Zone of Storms: Review of October 1917 Revolution A Century Later by Samir Amin (2017)

by Theo Vynnychenko Kenji

Countercurrents.org | April 22, 2018

“[R]evolutions are ‘great’ precisely because they…are far ahead of…their time” (36). In the five essays presented inOctober 1917, renowned radical political economist, Samir Amin, pushes far beyond the immediate necessity of emphasizing the historical weight of October, and launches, into an ambitiously broad analysis of the trajectory of twenty first socialism, the Marxism that inspired it, and the lessons that can be drawn for the struggles of the twenty first century.

Economics and politics in early-Soviet Russia and Lenin on his birthday – April 22

 by Farooque Chowdhury

Countercurrents.org | April 22, 2018

[Part I]

Lenin yet, about 150 years since his birth, creates controversy. Funny figures make funnier statements while a group of scholars, white, pink and “red” in color, continue condemning the Bolshevik leader – a bold show of class conflict in the areas of ideology and politics. This reality makes it an imperative to reiterate Lenin’s analysis and class position on his birthday – April 22 (1870) – as yet those have not been proven erroneous.

India: ON this May Day, the Day of International Solidarity of the Working Class, CITU

People’s Democracy | April 22, 2018

Greets all working people, be they working in factories, offices, services, mines, forests, fields or waters, across the world

Expresses solidarity to all their struggles to protect their hard won rights, to improve their conditions, to defeat the attacks of imperialists-led, international finance driven neoliberal capitalist order on their lives and livelihoods, particularly in the wake of its systemic crisis globally and emancipate themselves from all exploitation

Affirms its commitment to socialism and its resolve to continue its struggle for a society free from exploitation of one human being by another; Stands in solidarity with the people of the socialist countries in their efforts to defend socialism in their countries.

UK: Our four-point plan for a new deal for workers

by Dave Ward

Morning Star | April 21, 2018

Demonstrators take part in the ‘Britain Needs a Pay Rise’ march in central London, organised by the TUC as public sector workers are calling for an end to austerity and to highlight the need for pay to increase following days of industrial action by nurses, midwives and civil servants. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

AS the CWU meets for its annual conference this weekend and I look back at all that has been achieved by our reps in the workplace, our members and our national leadership over the last couple of years, I can say our union is in a good place.

Our success with the Four Pillars campaign at Royal Mail, the Say No to BT campaign and Close the Gap show that industrial work will always be at the heart of everything we do.

Iran: Communists urge an end to the repression of the poor as general strike continues

by Steve Sweeny

Morning Star | April 20, 2018

IRANIAN communists urged the government today to end repression against the country’s poor as a general strike swept across Kurdish towns and cities.

The Tudeh Party of Iran (TPI) called for investment to develop agriculture and industry in the border areas of Kurdistan and western Azerbaijan where poverty remains high and unemployment levels have hit 40 per cent.

‘New imperialism’ debate suffers from the omission of subimperialism: An exceptionally interesting debate about how imperialism is now behaving

The BRICS, global governance, accumulation, class struggle and resource extractivism

by Patrick Bond

Pambazuka News | April 20, 2018

Two leading critics of imperialism – John Smith and David Harvey – have recently fought bitterly at the Review of African Political Economy website (http://roape.net) over how to interpret geographically-shifting processes of super-exploitation.

The Emerging Russia-Turkey-Iran Alliance Challenging NATO in the Middle East

by Conn Hallinan

Mint Press News | April 20, 2018

An unusual triple alliance is emerging from the Syrian war — one that could alter the balance of power in the Middle East, unhinge the NATO alliance, and complicate the Trump administration’s designs on Iran.

It might also lead to yet another double cross of one of the region’s largest ethnic groups, the Kurds.

Cuba: Days of combat

by  Graziella Pogolotti

Granma | April 16, 2018

Fidel proclaimed the socialist nature of the Revolution on the Havana street corner of 23rd and 12th, during the burial of those killed in the airport bombings of April 15, 1961, the prelude to the Bay of Pigs invasion at Girón. Photo: Raúl Corrales

Rumors of the fighting were heard during the dawn hours. It was at a distance. I went out on the balcony. From the heights of Vedado, militia men ran down the hill as they finished buttoning their uniform shirts. Right away, the news began to spread. They had bombed the Ciudad Libertad airport. We were in the prelude to an imminent invasion, expected since the United States had broken diplomatic relations. We were on the eve of Playa Girón. (on the Bay of Pigs)

Nicaragua: Next in Line for Regime Change?

by Tortilla Con Sal

teleSUR  | April 21, 2018

Since April 18, when the government proposed social security reforms, violent protests have taken place across Nicaragua. | Photo: Reuters

The pattern is similar to events in Libya, Syria and Venezuela, where extreme right-wing political minorities conspired with foreign elites to overthrow the national status quo.

Events in Nicaragua over the past week are clearly modeled on the kind of U.S.-led, NATO-driven regime change that succeeded in Libya, Ivory Coast and Ukraine, but has so far failed in Thailand, Syria and Venezuela. At a national level, the protests have been led by the private sector business classes defending their rate of profit against socialist policies in defense of low-income workers and people on pensions.

Nicaragua’s President Ortega Calls for Dialogue to End Violence

teleSUR | April 21, 2018

President Daniel Ortega criticized right-wing opposition groups for “conspiring” against his government. | Photo: EFE

The social reform demonstrations are becoming increasingly violent: on Friday, protesters burned down a branch of the National University in Leon.

Nicaragua‘s President Daniel Ortega has appealed for dialogue and condemned “destabilization attempts” by the opposition after violent protests over social security reforms killed at least 10 people.