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5 December 2016

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Italian Prime Minister Renzi resigns after defeat in constitutional referendum

By Alex Lantier and Mark Wells, 5 December 2016

The vote on Renzi’s referendum, which was rejected by a margin of 59 to 41 percent, expresses growing opposition to the institutions of European and world capitalism.

Vote no on the Italian constitutional referendum!

Far-right candidate defeated in Austrian presidential election

By Markus Salzmann, 5 December 2016

The former chairman of the Austrian Greens, Alexander Van der Bellen, won against Norbert Hofer from the Freedom Party by a large margin.

Austrian presidential election: Social Democrats court the far-right Freedom Party

US Congress overwhelmingly backs $619 billion Pentagon budget

By Bill Van Auken, 5 December 2016

The legislation, which won overwhelming bipartisan approval, also bars the shutdown of the American prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Trump’s talk with Taiwanese president heightens US tensions with China

By Peter Symonds, 5 December 2016

The phone conversation—the first between US and Taiwanese leaders since 1979—undermines decades of protocols based on Washington’s acceptance of the “One China” policy.

CEOs, Wall Street to drive Trump economic policy

Trump backers sue to block recounts

US Army Corps postpones confrontation over Dakota Access Pipeline construction

By our reporter, 5 December 2016

The announcement that the US Army Corps of Engineers will not grant an easement for construction essentially puts off a final decision until after Obama leaves office.

Trump declares support for Dakota Access Pipeline ahead of evacuation order against protesters

Death toll at least 33 in Oakland warehouse fire

By David Brown, 5 December 2016

The currently confirmed death toll makes this the worst building fire in the United States since 2003, when 100 people died in a night club fire in Rhode Island.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee fire death toll rises to 13

Union cancels strike by California state workers, seeks to impose concessions

By Dan Conway, 5 December 2016

The Service Employees International Union called off the strike by 95,000 California state workers to prevent a struggle against the austerity measures of Governor Brown and the Democrats.

Tennessee woman charged in attempted coat-hanger abortion

By Naomi Spencer, 5 December 2016

A Tennessee woman accused of attempting to terminate her pregnancy with a coat hanger last year was arraigned late last month on three felony charges.

West Virginia governor orders $60 million in budget cuts

By Joe McGee, 5 December 2016

The state’s most vulnerable residents will be hit with an $11 million cut in public schools and a supposed one-time reduction of $25 million to Medicaid.

Germany: New recruiting drive by the Bundeswehr

By Johannes Stern, 5 December 2016

Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen wants to increase the size of the armed forces and recruit thousands of new soldiers in the coming years.

Trump victory strengthens Israel’s far-right and settler parties

By Jean Shaoul, 5 December 2016

Trump’s remarks on the Israel/Palestine conflict reflect the most extreme demands of Israel’s settler movement and Netanyahu’s political rival Naftali Bennett.

South Korean opposition sets presidential impeachment vote for Friday

By Ben McGrath, 5 December 2016

The largest protests in South Korean history took place over the weekend after a scheduled vote to impeach President Park Geun-hye was delayed.

A new round of UN and US sanctions on North Korea

Australia: NSW Teachers Federation calls meetings to ram through government deal
Demand the new agreement be circulated immediately! Delay the meetings to December 15!

By the Socialist Equality Party, 5 December 2016

The union has called stop-work meetings on December 8, for 50,000 public school teachers to vote on an agreement that they have neither read nor discussed.

Australia: NSW government re-introduces public school inspectors to enforce unpopular measures

Australia: New South Wales government “bumps up” standardised testing in schools

Australia: State Labor government moves to ban Esso strike

By Oscar Grenfell, 5 December 2016

The unions are working with the government and the industrial tribunal to prevent a stoppage by their members.

New in Italian

Vota NO al referendum sulla Costituzione!

Dichiarazione congiunta del Socialist Equality Party (Gran Bretagna), Parti de l'égalité Socialiste (Francia) e Partei für Soziale Gleichheit (Germania), 3 dicembre 2016

Il referendum darebbe al primo ministro potere praticamente incontrollato di imporre l'agenda del suo partito al legislative, un passo verso un regime autoritario.

L'Unione Europea teme un No al referendum italiano

Di Marianne Arens, 3 dicembre 2016

La riforma costituzionale, passo verso un sistema autoritario, è l’elemento chiave del programma del premier Renzi.

Un "NO" nel referendum italiano potrebbe innescare una crisi bancaria

Di Nick Beams, 3 dicembre 2016

Il capitale finanziario vede il referendum come test per premier Matteo Renzi e la sua capacità di implementare una “ristrutturazione di mercato” del sistema bancario e attacchi profondi sui lavoratori.

New in Spanish

¡"No" en el referéndum constitucional italiano!

Declaración del Socialist Equality Party (Gran Bretaña), Parti de l’egalité Socialiste (Francia) y el Partei für Soziale Gleichheit (Alemania), 5 diciembre 2016

Los cambios en el referéndum le darían al primer ministro poderes prácticamente ilimitados para imponer la agenda de su partido, un paso hacia el autoritarismo.

Golpe interno del PSOE expone colapso de la democracia en España

Por Alejandro López y Alex Lantier, 5 diciembre 2016

La destitución de Sánchez dentro del PSOE resultó en la formación de un gobierno de derecha.

Ataques antimusulmanes y antisemitas aumentan tras la elección de Trump

Por un corresponsal, 5 diciembre 2016

La elección de Donald Trump le ha abierto la puerta a ataques antisemitas.

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New in German

Österreich: Van der Bellen gewinnt Präsidentenwahl

Von Markus Salzmann, 5. Dezember 2016

Der ehemalige Vorsitzende der österreichischen Grünen hat Wahl gegen Norbert Hofer von der rechtsextremen Freiheitlichen Partei (FPÖ) überraschend deutlich gewonnen.

Australien: IYSSE gründet Hochschulgruppe an der University of Melbourne

Von unseren Reportern, 5. Dezember 2016

Die Gründung einer IYSSE-Gruppe an einer der ältesten und renommiertesten Universitäten Australiens ist von großer Bedeutung.

Other Languages

Perspective

Trump picks General “Mad Dog” Mattis for secretary of defense

5 December 2016

The selection of retired General James Mattis has been greeted with approval across the political and national-security establishment and in the major organs of the corporate-controlled media.

Earlier Perspectives »

History

Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov (1856–1918): His Place in the History of Marxism

By David North and Vladimir Volkov, 5 December 2016

On December 11, the international socialist movement marks the 160th anniversary of the birth of the “father of Russian Marxism,” Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov.

Commentary

Jörg Baberowski’s falsification of history

By Christoph Vandreier, 5 December 2016

Historians like Humboldt University's Jörg Baberowski are labouring to rewrite and falsify history in order to justify new wars and discredit opposition to them.

IYSSE opposes physical attack on right-wing professor at Berlin’s Humboldt University

IYSSE to stand candidates in 2017 student parliament election at Berlin’s Humboldt University

The Fight for Historical Truth at Humboldt University »

Fifty years since the Aboriginal stockmen’s strike

By Richard Phillips, 3 December 2016

Mosul and imperialist “human rights”

The political legacy of Fidel Castro

Castroism and the Politics of Petty-Bourgeois Nationalism

International Youth and Students for Social Equality

Germany: Successful IYSSE meeting on Trump’s election held in Frankfurt

By our correspondents, 5 December 2016

What are the causes and consequences of Trump’s election? This question was at the centre of the well-attended IYSSE meeting in Frankfurt.

NYU’s corporate leadership bars socialist student group from campus

By Eric London, 3 December 2016

Reverse the rejection of club status for the International Youth and Students for Social Equality!
An open letter to the New York University Student Activities Board

Arts

Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today—the 1948 documentary restored

By Clara Weiss, 5 December 2016

The film, written and directed by Stuart Schulberg, was intended to advertise the principles underlying the indictment of the Nazi criminals at the Nuremberg Trials.

The Eagle Huntress is about real people—Rules Don’t Apply and Nocturnal Animals are about something else

By Joanne Laurier, 3 December 2016

New study of American novelist
A conversation with Tony Williams, author of James Jones: The Limits of Eternity—Part 1

By David Walsh, 1 December 2016

New study of American novelist
A conversation with Tony Williams, author of James Jones: The Limits of Eternity—Part 2

25 years ago: European Council drafts Maastricht Treaty

Leaders of 12 European nations met on December 9-10, 1991 in the Dutch regional capital city of Maastricht to discuss the institution of a single European market.

More »

50 years ago: Korean forces massacre Vietnamese village

Between December 3 and December 6, 1966, South Korean soldiers serving in the American imperialist war against Vietnam slaughtered 430 civilians in the village of Bình Hòa in Quảng Ngãi province, eleven miles from My Lai.

More »

75 years ago: Red Army drives back German forces outside Moscow

On December 5, 1941, a Red Army counteroffensive halted and drove back Hitler’s armies at the gates of Moscow, delivering the first major defeat to Germany since the beginning of World War II.

More »

100 years ago: Central Powers invade Romania

On December 6, 1916, Austro-Hungarian and German troops entered Bucharest, the capital of Romania. The invasion signaled the end of Romania’s participation in the war for a number of months.

More »

Mehring Books

MEHRING BOOKS 2016 HOLIDAY SALE

30 November 2016

Week 2: Build the Socialist Equality Party! All titles discounted from 10 percent to 50 percent during our annual holiday sale. You won’t want to miss our deals!