By Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer Thanks to Occupy, most working people are well aware of the growing inequalities in wealth. But for those who lack the specifics, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich provides a useful overview: “…the rich have been getting a larger and larger portion of total income. From 9 percent in…
By Mark Vorpahl Though, for most, the London Interbank Offer Rate (Libor) interest rate fixing scandal appears distant and far too complex to understand, its potential consequences may be as economically devastating as a world war. Accountingdegree.net has created a fantastic infographic explaining the gist of the scandal. The Libor is used to set payments…
By the Oakland Commune [On August 3rd], hundreds of Oakland rebels gathered during the monthly first Friday event to take over Telegraph for a rowdy street party with the aim of keeping things uncontrollable, spontaneous, bad for local developers and capitalists, subversive and fun. In recent weeks, the city administration and local business district associations…
Story by Pete Shaw A swelling prison population is money in the bank for Wells Fargo, one of the top shareholders in Geo, the second largest prison company in the country. In their continued campaign to urge the company to divest from the for-profit prison industry — particularly Geo Group and Correction Corporation of America…
Story and Photos by Pete Shaw Jeff Locke spent years in the Metro parks system and was by most standards an excellent worker. He was a volunteer roving naturalist at Oxbow Park for five seasons, restored and maintained natural areas in Metro’s Open Space Program for two, and went on to Blue Lake Park for…
Story and Photo By Pete Shaw Nearly 75 members of Portland’s Rapid Response Network (RRN) assembled outside Alicia Jackson’s home at noon today, within ten minutes of receiving a text message calling for their assistance. “The cops were acting fools in the front and backyard,” said Lobo, co-founder of the Blazing Arrow Organization (BAO). “We…
by Pete Shaw On May Day, local housing rights activists, including many Occupiers, helped Alicia Jackson take back her NE Portland home. Next door to Jackson’s house a duplex was under construction, which – unbeknownst to many of those helping Jackson – was being built on land that also had belonged to her. At yesterday’s…
by Shamus Cooke The U.S. media has made its intentions clear: the ‘rebels’ attacking Syria’s government must have more support to advance Syria’s “revolution.” This was the result of the much-hyped advance of Syria’s rebels into the country’s two largest cities, which the western media portrayed as a defining moment in global democracy. But “journalists”…
by Michael Hulshof-Schmidt On July 9, 1868 the 14th Amendment was passed to the United States Constitution. Not only did the 14th Amendment overturn one of the worst U.S. Supreme Court rulings, the Dred Scott case which precluded African Americans from voting by denying them the status of U.S. citizenship, it also helped to pave the way…
by Mark Vorpahl Echoing the story of David vs. Goliath, janitors in Houston are on strike and taking on such corporate giants as JPMorgan Chase and Exxon Mobil in an effort to pressure the janitorial companies they employ to agree to the workers’ modest demands. It is these big business behemoths that are the real…
