Notes from the Seattle Red Writer

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

What do we have to show for 25 years of social movements and protests?

The Palestinian liberation movement is one of the last national liberation and decolonization struggles. The PSM resembles anti-imperialist, antiwar and solidarity movements since the Spanish Civil War, but for the first time since the 1930s the Marxist left is not central to organizing it. The PSM is also similar to the George Floyd movement in that it has raised mass awareness and discredited state violence, even as ruling-class interests and institutions struck back with police violence and political and legal repression. The challenge for the PSM is building power to disrupt US support for Israel – just as the antiwar movement did during the Vietnam War, which combined with Vietnamese resistance and armed struggle to defeat the American war effort. This requires organization, leadership and a mass movement that is broad, strategic, disciplined and refuses to compromise on Palestinian national liberation and ending Zionist settler-colonialism. But it also faces the same trap confronting all movements today. PSM protests are highly dependent on social media and can unleash mass disruptive power seemingly out of nowhere. But social media also determines the form of protests, and in particular the ephemeral viral tactics they adopt, making them almost impossible to organize and institutionalize in the very moment when they have the most influence.

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Gabriel Rockhill, "Liberalism and Fascism: The State of American Politics" - YouTube

This lecture took place on April 18, 2025 at Kansas State University.

Cut the genocidal supply: Join the BDS Global Week of Action against Elbit Systems | BDS Movement

The Palestinian-led BDS movement calls for global days of action from April 20 - 25, targeting Elbit Systems and its complicit supply chain. Elbit Systems is Israel's largest weapons manufacturer and primary supplier to Israel’s genocidal army. It develops, manufactures, and sells weapons, surveillance technology, and military equipment. These are used in Israel's ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, in its apartheid system against the entire Indigenous people of Palestine, and its ongoing criminal aggression against the peoples of the region.

Elbit Systems has been a primary target of the BDS movement’s Military Embargo campaign since 2007, and remains a priority target for BDS pressure and divestment campaigns. BDS-affiliated activists have peacefully occupied or blocked Elbit Systems factories in the UK and Brazil, including in a precedent-setting case near Birmingham (UK) in 2014.

Elbit is not just a weapons company — it is a cornerstone of Israel's military-industrial complex, directly profiting from and enabling Israel's apartheid regime and ongoing genocide against Palestinians. The company's drones and surveillance systems enable Israel’s precision bombing of residential areas, and its military vehicles and weapons systems are used in attacks on Gaza. Elbit’s border control technology enables Israel’s siege of 2.3 million Palestinians, and its training systems prepare Israeli forces for carrying out ethnic cleansing operations.

Monday, April 13, 2026

John Harfouch, "The UN Resolution on Zionism as a Form of Racism" - YouTube

This presentation took place on October 29, 2025 as part of the lecture series on "Academic Freedom & the Question of Palestine."

Leaked Documents Reveal Details of the Secret Saudi Arabia–Pakistan Mutual Defense Pact

Organizing Black Workers During the Formation of Industrial Unions - YouTube

The second session for 2025 of the Harry Bridges School of Labor was on organizing black workers in the formation of Industrial Unions. In this session, we: -Review the history of Black workers in America leading up to the organizing drives for industrial unions. -Look at organizing during the Great Depression, including the Unemployed Councils. -Highlight the organizing drive of tobacco workers at RJ Reynolds in Winston-Salem, NC with the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers (FTA) Local 22. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 1:15 Section 1: Historical Background of Black Workers in America and an Overview of Organizing Black Workers in Meat Packing and Sleeping Car Porters. 12:40 Q&A 1 14:10 Section 2: Industrial Organizing and the Great Depression 26:50 Q&A 2 39:25 Section 3: Organizing the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural, and Allied Workers Local 22 51:20 Q&A 3 53:30 Conclusion

Trump’s budget for 2027, a breakdown - by Stephen Semler

"The White House’s recent budget proposal outlines how the president wants to spend the public’s money next year. The gratuitous cuts to civilian agencies suggest the goal is smaller government. But that’s not the case — next year’s budget would still be $361 billion larger than last year’s. Trump’s concern isn’t the size of government; it’s what the government does and who it does it for.

So what does Trump want the government to do in 2027? More war, more (militarized) policing, and less of everything else. Based on his budget request, Trump sees little point in government outside performing those first two functions. War and policing receive record funding; funding for all other government functions is cut by $300 billion."