Notes to Our Readers

The Editors

“I AM CONVINCED Socialism is the only answer and I urge all comrades to take this struggle to a victorious conclusion. Only this will free us from the chains of bigotry and exploitation.”

— Malala Yousafzai, campaigner for girls’ education and winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize

Update on Detroit: The bankruptcy process is nearing completion, as holdout vulture creditors Syncora and Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC) settle for longterm future revenues from city-run parking lots and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Things look less bright for residents affected by the resumption of water shutoffs — which federal bankruptcy judge Rhodes said he couldn’t stop, and wouldn’t even if he could. Along with continuing mortgage foreclosures, tax foreclosure auctions are proceeding, with up to 10,000 occupants threatened with their homes being purchased out from under them. Next year even more will be up for auction. While 100 charter schools siphon off public funding, the 97 public schools still open are under the control of an emergency manager.

Against the Current invites readers’ comments on articles. For reasons of space, we are often unable to publish them in the print edition, but we will endeavor to post them online. Responding to William Smaldone’s article on the shattering of European socialism following the outbreak of World War I, a comment by Peter Drucker is posted at http://www.solidarity-us.org/node/4240.

As typically occurs in the election cycle, this November-December issue goes to press in October but will reach our readers just before or after the midterm elections. We will present an assessment of the results and prospects for U.S. politics in our next issue (January-February 2015), which will also include our annual future on African-American history and struggle.

Our annual holiday season gift subscription promotion and fund appeal will be mailed soon to subscribers. Watch for it! We promise a better value for money than you’ll get from the corporate political campaigns that have been reaching into your pocket, looking for half a million bucks every month — we’ll happily settle for one percent of that!

November/December 2014, ATC 173