United States

Extraordinary Threat: The U.S. Empire, the Media, and the Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela - book review

The relentless American war on Venezuelan sovereignty receives thorough and welcome coverage in Extraordinary Threat, finds Orlando Hill
The start of a war and the end of an era: How the invasion of Ukraine is changing the world

Chris Nineham analyses the causes and consequences of the war in Ukraine and tectonic shifts in global power politics
White Malice. The CIA and the Neocolonisation of Africa - book review

In White Malice, Susan Williams’s careful research reveals the history of the CIA’s damaging interventions in newly independent African nations, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
Assange's fate can't be left in the hands of Priti Patel

Following the Magistrates' Court's ruling, a mass campaign defending a free press can be pivotal in the next stage of the battle, writes John Rees
Ken Burns’ Muhammad Ali: the warrior who would not fight

Exhaustive but not exhausting, Mark Dee Smith goes twelve rounds with our side’s most enduring sporting icon
Crisis in Pakistan: The fall of Imran Khan was made in Washington - CounterBlast

The former Prime Minister has discovered that neutrality regarding Ukraine is not acceptable to the US, writes Sean Ledwith
The prodigal CEO returns: Starbucks ramps up anti-union campaign

Starbucks is on an anti-union rampage following the return of former CEO Howard Schultz who claims it's being 'assaulted by the threat of unionization', reports John McGrath
Letting the cat out of the bag? Biden, Putin and regime change

Given that regime change has been a cornerstone of US foreign policy for decades, Joe Biden's words shouldn't surprise us, argues Chris Nineham
Curious tensions: the American hard right and Putin

The isolationist pro-Putin politics of the Republican hard right is clashing with an American establishment committed to imperial hegemony, writes John Clarke
Nato summit: they make a desert, and call it peace

The re-militarisation of the West comes with major costs, writes Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
Russia and the Media: The Makings of a New Cold War - book review

Russia and the Media makes a convincing case that a Cold War mentality in the Western media supports further militarisation and forestalls solutions, finds Michael Bailey
Union organising is brewing in Starbucks: 100 stores and counting

John McGrath reports on the rapidly spreading unionisation drive at Starbucks stores across the US despite the company's union-busting tactics
Socialist Register 2022: New Polarisations, Old Contradictions, The Crisis of Centrism - book review

Socialist Register 2022 discusses the impasse in the neoliberal consensus, the rise of authoritarian politics, and the prospects for the left, finds Dominic Alexander
Ukraine: The consequences of war

A new global militarism is emerging from the war in Ukraine, argues John Rees
The American Way: Stories of Invasion - book review

Richard Allday enjoys an excellent collection of stories set in countries invaded by the US, by authors from each nation, in The American Way
Stop the drive to war, return to diplomacy - Stop the War statement on Ukraine

The Stop the War Coalition's statement following the dangerous escalation of the crisis in Ukraine
Afghanistan: A US-made humanitarian catastrophe

After twenty years of waging war on Afghanistan, the US has now created the world's worst humanitarian catstrophe with crippling sanctions, writes Jonathan Maunders
Andy Warhol Looks A Scream - review

The BBC's Andy Warhol's America paints a picture of an artist who latched on to an age of tumultuous events in America more by accident than design, writes Simon Duckett
Ukraine and the threat of war

The powder keg that threatens to ignite over the situation in the Ukraine is, more than anything, a manifestation of the turn towards intensified global rivalry on the part of the US, argues John Clarke
Sidney Poitier broke the mould of what a Black actor could be

John Clarke pays tribute to the man who refused to accept the degrading roles set aside for Black actors and who played an important role in challenging racism
Amazon: time the bosses reaped the whirlwind

The death of Amazon workers in tornadoes underlines the need for workers to organise and confront the bosses’ disregard for human life, argues Shabbir Lakha
Wake up and smell the union: Victory for Starbucks workers in Buffalo

Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York successfully defeated management's punishing anti-union campaign in a historic victory, reports John McGrath
'The fight goes on': The struggle for justice for Assange continues as US wins appeal

In a travesty of justice, the High Court overturned the previous ruling blocking the extradition of Assange, but the battle isn't over yet, reports Shabbir Lakha
Pushback in the ‘backyard’: Venezuelan voters reject US-backed opposition

Regional elections in Venezuela have delivered a significant blow to the US, but the left must continue to oppose imperialist meddling in the region, argues Jonathan Maunders
The Harder They Fall review: Who needs a plot anyway?

Despite a missing plot, Lucy Nichols finds The Harder They Fall an entertaining and visually impressive new take on the Western genre
Counterfire’s Climate Briefing for activists

The growing mood for radical change has to be harnessed by the left on a global scale, and the demands for action over the climate have to be put at the heart of every movement, argues Feyzi Ismail
The view from Glasgow: Pickets, protests and people power

While world leaders fail to agree on meaningful change at COP26, the city of Glasgow has become a hub of protests and strikes, reports John McGrath
Panther Power: the life and legacy of the young Tupac Shakur

Rapper Tupac Shakur opened up a fork in the road for the music argues Mayer Wakefield
Free Speech and the Suppression of Dissent during World War I - book review

A history of repression during World War I shows the importance of defending civil rights, but free speech always needs to be seen in its political context, argues Dominic Alexander
Talking peace, risking war: why the hawks are shaping the US’s China policy

Weeks after signing off the AUKUS pact, Joe Biden was back on the offensive against China this week. Chris Nineham reports
‘Striketober’: the new militancy sweeping the US

The United States is seeing a surge in strike activity, and worker dissatisfaction, but this needs to lead to a new wave of unionisation, argues John McGrath
The trouble with terrorism – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on the assassination of David Amess and recent US strikes
Dissenting POWs: From Vietnam’s Hoa Lo Prison to America Today - book review

Dissenting POWs charts the record of US prisoners in Vietnam who opposed that imperialist war, in a vital contribution to the anti-war movement in the present, argues John Clarke
The US, Afghanistan and the Second Cold War

Dragan Plavšić considers the consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan as another Cold War looms
Aukus: ratcheting up Western confrontation with China - video

Chris Nineham speaks to RT News about the provocative and unnecesary step the US, UK and Australia have taken with their new nuclear alliance
Texas abortion ban: Resisting the attacks on reproductive rights - video

Counterfire's Kate O'Neil speaks to Chicago abortion rights campaigner Lauren Bianchi about the Texas abortion ban and how the movement can organise against it
Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties - book review

Set the Night on Fire is a monumental history of radical movements in 1960s Los Angeles, which holds lessons for global resistance movements today, finds Sean Ledwith
9/11 and the legacy of endless war

John Clarke analyses US imperialism in the twenty years since the September 11th terrorist attacks
It's them or us: we can beat them if we fight - Counterfire Freesheet September 2021

Taking on the Tories, victory for Bexley strikers, interview with a Staff Nurse and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
The ignominious end of liberal interventionism

The whole idea that the world's largest imperialist nation could 'remake' a country was a conceit born of overweening power, argues Lindsey German
9to5: The Story of a Movement review

What a way to build a movement: Lucy Nichols reviews Steven Bognar and Julia Reicherts’ latest documentary
Made in Washington: the tragedy of Afghanistan

More war will not help the people of Afghanistan or anywhere else and those still arguing for "humanitarian intervention" are living in a fantasy, argues Shabbir Lakha
The Suicide Squad review: Gunn takes aim at US imperialism

Superhero films often critique capitalist society, but the front and centre exposition of US imperialism puts James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad in a new league, writes Lucy Nichols
Covid, corruption and calamity: why Guatemalans want the president out

Protesters are leading a national shutdown to force President Giammattei to resign after he sacked the country’s anti-corruption prosecutor, reports Jonathan Maunders
China, imperialism and the new world order

Dragan Plavšić discusses US imperialism and the developing global tensions with China as part of Counterfire's Revolution! Festival
Astronomical wealth: Bezos blasts off

Jeff Bezos’s space adventure, while Amazon workers continue to suffer appalling conditions, once again highlights obscene levels of wealth inequality, argues Jonathan Maunders
Cuba crisis: made in Washington

Cuba's economic and health crisis is a result of crippling US sanctions - the only solution is an end to the blockade, writes Jonathan Maunders
Killer capitalism: climate change and the North American heat wave

The record-breaking heatwave in the US and Canada is the latest example of the deadly consequences of climate change and the urgent need for systemic change, argues John Clarke
Afghanistan: the humiliating end of the US’s longest war

Writing for Stop the War, Chris Nineham looks at the disastrous defeat suffered by the US as it finally pulls out of Afghanistan
Donald Rumsfeld was a known known war criminal - CounterBlast

The former US Defense Secretary should be remembered for his connivance in horrific wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, writes Sean Ledwith
HMS Provacateur and British brinkmanship in the Black Sea

Britain's encroachment into the Black Sea is a deliberate and dangerous provocation of Russia says Stop the War in a statement
Iran election: hardliners return under US stranglehold

The landslide victory of Ebrahim Raisi, facilitated by inept US policy and international sanctions, spells an end to eight years of reformism, writes Susan Ram
Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations - book review

Prashad’s Washington Bullets details the global economic and military interventions of the US, showing why anti-imperialist movements are vital, argues Jamal Elaheebocus
Existence is Resistance: Palestine, Israel and the West - video

Jonathon Shafi, Sybil Cock, Shabbir Lakha and Mona Kamal discuss Palestine, imperialism and the global solidarity movement
Facts are stubborn things: Exterminate All The Brutes review

Raoul Peck’s four-part documentary film about colonialism, slavery and genocide is a powerful and thorough exposition of the crimes of colonialism
The week that exposed the President: what we’ve learned about Biden

Biden’s uncompromising defence of Israel while it kills Palestinians shatters any myths of a progressive President, argues John Westmoreland
Tell the Bosses We’re Coming: A New Action Plan for Workers in the 21st Century - book review

Richman’s Tell the Bosses We’re Coming provides a valuable discussion of the challenges facing trade unions and offers a range of solutions to be debated, finds John Westmoreland
The crisis over Ukraine in dates

A timeline of events in Ukraine that the media want to ignore shows who's threatening who, writes Chris Nineham
Chauvin convicted: a victory for the movement but the struggle continues

George Floyd's killer being convicted for murder is a result of the Black Lives Matter movement, now it must continue to fight for fundamental change, argues Shabbir Lakha
The West's defeat in Afghanistan: after twenty years of war, what was it all for?

Twenty years of the War on Terror has produced neither security nor stability for the Afghan people and cost countless lives in the process, argues Terina Hine
Alabama Amazon defeat: a wake-up call for the US labour movement

US socialist Joe Allen analyses the failed attempt to unionise at Amazon in Bessemer, Alabama, and argues the movement must learn the lessons if it wants to win
Berkeley: The Student Revolt - book review

Hal Draper’s classic account of the 1960s Berkeley student free-speech movement reveals enduring patterns that remain important for all activists, argues Joshua Newman
Jazz and Justice: Racism and the Political Economy of the Music - book review

Gerald Horne’s Jazz and Justice is an illuminating history of the material conditions of African-American Jazz musicians in its classic decades, finds Martin Hall
Atlanta murders: how US imperialism is driving anti-Chinese racism

On UN Anti-Racism Day, Jamal Elaheebocus looks at the anti-Chinese racism behind the recent Atlanta murders and the role of imperialism in fuelling it
CLR James on the Paris Commune: They showed the way to labour emancipation

On the 150^th anniversary of the Paris Commune, we repost this article by renowned Marxist CLR James from 1946 on Marx and the Commune
The Trump Moment: a wake-up call for the left

A long read - August Nimtz examines the Trump era in the context of the capitalist crisis and argues for the building of an independent left rooted in the class struggle.
'America is back': Biden and the continuation of US imperialism

We shouldn't allow the relief from watching Trump go colour our view on Biden's administration, argues Chris Nineham
Imperialism under Biden - video

Shabbir Lakha explains what we can expect from Biden's foreign policy using a Marxist understanding of imperialism
How Britain helped Bahrain’s dictator crush the revolution

Ten years on from the Bahraini revolution, Shabbir Lakha looks at Britain’s role in supporting the violent repression of pro-democracy protesters
Haiti general strike: no more US-backed dictators

The general strike gripping Haiti is the latest chapter in a struggle against dictatorship, corruption and the bloody history of US intervention, argues Unjum Mirza
Biden, the Yemen U-turn and how to end the war

The US ending its support for Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen is a win for the anti-war movement, but we mustn’t be complacent, argues Lucy Nichols
Biden's presidency, the warmakers and the anti-war movement in the US

Anti-war sentiment has already impacted on the incoming Biden administration, but it will have to be mobilised to deliver change, argues Chris Nineham
20 reasons to celebrate the end of the Trump Presidency - CounterBlast

The departure of the 45^th President after one term marks a moment of vindication for the American left, argues Sean Ledwith
After Trump: can the left organise to defeat the right? - part two

As Biden is inaugurated, Kate O’Neil asks DSA activist and author Saman Sepehri what challenges and opportunities lie ahead for the American left
After Trump: can the left organise to defeat the right? - part one

In the lead-up to Biden’s inauguration, Kate O’Neil asks DSA activist and author Saman Sepehri what this month’s historic events in the US mean for the American left
Conscious barbarism: Pompeo ramps up war on Yemen in final days of Trump administration

Millions more Yemenis are now at risk of starvation because of Pompeo's Houthi terrorist designation, writes Chris Nineham
The fight against Trumpism: lessons of Hitler’s Munich Putsch

As far as historical parallels can be made, we must draw the lessons from the past in the fight against fascism, writes John Westmoreland
Capitol security breach shows the government fears left more than right

Trump supporters being able to break into the Capitol building shows the stark difference between how the left and the right are policed, argues Kate O'Neil
Why Trumpism must be defeated: reactions to the Capitol chaos

Some immediate thoughts on the scenes of armed Trump supporters taking over the Capitol building on Wednesday
The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century - book review

Horne’s history of early colonialism in the Americas reveals how structures of racism were constructed to support the development of capitalism, finds Jamal Elaheebocus
Capitol lockdown: deranged Trump incites US far right in bid to cling onto power - CounterBlast

There are no limits to the absurd attempt by America’s 45th President to stay in the White House, writes Sean Ledwith
Assange's Belmarsh torment continues after judge denies bail

After ruling that Assange won't be extradited to the US on Monday, Judge Baraitser then sent him back to Belmarsh and denied him bail, reports Jamal Elaheebocus
A step closer to freedom for Assange: Judge rules against extradition

The Old Bailey has found that Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US, reports Lucy Nichols
How To Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic - book review

The first-UK specific edition of the classic deconstruction of the imperialism and racism that underpinned Disney’s comics remains eye-opening, finds Dominic Alexander
The Queen’s Gambit: a riposte to Cold War America

The Queen’s Gambit offers an engaging critique of official Cold War narratives and Western individualism, finds Nathan Street
The spy who never came in from the cold

John Rees looks back at the literary achievement of John Le Carré, who died at the weekend
Venezuela: electoral fightback in America’s ‘backyard’

Maduro’s victory marks a defeat for the right and western imperialism, but this does not mean the end of US hostility, argues Jonathan Maunders
Eugene V. Debs: A Graphic Biography - book review

The story of the American trade-union militant turned socialist leader, Eugene Debs, remains important and is stirringly told in a new graphic biography, finds Sean Ledwith
Will Biden make a difference to the Israeli occupation of Palestine?

As Trump’s presidency comes to an end, Sybil Cock assesses what Palestinians can expect from the incoming Biden administration
US foreign policy is unlikely to become less belligerent under Biden

Biden's foreign policy record suggests there isn't likely to be much change, so the anti-war movement must prepare to assert itself, argues Chris Nineham
Imperialism is driven back in Bolivia

The return of Evo Morales to Bolivia symbolises the defeat of the Washington-driven coup following the election last month, writes John Clarke
Biden's politics as usual is what produced Trump in the first place

Trumpism is still alive and the left must recognise the centrality of class in order to organise against it, argues Yonas Makoni
The China question

Dragan Plavšić replies to criticisms of his recent article ‘China: a socialist force for good or an imperial superpower in the making? An historical evaluation’
After the election, is US foreign policy likely to change?

As the chaotic presidential election inches towards resolution, we can expect more continuity than change in US foreign policy, argues Terina Hine
Why is the US election so close? - video

Kevin Ovenden analyses the US election result so far and why the crisis is far from over
Trump puts America on fury road to constitutional chaos – CounterBlast

Trump’s outrageous power grab is entirely predictable and threatens to plunge the US into a dystopian political meltdown, suggests Sean Ledwith
US elections: Trump hasn’t won, but the Democrats have failed

Biden's centrist platform has failed to materialise the 'blue wave' in what should have been the easiest election against a failing Trump, writes Shabbir Lakha
This Is What America Looks Like - book review

Ilhan Omar has always been a fighter, and not just in the rhetorical sense. Kate O’Neil reviews the autobiography of the progressive Somali-American representative
Desperate Trump is threatening constitutional crisis on eve of the election - CounterBlast

On the final straight of the US presidential election, Trump’s authoritarian and reactionary agenda is edging the country towards political meltdown, argues Sean Ledwith
Paul Robeson: fighter for liberation - video

A presentation on the revolutionary life of singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson by Tayo Aluko
Bolivia defies the Washington Consensus

Driven by mass popular resistance, the election of Movement for Socialism signals a major victory against the coup leaders and their neoliberal backers in Washington, writes John Clarke.
What the US state does to anti-imperialists: The Trial of the Chicago 7 review

The Trial of the Chicago 7 tells us the powerful story of the brave stand taken by the anti-war movement in the late sixties
Whether it's Trump or Biden, the US left needs to build an independent movement - video

Speaking at a recent Counterfire meeting on the US elections, Kate O'Neil discusses the political landscape in the US and how the left can organise
Trump and Biden on Iran: more continuity than change

Whoever holds the keys to the White House after the US election, the future relationship with Iran looks unlikely to improve, argues Terina Hine
Covid: a Tory-made crisis - Counterfire Bulletin October 2020

Why we need a zero-Covid strategy, resistance on the frontline, carnage in America and a new direction for the left in this month's Counterfire bulletin
American carnage: this is chapter 1 of the crisis - video

Speaking at a recent Counterfire public meeting, David Bush explains the multi-layered crisis facing the US and why the election isn't going to be the end, whatever the outcome
How Amazon workers are taking on billionaire Bezos - video

Speaking at a recent Counterfire meeting, Chris Smalls describes the conditions at Amazon and how he's a part of organising workers against a rigged system
Shakespeare in a Divided America - book review

Shapiro’s writing on Shakespeare remains fascinating and insightful, but Julius Caesar in the age of Trump reveals the weaknesses of a liberal perspective, argues Dominic Alexander
Taiwan: the US is leading the world to the brink of a new Cold War

Recent provocations in Taiwan between the US and China risks military escalation, and must be resisted by the anti-war movement, argues Terina Hine
Racist America: forced sterilisations of refugee women

Refugee women in detention being given forced hysterectomies without consent is yet another reason why Ice must be abolished, argues Eleftheria Kousta
Students strike for climate as deadly US wildfires rage on

Students all over the world took part in the first climate strike since the pandemic broke out, reports Jamal Elaheebocus
US torn by crises as election looms

Ahead of the US elections, John Clarke considers the balance of forces, the dangers of a second Trump term and the intensifying crisis whatever the outcome
Donald Trump is no 'peace president'

Trump is once again claiming he has an anti-war foreign policy in his election campaign, but his record doesn't back it up, argues Chris Nineham
War feeds the climate crisis

The climate crisis is headline news, but the role of Western military policy in it is still not well known enough, argues Maddalena Dunscombe
Assange extradition trial: The prosecution's case does not hold water

The prosecution perform mental gymnastics to avoid accusations that they are criminalising journalists, says John Rees
The Serbia–Kosovo Treaty: a servile acquiescence to American imperialism

The ‘economic normalisation’ agreement between Serbia and Kosovo is nothing other than a shoring up of US economic and geopolitical interests, argues Anja Ilic
China: a socialist force for good or an imperial superpower in the making? An historical evaluation - long read

Dragan Plavšić considers what China’s modern history tells us about the nature of the Chinese state today
US wildfires and extreme weather are a warning: we need system change to stop the climate crisis

The extreme weather and wildfires ripping through parts of the US show clearly why we need fundamental change to stop the climate crisis, argues Jamal Elaheebocus
This is about all our rights: don't extradite Assange protest

Protesters assembled outside the Old Bailey to voice the opposition to extraditing Julian Assange, reports Shabbir Lakha
The Assange case: the people have the power

The tide is turning in the case to extradite Julian Assange - now opinion needs to be turned into power, argues John Rees
Made in the US: the coup in Chile

On the 50^th anniversary of Salvador Allende’s election, Mike Wayne looks at a declassified CIA report that shows how quickly plans were laid to stop him at all costs
Business as usual for police brutality

Black Lives Matter has put racist police brutality in the spotlight, but the police continue to operate with impunity, writes John Clarke
Dust Bowls of Empire. Imperialism, Environmental Politics and Injustice of ‘Green’ Capitalism - book review

Holleman’s Dust Bowls of Empire shows that ecological crisis on the Great Plains of America is rooted in racism, imperialism and capitalism, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
Protest works: how the anti-war movement weakened the warmongers

Recent reports show how social movements can impact directly on militarism, writes Chris Nineham
Jacob Blake and Kenosha: the chickens are still coming home to roost

Kate O’Neil reflects on the US empire’s latest eruption of racism and violence
Radical Seattle: The General Strike of 1919 - book review

Winslow’s Radical Seattle tells an important story of workers’ militancy in the US very well, but questions of political strategy also need to be addressed, argues John Westmoreland
Kamala Harris is not 'progressive'

Kamala Harris' record shows she's far from the radical change that people want, argues Yonas Makoni
Immigration Nation and the brutality of America’s borders

Immigration Nation gives a damning overview of America’s cruel immigration system and the power of the American State, writes Lucy Nichols
Never again: Hiroshima at 75

The ruling class's deadliest toys, nuclear weapons are never a 'necessary evil', writes Lucy Nichols
Empire of Borders: The Expansion of the US Border Around the World - book review

Todd Miller, on US imperialism extending its border-policing worldwide, has particular relevance as the violence turns inevitably inward, finds Richard Allday
TikTok Trump don't stop

Trump and Microsoft combine to escalate tensions with China in the run up to the presidential election, writes Shabbir Lakha
Summer Brexit report: Britain drowns beneath the waves

As the UK reels under the double impact of the pandemic and recession, the Brexit deadline is coming over the horizon, argues Martin Hall
Portland rises against Trump’s iron heel

The Black Lives Matter uprising in Portland isn't backing down in the face of violence from Trump's troops, reports Sean Ledwith
Once upon a time in Iraq, a TV documentary review

Terina Hine reviews the fascinating five-part TV documentary Once Upon a Time in Iraq available on BBC iPlayer
BLM and the labour movement come together - Chris Smalls interview

Shabbir Lakha speaks to Chris Smalls in the US about the Strike for Black Lives, his organisation The Congress of Essential Workers and the possibilities for fundamental change
'Global Britain': the defence review

As competition increases for defence funding, Cummings' involvement has reignited concerns over the UK’s defence strategy, argues Terina Hine
Black Lives Matter in a time of pandemic

Nearly two months on from George Floyd’s brutal killing, the struggle against racist police violence is contending with a catastrophic resurgence of Covid-19, writes Susan Ram
Dropping Huawei: UK will protect the special relationship whatever the cost

The decision to ban Huawei at the detriment of the UK economy shows the ruling class will follow US foreign policy no matter what, writes Jamal Elaheebocus
The global picture: Covid cases and deaths continue to rise sharply

World leaders like Trump and Johnson trying to get back to business as usual while the virus continues to spread are deliberately sacrificing public health, writes John Clarke
Ten reasons Roosevelt’s New Deal was more myth than reality

FDR’s reputation as a workers’ President should be rejected along with Boris Johnson’s attempt to channel his legacy, argues Sean Ledwith
20 Dictators Currently Supported by the U.S. - book review

David Swanson, 20 Dictators provides robust evidence that the claims for US foreign policy are contradicted by its behaviour, argue Phil Armstrong and Catherine Armstrong
Hong Kong in crisis

Caught between threats from China and support from the US, the protestors face some difficult decisions, writes Dragan Plavšić
We have everything to fear from Johnson’s spin and incompetence - CounterBlast

Boris Johnson’s pathetic attempt to compare himself to Roosevelt will fool nobody as the gap grows between his rhetoric and reality, argues Sean Ledwith
The UK is systemically racist: the fight has just begun

Luna Williams, a political correspondent for the Immigration Advice Service, writes for Counterfire on racism in the UK
Maxine Peake is right: US and Israeli state violence is linked

Pointing out the link between US police brutality and Israel’s barbaric tactics against Palestinians is no conspiracy theory, argues Shabbir Lakha
Is this the end for Trump?

Donald Trump's approval ratings are low, but can that be converted into an election defeat? Kate O'Neil looks in more detail
Reconstruction in the USA: Black freedom denied - part 2

In the second of a two-part analysis, John Westmoreland explores the successes of Reconstruction, and the subsequent attempt to airbrush them from history
Reconstruction in the USA: Black freedom denied - part 1

In the first of a two-part analysis, John Westmoreland examines the contradictions of American society which laid the basis for black oppression to persist after the Civil War
Blowing open the past: Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods reviewed

Spike Lee's latest is a powerful and deeply political triumph, finds Chris Nineham
I Am Not Your Negro - film of the week

I Am Not Your Negro is an unforgettably powerful film that you must not miss, writes Dragan Plavšić.
Imperial undertones of Trump’s hurried deal for the Balkans

The US President is hoping that he can broker a Serbia-Kosovo deal ahead of the November elections, writes Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
From fighting pandemic to fighting police brutality

Jillian Primiano, a registered nurse, speaks to Spring Magazine about fighting COVID-19, racism and health, and the movement for police abolition
When Alabama revolutionaries took on the KKK

Despite powerful and brutal opposition, black and white communist workers battled bravely against injustice in Alabama, writes Sean Ledwith
The looming danger of a US-China military confrontation

The coronavirus and deepening economic crisis is being used as a pretext by Trump to scale up tensions with China, writes Lindsey German
The uprising on Trump's doorstep: Black Lives Matter in DC

The Black Lives Matter protests in Washington DC are taking the fight straight to Trump, reports Shabbir Lakha based on an interview with Sarah Govan
Fred Hampton: Black Panther and red revolutionary

Fred Hampton's politics are a lesson in how to fight racism and capitalism together, argues Sean Ledwith
The message from London is clear: Black Lives Matter

For the third time this week, tens of thousands of people gathered in London to demand an end to police racism, reports Lucy Nichols
Ten days that shook America

The brave defiance of the protesters in America has the ruling class in retreat, argues Chris Nineham
London on the march: Black Lives Matter

At a second mass demonstration in London, thousands of protesters gathered in Hyde Park to racist police violence in the US and here, reports Jamal Elaheebocus
Justice for George Floyd: model resolution and window poster

Counterfire has produced a model resolution you can pass in your organisation and a poster you can download to put on your window or in your area
Where are the US protests going? - interview with Chris Smalls

Counterfire's Shabbir Lakha interviewed Chris Smalls, former Amazon employee and now an organiser, about the protests sweeping across the US against racist police violence
This government wants to follow the money, not the science – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on the Covid-19 lockdown, Tory mendacity and the US revolts
Minneapolis: a popular revolt against racism

The current unrest in Minneapolis is an explosive response to endemic police racism, writes Sean Ledwith
London demands justice for George Floyd

"No justice, no peace" rang out on the streets of London as protesters marched in solidarity with Minneapolis, reports Lucy Nichols
It’s a big deal that the outrage expressed over George Floyd’s death was massive and multiracial

Class struggle doesn’t go away in a pandemic, writes August Nimtz
Justice for George Floyd: Minneapolis rebels against racist police

Mass protests in Minneapolis continue for a third day in active defiance to the police after the racist murder of George Floyd, writes Shabbir Lakha
The China syndrome: why Trump’s obsession could lead to war – long read

The US policy to counter the growing economic and political strengths of China have taken a dangerous turn, says Chris Nineham
Strikes, walkouts, and sickouts: how working-class Americans are organising in the time of Covid-19

Counterfire's Katherine Connelly interviews US writer and historian Chris Wright about how workers are organising to protect lives and homes in America today
The revolutionary life and legacy of Malcolm X

On the 95th anniversary of Malcolm X’s birth, Alyssa Cassata looks at his radical life and ideas which continues to inspire millions today
The Jackson State massacre: the savagery of state-led racist violence

50 years on from the massacre of black students at Jackson State College, systemic racism and police brutality remain prevalent in the United States, writes Alyssa Cassata
The imperialism pandemic

Imperialism is part and parcel of global capitalism and it can be seen very clearly in the coronavirus crisis, writes David Bush in this repost from Spring Magazine
American Factory: a neoliberal story - film review

American Factory is a powerful documentary about neoliberalism and globalisation and its impact on working class communities, writes Don Davies
After the lockdowns what sort of world economy will emerge?

With the global economy facing the biggest downturn in 150 years, there will be no return to 'normal', argues Michael Roberts
Workers across the US strike on May Day for their lives

Workers from Amazon and other retail companies walked out on May day to demand protective equipment and hazard pay, reports Alyssa Cassata
The hidden history of American radicalism: the campaign for the Workers' Unemployment Insurance Bill

The little-known story of working class organising for a Communist-led initiative in 1930s America challenges assumptions about US workers’ conservatism, argues Chris Wright
Bernie campaigners take stock and look ahead

Kate O’Neil spoke with three Bernie campaigners about 'What’s next?'
We are not expendable: interview with Chris Smalls

Counterfire's Alyssa Cassata interviews Chris Smalls, who led a walkout at an Amazon warehouse in New York to demand protective gear and hazard pay, for which he was fired
Chomsky’s Deterring Democracy: books that made me a socialist

Selected by author and environmental activist Elaine Graham-Leigh
Centrism’s pyrrhic victory - CounterBlast 8 April

Bernie Sanders has suspended his campaign, but the conditions that gave rise to his popularity haven't gone away, argues Katherine Connelly
Pandemic hammers the US economy

The coronavirus crisis has triggered a deep and sustained economic downturn in the US that will have lasting effects, writes John Clarke
It’ll Be Over By Easter: How Trump Became the Covidiot-in-Chief

Tragically, the events leading up to the Coronavirus outbreak and the manner in which he has bungled the federal response confirms that the Trump Presidency is destined to go down as one of the most disastrous in US history, says Sean Ledwith
The Sanders campaign and the corona crisis: stay in the race and retool for the long game

The pressure on Sanders to withdraw is intense. He must stay, and fight the long game, argues Kate O'Neil
US sanctions on Iran are fuelling the spread of coronavirus

Trump's sanctions on Iran are limiting the country's ability to deal with the coronavirus outbreak effectively and it's costing lives, writes Jonathan Maunders
US Elections: The Establishment finds its Man

Against overwhelming Establishment support for Biden, the left must resist the idea that Biden is a more credible opponent of Trump than Sanders, argues Kate O'Neil
Afghanistan is a prime example of why 'humanitarian intervention' is a lie

After spending trillions of dollars and killing countless civilians, the US has admitted defeat in Afghanistan, but don't expect any honest accounting, writes Lindsey German
Syrian crisis set to grow deeper as NATO might extend involvement

We are now facing another moment of extreme danger which could extend Syria's suffering for years, says Chris Nineham
Starmer sides with Trump against Assange: expect more of the same if he’s leader

Sir Keir Starmer is less critical of the Extradition Treaty than Boris Johnson, says John Cook
Time to take a stand: the crucial case of Julian Assange

The British State's sinister maneouvres around the extradition of Julian Assange are a flagrant injustice and are being rightly challenged, reports Alistair Cartwright
Those enslaved do not feel the benefits of a boom

Trump's boasts of economic boom does not ring true to the worker says Pete Morgan
James Baldwin: Living in Fire - book review

Living in Fire is a pithy yet powerful introduction to James Baldwin’s political life as a street fighting intellectual, raging against the world’s racist and reactionary forces, finds Adam Tomes
Can Bernie win?

Sanders has had a good week and is in a strong position, but there are many battles to come, argues Kate O'Neil
Bernie Sanders vs the Democrat establishment – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on democratic socialism, witch-hunting and the fight for women’s liberation
Trump impeachment: the failure of the Democrat establishment

The failure to impeach Trump was all too predictable, only a mass movement can end the corruption in the White House, argues Sean Ledwith
Why Bernie matters

Sanders puts class warfare back on the agenda, writes Alex Kerner
When exposing war crimes becomes a crime: the case of Julian Assange

Following an impressive London rally for Assange, Alistair Cartwright explains the significance of the case
America’s Covert War in East Africa: Surveillance, Rendition, Assassination - book review

America’s Covert War in East Africa reveals the terrible violence of US military operations in Africa, and the complicity of the UK in this dangerous policy, finds Sean Ledwith
How America Became Capitalist - book review

James Parisot’s How America Became Capitalist uncovers the contested and contradictory history of capitalist development in the United States, finds Dominic Alexander
Behind Trump's tantrums: the US, Iran and the continuing threat of war

The decline in the US' strategic power in the region is leading to desperate measures from Trump writes Chris Nineham
The anti-war movement gears up to oppose war with Iran

Protesters took the streets to say no to Trump's drive to war with Iran, reports Shabbir Lakha
Bolivia: call it a coup, support the resistance

International solidarity is vital - the left must unite in condemning the coup against Morales, argues David Bush

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United States

United States

The relentless American war on Venezuelan sovereignty receives thorough and welcome coverage in Extraordinary Threat, finds Orlando Hill

Chris Nineham analyses the causes and consequences of the war in Ukraine and tectonic shifts in global power politics

In White Malice, Susan Williams’s careful research reveals the history of the CIA’s damaging interventions in newly independent African nations, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh

Following the Magistrates' Court's ruling, a mass campaign defending a free press can be pivotal in the next stage of the battle, writes John Rees

Exhaustive but not exhausting, Mark Dee Smith goes twelve rounds with our side’s most enduring sporting icon

The former Prime Minister has discovered that neutrality regarding Ukraine is not acceptable to the US, writes Sean Ledwith

Starbucks is on an anti-union rampage following the return of former CEO Howard Schultz who claims it's being 'assaulted by the threat of unionization', reports John McGrath

Given that regime change has been a cornerstone of US foreign policy for decades, Joe Biden's words shouldn't surprise us, argues Chris Nineham

The isolationist pro-Putin politics of the Republican hard right is clashing with an American establishment committed to imperial hegemony, writes John Clarke

The re-militarisation of the West comes with major costs, writes Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

Russia and the Media makes a convincing case that a Cold War mentality in the Western media supports further militarisation and forestalls solutions, finds Michael Bailey

John McGrath reports on the rapidly spreading unionisation drive at Starbucks stores across the US despite the company's union-busting tactics

Socialist Register 2022 discusses the impasse in the neoliberal consensus, the rise of authoritarian politics, and the prospects for the left, finds Dominic Alexander

A new global militarism is emerging from the war in Ukraine, argues John Rees

Richard Allday enjoys an excellent collection of stories set in countries invaded by the US, by authors from each nation, in The American Way

The Stop the War Coalition's statement following the dangerous escalation of the crisis in Ukraine

After twenty years of waging war on Afghanistan, the US has now created the world's worst humanitarian catstrophe with crippling sanctions, writes Jonathan Maunders

The BBC's Andy Warhol's America paints a picture of an artist who latched on to an age of tumultuous events in America more by accident than design, writes Simon Duckett

The powder keg that threatens to ignite over the situation in the Ukraine is, more than anything, a manifestation of the turn towards intensified global rivalry on the part of the US, argues John Clarke

John Clarke pays tribute to the man who refused to accept the degrading roles set aside for Black actors and who played an important role in challenging racism

The death of Amazon workers in tornadoes underlines the need for workers to organise and confront the bosses’ disregard for human life, argues Shabbir Lakha

Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York successfully defeated management's punishing anti-union campaign in a historic victory, reports John McGrath

In a travesty of justice, the High Court overturned the previous ruling blocking the extradition of Assange, but the battle isn't over yet, reports Shabbir Lakha

Regional elections in Venezuela have delivered a significant blow to the US, but the left must continue to oppose imperialist meddling in the region, argues Jonathan Maunders

Despite a missing plot, Lucy Nichols finds The Harder They Fall an entertaining and visually impressive new take on the Western genre

The growing mood for radical change has to be harnessed by the left on a global scale, and the demands for action over the climate have to be put at the heart of every movement, argues Feyzi Ismail

While world leaders fail to agree on meaningful change at COP26, the city of Glasgow has become a hub of protests and strikes, reports John McGrath

Rapper Tupac Shakur opened up a fork in the road for the music argues Mayer Wakefield

A history of repression during World War I shows the importance of defending civil rights, but free speech always needs to be seen in its political context, argues Dominic Alexander

Weeks after signing off the AUKUS pact, Joe Biden was back on the offensive against China this week. Chris Nineham reports

The United States is seeing a surge in strike activity, and worker dissatisfaction, but this needs to lead to a new wave of unionisation, argues John McGrath

Lindsey German on the assassination of David Amess and recent US strikes

Dissenting POWs charts the record of US prisoners in Vietnam who opposed that imperialist war, in a vital contribution to the anti-war movement in the present, argues John Clarke

Dragan Plavšić considers the consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan as another Cold War looms

Chris Nineham speaks to RT News about the provocative and unnecesary step the US, UK and Australia have taken with their new nuclear alliance

Counterfire's Kate O'Neil speaks to Chicago abortion rights campaigner Lauren Bianchi about the Texas abortion ban and how the movement can organise against it

Set the Night on Fire is a monumental history of radical movements in 1960s Los Angeles, which holds lessons for global resistance movements today, finds Sean Ledwith

John Clarke analyses US imperialism in the twenty years since the September 11th terrorist attacks

Taking on the Tories, victory for Bexley strikers, interview with a Staff Nurse and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

The whole idea that the world's largest imperialist nation could 'remake' a country was a conceit born of overweening power, argues Lindsey German

What a way to build a movement: Lucy Nichols reviews Steven Bognar and Julia Reicherts’ latest documentary

More war will not help the people of Afghanistan or anywhere else and those still arguing for "humanitarian intervention" are living in a fantasy, argues Shabbir Lakha

Superhero films often critique capitalist society, but the front and centre exposition of US imperialism puts James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad in a new league, writes Lucy Nichols

Protesters are leading a national shutdown to force President Giammattei to resign after he sacked the country’s anti-corruption prosecutor, reports Jonathan Maunders

Dragan Plavšić discusses US imperialism and the developing global tensions with China as part of Counterfire's Revolution! Festival

Jeff Bezos’s space adventure, while Amazon workers continue to suffer appalling conditions, once again highlights obscene levels of wealth inequality, argues Jonathan Maunders

Cuba's economic and health crisis is a result of crippling US sanctions - the only solution is an end to the blockade, writes Jonathan Maunders

The record-breaking heatwave in the US and Canada is the latest example of the deadly consequences of climate change and the urgent need for systemic change, argues John Clarke

Writing for Stop the War, Chris Nineham looks at the disastrous defeat suffered by the US as it finally pulls out of Afghanistan

The former US Defense Secretary should be remembered for his connivance in horrific wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, writes Sean Ledwith

Britain's encroachment into the Black Sea is a deliberate and dangerous provocation of Russia says Stop the War in a statement

The landslide victory of Ebrahim Raisi, facilitated by inept US policy and international sanctions, spells an end to eight years of reformism, writes Susan Ram

Prashad’s Washington Bullets details the global economic and military interventions of the US, showing why anti-imperialist movements are vital, argues Jamal Elaheebocus

Jonathon Shafi, Sybil Cock, Shabbir Lakha and Mona Kamal discuss Palestine, imperialism and the global solidarity movement

Raoul Peck’s four-part documentary film about colonialism, slavery and genocide is a powerful and thorough exposition of the crimes of colonialism

Biden’s uncompromising defence of Israel while it kills Palestinians shatters any myths of a progressive President, argues John Westmoreland

Richman’s Tell the Bosses We’re Coming provides a valuable discussion of the challenges facing trade unions and offers a range of solutions to be debated, finds John Westmoreland

A timeline of events in Ukraine that the media want to ignore shows who's threatening who, writes Chris Nineham

George Floyd's killer being convicted for murder is a result of the Black Lives Matter movement, now it must continue to fight for fundamental change, argues Shabbir Lakha

Twenty years of the War on Terror has produced neither security nor stability for the Afghan people and cost countless lives in the process, argues Terina Hine

US socialist Joe Allen analyses the failed attempt to unionise at Amazon in Bessemer, Alabama, and argues the movement must learn the lessons if it wants to win

Hal Draper’s classic account of the 1960s Berkeley student free-speech movement reveals enduring patterns that remain important for all activists, argues Joshua Newman

Gerald Horne’s Jazz and Justice is an illuminating history of the material conditions of African-American Jazz musicians in its classic decades, finds Martin Hall

On UN Anti-Racism Day, Jamal Elaheebocus looks at the anti-Chinese racism behind the recent Atlanta murders and the role of imperialism in fuelling it

On the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, we repost this article by renowned Marxist CLR James from 1946 on Marx and the Commune

A long read - August Nimtz examines the Trump era in the context of the capitalist crisis and argues for the building of an independent left rooted in the class struggle.

We shouldn't allow the relief from watching Trump go colour our view on Biden's administration, argues Chris Nineham

Shabbir Lakha explains what we can expect from Biden's foreign policy using a Marxist understanding of imperialism

Ten years on from the Bahraini revolution, Shabbir Lakha looks at Britain’s role in supporting the violent repression of pro-democracy protesters

The general strike gripping Haiti is the latest chapter in a struggle against dictatorship, corruption and the bloody history of US intervention, argues Unjum Mirza

The US ending its support for Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen is a win for the anti-war movement, but we mustn’t be complacent, argues Lucy Nichols

Anti-war sentiment has already impacted on the incoming Biden administration, but it will have to be mobilised to deliver change, argues Chris Nineham

The departure of the 45th President after one term marks a moment of vindication for the American left, argues Sean Ledwith

On the 150^th anniversary of the Paris Commune, we repost this article by renowned Marxist CLR James from 1946 on Marx and the Commune

The departure of the 45^th President after one term marks a moment of vindication for the American left, argues Sean Ledwith