By MARTY GOODMAN “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters.” “I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.” “To tell the truth is revolutionary.” — Antonio Gramsci, Italian communist leader and philosopher (1891-1937). “We must stop this brain working for 20…
By JEFF MACKLER The week of unprecedented massive and worldwide climate mobilizations that began on Friday, Sept. 20, represented an historic breakthrough in the consciousness of the world’s people. An estimated 7.6 million people in 185 countries from every continent on earth except Antarctica mobilized in unprecedented numbers to condemn the governments and politicians of…
By JOHN LESLIE Protests have rocked Egypt since Sept. 19 as protesters have taken to the streets demanding the downfall of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi following the revelations of a corruption scandal. Construction magnate Mohamed Aly posted a series of videos on social media exposing el-Sisi, el-Sisi’s wife, and elements of the military for corruption…
By JOHN LESLIE At a meeting in Philadelphia on Sept. 28, organizers discussed the opening of a new phase in the fight to free Mumia Abu-Jamal, the noted journalist and political prisoner who was convicted on false charges of killing a Philadelphia police officer in 1981. Last year, in a series of court appearances, Mumia’s…
By JIM FARRELL At midnight on Sept. 15, the United Autoworkers Union (UAW) contract with General Motors (GM) expired and almost 50,000 workers downed tools and walked off the job. During the recession, the UAW and its members had agreed to deep concessions to keep GM afloat. Now, GM is prospering and CEO Mary Barra…
By ANN MONTAGUE After winning the 2019 World Cup, the USA Women’s Soccer Team immediately returned to what could eventually become their biggest win of all. What they were really after was no secret to anyone. Echoing throughout Stade de Lyon, the stadium where they had become world champions, was the explosive chant: “Equal Pay,…
By LAZARO MONTEVERDE — VARPARAISO, Chile — Not many radicals from the U.S. know of the Winnipeg and the great poet Pablo Neruda’s role in the event, which is a shame. It is one of many instances of heroism and direct action on the part of the left before and during World War II. Pablo…
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER The planet is burning, yet governments still express indifference, refusing to undertake the radical steps that will be necessary to avoid climate catastrophe. Accordingly, people around the world, led by students and youth, are taking to the streets in protest, focusing this month on global strikes. The catalyst for the protests took…
By JEFF MACKLER Rarely a day passes when one or another U.S. ruling-class institution or personality fails to criticize President Trump’s unilateral imposition of ever increasing and broad-ranging protective tariffs against Chinese imports. Trump’s critics include the Democratic Party as well as leading Republicans, the prestigious corporate “newspaper of record,” The New York Times, and…
By LAZARO MONTEVERDE Like a chess master who move by move crushes a weaker opponent, the U.S. is again moving against Venezuela. At the urging of Washington., 12 of the 19 nations who are part of the Treaty of Rio, known by its Spanish acronym TIAR [Tratado Internacional de Asistencia Reciproca], voted to invoke the…
By LAZARO MONTEVERDE — VALPARAISO, Chile — It has been the driest winter in the central valley of Chile in 60 years. June, July, and August are winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and also the rainy season in Chile. Water shortages have been declared in 50 communities and agricultural emergencies in an additional 100 communities.…
By DAVID RIEHLE Socialist Action’s campaign for the offices of United States president and vice president commenced on Aug. 18 at Oakland’s Humanist Hall with greetings and endorsements from a broad and impressive cadre of veteran fighters for justice and human rights. Socialist Action has put forward Jeff Mackler from Oakland, Calif., and…
By LAM CHI LEUNG Protests are continuing in Hong Kong, despite the withdrawal of the Extradition Bill by Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Sept. 4. Protesters have raised the slogan, “Five key demands, not one less!” They want direct elections of Hong Kong leaders, an independent investigation into acts of police brutality, unconditional release…
By STEVE XAVIER In August, an announced trip by freshman House members Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) to the occupied West Bank drew the ire of President Trump and other GOP politicians. The Netanyahu government decided to bar entry to the two legislators using the urging of Trump, who tweeted that the pair…
Socialist Action’s Connecticut branch is hosting a three-stop book tour for Sam Stein, whose most recent book, Capital Cities: Gentrification and the Rise of the Real Estate State, rips apart the idea that urban development under capitalism brings benefits to working people. By raising rent and incentivizing speculation, landlords and the capitalist state have come…
By C.J. LAPOINTE Outnumbering the “Straight Pride” parade participants, counter-protesters dominated and framed the discussion on Saturday, Aug. 31, as the fascist/Alt-Right tried to co-opt the LGBTQIA community’s Pride events with the hateful message of “Straight Pride” in Boston. While the left outnumbered the right, it was noticeably smaller than the 30,000-person response to a…
By BOB LYONS This is my best friend, Mitch Podolak. He and I have been comrades in the Trotskyist movement for more than 50 years, in Mitch’s case since 1961. Mitch will be remembered for his enduring contributions to the Canadian folk music scene. He was the founder and artistic director of some of the…
By RUAN MUNASINGHE On Aug. 26, tens of thousands of people bustled around Storrs, Conn., as classes began at University of Connecticut (UConn). This large university, known for its basketball team and parties, may not seem like a key area of the class struggle. However, in weeks and even months before the first day of…
By ERNIE GOTTA Dozens of SEIU members and supporters rallied in support of fast-food workers at a service plaza in Darien, Conn., on Aug. 28. These workers are fighting to reclaim potentially millions of dollars in stolen wages through unpaid benefits or the additional payment required by the Connecticut Standard Wage Law. 32BJ SEIU, the…
By ERNIE GOTTA “Every day, folks now more than ever wake up daily with a new notion of politics that is not bound to a vote every four years but to direct action.” The recent protests in Puerto Rico, taken in the context of uprisings across the globe in Sudan, Hong Kong, and Algeria, paint…
STATEMENT FROM MEXICO “I don’t want flowers at my funeral, because I know they will be taken from the forest.” — Chico Mendes The defense of the Amazon is a fight for the future of the earth. Although the destruction of the Amazon rainforest was already an alarming issue for decades, with the acceleration of…
By MICHAEL ROBERTS Is the world economy soon headed for recession? For information of our readers, we are reprinting this commentary from the blog of Marxist economist Michael Roberts, posted on Aug. 24. See: https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2019/08/24/its-all-going-pear-shaped/ With perfect timing, just as the summit meeting of the leaders of the top capitalist economies (G7) met in Biarritz,…
By DAVID KIELY The postal workers of SUD-Poste 92, in Haut-de-Seine, in the western suburbs of Paris, have won their 14-month strike, marking an end to one of the longest strikes in French history. During these long months the workers faced intense repression by the police, who worked hand in hand with the managers of…
By GARY PORTER The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) is a heavily funded spy agency. With a $500 million (CDN) annual budget, it operates gunslinger-style, spying on Canadians and others it considers a security risk, gathering information from the dozens of innocent people their suspects contact, such as friends, relatives, neighbours, and co-workers. This…
By ERNIE GOTTA and ERWIN FREED — STAMFORD, Conn. — Like any capitalist enterprise, hotel companies hate losing profit margins to benefit the workers who make them rich. Industry professionals debate about the type of model they need to make the most profit. Currently, hotels in the Stamford area are running on very lean models.…
By BARRY SHEPPARD Three mass shootings in a little over a week have changed the political discussion in the U.S., bringing to the fore white supremacy and the terrorist mass murder it has produced. Many in the media and Democratic presidential candidates have cited Trump’s racist themes and actions as furthering white supremacy and white…
