Turkish communist leader Kemal Okuyan talks about the economic crisis

Kemal Okuyan, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), elaborated on the ongoing economic crisis for soL news portal. 

Okuyan highlighted that crises are inevitable under capitalism, and that they result in further monopolization as well as the reallocation of funds from toiling masses to capital. 

Emphasizing that expecting the crisis to lead Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan or his AKP government to a political stalemate would be too optimistic, Okuyan pointed out that the political outcomes of the crisis would be determined by the struggle of the working class.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel slams US imperialism at the UN General Assembly

The President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez participated in the General Debate of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Below, you can read his full speech:

Madam President:

Mister Secretary-General:

It is impossible to be here, speak from this rostrum on behalf of Cuba, and not recall historic moments of the General Assembly which are also part of our dearest memories: Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Raúl Castro and the "Chancellor of Dignity", Raúl Roa, just to mention the most significant, have brought here not only the voice of our people but also the voice of other Latin American and Caribbean, African, Asian, non-aligned peoples, with whom we have shared more than half a century of struggles for a fair international order, which is still far off being attained.

Genieße den Kapitalismus: 48% of German pensioners earn less than €800 per month

Even in the European Union's economically most powerful country, Capitalism shows its rotten, barbaric nature. 

More specifically, as Deutsche Welle reports, poverty towards Germany's senior citizens becomes more and more threatening, as long as almost half (48%) of the country's retirees earn a pension of less than 800 euros per month!

It must be noted that the poverty limit in Germany – the monthly net income that someone must earn in order to be considered as “poor”- is 958 euros/month. 

Zyuganov blasts Putin's government over pension system reform: "Pensioners are offered as a sacrifice”

The governmental bill on pensions, which rises retirement age limits, is "the most cruel and cynical of the last 25 years", said the Chairman of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) Gennady Zyuganov during a discussion at the Duma.

In a fierce speech against the anti-people reform proposed by the government, Zyuganov called President Vladimir Putin not to proceed with the pension reform but, instead, to fulfill his promise for improvement of the people's quality of life. "I am appealing to the president: 77% voted for you. But 91% are against this reform.'' said the CPRF Chairman.

Capitalism's queues: London workers are queuing up for free food, can't afford to eat

The various apologists of free market economy and slanderers of the socialist system must get used to a new term: Capitalist queues. 

According to an interesting report by The Independent, during rush hour on one of London’s most affluent streets, amid the bustle of the Strand, an orderly queue is forming. Dozens of people stand patiently, and hungrily, waiting for their dinner.  

The gathering, near Charing Cross station, comprises people of all ages and ethnicities. 

Some look visibly homeless, clutching large carrier bags containing their worldly possessions. Others wear work clothes. Despite having a job, they can’t afford to eat.

Capitalism in Russia: More than 2 million young people neither work nor study

The results of a recent research conducted by the Higher School of Economics are devastating. More than 2 million young Russians aged 15 to 24 years are not engaged in work or study, writes the liberal newspaper "Kommersant". This number represents about 15% of all Russian youth of this age.

Researchers attribute young people excluded from employment and education to the NEET group (Not in Employment, Education or Training - people who do not work and do not study). This group is divided into two parts: NEET-unemployed - those who are looking for work and ready to start it, and NEET-inactive - those who do not study, have no job and are not looking for it (including those who are unemployed for health reasons and caring about other members of the family).

"Vite di tutti, profitti di pochi": Who is to blame for Genova bridge collapse?

Poster by the Communist Party, Italy on the
Genova disaster: "Immediate Nationalisation".

At least 26 people were killed and 15 badly hurt after a motorway bridge in the northwest Italian city of Genova collapsed on Tuesday afternoon. Dozens of vehicles fell from a 45m height while, according to police sources, there are people who are still missing. 

The tragic incident in Genova seems to be another crime committed in the altar of profitability. In other words, another capitalist crime, in a system which risks the lives of the many for the profits of the few. 

The reaction from the Communist Party, Italy was immediate. In a message to his Twitter account, the Party's General Secretary Marco Rizzo offered his condolences to the families of the victims and wrote (free translation):

Turkey's currency crisis: "Our country has become the playground of international monopolies" says the Communist Party

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) has released a statement on the current currency crisis in Turkey, declaring that Turkey "has become the playground of international monopolies, companies and banks". 

The full statement issued by the TKP is the following:

DO NOT BE DUPED ANY MORE

Our country has become the playground of international monopolies, companies and banks, the names of which we cannot even pronounce correctly.

Remembering Fidel Castro Ruz - Quotes on Capitalism

On the occasion of the 92nd birth anniversary of Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz, we remember some of his wise and always interesting quotes on Capitalism, during speeches and interviews between 1989 and 1993: 

"The worker in a socialist system knows why he is working. He is not working just for himself. He is working for his fatherland, society, all the people, his children, the people he most loves, his parents and grandparents, if they are still living. He is working so that his grandparents can also receive medical attention, or have a place to go if they cannot be left alone or if there is no one to tend to them. He is working so that his grandparents can receive a pension so that no one is forgotten. In socialism, a man worksfor himself, his family, and many other things. He is not the worker from the capitalist system. The worker in the capitalist system has no other alternative but to work for money. How can a man be treated like that in socialism?"

How Amazon exploits workers in Japan - Communist daily 'Shimbun Akahata' reports

The exploitation of workers at Amazon's warehouses in Japan is exposed in reports published at "Shimbun Akahata", the daily newspaper of the Japanese Communist Party. 

On July 29-30th, in two continuous articles, the newspaper reported:

Jeff Bezos, founder of the leading e-commerce retailer Amazon, was ranked number one in the 2018 Forbes list of billionaires. His assets are said to amount to 112 billion dollars (about 11.9 trillion yen). In a series of articles, Akahata will lay bare the fact that workers are being grossly exploited behind Amazon’s glory.

Thousands of Russian workers protested against anti-people pension reform

Tens of thousands of Russians took part Saturday in rallies across the country organised by Communists to protest against government's anti-people plan to hike the pension age.

In Moscow, organisers said up to 100,000 people gathered for a permitted rally against the government-backed reform, which is currently going through parliament. However, reporters put the turnout much lower at around 10,000. Protests took place in dozens of cities and towns in far eastern Russia, Siberia and western Russia.

Wildfires in Greece: A Capitalist Crime

At least 84 people are dead and 187 injured. The number of those missing is still unknown. Thousands of properties have been turned into ashes. The results of the deadly wildfires which affected the region of Attica are devastating.

The SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government has unleashed an outrageous communicative campaign in order to throw the blame for the disaster somewhere else, except from itself. They blame the “weather”, the “climate change”, the supposedly “unprecedented weather conditions”, the “wind”, etc.

Capitalist Russia: Anti-people pension reform approved by lawmakers in Duma

"So, how is it like living under capitalism?", Lenin asks.
Archive Photo: Billboard in Lugansk.

Do you remember the Soviet Union where the retirement age for men was 60 and for women 55 years? Well, in capitalism's Russia such privileges for the working people cannot exist anymore and the Putin-Medvedev government knows it. 

Russian lawmakers approved on Thursday a hugely unpopular government plan to hike the pension age that has led to protests and a record slump in Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings. A total of 327 lawmakers in the lower house or State Duma, voted in favour of the bill in its first reading, with 102 against.

The anti-people legislation is going to raise the pension age to 65 for men and 63 for women. On the eve of the vote approximately 1,000 people protested against the reform in Moscow while on Thursday hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Duma itself.

Millions for Ronaldo, crumbs for workers: Fiat's Agnelli shows what Capitalism means

Andrea Agnelli is the chairman of the Turin-based famous italian football club Juventus. He is also a heir of the also famous industrialist Agnelli family, owners of the Fiat automobile manufacturer. 

Recently, Juventus reached a $120 million deal with Real Madrid over the transfer of the Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. More specifically, the 33 year-old player and Juventus signed a 4-year contract worth almost $630,000 a week. 

However, when Agnelli spends such amounts of money for a football player, the workers at Fiat haven't seen any increase in their salaries during the last 10 years. On the contrary, thousands of Fiat workers have sustained cuts in their wages, while dismissals consists a common policy of the company in times of financial difficulties.

Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan: On the political situation in the country

We would also like to present our vision of the current political situation in Kazakhstan in the light of the ongoing market reforms in strengthening the positions of the restored capitalism. 

These processes are accompanied by an intensification of reaction and the curtailment of all democratic rights, as well as the entry into new relations with imperialism of the United States and the EU, despite participation in other blocs and alliances, such as the EEMP, SCO and CSTO. 

Turkish Elections: Tayyip Erdogan's victory celebrated by major capitalists

Turkey's capitalists' organizations have celebrated the victory of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his electoral alliance between the ruling AKP party and the ultra-right MHP party following the presidential and parliamentary elections on June 24, reports the news portal soL. 

As Erdoğan won 52,5 per cent in the first round of presidential poll, The Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), the country’s wealthiest capitalist establishment, has released a press statement following the voting:

Tsipras regrets 2015 referendum, expresses full obedience to EU anti-worker reforms

In an interview to the German newspaper Die Welt, Greece's Prime Minister and SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras confirmed with his own words his total transformation into a docile impementer of the anti-people, anti-worker reforms, imposed by the EU and the capitalists. 

Speaking like a man who expresses repetance for his past, Tsipras had kind words for the German chancellor Angela Merkel, praising her role in dealing with the refugee crisis that swamped Greece in 2015, coming in the first few months of the Tsipras government's assumption of power.

Capitalist Russia raises retirement age under the pretext of "budget stability"

According to international and russian media reports, Russia’s bourgeois government wants to raise the retirement age for both men and women and to increase value-added tax, unpopular measures it hopes will ease pressure on state finances, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.

As Reuters has reported, Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have long talked about raising the retirement age but have shied away from doing so, in part because such measures risk stirring up popular discontent and damaging politicians’ popularity. 

World Day Against Child Labor: WFTU slams child labour as "barbaric" and "inhumane"

The World Federation of Trade Unions, representing more than 92 million workers in 126 countries worldwide strongly condemns the barbaric exploitation of the children as cheap labor force all over the world.

On the occasion of June 12th, World Day Against Child Labor, the WFTU reaffirm that the class-oriented trade union movement is fundamentally opposed and timelessly struggles against the capitalist exploitation and particularly the inhumane and bloody child labour.

Interview with Ástor García, Gen. Secretary of the Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)

Special interview with Ástor García, General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE). 

IDC: According to your party's statement the dispute in the Parliament, between the People's Party (PP) and PSOE, consists the result of a competition between differents parts of the capital. Do you think that the big capital wants new anti-worker, anti-people reforms that a PSOE government under P. Sanchez premiership could implement easier than the previous government? If yes, could you briefly tell us what kind of reforms the new government is planning to implement?