Oakland Socialist

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Thursday, June 30th, 2022

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Video: My speech at press conference on Howard Terminal A’s stadium project

By oaklandsocialist on June 29, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

A coalition of different liberal groups held a press conference to demand a ballot referendum on the real estate development/A’s stadium project. Here is my speech on the project:

January 6 Hearing Day 6: Imagining the Unimaginable

By oaklandsocialist on June 29, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

Trump’s loyalists may be flipping. On the sixth, and previously unscheduled day of the January 6 hearings, Cassidy Hutchinson, former top aide to Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified. Apparently she […]

Report from Labor Notes Conference

By oaklandsocialist on June 27, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

By Art Francisco, co-Chair P.J. McGuire Caucus (Carpenters Union) Last weekend I had the privilege of being able to attend the Labor Notes conference, a national union conference that had 4000 attendees […]

Video: Oakland Protests Supreme Court Anti-Abortion Ruling

By oaklandsocialist on June 26, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

The large turnout on only a few hours notice shows the huge potential for a new movement of youth and workers. In future articles, Oaklandsocialist will examine what immediate demands can be […]

January 6 Hearings Day 5: Why it is a mistake to ignore these hearings

By oaklandsocialist on June 24, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

As this is being posted, it was just announced that the US Supreme Court has officially overturned Roe v Wade. The dictatorial role of these political hacks simply confirms everything in this […]

Day 4 of January 6 Hearings: “Lots of theories but no evidence”

By oaklandsocialist on June 23, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

“We have lots of theories. We just don’t have any evidence.” So spoke Rudy Giuliani according to Mike Shirky, Republican State Senate in Michigan. If for no other reason, the fourth day […]

Day 3 of January 6 Hearings: A violent coup or a future legal coup coming?

By oaklandsocialist on June 18, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

On the day after the third day of hearings of the January 6 House committee, the Wall St. Journal ran an editorial in which they essentially said that all decisions as far as […]

What is this strange war in Ukraine where it is forbidden to either “defeat or humiliate” Putin?

By oaklandsocialist on June 16, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

by Yorgos Mitralias The strangeness of this war of Mr. Putin in Ukraine is probably without historical precedent. Why? For a whole series of reasons, the first of which is that, for […]

What Was Revealed by Day 2 of the Hearings of the House January 6 Investigation Committee

By oaklandsocialist on June 15, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

The Republicans’ “team normal” reveal Trump’s crimes. U.S. capitalist rule based on “rule of law” and recognition of science, within limits. The “team normal and Democratic alliance to remove “the cause of […]

January 6 revisited: First day of Congressional January 6 Committee hearings

By oaklandsocialist on June 10, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

“I can just remember my breath catching in my throat because what I saw was just a war scene. It was something like I had seen out of the movies. “I couldn’t […]

Report from Kyiv

By oaklandsocialist on June 9, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist talked with Eugene in Kyiv. He talked about the situation there and the mood in general. A lot refers back to what actually happened in the Maidan revolt of 2014, which […]

Debate about Ukraine

By oaklandsocialist on June 8, 2022 • ( 4 Comments )

I went to a meeting of the East Bay DSA “Night School” last night. This was a presentation supposedly on Ukraine. As I expected, the meeting was a not-so-subtle cover for Putin […]

Video: Parents & Community occupying Parker Elementary School hold press conference

By oaklandsocialist on June 6, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Parker Elementary School in East Oakland has been under occupation for several weeks now. Here the parents and community members doing the occupation hold a press conference to explain why. Also see […]

USSC Meeting: Syria, Ukraine, Geopolitics and the working class

By oaklandsocialist on June 5, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

On June 5, the Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign hosted a very successful meeting (with 40 attending) on Syria, Ukraine, Geopolitics and the working class. Michael Karadjis made an initial presentation, whose text […]

Ukraine: Is a “Negotiated Settlement” a Euphemism for Defeat of Ukraine?

By oaklandsocialist on June 4, 2022 • ( 2 Comments )

“‘Russian artillery is shooting from morning until evening,’ said Volodymyr Pohorilyy, 43, intelligence commander of the Dnipro-1 battalion, which holds several key positions in the region. ‘If our side shoots one their […]

Elections in Colombia

By oaklandsocialist on June 3, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

From Anthony Boynton in Bogotá Colombia just had the first round of this year’s presidential elections, and some of the results were surprising. The fact that Gustavo Petro, the candidate of the […]

Biden’s Reluctant Half-Steps

By oaklandsocialist on June 1, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

The reluctant half measures of Biden both domestically and in regards to Ukraine What the call for “negotiations” in Ukraine really means The similarity of the position of much of the US […]

Uvalde & Murders by Police

By oaklandsocialist on June 1, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

The cowardice of the different police in the Uvalde disaster clarifies what really happens in many if not the great majority of police shootings of civilians. Take the example of the police […]

Michael Karadjis to speak

By oaklandsocialist on May 31, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign will be sponsoring a meeting featuring Michael Karadjis. Michael is a lecturer at the University of Western Sidney in Australia. His blog site, Mkaradjis.com, contains some of the most […]

Video: S.F. school students walk out to defend abortion rights

By oaklandsocialist on May 27, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

The NRA, Gun Control, Violence and Alienation in America Today

By oaklandsocialist on May 26, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

With 31 people murdered at two mass shootings in less that one week’s time, US society seems spiraling into pathologically violent insanity. How did we get this way and what is the […]

The Crisis in the Left and in the Working Class: A Zoom Discussion

By oaklandsocialist on May 25, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

On May 22, the Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign (USSC) held a zoom meeting on the crisis in the left and in the working class. Fifteen people in all participated. Cheryl Zuur, long […]

Report from Russia: Putin Considers Tactical Nuclear Strike at Facilities in Ukraine and Poland

By oaklandsocialist on May 24, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

The following article from a Russian Telegram Channel called “Volya”, which is roughly translated as “Free Will” says that there are serious discussions in Putin’s inner circle about the use of  “tactical” […]

War in Ukraine and Some Points About World Perspectives

By oaklandsocialist on May 22, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist publishes this article by Pete Glosser. Its perspective is not very optimistic as far as the war in Ukraine. However, while we support the defeat of the Russian invasion, we have […]

Why does Putin make all the Soviet dead of the Second World War… “Russians”?

By oaklandsocialist on May 21, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

By Yorgos Mitralias May 9 has come and gone, and as has been the constant for the past two decades, both Mr. Putin’s enemies and friends have repeated in unison that on […]

Russian and Ukrainian Oligarchs: Finding and Seizing Their REAL Assets

By oaklandsocialist on May 18, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Russian oligarchs’s $300 million yacht seized by Fiji on behalf of U.S.” blared the headline in the Washington Post. “Germany seizes world’s largest yacht because of its ties to Russian oligarch” blared […]

Racist Murders in Buffalo: A Warning to be Taken Seriously

By oaklandsocialist on May 16, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

“This was pure evil,” said Erie County Sheriff, John Garcia about the racist murders at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, NY. His widely quoted statement is a cover up for the real […]

Photos of abortion rights protest in Oakland

By oaklandsocialist on May 15, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

Here are photos of the abortion rights protest in Oakland. It was very poorly publicized. (I didn’t even know about it until I happened to pass by on my way to the […]

Interview with Ukrainian Union Organizer Artem Tidva

By oaklandsocialist on May 11, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Ukrainian union organizer Artem Tidva talks about The unions from the old Soviet Union days Employers’ tactics to weaken unions since independence Relations between Ukrainian and Russian unions before the invasion and […]

Message to Amazon Workers: Unionize!

By oaklandsocialist on May 10, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

From John Reimann for Oakland mayor. Feel free to reprint and distribute wherever you are, but especially in the East Bay and give to Amazon drivers. Or write up your own leaflet. […]

The Putinist Left, its monstrosities and the Ukrainian national question

By oaklandsocialist on May 10, 2022 • ( 4 Comments )

by Yorgos Mitralias For a long time now, almost everyone has been tormented by the same question: why are people turning their backs on the Left? Why does the Left seem so […]

Will Putin voluntarily withdraw? A reply to Ron Jacobs

By oaklandsocialist on May 4, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

The well known left intellectual Ron Jacobs has written an article in the equally well known left magazine Counterpunch, on the war in Ukraine. The article is called called “We need an […]

Abortion Ruling: Supreme Court in Hands of Religious Fanatics

By oaklandsocialist on May 4, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

A Campaign Statement of John Reimann for Oakland Mayor It’s now out in the open: The fanatical Christian bigots have seized control not only over the Republican Party but also over the […]

Stop Privatization – a campaign statement from John Reimann for Oakland mayor

By oaklandsocialist on April 29, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

  Campaign statement by John Reimann for Oakland mayor. For more information, see: Why I will be running for Oakland Mayor   “In February of this year I posted this article What an Oaklandsocialist […]

The “Grand Chessboard”: It’s not as simple as you think!

By oaklandsocialist on April 27, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

By Michael Karadjis Introduction by Oaklandsocialist: The following article is by Australian Marxist Michael Karadjis. He uses a couple of terms that may be unfamiliar to some. “Tankies” refers to those on […]

The French Elections: Interview with Olivier Delbeke

By oaklandsocialist on April 26, 2022 • ( 2 Comments )

John Reimann And we’re talking with Olivier Delbeke in France about the elections there. Olivier is with Aplutsoc, which is the abbreviations of Argument (or Struggle) for the Social Struggle. Olivier For […]

Nationalism, fascism and the rise of capitalism in Ukraine: Some Tentative Conclusions

By oaklandsocialist on April 25, 2022 • ( 3 Comments )

The connection between Russian oppression and Stalinism The connection between Ukrainian nationalism and anti-communism The present basis of support for Ukrainian fascist groups How that could all change Since I was recently […]

CWA Local 7250 Resolution on Ukraine

By oaklandsocialist on April 20, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 7250 executive committee has passed an excellent resolution on the war in Ukraine. We urge other union activists to raise this or similar resolutions. It starts: […]

My visit to Lviv, Ukraine, in pictures

By oaklandsocialist on April 16, 2022 • ( 5 Comments )

Here are some photos of my visit to Lviv, Ukraine. I stress “Lviv” because I think it is not like other parts of Ukraine in that while the war has touched Lviv […]

Once More: Should socialists support or oppose NATO arms to Ukraine?

By oaklandsocialist on April 11, 2022 • ( 9 Comments )

Today the majority of socialists in the West argue that it is our duty to oppose “our” government’s sending arms to Ukraine. They equate the situation today with that at the start […]

Discussion with a Ukrainian construction worker

By oaklandsocialist on April 10, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

I had a discussion with an unemployed construction worker today. He was in the army but was expelled after a month after they discovered that he’d been arrested some time ago for […]

My first day in Ukraine

By oaklandsocialist on April 8, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

  Most of the time walking around Lviv you would just think this is a nice old city with interesting architecture. Some are apartent buildings built in the days of the old […]

Putin propaganda machine justifies war crimes

By oaklandsocialist on April 8, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

Message to “left” denialists

By oaklandsocialist on April 5, 2022 • ( 7 Comments )

To all those who denied the fact of Putin/Assad atrocities in Syria or ignored it; to all those who amplified the claim that the gas attacks there were a false flag; to […]

Bucha & Mariupol: Russian atrocities reveal Putin’s real goal

By oaklandsocialist on April 4, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Russian war atrocities not limited to Bucha Atrocities reveal Putin’s real goal Putin’s trajectory towards complete domination at home and regionally Reasons for Biden’s completely inadequate response For a real workers program […]

Amazon Labor Union Wins!

By oaklandsocialist on April 2, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

The smashing victory of the Amazon Labour Union in Staten Island, NY, is the real sign of the times. Chris Smalls and Derrick Palmer and a small crowd of fellow workers overcame […]

When Donald Trump Became Speaker of the House

By oaklandsocialist on March 28, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

Few paid attention when Matt Gaetz promised to nominate Trump for Speaker of the House if the Republicans won control in November. (See video above.) Those who did scoffed. They shouldn’t have, […]

Ukraine supporters in Hayward, CA

By oaklandsocialist on March 27, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

We had a little literature table and talked with visitors to the Hayward Farmers Market this morning. Here are a few photos.      

Ukraine: Russian military setbacks indicate possible new perspectives

By oaklandsocialist on March 24, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

Implications of Russian military setbacks More limited political goals? US/NATO goals Possible use of chemical or “tactical” nuclear weapons and US response Can Russia become a “failed state”? Role of the Ukrainian […]

Ukraine and NATO

By oaklandsocialist on March 23, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

Australian Marxist Michael Karadjis commented on the issue of NATO’s expansion. He wrote: Quite frankly, while a former colony is being smashed to bits by hundreds of rockets and missiles artillery and […]

“You need to defend workers and your country”: Interview with Ukrainian socialist Vladyslav Starodubtsev

By oaklandsocialist on March 23, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

“You need to fight for workers rights, and you need to fight for your country.” We talked with Ukrainian socialist Vladyslav Starodubtsev. We discussed: The fight for workers rights in a neoliberal […]

The Invasion of Ukraine: A Socialist Analysis

By oaklandsocialist on March 21, 2022 • ( 2 Comments )

  The Maidan revolt The role of western imperialism including NATO Putin: Make Russia Great Again Support Ukraine’s right to get arms from any source possible Zelensky & Ukrainian capitalism The seizure […]

“Socialism is not the past, it is the future”: Vitaly Dudin in Ukraine

By oaklandsocialist on March 15, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist interviewed Vitaly Dudin, labor activist in Ukraine. We discussed: The need to fight against Russia’s invasion Labor rights in Ukraine and neoliberalism The Ukrainian oligarchs’s role The seizure of both the […]

From Vitaly Dudin in Ukraine: “Socialism is not the past; it is the future”

By oaklandsocialist on March 15, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

audio of interview with labor activist Vitaly Dudin in Ukraine. Full interview including text coming soon. Here this post on our podcast.

Seize, Sell ALL Assets of Russian Oligarchs. Send to Ukraine NOW

By oaklandsocialist on March 15, 2022 • ( 4 Comments )

The Biden administration has announced the seizure of assets of Russian oligarchs. “These individuals and their family members will be cut off from the U.S. financial system, their assets in the United […]

Human Rights from Burma/Myanmar to Ukraine!

By oaklandsocialist on March 14, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

Saturday was Burma Human Rights day. The Burmese American community held an event commemorating and linking it with the issue of human rights in Ukraine. Cheryl Zuur, retired union leader and long […]

“People are showing solidarity”: A Ukrainian youth speaks

By oaklandsocialist on March 13, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

Here is a video of an interview with Yaroslav Kovalchuk, who lives in Ukraine. Below is a transcript of the interview. Yaroslav explained the issue of nationalism – its limited impact and […]

Ukraine and the future of “anti-imperialism”

By oaklandsocialist on March 12, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

by Junius Introduction by Oaklandsocialist: Although it is tiny and with hardly any influence, it is a mistake to ignore those on the left who call themselves “anti-imperialists”. It’s an even bigger […]

Putin’s Increasingly Desperate Situation and Possible Outcomes

By oaklandsocialist on March 10, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Putin’s situation becoming desperate. Is a coup possible? Is a fascist-type dictatorship possible? Is there a social base and an armed force for such a dictatorship? What is the working class alternative? […]

Video: Protest Against School Closings in Oakland

By oaklandsocialist on March 7, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Peace Treaties and “Big Businessmen Without High Hats”

By oaklandsocialist on March 7, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

How should we see the efforts of France’s Emmanuel Macron, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Israel’s Naftali Bennet to negotiate a truce in Ukraine with Putin? Or any peace treaty among capitalists, […]

School Closings = Gentrification

By oaklandsocialist on March 5, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Oakland is planning on closing ten schools. Here’s a statement on this issue from John Reimann for Oakland Mayor.   For more on our campaign, see: This interview with Zennie Abraham And […]

Ukraine-Russia Negotiations: What is the Purpose?

By oaklandsocialist on March 3, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

    When I first heard about Zelensky agreeing to negotiate with Putin’s representatives I wondered, to say the least. What is there to negotiate over?  Maybe this is just paranoia, but […]

Interview with Ukrainian Leftist, Ivan Shmatko

By oaklandsocialist on March 2, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Self described Ukrainian leftist discusses the situation within his country. He explains the powerful opposition to the Russian invasion, disputes the claim that there is a strong division between Russian and Ukrainian […]

Preliminary Assessment of Ukraine Invasion and its Political Fallout

By oaklandsocialist on February 28, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Apparent Splits in Russian Military Tops: Possible Coup? NATO Spread the Cause of Invasion? Anti-War Protests Spread in Russia Military Assessment, Thermobaric bomb & Putin a “Cornered rat” Political Fallout in US […]

Putin’s Blitzkrieg: A Perspective from the United States

By oaklandsocialist on February 24, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now in full swing. Explosions have been heard near and around cities throughout the country. These appear to have been missile attacks on airports and possibly […]

Andrey Kurkov: First Hand Report From Kyiv

By oaklandsocialist on February 23, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

We spoke briefly with Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov, who is located in Kyiv. Here is his report on the situation there at this moment:

Putin Orders Invasion of Ukraine

By oaklandsocialist on February 22, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

A new stage has been reached in the Ukraine crisis. Putin has formally recognized the two breakaway “republics” – The Donetsk Peoples Republic and the Lunetsk Peoples Republic, known alternatively as the […]

Interview with Ukrainian Writer Andrey Kurkov

By oaklandsocialist on February 14, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is an interview with Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov. He reports on the situation in Ukraine today. Those who find the interview interesting might also be interested in our review of his […]

Some Ideas on Stopping the Reactionary “Freedom” Convoy

By oaklandsocialist on February 11, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Canada’s so-called “Freedom” Convoy is blocking several major bridges between the US and Canada. Ford and General Motors are having to cut back production, meaning lay off workers, as a result. Meanwhile, […]

Why Has The Fascist Canadian Truck Convoy Had Such An Easy Ride?

By oaklandsocialist on February 10, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

  “Why has the fascist Canadian Truck Convoy had such an easy ride?” asks John Clarke in Canada. He answers his own question: The ability of a group of blatant fascists to […]

“Ukraine Diaries”: A Vital Explanation of the 2014 Maidan Protests and What Followed

By oaklandsocialist on February 8, 2022 • ( 2 Comments )

In 2014, prominent Ukrainian writer and intellectual Andrey Kurkov published a book called Ukraine Diaries. These are excerpts from diary entries Kurkov wrote during the Maidan protests. They cover not only what […]

Will Putin Invade Ukraine?

By oaklandsocialist on February 4, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Will Putin’s troops invade Ukraine? Putin says he is not planning to do so. However, he has every reason to deny it at this time. Most analysts predict that if he does […]

The Crisis in Ukraine, Imperialism, and a Divided Working Class

By oaklandsocialist on February 3, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

The crisis in Ukraine and the resulting extremely increased tensions between the US and Russian governments show that workers in the US cannot escape world events. That being so, it’s vital that […]

Report from Canada: Far Right Trucker Convoy Crosses Canada

By oaklandsocialist on February 1, 2022 • ( 4 Comments )

John Clarke reports from Canada It can’t be denied that the far right in Canada has achieved a major organizational and political advance with its truck convoy that challenged public health measures […]

Ukraine at the heart of the world capitalist crisis

By oaklandsocialist on January 27, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

“The world is on the brink of the largest military offensive in Europe since World War II.” So wrote Foreign Affairs magazine in an article entitled “The Day After Russia Attacks [Ukraine]”. […]

Interview: Marie and Greg talk about homelessness in Oakland

By oaklandsocialist on January 22, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

My long time friends, Marie McKenzie and Gregory Dunston, talk about homelessness in Oakland, including how churches are making money off the situation.

Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. – and the winner is….

By oaklandsocialist on January 21, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

By Anthony Boynton And the winner is… China! Will Russia invade Ukraine? Probability is high, and not just because the Biden administration and the Ukrainians are afraid of it. Putin Putin faces […]

Supreme Court, Voter Suppression and Possible “Coup”

By oaklandsocialist on January 21, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

In Oaklandsocialist’s recent article “Will There Be A Coup?” we explored the various factors that would tend towards a “yes” and a “no” answer. This article homes in a little more about […]

Interview: John Reimann for Oakland Mayor

By oaklandsocialist on January 16, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is an edited/shortened version of an interview I did with Zennie Abraham of Zennie62Media on my campaign for Oakland Mayor: To see the full hour and twenty minute video, go here: […]

Will There Be a “Coup”?

By oaklandsocialist on January 15, 2022 • ( 5 Comments )

We usually think of a coup in terms of a military dictatorship, bloodshed, and tanks rolling down the streets. The main point, though, is the ending of “normal” democratic rights. That can […]

Report: January 6 Oakland Candlelight Vigil “For Democracy”

By oaklandsocialist on January 7, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

On January 6, 2022, liberal Democratic Party activist groups Moveon and Indivisible held memorial events to protest last year’s attempted Trump “auto coup”/riot in Washington DC. As elsewhere in the country, the […]

Omicron: Some Conclusions Starting to Emerge

By oaklandsocialist on January 3, 2022 • ( 3 Comments )

The process of scientists learning about Omicron should be a learning experience for workers as well. It is a living example of how a relationship between two events doesn’t necessarily prove cause-and-effect. […]

The Biden-Putin Phone Call: Oaklandsocialist’s “Clairvoyant Correspondent” Reports

By oaklandsocialist on December 30, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Once again, Oaklandsocialist’s Clairvoyant Correspondent scoops all other media by reporting a “transcript” of today’s Biden-Putin phone conversation. (NOTE: This story is filed under the category “Fiction More Real than Fact”) Scene: […]

The Coming Republican Election Fraud: Where Are the Protests?

By oaklandsocialist on December 24, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

I was sitting here watching the news with my heart pounding. It was partly out of pure anger, partly frustration – anger at what is being prepared for us and frustration that […]

Why I will be Running for Mayor in Oakland in 2022

By oaklandsocialist on December 13, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

In February of this year I posted this article What an Oaklandsocialist for Mayor in 2022 Campaign Could Accomplish. As I pointed out there, Oakland is not an isolated island; there is not […]

Discussing With Workers Who Support Trump

By oaklandsocialist on December 10, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

I have had multiple discussions with Trump-supporting workers. One of them I know personally. He’s a very nice guy to meet in person, and we had several long political discussions. Others I’ve […]

Cuba: the case of the young artist Abel Lescay

By oaklandsocialist on December 5, 2021 • ( 7 Comments )

(Oaklandsocialist carries below an appeal for support for an imprisoned artist in Cuba. We fully support the demands for political freedom in Cuba. In doing so, we completely oppose any intervention by […]

Oxford, Michigan: Everytown USA

By oaklandsocialist on December 1, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Oxford, Michigan, Everytown, USA, where 95% of the population is white and over half the households are married couples. Median family income is $72,875, a very comfortable income considering that a new […]

British Labour Party’s Widening Split

By oaklandsocialist on November 30, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

US workers probably pay more attention to the politics in Britain than any other country outside the US. Therefore, the widening split in Britain’s Labour Party, and what may come out of […]

The Union Democracy Movement: An Analysis

By oaklandsocialist on November 28, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist recently posted an article on the Teamsters election and the role of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU). Here is a more in-depth analysis of that group and the whole union […]

Where is TDU Going?

By oaklandsocialist on November 26, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist Introduction: The election of supposed reformer Sean O’Brien as president of the Teamsters Union, along with his entire slate, has been greeted with near universal and uncritical enthusiasm on the left. […]

Rittenhouse Verdict: US Headed Towards Becoming a “Failed State”?

By oaklandsocialist on November 19, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

That then 17 year old killer Kyle Rittenhouse would walk free is ominous and has implications far greater than those for just this one individual. The NY Times’s Farhad Manjoo explained the […]

Book Review: “The Jewish Question” by Abram Leon

By oaklandsocialist on November 13, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Antisemitism (which is not the same as anti-Zionism) is reviving as the far right, including outright fascism, develops. There were over 2,000 antisemitic attacks in 2020 compared with 751 in 2013. These […]

Rittenhouse Trial: Vigilantism a Threat to Workers

By oaklandsocialist on November 12, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

The Rittenhouse trial and the trial of the murderers of Ahmad Arbery have great importance. Coming as they do after the Texas abortion law, these trials will determine whether vigilantism will be […]

John Deere Workers Reject Second Contract Proposal: Becoming a Trend

By oaklandsocialist on November 3, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Striking John Deere workers rejected a second tentative agreement (TA) by a vote of 45% “yes” to 55% “no” on Tuesday. The new TA was a significant improvement from the first one, […]

The Day Before the Day After: A Play

By oaklandsocialist on October 30, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

The Day Before the Day After By John Reimann CHARACTERS (in order of appearance) NANCY PELOSI Speaker of the house JOE BIDEN President KAMALA HARRIS Vice President KAITLEN COLLINS a newscaster MAN […]

Message from Art Esparza, chair of the Carpenters’ P.J. McGuire Group on the Crisis in the PNW Carpenters Council

By oaklandsocialist on October 28, 2021 • ( 3 Comments )

Note: Oaklandsocialist has carried numerous articles and videos of the struggle of carpenters in Western Washington to win a good contract. That struggle was basically a war on two fronts: Against both […]

“America’s Crumbling Global Position” and a Turn to Trumpism Lite?

By oaklandsocialist on October 27, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

Anti-Trump Old Guard Republican conservative Bret Stephens has an interesting column in today’s NY Times. It’s entitled “America’s Crumbling Global Position”. In it he details the foreign policy “failings” of President Biden. According […]

IATSE, the Union Leadership and Death on the Job

By oaklandsocialist on October 26, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

The accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at the hands of Alec Baldwin on the set of Rust has to be understood in the light of the struggle of the stagehands’ […]

John Deere Strikers Can Win It All…. and Transform the Labor Movement!

By oaklandsocialist on October 23, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

The powerful position that the striking John Deere workers find themselves in means that they can win absolutely everything they want. There is no need to compromise one iota. Wall St. Journal […]

Interview with Anand Gopal: Afghanistan’s Tribal Traditions, Taliban, and US Occupation

By oaklandsocialist on October 23, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Anand Gopal is a former reporter for the Wall St. Journal and author of the book “No Good Men Among the Living”. Gopal spent years traveling around in the hinterlands of Afghanistan, […]

The union leadership “like a PR firm for the company”: Interview with UAW member Justin Mayhugh

By oaklandsocialist on October 18, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Justin Mayhugh is an alternate delegate in UAW Local 31 and a member of a UAW caucus called Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD). He works on the assembly line for GM. […]

Western Washington Carpenters Can Make History

By oaklandsocialist on October 8, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

It’s no exaggeration: Western Washington carpenters can make history. That’s because the situation they face is not that very different from that faced by all union members in the US; if rank […]

Abortion Rights Protest in San Francisco: Cheryl Zuur Comments

By oaklandsocialist on October 3, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

by Cheryl Zuur I went to the SF Women’s March today, one of the many across the country. I really did not want to go but knew that I MUST go. Many […]

Interview: Vermont State AFL-CIO president David Van Deusen

By oaklandsocialist on September 29, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Last year the Vermont State AFL-CIO made some headlines when it called for a general strike in the event of an attempted coup by outgoing president Trump. Here, Oaklandsocialist talks with the […]

Video: Rank and file carpenters show what REAL unionism is!

By oaklandsocialist on September 28, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is a glimpse of what the rank and file carpenters in Western Washington have been doing, how they have been shutting down jobs. Along the way, they confront the union bureaucracy […]

Video: Carpenters speak at rally organized by Kshama Sawant

By oaklandsocialist on September 26, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Excerpts from speeches given by carpenters as well as others (including Kshama Sawant) at a rally she and her group – Socialist Alternative – organized.

Art Francisco, chair of carpenters’ Peter J. McGuire Group, speaking

By oaklandsocialist on September 26, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is Art Francisco, the chair of the Peter J. McGuire Group, speaking at a rally organized by Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant.  

Video: Reimann speaking at Western Washington carpenters rally

By oaklandsocialist on September 24, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is the speech I gave at a rally for the Western Washington carpenters on strike against the contractors and their own union leadership. The rally was organized by Seattle city council […]

Rank and file carpenters and Kshama Sawant confront union bureaucrats

By oaklandsocialist on September 24, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

The struggle of the rank and file carpenters took a new twist on Thursday (Sept. 23) when some union bureaucrats came out to try to red-bait Kshama Sawant. It didn’t turn out […]

Carpenters take matter into own hands

By oaklandsocialist on September 23, 2021 • ( 3 Comments )

Fed up with cut rate contract proposals/“tentative agreements” that were voted down four times, and fed up with a designed to fail “strike” policy, carpenters have started taking matters into their own […]

Carpenters leadership pickets empty construction site

By oaklandsocialist on September 23, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

First the Carpenters Union leadership said it didn’t want a higher raise (for the members). That would hinder “recapturing market share”, you see. That business term means that the leadership sees the […]

I Was Expelled From the Carpenters Union (and kept on working)

By oaklandsocialist on September 21, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

I was expelled from the carpenters union in 2000. My experience might be helpful to those striking carpenters in Western Washington who are worried that if they violate the Council’s pro-contractor strategy […]

CWA 7250 President: “Hit ‘em Hard!”

By oaklandsocialist on September 21, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

Kieran Knutson, President of CWA Local 7250, sent the following solidarity message to the carpenters Peter J. McGuire Group and to all the carpenters in struggle in Western Washington: Fellow workers – […]

The Most Important Strike in America Today

By oaklandsocialist on September 19, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

The strike of Western Washington carpenters is the most important strike in America today. There are quite a few other trikes, including the Nabisco strike, that involve a lot more workers (for […]

“The Fight Continues”: A striking carpenter speaks

By oaklandsocialist on September 19, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

By Jason Bartos, a striking carpenter The Fight Continues It has been an extremely exhausting week for me, the PJMG, and all of the brothers and sisters on the picket lines. I’m […]

Nina Wurz, striking carpenter, speaks at rally for rent control in Seattle

By oaklandsocialist on September 19, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is another striking carpenter, Nina Wurz, speaking. This is at a rally for rent control put on by Socialist Alternative. Introducing her is City Council member Kshama Sawant, the only city […]

Art Francisco, carpenters rank and file strike leader, speaks in Seattle

By oaklandsocialist on September 19, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Carpenters in Western Washington have forced their leadership to call a strike (of sorts). Here is Art Francisco, one of the leaders of the opposition caucus The Peter J. McGuire Group, speaking […]

Oaklandsocialist speaks at Western Washington State carpenters rank and file strike rally

By oaklandsocialist on September 18, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Cheryl Zuur, Former Union President: “Solidarity With Rank-and-File Carpenters”

By oaklandsocialist on September 17, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

My name is Cheryl Zuur. I am a retired industrial electrician and former president of AFSCME Local 444 in Oakland, California. I stand in solidarity with your struggle. Your courage to demand […]

Western Washington Carpenters Leading U.S. Working Class

By oaklandsocialist on September 16, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Union carpenters in Western Washington are leading the American working class at this moment. They are not waiting for the official leadership to tell them what to do anymore. Instead, they are […]

Washington State Carpenters “Strike” Update

By oaklandsocialist on September 14, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

Introduction: After having had four contract proposals/tentative agreements (TA’s) rejected by the membership, the leadership of the Western Washington Regional Council of Carpenters has been forced to call a strike. This is […]

Afghanistan and the Theory of Permanent/Uninterrupted Revolution: Making the General Concrete

By oaklandsocialist on September 13, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

Introduction This is a transcribed version of an introduction to a discussion on Afghanistan and the theory of permanent, or uninterrupted, revolution. The main purpose of the discussion was to try to […]

Germany’s Upcoming Elections: A Writer Unsure How to Vote

By oaklandsocialist on September 10, 2021 • ( 3 Comments )

A writer in Germany describes the situation there and is uncertain how to vote: In Germany, elections for the Bundestag are coming up (a government and a chancellor are elected), and as […]

Video Interview Labor Day 2021: Rank & File Carpenters Oppose Cut-Rage Contract

By oaklandsocialist on September 5, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Rank and file carpenters in Washington State are organizing a Labor Day rally as part of their campaign to stop a cut-rate contract that the union leadership, together with the contractors, are […]

Early History of Afghanistan and the Origins of the Taliban

By oaklandsocialist on September 3, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Now that US troops have pulled out of Afghanistan, the US media will be putting that country in the rearview mirror at best. It will be moving on to the next sensationalist […]

Fight the Texas anti-abortion law in the streets!

By oaklandsocialist on September 2, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

The new law in Texas banning abortion is trying to give the US Supreme Court a sneaky way to allow that ban while pretending to avoid the issue. They are doing that […]

Video: Afghanistan protest opposes both Taliban & US

By oaklandsocialist on August 29, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is the third protest of the last week by Afghani Americans in the SF Bay Area. As with the other two, this protest was demanding the US allow Afghan refugees come […]

A Dream Upon the Death of Louis Proyect

By oaklandsocialist on August 29, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Dreams are like a good plum cobbler, mixing up all sorts of flavors – or emotions and thoughts – combining them in an unrecognizable way but with each ingredient also retaining its […]

Afghanistan, China and the Theory of Permanent/Uninterrupted Revolution

By oaklandsocialist on August 29, 2021 • ( 3 Comments )

by Cheryl Zuur I watched some bits of news/documentaries about Afghanistan on Youtube. Both of them followed a woman reporter (one from France News 24) into different parts of Afghanistan, including rural […]

Book Review: The Soviet Century

By oaklandsocialist on August 27, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

Introduction, by Oaklandsocialist: It may seem to some, especially those of younger generations, that what happened in the Soviet Union is “yesterday’s news”. That is far from the truth. With “socialism” becoming […]

A Dream

By oaklandsocialist on August 26, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

First it was very simple: I dreamed I had a brand new (bright yellow) power cord that had developed numerous cracks in the insulation. I had no idea what had caused the […]

Video: Afghanistan Protest in Oakland

By oaklandsocialist on August 23, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Consider what this young woman – the MC – is saying: “Even though we are immigrants, we are kind of settlers, we are not invited here by the indigenous people…. There’s a […]

Video: Afghanistan Protest in Fremont, CA

By oaklandsocialist on August 23, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

In order to understand the situation in Afghanistan, including who the Taliban is, we have to listen to the voices of Afghani people. Here is a video of a protest organized by […]

The Women of Afghanistan vs. the United States and the Taliban

By oaklandsocialist on August 19, 2021 • ( 7 Comments )

A theme is going around on the “left” that the fact that the Taliban “won” proves that they have popular support. One of the main “left” anti-war groups in the US – […]

Afghanistan from an Indian Perspective

By oaklandsocialist on August 17, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

by Rohini Hensman* in India We [in India] too protested against the US war on Afghanistan in writing and in demonstrations. The difference is that we had already been protesting and critiquing […]

Afghanistan: Some Preliminary Thoughts

By oaklandsocialist on August 15, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

  With Afghani soldiers and police now reportedly stripping off their uniforms and abandoning their posts, and with (now former) President Ghani now reported as having fled the country, the former government […]

Trump’s Last Year in Office: A Book Review

By oaklandsocialist on August 11, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

With Trump now out of office for six months, it’s time to look back over what the Trump years meant, and especially his last year in office. A series of new “Trump” […]

Rich Trumka’s Greatest Condemnation of All

By oaklandsocialist on August 6, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Yesterday, AFL-CIO president Rich Trumka died. Nobody who really cares about workers will mourn his death. But the greatest condemnation of Trumka came from Mark Milley, former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of […]

Covid Delta Variation: Facts, Fiction and Half-Truths

By oaklandsocialist on August 5, 2021 • ( 4 Comments )

It is vital for workers – and for socialists within the working class – to know and understand the actual facts on any important issue in order to combat the hysteria, myths, […]

British Labour Party Convulsed in Historic Crisis

By oaklandsocialist on August 1, 2021 • ( 6 Comments )

Roger Silverman reports from London   The British Labour Party is currently convulsed in a historic crisis. Founded 120 years ago as the political voice of the trade unions at a time […]

Solidaridad con la lucha obrera y popular en Irán

By oaklandsocialist on July 31, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Traducida por mst-rd Compañeros trabajadores: Según los reportes que recibimos, Irán está experimentando un estallido de huelgas y protestas: más de 2.000 en los últimos 12 meses. Esto incluye una huelga nacional […]

January 6 Investigation: Only Scratching the Surface As Did Mueller Report?

By oaklandsocialist on July 30, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

“If a hit man is hired and he kills somebody, the hit man goes to jail. But not only does the hit man go to jail, but the person who hired them […]

Solidarity with the Struggle in Iran

By oaklandsocialist on July 29, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Fellow workers: According to reports, Iran is experiencing an absolute outburst of strikes and protests – over 2,000 in the last 12 months. This includes a national strike of over 100,000 oil […]

Message to Trump Supporters, Science Deniers, Second Amendment’ers and Conspiracy Theorists

By oaklandsocialist on July 24, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

To all those Trump supporters, science denying anti-vaxxers, Second Amendment fanatics and conspiracy theorists who claim to love freedom: When have you ever walked on a picket line? When have you ever […]

Video: Iran Erupting in Protests

By oaklandsocialist on July 21, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is a video of some recent protests throughout Iran. As Oaklandsocialist has pointed out, if a workers movement succeeds in bringing down the Mullahs in Iran, it will transform the entire […]

Colombia Update: “Veinte de Julio” (July 20th)

By oaklandsocialist on July 20, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

From Anthony Boynton in Bogotá Tomorrow is Veinte de Julio (July 20th), one of the three independence days celebrated here in Colombia. It is a legal holiday, and a day upon which […]

Support Iran Oil Workers!

By oaklandsocialist on July 18, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Reprinted from Hekmatist.com Workers at gas, petrochemical and oil refineries have gone on strike across Iran over pay and conditions, health and safety, and social welfare. This is a national strike in […]

Book Review: “American Kompromat” by Craig Unger

By oaklandsocialist on July 16, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

US Fascism Rests on Two Pillars by Junius Review of Craig Unger: American Kompromat This latest book by Craig Unger is a follow up of his House of Trump House of Putin’ […]

Report From Myanmar: Deadly Covid Wave

By oaklandsocialist on July 14, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist has received the following report from Myanmar about the deadly increase in Covid there: “Everyday I saw loads of posts about asking for help Oxygen tanks (needed) everywhere in Myanmar…. One […]

Interview: Simón Rodríguez on the Situation in Venezuela, Maduro’s “Bicentennial” and the Role of DSA and the International Left

By oaklandsocialist on July 12, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

Here is an interview Oaklandsocialist did with Simón Rodríguez, a Venezuelan socialist. The first part of the interview covers the general situation in Venezuela. The second part, starting at 13:49 minutes, covers […]

Myanmar Solidarity Bulletin #2

By oaklandsocialist on July 8, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Below is issue Number 2 of the Myanmar Solidarity Bulletin. Oaklandsocialist presents it with these thoughts in mind: With a young fresh industrial working class growing by leaps and bounds, Southeast Asia […]

Will January 6 Investigation Be Another Cover-Up?

By oaklandsocialist on July 4, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

This is an interesting video for several reasons: First, it gives the clear impression that a few organized groups (Proud Boys and Oath Keepers mainly) had specific plans to invade the Capitol […]

Attack on “Critical Race Theory”: Racism and McCarthyism

By oaklandsocialist on July 2, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

John Reimann: The Republican attack on so called critical race theory has to be seen in its context. Just in the last few days, the republican controlled US Supreme Court made two […]

Podcast: The Republican Attacks on So-Called “Critical Race Theory”

By oaklandsocialist on July 2, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Pod cast. Video and transcript coming.

Why Surfside City Condo Collapsed: What The Engineers Are Saying

By oaklandsocialist on June 28, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

It is still way to early to know for sure, but some things are starting to emerge as far as the possible reasons for the collapse of the condo tower (Champlain Tower […]

Voters Rights Bill: Who Gets To Vote? Who Gets To Count the Votes?

By oaklandsocialist on June 23, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

On a 50-50 vote along strict party lines, the US Senate has failed to override a Republican filibuster of the voting rights act. Every single Republican voted to keep the bill off […]

Myanmar Solidarity Bulletin

By oaklandsocialist on June 22, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

The first edition of the Myanmar Solidarity Bulletin has just been published. Oaklandsocialist is proud to have been one of the participants. We urge readers to download the pdf and help distribute […]

“Myanmar’s Coming Revolution”

By oaklandsocialist on June 19, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has published an important article on “Myanmar’s Coming Revolution”. This article is important if for no other reason than that the CFR is the most important […]

Book Review: “Working-Class Politics In The German Revolution”

By oaklandsocialist on June 17, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

The German revolution of 1919 and the years that followed hold many fundamental lessons for today. That includes lessons for the general uprising of the Asian working class that may be developing […]

Report from Bogotá: Colombia at Turning Point?

By oaklandsocialist on June 9, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Anthony Boynton reports from Bogotá, Colombia: Tomorrow (Wednesday June 9, 2021) could be a turning point for the mass movement that erupted here at the end of April and which has thrown […]

Organize to Stop Republican Threat!

By oaklandsocialist on May 31, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

The Republican Party has been transformed into a real and serious threat, one that is much greater than anything we have seen in over 100 years. Because of the undemocratic nature of […]

Video: Multi-Ethnic Burma/Myanmar Solidarity Rally

By oaklandsocialist on May 30, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

On May 29, the Burmese community held a solidarity rally to unite all the different ethnic nationalities in Burma against the military junta. Here is a short video of that rally, featuring […]

Israel-Hamas Cease Fire and Black Lives Matter Movement

By oaklandsocialist on May 22, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

The Black Lives Matter movement can take credit for having forced Israel to back off, even if only partially and temporarily. It is an example of international solidarity in action which goes […]

Oakland A’s New Ballpark: Privatization, Job Losses and Gentrification

By oaklandsocialist on May 19, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

Back in 2014, when the corporate-controlled Oakland Zoo was moving to destroy a large part of the beautiful open space Knowland Park, zoo spokesman Nick Dehajia explained that the project would “change […]

Video: S.F. Protests Israel’s War on Palestine

By oaklandsocialist on May 16, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Colombia: 15 Consecutive Days of National Work Stoppage… and Counting!

By oaklandsocialist on May 13, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

Anthony Boynton reports from Bogotá, Colombia, on the background to the mass protest movement that has broken out there. Also, at the end, we have received an update, dated May 15. As […]

Zoom Meeting: Discussion on stopping Republican threat

By oaklandsocialist on May 13, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

If Trump Mark I whipped up bigotry and denialism beyond anything seen in recent decades, if he did all he could to suppress democratic rights and to open up the environment to […]

“Covid Catastrophe”: Capitalism Unable to Overcome India’s Feudal and Colonial Heritage

By oaklandsocialist on May 5, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

India today: where the unimaginable actually exists through a human society near total collapse. As Indian commentator and activist Arundhati Roy put it: “The system hasn’t collapsed…. What we are witnessing is […]

The US Civil War and Reconstruction: A Zoom Meeting

By oaklandsocialist on May 3, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

The US Civil War and Reconstruction Presented by Irene Kellogg Irene writes: The Civil War and the Reconstruction Period were the most powerful periods of American history. Four million slaves liberated themselves […]

America: In Remission Before Cancer Returns?

By oaklandsocialist on April 29, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

Are we in an interregnum, a pause before we plunge into the abyss? Is the Joe Biden presidency just a temporary respite, the lull before the storm? In the pre-Trump era such […]

News of Week Ending April 24

By oaklandsocialist on April 25, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

The ending of the Derek Chauvin trial means that this will be the last week where that holds “first place” as a separate category in this week’s news summary. Police, Derek Chauvin […]

Video: Milk Tea Alliance Protest in San Francisco

By oaklandsocialist on April 25, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Video of April 24 Milk Tea Alliance protest in San Francisco. Also see Oaklandsocialist articles: Myanmar in Struggle: Workers of the World Unite! and: General Strike in Myanmar: Don’t Forget the Rohingya! […]

Oaklandsocialist Zoom Meeting: Dealing with the Cops

By oaklandsocialist on April 22, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

The conviction of Derek Chauvin is worthy of celebration. It also shows the capitalist class’s desire to rein in police, but that threatens to open up a huge crisis as the cops […]

Chauvin Convicted; Crisis Remains

By oaklandsocialist on April 21, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Crisis looms as capitalists struggle to rein in police.   It certainly was a beautiful sight: Derek Chauvin being led away with his hands cuffed behind his back, and millions celebrated it […]

News of Week Ending April 17

By oaklandsocialist on April 18, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

For me, this last week was dominated by watching the Chauvin trial, and working on Burma/Myanmar solidarity and finally getting into shape the interview/discussion with Kieran Knutson and Cheryl Zuur. (See main […]

Video: Interview with Kieran Frazier Knutson, CWA #7250 president, Part 2

By oaklandsocialist on April 15, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

In the second half of this interview with CWA Local 7250 president Kieran Kieran Frazier Knutson​, we focused on labor’s political role. As the Derek Chauvin trial was ongoing at the time, […]

Video: Interview with CWA Local 7250 President Kieran Knutson

By oaklandsocialist on April 13, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

This is the first part of a two part interview with recently elected president of CWA Local 7250, Kieran Frazier Knutson​. In this first part, Kieran mainly discusses how he sees his […]

News of Week: Week ending April 11

By oaklandsocialist on April 12, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Here are some comments on the Derek Chauvin trial as it was unfolding plus comments on some other news, for the week ending April 11. Where I have included a few comments […]

Zoom Meeting: Burma/Myanmar Update

By oaklandsocialist on April 11, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

  Also see Oaklandsocialist’s articles: Myanmar in Struggle: Workers of the World, Unite! General Strike in Myanmar: Don’t Forget the Rohingya!

Why Amazon Workers Voted Down a Union and What Can Be Done

By oaklandsocialist on April 10, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

What is happening here that workers in the Amazon distribution center in Bessemer Alabama voted down the union by almost 2-1? It’s not that unions in general are unpopular. On the contrary, […]

Zoom Meeting: Follow-up Discussion on Myanmar

By oaklandsocialist on April 7, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

Zoom Meeting Saturday, April 10, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Coast Time:  What are the latest developments in the movement in Myanmar, what are some of the problems and complications, and how can we […]

Video: Oaklandsocialist speaks at free Burma rally in San Francisco

By oaklandsocialist on April 4, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist spoke at this Free Burma rally in San Francisco. We drew the links between the struggle in Burma/Myanmar, the global struggles for democratic rights, and the struggle here in the United […]

News of the Week

By oaklandsocialist on April 3, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

Note: Oaklandsocialist will try to have a regular weekly article with comments on events of the previous week. Last week, all the stars aligned to focus attention on the trial of Derek […]

Zoom Meeting: The Derek Chauvin Trial; Remember George Floyd!

By oaklandsocialist on March 31, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Zoom Meeting The Derek Chauvin Trial: Remember George Floyd! Hear a first hand report from Linda Mann in Minneapolis on the Derek Chauvin trial. Linda will discuss last year’s uprising and the […]

What Next After Georgia Passes First Voter Suppression Law?

By oaklandsocialist on March 29, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

President Trump may be out of office, but his drive to eliminate (capitalist) democracy is not. It has just taken a new route: Vastly increased voter suppression. So far, over 250 voter […]

Oaklandsocialist Zoom Meeting: Myanmar in Struggle

By oaklandsocialist on March 28, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Zoom meeting: Myanmar in struggle A huge movement against the military coup continues in Myanmar. The army there, which previously carried out atrocities against the Rohingya people, is now using similar methods […]

Misogynist Murderer Having a “Really Bad Day”

By oaklandsocialist on March 18, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Myanmar in Struggle: Workers of the World Unite!

By oaklandsocialist on March 17, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

183 killed, 74 last Sunday, March 14, alone. 2,175 reported arrested, many facing charges that could mean execution. Yet tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions continue to pour onto the […]

WIN Zoom meeting this Sunday: perspectives for USA

By oaklandsocialist on March 11, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

PERSPECTIVES FOR THE USA   A Workers’ International Network meeting introduced by John Reimann (Oakland Socialist) and Tia Kurtisnger-Edison (Kentucky Alliance) The USA has entered a period of turmoil and instability. What […]

Discussion on British Labour Party

By oaklandsocialist on March 10, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is a recording of the Zoom meeting we announced, the discussion on what is happening in the British Labour Party. Presenters were Tina Werkmann, Pam Bromley and John Dunn. The discussion […]

Podcast: Discussion on British Labour Party

By oaklandsocialist on March 10, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is a podcast of the discussion on the British Labour Party.

Oaklandsocialist Zoom Meeting

By oaklandsocialist on March 5, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Zoom meeting Saturday, March 6 What is happening with the British Labour Party? When left wing Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership of Britain’s Labour Party, millions of workers and young people were […]

The Murder of Fred Hampton

By oaklandsocialist on March 4, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is a documentary of Fred Hampton in his own words, unedited and revolutionary. The second half is a documentary investigation of his murder. Overall, this video not only shows the fearless […]

Eyewitness in Xinjiang

By oaklandsocialist on March 3, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

  (Recently there has been denials on the left of reports of repression of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang Province in China. Here, Aaron Ruby, an avowed communist, who visited Xinjiang Province […]

My Deep State Hearing Aids Overhear Another Conversation

By oaklandsocialist on February 27, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

I wrote once before about these weird deep state hearing aids that I got. As I noted then, if truth is stranger than fiction sometimes, then fiction can be truer than truth. With […]

What an Oaklandsocialist For Mayor in 2022 Campaign Could Accomplish

By oaklandsocialist on February 26, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

A political vacuum of unprecedented proportions has opened up in the United States. Not since the US Civil War has the US capitalist class faced such a political crisis. It spent four […]

General Strike in Myanmar: Don’t Forget the Rohingya!

By oaklandsocialist on February 24, 2021 • ( 3 Comments )

They poured out onto the streets in the millions. They have brought the country to a virtual standstill. This is Myanmar today – workers, youth, small business people, opposing the military coup […]

Mogadishu Police Open Fire on Protesters

By oaklandsocialist on February 21, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

  Police open fire on protesters in Mogadishu by Mohamed Abdi Nour General Secretary, Somali Public Trade Union Gunfire erupted in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, Friday morning after security forces cut off a […]

Republicans Declare War on Black and Latino Voters

By oaklandsocialist on February 14, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Republican Party Declares War on Black & Latino Voters Union Activists Can Organize to Stop Them The Republican Party has declared war on black and Latino voters. That is what happened when […]

Trump on Trial: The Prosecution Presents Their Case

By oaklandsocialist on February 11, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

On the second day of the senate trial for Trump’s second impeachment, Democratic impeachment managers showed chilling video of the marauding mob rushing through the Capitol building, looking for various politicians. At […]

What Lead Up to January 6 and Some Lessons for the Future

By oaklandsocialist on February 5, 2021 • ( 3 Comments )

  As the impeachment hearings approach, it pays to look back at the what lead up to the January 6 lynch mob/coup attempt and what lessons can be learned. An article in the […]

Belden “Noonie Man” Batiste runs for congress

By oaklandsocialist on February 4, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

The lack of a mass working class party in the US is the key to the crisis workers are facing. If and when that starts to build, that will transform US and […]

“Jail Killer Cops”: A Talk by Brian Taylor

By oaklandsocialist on February 1, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

Brian Taylor is the author of the article ” PROSECUTE and JAIL KILLER COPS! A Tale of Mis-leadership: Why ‘Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati’ Changed Its Name” Here he explains this issue. We […]

Marxists must recognize a changed situation: We are not a religion.

By oaklandsocialist on January 28, 2021 • ( 4 Comments )

Marxism is so marginalized that it is just a drop in the ocean of the wider working class. Because of this, we tend all too often to just think only of ourselves […]

Discussion with We Can’t Wait New Orleans on Biden Covid Relief Plan

By oaklandsocialist on January 27, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

We Can’t Wait New Orleans was one of the only groups in the US to hold a rally demanding real economic relief. Here is a video of a discussion they organized around […]

The Next Two Years? If You Think You Know, Then You REALLY Don’t Know!

By oaklandsocialist on January 25, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Although things are very much in flux, the dim outlines for the next two years are starting to emerge from the mist. Executive Orders Whatever the reason, Biden’s Covid relief proposal goes a […]

Oaklandsocialist speaking at an anti-fascist rally

By oaklandsocialist on January 21, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

My speech at an anti-fascist rally earlier today. One of the groups that was a main organizer is a group that supports Assad, so I had to speak on that issue, among […]

Biden’s Covid Relief Plan: Not Just Neoliberal “Austerity”

By oaklandsocialist on January 18, 2021 • ( 3 Comments )

Senator Everett Dirkson once said “You take a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you come up with serious money.” So, what in the world has come over Joe Biden? […]

Crisis of Republican Party Is Crisis of US Capitalist Rule

By oaklandsocialist on January 13, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

For 150 years the US capitalist class has ruled through alternating the power between one of its two parties. The secondary differences in their roles helped assure the stability of that system […]

Somali Public Trade Union Sends Message of Solidarity

By oaklandsocialist on January 9, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

We have received the following message of solidarity from the Somali Public Trade Union. Such solidarity is what is needed. In sending this message, the SPTU is setting an example for the […]

The Next Twelve Days (and Beyond)

By oaklandsocialist on January 8, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

What will happen over the next 13 days is not a slam dunk. Trump is on the retreat as he has never been before. Even some Republicans are talking about impeachment or […]

The DC Riot: Lessons and Perspectives

By oaklandsocialist on January 8, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

In Munich Germany in 1923, Adolph Hitler instituted the “Beer Hall Putsch”. This attempted coup was a total failure as far as seizing power and it resulted in Hitler’s arrest. After a […]

The Next Four Years: More Reality TV

By oaklandsocialist on January 6, 2021 • ( 3 Comments )

A couple of off-the-cuff thoughts on the state of affairs in US politics: (As this is being written, there are reports of a minimum of 30,000 Trump hysterics and various bigots gathering […]

My Deep State Hearing Aids

By oaklandsocialist on January 5, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Introduction: Nowadays truth is stranger than fiction and fiction is truer than truth. Keeping that in mind… I got a set of hearing aids the other day, but I think the hearing […]

Call to Action for January 20

By oaklandsocialist on January 3, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Sisters and Brothers, we hope you as an individual and/or your political group or union will sign onto this call: Call to Action The Covid relief bill passed by the Democrats and […]

Hedge of Insanity

By oaklandsocialist on January 2, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

From John Dunn in Britain, who is starting off the new year right I did my best to have a good Christmas, as I always enjoy commemorating the birth of an imaginary […]

Remember George Stinney, James Taylor, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor….

By oaklandsocialist on December 31, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

As 2020 comes to a close, two old stories are put to rest. Or so the cops and capitalist politicians hope. Those are the stories of Tamir Rice and Breonna Taylor. Tamir […]

A “Revolting” Christmas Poem

By oaklandsocialist on December 30, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the hood, A man was walking who meant no good. He was posting a note on many a door, Telling the folks they would […]

The $2000 vs. the Real Issue

By oaklandsocialist on December 29, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Pay close attention to the “debate” on the Senate floor over whether that body will take up the one time only $2000 payment. It’s a reminder that those who control the agenda […]

Trump Going off Rails: Danger (and Possibilities) Ahead

By oaklandsocialist on December 25, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

A long time comrade of mine in Britain was comparing Boris Johnson to Trump. “Johnson’s less grotesque, but he’s also completely incompetent, unprincipled and narcissistic,” he wrote. After a bit of back […]

Oaklandsocialist interviews Leda Victoria, Candidate for House of Deputies in Mexico

By oaklandsocialist on December 24, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist interviewed Leda Victoria, revolutionary socialist, feminist and member of MAS (Movement Towards Socialism) in Mexico. She discusses her candidacy as part of an Anticapitalist United Front that is preparing to run […]

Video: 100 Faces of Human Solidarity

By oaklandsocialist on December 23, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

History matters, whether it is the history of 10 years ago or one hundred . That is especially true for the process of revolution and counter revolution. If we completely misunderstand those […]

The Covid 19 Vaccines: What They Can and Cannot Do

By oaklandsocialist on December 20, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

A recent article in the NY Times plus some articles by scientist Dale W. Harrison help us understand what the three new Covid-19 vaccines apparently can and cannot do. Sterilizing vs. Disease […]

The Role of Money in Politics

By oaklandsocialist on December 20, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

 by Michael Frank Primaries in American politics have often been referred to as “money primaries,” meaning that big money determines who the final candidates are.  Those candidates who fall behind their competitors […]

Supreme Court and US Military: Saviors of “Our Democracy”?

By oaklandsocialist on December 12, 2020 • ( 3 Comments )

The capitalist talking heads are celebrating. “It’s been five weeks now, and the institutions of our democracy held against this onslaught,” said constitutional lawyer Ben Ginsburg on CNN on Friday night. “Our […]

Congressional Republicans Walk Out on President Biden

By oaklandsocialist on December 9, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist launches its powerful new Marxist time machine to bring you this news report from February, 2021: Congressional Republicans walk out as President Biden addresses joint session of congress February 30, 2021 […]

Book Review: “Dead Epidemiologists” by Rob Wallace

By oaklandsocialist on November 29, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

(By John Reimann, Oaklandsocialist administrator and reprinted from Left Voice.) There is currently a record 90,000 hospitalized with Covid-19, and over a quarter of a million people in the United States have […]

Assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh: Israel the Likely Culprit

By oaklandsocialist on November 28, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

The assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was almost certainly carried out by Israel. Nor is it likely to be any coincidence that they did it before Trump leaves office […]

Hunger in America: Where Are the Protests?

By oaklandsocialist on November 25, 2020 • ( 3 Comments )

Not just food “insecurity”, but absolute hunger is stalking America. A community food bank in Rhode Island reports a 26% increase in those seeking assistance and they estimate that one in four […]

A Reading list

By oaklandsocialist on November 25, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

A friend and comrade of mine has been urging me to put together a bibliography of some of the books I have in my “library”. Here it is. I have put in […]

New Vaccine both Welcome and Ominous

By oaklandsocialist on November 17, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

The news of this new method of producing vaccines may be just as ominous as it is welcome. Of course, we welcome a vaccine that can provide protection against Covid 19. But […]

The Post-Trump Era: Program and Perspectives for the Workers’ Struggle

By oaklandsocialist on November 16, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Every thinking worker, every worker who cares about other people (or the planet), every worker who understands the need for working class solidarity will be breathing a sigh of relief that Trump […]

Zoom Meeting Saturday, November 14

By oaklandsocialist on November 12, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Just when we thought things were settling down in the US, Trump has provoked a new crisis with his refusal to accept the election results. What does this crisis tell us about […]

US Election Aftermath: Peering Beneath the Surface of the “Smooth Transition” Crisis

By oaklandsocialist on November 11, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

In refusing to accept the verdict of 75 million voters, Donald Trump and his Trump-owned and operated Republican Party (Team Trump) may be sowing immediate confusion. They may be creating further conditions […]

What Really Made Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Great

By oaklandsocialist on November 10, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Thought for the day: The two greatest prominent leaders of the last 75 years were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. What made them great was their willingness and ability to […]

President Joe Biden: “The Dog that Caught the Car”

By oaklandsocialist on November 9, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

The coming removal of Bigot-in-Chief DonaldTrump from the White House was met with dancing in the street across the country. Rightfully so. However, we should also keep this exchange in mind: “You’re […]

US Elections: Preliminary Results

By oaklandsocialist on November 4, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Watching the election results, and like the overwhelming majority of thinking workers, yes, I do hope that Trump loses. That is starting to look like it is more possible and it’s turning […]

Zoom Meeting on Wednesday

By oaklandsocialist on November 2, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Stop Trump! Stop Trumpism!

By oaklandsocialist on November 1, 2020 • ( 6 Comments )

The police pepper spraying of the marchers in N. Carolina who were marching to support Black Lives Matter… The Trump vigilante car caravan interference with the Biden campaign bus in Texas… Trump’s […]

Why I voted for the “lesser evil” – AKA Joe Biden – this time

By oaklandsocialist on October 31, 2020 • ( 8 Comments )

After 50 years of never voting for any “lesser evil” Democrat, I voted for Joe Biden the other day. I waited for weeks to fill in the little circle by his name. […]

The Elections, A “Batshit Crazy” President and the US Capitalist Class

By oaklandsocialist on October 30, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

Oaklandsocialist has been mistaken. We have said for several years that Trump is out of the control of the mainstream of the US capitalist class. No. He is out of the control […]

Interview with Joe Burns

By oaklandsocialist on October 30, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

Oaklandsocialist interviewed Joe Burns, author of Reviving the Strike and Strike Back. Joe is the head of bargaining for the Association of Flight Attendants. The main thesis of both books is that […]

The hour is late, but not too late

By oaklandsocialist on October 28, 2020 • ( 10 Comments )

Eric Blanc, one of the leaders of DSA, has published an article urging DSA to campaign for Biden. His point is that this time it’s different (which is also the title of an […]

Oaklandsocialist on New Jersey Revolution Radio

By oaklandsocialist on October 27, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist was interviewed recently on New Jersey Revolution Radio. The whole show is interesting, but my part starts at 37:20 in.

Supreme Court, the Second Amendment and the Real History of the US Constitution

By oaklandsocialist on October 26, 2020 • ( 6 Comments )

  The elevation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court and the fact that that court will now have five Trump thinkalikes; the role of the armed and dangerous “militias” and […]

A Few Thoughts on the Second Biden-Trump Debate

By oaklandsocialist on October 23, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

CNN reported an interesting result regarding last night’s Biden/Trump debate: One reporter of theirs watched the debate with ten “undecided” voters in North Carolina. As a result of the debate none of […]

Sara Nelson: The 21st Century’s John L. Lewis?

By oaklandsocialist on October 21, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

In 1935, John L. Lewis, president of the coal miners union, famously punched right wing president of the Carpenters, Bill Hutchenson, in the jaw, walked out of the AFL, and formed the […]

US Elections: Some Background and Perspectives

By oaklandsocialist on October 20, 2020 • ( 3 Comments )

It now seems increasingly likely that Trump will be gone come January 20. In order to understand where we might be headed, we have to consider what Trump represents. We are in […]

Kamala Harris debates Mike Pence

By oaklandsocialist on October 8, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Here’s my talking heads, political junkie analysis of last night’s debate between Pence and Harris: I think the Democrats’ strategy during last night’s debate was simply “don’t screw up.” In other words, […]

Kieran Knutson & Cliff Willmeng: Two fighters run for union office

By oaklandsocialist on October 8, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

    Kieran Knutson and Cliff Willmeng are long time fighters for working class people and all the oppressed. They are also anti-capitalists who both live in Minneapolis and are running for […]

Donald Trump: Different from Previous Republican Presidents

By oaklandsocialist on October 2, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

The news of Trump’s testing positive for Covid 19 has largely overridden discussion of his bullying behavior during the debate with Biden. This positive test is no accident. By continually engaging in […]

BLM leader gives cover to Proud Boys

By oaklandsocialist on October 2, 2020 • ( 5 Comments )

Equating the Proud Boys with white supremacy has some serious limitations. That’s because they actually have black members and they don’t campaign against black people per se. Despite their denials, however, they […]

Labor vs. Fascists

By oaklandsocialist on September 27, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

U.S. Elections: Is a “Shitstorm” Coming?

By oaklandsocialist on September 26, 2020 • ( 3 Comments )

An article from Atlantic magazine is drawing considerable notice. The publishers considered the article so important that they published the October issue of their magazine (which contains the article) before its scheduled publication […]

“Why Won’t AFL-CIO Call a General Strike?”

By oaklandsocialist on September 20, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

The current issue of the popular “left” magazine Jacobin has an article Why Won’t the US’s Largest Labor Federation Talk About a General Strike? But the author doesn’t even ask a lot “smaller” […]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies: What comes next?

By oaklandsocialist on September 19, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg will probably decisively end an entire era in the role of the US Supreme Court and how it is seen by the great majority of Americans. […]

Video: Social Democracy in Denmark

By oaklandsocialist on September 15, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

It’s important for workers to understand the history of social democracy, known as “democratic socialism” in the US. Like elsewhere in Europe, in Denmark it arose as part of the working class […]

Video: “Feels like the end of the world”

By oaklandsocialist on September 10, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

It was dark and eerie all day as smoke from wildfires all the way from upper Washington down through Oregon and Northern California hovered over Oakland. A young woman told me “it […]

I want to leave California

By oaklandsocialist on September 8, 2020 • ( 3 Comments )

I want to leave California. In 1969, when I first arrived in this state, already much of nature was being destroyed, but it was still beautiful. We used to take trips up […]

Rob Wallace Speaks to Workers International Network, Part 2

By oaklandsocialist on September 7, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

  “Those of us who are radicalized often accept the premises of our enemies…. But we arrive at a moment when we understand that those who are running things are a bunch […]

Rob Wallace Speaks to Workers International Network, Part One

By oaklandsocialist on September 7, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

Here is the first part of a two-part series of Rob Wallace speaking on capitalist development and Covid 2. This was recorded from a meeting hosted by the Workers International Network. For […]

Podcast: Rob Wallace Speaks to Workers International Network, Part 1

By oaklandsocialist on September 7, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

First of two parts of the presentation of Rob Wallace on capitalism and Covid 19. Also see posts as video.

Are “Hong Kong” and “Belarus” Coming to America?

By oaklandsocialist on September 4, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

A major split is opening up within the US capitalist class. This split has implications for the already-existing movement from below. Two columns in the September 3 NY Times show what is […]

Rob Wallace to Speak Sunday, September 6

By oaklandsocialist on September 1, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

COVID 19, HABITAT DESTRUCTION AND FACTORY FARMING A Workers International Network Meeting Sunday 6th September at 7 p.m. British Summer Time/ 1pm US Central Time Speaker: Rob Wallace Rob Wallace is an evolutionary epidemiologist with the Agro-ecology and Rural Economics Research […]

Oaklandsocialist leaflet: “Where are the unions?”

By oaklandsocialist on August 27, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist distributed this leaflet at the Oakland protest against the shooting of Jacob Blake. We got a good response. Let’s hope something comes of it, especially since the pro athletes are setting […]

Hard Knock Radio/Davey D interviews John Reimann on environment and Covid 19

By oaklandsocialist on August 24, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Here is an interview that this blog site’s administrator, John Reimann, did with popular radio host Davey D Cook on the environmental causes of Covid 19 – how this and other viruses […]

Belarus: The last act has not been written

By oaklandsocialist on August 18, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

A central feature of the events in Belarus is going more or less unreported: Fully one half of the Belarusian economy is through state-owned enterprises. This fact has given Belarus dictator Alexander […]

Oaklandsocialist support for Iranian strikers distributed in Iran

By oaklandsocialist on August 16, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

A month ago, Oaklandsocialist carried a report of the strike of Haft Tapeh strikers in Iran. We also wrote the following letter of support: “We send our comradely greetings to the Haft […]

A Constitutional Path Towards Dictatorship?

By oaklandsocialist on August 13, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

A recent column in the Washington Post, entitled Trump Keeps Pretending to be Dictator, explained that presidents are “constrained by Congress and the courts and the law and international treaties, not to […]

Davey D interviews John Reimann of Oaklandsocialist

By oaklandsocialist on August 11, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

My interview with Davey D of Hard Knock Radio. How Covid 19 is spread through unsafe factory farming   For more detail on the environmental issues, see this article: Covid 19, capitalism […]

Covid-19 denialists: An explanation of their thinking

By oaklandsocialist on August 6, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

“Belief in science is the worst form of superstition ever”… a medical doctor in Germany. “Listen up Numb nuts This whole mask thing is a psyop to condition you to comply with […]

Trump’s Troubles Deepen Still Further

By oaklandsocialist on July 31, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

WSJ editors suggest Trump withdraw from race Trump’s troubles with his own class – the US capitalist class – continue to worsen. They see him as too unreliable, too destabilizing of their […]

Defend, expand $600 federal unemployment subsidy

By oaklandsocialist on July 30, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

It is past time for a movement in the streets to demand the continuation and in fact the expansion of the $600/week federal unemployment subsidy! The US economy in free fall, declining […]

Report from Placerville, CA

By oaklandsocialist on July 23, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

By a member of the UFCW and anti-racist activist Friday July 17th 2020 This protest was organized in response to the attacks on Main St businesses with Neo Nazi propaganda. Contrary to […]

Trump’s not-so-secret war: Voter suppression and how to fight it

By oaklandsocialist on July 20, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

The strategy of the Trump reelection campaign is starting to come into more clear focus. That strategy is to combine widespread repression with voter suppression in order to return Trump into office […]

RIP John Lewis

By oaklandsocialist on July 18, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

John Lewis, long time civil rights icon and then member of the House of Representatives has died. Many on the left will remember him for his role as an establishment liberal. I […]

Economic train wreck coming

By oaklandsocialist on July 17, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

A short note on the Covid-19 economy: If you think things are bad now, you ain’t seen nothing yet. While there was a slight pickup in May, which continued into June to […]

Strike of Haft Tapeh workers in Iran

By oaklandsocialist on July 16, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

From Aman Kafa of the Hekmatist Party (official Line) – Organization Abroad July 14, 2020 Four representatives and speakers of Haft Tapeh workers, Youseff Bahmani, Ebrahim Abassi, Mohammad Khanifar, Moslem Cheshm Khavar […]

Trump, Fauci and Ecomodernism

By oaklandsocialist on July 12, 2020 • ( 5 Comments )

Compared to the lies of Trump and the religious mysticism of Mike Pence, Anthony Fauci seems like a breath of fresh air. He bases himself on science, after all. Why, then, has […]

Russian bounties, WMD’s and big game hunters

By oaklandsocialist on July 7, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

When a big game hunter goes after a large and dangerous beast, he had better understand how that beast functions, or else the hunter can become the hunted. The same is true […]

Reform the police? A serious discussion needed

By oaklandsocialist on July 2, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Friends and comrades, “Police reform” is one of the major issues of the day. For liberals and social democrats, the question stops there. Marxists have to have clarity on the question. We […]

The Crimes of the Minneapolis Police Department

By oaklandsocialist on July 1, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

By a Minneapolis union member and anti-racist activist The crimes of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) against the people of Minneapolis are many. This is an organization charged with upholding an unjust […]

Trump headed for a crash?

By oaklandsocialist on July 1, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

What do we make of Trump’s claim that he was never briefed on the US intelligence belief that Putin’s government had placed a bounty on the heads of US soldiers in Afghanistan? […]

Republican election strategy starting to emerge

By oaklandsocialist on June 27, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

The Republicans’ November election strategy is starting to emerge. Yesterday the US Supreme Court made an important but lightly noticed ruling on Texas voting law. They allowed Texas to prohibit all mail-in […]

Is Trump deflating?

By oaklandsocialist on June 22, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Hold up! What is that sound we’re hearing? Is it the sound of the air being let out of the Trump balloon?  Trump’s moves to consolidate his grip on the various branches […]

Juneteenth Port of Oakland shutdown photos

By oaklandsocialist on June 20, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Some photos of yesterday’s event:   Next is the march over the overpass towards downtown Oakland Next in front of OPD headquarters and at Oscar Grant Plaza I always feel that some […]

Video: Juneteenth Port of Oakland shutdown

By oaklandsocialist on June 20, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

Short video from the Juneteenth Port of Oakland shutdown. Also see leaflet Oaklandsocialist distributed. Also see still photos here. Make it a movement

Grocery workers walk off in solidarity with #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd!

By oaklandsocialist on June 18, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

by a worker at Seward Co-op On June 16th nearly the entire staff on shift at Seward Co-op’s Franklin Ave. store in Minneapolis walked out for a 9 minute work stoppage to […]

History of the Minneapolis Police Department, Part I

By oaklandsocialist on June 17, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Abolish the Police Pt. 1 What is the MPD and why it can’t be made into something for us . . . By a Minneapolis union member and anti-racist activist (This is […]

Trump in trouble, the future is uncertain (to say the least)

By oaklandsocialist on June 12, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Trump is in deep trouble, but the outcome is uncertain. His national approval ratings are sinking like a stone, down from 41% approval, compared to 55% disapproval as of June 11. This […]

AFL-CIO statement on George Floyd: A suggestion for a rank and file resolution to be introduced at the local level

By oaklandsocialist on June 10, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

Two weeks after George Floyd was choked to death by the Minneapolis police, the AFL-CIO has issued a full statement on this crime. They should have waited two years. “The scourge of […]

Minneapolis City Council votes to “disband police” – will they?

By oaklandsocialist on June 8, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

When the police make a high-profile arrest, they make him or her walk in public through the throng of reporters. It’s called a “perp walk.” On June 6, Minneapolis’s reform minded young […]

Oaklandsocialist leaflet for a program

By oaklandsocialist on June 7, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

This leaflet is based on the previous article on the need for a program. If you like it, please use it!(Note:pdf at bottom.) ungovernable movement needs program

Our ungovernable movement needs a program

By oaklandsocialist on June 6, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

We have marched, we have sat-down, we have occupied freeways. And yet the wave of murders of black people by the police continues. It has unleashed a rage. From Bronx New York to […]

Video: Oakland protest Friday, June 5

By oaklandsocialist on June 6, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

A short video of the protest in Oakland on Friday, June 5. If you like the video, we urge  you to check out our blog. See, for example, Minneapolis and the Crisis […]

Video of Oakland protests

By oaklandsocialist on June 5, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

Video of the protests in Oakland over last few days. Also see articles on Minneapolis and the crisis of US capitalism, and other related articles including a solidarity letter from the Somali […]

Oakland protests photos

By oaklandsocialist on June 3, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Photos from Oakland protests. The top ones are from the aftermath of the first night of protests here.

Solidarity to protesters from Somali Public Trade Union

By oaklandsocialist on June 3, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

The Somali Public Trade Union sends this message of solidarity to the protesters in the US and to the family of George Floyd. Please distribute widely. A pdf of this message is […]

Are you a union member?

By oaklandsocialist on June 1, 2020 • ( 4 Comments )

  Leaflet I’m distributing. Also see: George Floyd murder shows need to completely transform the unions.  

Minneapolis and the crisis of US capitalism

By oaklandsocialist on May 31, 2020 • ( 5 Comments )

Divided, led by a demented and out-of-control president who is absolutely despised and has no credibility whatsoever among wide layers of society, with out-of-control police forces across the country, the US capitalist […]

Health Care Workers Murdered in Somalia

By oaklandsocialist on May 31, 2020 • ( 2 Comments )

Oaklandsocialist has received the following appeal: SPTU,  Is an Independent trade union based in Somalia. is shocked and outraged by the barbaric killing of seven healthcare workers and one civilian at the […]

“It’s a beautiful thing”: Interview with Minneapolis Activist

By oaklandsocialist on May 30, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Kieran is a union member and a long-time activist in Minneapolis. Here he explains who it is who has been out in the streets, how the police and the politicians are reacting […]

Killer cops doing “Essential Work” – a poem

By oaklandsocialist on May 26, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Essential Work by Raymond Nat Turner We’ll always need Race car drivers roaring down streets where children chase balls; like We’ll always need peaceful protesters pepper sprayed like cockroaches; And We’ll always […]

Covid-19, the rise of new zoonotic diseases and the capitalist disaster

By oaklandsocialist on May 24, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

“Science and socialism go hand-in-hand” Felicity Dowling In today’s NY Times, the bard of neoliberalism, Thomas Friedman, wrote about how Trump cannot defeat “Mother Nature”, which as he explained “is entirely made up […]

Podcast: Covid-19, the rise of new zoonotic diseases and the capitalist disaster

By oaklandsocialist on May 24, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Podcast of Oaklandsocialist introduction to Zoom meeting of this title. The meeting was hosted by the Workers International Network (WIN).

Poem: More Mengele Medicine

By oaklandsocialist on May 19, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

More Mengele Medicine from Boss Tweet and the1%  “As to diseases, make a habit of two things — to help, or at least, to do no harm.”     ― Hippocrates “It is very […]

Zoom Meeting Saturday, May 23

By oaklandsocialist on May 18, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Covid-19, the rise of new zoonotic* diseases, and the capitalist disaster Saturday 23rd May at 9 a.m. Pacific Time [* Zoonotic = diseases transmitted from other species to humans] The Covid-19 pandemic […]

Interview with ER nurse Cliff Willmeng

By oaklandsocialist on May 18, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Oaklandsocialist talks with ER nurse Cliff Willmeng. Cliff was terminated for fighting for safety on the job. For more on the worker fightback, see our article Strike wave without precedent  which can […]