Portside

It's been 31 days since the release of the White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing report, but already the number of fatal police encounters is over 100. More than three people were killed by police each day in March in America. Too many of last month’s victims fit a profile we know all too well – many unarmed men of color, some with psychiatric disabilities. This isn’t a problem of a few rogue police departments; this is a systemic national crisis.

Apart from water and air, humble sand is the natural resource most consumed by human beings, using 40 billion tons of sand and gravel every year. And the recent worldwide construction boom—all those mushrooming megacities, from Lagos to Beijing—is devouring unprecedented quantities. In some places multinational companies dredge it up with massive machines; in others local people haul it away with shovels and pickup trucks. Everywhere, sand mining wreaks havoc.

About 40 mothers being held at the privately-run Karnes Family Detention Center in southern Texas launched a hunger strike this week to demand their release and the release of their families, vowing on Tuesday not to eat, work, or use the services at the facility until they are freed. Some 80 Central American women held at the center have signed a letter stating they were refused bond despite having established a credible fear of violence if they are deported.

Fight for 15 organizers say the protests planned for April 15 will be “the largest low-wage worker mobilization in modern history.” Actions are planned in 200 U.S. cities with allied demonstrations in countries such as Italy, Switzerland, France, New Zealand, Brazil, Japan and Bangladesh. U.S. fast food workers organizing for $15 per hour minimum wages will be joined by other low-wage workers as well as students from 170 U.S. universities.

According to Pew Research, most Americans believe the economic system unfairly favors the wealthy, but 60% believe that most people can make it if they’re willing to work hard.