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The crimes behind the US lead water crisis

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The revelation of widespread lead contamination in drinking water in the US, and the complete indifference of the government to it, have shown where the priorities of American capitalism lie.

European Union and Turkey reach deal to seal borders and expel refugees

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Refugees arriving on the Greek islands by crossing the Aegean Sea will be returned to Turkey, following the completion of a farcical asylum procedure in Greece.

Hungarian government declares “state of crisis” over refugees

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Orban government has declared its state of crisis is a response to the influx of refugees, but it is actually a reaction to growing social tensions and protests within the country.

Impeachment drive accelerates amid expanding political crisis in Brazil

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The release of illegal wiretap recordings of a conversation between Brazil’s current and former Workers Party presidents has brought the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis.

Sanders under pressure to quit from Democratic leaders, media

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Leaked remarks by President Obama suggested that it was time for the Democratic Party to unite behind a presidential nominee, presumably Hillary Clinton.

UAW discussing lower pay rate at Lear in Detroit

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The UAW is seeking a deal that will expand its dues income by creating a lower-paid tier of workers at the US-based automobile seat maker.

After first failed attempt, court grants Ohio another chance to execute death row inmate

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

In 2009, the Ohio execution team tried for as long as two hours to insert the IV lines to kill Romell Broom before giving up.

Faculty and students protest budget cuts proposed for City University of New York

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Hundreds demonstrated against plans to cut $485 million in CUNY funding at Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office in Manhattan.

Justice Department refuses to prosecute New York police killer of Ramarley Graham

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The US attorney for Southern Manhattan has refused to bring civil rights violation charges against the cop who killed Graham in 2012.

Kaiser Permanente nurses in Los Angeles on one-week strike

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

1,200 nurses walked out March 15 at Kaiser’s Los Angeles Medical Center, after six years without a wage increase and complaints about understaffing and back wages.

NFL admits connection between concussions and degenerative brain disease

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The NFL’s public acknowledgement that playing American football may cause brain damage is motivated by an attempt to protect the organization against future lawsuits.

India: Intensifying BJP witch-hunt, JNU to punish “anti-national” students

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

One of India’s most prestigious universities, JNU has long been decried by the BJP and its Hindu supremacist allies as a “hotbed” of leftism.

Honduran Government covers up involvement in murders of indigenous rights leaders

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Protesters continue to demand explanations from the authorities for the murder of Berta Cáceres.

UK teacher shortages on the rise

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The failure of the UK government to achieve its target for teacher recruitment is symptomatic of the crisis arising from dictatorial conditions and extreme governmental pressure.

New Zealand government plans further expansion of spy powers

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Backed by the Labour Party, the government is preparing to effectively merge the internal and external spy agencies and remove restrictions on mass surveillance.

The pseudo-left’s nationalist Leave campaign in the UK Brexit referendum Part two

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Against the pseudo-left, the Socialist Equality Party intervenes in the referendum campaign in order to clarify the fundamental historical and programmatic issues raised by the struggle against austerity, militarism and war.

Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups: It is impossible to learn anything from this

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Thematically and stylistically, Malick’s latest film follows in the footsteps of his two previous efforts, The Tree of Life (2011) and To the Wonder (2012).

Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

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

Michigan governor, EPA head testify on Flint water crisis

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The same day as Rick Snyder and Gina McCarthy testified before Congress, USA Today reported that up to one-fifth of America’s water systems may be contaminated with lead.

Two US prosecutors who covered up police killings lose primary elections

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Popular anger over efforts to cover up police violence has resulted in county prosecutors for Chicago and Cleveland being defeated in Democratic primaries.

UAW pushes local deals past opposition at GM Lordstown plant

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Union officials made it clear that they would force workers to vote again and again until they approved a local contract.

Washington DC forced to suspend all metro service due to electrical fires

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

In response to an electrical fire Monday, Metro officials suspended service on all lines Wednesday and Thursday morning for the second largest public transit system in the US.

US drug prices doubled since 2011

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Since 2008, the prices of brand-name prescription drugs have increased by a whopping 164 percent.

European Union chiefs determined to reach deal with Turkey to deter refugees

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

EU-Turkey summit marks another grim chapter in the establishment of “Fortress Europe.”

Podemos enters government talks with Spain’s social democrats, conservatives

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The broaching of alliances between Podemos and openly right-wing parties is a warning sign that the ruling class is preparing deep new attacks against the workers.

Living standards fall and discontent rises in Russia

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

In a sign of the population’s intense economic distress, retail trade levels in Russia have fallen to their lowest level in 40 years.

Germany: Siemens cuts another 2,500 jobs

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Siemens management announced the cutting of a further 2,500 jobs on March 9, with motor plants in Bavaria being hit hardest.

Australia: Fairfax journalists strike over job cuts

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The latest attack is part of a decade-long process of job destruction and restructuring at Fairfax Media.

Australian journalists condemn the axing of more Fairfax jobs

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Striking editorial staff speak out against the latest attack on jobs and conditions by one of Australia’s largest media corporations.

Anti-protest laws attack democratic rights in Australia

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

New laws in three states impose draconian punishments for allegedly disrupting or hindering business operations.

Manitoba aboriginal youth suicides exemplify systemic crisis

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Leaders of the Pimicikamak Cree First Nation in Northern Manitoba have declared a state of emergency after the sixth suicide of a young person in three months.

Syrian war enters sixth year with graver dangers still ahead

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The recent “cessation of hostilities” and partial withdrawal of Russian forces will not stop the escalation of US militarism in the region and beyond.

Video: Lead poisoning discussed at Flint water event

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

As home water samples were being collected in Flint, city residents told the World Socialist Web Site how the lead poisoning crisis has affected them.

The pseudo-left’s nationalist “Leave” campaign in the UK Brexit referendum

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Socialist Party has played the central role in glossing over the nationalist opposition to immigration on the part of Trade Unionists Against the European Union and its predecessors.

Scientists use gravity to map Earth’s ocean floor

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Previously undiscovered features found include an underwater mountain range in the Gulf of Mexico, a major fault line in the South Atlantic Ocean, many smaller hill-like features on the ocean floor and thousands of previously unknown underwater mountains and volcanoes.

Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

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

After the March 15 US primaries: The political role of the Sanders campaign

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

From the beginning, Sanders’ role has been to serve as a lightning rod for social discontent and direct it into the dead end of the Democratic Party.

Trump threatens violence at Republican National Convention

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Trump’s implied threat of violence against the leadership of his own party follows his instigation of attacks on protesters at his campaign rallies.

Obama’s choice to replace Scalia on Supreme Court had won Republican praise

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

President Obama has nominated Merrick Garland, a federal judge and former US prosecutor, to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by the death of arch-reactionary Antonin Scalia.

US Federal Reserve aligns itself closer to market demands

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Wednesday’s announcement by the US central bank that it intends keep interest rates on hold and reduce the pace of rate hikes was welcomed by financial markets.

Flint emergency manager, EPA continue to dodge responsibility for water crisis

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

While federal, state and local officials tried to evade responsibility, Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards indicted the EPA for allowing the poisoning of Flint residents.

Second test of Flint water being performed by Virginia Tech

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

An event was held in Flint last Saturday, billed as an “EPA Open House,” to collect water samples from Flint homes.

New Jersey Transit contract includes major concessions in health care costs

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Unions representing 4,200 New Jersey Transit workers have agreed to sweeping concessions.

Argentina sinks Chinese fishing vessel

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The attack on the Chinese ship has triggered the first foreign policy crisis for Argentina’s new right-wing president.

Refugees face death and despair on Greek-Macedonian border

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Shocking images from northern Greece expose the brutal nature of Europe’s refugee policy.

French government, trade unions rework reactionary labor reform

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The unions and the Socialist Party want to channel workers’ opposition to the most unpopular government since World War II behind minor changes to its hated reform.

UK Budget: Austerity for workers pays for tax breaks for corporations and the rich

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Conservative Chancellor George Osborne’s budget, announced Wednesday, dramatically slashes the tax rate on corporate profits and capital gains.

Constitutional crisis in Poland continues

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The move to the right by the Polish government has exacerbated the crisis in the EU and led to growing tensions with Germany.

Glasgow City Council workers strike against cuts and poverty wages

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Another round of spending cuts imposed by the Scottish National Party government on behalf of the Conservative central government is likely to cost as many as 15,000 job losses.

Australian Greens join government in ramming through Senate voting changes

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

In the machinations over the electoral laws, the Greens have stepped forward, not just to assist the government, but to try to shore up the parliamentary system itself.

New Burmese president installed amid tensions with the military

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Despite Suu Kyi’s efforts to appease the generals, no deal was reached to allow her to assume the country’s presidency.

Mexican union leaders paid over $30 million for imposing cuts on oil workers

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

A report from the daily La Jornada reveals that leaders of two major Mexican unions were given kickbacks in return for renegotiating the contract with Pemex.

Novelist Jonathan Franzen’s Purity

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Franzen’s highly praised fifth novel is a largely––and carelessly––misanthropic, right-wing work that fails to create complex or plausible characters.

Clinton, Trump take major steps toward US presidential nominations

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Democratic and Republican frontrunners nearly swept the states holding primaries Tuesday, and each passed the halfway mark in terms of delegates needed for nomination.

Ohio voters discuss elections and social crisis

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Comments by workers supporting various candidates in the Republican and Democratic primary elections Tuesday reflected the widespread social discontent that exists throughout the country.

Russia announces partial withdrawal from Syria

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Moscow’s intervention was directed principally at forestalling the imposition of a US puppet regime in Damascus hostile to the interests of Russia’s ruling oligarchy.

Tsipras acts as gatekeeper for Fortress Europe

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Syriza government in Greece is playing a key role in blocking refugees from traveling from the Middle East on to Europe.

UK: Families of missing demolition workers campaign for their rescue

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

A campaign has been set up by the families of two Rotherham men after rescue attempts were called off within a couple of days of a power station’s collapse.

Rough-sleeping on the rise in England

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

London is particularly affected, with rough-sleepers in the capital constituting 26 percent of the country’s total.

Australian media whips up fear campaign against African youth

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The state Labor government has seized on police clashes with youth in Melbourne on Saturday to demand greater police powers to “smash gang violence.”

Indian Stalinists ally with US-backed parties in Tamil Nadu

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Stalinists aim to block rising social anger and align themselves with US imperialist strategy in the Indo-Pacific by promoting parties closely tied to Washington.

Overcrowding in New York City Housing Authority fueled by lack of jobs and affordable apartments

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The official population in the city’s massive public housing projects is 400,000, but an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 additional tenants are “off the books.”

What is behind the electoral success of the Alternative for Germany?

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Left Party created the conditions that enabled the right-wing nationalist AfD to tap into social frustration and anger and channel it in a reactionary direction.

A socialist program to fight the Coalition-Labor-Greens assault on education in Australia

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The IYSSE is fighting for the development of an independent, socialist movement of the working class in opposition to the assault on education and the gutting of social spending.

SEP meetings in the US: Socialism and the fight against war

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

These meetings will review the present state of the global war drive and outline a political strategy for the building of a new mass, anti-war movement.

German state elections: Far-right Alternative for Germany gains double-digit support

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Sunday’s election results pose the question of why a xenophobic party such as the AfD is able to mobilise dissatisfaction with the established parties for its own ends.

Economic nationalism, war and the fight for international socialism

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The end result of the program of economic nationalism can be seen in the experience of the 1930s, when it brought about social devastation and led to world war.

Second terrorist attack in a month in Turkish capital kills at least 37

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The ruling elite is exploiting the attack to justify stepped-up security operations in Kurdish areas of Turkey and preparations to invade Syria.

Trump peddles nationalist poison at Ohio rally

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Trump is seeking to exploit the disaffection of sections of workers and lower-middle class people whose economic and social grievances have long been ignored by the Democratic Party and the trade unions.

Millions join protests in Brazil demanding ouster of Workers Party government

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The mass demonstrations came as new figures showed the country’s economy sliding deeper into depression.

South Korea imposes extra sanctions on North Korea

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The South Korean sanctions go further than the recent UN resolution in strangling the North Korean economy and exacerbating Pyongyang’s political crisis.

Shadow Chancellor McDonnell pledges UK Labour Party to austerity

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

McDonnell said ensuring Labour’s credibility on the economy to big business was “the struggle of a generation.”

English National Opera chorus to strike

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The action was announced on the steps of the headquarters of Arts Council England.

Slumping car sales lead to extended layoff of Fiat Chrysler Sterling Heights workers

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Last week Fiat Chrysler announced that what had originally been scheduled as a six-week layoff would be extended for another three weeks.

Study: Worsening conditions for young people throughout the developed world

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Drawing on income statistics from eight of the world’s 15 most advanced economies, the series paints a picture of dimming social prospects for young people.

Hundreds of millions in cuts on the horizon in Louisiana

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Education and health care, two areas of spending not protected from cuts by the state’s constitution, have faced years of budget-slashing.

Central banks confront unintended consequences

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Markets are awaiting decisions by the Bank of Japan and the US Fed on monetary policies as concerns grow over negative interest rates.

Sri Lankan government refuses to release Tamil political prisoners

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The ongoing detention of hundreds of Tamil political prisoners is part of a broader government attack on democratic rights.

Beatles producer George Martin dies at 90

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Legendary music producer George Martin, who supervised almost all of the Beatles’ recordings, died on March 8.

$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

By 2011, 15 years after President Clinton’s 1996 welfare “reform,” the number of people in the US living in absolute poverty, defined as an income of less than $2.00 per day, had doubled.

Workers Struggles: The Americas

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

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

Republican frontrunner Trump steps up attacks on demonstrators

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Donald Trump called on protestors to be “thrown into a jail,” and offered to pay the legal fees of a supporter who punched, then threatened to kill, a protestor.

The Trump campaign: A new stage in the crisis of American democracy

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

With the eruption of violence inside and outside rallies of billionaire Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, American politics has reached a turning point.

Obama backs attack on encrypted communication

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Speaking at the South by Southwest festival, Obama sought to minimize the far-reaching scope of the FBI’s demands that Apple create anti-encryption software.

UK bill hands vast surveillance powers to police and intelligence agencies

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

ISPs will have to keep records of the browsing history of everyone who accesses the Internet for 12 months, with this data freely available to the police and the GCHQ.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn deletes criticisms of EU from his web site

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

There is nothing that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn once proclaimed as an issue of political principle that he will not jettison.

Workers, students march against French labor law reform

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The brutal police crackdown in Lyon underscores that, under cover of the state of emergency, the Socialist Party aims to illegalize constitutionally protected protests.

Die Zeit campaigns for military intervention in Libya

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

In its latest lead article, Die Zeit calls for the West to intervene militarily in Libya under the guise of the fight against ISIS.

US-trained Chechen ISIS commander Abu Omar al-Shishani survives US assassination strike

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Georgian militant’s career exemplifies the close ties between US imperialism and its supposed enemies in the Islamic State.

Judge Rhodes threatens shutdown of Detroit Public Schools

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

As Wall Street demands action on the reorganization of Detroit Public Schools, Judge Steven Rhodes threatened that schools could “go dark.”

Detroit teacher: “Children are made into dollar signs”

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Detroit teachers spoke to the World Socialist Web Site at the DFT emergency meeting on Thursday, March 10.

California Faculty Association prepares to sell out CSU workers

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

With a limited strike looming, the CFA is rushing to push through another deal that will erode the living standards of 26,000 professors and other staff.

UAW sanctions mass layoffs by farm equipment giant John Deere

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Since November, John Deere has laid off 445 workers with the full complicity of the United Auto Workers.

China: Thousands of coal miners protest over unpaid wages

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The protests are a sign of the acute social tensions building up as the economy slows and the government prepares to axe millions of jobs.

Australian primary teachers resign in protest at standardised, assessment-based education

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The two teachers decided to go public, hoping to encourage other teachers to speak out about the escalating education crisis.

Australia: Despite deaths, no youth mental facility in Brisbane

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The official inquiry is an attempt to cover up the refusal of successive state and federal governments to provide adequate mental health services.

The return of German militarism and the threat of World War III

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Mehring Books speakers will present the book Scholarship or War Propaganda at the Leipzig Book Fair, which begins this week.

Flight and persecution—yesterday and today (The Diary of Anne Frank and Meteorstraße)

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

A new adaptation of the immortal Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, about Nazi persecution, and a film about Palestinian refugees in contemporary Germany.