Today’s U.S.-Russia relations are “worse” than they were after World War I, at the “lowest possible point in history,” a Russian official says (ABC News, 4/2). But as this inter-imperialist rivalry continues to escalate, and global war looms ever closer, the U.S. ruling class is in disarray.
U.S. Bosses’ Dilemma
Donald Trump has mocked CIA and FBI reports of Russian cyber-attacks to manipulate last fall’s election in Trump’s favor. The new president has praised his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and several Trump appointees and advisers have met secretly with Russian officials and intelligence agents--including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign in February after lying about meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee that is “investigating” the Trump-Russia connection, is sharing classified information with Trump (npr.org, 3/25).
Foreign Affairs, the publication of the Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. finance capital’s leading think tank, is pushing for a tougher line with Russia:

Trump inherited a ruptured U.S.-Russian relationship, the culmination of more than 25 years of alternating hopes and disappointments…[A]t the heart of the breakdown lie disagreements over issues that each country views as fundamental to its interests...Thus, the challenge for the new administration is to manage this relationship skillfully and to keep it from getting worse.
Should Trump instead attempt to cozy up to Moscow, the most likely outcome would be that Putin would pocket Washington’s unilateral concessions and pursue new adventures or make demands in other areas. The resulting damage to U.S. influence and credibility in Europe and beyond would prove considerable (March/April).

The U.S. rulers are facing a dilemma. On the one hand, they need to defend their Middle East oil interests—by any means necessary—against competing capitalist bosses in a resurgent Russia and an expansionist China. On the other, they’re a long way from winning the U.S. working class to accept a military draft and to fight and die in a ground war. After the April 4 chemical attack in northern Syria, the latest atrocity by the Russia-backed Bashar al-Assad regime, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman addressed the U.S. bosses’ limitations:

“The only obstacle to putting real U.S. military leverage into Syria is democracy in America,” explained the foreign policy expert Michael Mandelbaum, author of Mission Failure: America and the World in the Post-Cold War Era. “The American public simply does not want to spend the blood and treasure to produce what would probably be a less awful but still not good outcome in Syria.” And that is a byproduct of the failed George W. Bush interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan (4/5).

On top of everything else, the bosses have to be worried about the ability of the volatile Trump to handle an increasingly charged situation. The arch-imperialists of Foreign Affairs warned that the U.S. should “proceed with caution” against Russia and “cooperate but push back,” depending on the circumstances, “without sleepwalking into a collision” (Euronews, March 8)..
But a collision appears to be coming, whether the bosses are ready or not. In March, in a Council on Foreign Relations special report, Kimberly Marten wrote that “aggression” by Putin “makes the possibility of a war in Europe between nuclear-armed adversaries frighteningly real.” (Marten is director of Columbia University’s Harriman Institute, the Cold War-era “academic center” funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.)
Rulers’ Infighting and Dysfunction
The growing scandal and infighting over Russian interference in the U.S. elections exposes deepening dysfunction inside the bosses’ political system. As Russian and Chinese rulers have imposed more intense fascist discipline on members of their class, U.S. bosses are fighting among themselves—a reflection of both strategic disagreements and short-term greed. As the head of Special Operations Command, Gen. Raymond Thomas, said, “Our government continues to be in unbelievable turmoil. I hope they sort it out soon because we’re a nation at war.”
Pre-Trump, the U.S. imperialists were busy sharpening their attacks against Russia. They tried to overthrow Russian allies in Syria, Iran and Libya. In 2014, after Russia reclaimed Crimea from Ukraine, the President Barack Obama imposed economic sanctions. And in a famous interview with CNN, Obama acknowledged that the U.S. had “brokered a deal to transition power” in the 2014 coup against pro-Russia Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. But these efforts were temporarily blunted by Trump’s more conciliatory stance, including a plan to cooperate with Putin in fighting “terrorism” and an instruction to the CIA to halt support for anti-Assad rebel forces in Syria (intelnews.org, 2/23).
Proxy War in Syria
The power of U.S. imperialism depends on control of production and distribution of cheaply extracted Middle East oil, mainly in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Russia is challenging U.S. control by backing Assad and his Iranian allies in the Syrian civil war. In conducting air strikes and landing ground troops in Syria, Russia is striking closer to the world’s energy heartland.
In response, the U.S. bosses are doing what they can—within political limits—to shore up their shaky hold on the region. Under the guise of fighting ISIS, the U.S. military “is sending up to an additional 2,500 ground troops to a staging base in Kuwait from which they could be called upon to back up coalition forces battling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria….About 1,700 soldiers from the same unit are overseas now, spread between Iraq and Kuwait” (Army Times, 3/9).
If the main wing of the U.S. ruling class, finance capital, has its way, this escalation will be just the front line of a massive military intervention. As imperialist mouthpiece Thomas Friedman wrote (4/5):
The least bad solution is a partition of Syria and the creation of a primarily Sunni protected area — protected by an international force, including, if necessary, some U.S. troops. (Emphasis added.) That should at least stop the killing — and the refugee flows that are fueling a populist-nationalist backlash all across the European Union.
It won’t be pretty or easy. But in the Cold War we put 400,000 troops in Europe to keep the sectarian peace there and to keep Europe on a democracy track. Having NATO and the Arab League establish a safe zone in Syria for the same purpose is worth a try.
Weakening NATO, Military Face-Off in the Baltic
For the past 70 years, NATO was the most important instrument to project U.S. power in Europe. Now, the alliance may be weakening. Britain is leaving the European Union. Turkey, a NATO country bordering Syria and Iraq, is allying with Russia in the Syrian civil war. Nationalist, racist anti-immigrant parties are growing in influence in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark. “Globalism”—the euphemism for U.S. imperialism—is in retreat.
But the U.S. rulers will not concede Europe without a fight. Earlier this year, they sent 4,000 troops and Abrams battle tanks to the Russia-bordering Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Russia has responded by moving army and air defense units to its borders.
Fight Back
The bosses have their plans to continue to rule and exploit us,  but they are up against the most powerful force in the world, with a long and proud history of fighting imperialism: the international working class. Today we need an international communist movement more than ever. We must unite worldwide and organize for communist revolution to smash imperialist war. Smash all borders! Workers’ Power! Join Progressive Labor Party!

BROOKLYN, NY, April 5—Once again, racist education bosses at the Department of Education (DOE) are showing their disregard for and neglect of Black and Latin working class children. In February, it was found that the water at more than half of all New York City public schools had lead present—an element so toxic to humans that there is no “safe” amount of it (WNYC News, 3/30). In some NYC schools, the levels are higher than were in Flint, Michigan at the height of the lead crisis there.
This recent round of testing is not the first, but previous testing was done after water was flushed through the systems, effectively making the test results inaccurate. It’s hard to know how long youth and education workers have been exposed to this poison. The DOE’s response to this crisis has been unacceptable and racist.
How Do You Spell “Racist”? D-O-E
At one Brooklyn high school campus, elevated lead levels were found in several areas of the building and the sports fields. The DOE sent a dismissive letter home with students to convince parents not to be concerned.
In the wake of the outrageous Flint water crisis, and the discovery of lead throughout the Newark school system, the racist DOE bosses had the audacity to push that having lead in our water was not a big deal, and could be avoided by just drinking from particular areas of the school. The letter went on to inform parents that the problem would be dealt with by simply having the custodians flush the pipes for a period of time each Monday morning! The letter did not disclose the actual levels the water tested at, nor make parents aware of the devastating effects of lead poisoning on children’s brain development, or recommend lead testing for their children.
This is a racist attack on our students. In this school, students must pass through scanners every day to enter. Metal detectors are nearly exclusive to schools that are predominantly Black and Latin. Students are harassed and humiliated as they are subjected to repeated searches and removal of items from their bag and themselves before they can get to class. A ridiculous assortment of items are banned from the school building or are forcibly removed from students’ bodies, and this is enforceable because of the scanners: hot food, headbands, hairpins, combs,nail clippers, open beverages, and other liquids. When students try to enter with hot tea in a thermos it is taken away, when students buy a juice at the store and take a sip before getting to scanning it is taken away, when students bring in reusable water bottles they are forced to pour it out or it is taken away. So when students can’t drink the water in the school and can’t bring water in from home, what are they to do?
Fight for Clean Water: The Struggle Is On!
Teachers and students were outraged at the news of the lead levels and the dismissive letter from the DOE. A group of teachers called for an emergency meeting with the principal, where they pushed for several things: that there be an end to the ban on open bottles coming into the school, that the DOE provide water coolers in the school, and that the DOE provide free lead testing to our children. The principal responded that there was no need, because there was one water fountain that the DOE claimed was perfectly safe. We’ve heard that before! She was so callous as to complain about teachers and parents telling students not to drink the water, and that she had had to spend so much of her day convincing students that they should drink it.
Our next step was to reach out to as many parents as possible. Parents of students in our advisories were equally outraged and agreed that with all the history of lying about lead levels, this was too serious an issue to be complacent. Though we were referencing Flint, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey, nobody hesitated to see that the bosses there are the same as the bosses here. For now, the parents of the Parent-Teacher Association have stronger ties to the principal than with the teachers, and have bought her argument that because a few students may choose to bring alcohol in, the ban on open bottles should stay.
Though there was some discouragement amongst teachers and students when we heard that, the fight for clean and safe water will be taken on. Students and teachers are meeting this week to discuss what is happening in the school and to make plans. One important part of that will be recognizing that the disregard for the wellbeing of working class youth is part and parcel of this system, and that while we fight for the immediate needs of our students, the longer fight for a world built by and for the working class is the most important fight to win our students and school communities to.

TEXAS, March 23—A crowd of 100 protested the country’s largest anti-Muslim hate group, American Congress for Truth (A.C.T. for America), who was holding a panel at a church to discuss the prevention of Mosques from being built in the U.S.
Progressive Labor Party organized a small but highly important contingent including a friend to influence the passive and nationalist message of the liberal organizers. PLP distributed leaflets, which analyzed how necessary racism is for the bosses in maintaining racial divisions among the working class and calling for fight back with on the job organizing as the main strategy for fighting anti-Muslim racism.
At first the crowd was silent and organized in a place where cars passing by had an obscure view of the rally. PLP managed to break the silence with our militant chants and relocate the crowd where hundreds of cars passed by and honked in support. As PLP continued with leading the chants two of the organizers approached two PL’ers and told us that our chants were “unfocused” because they were not particular to A.C.T. and that the deportations of immigrants did not have enough to do with banning Muslims. One PL’ers pointed to one chant in particular: “Act for America, KKK, RACIST Nazis go away!” and asked how it was unfocused exactly.
The dispute proceeded for another minute as the PL’er argued that they compartmentalize specific issues and don’t see the broader context. Nevertheless, because PLP pushed to continue the chanting, the crowd continued with us. PLP defied the liberals and pushed the anti-racist message with much support. One woman said to PLP how she liked our chants. The organizers tried to “approve” certain chants but of course we did not listen.
The rally continued until it was time for speeches by the organizers. A handful of liberal local politicians spoke trying to mislead people further into trusting the electoral process and evoke nationalism by citing the first amendment. However, not all were rotten, there was a speaker or two that did say progressive things. Most of the crowd was still won to the liberal message of passivity and using nonviolence and compassion against callous mass murdering racists, a strategy that historically, has failed the working class. The chairman of the democratic party said something to the effect of “we should pray for the racists to go away.”
A friend of PLP said, “Prayer doesn’t work, what else can we do?”
She basically called him out for not providing any real solution. The speeches were also filled with nationalism and the idea that this is not “what America stands for” when in fact it is exactly what America stands for and always has been. U.S bosses have persecuted migrants since the 1790’s when rulers feared French immigrants influenced by the French Revolution.
One comrade put forth an analysis that U.S imperialism has a genocidal presence in destroying and destabilizing the countries from which Muslims are fleeing. In Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan Iraq, Syria all of which have prolonged U.S involvement with racist and genocidal occupations. He also mentioned that the anti-Muslim racism spewed by organizations like ACT justifies the bombing of Muslim countries like Yemen and provokes racist terrorism against Muslim mosques and communities. In the spirit of militancy, he also denounced that we should “love” and “embrace” these racist pigs trying to murder our Muslim working class brothers and sisters.
After the speeches by all the reformists and our comrade we started a picket in front of the church. At first it was mostly the party and some base members, but after a couple minutes the younger part of the crowd started to join us! When it was over a few college students gathered around us and in the end we exchanged contacts from mainly women that liked our leaflet and our comrades speech.
We must work on being bolder and furthering our commitments in the face of growing fascism and capitalist crisis. It is important to oppose all forms of racism by going to rallies and marches and continuing organizing multiracial fightbacks on the job. By fighting back and recruiting people to PLP, we pave the way to a communist future.

NEW YORK CITY, April 1—Our high school is getting a crash course in worker’s power and class-consciousness. The school bosses run the science department in the way that best suit ruling-class need. The students are heavily tracked to get into the elite courses, effectively dividing the future working class. A few teachers are given the least-performing students with the low ratings that accompany them. Then, they are served a heaping helping of abuse from the science Assistant Principal who regularly plays Christian music in her office while displaying a crucifix.
The Chapter Leader started a staff-wide petition against her abuses. Some teachers who benefited from her unequal treatment in the Science department were not only against the petition but also drafted a letter in support of the AP and against their fellow co-workers!  It came to a head at a union meeting where a PL’er, the chapter leader, and other teachers called them out their siding with their boss against their fellow workers.
Attack Hurts Students Most
This attack is in a working-class high school with a relatively large special-needs population. Seventy one percent of the students are Latin and Black, 21 percent Asian, and 7 percent white. Many are Muslim and immigrants, both documented and undocumented, from Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. On the surface, this school seems multiracial, when in reality students are live segregated lives through the tracking system (see box). The school is in the top 20 overcrowded classrooms. An attack on teachers and maintaining a tracked school system perpetuate a segregationist and elitist education.
Instead of hiring more teachers for the growing needs of the school and its rampant problems with programing, the Principal would rather hire two more Assistant Principals to harass and control the staff and students. Two English Regents Prep (statewide standardized exams required for a diploma) classes are already taught by science teachers, of course, two of those that the Science AP regularly harasses. The school bosses prioritize control over student needs.
Teachers, in unity with parents, must fight for the needs of our students, the future leaders of the working class. The next step is to unite the parents and the teachers in struggle against the administration. The chapter leader and other teachers are going to be organizing teachers, students, and parents to fight back against the bosses’ criminal plans.
After the chapter meeting, in which the science teachers had sided with the school boss at the expense of others, the ringleader was seen having a conversation with the school principal who literally gave him a pat on the back while he lamenting “I tried”. What did he try? He tried to attack his fellow workers in order to protect his boss. Workers who embrace the individualist ideology of cozying up to the bosses and helping them attack workers have no shame and are pawns of the bosses. They are like scabs that help to heal the wounds that the workers inflict on the bosses by breaking strikes.
There is potential for struggle in the building, especially with May Day on the horizon. So, with all of the needs for the special-needs students and the general lack of teachers and overcrowded classes, the principal is deciding to dedicate his energy to creating more Advancement Placement classes! He wants to further dilute the general education classes and maintain an inequitable racist status quo. He is doing all of this in the name of helping the students.
There would be no need for tracking or Advance Placement class under communism since all students would all be given exactly what they need to best develop their intellectual potential. We will continue to organize against the bosses’ control of the school. Struggles like these are the real schools where the lessons of class struggle are learned.

*****

Tracking, Modern Day Segregation
Tracking is keeping students in separate educational paths (“tracks”) based on their academic performance. The origins of race-based tracking actually reach as far back as the federal court ruling in Roberts v. The City of Boston in 1850. It was a case that upheld separate school curriculums for Black and whites on the belief in inherent racial differences in intelligence. This case was later used to support Plessy v. Ferguson, which established the racist “separate but equal” law. No matter how you slice it, separate education is still an unequal education.
Following desegregation of schools—for many schools in the South, integration did not occur until the early 1970s—tracking students became a de facto policy of segregation. Black students were placed in lower-academic tracks with less experienced teachers. The tracking was often also based on funneling certain students into certain jobs—vocational paths for those from working-class backgrounds and general education paths for wealthier students. This reproduces the mental vs. manual division among the next generation of workers.