28 September 2020

Armenian-Azeri conflict erupts in Caucasus, threatening wider war

By Ulaş Ateşçi and Alex Lantier, 28 September 2020

A war could spiral out of control and escalate into a broader conflict between Russia, Turkey and other NATO states, potentially involving nuclear weapons.

The world has reached the grim milestone of one million COVID-19 deaths

By Benjamin Mateus, 28 September 2020

With some 33 million infected out of nearly eight billion people, “herd immunity” remains a distant prospect and winter could bring conditions for a rapid resurgence of the pandemic.

Vote “No” on the Detroit Federation of Teachers contract!
Unite educators, students and parents to protect our lives against COVID-19

By Detroit Rank-and-File Educators Safety Committee, 28 September 2020

The Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) and the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) is seeking to ram through a one-year contract as part of the preparation for a return to full in-person learning.

US governors told in February that pandemic would get “much worse,” but did not alert public

By Kevin Reed, 28 September 2020

In a secret meeting, 25 US governors were told: “The coronavirus outbreak is going to get much, much worse before it gets better.”

US political warfare escalates with New York Times release of Trump tax returns

By Patrick Martin, 28 September 2020

While it is not clear whether Trump is even nominally a billionaire, he is certainly one of the great tax cheats of the 21st century.

Police respond to demonstrations across the US with vicious assaults on protesters and journalists

By Jacob Crosse, 28 September 2020

Abetted by the police, far-right Trump supporters, Proud Boys and neo-Nazis assaulted and provoked anti-police violence protesters throughout the weekend.

Trump’s Operation Legend prepares local police forces to suppress opposition

By Alex Findijs, 28 September 2020

Tens of millions of dollars have been provided to local police forces to hire more officers, upgrade crowd control equipment and develop surveillance operations.

Michigan State University pushes forward with football amid a mass spike in COVID-19 cases

By Luke Galvin, 28 September 2020

Since August 24, there have been 1,250 cases of COVID-19 linked to the reopening of the university.

Youth protests over COVID-19 mount in working-class districts of Madrid

By Alejandro López, 28 September 2020

Madrid is the epicentre of the resurgence of COVID-19 in Spain, now the worst-hit country in Western Europe, with 51 dying last Friday alone.

Johnson government rolls out Kickstart youth cheap labour scheme

By Harvey Thompson and Robert Stevens, 28 September 2020

The collapse in the number of jobs and apprenticeships meant that by July one in 13 of the seven million UK workers aged between 16 and 24 years was claiming Universal Credit.

Australia: Victorian government accelerates lifting of COVID-19 restrictions to satisfy big business

By Mike Head, 28 September 2020

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has fallen further into line with the “return to work” campaign of the corporate elite and the federal government.

US hits leading Chinese chip maker

By Nick Beams, 28 September 2020

The latest decision instigated by the Pentagon is aimed at crippling China’s ability to make high-tech advances.

Nearly 40,000 US airline workers could lose jobs on October 1

By Jerry White, 28 September 2020

The new job cuts come on top of the 100,000 temporary furloughs and forced retirements and buyouts implemented by United, American, Delta and other major US carriers.

More evidence of management spying on Amazon workers’ political activities

By Tom Carter, 28 September 2020

A whistleblower inside Amazon sent a message last week to a number of internal company listservs, warning fellow workers that the company is monitoring opposition on those forums.

PG&E shuts off power to tens of thousands as West Coast wildfires continue to rage

By Kevin Martinez, 28 September 2020

The shutoff of power on Sunday came in advance of an expected heat wave which will heighten the danger of more fires.

Warning strikes in German public sector: Growing anger over low wages and insecure working conditions

By Gregor Link, 28 September 2020

Some 2.3 million public sector workers face a sellout by the Verdi union, including educators, local government workers and daycare workers who are at the forefront of the pandemic.

Cheaper flammable cladding was ordered for Grenfell tower to save time

By Charles Hixson, 28 September 2020

The project manager at one of the main firms involved in the Grenfell Tower refurbishment admitted he lacked qualifications and training.

Australia’s Queensland Labor government suspends public hearings of Grosvenor Mine disaster inquiry

By Terry Cook, 28 September 2020

Like other government-initiated inquiries into industrial disasters, the inquiry was called to hose down widespread public outrage in the wake of the mine explosion.

26 September 2020

As Trump nominates ultra-right jurist
Biden downplays danger of election coup

By Patrick Martin, 26 September 2020

“State of Emergency” declared in three states as protests continue over cover-up of Breonna Taylor slaying

By Jacob Crosse, 26 September 2020

Killing by Colombian military escalates protests against state violence

By Andrea Lobo, 26 September 2020

Spain’s PSOE-Podemos government assaults protests vs. herd immunity policy

By Alejandro López, 26 September 2020

Brazilian educators call strikes against homicidal reopening of schools

By Tomas Castanheira, 26 September 2020

New bailout for UK corporations as COVID-19 infections rocket

By Robert Stevens, 26 September 2020

Thousands at UK universities infected with coronavirus as new term opens

By Simon Whelan and Barry Mason, 26 September 2020

Record growth of COVID-19 infections in Eastern Europe

By Markus Salzmann, 26 September 2020

A murderous pact: The European Union to deport refugees

By Peter Schwarz, 26 September 2020

Renewed mass arrests target Kurdish-nationalist HDP in Turkey

By Ulaş Ateşçi, 26 September 2020

Washington continues to ramp up tensions with Beijing over Taiwan

By Ben McGrath, 26 September 2020

US Congress threatens to cut funding for Philippines police and military

By Tom Peters, 26 September 2020

Detroit students stage sickout in opposition to the district’s back-to-school plan

By Genevieve Leigh, 26 September 2020

“Everyone I work with thinks that it is absurd to put us all in harm’s way”
Tennessee parents and educators speak out against unsafe school openings

By the World Socialist Web Site Educators Newsletter, 26 September 2020

Pennsylvania nursing students demand refunds, financial support due to COVID policies

By Alex Johnson, 26 September 2020

White House nears antitrust lawsuit against Google while advancing new censorship rules for social media

By Kevin Reed, 26 September 2020

US college football season set to begin early November

By Andy Thompson, 26 September 2020

Western US wildfires point to worsening trends of global warming

By Alexa Castro, 26 September 2020

Canadian PM Trudeau provides political cover for criminal back-to-work drive

By Roger Jordan, 26 September 2020

Australian government boosts bank profits as social misery deepens

By Mike Head, 26 September 2020

Former Australian PM Paul Keating lashes central bank

By Nick Beams, 26 September 2020

New in Chinese

菲共(CPP)创立者西松重新吐出针对托洛茨基主义的斯大林主义谎言

作者: Peter Symonds, 2020年9月24日

西松在第二次采访中为他在政治上破产的“半殖民地,半封建”的论点辩解。这是孤注一掷的一着棋,目的是阻止对CPP的支持的大量流失,并打压来自其队伍中的一切质疑。

New in Russian

Эта неделя в истории
75 лет назад: Вьетнамские сталинисты начали кровавую кампанию против троцкистского движения

26 сентября 2020 г.

На этой неделе в сентябре 1945 года вьетнамские сталинисты во главе с Хо Ши Мином развернули жестокую кампанию, направленную на ликвидацию вьетнамского троцкистского движения.

New in Turkish

Hükümet HDP’ye ve muhalefete yönelik baskıyı arttırıyor

Ulaş Ateşçi, 26 Eylül 2020

Dışarıdaki savaş ile içerideki polis devleti uygulamaları arasındaki doğrudan bağlantı, emperyalist savaşa karşı çıkmadan demokratik hakların savunulamayacağını göstermektedir.

New in Portuguese

Professores pernambucanos entram em greve contra reabertura homicida das escolas

Tomas Castanheira, 26 Setembro 2020

Os esforços da elite dominante brasileira em reabrir as escolas em meio à situação catastrófica da pandemia de COVID-19 estão se deparando com uma onda crescente de resistência.

New in Spanish

Tras exoneración de asesinos de Breonna Taylor: el camino a seguir en la lucha contra la violencia policial

Niles Niemuth, 28 septiembre 2020

La presencia ubicua de la violencia policial en EE.UU., con aproximadamente mil personas asesinadas cada año, está vinculada al aumento extremo de la desigualdad social y las tensiones de clases.

Mientras Trump nomina jurista de ultraderecha
Biden minimiza el peligro de un golpe electoral

Patrick Martin, 28 septiembre 2020

En una entrevista con MSNBC, el candidato presidencial demócrata trató de difundir la complacencia sobre la amenaza de dictadura de Trump.

Asesinato del ejército colombiano intensifica protestas contra violencia estatal

Andrea Lobo, 28 septiembre 2020

La ola de malestar está convergiendo con la oposición a la devastación causada por la guerra contrainsurgente del Estado, que ha cobrado más de 200.000 vidas de civiles.

El gobierno español del PSOE-Podemos reprime las protestas contra la política de inmunidad colectiva

Alejandro López, 28 septiembre 2020

Conforme el gobierno español amenaza con desplegar 7.500 soldados en Madrid en medio de un repunte del COVID-19 en toda Europa, esta represión supone una amenaza para toda la clase trabajadora.

Lecciones de la huelga de estudiantes de posgrado de la Universidad de Michigan

Jóvenes y Estudiantes Internacionales por la Igualdad Social (EE. UU.), 28 septiembre 2020

A lo largo del curso de la huelga, muchos estudiantes afirmaron admirablemente que su lucha no era sólo por la salud y la seguridad de ellos mismos, sino de la comunidad en su conjunto.

Decisión sobre la extradición de Assange programada para el próximo año

Thomas Scripps y Laura Tiernan, 28 septiembre 2020

Aceptando el argumento de la defensa de que cualquier cambio dramático en los hechos que rodean el caso antes del 13 de noviembre tendría que ser tenido en cuenta, Baraitser preguntó: "¿Qué impacto en su caso, digamos, tendrán las elecciones americanas?"

New in French

Pour une grève générale afin de stopper la résurgence de COVID-19 en Europe!

Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Allemagne) et Socialist Equality Party (Royaume Uni) et Parti de l’égalité socialiste (France) et Sosyalist Eşitlik (Turquie), 26 septembre 2020

La campagne des gouvernements européens pour une réouverture complète des écoles, des lieux de travail et des lieux de rassemblement public a ouvert la voie à une résurgence dévastatrice du virus.

Pourquoi les démocrates ne luttent pas contre Trump?

Andre Damon, 26 septembre 2020

Les démocrates sont déterminés à empêcher l’intervention de la grande masse de la population en opposition à Trump, qui remettrait en cause les intérêts de l’oligarchie financière et les intérêts géopolitiques de l’impérialisme américain.

Les leçons de l'histoire: les élections 2000 et le nouveau « conflit irrépressible »

David North, 26 septembre 2020

Cette conférence a été prononcée par David North, rédacteur en chef du World Socialist Web Site et secrétaire national du Parti de l'égalité socialiste américain, le SEP (Socialist Equality Party), lors d'une réunion publique du SEP australien tenue le 3 décembre dernier à Sydney.

La contestation étudiante face à la politique d’immunité collective s’étend à toute la Grèce

Alex Lantier, 26 septembre 2020

Des lycéens ont défilé jeudi à Athènes et à Thessalonique alors que les occupations de lycées et les grèves des médecins, des travailleurs portuaires et des compagnies aériennes se répandent.

Pourquoi Unifor cache-t-il les détails de l’entente de principe conclue avec Ford Canada?
Les travailleurs de l'automobile doivent exiger une divulgation complète du contrat avant tout vote de ratification!

Carl Bronski, 26 septembre 2020

Si Unifor obtient gain de cause, les 6300 travailleurs de Ford Canada ne seront même pas autorisés à poser les yeux sur une copie de l’entente de principe avant d'être conduits sur la page de vote électronique lors de la réunion de ratification en ligne de ce dimanche.

New in German

Für einen Generalstreik, um die zweite Corona-Welle in Europa aufzuhalten!

der Sozialistischen Gleichheitspartei und der Socialist Equality Party (UK) und der Parti de l’égalité socialiste (Frankreich) und Sosyalist Eşitlik (Türkei), 26. September 2020

Die europäischen Regierungen beharrten darauf, dass Schulen und Betriebe wieder öffnen und Massenevents wieder stattfinden. Dies hat einem verheerenden Wiederaufflammen der Pandemie den Weg bereitet.

Warum wollen die Demokraten nicht gegen Trump kämpfen?

Andre Damon, 26. September 2020

Die Demokraten sind fest entschlossen, das Eingreifen der breiten Mehrheit der Bevölkerung im Kampf gegen Trump zu verhindern, um die Interessen der Finanzoligarchie und die geopolitische Interessen des amerikanischen Imperialismus zu verteidigen.

Griechenland: Schülerproteste gegen Politik der Herdenimmunität weiten sich aus

Alex Lantier, 26. September 2020

Am Donnerstag demonstrierten Schüler in Athen und Thessaloniki, während sich die Schulbesetzungen und Streiks von Ärzten, Hafenarbeitern und Luftfahrtpersonal ausweiten.

Stella Morris, Assanges Partnerin, appelliert an australische Regierung

Oscar Grenfell, 26. September 2020

„Die australische Regierung kann nicht einfach den Kopf in den Sand stecken und sagen: 'Damit haben wir nichts zu tun'.“

Trotzkis letztes Jahr
Teil 6

David North, 26. September 2020

Eine Würdigung von Leo Trotzkis Werk in seinem letzten Lebensjahr, anlässlich des 80. Jahrestags der Ermordung dieses großen Theoretikers und Strategen der sozialistischen Weltrevolution.

New in Norwegian

Trumps coup d’état-valg

Joseph Kishore og David North, 25. september 2020

Trump har offentlig erklært at han ikke vil overføre makten fredelig dersom han taper valget den 3. november.

Utbrudd av protester over hvitvasking av politidrap på Breonna Taylor i Kentucky

Niles Niemuth, 25. september 2020

Ingen av de to betjentene som skjøt skura av 22 kuler som drepte 26-år-gamle Breonna Taylor i hennes hjem i Louisville i Kentucky, ble siktet av storjuryen oppnevnt av delstatens myndigheter.

Politirepresjon fortsettes under nasjonalstreik i Colombi

Andrea Lobo, 25. september 2020

Politiet brøt opp massedemonstrasjonen i Bogotá med vold, og bekreftet videreføringen av Ivan Duque-administrasjonens og hele den kolombianske styringsklassens dreining i retning av diktatur.

USA og Colombia iscenesatte krigsspill, samtidig som Pompeo truet Venezuela

Bill Van Auken, 25. september 2020

Pompeos turné i Latin-Amerika forleden uke var rettet mot eskalert aggresjon mot Venezuela, så vel som mot Kinas innflytelse i regionen.

Other Languages

Perspective

Is Trump preparing an “October Surprise”?

28 September 2020

With the US presidential election barely five weeks away, Washington is stoking conflicts across the globe, first and foremost with China.

Earlier Perspectives »

SEP US presidential election campaign

Announcements

Announcing the Relaunch of the World Socialist Web Site on October 2, 2020
A statement by David North, chairman of the International Editorial Board

David North, 18 September 2020

On Friday, October 2, 2020, the World Socialist Web Site will be relaunched with an entirely new design and with vastly enhanced functionality.

History

Seventy-five years since the Stalinist murder of Vietnamese Trotskyist leader Ta Thu Thau

By Patrick Martin, 28 September 2020

The leader of a Trotskyist group in Saigon, which had a sizeable following in the working class, was executed on the orders of the leadership of the Vietnamese Communist Party.

The lessons of the 1953 mass uprising (hartal) in Sri Lanka

By Saman Gunadasa, 2 September 2020

Featured Commentary

The New York Times and Nikole Hannah-Jones abandon key claims of the 1619 Project

By Tom Mackaman and David North, 22 September 2020

The Times has abandoned, without any public announcement or explanation, the central thesis that 1619, not 1776, was the “true founding” of the United States.

Why won’t the Democrats fight Trump?

By Andre Damon, 25 September 2020

Trump’s coup d’état election

By Joseph Kishore and David North, 24 September 2020

Lessons from history: The 2000 elections and the new “irrepressible conflict”

By David North, 25 September 2020

The Persecution of Julian Assange

Free Julian Assange! The political issues confronting educators in the fight for freedom of information

By the Committee for Public Education (Australia), 28 September 2020

“Teachers and educators are among those owing a debt to Assange and to the whistleblowers who courageously decided to leak classified information in the public interest.”

Decision on Assange’s extradition set for next year

By Thomas Scripps and Laura Tiernan, 26 September 2020

Assange lawyers expose politically biased medical evidence

By Thomas Scripps and Laura Tiernan, 25 September 2020

More on the campaign to defend Julian Assange »

80 Years Since the Assassination of Leon Trotsky

Trotsky’s Last Year
Part six

By David North, 8 September 2020

An appraisal, on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of Trotsky’s assassination, of the work of the great theoretician and strategist of World Socialist Revolution during the final year of his life.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Socialist Equality Party

Public meeting: New Zealand’s COVID election, the breakdown of capitalism and the fight for socialism

By Socialist Equality Group (New Zealand), 28 September 2020

The Socialist Equality Group (New Zealand) will hold a public online meeting, via Zoom, on Saturday October 3 at 4:00p.m. NZ time.

Sri Lankan SEP holds online lecture on how to fight Rajapakse’s dictatorial moves

By our correspondents, 23 September 2020

Form independent rank-and-file safety committees to oppose the deadly reopening of schools!

By the Sosyalist Eşitlik, 23 September 2020

Australian ruling elite moves to junk coronavirus safety measures—the working class must intervene to answer the pandemic threat!

By the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), 17 September 2020

Commentary

Washington D.C. proposes to remove the names of Jefferson, Franklin and others from public places

By Dominic Gustavo, 28 September 2020

While the mayor of the US capital prepares to delete the names of revolutionaries and abolitionists, she recently renamed a building after disgraced former mayor Marion Barry.

After the exoneration of Breonna Taylor’s killers: The way forward in the fight against police violence

By Niles Niemuth, 26 September 2020

Lessons of the University of Michigan graduate student strike

By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (US), 26 September 2020

For a general strike to halt the resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe!

By Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Germany), Socialist Equality Party (UK), Parti de l’égalité socialiste (France) and Sosyalist Eşitlik (Turkey), 25 September 2020

Trump on coronavirus pandemic: “Virtually nobody” affected

By Joseph Kishore—SEP candidate for US President, 23 September 2020

Jacobin magazine embraces Trump administration’s murderous “herd immunity” policy

By Andre Damon, 21 September 2020

Forty-eight years since Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines

By John Malvar, 23 September 2020

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020)

By Tom Carter, 21 September 2020

No to a Greek-Turkish war in the eastern Mediterranean!

International Committee of the Fourth International, 12 September 2020

SEP (US) Congress resolution
The global pandemic, the class struggle, and the tasks of the Socialist Equality Party

1 August 2020

Defend Dr. Joseph Scalice against Stalinist slanders

“A history that the working class has a right to know and must learn”
Statements from the Philippines, Australia, Japan and South Korea defend Dr. Joseph Scalice against Stalinist slanders

By our reporters, 28 September 2020

“Scalice, by exposing the Communist Party of the Philippines, has done a service to the whole anti-capitalist movement and we stand in complete solidarity with him.”

Educators must defend historian Joseph Scalice from Stalinist attacks

By the Committee for Public Education, 26 September 2020

IYSSE at UC Berkeley condemns Philippine Stalinist “slanders and falsehoods” against Dr. Joseph Scalice

By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at UC Berkeley, 25 September 2020

Stalinist leader Sison “is desperate to prevent Filipino workers from learning their own history”
More letters from the US, Philippines, Australia, India supporting Dr. Joseph Scalice

By our reporters, 25 September 2020

Joseph Scalice responds to Stalinist Sison’s lies that he is a “CIA agent”

By Joseph Scalice, 24 September 2020

25 years ago: O.J. Simpson acquitted in murder trial

On October 3, 1995, retired American football star O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.

More »

50 years ago: Egyptian President Nasser dies

On September 28, 1970, Gamal Abdel Nasser, the president of Egypt since 1956, died unexpectedly of a heart attack.

More »

75 years ago: US General Patton demoted after opposing “denazification” in Germany

On September 28, 1945, US General George S. Patton was removed from his position as military governor of Bavaria in Allied-occupied Germany.

More »

100 years ago: Chicago “Black Sox” baseball scandal begins

On September 28, 1920, seven players and one former player from the Chicago White Sox baseball team were indicted for entering into a conspiracy with organized crime figures to deliberately lose games in the 1919 World Series in return for money.

More »

Arts Review

Metropolitan Opera announces cancellation of entire 2020–2021 season

By Fred Mazelis, 26 September 2020

Toronto International Film Festival 2020: Part one
76 Days: The drama of the Wuhan lockdown
Under the Open Sky from Japan, The Best Is Yet to Come from China

Toronto International Film Festival 2020: Part 2
Frances McDormand in Nomadland—the danger of making a virtue out of necessity—and David Byrne’s American Utopia (directed by Spike Lee)

Workers Struggles

Las Vegas health reports detail spread of COVID-19 in casinos

By Adam Mclean, 24 September 2020

“Lear is hell”: Workers speak out as COVID-19 outbreak at Indiana auto parts plant worsens

By Marcus Day, 24 September 2020

As Creek Fire become the largest in California history, farmworkers continue to labor without protection from smoke

By Aditya Veeraiah and Evan Winters, 24 September 2020

International Youth and Students for Social Equality

University of Melbourne student union enforces club affiliation requirement amid pandemic

By Eric Ludlow, 21 September 2020

Military research at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

By Gregor Link, 18 September 2020

Science

Catastrophic wildfires, corporate air pollution, and COVID-19: A collision of crises

By Henry Hakamaki, 21 September 2020

Trump administration continues assault on endangered species

By Adria French, 19 September 2020

The precedents for disease eradication through international cooperation
Part two

By Frank Gaglioti, 16 September 2020

The precedents for disease eradication through international cooperation
Part one

Book Review

Book Review
Wilmington’s Lie: The 1898 white supremacist coup in North Carolina
David Zucchino, Atlantic Monthly Press, 336 pages

By Fred Mazelis, 17 September 2020

The US Election

The Civil War Election

Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (US) Political Committee, 9 September 2020

University of Michigan graduate students take a stand for life against profit

By Joseph Kishore - Socialist Equality Party candidate for US president, 11 September 2020

Supreme Court refuses to hear SEP challenge to Michigan ballot access denial

By Kevin Reed, 9 September 2020

The politics of oligarchy: Federal appeals court blocks SEP challenge to anti-democratic ballot access laws in California

By Joseph Kishore—Socialist Equality Party candidate for US President, 8 August 2020

The Socialist Equality Party denounces Trump’s mass arrest of 2,000 immigrants!

By Norissa Santa Cruz—SEP candidate for US vice president, 4 September 2020

The socialist answer to the paltry $600 million Flint settlement

By Joseph Kishore—SEP Presidential Candidate, 24 August 2020

Socialist Equality Party (Australia)

The coronavirus pandemic, the crisis of capitalism and the tasks of the SEP

By the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), 26 August 2020

Build the International Youth and Students for Social Equality!

Free Julian Assange! Defend Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden!

SEP (Australia) holds successful fifth national congress

Socialist Equality Party (US)

Now available
The Fourth International and the Perspective of World Socialist Revolution: 1986–1995

12 August 2020

The paperback edition of this critical book on the history of the Fourth International is now available.