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2 February 2010

Obama budget: War, debt and cuts in social services

By Patrick Martin, 2 February 2010

The Obama administration’s 2011 budget projects massive government deficits for the next decade, fueled by gargantuan military spending and by the economic crisis of US and world capitalism. The national debt is projected to more than double over the coming decade.

US group charged with child trafficking in Haiti

By Bill Van Auken, 2 February 2010

Ten members of a Baptist-affiliated group from Idaho are accused of child trafficking for attempting to spirit 33 Haitian children out of the country, supposedly for adoption in the US. Several of the children said their parents are not dead.

Greek PM promises to “draw blood” to salvage economy

By Alex Messenger, 2 February 2010

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou launched a 48-hour “charm offensive” at Davos last week to reassure business leaders that his government will do whatever it takes to slash the budget deficit by three quarters.

A wave of post-election violence in Sri Lanka

By W.A. Sunil, 2 February 2010

The attacks are part of a broader government crackdown against supporters of the defeated opposition candidate General Fonseka, who faces unsubstantiated allegations that he attempted to mount a coup.

French parliamentary commission advocates banning the burqa

By Kumaran Ira, 2 February 2010

After deliberating for six months, a parliamentary commission in France investigating a ban on the burqa, or niqab, has released a report that recommends passage of a law outlawing the wearing of the garment in any public facility run by the state.

Canada’s Supreme Court strikes down order to repatriate Guantanamo detainee

By Keith Jones, 2 February 2010

Canada’s Supreme Court has unanimously overturned a Federal Court decision ordering Canada’s Conservative government to seek the repatriation of Omar Khadr, a Guantanamo Bay detainee and Canadian citizen.

Behind rapid growth, US GDP figures reveal bleak economic situation

By Andre Damon, 2 February 2010

The US economy grew at an annualized rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, prompting claims that the downturn is abetting. But such triumphalism quickly gave way to concern, as more voices added warnings about the condition of the US economy.

Australia: Inquest evidence shows Rudd government policies caused refugee deaths

By Mike Head, 2 February 2010

Early evidence at a coronial inquest into the deaths of five Afghan asylum seekers last April has confirmed that the men were victims of the Rudd government’s ruthless “border protection” policies.

Sweden: Spyker announces last-minute purchase of Saab

By Jordan Shilton, 2 February 2010

Spyker and General Motors announced a “binding agreement” at a Stockholm press conference Tuesday, January 28, for the sale of Saab.

New in German

Die tatsächliche Lage der Nation 2010

Von Barry Grey, 2. Februar 2010

In seiner Rede zur Lage der Nation am Mittwoch vermied es Präsident Barack Obama, direkt und konkret auf den tatsächlichen Zustand der amerikanischen Gesellschaft einzugehen.

Die US-Marines in Haiti: Zurück zum Kolonialismus

Von Bill Van Auken, 2. Februar 2010

Die US-Marines, die von der Obama-Regierung nach Haiti geschickt worden sind, sollen für ihre Mission den "Erfolg" der 20-jährigen Besetzung Haitis von 1915 bis 1934 durch die Marines zum Vorbild nehmen.

New in Portuguese

"Reconstruindo o Haiti" com salários de fome

Por Bill Van Auken, 2 de fevereiro de 2010

Ministros do governo, banqueiros internacionais e agências de auxílio humanitário se reuniram em Montreal na segunda-feira para discutir planos para a reconstrução do Haiti destruído pelo terremoto.

Espanha: Desemprego entre os jovens chega a 40%

Por Marcus Morgan, 2 de fevereiro de 2010

Na pior recessão da Espanha em mais de 50 anos, os números oficiais para o final de 2009 mostram quase 4 milhões de pessoas desempregadas.

New in French

France : Le procureur fait appel contre l'acquittement de Villepin dans l'affaire Clearstream

Par Olivier Laurent, 2 février 2010

Le 29 janvier, le procureur Jean-Claude Marin a interjeté appel dans l'affaire Clearstream, refusant d'admettre l'innocence de l'ancien premier ministre Villepin, accusé de diffamation.

Les vrais enjeux de l’intervention canadienne en Afghanistan

Par Richard Dufour, 2 février 2010

« La complicité du Canada dans la torture démontre que l’intervention canadienne en Afghanistan n’a rien à voir avec une lutte pour la démocratie » a expliqué Richard Dufour lors d'une réunion publique de l'IEES à Montréal le 26 janvier dernier.

Perspective

US exonerates authors of Bush torture memos

2 February 2010

The Obama Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility has concluded that Office of Legal Counsel lawyers who penned the infamous memos justifying torture under the Bush administration will not be subject to disciplinary action.

Earlier Perspectives »

Socialist Equality Party

Perspective and tasks of the Socialist Equality Party in 2010

By David North and Joseph Kishore, 1 February 2010

The following is an amended version of a report submitted to a national aggregate meeting of the Socialist Equality Party in Ann Arbor, Michigan on January 9, 2010. David North is the national chairman of the SEP. Joseph Kishore is the national secretary of the SEP.

In Defence of Leon Trotsky: David North to speak at Sydney’s Gleebooks

20 January 2010

David North, World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board chairman, will address a Gleebooks literary event, on February 3, entitled “In the Service of Historical Falsification”. North will discuss the recently published biography of Leon Trotsky written by Professor Robert Service.

The Crisis in American Filmmaking and Cultural Life
WSWS Arts Editor David Walsh to speak at New York public meeting

2 February 2010

At this public meeting, to be held in New York City February 21, David Walsh, arts editor of the World Socialist Web Site, will address the challenging issues involved in the emergence of more critical, socialist minded art work.

Mehring Books

January edition of WSWS Perspectives journal now available
10 percent off at Mehring Books with a one-year subscription

1 February 2010

The January edition of WSWS Perspectives—a monthly chronicle of the Perspectives articles posted on the World Socialist Web Site—is now available from Mehring Books.

Tom Eley: The Revolution Betrayed is among the greatest political works of the 20th century

By Tom Eley, 29 January 2010

Mehring Books is continuing its Winter Recommended Reading Series, in which it invites WSWS writers to share their thoughts with readers about works of Marxist literature that have influenced them and explain why.

Arts Review

J.D. Salinger (1919-2010): An appreciation

By James Brookfield, 2 February 2010

American author J.D. Salinger, best known for his 1951 classic The Catcher in the Rye, died Wednesday, January 27. He was 91.

Science

Spacecraft Kepler discovers five extrasolar planets

By Bryan Dyne, 2 February 2010

NASA reported last month that Kepler, the first spacecraft dedicated to searching for planets beyond our solar system, has discovered its first five extrasolar planets. Though they are uninhabitable for Earth-like life—four of the five are even larger than Jupiter—their rapid discovery indicates that Kepler is fully capable of achieving its primary mission, finding a planet resembling Earth, in future years.

Commentary

Obama courts the Republican right

1 February 2010

The 90-minute televised meeting between President Barack Obama and the House Republican caucus, broadcast over the cable networks Friday, was an extraordinary exposure of the right-wing consensus within American bourgeois politics.

Tony Blair and the “2010 question”

By Ann Talbot, 1 February 2010

“Sometimes,” said Tony Blair, “what’s important is not to ask the March 2003 question, but to ask the 2010 question.”

25 years
50 years
75 years
100 years

25 years ago: Australia, New Zealand rebuke US nuclear policy

Responding to mass popular hostility toward the Reagan administration's rapid nuclear build-up, the governments of Australia and New Zealand this week in 1985 delivered separate rebukes to US military planning, rattling the South Pacific military alliance—the Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty, or ANZUS.

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50 years ago: African-American students stage Woolworth’s sit-in

On February 1, 1960, four students of the all-black Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina staged a sit-in at a Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina. Woolworth's many stores, like most public spaces in the US South, were segregated, providing no seats for black customers at their service counters.

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75 years ago: Mexico voids British oil contract

The Mexican government on February 4 repudiated all concessions to the Eagle Oil Company, a British firm, on the grounds that they were illegal and against national interests.

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100 years ago: France joins naval race as European tensions mount

The French cabinet on February 7, 1910 announced plans for a major naval expansion. France would appropriate $28,000,000 over the next decade to establish a fleet numbering nearly 200 vessels.