Portside

PROMESA has already brought changes to Puerto Rico, including slashing the minimum wage to just US$4.25 for people under 25 amid high levels of poverty and unemployment. Funding for pensions, education, and healthcare is also facing cuts, while basic services are at risk of privatization.

State banks and power stations shut and public transport halted in some states as public sector workers take industrial action.

Many of the concerns progressives have about OR were outlined in a petition released by the Bernie Delegates Network on Tuesday entitled, "Support and Improve 'Our Revolution.'" One particularly important one was the omission of anything about the essentially neocon foreign and Defense policy that dominates establishment politics. Another is whether OR will support only Democrats or whether it will also support third party candidates.

Designs, software, and patented ideas, which are at the core of Apple's business model, are a perfect vehicle for tax avoidance.

"I've been very blessed to be in this position and make the kind of money I do, and I have to help these people. I have to help these communities"

Even a good job creation/infrastructure bill must include "targeted" language to ensure that funds flow into black communities, and community residents have access to those jobs.

My proposed solution to the EpiPen mess follows this line of thought: essentially, bust the damn patent. Or, at least, the US government should threaten to bust the patent, and we should then watch the price fall faster than you can jab yourself in the thigh with an adrenaline-filled pen.

Your Dog Understands More Than You Think. The Good Old Days (featuring Donald Trump & the Greensboro 4). What Would It Take To Power The United States With Solar Energy? Georgetown Makes Amends for Profiting From Slavery. Standoff at Standing Rock.

A friend of mine, a Vietnam vet, told me about a veteran of the Iraq War who, when some civilian said, "Thank you for your service," replied: "I didn't serve, I was used." That got me thinking about the many ways today's veterans are used, conned, and exploited by big gamers right here at home.

Reader Comments: Lots of good stuff this week. What Does Black Lives Matter Want; Single-Payer Healthcare System Is Inevitable?; BLM and Palestine Solidarity; Oil Industry and Peak Oil; James Brown; Sex Workers?; and much more... Announcements: Triangle Fire opera; Women 9/11 First Responders Panel Discussion; The Left-Wing of the Possible - How Can the Sanders' Phenomenon Transform American Politics; Protect Pacifica Archives; Labor, Islam, and War...