Category: Articles

CDC Report on Teen Depression: This System is Making us Sick

A CDC report released on Feb. 13 told us that there is a terrible rise in teen depression, especially for girls. Specifically, in the U.S. nearly: These findings show high and worsening levels of persistent sadness or hopelessness across all racial and ethnic groups. We can’t be sure of all of the causes of this. […]

Daniel Ellsberg Continues His Fight

A Letter from Daniel Ellsberg At the beginning of March, Daniel Ellsberg sent a message to “friends and supporters” letting them know that he faces a life-ending medical condition — inoperable pancreatic cancer. He said that the doctors believe that he has another three to six months to live. This letter, full of Dan Ellsberg’s […]

Imperialism vs. Chinese Militarism in the South China Sea

The South China Sea is the site of continuous conflict between the U.S. and China. This body of water located off China’s southern coast has been the location of continuous military buildup by China over the last ten years, and U.S. military aggression in response. China has built up underwater reefs into new islands and […]

Israeli Settlers Attack Huwara, an Escalation of Violence in Occupied Palestine

Israel’s right-wing government has given a blank check to the most extreme violence against Palestinians, and the results are clear. On Sunday, Israeli settlers carried out a mass attack on the village of Huwara, south of the Palestinian city of Nablus. This marks an escalation of violent attacks against the Palestinians in the occupied territories, […]

Baltimore Celebrates the Life of Eddie Conway: A Fighter for the People

On February 25, several hundred people in Baltimore gathered to celebrate the life of Marshall “Eddie” Conway, who died February 13 at age 76. Collective shouts of “All power to the people!” punctuated the event many times. It was a celebration not only of Eddie Conway, but of people’s struggles against racism and capitalism. Conway […]

France: March 7, 8, 9 and as Long as it Takes: General Strike for Our Pensions!

February 27, 2023, Editorial of the Workplace Newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), Translated from French Pension reform is coming to the Senate this Tuesday, February 28. And this is the Senate that for the last few years has made a habit out of voting in favor of rolling back the […]

Police Department in Vallejo, California Destroys Evidence of Police Killings

In January 2021, officials in Vallejo, California destroyed hundreds of pieces of evidence from at least six police shootings just as they were about to be made public. The evidence that was destroyed came from two of the city’s most violent years on record. In fact, Vallejo Police Department (VPD) is one of the most […]

Baltimore Gas & Electric: Corrupt, Racist, and Price-Gouging

Many Baltimore politicians, residents, and advocacy organizations are furious at Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) and its allies, after recent suspicious political deals, a rate hike announcement, discriminatory working conditions, and continued commitment to contributing to the climate crisis. Ask yourself: Do we need a corrupt, racist, price-gouging corporation controlling access to our basic needs […]

Voices From the Frontlines – Notes of An Airport Worker in Torrential Rain

The last several months have been wet. Really wet for what is normal for this particular part of the region of California that I work in. Recently, there was an “atmospheric river,” that has dumped close to double the amount of rainfall than that of the average winter. Although conditions are certainly nowhere near as […]

U.S. Government and Media Show Hypocrisy in Ridiculous Nuclear Treaty Discussion

On February 21, 2023, Vladimir Putin announced in Russia’s version of the “State of the Union” address that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty, which originally went into force in 2011. The New START treaty stands for “New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,” which is designed to limit the number of nuclear […]

UC Berkeley Students and Faculty Occupy Library to Keep It Open

This past week, after the University of California (UC) Berkeley administration announced plans to close the Anthropology Library, dozens of UC Berkeley students and some faculty occupied it. They stayed overnight from Wednesday to Friday. During the day, students and faculty held teach-ins and spoke at an open mic about the importance of the Anthropology […]

Mental Health Crises

The following is reprinted from Speak Out Now’s workplace newsletter at Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). In the past few weeks, there have been suicide attempts within the system. Regardless of the outcome, this is a tough experience where both Station Agents and Train Operators have to respond in the heat of the moment to […]

Fox News Caught Red-Handed: Profit is More Important Than Truth

Internal communications released recently as part of a lawsuit against Fox News reveal for all to see the priorities of capitalist media outlets. What these communications show is that Fox News hosts, management, and even ownership continued to push the lie of voter fraud and election tampering even though they clearly understood that the claims […]

Wounded Knee – An Inspiration 42 Years On

This brief was originally published in 2015. On February 27, 1973 a struggle broke out on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Native peoples gathered to protest their corrupt local government officials who used their authority for their own profit. To protest the corruption, people occupied Wounded Knee, the site of a massacre […]

The Black Panther Party: A Brief History and Lessons for Today

The Black Panther Party (BPP) was founded in the fall of 1966 in Oakland, California, as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. It changed its name to Black Panther Party in 1968 and remained vibrant until the early 1970s. The Panthers arose toward the end of the Black Freedom Movement, as the energy of the […]

Kicking Russian and Belarussian Athletes Out of the 2024 Olympics? Look Who’s Talking!

As the 2024 Olympic games in Paris approach, there are vigorous calls from 35 countries, including the United States, Germany, and Australia, in support of respecting human rights. These countries are calling for banning Russian and Belarussian athletes in protest of Russia’s now year-long invasion of Ukraine. No doubt, the Russian-led invasion of Ukraine has […]

After One Year of War Who is Benefiting from Putin’s Crimes?

February 20, 2023, Editorial of the Workplace Newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), Translated from French One year ago, on February 24, 2022, war penetrated the heart of Europe once again. Russian tanks crossed the border of Ukraine towards the capital, Kiev. Putin the dictator probably hoped to unseat Zelensky […]

French Workers Fight Pension Reform: Is a General Strike Next?

The fight against the pension reform in France that began in January is still raging. Last Saturday, February 11, French working people and students filled the streets again, in a massive protest against the government’s plan for pension reform. The government wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and the population says, […]

Education Workers in Portugal Fight Back

After a month-long, rotating strike that began in mid-January, 150,000 teachers and supporters staged a major demonstration in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, Feb. 11. The demonstration by teachers was probably the largest single action by educators in Portugal’s history, and showed the anger that has been building for years among education workers. In all, eight […]

TOD or POD?

Is BART doing Profit Oriented Development?

2022: the Most Police Violence on Record

After the George Floyd protests, politicians around the country promised to address problems of police violence, but the stats show that this was nothing but lip service. The reality is that 2022 was the deadliest year on record for police violence since 2013, the first year that nationwide data was recorded. In 2022, across the […]

Refineries Dump Trillions of Gallons of Toxic Waste into Our Water Every Day

A recent report has been released, that reviewed data from the Environmental Protection Agency, and found that close to half a trillion gallons of toxic waste water spills out of oil and gas refineries, across the United States, every single day. In other words, the daily amount of toxic wastewater discharged could fill an estimated […]

Biden’s State of the Union: Lots of Empty Promises

On Tuesday, Feb. 7, President Biden delivered his State of the Union speech. And it was in line with how the Democratic Party and Biden’s administration have presented themselves since Biden took office. In short, there were a bunch of promises, most of which will likely never be fulfilled. Biden pronounced that his administration is […]

Black History Under Attack

In August 2022, the College Board announced a new course offering: AP (Advanced Placement) African-American Studies. Many eminent scholars participated in crafting the course and celebrated the proposed new curriculum. In January, however, a pushback began when Republican Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, preparing to run for president, announced that, after viewing the draft version, […]

Israel’s Genocidal Policies Intensify while the Right Wing Consolidates Power

Israel’s new government, under the long-serving President Benjamin Netanyahu, is overseeing an acceleration of Israel’s policy of physically erasing the Palestinian people from their historic homeland. Netanyahu’s government, staffed by Israeli politicians who openly call for the annexation of Palestinian land and the expulsion of Palestinian people, has launched one of its most brutal military […]

Abbott Elementary – A TV Sitcom that Reflects Real Issues

The Emmy award-winning show, Abbott Elementary, brings comedic light to serious problems within public schools – problems caused by severe underfunding are presented through humorous and, at times, heartfelt moments, making the show educational but entertaining.   Abbott Elementary is set in a predominately Black public school in Philadelphia and focuses on the experiences of five teachers. […]

The Violence of This Society Cannot Continue!

Yet again, an outburst of senseless and seemingly random violence rocks a community. This time it was in Half Moon Bay, California, where seven people had their lives taken from them, and another was seriously injured in a mass shooting. It was the deadliest shooting that took place in the history of San Mateo County. […]

What Socialism Isn’t!

Last week, all 222 Republican members of the House of Representatives were joined by 109 Democrats in supporting House Resolution 9, a symbolic resolution “Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism.” It begins with: Whereas socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has time and time again collapsed into Communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorship… […]

Fast-Food Corporations Call for Referendum Against Workers

Last year the California Legislature approved the Fast-Food Recovery Act, which would have created a council to improve wages and workplace standards statewide for fast-food workers. But, fast-food corporations lobbied to get the bill suspended by applying for a referendum to overturn the law. California’s minimum wage for all workers is only $15.50. The Fast-Food […]

Black History: A Tale of Two Legacies

February is Black History Month — a time to celebrate centuries of Black struggle for justice as well as focus on the truth about racial oppression and exploitation throughout U.S. history. There are “Two Legacies.” The first begins with chattel slavery, that is, the vicious kidnapping and racist oppression and exploitation of Black people as […]

France on January 31: Another Day of Struggle Against Pension Reform!

On Tuesday, Jan. 31 huge crowds took to the streets in the biggest nation-wide protest since 1995. This is the second day of mobilization to oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to slash pensions by raising the minimum retirement age to 64 and increasing the pay-in period to 43 years. As of January 19, trains ground […]

France: Strike on Tues. 31: We Will Fight to the End!

January 29, 2023 editorial of the workplace newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA). Translated from French. The January 19 strike was a success: the trade unions counted more than two million demonstrators, and even the police acknowledged that more than one million people marched. This is more than the strike […]