Battaglia Comunista

On the morning of June 13, two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman. One was the Front Altair, owned by the Norwegian company Frontline, but flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. It was carrying a cargo of ethanol from Qatar to Taiwan. The second was the Kokuka Courageous of the Japanese company, Kokuka Sangyo, flying the Panamanian flag which was carrying methanol from Saudi Arabia to Singapore.

The crisis in the capitalist party political system has become even more acute during May. Two sets of election results have shown that the Labour v Conservative Punch and Judy show has, at least for the time being, lost its ability to call all the shots.

The latest news coming from Venezuela tells us that in Caracas and elsewhere, the demonstrations for, and against, the Maduro government are carrying on. The army, which largely supports the elected President, is dealing brutally with demonstrators and the death toll on the streets has reached several dozen.

2019 finds humanity in an increasingly dangerous place. The consequences of global economic stagnation, itself the product of a much deeper crisis of profitability, can be seen in the rise of nationalism, racism and xenophobia. These in turn threaten not only to add to the increasing proliferation of unending wars around the world but to the possibility of more general conflict further down the line. Not unconnected to the current wars are the environmental disasters which the pursuit of profit has already inflicted on millions across the globe. If allowed to proceed unchecked capitalism threatens, in one way or another, the very existence of the only home humanity has.