Posts by Title

ICSS 20210509 Theory of Revolution - Mehmet Bayram Sun, May 9, 2021: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Pacific The recent events call us to revisit Historical Materialism to understand what is happening.  The COVID-19 Pandemic, the re-emergence of the cold-war racing towards a real war, the Minneapolis murders by the police, the US police force becoming the third largest army in the world, the Amazon workers’ organizing efforts, the struggle of the health care workers, the Indian Farmers’ Strike, the failure of the world capitalist system to deal with a simple and preventable disease, and to allow millions of people ...
Read More

ICSS 20210516 Biden’s Foreign Policy – Hope or Horror? Sun., May 16, 2021: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm PDT Biden bellicosely proclaimed, “American is back,” in his major foreign policy priorities speech, reaffirming the bipartisan consensus of regime change, forever wars, and the NATO alliance. Republican neo-cons now shelter in the Democrat’s big tent, today’s party of war. Regardless of  the changing of the guard in Washington, the Biden’s policies will follow his predecessor, but will more effectively target official enemies such as Venezuela and Iran and will double down on Russia and China. The US empire is the main ...
Read More

ICSS20210523 The Significance of the Alabama Amazon Union Struggle: Building Solidarity in a Time of Transformation for the Working Class Judy Greenspan, a member of Workers World Party and the San Francisco Bay Area local organizing committee to support Alabama Amazon workers Our discussion of this important topic will be led by Judy Greenspan, a member of the Peace and Freedom Party, the Bay Area Chapter of Workers World Party, and the San Francisco Bay Area local organizing committee to support Alabama Amazon workers.Resources: Recommended background reading: WWP message on May Day 2020 is Organize! By Larry Holmeshttps://www.workers.org/2020/05/48257/ ...
Read More

Resources: ...
Read More

Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022. As of now, hundreds of civilians and thousands of soldiers of both sides have lost their lives. Oil Prices have risen steeply. Working classes in the US and Russia and in fact all over the world will be poorer as a result of additional inflation, which in the past year in the US was already very high, at 7.9%. However, this war did not start in 2022, but rather in 2014, with the Maidan counter Revolution aided and encouraged by the US. There is a great present danger ...
Read More

...
Read More

Secretary Blinken has recently asserted that conflict in the South China Sea (SCS) between the Philippines and China could justify US war against China, due to a mutual defense treaty. This pronouncement comes as the US rallies its allies to form a bloc against China, escalates economic war, and heightens rhetoric against China. This presentation will explain: Why the SCS--and the Phillipines--are critical to US global geostrategy The SCS arbitral tribunal decision that the US claims as justification for Phillipine claims The history & context of the current cold war against China How the war would unfold Sunday, July 18, 2021: ...
Read More

Judy will present a history of Workers World Party and the role it has consistently played in the working class movement in the U.S. Judy will discuss WWP's positions on self-determination, the fight against racism, sexism, gender and transphobia and anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry. Judy will also talk about the significance of the recent Amazon and Starbucks workers union victories to the working class and progressive movements in this country. They will also discuss the rise of the rightwing, the US war drive and how we can fightback ...
Read More

...
Read More

It’s been a hellava year, what with Jan 6, the attack on Roe vs Wade, gun violence, dis-functional congress, global warming, the threat of nuclear apocalypse, the pandemic, you name it. We’ve planning an open discussion on what happened in 2021 and how we can prepare for 2022. We are asking a few of our members to start the conversation with brief presentations. Anyone who wants to volunteer to prepare a brief, approximately 5 minute presentation, please email Gene at cuyleruyle@mac.com by midnight on Friday. so we can plan accordingly ...
Read More

Marx vs Lenin: The Character of Marxism and the nature of Blue Revolution. Sunday September 5 2021 10:30 AM Pacific Time - Michael Gilbert IWe have invited Michael Gilbert to speak on this topic.Marx and Engels left a legacy of social and economic theories which have influenced the world in numerous ways. However, there are some significant theoretical gaps for which they left little guidance. These gaps include the 'withering away of the state' and how exactly it occurs, the true nature of the ‘communist Party’ and its relationship to the state, the 'dictatorship of the Proletariat', the consciousness of ...
Read More

After brief presentations by members of the ICSS Program Committee, we will continue our discussion on the situation on Ukraine. Speakers will include Allan Miller, Mehmet Bayram , Richard Fallenbaum, Gene Ruyle, and perhaps others ...
Read More

Moving Toward Socialism with a Left Unity Slate - Peace And Freedom And Green Party  In The June California Primary – Laura Wells April 17, 2022 10:30 AM Pacific Time Laura Wells will discuss the historic decision this year in which the Green Party and the Peace and Freedom Party created a Left Unity Slate of statewide candidates for the June 7, 2022 primary in California. This cooperative strategy was based on the many shared values between the two parties, all of which will save lives, money, and the planet. Among the values are a single-payer "Medicare for All" healthcare ...
Read More

Spanning nearly the entirety of the Western left in its inadequate response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, organizations ranging from the U.S.-based Democratic Socialists of America to the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) have all mistakenly branded the Russian special military operation in Ukraine as an "invasion" and the proxy war between Washington and Moscow as an "inter-imperial" conflict. American journalist and political analyst Max Parry explains how this misinterpretation only serves US-NATO imperialism, even when they claim to denounce the latter. Max Parry is an independent journalist and geopolitical analyst based in New York City. His writing has appeared widely ...
Read More

ICSS 20200719 Sun, Jul 19, 2020: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Group Discussion: What Is Neoliberalism? Our group discussion will be introduced and led by ICSS member Alan Miller. Gene Ruyle has suggested the following as interesting supplemental reading: “The Tale of the Dueling Economists.” (Keynes vs Hayek) By Nancy F. Koehn, NY Times, Oct. 22, 2011: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/business/keynes-hayek-views-origins-of-an-economics-debate-review.html. Come prepared to discuss and defend your views!Resources:  “The Tale of the Dueling Economists.” (Keynes vs Hayek) By Nancy F. Koehn, NY Times, Oct. 22, 2011: “The Tale of the Dueling Economists.” (Keynes vs Hayek) By Nancy F. Koehn, NY Times, Oct ...
Read More

ICSS 20210627 Norman Finkelstein on Gaza, Palestine & Israel in the shifting sands of US & World Politics  Sun, june 27, 2021: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Pacific Israel has become increasingly militarily stronger ever since its founding in 1948 approved by the UN Commission. It's founding was opposed by the Palestinians, Arab countries, India and many other countries. The US, Britain, France, and the USSR had supported the founding of Israel, though the USSR had initially supported a secular state with both the Palestinians and Jews as having equal rights. Palestinians have since split between the secular PLO which ...
Read More