IGGL Statement on the Events on Venezuela
I’m reprinting internationalist leaflets on Venezuela here. I plan on drafting some remarks of my own in the near future – Fischer
Communiqué on the US attack on Venezuela (January 4, 2026)
“Welcome to 2026.” (Pete Hegseth at Trump’s press conference of January 3) “This is America First. This
is peace through strength.”
The US attacks on Venezuela January 3 at night and its president Maduro’s kidnapping mark a new
stage in the race toward widespread imperialist war. No one can really doubt that. “American dominance
in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again” said Trump at this same press conference.
The US intervention outside any international or even national legal framework means that the time has
come for the use of military force alone and that it has become definitive. Just as the League of Nations
in the mid-1930s, especially after Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia, had become an empty shell, the UN
no longer counts. It is no more. There will be no turning back. The law of the strongest and of gunboats
diplomacy is no longer masked or hidden behind any international law.
The rules of the imperialist game that had prevailed since 1945 are no longer in place. And many can no
longer participate. Only the United States, China, and, to a lesser extent, Russia now have the cards to
sit at the table, much to the chagrin of the old European powers, which have been excluded since the
outbreak of war in Ukraine. Nothing today formally opposes China from invading Taiwan, and US military
threats against Greenland are becoming possible, if not probable, much to the dread of Denmark and
Europe. Even the Canadian bourgeoisie must start to worry: won’t it become the Ukraine of the United
States?
The assault on Caracas is not only aimed at getting the US hands on Venezuelan oil and depriving China
and, in passing, Cuba of it. It is also necessary to exert pressure on and isolate South American
governments that are not yet aligned with Trump’s policies. In particular, Lula’s Brazil is in focus. After
Panama, then Millei’s Argentina, then Chile, Ecuador, Perú, etc., the South and Central American
continent is brought into line. The American claw is spreading and threatening. The access of China and
other competitors, particularly European ones, to south American markets will become increasingly
difficult and thereby their imperialist influence and presence will diminish accordingly.
At the time of writing, the fate of Venezuela is still undecided as to who will be in power. However, the
inability of Russia and China to prevent US bombing and the extradition of Maduro can only encourage
his successors, whether they come from the current regime or the pro-American right – which is just as
corrupt and always has been [1] – to comply with US demands to a greater or lesser extent. “The United
States will provide a vision for how Venezuela should be run and will expect the interim government to
carry that out in a transition period, under the threat of further military intervention.” [2]
.”
In return, imperialist rivals, starting with China and undoubtedly also the Europeans, will be strengthened
in their conviction that in order to survive military measures must be taken, since in the end only force
now counts. The global arms race will accelerate even further. Worse still, the American offensive to
exclude China from the American continent is part of the classic policy of American imperialism known as “containment,” the very same policy that increasingly strangled Japan in the 1930s and led it to embark on the adventure of Pearl Harbor. We cannot here prejudge the effectiveness of this policy of strangling China today. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that China will have no choice but to react in one way or another, at the risk of accepting American dictates. US attack on Venezuela makes Taiwan more directly threatened. And China has just announced the construction of nine aircraft carriers by 2035. The race to war is well and truly underway and the assault on Venezuela can only convince those who were still doubtful about its reality.
In the case of Venezuela, the local and international proletariat must refrain from supporting either side,
whether Maduro’s so-called “Bolivarian” camp or the pro-American “democratic” camp. Supporting either
side would only further aggravate the situation of the country’s workers and the population, if only
because they can only be used as cannon fodder in the event of armed conflict. Participation, or even
passive support, for either side could only hinder any future resistance to working conditions, wages
jobs, repression, etc., which can only get worse, regardless of the government.
The same applies to workers in neighboring countries in Central and South America, particularly
Colombia and Brazil, as to the international proletariat. It is highly probable that left-wing forces will seek
to organize demonstrations in support of the struggle against “Yankee imperialism.” This is already the
case in the United States, where demonstrations against US intervention were held in major cities such
as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington on January 3. The same is true in Europe. At the
call of the political left forces “La France Insoumise” and the French Communist Party, a demonstration of several hundred people took place in Paris. Participating in such demonstrations will certainly not enable proletarians to show any effective solidarity with the workers of Venezuela, or even with its population as a whole. The only arena in which they can express their class solidarity is in the struggle against their own capitalism, including against the anti-American, or at least anti-Trump, left-wing governments of Presidents Lula in Brazil and Gustavo Preto in Colombia
But above all, the American attack challenges even more the proletariat of the main imperialist powers
that are rushing us toward disaster, starting with the United States, of course. The American bourgeoisie
is embarking on a headlong rush which, despite the bluster of Trump and his team, poorly masks a kind
of panic in the face of its decline and the growing and massive assertion of Chinese power. “America will
never allow foreign powers to rob our people or drive us back into and out of our own hemisphere” Trump
asserts. But in order to defend its imperialist interests at the level required by the situation today, the
American bourgeoisie will also have to redouble its attacks on its own proletariat. The same is inevitably
true for other imperialist rivals if they want to have even a small stake at the table.
It is a race against time between capitalism and the increasingly impoverished proletariat. The former, in
dire straits, is plunging us into war. The latter must cope with worsening living and working conditions as
a result of this general preparation for war. For the time being, and with the US military intervention in
Venezuela, it must be acknowledged that capitalism is still slightly ahead of the proletariat. International
proletarian revolution or generalized imperialist war: this is the alternative facing humanity. The historical
responsibility of the proletariat, a class that is both exploited and revolutionary, as well as that of its
communist minorities, is all the more pressing.
The IGCL, January 4th 2026
[1]
. The Venezuelan bourgeoisie has always been a parasitic bourgeoisie, living off oil revenues. As a result, the personnel it has appointed to govern the country have always been among the most corrupt.
[2] New York Times,Trump Plunges the U.S. Into a New Era of Risk in Venezuela, January 3th 2026.
Internationalist Perspective on the Polices of Trump
It’s no surprise I’m not a fan of Donald Trump. Never liked him; even when he was just a media personality or the host of the Apprentice: He’s a cruel bully. He’s a narcissist. He’s a liar. He’s a cheat (at golf and many other things). He’s a racist. He’s a boorish oaf. He’s devoid of empathy And so on and so forth. In fact, there are so many reasons to dislike Trump as a human being, it’s easy to focus on them and his cult of personality rather than his policies. It’s why Trump naming himself head of the Kennedy Center, then stacking the board with cronies and finally adding his name (before Kennedy’s of course) to the name of the institution seems to generate much more press than the creeping fascism of ICE, or the seemingly incoherent economics personified by Trump’s lack of understanding…whoops, there we go again.
Anyway, the German language blog Communaut recently conducted an interview with Sander of Internationalist Perspective about Trump which I highly recommend reading. You can find it on the IP site or from the link below.
Happy New Year 2026
As Tom Paine said, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Let’s see how it goes.
Goodbye 2025
But first, an update, since the last post on this blog was September 1st. There’s an old adage that has it that the more time you have, the less you get done. That actually wasn’t the case for me this fall – I had lots to do and that meant some important things didn’t get done. This blog being one of them. I considered giving it up entirely, but it seems as if almost twenty years of being something means, you tend to keep on doing it. However, I will be giving up wage slavery in 2026 and retiring around the middle of the year. What impact that has on things like this blog remains to be seen. But until then…some things that made 2025 a bit more bearable.
1 Edinburgh
I travelled a lot this year. In the summer, my wife and I did a mini-European tour and the first stop was the Scottish capital Edinburgh. My mum was Scottish, and my dad half Scottish, so I suppose I get to claim that too, but I hadn’t been to Edinburgh since 1997. It’s a beautiful city and contrary to the popular idea, it was sunny and the weather was lovely. The thing I love about European cities is so much history in them (Check out the royal Museum) and statues – Greyfriars Bobby and David Hume are very close to each other.
2 Shetland.
After Edinburgh, we travelled to Aberdeen and took a ferry to Shetland. I’ll confess, the true reason we went there is we both love the TV drama Shetland. On the trip we met a couple from Australia who were there for the same reason. It’s a cool little island, and we really enjoyed the scenery and the people (I turned 61 there, and it was a good place to celebrate)
3 Berlin.
I wrote about Berlin earlier this year, but we ended up spending Christmas there as well. My daughter lives there, and we got home yesterday. This time, we stayed in a working class district called Wedding. Or as it was known in the day Red Wedding. We stayed just a few blocks from Kösliner Straße, the famous red alley which was the scene of an infamous massacre of demonstrators by the police in 1929. We also got to see the Berlin Wall which I had missed last time and the memorial for the 1919 Revolution in Friedrichsfelde Cemetery. As someone who has lived most of his life in North America, it’s striking when you encounter streets named after Karl Marx and Rosa Luxemburg. Lastly, we did go to a Christmas Market – it felt a little like being in one of those Hallmark Christmas movies, but not in an unpleasant way. The mulled wine probably helped.
4 Vessi
Yeah, Vessi. It’s a Canadian shoe company out of Vancouver. I was looking for a lightweight, but waterproof sneaker tihs summer, and bought a pair. The most comfortable show I worn in ages. We tramped around Scotland, Shetland and Berlin and I got not a single blister. Earlier this month, I saw they had a light winter boot (basically a lined high-top sneaker) – bought a pair of those with the same result. Very comfortable. [End of commercial plug, but it might be more of a public service announcement]
5 Vancouver
Later in the summer, we went to Vancouver to see our son who was working there. Not been there since 1998, but it still seemed pretty cool, the east side of downtown with its horrific poverty and fentanyl epidemic notwithstanding. I really like the central library, and the continued existence of Spartacus Books is important.
6 Montreal
The final leg of our mini-Canadian tour was also due to our son’s re-location – he worked in Montreal in the fall. Spent a day wandering through the mile end neighbourhood. Cool area which is home to a lot of hipster stores as well as Drawn and Quarterly and a significant Jewish community. Great vibe.
7 Severance
I’ve only watched the first season of this show. A friend at work was constantly talking about it, so my wife and I finally got to viewing it. Oh, it’s so good. Two things. I really liked the slow burn: How details were gradually revealed, as the show built up to it’s season one climax. Enthralling. And then there’s the the show itself. God knows, I’d like to walk away from work and forget everything, but we know if we could, it would be for the needs of capital. Amazing.
8 The New Eves
I discovered the New Eves after they appeared on an Uncut compilation CD. It was one of those moments where you go, “What the hell was that?” Imagine Patti Smith singing for the Raincoats who were performing as a Velvet Underground tribute band. A disservice to all of those bands, but you get the idea. Hoping they are touring Canada soon.
9 Kota the Dog
Last year, we lost our beloved Lester. It was a profound experience from which I will never totally recover. Will I get another dog? Dunno. Maybe. However, one of our neighbours has a husky who visits our back garden once or twice a day. She trots over and as soon as we go out to see her, rolls over for a belly-rub. I feel like a grandparent. Perhaps we’re not quite ready for another dog, but we both look forward to Kota’s visits.
10 Hope
When I was in Berlin last week, I visited the Anti-War Museum in Wedding. It was originally set up in the 1920s, but the Nazis closed it when they came to power. In a perverse twist, they used the building as a detention centre where they tortured prisoners. the original building was destroyed during World War II, but was re-established in a different location. The woman who was volunteering there and who gave me a tour asked where I was from. When I said Canada, she laughed and made a joke about Trump. It’s hard to watch (and obviously much harder to live through) the actions of the Trump regime, although it is easy and tempting to see parallels with the past (there is a very interesting piece on the International Perspective website on this topic which I will post later on just this topic), it is also easy to see class struggle. Earlier this year workers at Air Canada and the Canadian post office fought important battles for working conditions and dignity at work. In the US, the anti-Trump “No Kings” movement mobilized millions, and in Canada, Britain and the US, there have been small steps against the existing structures (the Yves Engler campaign for NDP leadership, Your Party, and the election of Zohran Mumdani respectively). Now, it is important to see that these movements are not revolutionary uprisings and in the case of Engler, Your Party and the DSA, they will ultimately be ways to continue to bind workers to “democratic” capitalism albeit with the possibility of more sugar. But it is in the moments of realignment, of struggles that greater possibilities emerge. It would be foolish to suggest that 2026 will be the year of struggle, of a revolutionary moment. But it might also be as foolish to suggest that things could not get better.
Here’s to a New Year of class struggle and a better tomorrow.
A Note on the Air Canada Strike
Last month, Flight Attendants at Air Canada struck. That they struck over wages and working conditions is not remarkable, but what followed was.
Less that 12 hours about CUPE members began their strike, Canadian Federal Labour minister Patty Hadju used section 107 of the Canadian labour code to order strikers back to work; an order CUPE announced they would ignore. The following day, the Canada Industrial Relations Board issued a ruling that the strike was “unlawful.” (It’s worth noting that the the chair of the board Maryse Tremblay previously worked as Chief Counsel at…Air Canada). CUPE announced they would defy that too. CUPE and Air Canada met on Monday at 6 PM to negotiate and had a deal by 4 AM the following morning. Voting began next week on the deal. So what happened?
Transportation strikes generally aren’t popular. Every one has horror stories about flying. Over crowding, delays, lost luggage and much more. And public representatives such as flight attendants and counter workers often receive the brunt of that anger. But when the union decided to make unpaid labour the centrepoint of its campaign,it was a success.
As we shuffle onto the plane, flight attendants are there, directing us to our seats, helping with luggage, and then going through the safety procedures we generally ignore. But until the plane takes off, they don’t get paid. Many right wing columnists complained everyone does work that they’re not paid for (shout out to all the teachers prepping for school while technically on their summer holidays), which in itself is a telling admission. But, to use the example of teachers, it’s hidden. no one sees them working. Flight attendants are working in front of you, and the public clearly saw that as absurd that they not be paid for it.
So when a deal was reached, the union shouted “No more unpaid labour.” Well, not quite. Flight attendants will be paid for an hour, and for first year attendants only 50% of their regular wages (rising to 70% after four years). Thank goodness the union was there to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The word is there’s a good chance that workers will reject this deal.
Capitalism’s defenders have always equated workers selling their labour power as freedom. If workers don’t like the exchange, they were free to go elsewhere in search of a better deal. Exploitation, being paid less than the value of labour power was always built into the exchange. and yet, for capital, workers ought to exchange their labour power for nothing. What a world. Let’s do better.
AND NOW (September 7, 2025)
Voting finished on the proposed contract Saturday afternoon.
99.4% turnout ; 99.1% rejection
So fuck you Air Canada. And apparently fuck you too CUPE
The Decline of the Left-wing Bookstore
I was in Vancouver this month for the first time in almost 30 years. One of the joys was that Spartacus Books was still around. Founded in 1973, it has served as leftist bookstore /info shop/ resource centre for now over half a century. When I was there last it was near Hastings on the east side of downtown. A fire and another move after that saw its relocation to Commercial Drive. A marvellous resource.
Vancouver has a population of about 660,00. Toronto has a population almost two million larger, but nothing like Spartacus exists here. When I moved to Toronto in the mid-1980s, there were several leftist bookshops then and in the years that followed – DEC, Bob Miller, Progress Books (mostly Communist Party stuff, but in its final years less sectarian), the Socialist Bookstore, Who’s Emma?, and occasional and a few others lost to time. Today, nothing. Sure, there are some used bookstores with good leftist selections, and a few commercial ventures, but nothing beyond. Despite the presence of a dozen or more far left groups, Toronto has no non-sectarian venture.
It is a decline in the number of leftists, spread thinner and thinner into more and more sects, or its it the internet making material available online that has led to the disappearance of the leftist bookshop? Either way, it speaks to a shifting, a decline in the public culture of “the left.”
Some Observations in Berlin
The post below isn’t an analysis; it’s observation. We’ll save that for another day. I was in Europe for a few weeks this month. First in Scotland (and Shetland – big fan of the TV show of the same name), and then in Berlin. And it’s the latter, I want to focus on here.
We stayed in what once would have been East Berlin near the Zionskirche, the church where those involved in the events of 1989 met and planned. It was my first time in Germany, and it was fascinating wandering through the neighbourhoods, noting the graffiti (plenty of “fuck the AFD” stickers) and the stolperstein (small brass plates commemorating the last voluntary residences of victims of the Nazi terror).
East Germany was my second visit to a former “workers state,” (I spent an afternoon in Estonia last year), and wanted to get a sense of the former regime. I didn’t go to see the former site of the Berlin Wall (perhaps if I’d had a few more days), but I did visited the Museum of the DDR and the STASI Museum.
The DDR was generally viewed within the Soviet bloc as an economic powerhouse, but a popular joke had it that the East German economy was as powerful as a steam-train, but unfortunate 80% of that power was used in the whistle.
One of the first things you notice is the number of people at the museums who weren’t alive when the DDR came to an end.in October 1990 (in other words anyone under 35) \and it really felt like a step back in time. In both museums, almost everything looked as if it had been manufactured in 1972. The architecture, the photographs, the clothing. I’m reminded of a department store in Windsor where I grew up called Daniel’s. It was an odd department store. and in his book Notes from a Small Island, Bill Bryson described it as what he imagined England would be like if it had been taken over by East Germany. There was a pervasive greyness.
The STASI Museum was a monsterous concrete block. Apparently when the headquarters were moved to its current location, other buildings were demolished or repurposed including apartments, and on the official maps, a blank space appeared where the STASI buildings were located.
Inside the museum were an impressive collection of James bond like spy gadgets: A coat with a hidden camera. A door with a listening device. And soon. In all fairness, it did feel as if Get Smart and not the Bond novels were the model. Or perhaps the blandness described by John Le Carre.
According to official counts over 100,000 worked for the STASI but they spy service had an impressive network of maybe 300,000 informants. One joke I heard about the STASI was that half the population worked for the STASI and the other half were informants for them. Obviously an exaggeration, but it is true there was an entire division of the STASI whose job it was to monitor the STASI.
And while state sanctioned violence was the trademark of the STASI in its early years, the organization, while not entirely abandoning them, moved toward increased surveillance and psychological terror which it believed was more effective in controlling the population. Orwell’s 1984, published four months before the official founding of the DDR was banned in the Soviet Union until 1988. No doubt many who read it say the parallels. If you ever visit Berlin, these museums are unmissable.
The day before we started heading back to Canada, I visited the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. the camp is a 45 minute train ride from Berlin in the town of Oranienburg (much of which remains from the period the camp operated as it largely escaped Allied bombings) Sachsenhausen served as a concentration camp from 1936 (!) to 1945. It was originally for political prisoners as well as gays (it was a male prison), although it eventually came to hold all of the Nazis’ targets. It held many famous prisoners including Stalin’s son.
I went on a guided tour. Through the town, past the administrative buildings, until we reached the gates with the infamous slogan “arbeit macht frei.” Then into the camp. Past the central yards, into the barracks, and to the execution Station Z, where prisoners were gassed or shot then burned. tens of thousands died at this camp. I can’t do it justice except to say to stand in the remaining presence of such horror is harrowing.
A fascinating city filled with history, with beauty, and a dark past. More to come on this topic.
Music Notes July 2025
Some stuff you might like.
1 S.G. Goodman – Planting by the Signs
A moody southern gothic classic (whatever that means).
2 Jr. Gone Wild – Pull the Goalie
Jr. Gone Wild were an Alberta-based country-punk band in the 1980’s. Unfortunately, they broke up just before the alt-country field (no pun intended) became massive. Still, this album, released in 1992 holds up pretty well.
3 Paul Weller – Find El Dorado
Paul Weller has moved a long way from the Jam (well, it’s been almost 50 years), but the results are still compelling. Weller’s new record is his second album of covers; mostly folkie collection of well-known tracks, some more obscure material, and some duets.
4 The Fall – Slates
A six-song mini-album (on 10″ vinyl) of Mancabilly mashed with Mark Smith’s seeming free verse. Adrian Sherwood produces the first track.
5 Brutalismus 3000 – Goodbye Salo EP
My daughter is a big fan of this electronica duo from Berlin. Reminds me of Sleigh Bells. Great in the car.
6 Snooper – Super Snooper
I mention this because some might get a kick of of hardcore meets a lot of odd noise. Not really my thing, but kinda interesting.
7 The New Eves – the New Eve is Rising
The album doesn’t come out until Friday, but it’s worth mentioning here. I was listening to a compilation from Uncut magazine when “Cow Song” came on. Stunning. If the Raincoats were a Velvet Underground cover band with The Witch and Midsommar showing in the background. You can find a few songs online, but the treat will be the album. Highly recommended.
8 Gina Birch – Trouble
And speaking of the Raincoats…Gina Birch has a new record out. It reminded me a lot of the Raincoats second album in its refusal to conform.
9 The B-52s – Live! 8-24-1979
A live album recorded in Boston about a month after the release of their debut album (half of which appears here). There’s a palpable excitement in the recording and worth hearing whether you’re a fan or not.
10 Tom Lehrer –
Tom Lehrer was hilarious. He wrote political satire, making fun of targets that needed to be mocked. According to popular legend, Tom Lehrer quit writing satirical material when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. How could satire compete? Lehrer’s passing last week at the age of 97 leaves a hole.
Till next time.
Music Notes June 2025
Haven’t done one of these in a while, so here’s a few things of note. Going to try to be more regular with these. So, we’ll see.
1 Apacalda – There’s a Shadow in My Room and It Isn’t Mine
Debut album from a Montreal artist. Dark, moody tunes. “Dead Weight” is Chilling.
2 Zoon – Bleached Wavves
Hamilton Ontario base shoegaze band. Heavy MBV overtones, but that’s not a bad thing.
3 Lorde – Virgin
Well, this is a surprise for me, but my daughter thought I would like this, and she was right. There’s a lot of noise right now about the images associated with the album (haven’t seen them), but the music is catchy, heavy, and deep.
4 The Isaac Webb Trio
Rockabilly band from Shetland. A couple of singles only, but pretty good stuff.
5 Ichi Bons
Just a couple of singles and EPs. I saw them last year opening for the Damned in Toronto. Well worth a listen.
6 The Pixies _ Bossanova
The third Pixies album, and maybe their last great one. Still sounds fantastic 45 years later.
7 S.G. Goodman – Planting By the Signs
Moody, folks. Southern gothic. Irresistible
8 Brinsley Schwartz – Brinsley Schwartz
Check out what pub-rock was all about.
9 Motorhead – The Manticore Tapes
If you’re a Motorhead fan, these early recordings cannot be ignored.
10 Just to note some passings here: Marianne Faithful, David Johanson, Rich Buckler, Dave Allen, Clem Burke, Brian James, Steven Leckie, Brian Wilson, Sly Stone, Garth Hudson, and sadly, many more.
The Future of Revolution?
I picked up a copy of Jasper Bernes new book The Future of Revolution, but haven’t had a chance to read it yet (June is the busiest month of the year for me, so likely I won’t get to it until July).
If this is your planned beach reading (just kidding), you might start by taking at look at the Brooklyn Rail which has a series of articles about the book. Very interesting discussion.
The Workers’ Councils Redeemed by Julian Francis Park
Workers Councils: Solution or Problem? by Charles Reeve
On the Future (And Past) of Revolution by Frits Janssen
Notes from Underground 
