BROOKLYN, June 14 — Three years ago, Shantel Davis was murdered by Philip Atkins, a plainclothes detective for the New York Police Department, at the intersection of East 38th Street and Church Avenue in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. In the ensuing weeks and months, Shantel’s relatives, neighbors, along with members of PLP, local clergy and elected officials organized a series of marches to the 67th Precinct to demand justice.  
Ever since that tragic day, Shantel’s sister battled through phases of grief but remained steadfast in her determination to keep her Shantel’s memory alive.  While misleaders from a phony left group and the New York City Council attempted to derail the struggle away from confrontation with the NYPD and the Brooklyn district attorney’s office, the anger of Shantel’s family and friends and members of Progressive Labor Party burned even brighter.
A comrade was invited to help open today’s commemorative rally by recounting the stages of the struggle, from street closures to rallying at the DA office to motorcades, from confronting ex-NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly to school-based speak-outs and much more.  
Then family members of eleven other brothers and sisters killed by the NYPD over the course of the past twenty years recounted their struggles. Some described their meetings with mayors, governors, others of the need for a Baltimore-style uprising in New York. They have seen fascist disregard for the lives of Black and Latin youth, their sons and daughters, up close.
A comrade was invited by Shantel’s sister to close the rally.  After attacking the racist policy of meeting youth at predominantly Black and Latino high schools with an NYPD scanning operation and calling for an end to racist policing in our schools, he went on to hail the working-class fighters who preceded him on the microphone as the greatest educators in the city.  He recounted all the varieties of reforms these families have pursued in search of justice and called it a lesson in our collective education about the true nature of the racist system we live under.  He reminded all present of capitalism’s origins in racist genocide and slavery and its current trend toward more war. There were many nods and approvals when he suggested that if justice is what matters most, then revolution might be the only way we will get it.
The evening closed with the blocking of traffic, a prayer and release of balloons in Shantel’s memory as a dozen of her friends from a local motorcycle club revved their engines in solidarity. It was a night to remember, with the unbeatable combination of communist politics and mass anger that will not die. It was not the last time we will gather and call for revolution in Shantel’s name.

Bologna, Italy June 7 — Bologna, a city of about one million in northern Italy, suffers from the same economic crisis affecting all of Italy and Europe. Unemployment, especially among young and immigrant workers, is huge (officially 12.6 percent overall, 40.9 percent for youth). At least 48,000 nationally and 7,500 in Bologna are awaiting housing. Unknown numbers of others are living on the streets; beggars can be seen on many corners. In response to these conditions, many of the homeless have occupied empty buildings, from a hotel in Florence and a farm in the countryside, to a deserted Telecom building in Bologna.
Since last September, 300 citizens and immigrants, including whole families, have lived in this empty tech building, with facilities paid for by a support group of workers and students called Social Log. Forceful eviction has been delayed because the building is private property, but the squatters know it is coming, and they are prepared to resist.
 Two visiting U.S. comrades were invited to a demonstration in Bologna by a friend who is one of the leaders of the large housing movement. Hundreds of occupiers and their supporters marched down a main street for several miles, from the Telecom building to police headquarters in the center of the city. They sang and chanted all the way, waving red banners from various unions, and were accompanied by their own brass band. One chant connected their struggle to those of in Gaza and Mexico. We met one young man from Benin in West Africa who had arrived eight months ago and has slept on the street since. He gets food from church charities.
The evening after the march, there was a barbecue in the building courtyard. We talked with several organizers who agreed with us that capitalism is the underlying problem. They work to unite workers and students from across the country. Like several other fighters we have met throughout Italy, they were eager to read CHALLENGE, exchange contacts and continue to have a dialogue with us.

NEW YORK CITY, June 15 — In the wake of the decision not to indict the cop who murdered Eric Garner on Staten Island, an obvious rift opened between the New York Police Department (NYPD) and Mayor Bill de Blasio. It might be encouraging for workers to see the boss of New York City having trouble with his foot soldiers, but a class analysis can help us to put this event in context.
It only appears that the NYPD and New York’s bosses (represented by de Blasio) are having a conflict that threatens to disrupt the city. In essence,  both parties are on the same side — for the capitalist ruling class and against the workers. It is important to examine history to understand how integral the police are to maintaining ruling-class power.
The development of police forces in the U.S. was uneven and sporadic, from late 1700s and early 1800s. The models varied from torch-wielding “watchmen” to slave-chasing “posses,” which make it very clear that police were created to protect the ruling class’s power and property. The rulers also recognized that overt reliance on the military to enforce labor, property and other capitalist relations would not suffice. While police were forces developed control and put down workers’ rebellions, it was done in a way that appeared to be in workers’ best interests. (Hence the slogan: “To serve and protect.”)
Up until the early 1800s, there were few enough numbers of independent workers (outside slavery and indentured servitude) to limit the numbers of people allowed to gather at night. The protests and marches that took place during the U.S. war for independence had the blessing of the rulers — they saw them as a way to agitate against British control of the colonies. The rise of urban factories and mills in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, along with increasing population and a growing economy, led to large number of workers becoming concentrated in cities and towns. Racist riots against Black and Irish workers were permitted by the rulers from time to time. Even before the development of a regular police force, the watchmen routinely targeted the same workers being attacked.
The Pinkerton Model
Once formal police forces developed in the U.S., it was the Pinkerton National Detective Agency that gained traction. A private security force, the Pinkertons contracted out for President Abraham Lincoln’s security during the Civil War and served as the foot soldiers of capital against labor strikes and movements in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Steel workers in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and railroad workers in Illinois were viciously attacked by Pinkertons at the behest of capitalists. Municipal and regional police forces modeled their structure on the Pinkertons, adopting their focus on serving the interests of the ruling class. This was manifested in cops breaking strikes and assassinating or imprisoning communists and other workers.
Police forces have only existed in their current form for the last century, having developed and sharpened into a weapon against the workers. The bottom line — the police are not here to serve and protect workers, in New York City or elsewhere. They are the capitalist system’s muscle, serving and protecting the bosses while killing and arresting workers with impunity.
The NYPD is looked to by police departments around the world as a model for examples of successful working-class control. Commissioner William Bratton recently created the Strategic Response Group, made up of heavily armed and trained officers to deal with “disturbances” — as defined by the police. In justifying this new unit, Bratton raised examples of recent shootings in Paris, claiming that extreme quick-reaction cops are needed as an anti-terror unit. Bratton has lately called for the misdemeanor offense of resisting arrest to be a changed to a felony, seeking to further terrorize workers who are singled out by police.
The Racist PBA
The Patrolman’s Benevolent Association (PBA), the cops’ union in New York City, has a racist history, one mirrored by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) of Chicago. Both have organized legal defenses lasting years for cops charged with misconduct and murder and orchestrated police riots through Black and Latin neighborhoods to protest budget cuts that would shrink the police force. The FOP regularly opposes efforts to memorialize Fred Hampton, the Black Panther Party leader murdered by Chicago police in 1969.
In New York City, any suggestion by de Blasio or other government officials that police officers acted inappropriately regarding Eric Garner or Akai Gurley results in bombastic, combative vitriol by PBA president Patrick Lynch (fitting name). Expect the rhetoric to grow with the recent re-election of Lynch. His main challenger, Brian Fusco, accused Lynch of “rudderless leadership.” He criticized Lynch not because he disagreed with his racist rants, but because he sought to best him in intimidating workers. The public relationship between the NYPD and de Blasio will remain the same as long as NYPD continue to be without a contract, the status quo for the last five years.
Disagreement Among Thieves
Amid the militarization of the police and racist cop unions, it is important to read the supposed dispute between de Blasio and the PBA for what it is: a disagreement among thieves. Capitalist democracy encourages such misleading appearances.  Cops may turn their backs on the mayor at police funerals or join a work slow-down. But, when we look at the essence of police forces and their role in society, we realize that the PBA-de Blasio feud is but another mirage to buttress one of the biggest capitalist lies: “Politicians are fighting for you — the system works.”
Liberal Pols Want More Cops
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito makes general calls for “good policing” and a more transparent justice system. Other City Council liberals propose increased funding for legal Aid access, a bail fund for people who cannot otherwise afford bail for minor offenses, and other small, steam-releasing measures.
City Councilman Jumaane Williams stated that the cop who killed Akai Gurley must have been "well-intentioned" to join the police force, looking to make a "positive impact on the community." He suggested that if rookie police officers were not patrolling high-crime areas (where police fill quotas with arrests), then such tragedies would not occur. Councilman Williams claims that a little tinkering will right the system.
Yet while decrying the “avoidable” killing of Akai Gurley, Williams and his buddies continue to press for 1,000 new cops, to expand policing, increasing the jail-like monitoring, harassment, assault and murder of endured by workers.
Whenever the kkkops murder a young Black or Latin worker, there are calls for police reform and the ideas are seemingly endless: civilian review boards, federal oversight, sensitivity training, equipping cops with Tasers, body cameras and so on. Some of these calls come from honest workers who hate the racist attacks by the cops and want to protect their friends and loved ones.
Given the long, racist history of police forces and their essential role as protectors of capitalist profit, these calls are doomed to fail. The police have always, and will always, be racist terrorizers of the working class. Only when we get rid of capitalism will we free from police. This is a goal of Progressive Labor Party, and we need your help.

The workers are in constant competition among themselves as the members of the bourgeoisie are among themselves. — Frederick Engels, The Condition of the Working Class in England, 1844

The capitalist media is working overtime to hype a factional dispute within the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, the sport’s international governing body. Days before one of the most contested FIFA presidential elections in its history, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed its investigation into a series of alleged bribes to various capitalist governments for hosting rights for the immensely profitable World Cup.
The international working class cannot be fooled by the FBI’s sudden interest in FIFA or the capitalist media’s new mission to expose corruption in sports! The FBI discovers and jails FIFA crooks but can’t investigate or jail a single Wall Street criminal responsible for stealing billions from the working class in the 2008 Great Recession. The FIFA scandal is another step toward an inter-imperialist war that will kill hundreds of millions of workers.
FIFA: Tool of Imperialism
Men’s football, called soccer in the United States, is far and away the most popular sport among workers. Teams in almost every country on the planet are organized into national and regional federations, governed by FIFA. Recognized by the United Nations, FIFA is a powerful instrument of international capitalist rule. Despite football’s British origins, the body’s headquarters is strategically based in Zurich, Switzerland, a center of U.S. and European finance capital.
Founded on corruption, FIFA is as shady as any bank on Wall Street. Given the sheer amount of profit a World Cup host country can exploit from workers in construction, advertising, tourism, entertainment and other sectors, the top FIFA brass wield tremendous power in global finance capitalism. While bribery for hosting rights is merely business as usual, the current scandal represents a new battleground for U.S. and Russian bosses in their escalating competition for global dominance. The U.S. ruling class has indicted top FIFA brass to further isolate Russia, both to damage the Russian rulers’ political standing and possibly to deprive them of a needed economic windfall in hosting the World Cup in 2018.
Blatter Allies with Russian, Chinese Bosses
Along with other high-ranking officials, Sepp Blatter, the longtime FIFA president who announced his resignation six days after seven associates were arrested in Zurich, is being hounded for his failure to play ball with U.S. and European imperialists. In 2005, one year after a kickback of $1 million Swiss francs to a FIFA official was exposed (with no repercussions), Blatter defied U.S. pressure to bar Iran from competing in the 2006 World Cup. Then he publicly endorsed Palestine’s admission as a full FIFA member, another move in line with Russian and Chinese interests. Beyond helping Russia secure the World Cup for 2018, Blatter went on record to say that China’s rising influence had created an “irresistible trend” toward China hosting the event as well (Time Magazine, 8/4/2010).
Stung by Blatter’s continued support from the vast majority of federations comprising FIFA, U.S. Senator John McCain called for Blatter’s removal from FIFA “for his continued support of Russia” (The Wire, 5/31/15). In the same online article, Thiago Cassis, a Brazilian sports writer, said: “All this talk about corruption is an attempt by Europe and America to bring the game back into their sphere of influence. There is a lot of corruption in European football too. They do not talk about it. This whole game is not about tackling corruption, but regaining control.”
Sports and Wage Slavery
People have played games since the dawn of our species. Class society perverted physical culture into “sport,” an instrument of class domination. Under capitalism, sports became riddled with racism, sexism and nationalism; they are one of the bosses’ top ideological weapons against the working class. Imperialist nations like Great Britain and Nazi Germany used sports to showcase their pseudo-scientific notions of racial and imperial superiority. Sports also provide a vehicle for the profit system’s core illusions: fair competition, equality under the law (or rules), the capacity of individual talent to triumph over all.
Football came to world dominance during the rise of the first capitalist state, Great Britain. As the factory system developed and workers spent up to sixteen hours a day in shift work, new cultural institutions arose to promote a sexist glorification of the male body. Amateur sports were designed to enable British workers to vent their rage at one another, rather than the bosses who exploited them. One early capitalist-financed group of this stripe was called the “Muscular Christians.” As it attracted more workers and opened numerous clubs, it adopted a new name: the “Young Men’s Christian Association,” or YMCA. The organization soon spread internationally.
Professional sports flourished with the rise of imperialism. Football, which prohibits hand contact with the ball, required leisure time to master that working-class amateurs did not have. The British exported this sport to its colonies, and it wasn’t long before it captured the attention of bosses in other imperialist powers. Football became a global phenomenon of tremendous importance to capitalism, a tool to build nationalism while distracting workers from their daily exploitation.
Whatever the outcome of FIFA’s current crisis, workers have no dog in this fight. Rival bosses are fighting for control over FIFA because of its usefulness in misleading the working class.
A Communist Vision of Physical Culture
The Progressive Labor Party fights to build a mass movement of millions to turn the bosses’ imperialist wars into class wars for revolution. It will also take millions to build a new, communist culture. We can look to an example from Christmas Day, 1914, when British and German soldiers defied their generals’ orders and played a game of football on the strip of land between their trenches. This expression of internationalism inspired workers and soldiers in every army.
PLP fights for communism and the aspiration of billions: an egalitarian society dedicated to the physical and mental development of every worker.