Russian Revolution proved workers can take power

Vol. 84/No. 34 - August 31, 2020
Workers’ Red Guard patrols south of Moscow during October 1917 Russian Revolution. U.S. communist leader James P. Cannon said workers from U.S., Europe and their “colonial slaves” were lifted up by victory of Bolsheviks after “depression and despair” of imperialist world war.

Speeches for Socialism by James P. Cannon is one of Pathfinder’s Books of the Month for August. A young working-class fighter inspired by the 1917 October Revolution led by the Bolsheviks, he was a founding leader of the U.S. Communist…


Protests shake Belarus after rigged vote, brutal assaults

Vol. 84/No. 34 - August 31, 2020
Thousands of working people march from Minsk tractor factory to Belarus parliament Aug. 14. Banner answers President Lukashenko’s attacks, saying: “We’re not sheep. ... We are MTZ workers, we are not 20 people, we are 16,000!” Inset, like many disgusted at violent attacks on demonstrators, soldier had himself filmed throwing his uniform away into the garbage.

Some 200,000 people took to the streets in Minsk, capital of Belarus, Aug. 16, pressing to rid themselves of the repressive regime of President Alexander Lukashenko. One week earlier he had declared “victory” in an election, widely recognized as a…


‘Workers need a union in every workplace, and a labor party!’

Vol. 84/No. 34 - August 31, 2020
Doreen Dempsey in Rochester, Minnesota, subscribed to Militant, bought book on revolutionary politics from SWP vice presidential candidate Malcolm Jarrett, signed to put party on ballot.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — In a little over two weeks, supporters of the Socialist Workers Party’s presidential ticket of Alyson Kennedy and Malcolm Jarrett collected 2,674 signatures, turning them in Aug. 18 to place the party on the ballot in…


25, 50 and 75 Years Ago

Vol. 84/No. 34 - August 31, 2020

September 4, 1995 The recent exposures about racist cop violence described by Los Angeles ex-policeman Mark Fuhrman on taped interviews highlights once again the nature of police in capitalist society. The tapes expose the corruption, frame-ups, and total disregard for…


Fight to overturn Florida prison officials’ ‘Militant’ impoundment

Vol. 84/No. 34 - August 31, 2020

The Florida Department of Corrections Literature Review Committee “voted to uphold the impoundment of ‘The Militant, Vol. 84, No. 30,’” LRC chair Dean Peterson wrote David Goldstein, the Militant ’s attorney, Aug. 17, “which means the issue is rejected and…


SWP candidate on ballot for D.C. Delegate to Congress

Vol. 84/No. 34 - August 31, 2020

Omari Musa, right, campaigning in Washington, D.C. Campaign supporters collected more than 511 signatures to place his name on the ballot. Election officials confirmed Aug. 18 that he will be on the ballot.


Israel-UAE pact is a step forward in Middle East

Pact opens road to broader political space for toilers
Vol. 84/No. 34 - August 31, 2020
Left, Jewish, Arab bus drivers demand better work conditions, safety outside Israeli parliament in Jerusalem in July. Right, Ramallah, West Bank, protest against Palestinian Authority attack on Social Security, pensions in 2018. Workers across the region have common interests.

The establishment of full diplomatic relations between the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Israel — the first time an Arab government has normalized relations with Israel in nearly 26 years — opens the door to other Arab governments…


Protesters: Prosecute cops who killed Breonna Taylor!

Vol. 84/No. 33 - August 24, 2020
Twenty-six billboards in Louisville from Oprah Magazine demand charge cops who killed Breonna Taylor.

Growing refusal among working people to accept police brutality is propelling support for the arrest and prosecution of the Louisville, Kentucky, cops who killed Breonna Taylor. But five months after the emergency-room technician was gunned down in a “no-knock” break-in…


Philadelphia: Political fight breaks out over Jew-hatred

Vol. 84/No. 33 - August 24, 2020

PHILADELPHIA — The ugly face of Jew-hatred today and how to combat it has become a burning political question here over the last month. On July 23 Rodney Muhammad, president of the Philadelphia NAACP, minister at Nation of Islam Mosque…


London bans China’s Huawei, looks for trade bloc with US

Vol. 84/No. 33 - August 24, 2020

LONDON — In a reversal of its previous policy, the government in the U.K. banned mobile phone firms from buying parts from Chinese telecom giant Huawei beginning in 2021, and ordered those companies to eliminate all Huawei components from 5G networks…