Martin Michaels

Martin Michaels is a Mint Press staff writer specializing in immigration, international affairs and social justice issues. A native New Yorker, Michaels graduated with a degree in international relations and democratization in the Middle East. He has traveled to Jordan, Egypt and Israel, conducting research and studying human rights issues there. Michaels has also worked in various positions with J Street and Occupy Wall Street, promoting peace and social justice. Contact Martin at [email protected] or follow Martin on Twitter at @MMichaelsMPN.

2 Years After Occupy, A Look At The Economic Basis For Social Movements

Even as one particular social movement sputters to a halt, the economic conditions that gave birth to it remain.

Martin Michaels
By Martin Michaels
Occupy Wall Street demonstrators stand and cheer in front of the George Washington statue on Wall Street as they celebrate the protest's sixth month, Saturday, March 17, 2012, in New York. With the city's attention focused on the huge St. Patrick's Day Parade many blocks uptown, the Occupy rally at Zuccotti Park on Saturday drew a far smaller crowd than the demonstrations seen in the city when the movement was at its peak in the fall. A couple hundred people attended. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

It’s been two years since the Occupy Wall Street movement burst onto the scene, challenging a bevy of economic problems including corporate greed, growing economic inequalities and reckless the Wall Street practices that triggered the 2008 economic crisis and threw 5.5 million people out of work and lead to nearly 4 million home foreclosures. The

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Unemployment Gap Between Rich And Poor Widens To A 10-Year Extreme

Joblessness among America’s poor is approaching levels last seen during the Great Depression, while the wealthy experience full employment.

Martin Michaels
By Martin Michaels

Unemployment gaps between the wealthiest and the poorest Americans have reached their highest level since government officials began tracking the statistic a decade ago. It’s a very different story from the one told by President Barack Obama last week in an ABC interview about the state of economic recovery five years after the Great Recession

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5 Years After The Crash, Financial Fraudsters Still Walk Free

Although the SEC has fined banks with billions in penalties, it might not be enough to deter would-be financial criminals in the future.

Martin Michaels
By Martin Michaels

It’s been five years since the 2008 financial crisis -- which led to America’s worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s -- and the Securities and Exchange Commission is still sorting out the financial mess. The long-term consequences of the recession aren’t yet known, but the immediate fallout threw 5.5 million people out of

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Could Slovenia Be Next In Line For An EU Bailout?

Ahead of a possible bailout for banks saddled with bad loans, Slovenia has opened the door for privatization and austerity measures.

Martin Michaels
By Martin Michaels

Saddled with billions of euros in bad loans, Slovenia could soon follow Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus, becoming the fifth Eurozone country requiring an EU bailout. Slovenia’s financial situation will be one of the topics of discussion at an upcoming Eurogroup discussion next Friday. Der Spiegel reports that Slovenian Finance Minister Uros

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Poll: US Military Personnel Overwhelmingly Oppose Syria Strike

About three-quarters of U.S. service members polled indicated they oppose President Obama’s proposed strike on Syria.

Martin Michaels
By Martin Michaels

About half of all Americans oppose military intervention in Syria, but opposition to attacks is much higher among current service members, according to recent opinion polling by the Military Times -- which found that 75 percent of the military now oppose a U.S. military strike in Syria. The survey conducted online Monday and Tuesday found that by

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Seattle Activists Fear Another Informant Is In Their Midst

Anti-war groups in Washington state have experienced a long history of police informants infiltrating their ranks.

Martin Michaels
By Martin Michaels

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, numerous student groups and anti-war organizations claim police have been spying on them. Surveillance of student groups and anti-war protesters is nothing new, but the instances of alleged unconstitutional surveillance keep piling up in an era of anti-terrorism police work. Domestic surveillance has been made more

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California Senate Passes Bill To Stop Deportations Of Undocumented Immigrants

The TRUST Act would limit federal requests to deport undocumented individuals who haven’t committed major crimes in the state.

Martin Michaels
By Martin Michaels

On Monday, the California Senate voted 25-11 to pass AB4, a controversial immigration reform bill known as the TRUST Act.  If passed into law, the TRUST Act would limit the role of California law enforcement in federal deportations, which surged to 1.6 million nationwide during President Obama’s first four years in office. By limiting the types of

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