World Socialist Web Site

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

3 October 2009

US: Over a quarter million jobs lost in September

By Andre Damon, 3 October 2009

The US unemployment rate reached 9.8 percent and the economy lost 263,000 jobs in September, undermining claims of an imminent economic recovery.

General McChrystal publicly campaigns for Afghanistan “surge”

By Bill Van Auken, 3 October 2009

With his appearance Thursday before a British think tank, Gen. Stanley McChrystal intensified a public campaign for an escalation of the US war in Afghanistan.

US faces worsening military situation in Afghanistan

By James Cogan, 3 October 2009

The anti-occupation insurgency has spread from the southern provinces that border Pakistan to the capital Kabul and northern provinces.

The new Forbes 400: Provocative wealth amidst social misery

By Tom Eley, 3 October 2009

The 400 richest Americans have so far weathered the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression with a combined $1.27 trillion, according to Forbes magazine’s annual list.

Thousands feared dead after Indonesian earthquake

By John Roberts, 3 October 2009

An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia on Wednesday, causing enormous destruction in and around the Sumatran city of Padang.

Britain: The denouement looms for Labour

By Chris Marsden, 3 October 2009

At its annual conference in Brighton, Labour indeed looked like a party that had “lost the will to live.”

Social Democrats suffer historical defeat in Upper Austria

By Markus Salzmann, 3 October 2009

As in neighbouring Germany, the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) suffered a historic defeat in recent state elections, receiving just 24.5 percent of the votes cast, its worst showing since 1945.

New in German

Sri Lanka:
Appell des Aktionskomitees der Balmoral Plantage an alle Arbeiter

Von der Redaktion, 3. Oktober 2009

Arbeiter der Balmoral Teeplantage bei Bogawanthalawa haben einen Appell an Arbeiter in ganz Sri Lanka gerichtet und sie aufgefordert, das aktuelle Lohnabkommen abzulehnen und unabhängig von allen Gewerkschaften Aktionskomitees zu bilden.

FDP: Die Stimme der Wirtschaftsverbände

Von Dietmar Henning, 3. Oktober 2009

Das Programm der FDP, "Deutschlandprogramm" genannt, ist ein Aufruf, alles abzuschaffen, was die Arbeiterbewegung in den letzten 150 Jahren erkämpft hat.

Drei Monate nach dem Putsch:
Regime in Honduras verhängt den Notstand

Von Bill Van Auken, 3. Oktober 2009

In Honduras hat das rechte Regime von Roberto Micheletti für 45 Tage den Notstand verhängt und alle demokratischen Rechte aufgehoben.

Die New York Times wirft Polanski den Wölfen zum Fraß vor

Von David Walsh und David North, 3. Oktober 2009

Die Verhaftung des Filmregisseurs Roman Polanski in der Schweiz und die angedrohte Auslieferung an die USA haben die ‚Law and Order`-Scharfmacher auf den Plan gerufen. Diesen reaktionären Stimmen hat sich jetzt auch die Redaktion der New York Times angeschlossen.

New in French

Le SEP tient une réunion publique dans les plantations du Sri Lanka

Par S. Jayanth, 3 octobre 2009

Le SEP du Sri Lanka a tenu une réunion publique, qui a été un succès, dans la ville de Hatton, dans la région montagneuse du centre de l'île, le 27 septembre pour discuter des leçons politiques de la récente lutte des travailleurs des plantations.

Réunion publique de l'IEES à Montréal
La crise mondiale du système capitaliste : la nécessité de l'intervention indépendante de la classe ouvrière

3 octobre 2009

L’IEES invite les étudiants et les travailleurs à venir assister à une conférence qui abordera les questions pressantes soulevées par la crise économique et son impact sur les travailleurs à la lumière des grands combats de la classe ouvrière du vingtième siècle.

Perspective

One year since the US bank bailout

3 October 2009

One year ago today, Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, establishing the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and authorizing the use of $700 billion in Treasury funds to bail out the banking industry.

Earlier Perspectives »

Political Statements

Germany: Whither the SPD?
The working class and the decline of social democracy

By Ulrich Rippert, 3 October 2009

The decline of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) vote to 23 percent was the product of a collapse of support, particularly in the working class.

Sixty years after the Chinese Revolution: Lessons for the working class

By John Chan, 1 October 2009

Communist Party bureaucrats today will join hands with the representatives of global capitalism in toasting the formation of the Peoples Republic of China. These celebrations are not at variance with Maoism and the 1949 Chinese Revolution, but rather are their logical outcome.

Socialist Equality Party

Sri Lanka: SEP election team campaigns among cinnamon peelers

By Ratnasiri Malalagama and Panini Wijesiriwardane,
3 October 2009

Cinnamon workers and small producers are among poorest section of the rural population in Sri Lanka.

Arts Review

Toronto International Film Festival 2009—Part 2
“The Iraq war poisoned the water—you can’t undo that, it’s there forever”

By David Walsh, 3 October 2009

Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein have directed at least three remarkable documentaries about the US invasion of Iraq and its consequences: Gunner Palace (2004), The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair (2006), and now, How To Fold a Flag.

The New York Times throws Roman Polanski to the wolves

By David Walsh and David North, 1 October 2009

The arrest of film director Roman Polanski in Switzerland and his threatened extradition to the US have stirred the baying hounds of ‘law and order’ into action. To these reactionary voices, we can now add the editorial board of the New York Times.