On “Court sanctions Wisconsin anti-worker law”
I don’t have the words to describe how this essay makes me feel, and even if I had the words, there is nothing to add to the brilliance of this article.
I agree with everything here 110 percent!
Thank you, Mr. White!
Edward E
Uganda
16 June 2011
***
There seems to be some validity to this article and I have seen this behavior among many of the union elite. I can recall one instance when my fellow workers were threatened with all being fired. The first response by myself and others was to have a sick out. We were instructed not to do this. My question is, why?
After reading this article it becomes clear that there might be other forces at work, undermining the efforts of the working class to hold certain groups to the fire. The working class needs to add a radical element to its practices in order to stop those who wish to downgrade our standard of living to improve theirs.
William
16 June 2011
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The article is quite correct in asserting that the only way forward for the working class in both Wisconsin and the rest of the country is the general strike, which as the author correctly points out, the Democratic Party establishment and the union bosses will seek with all their assets and capabilities to undermine.
The reason why Wisconsin may possibly be the fuse that lights the uprising/revolution nationally is because of the long progressive tradition that worker and farmers have there of defending their interests. In other words, they have the confidence based upon past struggles to know that they can win in a showdown with the ruling class.
Thanks to the sheer stupidity and shortsightedness of the dominant sections of US capital that now have control we can see that a showdown is indeed inevitable and that they have picked Wisconsin for the battleground state. The SEP is well positioned to supply a strong leadership element to the general strike when it comes.
I am confident that the showdown is coming in the not too distant future and that spontaneous events and the wise and timely intervention of the SEP will add to the confidence of Wisconsin workers that they can indeed have a very historic role to play in the founding of a whole new era in human history.
The path is open. Carpe Deum!
Charles K
Florida, USA
On “French lawyers sue Sarkozy over crimes against humanity in Libya”
This is significant, in that it is the first time, as far as I know, that a case for war crime is opened in the criminal country while the military operation is still ongoing.
These are two maverick octogenarians with a long history of dubious relations (and you could have added Vergès’ links with Pol Pot to round that up). But the fact that only they did [file suit] puts the whole “left” to shame.
Olivier L
France
16 June 2011
On “US talks peace and prepares for war in Sudan”
It is interesting and instructive to note the connection between the US and its proxies assault on Libya, and the brewing intervention in Sudan, in both cases in furthering its own interests, but also targeting Chinese investments.... It still seems to be a mystery as to why both China and Russia, both having a power of veto, abstained (and in this way supported) the military intervention by the West in Libya. Surely they were not fooled by the “humanitarian” motion in the Security Council “to use all necessary means to protect civilians”. The true nature of this resolution was clear to me as soon as I learned of the text, let alone the analysts and strategists of those countries’ Foreign Affairs milieu. Is it possible for a bourgeoisie to act against its own interests? Apparently it is.
There is a report on the Crikey website detailing the Australian taxpayer expenditure on the Global War on Terror, advisedly to “protect Australian lives”: $16.1 billion total to date, including $2.4 [billion] for Iraq, and $6.1 [billion] for the Afghanistan operation, for no tangible benefit to the population, except for Canberra’s solidarity with the US politics of aggression and war. Yet, according to polls, 67 percent support an immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, despite strident calls from Gillard and Abbott, to “finish the job”, and “making highest sacrifice for the Country”, after each ADF fatality, now numbering 27 young men.
Miroslaw S
Australia
16 June 2011
On “Video: Canada Post strikers in Windsor speak on their struggle”
I’d just like to give full support to the Canadian postal workers. The bankers and rich elite don’t have to go on strike to demand more money or defend pension rights, etc. They just take what they want as a right. This crisis is sweeping the planet, a crisis created by the rich and the illegal, Mafia-style dealings of the financial houses around the world.
Millions of workers are being thrown into irreconcilable conflicts with employers and governments. The working class is a mighty force, the only class of international character, but strikes like these are isolated and doomed to fail unless the workers understand the role of their current leadership, a corporatist leadership that is integrated into that same corrupt financial and political system that created this current situation for millions.
Postal workers in Canada must build independent rank and file committees now, independent from the Unions. Many workers around the world have done this already recognising the real role of the trade union bureaucracy.
Fraternally,
MB
16 June 2011
On “Life expectancy declining in many parts of US”
Ever since the assault began on the living standards of the working class in the early 1980s by big finance, life expectancy for the poor has indeed stagnated for many working class families, not just in the US but all across the globe.
For the indigenous population of Australia—which is steeped in poverty and the lack of job opportunities, education, housing, and health facilities—they have a life expectancy that is close to 20 years less than the rest of society.
To add insult to injury, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and a few CEOs slept one night on the streets to raise awareness for homelessness, and yes, poor “Kevin07 gone before 11” got wet.
These are the conditions many working class people across the globe face on a daily basis, and which the majority of the American population will face as these working class attacks increase from state to state.
That capitalism has failed to provide, in the richest country on the planet, the right to a full-time job with decent pay for some 25 million Americans, speaks volumes about the state of affairs the country is in.
Only by building a mass socialist party based on the program of the Fourth International and the transfer of wealth to benefit mankind as a whole can the working class find a way out of this predicament.
Julian H
16 June 2011