In Obama's State of the Union address, the President called for "national unity." It's definitely in the interest of the people who collect profit off of other people's work to assure us we all share the same set of "American values." They want us to believe we're "all in this together" when really they're parasites living off our sweat.

For young workers, the so-called recovery is meaningless to nonexistent. Most of us have been facing a crisis from the very beginning of our working lives. We’ve been unable to build up even the most meager basis for establishing ourselves. Those of us who have tried to strike out on our own in our late teens or early twenties, the way our parents or grandparents did, have found it nearly impossible.

On Thursday, 21st January, around 35 people gathered in a hall at the University of Toronto’s Galbraith Building to discuss the rapid political developments in Iran, the next steps for the process, and the role that should be played by revolutionaries.

The Capitalist crisis has plunged the state of California into its worst budget crisis in history. Billions of dollars have been already slashed from the budget and billions more will be cut this year in order to“fix” the shortfall of $20.7 billion. Unable to find any other solution on the basis of Capitalism, workers and students will bear the brunt of these cuts. The students have already fought back on several occasions with strikes and occupations.

In late December Senate Democrats passed their version of a health insurance reform bill. American workers ought not get too excited about the Affordable Health Care for America Act. This “early Christmas gift” is more like a lump of coal!

On the weekend of 20th-22nd November, Quebec solidaire held its annual congress in Laval. Approximately 300 delegates and guests attended the two days of discussion and debate about the direction of the party. The IMT comrades within the party defend the idea that if Quebec solidaire is to become a real force in Quebec society, then it must win over the trade unions and become a genuine labour party. In order to split the trade union movement away from the bourgeois nationalist Parti Quebecois, a strong socialist program that addresses the needs of the workers of Quebec is required.

On Saturday 23rd January, up to 20,000 people demonstrated against Stephen Harper’s prorogation of Parliament. Protests spanned the country, from Halifax to Victoria, with crowds numbering 3,500 on Parliament Hill, between 3,000 and 5,000 in Toronto, and over 1,000 in Vancouver. Who would have thought that an issue of arcane parliamentary procedure could bring so many out on the streets? These protests are merely symptomatic of a growing dissatisfaction in society. The question is, who will be able to give voice to this discontent?

In a move that would put Dr. Seuss’ Grinch to shame, the Ontario government gave Ontario workers a nasty surprise for the Christmas holidays—the renewed threat of mass privatization of public services across the province. When Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals were first elected in 2003, McGuinty promised that the bad old days of attacks and privatization that characterized Mike Harris’ “Common Sense Revolution” were finally over.

Recently we saw many important events happening in Venezuela, like the devaluation of the bolívar or the nationalisations in the banking sector, which needs to be analysed carefully. The movement of occupied factories made important steps forward last year, but still faces sabotage by counter-revolutionary managers and workers are still struggling for nationalisation under workers' control. In order to defend the conquests already made, the revolution must put the nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy on the agenda. Only this can destroy capitalism and provide the necessary prerequisites for a socialist planned economy.

After just one year of the Obama administration, the sincere hopes for real change have been dashed. For all his charm, lofty words and apparent sincerity, Obama was elected to represent the interests of Big Business and capitalism.

The nation of Haiti was hit with a devastating earthquake. The governments of Cuba and Venezuela responded within hours with medical brigades, firefighters, fuel and supplies, and there has been massive sympathy, generosity and volunteerism from workers around the world. What a difference compared to the response from the the United States. The U.S. government has pledged assistance in the way of one hundred million dollars – less than is spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in just two days.

There is a manmade element to the catastrophe confronting Haitians. The country doesn’t just happen to be poor; it has been made poor and kept poor. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, with the worst infrastructure and a people most vulnerable to disaster and disease, because of the machinations of imperialism. Although the earthquake could not be avoided, the scale of death and destruction clearly could have been avoided.

Evo Morales and the Movement Towards Socialism party (MAS) got a resounding victory in the December 6th election in Bolivia. The crowds in the capital La Paz received Morales’ victory speech with shouts of “socialismo, socialismo”.

This December marks the one year anniversary of the occupation of Republic Windows and Doors, a struggle that captured the attention of working people across the country and the world, as it symbolized the hardships faced by millions due to the economic crisis and a willingness to fight back.

Even though we are still waiting for the official final data from the Plurinational Electoral Body, the victory of Evo Morales and the MAS (Movement Towards Socialism) is clear and massive, as was expected. The overwhelming support for change in society has been graphically shown by Morales winning 2/3rds of the vote.