Category: Broadside Articles

Prisoners’ Hunger Strike – Solidarity Against All Odds

In 2013, for two months, over 30,000 prisoners throughout 67 percent of the California state prison system went on a hunger strike to protest their treatment. This was the third hunger strike by prisoners since 2011, and it was by far the biggest fight in the history of the prison system in this country. Against […]

The Origin of the Police

There weren’t always police on every street corner with the power to stop, search, and harass people in the name of the law. For most of human history, daily issues of society were settled by people themselves, in their communities. Police forces were introduced by governments controlled by the wealthy, not to protect people but […]

Affluenza?! WTF?

Last December, Ethan Couch, a white 16-year old killed four people while driving drunk. He was sentenced to rehab and ten years probation, but will serve no jail time. His defense argued that he suffered from “affluenza” – what a psychiatrist described as a real condition when the rich are so wealthy they have no […]

The Rich Get Richer – The Poor Get Prison

The worst criminals in our society are the super rich. Bankers and CEOs cause horrible pain and suffering to millions of people around the world, but they are rarely punished for their crimes against humanity. Poor and working people, however, are incarcerated at ever increasing numbers, even though the crimes they commit usually stem from […]

A Nation of Mass Incarceration

The U.S. has the largest prison population in the world. While the U.S. has less than five percent of the world’s population, it has about 25 percent of the world’s prisoners – half a million more than China, which has five times as many people as the U.S. There are about 2.3 million prisoners in […]

Chris Kluwe: Athlete of 2013

Chris Kluwe was the punter for the Minnesota Vikings for eight years. In May 2013, the Vikings fired him for defying the coaches and owners by speaking out in favor of same-sex marriage rights. In a recent article,  “I Was An NFL Player Until I Was Fired By Two Cowards And A Bigot,” Kluwe retells […]

Some Fightbacks of 2013 Around the World

The following is just a short list of some of the social struggles that were waged across the world in 2013. January – France Hundreds of workers at the Citroen plant in the town of Aulnay north of Paris disrupt production demanding permanent contracts. They are struggling to keep their jobs after the closure of […]

U.S. Drone Strikes: Terrorizing the World

The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq has not meant an end to U.S. military violence against people in the Middle East and other parts of the world. The U.S. government’s latest strategy is to bring terror by launching attacks from unmanned drones. Supposedly these strikes are meant to target so-called “terrorists” but […]

A Year of Environmental Catastrophe

The level of environmental destruction caused by the system of capitalism is becoming more and more obvious to anyone reading the headlines. Last year in 2013, we saw some of the absolute worst disasters caused by climate change. This past year 20,000 people were killed in natural disasters – nearly twice as many as in […]

2013 – A Year of Hardships and Possibilities

Looking back on 2013, we see a volatile world, a world of increasing misery but also explosive anger. Cynicism and despair can erupt into anger and resistance at any moment. In this period nothing is predictable and anything is possible. The Robbery of the Working Class The capitalist class has enriched itself in record amounts […]

A Vote Against Capitalism in Seattle

The City of Seattle just had its city-wide elections. Unlike most elections where voters had to choose between candidates all of whom represent the interests of the wealthy and big businesses, this election had a different voice. Kshama Sawant, a community college teacher and activist with the revolutionary group Socialist Alternative, ran for city council. […]

Too Poor to Live Here

We are living in a period of unmatched wealth inequality in the U.S. The 400 richest Americans now have more wealth than the bottom 150 million of us. And the vast majority of all the economic gains in the last 20 years have gone to the richest one percent of society. Banks, corporations, and wealthy […]

The Violence of Poverty

We should all have the right to live in communities where we can feel safe without the threat of violence but unfortunately many of us face crime and violence in the streets.  It shouldn’t be a surprise that in poorer neighborhoods, high levels of unemployment bring higher crime rates and more violence. The violence which […]

The Destruction Of West Virginia

A look at what is going on in West Virginia shows us how ruthless corporations can be to make profits. In West Virginia and all over the Appalachian region, there is a massive push to destroy the landscape and to get at the last deposits of coal available. The new technique is called mountaintop removal, […]

Retirements on the Chopping Block

Across the country, state and city governments are using the excuse of budget deficits to cut funding for whatever they think they can get away with. After continuously cutting funds for education, social services, transportation, and housing, the latest item on their chopping block is public workers’ pensions. Politicians try to blame the budget shortfalls […]

Detroit: A Destroyed City Coming to You

The economic crisis has hit cities across the U.S. almost like some sort of natural disaster. People have been forced out of their homes, jobs destroyed, schools shut down – everywhere cities are being ripped apart. This is no natural disaster but a man-made one, a disaster orchestrated by the big banks and corporations in […]

Student Debt: You Are Not a Loan

From early on, we are taught that education is a ticket to a better future. But the reality for many of us is much different than the promise. The costs of college are going through the roof, making it unaffordable to many young workers, and leaving many graduates with huge student loan debts. And after […]

What Could Education Be Like?

What would education look like if it was designed to give human beings the possibility to develop all of their talents to the fullest? Growing up, children want to be astronauts, teachers, doctors, musicians, and just about everything else they can think up. But instead children are taught that they are not good at most […]

Public Education Under Attack

We hear the constant discussion from both Democrats and Republicans about the need to reform our education system. Every day there are reports about the failure of education in the U.S. Many politicians point to the schools, trying to blame teachers for their methods and their low standards. Funding the Rich and Gutting Education In […]

The Fight for a Real Education

In the U.S., the public education system has been shaped by different goals. On the one hand, the wealthy elite have required a disciplined work force with enough education to work. But the working class and poor also want education to enrich our lives, to give our children a better future, and ultimately to have […]

Sit Down, Shut Up, Do What You’re Told

The purpose of public education has always been above all to meet the economic needs of the wealthy elite by providing the owners of corporations with a steady supply of workers. Public education was organized as a system not to educate children but to transform them into obedient servants of the corporations. And the architects […]

The Surveillance State: Waging War on All of Us

Since September 11, 2001, in the name of national security, the U.S. government has given itself enormous new powers to watch and control people in the U.S. From surveillance cameras being installed in public streets and aerial drones patrolling cities, to local police departments employing military-grade weapons and tactics – the U.S. has embarked on […]

Syria – Still in the Crosshairs of the U.S.

Today Syria is being torn apart by a bloody civil war. Since 2011 the ruling regime of Bashar Al-Assad’s Ba’ath Party has faced an uprising that has threatened to overturn his rule. Since the beginning of the conflict, over 100,000 people have been killed in the fighting, and about 2 million or ten percent of […]

War Destroys the Lives of Soldiers

Since September 11, 2001, over two million Americans have been sent off to war in Iraq or Afghanistan. More than half of them have been deployed more than once, and many four times or more. But for those soldiers who return from war alive, the effects of the war follow them home, staying with them […]

Capitalism – a System of Constant War

We live in a world ravaged by endless war. The estimated death toll from wars in the 20th century was around 187 million, not to mention the millions of people whose lives were ruined in the aftermath of these wars. The wars of the past century and of today cannot simply be explained away as […]

150 years of Rape, Pillage, Plunder

Immigrants from Latin America come to the U.S looking for a better life, but there is a reason life is so difficult in the countries they are forced to flee. It is not just that the governments are corrupt and oppressive, and that the working class suffers horrible exploitation at the hands of the wealthy. […]

NAFTA: Free Trade and Forced Immigration

In 1990, 4.5 million Mexicans lived in the U.S. In 2000, the number more than doubled to 9.75 million, and in 2008 it peaked at 12.67 million. This migration is not because so many millions of people are eager to leave their families behind in order to chase some dream in the U.S. In reality, […]

Everyone is an Immigrant

Everyone living in the U.S. is an immigrant. Every one migrated to this region of the world, whether it was 5 years ago, 50 years ago, 500 years ago, or 15,000 years ago. People migrated for many reasons – poverty, escaping from intolerable conditions, looking for a better life, or as captives. The original inhabitants […]

The Immigration Bill: A Pathway to More Exploitation

Supporters of the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act” claim the bill offers a pathway to citizenship and benefits. This is a complete lie. The purpose of this bill is to further militarize the border, increase deportations, and essentially force immigrant workers to be the captives of their employers. It’s no surprise the […]

Immigrant Workers – The Most Exploited Workers in Society

Immigrants, with or without legal status, have just as much of a right to be in this country as anyone else. But their legal status is held over their heads as a threat. The combination of intimidation, harassment and lack of access to resources forces immigrants into some of the worst, dirtiest, and hardest jobs […]

AC Transit, BART, MUNI: Going After Workers, Punishing Riders

The key components to any public transit system are well-maintained buses or trains, convenient scheduling, affordable fees for passengers (or free), a well-trained and regular workforce. All of this is under attack. As people struggle to make ends meet, the fares are out of reach of many, and lines are being cut. And the people […]

Having a Future Depends on Public Transit

Our systems of transportation impact our lives in many ways. In most of the U.S. today, it is necessary for almost every adult to own a car. The individual automobile is the main method of personal transportation to and from work and home – everybody in their own car. But this method of transportation causes […]

Film Review: Fruitvale Station

 The film Fruitvale Station, written and directed by 26 year-old, Oakland resident, Ryan Coogler, tells the story of the murder of Oscar Grant. In 85 minutes we are taken through a depiction of the last 24 hours of Oscar Grant’s life. We get to know him, get to see him as the 22 year old […]

Privatizing Public Hospitals

As budget cuts dry up state funding for public hospitals, emergency rooms and entire hospitals are shutting down. Over the past ten years over thirty public hospitals in California have closed. Public hospitals are the health care safety nets that serve mostly uninsured, low income and poor communities. As more close and layoff workers, the […]

Wellness Programs Are Bad For Our Health

Workplaces everywhere have been starting what are called Wellness Programs. Under these programs, companies are able to punish workers for not meeting certain health requirements that the companies choose. Companies are setting limits on body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, cigarette smoking, minimum exercise requirements and more. And if the guidelines aren’t met, health care […]

A Society That Makes Us Sick

We’re supposed to believe that our health is our own choice, that anytime we’re overweight or unhealthy, it’s our own fault. But the truth is, we live in a society that makes us sick and we are getting sicker every day. More and more of us join the ranks of the overweight and obese, with […]

Obamacare or Corporate-care: The Writing of the Affordable Care Act

The Obama administration presented the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as a victory for  health care over the corporations and their profits. In fact, not only does the ACA maintain the profits of the big insurance and drug companies, but it was written for the Obama administration with the help of these very same companies. If […]

International Workers Day: The Holiday the Bosses Are Afraid Of

One of the most important working class holidays, May Day, originated in the U.S. in the 1880s, with the struggle for the 8-hour-day. The working class was engaged in a constant struggle for a reduced work week – a struggle against the constant attempt by the bosses to extend the working day. Many workers suffered […]

August Spies

The Famous Speeches of the Chicago Anarchists in Court August Spies (1855-1887) August Spies was born in Landeck, Germany in 1855. Spies emigrated to the United States in 1872 and settled in Chicago where he became an upholsterer. He became involved in trade union activities and joined the revolutionary movement in 1877. Three years later he […]

Lucy Parsons

The Famous Speeches of the Chicago Anarchists in Court Lucy Parsons (1853-1942) Lucy Parsons was the wife of Haymarket Martyr, Albert Parsons. She was also a revolutionary activist and anarchist from the 1880s till her death in 1942. In 1907 she delivered this speech at a memorial service for the Haymarket Martyrs. As these years […]

Michael Schwab

The Famous Speeches of the Chicago Anarchists in Court Michael Schwab (1853- 1887) Michael Schwab was born in Mannheim, Germany, on 9th August, 1853. He worked as a bookbinder before emigrating to the United States in 1879. He settled in Chicago where he joined the Socialist Labor Party and became active in trade union activities. It […]

Fightback Section (April 2013)

Hong Kong, March 28 – PRESENT – More than 400 Hong Kong port workers have been on strike against their employer HIT, a shipping company owned by Asia’s richest man, Li Cheung Kong. The workers have been on strike since March 28 demanding a 20 percent pay rise. Even though the subcontracted workers represent only […]

The Toys of the Rich

In the sports world it seems like fans are losing their teams. The Golden State Warriors are moving to San Francisco, the 49ers to Santa Clara, and the Sacramento Kings may be moving to Seattle. And of course the Oakland A’s are always threatening to move to San Jose. If you’re starting to feel like […]

The Other Civil War: The Railroad Strike Of 1877

In 1877, a strike erupted across the U.S. which newspapers called an “insurrection” and even a “revolution.” Just twelve years after the civil war ended, railroad workers led the first nationwide strike in U.S. history. It was the first time that entire working class communities across the U.S. stood together in a battle against their […]

Iraq After Ten Years of War and Occupation

Ten years ago, in March 2003, the U.S. government launched an invasion and occupation of Iraq. The last ten years have meant the devastation of Iraq and its population. The infrastructure from water to sanitation to health care has been destroyed. The population is now divided along religious and ethnic lines and ruled over by […]

Global Climate Change: The Fight of Our Lifetimes

For decades scientists have pointed out the dangers of climate change. But the response from governments, the energy industry, banks and corporations has been to accelerate environmental destruction. We can’t leave the fate of the planet in the hands of those who have created this environmental crisis. They will continue to pollute the earth as […]

Fightback Section (March 2013)

Warren, Michigan – February 28th Workers at a stamping plant in Warren, Michigan went on strike. Chrysler’s sale of cars and trucks has more than doubled in the last few years. To meet the demands of production, Chrysler has moved to a three-shift schedule,  working four, ten-hour days a week. India – February 20-21 Workers […]

Playing Like a Girl

Hey Sports Fans… Q: Which rookie pitcher struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back, at 17 years old? Q: Who swam the English Channel nearly two whole hours faster than the world record? Q: Who is the only person to ever run 300 miles without sleeping? A: They are all women. Jackie […]