We are approaching the halfway mark in the Young Communist League’s September Recruitment Month. Already significant numbers of young workers and students from across Britain are answering the call to join the Communists.
The Eyes of Sutyeska by Vasko Popa
Vasko Popa was a Serbian poet of Romanian descent. Born in modern day Romania, Popa spent his life between Serbia and Romania studying in both Belgrade and Bucharest. His poetic life was often concerned with Socialist Realism, an artistic form which focuses primarily on celebrating socialist life or uplifting the role of ordinary folk in contrast to romantic ideas of aloof heroes and divinely given gifts.
The August meeting of the Communist Party executive agreed a schedule of events to step-up commemoration of its centenary. These include major online meetings and conferences: Cable street forever! (4 October), Salute the Volunteers for Liberty in Spain (17 October), Launch of Communist Party history (Mid-November) and a conference on The Future of Work (5 December).
Like other regions of the UK and many other parts of the world, Cornwall has been on lockdown since the end of March with many workplaces having shut down and many workers having been furloughed. Governmental failings have been repeated here, as elsewhere, with lack of PPE and protection for essential workers and vulnerable people.
“We didn’t appear out of thin air / we live here” – Joe Weaver reviews London-duo Bob Vylan’s uncompromising new album, and explores some of the “extreme” political themes behind each track.
Nathan Russell reviews a modern classic by iconic US communist academic Michael Parenti and argues it has important lessons for today’s struggles.
Sam Fury discusses what the latest UK recession means for workers, and how hope can be found by looking to socialist countries.
Abbie Rhodes discusses the sexist and anachronistic attitudes still so prevalent at every level of English cricket and what this means for female cricket fans.
As part of the Matchroom Boxing “Fight Camp” Series, Brixton’s Dillian Whyte took on the Russian Alexander Povetkin for a chance to challenge WBC Heavyweight world champion
Tyson Fury. After a long arduous battle for Whyte to get a mandatory position, and Povetkins attempts to regain his former glory, the two met on Saturday in front of no crowd to settle it.
Andrew Gibson explores the crisis unfolding in Yemen, the role of the West, and what can be done to help.
Samuel Prentice highlights the increasing aggression of US imperialism in the context its own economic decline and the rise of China.
Today marks the 38th anniversary of the assassination of Comrade Ruth First, South African communist and anti-apartheid fighter by security forces. Here we reproduce a short biography of her life and contribution to the struggle.
Following the devastating Beirut explosion, Robin Talbot and Ewan Simpson speak to Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth president Adnan Al-Mokdad about his organisation’s response and the fast-moving political situation in Lebanon.
If we are serious about fighting racism we must engage with people, not get them sacked – it does not do, in a society in which the balance of power rests overwhelmingly with the employer, to become dependent on the class power of the boss, argues Nick Wright.
On the 94th anniversary of his birth, Fidel’s contribution to science and life is as relevant today as ever, especially in the context of the battle against COVID-19, and will be into the future writes Elson Concepción Pérez
Song to Fidel by Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara 1956
Che Guevara was an Argentinean-born, Cuban revolutionary leader who alongside Fidel Castro goes down in history as one of the greatest figures of the Cuban Revolution and arguably the 20th Century. One of his portraits, from the lens of Alberto Korda, is one the world’s most reproduced images.
Over the years, many have wondered about the source of the leader of the Cuban Revolution’s inexhaustible energy. Leydis María Labrador Herrera asks how this exceptional man was able to function without rest, with his thoughts perennially directed toward the well-being of his people, toward the possibility of a better world with a place for everyone, with rights and opportunities for all?
Yesterday’s (11 August 2020) announcement that US Senator Kamala Harris, former California Attorney General, would be Joe Biden’s running mate in November led many to label her the first black woman for the US vice presidency. But that’s not true. There have been a number of African-American presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the past. One of the most famous is US communist and black liberation fighter, Angela Davis, who ran on the Communist Party ticket in 1980. Here we reproduce a short biography of her life and contribution to the struggle originally compiled for the YCL’s 2019 International Women’s Day Series.
Over a hundred years ago, during the first national railway stoppage in Britain, the military were called out in force to quell the strike. They were deployed in Llanelli where mass picketing had stopped all rail traffic. Troops from the Worcestershire Regiment shot dead two unarmed men and wounded two others, sparking the Llanelli Rising of 1911.
Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) is a socialist alliance of left democratic organisations, which was founded by the Israeli Communist Party in 1977. It seeks to unite Jews and Arabs along class lines in the fight for true democracy and for a just peace.
