The WSWS rejects Alex Steiner's dishonest and evasive explanation of his decision to post false information provided by an anti-communist provocateur, aimed at disrupting the defense of Bogdan Syrotiuk.
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Perspective
Mobilize the working class against Trump's attack on federal workers!
The attitude of the White House was summed up in an X/Twitter post over the weekend, where Trump declared that “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” In other words, modeling himself on the Fuhrer principle, Trump is declaring himself a dictator totally unbound by the law.
On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich raised the possibility of the imminent implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace the Palestinian people from Gaza. “It’s a process I hope will begin in the coming weeks,” Smotrich told Israel’s Channel 12 news station.
The leadership required is one which can mobilise an international socialist struggle of the working class against imperialism and its client states—including the complicit Arab regimes.
On Friday, after the resignations, Acting US Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove found two prosecutors willing to file a motion to dismiss the bribery and corruption charges against Eric Adams.
Major newspapers and television networks are restructuring their coverage and their personnel in line with the demands of the new administration.
Ever since a young man drove his car into a union demonstration, leading politicians in Germany have not ceased to whip up anti-refugee sentiments, call for a “strong state,” and demand even more deportations.
According to the trade union bureaucracy the current federal election should not be disrupted by protesting or even striking workers.
In the course of his remarks, Finkelstein said of the repression of anti-genocide protesters at U-M and on campuses across the country, “What took place this past spring involved the biggest attack on academic freedom in US history.”
The Teamsters bureaucracy, under the leadership of Sean O’Brien, has once again shown that it serves the interests of corporate management and the political establishment, not the workers who pay their dues.
Ford workers insist “we do not give up our Constitutional rights when we walk into the plant.”
The Universal Service Obligation (USO) “reform pilots” at 37 Royal Mail delivery offices across the UK are being imposed by the Communication Workers Union, Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group and the Labour government.
In late January, city letter carriers overwhelming rejected a contract proposal brought back by their union
The YouGov survey points to the Liberal-National Coalition being in a slightly stronger position than Labor to cobble together a fragile post-election government.
The resolution adopted by the Footscray High School sub-branch of the Australian Education Union (AEU) “opposes the victimization and witch hunt of pro-Palestine activist, Randa Abdel-Fattah.”
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Underlying the interlinked crises of the capitalist system is an oligarchy that subordinates all of society to profit and the accumulation of personal wealth. The fight against the oligarchy is by its very nature a revolutionary task.
Book Review
Biography as demonology: Aidan Beatty’s The Party is Always Right: The Untold Story of Gerry Healy and British Trotskyism
Aidan Beatty's new book is not a biography, but rather a political diatribe against Gerry Healy and Trotskyism.
“I’ve been very impressed by the articles you’ve published”
Historian Kerby Miller discusses Aidan Beatty and the writing of Irish history
Miller, the preeminent American historian of Irish history, was recently interviewed by the World Socialist Web Site.
Socialist Equality Party exposes Aidan Beatty’s falsifications in Institute of Historical Research seminar
After Beatty delivered a lengthy diatribe, Barbara Slaughter, David North and Eric London exposed his slanderous allegations against Gerry Healy and the history of the Trotskyist movement.
Slander vs. biography: Aidan Beatty’s falsification of Gerry Healy’s family and childhood in a decade of rebellion and civil war
This essay is devoted to a detailed review of Gerry Healy’s family background and youth, based on research conducted in Ireland, including visits to the relevant archives in Dublin and in Galway where the Healy family lived.
Vance promotes fascist right amidst escalating US-Europe conflicts at Munich Security Conference
The European powers are neither bastions of democracy nor innocent victims of Trump’s machinations. Rather the rise of Trump in the US is an expression of global processes.
An Open Letter to the American Conference of Irish Studies
ACIS president-elect Aidan Beatty and the Zionist libel against Irish history
This is an open letter written to the American Conference of Irish Studies. ACIS vice president Aidan Beatty is slated to assume the organization’s presidency at its annual conference later this month.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as Trump’s HHS secretary and the fascist assault on public health
The confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Trump’s Health Secretary marks a critical milestone in the deepening war on public health and the consolidation of a fascist government in the United States.
A tragedy caused by capitalism: Two Detroit children freeze to death in homeless family’s vehicle
In a shocking tragedy in Detroit, two small children on Monday froze to death inside a van at a casino parking lot, where the homeless family was sheltering from the cold.
Detroit and Windsor orchestras promote “Music has no Borders”
The fraternal and humane sentiments expressed in the Instagram post received a significant and very positive response from both Canadians and Americans.
I’m Still Here: A serious portrait of life under Brazil’s military dictatorship reaches mass audience
More than 4 million Brazilians have seen Oscar-nominated I’m Still Here, the 5th highest box office in the country’s history.
New Macklemore song, “F-cked Up,” gives voice to mass global opposition
Grammy winning rapper Macklemore released a music video this week that expresses widespread revulsion at deepening capitalist barbarism, especially since Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Sri Lanka: A photo essay on Colombo’s porters—a centuries-old practice of inhuman exploitation
This photo essay provides a glimpse of the working life of nattami, labourers exclusively involved in transporting goods between Colombo harbour, the warehouses and Pettah, the capital’s oldest and largest market.
Wolfgang devoted over 50 years of his life to building the Trotskyist party and fought tirelessly politically and theoretically for the independence of the working class.
AFGE, AFL-CIO oppose mobilizing workers against Musk/Trump mass firings
Unions that purport to represent workers have not lifted a finger, even as thousands of workers continue to be fired across the federal government.
Amid measles outbreak in Texas and the rising danger of H5N1 bird flu
Trump and Kennedy fire 5,200 HHS workers and gut the Epidemic Intelligence Service
Kennedy, a vicious opponent of vaccines and public health more broadly, is rapidly fulfilling his campaign promise to “give infectious disease a break for about eight years.”
Michigan teachers defend immigrants, oppose Democratic Party collusion in Trump’s attacks on education and social rights
At a recent school board meeting Michigan teachers called for building the Educators Rank-and-File Committee to defend immigrants and oppose the gutting of public education.
Massachusetts: Democratic governor facilitates Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda
The Massachusetts governor is a willing enforcer of Trump’s policies, scapegoating migrants for petty crime while enacting policy changes that slash assistance for the most vulnerable members of the population, including both undocumented immigrants and US citizens experiencing homelessness.
Trotskyism on trial in Ukraine
Prosecution presents its case against Bogdan Syrotiuk
Bogdan is charged not for any action committed or planned but for his Trotskyist ideas, a “thoughtcrime."
Free Bogdan Syrotiuk!
This emergency resolution was passed unanimously by the Seventh National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (UK), held November 29 – December 2, 2024.
“We will redouble our efforts to build a mass campaign for Bogdan’s release”
We are publishing the speech delivered by Tom Scripps introducing the resolution “Free Bogdan Syrotiuk” passed unanimously at the Seventh Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (UK).
Russian Militant group supports campaign to free Bogdan Syrotiuk
More than six months have passed since Bogdan's arrest. During this time many organizations, parties, intellectuals and scholars have expressed their support for him.
WSWS readers demand freedom for Bogdan Syrotiuk
In the past few weeks, we have received around one hundred letters from 25 different countries from readers defending Bogdan and highlighting the political motives behind his imprisonment.
Free Bogdan Syrotiuk!
Six months after his arrest, Bogdan Syrotiuk, the courageous Ukrainian socialist arrested for opposing the war, remains in prison awaiting a drumhead trial in a legal travesty.
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein calls for release of Bogdan Syrotiuk
Stein has made this statement calling for the release of socialist and anti-war activist Bogdan Syrotiuk, who has been imprisoned by the Zelensky regime in Ukraine.
Mass General Brigham, Massachusetts’ largest health system, to cut 1,500 jobs
Mass General Brigham, the state’s largest health system, has announced the layoff of 1,500 workers. MGB, “nonprofit” in all but name, says the job cuts are necessary in the face of a projected budget gap of $250 million over the next two years.
Australia: Students and staff oppose pro-corporate restructure at University of Newcastle
The current 13-week semesters will be shortened to 12 weeks under the new scheme. The intention is to condense existing courses into the shorter terms, or to cut content from the courses entirely.
After the NALC contract rejection: Organize the working class to save the US Postal Service!
We have to prepare ourselves to fight against the entire anti-worker “labor law” framework which will now be brought to bear to strip us of our rights.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
India: Samsung whitegoods factory workers in Tamil Nadu strike over sackings; Dehradun city sanitation workers continue strikes over non-payment of wages; Australia: Wilpinjong mine workers escalate industrial action; St Vincent’s Private hospital nurses in Victoria resume industrial action.
Pro-government thugs disrupt farmers’ conference in Sri Lanka: A warning to working people
Workers, youth and peasants must strongly condemn the thuggish and provocative actions of the JVP which are a serious warning of the repressive measures the government will resort to.
Sri Lankan action committees condemn Peradeniya University ban on IYSSE meeting
Action committees of teachers, students and parents, migrant workers, railway workers and free trade zone workers have sent protest letters to the vice chancellor, denouncing the anti-democratic lecture ban.
Sri Lanka: A photo essay on Colombo’s porters—a centuries-old practice of inhuman exploitation
This photo essay provides a glimpse of the working life of nattami, labourers exclusively involved in transporting goods between Colombo harbour, the warehouses and Pettah, the capital’s oldest and largest market.
Sri Lankan president’s Independence Day speech: All for the “motherland”
Dissanayake’s speech paying glowing tribute to sham independence and demanding that class interests of workers and the oppressed be subordinated to the good of the nation carries the stench of fascist demagogy.
How the Democratic Socialists of America enforces unsafe staffing levels in Oregon hospitals
Oregon’s safe-staffing law, promoted by the DSA, is entirely tailored to the needs of the for-profit healthcare system.
Over 700 residents file additional suits over East Palestine, Ohio train derailment in 2023
The deaths of seven people, including a one-week-old baby, are alleged in a series of new lawsuits filed against Norfolk Southern and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Banker and war hawk vie to replace Trudeau as Liberal leader and Canada’s PM
Canada’s governing Liberal Party is scrambling to choose a new leader who can assert the interests of Canadian imperialism in the face of mounting class struggle at home and Trump’s drive to remold Canada-US relations through trade war and threats of annexation.
Florida and Texas execute intellectually disabled death row inmates
The US carried out a double state killing on Thursday, with two states executing intellectually disabled death row inmates. These executions bring to five the number of executions carried out so far in 2025, with six more scheduled between now and March 20.
This week in history: February 17-23
Mass protest against neo-fascists in Austria; Wildcat strike by Youngstown steelworkers; Egypt, Israel agree on Gaza border; Chinese emperor relocated by Japan
Revive America’s revolutionary democratic traditions
The anti-immigrant ICE raids and the 1854 “Slave Catchers Riot” in Worcester, Massachusetts
In October 1854, a large crowd in Worcester, Massachusetts took action against the presence of "slave catcher" Asa O. Butman and expelled him from the city.
The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union
A new biography of abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner
Stephen Puleo’s biography offers a fresh glimpse into the Radical Republicans’ struggle against slavery and shines a light on a little-known figure in American history.
On Biden’s posthumous pardon of Marcus Garvey, the “patron saint” of black separatism
The widespread favorable media response to the pardon speaks to the enduring usefulness of Garvey’s brand of identity politics to the powers that be.
Wave of protests in Greece over Tempi rail crash deaths and cover-up
Thousands of students took to the streets nationwide last Friday, with protests held in the capital Athens, the second city Thessaloniki as well as in Larissa, Patras, Serres, Volos, Chania and Heraklion.
What is behind the “Heidi hype”?—the Left Party lead candidate in Germany’s federal election
In the run-up to the German federal election, articles promoting the Left Party and attempting to present its lead candidate Heidi Reichinnek as a new left-wing figurehead are multiplying in the bourgeois media.
Trump’s call with Putin plunges European powers into crisis
The announcement by President Donald Trump that the United States would “immediately” begin negotiations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine has plunged European politics into a deep crisis.
“What’s needed is a general strike”
Warning strike at Berlin urban transit operator BVG
The strike by Berlin transit workers coincides with the greatest ever social cutbacks in Germany.
Failed media-Zionist provocation at Sydney restaurant as witch-hunt of Bankstown nurses continues
While the media and politicians have pilloried two young nurses for making stupid and politically backward comments about Israel, another incident last week pointed to the manufactured character of the purported “antisemitism crisis.”
New Zealand government refuses to condemn Trump’s Gaza takeover
New Zealand’s far-right coalition government has given its de facto endorsement to Trump’s criminal plans to ethnically cleanse and annex Gaza.
Australian Labor government roiled by Trump tariff threats
Albanese touted the possibility of an exemption on Tuesday, before being repeatedly slapped down over the following hours.
Build rank-and-file committees at Australian universities to fight cuts, victimisations and war drive!
New forms of organisation must be built to fight the job destruction, course closures, pro-corporate restructuring and suppression of dissent, because the campus trade unions have for years opposed any unified fight by university staff and students.
Ukraine: Growing unrest in the population, army, amid hype of peace talks
This report, submitted to the WSWS by Ukrainian underground journalists, documents the growing disintegration of the army amid preparations for US-Russian talks about a settlement of the conflict.
Ukrainian secret service SBU arrests anti-war youth in multiple cities
The World Socialist Web Site, the organ of the International Committee of the Fourth International, demands the immediate release of the prisoners.
Trudeau government refuses to release the names of 900 Nazi war criminals, for fear it would damage NATO-Ukraine war on Russia
In defiance of the demands of historians, Holocaust survivors and public opinion, Canada’s Liberal government is suppressing an almost four-decade-old secret report that identified some 900 Nazi war criminals who had lived, or were then living, in Canada.
NATO announces further militarisation of Baltic Sea
The move marks yet another step in the systematic military encircling of Russia by the US-led military alliance, which continues to back the far-right Ukrainian regime in a war aimed at inflicting a strategic defeat on Moscow and subjugating its territory to semi-colonial status.
UK Labour government seeks to overturn asylum for Palestinian family
Labour intends to tear up the European Convention on Human Rights to which it is a signatory, guaranteeing the right to a family life.
Munich university censors lecture by UN Special Rapporteur for human rights who has accused Israel of genocide
The LMU's cancellation of Albanese’s lecture is the latest in a long line of censorious measures by the authorities in Munich.
Trump vows Palestinians will be barred from returning to Gaza after ethnic cleansing
US President Donald Trump said in an interview over the weekend that the Palestinian people he is seeking to ethnically cleanse from Gaza would not be allowed to return to their homes. “I’m talking about building a permanent place for them,” Trump said.
Israel carrying out a second Gaza on West Bank with Trump’s backing
Almost 90 percent of Jenin refugee camp’s population have been forced to flee their homes, with many seeking refuge in towns and villages across Jenin governorate.
Fed launches probe into expanding private credit market
In 2023, the size of the non-bank financial institution sector increased by 8.5 percent, more than double the pace of banking sector growth at 3.3 percent, bringing its share of total global financial assets to 49.1 percent.
Trump steps up global economic war with “reciprocal tariffs”
The move, which goes beyond the imposition of a flat tariff on all nations, threatens to shatter what remains of the global trading system that has been in operation since 1947.
Trump imposes steel and aluminium tariffs as global economic war expands
Canada and other countries will be immediately hit, but China is the longer-term target.
China hits back at US tariffs
The Chinese response has been described as “muted” and “measured” as Beijing hopes that it may receive concessions after the suspension of the tariffs against Mexico and Canada.
15 years after devastating earthquake, Haiti is being transformed into a concentration camp
Haiti is being transformed into one of the world’s largest concentration camps, its people confronting a slow genocide from hunger, disease and terror squads armed by US imperialism.
Lula government prepares new attacks on Brazil’s workers and poor
After the PT’s collapse in last November’s municipal elections, the Lula government’s austerity measures threaten to pave the way for the extreme right’s return to power.
Argentina militarizes northern borders with Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil
The border crackdown is aimed at scapegoating migrants for the devastating effects of Milei’s policies and provoking US-backed confrontations with neighboring countries.
Study exposes COVID-19’s dire social impact in Brazil
The “Epicovid 2.0” study shows that the “impacts of the pandemic are great and long-lasting” and that it has “exacerbated historical health inequalities in Brazil.”
New York University complies with Trump attacks on basic democratic rights
The university administration’s willingness to collaborate in attacks on immigrants, transgender people and anti-genocide students has clearly emerged.
Cornell students and faculty hold meeting to defend immigrants' rights
On Monday, hundreds of students and faculty at Cornell University held a meeting to discuss the Trump administration's attack on immigrants and the suppression of democratic rights on college campuses.
The weaponization of student absenteeism: Lies to justify school privatization under Trump
The incoming administration intends to use the crisis of "chronic absenteeism," a product of the intense social crisis in the US, to justify vast new attacks on public education.
Student parliament at Berlin’s Humboldt University approves IYSSE motion opposing state attacks on freedom of expression and academic freedom
On November 11 the student parliament (StuPa) at the Berlin Humboldt University approved a resolution introduced by the International Youth & Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) entitled "Condemn the attack on academic freedom by the Federal Ministry of Education."
Mozambique opposition parties call off protests, beg for seat in FRELIMO government
While denying the legitimacy of the elections the opposition parties are trying to end popular protests and enter into government with Mozambique’s new president, Daniel Chapo.
Rwandan-backed M23 advance into DR Congo threatens regional war
M23 now controls nearly all of North Kivu and the province’s vast mineral wealth—including tin (cassiterite), tantalum (coltan), tungsten (wolframite), and gold, which are critical for global electronics and industrial production.
DR Congo breaks relations with Rwanda as Rwandan-backed M23 militia seizes Goma
The conflict comes amid rising global tensions after Donald Trump’s election, especially between Washington and Beijing, over control of strategic minerals like those present in the Congo.
Dozens of civilians killed in Nigeria in government airstrikes against armed gangs
These attacks are the latest in a series of aerial bombardments by the Nigerian government as part of a protracted campaign against armed groups and insurgents in the north of the country, much of which is effectively outside of federal government control.
As miners march to Ankara, the strike wave of textile workers in Gaziantep grows
In Turkey, the cost of living, the efforts of the ruling class to suppress wages and the attacks on social rights, including privatisation, are forcing the working class to fight.
Turkish government escalates crackdown against CHP and DEM Party
The WSWS and the Socialist Equality Group, regardless of their political differences with the CHP and the DEM Party, oppose this undemocratic state repression and demand the immediate release of those detained.
HTS leader Jolani assures Turkey, Israel and the US in Economist interview
Imperialist and regional powers are helping the new regime gain international legitimacy by giving the impression that it has put its al-Qaeda past behind it, and they are also endeavouring to gain influence over the country.
Mass protest on second anniversary of deadly Turkey-Syria earthquake
On February 6, thousands of people took to the streets of Hatay in commemorative events and silent marches to express their anger at the state authorities, the failure to hold those responsible accountable and the continued policy of impunity.
Austin Beutner’s lawsuit against LA school district: A smokescreen to conceal real cause of public education crisis
The lawsuit, endorsed by UTLA and two other unions, claims LAUSD violated the law by replacing existing arts funding with new Proposition 28 dollars, rather than using the money to expand arts programs.
States target Plyler court ruling on educating immigrant children
Following a strategy outlined by The Heritage Foundation, author of “Project 2025,” at least five states are seeking to force a review of the 1982 Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe to effect an end to immigrant youths’ right to public schooling.
Neo-Nazis flee Lincoln Heights, Ohio after being confronted by local residents
Despite police protection for the fascists, members of the historically black community of Lincoln Heights quickly mobilized and drove the Nazis out of town.
EPA worker: “There’s shock and anger, but there is also a sense that we’re in a totally new situation”
White House claims 65,000 federal workers have accepted buyout offers, as judge imposes temporary hold
The cuts are an unprecedented assault not just on federal workers, but the millions who depend on the vital services they perform, such as healthcare, environmental protection, and social support.
Students, faculty attend meeting to oppose attacks on pro-Palestinian protesters and democratic rights at the University of Michigan
Over 150 people attended a meeting held by the pro-Palestinian Tahrir Coalition on Tuesday to oppose the escalating attacks on students protesting the US/Israeli genocide in Gaza by the University of Michigan. Members of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality spoke at the meeting, fighting for an independent working class-based socialist response to fascism, war and genocide.
Australian PM Albanese refuses to condemn Trump’s plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza
Labor is signalling its support for ethnic-cleansing, colonialism and unbridled imperialist criminality, under conditions of war developing globally.
Australian university rank-and-file committee members oppose Zionist witch hunt against Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah
Western Sydney University Rank-and-File Committee members denounce the victimisation of Abdel-Fattah, who has been falsely accused of antisemitism for opposing the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Australian cricket commentator sacked for noting mass deaths in Gaza
Zionists ludicrously claimed that hearing Peter Lalor’s voice as he commentated Test cricket would make them feel “unsafe.”
New Zealand’s Daily Blog attacks Socialist Equality Group over Wuhan lab lie
The blog’s anti-China propaganda and hysterical attack on the Trotskyist movement are part of the political establishment’s lurch to the right and alignment with US imperialism.
The CIA joins the anti-China bandwagon on COVID origins, despite lack of any evidence
On Saturday, new CIA Director John Ratcliffe made public the CIA’s reassessment that shifts from an inconclusive position to now believing the lab-leak was most likely despite a low level of confidence.
US quits the World Health Organization and sabotages international public health
The ending of the commitment to the World Health Organization by the United States poses as an existential threat to the well-being of the international working class.
COVID surge underway in Bolivia and Peru
The new surge, in countries with the world’s highest death rates from COVID-19, shows the continuing threat posed by the deadly virus.
This lecture was given by World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board Chairman David North at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, March 12.
How should Los Angeles be rebuilt after the fires?
The recent fires in Los Angeles have laid bare the devastating consequences of capitalism, a system that prioritizes profit over safety.
With Steadfast LA, billionaire Rick Caruso spearheads elite's exploitation of Los Angeles wildfires
Caruso’s initiative signals the intention of finance capital to exploit the wildfires disaster for the pursuit of profits with the help of the Democrats and Republicans.
The role of budget cuts and private equity firms in the Los Angeles wildfires
The crisis facing the LA Fire Department is a microcosm of the broader contradictions of capitalism. It highlights the urgent need for a socialist program that prioritizes public welfare over private profit.
Los Angeles fire survivors erupt in anger over slow and inadequate government response
A town hall meeting in Santa Monica escalated into angry exchanges between survivors of the Pacific Palisades fire and an EPA official about the 18-month timeline for clearing debris left by the devastating fire.
Trotsky's assassination was the greatest political crime of the 20th century. Alongside Vladimir Lenin, Trotsky was the leader of the 1917 October revolution in Russia, which led to the establishment of the first workers’ state in history, and the preeminent strategist of world socialist revolution.
The fight against fascism requires a fight against capitalism and war!
Having twice voted with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in favor of a brutal policy of sealing the borders against refugees, the conservative Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) parliamentary groups in the Bundestag are prepared to accept the far-right party as a government partner.
Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei slate in Berlin certified for the federal election
The SGP is standing in the election to oppose war, fascism and genocide.
Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei appeal in the German federal election
Oppose imperialist war through the fight for socialism!
The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP) is contesting the federal elections to oppose the all-party coalition advocating war and austerity.
Tony Robson addresses SEP (UK) Seventh National Congress on the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees
“The potential in the situation must be acted upon consciously by the cadre, in a deeper turn into the working class”
We are publishing the speech given by SEP National Committee member Tony Robson at the Seventh National Congress of the SEP (UK) on the work of the IWA-RFC in the UK.
Sounding the Alarm and The Logic of Zionism: A discussion with David North on his two recent books
This discussion with David North, chairman of the World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board, will focus on his two most recent books, Sounding the Alarm: Socialism Against War and The Logic of Zionism: From Nationalist Myth to the Gaza Genocide.
Of, by and for the oligarchy: Trump’s cabinet & the restructuring of the American state
The election of Trump and his cabinet of reactionaries signifies the brutal restructuring of global society being carried out by the financial oligarchy.
The election debacle and the fight against dictatorship
The election of Donald Trump is a critical event whose political repercussions will be felt throughout the world. This fascist demagogue has won the 2024 election with both an electoral and popular vote majority. He will be re-installed in the White House on January 20, 2025.
What makes human culture unique from culture of other animals?
New research identifies the distinguishing feature of human cultural behavior as its “open-endedness.”
Impoverished countries ask world court to rule on climate change disaster
As the hearings closed for the largest ICJ case in history, the major capitalist powers displayed their indifference to the impact of climate change on impoverished countries.
Fluoridation of community water and the politics of disinformation
Robert F Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, has promised to end water fluoridation, a program which has been called one of the 10 greatest achievements in public health.
COP29, climate change and the normalization of mass death
The latest climate summit embraced the same policy that has been adopted since such climate talks began in 1995: the subordination of Earth’s environment and the lives of those impacted to the corporate and economic demands of the United States and the other major capitalist powers.
Fifty years after Chile’s horrific September 11 coup, its political relevance is becoming ever more urgent as the specter of dictatorship once again haunts the political life of Latin America.
Premiere in Berlin of a new documentary–Julian Assange and the Dark Secrets of War
The most telling episodes of the film include the testimony of Ethan McCord who relates that witnessing the savagery of the American military on that day in Iraq had changed his life forever.
Julian Assange delivers first speech since release from UK prison: “I pleaded guilty to journalism”
Assange told the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe: “I am not free today because the system worked, I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism.”
Australian spooks and their media mouthpieces bemoan Assange’s freedom
The complaints have a pathetic character to them, but also underscore the fact that the assault on democratic rights associated with the persecution of Assange persists and deepens.
The Australian Labor Party’s record in the Assange case
The Australian government's involvement in the plea deal arrangements was the result of mass popular pressure. It followed years of Labor actively assisting the persecution of Assange.
Mehring Books, the publishing arm of the Socialist Equality Party (US), is proud to announce the publication of Volume 1 of COVID, Capitalism, and Class War: A Social and Political Chronology of the Pandemic, a compilation of the World Socialist Web Site's coverage of this global crisis.
Seminal documents of the Soviet Trotskyist movement from the early 1930s published for the first time
Published for the first time 90 years after they were written, the documents are an irrefutable vindication of the century-long struggle by the Trotskyist movement against Stalinism and for historical truth.
Analyzing a World in Chaos from an Island of Tranquility
This speech was given by David North at the second international commemoration of the work of Leon Trotsky on Büyükada (Prinkipo), Turkey, during the first period of his exile from the Soviet Union between 1929 and 1933.
A reply to an anarchist’s falsification of the Leon Trotsky commemoration on Prinkipo
The event was covered by many national and local media outlets and widely discussed on social media before and after the event in Turkey. However, a former Maoist and current anarchist published an article on his website denouncing and misrepresenting David North’s remarks.
On the anniversary of the assassination of Leon Trotsky
Eighty-four years ago today, on August 20, 1940, Leon Trotsky was assassinated by an agent of the Stalinist secret police, the GPU, in his villa in Coyoacan, Mexico, where he spent the final three years of his life as a political exile.
Opening report to the Eighth Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US)
We are publishing here the opening report to the Eighth Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US), given by David North, the national chairman of the SEP. The congress was held from August 4 to August 9, 2024.
Report to the SEP (US) Eighth National Congress
16 years since the Founding Congress of the Socialist Equality Party
We are publishing here the report to the Eighth Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US) given by Joseph Kishore, the national secretary of the SEP.
H5N1 Bird flu, climate change, and the social rights of the working class
The threat of pandemics and the deepening climate crisis raise existential concerns for all life and well-being on the planet, with capitalism bringing the world to the brink of annihilation.
Report to the SEP (US) Eighth National Congress
The barbarism of “forever COVID” and the fight for socialist public health
We are publishing here the report to the Eighth Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US) given by Evan Blake. The congress was held from August 4 to August 9, 2024.
January 21 marked 100 years since the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924. This page includes a collection of essays reviewing the life and ideas of the great Marxist theoretician, founder of the Bolshevik Party, and co-leader of the Russian Revolution.
Autoworkers speak out as UAW-Ford say police in auto plants will be the new normal
Events of the last week show that the recent police sweep at Ford Michigan Assembly was the launch of what can only be described as a police state crackdown against autoworkers.
US autoworkers discuss class issues behind Trump’s attack on immigrants
Workers from the Stellantis Kokomo Rank-and-File Committee sponsored a meeting to discuss the fight against job cuts and Trump’s attack on immigrant workers.
Warning strikes at nine VW plants in Germany
The head of Volkswagen’s works council Daniela Cavallo has made it clear that the IG Metall union and the works council do not want to fight but “let off steam”.
Thai autoworkers face mass layoffs
As the largest producer of vehicles in South East Asia, tens if not hundreds of thousands of jobs in Thailand are potentially on the chopping block.
May Day 2024: The working class and the struggle against imperialist war
This is the text of the introductory speech delivered by WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North to the 2024 International May Day Online Rally.
The political significance of the 2024 May Day Online Rally
This is the text of the speech delivered by Johannes Stern, editor of the German-language edition of the WSWS, as a summation to the 2024 International May Day Online Rally.
The struggle against imperialist war among students and youth
This is the text of the speech delivered by Dilaxshan Mahalingam, an IYSSE member in Sri Lanka, to the 2024 International May Day Online Rally.
The fight against imperialist war in New Zealand and the Pacific
This is the text of the speech delivered by Tom Peters, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand, to the 2024 International May Day Online Rally.
Helen Halyard (1950-2023), a tribute to a life dedicated to the victory of world socialism
We are publishing here the tribute given by David North to Helen Halyard, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Party and the International Committee of the Fourth International for more than half a century, who died suddenly at the age of 73 on November 28. North’s remarks opened a memorial meeting for Helen held Sunday, December 3.
Remarks by David North at the conclusion of the international memorial meeting for Helen Halyard
We are publishing here the summation given by David North to the memorial meeting for Comrade Helen Halyard held on December 3.
“Building the world party was Helen’s goal in life, to which she made an indelible contribution”
We are publishing here the tribute to Helen Halyard written by Patrick Martin, a member of the US editorial board of the World Socialist Web Site and a member of the Workers League and Socialist Equality Party for 52 years, and Esther Galen, a member of the Workers League and Socialist Equality Party for 53 years.
Tribute to Helen: Beverly Lozano, a supporter from California
A tribute to Helen Halyard written by Beverly Lozano, a supporter of the WSWS.
Report to Sri Lanka meetings
Imperialism, the genocide in Gaza, and the world struggle for socialism
Socialist Equality Party (US) National Secretary Joseph Kishore delivered the following report to a meeting titled “Leon Trotsky and the Struggle for Socialism in the 21st Century” in Colombo on December 10.
University of Michigan IYSSE protests attack by pro-government thugs on Sri Lankan SEP members
We are publishing here a letter being sent by the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at the University of Michigan condemning the violent attack on two members of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Sri Lanka by pro-government thugs.
Magistrate court hearing on violent assault on Sri Lankan SEP members
While police have visited the crime scene and recorded witness statements they requested more time to obtain hospital medical reports.
Academics denounce pro-government thug attack on Sri Lankan SEP members
The SEP is calling on all those who are concerned to defend democratic rights of freedom of expression to register their opposition by sending protest letters to the relevant authorities.
The essays in this book, though written over the span of more than 40 years, are connected by a central argument: Leon Trotsky was the most significant figure in the history of socialism during the first four decades of the twentieth century, and his legacy remains the critical and indispensable theoretical and political foundation of the ongoing contemporary struggle for the victory of world socialism.
Order your print or epub version of the book from Mehring Books today.
Wisconsin documents reveal details of strategy behind Donald Trump’s 2020 fake elector scheme
A trove of court documents released on Monday show Wisconsin attorney Kenneth Chesebro and former judge Jim Troupis were instrumental in formulating the strategy of Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 elections through court cases that generated “a cloud of confusion” combined with the appointment of “alternative” electors in seven key states.
Appellate court rejects Trump’s claim that he cannot be prosecuted for seeking to overthrow the 2020 election
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against Donald Trump's assertion of absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for seeking to overthrow the 2020 election.
Third Trump coup lawyer pleads guilty and agrees to testify in Georgia election case
Jenna Ellis is the third lawyer and fourth defendant to plead guilty in relation to the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Trump coup plot accomplice Chesebro pleads guilty in Georgia fake elector case
Kenneth Chesebro, attorney and close associate of Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Friday to one felony charge in exchange for his agreement to testify against the former-president and 16 other defendants in the fake elector scheme to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
The Inquest is necessary to break through the cover-up, lies and misinformation that have been used to justify policies responsible for the avoidable deaths of millions.
1985-86: The victory of Trotskyism within the ICFI
The following lecture was delivered by Chris Marsden, the national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (UK), and Ulaş Ateşçi, a leading member of the Sosyalist Eşitlik Grubu (Socialist Equality Group) in Turkey, to the SEP (US) International Summer School, held between July 30 and August 4, 2023.
The Workers League’s defence of the Theory of Permanent Revolution against the opportunism of the Workers Revolutionary Party
The following lecture was delivered by Tom Peters, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Group of New Zealand, and Thomas Scripps, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Party (UK), to the SEP (US) International Summer School, held between July 30 and August 4, 2023.
1982: Marxism, the revolutionary party, and the critique of Healy’s Studies in Dialectics
The following lecture was delivered by Christoph Vandreier, the national secretary of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party) of Germany to the SEP (US) International Summer School, held between July 30 and August 4, 2023.
The role of Security and the Fourth International in the fight for the continuity of the International Committee of the Fourth International
The following lecture was delivered by Eric London, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Party (US), to the SEP (US) International Summer School, held between July 30 and August 4, 2023.
Vadim Z. Rogovin (10 May 1937 – 18 September 1998) was a Soviet Marxist sociologist and historian. Working in close collaboration with the International Committee of the Fourth International, Rogovin helped lay the foundations for the Trotskyist movement’s fight against the post-Soviet school of historical falsification, including in his six-volume Was There an Alternative? This page collects major essays and commemorations on Rogovin as well as links to his own writings.
Former Montgomery, Alabama teacher testifies about the forced reopening of schools in 2020-21
In this interview, Tynisa Williams, former teacher in Montgomery, Alabama, describes the experience of being forced to teach in-person in the fall of 2020 and winter of 2021. She and her coworkers waged a courageous struggle to stop the deadly return to in-person learning that cost the lives of eight educators in the district.
Accomplices to social murder
The international pseudo-left and the lifting of Zero-COVID in China: Part 1
The pseudo-left’s hostility to public health and support for imperialism found sharp expression in their universal demand—echoing that of the Western corporate media and political establishment—that China abandon its Zero-COVID strategy.
Accomplices to social murder
The international pseudo-left and the lifting of Zero-COVID in China: Part 2
The pseudo-left’s hostility to public health and support for imperialism found its sharpest expression in their demand—echoing that of the Western corporate media and political establishment—that China abandon its Zero-COVID strategy.
Immunocompromised mother in Manhattan speaks to Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic
Melanie, whose children attend public schools in New York City, spoke to the WSWS about the toll the “let it rip” policy toward the pandemic has taken on her and her family.
The definitive left-wing critique of the 1619 Project. This volume includes interviews with eminent historians and essays from the World Socialist Web Site exposing the New York Times’ racialist falsification of history.
The Wuhan “lab leak” fraud: A political witch-hunt against science and public health
The hearings before the House subcommittee have been a bipartisan effort to foment anti-Chinese hysteria.
Democrats join with Republican fascists to witch-hunt scientist Peter Daszak
During Wednesday’s House Subcommittee on COVID-19 with Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, Democrats joined ranks with fascistic Republican colleagues to promote the Wuhan lab-leak lies.
The Wuhan lab lie: “Weapons of mass destruction” redux
In an uncanny instance of history repeating itself, the lies used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq based on false claims about “weapons of mass destruction” are being used to promote the United States’ unprecedented military buildup around China.
A discredited conspiracy theory about the origins of COVID-19
The Wuhan Lab Leak slander being resurrected to bolster US war drive against China
The Wall Street Journal disclosed that the Department of Energy has shifted its opinion on the origin of the coronavirus to it being most likely a result of a lab leak. However, unnamed sources who have read the report indicate the evidence is of low confidence.
Nikole Hannah-Jones’ Center for Democracy and Journalism: Racialist politics in the service of US imperialism
After one year, the Center’s main accomplishment has been to deepen the mutual embrace between sections of the upper middle class and the military-intelligence apparatus.
The 1619 Project and the New York Times’ promotion of the racialist ideology of Ukrainian nationalism
The racialist historical revisionism of the Times and the racialist ideology of the Ukrainian neo-Nazis share a common premise: the mythological reimagining of history as a struggle of “the nation” and “the race.”
Oppose political censorship of antiwar views at Howard University!
We call on all students, faculty and staff members at Howard University to oppose this censorship and demand that the IYSSE be allowed to hold its planned meeting on campus.
Marcus Garvey and the reactionary logic of racialist politics
More than one hundred years after the formation of his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Marcus Garvey's legacy remains highly relevant in the struggle to overcome efforts to divide the working class along racial lines.
Comrade Wije Dias, the longtime general secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), died in Colombo on July 27, 2022. This exhibit includes two tributes to Wije by WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North as well as a selection of Wije’s most significant articles and speeches.
The arrest of journalist Richard Medhurst and the fight to defend democratic rights
Medhurst said of his detention at the UK’s Heathrow Airport, “I believe I'm the first journalist to be arrested under this provision of the Terrorism Act.”
Instagram shutters account of Palestinian publisher Quds News Network
Instagram shut the account without explanation. Quds is one of the most popular Palestinian networks and has featured on-the-spot exposures of the war crimes in Gaza.
WSWS readers demand Facebook reverse ban on SEG in New Zealand
Readers have expressed outrage at the social media company’s anti-democratic censorship of the Trotskyist Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand.
Facebook blocks Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand from advertising
We call on readers to oppose Facebook’s blatant political censorship of the Trotskyist movement in New Zealand.
October 16 marked the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Tom Henehan, a member of the Political Committee of the Workers League—the predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party in the US. We are republishing here a tribute delivered by David North at a meeting in 1997.
Over 80,000 sign petition against NYU Langone’s termination of a pro-Palestinian resident physician
Over 80,000 people have signed a petition opposing the anti-democratic termination of Dr. Zaki Masoud by NYU Langone.
Report exposes fraudulent antisemitism accusations at UK universities
The report concludes that critics of the Israeli state, advocates for Palestinian rights and those teaching the history and politics of the region have been “subjected to false allegations of antisemitism.”
An interview with Harvard anthropology Professor John Comaroff—Part one
We spoke recently to South African-born John Comaroff, the Hugh K. Foster Professor of African and African-American studies and of Anthropology, and Oppenheimer Research Fellow in African Studies, Harvard University.
Harvard UAW, pseudo-left groups organize provocation against professor John Comaroff
The right-wing witch-hunt of John Comaroff at Harvard University continued Tuesday with a stage-managed protest during his first class of the semester.
Israel murders 274 Gazans in a further escalation of the genocidal war
For a demonstration on July 24 in Washington D.C. to protest congressional invitation for Netanyahu
The World Socialist Web Site calls on workers and youth to respond to Congress’ invitation to the war criminal Netanyahu with a demonstration in Washington D.C.
Leaders of London rally issue dead-end call for Sunak and Starmer to reverse support for Israel’s genocide
The determined opposition of workers and young people is being corralled into a dead-end, with calls that the only way to stop Israel is to put pressure on the Tories and, above all, the Labour Party of genocide apologist in chief, Sir Keir Starmer.
TikTok bans video demanding Bogdan Syrotiuk’s freedom, branding it “hate speech”
The TikTok ban comes just days after the Zelensky regime issued an order banning access to the World Socialist Web Site across Ukraine. The order was issued by the Ukrainian State Special Communications Service, a wing of the country’s military-intelligence apparatus.
Australian government, opposition launch hysterical attacks on the Greens over Gaza genocide
The Greens are serving as something of a placeholder, with the real target the mass opposition to the genocide among workers and young people.
This interactive timeline presents some of the most important events that have brought humanity to the brink of World War III. It includes links to critical articles and statements produced by the International Committee of the Fourth International over the past 30 years.
Democracy Reborn: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Fight for Equal Rights in Post-Civil War America, by Garrett Epps
The Fourteenth Amendment was the product of a democratic revolutionary change that sought to put the Constitution on a genuine egalitarian footing.
Danzy Senna’s Colored Television: Lacking the “pathos of distance”
There is promise in Senna’s demonstrating an awareness that there exists a “racial identity-industrial complex” in the contemporary world of art and culture.
A conversation with Joseph McBride about his study of Hollywood film director George Cukor: “There are many flawed people in his films, but Cukor understands human imperfection”—Part 2
This is the second part of an interview with Joseph McBride, author of George Cukor’s People. The first part was posted January 8.
A conversation with Joseph McBride about his study of Hollywood film director George Cukor: “There are many flawed people in his films, but Cukor understands human imperfection”–Part 1
First part of an interview with film historian, critic and biographer Joseph McBride about his new book George Cukor's People: Acting for a Master Director, a study of the Hollywood director whose career in feature films lasted half a century, from 1930 to 1981.
The WSWS is publishing the report delivered by David North 25 years ago, on February 1, 1997, motivating the proposal to end publication of the SEP’s printed newspaper and replace it with an international website; as well as North’s reply to the National Committee ‘s discussion of the proposal.
Mobilize the working class against Trump's attack on federal workers!
The attitude of the White House was summed up in an X/Twitter post over the weekend, where Trump declared that “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” In other words, modeling himself on the Fuhrer principle, Trump is declaring himself a dictator totally unbound by the law.
Vance promotes fascist right amidst escalating US-Europe conflicts at Munich Security Conference
The European powers are neither bastions of democracy nor innocent victims of Trump’s machinations. Rather the rise of Trump in the US is an expression of global processes.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as Trump’s HHS secretary and the fascist assault on public health
The confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Trump’s Health Secretary marks a critical milestone in the deepening war on public health and the consolidation of a fascist government in the United States.
A tragedy caused by capitalism: Two Detroit children freeze to death in homeless family’s vehicle
In a shocking tragedy in Detroit, two small children on Monday froze to death inside a van at a casino parking lot, where the homeless family was sheltering from the cold.
Review the most critical essays, lectures and letters produced by the ICFI in the course of its intervention in response to the crisis of Stalinism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
14 years after New Zealand’s Pike River mine disaster, no justice for victims’ families
For 14 years, successive governments, state agencies, the judicial system and the union bureaucracy have worked to prevent anyone being brought to justice for the avoidable deaths of 29 workers in Pike River Coal’s underground mine.
New Zealand: Court action continues over Pike River mine disaster
Families of some of the 29 workers killed in the 2010 coal mine disaster are continuing their fight for answers about why authorities dropped charges against Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall over the extremely dangerous conditions in the mine.
Police locate more bodies in New Zealand’s Pike River mine
The police investigation into the 2010 disaster that killed 29 mineworkers has been dragged out until at least the end of 2023, with no guarantee that anyone will be charged over the avoidable deaths.
New Zealand police extend investigation into Pike River mine disaster until the end of 2023
Police are delaying their decision on whether to lay charges over the 2010 Pike River mine disaster that killed 29 people, until after the October election.