Long Live Workers’ May Day! / Да здравствует Рабочий Первомай! / ¡ Viva el Día de los Trabajadores!

Joint Statement of Communist and Workers Parties

(English/Русский/Español), Source: Solidnet.

We, the communist and workers parties that sign this joint statement on the eve of Workers’ May Day 2016 want to stress our solidarity to all workers who are struggling against capitalist barbarity through strikes, demonstrations and other forms of resistance. It is obvious that under the conditions of deepening capitalist crisis the political and organizational strength of international proletariat will be one of the key factors in reshaping the world in the near future. With full belief in the success of the struggle of the working class, as communist and workers parties, we salute Workers’ May Day.

Reaganomics is Literally Making Americans Kill Themselves

Reaganomics is Literally Making Americans Kill Themselves.

Source: Thom Hartmann Program Sputnik News.

According to a new study from the National Center for Health Statistics, the suicide rate in the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade-and-a-half.

Adjusting for age, it jumped 24 percent between 1999 and 2014, with the biggest increases coming after 2006. Thirteen out of every 100,000 people now kill themselves, making suicide one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the entire country. This is a serious public health crisis that needs to be fixed, and while we can’t bring back from the dead the people we’ve already lost, there is something we can do as a country to make sure even more people don’t take their own lives. And that something is to stop voting Republican because Republican policies are driving people to kill themselves.

Seriously, I’m not kidding. This isn’t some crazy conspiracy. It’s a well-documented sociological fact. Numerous studies have found a strong connection between right-wing economic policies and suicide. Recent research from sociologists David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu, for example, found that suicide rates in both the U.S. and U.K. increase when working class wages and wealth decline. Things were particularly bad during the recession period here in the U.S. when, according to the study’s authors, there were 4,750 “excess” suicides.

A Warmonger: Bernie Sanders approves US 'Kill List', backs troops in Syria

In a previous article we had referred to Bernie Sander's pro-war stance- as a senator- in the cases of Yugoslavia (1999), Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003). Now, we read that the Democratic Presidential nominee defends Barack Obama's plans for the deployment of more troops in Syria. What does Sanders cover behind his supposedly radical-"leftist" rhetoric?

The U.S. senator said he thinks President Obama's extrajudicial drone assassination program is constitutional and legal.

O Bella Ciao!

     

"Bella Ciao" - Orchestra Version.

Remembering Odessa: Memorial to be held on May 2 in honour of murdered anti-fascists

Two years ago, on May 2, 2014, at least 48 anti-fascists and trade unionists were murdered when neo-Nazi thugs attacked a protest encampment and set fire to the House of Trade Unions in Odessa, Ukraine. 

International activists back May 2 memorial in Odessa.

By Greg Butterfield, Workers World.

Republished from Red Star Over Donbass.

On May 2, 2014, at least 48 anti-fascists and trade unionists were killed when neo-Nazis attacked a protest encampment in Odessa, Ukraine, and set fire to the nearby House of Trade Unions. 

Hundreds of survivors were injured. Many of the victims were forced to flee the country. Others were arrested and put on trial, while the perpetrators walked free.

Militant demonstrations of PAME against government's anti-people pension reforms in Greece

Information from 902.gr

With mass militant rallies in Athens, Thessaloniki and other major cities, workers, labour unions, students, pensioners responded to the government's new law proposal on social security. The demonstrations were organised by PAME (All-Workers Militant Front) being a preparatory step towards the 48-hour general strike which will take place on the day of the law's submission in the Parliament. In Athens thousands of working people demonstrated in Syntagma Square, in front of the Hellenic Parliament having as a major slogan "Take back the law-guillotine".

Greece: The Marathon Peace Rally will take place on May 15th

Photo: Last year's Peace Rally.

The Greek Committee for International Détente and Peace (EEDYE) announced that the 36th Marathon Peace Rally will take place on Sunday May 15th. EEDYE calls for mass participation in the Peace Marathon, pointing out the following: 

"The participation in the Marathon Peace Rally consists a condemnation step against the antipeople policy and the Greek interference in the imperialist plans and wars which create mortal dangers for our people and the people of the broader region.

We march and fight for:

NATO out of the Aegean Sea - Solidarity to the refugees

No participation in the imperialist wars".

Polish government's fascist practices against communists / Appeal of KPP for International Solidarity

Communist Party of Poland (KPP) - Appeal for International Solidarity.

Four activists of the CPP were condemned on 31st of March 2016 by the Regional Court in Dąbrowa Górnicza for propagating communist ideology in the „Brzask” newspaper and on the party's website. They have been sentenced to 9 months of limited freedom with compulsory gratuitous social work and fines. 

This provocative verdict was taken during the summary procedure without presence of all the sides, that is usually used in offences, when guilt of the accused is certain. The court did not even undertake standard judgement procedure and based its verdict only on a charge. The accused even had no possibility to defend themselves. The condemned had already made objections to a judgement demanding normal court proceedings.

Solidarność: The CIA-backed 'Trojan Horse' of Poland's Counterrevolution

The Polish government's persistent anti-communist hysteria and the decision to demolish Soviet monuments throughout the country brought to our mind the relatively recent history of Poland's Counterrevolution. And when we talk about Counterrevolution in Eastern Europe and especially in Poland we can't ignore two major names: Solidarność (Solidarity) and Lech Walesa. 

The course of events since 1980 prove that Solidarność was the 'Trojan Horse' of Counterrevolution in Poland. Solidarność's leadership- a bunch of anticommunist charlatans like Walesa- deceived the polish working class. Solidarity had succesfully presented itself as a "pro-working class" union but its actual positions were pro-capitalist. 

Solidarność was against central planning. The Trade Union's programme was stating among other things: 

The New Worker- Britain should leave the EU to save the NHS

Leave the EU to save the NHS.

Republished from "New Worker", the weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain.

DR DAVID Owen, once a Labour Foreign Secretary who led a right-wing split in the party in the early 1980s to form the short-lived Social Democrat Party, was once a staunch supporter of Britain being part of the Common Market. But last week he called on people to vote to leave the European Union in order to rescue the NHS.

'Course to Freedom' or SYRIZA No.3

Special to In Defense of Communism.

Mrs. Zoe Konstantopoulou is a well-known person in Greek political affairs. The daughter of Nikos Konstantopoulos, former President of the opportunist 'Synaspismos' (the political ancestor of SYRIZA), has served as an MP for SYRIZA (elected in 2012) as well as Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament (2015). In the elections of September 2015 she was a candidate with Panayiotis Lafazanis' "Popular Unity" (aka SYRIZA No.2). Both Lafazanis and Konstantopoulou are former leading cadres of Synaspismos-later SYRIZA- having served in Tsipras' first government.

Now, Mrs.Konstantopoulou decided to become a party-leader herself. Last Tuesday, she announced her own opportunistic initiative- a party called "Course to Freedom" (Plefsi Eleftherias). As it was expected, the media ran to cover the news about Konstantopoulou's party, proving once again that she is one of Greek media's most favorite political figures.

Стачка / Strike (1924) by Sergei M.Eisenstein (Full Film)

      

Strike was Sergei Eisenstein's first film (1924). It depicts life at a factory complex in Tsarist Russia and the conditions the workforce experienced. The plot is about the workers organising a strike which due to repression escalates into a full blown occupation.

New Democracy's Mitsotakis: The same old reactionary, neoliberal and anticommunist rhetoric

Some of the most reactionary theories of the bourgeoisie were used by New Democracy's leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his speech on the party's 10th congress. The congress of New Democracy (Nea Dimokratia) started on Friday in the midst of a controversy created by its president's decision to dismantle and re-organise the conservative party's youth-wing. 

Information taken from 902.gr.

In his speech Mitsotakis, son of former Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis, once again promoted the idea of "private initiative" in economy saying among other things: "For us, development means private initiative, means investments, means to support the honest and conscionable businessmen, means the exculpation of profit and entrepreneurship". Of course, the New Democracy leader didn't say that the notion of private profit is the base of a policy that destroys peoples' rights for the sake of large corporations and monopolies.

Greek Working-Class Unions vs SYRIZA-ANEL government: Preparations for a massive 48-hours General Strike

A dynamic, militant response to the plans of the SYRIZA-ANEL government is organised by working-class unions. PAME (All-Workers Militant Front) has called for mass demonstrations in Greece's major cities on Tuesday, April 26. The upcoming demonstrations will be a major preparation for a nationwide 48-hour General Strike. 

In a recent announcement, PAME stresses the following:

No worker should be fooled by the maneuvers, the manipulation and the tactics of the government (that aim to weaken the militant response against the new attack on the social-security system)

We have to respond to the provocative lies of the government!

'The Economist' magazine uses misattributed quote in order to vilify Lenin

Seems that the- supposedly serious- 'The Economist' magazine is not that well-informed about Lenin. The bourgeois magazine, famous for its neoliberal views and its support of the Afghanistan and Iraq imperialist massacres, decided to express its blatant anticommunism with a tweet about Vladimir Lenin. On the occasion of Lenin's 146th birth anniversary, the british magazine published the following tweet:

The New Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC)

Full list of the 17 Political Bureau members elected by the Party Central Committee during the 7th Congress. Raúl reported that four are women; five Black or mixed race; five Council of State vice presidents; three Council of Ministers vice presidents; four ministers; two deputy ministers; four generals - including the First Secretary - and five new members.

MEMBERS OF THE PARTY POLITICAL BUREAU

"The Red Army liberated Rzeszow, that is a fact"- Polish city refuses to demolish Soviet-era monument

Citizens of Rzeszow greeting soldiers of the Red Army, 1940s.

Even in today's Poland- an EU and NATO member- there are signs of resistance to the anti-communist hysteria. The distortion of History and the intentional effort for the equation of Communism with Nazism must not- and will not- pass (IDC).

Source: Russia Today.

The city of Rzeszow, close to Poland’s border with Ukraine, has ignored calls to remove a Soviet-era monument celebrating the liberation of the city from the Nazis. Last month, Poland’s historical legacy institute urged the immediate removal of 500 such memorials across the country.

The monument was erected in 1950, and expresses “gratitude” to the Red Army for its actions.

Fidel Castro: Absolved by History!

Two days ago, compañero Fidel Castro made a rare appearance at the closing of the VII Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba. A great revolutionary, an incredible human being, Fidel, deserves the full respect of every communist, of everyone who believes in the ideals of Marxism-Leninism. 

Fidel Castro: Absolved by History!*

By Nikos Mottas.

"Socialism is and will continue being the hope, the only hope, the only way for the People, the oppressed ones, the exploited ones, the looted ones. Socialism is the only choice!" - Fidel Castro Ruz.

It was 26^th of July 1953 when a group of around 160 rebels, under the leadership of 26 years-old lawyer Fidel Castro, tried an armed attack on the Moncada barracks, at Santiago de Cuba. The aim was to give a first message of resistance against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. The attack was not successful. Sixty-one rebels were killed while the rest -- including Castro -- were captured and imprisoned by the regime's authorities. However, the 26^th of July 1953 remained in Cuban history as the day when the trigger of the following revolution was pulled. The revolutionary 'Movement of the 26^thof July' (Movimiento 26 de Julio) took it's name from that day and a few years later led the army of Fidel, Che, Raul and Camilo to the thriumph against the corrupted, pro-imperialist regime of Batista.

Greece's 'Black Anniversary': Announcement of KKE for the Military Coup of 21 April 1967

21 April 1967: Tanks parade in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens.

The 21st of April is a black anniversary for Greece. It was April 21, 1967 when a group of far-right army officers led by Brigadier General Pattakos and Colonels Papadopoulos and Makarezos seized power after a coup d'etat. In the early morning of that day, tanks were already marching in central streets of Athens while small mobile units of the army were arresting politicians, government officials and prominent figures who were regarded as left-wing sympathies. The military dictatorship (Junta) lasted seven years, from 1967 to 1974. 

KKE: Announcement for the military coup of April 21st.

Source: 902.gr / Translation: In Defense of Communism.

Today, 49 years after the military coup of April 21st 1967 we get taught, we honor the fighters, the victims of Junta. We honor the members and staff of KKE and KNE, all those who stood unbending in detention centers, in the EAT-ESA torture rooms, in prison and exile.

The military dictatorshop was supported by parts of the plutocracy, by centers of our country's bourgeoisie, by the USA, which is a proof that the bourgeoisie and its state can even support military and political coups in order to serve their interests, (to serve) the needs of the exploitative system.

On Imperialist military intervention in Latin America, Limits and contradictions

By Diego Torres* / Source: International Communist Review, Issue 5, Nov.2014.

"War is the continuation of politics by other means". This is Clausewitz’s thesis,which Lenin retakes to characterize the imperialist world war, and from that departing pointavoid  getting lost in petty-bourgeois pacifism or social chauvinism , stating clearly, with the rest of the Zimmerwald Left , the slogan of turning the imperialist war into a world civil war against the bourgeoisie. This thesis is still perfectly valid and allows us to start evaluating military interventions of the imperialist centers in Latin America.

Brazilian Communists: The People will defeat villainy and the coup (English / Português)

Source: Solidnet.

Infamy and villainy were the main characters this Sunday (April 17th), in the House of Representatives. A session to fill with opprobrium those responsible for this hateful plot weaved by the Vice President of the Republic, Michel Temer, whose memory will bring shame to Brazilians for many generations.

By Socorro Gomes*.

He, who wants to usurp the mandate given to President Dilma through the vote of 54 million Brazilians, will have a place in history as a man who used his post as Vice President to plot and conspire and, going through the odious path of treason against the Constitution he swore to uphold, reach power without votes, trashing democracy and the people's will.

Driven by an uncontrollable ambition, Michel Temer has chosen those promoting the coup to offer his service as a hunting hound in a criminal gear. The master of ceremony in this fraudulent act masked as a trial for an inexistent crime against the fiscal order, the so-called “pedaladas”, was the House's President, Eduardo Cunha, who is a criminal defendant facing a process of destitution run by the House's Ethical Council, in trial for corruption in the Supreme Court. Just like buffoons are Representatives Jovair Arantes and Rogério Rosso. The alleged fiscal maneuvers (so-called “pedaladas”, a derogatory term) were not even mentioned by the Representatives while they declared their votes, in a clear demonstration of how unimportant for those “judging” is the subject of the report being voted.

Russia: The majority of people regret Soviet Union's collapse, dream of its restoration

Source: Russia Today.

More than half of all Russian citizens believe the collapse of the Soviet Union was a bad thing that could have been avoided, while even more people say they would welcome the restoration of the socialist system and the Soviet state.

According to the latest poll conducted by the independent research agency Levada Center, the proportion of those who confessed to negative feelings over the collapse of the USSR is currently 56 percent, with 28 percent claiming their sentiments are entirely positive and 16 percent deeming the question too complex to give an unambiguous answer.

Fifty-one percent of respondents told researchers that in their opinion the collapse of the USSR could have been avoided, while 33 percent said they considered it inevitable. Some 17 percent said they couldn’t answer.

Fidel Castro's emotional speech at the closing of VII Congress - "The Cuban People will Win"

         

VIDEO: Parts of Fidel Castro's speech at the VII Congress of PCC 

(in Spanish)

Source: Cuban News Agency.

We should tell our brothers in Latin America and the world that the Cuban people will win, asserted the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, in a special address at the closing ceremony of the 7th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party, in session for four days at Havana’s Convention Center.

Mikis Theodorakis: The Pope, the predators and the hunted

Legendary composer Mikis Theodorakis, 91.

The Pope, the predators and the hunted.

By Mikis Theodorakis.

Translation from Greek: In Defense of Communism.

I am watching in live broadcast the visit of the Pope, the Religious Leader of the majority of Europe's people in Lesvos, where tens of thousands victims from Syria and other Middle East countries- who defying death and leaving behind dozens of drowned, especially children- arrived from Turkey.

Who is responsible for that big tragedy that millions of innocent fellow humans are living today?

It is the Black Death that the US and Europe's states, which have war industries, are exporting. How many thousands houses, schools, hospitals and other infrastructures were demolished, how many million people were killed or injured and how many of them were uprooted from their countries and forced to search a foreign refuge because of the weapons made by the hands of Europeans and Americans...

Here it is the splendor, the big crime of our era with the modern victimizers-predators from the one side and their victims-quarries from the other. The big crime which transforms our era into a Jungle and the uncountable hypocrisy of the supposedly civilized European People who seal their countries with wire, like the Nazis were doing with the numerous Auschwitz, Dachau and Mauthausen. With the difference (being) that, this time, the victimizers are inside and the victims are out.