By OKDE-SPARTACOS The class struggle has sharply intensified in Greece since June 27, when Greek Prime Minister and Syriza Party leader Alexis Tsipras called on the people to vote NO in a referendum against blackmail and humiliation by Greece’s capitalist creditors. On Sunday, July 5, nearly 62% voted NO, and only about 38% voted YES. … Continue reading Greece votes against austerity
Category: International
Greece: NO! End the negotiations
By OKDE-Spartacos — ATHENS, June 28 — The Greek government, despite its persistent efforts, failed to win the confidence of the institutions (EU, IMF) and the favor or the hegemonic bourgeois classes of Europe. The vows of loyalty to the repayment of the debt “fully and timely” and the renunciation of unilateral actions, as well … Continue reading Greece: NO! End the negotiations
TPPA: Capitalism at its predatory best
BY JEFF MACKLER President Obama was granted “Fast Track” authority by Congress on June 24, thus clearing the way to rapid passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). The TPPA has been 10 years in the making, including the last six under the aegis of the Obama administration. The agreement, written in secret by some 600 top corporate … Continue reading TPPA: Capitalism at its predatory best
Greece: Class struggle has no intervals
Statement by OKDE-Spartacos (Greek section of the Fourth International) 1) Αll hopes that the working class can get rid of austerity by voting and electing a “government of the left” collapsed very soon. SYRIZA won the election and formed a government. Not a government of the left, of course, but a collaboration government along with … Continue reading Greece: Class struggle has no intervals
S. Africa panel at Left Forum 2015
This is the video for a Left Forum panel discussion on South Africa organized by Socialist Action. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, a contributor to Black Agenda Report, chronicled the EPA’s role in covering for an American corporation’s failure to protect South African miners from vanadium poisoning. The presentation of Patrick Bond, professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, … Continue reading S. Africa panel at Left Forum 2015
Turkish metalworkers strike
By YASIN KAYA The Renault autoworkers in Bursa, Turkey, halted production on May 15. Tofaş workers, who produce Fiat cars, stopped working the following day. The wildcat strikes spread to six other factories in the metal sector in Bursa. Several other factory workers in Bursa, Kocaeli, Ankara, and Sakarya either went on strike or protested … Continue reading Turkish metalworkers strike
Who is behind the ‘Trotskyist conspiracy?’
By ILYA BUDRAITSKIS Speaking at a meeting of his All-Russia People’s Front a couple days ago [in November 2014], Vladimir Putin said, “Trotsky had this [saying]: the movement is everything, the ultimate aim is nothing. We need an ultimate aim.” Eduard Bernstein’s proposition,* misquoted and attributed for some reason to Leon Trotsky, is probably the … Continue reading Who is behind the ‘Trotskyist conspiracy?’
U.S. backs Saudi bombing of Yemen
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
Racist attacks in Dominican Republic
By MARTY GOODMAN There has been a new wave of racist attacks on Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent inside the Dominican Republic (DR). The latest was the racist expulsion of 300 Haitians and Haitians of Dominican origin in the Ortega community in Moca. All Haitians in Moca were blamed for the April 8 death … Continue reading Racist attacks in Dominican Republic
Imperialism’s terrorist war in Syria
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
U.S. setback at Panama Summit
By CLAUDIO KATZ Mainstream media presented the Panama Summit as if it were the beginning of a new era of cooperation. They pondered the end of the Cold War and painted Obama as a model of detente, as opposed to the hawkishness of Maduro. They also contrasted the reintegration of Cuba in the region to … Continue reading U.S. setback at Panama Summit
U.S. tour protests Mexico disappearances
By LISA LUINENBERG — MINNEAPOLIS — “Vivos los llevaron y vivos los queremos!” (“They took them alive and we want them back alive!”), chanted participants in a recent forum in solidarity with the parents and friends of 43 disappeared students from Aytozinapa, Mexico. On Sept. 26, 2014, municipal police opened fire on students of the … Continue reading U.S. tour protests Mexico disappearances
U.S. backs Yemen bombardment
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
Obama launches new ‘war on terrorism’
By JEFF MACKLER In a short-lived but well-crafted move aimed at hyping President Obama’s credentials as a reasonable and democratic warmaker, the president submitted a resolution to Congress in mid-February requesting “authorization for use of force” to proceed full tilt with his administration’s now worldwide “war on [Islamic] terrorism.” At first glance, what struck his … Continue reading Obama launches new ‘war on terrorism’
Will SYRIZA fight the Euro-bank bully?
By MARTY GOODMAN On election day, Jan. 25, working people in Greece stood up to the bloodsucking European banks and said, “No more!” The 36.3% vote for the SYRIZA (Coalition of the Radical Left) party made it the highest vote getter in a crowded field. For the first time in many decades, an ostensibly anti-capitalist … Continue reading Will SYRIZA fight the Euro-bank bully?
U.S. & NATO: Hands off Ukraine!
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER — UPDATED, MARCH 5 — The danger of direct Western military intervention in Ukraine remains palpable following the rebels’ dramatic seizure of Debaltseve in mid-February. The Obama administration, which has already sent over $118 million in “non-lethal” equipment to Ukraine, is deliberating whether to contribute heavy weaponry, or even troops, to the … Continue reading U.S. & NATO: Hands off Ukraine!
Revolutionary activism in the ’50s & ’60s
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A brief history of political Islam
By U. KHAN YUSUFZAI At the time of this writing, the United States has been at war in Afghanistan for 13 years and in Iraq for 11 years. The United States has been engaged in a global drone bombing campaign since 2001 in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya. The Arab Spring has opened up a … Continue reading A brief history of political Islam
Lessons from the Greek elections
By KEITH LESLIE The results of the national election in Greece, which produced a government led by the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), hit European capitalism like a sledge hammer. With Western European nations facing the prospect of tumbling into recession, SYRIZA’s demand for a “significant moratorium” on debt payments was the last thing … Continue reading Lessons from the Greek elections
SYRIZA victory raises many questions
By ANDREAS SARTZEKIS — ATHENS, Jan. 26 — The Syriza electoral victory is a historic event for Greece, of course, but still more for Europe, and it is almost amusing to see socialist leaders being pleased with this success, alongside a total collapse of PASOK, which in 2009 had won more than 3 million votes … Continue reading SYRIZA victory raises many questions
Charlie Hebdo: Imperialism’s new 9/11?
BY JEFF MACKLER The Jan. 7 Paris bombings and shootings afforded French and allied capitalist heads of state—some 50 presidents and prime ministers plus top U.S. officials, all complicit with mass murder—the opportunity for an unprecedented show of unity under the call of “I am Charlie Hebdo.” We note the hypocrisy of the perpetrators of … Continue reading Charlie Hebdo: Imperialism’s new 9/11?
Judges question NYPD spying on Muslims
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER PHILADELPHIA—Federal judges in a Jan. 13 appeals court hearing have indicated that they are favorable to the premises of a suit against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for its surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey. The suit, Hassan v. City of New York, had been dismissed by a federal district … Continue reading Judges question NYPD spying on Muslims
Global climate pact fails again
By CHRISTINE FRANK Once again, nearly 200 nations came together as the clock ticked to dicker over a global climate agreement in Lima, Peru, last month with little in the way of actual results. Humanity is in the midst of a planetary crisis, yet all negotiators could come up with was a pledge by each … Continue reading Global climate pact fails again
Why so much ado about ‘The Interview’?
By BARRY WEISLEDER Hollywood, Wall Street, and the White House are celebrating the release, albeit delayed and via the internet and small cinemas, of the third-rate comedy “The Interview.” The film is about a plot to assassinate the leader of North Korea. Pyongyang took exception to the idea, and threatened to retaliate, which set off a … Continue reading Why so much ado about ‘The Interview’?
The Cuban Five are free!
By JEFF MACKLER In simultaneous press conferences in Washington, D.C., and Havana on Wednesday, Dec. 17, President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced an agreement that included the immediate release of the three remaining Cuban political prisoners held in U.S. jails since 1998—Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, and Antonio Guerrero. Two other Cubans, Fernando … Continue reading The Cuban Five are free!