The recent
brutal and outrageous attack in Norway on the Scandinavian and
international workers’ movement was a huge shock, not only for those
members of the Norwegian Labour Party Youth (AUF) who were at the summer
cap at the island of Utøya, but also for the whole population of
Scandinavia.

A deal to
raise the debt ceiling has now been reached, after weeks of incredible
fear-mongering on the part of both bosses’ parties and Wall Street, and
will reach the President’s desk by the deadline on August 2nd.  The
contents of the final agreement remain rather vague, but the broad
outline is enough to make clear what it means for workers in the U.S.

As the
earthquake of economic crisis sweeps across the globe, the political
establishment in country after country is being shaken to the core.
“Strong” governments have been exposed as, in fact, being extremely
weak, both at the ballot box and on the streets. The ruling class is
beginning to lose its political grip on society and people are beginning
to question the traditional pillars that society has rested upon for
centuries.