12 June 2010
Gulf oil crisis
The history of a cover-up
New evidence undermines latest BP-White House estimate of spill size
By Tom Eley, 12 June 2010
The worst oil spill in human history has been, since its first days, the subject of a cover-up. The Obama administration and BP have repeatedly been forced to increase their estimates of the spill size in the face of scientific criticism. But each new official estimate, it has been revealed, was only the latest lie.
BP seeks to limit liabilities in “truce” with White House
By Tom Eley, 12 June 2010
In a White House meeting next week, BP will reportedly seek an agreement with the Obama adminsitration that will limit liabilities in return for a temporary delay of a scheduled dividend.
Full coverage of the Gulf oil disaster »
Right-wing shift in Dutch elections
By Peter Schwarz, 12 June 2010
After Hungary and the UK, the Netherlands is the third significant European Union country where right-wing parties have emerged as election winners in the midst of the deepest economic crisis since the 1930s.
Honda Lock strike in China continues as industrial unrest spreads
By John Chan, 12 June 2010
Strikes at three Honda plants have been followed by industrial action in other parts of the country.
Police break-up occupation at Hyundai complex in southern India
By Arun Kumar, 12 June 2010
Police broke-up an occupation at a Hyundai car assembly plant located on the outskirts of Chennai last Tuesday, arresting more than 200 workers.
US pushes for readmission of Honduras to Organization of American States
By Rafael Azul, 12 June 2010
At this week’s summit meeting of the Organization of American States, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for Honduras to be readmitted as an OAS member.
Billionaires and crackpots: US primaries select right-wing candidates for November election
By Patrick Martin, 12 June 2010
The primary elections held in 12 states last Tuesday, the largest single day of voting before the November congressional elections, demonstrated the narrow popular base of the Democrats and Republicans and the enormous gulf between the concerns of working people and the two big business parties.
Doctors “calibrated” pain for CIA interrogations
By Ed Hightower, 12 June 2010
According to a recent report, the CIA’s Office of Medical Services dispatched doctors to carefully monitor the physical effects of torture techniques on prisoners.
Britain: How should the Cumbria massacre be understood?
By Robert Stevens, 12 June 2010
In the aftermath of the June 2 rampage during which taxi driver Derrick Bird shot and killed 12 people in west Cumbria, the British media has made little attempt to examine the broader implications of the tragedy.
Ukraine abandons NATO candidacy
By Niall Green, 12 June 2010
The new administration in Kiev seeks to improve ties with Moscow and the EU, while preparing with austerity measures against the working class.
Australia: Unemployment statistics mask job crisis
By James Cogan, 12 June 2010
Hundreds of thousands of people who want and need full time jobs do not show up in the figures because they are not counted as unemployed.
Ypsilanti, Michigan school board approves 17 percent pay cut for bus workers
By Naomi Spencer, 12 June 2010
Before a crowd of school workers, parents, and students, the Ypsilanti Public Schools board approved a plan June 7 to cut 10 percent of the district’s bus crew and slash pay by 17 percent.
New in French
La classe ouvrière chinoise émerge
Par John Chan, 12 juin 2010
Survenant juste après les événements en Grèce, les premiers accès de colère et de révolte de la classe ouvrière en Chine émettent des ondes de choc au sein des élites dirigeantes du monde. Il s'agit d'un démenti cinglant de tous ceux qui avaient fait une croix sur le prolétariat en tant que force sociale révolutionnaire et qui affirmaient que la lutte de classe était dépassée.
Other Languages
- Deutsch
- Hunderte Milliarden an die
Banken
Frankreich stimmt Finanzmarktstabilisierungsfond zu (11.06.2010) - G-20 empfiehlt Wendung um 180 Grad: von Konjunktur- zu Sparmaßnahmen (11.06.2010)
- Opel-Betriebsräte betteln im Kanzleramt (11.06.2010)
- 70.000 demonstrieren bundesweit gegen Studiengebühren (11.06.2010)
- Merkels Sparprogramm erinnert an Weimar (10.06.2010)
- DGB und Arbeitgeber gemeinsam gegen Streikrecht (10.06.2010)
- Frank Rich über Obama: Ängste und Illusionen eines Liberalen (10.06.2010)
- Griechenland: Antarsya bietet keine Alternative zu PASOK und der offiziellen "Linken" (09.06.2010)
- Griechenland: Interview mit einem Vertreter von OKDE-Spartakus von der Koalition Antarsya (09.06.2010)
- Investor Berggruen bekommt Zuschlag für Karstadt (09.06.2010)
- Gewerkschaften in Rumänien entschärfen Streik im Öffentlichen Dienst (09.06.2010)
- Hunderte Milliarden an die
Banken
- Français
- La classe ouvrière chinoise émerge (12.06.2010)
- France: Des milliers protestent contre l'assaut israélien contre la flottille en route vers Gaza (11.06.2010)
- Une année de lutte des travailleurs d'un sous-traitant de l'automobile trahie
Les leçons de la trahison des Sodimatex en France (11.06.2010) - Irlande : Devant la faillite imminente de l’Etat les syndicats promeuvent l’interdiction de faire grève (10.06.2010)
- Le juge Baltasar Garzón suspendu pour avoir enquêté sur les crimes de Franco (10.06.2010)
- Des centaines de milliards pour les banques
La France vote des crédits pour le Fonds européen de stabilité financière (09.06.2010) - BP versera des milliards en dividendes (09.06.2010)
- Les médias européens mettent en garde contre des troubles sociaux au niveau international (08.06.2010)
- Mesures d'austérité à la grandeur de l'Europe (07.06.2010)
- Les leçons politiques du mouvement de protestation thaïlandais (05.06.2010)
- Le massacre d’Israël en haute mer (04.06.2010)
- La réponse socialiste à la crise de la marée noire dans le golfe du Mexique (04.06.2010)
- Español
- Conclusiones de la Comisión de Ciudadanos para la Investigación del Incendio de la Avenida Dexter:
Los cortes a los servicios públicos y la crisis social en Detroit (26.05.2010) - La Exposición Universal de Shangai: una extravagancia capitalista en la cumbre de la miseria social (22.05.2010)
- Internacionalismo socialista y la defensa de los trabajadores inmigrantes (06.05.2010)
- ¡Plenos derechos para todos los inmigrantes! ¡Por la unidad internacional de la clase trabajadora! (01.05.2010)
- Obama se aprovecha de la ley de Arizona para 'empujar' sus propios cambios represivos sobre la inmigración (30.04.2010)
- Proyecto de ley de inmigración de Arizona: Un asalto frontal contra los derechos democráticos (30.04.2010)
- La Tragedia Minera de Virginia del Oeste
Los mineros fueron condenados por la conspiración entre los reguladores y las compañías de carbón (29.04.2010) - Manifiesto del Partido Socialista por la Igualdad para las elecciones generales de Gran Bretaña en el 2010 (27.04.2010)
- Ex agente de la CIA Allawi: ¿próximo primer ministro iraquí? (19.04.2010)
- Conclusiones de la Comisión de Ciudadanos para la Investigación del Incendio de la Avenida Dexter:
- Русский
- Саммит России и ЕС привел к соглашению по малому числу вопросов (11.06.2010)
- Социалистический ответ на кризис, вызванный разливом нефти в Мексиканском заливе (03.06.2010)
- После взрыва на шахте "Распадская" в Кузбассе растет недовольство (21.05.2010)
- После всеобщих выборов: Куда идет Британия? (11.05.2010)
- Нефтяное пятно в заливе: Американский Чернобыль (05.05.2010)
- Внеочередная конференция ПСР предлагает стратегию борьбы против социального кризиса и войны (30.04.2010)
- На службе у фальсификации истории: Рецензия на книгу Роберта Сервиса Троцкий (24.04.2010)
- Взрывы в московском метро связаны с кризисом на Северном Кавказе (10.04.2010)
- Капиталистический кризис и возвращение истории (26.03.2010)
- Троцкий — герой культурных событий в России (25.03.2010)
- Украинские выборы и провал "оранжевой революции" (10.03.2010)
- Português
- As lições políticas dos protestos na Tailândia (02.06.2010)
- Medidas de austeridade por toda a Europa (02.06.2010)
- Ford Austrália: metalúrgicos em greve contra retrocesso nas condições de trabalho (03.06.2010)
- Trabalhadores gregos denunciam cortes de Papandreou (18.05.2010)
- China planeja abrir o mercado da Coréia do Norte para investimentos estrangeiros (18.05.2010)
- Alemanha: O Senado de Berlim, o Partido de Esquerda e os hedge funds internacionais (18.05.2010)
- Protestos crescem na Romênia (12.05.2010)
- Vazamento de oleo da BP ameaça ecossistemas (11.05.2010)
- 1º de maio 2010 (06.05.2010)
- Eleições gerais britânicas: uma mudança política histórica (06.05.2010)
- Türkçe
- Obama’nın göreve başlamasından buyana geçen bir yıl (08.03.2010)
- SEP (Almanya) yürütmekte olduğu seçim kampanyası için uluslararası destek çağrısı yapıyor (17.09.2009)
- Alman parlamento seçimlerinde oyunu Sosyalist Eşitlik Partisi’ne ver
Kapitalist krize sosyalist bir yanıt için (28.08.2009) - Sosyalist Eşitlik Partisi’nin Tarihsel ve Uluslararası Temelleri (19.08.2009)
- İran işçi sınıfının görevleri(1.07.2009)
- İran: Batı baskıyı artırırken seçim çatışmaları tırmanıyor (30.06.2009)
- Obama’nın ziyareti Türkiye’nin oynadığı rolün artacağının ve daha büyük gerilimlerin sinyalini verdi (26.06.2009)
- Trotskiy’in mirasını ve 20. yüzyıl tarihindeki yerini yeniden ele almaya doğru (23.06.2009)
David North tarafından verilmiş bir konferans - Dünya ekonomik krizi, kapitalizmin başarısızlığı ve sosyalizmin gerekliliği (13.06.2009)
- Sri Lanka: LTTE’nin yenilgisi ve milliyetçiliğin çıkmazı (26.05.2009)
- >>
Perspective
One year after Iran’s presidential election
12 June 2010
Today marks one year since the presidential election in Iran triggered a bitter factional struggle in the Iranian ruling elite that erupted in the form of the Green movement.
Commentary
A comment: Revisiting George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four in 2010
By Richard Mynick, 12 June 2010
George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, one of the most influential English-language novels of the mid-twentieth century, was published in 1949. The term “Orwellian” has long conjured up a vision of the prototypical “totalitarian state.”
The BP oil spill and the tyranny of private ownership
11 June 2010
Fifty-two days into the worst ecological catastrophe in US history, Washington has stepped up its efforts at containment—not of the oil spill itself, but of the financial dangers it poses to BP and the oil industry as a whole.
Committee Against Utility Shutoffs (CAUS)
For public ownership of DTE Energy
By Jerry White, 12 June 2010
An article written by the president of the Utility Workers Union raises the question of transforming DTE Energy into a publicly owned utility.
Socialist Equality Party
SEP to run D’Artagnan Collier for Michigan State House of Representatives
11 June 2010
The Socialist Equality Party is running D’Artagnan Collier for Michigan State House of Representative in the 9th District for the November 2 elections.
Arts Review
Date Night and City Island: One comedy that knows where it’s going, another that can’t seem to decide
By Charles Bogle, 10 June 2010
Quality adult comedies have become a rarity; therefore, it was something of a surprise to find that two recently released adult comedies have received almost uniformly good reviews.
Philosophy
The Nation, Jonathan Israel and the Enlightenment
By Ann Talbot and David North, 9 June 2010
On 12 May this year, the Nation magazine published an article entitled “Mind the Enlightenment.” It is an intellectually unprincipled and vindictive attack on Professor Jonathan Israel’s multi-volume history of the development of the Enlightenment and its relationship to social and political radicalism in the century leading up to the outbreak of the French Revolution.
Mehring Books
Latest edition of Perspectives now available
3 June 2010
The latest edition of Perspectives, a journal published by the World Socialist Web Site, is now available from Mehring Books. In this month’s magazine, readers will find a collection of articles from the WSWS analyzing the most important events of the day, including the Gulf oil spill, the debt crisis in Europe, and much more.
Workers Struggles
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia & the Pacific
12 June 2010
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
This Week in History: June 7 - June 13
A US Labor Department report published this week in 1985 revealed that over 8 million jobs had been lost since 1980. Hardest hit was factory employment, where 2.2 million jobs had been shed. The steel industry by itself had purged nearly 400,000 jobs, resulting in the devastation of cities like Gary, Indiana and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
US-Japanese relations faced their greatest crisis since World War II this week in 1960 over a scheduled visit by US President Dwight Eisenhower, which came soon after the approval of a security pact that was widely opposed among Japanese workers and youth.
On June 9, 1935 Generals Yoshijiro Umezu of Japan and Ho Yingqin of China concluded an agreement by which Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang government formally recognized Japanese control over large sections of northern China. The pact, which came to be known as the Ho-Umezu Agreement, also banned anti-Japanese organizations and stipulated that Chinese forces be withdrawn from Hopei.
On June 8, a detachment of Mexican national guardsmen succeeded after a fierce battle in repulsing thousands of Mayan insurgents from the administrative town of Valladolid in the Yucatan peninsula. Earlier, on June 5, some 2,000 Mayans had invaded the city, killing all of its top administrative officials, seizing arms, cutting telegraph lines, and ripping up railroad track.
Correspondence
Letters from our readers
12 June 2010
A selection of recent letters to the World Socialist Web Site.
Videos and Images
Vale Inco strikers and supporters in Sudbury, Ontario speak
Detroit resident speaks on utility shutoff
Friend of Detroit fire victim denounces utility shutoffs
Shutoff victim speaks to WSWS at DTE public relations stunt
Scientist says government policy contributed to Gulf Coast Spill
Louisiana workers denounce BP’s oil spill response
Lawyer for family of worker killed in blast says BP guilty of negligence
SEP candidate addresses Oxford Union
Hearing of the Citizens Inquiry into the Dexter Avenue Fire
Detroit firefighters discuss impact of utility shut-offs and budget cuts
Citizens Inquiry chairman speaks at press conference
Dexter Avenue fire victim’s son speaks to the WSWS
ISSE members speak at San Diego rallies
Neighbors of Detroit fire victims oppose utility shutoffs
Interviews with neighbors of Bangor Street fire victims
Sister of fire victims speaks on utility shutoffs
NUMMI auto workers denounce UAW intimidation
Locked-out California Borax workers oppose concessions
Boron, California mine workers denounce company lock-out
Family members denounce deaths in Detroit fire
Detroit teachers speak out against DFT Contract
Handful of jobs offered at Detroit jobs fair
Thousands line up for Swine Flu vaccine in Michigan
Ford workers speak on contract rejection
Ford workers speak out against concessions contract
50,000 line up for housing assistance in Detroit
ISSE members speak on education cuts at rally
Detroit residents speak on utility bills, social crisis
Michigan’s Oakland University faculty strike has student support
Detroit teachers denounce pay cuts
Detroit city workers oppose concessions, layoffs
Interviews at Los Angeles health care clinic
Workers continue Vestas occupation on Isle of Wight
A conversation with Windsor municipal workers
NYC workers speak against cuts in social services
Flint, Michigan and the bankruptcy of General Motors
GM workers on bankruptcy and plant closings
Michigan auto workers and families speak on plant closures
GM workers speak out on concessions contract
Protesting students and parents speak to the WSWS
Chrysler workers speak on concessions vote
UK Visteon workers speak on occupation
GM and Chrysler workers oppose more concessions
Chrysler workers oppose Obama auto plan
WSWS interviews G20 protesters in London
Pontiac residents speak on schools crisis
Workers interviewed at Detroit jobs fair
Ford workers: “Now the fight is with our own union.” GM workers denounce concession demands
Chrysler workers oppose pay cuts, concession demands
Over 100,000 demonstrate in London against Sri Lankan war
Funeral for Michigan man frozen following utility shut-off
Exposing Franco's mass graves
Bay City, Michigan residents speak on death from utility shut-off
WSWS interviews London protesters
London demonstrators protest Israeli assault on Gaza
Chrysler workers denounce pay cuts
The Writer and Revolution: A conversation with Trevor Griffiths
Follow us on