US Politics
In response to US-UK provocations
Russia expels US diplomats, closes consulate in St. Petersburg
By Patrick Martin, 30 March 2018
Tensions between Russia and the NATO powers, led by the US and Britain, are at their sharpest since the Cold War.
Democrats seek to use Stephon Clark’s funeral to divert anger over police killings
By Kayla Costa, 30 March 2018
While hundreds grieved over the loss of 22-year-old Clark, Al Sharpton sought to direct opposition to police violence into the dead end of reformism, identity politics and the electoral efforts of the Democratic Party.
Veterans Administration head ousted amid push for privatization
By Matthew Taylor, 30 March 2018
Trump fired Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin and nominated his own physician to head the giant agency.
The murder of Stephon Clark and the fight against police violence
By Niles Niemuth, 29 March 2018
Amid a growing strike wave by workers throughout the country, demonstrations have once again broken out against the reign of police terror that has claimed over 300 lives this year.
ICE uses Facebook data to locate and track suspects
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 29 March 2018
A report in the Intercept documents the extensive use of data derived from social media to pursue immigrants.
The looming threat of global trade war
By Nick Beams, 29 March 2018
The volatility reflects the speculative character of the share market’s rise and the fears that a global trade war could puncture this bubble.
US Congress passes FOSTA law attacking internet freedom
By Will Morrow, 28 March 2018
The bill sets a precedent for prosecuting internet platforms based on the content published by users.
Russian diplomats expelled over allegations of poisoning of ex-spy in UK
By Bill Van Auken, 27 March 2018
The mass expulsion of Russian diplomats from the US, 14 EU countries, Canada and Ukraine marks a coordinated campaign to pave the way to war.
The international significance of the March for Our Lives demonstrations
By Eric London, 26 March 2018
The mass demonstrations in the heart of world imperialism point to the intensification of social tensions and the class struggle worldwide.
US House of Representatives approves record military budget
By Patrick Martin, 23 March 2018
While funneling nearly $700 billion to the Pentagon, the legislation allows the Trump administration to proceed with the deportation of young immigrants previously protected under the DACA program.
Trump appoints John Bolton as National Security Advisor, replacing McMaster
By Eric London, 23 March 2018
Bolton’s political resurrection is a further sign that Trump is assembling an ever more right-wing and militaristic cabinet.
Confessed Austin, Texas bomber dead in apparent suicide blast
By Niles Niemuth, 23 March 2018
Police officials announced that 23-year-old Mark Anthony Conditt confessed on video to the string of package bombings that killed two and wounded five others, but no apparent motive has been determined.
Google sets up “news initiative” to censor political opposition and promote mainstream media
By Andre Damon, 22 March 2018
Google announced its latest censorship initiative as Facebook came under pressure from the media and Congressional Democrats to crack down on political opposition.
The Russians are tweeting! The Russians are tweeting!
By Will Morrow, 22 March 2018
A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report claims that demonstrations in Wisconsin in 2016 against a police killing were used by Russian Twitter bots to “stoke flames of racial division.”
Trump boasts of arms deals, backs Saudi slaughter in Yemen
By Bill Van Auken, 22 March 2018
The White House gave the Saudi regime unconditional support for its war in Yemen, while cementing the anti-Iranian alliance between Washington and Riyadh.
Two billionaires to face off in race for governor of Illinois
By Kristina Betinis, 22 March 2018
Hyatt Hotels billionaire J. B. Pritzker won the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Bruce Rauner, a former hedge fund boss.
Sanders town hall in DC promotes illusions in the Democrats and trade unions
By Tom Hall, 21 March 2018
The purpose of the event, which was livestreamed on Facebook, was to offer pretended sympathy for the poor and to promote the Democrats in the 2018 elections.
European Union joins UK in ratcheting up anti-Russia campaign
By Chris Marsden, 20 March 2018
The Skripal affair has been used by the UK and powerful voices within the US political and military establishment to push the two major European states away from Russia.
Democrats drop DACA recipients from budget talks
By Patrick Martin, 20 March 2018
The action is only the latest betrayal of immigrants by the capitalist politicians who pretend to sympathize with them.
Political warfare in Washington enters new stage following firing of former FBI deputy director
By Patrick Martin, 19 March 2018
Former CIA Director John Brennan replied to the firing of FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe by telling Trump: “You will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history.”
The campaign over the Skripal poisoning: An international war provocation
By Chris Marsden, 17 March 2018
The campaign by the imperialist powers in Europe and the United States over the poisoning of former Russian spy and British double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter stinks to high heaven.
In name of fighting sex trafficking, US Congress set to pass internet censorship law
By Will Morrow, 17 March 2018
The bill will enable the prosecution of online platforms based on content posted by individual users.
New York Times chides Trump for insufficient aggression against Russia
By Bill Van Auken, 17 March 2018
The Times editorial underscore the newspaper’s role as a propaganda organ for leading elements in the US military and intelligence apparatus that are pressing for war.
Washington imposes sanctions against Russia
By Bill Van Auken, 16 March 2018
The sanctions over alleged Russian cyberattacks and “interference” in US elections came as Washington joined the UK, France and Germany in indicting Moscow for the poisoning of a former Russian spy.
Trump to fire National Security Adviser McMaster as personalist circle tightens
By Eric London, 16 March 2018
Donald Trump’s presidency resembles less and less a presidential administration and more a personalist clique of appointees who serve their leader.
Senate Democrats join Republicans to gut Dodd-Frank banking regulations
By Tom Hall, 16 March 2018
The Democrats' support for the bill demonstrates that they are a party of the American financial aristocracy.
The significance of the mass student protests against gun violence in America
By Genevieve Leigh, 16 March 2018
While Democrats and the media have sought to restrict the protests to calls for gun control, there are much broader issues behind the politicization of young people in the US.
One million students walk out of class to protest gun violence and mass shootings in the US
By Genevieve Leigh and Kayla Costa, 15 March 2018
Students participated in thousands of demonstrations in the United States and around the world to mark the one-month anniversary of the Parkland high school massacre.
Seven days in March: The Trump administration and the breakdown of American democracy
By Patrick Martin, 15 March 2018
Actions taken by the Trump administration this week reveal its ever more open turn to authoritarianism, while the Democrats have become the party of the CIA.
Trump vetoes takeover of Qualcomm
By Nick Beams, 15 March 2018
Trump’s intervention demonstrates that “America First” nationalism and “national security” invocations are coming to dominate his administration’s economic decisions.
Democrat, a Marine veteran, wins House special election in Pennsylvania
By Patrick Martin, 15 March 2018
Both the Democrat and the Republican had a military-intelligence background: one as a Marine Corps prosecutor, the other as an Air Force intelligence officer.
Trump’s firing of Tillerson signals further shift toward global war
By Bill Van Auken, 14 March 2018
Tillerson’s replacement by CIA Director Mike Pompeo is bound up with a turn toward upending the nuclear agreement with Iran and a more aggressive militarist policy.
Trump taps torturer to head CIA
By Bill Van Auken, 14 March 2018
Touted as the first woman to head the US spy agency, the nomination of Gina Haspel marks a further rehabilitation of the methods of torture and forced disappearances.
Trump visits border wall prototypes in California to “pick the right one”
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 14 March 2018
Trump’s first visit to California as president sparked protests and came in the context of an intensification of the anti-immigrant policies of the administration.
Trump accepts North Korean offer of talks, on US terms
By James Cogan, 9 March 2018
The Pyongyang regime’s decades-long perspective has been to reach an accommodation with US imperialism and the South Korean ruling class.
Democrats embrace major cut in corporate taxes
By Patrick Martin, 9 March 2018
The Democrats’ endorsement of Trump’s tax cuts follows the vote by a large number of Senate Democrats to loosen the weak regulations on major banks enacted after the 2008 Wall Street crash.
The CIA Democrats: Part three
From the State Department to Capitol Hill
By Patrick Martin, 9 March 2018
The Democratic Party is seeking to be not only the party for the Pentagon and CIA, but the party of the Pentagon and CIA.
Justice department files suit against California “sanctuary” laws
By Patrick Martin, 8 March 2018
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions travelled to Sacramento to deliver a vitriolic attack on immigrants.
The CIA Democrats: Part two
Agents and war commanders
By Patrick Martin, 8 March 2018
Dozens of former CIA and military operatives are running as Democratic candidates for Congress in 2018.
Trump economic advisor Gary Cohn resigns over tariff decision
By Niles Niemuth, 7 March 2018
Among those reportedly opposed to Trump’s trade war policy are Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and retired Gen. James Mattis, the secretary of defense.
The CIA Democrats: Part one
Introduction
By Patrick Martin, 7 March 2018
This series examines the extraordinary integration of the Democratic Party and the intelligence agencies, with dozens of former operatives running as Democratic candidates in 2018.
Why Richard Ojeda is not a fighter for the working class
By Eric London, 5 March 2018
The Democratic West Virginia state senator is being presented by the corporate media as a tough-talking friend of the working class. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Support grows for West Virginia teachers as unions, Democrats scramble to end strike
By Jerry White, 3 March 2018
As the powerful strike of 30,000 West Virginia teachers and other school employees extends into the weekend, the unions and state Democrats hope to push through an agreement already rejected by rank-and-file educators.
Ruling class conflicts in the US target inner circle of Trump White House
By Patrick Martin, 3 March 2018
The corporate media and the intelligence services are spearheading an attack that has crippled the White House and seems aimed at forcing Trump out.
Special needs New York student imprisoned over Facebook posting
By Jason Melanovski, 3 March 2018
Several dozen students across the US have been swept up in a hysterical law and order crackdown since the Parkland school shooting.
The Oscar speech we’d like to hear Sunday night: “Members of the Academy, what hypocrites and conformists so many of you are!”
By David Walsh, 3 March 2018
The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, ostensibly honoring the best films and performances of 2017, will be held Sunday evening at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Young Democratic Socialists of America conference: Propping up the Democratic Party
By E.P. Milligan, 3 March 2018
The annual conference was aimed primarily at turning young people interested in socialism into foot-soldiers for the Democrats organizers for the anti-working class trade unions.
Washington infighting intensifies with resignation of White House communications director
By Patrick Martin, 1 March 2018
Hope Hicks, a longtime aide to the Trump family, was the fifth person to hold the top communications position for Trump in little over a year.
Media, Democrats silent as US Supreme Court rules immigrants can be indefinitely detained
By Eric London, 28 February 2018
The decision sets up the pseudo-legal framework for the expansion of immigrant internment camps.
Union lawyer tells US Supreme Court: “Union security is the tradeoff for no strikes”
By Joseph Kishore, 28 February 2018
In Supreme Court arguments, a lawyer for the public-sector union AFSCME argued that without the trade unions there would be “an untold specter of labor unrest throughout the country.”
Ex-CIA head John Brennan hired as news analyst by NBC
By Julian James, 28 February 2018
Brennan is implicated in some of the most criminal policies enacted under the Bush and Obama administrations, including the CIA torture program and the drone assassination program.
Alabama death row inmate’s lawyer: “This was clearly a botched execution that can only be accurately described as torture”
By Kate Randall, 28 February 2018
Doyle Hamm was subjected to about two-and-a-half hours of torture Thursday night in Alabama’s death chamber before prison officials called off the execution.
Daniel Golden’s Spy Schools: How the CIA, FBI, and foreign intelligence secretly exploit America’s universities
By Clara Weiss, 28 February 2018
The new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Daniel Golden is an important contribution toward understanding the military-intelligence-university complex in the United States.
US Supreme Court hears arguments in union agency fees case
By Shannon Jones, 27 February 2018
There is nothing progressive in the effort to maintain provisions that force workers to pay agency fees to unions that long ago abandoned any defense of the working class.
Democratic memo defends FBI’s illegal spying on Trump campaign
By Barry Grey, 26 February 2018
The Democratic Party has shifted so far to the right that it is now the most subservient defender of the repressive apparatus of the American state.
In wake of Parkland school shooting, Republicans and Democrats call for boosting police powers
By Kate Randall, 26 February 2018
What is not being addressed in the official debate are the social issues that lie at the root of repeated eruptions of mass violence in America.
Australian prime minister expands war commitments during Washington trip
By Mike Head, 26 February 2018
Turnbull was clearly under pressure to step-up Canberra’s participation in US military operations.
Trump uses Australian PM’s visit to threaten North Korea
By Peter Symonds, 24 February 2018
Trump warned that if sanctions on North Korea did not work he would move to “phase two,” which could be “a very rough thing.”
Plea deal by former Trump aide brings Russia probe closer to White House
By Barry Grey, 24 February 2018
Gates’ plea deal comes in the midst of an increasingly hysterical campaign in the media against Russia.
After Parkland shooting, Trump calls for teachers to be armed
By Niles Niemuth, 24 February 2018
The president has argued that allowing teachers and school staff, particularly military veterans, to carry concealed weapons would deter potential school shooters and protect students.
The Russian meddling fraud: Weapons of mass destruction revisited
By Andre Damon and Joseph Kishore, 20 February 2018
As with the Bush administration’s lies about Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction,” the claim that Russia “attacked” the US by “meddling” in the 2016 elections is aimed at creating a justification for war.
The media and the Mueller indictment: A conspiracy theory to end all conspiracy theories
By Patrick Martin, 19 February 2018
Nothing in the indictment comes close to supporting the wild claims from the media being used to justify a campaign for war and domestic repression.
Indictment of Russian nationals used to campaign for censorship and war
By Andre Damon, 17 February 2018
The indictments are primarily aimed at providing US media outlets with fodder for their claim that social opposition within the United States is the work of foreign agitators.
Danger of mass deportations grows as US Senate refuses to protect immigrant youth
By Eric London, 16 February 2018
The entire framework of the immigration debate has a right-wing, anti-democratic character.
Neo-McCarthyite hysteria at US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing
By Andre Damon, 15 February 2018
Tuesday’s hearing was an exercise in right-wing hysteria aimed at promoting the claim that all social opposition in the United States is the product of foreign subversion.
Corporate giant Unilever demands crackdown on oppositional Internet content
By Will Morrow, 14 February 2018
The Unilever statement marks an escalation in the campaign by the Democratic Party and the intelligence agencies, in alliance with corporate interests, to censor the Internet.
White House aides forced out over domestic abuse allegations
By Patrick Martin, 12 February 2018
The media firestorm over the charges against White House secretary Rob Porter is the latest skirmish in the political warfare in Washington between rival factions of the ruling elite.
Democrats and Republicans pass budget to prepare US for war
By Eric London, 10 February 2018
The Democratic Party provided the necessary votes to allocate $1.4 trillion for the military.
US Senate Democrats agree to massive boost in military spending
By Josh Varlin, 8 February 2018
The bipartisan budget plan demonstrates that both big business parties agree on military escalation and further attacks on immigrants' rights.
New York City limousine driver kills himself in protest over poverty wages
By Sandy English, 8 February 2018
Schifter’s suicide note blamed corporations and Mayor de Blasio, Governor Cuomo and former Mayor Bloomberg for destroying his livelihood.
UK High Court rejects Lauri Love’s extradition to US
By Margot Miller, 8 February 2018
The High Court judges agreed with Love’s legal team that, on medical grounds, he should be tried in the UK, not the US.
A conversation with film historian Max Alvarez: How the #MeToo campaign echoes the McCarthyite witch hunt of the 1940s and 1950s
“The climate is chillingly similar in terms of the massive capitulation and conformity”
By David Walsh, 8 February 2018
It is “Scoundrel Time” again in Hollywood, complete with denunciations, anonymous informants, humiliating “confessions,” trial by media and the banning of prominent performers.
Trump’s chief of staff mocks young immigrants as “afraid” and “lazy” as DACA deadline approaches
By Eric London, 7 February 2018
The climate in Washington ahead of Thursday’s budget deadline gives a sense of the right-wing framework of whatever immigration agreement the Democrats and Republicans make.
US Secretary of State Tillerson threatens oil sanctions against Venezuela
By Andrea Lobo, 7 February 2018
On his tour of Latin America, Tillerson escalated US threats against Venezuela as part of a broader campaign to undermine Russian and Chinese interests in the region.
Before budget deadline Thursday, Senate Democrats and Republicans prepare reactionary “border security” bill
By Patrick Martin, 6 February 2018
A new federal shutdown could begin Thursday midnight, with further deadlines looming on the debt ceiling and the expiration of DACA protection for young immigrants.
Six Baltimore police officers plead guilty to racketeering
By Harvey Simpkins, 6 February 2018
The criminal activity of the Gun Trace Task Force exposes in microcosm the contempt that the police have for the constitutional rights of the working class throughout the United States.
Chelsea Manning to run as a Democrat in Maryland Senate race
By Nick Barrickman, 6 February 2018
Like so many others before her, Manning is engaged in a misguided and futile effort to seek reforms through the US capitalist two-party system.
Democrats defend FBI as Republican memo shows anti-Russia campaign built on illegal spying
By Eric London, 5 February 2018
In the factional conflict within the ruling class, the Democrats have emerged as the principal defenders of the military-intelligence apparatus.
Release of Nunes memo throws anti-Russia campaign into disarray
By Andre Damon, 3 February 2018
In a further intensification of the factional conflict gripping the US ruling elite, the White House published a congressional memo Friday alleging the FBI used false pretenses to spy on the Trump campaign.
Fear of working class upsurge triggers plunge in financial markets
By Barry Grey, 3 February 2018
The increasing market volatility takes place amidst signs of mounting working class resistance.
Trump in open clash with FBI over Russia probe
By Patrick Martin, 2 February 2018
The Democratic Party is siding with the intelligence agencies against Trump in a conflict pitting two reactionary and criminal sections of the ruling class against each other.
US Border Patrol vilify DACA recipients, linking them to human smuggling
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 2 February 2018
The US Border Patrol emphasized the DACA status of two young men arrested over recent incidents in the San Diego area.
Trump’s State of Delusion
By Barry Grey, 1 February 2018
The degeneration of the State of the Union as an institution is connected to the mounting crisis of American capitalism.
US Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg endorses #MeToo
By Ed Hightower and Tom Carter, 1 February 2018
As a sitting Supreme Court justice, Ginsburg's comments granted a quasi-official sanction to the lynch mob atmosphere surrounding the campaign.
Marshall and #MeToo: A 77-year-old civil rights fight exposes the reactionary character of the sexual misconduct witch-hunt
By Fred Mazelis, 1 February 2018
The 1941 case, in which a black man was acquitted of rape charges, poses awkward questions for those who dismiss due process in their campaign against sexual harassment, both real and alleged.
Trump’s State of the Union address: A spectacle of reaction and militarism
By Patrick Martin, 31 January 2018
The foul character of the speech, the media coverage, and the ceremony as a whole testifies to the exclusion of any opposition within the political establishment to the agenda of corporate America.
In letter to Congress, social media companies outline plans for mass censorship
By Will Morrow, 31 January 2018
The technology giants are hiring thousands more human reviewers and developing artificial intelligence algorithms to monitor and censor political speech on the internet.
“Scoundrel Time” returns: The neo-Puritan #MeToo censors and their predecessors
By David Walsh, 31 January 2018
The sexual misconduct witch-hunt in the US continues, with dangerous implications for democratic rights and free speech.
As Trump, Republicans move to derail Russia probe, Democrats rush to defend FBI
By Barry Grey, 30 January 2018
Throughout the increasingly bitter Russia investigation, the Democrats have assumed the role of patriotic defenders of the intelligence and police agencies.
Senate Democratic leader seeks to protect Special Counsel Mueller, not DACA immigrants
By Patrick Martin, 29 January 2018
The statement by Schumer demonstrates the real priorities of the Democratic Party, which is focused on whipping up the anti-Russia campaign, not halting the persecution of immigrants.
Conflict in Washington escalates with report Trump sought to fire special prosecutor
By Patrick Martin, 27 January 2018
The front-page story in the New York Times marks a new stage in the ongoing political warfare in Washington.
The “fractured world”: Plutocrats convene in Davos amid war and great-power conflict
By Andre Damon, 27 January 2018
The 47th annual World Economic Forum was dominated by apprehension over every aspect of global politics and economics, from the possibility of a 2008-style financial collapse to the threat of a new world war.
A socialist strategy is needed to defend immigrants!
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 27 January 2018
The ongoing negotiations in Washington over DACA and TPS prove that the defense of immigrants requires a break with the Democrats and a turn to the working class.
In budget talks, Senate Democrats abandon immigrant Dreamers threatened with deportation
By Niles Niemuth, 26 January 2018
The Democrats have used the plight of the DACA recipients to pose as defenders of immigrants while shifting ever closer to the Trump administration’s racist immigration policies.
Four months after Hurricane Maria
Continuing crisis used to justify sell-off of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid
By Genevieve Leigh, 24 January 2018
The governor of Puerto Rico announced plans to privatize the island’s largest public utility amidst the longest and largest power outage in modern US history.
Political lessons from the sham US government shutdown
By Eric London, 24 January 2018
The spineless character of the Democrats’ supposed defense of immigrant youth stands in stark contrast to the party’s furious efforts to prosecute the anti-Russia campaign.
Federal shutdown ends as Democrats cave in to Trump
By Patrick Martin, 23 January 2018
Hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients still face possible deportation in six weeks as the supposed “resistance” to Trump by Senate Democrats lasted less than three days.
The class issues in the US federal shutdown
By Patrick Martin, 22 January 2018
Through the conflict between two capitalist parties, the whole spectrum of bourgeois politics in America is being shifted further to the right.
Women’s March promotes Democratic Party, sabotages opposition to Trump
By Josh Varlin, 22 January 2018
While last year's marches to a degree reflected opposition to Trump's agenda of war and xenophobia, this year’s were focused almost exclusively on electoral politics and the #MeToo campaign.
Republicans and Democrats co-sponsor bill to dismantle Dodd-Frank bank regulations
By E.P. Milligan, 22 January 2018
The latest bill represents yet another brazen attempt to cut regulations set in place in the wake of the now decade-old financial meltdown.
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