Glasgow, Scotland – A group of major military weapons producers organized an international arms fair in Glasgow that included over 50 companies and over 1000 delegates. One of the major sponsors of the Underseas Defense Technology conference is BAE Systems, which produces fighter jets in factories on the Clyde that are sold to the Israeli government to continue their war against the Palestinians. Other sponsors of the event include Leonardo, an Italian weapons corporation that sells weapons to the Turkish government, which are used in their war against the Kurdish people. Some referred to this arms fair as a 'supermarket of death.'
Glasgow, Scotland – The British government led by Teresa May and the Tories (the Conservative Party) has been engaged in a diplomatic war with Russia for the last few weeks. On March 4, Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a chemical nerve agent, resulting in their hospitalization. Skirpal was formerly an intelligence officer for the Russian government, but had betrayed his country when he joined the British intelligence service. Since the incident, the British government has claimed that Russia was behind the poisoning even though no evidence has been found to support this claim.
Glasgow, Scotland – As of March 17, for the last month, lecturers across the United Kingdom have been on strike in response to changes in their pension plans. The employers’ organization, Universities UK (UUK) are attempting to abolish the lecturers’ existing pension plans, which guarantees retirement based on their salary. They want to replace this pension scheme with one that would be determined by the stock market, which is highly unstable and does not guarantee retirement. The University and College Union (UCU) has argued that this new scheme would make lecturers lose over £10,000 a year, and £200,000 by the time of retirement – equivalent to about $280,000.
London, U.K. – When thinking of London, one often thinks of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, double-decker buses, and fish and chips. We might also think of its fabulous museums, concert halls and cultural life. One thing we might not think of is that Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and even Josef Stalin all had an important relationship to the City of London. Across the city, one can find all sorts of interesting places related to the history of Marxism and the workers' movements.
Houston, TX – In late August, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and it caused untold destruction upon the city. Entire neighborhoods were submerged in water, hundreds of people lost their cars to flooding, and there were over three dozen deaths. The city's response was not very good; the well-off middle-class communities received immediate aid, but the working class and predominantly Black and Chicano/Mexicano neighborhoods received little assistance. In Houston's Sunnyside, for example, a predominantly Black neighborhood, there were nearly no FEMA responders and large rescue teams.
Ljubljana, Slovenia – Although socialism ended in Yugoslavia over 25 years ago, the relics of its socialist past can be found across the former republics, in its cities, its architecture, its museum, and its people.
Houston, TX – During the last elections, Hillary Clinton, who used a sort of bourgeois ‘feminism’ to sell reactionary ideas to the public. Since then, there have been a number of films, such as Wonder Woman, that use images of powerful women to promote a pro-war capitalist agenda. Atomic Blonde is the latest of this genre, which stars Charlize Theron as a kind of female James Bond, who fights communist leaders in the German Democratic Republic, aka East Germany to help the British Intelligence and the CIA stage their famous 1989 coup d’état.
Houston, TX – In the last six months, there have been a few really good pro-Black films: Moonlight, Get Out, and Sleight. The most recent addition to the list of Black Lives Matter era films is director Benny Boom's All Eyez on Me, a movie that chronicles the life of rapper Tupac Shakur. Unlike some films about famous rappers such as Get Rich or Die Trying (50-Cent) and 8 Mile(Eminem), All Eyez on Me has a strong focus on the political dimension of Tupac's music. It also gives a beautiful portrait of his life and the incredible passion with which he made great hip hop music.
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Houston, TX – Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4, a racist anti-immigrant law, amidst massive opposition, on May 7. The law gives law enforcement the ability to ask any person who “looks undocumented” for their identification papers when detained. Specifically, the law is designed to attack sanctuary cities, and is therefore tied to Trump's attacks on immigrants. It is very similar to SB1070, which passed in Arizona in 2010. The law will legalize racial profiling and create an environment of terror in the Chicano/Mexicano communities.
Over 1000 people protested at Bush Intercontinental Airport against Trump's Muslim ban. According to various news sources, multiple people are being detained at the airport due to the new executive order. The protesters occupied the international terminal and demanded that all the detained be released. The police tried to disperse the crowd, but were unsuccessful as more people poured into the terminal. There were people both inside and outside. At the height of the action, the entire hallway was filled with people from all walks of life. They chanted, “No more borders!” and ''Stop the hate, stop the fear, Muslims are welcome here.”
Students and activists in Houston are organizing two major actions against the inauguration of Donald Trump. On Thursday, Jan. 19, students at the University of Houston are organizing a walkout. They have created a petition, which demands that the university defend students of color and undocumented students against attacks from the new Trump administration. The students will be walking out at 10 a.m. and hold a rally in front of the library afterwards.
College Station, TX – White supremacist Richard Spencer was meet by more than 1000 protesters when he came to Texas A&M University, Dec. 6. He was not invited by the university, but rented the space to hold his event. While the university claimed it was “concerned,” it made no effort to cancel the event and provided very tight security for him.
Houston, TX – Activists protested in front of the Mickey Leland Federal Building, Nov. 26, to demand justice for Rasmea Odeh. Odeh, a hero of the Palestinian people, is being attacked by the U.S. government in an attempt to silence her for her political activism. They have trumped-up charges against her and are doing everything to lock her up and deport her.
Houston, TX – Dozens of people marched through downtown for the third night of protests, Nov. 12, against Donald Trump. They began with a few speeches in Market Square Park, and then marched to the jailhouse where one of the activists who was arrested Nov. 10 was still being held. They chanted outside of the jailhouse, “Free Shere, free Shere!” and after about 20 minutes, she was released.
Houston, TX – Hundreds of people, many who were students, came out to protest the election of Donald Trump, Nov. 10. They gathered in front of City Hall and began chanting, “Hey Trump, you liar, we're here to say you're fired,” followed by a few speeches. The sentiment of the crowd was one of rage and anger.
Houston, TX – Over 30 people marched through downtown Houston on Nov. 5 to demand an end to police brutality. They were calling for justice for Alva Braziel and Jordan Baker, two African American men killed by Houston police in the last year.
Houston, TX – Over 50 students and activists gathered at the Montrose Center here, Oct. 25, to celebrate the anniversary of the Great October Revolution of 1917. 99 years ago, under the leadership of Lenin and the Communist Party, the Bolsheviks seized state power in Russia and created the first ever socialist state. The celebration highlighted the achievements of socialism in the Soviet Union and what we can learn today from the Soviet experience.
Houston, TX – Over 15 people protested outside of the Houston Police Department, Oct. 21, to demand justice for Alva Braziel, an African American man murdered by the police in July. The protesters confronted the police who were guarding the police headquarters.
Houston, TX – The neo-Nazi White Knights of America staged a “White Lives Matter” rally outside the Anti-Defamation League office in Houston on Oct. 1. This small hate group also protested outside of the NAACP headquarters with shotguns a few weeks ago. Over 50 people counter-protested the white-supremacist hate group and demanded that they leave.
