Portside

Helen Keller is one of the most beloved figures in American history. Few people, however, remember her as a socialist, pacifist, and activist. Helen Keller Day commemorates her birth on June 27,1880.

Education disparities start early.

This week U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with dissident State Department “diplomats” to hear their call for “targeted” U.S. military strikes on Syrian government troops, a dangerous plan that would violate both U.S. and international law. In an internal “dissent channel” memo leaked to the New York Times on June 16th, the 51 state department officials called for a major military escalation in Syria which, to date, has been rejected by President Barack Obama.

But above all, no independent observer believes PG&E has signed this agreement out of love for the planet, its workers, the public well-being or the spirit of the law. It could mark a significant leap toward shutting Diablo Canyon, but it does not seal its fate. Indeed, unless accompanied with fierce activism, some fear it could offer PG&E political cover to prolong its operations.

Our nation’s watchlisting system is error-prone and unreliable because it uses vague and overbroad criteria and secret evidence to place individuals on blacklists without a meaningful process to correct government error and clear their names.

A guide to tomorrow’s Spanish election.

Indeed, the parallels with the United States are clear. In the lead up to the November elections, rampant inequality continues to grip the nation while campaign finance laws push lawmakers to unabashedly peddle policies that solely benefit the corporate elite.

Gun safety advocates who until now have relied largely on traditional lobbying need to broaden their strategy to include partnerships with gun owners and civil disobedience.

Stark differences between men and women’s immune responses pose medical conundrum.

'What Europe needs more than ever to avoid a slide into a xenophobic, deflationary, 1930s-like abyss'