Portside

A new report by Standard & Poor's, one of the country's Big Three credit-rating agencies, points to increasing income inequality and the danger it poses to continued U.S. economic growth. In its report,. "How Increasing Income Inequality is Dampening U.S. Economic Growth, And Possible Ways to Change the Tide," S&P cites "all sorts of nasty" economic and political problems that flow from this growing inequality, but few solutions.

In moves likened to the privatization of East Germany’s state-owned enterprises following unification, international finance has placed the privatization of Greece's public sector, one of the most developed in Europe, in the hands of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED). This "extra-legal organization" has close ties to the banks and no accountability for the impact of so-called austerity measures on Greece's increasingly impoverished population.

I spent 24 hours in jail this week. As an American Jew, and as a person of conscience, I am angry and heart-sick at the death and destruction being wrought by Israel against Palestinian civilians and their homes, schools and hospitals.

Steven Salaita was fired from his position as associate professor in the American Indian Studies program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) apparently over views critical of Israel, especially its current massacre in Gaza.

Previously, unaccompanied child migrants were accepted by this country, sometimes even welcomed. Today, however, driven by racism, child migrants from Central America are being turned back, after risking their lives to free economic and political oppression, often fostered in their countries by the United States. Share the image below - Stand with the Children.

School libraries with more staff and larger collections lead to stronger academic performance, a study says. Yet one-third of public schools do not have a full-time, state-certified librarian. Often when education funding is cut, libraries and the arts are the first to go.

Reader Comments - Gaza War - Israel, Palestine, the Jewish community and Zionism; Why Is Washington Risking War With Russia?; Labor - Kellogg Lockout and Coal Miners Anger; The Whitewashing of James Brown; Criminal Prosecution for Environmental Crimes; Bill Gates and the testing industry; Teacher Tenure (video); Celebrate the Life of Vito Marcantonio - Aug 9; 9th annual Dissident Arts Festival - Aug 16 - both in New York Today in History

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, once known for its militancy and political radicalism, faces a choice between nurturing rank-and-file power and a slow, painful death.

Coordinated international labor action has resulted in a victory as dismissed trade union leaders in Egypt were reinstated. One lesson of this struggle is that the power of global worker solidarity can transcend sharp national conflicts to win campaigns.

At intersections of social and economic justice, hundreds gather in Richmond California to build strategy for a 'just transition' away from an economy that is 'crashing planet.'