The anniversary of “V-E Day” is being commemorated under conditions of escalating global conflict. The world is not merely on the brink of world war— the initial stages have already begun. Current zones of conflict and flashpoints stretch from Europe to the Middle East and Asia— and even extend into the Arctic and outer space.
Wednesday marked one month since Ronald Adams, Sr., a 63-year-old skilled trades worker, was crushed to death at the Stellantis Dundee Engine Complex in southeast Michigan during the early morning hours of April 7. Since then, Stellantis, the United Auto Workers and state safety agencies have released virtually no information about the causes or circumstances of the fatal incident, aside from a few sparse details disclosed immediately afterward.
“We think we’re in the right place to wait and see how things evolve,” Powell said. “We don’t feel like we need to be in a hurry. We feel like it’s appropriate to be patient.”
Elaborating on this theme throughout his press conference, Powell said: “It’s not a situation where we can be preemptive because we actually don’t know what the right response to the data will be until we see more data.”
The criticism of this “data dependent” stance, which has been made in the past and will no doubt be raised again, is that it is like driving by looking in the rear vision mirror as data coming in reflects past developments, not what is underway at present.
India and Pakistan are now making conflicting claims about the fighting on the night of May 6-7, with each side boasting about its military prowess.
What can be said with certainty at this point is that India mounted a large-scale attack involving, according to Islamabad, upwards of 75 warplanes, and struck targets in at least six and possibly as many as nine different towns and villages—three of them in Pakistan’s Punjab province and the remainder in Azad or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
India’s bloody attack immediately triggered artillery and mortar barrages across the Line of Control that divides Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) from Pakistani-held Azad Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 people in J&K, according to Indian news reports.
The verdict came after a nine-day trial that included graphic video evidence, expert testimony and witness accounts of the killing of Nichols. The acquittal has once again brought to the fore the reality of police violence and murder in America. It shows the persistent protection of criminal actions by law enforcement by the legal system and lack of justice for the victims of police brutality, whether the officers are black or white and regardless of the skin color of their victims.
The thuggish and inhumane tactics employed by the immigration Gestapo to facilitate the banishment of immigrants to foreign gulags—where they face mistreatment and possible enslavement—were detailed in the motion. Citing a recent Reuters report, the lawyers described how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a South Texas detention facility used the threat of solitary confinement to coerce immigrants into signing documents that would fast-track their removal to Libya.
The move signals a massive escalation of attacks on the post office, especially its privatization, which both Trump and Elon Musk, head of the “Department of Government Efficiency,” support. But privatization would be the culmination of decades of bipartisan attacks, beginning with its demotion from a cabinet level department to an independent, self-funding agency under President Richard Nixon.
Kehlani, who has spoken out against the genocide since the beginning, appeared to be unfazed by the cancellation of the Central Park concert. She posted a screenshot of the City Parks Foundation’s statement on Instagram, writing, “They canceled this one, too,” and “lol.” Kehlani herself learned about the cancellation on social media, and not through personal communication from the foundation. “I’m so deeply grounded in my purpose, my mission, my art, my contribution,” she wrote.
Carney, who sat silently during most of the press conference as Trump delivered a series of rambling fascist tirades, used his opening remarks to effusively praise his host. Trump is a “transformational President, with a focus on the economy, with a relentless focus on the American worker, securing your borders, ending the scourge of fentanyl and other opioids, and securing the world,” declared Carney. “…The history of Canada and the US is we’re stronger when we work together. And there’s many opportunities to work together.” Later, he applauded Trump for “revitalizing NATO,” before adding, “My government is committed to a step change in our investment in Canadian security and our partnership.”
The right-wing political orientation of the campus administration was also revealed when it forcefully protected an event Tuesday night using the right-wing anti-trans activists Riley Gaines and Olivia Krolczyk. Using the excuse of the anti-genocide protest, as well as the fact that they had been blocked from UW’s campus by protests against them in January, Krolczyk and Gaines were permitted to bring private armed security onto campus. These guards were bolstered by campus and local police.
A successful fight against such forces, however, will not ultimately succeed through anarchist protest politics, which is aimed ultimately at pressuring the university administration. As was witnessed in the response to the protest and occupation on Monday, the state takes such opportunities to further develop its instruments of repression.
Students must instead turn to the working class, including Boeing workers, as part of a broad campaign to defend immigrants and democratic rights and put an end to the US facilitated genocide. Such efforts must be combined with the fight to build an international working class movement against dictatorship, fascism, genocide and war. Those interested in joining this fight should contact the the International Youth and Students for Social Equality today.
The great value of this study is that it demonstrates that regardless of the important cultural differences that existed across the globe, the underlying material factors driving this process are largely consistent whatever the setting. Social evolution is determined in the final analysis by objective, lawful processes that can be scientifically discovered and understood.
Testing shows toxic heavy metals like lead, arsenic and mercury at levels hazardous to human health, with children and workers bearing the brunt of the risk. The local, state and federal government response, or rather lack thereof, illustrates a broader political failure, with environmental oversight failing at every level, revealing systemic gaps rather than isolated missteps.
14. “Is America going fascist?”
The Socialist Equality Party in the UK will host public meetings in London and Sheffield, providing a vital opportunity to discuss President Donald Trump’s war on constitutionally enshrined democratic rights.
15. "Trump’s tariff war and the breakdown of global capitalism"
16. "Ending the Gaza genocide requires the fight for socialism"
17. Free Ukrainian socialist and anti-war activist, Bogdan Syrotiuk!
Bogdan Syrotiuk in 2015
Internationally, major artistic figures such as Roger Waters and Ai Wei Wei as well as historians such as Mario Kessler and Christian Gerlach have supported the campaign to free Bogdan Syrotiuk. Many political tendencies have also condemned his imprisonment and called for his release, despite their political differences with the Trotskyist movement. These include Jill Stein from the Greens in the United States, and several groups and websites in Russia and Turkey. Most recently, the website of the Socialist Laborer Party in Turkey, and that of the Partisan Defense Committee, which is affiliated with the Spartacist tendency, have issued statements in support of Bogdan.
18. San Francisco, California city legal resources for immigrants needing help
