Democratic Rights in the US
Award-winning journalist Chris Hedges endorses Free Assange demonstrations in Australia
16 February 2019
“It is imperative that we pressure the Australian government to make sure its citizen, Julian Assange, is protected from the lawlessness of the American empire.”
Democratic leaders join attack on Democratic congresswoman
Bogus charges of anti-Semitism fuel right-wing campaign against Ilhan Omar
By Patrick Martin, 12 February 2019
The Democratic Party backlash only demonstrates the truth of Representative Omar’s comments about the influence of the Israeli lobby on Congress.
Oppose the Democrats’ #MeToo witch-hunt against Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax
By Barry Grey, 11 February 2019
Once again, unsubstantiated and dubious sexual allegations are being used in a #MeToo operation driven by a right-wing political agenda.
Dearborn, Michigan mayor suppresses historical article on Henry Ford’s anti-Semitism
By Tom Mackaman, 7 February 2019
The censored article details how Ford’s Dearborn Independent newspaper served as a platform for vile slanders against Jews—and an inspiration for Hitler and the Nazis.
FBI conducted surveillance of BAMN in the name of combating “domestic terrorism”
By Tom Carter, 5 February 2019
Newly released documents establish that the FBI launched a “full investigation” of By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) based on allegations that the group had conspired to violate the rights of neo-Nazis and the KKK.
Over a thousand federal inmates in New York City jail held for more than a week in dark, frigid conditions
By Philip Guelpa, 4 February 2019
Over 1,600 inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn have been without heat and hot water, and with limited electricity and communications since a fire last Sunday.
Florida schools to allow real-time video monitoring by the police
By our reporter, 4 February 2019
New measures for the militarization of schools are being adopted one year after the Parkland massacre, while funding for public education, mental health and school counselors continue to be cut.
Stone indictment presents no evidence of links between WikiLeaks and Trump campaign
By James Cogan, 30 January 2019
WikiLeaks is a media organization that exercised the legally-protected rights of the press to published leaked information.
Indiana school superintendent arrested, charged with fraud for using insurance to help sick student
By Matthew Taylor, 29 January 2019
The arrest of Casey Smitherman has illuminated the wretched living conditions the working class confronts in Indiana and across the US.
Supreme Court reinstates Trump’s ban on transgender troops
By John Burton, 25 January 2019
The US Supreme Court by judicial fiat has overruled lower court injunctions and reinstated President Trump’s ban on transgender personnel in the US military.
Tempe, Arizona police officer fatally shoots fleeing 14-year-old boy in the back
By Kevin Martinez, 22 January 2019
The police claim that the youth made a move toward the officer after he stole an airsoft gun from a neighbor’s truck is at odds with the bodycam footage and the testimony of the truck’s owner.
“If giving water to someone dying of thirst is illegal, what humanity is left in the law of this country?”
Four “No More Deaths” volunteers convicted for providing humanitarian aid to migrants crossing US border
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 22 January 2019
A Federal Judge in Arizona has rendered a guilty verdict against four volunteers from “No More Deaths” for the crime of leaving water and food in the Arizona desert to help migrants.
Chicago police officer sentenced to less than seven years for murder of Laquan McDonald; three officers acquitted in cover-up
By Michael Walters, 21 January 2019
Jason Van Dyke was convicted in October 2018 of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, one for every bullet he unloaded into McDonald’s body.
US-born anchor for Iranian TV jailed without charges
By Bill Van Auken, 18 January 2019
The police state style abduction and imprisonment of Marzieh Hashemi is part of Washington’s wider preparations for war against Iran.
Widespread student support for beleaguered professor Peter Boghossian
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality at Portland State University, 17 January 2019
Despite threats of dismissal by Portland State University, Grievance Studies “hoaxer” Peter Boghossian is respected by students for his principled stand against postmodernist philosophy.
075 PSU students defend Boghossian
16 January 2019
US shutdown: Sickouts by screeners throw airports into crisis
By Rebecca Campbell, 15 January 2019
The sickouts are one reflection of growing anger and determination to take action against uncompensated, compulsory labor for 420,000 workers and the lockout of another 380,000.
The American media revives the methods of McCarthyism
By Patrick Martin, 15 January 2019
The campaign sparked by reports over the weekend by the New York Times and Washington Post harks back to the anti-communist witch-hunt of the 1950s.
Twenty-two deaths reported in immigrant detention centers since Trump took office
By Niles Niemuth, 8 January 2019
A review of the circumstances leading to the death of each person in ICE custody reveals that nearly all died as the result of criminal neglect or abuse.
8 January 2019
For fifth year in a row, US police kill more than one thousand
By George Gallanis, 7 January 2019
The relentless wave of killings is an indictment of identity politics and the pseudo-left groups who promote racialist politics as an antidote to police violence.
Mumia Abu-Jamal wins right to reargue appeal of his 1982 conviction
By Fred Mazelis, 5 January 2019
The internationally known prisoner has steadfastly maintained his innocence of the murder of a Philadelphia police officer.
Silence follows Trump attorney’s statement that Julian Assange did nothing “wrong”
By James Cogan, 4 January 2019
Not a word about Rudy Giuliani’s Fox News interview has been said by the political and media establishment in the US, Europe or Australia.
Trump administration opens 2019 with tear gas attack on migrants at US-Mexico border
By Niles Niemuth, 3 January 2019
Border patrol agents fired three volleys of gas at a group of approximately 150 people as they sought to cross over a border fence from Tijuana into the United States.
US steps up offensive against China with more “hacking charges”
By Mike Head, 21 December 2018
As part of an internationally-coordinated operation, the US Justice Department has published indictments of two Chinese men.
Trump administration to immediately deport new Central American asylum seekers to Mexico
By Eric London, 21 December 2018
The policy announced Thursday is a historically unprecedented attack on workers and peasants fleeing violence and inequality caused by decades of US imperialist intervention and corporate exploitation.
Behind the epidemic of police killings in America: Class, poverty and race
Part two
By Benjamin Mateus, 21 December 2018
A statistical analysis of every police killing in the United States during 2017 demonstrates that socio-economic class, not race, plays the most decisive role.
US media demands stepped-up domestic spying over Russian “meddling”
New York Times: Back to the good days before Edward Snowden!
By Andre Damon, 20 December 2018
In a revealing comment, the New York Times argues that the present hysteria over Russian “subversion” can roll back the impact of Edward Snowden’s revelation of illegal mass government surveillance.
US Senate passes bipartisan criminal justice bill
By John Burton, 20 December 2018
The First Step Act will have only a marginal impact on the brutal and overcrowded US prison system.
Columbia College faculty union convenes secret tribunal to discipline members
By Alexander Fangmann, 20 December 2018
The leadership of the Columbia College Chicago’s part-time faculty union has convened a special committee to discipline members who question the union’s authority.
Woman convicted for climbing Statue of Liberty to protest Trump’s anti-immigrant policies
By Trévon Austin, 19 December 2018
Therese Patricia Okoumou explained that the treatment of children at the US-Mexico border prompted her to make a brash statement by climbing the monument in New York City.
Julian Assange denounces his illegal detention in Ecuadorian embassy
By Oscar Grenfell, 14 December 2018
The WikiLeaks publisher, whose health appears to be deteriorating, made the comments at a hearing against the Ecuadorian government’s “Special Protocol,” aimed at forcing him into British and US custody.
Time magazine honors journalists facing repression—but snubs Julian Assange
By Patrick Martin, 13 December 2018
The magazine’s “Person of the Year” went to journalists facing persecution for their efforts to uncover the truth, but only those whose efforts were aligned with US foreign policy.
Political warfare in Washington escalates to crisis of capitalist rule
By Barry Grey, 12 December 2018
Trump’s embrace of murder, his defense of fascists, his racist attacks on immigrants are blowing up an ideological pillar of US imperialist foreign policy—the pretense that the United States is a bulwark of human rights and democracy.
Trump threatens to use military to fund border wall
By Kevin Martinez, 12 December 2018
The president’s threat was followed by a tense meeting in the Oval Office with Democratic leaders where he threatened a government shutdown over funding for the wall.
Four years after Eric Garner’s death, killer cop faces NYPD disciplinary hearing
By Leslie Murtagh, 12 December 2018
The New York City officer who choked Garner to death in 2014, Daniel Pantaleo, has avoided any criminal charges.
Outrage spreads over video showing police ripping child from mother’s arms at Brooklyn food stamp office
By Fred Mazelis, 11 December 2018
The young mother, after being mistreated and brutalized, is being held without bail and facing four separate charges, including resisting arrest.
New York University faculty defends academic freedom against NYU’s ties to UAE
By Josh Varlin, 8 December 2018
NYU faculty closed a December 3 meeting by overwhelmingly supporting a resolution supporting the creation of an independent faculty committee to defend academic freedom.
Jacobin urges readers to “log off” social media
By Will Morrow, 8 December 2018
An article in Jacobin argues that Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms have become damaging to the health of the population, are “destructive for the left,” and should be done away with.
The Guardian attack on Assange exposed as politically-motivated fabrication
By James Cogan, 6 December 2018
The lack of any case against WikiLeaks explains the scurrilous allegations by the Guardian newspaper last week.
CNN fires contributor accused of “anti-Semitism” for defending Palestinian rights
By Kayla Costa, 1 December 2018
While CNN has not provided a full explanation, the firing of Marc Lamont Hill came one day after he made public statements critical of Israeli policy against Palestinians.
Guardian newspaper spearheads new accusations against Assange and WikiLeaks
By James Cogan, 28 November 2018
The newspaper has the nerve to declare that it serves to “give a voice to those less heard, challenge the powerful, and hold them to account.”
The military-police assault at San Ysidro
Defend immigrant workers from state violence!
By Eric London, 27 November 2018
The Socialist Equality Party (US) condemns the US government’s military operation at the US-Mexico border Sunday as a horrific crime against humanity.
Trump campaigns for Mississippi Senate candidate Hyde-Smith as Democratic challenger shifts to the right
By Patrick Martin, 27 November 2018
At an event at Mississippi State University, Hyde-Smith expressed support for efforts to suppress voter turnout on other campuses—i.e., the historically black universities in the state.
Hundreds rally in San Diego in defense of migrant caravan
By our reporters, 26 November 2018
Over 200 people attended a rally just hours before the US Customs and Border Protection shut down the crossing and fired tear gas at immigrants seeking to enter the US.
Protests erupt after Thanksgiving police shooting of innocent man in Birmingham, Alabama
By Shelley Connor, 26 November 2018
In one video, a man screamed, as officers stood over Bradford’s body, “That boy didn’t shoot at nobody. He’s dead!” and, “They just killed that black boy for no reason…” The suspect remains at large.
Charges dropped against falsely accused Texas man
By a reporter, 20 November 2018
Christopher Precopia faced life in prison on false charges of assault on a former girlfriend.
056 False accusation in Texas
19 November 2018
Defend Julian Assange against US charges!
By James Cogan, 17 November 2018
The relentless persecution of Assange is intended to intimidate and silence all critical and independent journalists and media organisations, as well as would-be whistleblowers.
Washington’s censorship regime goes global
Facebook deletes WSWS post on Sri Lanka
By Andre Damon, 14 November 2018
Facebook is acting as an agent of the US intelligence agencies, which see the growing audience for international socialism as an obstacle to their efforts to exploit ethnic divisions in developing countries.
Facebook and Twitter intensify censorship in 2018 elections
By Kevin Reed, 8 November 2018
Facebook shut down 115 accounts and Twitter deleted 10,000 accounts on the eve of the 2018 elections, engaging in blatant censorship.
New York Times ramps up smear campaign against Julian Assange
By Tom Hall, 6 November 2018
The latest round of slanders is aimed at preparing public opinion for an eventual indictment of the WikiLeaks founder on espionage charges.
Democratic candidates praise Trump’s attacks on immigrants as troops arrive at the border
By Eric London, 5 November 2018
The Democrats are either silent or supportive of police state measures that are putting the lives of immigrants in imminent danger and preparing the way for violent attacks on all workers.
Israeli government defends Trump in aftermath of Pittsburgh massacre
By Jean Shaoul, 5 November 2018
The spontaneous outpourings of solidarity across Jewish and Muslim communities for the victims of the Pittsburgh atrocity are anathema to the Netanyahu government.
What is to be done about the plutocrats?
By Patrick Martin, 2 November 2018
A new report documents the colossal role of inherited wealth in perpetuating social inequality in America.
Thousands attend funerals for victims of Pittsburgh synagogue massacre
By Samuel Davidson, 2 November 2018
Pittsburgh residents who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site denounced the president’s anti-immigrant tirades, which created the climate for the deadliest act of anti-Semitic violence in US history.
Trump calls for “massive cities of tents” and indefinite detention of immigrants
By Eric London, 2 November 2018
The right-wing demagogue described a hellish vision of concentration camps to imprison helpless men, women, and children, and urged the thousands of troops being rushed to America’s southern border to open fire on unarmed crowds.
Trump threatens to abolish birthright citizenship
By Patrick Martin, 31 October 2018
The proposal to revise the US Constitution by means of an executive order is flagrantly unconstitutional and anti-democratic.
Vigils for victims of Pittsburgh shooting express anger over Trump’s racist incitements
By Samuel Davidson and Kate Randall, 30 October 2018
Vigils held across the country have charged Trump with using hate speech to incite violent attacks over the past week.
Killings at Kentucky store were hate crime, police say
By our reporter, 30 October 2018
The gunman, 51-year-old Gregory Bush, had a history of mental illness and racist abuse.
Julian Assange warns that Ecuador is moving to end his political asylum
By Mike Head, 30 October 2018
The WikiLeaks founder told an Ecuadorian court hearing that President Moreno had already decided to terminate his asylum but had not yet officially given the order.
After Pittsburgh massacre: New York Times covers up Trump’s role in instigating fascist violence
By Patrick Martin, 30 October 2018
The leading US newspaper’s editorial on the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre effectively absolves President Trump and his fascistic politics of any responsibility for the bloodbath.
US armed forces deployed to Mexico border in preparation for expected closure
By Norisa Diaz, 29 October 2018
A violent clash is being prepared on the US-Mexico border as Washington readies emergency powers to close the border.
As federal judge orders Georgia to count tossed-out ballots
Voter suppression looms large in 2018 US elections
By Kranti Kumara, 27 October 2018
The issue of deliberate voter suppression has become a highly contentious issue with less than two weeks before Election Day.
Oppose Trump’s attacks on immigrants! Defend the migrant caravan!
By Niles Niemuth, 25 October 2018
Workers in the US must unite with workers in Mexico and Central America to ensure the safe passage into the country of the several thousand workers making their way towards the US-Mexico border.
New York Times celebrates downfall of 201 “powerful men:” The ugly face of the #MeToo campaign
By David Walsh, 25 October 2018
The article inadvertently points toward an important truth: the #MeToo campaign is fundamentally an effort by a layer of upper-middle class women to advance their economic interests at the expense of their male rivals.
One year of the #MeToo movement
By David Walsh, 19 October 2018
The ostensible aim of this movement is to combat sexual harassment, i.e., to bring about social progress. However, the repressive means resorted to give the lie to the campaign’s “progressive” claims.
Leading US House Democrat demands that Ecuador’s president “hand over” Julian Assange
By Mike Head, 18 October 2018
The letter effectively confirms that if the WikiLeaks founder is forced to leave Ecuador’s embassy, on whatever pretext, the British government will deliver him into the hands of the US.
US, Mexican and Guatemalan governments harass caravan of Honduran refugees
By Andrea Lobo, 18 October 2018
Thousands of refugees are fleeing rampant violence and poverty imposed by the economic plundering and political meddling of US imperialism.
San Diego State University and the military-university complex
By Anthony del Olmo with the IYSSE at SDSU, 18 October 2018
Over the past several decades, universities in San Diego have developed into key assets for US militarism by becoming regional hubs for military training programs.
The “new cold war,” censorship, and the future of the internet
By Andre Damon, 17 October 2018
The internet is becoming a battleground for economic and geopolitical conflict, while states, acting on behalf of capitalist elites, are seeking to censor online information.
Amnesty International: Immigrants separated from family members for alleged “fraud”
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan and Norisa Diaz, 17 October 2018
Amnesty International reveals thousands of children have been separated from relatives for supposed fraud and defines separation as a form of torture under US and international law.
Washington state Supreme Court strikes down death penalty as “arbitrary and racially biased”
By Kate Randall, 16 October 2018
The ruling invalidating the state’s 37-year-old death penalty law makes Washington the latest in a string of states in recent years to abandon capital punishment.
Facebook’s purge of left-wing media: A frontal assault on freedom of speech
By Andre Damon, 15 October 2018
The social media monopoly’s removal of left-wing news pages with millions of followers is the latest step in a conspiracy by the state and the technology giants to censor the internet.
Ecuador to partially restore Julian Assange’s access to communications and visitors
By James Cogan, 15 October 2018
Ecuador’s decision does not end the danger Assange faces or his effective imprisonment inside the small embassy building in London.
Pages purged by Facebook were on blacklist promoted by Washington Post
By Andre Damon, 13 October 2018
PropOrNot, an organization that published a blacklist of oppositional media organizations in 2016, hailed Facebook’s actions as the precursor to shutting down the targeted organizations' web sites.
US places alleged “Chinese spy” on public trial
By Mike Head, 12 October 2018
The timing of the unprecedented extradition points to a new stage in the US drive to prevent China from becoming an economic or military threat to US global hegemony.
US student critical of Israel detained at Tel Aviv airport for more than a week
By Jean Shaoul, 12 October 2018
Lara Alqasem, 22, was targeted because she is president of the University of Florida’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which supports the BDS campaign against Israel.
Pentagon report points to US preparations for total war
By Andre Damon, 11 October 2018
Amid an intensification of military tensions with Russia and China, the Pentagon has produced a document proposing to “retool” US society for “great power conflict.”
Leaked Google document: Tech firms have shifted away from “free speech and towards censorship”
By Kevin Reed, 11 October 2018
On Tuesday, the far-right news outlet Breitbart News published a leaked internal document by technology giant Google that openly discusses political censorship.
NYU’s Washington DC campus: Academia aligns with the Department of Defense
By Leslie Murtagh, 11 October 2018
New York University’s DC campus, heavily funded by the Department of Defense and military-affiliated philanthropists, operates as a conference hall and recruitment center for the intelligence agencies and armed forces.
#MeToo-style allegations used to oust popular University of Michigan professor
By Joseph Lorenz, 10 October 2018
John Rubadeau, who has more than three decades at the university, was fired by the English Department on the basis of unspecified allegations.
The Kavanaugh confirmation and the US midterm elections
By Patrick Martin, 9 October 2018
The thoroughly right-wing campaign waged by the Democratic Party over the Kavanaugh nomination, focused solely on allegations of sexual assault, has set the tone for the US congressional elections.
The #MeToo campaign versus the presumption of innocence
By Eric London, 5 October 2018
The historical development of the presumption of innocence is a centuries-long battle for due process and enlightenment against irrationalism, lynch mob justice and arbitrary state repression.
Child concentration camps in America
By Eric London, 2 October 2018
Immigration officials are rounding up hundreds of children at night and transporting them to a tent city in Texas.
Nashville, Tennessee, police officer charged in shooting death
By Zac Thorton and Warren Duzak, 2 October 2018
Tennessee has a long history of deadly police violence against fleeing suspects.
Protests hit mass detention of immigrant children in Texas tent camp
By Bill Van Auken, 1 October 2018
The barren tent camp in the desert on the Mexican border is built to house up to 3,800 children.
The Kavanaugh hearing: A spectacle of political filth and reaction
By Patrick Martin, 28 September 2018
The Democratic Party has decided to wage its opposition to the reactionary Supreme Court nominee on the most degraded and right-wing basis possible.
Kavanaugh’s nomination, Cosby’s sentencing: News media pornography and the enraged middle class
By David Walsh, 27 September 2018
Following the press and television news in the US might lead one to believe that a kind of madness has seized hold of the American media, along with sections of the affluent petty-bourgeoisie.
Trial underway in Chicago police murder of Laquan McDonald
By Kristina Betinis and George Gallanis, 27 September 2018
The defense team is relying on allegations that McDonald was a “combative” person to convince the jury he posed a threat and deserved to be killed.
Eighty-three abducted by ICE across Wisconsin in four days
By Jacob Crosse, 27 September 2018
Relishing in the chaos and uncertainty it had caused, ICE remained silent over the weekend as armed agents conducted “targeted raids” in over 14 counties.
Guardian newspaper condemned for publishing “deliberate lies” about Julian Assange
By James Cogan, 25 September 2018
Former British whistleblower Craig Murray linked the newspaper’s allegations directly to the Mueller investigation in the United States.
Oppose Michigan National Guard deployment against operating engineers!
By Niles Niemuth, 25 September 2018
The administration of Governor Snyder is preparing to deploy National Guard troops in a strikebreaking operation against thousands of locked out roadway construction workers.
Brett Kavanaugh and the role—once again—of sexual misconduct allegations in American politics
By David Walsh, 19 September 2018
The New York Times, Washington Post, leading Democrats and other establishment figures are attempting to derail Kavanaugh’s nomination on the grounds of an unsubstantiated allegation of sexual assault.
Facebook expands censorship to photos and videos
By Mike Ingram, 19 September 2018
Facebook’s “fact-checkers” will now censor not just web articles, but image macros and political videos.
Report shows that US police militarization does not reduce crime
By Erik Schreiber, 19 September 2018
The results of the study directly contradict the assertions of law enforcement officials across the country.
Assault allegation puts question mark over Kavanaugh nomination to Supreme Court
By Patrick Martin, 18 September 2018
The Senate Judiciary Committee will call Kavanaugh and his accuser to testify Monday, delaying a confirmation vote originally set for this Thursday.
Silicon Valley’s corrupt nexus: War, censorship and inequality
By Andre Damon, 17 September 2018
The appearance of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at the Air Force Association’s annual conference embodies the fusion of America’s technology monopolies with the apparatus of state repression.
Dallas police officer charged with manslaughter 72 hours after shooting neighbor in his own apartment
By Harvey Simpkins, 11 September 2018
Texas Rangers interviewed officer Amber Guyger and told the police department to “hold off” on arresting her supposedly to investigate the matter further.
8 September 2018
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