Barbara Kingsolver is familiar as a fine novelist whose work is extremely relevant for socialists. The Poisonwood Bible (1998), partly based on her childhood in the Congo, is set amid the anti-colonial struggle in that country. The Lacuna (reviewed in Socialism Today No.141, September 2010) explored sexual diversity and political rebellion against the background of the anti-communist witch-hunts in the USA of the 1950s, and included a sympathetic portrait of Leon Trotsky. Her latest novel, Flight Behavior, confronts a dirt-poor farming community in Tennessee with global warming and the potential destruction, not only of their livelihood, but of their very existence.

Merriam-Webster has declared the words socialism and capitalism together to be 2012’s “Word of the Year” due to the high number of dictionary searches for the two words. Also, recent Gallup polls show that support for socialist ideas is increasing – a growing 53% of Democratic-leaning people support socialism while a shocking and a whopping 23% of self-identified conservatives view socialism favorably (11/29/2012).

The theatrical release of Steven Spielberg�s Lincoln is situated between important events and anniversaries. This past September 22 marked the 150th anniversary of the preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, November 6 saw the re-election of the first black president, Barack Obama, to a second term, and January 1, 2013 is the 150th anniversary of the final implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation as a war measure. It declared "all persons held as slaves" within the rebel states "are, and henceforward shall be free.�

Two decades since their first LP, The Coup return from a six year break with this album which was held back a year so lead member Boots Riley could concentrate on being a key organizer of Occupy Oakland.

Whether you like, love or hate The Beatles, their impact on the music and culture of the second half of the 20th century was immense.

The NFL began the second week of the regular season by announcing they would be using so-called “replacement refs” through at the least the fifth week of the season. As fans and commentators discussed the blown calls and questionable officiating, the NFL seemed to be hunkering down for the long haul.

Occupy Homes has won seven victories thus far, and more are on the way. The movement has combined longstand­ing community organizing models, like neighborhood meet­ings and BBQs, with militant direct action and mass civil disobedience.

The right has gained strength because the Democrats have failed to offer a real solution to the economic crisis, which has left open the space for the rise of right-wing populism with all its bigoted scapegoating. The only effective counter to the far right is for the left to build its own independent fighting force that articulates a class-based solu­tion, uniting across race, sexu­ality, gender, and nationality to fight the real enemy – the big banks and corporations and their system of capitalism.

It would have been difficult to predict a year ago that a group of “third generation feminist punk rockers” calling themselves “Pussy riot” and dressed in brightly colored balaclavas and wooly stockings would not only become a symbol of the rapidly growing opposition to Putin but also the subject of his vindictive wrath.

Batman – in reality a vigilante billionaire – has always had a deeply conservative message. Disappointingly, “The Dark Knight Rises” reinforces that, with the main villain, Bane, threatening Gotham’s future and survival by a sort of revolutionary people’s movement replete with scenes of taking over Wall Street and the stock exchange, and a People’s Court summarily sentencing to death, those bankers and billionaires who have been stripped of wealth and power.

In response to rising tuition fees, Quebec society has been shaken to the core by four months of student strikes, which have garnered support from trade unions and been linked to far-reaching anti-austerity demands.

The economic crisis has had a devastating effect on the lives of young people, the working class, and the poor. Horror stories of homelessness, unemployment and poverty have become commonplace. This has fueled massive anger in society, which exploded last year in the form of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Yesterday, in a historic victory for the gay and lesbian rights movement, President Obama came out in favor of same-sex marriage rights. While this change in rhetoric is a positive step forward, we must step up our calls for real policy changes to end the continuing violence and legalized persecution facing LGBTQ people.

Despite widespread rejection of socialist ideas in the media and political establishment, according to a new PewPoll (12/28/11) half of young people aged 18-29 view socialism positively while only 43 percent react negatively to the term. In the same age group, only 46 percent have positive views of capitalism.

I remember asking my mom why our family had immigrated to the United States from Vietnam. She responded, “To give you and your brother the best educational opportunities so you can get a good job and buy me a house when I get old.”