World Socialist Web Site

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

11 November 2009

Obama exploits Fort Hood massacre to promote US wars

By Bill Van Auken, 11 November 2009

President Barack Obama used his speech at Tuesday’s service for the 13 men and women killed last week at Fort Hood, Texas to promote the two ongoing US wars and his own plan to escalate the intervention in Afghanistan.

The execution of John Muhammad: another gruesome moment in America

By David Walsh, 11 November 2009

John Allen Muhammad, 48, known as the “Beltway Sniper” for the series of killings he allegedly masterminded in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area in October 2002, was scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening.

Sri Lankan police forcibly drown a young Tamil man

By Panini Wijesiriwardena, 11 November 2009

The police killing of a young, mentally unstable Tamil man in central Colombo in front of television cameras has provoked widespread public outrage in Sri Lanka.

France: Former president Jacques Chirac to stand trial for corruption

By Antoine Lerougetel and Alex Lantier,
11 November 2009

Former President Jacques Chirac’s indictment is a major blow to the credibility of the political establishment.

Australia’s “rock solid” banks: the financial crisis one year on

By Alex Messenger, 11 November 2009

The corporate press claims that the Australian financial system has survived the global financial crisis because of good regulation and sound banking practice. In truth, Australian banks only survived because of unprecedented government intervention.

Lockerbie: Human rights lawyer states Megrahi was framed

By Steve James, 11 November 2009

Leading British human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce believes that Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the only man accused and convicted of the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, was framed.

California finances plummet less than three months after budget passage

By Kevin Martinez and Dan Conway, 11 November 2009

The California budget deficit of $1.1 billion comes less than 10 weeks after a balanced budget deal was reached by Governor Schwarzenegger and the state legislature.

New in German

Der Fall der Mauer

Von Peter Schwarz, 9. November 2009

Der mediale Aufwand, mit dem die Ereignisse vom Herbst 1989 als Beginn eines neuen Zeitalters der Demokratie, der Freiheit und des Friedens verherrlicht werden, ist umso größer, je offensichtlicher wird, dass sie nichts dergleichen waren.

Guttenberg verteidigt Massaker in Kundus

Von Ulrich Rippert, 11. November 2009

Guttenbergs Stellungnahme hat weit reichende Konsequenzen: Wenn nicht Recht und Gesetz die Grundlagen für die Bewertung der Aktivitäten der Bundeswehr sind, sondern die Einschätzung der Militärführung, dann steht die Armee über dem Gesetz und unterliegt keiner rechtsstaatlichen Kontrolle.

New in French

Un tribunal italien condamne des agents américains de la CIA pour restitution

Par Stefan Steinberg, 11 novembre 2009

Dans une décision historique, dont les conséquences auront une portée mondiale, un tribunal a condamné in absentia 23 agents américains de la CIA pour leur rôle en 2003 dans l’enlèvement et la restitution d’un citoyen italien, Abou Omar.

New in Portuguese

Após trabalhadores derrotarem sindicato conciliador
Ford dos EUA relata US$ 1 bilhão em lucros no terceiro trimestre

Por Jerry White, 11 de novembro de 2009

Ford Motor Co. anunciou, no dia 2/11, lucros de quase US$ 1 bilhão para o terceiro trimestre, um dia após 41.000 trabalhadores da Ford dos EUA votarem contra a proposta de concessões em salários e benefícios que, segundo a empresa e o United Auto Workers (UAW, sindicato da categoria no país), seriam essenciais para manter a montadora em pé.

Perspective

The plunder of Iraq’s oil

11 November 2009

The awarding of development rights over the huge West Qurna oilfield in southern Iraq to Exxon-Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell underscores the criminal character of the continuing US-led occupation.

Earlier Perspectives »

Book Review

In The Service of Historical Falsification
A Review of Robert Service’s Trotsky: A Biography

By David North, 11 November 2009

In this review, David North, chairman of the international editorial board of the World Socialist Web Site, responds to the latest attack on and falsification of the life of Leon Trotsky.

25 years
50 years
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Pinochet imposes state of siege on Chile

This week in 1984, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet unleashes the military on working class neighborhoods in Santiago, arresting thousands, and shutting down opposition media. The actions followed the president’s declaration of a national state of siege on November 6.

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Iraqi prime minister touts nationalist measures

In a nationwide radio speech delivered on November 14, 1959, Iraqi Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim declares that his nation has been made "rich" by what he describes as its rejection of western imperialism. It is his first speech since being wounded in an assassination attempt a month earlier.

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Doumergue’s “Cabinet of Truce” collapses in France

The conservative national unity government under Gaston Doumergue collapses on November 8, 1934, after only eight months.

Doumergue was installed in office in the wake of the February 6, 1934 fascist riots in the Place de la Concorde, and days before the general strike of February 12.

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Coal mine disaster in Cherry, Illinois, claims the lives of 259

Cherry Mine The familiar sound of the mine siren brings the women and children of little Cherry, Illinois, to the mine head on November 13. Whose father, husband, or brother has died or been maimed today?

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Socialist Equality Party

Mehring Verlag house presents its redesigned web site

By Wolfgang Zimmermann, 11 November 2009

The publisher Arbeiterspresse (Workers’ Press), which since 1978 has published many brochures and books dealing with current political topics and the history of the workers’ movement, has recently changed its name to Mehring Verlag.

Mehring Books

Now available from Mehring Books:
The Part Played by Labor in the Transition from Ape to Man

10 November 2009

Mehring Books is pleased to make available to readers of the World Socialist Web Site Frederick Engels’ important essay, The Part Played by Labor in the Transition from Ape to Man.

Workers Struggles

London postal workers condemn strike sell-out by Communication Workers Union

By our correspondents, 11 November 2009

Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site have been talking to postal workers in London about the decision by the Communication Workers Union to call off the national postal strike.

Mt. Clemens, Michigan school bus drivers strike

By a WSWS reporting team, November 2009

School bus drivers in Mt. Clemens, Michigan ended their one-and-a-half day strike Tuesday amid company threats to break the strike.

The Ford vote and the UAW’s defenders

By Jerry White, 9 November 2009

Last week’s defeat of the UAW-Ford concessions contract by the rank-and-file has not diminished the claims by various middle class organizations that all opposition should be channeled through the UAW.

Commentary

The fall of the Berlin Wall

9 November 2009

The contradiction between the official celebrations and the lack of public enthusiasm over the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall speaks volumes about the real significance of the events of November 1989.

Arts Review

Not enough information: The Informant! directed by Steven Soderbergh

By Hiram Lee, 11 November 2009

Steven Soderbergh’s latest film takes on the true story of an FBI investigation into the price-fixing conspiracy at the Archer Daniels Midland company during the 1990s.

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