Stalin’s First Betrayal: The Russian Revolution

Joseph Stalin at his summer dacha in 1935. A symbol of privilege enjoyed by the bureaucracy that took hold and overturned workers’ democracy. Original Facebook Note #28 published on 28 November 2017 “Will it be possible for this revolution to take place in one country alone? No. By creating the world market, big industry has

English Armada: The Spanish Misadventure of Elizabeth I

Spanish fleet battling the English Armada off Lisbon. The English defeat prolonged the global conflict between London and Madrid into the next century. “If God wants to punish you, he’ll answer your prayers.”–Stromkern, Perfect Sunrise “The English Armada was larger than the Spanish, and from many points of view it was an even greater disaster.

Birkenau: 80th Anniversary of the Romani Revolt

German Gypsies awaiting deportation to death camps from Asperg, May 1940 “The Gypsies, armed with handcuffs, knives, shovels and stones, waited to see what would happen. They did not leave the barracks. The SS members were appalled and left themselves.”–Tadeusz Joachimowski, Polish inmate of Birkenau 16 May is marked as Roma Resistance Day in celebration

Bloody Betrayal of the Spanish Revolution

Anarchist CNT-led workers militia in Barcelona during the May Days in 1937. Popular Front leaderships of the POUM, Stalinists, Socialists and Anarchists handed the Spanish workers to Franco’s butchers. Original Facebook Note #30 published on 12 December 2017 “The leaders of the CNT and FAI themselves declared after the uprising of May 1937: ‘Had we

Betrayal of the British General Strike 1926

In May 1926 nearly 4 million workers in Great Britain went on a 9-day general strike. The class collaborationist policy of Joseph Stalin and the TUC labor bureaucracy saved the Royal family, Stanley Baldwin, and Winston Churchill from facing the anger of the workers like the last Russian Czar in a second English Revolution. Original

French Imperialism Supported the Rwandan Genocide

French soldiers standing guard at the Nyarushishi camp filled with Tutsi refugees in Gisenyi, Rwanda, 30 April 1994 “The greatest weapon that the colonial powers have used in the past against our people has always been divide-and-conquer.”–Malcolm X In November 2015, Paris was shaken by a series of terrorist attacks by Islamists that left over

Vietnamese Revolution: 40th Anniversary of the Victory

30 April 1975, people of Saigon (now Hồ Chí Minh City) welcome the entry of the Vietnamese People’s Army and the Việt Cộng as the despised South Vietnamese regime crumbled. Original Facebook Note #9 published on 28 July 2015 “They mobilized as many as 6 million in rotation and dropped over 100 million tons of

Afghan War: 30th Anniversary of the Badaber Uprising

Soviet troops in Kabul. Intervention brought hope and progress to Afghan peoples. Original Facebook Note #8 published on 16 May 2015 “The Soviet side holds full responsibility for what had happened with the Government of Pakistan and expects that it will make appropriate conclusions about the effects posed by its complicity in the aggression against

Bay of Pigs: The Cuban Fist and Kennedy’s Bloody Nose

19 April 1961, Cuban armed revolutionaries escorting Kennedy’s surrendered counter-revolutionaries after the failed invasion on Cuba’s southern coast at the Bay of Pigs. Original Facebook Note #25 published on 13 July 2017 “Thank you for Playa Girón [Bay of Pigs]. Before the invasion, the revolution was weak. Now it is stronger than ever.”–Ernesto “Che” Guevara;

Stalinist Betrayal of the Iraqi Revolution

14 July 1958, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis including elements of the military crowded into Baghdad and toppled the hated pro-British monarchy. Original Facebook Note #43 published on 24 July 2018 “A bill of indictment against the Iraqi Communist leaders was drawn up in Moscow and the Iraqi [Communist] Party was ordered not merely to