The big bad wolf has finally arrived—and he has very real teeth. After weeks of political maneuvering and cynical finger-pointing, the “unthinkable” has become the “inevitable.” $85 billion in automatic spending cuts will now begin raining down on American workers, children, the elderly, and the poor. That it has come to this should come as no surprise. Despite the honest illusions many had in Obama, his real agenda was always clear.

Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad, goes the saying. It is an apt description of the warring factions of the US political establishment, especially the Republicans, who are engaged in a ferocious battle over the government budget, and to hell with the consequences.

For a period of several months last summer, a mass movement shook the province of Quebec. It forced an election where the victorious Parti Québécois felt compelled to present themselves as being on the left — proposing to cancel the tuition increase, abolishing the hated law 78, as well as other progressive measures.In its

This was the pointed question posed in a recent article on the website of Forbes, the proud and unapologetic mouthpiece of capitalism. In the words of the article’s author, Igor Greenwald: “Capitalism has been the dominant economic system in the Western world for, give or take, 400 years. And in that virtual eye blink in the grander scheme of things it has produced more wealth than all the prior economic systems put together... But nothing—not even the bestest thing ever—lasts forever. Stuff happens. Things change. Systems work until they don’t. How close is capitalism to the end of its useful life? What comes next?”

The answer to this question once seemed like a no-brainer. During the years of the postwar boom, college was sold as a kind of normal stage of life for young Americans, and attaining a degree from a public university was a sure way toward a higher salary. It was often quite affordable as well, thanks to things like Pell Grants and a greater amount of public funding. Those days seem far away now.

Yesterday, Caracas was once again the scene of a huge mass mobilization in defence of the revolution. January 23 is a national day of struggle in Venezuela. It was the day that the infamous Marcos Pérez Jímenez dictatorship fell in 1958, overthrown by the mass movement from below.

The following interview, conducted in October 2012 by journalist Arash Azizi, was originally published in the Farsi-language journal Mehrnameh, the leading journal of humanities in Iran. In it, John Peterson gives a basic overview of the history of political parties and class interests in the United States, which shows that the U.S. political spectrum has not always been "the same," and that things can and do change, often dramatically.

In the course of 2012, two major industrial Midwestern states, Indiana and Michigan, have become so-called "Right to Work" states. This that means although unions must represent all the workers in unionized workplaces, workers who do not join the union can now "opt out" of paying union representation fees. It is the end of the "closed shop" in these states, a key victory of the labor movement in past struggles. The goal of big business is clearly to weaken the unions and then eliminate them all together.  

For the first time since Merriam-Webster began tracking the most looked-up words on their website back in 2003, they have settled on two words instead of one word for the top word searches in 2012: socialism and capitalism. This, just days after a new Gallup survey showed an increase positive views of the word "socialism" among both Republicans and Democrats. Both of these notable developments fall almost exactly a year after a Pew Research Center poll showed that a plurality of young adults aged 18 to 29 favor socialism over capitalism.

Taking advantage of Chavez’s ill health, the Venezuelan oligarchy and imperialism have renewed their campaign of destabilisation against the Bolivarian Revolution. They risk unleashing the wrath of the workers and the poor.

Thousands of protesters took part in demonstrations across the country on Dec. 21 under the banner of Idle No More, a grassroots movement dedicated to protecting the environment and Aboriginal treaty rights against new federal legislation. First Nations activists and their supporters mobilized nationwide, with the largest protest on Parliament Hill drawing more than 2,000 people. Solidarity rallies took place around the world — from New Zealand to Los Angeles to the United Kingdom. Some activists also started blocking key roads and railways. In the span of a few weeks, Idle No More has become the most significant social movement in Canada since #Occupy and the Quebec student strike.

The tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut has prompted a public outcry and heartfelt mourning across the country. The gunman killed 26, including 20 young children, before turning the gun on himself. The media will surely be flooded with every minute detail of the killer’s life in the coming weeks, and the issue of gun control will once again come to the fore. But what will not be seriously discussed is the root cause of shootings like this, and why they have become so commonplace. It seems that only shootings with a high death toll get national coverage at all, as dozens of smaller incidents have just become “business as usual.” 

On Saturday, December 8, Venezuelan president Chávez announced that he would have to undergo another surgical intervention in Cuba. Adding that “there are always risks in processes like this” he explained that “if anything happens to me that hinders me [from performing as president]”, vice president Maduro is his preference to replace him.

Over the past year, there has been an unprecedented interest amongst students across Canada in the fight against rocketing tuition fees. The major factor that has contributed to this growing political awakening among students, other than the unprecedented cost of education and student debt, has been the magnificent example set by the students in Quebec who were able to beat back tuition hikes, resist the attempt by the courts and the cops to repress their movement, and bring down the hated Liberal government of Jean Charest.

Last week the newly elected Parti Québécois government tabled their first budget since taking power. Finance minister Nicolas Marceau vowed to “balance the books” and “cut spending” in what is a clear austerity budget; new expenditures are being increased by the lowest amount in 14 years and almost no new money has been allocated to education spending. The government is also promising to pass a zero-deficit budget for 2013/14. Within an extremely short period since being elected, the PQ has now shown their true colours as a party subservient to Quebec big business, in line with the general austerity plan of the recently ousted Liberal Party.