Portside

The labour share of the overall economic pie is at a post-second world war low, which is an enormous problem in an economy that is 70 per cent dependent on consumer spending. The demise of the traditional union movement (which represents only 10.7 per cent of the American workforce today, half of what it was in the early 1980s), is one of the biggest contributors to that problem.

McCain’s diagnosis comes as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is under increased pressure to broaden who’s eligible for Agent Orange-related compensation. News of his illness has prompted Amy Jones and others to call on the VA to study a possible connection between their loved ones’ Agent Orange exposure and glioblastoma.

A new report shows toxins from suppliers to companies like Tyson Foods are pouring into waterways, causing marine life to leave or die.

The situation in Venezuela is dramatic but this does not explain the centrality of the country in all the news reports. Situations of greater seriousness in other countries are totally ignored by the same media. In Colombia, since the beginning of the year, 46 social movement leaders have been assassinated and in the last 14 months 120 have perished. More terrifying is the scene in Mexico. Every day some journalist is added to the long list of students, teachers . . .

In order to win universal health care, we have to understand what — and who — we're up against. In health care, private providers and private financing mechanisms were well ensconced long before any meaningful public intervention. The stakes are very high and, historically, a diverse array of private health interests have spent lavishly on political campaigns, and haunted congressional hearings and anterooms.

Blocker blocked from blocking; Local news vs Goliath; Netflix saves the day; Google j’accuse!; Digital democracy in Detroit

Kathryn Bigelow's film about 1967 Detroit riots grapples with a harsh legacy of racism in America.

The timeliness of The Butler's Child has just been demonstrated by the death of a black man in Baton Rouge at the hands of two ill trained young white police officers. Fifty years ago Steel thought of the Deep South as a dangerous and racist place. Today, however, it has become clear that racism and trigger-happy cops are national phenomena.

By defining students as intellectual workers and transforming student unions into vehicles for social, economic, and racial justice, a new generation of young workers will transform the union movement and challenge the conventional wisdom of neoliberalism.

Professional athletes have provided a flicker of hope during these agonizing days by speaking out against police violence. "Shut up and play" clearly doesn't fly when black bodies are falling at the hands of those whose job is to serve and protect. Now, after the filmed deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, athletes' statements - which have the potential to reach an audience far beyond the normal political blather - are starting up yet again.