Portside

On August 21st Bank of America agreed to pay a record $16.65 billion in fines for selling "toxic" mortgage securities. Critics charge the settlement will do little to help struggling homeowners victimized by the banks' illegal practices. And that portion of the settlement designated to go to public agencies and the states may be tax deductible. Bank of America's stock shares "surged" 4% following the announcement of the settlement.

For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may require oil refineries to regularly measure the air quality at their perimeters. These fence line measurements will give surrounding communities, largely low-income communities of color, data on the level of pollution they are exposed to each day. The new EPA rulemaking is in response to a lawsuit filed against the EPA for failing to adequately protect residents living near oil and chemical plants.

Portside Labor Readers Comments on, Without Tenure; International Support Enables Victory of Egyptian Union; Ruling Says McDonald's Is Liable for Workers; Article Interview With Cleo Silvers (When the Union's the Enemy: An Interview with Cleo Silvers)

In its public appeal to the American Jewish community, Israelis For a Sustainable Future (IFSF), a new organization of Israelis living in the U.S., says "maintaining the occupation is what this war is all about." The IFSF appeals to American Jews to oppose the current policies of the Israeli government, and support Israeli voices for peace. "Israel needs your support to break out of the cycle of violence," the IFSF Open Letter says.

Animals spared from Marburg virus -- a close relative of Ebola -- even when not treated until three days after infection.

The central bankers and the Ferguson residents would do well to switch places. Ferguson is actually a much better place from which to understand the consequences of the past six years of economic policies.

The Obama Administration’s new rules will likely put an end to the Supreme Court’s ability to move the goalposts every time someone raises a new objection to the administration’s policy. Now, the country will have to wait to find out whether Hobby Lobby actually permits this latest set of rules — or whether the language in the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision was simply Lucy pulling away the football one more time

Kareem Abdul Jabar says that Ferguson is not just about systemic racism — it's about class warfare and how America's poor are held back