World Socialist Web Site

wsws.org

Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI)

6 January 2009

Israel spreads death and destruction as it advances into Gaza

By Barry Grey, 6 January 2009

The toll of Palestinians killed and wounded continues to rise rapidly as Israel intensifies its combined air and ground assault on the largely defenseless and starved Gaza Strip.

Obama stimulus plan to include major corporate tax cuts

By Jerry White, 6 January 2009

US president-elect Barack Obama announced on Monday that he favors an economic “stimulus” plan of about $775 billion, a large proportion of which will consist in corporate tax cuts.

More than 60 dead in New Year’s Eve fire in Bangkok

By Dragan Stankovic, 6 January 2009

Up to 1,000 people were packed into the Santika nightclub in Bangkok on New Year’s Eve when a fire broke out. The building was a fire trap, which lacked adequate fire prevention and safety measures, including sufficient emergency exits.

Rwanda: Perpetrators of genocide jailed

By Linda Slattery, 6 January 2009

The International Criminal Tribunal to investigate the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994 against the minority Tutsis has passed a sentence of life imprisonment against General Theoneste Bagasora for his role in the slaughter.

US: New reports of police spying on activist groups

By Hiram Lee, 6 January 2009

New reports detail the activities of an FBI informant during the 2008 Republican National Convention and the police infiltration of activist groups in the Maryland area.

New in German

Hände weg von Gaza

Von Barry Grey und David North, 6. Januar 2009

Das Internationale Komitee der Vierten Internationale und die World Socialist Web Site verurteilen den mörderischen Angriff der israelischen Armee auf die palästinensische Bevölkerung des Gazastreifens. Der konzentrierte Boden- und Luftangriff auf die dicht besiedelte und praktisch wehrlose Enklave ist ein Kriegsverbrechen.

Offene Fragen im Fall Mannichl

Von Markus Salzmann, 6. Januar 2009

Drei Wochen nach dem Anschlag auf den Passauer Polizeidirektor Alois Mannichl fehlt angeblich jede Spur der Täter, obwohl alles auf einen rechtsradikalen Hintergrund hinweist. Die 50-Mann starke Sonderkommission wurde aufgelöst und der Fall zur routinemäßigen Behandlung an das bayrische Landeskriminalamt übergeben. Aber wissen die Behörden wirklich nichts?

Die historischen und internationalen Grundlagen der Socialist Equality Party
Teil 11

6. Januar 2009

"Das Programm der SEP hat prinzipiellen, nicht konjunkturellen oder pragmatischen Charakter. Es gründet sich auf eine Analyse der Krise des Weltkapitalismus und beinhaltet die strategischen Erfahrungen der Arbeiterklasse und der internationalen sozialistischen Bewegung."

New in French

Cuba célèbre le 50e anniversaire de la révolution à l’ombre de la crise économique mondiale

Par Bill Van Auken, 6 janvier 2009

Le leadership cubain a célébré le 50e anniversaire de la révolution qui renversa la dictature corrompue, et soutenue par les Etats-Unis, de Fulgencio Batista et qui porta Fidel Castro au pouvoir par des cérémonies relativement modestes et discrètes.

New in Russian

Руки прочь от Газы!

Бэрри Грей и Дэвид Норт, 6 января 2009 г.

Международный Комитет Четвертого Интернационала и Мировой Социалистический Веб Сайт осуждают военное нападение Израиля на палестинское население сектора Газы. Одновременная воздушная и наземная атака на густонаселенный и, по существу, беззащитный анклав является военным преступлением.

Perspective

US “surge” in Afghanistan threatens wider war

6 January 2009

In an ominous move posing the threat of wider war, the US plans to create new supply lines to Afghanistan in preparation for a doubling of its occupation forces under the Obama administration.

Earlier Perspectives »

Arts Review

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Too little made of a life led in reverse

By Kevin Martinez, 6 January 2009

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button concerns itself with the fate of an individual who ages in reverse. Born a shriveled old man, Benjamin Button experiences the natural aging process backward.

Polemics

Adam Haig responds to Alex Steiner’s burst of outrage

6 January 2009

Adam Haig’s essay “Steiner, Brenner and Neo-Marxism: The Marcusean Component” provoked an angry response from Steiner and Brenner. We post here Haig’s reply.

History

The tragedy of the 1925-1927 Chinese Revolution
Part Two

By John Chan,
6 January 2009

The rise and fall of the 1925-1927 Second Chinese Revolution was one of the most significant political events of the twentieth century. One cannot understand modern Chinese history without examining its lessons.

Workers Struggles

Workers Struggles: The Americas

6 January 2009

The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

Correspondence

Strathclyde Telegraph defends inflammatory attack on SEP as “fair comment”

By Steve James, 6 January 2009

The following letter was sent to the editor of the Strathclyde Telegraph student newspaper in Glasgow, Scotland. The Telegraph published a scurrilous attack on the SEP and Jerome White, its 2008 presidential candidate, indicating that threats of violence were a correct response to “Trots.”