By GERRY FOLEY For the last two months, in its coverage of Indonesian developments the capitalist press has focused on an obscure tug of war between President Abdul Rahman Wahid ("Gus Dur"), elected as a representative of the "democratic" movement, and the parliament, which continues to be dominated by former supporters of the fallen military … Continue reading Indonesian Politicians Spar as Country Slides into Crisis
Month: September 2000
Youth in Action
Prospects for the new youth movement By ADAM RICHTER This last year has seen a virtual explosion of youth activism across the United States and beyond. This is a very important development; thousands of young people are searching for how to best fight the evils of capitalism and build a better world. A major component … Continue reading Youth in Action
SF Transit Workers Reject Proposed Contract
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER SAN FRANCISCO-Bus and light rail operators at the Municipal Railway (MUNI), members of Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 250-A, rejected a proposed contract in two separate votes this summer. On July 18, the proposed contract was defeated overwhelmingly: 1175 to 308. Then, in a hastily called second balloting last month, the membership … Continue reading SF Transit Workers Reject Proposed Contract
LABOR BRIEFING by Charles Walker
Why Teamster bureaucrats love Hoffa Teamsters President James P. Hoffa trades on his father's militant reputation to gain support from the union's rank and file. To attract the union's officialdom, however, Junior Hoffa has a different lure-money and lots of it. How much money is revealed by an audit of the Teamsters yearly financial reports … Continue reading LABOR BRIEFING by Charles Walker
’50 Years of Fun on the Road to Socialism’
By HAYDEN PERRY The following is a talk by Hayden Perry at a 1986 celebration of 50 years of service to the socialist movement by Perry and 12 other socialist workers. As I round out 50 years of activity in the socialist movement and find the goal of a socialist America still some way down … Continue reading ’50 Years of Fun on the Road to Socialism’
Hayden Perry: Long-Time Socialist Action Journalist
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER Hayden Perry, a founder of the Socialist Workers Party and of Socialist Action-and a long-time contributor to Socialist Action newspaper-died on Aug. 2. He was 86. Hayden died in the hospital shortly after he had collapsed on the lawn of the Oakland, Calif., apartment facility where he lived. Until his last moment, … Continue reading Hayden Perry: Long-Time Socialist Action Journalist
The Rebel Girl – Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
By JAN BIRCH There are many heroes in the U.S. revolutionary working-class movement but sadly most workers today have never heard their names or their stories. One such hero that everyone should know about is Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. Her life spanned huge upsurges in the working class. She was born in 1890 and lived until … Continue reading The Rebel Girl – Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
The Case for Reparations for African Americans
By PAUL SIEGEL Randall Robinson, the author of "The Debt," is the founder and president of TransAfrica, an organization that has propagandized and lobbied in behalf of Africa and the Black diaspora, which it has shown are being despoiled by the policies of the IMF, the United States, and other Western nations. He recounts some … Continue reading The Case for Reparations for African Americans
Paul Krugman: ‘Counting Chickens Before They Hatch’
The bulk of the accompanying article, "The 'budget surplus' and other misconceptions" was written in the month of July. Since then, the Republicans and Democrats had their national conventions and officially nominated their presidential slates. This has formally launched the political struggle between the two main factions of the capitalist class over which will become … Continue reading Paul Krugman: ‘Counting Chickens Before They Hatch’
Critical Support to SWP Presidential Campaign
By NAT WEINSTEIN Socialist Action is a political party that strives to intervene to the best of its ability in all struggles affecting the working class and its fighting organizations-ranging from the trade unions to the social movements of workers and their natural allies. While American workers historically have had an impressive success in constructing … Continue reading Critical Support to SWP Presidential Campaign
Gore, Bush, the ‘Budget Surplus’ and Other Misconceptions
By NAT WEINSTEIN The Democratic and Republican candidates for president of the United States, Al Gore and George W. Bush, have focused their election campaign platforms on how much of an alleged $4.2 trillion budget surplus predicted over the next 10 years should be handed over to the country's richest capitalists. Bush promises the rich … Continue reading Gore, Bush, the ‘Budget Surplus’ and Other Misconceptions
Vladimir Putin and the Current Stage of the Stalinist Counterrevolution
By DAVE HUDSON The following article is part of a document submitted to the world discussion in preparation for the World Congress of the Fourth International, which will take place next year. Socialist Action is in general agreement with the political views expressed in this article. Dave Hudson is a British member of the International … Continue reading Vladimir Putin and the Current Stage of the Stalinist Counterrevolution
Stop All Sanctions on Iraq!
By CAROLE SELIGMAN It was reported last month that global arms sales have expanded to some $30 billion a year, two-thirds of which are sold to poor countries. According to the Congressional Research Service, cited in The New York Times (Aug. 21, 2000), the United States has "solidified its position as the world's biggest arms … Continue reading Stop All Sanctions on Iraq!
Editorials
Free Lori Berenson Now! On Aug. 31, the conservative San Francisco Chronicle wrote its lead editorial on the case of Lori Berenson, a young American woman who has been imprisoned in Peru for four years for alleged involvement with the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. It began with the statement: "The Peruvian government admitted on Monday … Continue reading Editorials
President Vicente Fox is Pledged to Continue Mexico’s Subordination to US
The author was the presidential candidate of the Socialist Coalition in Mexico's July 2 election. By Manuel Aguilar Mora MEXICO CITY-The July 2 election victory for Vicente Fox, the presidential candidate of the Alliance for Change (formed by the National Action Party-PAN), marked the end of the long reign of the official party, the Constitutional … Continue reading President Vicente Fox is Pledged to Continue Mexico’s Subordination to US
LA Protests Reveal growing Radicalization
By JOANNA BAKER and MICHAEL SCHWARTZ LOS ANGELES-According to the mainstream media, the recent protests in Los Angeles were mainly a battle between the police and violent "anarchists." They set it up to make the people of L.A. feel like there were only two sides you could be … Continue reading LA Protests Reveal growing Radicalization
Mumia’s Message to Washington DC Protesters: When Will African Americans Learn that the Two Major Parties are both Parties of White Supremacy and Corporate Control?
On Aug. 26, a "Redeem the Dream" march was held in Washington, D.C., against police brutality and racial profiling. Most of the speakers urged the crowd to vote for Democratic Party candidates. Only Mumia-in a taped message reprinted below-warned against support for the Democrats. Ona move! Long live John Africa! Thanks for your kind invitation … Continue reading Mumia’s Message to Washington DC Protesters: When Will African Americans Learn that the Two Major Parties are both Parties of White Supremacy and Corporate Control?
Fightback: Bringing Democracy to Colombia
by Sylvia Weinstein In the United States, there is an enormous effort to bring about gun control. But to other countries, especially, military dictatorships, the United States is Santa with a machine gun. The United States is the world's largest weapons supplier. In 1999 the U.S. sold $11,768 millions of dollars in weapons. In a … Continue reading Fightback: Bringing Democracy to Colombia
Key Elections Loom in Former Yugoslav Nations
By GERRY FOLEY Political tensions are rising again in the area of the former Yugoslavia. Elections are scheduled in the next two months in Kosovo, the rump Yugoslavia, and Macedonia. In all three places, fundamental questions will be at stake. The neo-Stalinist regime in Belgrade has been pulling out all the stops to make the … Continue reading Key Elections Loom in Former Yugoslav Nations
5000 in LA Protest ‘Republocrat’ Attacks on Mumia Abu-Jamal
By JEFF MACKLER LOS ANGELES-Supporters of Mumia Abu-Jamal mobilized here on Sunday, Aug. 13, for a march to the Staples Center, site of the Democratic Party National Convention. They demanded that Jamal's planned execution be stopped and that a new trial be granted now. The protesters came from a number of West Coast cities and … Continue reading 5000 in LA Protest ‘Republocrat’ Attacks on Mumia Abu-Jamal
Clinton’s Military Aid to Colombia: Prelude to a New ‘Vietnam” War?
By GERRY FOLEY President Clinton's $1.3 billion aid to the Colombian government to "fight the drug trade" was seen by the other Latin American governments for exactly what it is, an attempt to shore up a ruling class that is beginning to collapse under the accumulated weight of its crimes. None of these governments is … Continue reading Clinton’s Military Aid to Colombia: Prelude to a New ‘Vietnam” War?