Queer Notes on Intersex children’s rights; LGBTQI struggle in Hungary; The Pride March in Kiev, Ukraine; Cape Verde’s fifth Pride Week; and Brighton Pride group in London.
Author: PraxisAmericaLatina
Turkey on the brink?
Under the whip of global capitalism, so-called emerging economies, like Turkey’s, have little real independence, and their masses live under a no-exit sign.
World in View: Israel’s reactionary nation-state law
September 26, 2018On July 18-19 the Israeli Knesset passed a law creating outrage among Arab and Druze citizens who see it as writing their second-class citizenship into law. It encourages the growth of illegal settlements on the West Bank and the continued dispossession of Palestinians.
World in View: Brazil museum burns
On Sept. 2, Brazil’s National Museum in Rio de Janeiro was devastated by fire after being subject to drastic budget cuts because of its location in the more working class North Zone, as opposed to the South Zone of Rio with its glitzy tourist beaches.
World in View: U.S. prisoners strike
Prisoners in at least 17 U.S. states, and one Canadian prison, took part in a nationwide strike beginning Aug. 21, 2018. The strike presented a list of 10 demands that have been pushed into the national and international consciousness.
World in View: Europe in crisis: Swedish neo-Nazis rise
Europe is at a dangerous crossroads with the rise of Far Right parties rooted in racism and hatred of immigrants. In Sweden’s Sept. 9 elections, the Sweden Democrats, a party rooted in neo-Nazism, received 17.6% of the vote.
Jasik workers organize in China
This generation of Chinese workers, going on strike repeatedly to demand wages and benefits they are owed or fighting to control their own jobs, together with young intellectuals reclaiming Marx’s work, may be a threat to today’s Chinese rulers.
Argentina in crisis
September 20, 2018Argentina has been bouncing this year from one crisis to the next. Today it needs a movement that refuses to separate the slogan “They all must go!” from building an authentically new kind of society.
Letter from Mexico, September-October 2018: Next in the struggle
September 19, 2018The Zapatistas called for a gathering Aug. 3-5 in Chiapas of the support networks that participated in trying to register the spokeswoman of the Indigenous Governing Council as an independent candidate for the presidential election in Mexico.
Thousands of Mexican students STRIKE!
On Sept. 5, 2018, a march of tens of thousands of students and other social groups flooded the UNAM campus in Mexico City to demand an end to porrismo, or pro-government thugs, used against students’ movements. Voices of several striking students are featured.
30,000 march for the climate in San Francisco
On Sept. 8 over 30,000 came out in San Francisco for the Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice, which had counterparts worldwide.
Youth in Action, July-August 2018
July 25, 2018Youth in action column on a student demonstration in Delhi, India; a student rally against the alt-Right at Michigan State University, and revolt in Nicaragua headed by students.
Demonstrations for refugees cover the entire U.S.
“Families Belong Together!” was the rallying cry for in over 700 cities and towns across the U.S. and some in other countries. Rallies of tens of thousands were held June 30 in Chicago, Los Angeles, and several other cities.
Queer Notes, July-August 2018
Queer notes on Delaware’s anti-Transgender legislation; Gay asylum seeker and detainee Udoka Nweke; Lesbian activist Constance Kurt; Aryman Menem, founder of Tea and Talk for Syrian LGBT; and Baltic Pride’s Pride Parade in Riga, Latvia.
Stop genocide against Syrians
Free Syria activists gathered in Chicago on June 8 in a vigil opposing the ongoing genocide against civilians who are ignored by most of the world.
Woman as Reason, July-August 2018: Bulwark against reaction
July 24, 2018What is bringing all reactionary forces together at this moment is the recognition by creatures like Donald Trump that women are the implacable enemy of emerging fascism.
Women Worldwide, July-August 2018
Women Worldwide column on Equal Playing Field organization; 30,000 women marching in South Korea against “molka”; and forced marriage in Sudan.
Rapists freed in Spain
Massive demonstrations in 30 major cities of Spain occurred after the five rapists in the La Manada case were set free from prison on June 22.
Review of ‘Reproductive Justice: An Introduction’
Review of the book “Reproductive Justice: An Introduction” by Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger.
World in View: What’s next for Nicaragua?
Nicaragua is in deep crisis. Almost 150 have been killed by government forces, and thousands injured. The Nicaraguan masses will need to create an emancipatory alternative.
World in View: Gaza, Israel and Trump
Since protests began on March 30, at least 135 Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli sharpshooters who targeted medical workers and youth.
World in View: Colombia’s election
The election of right-winger Iván Duque is a threat to the peace agreement that ended Colombia’s decades-long war between the government and the country’s largest guerrilla insurgency.
World in View: Reaction and racism in the ‘new’ Europe
Update on the reaction, racism and anti-immigrant and anti-refugee laws growing in Poland, Italy and Hungary.
(In)justice system confronted
January 31, 2018Various prisoner support organizations gathered before an Alameda County Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee hearing on jails and detention centers in November, 2017.
Queer Notes, Jan.-Feb. 2018
Queer notes on pastor Judy Peterson suspension; nonessential travel banned to Mississippi over anti-LGBTQ law, and Women of the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond Association in Hampstead Heath, Britain, welcoming Trans women.
Martin Luther King Day in Detroit
A diverse crowd at Detroit’s Martin Luther King Day rally and march was even larger than last year’s turnout, proving that we refuse to acquiesce to the blatant anti-humanism of the 45th president.
In Memoriam: Narihiko Ito (1931-2017)
January 30, 2018We honor the life of Narihiko Ito, one of the world’s foremost scholars on Rosa Luxemburg and a correspondent of Raya Dunayevskaya, and mourn his death.
Syrians & Iranians unite in D.C. rally
More than 200 protesters from the Syrian and Iranian diaspora and solidarity activists staged a joint protest in front of the White House to demand an end to the Assad dictatorship and the Iranian theocracy.
#2ndDayofRage4Syria in Chicago
On the Second Day of Rage for Syria, Chicago, like several cities across the world, held a demonstration in solidarity with the people of Syria fighting for freedom and against their genocidal ruler, Bashar al-Assad.
Media wanted scam tax bill passed
Corporate officers in the mainstream media knew slashing their corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% would be a bonanza for them. People need ways to share their own experiences and amplify their own voices which is why News & Letters and grassroots media are important.
From the writings of Raya Dunayevskaya: Iran–Unfoldment of, and contradictions in, revolution
Excerpt from Dunayevskaya’s March 25, 1979, Political-Philosophic Letter “Iran: Unfoldment of, and Contradictions in, Revolution” that gives a history of revolt and speaks to today’s rebellions in that country by workers, women and youth.
New French edition of ‘Indignant Heart: A Black Worker’s Journal’
Announcement of the French edition of “Indignant Heart: Autobiography of a Black American Worker,” by Charles Denby, followed by English excerpts of Denby’s “Indignant Heart: A Black Worker’s Journal.”
Anti-war protest in LA
January 29, 2018On Oct. 27, 2017, a demonstration was held in front of the Federal Building in West Los Angeles to protest possible wars between the U.S. and North Korea and the U.S. and Iran.
Students vs. tax bill
About 50 graduate students at Caltech walked out of classes to protest Trump’s tax bill in November as each has around $50,000 in tuition covered by non-taxable waivers. Under the new bill, the tuition waiver would be treated as taxable income.
Convention shows women persist
November 15, 2017Report on the Oct. 27, 2017, Women’s Convention in Detroit, Michigan, one of the followups to the Jan. 21 Women’s March on Washington, D.C. .
Countering white supremacists
Excerpts of a talk by a young Black woman student opposing alt-right’s events at the University of California-Berkeley.
Women Worldwide, November-December 2017
Women Worldwide Column on: the Black Women’s March on Washington; Meltem Cumbul in Turkey refusing to shake the hand of a director who supported right-wing President Erdogan; and a class-action lawsuit against coerced sterilization procedures in Canada against indigenous women.
NFL players defy owners and Trump
A hundred people marched to Soldier Field before the Chicago Bears’ first game this season, to “Stand with Kaepernick” for his taking a knee during the National Anthem before games of the 2016 season.
Workers’ revolts threaten Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping was not merely elected to a second term as Party Secretary, he got his name and his thought into the Constitution. .
Dan Perron, 1959-2017
News and Letters Committees lost a wonderful comrade when Dan Perron (Oct. 12, 1959-Sept. 7, 2017) died. Dan was a lifelong activist for freedom and justice.
‘A good company man’
Retired coalminer and Marxist-Humanist Andy Phillips relates how being a “good company man” led to misery and unfair working conditions at the Pursglove 15 mine, owned in the 1940s by Consolidation Coal Co., the largest coal company in the U.S. at that time.
Knocking on Labor’s Door book launch
Report on the book launch on Oct. 14, 2017, at the Newberry Library in Chicago for “Knocking on Labor’s Door: Union Organizing in the 1970s and the Roots of a New Economic Divide,” by Lane Windham.
Letter from Mexico, November-December 2017: Earthquake: Mexico’s wake-up call
Two deadly earthquakes struck Mexico, killing around 400 people and leaving thousands homeless, a situation made worse by the response of the state. .
Queer Notes, November-December 2017
Queer Notes on a fictional tale of Transgender youth Zhang Wang’an in China; a sign distribution rally in the U.S. to support two neighborhood LGBT families; Pride Parade in St. Petersburg; and Pete Olson, Texas Republican, sponsoring a bill to invalidate executive orders that included Trans people as a protected class.
Raid on French anti-nuclear activists
November 14, 2017On Sept. 20, 150 police showed up at 6:30 AM at the Bure House of Resistance in France. It is the latest incident of repression against growing opposition to “permanent” burial of France’s high-level radioactive waste.
Readers’ Views, November-December 2017: Part 2
Readers’ Views on: Concepts that unite philosophy & revolution; Lies poison us; Class justice, and Voices from behind bars
Woman as Reason, November-December 2017: #MeToo
Terry Moon joins the #MeToo campaign, sharing her experience of sexual harrasment when she was 23. .
California fires from global warming and incompetence
The massive wildfires in the North Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area that began on the night of Oct. 8 have sent a shock wave through the entire region. Most in the region feel the fires were preventable.
Kris Kobach has something to hide
Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State for the state of Kansas, has been using a personal gmail account to perform duties for the “Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity,” while at the same time trying to deprive U.S. citizens of their right to vote. .
On the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Historic initiative of the masses and Lenin’s philosophic break
Raya Dunayevskaya’s outline for a 1948 speech in Pittsburgh for the Russian Revolution’s anniversary; and “Lenin and the Dialectic: A Mind in Action,” taking up Lenin’s philosophical preparation for revolution. .