Portside

May Day started with the demand for the eight-hour day, and struggles over work time are again front and center as workers experience either drought or flood.

Millions took to the streets to take part in May 1 demonstrations around the globe. From union rallies to protests and clashes with police, the International Labor Day events drew attention to the issues of austerity, unemployment and workers rights.

Bradley Manning is off limits at SF Gay Pride parade; Ohio air show pushed to drop Hiroshima raid reenactment; Raul Castro’s daughter denied visa to attend gay rights conference; Rape Case Solved By Anonymous in Less Than 2 Hours Despite "No Evidence"; Teamsters foil Westboro Baptist Church; Palestinian marathon tribute to Boston victims; Oscar Romero beatification; Amherst and the economists’ fuzzy math; Zuckerburg dishes out the dough for Keystone XL

The latest sweatshop disaster in Bangladesh, which claimed the lives of over 200 young women, calls into question the foundations of US globalization policies since the Clinton era. It is not enough to blame the corruption of Bangladesh factory owners, nor sufficient to suggest better training and factory codes from Walmart or the Gap. It is time to ban the US sale of garments made in Bangladesh until enforceable labor codes are imposed on that country.

Reports of the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons are part of a retold drama riddled with plot-holes

Lest anyone imagine that corporate crimes being unreported by the mainstream media and punished with a wrist slap are anything new, legendary labor reporter James Lerner's account of the GE - Krupp conspiracy trial of 1947 is an eye-opener.