The 4 May this year will mark 100 years since the start of our "one and only" general strike! On that day in 1926, almost 2 million workers walked off the job in support of the coal miners, with the cry: "not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day!"

    They faced a drastic cost-of-living crisis. Across the board, the bosses imposed wage cuts, sacked workers and increased the working day. But the working class was having none of it.

    Strike committees were formed up and down the country to organise local workers, distribute food and print news bulletins. Workers' defence militias were set up to protect pickets from the police and army. The enthusiasm was huge: workers had been itching for a fight, and some were even itching for revolution! It was just 9 years since the Russian working class had overthrown the provisional government and installed their own rule.

    Fast forward 100 years and what are the bosses doing? Cutting real wages and imposing long hours of work! And in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis!

    Just last week, the RMT's London Undergrounddrivers launched a series of strikes against the attempt to make them work longer shifts, i.e., "condense" their working hours, currently spread over 5 days, into 4 days. No doubt the bosses' aim is to run more trains with fewer drivers. And never mind the risk of driving trains for 9 hours in dark tunnels - and at night - even with breaks.

    Today, far too many workers are routinely working 12-hour shifts, "sold" to their union officials by the bosses, using a 4-day "weekend" carrot. But since when were such long working hours ever safe - or healthy? Unforgivably, union officials bought this carrot, while we paid!

    In Chicago, on International Workers' Day in 1886 - the first workers' Mayday Parade called for "An eight-hour day with no cut in pay!", so that "the worker ceases to be a mere instrument of labour and begins to become a man"! Let the Tube drivers' fight be the first big success of the fight against the turn of the working hours' screw! The best way to ensure this, is for workers across all industries and sectors, to join them on strike!

It was without a trace of irony that the King's visit to the White House on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence - from Britain - was reported.

    The King and all the many commentators watching the event with big eyes, skirted politely around the fact that a bloody revolutionary war had been staged by the 13 former Colonies on America's east coast, to kick out the British monarch and institute a democratic republic.

    Nor did anyone recall the gory details: that 25,324 "revolutionaries" died - of which only 6,824 were killed in combat. Most of the rest - ~18, 500 - died while prisoners of war of the British, mostly in the prison ships in New York Harbour or in prisoner-of-war camps. But at least they won in the end...

    Charles flattered the US Congress over their democratic US constitution and Bill of Rights. But he also took credit for it - claiming that it was at least partly an echo of the Magna Carta of 1215. Even the oft-quoted "no taxation without representation" can supposedly be traced back to the Magna Carta. Yet more proof that these great historic bills of rights were (and are) not worth the paper they're written on!

    Indeed, the citizen's rights which the American constitution is supposed to stand for, have never been enjoyed by everyone. And how can they be, in the divided, class society that capitalism relies upon?

    Trump put on a lavish show - and while he probably wasn't that interested in the content of the King's speech he did add a few choice words of his own. For instance, he referred to his and Netanyahu's war with Iran, saying. "we're never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon" - and "Charles agrees with me even more than / do". The rather pacific "Charles" was probably quite surprised to hear that he agreed with the president more than the president agreed with himself!

    What was more significant was what was going on in the background. Especially given the fact that this 4-day visit by the royals was supposed to repair the so- called "Special Relationship". Mandelson's replacement as British ambassador, "Sir" Christian Turner was guoted as saying that no diplomat used the term "special relationship" anymore when speaking about London-Washington diplomacy anyway. He added that "the only country that has a special relationship with the United States is probably Israel".

    Indeed, for the working class in the USA, here in Britain and in the Middle East, what stands out about this Trumpian royal event is how all this fantastical pomp and circumstance is taking place against a backdrop of ongoing US-funded Israeli bombing and slaughter in Lebanon, and daily Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the West Bank. And that's what makes it all the more sickening. So down with both "Kings" and down with the British and US imperialist policies they represent!