We’ve recently been marking 15 years of the World Socialist Web Site, reviewing the major events from 1998 through 2012. A number of the years in that period of unfolding pre-revolutionary crisis were especially eventful and explosive. 2013, however, threatens to put each of those years in the shade. Enormous events are occurring, it seems, almost on a weekly basis.

The revelations of Edward Snowden dealt a blow to the anti-democratic conspiracies of the American ruling elite. The vast spying on every form of communication, the attempt to monitor the movements and thoughts of everyone on the planet, reveal both how far the powers-that-be have advanced with their police state plans and how terrified they are of the inevitable popular resistance to their attacks on jobs, living standards, democratic rights themselves.

The government and the media have responded with a vicious witch-hunt and persecution against Snowden. There is the ongoing persecution of Bradley Manning. The WSWS has taken the lead in openly campaigning for the defense of Snowden, Manning and Julian Assange.

The events in Egypt are of enormous importance. The recent descent onto the streets of tens of millions shows the rest of the world its future, a period of revolutionary upheaval. The fake left organizations have shown their colors, as defenders of the Egyptian military, as they’ve demonstrated their character in supporting imperialist intervention in Syria.

And now, the bankruptcy of Detroit puts a massive confrontation on the agenda. This is an event of world-historical importance, an expression of the bankruptcy of American capitalism as a whole. The bankers and their political agents have thrown down the gauntlet, demanding blood from the working class.

More than ever, in all these events, the WSWS has provided the most farsighted and in-depth analysis. It is not bragging to assert that there is not even any close competition. To continue this work, to broaden and extend it, we need your financial help. The government and the military have their strategy and plans and media outlets, the working class needs the WSWS. We ask you to contribute financially today, and to make that contribution a regular one.