudi Arabia?

Noah Aboueldahab, The Globe and Mail

If Canada is to maintain any kind of credibility when it conducts its foreign policy and calls for the protection of human rights around the world, ending its arms sales to Saudi Arabia is a first and concrete step that must be taken. So far, Ms. Freeland seems quite comfortable in honouring this unjustifiable arms deal. It is difficult, then, to take seriously her outrage at the arbitrary arrests of Samar Badawi and others, while Yemeni lives are taken daily by a Saudi-led coalition that Canada actively supports.

17) Canadian politicians lead unprecedented smear campaign against advocate for Palestinian rights

Yves Engler, Mondoweiss 

On Thursday lawyer Dimitri Lascaris called on two Liberal MPs to denounce death threats made by B’nai B’rith supporters against a number of other Liberal MPs and the Prime Minister. But instead of condemning those who called for racialized politicians to face the “guillotine” or “stoning”, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Canadian politicians smeared the individual drawing attention to the death threats.

Hélène Laverdière, just stop. Stop tweeting about Palestinian rights with one hand and opposing progressive Palestinians and our left-wing allies with the other. Tweeting all day does not make up for voting against the Palestine Resolution at NDP convention; supporting Palestine on Twitter does not make it okay to befriend and work with those who safeguard Israel’s occupation here at home. Stop insulting our intelligence:

via Facebook and Twitter

18) Correcting the record on China and Africa

 Ian Goodrum, China Daily

In 1971, when the People’s Republic of China’s United Nations status was put to a vote, it was newly independent African countries who provided the crucial majority and ensured China was able to take its rightful seat on the UN Security Council. Thanks to the goodwill of its “African brothers”, as Chairman Mao Zedong called them, China could finally join the global family of nations. With that vote — and with the Communist Party of China’s earlier support for liberation struggles across the continent — an unbreakable bond between China and Africa was forged.

19) India's Opposition Parties Join Strike Against Fuel Price Hike

Telesur

Over 20 opposition parties participated in “Bharat Bandh”, a nationwide strike Monday to protest against the sharp increase in fuel prices in India.

20) HUGE PEOPLE’S PROTEST IN NEW DELHI AS RESISTANCE GROWS

People's Voice

Tens of thousands of workers and farmers from different states in India marched in New Delhi on September 5, to protest the government’s anti-people policies and demand higher wages and relief from debts.

21) Remembering Canada’s support for the right wing coup in Chile

Yves Engler

On Sept. 11, 1973, the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende,was overthrown by General Augusto Pinochet. In the aftermath, 3,000  leftists were murdered, tens of thousands tortured and hundreds of thousands  driven from the country.

22) Sweden’s elections and the mounting far right threat in Europe

Vladimir Unkovski-Korica, Counterfire 

Ever since Donald Trump’s election victory in November 2016, the right has felt emboldened internationally. The latest headline to hit Europe has been the rise of the Swedish Democrats.

23) Greenpeace suing Ontario government over cancellation of cap-and-trade program

CBC News

Leading environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Ontario government over the cancellation of the province's cap-and-trade program.

24) We will take this party back

Jacq Brasseur, Briarpatch 

We are young people clamouring for a party that supports survivors, values consent, uplifts marginalized voices, and unapologetically shouts down abusive men. We will not be the downfall of the Saskatchewan NDP, as so many of the loyalists claim. If this party collapses, it will be because of the actions of change-fearing party members who protect men like Erin Weir and Adam Duke. And I promise you this: we – who are standing up against the status quo, harassment, and violence – will re-build this party on those ruins. We will remember this story. The story of what happens when oppressive party brass protects people who abuse our political family. The story of a left-wing provincial party falling behind its federal peer, and what happens when you abandon the same young, innovative people who brought you success to begin with.

25) Ethiopia-Eritrea border opens for first time in 20 years

Al Jazeera 

Ethiopian and Eritrean troops will withdraw from the border as the rapprochement between the one-time enemies continues in rapid fashion.

26) Tesla workers speak out: 'Anything pro-union is shut down really fast'

Michael Sainato, The Guardian

Elon Musk has said he is ‘neutral’ about a union but former employees blame their firing on their efforts to organize while current workers say a ‘culture of fear’ persists.

27) Emperor Musk

Meagan Day, Jacobin

The disappearance of kings and emperors didn’t end domination by powerful individuals — capitalism just transformed it. Julius Caesar has given way to Elon Musk.

28) My Response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Smear: Sir, I Will Not Be Deterred From Defending Human Rights

Dimitri Lascaris

I am a proud, anti-racist advocate for human rights, yet I now find myself in a situation familiar to so many defenders of the human rights of Palestinians: I am being defamed as an anti-Semite by pro-Israel organizations and pro-Israel politicians, including Canada’s own Prime Minister.

29) The Sad, Timid Failure of Rachel Notley

Mitchell Anderson, The Tyee

Imagine if you decided to sell your soul and no one wanted to buy it?

30) Lula: Jailed ex-leader pulls out of Brazil election

BBC News

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pulled out of next month's presidential election to allow his running mate to stand in his place.

31) Dallas Police Release Affidavit Contradicting Neighbors’ Account of Shooting: It’s ‘Very Self-Serving’

Atlanta Black Star

Attorneys for the family of a black man who was shot and killed by a white Dallas police officer who says she mistook his apartment for hers are criticizing an affidavit that gives a narrative of what happened.

32) Migrant crisis: Scores drown off Libyan coast

BBC News

More than 100 migrants died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coastline earlier this month, an aid agency says.

33) “Pinochet via Fujimori”: Wall Street’s New Man In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro

Brasil Wire

New York Times, July 1993. In an article called “Conversations/Jair Bolsonaro; A Soldier Turned Politician Wants To Give Brazil Back to Army Rule“, Journalist James Brooke interviewed a 38 year old congressman. Brazil was struggling, a President gone, in the third year of directly elected Government since the coup of 1964, and the already infamous former Army Captain Bolsonaro was proposing a return to Military Rule.

34) The IHRA anti-Semitism definition won't protect Israeli apartheid

Shahd Abusalama, Al Jazeera 

History will judge Israel's apologists the way Theresa May is now judged on apartheid South Africa.

35) Argentina Announces Ministry Cuts But More Military Spending

Telesur

The Mauricio Macri administration released its communique that reveals expected funding cuts for at least six ministries, and increased budgets for military forces.

36) North Carolina didn't like science on sea levels … so passed a law against it

Erin Durkin, The Guardian

In 2012, the state whose low-lying coast lies in the path of Hurricane Florence reacted to a prediction of catastrophically rising seas by banning policies based on such forecasts.

via Facebook

37) Canada Post workers vote in favour of strike action

Canadian Press

Postal workers across the country have given the green light to their union to call a strike and could walk off the job before the end of the month.

38) TKP – The hope lies in the party which is both the oldest and the youngest

Communist Party of Turkey

The Communist Party of Turkey was founded during the days when Anatolia was still under imperialist occupation and the resistance against the occupation was still ongoing. At around the same time, under the leadership of communist parties, the workers made their mark on history in 1917 with the Great October Revolution, and stepped in to drive the final nail in the coffin of crumbling capitalism.

39) THE U.S. GOES TO WAR AGAINST THE ICC TO COVER UP ALLEGED WAR CRIMES IN AFGHANISTAN

Murtaza Hussain, The Intercept

THE UNITED STATES has never been a friend of the International Criminal Court. While relations between the U.S. and the ICC have fluctuated over the course of different administrations, the American government has steadfastly refused to take the step that 124 other states have of ratifying the Rome Statute and thus becoming a member of the international legal body. The ICC’s mandate to investigate war crimes has thus been hampered by the unwillingness of the world’s sole superpower to commit to the organization.

40) Anti-Corruption Protests Take Over Guatemala City

Telesur

For a second day, thousands march in the capital to demand President Morales and Congress resign, saying they are giving themselves legal impunity.

41) Dalai Lama says 'Europe belongs to Europeans'

France 24

The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said Wednesday that "Europe belongs to the Europeans" and that refugees should return to their native countries to rebuild them.

42) Brett Kavanaugh accused of sexual misconduct in secret letter

Sueng Min Kim and Elise Viebeck, The Toronto Star

The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that she received a letter from a person about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and referred it to federal investigators.

43) Ukraine's 'baby factories': The human cost of surrogacy

Madeline Roache, Al Jazeera 

After India, Nepal and Thailand banned surrogacy, Ukraine soaks up demand. But women on both sides report exploitation.

44) How Canada’s growing anti-abortion movement plans to swing the next federal election

Anne Kingston, Maclean's 

Anti-abortion lobbyists cheered Ontario’s election as evidence of success. Next up: an ambitious strategy for 2019.

45) Conservatives condemned by British Jewish leaders after MEPs vote to defend Hungary's far-right Orban government

Joe Watts, The Independent

The organisation has said the Conservative support for Mr Orban's authoritarian regime is 'very concerning'.

46) Mexican workers say they are victims of abuse on Canadian farms

CBC Radio

Every year, thousands of foreign farm workers come to Canada for eight months as part of the seasonal worker program. Since 2017, the federal government says it is intensifying its inspections on farms where these workers are hired to ensure their proper treatment.

47) Julia Salazar overcomes controversy to notch another victory for democratic socialists

Libby Nelson and Zack Beauchamp, Vox

She’ll be headed to the New York State Senate after toppling a long-serving incumbent in her Brooklyn district.

48) With help from Ontario teachers, Vancouver cleaners took on a corporate giant — and won

Sara Mojtehedzadeh and Alex McKeen, The Toronto Star

It’s not glamorous work, but Khin Kyi describes her Vancouver janitorial post as a godsend after having spent most of her life struggling just to keep her family safe.

49) What happens when the ‘alt-right’ starts believing in climate change?

Casey Edwards, People's World

Last September, as record-breaking hurricanes thrashed the Caribbean and the southeastern U.S., the white nationalist magazine American Renaissance asked its readers a question: “What does it mean for whites if climate change is real?”

50) What I Know About Jian Ghomeshi

Ruth Spencer, The Cut

Before anyone knew anything else about him, it was charm that made Jian Ghomeshi a big deal. It began in the mid 2000s, when he hosted a Canadian arts-and-culture radio show, Q. In one episode, the actor Billy Bob Thornton was a guest, and a singularly obnoxious presence; but in the face of his monosyllabic answers and looks of blank hostility, Ghomeshi retained his composure and his warmth. Eventually, the actor accused Canadians of being boring audiences, like “mashed potatoes without the gravy,” and Ghomeshi gently pushed back, replying: “Oh we’ve got some gravy up here.” The YouTube clip, of this good-natured radio host defending his country’s honor against a discourteous megastar, went viral, cementing Ghomeshi’s place as a national icon and skyrocketing Q’s popularity. And so when, five years later, in the course of an onslaught of sexual allegations against him, the public discovered that behind the scenes of their beloved show, Ghomeshi was allegedly telling his producer he wanted to “hate fuck” her and terrorizing his staff, the sense of disjunction was severe. “Captain Canada,” as he sometimes called himself, had turned out to be an alleged monster.

51) Ontarians rally in support of $15 minimum wage: ‘We cannot survive’

Sara Mojtehedzadeh, The Toronto Star

Workers rallied in support of a $15 minimum wage, across Toronto and 15 other cities Saturday, as the Ontario government doubles down on its pledge to cancel what it’s calling a “crassly political” wage bump scheduled for January 2019.

52) Kids Don’t Damage Women’s Careers — Men Do

Jessica Valenti, Medium

One of the most pernicious modern myths about motherhood is that having kids will damage your career. Women are told that we need to choose between our jobs or our children, or that we’ll spend our most productive work years “juggling” or performing a “balancing act.”

See also: Corbyn Attacks, India, Brazil, Bolivia & More -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos September 2 - 9

Corbyn Attacks, India, Brazil, Bolivia & More -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos September 2 - 9

This week's list of articles, news items, opinion pieces and videos that I see as a must if you are looking for a roundup that should be of interest to The Left Chapter readers.

This list covers the week of September 2 - 9.


There is one article from prior to the period that has been integrated into the post.

1) Toronto City Councillor Poses With Sledgehammer, Declares He Will Literally Destroy ‘Social Housing’

Press Progress

Toronto City Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti is continuing to dial up his disturbing rhetoric targeting low-income, racialized members of his own community.


2) Is Giorgio Mammoliti a racist?

Byron Armstrong, Now Magazine

Let’s put the Toronto councillor’s pronouncements on guns and crime up against the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s definition of racial discrimination

3) Israel's Arab MPs back Corbyn in antisemitism row

Oliver Holmes, The Guardian 

A political alliance of four Arab-dominated parties in Israel’s parliament have broken ranks with fellow legislators to announce their support for Jeremy Corbyn.

4) Labour’s fifth column won’t end its attacks until Corbyn is hung out to dry

The Morning Star

The idea voiced by decent, well-meaning people that adoption of the unfettered IHRA definition ought to draw a line under months of turmoil is a dangerous illusion.

5) ‘Can Labour be taken back? Yes – we've already done it’

Ben Chacko, The Morning Star

LABOUR has changed — and for the better, MPs and trade unionists told Tony Blair today after the former prime minister launched a broadside against Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

6) CORBYN CALLS ON THE UK TO 'FILL THE GAP' AFTER U.S. ENDS UNRWA FUNDING

Hagay Hacohen, The Jerusalem Post

UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn took to social media Saturday evening to call the US's decision to end its funding of UNRWA “shameful” and called it “a vital UN refugee agency.”

7) Lana Del Rey, 14 Artists Boycott Israel's Meteor Festival

Telesur

A total of 15 performers have joined the international campaign to boycott Israel’s Meteor Festival, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) confirmed Monday just a few days after U.S. pop singer Lana Del Rey, the festival's main guest, announced she was not attending the concert in a big victory for pro-Palestinian activists. 

8) A Hitler Admirer at Yad Vashem

Haaretz Editorial 

Under the shadow of Duterte’s visit, Israel once again proves it's willing to overlook leaders' human rights violations for the sake of opportunities for arms deals and defense contracts.

Israeli security forces stormed the Palestinian village of al-Walaja and destroyed numerous homes.




9) The Manufactured McCain: Lifting Up A Bloodstained, Lying, Venal Servant of Capitalist Empire

Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report 

There’s a real John Sidney McCain III and there’s a fake one, manufactured for the public relations of US empire. Imperial PR needs to justify, even sanctify the ecocidal and genocidal rule of the rich by portraying its servants not as the venal and bloodthirsty thieves they are, but as the brightest, the best, the most noble and deserving among us. The Manufactured McCain whom the corporate media will spend another week on top of the previous one lifting up to the heavens bears only passing resemblance to the real John McCain. The real McCain was no hero. He was a lying, bribe taking, neo-nazi sympathizing politician and war criminal, who served the US empire and himself for all of his long life.

Philadelphia Eagles Player Michael Bennett Wears Pro-Immigrant ‘MAGA' Hat



10) When Union Leaders Don’t Want to Strike

Bianca Cunningham, Jacobin

Some New York union leaders have joined Governor Cuomo against public-sector workers' right to strike. They're picking political favors over bottom-up organizing.

11) Venezuela Fights On!

Jeanette Charles, Venezuela Analysis 

VA's Jeanette Charles talks to the International Strategy Center about the recent economic measures in Venezuela, migration, and other matters.

A Paradise Toxic Beach

The beach is an Instagram hit, but is actually being pumped with factory waste.



12) THOUSANDS OF WOMEN UNDER AIDWA BANNER VOW TO FIGHT VIOLENCE, FEAR, HUNGER AND UNEMPLOYMENT AGGRAVATED BY BJP’S MODI REGIME

Communist Party of India (Marxist) Statement 

Raising slogans of unity and resistance, thousands of women from 23 states across the country marched resolutely, under the banner of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), from Mandi House to Parliament Street in New Delhi on September 4, 2018.This massive gathering was organized to draw the nation’s attention to the unprecedented rise in communal and other forms of violence against women and the denial of decent work and right to food under the Modi regime. Crimes against women and children have increased by 34% in the last four years. Victims and other persons fighting for justice against such crimes addressed the rally. A resolution was adopted vowing to confront and change this state of affairs, refusing to be silenced by the BJP-RSS promoted culture of fear and standing up for equality and basic rights enshrined in the Constitution. Women resolved to expose the Sangh Parivar and the Modi-led government for the failure to deliver on their promises.

13) 100,000 rally in New Delhi against farmers' poverty

Ben Chacko, The Morning Star 

Communist Party of India-Marxist leads demonstration against the Modi government

14) Austerity, Corruption To Blame For Brazil National Museum Blaze

Telesur 

Politicians and citizens say that corrupt authorities and funding cuts to arts, education, and infrastructure are to blame for the destruction of the historical museum.    

15) The death rate for migrants crossing the Mediterranean has soared. Here’s why.

Tim Hume, Vice News

The death rate for migrants crossing the Mediterranean into Europe has skyrocketed due to a crackdown on human traffickers, according to a U.N. report published Tuesday.

16) 'Walk Out!': Progressives Disgusted as Democrats Fold at Brett Kavanaugh Hearing

Julia Conley, Common Dreams

As more than 30 people were dragged away in handcuffs on Tuesday for protesting during the confirmation hearing for Brett Kavanaugh, critics of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee demanded a comparable show of courage and called on those lawmakers—who failed to win a delay of the proceedings—to simply end their participation and walk out.

17) “ABSOLUTELY OVERWHELMED”: FEMA STUMBLED BADLY IN PUERTO RICO, GAO SAYS

Alex Lubben, Vice News

In August, as the official death toll from Hurricane Maria was raised from 64 to nearly 3,000, President Trump praised his administration’s response. "I think we did a fantastic job in Puerto Rico,” he said.

18) Should we celebrate Colin Kaepernick's Nike deal as progress?

Wagatwe Wanjuki, Daily Kos

As Labor Day was winding down, I noticed an uptick in posts about Nike and Colin Kaepernick. The football player, who was essentially ostracized by the NFL once his kneeling protests during the national anthem drew ire from angry white people, is the new face of Nike’s signature slogan.

19) On Colin Kaepernick’s Nike Ad: Will the Revolution Be Branded?

Dave Zirin, The Nation 

But global, multibillion-dollar corporations that run an archipelago of sweatshops don’t underwrite rebellions. They co-opt and quash them. If anyone can navigate this snakepit, it is Colin Kaepernick, but it won’t be easy. The revolution will not be branded. We should be honest about that. The message of standing up to police violence and racial inequity shouldn’t end up in a swoosh-laded graveyard. That’s the risk that comes with this sponsorship. But if anyone has earned the right to take that risk, it’s Colin Kaepernick.

20) Brazil: Setback for Lula’s presidential candidacy

Emile Schepers, People's World

On Saturday, September 1, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Brazil voted six to one that former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the presidential candidate of the Workers’ Party (Partido do Trabalho) in the October elections this year, must be barred from running because of a dubious conviction earlier for corruption and money laundering. The Workers’ Party is now appealing this decision to the country’s Supreme Court.

21) Dilma Says 'Coup Has Taken Brazil Off Course'

Telesur

"Brazil faces a long path on the road to rebuilding," said senatorial candidate and former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Shaun King: After charging this young man, 21 y/o Raheem Howard w/ the 1st degree attempted murder of a police officer, the DA now admits that they:

Found no gun
Found no bullet 
Have no footage because the cop turned off his body camera & dash cam

They just dropped all charges. This cop clearly lied and should be investigated. Only bullet they found was his. He was clearly willing to ruin this kid’s life. 

And to be clear. The video of his arrest was from several months ago. It took months of hard work from activists on the ground to finally get them to drop these bogus charges. 


The cop concocted this lie to save his own ass. Was willing to ruin this kid’s life to do it.



22) As Climate Warms, Algae Blooms In Drinking Water Supplies

Dirk Vanderhart. NPR

For the first time in Oregon's history, toxins from a nearby algae bloom had made their way into a city's tap water.

23) Saudi 'seeks death penalty' for Muslim scholar Salman al-Awdah

Al Jazeera 

Public prosecutors in Saudi Arabia are seeking the death penalty against prominent Muslim scholar Salman al-Awdah, local media, activists and his family members have said.

24) Israel says it launched 200 strikes in Syria since 2017

Al Jazeera

Military sources say the attacks are mostly aimed at preventing Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria.

25) MKO blasts province, Manitoba Hydro for 'horrific, systemic abuse' of Indigenous women and girls

CBC News

A First Nations leader is demanding apologies from the province and Manitoba Hydro in response to damning allegations of sexual abuse and racism by workers at hydro projects dating back to the 1960s.

26) Why Canadian Prisoners Are Participating in the US Prison Strike

Jordan House, Jacobin

Much of the US prison system's distinguishing features — massive racial disparities, the exploitation of prisoners' labor by private firms, overcrowding, brutality, and much more — are the same in Canada.

27) India decriminalizes homosexual acts in landmark verdict for world’s largest democracy

Ashok Sharma, The Toronto Star

India’s top court on Thursday struck down a colonial-era law that made homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a landmark victory for gay rights in the world’s largest democracy.

28) Half of B.C. workers living paycheque to paycheque, survey finds

CTV Vancouver

As the cost of living in British Columbia continues to climb, a new survey is raising serious concerns about many residents' financial stability.

Evo Morales Announces Universal Healthcare:

29) Mexico: UNAM Students March Against 'Mercenary' Shock Groups

Telesur

Thousands of students marched today at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the country’s most prestigious higher education institution, to hold an assembly and demand the authorities dissolve the ‘porros,’ mercenary shock groups associated with internal political organizations that are used to violently break up protests.

30) India: BJP continues its attack on civil liberties and oppressed people

Michael Porter, Liberation 

On Aug. 28, five civil rights activists (Gautam Navlakha, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonzalves, Arun Ferreira and Sudha Bharadwaj), were arrested in India on trumped-up charges. They were accused of causing the violence that took place in the village of Bhima Koregaon at the beginning of this year in the state of Maharashtra. Along with raids in June, these arrests have brought the total number of activists arrested to 10. The five were also accused of plotting the assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government has made the accusation that these five activists have connections to the ongoing Naxalite Rebellion in the East of the India and are “Urban Naxalites” or” Urban Maoists.” This comes as Narendra Modi and his  Bharatiya Janata Party lose popularity because of their bigotry and failed economic policies.

31) Passport denials reflect long history of racist attacks on Mexican Americans

Roger Gonzalez, Liberation 

The Washington Post and Texas Tribune have reported the U.S. State Department has begun denying passport applications, or annulling existing passports, from American citizens, largely Mexican Americans in South Texas. In some cases, applicants or passport holders have undergone detention under the threat of deportation, while others have been denied re-entry to the United States from Mexico at border checkpoints.

32) Spain Sentences Three Unionists To Prison For 2012 14N Strike

Telesur

After almost six years of deliberation, three Spanish citizens and unionists have been convicted of public disorder during the 14N general strike, with sentences ranging from six months to four years and nine months, despite lingering doubts over their guilt.

33) Dear Anonymous Trump Official, There Is No Redemption in Your Cowardly Op-Ed

Mehdi Hasan, The Intercept

There is no redemption; no exoneration for you or your colleagues inside this shit-show of an administration. You think an op-ed in the paper of record is going to cut it? Gimme a break. You cannot write an article admitting to the president’s “anti-democratic” impulses while also saying you want his administration “to succeed.” You cannot publish a 965-word piece excoriating Donald Trump’s “worst inclinations” while omitting any and all references to his racism, bigotry, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and white nationalism.

34) BirdLife International Declares Brazil's Spix Macaw Extinct

Telesur

The blue-feathered Spix’s macaw which starred in the popular children’s film, Blue Sky Studios’ Rio is now extinct, the BirdLife International said in a recent statistical analysis.

35) Exposed: Undercover Reporter at Amazon Warehouse Found Abusive Conditions & No Bathroom Breaks

Democracy Now

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has targeted Amazon for its role in widening the wage gap in the United States, and this week he is expected to unveil legislation requiring large employers like Amazon to cover the cost of federal assistance received by their employees. We speak with journalist James Bloodworth, who spent a month working undercover as a “picker” in an Amazon order fulfillment center and found workers were urinating in bottles because they were discouraged from taking bathroom breaks. His new book is “Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain.”.

36) The brutal apartheid of the French banlieues

Peter Franklin, UnHerd

It is the Autumn of 2005 and Paris is burning. Suburb after suburb goes up in flames as the French riot police fight pitched battles with local youths.

37) ‘Open’ London is built on exploited labour

James Bloodworth, UnHerd 

To be a hypocrite is often to be half correct. And so it is with London. It is self-evidently right to promote tolerance along with racial and sexual equality. But equality – or more precisely, a rhetoric of equality – that is unmoored from a sense of economic justice is not really equality at all. It certainly has little to say to the Uber driver – or for that matter, to the millions of others toiling away in London’s low pay economy – who have precisely zero chance of diversifying a company’s boardroom any time soon.

38) MPs were warned about the dangers of cladding two decades before the ‘entirely avoidable’ Grenfell tragedy

Lamiat Sabin, The Morning Star

FIREFIGHTERS’ union FBU warned the government about dangerous cladding almost two decades before the “entirely avoidable” Grenfell Tower fire, general secretary Matt Wrack said today.

39) The August job numbers: Beyond the big business spin

David Bush, Rank and File

The August job numbers are out and on the face of it they look grim for the workers of Ontario. 80,000 jobs were lost in August. The headlines are ready-made for the Ford government to use as an excuse to freeze the minimum wage and rollback the labour law reforms in Bill 148.

40) Rachel Notley, Pride is no place for pipelines

Evans Yellow Old Woman, Rabble

My name is Evans Yellow Old Woman, I am a member of the Siksika Nation and also a co-founder and board member of VOICES, a coalition of LGBTQ2SIA+ people of colour committed to advocating for racialized and marginalized communities in the City of Calgary. I gave the land acknowledgement before your speech at the Calgary Pride in the Park 2018 Opening Ceremony.

41) Ukrainian speaker Andriy Parubiy slammed for praising Hitler as history's ‘greatest democrat’

Ben Chacko, The Morning Star

UKRAINIAN progressives called today for the immediate dismissal of parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy after he said on TV that Hitler had been history’s “greatest democrat.”

Argentina To Open Its First Indigenous Hospital:

The establishment of the Ranguiñ Kien Intercultural Hospital is an unusual victory for Argentina’s Mapuche people.

42) #MeToo at Fortress Europe's borders

 Nidzara Ahmetasevic, Al Jazeera 

Refugee women are being sexually abused at the EU border. Where is the outrage?

43) Sex dolls show us what men want from real women — we should pay attention

Megan Walker, Feminist Current

Let’s be clear. There is nothing harmless about “sex dolls.” They represent the ultimate debasement of women. They represent yet another level of society’s detachment from its responsibility to value, respect, and protect women. “Sex dolls” are a manifestation of porn culture and the male dominant society’s belief that it needs to do whatever it can to make sure men can have sex when and however they want it no matter at what cost.

44) Trump Administration Discussed Coup Plans With Rebel Venezuelan Officers

Ernesto Londono and Nicholas Casey, The New York Times

The Trump administration held secret meetings with rebellious military officers from Venezuela over the last year to discuss their plans to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, according to American officials and a former Venezuelan military commander who participated in the talks.

45) Cuba's 'Si Yo Puedo' Helps Panama Cut Illiteracy in Half

Telesur

Cuba's internationally recognized literacy program, Yo si Puedo, has helped Panama reduce its illiteracy rate by half over the past 11 years.

Via Shenaz Uppal on Facebook

See also: Arctic Melting, John McCain, the TPS and Faith Goldy & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos August 26 - September 2