****NOTE: Upcoming Event---->(Olive You: A Market for Palestine: https://www.facebook.com/events/1956813431402966)**** Special Report (5/9/2024) In addition to news updates this special includes two important elements. The first is a speech from Sasmit Rahman from University of Minnesota Students For a Democratic Society (SDS) that was given at the May 1st March for Immigrants & Workers Rights in Minneapolis (raw video of this event is available from Urban Cabin Studios here: https://youtu.be/IrHQrWbbtiE?si=wVOHHYNhllJQ9MIX). The second is an interview with Bara Adwan a filmmaker and entrepreneur who had a startup in Gaza but was recently forced to flee to Egypt and who has so far been unable to bring the rest of his family across the Rafah border. Links to news items covered in this special: UMN Divest Demand Wins: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6hNOR5JL3d/?hl=en&img_index=1 The Student Revolt for Palestine: https://www.leftvoice.org/the-student-revolt-for-palestine/ Hands Off Rafah!: https://www.socialistalternative.org/2024/05/06/hands-off-rafah/ Is Biden really against Israel’s invasion of Rafah?: https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/05/06/is-biden-really-against-israels-invasion-of-rafah/ Class nature of violence against the student Intifada: https://www.workers.org/2024/05/78509/ How the United States militarised its police: https://socialistworker.co.uk/international/how-the-united-states-militarised-its-police/ Israel seizes key Gaza border crossing as it launches assault on Rafah: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/7/israel-seizes-gazas-vital-rafah-border-crossing Tlaib Says 'No Coincidence' Israel Invaded Rafah After Congress Approved More Military Aid: https://www.commondreams.org/news/rashida-tlaib-rafah Defending the Camp - A Report from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Gaza Solidarity Encampment: https://crimethinc.com/2024/05/01/defending-the-camp-a-report-from-the-university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign-gaza-solidarity-encampment US student socialists discuss building Gaza solidarity encampments: https://www.greenleft.org.au/video/us-student-socialists-discuss-building-gaza-solidarity-encampments French students protest for Palestine: https://socialistworker.co.uk/news/french-students-protest-for-palestine/

Special Interview Recorded (4/23/24) and Uploaded (5/2/2024). In this special we speak with artist and organizer Brooke Bartholomew. Originally from Houston TX and now living in Minnesota, she was a nurse for 7 years and is now painting full-time. You can see her art at BrookeBartDoesArt on IG here---->(https://www.instagram.com/brookebartdoesart/?hl=en)

Special Interview recorded (1/2/2024) and Uploaded (4/25/2024) (Photo is from the September 20, 2019 Youth Climate Strike in St. Paul.) In this special I speak with Abu Nayeem, who is a first generation American born in Dhaka Bangladesh, raised in New York and who has lived in St. Paul Minnesota for 10 years. Nayeem is a community organizer, entrepreneur and data scientist. You can find Abu Nayeem on the web at: https://sustainabu.com/ Links to items mentioned in this special: Race Class & the Labor Movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBE5LwGufYE At the River I Stand: https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/at-river-i-stand/ The Metropolitan Council: https://metrocouncil.org/ 12/08/23- Minnesota Governance Task Force https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xMkfGpVtNU&ab_channel=MinnesotaSenateMediaServices (Testimony- Start 56 min mark) 12/12/23- Housing Transportation and Policy Commitee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBT9_tl7N9o&ab_channel=MNHouseInfo (Testimony 1:17 mins; Chief Response 1:27 mins) You can see upcoming meetings of Met Council here: https://metrocouncil.org/Council-Meetings/UpcomingMeetings.aspx From Minnesota to Palestine: Teach In and Panel Discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVbZXRMpWTk&t=3759s Abu Nayeem "Frogtown Crusader": https://ballotpedia.org/Abu_Nayeem_%22Frogtown_Crusader%22 Détournement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9tournement

NEWS + MUSIC + INTERVIEW with Choo Chon Kai (https://partisosialis.org/member/choo-chon-kai/) - Central Committee of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) NEWS: Report: Minnesota salaries aren’t keeping up with housing costs, racial disparities persist in homeownership: https://sahanjournal.com/housing/minnesota-housing-rental-report-costs-increasing/ Uber and Lyft Drivers Deserve a Living Wage: https://twincitiesdsa.org/2024/04/twin-cities-dsa-little-red-letter-126/ Unemployment for strikers would balance the scales: https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/04/10/unemployment-for-strikers-would-balance-the-scales/ Tensions build as White Earth Nation tries to assert authority over state forest land use: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/04/16/tensions-build-as-white-earth-nation-tries-to-assert-authority-over-state-forest-land-use Chicago: Hundreds gather to plan march on the Democratic National Convention: https://fightbacknews.org/articles/chicago-hundreds-gather-to-plan-march-on-the-democratic-national-convention Bus Drivers Strike with Climate Activists in 57 German Cities: https://labornotes.org/2024/04/bus-drivers-strike-climate-activists-57-german-cities ---- MUSIC: Twin Cities Labor Chorus - We Need Collective Bargaining (lyrics by Joyce Stone). ---- INTERVIEW: Choo Chon Kai (https://partisosialis.org/member/choo-chon-kai/) is on the Central Committee of the Socialist Part of Malaysia (PSM) and also the Editor of Sosialis.net You can see a longer video version of this interview on the YouTube for Urban Cabin Studios here---->(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPwv7X935Jw&t=65s) In this video version of the interview we discuss the recent and current situation in Malaysia and speak a bit about Choo Chon Kai's recent visit to Mainland China.

Recorded (3/16/24) and Uploaded (4/11/24) In this interview we speak with Brad Sigal from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee: MIRAC (https://www.miracmn.com/). We speak about the Legalization for all Network (https://www.facebook.com/LegalizationForAll) delegation to the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass & Piedras Negras that Sigal was a part of in February. You can watch a video version of this interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIzlGv6eILw&t=21s #mexico #texas #border

(sorry we were late with posting because of technical and travel issues) FROM THE ARCHIVE - Recorded (4/17/2022) and Uploaded (4/4/2024) This is narration from our April 2022 visit to the Mother Jones Monument and Union Miners Cemetery in Mt. Olive, Illinois. You can see the video version of this narration on the Urban Cabin Studios YouTube here----->(www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HLIYAi9FoI&t=5s)

Special Interview Recorded (3/14/2024) and Uploaded (3/28/2024) In this special we speak with Mike Mitchell who is a member of Labour International (https://www.labourinternational.net/) and Branch Secretary of the Labour Party International of the Americans - the international section of the UK Labour Party in the Americas. We first met at the event Race Class & the Labor Movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBE5LwGufYE&t=3379s We discuss Mitchell's experience growing up working class, the role of Labour International in the UK Labour Party and the recent election of George Galloway in northwest England's Rochdale constituency for the Workers Party of Britain. You can see an interview with George Galloway here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7p7CAyxHgg This interview has been edited for length. You can find the full interview video from Urban Cabin Studios on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-PKvJ93YK4&t=40s

NEWS + MUSIC + ZIONISM as a colonial project contribution from Sana Wazwaz from American Muslims for Palestine (https://www.ampalestine.org/) at Minnesota to Palestine: Teach-In and Panel Discussion NEWS: In major victory for rideshare drivers, Minneapolis Council overrides mayor’s veto on minimum pay: https://sahanjournal.com/business-work/mayor-jacob-frey-veto-override-uber-lyft-leaving-minneapolis/ With nominations decided, Trump leads Biden in US polls; UK Labour far ahead as election approaches: https://theconversation.com/with-nominations-decided-trump-leads-biden-in-us-polls-uk-labour-far-ahead-as-election-approaches-225460 Protesters Condemn Javier Milei’s Austerity Regime Amid Social and Economic Crises: https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/19/headlines/protesters_condemn_javier_mileis_austerity_regime_amid_social_and_economic_crises Socialist News and Views: Argentinian Working People V.S. Javier Milei: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfDWLdbzpRo Peronism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peronism#:~:text=Peronism%20can%20be%20described%20as,conflicts%20between%20managers%20and%20workers. Chicago Boys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Boys Washington Consensus (described in the audio as Washington Accord): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Consensus ---- MUSIC: Frontline (Street Knowledge/Hope On A Tightrope): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjVEb07qyX4 ---- ZIONISM: From Minnesota to Palestine: Teach In and Panel Discussion - Connecting our movements for collective liberation: An Indigenous Perspective (Sana Wazwaz starts at 1:02): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVbZXRMpWTk&t=3883s

Special Interview Recorded (3/5/2024) and Uploaded (3/14/2024) In this special we speak with two amazing long-time community organizers. Dr. Rose Brewer (https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/brewe001) is a professor, activist, scholar and organizer. Brewer got involved in political organizing in the late 60s and early 70s at the height of the black liberation movement. We also speak with Ricardo Levins Morales (https://www.rlmartstudio.com/about/about-the-artist/), a community organizer and visual artist who moved from the mountains of Puerto Rico in the late 60s and first got involved in the Chicago Black Panther Defense Committee at that time. We discuss many things including the importance of identity, unity, humility And solidarity in our movements. Links to topics covered in this Special: From The Archive: Rose Brewer Speaks On Murder Of Trayvon Martin April 3 2012: https://soundcloud.com/socialistnewsandviews/from-the-archive-rose-brewer-speaks-on-murder-of-trayvon-martin-april-3-2012 Tending The Soil–Lessons For Organizing (Zine plus free PDFs): https://www.rlmartstudio.com/product/tending-the-soil-lessons-for-organizing-zine-free-pdfs/ SNV Special Interview: On The Left Bank: https://soundcloud.com/socialistnewsandviews/snv-special-interview-on-the-left-bank Frantz Fanon - THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH: https://monoskop.org/images/6/6b/Fanon_Frantz_The_Wretched_of_the_Earth_1963.pdf “Vanguard of the Revolution”: New Film Chronicles Rise of Black Panthers & FBI’s War Against Them: https://www.democracynow.org/2015/1/30/vanguard_of_the_revolution_new_film

The title of this Special Report is Fighting Times. The majority of the report is a book talk given by Jon Melrod (https://www.jonathanmelrod.com/) at May Day Books (https://maydaybookstore.org/) on September 30, 2023 about his book Fighting Times: Organizing on the Front Lines of the Class War (https://pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1289). The summary for the book says in part "Containing dozens of archival photographs, Fighting Times captures the journey of a militant antiracist revolutionary who rose to the highest elected ranks of his UAW local without compromising his politics or his dedication to building a class-conscious workers’ movement. The book will arm and inspire a new generation of labor organizers with the skills and attitude to challenge the odds and fight the egregious abuses of the exploitative capitalist system." Links to items discussed in this special: Thousands of Twin Cities janitors and nursing home workers launch strikes: https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/03/04/thousands-of-twin-cities-janitors-and-nursing-home-workers-launch-strikes/ Group of More Than 3,000 Harvard Faculty Files for Union Recognition: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/3/5/haw-uaw-files-for-recognition/ UAW, Ford reach agreement in Louisville averting possible strike: https://kentuckylantern.com/briefs/uaw-ford-reach-agreement-in-louisville-averting-possible-strike/ The United Auto Workers union wants to improve working conditions in Mexican plants: https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2024/02/the-united-auto-workers-union-wants-to-improve-working-conditions-in-mexican-plants/amp/ UAW: Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Vance signal they want to join auto workers union: https://www.wbrc.com/2024/02/28/uaw-majority-workers-mercedes-plant-vance-signal-they-want-join-auto-workers-union/ Fired Stellantis supplemental workers protest at UAW headquarters in Detroit: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/03/04/ebxw-m04.html How a Wisconsin Autoworker Dodged Death Threats to Grow a Fighting, Multiracial Union: https://jacobin.com/2022/09/jon-melrod-fighting-times-uaw-organizing-memoir Workers in Milwaukee host panel discussion featuring author and labor activist Jon Melrod: https://fightbacknews.org/articles/workers-in-milwaukee-host-panel-discussion-featuring-author-and-labor-activist SNV Special Interview: Significant Wins For Seward Co-op Workers: https://soundcloud.com/socialistnewsandviews/snv-special-interview-significant-wins-for-seward-co-op-workers