Members and supporters of Socialist Alternative at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ (AFSCME) International Convention, in San Francisco, last week, submitted and passed a resolution on the US mortgage crisis.

Thirty-five years ago, the price of a barrel of oil quadrupled. A generation of activists empowered by the civil rights and antiwar movements took to the streets demanding that employers raise wages to keep up with inflation and that the government take action to keep prices in line.

China faces the most terrifying ecological crisis in the world. There are no parallels in peacetime for such monumental degradation of a country’s natural resources, water and land.

Speculation is once again rife on whether Israel or the U.S. will launch air strikes on Iran.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, twin pillars of U.S. housing finance, have been plunged into crisis. Only three months after the meltdown and bailout of Bear Stearns, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve have once again been forced to intervene with emergency measures to forestall a potential crash in the global finance system.

The world faces the horrifying prospect of major climate change with its potential for catastrophic impact on food production and living conditions across the world. Yet, the political leaders of the major capitalist economies failed to agree on any meaningful action on this question at the recent G8 meeting in Japan.

World stock markets are again reeling, this time on rumors that the two largest financial institutions in the world are technically insolvent. Their collapse would represent a financial earthquake, dwarfing previous financial shocks such as the March collapse of Bear Stearns.

The G8 (Group of Eight) kicked off its three-day meeting in Toyako on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido on July 7, with world leaders bunkered in what the Independent (UK) described as a “fortress”. This G8 summit takes place as the capitalist system is sliding into its most serious global crisis for six decades.

Why do soaring oil price rises have such a devastating effect? What lies behind the price surge? What effect will pricey oil and speculation have on the global economy?

In 2008, we need to build a challenge to the candidates and the agenda of the two corporate parties – the Democrats and Republicans. We see the Nader-Gonzalez independent presidential campaign as the strongest campaign, with the ability to reach the widest audience. Justice and Socialist Alternative are supporting this campaign in the 2008 presidential race. Where Nader is not able to get on the ballot, we are supporting the campaign of Cynthia McKinney who is likely to be nominated by the Green Party.

Bolivia is awash with rumors about an impending right-wing coup against the elected government of president Evo Morales. These rumors took on more importance as the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez invited Evo Morales, Daniel Ortega, president of Nicaragua, and Carlos Lage, vice-president of Cuba, to Caracas for a summit to discuss how to defend the Bolivian government in the event of a coup.

World rice prices rose 141% since January. Wheat rose 77% last year, one variety rising 25% in a single day. The effects of these dramatic increases are being felt world-wide with violent protests breaking out in Haiti, Egypt, Cameroon and Indonesia. It is the first time a wave of food riots has swept across the globe in 30 years. World Food Program’s Josette Sheeran says, “This is a silent tsunami.”

The rejection of the Lisbon Treaty (the renamed EU Constitution) by voters in Ireland last Thursday was a major shock for the political and business establishment in Ireland. The Socialist Party (CWI in Ireland) played a major role in the campaign for a "No" vote.

Abu-Jamal, a political journalist and activist, was targeted by FBI as early as age 15 for his involvement in the Black Panther Party. His case has received more national and international attention than any other death row case but he is certainly not alone.