8 January 2018

French chemical industry unions back contract violating minimum wage laws

By Alex Lantier, 8 January 2018

Backed by the European Union, President Emmanuel Macron is using his labor decrees to try to scrap basic social rights won by the working class.

Macron turns France’s labor decrees on auto workers

Iran: Anti-government protests abate in face of mass repression

By Jordan Shilton and Keith Jones, 8 January 2018

None of the grievances fueling the working class protests that swept across Iran in recent days have been addressed, let alone resolved.

The working class unrest in Iran: The WSWS replies to an apologist of the Iranian regime

Working class opposition erupts in Iran: A harbinger for the world in 2018

Mass protests against austerity and social inequality shake Iranian regime

Puerto Rico, more than 100 days after Hurricane Maria: The class issues

By Genevieve Leigh, 8 January 2018

The absence of planning for the hurricane and the lack of any significant response to the devastation by the local and federal governments has had deadly consequences.

US President Trump backs meeting between two Koreas

By Peter Symonds, 8 January 2018

Trump suggested the possibility of talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, even though he had threatened North Korea with nuclear annihilation just days earlier.

Trump threatens North Korea with nuclear war

Chinese president orders troops to be “ready to fight”

More on the war threat against North Korea »

German foreign minister demands aggressive assertion of great power interests

By Christoph Vandreier, 8 January 2018

Gabriel’s rhetoric, in his interview with Spiegel Online, is aimed at initiating a further escalation of German militarism and freeing Berlin from any restrictions.

German conservatives and Social Democrats prepare formation of far-right government

Foreign minister Gabriel promotes German big power politics

Volkswagen plans to dismiss all temporary contract workers in German plants

By Dietmar Henning, 8 January 2018

VW’s mass firing of temporary contract workers is the prelude to sweeping job cuts and attacks on the gains of all autoworkers.

Romanian Ford workers defiant as company seeks to impose blackmail contract

Romanian Ford workers must make international appeal!

More on autoworkers issues »

UK rail workers continue strikes against Driver Only Operated train plans

By Michael Barnes, 8 January 2018

As dangerous incidents begin to escalate, the rail companies and the Tory government refuse to retreat in their war against conductors’ jobs.

Betrayal of UK rail workers’ fight against driver only operations reveals treacherous role of unions

UK workers confront rising job losses in 2018

By Tony Robson, 8 January 2018

At no point have Unite, GMB, the retail workers union, USDAW, or any other, even mooted a fight in defence of a single job.

December US jobs report reveals weaker than expected growth

Zimbabwe graphite miners strike at former German-owned mine

By Dietmar Henning, 8 January 2018

More than 200 miners in northern Zimbabwe have been on strike since the end of December protesting the fact they have not received their wages for more than a year.

Bangladeshi teachers end “fast-unto-death”

By Nancy Hanover, 8 January 2018

“It is better to die here than return home with empty hands,” said one of thousands of Bangladeshi teachers fighting for a government-paid salary.

Motel 6 sued for passing on guest information to ICE immigration officials

By Norisa Diaz, 8 January 2018

The lawsuit addresses widespread practices at numerous locations where Motel 6 handed over the names, birthdates, driver's license numbers, license-plate numbers and room numbers of at least 9,000 guests to immigration officials without warrants.

“The government got to do whatever it wanted to do”
An interview with Mark Flessner, attorney for Davino Watson, US citizen illegally imprisoned by ICE for more than three years

UC Berkeley student arrested by border patrol

More on the attack on immigrants in the US »

Rising rents put low income US renters in severe jeopardy

By Debra Watson, 8 January 2018

Rent burdens have increased in the US over the past 15 years, putting workers at the lower end of the pay scale in severe housing jeopardy.

Gentrification fueling eviction crisis in New York City

Australian rail union collaborating with Pacific National to impose sell-out agreement

By Terry Cook, 8 January 2018

The RTBU deal further erodes working conditions, real wages and opens the way for increased casualisation.

South Australian Labor government slashes public sector jobs

By Oscar Grenfell, 8 January 2018

The sackings indicate that the state election this March will be dominated by further austerity commitments from the main parties.

New in Spanish

Gobiernos y corporaciones intensifican su censura del Internet y sus ataques a la libertad de expresión

Por Andre Damon, 8 enero 2018

Las empresas tecnológicas y Gobiernos alrededor del mundo han iniciado el año nuevo con una ofensiva masiva contra la libertad de expresión en el Internet.

La oposición en la clase obrera estalla en irán: el preludio a un convulso mundo en el 2018

Por Keith Jones, 8 enero 2018

Las manifestaciones obreras en Irán no solo han perturbado los cálculos de la élite iraní, sino de Gobiernos alrededor del mundo.

El descontento de la clase trabajadora en Irán: el WSWS responde a un defensor del régimen iraní

Por Keith Jones, 8 enero 2018

La actitud del WSWS hacia Irán se basa en dos factores fundamentales: el carácter de Irán como un país históricamente oprimido que hay que defender contra el imperialismo y las relaciones antagónicas entre la burguesía iraní y la clase trabajadora.

El índice Dow cruza la marca de los 25.000 puntos: el periodo de bonanza para la oligarquía continúa

Por Nick Beams, 8 enero 2018

En vez de reflejar salud económica, la burbuja bursátil es un perverso y maligno mecanismo de redistribución de la riqueza social hacia los ricos.

Revelador libro sobre la Casa Blanca bajo Trump intensifica la crisis política en Estados Unidos

Por Barry Grey, 8 enero 2018

El libro ha recibido una cobertura mediática ininterrumpida y ha provisto a las facciones burguesas que promueven la destitución de Trump nuevas armas.

Los trabajadores rumanos de la Ford se muestran desafiantes ante el intento de la compañía de imponerles un contrato chantajista

Por Jerry White y Eric London, 8 enero 2018

Los trabajadores volvieron de sus vacaciones con un estado de ánimo rebelde haciendo paros esporádicos y con una creciente determinación para una resistencia colectiva.

Estados Unidos:
El invierno mata de frío a los pobres y los sin techo

Por Kate Randall, 8 enero 2018

El peso de esta crisis cae sobre las espaldas de los pobres y de los sin techo, mientras que oficiales del gobierno le echan la culpa a la mano de la naturaleza, dizque imprevisible, por el caos, su ineptitud y todo el sufrimiento que ocurre.

La gentrificación alimenta la crisis de desahucios en la ciudad de Nueva York

Por Steve Light, 8 enero 2018

El aumento en las evicciones demuestra la mayor dificultad para costear una vivienda en los barrios obreros neoyorquinos.

La concejala de Seattle, Kshama Sawant, es blanco de una demanda por difamación tras llamar “asesinos” a la policía

Por Eric London, 8 enero 2018

Las diferencias bien documentadas del Partido Socialista por la Igualdad con Alternativa Socialista no minimizan nuestra oposición a los intentos de la élite política para silenciar las críticas a la policía.

New in French

Les gouvernements et les entreprises intensifient la censure sur Internet et les attaques contre la liberté d’expression

André Damon, 8 janvier 2018

Les entreprises technologiques et les gouvernements du monde entier ont entamé la nouvelle année avec un assaut massif contre la liberté d’expression sur Internet.

L’agitation ouvrière en Iran : le WSWS répond à un partisan du régime iranien

Keith Jones, 8 janvier 2018

L’attitude du WSWS vis-à-vis de l’Iran repose sur deux facteurs fondamentaux : le caractère de l’Iran en tant que pays historiquement opprimé qui doit être défendu contre les prédations de l’impérialisme, et la relation antagoniste entre la bourgeoisie iranienne et la classe ouvrière.

Le Dow à 25 000 : la manne pour l’oligarchie continue

Nick Beams, 8 janvier 2018

Plutôt que d’être le reflet d’une santé économique, la bulle boursière est un mécanisme pour la redistribution perverse et maligne de la richesse sociale vers le haut.

New in German

Regierungen und Konzerne verschärfen Internetzensur und Angriffe auf die Meinungsfreiheit

Von Andre Damon, 8. Januar 2018

Zu Beginn des Neuen Jahres starten Technologiekonzerne und Regierungen einen massiven weltweiten Angriff auf die freie Meinungsäußerung im Internet.

NetzDG: Twitter zensiert Satiremagazin Titanic

Von Johannes Stern, 8. Januar 2018

Das deutsche Zensur-Gesetz ist Bestandteil einer umfassenden weltweiten Kampagne zur Kontrolle des Internets, die sich vor allem gegen linke und progressive Websites richtet.

Online-Meeting gegen die Zensur des Internet

Von der Redaktion, 8. Januar 2018

In der Nacht vom 16. auf den 17. Januar 2018 wird die WSWS den Livestream einer Diskussion über Internetzensur zwischen dem Journalisten Chris Hedges und dem Vorsitzenden der Internationalen Redaktion der WSWS David North übertragen.

Arbeiterunruhen im Iran: Die WSWS antwortet einem Verteidiger des iranischen Regimes

Von Keith Jones, 8. Januar 2018

Die Haltung der WSWS zum Iran basiert auf zwei grundlegenden Faktoren: dem Charakter des Iran als historisch unterdrücktes Land, das gegen den Imperialismus verteidigt werden muss; und dem Gegensatz zwischen der iranischen Bourgeoisie und der Arbeiterklasse.

Other Languages

Perspective

The campaign over the “unfitness” of Donald Trump

8 January 2018

The Democrats, once again, avoid any appeal to popular opposition to the right-wing policies of Trump and the Republicans.

Earlier Perspectives »

WSWS Online Webinar

Featured Commentary

The bicentenary of Marx’s birth, socialism and the resurgence of the international class struggle

3 January 2018

The year 2018—the bicentenary of Marx’s birth—will be characterized, above all, by an immense intensification of social tensions and an escalation of class conflict around the world.

Final reflections on the centennial year of the October Revolution

By David North, 30 December 2017

Commentary

Trump “defends” the right to protest in Iran, criminalizes protest in Washington

By E.P. Milligan, 8 January 2018

Even as Trump was bloviating about the right to protest in Iran, his Justice Department was carrying out a political trial against peaceful protesters in a brazen attack on the freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed by the US Constitution.

Governments and corporations escalate Internet censorship and attacks on free speech

By Andre Damon, 6 January 2018

Facebook deleted accounts at the behest of US, Israeli and German governments

Germany’s “Network Enforcement Law” goes into effect: A move to censor the Internet

More on Internet censorship »

US suspends security aid to Pakistan as part of Afghan War push

By Jordan Shilton, 6 January 2018

Tell-all book on Trump White House intensifies US political crisis

By Barry Grey, 6 January 2018

Bannon attack on Trump White House fuels Washington political warfare

Sulzbergers pass gilded baton at the New York Times

By Bill Van Auken, 5 January 2018

Arts Review

The decline and fall of Russian protest art—“Art Riot: Post-Soviet Actionism”

By Paul Mitchell, 8 January 2018

One could hardly think of a more ignominious outcome for the products of post-Soviet protest art than to end up in the opulent surroundings of the Saatchi Gallery in London’s West End.

Daphne Merkin’s “Publicly, We Say #MeToo. Privately, We Have Misgivings”
The New York Times’ reactionary sexual harassment campaign runs into opposition

By David Walsh, 6 January 2018

All the Money in the World—above all, the “expunging” of Kevin Spacey—and The Shape of Water

Director of A World Not Ours, A Man Returned and A Drowning Man
An interview with Palestinian filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel: “A film is like a historical document, it should be solid enough to endure”

Short films considered for Academy Award nominations: Emmett Till, a Jack London story and an isolated child

Workers Struggles

As teachers face new battles against Trump
Lessons of the fight against Obama’s “school reform”—Part 2

By Nancy Hanover and Jerry White, 6 January 2018

As teachers face new battles against Trump
Lessons of the fight against Obama’s “school reform”—Part 1

Mehring Books

Featured Video

Interview: Rómulo Avelíca, undocumented worker released from detention following protests

Rómulo Avelíca-Gonzalez was abducted by ICE agents as he dropped off his daughter at school.

Puerto Rico

Support on-the-spot reporting on the WSWS

Donate to the WSWS today to support on-the-spot reporting, like our continuing coverage of the crisis in Puerto Rico.

“The government has done nothing”
Months after hurricane, Puerto Rican workers face worsening jobs crisis

Puerto Rico governor orders review of official hurricane death toll

More on Puerto Rico »

Socialist Equality Party

Indian ICFI supporters call public meeting in Kolkata to mark Russian Revolution centenary

29 December 2017

The Kolkata meeting will discuss the political and theoretical struggles led by Lenin and Trotsky and their significance for today.

Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka) stands for local government elections

By our correspondents, 23 December 2017

On the 30th anniversary of the death of Comrade Keerthi Balasuriya

By David North, 19 December 2017

Keerthi’s death on December 18, 1987 was an irreplaceable loss to the International Committee of the Fourth International and its Sri Lankan section.

SEP in Sri Lanka pays tribute to Keerthi Balasuriya

Centenary of the Russian Revolution

Arabic translation of “The Place of the October Revolution in World History and Contemporary Politics”

This week in the Russian Revolution
December 25-31: Soviet government nationalizes the banks

27 December 2017

The year 1917 closes with the Russian Revolution in a precarious situation. The new Soviet government is menaced on all sides by hostile armies. Meanwhile, the imperialist war rages on, and the October insurrection catalyzes revolutionary struggles around the world.

Russian television’s Trotsky serial: A degraded spectacle of historical falsification and anti-Semitism

By Fred Williams and David North, 25 November 2017

The eight-part serial is an exhibition of the political, intellectual and cultural depravity of all those involved in its production.

The Place of the October Revolution in World History and Contemporary Politics

By David North, 13 November 2017

Chronology of the Russian Revolution »

International Amazon Workers Voice

Amazon begins operations in Australia

By Patrick Kelly, 28 December 2017

Amazon worker dies after vomiting blood at Sacramento, California fulfillment center

By Kristina Betinis, 23 December 2017

OSHA dragging its feet investigating death of Pennsylvania Amazon worker Devan Shoemaker

Amazon conducts total surveillance of workers in new German plant

By Marianne Arens, 16 December 2017

Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
One day strike hits German and Italian Amazon distribution centres

Watch: How can Amazon workers fight back?

Share this video widely! Like and Follow the International Amazon Workers Voice on Facebook

Google Censorship

Net neutrality and the drive to censor the internet

By Andre Damon, 25 November 2017

The conspiracy to censor the Internet

By Andre Damon and Joseph Kishore, 18 October 2017

The elites “have no credibility left:” An interview with journalist Chris Hedges

An open letter to Google: Stop the censorship of the Internet! Stop the political blacklisting of the World Socialist Web Site!

25 August 2017

Sign the petition and share it as widely as possible through email, online forums, and social media.

Watch: Stop online censorship!

More on Google Censorship »

IYSSE

IYSSE mounts campaign against university police censorship at University of California, Berkeley

By Evan Blake, 2 December 2017

International Youth and Students for Social Equality launches new website

6 November 2017

The IYSSE’s newly designed website includes an updated Statement of Principles for its US section. We urge all youth and students to join the IYSSE and take up the fight for socialism.