This is the text of the introductory speech delivered by WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North to the 2022 International May Day Online Rally.
David North•
Top Stories
Perspective
Perspective
Perspective
Mobilize the working class to oppose the attack on abortion rights!
The draft opinion of the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade is an illegitimate, anti-democratic and unconstitutional assault on the democratic rights of the entire population.
The UK continues to position itself as the leading voice in Europe for an escalation of the NATO-Russia war over Ukraine, in order to curry favour with the United States.
Thomas Scripps•
At the rally in Düsseldorf, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party) was shouted down as a "warmonger," and in Berlin, the city’s Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) was pelted with eggs.
Ulrich Rippert•
“Although I do not have much political knowledge, I feel that we will face the same problems with any government that will come to power through the parliamentary system,” a carpenter explained.
Our reporters•
As COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly, overwhelming hospitals and killing more than 350 people last month, experts are calling for stronger public health measures.
Tom Peters•
On the first Monday in May each year a spectacle of excess is staged in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City – the Met Gala. The red carpet rolls out for the billionaires and their hangers-on, the politicians and parasites, and the celebrities competing in what is known as the Oscars of fashion.
Joseph Scalice•
The Soviet engineer’s memoirs of the October Revolution, the Civil War and the Great Terror were written in the 1970s.
Clara Weiss•
The attempt to use the ALU as cover for the bureaucracy and the Democrats appears to have backfired spectacularly. Instead, the exact opposite happened: the ALU managed to discredit itself within a few short weeks by its association with these layers.
Tom Hall, Elliott Murtagh•
Trump’s border wall and the extension of his policies under President Biden, including Title 42, have created a “recipe for disaster” in the region.
Kevin Martinez•
The decision to file charges against Edsaul Mendoza comes amid a growing wave of protests against police killings throughout the United States.
Dmitri Church•
May Day 2022: The map of the class struggle vs. the map of war
This is the report delivered by Eric London to the 2022 International May Day Online Rally held on May 1. London is a writer for the WSWS and a leading member of the Socialist Equality Party (US).
Eric London•
May Day 2022: Finance and the deepening crisis of global capitalism
This is the report delivered by Nick Beams to the 2022 International May Day Online Rally held on May 1. Beans is a longstanding leader of the International Committee of the Fourth International and an expert on Marxist economics.
Nick Beams•
May Day 2022: Canadian imperialism, Hitler’s Ukrainian accomplices, and the NATO-Russia war
This is the report delivered by Keith Jones to the 2022 International May Day Online Rally held on May 1. Jones is the national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party in Canada.
Keith Jones•
May Day 2022: The COVID-19 pandemic and the fight for socialism
The pandemic has exposed the economic, political, social and moral bankruptcy of world capitalism, which must be overthrown.
Evan Blake•
Young Guard of the Bolshevik-Leninists in Russia•
David North•
David North•
WSWS Editorial Board•
A member of the Michigan Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee•
The Guns of April
The United States and the NATO powers of Europe have set into motion a chain of events that is leading to World War III.
WSWS Editorial Board•
United Steelworkers solicits aid for fascist-linked “union” in Ukraine
In an appeal on the official USW website, the union calls for support to Trade Union of the Metalworkers and Miners of Ukraine, an organization with ties to the far right and fascists.
Shannon Jones•
Pelosi pledges “victory” in Kiev, Republicans back dispatch of troops, hint use of nuclear weapons
Washington continued at full tilt into an all-out war with Russia over the weekend, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Kiev, Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger proposed to send US troops to Ukraine, and Republican congressman Michael McCaul raised the prospect of the United States using nuclear weapons against Russia.
Andre Damon•
Ukrainian government continues campaign of domestic oppression
The NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine is accompanied by campaign of domestic political repression.
Jason Melanovski•
Andre Damon•
Andre Damon•
Andre Damon•
David North•
Joseph Scalice•
Stop the drive to World War III!
In this webinar, an international panel of leading members of the ICFI and WSWS writers reviewed the causes and consequences of the US-NATO war drive against Russia and present the political basis for a fight against war.
Watch the recording
PayPal shuts accounts of anti-war publications Consortium News and MintPress News
PayPal, the online payment processing company, has shut down the accounts of publishers who have been exposing the lies of the Biden administration and NATO about the origins and nature of the war in Ukraine.
Kevin Reed•
Sri Lanka: Opposition JVP seeks to divert mass struggle into dead-end of parliamentary politics
The JVP is promoting a fantasy—that an election and a new bourgeois government will be able to wave away the immense crisis of global and Sri Lankan capitalism and thus solve all the social ills facing working people.
Pani Wijesiriwardena•
Pelosi pledges war “until victory is won”
The pledge by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi amounts to an unlimited commitment of treasure and blood to the pursuit of sweeping, open-ended war aims that threatens to draw the United States into what US President Joe Biden called “world war.”
Andre Damon•
Biden administration sets up Disinformation Governance Board ahead of 2022 elections
The Department of Homeland Security has announced the creation of a secretive Disinformation Governance Board as part of the US imperialist effort to control the anti-Russian narrative of the war in Ukraine during the 2022 elections.
Kevin Reed•
•
Patrick Martin•
Tom Peters •
David Walsh•
Benjamin Mateus•
Australian central bank interest rate rise targets wages, as it hits home buyers
In the midst of the federal election, the Coalition government and Labor opposition, while pointing fingers at each other over the interest rate rise, are both committed to imposing the burden of global economic crisis on working people.
Nick Beams•
Workers speak to SEP Australian election candidates on the impact of social inequality
“The major parties do not care how people live," one young worker stated.
Our reporters•
Australian SEP candidates to speak on Brisbane community radio
The 15-minute interview will be broadcast on 4ZZZ, Brisbane’s community radio station tomorrow, Wednesday May 4, between 8 and 9pm AEST.
Our reporter•
Australian Labor Party’s election launch pitches for corporate backing on restructuring and war
Labor leader Albanese declared that Labor governments were the only ones that “reshape the economy,” while accusing the Coalition government of committing a “foreign policy failure” by allowing Solomon Islands to sign a security treaty with China.
Mike Head, Socialist Equality Party candidate for the Senate in Queensland•
Nick Beams•
Our reporters•
Our reporters•
Our reporters•
Socialist Equality Party Australia•
CNH Industrial beats first quarter earnings estimates while threatening to break US strike
While touting the company’s strong financial results Tuesday’s earnings call, CNH’s CEO adopted a harsh and arrogant tone towards the strike launched by workers Monday.
Marcus Day•
Post Office workers mount one-day UK-wide pay strike
Industrial action was centred on the 114 Crown Offices (those directly operated by the Post Office) around the country and there were expected to be no cash deliveries or collections from 11,500 sub-post offices run by independent postmasters or under franchise by major retailers.
Tony Robson•
UK: Unite enforces below-inflation pay deal at Chep, ending 21-week strike
As is always the case in the murky world of the union bureaucracy, the full ramifications of the deal will only come clear in the next weeks.
Our reporters•
“Truce” imposed on Polish air traffic controllers’ struggle
Polish air traffic controllers are fighting back against the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic being dumped on them—their salaries cut by up to 70 percent, workloads increased, and safety rules undermined.
Martin Nowak, Peter Schwarz•
Beth Salazar•
Norisa Diaz•
Esther Galen•
Committee For Public Education•
Gabriel Black•
Hellish conditions drive sailors stationed on USS George Washington to suicide
Seeking to contain seething outrage and dismal morale among sailors and their families, the Navy is relocating hundreds of sailors off the currently dry-docked aircraft carrier.
Jacob Crosse•
Quebec Court of Appeal covers up violent activities of far-right
Although the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned the acquittal of the notorious neo-Nazi Raphaël Lévesque for a 2018 assault, it did so on narrow legal grounds, trivializing and covering up the increasingly violent activities of the far-right in Quebec and across Canada.
Hugo Maltais•
Four Florida prison guards arrested and charged in murder of mentally ill inmate
The inmate’s tragic death at the hands of a violent assault is the latest of many examples of rampant abuse and fatal incidents that occur in prisons throughout the US.
Alex Johnson•
Canada dispatches heavy weaponry to Ukraine, while accusing Moscow of “genocide"
The deluge of heavy weaponry Canada and the other NATO powers are sending Ukraine will exacerbatean already an explosive situation. The slightest miscalculation could ignite a nuclear conflict.
Matthew Richter, Roger Jordan•
Kevin Reed•
Jacob Crosse•
Norisa Diaz•
Trévon Austin•
Shannon Jones•
New Zealand, Japan prime ministers sign security pact
The preparations for intelligence sharing are particularly significant as Japan is seeking entry into the top-level, US-led “Five Eyes” spy network, in which New Zealand is a partner along with Britain, Canada and Australia.
John Braddock•
China holds “emergency” conference over sanctions threat
Government and financial officials in Beijing are on alert, fearing that the unprecedented financial sanctions imposed on Russia could be used against China.
Nick Beams•
East Timor’s presidential election won by Jose Ramos-Horta
Ramos-Horta becomes head of state amid an escalating economic crisis wracking the impoverished country, and sharpening geo-strategic tensions in the region fuelled by US imperialism’s preparations for war against China.
Patrick O'Connor•
Japan takes more aggressive stance towards Russia, China
Tokyo is aggressively asserting its territorial claims to the Kuril Islands in its longstanding dispute with Moscow, while accusing China of preparing to invade Taiwan.
Ben McGrath•
Patrick O’Connor•
Oscar Grenfell, SEP Senate candidate for NSW•
Our reporters•
Our reporter•
Mike Head, Socialist Equality Party candidate for the Senate in Queensland•
Interview with co-directors of The Time of the Fireflies: “We saw it as a form of resistance”
The Time of the Fireflies was one of the more socially concrete and intriguing films at the San Francisco International Film Festival this year.
David Walsh•
King Crimson sues Universal Music Group over unpaid royalties from streaming Kanye West’s “Power” since 2010
UMG is also a notable example of corporate malfeasance and negligence, related to the catastrophic 2008 Universal Studios backlot fire.
Kevin Reed•
Protests mount in Germany and internationally against boycott of Russian artists and culture
Contrary to their deep roots in mankind’s yearning for peaceful and humane social relations, art and culture as a whole are being turned into weapons of war by those responsible for cultural policy.
Sybille Fuchs•
Gradually, Then Suddenly: A whitewashing of the 2013 Detroit bankruptcy
The documentary provides the media and political establishment’s version of the city of Detroit’s supposed “monumental climb out of bankruptcy [in 2013] toward a new era.”
Joanne Laurier•
David Walsh•
David Walsh•
Hong Jian•
Paul Bond•
Nick Barrickman•
Sri Lanka: Opposition JVP seeks to divert mass struggle into dead-end of parliamentary politics
The JVP is promoting a fantasy—that an election and a new bourgeois government will be able to wave away the immense crisis of global and Sri Lankan capitalism and thus solve all the social ills facing working people.
Pani Wijesiriwardena•
Sri Lankan SEP/IYSSE to hold a May 4 demonstration in Gampaha
The SEP supports bringing down the Rajapakse government but advances an independent socialist perspective for the working class as the alternative to any future pro-IMF interim regime.
Our reporter•
Sri Lankan SEP/IYSSE meeting discusses socialist program needed to advance mass anti-government struggle
Speakers explained the SEP’s international socialist perspective and how it was the only way to address the desperate situation facing masses of people demanding resignation of the Rajapakse government.
Our correspondents•
Socialist Equality Party campaigns at Sri Lanka solidarity rally in London
Around 3,000 people protested, carrying homemade placards. SEP members distributed hundreds of copies of the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka) statement “A socialist program for striking Sri Lankan workers”, addressed to workers taking part in a general strike last week, in English, Sinhalese and Tamil.
our reporters•
Our reporters•
Our reporters•
Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka)•
Our reporters•
V. Gnana•
Climate change will lead to increasing spillover of viruses to humans, potentially causing new pandemics
A new modeling study of climate change finds that the resulting forced migrations of animals will significantly increase the transfer of pathogens to humans.
Philip Guelpa•
Quebec educator speaks out against being forced back to work while infected with COVID-19
Quebec school workers are being forced back to work on their fifth day of infection with COVID-19. That is, while still contagious with the debilitating and potentially fatal disease.
Laurent Lafrance•
White House Correspondents’ Association dinner
The CIA Democrats and their media courtiers celebrate the “end” of the COVID pandemic
Some 2,600 corporate journalists, capitalist politicians and Hollywood celebrities were packed into a Washington ballroom despite the worst global pandemic in 100 years.
Patrick Martin•
Half of all Americans infected with COVID-19, three-quarters of children
The Biden administration has scrapped even the pretense of curbing the COVID-19 pandemic, admitting that preventing infections is “not even a policy goal.”
Patrick Martin•
Benjamin Mateus•
Trévon Austin•
Eduardo Parati•
Andre Damon•
Evan Blake•
French police crack down on May Day rallies
Despite newly-re-elected President Macron’s empty promises to use a “new method,” a bitter confrontation is being prepared between Macron and the working class.
our reporters•
Pseudo-left cover for Unite in Coventry refuse collectors’ strike
This week, Coventry council were forced to deny preparing to issue 90-day dismissal notices against the 70 striking refuse lorry drivers.
Paul Bond•
NATO prepares to repress mass protests at June 2022 war summit in Madrid
Besides plotting NATO wars against nuclear-armed Russia and China, the NATO summit in Madrid will be a show of force targeting domestic opposition to war in the working class.
Alejandro López•
German court shuts down trial of right-wing extremist professor Jörg Baberowski in exchange for payment of €4,000
Even though the payment by Baberowski amounts to an admission of guilt, the immediate consequence is a devastating political signal that declares violence against dissenting students by a right-wing extremist professor to be a trivial offence.
Christoph Vandreier•
Henry Lee•
Robert Stevens•
Peter Schwarz•
Thomas Scripps•
Peter Schwarz•
A remarkable memoir about the early Soviet Union and Stalinism: The life of Alexei Yarotsky
The Soviet engineer wrote his memoirs in the 1970s of experiencing the October Revolution, the Civil War and the Great Terror.
Clara Weiss•
This week in history: May 2-8
This column profiles important historical events which took place during this week, 25 years ago, 50 years ago, 75 years ago and 100 years ago
•
This week in history: April 25-May 1
This column profiles important historical events which took place during this week, 25 years ago, 50 years ago, 75 years ago and 100 years ago
•
This week in history: April 18-24
This column profiles important historical events which took place during this week, 25 years ago, 50 years ago, 75 years ago and 100 years ago
•
•
•
Patrick Martin•
Verena Nees•
Clara Weiss•
Mélenchon turns his back on his voters to negotiate with French social democrats
Mélenchon's return to talks with a discredited, reactionary party shows that he aims not to mobilize his 7.7 million voters, but to push them to the right.
Kumaran Ira•
Mélenchon to ally with Greens, PCF, NPA in French legislative election
Jean Luc-Mélenchon is not trying to mobilise the workers, but to bring together discredited bourgeois or petty-bourgeois political parties.
Kumaran Ira•
“Between Le Pen and Macron, it’s plague and cholera.”
Workers and youth in northern Paris speak against candidates in French election
On Saturday, the day before polling in the French presidential elections, WSWS journalists interviewed workers and young people in the working-class north Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis about the vote between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.
our reporters•
French student speaks out on election “catastrophe”
In the city of Amiens, WSWS journalists interviewed Clémence, a student and job seeker, on the French presidential elections.
Antoine Lerougetel•
Alex Lantier•
Samuel Tissot•
Alex Lantier•
Kumaran Ira•
Alex Lantier•
Sharp rise in cost of living, high unemployment portend renewal of class conflict in Chile
Police repression is already taking hold under the Boric administration against hunger riots and looting, school occupations, road blockades by truck owner-operators, and striking port and health workers.
Mauricio Saavedra•
British Virgin Islands premier’s arrest exposes Britain’s central role in global corruption and criminality
The arrests expose the financial skullduggery of not only the BVI, one of the world’s premier tax havens, but Britain, which retains overall control of the islands.
Jean Shaoul•
Working class struggles explode in Peru
The popular slogan has been “out with all of them,” reflecting a rejection of Peru's entire bourgeois governmental setup.
Don Knowland, Cesar Uco•
Reinstate the fired strikers at Brazil’s CSN! Unify the struggles of the working class!
The WSWS and the Socialist Equality Group in Brazil demand the immediate reinstatement of the rank-and-file commission and all fired workers at CSN.
Brunna Machado•
Eric London•
Mauricio Saavedra•
Tomas Castanheira•
Cesar Uco, Don Knowland•
Cesar Uco, Don Knowland•
Bring down Sri Lanka’s Rajapakse government! Abolish the executive presidency! No to austerity and starvation!
Neither the Sri Lankan government nor the opposition parties have any solution to the hunger and want facing working people. The SEP is advancing a program of action for the working class which alone can resolve the immense social and economic crisis.
Read the statement
UK nurse testifies about life on a COVID ward: “There was a general feeling that we were expendable”
The following testimony to the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic has been submitted by a Senior Health Care Assistant in a busy hospital in the north of England. The nurse normally works on a gerontology ward caring for the old and infirm and those suffering from dementia.
•
“This is a mass disabling event that’s taking place”: Canadian mother speaks to the Global Workers’ Inquest on her struggle to protect her children from COVID-19
Jessica Bleasdale spoke to the WSWS about her experiences advocating for her son and others who are vulnerable, as well as her thoughts on the New Brunswick government’s decision to drop all protective measures.
Dylan Lubao•
“The Gamma variant was maliciously created in Manaus by Bolsonaro’s herd immunity policy”
Brazilian researcher Lucas Ferrante testifies on the role of schools in spreading COVID-19
The studies led by Ferrante showed that the reopening of schools in Manaus in late 2020 led to the emergence of the Gamma variant, responsible for two-thirds of the COVID-19 deaths in Brazil.
Guilherme Ferreira•
“I've never been in combat, but I felt like I was in a war zone surrounded by disease and death”
Alabama ICU nurse describes his front-line pandemic experience to the Global Workers’ Inquest
In this interview, David describes his experience during the pandemic, the inadequate response from the hospitals and government, and the chasm between hospital administration and staff.
Emma Arceneaux•
Evan Blake•
Richard Phillips, Cheryl Crisp•
Our reporters•
Tom Peters•
Dylan Lubao•
Australian government, Labor wash their hands of Assange amid imminent extradition threat
Any conception that a Labor government would defend Assange is refuted by over a decade of experience and the statements of Labor leaders themselves.
Oscar Grenfell, Socialist Equality Party candidate for the Senate in NSW•
UK court approves extradition of Julian Assange to US, decision with home secretary Patel
According to the Extradition Act (2003) which governs the process, Assange now has four weeks (to May 18) to make representations to Patel before her decision is announced.
Thomas Scripps•
Labor-Greens bury Assange’s plight ahead of Australian federal election
A particularly pernicious role is played by Greens MPs who have criticised Assange’s persecution, but are working with Labor to ensure it is buried in the forthcoming election.
Oscar Grenfell•
Julian Assange marries Stella Moris in London’s Belmarsh prison
By holding their wedding, Moris said, they were fighting back against the British state’s efforts to keep Assange “invisible to the public at all costs”.
Thomas Scripps•
Our reporters•
Oscar Grenfell•
Thomas Scripps•
Our correspondents•
Thomas Scripps•
Statement of the Editorial Board
For a Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Inquest is necessary to break through the cover-up, lies and misinformation that have been used to justify policies responsible for the avoidable deaths of millions.
Find out more
Fed monetary tightening hits Wall Street
Yesterday, the tech-heavy NASDAQ index dropped by 4.2 percent, bringing its loss for April to 13 percent, making it the worst month since the global financial crisis of 2008.
Nick Beams•
US interest rate policies leading to major shifts in global currency markets
The value of the euro and the yen has fallen sharply in recent weeks because of the expectation that interest rates will not rise as fast as in the US, if at all.
Nick Beams•
European Central Bank paints bleak picture of economy
The ECB resisted pressure to follow the lead of the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, as well as other central banks, to lift interest rates in response to the global surge in inflation
Nick Beams•
Commodity market turbulence heightens financial instability
Dealings in global commodity markets for basic items, such as oil and gas, industrial metals, as well as grains and other foodstuffs, have been characterised as “chaotic” as prices spiral and gyrate.
Nick Beams•
Nick Beams•
Kevin Reed•
Shannon Jones•
Nick Beams•
Kevin Reed•
Right-wing radical Professor Jörg Baberowski faces trial for causing bodily harm and damage to property
In early 2020, Professor Baberowski physically assaulted an IYSSE member of the student parliament at Berlin’s Humboldt University and destroyed large amounts of student election campaign material.
Gregor Link, Christoph Vandreier•
UIC graduate student workers continue strike against poverty wages, as AFT prepares austerity agreement
A mood of growing frustration is building among university faculty and grad student workers throughout the University of Illinois system, centered on the surging cost of living and eroding incomes.
James Martin•
Detroit youth stage “die-in” to demand more school counselors
Michigan schools have the nation’s second-worst student-to-counselor ratio, 691 to 1, under conditions of a deepening mental health emergency nationally.
Nancy Hanover•
To end climate change, war and the pandemic, take up the fight for world socialism!
The IYSSE calls on students and youth to link the struggle against climate change with the broader fight against all the existential threats confronting humanity, above all imperialism’s relentless march toward a catastrophic nuclear war.
International Youth and Students for Social Equality (Australia)•
Our reporters•
Our reporters•
Claude Delphian•
Tim Rivers•
Eric Ludlow•
Timeline of thirty years of war: The historical background to the US-NATO conflict with Russia
This interactive timeline presents some of the most important events that have brought humanity to the brink of World War III. It includes links to critical articles and statements produced by the International Committee of the Fourth International over the past 30 years.
View the Timeline
Israel attacks worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque to stoke war
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, 153 Palestinians were hospitalised, while “dozens of other injuries” were treated at the scene. Nearly 400 people were arrested.
Jean Shaoul•
International Monetary Fund agrees minimal loan for Lebanon amid potential social and political meltdown
According to the UN’s World Food Programme, which has previously warned that the war in Ukraine could drive millions in the Middle East into food poverty and lead to global food insecurity, the cost of the basic food basket in Lebanon, the minimum a family needs per month, soared by 351 percent in the past year.
Jean Shaoul•
Tunisian president assumes dictatorial powers amid deepening social unrest
This year has seen numerous demonstrations protesting social and economic conditions, with the total number of demonstrations in the eight months since Saïed’s July coup topping those that proceeded it.
Jean Shaoul•
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett puts Israel on a war footing against the Palestinians
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi said the IDF must be prepared for “Guardian of the Walls 2,” a reference to last May when Israel launched a murderous 11-day assault on Gaza.
Jean Shaoul•
Jean Shaoul•
Jean Shaoul•
Patrick Martin•
Patrick Martin•
Jean Shaoul•
The CIA Democrats and their media courtiers celebrate the “end” of the COVID pandemic
Some 2,600 corporate journalists, capitalist politicians and Hollywood celebrities were packed into a Washington ballroom despite the worst global pandemic in 100 years.
Patrick Martin•
Donald Trump cited for civil contempt for failing to comply with subpoena
Trump has refused to comply with a December subpoena requiring him to turn over documents to the office of Democratic New York Attorney General Leticia James.
Jacob Crosse•
Defense Secretary Austin admits the US is a party to Ukraine war
In prepared remarks following a meeting with Ukrainian officials, Austin declared, “our focus in the meeting was to talk about those things that would enable us to win the current fight and also build for tomorrow.”
Andre Damon•
Melissa Lucio granted temporary stay of execution, but no clemency
The stay came after significant sections of the political establishment, nervous about the execution of a clearly innocent person discrediting the death penalty and aware of the outrage it was provoking, called for a delay in Lucio’s execution.
Chase Lawrence•
Patrick Martin•
Barry Grey•
Jacob Crosse•
Kevin Reed, Barry Grey•
Alex Johnson•
David North speaks on the NATO-Russia war on Turkey’s KİTABA DAİR
David North, the chairman of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site, spoke with Turkey’s KİTABA DAİR on his book, The Russian Revolution and the Unfinished 20th Century, and the rapidly intensifying conflict between Russia and NATO over Ukraine.
Watch the recording
Workers and youth condemn Facebook censorship of Socialist Equality Party’s anti-war video
“This censorship is not only directed against us, but against the mass opposition to a world war,” says Vandreier. The socialist anti-war perspective of the SGP “is to be banned and censored in the midst of deafening war propaganda for a third world war.”
Our reporters•
Socialist Equality Party discusses building an anti-war movement with UK workers
Workers including bus drivers, healthcare staff and teachers active in rank-and-file committees in the UK were invited by the SEP to discuss a fight against war based on the working class and socialism.
Richard Tyler•
Sri Lankan SEP/IYSSE holds well attended online meeting against US-NATO war drive and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
The speakers emphasized that the opposition of the working class to the war is needed to be developed as a conscious political movement for socialism.
our correspondents•
Sri Lanka: SEP/IYSSE meeting participants denounce US-NATO war and Russian invasion of Ukraine
“The destruction created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the drive towards a third world war clearly shows that capitalism neither wants nor is able to resolve the basic questions faced by mankind”
Our correspondents•
David Walsh•
Marianne Arens•
Our reporter•
Helen Hayes, Usman Khan•
Shannon Jones•
Education workers outraged by hard-right Ford government’s removal of mask mandate in Ontario’s schools
The move could hardly come at a worse time, with the more infectious Omicron BA.2 sub-variant of COVID-19 starting to produce yet another surge of infections and deaths around the world.
Ken Lagerfeld•
UK schools in crisis as COVID surges, with cases highest among youngest and unvaccinated
The latest official data reveals the highest infection rates in all age groups were among 2-11-year-olds, the age group which remains unvaccinated in the UK. Yet they must attend pre-school settings, nurseries and primary schools with no mitigation measures in place.
Margot Miller•
Seattle students walk out in protest over dropping of mask requirements
Seattle Public Schools students join the global movement of educators and students and stage a walkout to protest inadequate measures to protect them against the Omicron BA.2 surge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Claude Delphian•
West Coast schools remove mask mandates as US child deaths from COVID-19 continue to mount
With the announcement of an agreement last Friday to end mandatory masking in Los Angeles schools, virtually every school across the US West Coast has now made masks optional on campuses as coronavirus cases continue to increase among school-aged children.
Dan Conway•
Sal Price•
International Youth and Students for Social Equality (Germany)•
Ioan Petrescu•
Gregor Link•
Sue Phillips•
Stop censoring the opponents of war!
On Saturday, Facebook deleted a video posted by the Socialist Equality Party of Germany opposing the German government’s participation in the US-led NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.
Christoph Vandreier•
Social media platforms expand censorship of anti-war and anti-imperialist voices
Six years of Chris Hedges’ On Contact program erased by YouTube
YouTube deleted the archive of Chris Hedges’ On Contact television program from its platform with no explanation.
Kevin Reed•
Whistleblower testimony launches bipartisan campaign for Facebook censorship
The Senate testimony by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen has intensified the bipartisan drive to clamp down on left-wing and socialist political content on social media platforms.
Kevin Reed•
US seizes PressTV.com and 32 other Iranian media website domains
In a provocative act of censorship and imperialist gangsterism, the Biden administration took control of three dozen internet domains and shut down websites affiliated with Iran-based media organizations on unsubstantiated grounds of “disinformation campaigns and malign influence operations.”
Kevin Reed•
Kevin Reed•
Alex Johnson•
Trévon Austin•
WSWS Educators Newsletter•
The fight for Trotskyism and the political foundations of the World Socialist Web Site
The WSWS is publishing the report delivered by David North 25 years ago, on February 1, 1997, motivating the proposal to end publication of the SEP’s printed newspaper and replace it with an international website; as well as North’s reply to the National Committee ‘s discussion of the proposal.
The New York Times 1619 Project: A New Origin Story: History as the emanation of race
The Times, which wishes readers to take the 1619 Project seriously as a “reframing of American history,” has said more than it intended.
Tom Mackaman•
An interview with Mark Kruger, author of The St. Louis Commune of 1877: Communism in the Heartland
The World Socialist Web Site recently spoke with Mark Kruger about his new book, the 1619 Project, and the current state of American politics.
Douglas Lyons•
Historian Jack Rakove on American history writing and the falsifications of the 1619 Project and its defenders
Professor Jack Rakove is a leading scholar of the American Revolution and the framing of the Constitution.
Tom Mackaman•
The New York Times’ Jake Silverstein concocts “a new origin story” for the 1619 Project
Having previously disregarded historiography, Silverstein now falsifies it—and admits to privileging “narrative” over “actual fact.”
Tom Mackaman•
Tom Mackaman•
Niles Niemuth•
Niles Niemuth•
David North•
David North•
The definitive left-wing critique of the 1619 Project. This volume includes interviews with eminent historians and essays from the World Socialist Web Site exposing the New York Times’ racialist falsification of history.
Nuclear expert speaks on the dangers of war between the US and Russia
The World Socialist Web Site five years ago interviewed Greg Mello, an expert on the dangers of nuclear war. Today we are republishing that interview.
Bryan Dyne, Barry Grey•
Climate change is triggering a humanitarian crisis, UN report finds
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report is an indictment of global capitalism’s utter failure to address climate change.
Daniel de Vries•
James Webb Space Telescope completes second month of commissioning, accomplishing many key steps
The JWST is also slated to join a survey of nearby galaxies involving the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile and the Hubble Space Telescope.
Bryan Dyne•
Fossilized dinosaur egg discovered to have fully-intact remains of oviraptor embryo
The discovery in China of the Oviraptorid embryo known as “Baby Yingliang” is one of a number of findings marking a renaissance in the field of paleontology.
Ronan Coddington•
Philip Guelpa•
Bryan Dyne, Don Barrett•
Benjamin Mateus•
Patrick Martin•
Daniel de Vries•
War in Ukraine and Russia sanctions threaten food supplies in Middle East and North Africa
Russia and Ukraine account for nearly one third of the world’s grain exports, one fifth of its corn trade and almost 80 percent of sunflower oil production.
Jean Shaoul•
Macron announces withdrawal of French troops from Mali
This withdrawal, driven by mounting popular opposition to French imperialism, comes amid the closely related NATO operations to provoke a war with Russia over Ukraine.
Alex Lantier•
Death of boy trapped in well highlights Morocco’s social catastrophe
Amid the media frenzy, not a single journalist alluded to the economic and social conditions that gave rise to the tragedy. Yet on Tuesday, a seven-year-old boy died after falling into a 50-metre deep well in the village of Al-Sabt just hours after Rayan’s funeral.
Jean Shaoul•
Sudan’s prime minister resigns amid lethal military crackdown on protests
The political crisis takes place as the economy faces collapse under the impact of the pandemic, with growing unemployment, 360 percent inflation and soaring food prices.
Jean Shaoul•
Jean Shaoul•
Matthew Brennan•
Kumaran Ira•
Jean Shaoul•
Benjamin Mateus•
The Socialist Equality Party launches Australian election campaign
The SEP is the only party in the federal elections opposing the explosion of militarism and Australia’s front-line participation in the US-led war drive against Russia and the escalating provocations against China.
Our reporter•
SEP (Australia) files objection to party deregistration
The SEP is demanding the basic democratic right to stand candidates in its name at the looming federal election in order to advance, in the broadest possible way, the necessary socialist perspective, based on the protection of health and lives, not private profit.
Socialist Equality Party (Australia)•
Australian SEP electoral members discuss Omicron surge and Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic
“The Workers Inquest is critical. It’s become clear that the governments and health organisations don’t want to provide the evidence about how it spreads, and what we need to do to keep safe.”
our reporters•
The historic assault on university education and Australia’s anti-democratic electoral laws
The deep hostility among university staff and students is part of the rising political discontent that drove the Liberal-National and Labor parties to rush through new electoral laws in August.
Jack Turner•
Our reporters•
John Harris•
Mike Head•
our reporters•
Socialist Equality Party (Australia)•
The politically driven campaign against Harvard anthropologist John Comaroff
The attack on Harvard anthropology professor John Comaroff has taken to a new level the campaign to purge American colleges and universities on the basis of anti-democratic identity politics.
David Walsh•
The concerted, cowardly #MeToo attack on Harvard professor John Comaroff
John Comaroff, professor of African and African American studies and of anthropology at Harvard University, has become the target of what has all the earmarks of another filthy #MeToo witch-hunt.
David Walsh•
Campus opposition at University of Michigan mounts to victimization of Bright Sheng
Professors and students continue to speak out against the anti-democratic victimization of University of Michigan professor and composer Bright Sheng.
James McDonald, Sam Wayne•
Australian High Court sets precedent for sacking dissenting academics
The judges effectively cleared the way for universities to dismiss staff for criticising management or breaching confidentiality rules.
Mike Head•
Matthew Brennan, Barry Grey•
Barry Grey•
James McDonald•
David Walsh•
•
WSWS Review
Thirty years since the dissolution of the USSR
Review the most critical essays, lectures and letters produced by the ICFI in the course of its intervention in response to the crisis of Stalinism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Read more
White House announces another $800 million in military aid to Ukraine
.The White House announced on Thursday that it will be sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine for its proxy war with Russia which is now focused in the East of the country.
Clara Weiss•
German government invests billions into prolonging Ukraine war
NATO wants the military defeat and economic ruin of Russia. It has no interest in ending the war through a ceasefire.
Peter Schwarz•
White House says “nothing will dissuade” US from arming Ukraine
Russia has submitted a formal note protesting the US transfer of billions of dollars in military hardware to Ukraine, and raising the prospect of Russian retaliation against US/NATO arms shipments.
Andre Damon•
US boosts arms shipments to Ukraine, admits to training Ukrainian fighters
The Biden administration has now provided $2.4 billion in weapons to Ukraine, of which $1.7 billion worth has been delivered just since the start of the war.
Andre Damon•
Robert Sutherland•
Mike Head•
Roger Jordan•
Joseph Kishore, David North•
Alex Lantier•
Berlin Administrative Court affirms secret service observation of left-wing newspaper junge Welt
On 18 March, the Berlin Administrative Court rejected an emergency application by junge Welt that it no longer be described as “left-wing extremist” in the secret service annual report.
Justus Leicht•
Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei lawsuit against the Secret Service
Berlin Administrative Court declares criticism of capitalism unconstitutional
The German court judgement and its written grounds represent a fundamental attack on democratic rights. The aim is to ban socialist ideas and any criticism of capitalism.
Statement of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei•
UK Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee denounces court ruling upholding designation of Germany's Socialist Equality Party as “left wing extremists”
The Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee (UK) passed a resolution Monday condemning the ruling of the Berlin Administrative Court, which on November 18, 2021, upheld the designation of the German security service of the German section of the ICFI as “left wing extremists”.
Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee (UK)•
Berlin Administrative Court rules socialist ideas are “anti-constitutional”
The court’s ruling against the Socialist Equality Party stands in the tradition of National Socialist ideological jurisprudence and Bismarck’s anti-socialist laws, and opens the door for the surveillance and suppression of all opposition to capitalism and arbitrary state power.
Peter Schwarz•
Christoph Vandreier•
Christoph Vandreier•
our reporters•
Christoph Vandreier•
Wolfgang Weber•
100 years since the birth of Jean Brust
August 31, 2021 marks 100 years since the birth of Jean Brust, a leading figure in the Trotskyist movement. Comrade Jean, who died November 24, 1997 at the age of 76, joined the Trotskyist-led Young Peoples Socialist League as a teenager in 1937.
Three international studies into the origins of coronavirus refute the fabricated Wuhan “lab leak” claim
Three just-released studies provide substantive evidence for the natural origin of SARS-CoV-2, with the Huanan market in Wuhan, China the location of the first zoonotic (animal to human) transfer.
Benjamin Mateus•
Promoters of “Wuhan lab” conspiracy theory fume as their claims fall apart
As scientific studies continue to undermine the conspiracy theory that SARS-CoV-2 is a genetically engineered virus, journalist Glenn Greenwald has accused the New York Times and Washington Post of being insufficiently faithful to the lab leak “theory.”
Andre Damon•
A disgraced liar accuses scientists: Matt Ridley’s Viral
In the most systematic defense of the Wuhan lab libel to date, Matt Ridley proves only the falsehood of his bad-faith attack on science.
Andre Damon•
Washington Post calls for a COVID-19 cover-up
The commission advocated by the Washington Post will be aimed at shielding the government and corporate officials responsible for the deaths of more than one million Americans, while scapegoating China for the pandemic.
Andre Damon•
Andre Damon•
Andre Damon•
Andre Damon•
Andre Damon•
John Braddock•
Twenty years since the September 11 terror attacks
The horrific massacre of civilians was immediately exploited by the imperialist powers, led by the United States government itself, to justify far-reaching attacks on the democratic rights of their own populations, and the launching of decades-long wars in the Middle East and Africa.
Read more
The NATO-Russia war and the tasks of the international working class
This is the text of the introductory speech delivered by WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North to the 2022 International May Day Online Rally.
David North•
Attend the 2022 May Day Online Rally!
The Online May Day Rally will bring workers together from all over the world to mark International Workers Day and discuss the strategy for a revolutionary socialist solution to the crisis of the capitalist system.
WSWS Editorial Board•
Biden massively expands US war with Russia
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden called on Congress to approve $20 billion in weapons shipments for the US war with Russia, increasing US involvement in the conflict by a factor of six.
Andre Damon•
Half of all Americans infected with COVID-19, three-quarters of children
The Biden administration has scrapped even the pretense of curbing the COVID-19 pandemic, admitting that preventing infections is “not even a policy goal.”
Patrick Martin•
WSWS Editorial Board•
Eric London•
Andre Damon•
Socialist Equality Party (US)•
Niles Niemuth•
Cliff Slaughter: A political biography (1928-1963)
By David North
Cliff Slaughter died on May 3, 2021, in Leeds, England, at the age of 92. His enduring contribution in the 1960s to the defense of Trotskyism stands in tragic contrast with his subsequent political opportunism and repudiation of revolutionary Marxism.
Quebec Court of Appeal covers up violent activities of far-right
Although the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned the acquittal of the notorious neo-Nazi Raphaël Lévesque for a 2018 assault, it did so on narrow legal grounds, trivializing and covering up the increasingly violent activities of the far-right in Quebec and across Canada.
Hugo Maltais•
Nancy Pelosi touts arms shipments to Ukraine, refuses to answer questions on Republican role in January 6 coup
In her weekly press conference, Pelosi lashed out at reporters who asked her to respond to audio tapes confirming that Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy blamed Trump for the coup and feared further violence following the attack.
Jacob Crosse•
Kevin McCarthy meets with Republican House conference amid ongoing revelations regarding January 6 coup
McCarthy received a “standing ovation” from House Republicans at a closed-door meeting Wednesday, his first with the conference since the release of audio recordings from January 2021 in which McCarthy suggested Trump should resign following the failed coup.
Jacob Crosse•
Text messages reveal Trump’s chief of staff orchestrated January 6 coup attempt
New revelations implicating Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and leading Republicans in the January 6 coup plot further expose danger of dictatorship.
Eric London•
Jacob Crosse•
Jacob Crosse•
Jacob Crosse•
Jacob Crosse•
Jacob Crosse•
Eighty years since the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union
The WSWS has published a feature page incorporating a selection of essential essays from its own archives, and other documents produced contemporaneously by the Fourth International.
Read more
Socialist Equality Party summer school prepares membership for growth of class struggle
The Socialist Equality Party in the United States held a summer school from August 1 through August 6. It was devoted to an analysis of the major social and political events in the US and internationally since the previous SEP school, held in July of 2019.
Barry Grey•
SEP Summer School 2021 Lecture
The historical background and initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic
This report to the 2021 SEP summer school was delivered by Dr. Benjamin Mateus, who has led the coverage on the WSWS of the scientific and medical issues posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Benjamin Mateus•
SEP Summer School 2021 Lecture
January 6, 2021: Donald Trump’s plot against America
The following lecture was delivered at the Socialist Equality Party (US) 2021 summer school by Eric London, a writer for the WSWS and author of Agents: The FBI and GPU Infiltration of the Trotskyist Movement.
Eric London•
The lessons of the 2021 Volvo strike
This lecture was delivered at the Socialist Equality Party (US) 2021 summer school, held August 1 through August 6, by Marcus Day, a writer for the World Socialist Web Site .
Marcus Day•
Tom Carter•
Jerry White•
Tom Mackaman•
Andre Damon•
Patrick Martin•
Sylvia Ageloff and the assassination of Leon Trotsky
With David North and Eric London
North and London discussed the significance of the latest revelations of the the Security and the Fourth International investigation into Trotsky’s assassination.
Watch the video
Introduction to new book Pike River: The Crime and Cover-up
Pike River: The Crime and Cover-up, published by Mehring Books, examines the causes of the 2010 New Zealand mine disaster, which killed 29 people, and the decade-long cover-up by successive governments and the judicial system, which have shielded the company leadership from prosecution.
Tom Peters•
Son of New Zealand mine disaster victim denounces lack of accountability
Ben Joynson was 10-years-old when his father William died, with 28 other workers, in the 2010 Pike River coal mine disaster. He said the trauma suffered by the victims’ families has been made worse by the lack of accountability.
Tom Peters•
Brother of New Zealand mine disaster victim denounces abandonment of underground investigation
Gordon Dixon, whose brother Allan died in the 2010 Pike River mine disaster, told the WSWS that the Labour Party-led government’s decision to permanently seal the mine was part of an ongoing cover-up to protect those responsible.
Tom Peters•
New Zealand police end borehole drilling at Pike River mine after finding more human remains
The Labour Party-led government permanently sealed Pike River mine last year, preventing the recovery of the bodies of 29 men who perished in the 2010 underground disaster, and locking away vital evidence of what caused the explosions.
Tom Peters•
Tom Peters•
Tom Peters•
Tom Peters•
Tom Peters•
Tom Peters•
150 years since the birth of Rosa Luxemburg
The meeting examined Luxemburg’s role as a Marxist theoretician and political leader, and discussed the significance of her legacy to the contemporary struggle to build a Marxist leadership.
Watch the video
Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes: New poems by Nicky Beer
In this new collection, the stated theme of illusion is not always probed deeply—nor is it the only theme.
Erik Schreiber•
A comment on American author Joan Didion (1934-2021)
Joan Didion, the essayist and novelist who critically described nearly 60 years of American social and cultural life, died on December 23.
Sandy English•
Customs: Poet Solmaz Sharif examines imperialism and exile
The second book by an acclaimed and politically engaged young poet is notable for its international and historical perspective.
Erik Schreiber•
An unoriginal hagiography of the Democratic Party: Michael Kazin's What it Took to Win
Michael Kazin’s book What It Took To Win: A History of the Democratic Party is as unoriginal as it is wrong
Eric London•
James McDonald, David Walsh•
Tom Mackaman•
James McDonald•
Douglas Lyons•
Andrea Peters•
