Most commentators are quite happy explaining the heavy-handed interventions of the US as due to Trump's "personality", or because he doesn't care about the "rules-based international order". In fact it's a convenient excuse for what in reality is the brutal competition between national capitalists for control over natural resources and trading routes - and they've all set their eyes on Greenland!

    The Arctic ice is receding, opening the Northwest passage for regular trading ships, reducing the distance of Asia-Europe shipping routes by 30-35% - a great business opportunity! And this is also opening opportunities to exploit oil, uranium and gas reserves - and rare metals that are crucial for AI tech. So while Denmark and the EU have an interest in keeping the region under their control, China (in partnership with Russia) has invested in infrastructure through their Polar Silk Road project. As for the US government, it's now simply telling the world that Greenland is its backyard. Various US tech tycoons and Trump-backers have, for instance, invested in KoBold Metals, a US company which looks for critical minerals around the world - including in Greenland.

    No wonder the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), which includes the Italian oil giant Eni, British/Swedish multinational AstraZeneca, and German car manufacturers BMW and Mercedes, issued a statement against the US administration, saying that "the ERT would support necessary steps to defend the fundamental interests of Europe and EU Member States". European leaders are, accordingly, threatening retaliatory tariffs against Trump.

    Starmer and the EU leaders pay lip-service to the rights of the Greenlanders, saying their future should be their decision. They don't acknowledge the oppression of the Inuit people, who make up 90% of the 57,000 inhabitants. Under Danish colonial rule, in the 1960s and 70s, thousands of Inuit women were forcibly sterilised and forced to emigrate to Denmark, where they faced racist discrimination. One can only draw parallels with the Chagossians, forcibly expelled from the Chagos Islands by the British government in the late 1960s, to make space for a military base. Now Trump has called Starmer's deal to give back the islands to Mauritius "stupidity" and against "US national security", despite the lease for the military base being extended for another 99 years!

    In this capitalist world however, "might" is "right". So it will be the task of the international working class to use its "might" to finally bring humanity out of barbarism, aiming towards a civilised future. One where resources are shared for the needs of all and not appropriated by a few greedy capitalists, who, by their brutal competition against each other, threaten war - and the destruction of our whole planet!

After the high speed train crash in Cordoba, involving a state-operated Renfe train and a privately-owned Iryo train - and the crash of a commuter train in Barcelona two days later - Spain's train drivers' union, SEMAF, has called a 48-hour national rail strike, which could be made indefinite if their demands aren't met.

    The two union federations, the UGT and CCOO, will also strike. In fact, maintenance crews at the two crash sites have already stopped work until their safety concerns are addressed. SEMAF said "We are going to demand criminal liability from those responsible for ensuring safety in the railway infrastructure", pointing to "the constant deterioration of the rail network".

    SEMAF has repeatedly warned Adif, the state-owned infrastructure company about the bad condition of the track. Last August it again pointed to severe wear and tear on the exact same stretch where the two high speed trains crashed. But the track was not re-inspected. It says potholes, bumps, and problems with overhead power lines are rife.

    The union proposed a speed reduction. It pointed to the huge increase in the number of high speed trains, thanks entirely to privatisation (so-called "liberalisation"), now running on the Malaga-Madrid track - an increase of 55% above the 2019 pre-privatisation baseline. This inevitably meant a dangerous increase in track-damage.

    But Adif did not institute more frequent track checks. These were still done once-yearly even after traffic grew. Yet Adif's own 2025 safety action plan warned that "high stress joints should be inspected more frequently when traffic exceeds design baselines". A pilot to inspect 6-monthly has only just been approved. Too late for the many passengers and 3 train drivers who are now dead.

    It's obvious that not one of European states, nor any others - has learnt any lessons whatsoever from the disastrous consequences of privatisation, proven by its failure in Britain.

    That said, safety can and will never be guaranteed until the rail workforce controls all operations and the working class owns them - under a system that has abolished the profit motive. We should all be on strike, to make that happen.