Hello, comrades. Today, we'll be covering news including the ongoing Writers Guild strike in Hollywood and the US economy's collision course with the debt ceiling. We'll also be discussing police violence against the elderly and vulnerable in Australia, as well as examining a new phase of the Russia x Ukraine Imperialist War. And as always, we'll be including some interesting art, music, and videos. So let's get started!
- 📝 News
- Trouble in Hollywood: Writers Guild on Strike
- US Border Patrol agents shot and killed Arizona man at his home in remote border community - World Socialist Web Site
- US economy on collision course with debt ceiling
- Outrage continues over police tasering of 95-year-old woman in Australian nursing home
- Ukrainian-backed far-right saboteur units stage largest attack on Russian territory yet
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📝 News
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Trouble in Hollywood: Writers Guild on Strike
Summary: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has gone on strike after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) refused to meet their demands for major changes to how writers are paid, staffing guarantees, and safeguards against being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI). The WGA is fighting against low pay, heightened exploitation, and precarious employment, and is demanding compensation adjustments that would amount to an estimated total increase of $429 million per year across the entire workforce. The strike is also a fight for better art and entertainment in general, and a victory for the WGA would be a victory for the entire working class against the capitalists.
Original Article:
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US Border Patrol agents shot and killed Arizona man at his home in remote border community - World Socialist Web Site
Summary:
US Border Patrol agents shot and killed Raymond Mattia, a Tohono O’odham tribal member, after he called the agency to report several immigrants were trespassing on his property. The shooting occurred on Native lands and the FBI will be overseeing the investigation. The CBP claimed that they were responding to a call of “shots fired” and that Mattia “abruptly extended his right arm from his body” which prompted “three agents” to shoot their guns, “striking the individual several times.” This incident occurred in the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, which has the highest number of use-of-force incidents across the agency with 158 incidents reported so far this year.
Original Article:
US economy on collision course with debt ceiling
Summary:
The US is on the brink of a catastrophic default as the deadline for reaching a deal on the debt ceiling approaches. The deadlock reflects the deepening splits within the US ruling class, and the situation is particularly precarious due to the ballooning debt and inflation crisis provoked by COVID-19 spending. If a default occurs, the dollar would plunge, borrowing costs would rocket, and there would be a wave of bankruptcies and business closures, with Moody’s Analytics estimating 7.8 million lost jobs and a $10tn loss in household wealth. The mere threat of such a scenario is unthinkable, and even if a deal is reached, serious damage has already been done to the prestige of the world’s foremost imperialist power.
Outrage continues over police tasering of 95-year-old woman in Australian nursing home
Summary:
The police tasering of 95-year-old Clare Nowland, a great-grandmother with dementia, has sparked outrage in Australia and internationally. Nowland suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain, and is now receiving end-of-life care. The incident highlights rising levels of police violence against vulnerable and working-class people, as well as the appalling conditions in chronically-underfunded and understaffed nursing homes. The police response and signs of a coverup have only heightened anger and disgust. Tasers have long been known to be potentially deadly weapons, and at least 49 police killings in the United States in 2018 were a result of tasers. The use of tasers under these conditions points to the essential nature of the police as an instrument of capitalist rule.
Original Article: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/24/xbqu-m24.html
Ukrainian-backed far-right saboteur units stage largest attack on Russian territory yet
Summary:
Two Ukrainian-backed Russian insurgency units staged the largest attack on Russian territory to date, combining drone and cyber attacks with shelling and temporary seizures of buildings. The groups involved were identified as the Russian Volunteer Corps and the far-right nationalist Freedom of Russia Legion, both of which are classified as "terrorist" in Russia and seek to establish ethnically pure Russian nation-states. The attack marks a dangerous new phase in the war, with ever greater geographic expansion and direct involvement of imperialist powers, including the US.
Original Article: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/23/mbqz-m23.html
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💬 Global Comrades
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📜 Last Week in Marxist History
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May 24, 1900 - Cruiser Aurora Launched
⏭️ What’s next…
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📕 Book Club
Join us this Thursday at 9 PM ET on Discord as we read and discuss Lenin’s "Opportunism and the Collapse of the Second International" (1915).
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This will be a new read for me, but having pre-read some of the piece, it contains great quotes regarding imperialist war and the "comrades" that fall to opportunism.
Text:
📅 Upcoming Events
🙋♂️ How can you help?
👕 Shirts
I’ve been asked to create merch - something people can purchase to wear and represent while supporting the stream. I’m proud to announce we offer some really striking designs through StreamElements. StreamElements integrates with Twitch, so Twitch subscribers get a discount on the shop!
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These round-ups will include extra information from my historic Instagram posts
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