15 September 2018

Hurricane Florence kills five in North Carolina, leaves nearly one million without power

By Matthew Taylor, 15 September 2018

Once again, a natural disaster has exposed the totally inadequate state of public infrastructure in the United States.

Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina

Hurricane Florence exposes disastrous state of US infrastructure

Thousands remain evacuated after gas explosions rip through three Massachusetts towns

By Kate Randall, 15 September 2018

As many as 80 buildings were burned as terrified residents reported either a blaze, an explosion, or the smell of gas.

Russia postpones Syrian offensive in Idlib as NATO threatens escalation

By Alex Lantier, 15 September 2018

Turkey and the major NATO imperialist powers made clear that they are ready to counterattack against Syrian and Russian forces in Idlib.

Scandal erupts over Dutch state’s funding of Islamist terror group in Syria

Andrew Cuomo defeats Cynthia Nixon in New York Democratic gubernatorial primary election

By Sandy English, 15 September 2018

Cuomo had the backing of the dominant sections of the ruling class, raising over $25 million for his campaign.

Teacher strike in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania wins broad support

By our reporter, 15 September 2018

On Friday, approximately 1,000 teachers, students, and supporters picketed East Stroudsburg’s South High School as a strike continues by instructors over management demands for major cuts in health care.

Teachers strike in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

Washington state strikes continue as Tumwater teachers defy back-to-work order

Reject the sellout in Seattle! For a statewide and national teachers strike!

United Steelworkers block strike of US steelworkers

By Samuel Davidson, 15 September 2018

Ignoring the demands of their members, the USW leadership reopened talks with the steelmaker this week.

As Teamsters pushes for “yes” vote on concessions contract
UPS unveils $1 billion cost-cutting “transformation plan”

By Will Morrow, 15 September 2018

At a conference for Wall Street investors on Thursday, UPS management unveiled the details of their plans to slash more than $1 billion in global annual spending.

What is the Teamsters for a Democratic Union?

Teamsters announces October 5 vote deadline
Vote “no” on the UPS-Teamsters sellout contract! Form rank-and-file committees to organize opposition!

Break the UPS-Teamsters conspiracy! Mobilize opposition to the sellout contract!

More on the struggle at UPS »

Ford’s shakedown of Detroit over new tech campus

By Shannon Jones, 15 September 2018

The state of Michigan and Detroit city officials appear ready to hand over $250 million to the automaker, which is sitting on a multi-billion dollar cash reserve.

California: Fire exposes conditions at Oakland homeless encampment

By Adam Mclean and Evan Blake, 15 September 2018

Homelessness is a chronic and widespread social problem in the United States, with California being the worst hit state, due primarily to extremely high real estate prices.

Tory faction fight over Brexit escalates as leadership challenge to May threatened

By Robert Stevens, 15 September 2018

The “hard Brexit” wing of the ruling Tories is facing a backlash due to concerns in business circles over the economic consequences.

Canada’s trade unions deepen corporatist alliance with government during NAFTA talks

By Roger Jordan, 15 September 2018

While stoking reactionary Canadian nationalism and boasting of their role as official government advisers during the NAFTA talks, leading union bureaucrats are pulling out all the stops to prevent an eruption of class struggle.

Australian government and Labor Party back prosecution of whistleblower who revealed Timor bugging

By Mike Head, 15 September 2018

There is a bipartisan attempt to cover up and protect the operations of the Australian intelligence agencies.

Indian Stalinists seek to divert discontent into an alliance with capitalist parties

By Arun Kumar, 15 September 2018

The Stalinist parties are preparing for an electoral pact with right-wing regional and casteist parties, as well as the Congress party.

New Zealand: Unite union applauds ban on migrant workers at Burger King

By John Braddock and Tom Peters, 15 September 2018

In a reactionary, nationalist statement the union lauded a decision that will punish immigrant fast food workers by cutting off their employment.

New in French

Meurtre de Clément Méric: peines minimales pour les trois voyous néo-fascistes

Anthony Torres, 15 septembre 2018

Le procès, ouvert cinq ans après le meurtre du jeune antifasciste n’a pas reconnu le caractère politique du meurtre, pourtant avéré, et a été le théâtre d’une procédure peu sérieuse.

12 800 enfants immigrés détenus dans des camps d’internement américains

Eric London, 15 septembre 2018

Alors que l’administration Trump prépare une expansion massive des camps d’internement des immigrés, le Parti démocrate a abandonné la question.

Les origines politiques des attaques terroristes contre New York et Washington

David North et David Walsh, 15 septembre 2018

A l’occasion du 17e anniversaire des attentats du 11 septembre 2001 à New York et Washington, nous reproduisons ici l’article publié par le wsws le lendemain des attaques. L’analyse du rôle du terrorisme dans la politique extérieure de l’impérialisme américain et sa trajectoire menant à la catastrophe a été entièrement confirmée par les événements.

L’insoumis Kuzmanovic salue l’«Aufstehen» xénophobe de Wagenknecht

Alexandre Lantier, 15 septembre 2018

Djordje Kuzmanovic, un proche du chef de La France insoumise Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a applaudi mercredi le mouvement xénophobe «Aufstehen».

Le scandale éclate sur le financement par l’Etat néerlandais du groupe terroriste islamiste en Syrie

Kumaran Ira, 15 septembre 2018

Le gouvernement néerlandais a dépensé près de 70 millions d’euros pour financer des groupes djihadistes dans le cadre de la guerre de changement de régime menée par les Etats-Unis et l’OTAN contre le président syrien Bachar al-Assad.

Vingt-cinq ans après Oslo, une catastrophe grandissante pour les Palestiniens

Bill Van Auken, 15 septembre 2018

L’anniversaire coïncide avec une série de mesures punitives de Washington pour soutenir le régime de Netanyahu en Israël et mettre les Palestiniens à genoux en les affamant.

L'Ontario invoque la clause dérogatoire antidémocratique pour annuler une décision de la cour

Roger Jordan, 15 septembre 2018

La promesse de Ford qu'il n'hésitera pas à abroger les droits démocratiques à l'avenir afin d’imposer son programme réactionnaire pour la grande entreprise doit servir d'avertissement à la classe ouvrière.

Pour le 80e anniversaire de la fondation de la IVe Internationale

David North, 15 septembre 2018

La fondation de la IVe Internationale le 3 septembre 1938 est un événement d’une importance historique et contemporaine énorme.

New in Spanish

12.800 niños inmigrantes detenidos en campos de internamiento en EUA

Por Eric London, 15 septiembre 2018

Mientras el Gobierno de Trump se prepara para una expansión masiva de campos de internamiento para inmigrantes, el Partido Demócrata ha abandonado el tema.

Crece el apoyo al socialismo entre estudiantes de todo EUA

Por Jóvenes y Estudiantes Internacionales por la Igualdad Social, 15 septiembre 2018

Varios jóvenes y estudiantes de distintos puntos del país conversaron con JEIIS sobre una amplia gama de temas, incluyendo la igualdad social, la oposición a la guerra y el militarismo y, por encima de todo, su interés en el socialismo.

Veinticinco años después de Oslo, una catástrofe cada vez más profunda para los palestinos

Por Bill Van Auken, 15 septiembre 2018

El aniversario ha coincidido con una serie de medidas cada vez más castigadoras por parte de Washington para respaldar el régimen de Netanyahu en Israel y someter a los palestinos con hambre.

Más de 1.000 pilotos y tripulantes de cabina de Ryanair inician huelga en Alemania

Por nuestros reporteros, 15 septiembre 2018

Mientras los trabajadores luchan por aumentos salariales y mejores condiciones de trabajo, los sindicatos quieren llegar a un acuerdo con Ryanair lo más rápido posible.

Cinco millones de muertes al año debido a la mala calidad del cuidado médico

Por Kate Randall, 15 septiembre 2018

A medida que aumenta la desigualdad social, millones mueren por el hecho de que no se invierten los recursos necesarios para hacer avanzar la salud pública.

Facebook censura a ThinkProgress

Por Trévon Austin, 15 septiembre 2018

Facebook etiquetó una historia del sitio web izquierdista, ThinkProgress como "falsa" en base a una "verificación de hechos" por parte del ultra derechista Weekly Standard.

Washington emprende contra países centroamericanos por adoptar política de “Una sola China”

Por Andrea Lobo, 15 septiembre 2018

Habiendo respetado la política de “Una sola China” desde 1979, las medidas estadounidenses contra países que persiguen el mismo camino constituye un nivel impactante de matonismo imperialista e hipocresía.

New in Russian

Эта неделя в истории
100 лет назад: Красная армия начинает наступление на Казань

10 сентября 2018 г.

7 сентября 1918 года Красная армия начала обстрел Казани, наиболее важного города, оказавшегося под контролем контрреволюционных сил, боровшихся против большевистского режима.

New in German

SPD heuchelt Opposition gegen AfD und Maaßen

Johannes Stern, 14. September 2018

All das Gehabe im deutschen Bundestag kann über eine zentrale politische Tatsache nicht hinwegtäuschen. Die AfD wird von der herrschenden Klasse nicht „bekämpft“, sondern bewusst aufgebaut und politisch gefördert.

China und Russland stärken ihre Beziehungen gegen Drohungen der USA

Peter Symonds, 14. September 2018

Weder Xi noch Putin erwähnten Trump nach ihrem Treffen, doch beide ließen keinen Zweifel daran, dass ihre engere Zusammenarbeit eine Reaktion auf Washingtons Strafmaßnahmen ist.

Verdi vereinbart Abbau von 6.000 Arbeitsplätzen und mehr als 200 Standortschließungen bei T-Systems in Deutschland

Dietmar Henning, 14. September 2018

Der von der Vereinigten Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (Verdi) geführte Betriebsrat der Telekom-Tochter T-Systems hat den größten Personalabbau seit der Privatisierung der Deutschen Telekom vor zwei Jahrzehnten ausgearbeitet.

Hurrikan „Florence“ offenbart den katastrophalen Zustand der Infrastruktur in den USA

Tom Hall, 14. September 2018

Trumps Selbstlob für seine Politik beim verheerenden Hurrikan in Puerto Rico im letzten Jahr, während sich gerade einer der größten Stürme nähert, steht für die ganze Gleichgültigkeit und Kriminalität der herrschenden Klasse in den USA.

5.000 demonstrieren in Essen gegen Rechts

Dietmar Henning, 14. September 2018

Die Demonstranten protestierten nicht nur gegen die Neonazis, sondern auch gegen ihre Unterstützung durch die Bundesregierung.

Other Languages

Perspective

Ten years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers

15 September 2018

September 15, 2008 marked a milestone in the eruption of the most far-reaching and devastating crisis of the capitalist system since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Earlier Perspectives »

Commentary

New York Times goads Trump into major new war in Syria

By Bill Van Auken, 15 September 2018

Columnist Bret Stephens, who penned the Times article demanding escalation in Syria, is a longtime Republican neocon who fervently supported the Iraq war.

German Social Democrats feign opposition to fascist AfD

By Johannes Stern, 15 September 2018

Following last month’s neo-Nazi riots in Chemnitz, the Social Democratic Party is trying to disguise its own responsibility for promoting the extreme right.

German neo-Nazis attack Jewish restaurant during far-right riot in Chemnitz

The fight against fascism in Germany requires a socialist perspective

More on the growth of the extreme right in Europe »

Twenty-five years after Oslo, a deepening catastrophe for the Palestinians

By Bill Van Auken, 14 September 2018

12,800 immigrant children detained in American internment camps

By Eric London, 14 September 2018

Republican war criminals endorse CIA Democrat Slotkin

By Patrick Martin, 14 September 2018

Facebook censors ThinkProgress

By Trévon Austin, 14 September 2018

Facebook labeled a story from the left-wing ThinkProgress web site as “false” based on a “fact check” by the far-right Weekly Standard.

New York Times covers up Google’s censorship

More on Internet censorship »

Seventeen years after 9/11: From “war on terror” to “great power conflict”

By Andre Damon, 12 September 2018

The political roots of the terror attack on New York and Washington

Trades Union Congress in Britain silent on anti-Corbyn coup plot

By Robert Stevens, 12 September 2018

The Socialist Equality Party and the anti-Corbyn coup plot: A reply to a reader

Reject the anti-Semitism slurs against Jeremy Corbyn! Drive out the Labour Party right wing!

SEP 2018 Election Campaign

Socialist Equality Party campaign for Michigan’s 12th congressional district website

16 August 2018

Visit our website to find out how you can get involved in Niles Niemuth’s campaign against war, inequality and dictatorship, and for the socialist transformation of society.

SEP congressional candidate Niles Niemuth campaigns at Wayne State University in Detroit

By our reporter, 14 September 2018

“Why the working class needs socialism” Large turnout to hear SEP candidate Niles Niemuth at University of Michigan

By our reporters, 13 September 2018

Teachers must link up their fight with educators nationally and internationally!

By Niles Niemuth, 11 September 2018

Socialist Equality Party candidate Niles Niemuth on ballot for Michigan’s 12th Congressional District

Arts Review

Operation Finale depicts the 1960 capture of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina

By Fred Mazelis, 15 September 2018

The film is long on suspense but rather short on history and insight.

Poor and unhealthy: Australia’s artists in social free-fall

By Kaye Tucker, 12 September 2018

Bisbee ’17: The deportation of Arizona copper miners is a “still-polarizing event”

By Joanne Laurier, 10 September 2018

Leave No Trace: An Iraq War veteran looks to leave the world behind

By Kevin Martinez, 6 September 2018

100 years since the birth of American filmmaker Robert Aldrich
Including an interview with film historian Tony Williams

One of the greatest musical figures of the 20th century
The centenary of Leonard Bernstein—Part 1

Mehring Books

Mehring Books UK publishes The Heritage We Defend 30th anniversary edition

15 September 2018

The new edition of the foundational 1988 work by David North, chairman of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site, is now available for order in the UK and Ireland.

IYSSE

Growing support for socialism among students across the US

By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (US), 12 September 2018

Join the International Youth and Students for Social Equality and take up the fight for socialism!

By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (US), 31 August 2018

Workers Struggles

Three thousand emergency workers strike in India; 29,000 primary school teachers vote on pay offer in New Zealand
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific

15 September 2018

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

Invergordon whisky distillery in Scotland demands workers accept a £10,000 pay cut or lose their jobs

By Darren Paxton and Sandy Campbell, 14 September 2018

“This should be a mass movement if we want to get what we want”
Chicago hotel workers’ strike continues for eighth day

By our reporting team, 14 September 2018

“Gas, rent and milk goes up and we’re still making the same money”
Striking Chicago hotel workers speak out

Over 1,000 Ryanair cabin crew and pilots strike in Germany

By our reporters, 13 September 2018

The Ryanair strike and the resurgence of international class struggle

Australia: Reject NTEU sellout at Macquarie University! For a unified national struggle against cuts!

By the Committee For Public Education, 13 September 2018

Socialist Equality Group (New Zealand) forum reviews lessons of nursing union sellout

International Amazon Workers Voice

Injured Amazon worker Angela: “If workers controlled Bezos’ billions, nobody would be homeless”

The International Amazon Workers Voice (IAWV) spoke to Angela Shelton, an injured worker at the DFW7 Amazon fulfillment center in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, where a number of injured workers have recently been made homeless.

“Amazon thinks I’m a piece of trash on the ground and they’ll walk all over me”
Amazon Nightmare: Grandmother injured on the job goes homeless, suffers pneumonia

By Eric London and Zac Corrigan, 3 September 2018

Life under capitalism for an American youth
Injured Texas Wal-Mart worker describes how and why she switched to socialism

By Eric London, 5 September 2018

More on Amazon »

Public meetings in Australia

Nick Beams to lecture at Australian universities on the contemporary significance of Karl Marx

6 September 2018

The lectures will make clear that Marx’s theoretical breakthroughs were inextricably linked to his political work as a revolutionary determined to arm the emerging working class with a program that advanced its independent interests.

SEP Australia public meeting in Sydney: The key political issues behind the coup against Turnbull

6 September 2018

As international relations and parliamentary forms of rule break down, the ruling elite is terrified of the growing left-wing sentiment among workers and young people.

This week in history: September 10-16

25 years ago: Clinton begins campaign for NAFTA ratification

On September 14, 1993, the US administration of President Bill Clinton began its efforts to win ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

More »

50 years ago: 300,000 participate in silent march in Mexico City

On September 13, 1968, the student-led National Strike Council organized a silent march through Mexico City, which mobilized some 300,000 protesters.

More »

75 years ago: German troops expand occupation of Italy

On September 10, 1943, German troops invaded Naples, Rome and other Italian cities.

More »

 

100 years ago: Trotsky appeals to Czechoslovak troops

On September 13, 1918, in an appeal written days after the capture of Kazan by the Red Army, Leon Trotsky issued a special appeal to the Czechoslovak forces fighting on the side of the counterrevolution.

More »

History of the Fourth International

On the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Fourth International

By David North, 3 September 2018

The founding of the Fourth International on September 3, 1938, was an event of great historical significance and contemporary relevance.

Historic discovery of Left Opposition manuscripts from the early 1930s

Science

Waste plastics poison the food chain and contribute to global warming

By Philip Guelpa, 7 September 2018

Book Review

Olen Steinhauer’s The Middleman: An American uprising, darkly imagined

By James Brookfield, 5 September 2018

At the outset of The Middleman a group of approximately 400 Americans scattered throughout the country suddenly disappear from their day-to-day lives without telling friends and family.

Seymour Hersh’s Reporter: A life exposing government lies and crimes

By Andre Damon, 3 September 2018

Seymour Hersh, the investigative journalist who played a leading role in exposing the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam and the Bush Administration’s torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, has published a long-awaited autobiography.

History

Fifty years since the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia: Part one
Establishment of a deformed workers’ state in Czechoslovakia

By Clara Weiss, 28 August 2018

On August 20-21, 1968, tens of thousands of troops of the Warsaw Pact states invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring” and stifle a nascent movement of the working class. This is the first part of a four-part series.

Part two | Part three | Part four

Obituary

Arsène Tchakarian (1916–2018): The Manouchian Group’s resistance struggle
Part 1: The political origins and military record of the resistance fighters

By Francis Dubois and Alex Lantier, 30 August 2018

Arsène Tchakarian (1916-2018): the Manouchian Group’s resistance struggle
Part 2: Who betrayed the Manouchian Group?

International Committee of the Fourth International

Resolution of the SEP (US) Fifth National Congress
The Resurgence of Class Struggle and the Tasks of the Socialist Equality Party

8 August 2018

This resolution was unanimously adopted by the Socialist Equality Party Congress, held from July 22–27, 2018.

Opening report to the Fifth National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US)

By David North, 4 August 2018

Preface to the thirtieth anniversary edition of The Heritage We Defend

By David North, 21 June 2018

We are posting the new preface written by David North for the soon to be released thirtieth anniversary edition of The Heritage We Defend: A Contribution to the History of the Fourth International.

Support the Socialist Equality group in Turkey!
Statement of the SE group, in sympathy with the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), on the snap elections in Turkey

Security and the Fourth International

An “Exemplary Comrade”: The Socialist Workers Party’s 40-year-long cover-up of Stalinist spy Sylvia Callen: Part one

By Eric London, 14 August 2018

This is the first part in a four-part series examining the cover-up by the Socialist Workers Party beginning in 1947 of information exposing the role of Sylvia Callen, the personal secretary of long-time party leader James P. Cannon, as a Stalinist agent.

Part two | Part three | Part four

Seventy-eight years since the assassination of Leon Trotsky

By Eric London and David North, 21 August 2018

On August 21, 1940, Leon Trotsky, the founder of the Fourth International and the co-leader of the Russian Revolution, died from wounds inflicted the day before by an assassin, the Stalinist GPU agent Ramon Mercader.

Defend Julian Assange!

London: Ecuador embassy vigil marks six years since Julian Assange granted asylum

By Paul Mitchell, 18 August 2018

Christine Assange, mother of WikiLeaks editor: “I’ve not been able to speak to my son for four months”

By Richard Phillips, 24 July 2018

Mueller investigation seeks to implicate WikiLeaks and Julian Assange in “Russian interference”

Protest in London against Ecuadorian President Moreno’s persecution of Julian Assange

The Turnbull government must act to repatriate Australian citizen Julian Assange to Australia

Bringing Julian Assange Home

More on the campaign to free Julian Assange »

WSWS 20th Anniversary

Twenty years of the World Socialist Web Site: 1998–2018

By David North and Joseph Kishore, 14 February 2018

As the WSWS marks its 20th anniversary of daily posting, it is taking the lead in exposing the conspiracy by governments and corporations to censor the Internet as the ruling class prepares for war and domestic repression.

Lenin, Trotsky and the Marxism of the October Revolution

By David North, 19 March 2018

David North, chairperson of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site and of the Socialist Equality Party (US), delivered this lecture at the University of Leipzig on March 16.