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

11 January 2017

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Trump nominee for attorney general defends right-wing, anti-democratic agenda

By Patrick Martin, 11 January 2017

The confirmation hearing for Senator Jeff Sessions made clear that the Trump administration will be the most right-wing in American history, and Democrats will do nothing to oppose it.

As Senate confirmation hearings begin
Trump names son-in-law to White House post

Documents alleging Trump-Moscow ties leaked to media, intensifying conflict in US state

By Joseph Kishore, 11 January 2017

The release of the documents appears to be a last-ditch effort by sections of the intelligence apparatus to prevent the inauguration of Trump, which is only 10 days away.

Obama’s farewell address: One last round of clichés and lies

By Niles Niemuth, 11 January 2017

In a speech as banal as dishonest, Obama boasted of the supposed progress achieved during his eight years as president while warning that the social inequality he has helped foster poses a threat to democracy.

Obama's legacy of war, repression and inequality

The Obama administration and the legitimization of torture

Subway, train and airline workers strike in the UK

By Robert Stevens, 11 January 2017

The 24-hour strike that paralysed the London subway system Monday was followed by the start of two 48-hour walkouts by drivers on Southern Rail and British Airways cabin crew.

Strikes in transport and other sectors to hit the UK

UK rail union TSSA and pro-Corbyn Momentum stoke up anti-European sentiment

US air strike kills 20 civilians in Syria

By Jordan Shilton, 11 January 2017

Details of last week’s raid in Idlib province emerged as Democrats and Republicans in the Senate introduced bipartisan legislation to intensify punitive measures against Russia over its interventions in Syria and Ukraine.

US-Russian tensions sharpen over Syria

The media campaign on Russian hacking and the US debacle in Syria

US defence secretary threatens to shoot down any North Korean missile

By Peter Symonds, 11 January 2017

Trump’s propensity for recklessness and militarism will only heighten the danger of conflict on the Korean Peninsula, one of the world’s most dangerous flash points.

Canadian Afghan war veteran commits suicide after killing family

By Laurent Lafrance, 11 January 2017

Lionel Desmond was suffering from PTSD but failed to receive the support he required due to systematic cuts to health care and veterans’ services.

Low turnout for University of California workers’ one-day strike

By our reporters, 11 January 2017

Teamsters Local 2010, which represents over 12,000 UC administrative, support and clerical staff, staged a limited one-day strike Tuesday.

University of California support staff in one-day strike

An attempt to appease anger over student loan debt
New York Governor Cuomo proposes free tuition for state and city university systems

By Josh Varlin, 11 January 2017

Whether or not Cuomo’s proposal is enacted this year, it is clearly aimed at appeasing the anger among workers and young people at growing inequality and attacks on living standards.

Ohio workers face precedent-setting pension and retiree health cuts

By Evan Winters, 11 January 2017

Members of Cleveland Iron Workers Local 17 are being forced by their union to vote on whether to cut current pensions in half, or lose everything within ten years.

President Hollande gives French army, intelligence “green light to kill”

By Kumaran Ira, 11 January 2017

According to recent investigative reports, the Socialist Party has massively stepped up the French state’s extrajudicial murder program, assassinating at least 40 people.

British super-rich pay less tax as workers pay more

By Simon Whelan, 11 January 2017

While the rich are allowed to avoid the taxes necessary to fund vitally-needed services, the government continually devises ways to extract ever more from the working class.

New report documents extreme poverty in Poland

By Clara Weiss, 11 January 2017

The report reveals the miserable living conditions facing broad sections of the working class and the peasant population who lack access to basic elements of civilization.

Australian government agrees to negotiate East Timor maritime border

By Patrick Kelly, 11 January 2017

The announcement represents a significant tactical shift by Australian imperialism.

Trump and China fears overshadow fragile Australian economy

By Mike Head, 11 January 2017

Conflict between the US, led by the protectionist Trump, and China, Australian capitalism’s largest export market, could have catastrophic consequences for an already contracting economy.

New in Turkish

Obama’nın savaş, baskı ve eşitsizlik mirası

Joseph Kishore, 11 Ocak 2017

Obama yönetiminin sicili ve bu bireyin karakteri, Amerikan siyasetinin; geniş bir desteğe sahip olmayan, kaynayan bir toplumsal gerilimler kazanının tepesinde duran kemikleşmiş ve gerici bir siyaset kurumunun yapısını ortaya koymaktadır.

Oliver Stone'un Snowden’ı: NSA "tüm dünyayı tarayan bir ağı yönetiyor"

Joanne Laurier ve David Walsh, 11 Ocak 2017

Stone’un, belirli bir dikkat ve bağlılıkla, Snowden'ın hikayesinin önemli unsurlarını ekrana taşıdığı söylenebilir. Bu dram, günümüzün büyük sorunlardan bazılarını, özellikle de diktatörlük ve savaş tehlikesini kapsamaktadır.

New in French

L’héritage d’Obama : guerre, répression et inégalité

Par Joseph Kishore, 11 janvier 2017

Pour Obama et les couches sociales privilégiées qui entourent le Parti démocrate, un héritage peut être fabriqué avec des phrases de miel et du marketing habile. Des millions de personnes, cependant, jugeront ce gouvernement sur ses actes.

Le Brexit accentue la crise existentielle du Royaume-Uni et de l’Union européenne

Par Chris Marsden, 11 janvier 2017

La dispute sur le genre de relation que le Royaume-Uni aura avec l’Union européenne a lieu dans des conditions où la survie même de cette dernière est menacée.

Allemagne : le Vert Joschka Fischer veut un réarmement national

Par Peter Schwarz, 11 janvier 2017

Dans un article intitulé « Coincée entre les présidents Poutine et Trump, l’UE ne peut rester une “puissance douce” », l’ancien ministre des Affaires étrangères, Joschka Fischer (parti des Verts), prône une « option de sécurité basée sur l’Etat-nation ».

New in German

Obamas Hinterlassenschaft: Krieg, Unterdrückung und Ungleichheit

Von Joseph Kishore, 11. Januar 2017

Obama und seine gut situierten Anhänger im Umfeld der Demokratischen Partei mögen sich einbilden, die Bilanz eines Präsidenten lasse sich aus einem cleveren Marketingkonzept und sentimentalen Sprüchen formen. Doch die Masse der Bevölkerung beurteilt die Regierung am Ende nach ihren Taten.

Nach Berliner Anschlag: Schärfere Gesetze gegen Flüchtlinge

Von Martin Kreickenbaum, 11. Januar 2017

Keine drei Wochen nach dem Terroranschlag auf einen Berliner Weihnachtsmarkt haben sich Justizminister Heiko Maas (SPD) und Innenminister Thomas de Maizière (CDU) auf eine Reihe von Gesetzesverschärfungen geeinigt.

Trump beruft Schwiegersohn ins Weiße Haus

Von Patrick Martin, 11. Januar 2017

Jared Kushner wird der siebte Milliardär sein, der in Trumps Regierung eine Spitzenposition bekleidet.

Brexit vertieft existentielle Krise Großbritanniens und der EU

Von Chris Marsden, 11. Januar 2017

Der Streit um die zukünftigen Beziehungen Großbritanniens zur Europäischen Union findet unter Bedingungen statt, die das Überleben der EU infrage stellen.

Georgi Walentinowitsch Plechanow (1856-1918): Seine Stellung in der Geschichte des Marxismus

Von David North und Wladimir Wolkow, 11. Januar 2017

Am 11. Dezember 2016 erinnerte die sozialistische Bewegung an den 160. Geburtstag des „Vaters des russischen Marxismus“ Georgi Walentinowitsch Plechanow.

Other Languages

Perspective

Economic nationalism and the breakdown of the post-war order

11 January 2017

The United States was the guarantor of the post-war economic order based on the lowering of tariffs and trade barriers under the rubric of “free trade,” but Trump’s “America First” agenda signals the collapse of that order.

Earlier Perspectives »

Centenary of the Russian Revolution

Socialism and the centenary of the Russian Revolution: 1917-2017

By David North and Joseph Kishore, 3 January 2017

A specter is haunting world capitalism: the specter of the Russian Revolution. This year marks the centenary of the world-historical events of 1917, which began with the February Revolution in Russia and culminated in October with the conquest of political power by the Bolshevik Party, under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky.

From the Archives

The End of the USSR

By David North, 30 December 2016

On December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union (also known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)—which emerged out of the socialist revolution of October 1917—was formally dissolved by the Stalinist regime led by Mikhail Gorbachev. The destruction of the Soviet Union was the outcome of the anti-socialist and nationalist policies of the ruling bureaucracy. On January 4, 1992, David North, national secretary of the Workers League (predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party), delivered a report which explained the historical background and significance of the end of the USSR. To mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of this critical event, the World Socialist Web Site is posting North's report.

Arts

Meryl Streep, Donald Trump and the Golden Globes

By David Walsh, 11 January 2017

The actress’s remarks at the Golden Globes, an annual event organized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were quite mild and limited.

Hail to the Chief—wealthy celebrities bid farewell to Obama

By Hiram Lee, 10 January 2017

Maren Ade’s award-winning Toni Erdmann: Slaves to modern global business

Commentary

In town hall broadcast, Sanders declares his readiness to work with Trump on trade war agenda

By Tom Hall and Barry Grey, 11 January 2017

The main thrust of Sanders’ remarks was to assure the incoming administration that he and his Democratic Party allies will do nothing to seriously challenge Trump’s right-wing policies.

German Left Party leader blames Merkel’s refugee policy for attack in Berlin

By Johannes Stern, 11 January 2017

Left Party leader Sarah Wagenknecht is positioning herself at the head of a right-wing campaign against Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policy, and arguing for more police powers.

Racial politics in the service of the CIA
New York Times columnist Charles Blow’s McCarthyite rant on Russian hacking

By Tom Hall, 10 January 2017

Intelligence report offers no evidence of Russian hacking of US election

Germany: The Greens’ Joschka Fischer calls for national rearmament

By Peter Schwarz, 10 January 2017

Brexit deepens existential crisis of UK and European Union

By Chris Marsden, 10 January 2017

History

The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw—Part 2
From the Holocaust to present-day Poland

By Clara Weiss, 11 January 2017

The core exhibition at the recently opened POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw has now marked its second anniversary.

The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw—Part 1
Jewish life in Poland before World War II

By Clara Weiss, 9 January 2017

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

By David North and Vladimir Volkov, 5 December 2016

Workers Struggles

Mexican government, trade unions mobilize against protests to pave the way for Trump

By Rafael Azul and Eric London, 10 January 2017

Protests against gas price hikes spread across Mexico

Dayton, Ohio transit workers strike over wages, health care

By Shannon Jones, 10 January 2017

As contract expiration nears, union moves to block fight by New York transit workers

By Alan Whyte, 9 January 2017

New York City transit workers must fight to defend living standards and basic rights!

25 years ago: European Community moves to dismember Yugoslavia

On January 15, 1992, the European Community formally opened diplomatic ties with the two northern Yugoslav republics Croatia and Slovenia.

More »

50 years ago: Johnson promises “more agony” in Vietnam

President Lyndon Johnson used his State of the Union address, delivered on January 10, 1967, to promise that the US would “face more cost, more loss, and more agony” in a war that had already killed thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese.

More »

75 years ago: Roosevelt sets up War Labor Board

On January 12, 1942, US President Franklin Roosevelt established the War Labor Board, aimed at suppressing the class struggle in America for the duration of the Second World War.

More »

100 years ago: Leon Trotsky arrives in New York

On January 14, 1917, Leon Trotsky arrived in New York as a political exile, having been deported first by France and then by Spain for his anti-war writings and activities.

More »

Socialist Equality Party

Berlin university meeting discusses election of Trump and the return of German militarism

By our correspondents, 7 January 2017

Sri Lankan SEP and workers’ action committee oppose attacks on plantation workers

Book Review

A Pound of Flesh: The US legal system’s war against the poor

By Nancy Hanover, 7 January 2017

A Pound of Flesh: Monetary Sanctions as Punishment for the Poor, a new book by sociologist Alexes Harris, shows how legal financial obligations (LFOs) penalize the poorest among us.