Published bimonthly since 1986, AGAINST THE CURRENT is a Solidarity-sponsored analytical journal for the broad revolutionary left. The Sept./Oct. issue features Malik Miah on How Race Fuels the Rightist Agenda, Kit Adam Wainer on Obama's Race to the Top vs. Teacher Unions and Susan Spronk and Jeffery R. Webber interviewing Venezuelan activists Gonzalo Gómez, Stalin Pérez Borges and Luis Primo on the processes of deepening the revolution. Coverage of The Mexican Revolution at 100 continues, featuring an interview with Adolpho Gilly and articles by Dan La Botz, James D. Cockcroft, Heather Dasner Monk, Fred Rosen and Scott Campbell.
See the latest issue...
View the archives...
Subscribe!
Write a letter to the editor...
International Viewpoint is the monthly English-language magazine of the Fourth International. IV is a window to radical alternatives world-wide, carrying reports, analysis and debates from all corners of the globe. Correspondents in over 50 countries report on popular struggles, and the debates that are shaping the left of tomorrow.

Dan La Botz, a 64-year old Cincinnati school teacher, has filed petitions with the Ohio Secretary of State to become the candidate of the Socialist Party for the U.S. Senate. La Botz, who needed 500 signatures to get on the Socialist Party primary ballot, filed petitions with approximately 1,200 signatures on Thursday, Feb. 18. La Botz, a long time labor and social movement activist, is the candidate of the Socialist Party of Ohio which is the state organization of the Socialist Party USA.
Read more...Order these eye-catching buttons to spread the demand for social and economic justice. If you don't have paypal, email us!

Reads Bail out People, not Wall Street!. Around the edge, these 2 1/8" buttons read "Free Health Care," "Defend Public Services," "Living Wage Jobs," "Free Higher Education," "Troops Home Now," "Rebuild the Gulf Coast," and "Affordable Housing."
Brown and black buttons demand: "Bring all the Troops Home Now!" Wear one everywhere to start a conversation about why US occupation can never be a force for liberation, and people's needs should come before the massive military budget.
These 2 1/8" buttons read, in Spanish and English: ¡Alto a las deporaciones - Legalización para todos! Stop the deportations - Legalization for all!
Videos from Solidarity's Educational Conference
November 14-15 in New York City, Solidarity held a successful conference featuring engaging talks on a number of topics. Click here to view these videos from "Their Crisis, Our Movements"
- Crisis of Capitalism, Challenge to the Movements (David McNally, New Socialist Group)
- The New Imperialism and The Global Fightback (Vivek Chibber, Christy Thornton, Jonah McCallister-Erickson)
- The State of Resistance in Communities & the Workplace (Normahiram Perez, Steve Downs, Penelope Duggan)
- Race and National Liberation Under Obama (Glen Ford, Lalit Clarkston)
Solidarity depends on the generous contributions of its friends and allies to continue its work. Please consider giving!

by John B. Cannon posted on 08/31/10
by Nick posted on 08/13/10
by La Botz for Senate posted on 08/12/10
by Dianne posted on 08/11/10
by Isaac posted on 08/8/10
by Dianne posted on 08/5/10
by Nate posted on 08/2/10
by Joanna posted on 07/23/10
by Dianne posted on 07/21/10
by Howie Hawkins posted on 07/19/10
Our comrade Barbara Zeluck died June 5, 2010. She was a lifelong socialist and founding member of Solidarity. Barbara had a long and active life, unwavering in her support for radical social change and movements that she felt were dedicated to mobilizing the working class and raising class consciousness. She always believed that a better world was possible. Read More...

Last fall, in the discussion that produced our analysis of “Obama After 200 Days,” we said it would be premature to speak of a “crisis” for the administration. A year after the euphoric 2009 inauguration, it no longer looks premature. People who looked to Obama and the Democrats for leadership are bitterly disappointed, and a very peculiar brand of rightwing politics has seized the initiative.
Read more...
As part of the preparation for our 2008 Convention, members of SOLIDARITY have begun a political document describing some perspectives for socialist renewal in the twenty-first century. We welcome responses to this initial draft of the document. Some of the themes here have also been developed in Solidarity's Founding Statement and our 1997 pamphlet, “Socialist Organization Today.”

New from Solidarity! Long time transit worker activist Steve Downs has written a pamphlet charting the twenty year story of New Directions, a rank and file caucus in New York City's transit union that he helped build and develop - including the challenges of keeping the rank and file democracy movement alive after New Directions won control of the local.
Read an interview on Zmag.org
New from Solidarity's Feminist Commission, this leaflet responds to the right wing attack on reproductive freedom and argues that the movement must go beyond "pro-choice" to true reproductive justice. This socialist and anti-racist feminist agenda would take up issues such as access to health and child care, forced sterilization, and the division of "productive" and "reproductive" labor.
Download the pamphlet...

What are the international implications of the Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla? Ziyaad Lunat, an activist for Palestinian rights and Outreach Coordinator for the Gaza Freedom March, provides his comments below.
Ryan: Could you describe the present situation regarding the Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla?
Ziyaad Lunat: Israel illegally attacked the six-boat flotilla carrying 700 human rights activists from 40 countries in international waters on its way to deliver badly needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. This was a violent attack on unarmed civilians in international waters. Passengers included a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a Holocaust survivor, several members of parliament, a famous Swedish author and many others. Israel cited the San Remo Manual on Armed Conflicts at Sea to justify its operation, namely the paragraph 67 (a) that permits attacks on merchant vessels on neutral countries (Turkey, US, Greece) if they are in breach of a blockade. What Israel conveniently ignored is that the San Remo Manual also contains rules governing the lawfulness of blockades and there is no authority under international law that can enforce a blockade that is unlawful. Article 102 of the Manual prohibits a blockade "the damage to the civilian population is, or may be expected to be, excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated from the blockade.”

Check out this blog post from Eskandar about the first performance of DAM, a Palestinian hip-hop group, in Atlanta! As someone who was involved in the efforts to bring them here from apartheid Israel, I can say all the frustrations with visa denial were worth it in the end. Music like DAM's is an indispensable weapon in the struggle!
[Article originally posted over at The Ruh of Brown Folks, a blog worth following!]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DAM, Palestine’s first hip hop crew, landed in Atlanta on Friday, April 16, 2010. They performed for a completely packed crowd at the Drunken Unicorn, along with local groups Weapons of Audio and Contraverse. The concert represents a victory for Palestinian solidarity activists who struggled to bring DAM to Atlanta, and for the group, whose voice and movement are often stifled by Israeli occupation.
The group had intended to tour the U.S. in 2009, but the U.S. government denied their travel visas at the last minute, forcing them to cancel. Their appearance and successful concert last week was made possible by the efforts of activists and organizations like the Movement to End Israeli Apartheid-Georgia (MEIA-G), who hosted the show.

Yesterday’s NY Times article about the US Marines’ “female engagement teams” was a good reminder that, despite the war’s
The January 12th 7.0 earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti is a disaster of unimaginable proportions that has likely left tens of thousands dead and many more without adequate medical care,
The Copenhagen conference failed to produce anything remotely resembling a solution to the climate crisis, but it also failed from the perspective of the US ruling class.

On December 16, Jamal Juma, coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, was arrested by the Israeli police.
“Rethink Afghanistan” has been widely toured by peace activists in the English-speaking world around the anniversary of the 2001 inv
For the Solidarity Political Committee
Keep checking the Solidarity website in the coming days for reports and analysis of the G-20 protests, as well as news regarding any next steps