I made a political visit to Venezuela in 2005 (at the time that Hurricane Katrina was devastating New Orleans). Things were very different then, but even so you could see hints of […]
A Visit to Venezuela 14 Years Ago
Oakland students walk out
In 1968, a teacher strike in New York City shook up the entire school system, leading to a huge high school student movement. This was at a time when young people were […]
Will Trump Invade Venezuela?
The media frenzy about Venezuela is starting to feel like the build-up to the US invasion of Iraq. But will a new invasion of Venezuela happen? Here are some considerations: It was […]
Interview: “Who governs Venezuela should be decided by the Venezuelan people, not the Chavez military, let alone the Yankees.”
We reproduce here a translation of an interview with Simón Rodríguez Porras, of the Venezuelan Party for Socialism and Freedom. It originally appeared here in Spanish 1- What is the situation of the […]
Can the “Green New Deal” save the planet?
It is never comfortable to give up long-held beliefs and connections, but the impending climate crisis makes that a burning necessity. And the fact that, scientifically, it’s possible to avoid the worst […]
“Brexit” and Jeremy Corbyn
Finbar Geaney comments from Ireland on the “Brexit” crisis that is gripping British politics. While his call for a second Brexit vote may be controversial within the serious socialist left, his analysis […]
Placerville CA: “When does the revolution start?”
Introduction: El Dorado County, CA, is the spitting image of Trump Country. Here, Scott and Heather Schroeder report on political activity there. This sort of organizing is happening in areas similar to this […]
Students, teachers and community speak up for Roots Academy. OUSD doesn’t hear them.
On Tuesday evening, students, teachers and community residents spoke up for their school in deep east Oakland – Roots Academy. Here’s what some of them said. After it was all said, though, […]
Zimbabwe: Cries of desperation and anger
Enforcing austerity: the Zimbabwean military takes charge By David Hemson Here are the cries of desperation and anger coming from Zimbabwe: “Over the past few weeks us Zimbabweans have faced a very […]
Commentary from Venezuela
Oaklandsocialist reprints here a statement from the Party of Socialism and Liberation in Venezuela. For a report that helps explain how things got to this state of affairs in Venezuela, see this […]
Pelosi 1 Trump 0.
“Donald Trump just allowed Nancy to walk all over him,” tweeted Toni Lauren of Fox Nation. “Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As of today, he is no longer the biggest […]
The Manufactured Crisis
It is interesting to watch CNN and other liberal sources comment on the government shut down. Their approach is that the wall isn’t necessary for national security and that most of the […]
Association of Flight Attendants President Calls for General Strike!
General Strike: Fierce Urgency of Now January 20, 2019 — AFA International President Sara Nelson accepted the 2019 AFL-CIO MLK Drum Major for Justice Award, with a call to conference activists from across the […]
Catholic High School and Brett Kavanaugh
LA teachers reach tentative agreement
Teachers in Los Angeles have been on strike for over a week. Now, it seems the LA teachers’ strike has reached a tentative agreement, with a decent raise and a few other […]
Brexit: History repeating itself as a farce
by Roger Silverman in London Marx talked famously of history repeating itself as farce. However, even he might have found it hard to envisage the pantomime that the British ruling class now […]
East Bay DSA Meeting Report: Unwilling to Debate Political Differences
For the first time in many decades socialism matters. The largest socialist group in the US is Democratic Socialists of America. That’s why what DSA does matters also. Below is a report […]
Letter from Radical Women and Reply from Codepink
Last December, we published an open letter to Codepink about their planned “peace caravan” to Iran. Without giving the slightest support to US capitalism’s threats and attacks against Iran, we criticized this […]
Money-Launderer-in-Chief Trump, the capitalist media and socialism: A timeline
Here is a timeline of how the mainstream US capitalist media has covered the issue of Trump’s financial ties with the Russian mafia capitalist class. This timeline is significant, because it provides […]
FBI Investigation: Trump’s Russia link starting to come out into the open
The NY Times has now revealed that the FBI has been investigating Trump for working for Russia! They write: ” “In the days after President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director, law […]
“Waiting on Capitalist Hill”
From the ever creative and insightful Raymond Nat Turner: Waiting on Capitalist Hill… “Universal suffrage is thus the gauge of the maturity of the working class. It cannot and never will be […]
Trump’s Oval Office Speech and Silence of Labor Leaders
Donald Trump has learned some lessons from the Republicans’ defeat last November. “America proudly welcomes millions of lawful immigrants who enrich our society and contribute to our nation. But all Americans are […]
Iran Labor Leader Speaks of Torture in Prison
Reprinted from Alliance of Middle East Socialists. This is confirmation of our criticism of CodePink’s “Peace Caravan” to Iran. See the Open Letter to CodePink. Jan 7, 2019 Esmail Bakshi, leader of the […]
Protest federal government shutdown!
“Absolutely. I am prepared,” said Donald Trump. Prepared for what? To keep (some of) the federal government shut down for months or a year or longer. Sure, he’s prepared. He’s got his […]
Iranian women and men stand up to religious fanatic on subway
2019: A Wave of Renewed Struggle Coming?
As we look back over 2018 and think about what 2019 will bring, we should keep in mind what Trotsky said – that revolutionaries can be some of the most conservative of […]
The New Year’s Message I’d Like to Hear from Jeremy Corbyn
Roger Silverman in London writes the New Year message he’d like to hear from Jeremy Corbyn: As we go into 2019, Britain under the Tories is hurtling towards disaster. May’s Brexit plan […]
Forecast for 2019
Originally posted on Michael Roberts Blog:
Well, there has not been a year starting like this for a long time. The US government is in disarray. The President of the Unites States starts…
In free fall: The US stock market and mental state of US president
The stock market is in free fall. The federal government is in partial shutdown and nobody knows how long this will last. US foreign policy is unknown, while the executive branch of […]
Trump and capitalist democracy: A perfect storm coming?
“For two years, they tried to tutor and confine him. They taught him history, explained nuances and gamed out reverberations. They urged careful deliberation, counseled restraint and prepared talking points to try […]
Trump withdraws troops from Syria: What does it mean?
Horrifying the entire US foreign policy establishment, US President Trump announced a full withdrawal of US troops from Syria on Wednesday, Dec. 19. The announcement threw the entire US foreign policy establishment […]
2019 Workers Hella Revolutionary Calendar!
Now out: The 2019 Workers Hella Revolutionary Calendar: a reminder of who we are and what we’ve done, for a better outlook during these difficult times. Oaklandsocialist has put together the 2019 […]
The French Hillary Clinton and the American Marine Le Pen
“We shouldn’t change course because it is the right one and necessary.” French president Emmanuel Macron, saying that he will not concede to the protests against his tax increase. Just a week […]
French “Yellow Jackets” and the Calm Before the Storm
It’s almost as if the “Gray Lady” -the New York Times – is warning the US capitalist class. “A quiet fear gnaws at [French] households: What happens when the money runs out around […]
Did Julian Assange help Trump get elected? Does it matter?
Originally posted on Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist:
While it is likely that the Guardian article about Paul Manafort meeting with Julian Assange will turn out to be bogus, there is still…
Open Letter to Code Pink
The following is an open letter to the US “peace group” Code Pink. At a time of widespread confusion in the working class around the world, and a time of increased war, […]
The capitalist neo-cons
The SF Bay Area sports world is in a tizzy about the owner of the SF (baseball) Giants having donated to the campaign of the racist Cindy Hyde Smith of Mississippi. (Hyde […]
New Wave of Strikes / Protests in Iran Need Solidarity from International Socialists and Progressives
From Alliance of Middle East Socialists During the past two weeks, the ongoing wave of protests and strikes in Iran have gained a new intensity. On the one hand, the impact of […]
The Midterm Elections, the Democrats and Democratic Socialists of America
“Something old and something new…” That’s how the Democrat/Republican political alignment could be described after the 2018 midterm elections. Yes, there was a “blue wave”, although not a tsunami. According to Real […]
Video: California burns while PG&E profits
For an explanation of the science behind how global climate disruption is causing the drought that has set the conditions for these disastrous fires, see this article. For some of the […]
Protest this horrible disaster – make PG&E pay!
This is not just some abstract force of nature destroying California; it is capitalism destroying our lives and destroying the planet. The different socialist groups and environmental groups, in fact anybody who […]
California Wildfires: A Working Class Issue
As wildfires roared through both Northern and Southern California, the SF Chronicle reports the weather prediction (as of Nov. 12) is for “Mostly sunny skies with dry conditions throughout the week for […]
2018 Midterm Elections: Voter Suppression, Racism and Chauvinism
The 2018 elections were a scandalous fraud, even by the standards of capitalist legality. The fact that the AFL-CIO completely ignored this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as […]
America’s halfway house
Originally posted on Michael Roberts Blog:
The mid-term Congressional elections saw a swing to the opposition Democrats in the Lower House and the Republicans were ousted as the majority party. This is…
Brazilian elections: some very real lessons
It might seem strange that an open racist could be elected in a country with a majority of black and “mixed race” (as it’s described there) people. It might seem strange that […]
The Maga Bomber, Stockholm Syndrome and Mass Schizophrenia
If you wanted to write a piece of fiction meant to show how many white workers are being driven criminally insane due to the crisis of capitalism and the failure of the […]
Conversation at the grocery store: “That’s not a threat. It’s an opportunity!”
I have to stop letting my wife do most of the grocery shopping. I was standing on line at Lucky’s just now. There was a guy standing in front of me. Looked […]
Marriott strikers can win
“I think it’s great.” “Is this something to do with those women protesting?” “They are completely different from us.” These were three comments from workers and young people about the Marriott strike […]
Brexit, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and the dog who was silent in the night
Roger Silverman reports from London: The Brexit endgame is playing out. Theresa May’s position as prime minister is under threat from the Brexiteers, who are alarmed at the prospect of a capitulation […]
Khashoggi murder shows world capitalist crisis
The murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi represents another attack on capitalist democracy, but it is also much more than that: It represents a potential crisis in the Saudi regime and, […]
