Headlines at the World Socialist Web Site today:
1. As millions march in “No Kings” protests against dictatorship, Democrats demand war
On Saturday, millions of people will participate in an estimated 2,700 protests in every major city in the United States, under the framework of “No Kings.” The last protests, held in June, attracted between 5 and 11 million people, and the turnout at the second round is expected to be even larger.
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The demonstrations draw inspiration from the democratic traditions of the American Revolution, whose anti-monarchical spirit is embodied in the slogan “No Kings.” Many participants in the last protests connected Trump’s efforts to overturn the achievements of that revolution—to trample on equality, liberty and the rights of the people—with his campaign to dismantle public education, destroy public health, and place all of society under the oligarchy.
One issue that is not motivating masses of people is the demand for an escalation of imperialist war. But this is the central concern of the Democratic Party.
The Democrats in fact agree with large portions of Trump’s economic policies and have systematically enabled Trump’s attack on the working class. Every faction of the ruling elite insists that social programs must be gutted, wages reduced, and public spending slashed in order to expand corporate profits. The Democrats therefore view the mass opposition to Trump with profound unease and hostility.
On the eve of the demonstrations, the editorial board of the New York Times, the principal mouthpiece of the Democratic Party, issued a statement calling for war against Russia, under the headline, “Russia Won’t Stop Until NATO Acts.”
The Times does not publish editorials every day. Indeed, the last editorial was published one week ago, on October 10. Its decision to issue this call to war on the very day before what could be the largest single-day protest in US history was deliberate. It is meant to signal the Democratic Party’s overriding priorities.
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The priority of the Democrats is also reflected in the efforts by the organizations officially sponsoring the “No Kings” protests, including Democratic Party-aligned groups such as Indivisible, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and other union bureaucracies. Yellow has been proclaimed the official color of the protests, presented on the “No Kings” website as “a signal of resistance and national self-determination amid invasion” in Ukraine.
The bloodbath in Ukraine is the largest war in Europe since the Second World War. This imperialist proxy war, instigated and fueled by the United States and NATO, has already killed and maimed more than 1 million Russians and Ukrainians. Ukrainian youth, seized off the streets and conscripted by a corrupt, US-backed regime, are being sent to die in a 21st century hellscape. The effort by the Democrats to besmirch mass opposition to Trump by promoting this murderous enterprise must be rejected with contempt.
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The Democrats have now lined up to praise Trump for his fraudulent “ceasefire” in Gaza, which is nothing less than the consolidation of imperialist-Zionist domination atop the bones of tens of thousands of murdered Palestinians. They have reacted positively to Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and indications that the administration will supply Kyiv with longer-range missiles for strikes deep into Russia. Not a single leading Democrat has spoken out against the mounting preparations for war against Venezuela or the illegal killings of Venezuelan fishermen in the Caribbean.
There is little doubt that sections of the Democratic Party are counseling Trump that an escalation of war—with Russia, China or another target—would provide the necessary framework for “national unity” at home and the suppression of opposition from the left.
Those participating in the “No Kings” demonstrations must repudiate the filthy, pro-war politics of the Democratic Party. The Democrats speak not for the millions who have taken to the streets but for Wall Street and the Pentagon. A particularly foul role is played by figures such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who promote the lie that opposition to Trump’s dictatorship can be waged through the Democratic Party.
In its October 15 statement, “No Kings, No Nazi Führers! Mobilize the Working Class Against Trump’s Dictatorship!”, the Socialist Equality Party explained that the fight against dictatorship requires a clear political program and concrete demands.
At the forefront stands the demand for the removal of the Trump administration from power and the dismantling of its fascistic apparatus. This must be joined with the demand for the withdrawal of all troops from American cities and an end to the militarization of public life; the abolition of ICE and DHS and an end to the persecution and deportation of immigrant workers; the termination of all US threats and acts of aggression against Venezuela and other countries; the defense of free speech and all democratic rights; and an end to mass layoffs, social cuts and the destruction of living standards.
Every one of these demands, which express the needs and interests of the vast majority of the population, stands in direct conflict not only with the fascistic agenda of the Trump administration but also with the Democratic Party. Both represent the capitalist oligarchy, which demands that society be subordinated entirely to profit, war and repression.
To oppose Trump’s dictatorship and the descent into fascism, therefore, requires the independent political mobilization of the immense power of the working class, united across all industries, regions and national borders. The working class must build its own movement against capitalism, the oligarchy and all their political representatives.
The ongoing strike of 46,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente continued into its fourth day on Friday throughout California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.
The strike is part of a growing opposition among workers to to social conditions. The last full day of the five-day strike will coincide with the “No Kings” protests on Saturday, which are expected to draw out millions of workers and youth across the United States.
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he Kaiser strike poses the need for the working class to take the lead in the fight against Trump’s dictatorship, which is carrying out massive attacks on public health.
The Socialist Equality Party released a statement in advance of the protests, which declared:
[We call] for the formation of rank-and-file committees in every workplace, factory and neighborhood to coordinate this struggle. These committees must unite every section of the working class—teachers and nurses, auto and logistics workers, public employees, youth and students—into a single, powerful movement. They must become the foundation for a counteroffensive linking the defense of democratic rights to the fight for jobs, wages, healthcare and social equality.
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Two primary care nurses, Sylvia and Maria, spoke to World Socialist Web Site reporters outside the Kaiser Claremont Mesa Facility in San Diego.
“The short staffing is really affecting us, instead of seven nurses, there’s three, or four and it doesn’t feel safe,” said Sylvia.
Maria added that “We’re always getting distracted on our workflow and we get pulled in different directions because we are missing ancillary staff to help us, so all this keeps adding to the nurse’s plate.”*****
John is an Urgent Care and ER Nurse at Kaiser San Diego.
He told World Socialist Web Site reporters, “Kaiser is consistently asking for more from us and it’s continually adding more to our plate. We continue to lose because of whether it be burnout or whether it be like for myself, I work two jobs. I work two jobs, two different locations, just to be able to pay rent. “
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“In the Kaiser urgent care that I’m at, every year we see on average about 150 to 170 patients a day, which is normal, but over the past two years we’ve seen over 200 every single day. So the numbers are slowly increasing and we’re still not getting any help.”
“Meanwhile corporate profits are at record highs, and with inflation, they’re making record profits charging patients for more and they’re leaving here, paying thousands or millions of dollars. Look at pediatric patients, or NICU patients, who leave and get discharged owing $6 million.”
Kaiser workers are not only engaged in an economic struggle but a political one. As a statement by the WSWS Healthcare warned last week, “The methods Trump is now using against immigrant workers—mass repression, kidnappings and deportations to concentration camps—will be turned against striking workers and all workers and youth who oppose the demands of the oligarchy.”
A socialist political perspective is required. The struggle of Kaiser workers must be united with the growing opposition to dictatorship, genocide, war, ICE raids, and the sentiments of opposition that will be on display at Saturday’s “No Kings” protests.
3. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez plead for GOP to negotiate, downplay Trump’s dictatorship
Nearly every question focused on what Democrats and Republicans were doing to reopen the government. Neither CNN host Kaitlan Collins nor the two politicians uttered a word about Trump’s repeated threats to invoke the Insurrection Act and impose martial law. The words “fascism,” “national guard,” “Chicago,” “ICE,” “impeachment,” or “dictatorship” were never spoken.
Throughout the event, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez touted their bipartisan credentials and their readiness to work with Republicans to reopen and fund Trump’s government.
A viewer unaware of current events would not know that heavily armed Border Patrol Tactical Units recently tear-gassed a Chicago neighborhood after federal agents deliberately caused a car accident at an intersection. Nor would they know that Blackhawk helicopters and assault rifle- and chainsaw-wielding immigration police stormed a South Side apartment complex, forcing citizens and immigrants alike — including naked children — into the street in handcuffs.
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Both politicians repeatedly expressed willingness to collaborate with the most reactionary sections of the Republican Party without raising any demands to halt troop deployments to major cities or stop militarized raids that are trampling workers’ democratic rights. Responding to questions about the US military murdering people in the Caribbean Sea and a possible invasion of Venezuela, Sanders said he was “very concerned,” but proposed no action to stop the illegal operations.
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In an attempt to reestablish credibility with workers and youth who oppose the genocide and the complicity of both big business parties, Sanders said, “The United States essentially funded this war… In other words, the United States has been from day one, under Biden, under Trump, in the driver seat.”
But he drew no conclusions from this damning admission, one that indicts both parties, including himself, and the entire political system of American capitalism.
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Though the Trump administration has declared war on “antifa” and vowed to use the “war on terror” model against its political opponents — including groups tied to the Democratic Party such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — neither Sanders nor DSA member Ocasio-Cortez mentioned the issue.
4. Trump Justice Department indicts former National Security Adviser John Bolton
On Thursday, a federal grand jury in Maryland indicted John Bolton, Donald Trump’s national security adviser for 18 months of his first term, on 18 counts of mishandling national defense information. Bolton was arraigned on Friday and pleaded not guilty on all counts.
If convicted, Bolton could receive a 10-year prison sentence on each count.
Trump publicly demanded Bolton’s indictment, part of a Justice Department campaign to indict and jail opponents of Trump within the state apparatus and political establishment. Bolton is the third such person to be indicted over the past three weeks, the other two being former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
These indictments mark a significant further step in Trump’s drive to establish a presidential dictatorship. With the support of the corporate oligarchy, he is seeking to consolidate a personalist regime to take on and smash the resistance of the working class with an unprecedented and violent assault on democratic and social rights.
Trump’s top White House aide, Stephen Miller, has called the Democratic Party a “domestic extremist organization,” and Trump officials have identified popular opposition to his administration with “antifa terrorism.”
At Trump’s urging, federal prosecutors have opened up investigations of other targets, including former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director Christopher Wray, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff. On Wednesday, he pointed to other people he thought should be prosecuted, including Jack Smith, the former special counsel who indicted him twice.
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Bolton, a right-wing warmonger, is known as an “architect” of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He has held top posts at the State and Justice Departments and was US ambassador to the UN as well as national security adviser. During his time as national security adviser, from April 2018 to September 2019, he clashed with Trump over Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela, generally pushing an even more militaristic and bellicose line than that of the president.
Since his dismissal by Trump, the two have been bitter enemies. Bolton has called Trump “unfit for office.” The White House tried to block the publication in 2020 of Bolton’s tell-all memoir of his time in the Trump White House, titled The Room Where It Happened. In it, Bolton called Trump “erratic” and a “stunningly uninformed leader.” Trump called for Bolton’s prosecution, claiming he published classified information.
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It is necessary to place the indictment of Bolton within the broader political context of Trump’s escalating assault on democratic rights and the drive to dictatorship. The indictment comes two days before mass anti-Trump demonstrations across the US under the rubric of “No Kings.” The Republican Party has denounced the protests as “Hate America Day,” calling it a conspiracy of pro-Hamas, antifa terrorists. The Democrats, as usual, have said virtually nothing about the protests, refusing to defend or mobilize support for them. That includes so-called progressives like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
5. Australian court rules against draconian anti-protest laws in New South Wales
The judgement underscores the flagrant illegality of the offensive against opposition to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, which has been spearheaded by Labor governments.
6. Australia’s High Court backs sweeping visa ban powers
While directed, in the first instance, against a provocative right-wing agitator, this ruling sets a precedent for wider use of visa bans, particularly against socialist and other left-wing visitors.
Internal emails reveal the agency suppressed publication of a study for almost four years due to “discomfort among the mining companies.”
Even if the unions’ 24 demands are met, this will not address the fundamental issues confronting CEB employees. The CEB restructuring is designed to cut costs, increase profitability and prepare the CEB and other SOEs for privatization.
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The betrayal by CEB union bureaucracies is a lesson for all Sri Lankan workers and poses the need for independent action committees and a socialist program to fight Dissanayake’s IMF agenda.
9. The Great Hollywood Contraction continues and deepens
The Hollywood Reporter comments: “Production in Los Angeles has reached another all-time low, a new nadir that will either be a diving board to continuing, deep-rooted erosion or an inflection point in the recovery of the region’s film industry.”
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The decline in shooting days for the third quarter year-over-year was not an isolated phenomenon, as there has been such a decline in SD over each quarter in 2025, with the first quarter declining from 6,823 shoot days last year to 5,295 this year, and the second quarter declining from 5,749 last year to 5,394 this year.
Of all the categories covered by the FilmLA report, only Feature production and TV Comedy saw an increase in SD July to September, 9.7 and 41.1 percent respectively. All other categories saw a decline, with Television overall declining by 20.7 percent. TV Dramas were down 19 percent, TV Pilots down 34.5 percent, Commercial production was down 17.9 percent, while the “Other” category which “includes still photo shoots, student films, documentaries, short films, online content, plus music and industrial videos, achieved 1,749 SD, for a decline of -9.9 percent compared to the same period last year.”
Reel 360 notes that “the quarter’s charts underscore how far below trend LA remains: versus the five-year average (excluding 2020), Television sits down 57.9%, Features down 30.4%, Commercials down 38.8%, and the “Other” bucket (still/photo, docs, shorts, online, music/industrial) down 29.7%.”
These are devastating figures, behind which lie thousands and thousands of lost jobs, ruined careers and increasingly harsh economic conditions for many.
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The grim report from FilmLA comes on the heels of a letter sent out last week by the newly elected Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) president Sean Astin. The communication essentially acknowledged the union bureaucracy’s complicity in the ability of the studios and networks to use artist’s personas without permission.
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The SAG-AFTRA leadership, when confronted by its members’ anger, hid behind the claim the companies could do nothing in regard to collecting voices or faces without the “informed consent” of performers themselves. This informed consent that SAG-AFTRA peddles is mere snake oil. Not in some imaginary universe where actors and studios have equal power, but in the real one, where hard-pressed actors are up against some of the biggest companies in the world, the right to refuse consent—except for big-name performers—will be the equivalent of resigning from the industry.
The SAG-AFTRA leadership is perfectly well aware of this fact, but it does not stop them from claiming that the informed consent of its members is a panacea in the face of the increasing use of AI and the elimination of whole sectors of the entertainment industry workforce. In this way, the union simply reveals its acceptance of the corporate status quo and its own utter impotence. It has no plan to fight for jobs and no ability to do so. With sighs and complaints, SAG-AFTRA and the rest of the union leaderships will accept everything the billionaires have in store for film and television workers.
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Artificial Intelligence is a revolutionary technology, with enormous and valuable implications. If its use were subordinated to the democratic control of workers themselves, it would entail a vast increase in both the quality and quantity of artistic production. Under capitalism, however, its use will bring a further lowering of both the quality and quantity of productions, as can already be seen from the SD numbers that have been posted, quarter after quarter, year after year, since its implementation has begun in earnest.
The solution does not lie in billions of dollars more in tax credits for the corporations, nor in a dog-eat-dog competition for a dwindling number of productions between different locations. For workers to escape this downward spiral, they must break free from the stranglehold of the union bureaucracy that tethers artists to the corporations and the big business parties. It is only through the independent mobilization of the artists themselves in democratically controlled rank-and-file committees that the “Great Contraction” can be fought and reversed.
10. Noboa unleashes murderous repression against mass protests in Ecuador
Military-backed police have killed at least three protesters over the past week in Ecuador, the first fatalities in a nationwide general strike that began on September 22 and is now in its fourth week with no signs of resolution.
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE, in Spanish) is one of the organizations that called the strike in protest against a significant increase in fuel prices, rising inflation, power outages and violence from drug trafficking gangs. It issued a statement denouncing the government for having “turned our communities into war zones, using tear gas, bullets, and indiscriminate violence against a people exercising their constitutional right to protest.”
After unleashing lethal violence against protesters in the northern highlands canton of Otavalo, Ecuador’s right-wing government of President Daniel Noboa claimed Thursday to have reached an agreement with local indigenous leaders to end the strike. This was denied by CONAIE as well as by Otavalo’s mayor, who said the strike was continuing against high fuel prices and other national issues. Officials admitted that protesters continue to blockade roads in at least four provinces.
The government has justified its intensification of repression based on an incident that occurred on October 7, when a convoy carrying President Noboa to Cañar came under attack from protesters.
Initial media reports parroted government allegations, calling it a “shooting”; however, the official version rapidly fell apart.
Over 500 protesters surrounded the convoy, and some threw stones. Seven vehicles were damaged, four security officials were injured and five people detained and subsequently released. Noboa himself was unscathed.
The government claimed without providing evidence that the president’s vehicle had been struck with bullets, and that the attack was an “attempted magnicide.”
According to video and photo evidence analyzed by BBC Verify Lupa Media, none include sounds or images consistent with gunfire. Finally, a police report cited by El Mercurio concluded that there was “no ballistic evidence” that the president’s convoy had come under fire.
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Governments, whether nominally “left” or openly right-wing, expressed their complete support for Noboa’s maneuver, making clear that they are all aligned when it comes to crushing opposition from below.
Through its Embassy in Quito, the Trump administration denounced the attack on Noboa: “The United States condemns the attack on President Daniel Noboa’s motorcade. We stand with Ecuador as authorities investigate and ensure accountability, and stand against all forms of political violence.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, criticized for his support for the Israeli genocide in Gaza, hypocritically called for “de-escalation and dialogue” in Ecuador. This isn’t the first instance of reactionary collusion between the UK and Ecuador. In 2019, President Lenín Moreno collaborated in the expulsion of Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy, leading to his imprisonment and the threat of a treason trial in the US.
Right-wing and purportedly left-wing governments in Latin America have expressed solidarity with Noboa, deeming recent events “an attack on democracy.
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China, concerned about Noboa’s alignment with Washington, described his stance as “unacceptable” and urged Ecuador to “restore peace and stability.”
Ecuador’s mass protests began last month after the elimination of fuel subsidies. They were called by the United Workers’ Front (FUT) and the National Union of Educators (UNE), with additional support from the indigenous organizations.
A “national shutdown,” or paro, was called by these organizations on September 21 under the demands of restoring the fuel subsidies and lowering of the regressive value-added tax back from 15 percent to 12 percent.
The unrest in Ecuador is part of a broader trend in Latin America of resistance to the aggressive social austerity policies and attacks on democratic rights by far-right leaders, including Noboa, Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, Javier Milei in Argentina and the right-wing government now headed by José Jerí in Peru.
Significantly, even as the security forces were killing protesters in Ecuador, in neighboring Peru, a plainclothes agent of the Peruvian National Police (PNP) shot and killed 32-year-old Eduardo Ruiz Sanz Wednesday during a march by students, transport workers and civil organizations against Jerí, who was installed by the right-wing Congress after it ousted Peru’s hated and unelected president Dina Boluarte, and against the Congress itself. The government has indicated it will exploit the violence for which it itself is responsible to impose a state of emergency and concentrate power in a presidential dictatorship.
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Major cities in Ecuador, particularly Guayaquil and Quito, have seen a surge in homicides. According to El Universo, intentional homicides reached 4,619 between January and June, a 47 percent increase over the same period in 2024.
The high body count is driven largely by violent competition between criminal organizations. Ecuador is a major hub for narcotics trafficking, which is largely ignored as the Trump administration directs military aggression against Venezuela, which accounts for a minuscule share of drugs bound for the US.
The Ecuadorian people have faced numerous crises over the past 25 years, starting with the 1999 “bank holiday” crisis, which led to a financial collapse, a 7.3 percent GDP drop, widespread poverty, and mass migration to countries like the United States. According to a study by the University of Buenos Aires:
On January 9, 2000, Ecuador officially adopted the US dollar as its currency in an attempt to stabilize an economy plagued by rampant inflation, which at the time reached 96.6 percent.
The study indicates that Ecuador’s adoption of the dollar as its national currency has effectively made it a colony of US imperialism.
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Noboa, who personifies the subordination of the Ecuadorian ruling class to US imperialism, is in talks with Trump ally Erik Prince, the billionaire mercenary recruiter, to develop specialized repressive forces. Quito is also discussing with the Pentagon the reopening of the Manta military base, and is exploring the possibility of establishing a new base in the Galapagos Islands, a significant wildlife sanctuary whose unique species were observed by Charles Darwin during an 1835 visit, contributing to his theory of evolution.
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The Ecuadorian working class must challenge Noboa’s dictatorial ambitions. But it can only do so by breaking from all pro-capitalist and nationalist organizations and political parties, including the union bureaucracy and the leaderships that speak for the indigenous bourgeoisie.
This requires the building of a revolutionary party of the working class, leading behind it the oppressed layers of peasants, indigenous people and youth, as an Ecuadorian section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI).
11. Texas State University upholds firing of Professor Tom Alter for political speech
A letter to Alter reveals that his firing is due to his advocacy for socialism.
12. Trump’s tariffs begin to bite as Stellantis shifts production from Canada to the US
The shift of production from Ontario to Indiana means the loss of roughly 3,000 jobs at one of Canada’s key auto plants and reflects how the new tariff regime is accelerating the reordering of North American manufacturing at the expense of the working class.
13. Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia
Bangladesh:
Non-government secondary school teachers resume protests
Kader Synthetic Fibres workers strike for timely wage payments
India:
Telangana medical college contract workers demand unpaid wages
Nagaland public sector workers strike for promotions
Delhi Municipal Corporation multitasked workers continue strike
Maharashtra power distribution workers strike against privatization
Assam tea workers demand better wages and facilities
Australia:
Aurizon Bulk Central workers in South Australia strike for higher pay
South Australian public sector workers strike for better wages
ANZ bank workers in Melbourne protest job cuts
Sydney Metro workers demand better pay and conditions
Cancer research workers at Tasmania’s Royal Hobart Hospital protest budget cut
14. Free Ukrainian socialist and anti-war activist, Bogdan Syrotiuk!
The fight for the Ukrainian socialist and anti-war activist's freedom is an essential component of the struggle against imperialist war, genocide, dictatorship and fascism.
