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

9 February 2010

Four weeks after earthquake
Haiti: hunger sparks growing protests

By Bill Van Auken, 9 February 2010

On Sunday, Haiti saw one of its largest protests since the January 12 earthquake. as four weeks after the disaster, frustration with continuing hunger and homelessness mount.

Sri Lankan government arrests opposition presidential candidate

By K. Ratnayake , 9 February 2010

The arrest is a marked escalation in the government’s crackdown on political opponents and foreshadows widening intimidation and repression.

Tensions worsen between Israel and Syria

By Jean Shaoul, 9 February 2010

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister from the far-right Israel Beiteinu, last week directly threatened President Bashar Assad that in the event of war Syria would be defeated and his regime would collapse.

Connecticut power plant explosion kills five, injures dozens

By Peter Daniels, 9 February 2010

A gas explosion Sunday morning at a power plant under construction in Middletown, Connecticut, killed at least five workers and injured more than 25 others.

Deutsche Bank nets €5 billion profit in 2009

By Stefan Steinberg, 9 February 2010

Germany’s biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, released figures last week for the 2009 business year, showing a massive net profit of €5 billion.

Bank executives get multimillion-dollar bonuses

By Andre Damon, 9 February 2010

Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, the largest Wall Street banks, announced multi-million-dollar year-end payouts for their chief executives on Friday.

Los Angeles, California mayor orders elimination of 1,000 city worker jobs

By D. Lencho, 9 February 2010

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ordered the elimination of 1,000 city worker jobs in order to close the city’s $218.5 million budget deficit.

Northern Ireland: Policing and justice agreement heralds assault on living standards

By Steve James, 9 February 2010

Threats and bribes from London, encouraged by Washington and Dublin, eventually convinced the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to agree to the transferring of policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Australia: Opposition leader unveils slush fund for corporate polluters and agribusiness

By Patrick O’Connor, 9 February 2010

Liberal leader Tony Abbott last week released the opposition coalition’s new climate change policy, pledging to establish a multi-billion dollar public fund to be placed at the disposal of the largest corporate polluters and agribusiness interests.

Trial of Malaysian opposition leader begins

By John Roberts, 9 February 2010

A sodomy conviction would effectively end Anwar’s political career and undermine the opposition, which made significant inroads at the 2008 national election.

New in German

Die Deutsche Bank nimmt "die Krise als Chance"
Fünf-Milliarden-Profit für 2009

Von Stefan Steinberg, 9. Februar 2010

Die Deutsche Bank verzeichnet für 2009 einen riesigen Nettoprofit nach Steuern von fünf Milliarden Euro. Noch vor einem Jahr, nach der globalen Finanzkrise, wies sie einen Verlust von 3,9 Milliarden Euro aus.

Angst vor Staatsbankrotten signalisiert neues Stadium der globalen Krise

Von Barry Grey, 9. Februar 2010

Die Aktienmärkte in Europa und Asien erlebten vergangene Woche eine fast panikartige Verkaufswelle. Der Grund sind Befürchtungen, dass die Schuldenkrise schwächerer europäischer Volkswirtschaften die Weltwirtschaft in eine "Doppel-Rezession" werfen könnte.

Hessische Regierung schützt Steuerhinterzieher

Von Jan Peters und Marianne Arens, 9. Februar 2010

Im Bundesland Hessen sind Steuerfahnder, die reichen Steuerhinterziehern zu genau auf die Finger schauten, systematisch unter Druck gesetzt und mittels psychiatrischer Gutachten aus dem Dienst entfernt worden.

New in French

Québec solidaire et le piège de l’indépendance du Québec

Par Louis Girard, 9 février 2010

Québec solidaire (QS), un parti qui se présente comme étant de gauche, a tenu en novembre dernier son premier congrès d’orientation. Lors de ce congrès, QS a décidé de se décrire comme un parti souverainiste et indépendantiste.

Perspective

Government debt: a new stage in the global financial crisis

9 February 2010

The tremors on global financial markets signal a new stage in the financial crisis brought on by fears of vast social struggles as governments attempt unprecedented cuts in jobs, wages and social services.

Earlier Perspectives »

Commentary

The “Tea Party” movement in the US: A right-wing media creation

By David Walsh, 9 February 2010

The “Tea Party” movement, which held a convention last weekend in Nashville, Tennessee, is largely a media concoction, aimed at shifting American politics even further to the right.

After the defeat in Massachusetts, Democrats lurch to the right

8 February 2010

In the three weeks since the special election to the US Senate in Massachusetts, the party which controls the White House and has huge majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives has bowed and scraped before the minority Republican Party.

International Students for Social Equality

International Students for Social Equality meetings in Britain
A socialist programme to defend education

9 February 2010

The International Students for Social Equality is holding a series of meetings in the UK to advance a socialist programme in opposition to the cuts in higher and further education by the Labour government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

25 years
50 years
75 years
100 years

25 years ago: Dissident Kim Dae-jung roughed up on return to South Korea

With parliamentary elections approaching, South Korea's leading dissident, Kim Dae-jung, and an entourage of 30 American supporters—including two US Congressmen—were roughed up on their arrival at Seoul's airport. Kim was immediately placed under house arrest. Members of the American delegation said that Kim was beaten and that they too were manhandled by dozens of plainclothes police. The South Korean government had banned all media from the area.

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50 years ago: France tests first atomic bomb

On February 13, 1960, France detonated a 70 kiloton nuclear bomb in the atmosphere over Algeria's southern Sahara, not far from Mali and Mauritania. "Gerboise bleue," as Paris dubbed the explosion, announced France had joined the US, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom as a nuclear-armed state.

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75 years ago: Italy mobilizes troops in ongoing conflict with Ethiopia

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini this week in 1935 dispatched two divisions, numbering up to 35,000 soldiers, accompanied by heavy artillery and at least 50 planes to the border area between Ethiopia and Italian-Somalia. Three warships were also stationed off the Horn of Africa in preparation for a full scale invasion of one of the last two independent African states.

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100 years ago: German police crush workers' demonstrations

The Socialist Party of Germany (SPD) held hundreds of rallies across Germany on February 13, 1910, to protest against the perpetuation of the Prussian three-class franchise, which stipulated that the wealthiest voters would have out-sized representation in the Reichstag, the German parliament.