Northwoods Socialist Collective

In addition to our weekly activist calendar that we publish online and send out as an email zine, we publish an occasional printed newsletter called the Northwoods Socialist .  We just finished putting together our end of the year newsletter, which is a round up of the social justice activism in our region that the Northwoods Socialist Collective was involved in.   To read a PDF version of the newsletter, click here .

Africa has experienced countless genocides, and behind them there are always the interests of companies from imperialist countries. The French in Algeria, the Italians in Ethiopia, the Belgians in Rwanda and Congo, the Germans in Namibia and Tanzania, the British in Kenya, etc. In Darfur, Sudan, near the border with Chad, the non-Arab African population experienced a first genocide in 2003, and for two and a half years now, the Black Masalit, Fur, and Zaghawa ethnic groups have been experiencing a new genocide similar to that of 2003. The first genocide, in 2003, was carried out by the Janjaweed (lit. “armed horsemen”), who, under the government of dictator Al Bashir, gained the status of regular forces and from which emerged the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) of the supposed general Mohamed “Hemedti” Hamdan Dagalo. In 2003, it is estimated that between 300,000 and 500,000 people were murdered! A reactionary civil war In Sudan, there are two bourgeois factions at war with each other,...

In the last several months, the U.S. military has repeatedly conducted air strikes on small fishing boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. Almost every few days, the Trump administration has bragged about ruthlessly bombing boats and killing everyone on board nearly every single time. Trump and the head of the newly named Department of War, Pete Hegseth, who used to be a Fox News host, claim these strikes are being done to prevent so-called “narco-terrorists” from Venezuela bringing drugs into the United States. One of these targeted assassinations, which all occurred without any evidence ever being presented, was recently criticized as a potential war crime because after the boat was first bombed, there were survivors still hanging onto the wreckage for dear life, who were then bombed again and killed.

The present moment is exceptionally dangerous for the nations and peoples of Latin America – and for communities across the United States. The actions of the U.S. government put us all at risk. While the Trump regime’s murderous bombing of small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean are world-class crimes in their own right, they are not happening in isolation. They openly signal Trump’s and his administration’s intention to wage war on Venezuela , in order to install a pro-U.S. puppet regime in that country – or to compel the existing government to surrender Venezuela’s oil resources to U.S. corporate exploitation.

A titanic undeclared war is being waged to kill the First Amendment and democratic rights across the U.S. Does free speech, press, and assembly apply only to MAGA bigots, billionaires, and right-wing influencers? Or is it for everyone? That question has existed since America’s founding — and been repeatedly answered with rebellions, the Civil War, strikes and mass movements. Today is one such moment as Trump attacks fundamental freedoms. Turbo-charging his executive power-grab are the Supreme Court, Congress, reactionary state legislatures, and the billionaire class.

The U.S. government has accelerated its war on the people of the U.S. and is increasing its threats against the people of South America. The government shutdown, like the threat of a military assault on Venezuela, has been a demonstration of the priorities of the government and those it really represents.