By JEFF MACKLER At meetings initiated by the newly formed Hands Off Syria Coalition (HOSC), independent Canadian journalist Eva Bartlett reported on her several trips to Syria, including most recently to Aleppo in late November. Bartlett toured the U.S. in mid-December addressing packed meetings in New York City and other East Coast venues as well as … Continue reading Eva Bartlett speaks on Syria
By MARK UGOLINI The Republican Party takes primary charge of the U.S. government this month with Donald Trump sworn in as president, and both houses of Congress under Republican control by a slim majority. The new administration is taking shape with announcements of key government cabinet posts. These include a combination of professional politicians, former … Continue reading As Trump takes the helm, the war against working people continues
By KAREN SCHRAUFNAGEL MINNEAPOLIS—The show trial dubbed by our local capitalist media, “Minnesota’s Terror Trial,” ended in November with the sentencing of the nine young men (eight Somali and one Oromo) who pled to or were convicted of charges relating to alleged attempts to join the “designated foreign terrorist organization” ISIS (the Islamic State). The … Continue reading Somali youth sentenced in ‘Minneapolis Terror Trial’
By MARK UGOLINI — CHICAGO — On Aug. 29, the defense case of 69-year-old Palestinian rights activist Rasmea Odeh took an unexpected and potentially ominous turn when presiding Federal Judge Gershwin Drain ruled that Odeh will be subjected to up to 18 hours of intensive psychological testing by an appointed government forensic examiner whose job is … Continue reading Court issues new ruling in case of Palestinian rights activist Rasmea Odeh
By JEFF MACKLER When a June 16 New York Times front-page article blared, “51 U.S. Diplomats Urge Strikes Against Assad in Syria,” I could almost hear the war drums beating at the U.S. State Department and White House. These “mid-level diplomats,” with varying U.S. government Syria assignments over the years, “urged the United States to … Continue reading U.S. Threatens Syria War Escalation
By CHRISTINE MARIE “Astro Noise,” Whitney Museum of American Art, Feb. 5 – May 2, 2016. In the “Seeds of Time,” Frederic Jameson famously wrote of our cultural moment, “It seems to be easier to imagine the thorough-going deterioration of the earth and of nature than the breakdown of late capitalism; perhaps that is due … Continue reading Laura Poitras: Astro Noise
By JOE AUCIELLO “Eye in the Sky,” (2016), a film directed by Gavin Hood, written by Guy Hibbert, with Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman. The arc of the suspense story is familiar enough. Begin the tale in normal times, introduce a disruptive element whose threat deepens until it is ultimately destroyed, and conclude with a … Continue reading Eye in the Sky
By ANN MONTAGUE In one of the early Democratic Party debates, in order to inflate her credentials as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton threw out an off-the-cuff comment about her relationship with Henry Kissinger: “I was very flattered when Henry Kissinger said I ran the State Department better—better than anybody had run it in a … Continue reading Clinton, Kissinger and the coup in Honduras
By MARILYN VOGT-DOWNEY Over 260 people attended the first 2016 Summit on Saudi Arabia held in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6, at the University of the District of Columbia Law School. The conference was organized by Code Pink and a new organization, the Coalition to End the U.S.-Saudi Alliance. The … Continue reading Coalition to expose U.S.-Saudi alliance
By ERNIE GOTTA In February, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Mohammed al-Qeeq, an imprisoned Palestinian journalist on his 85th day of hunger strike. Al-Qeeq had asked to be transferred to a Palestinian hospital in the West Bank. Directly following this decision, however, a partial victory was won in the case of Palestinian American activist Rasmea … Continue reading New developments in Palestine struggle
By KAREN SCHRAUFNAGEL Beginning in early January, Socialist Action joined with many other organizations for a series of conference calls on the need for united action to more effectively combat the rising tide of Islamophobia and anti-immigrant and anti-refugee hatred in this country. The ad-hoc coalition that was formed took the name Stand Together Against … Continue reading Stop persecution of Muslims & immigrants!
By BARRY WEISLEDER — TORONTO — As if in a dance of the seven veils, Canada’s Liberal government of Justin Trudeau is sequentially exposing its false election promises, revealing an agenda that increasingly resembles that of the widely despised Conservative predecessor regime. For starters, an immediate and meaningful increase to the Canada Pension is now … Continue reading When “withdrawal” means escalation
By JEFF MACKLER U.S. Major General Michael Nagata was unceremoniously removed some two months ago after his $500 million Syrian assignment to train by the end of the year a projected 5400 Syrian infantrymen to supposedly fight ISIS (Islamic State of Syria and Iraq) “languished in complications,” according to U.S. News and World Report. This … Continue reading U.S. imperialism’s Syria strategy
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER In the space of less than two weeks, the world recently witnessed three massacres outside the home base of the Islamic State (ISIS) for which the jihadist group took credit. On Oct. 31, a homemade bomb brought down a Russian airliner over the Sinai, killing all 224 people on board. On Nov. … Continue reading Paris attack leads to crackdown on rights
The Ligue communiste révolutionnaire-Socialistische Arberjderspartij (LCR-SAP), the Belgian section of the Fourth International, issued the following statement on the third day of the "Brussels lockdown," as the government’s "level 4” alert was known. BRUSSELS— The LCR/SAP has sounded the alarm over the anti-democratic procedures that have been introduced in the name of the fight against terrorism. … Continue reading LCR-SAP denounces lockdown in Belgium
By YASIN KAYA At least 106 peace activists were killed and over 400 wounded on Oct. 10 in twin explosions near the central train station in Ankara, Turkey, as tens of thousands gathered for the “Labour, Peace and Democracy Rally.” Several labour unions and mass organizations convened the event to urge an end to the … Continue reading Twin blasts kill Turkish activists
By BILL ONASCH Joe Johnson passed away Aug. 5 in Chippewa Falls, Wis., at age 84. His long life was marked by resolute opposition to war, local and national leadership in the Socialist Workers Party, government persecution, an exceedingly frugal life style, and from middle age, devoted care to his mother during her final years. … Continue reading Joe Johnson: Man without a country
By JEFF MACKLER The U.S. credo with regard to Iran today might well read, “Only civilized nations and their leaders should have nuclear weapons!” Included in this U.S.-allied circle of civilized nuclear-weapons nations is India. But we hear no U.S. complaints regarding India’s racist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who essentially praised the communal murders of … Continue reading U.S. imperialism imposes Iran nuke pact
By BILL ONASCH [Aug. 14 marked the 70th anniversary of V-J Day, the armistice with Japan that put an end to World War II.] There were some World War II firestorm air raids on targeted civilian worker neighborhoods in Hamburg, Dresden, and especially Tokyo that were nearly as horrible and deadly as the first crude … Continue reading Learning to Live with the Bomb
By BARRY WEISLEDER Unprecedented numbers of people are desperate to migrate. Stories fill the media about the many who drown in the Mediterranean or die in desserts in a failed bid to escape horrible conditions. Stunning figures released on June 18 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees quantify the extent of the global … Continue reading Behind the Mass Exodus
Over 400 antiwar and social justice activists from 29 states gathered in Secaucus, N.J., near New York City, on May 8-10 for a “Stop the Wars at Home & Abroad!” conference that ratified a multi-faceted Action Plan addressing both domestic and international issues. The conference was sponsored by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC). Founded … Continue reading UNAC Conference Draws 400 Activists
By PAT LYONS “Once your clients have a quasi-independent military capacity, you lose some control over them,” said Gregory Gause III, a military specialist at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A and M University. Gause was referring to the saturation bombing campaign of Yemen by Saudi Arabia and its “coalition of … Continue reading U.S. backs Saudi bombing of Yemen
By JEFF MACKLER U.S. imperialism’s selective “War on Terrorism” excludes some terrorists that the Obama administration finds more than suitable as allies in its effort to bring down the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. On April 25, a combination of these “rebels” captured the city of Jisr al-Shoughour, the provincial capital and second largest city … Continue reading Imperialism’s terrorist war in Syria
By JOE AUCIELLO — BOSTON — “I don’t favor the death penalty, but this case makes me question my beliefs.” “Give ‘im what he deserves—the electric chair!” “There is no way this guy ought to live.” “Let him get the most gruesome death possible.” These are a sample of the comments readily heard in Boston … Continue reading Does Tsarnev deserve the death penalty?
BY JEFF MACKLER Backed by U.S. logistical and intelligence support, the Saudi Arabian petro-monarchy and its allies have pounded Yemen with devastating air strikes aimed at preparing the way for a possible ground invasion. Saudi Arabia’s “coalition of the willing” oil monarchs and other Saudi allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Arab League … Continue reading U.S. backs Yemen bombardment
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