The Coming Storm

** This article was published on Redline   December 19, 2019 ** The left in the U.S., Canada and Europe – ranging from militant radicals to tepid reformers – has exhibited remarkable silence regarding certain aspects of transgender ideology and their deleterious effect on other social movements. Everyone defends the concept of civil and human rights for all, including trans people. But some go a step further, demanding not only the right of each individual to their own personal preferences, behaviors and lifestyle, but also the right of a few to impose their beliefs on others. Those beliefs, when codified in law and public policy, materially affect the rights of women, gays, lesbians and more. Presumably, all can agree that the following should be defended for every person regardless of sex, sexual preference, gender expression, race, religion or ethnic origin: Oppose all bigotry, chauvinism, intolerance and bias directed against them. Denounce all bigoted violence directed a

** This article was published on  SocialistAction  April 11, 2019 ** On April 11, 2019 the Ecuadorian government revoked asylum protection for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Within minutes, British gendarmes entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, arrested Assange and seized his computers, documents and other materials. He is now being held in London’s Belmarsh prison for bail violation. That spurious charge stems from a withdrawn Swedish extradition request that arose from a now defunct investigation into sexual misconduct. No charges were ever filed against the WikiLeaks founder in the Swedish case. Assange sought asylum in 2012 due to a well-founded fear of rendition to the U.S. for activities related to WikiLeaks’ publishing. At the time, rumors were circulating of a sealed indictment against him. On April 13, 2017, then CIA Director Mike Pompeo raised the stakes by describing WikiLeaks as a “non-state hostile intelligence service.” Then, on November 16, 2018, the mask wa

** This article was published on  SocialistAction  April 7, 2019 ** Skepticism is Essential When Assessing Official Propaganda On April 7, 2018, the U.S and its NATO allies accused the Syrian government of carrying out a chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma, outside Damascus. A week later, President Donald Trump, with the support of French and British allies, ordered the launch of 103 missiles. ABC News quoted Defense Secretary James Mattis as saying that the strike was necessary to demonstrate international resolve to prevent the use of chemical weapons, and that he was "confident the Syrian regime conducted a chemical attack on innocent people in the last week." According to ABC News , President Donald Trump asserted, "The evil and the despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children thrashing in pain and gasping for air. These are not the actions of a man. They are crimes of a monster instead," referring to Syrian President Bashar

 ** This article was published on SocialistAction  April 4, 2019 ** When you corner a rat, it lashes out. The rats in charge of the U.S. empire are cornered by the contradictions built into their own system: increasing economic inequality, regular depressions and recessions, declining profit rates, perpetual austerity, and endless wars promoted to stave off increasing global competition. The current vicious U.S. assault on Venezuela—along with the ongoing attacks on working people here at home—are what it looks like when the imperial rat lashes out. The Trump administration has openly declared the goal of regime change in Venezuela. Such an aim is illegal under international law. The mere threat of aggression is “not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.” But U.S. hostility toward that sovereign, independent nation did not begin with the current