20 November 2009

Karzai inaugurated amid state of siege in Kabul

By Bill Van Auken, 20 November 2009

Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated Thursday amid a state of siege in Kabul. Western officials who were present issued hypocritical demands that Karzai fight corruption.

Obama warns of new sanctions against Iran

By Peter Symonds, 20 November 2009

The Obama administration is preparing for new sanctions against Iran after Tehran called for modifications to an agreement reached last month over its stockpile of low-enriched uranium.

US home foreclosures at record high as jobs crisis deepens

By Andre Damon, 20 November 2009

The continued increase in home foreclosures is now driven largely by the sharp rise in unemployment.

US prepares contingency plans to seize Pakistani nuclear triggers

By James Cogan, 20 November 2009

According to veteran journalist Seymour Hersh, US officials have pushed for an “understanding” that American forces can enter Pakistan to secure its nuclear arsenal in the event of a direct threat, particularly a mutiny by anti-American Islamist tendencies inside the Pakistani armed forces.

Saudi Arabia bombards Yemeni rebels in policing role for US imperialism

By Brian Smith, 20 November 2009

Saudi Arabia is now openly bombing Huthi rebel positions on either side of its border with Yemen in support of the Yemeni government’s “Operation Scorched Earth.” Saudi Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan said that his forces “are not going to stop the bombing until the Huthis retreat tens of kilometres inside their border.”

Canada complicit in torture of hundreds of Afghan detainees

By Keith Jones, 20 November 2009

“We detained, and handed over for severe torture, a lot of innocent people,” a Canadian diplomat has told a parliamentary committee on the Canadian Armed Forces’ Afghan mission

Australia: Defiant stand by Oceanic Viking refugees triggers political crisis

By Mike Head, 20 November 2009

The refusal by Sri Lankan Tamil refugees to disembark in Indonesia from an Australian Customs vessel, the Oceanic Viking, has triggered an extraordinary political crisis for the Australian Labor government.

Germany: Union agrees to wage cuts and store closures at Karstadt

By Dietmar Henning, 20 November 2009

The German public service union representing workers at the Karstadt store chain has agreed to the closure of a number of branches as well as savings of some €150 million at the expense of the staff.

California students protest massive fee hike

By Jack Cody and Josue Olmos, 20 November 2009

Students at the University of California, Los Angles and other California campuses protested massive fee hikes on Wedneday and Thursday. Police responded violently.

Michigan job seekers speak to WSWS

By Naomi Spencer, 20 November 2009

Several hundred Detroit area residents attended a jobs fair Wednesday in nearby Livonia, Michigan, the latest of several similar events held in the area that have drawn unemployed residents seeking any kind of work.

New in German

Krebs und Klassengesellschaft

Von Kate Randall und Barry Grey, 20. November 2009

Ein staatliches Gremiums in den USA empfiehlt, dass Frauen unter fünfzig kein regelmäßiges Mammographie-Screening mehr machen sollten. Das ist eine Warnung, in welche Richtung die amerikanische Gesundheitsversorgung geht.

 

Schwarz-Gelb nimmt Kurs auf sozialen Kahlschlag

Von Peter Schwarz, 20. November 2009

Die Bundesregierung hat in Merseburg die finanzpolitischen Weichen für einen bespiellosen sozialen Kahlschlag gestellt. Unter Hinweis auf das explodierende Defizit wird sie öffentliche Ausgaben in bisher nicht vorstellbarem Ausmaß zusammenstreichen.

Perspective

Obama’s China trip

20 November 2009

At the beginning of his eight-day tour of Asia, President Obama declared himself the “first Pacific president” and announced that his trip would reassert American leadership in the region.

Earlier Perspectives »

Arts Review

Aesthetic choices: Aleksandr Sokurov’s The Sun

By Stefan Steinberg, 20 November 2009

Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov’s The Sun presents a snapshot picture of the Japanese emperor Hirohito and is one of a series of films Sokurov has devoted to leading political figures.

An evaluation of Roman Polanski as an artist

By David Walsh, 20 November 2009

Filmmaker Roman Polanski remains in a Zurich jail cell, while his lawyers fight the efforts by US authorities to extradite him. The director has a half-century-long artistic career that needs to be assessed.

Socialist Equality Party

Public meeting in Leipzig, Germany
Twenty years since the fall of the wall—from Stalinism to capitalism

20 November 2009

The Partei für Soziale Gleichheit (Socialist Equality Party of Germany) is holding a public meeting in Leipzig on November 29 to draw the lessons of the events surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Nick Beams delivers lecture in Sydney and Melbourne
World War Two: Lessons and Warnings

By Nick Beams, 18 November 2009

Nick Beams, national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia) and a member of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site, delivered a lecture on “World War Two: Lessons and Warnings” to audiences in Sydney and Melbourne in November, 2009.

Commentary

Cancer and class

19 November 2009

Monday’s recommendation by a US government panel that women under the age of 50 not undergo annual mammogram screenings should serve as a warning on the future of health care in America.

This Week in History: November 16-22

“Baby Fae,” who received baboon heart transplant, dies

Stephanie Fae Beauclair, known to the world as "Baby Fae," dies on November 16, 1984, two weeks after an initially successful operation to replace her failing heart with that of a baboon.


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Algerian rebel government names prisoners peace envoys

AlgeriaAlgeria's Tunisia-based rebel government on November 20, 1959 names five prisoners of France, including Mohammed Ben Bella, as envoys for peace discussions. French President Charles de Gaulle rejects the request.

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Roosevelt administration plans works programs to create jobs

WPAWith unemployment in the US at nearly 22 percent in 1934, the Roosevelt administration indicates its intention to expand major public works projects in order to provide jobs.

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United States moves to depose Zelaya

ZelayaOn November 18, 1909 the US administration of William Howard Taft sends war ships to the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua as it prepares to depose the regime of President José Santos Zelaya.

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Workers Struggles

Workers Struggles: Europe & Africa

20 November 2009

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

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Videos and Images

Handful of jobs offered at Detroit jobs fair
Handful of jobs offered at Detroit jobs fair H1N1 distribution interviews
Thousands line up for Swine Flu vaccine in Michigan Ford workers speak on contract rejection
Ford workers speak on contract rejection Ford workers speak out against concessions contract
Ford workers speak out against concessions contract 50,000 line up for housing assistance in Detroit
50,000 line up for housing assistance in Detroit ISSE members speak on education cuts at rally
ISSE members speak on education cuts at rally Detroit residents speak on utility bills, social crisis
Detroit residents speak on utility bills, social crisis OU video
Michigan’s Oakland University faculty strike has student support Detroit teachers denounce pay cuts
Detroit teachers denounce pay cuts D'Art
Detroit city workers oppose concessions, layoffs Interviews at Los Angeles health care clinic
Interviews at Los Angeles health care clinic Workers continue Vestas occupation on Isle of Wight
Workers continue Vestas occupation on Isle of Wight A conversation with Windsor municipal workers
A conversation with Windsor municipal workers New York City workers speak against cuts in healthcare and social services
NYC workers speak against cuts in social services Flint vid
Flint, Michigan and the bankruptcy of General Motors MI auto vid
GM workers on bankruptcy and plant closings MI auto vid
Michigan auto workers and families speak on plant closures GM vid
GM workers speak out on concessions contract Protesting students and parents speak to the WSWS
Protesting students and parents speak to the WSWS Chrysler workers speak on concessions vote
Chrysler workers speak on concessions vote UK Visteon workers speak on occupation
UK Visteon workers speak on occupation GM and Chrysler workers oppose more concessions
GM and Chrysler workers oppose more concessions Chrysler workers oppose Obama auto plan
Chrysler workers oppose Obama auto plan
WSWS interviews G20 protesters in London Donovan
Pontiac residents speak on schools crisis Detroit jobs fair
Workers interviewed at Detroit jobs fair
Ford workers: “Now the fight is with our own union.” GM workers videoGM workers denounce concession demands Chrysler workers oppose cuts
Chrysler workers oppose pay cuts, concession demands London demonstration against Sri Lankan war
Over 100,000 demonstrate in London against Sri Lankan war Joanne
Funeral for Michigan man frozen following utility shut-off Montserrat
Exposing Franco's mass graves Bay City, Mich.: “Shutting somebody's electricity off in the dead of winter is criminal”
Bay City, Michigan residents speak on death from utility shut-off London protesters speak to the WSWS
WSWS interviews London protesters London demonstrators protest Israeli assault on Gaza
London demonstrators protest Israeli assault on Gaza Chrysler workers denounce pay cuts
Chrysler workers denounce pay cuts Griffiths and Walsh
The Writer and Revolution: A conversation with Trevor Griffiths

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