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There is an ever-growing stream of media commentary on the Grenfell fire, increasing daily as the public enquiry unfolds. There are some elements in the media with the goal of obscuring or excusing the plain facts as part of a pre-emptive defence manoeuvre to protect those most implicated in what caused the fire and the 72 deaths. That they feel the need to use such distortions to defend the Grenfell landlords and those who ordered and oversaw the Grenfell refurbishment that fitted the lethal cladding only increases the suggestion of a general doubt on all sides about their innocence.

Leaflet distributed by Klasbatalo during the CPE daycare workers' strike in Quebec.

Article from 1919 #2 (mcmxix.org), the journal of the North American affiliates of the ICT.

A well-attended demonstration (between 10 and 20 thousand people) against the Green Pass was held in Rome on Saturday, 9 October. The instigators were a varied bunch: from the "sincere democrats" who brandished copies of the Constitution, and the rights enshrined therein, to the galaxy of the far right who were (in an irony of propaganda) "against the health dictatorship" and for "freedom!”.

The leaflet which follows was distributed by our comrades of the Internationalist Communist Party (Battaglia Comunista) in demonstrations across Italy last Monday. It was the first time that all the rank and file unions had united to call such a strike but as the leaflet makes clear it was only for a day and they gave the bosses plenty of warning. According to one of them (the Union Sindacale di Base or USB) there were one million on strike with demonstrations in over 40 places across the country involving 100,000.

Editorial from 1919 #2 (mcmxix.org), the journal of the North American affiliates of the ICT.

Leaflet distributed by the IWG during the Kellogg's strike in Lancaster, PA.

As this statement is being written the number of active COVID-19 cases in Australia currently stands at just over 23,000, with New South Wales and Victoria accounting for the bulk of that. Between the two states, cases are averaging around 2,000 per day. The number of deaths is now nearing 1,400 since the beginning of the pandemic and almost 300 people are in the ICU. New South Wales has been in lockdown since the end of June and Victoria since the start of August. Nationwide, a little over 58% of people over 16 are now doubly vaccinated.

This introduction is being written on the day the British Government ends its support for the “furlough” scheme to pay 80% of workers’ wages so they would not be sacked during the pandemic. At least 1 million workers now face an uncertain future. The Italian government began unravelling its support for jobs on 1 July when it ended the moratorium on lay-offs. It was the signal the finance capitalist organisation, Melrose, had been waiting for.

article I wrote on my blog about American exit from Afghanistan

article I wrote about the Cuban protests on my blog when it was in the news

Article from 1919 (mcmxix.org), the journal of the North American affiliates of the ICT.

For the capitalist mode of production and for the bourgeois class that manages it, the problems only multiply.

There could hardly be a more complete encapsulation of the brutality and savagery of capitalism in the United States than the recent photos of mostly white Border Patrol agents, armed and mounted on their horses, whipping thousands of defenseless black Haitian migrants who don’t have a penny to their name at the Southern Border. They were scenes reminiscent of slavery because of the setting, the race of those involved, and the power-dynamic between the hired thugs of the ruling class, the Border Patrol, and the desperate and destitute wretched of the Earth, the migrants.

A discourse on climate change in terms of revolutionary change can and must be developed.

Alongside other crises, the Covid pandemic is contributing to growing uncertainty in the capitalist world. Together with economic devastation, including an assault on the wages and conditions of the working class, proxy wars are multiplying and becoming more intense, with the threat of increasingly generalised wars on the horizon. In the meantime, the major imperialist powers, calculating the significance of these wars, are defining their tactical-strategic objectives in a kaleidoscope of oscillating alliances. They are as comfortable today in these economic and military pacts with yesterday’s enemies as if they had been allies all along.

Ukrainian anarchist newsletter needs international support in the 18-days campaign on GlobalGiving

As we noted in our last issue, a pandemic is as good as any event to demonstrate the efficacy, or not, of a social system. This one has generally found the capitalist mode of production wanting. By now most people will have forgotten the early failures.

In the capitalist world, whatever the subject, it naturally only hits the headlines if the rulers of all factions are in control of it. If the news is about a war, climate change, economic downturn, regime change, elections, protests, immigration, in fact any issue where the working class as a class is absent, so it can be manipulated in a way that suits the ruling class, then not only is it covered by mass media, it also grabs the attention of “independent” media and journalists. They usually follow it up with tedious discussions, seminars, films and even more news.