Articles

BY RICH GIBSON Photograph Source: Jeanne Menjoulet – CC BY 2.0 The counterfeit “union,” the United Auto Workers, found a new way to fake a strike. What’s new? Striking all of the Big Three (each enriched with government bailouts) by calling out less than 20 percent of the workforce, thus effectively dividing workers again. This is no improvement on striking only one of the Big Three and, now, not expanding the strike at Ford, portrayed as the:” good boss.” Those who are working get paychecks. “Strikers” get a paltry $500 a week and march in the rain. The UAW  sits on a $850 million strike fund. The organization’s mis-leaders think of that as their bank, as we shall see. The Big Three then targets groups of workers, where stockpiles are solid, for layoffs,...

BY WILLIAM ASTORE Image by Diego González. A progressive Pentagon? Talk about an oxymoron! The Pentagon continues to grow and surge with ever larger budgets, ever more expansive missions (for example, a Space Force to dominate the heavens and yet more bases in the Pacific to encircle China), and ever greater ambitions to dominate everywhere, including if necessary through global thermonuclear warfare. No wonder it’s so hard, to the point of absurdity, to imagine a Pentagon that would humbly and faithfully serve only the interests of “national defense.” Yet, as a thought experiment, why not imagine it? What would a progressive Pentagon look like? I’m not talking about a “woke” Pentagon that touts and celebrates its “diversity,” including...

BY KOLIN KOBAYASHI Fukushima Unit 3. It has since been dismantled but the other destroyed units are still in danger of collapse. (Photo: IAEA Imagebank) This year marks the 13th year since the Fukushima accident began, yet the path to a conclusion is by no means clear. The declaration of a state of emergency still cannot be lifted because of the various dangers and difficulties that have arisen. Despite this, Prime Minister Kishida’s government is doing more than ever to promote nuclear power as a basic energy source. This approach is similar to that of the French administration, which is also trying to promote nuclear energy as a dual-use nuclear weapon. The international nuclear lobby, which represents only a minority, has the influence and money to dominate the world’s pop...

BY FRANCES MADESON – GREG LAROSE A string of lawsuits lays out allegations of death, violence, negligence and unwarranted arrests, stops and searches against Rapides Parish law enforcement in recent years. Plaintiffs point fingers at leadership for permitting a climate of misconduct. A Louisiana Illuminator review of federal and state court records since 2020 found multiple complaints against the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Mark Wood, his deputies and prison guards, not all of which are covered here. Police officers from Alexandria and Pineville are also defendants in the lawsuits as is the Rapides Parish Police Jury. Lauren Bonds, executive director of National Police Accountability Project, said it’s not just the frequency of the suits that jumps out at her bu...

BY RICHARD D. WOLFF Photograph Source: Mike MacKenzie – CC BY 2.0 Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a profit opportunity for capitalists, but it presents a crucial choice for the working class. Because the working class is the majority, that crucial choice confronts society as a whole. It is the same profit opportunity/social choice that was presented by the introduction of robotics, computers, and indeed by most technological advances throughout capitalism’s history. In capitalism, employers decide when, where, and how to install new technologies; employees do not. Employers’ decisions are driven chiefly by whether and how new technologies affect their profits. If new technologies enable employers to profitably replace paid workers with machines, they will implement...