Syria and migrants: a hypocrite and cynical government
Macron’s hypocritical speech on February 21st, giving moral lessons and asking for a truce in Syria, was given the same day as his Interior Minister, Gerard Collomb, presented his new bill to close even further the door on migrants and increase police measures against them. Security council… rich against poor It took days, while Syrian […]
All under attack: so, all mobilised?
Macron’s Bulldozer keeps moving forward. After the rulings on labour law, and before reforming unemployment benefits, he is targeting working class youths and public sector employees. As arrogant as ever, Macron just forgot one thing: he has now united the whole working class against him. The Spinetta report: one provocation too many Last week, Jean-Cyril […]
The State Of Black America – A State Of Emergency
Donald Trump has boasted about a December rate of unemployment of 6.8% for Black people which then shot up to 7.7% in January. What do these numbers mean? First, there is unemployment because this society doesn’t provide enough jobs. Secondly, these statistics don’t count the millions of people who have given up looking for a […]
Super Bowl –Wealth and Hypocrisy on Display
This past weekend was Super Bowl Sunday and many of us got together with friends and family to watch the game, if we were fortunate enough to have some time off. This was a great chance to blow off some steam after a long week of work, and a chance to spend time with the […]
Who Will Defend Our Rights? Not Politicians!
Trump and the Republicans have shown their contempt for women’s basic rights. They have justified sexual attacks and violence and presided over massive cuts to women’s healthcare funding and protections to access. Last Friday they changed a regulation that allows states to refuse to fund Planned Parenthood, which is often one of the only sources […]
When Ordinary People Did Extraordinary Things
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s through the 1970s was one of the most significant social movements in U.S. history. It included millions of people in its ranks. It was a grass roots movement often organized locally. It was made up of elementary school children in Selma, Alabama and the elderly, registering a man […]
Sexual Violence – An Abuse of Power
Harvey Weinstein, a Hollywood power broker, was recently charged by a number of well-known actresses with rape and sexual assault. The rumors about Weinstein go back to 1984. This violent predator was a Hollywood celebrity and a friend of the Clintons and others in positions of power. Nothing was done to stop him until 50 […]
Obscene Inequality – Fueled By A Revolting System
We live in a world of obscene wealth for a few and insane levels of poverty and desperation for the many. The gap between those who own the wealth and resources of the world – and those who own nothing but their labor to sell – has never been larger. The rich also hide their […]
Slavery in Libya: The French government’s responsibility
Macron was visibly annoyed by Burkina Faso student questions during his African Trip, when he snapped: “The people smugglers in Libya are not French. They are African”. Certainly, there is no lack of people to take advantage of the situation over there. These people exploit migrants’ misery to extort their money or trade human beings […]
No Cuts To Our Schools! Chop From The Top!
The Oakland Unified School Board is threatening to cut $15.1 million from the OUSD (Oakland Unified School District) budget. If approved by the School Board, the cuts would be implemented this month. School administrations are being told that they have to come up with thousands of dollars to give back to the district. If these […]
Housing: A Luxury for the Rich?
Across the country, landlords and developers are seizing every opportunity to raise rents, kick out workers and the poor, and bring in families able to pay skyrocketing prices for housing. Housing is becoming a luxury that only the rich can afford. The U.S. has hit a 51-year low for the number of people who own […]
Slavery in Libya: The hatchet men… and their backers
Images originally shown November 14th on CNN have made it around the world. They show migrants in Libya being sold as slave at auctions. For a few hundred euros… The people smugglers who take advantage of people’s misery to extort their money are disgusting. So are those who trade human beings. But what about the […]
Holidays On Our Terms, Not The Corporations’
The holiday season is coming around. For many, it may be a chance to take some time to spend with family and friends. It’s always nice to have time to catch a breath from work. For others that work in retail, the airline industry or transportation, this time of year will be anything but restful, […]
Macron’s “education plan”: to kick working class kids out of university!
Macron’s reform for higher education, the “education plan”, unveiled on October 30th, will be debated in parliament. “No selection, only better orientation for more success” they tell us. And yet, the logic of the new bill is to prevent working class kids from filling up university classrooms and move rapidly to where they are needed… […]
The 1912 Bread and Roses Strike, Lawrence Massachusetts
In 1912, in the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts, 25,000 workers went on strike.
It’s criminal, but it’s legal!
An international collaboration between news organisations revealed some dark secrets of fiscal “optimisation” practiced by multinationals and the super-rich. In France, €20 billion escape income tax, and that’s a conservative estimate. That’s four times the shortfall in the social security budget. A world tour of tricks It’s hard to find a multinational without an […]
Macron and Philippe: bean counters for the bosses!
What the bosses’ union (Medef) had been dreaming about, the government did. The administration put a “calculator of severance pay for wrongful dismissal” online on its service-public.fr website, for the bosses to use. It’s quite easy to use. Say you’re an employer, you type in the years of service of the employee and the size […]
Sexual Violence – An Abuse of Power
Harvey Weinstein, a Hollywood power broker, was recently charged by a number of well-known actresses with rape and sexual assault. This violent predator was a Hollywood celebrity and a friend of the Clintons. The rumors about Weinstein go back to 1984. Nothing was done to stop him until recently when 50 women exposed his sexual […]
Carol Dansereau: The Environmental Crisis – Where It Comes From. How We Can Get Beyond It
Revolutionary University October 2017 Q&A The Environmental Crisis – Where It Comes From. How We Can Get Beyond It Carol Dansereau, an environmental activist, attorney and author based in Seattle
Trump: Making the Rich Richer Again
It’s been a year since the election of Trump and it couldn’t be any clearer that this is an administration that only represents the richest of the rich. For those workers who may have thought that he would fight in their corner, Trump has made it clear: he’s in the opposite corner with his gloves […]
Sexual harassment: Breaking the silence everywhere… at work too
Following the revelations about Harvey Weinstein’s case, more and more women have started to talk on social networks, and they took to the streets on October 29th to condemn sexual harassment. Media engagement on the topic is reinforced by the avalanche of well-known figures denounced for harassment or rape. Police everywhere, justice nowhere Macron […]
Raj Patel: A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things
Revolutionary University October 2017 A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: Raj Patel, author and Research Professor at the University of Texas at Austin will discuss his new book (coauthored with Jason W. Moore).
Trump’s Tax Plan: Enriching The Already Rich
Donald Trump and the GOP got closer to one of their main goals: reforming the tax system. The Senate passed a budget bill for $1.5 trillion in tax cuts. Trump says that his proposed tax plan is good for ordinary people, but all it does is make the rich richer. The U.S. tax system already […]
Sexual harassment: Breaking the silence… at work too
Asked about the Harvey Weinstein story during his October 15th long interview on the TF1 channel, Emmanuel Macron shed a perfunctory tear about the daily violence experienced by women. In a surge of political courage, he is about to… cancel Weinstein’s legion of honour. This really must frighten all the rapists in the world… With […]
Taking Aim At Unemployment… Or At The Unemployed?
On October 15th, Emmanuel Macron held the floor for over an hour on the TF1 channel. He is happy with all his policies: rulings on the Labour Code, increase in social security contributions, decrease in individual housing assistance, cutting the wealth tax. He is also fine with his contempt for workers, who don’t belong to […]
To Join The October 10th Strike: A Step Toward A General Movement
While visiting Corrèze, Emmanuel Macron was heckled by the workers at GM&S, an automobile subcontractor, threatened by 157 layoffs. He had to declare that instead of “stirring up trouble” these demonstrators had better look for a job. In early September, after the first demonstrations against his rulings that change the labour code in favour of […]
Puerto Rico: Profits Over People
Conditions in Puerto Rico continue to deteriorate after the island was leveled when Hurricane Maria hit on September 20. The vast majority of its electric and telecommunications infrastructure has been destroyed while half of the island is still without drinking water. Many hospitals have been without electricity or are relying on old diesel generators to […]
We Can Learn From the Russian Revolution
October 2017 is the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, when the workers of Russia, fed up with the misery of capitalist rule, overthrew the capitalists and took power into their own hands in the most democratic revolution in world history. The state they established, the Soviet Union was a beacon of hope for a […]
Catalonia: From Anti-Referendum Repression To Social Unrest?
With clubs and rubber bullets, repression hit the independence referendum organised on October 1st in Catalonia. 844 people were injured, two of them seriously. The Spanish government deployed 10,000 police officers and civilian guards to close the polling stations and seize election materials. This is how Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government opposed ballot papers. To […]
Disasters Reveal a Bankrupt Society
The past few weeks have been overwhelming, with hurricanes ripping up entire cities and islands along with the recent devastating earthquakes in Mexico. Even though these disasters have all been acts of nature, their intensity, frequency, and impact on poor and working people are far from natural. The degree of devastation, the pathetic level of […]
Against The Rulings And All The Attacks: Three Warm-Up Days…What Next?
Last Thursday, called by the union confederations CGT, FSU and Solidaires, between 132,000 (according to the police) and 223,000 demonstrators marched against the rulings signed by Macron on Friday. There were less demonstrators than on September 12th, but on Saturday tens of thousands of people marched again in Paris, using the call from Mélenchon to […]
To Change The Balance Of Power, Let’s Take To The Streets On September 21 And After!
223,000 demonstrators according to the police, 500,000 according to union confederations: September 12’s mobilisation was a success. People were certainly more resolute after Macron’s display of contempt, declaring he would not give in to “lazy people, cynical people, nor extremists”. Macron plays the role of a self-righteous head of state, ready to force his policy […]
These Are Not Natural Disasters!
Hurricane Harvey was called the most devastating hurricane ever – until Hurricane Irma. Hurricane Irma is setting records for size and devastation in the Caribbean, destroying 95% of the buildings on some islands. And now Irma has landed in Florida and the level of destruction is only starting to become clear just as Hurricanes Jose […]
September 12: On Strike and in the Streets
Once again, President Macron let drop a comment full of contempt. He declared he would not give in to “lazy people, cynical people, nor extremists”. He plays the role of a self-righteous head of state, ready to force his policy through. But watch for a reaction and the anger of the working class. The bosses […]
Labor Day: Not Just Another Holiday
When we think of Labor Day we usually think of barbecues, picnics or maybe just the start of football season. Labor Day usually signals the end of summer and a time to be with friends, family and coworkers to enjoy a well-deserved day off – if we are lucky enough to get it. Like many […]
We Can Defend Ourselves
The horrific events in Charlottesville, Virginia shocked people across the country when a young neo-nazi drove his car into counter-demonstrators, killing Heather Heyer and seriously injuring 19 others. This was the outcome of the mobilization to “Unite the Right”, a recruiting effort by far right fascist, white supremacist, neo-nazi groups. Friday night, hundreds of white […]
A World of War = A World for Profits
We are living in a world dominated by war. For those in the middle of the wars it is a life of chaos and crisis. In the U.S. and other countries distant from the fighting, the wars have other impacts. Regardless of what we are told, the wars have the same underlying cause. They are […]
Trump & the Arrogance Of The 1%
People are fed up with the politicians who are running this country. Recent polls show that 58% disapprove of Trump and 81% disapprove of Congress. The figures are probably higher since most people are never polled. People are correct to mistrust and criticize the politicians. Trump continually makes openly racist, sexist, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim comments. […]
Politicians Threaten Our Health and Our Lives
The headlines have been full of discussion about the Affordable Care act known as “Obamacare”. Will the U.S. Congress led by the Republicans repeal it and replace it with something much worse for ordinary people? Will they do what Trump suggests and simply repeal the Affordable Care Act and remove even the small amount of […]
Who Welcomes Who?
It’s true, the government is doing its best to welcome them. It passed measures after measures to attract them. Nice homes, world class high schools for their kids, and even the right to use their own language in court, under their country’s law. Not to forget tax cuts evaluated at a few hundred million euros… […]
The Fourth of July – Whose Revolution?
Fourth of July is this week and we are hearing all the calls to be patriotic. But what does it mean to be patriotic when every politician is either attacking us or useless to defend our interests? What does it mean to wave the flag of a government that is trying to discriminate against millions […]
Decrees: He’s Not So Confident!
Facilitate layoffs, limit the period during which workers can file a complaint to the industrial tribunals, cap compensation pay for wrongful dismissal, in short keep workers at the whim of their employers. No surprise, the project allowing the government to rule by decree is clearly aimed against workers. On the other hand, the fact that […]
Will This Be A Hot Summer?
Heat waves like last week’s – which hit 66 departments for several days – may happen more often in the coming years, because of global warming. So we might learn a few things from that one… “Situation under control”: really? Despite multiplying alerts, the authorities have insisted that everything was all right. No increase in […]
Let’s Back Up!
Macron will get a majority of representatives ready to go “forward”. Since Sunday night, the news media keep going on and on about this “historical result”. What’s really historical is the abstention rate (51.29%). So the “tsunami” of La Republique en marche (The Republic moving forward) in the House only involves 6.39 million votes (just […]
Memorial Day: Let’s Make Their System a Memory by Overturning It
Memorial Day weekend is approaching and we can guess what it will be like. The politicians and the media will give speeches praising veterans. They will cry crocodile tears for the soldiers who have died in current and past wars. They pretend to pay tribute to lost lives, but really their words just serve to […]
A Government of the Bosses
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe just chose his general staff to lead the bosses attacks. Macron pretended to be “outside the system”, but now his government includes graduates of the National Administration School, old politicians ready to switch party, and business managers. Starting with Edouard Philippe himself, who is all of the above. The Transport minister, […]
What France’s Election Means (Richard Wolff Interviews a French Revolutionary Activist)
Marxist Economist, Richard Wolff, interviews Antonin Plarier, a French revolutionary activist in the group NPA (New Anti-Capitalist Party) and L’Étincelle in France. The interview covers the recent French elections, questions of populism, comparisons to the presidential elections in the U.S, and the possibilities for revolutionaries to run working class candidates who stand for the independent, […]
A Banker Became President, Let’s Prepare Our Response!
Emmanuel Macron (66.1%) won the second round of the presidential election against Marine Le Pen (33.9%). But a lot of people refused to participate in this non-choice, and chose to show they rejected both candidates. Now we have to prepare for the fights of the coming social third round. Election and rejection While Emmanuel Macron […]
TrumpCare: Another Rip-Off for the Rich
The Republicans have finally succeeded in their first step to repeal the ACA (Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare). This will mean an attack on millions of people’s access to health care. For all its problems, the ACA did provide some improvements to what was in place before. It expanded Medicaid coverage and provided […]
Democrats and Republicans Both Defend the Rich
With the Trump administration in the White House, many are wishing that Clinton had been elected. Now, attempting to rebuild its credibility, the Democratic Party has mobilized its forces through various social justice and environmental organizations and coalitions in order to appear to defend the rights of the majority. The message they want people to […]