World Socialist Web Site

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

29 September 2020

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Armenian-Azeri fighting escalates as war danger surges across Middle East

By Alex Lantier, 29 September 2020

News that Washington may withdraw its diplomats and troops from Iraq point to the rising danger of global war before the November US presidential elections.

Armenian-Azeri conflict erupts in Caucasus, threatening wider war

New York City resumes in-person schools as COVID-19 infections continue to rise

By Alberto Escalera, 29 September 2020

The reopening of the nation’s largest school district threatens to produce a catastrophe in a city where nearly 25,000 have already succumbed to the deadly virus.

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

By the 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.

Teacher protests surge in Southern California as schools reopen

By Kimie Saito and Marc Wells, 29 September 2020

In Orange County, California, educators in at least four school districts are taking part in courageous protests against returning to work under unsafe conditions in defiance of their own unions’ recommendations.

Wave of anti-government protests across Egypt

By Jean Shaoul, 29 September 2020

Protests have been small but testify to the social and economic powder keg over which the El-Sisi regime presides.

New wildfires cause mass evacuations in California’s Napa Valley

By Rafael Azul, 29 September 2020

There are currently 27 major wildfires in California. In some areas, evacuations are barely staying ahead of the spreading flames.

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

More than 2,000 schools in UK hit by COVID-19 outbreaks as thousands of children and staff sent home

By Tom Pearce, 29 September 2020

Thousands of children are being sent home to self-isolate, in some cases to isolate with vulnerable parents.

Johnson government rolls out Kickstart youth cheap labour scheme

London bus drivers challenge Metroline over new COVID-19 infections at Cricklewood garage

By our reporters, 29 September 2020

Drivers are calling for urgent safety measures to prevent the further spread of infection. Their open letter to Metroline is published in full.

Sri Lankan government lies exposed as new COVID-19 infections emerge

By Pradeep Ramanayaka, 29 September 2020

Despite the Rajapakse government’s boasting that it has curbed the pandemic, the working class is confronted with the threat that the virus could rapidly spread at any moment.

The Asgaard security firm: Neo-Nazi networks in German army and police

By Jan Ritter, 29 September 2020

Asgaard advertises among and employs former and active police officers and soldiers, who were described by “Kontraste” as highly specialised men.

With phoney promises of “job security,” Unifor rams through Ford Canada contract

By Roger Jordan, 29 September 2020

Despite the extremely limited information provided in Unifor’s “highlights” brochure, many of the union’s key arguments in favour of the deal have proven to be self-serving and false.

Hyundai union enforces wage freeze in latest South Korean sellout

By Ben McGrath, 29 September 2020

The Hyundai contract is part of a growing assault on auto workers by big business with the aid of the trade unions.

Germany railway workers’ union agrees to wage cuts at Deutsche Bahn

By Marianne Arens, 29 September 2020

Together with the management of Deutsche Bahn AG and the transport minister, the EVG union supports the restructuring of the railways at the cost of the workforce.

US military suicides spike 20 percent in 2020

By Chase Lawrence, 29 September 2020

US Army leaders have suggested that the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has played a part in the sharp rise in suicides this year.

Federal district judge blocks President Trump’s TikTok download ban

By Kevin Reed, 29 September 2020

A US district court judge blocked Trump’s emergency ban of the video sharing app on Sunday, saying it violates the exchange of “information and informational materials” protected by the constitution.

28 September 2020

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

By Benjamin Mateus, 28 September 2020

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

By Kevin Reed, 28 September 2020

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

By Patrick Martin, 28 September 2020

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

By Jacob Crosse, 28 September 2020

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

By Alex Findijs, 28 September 2020

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

By Luke Galvin, 28 September 2020

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

By Alejandro López, 28 September 2020

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

By Mike Head, 28 September 2020

US hits leading Chinese chip maker

By Nick Beams, 28 September 2020

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

By Jerry White, 28 September 2020

More evidence of management spying on Amazon workers’ political activities

By Tom Carter, 28 September 2020

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

By Gregor Link, 28 September 2020

Cheaper flammable cladding was ordered for Grenfell tower to save time

By Charles Hixson, 28 September 2020

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

By Terry Cook, 28 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

Trump’s tax returns and the parasitism of the financial oligarchy

29 September 2020

The New York Times has exposed more than Trump. He personifies the corruption of the US ruling elite as a whole, and both its political parties.

Earlier Perspectives »

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.

SEP US presidential election campaign

The Persecution of Julian Assange

Assange faces a fate “worse than death” in US prisons, witnesses tell court

By Thomas Scripps, 29 September 2020

No amount of lame denials can hide the fact that if Assange is put in the clutches of these people, he will be disappeared into the darkest corner of the US prison system.

Australian journalist Mary Kostakidis: Assange is a “highly principled individual with enormous courage”

By Oscar Grenfell, 29 September 2020

“This war on journalism is an element of the rise in authoritarianism in countries that in the past championed press freedom, but can no longer claim to do so.”

More on the campaign to defend Julian Assange »

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.

Jacobin magazine pleads with Biden and the Democrats to fight Trump

By Genevieve Leigh, 29 September 2020

One could hardly have a more inane analysis of American politics than that offered by Jacobin, which explains the unwillingness of the Democrats to oppose Trump’s coup plotting as the product of “learned helplessness.”

Is Trump preparing an “October Surprise”?

By Bill Van Auken, 28 September 2020

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

Arts Review

Tenor Placido Domingo, defending his character and reputation, retracts “apologies” for alleged sexual harassment

By Fred Mazelis, 29 September 2020

Operatic tenor Placido Domingo told an interviewer for Spanish television last Saturday that his apologies last February for alleged sexual misconduct had been taken out of context, and that he was not guilty of abuse or mistreatment.

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)*

Defend Dr. Joseph Scalice against Stalinist slanders

“The fight here is not just to defend Dr. Scalice’s works but to oppose continuing historical revisionism”
More letters from the Philippines defending Dr. Joseph Scalice against libellous allegations by Communist Party founder Sison

By our reporters, 29 September 2020

We urge readers to send us statements in support of historian Dr. Scalice, who has been slandered as a “CIA agent” for his exposure of the reactionary politics of Maoism.

“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

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

Workers Struggles

Police attack protests in Honduras, Mexico and Chile while labor unrest spreads in Brazil and Argentina
Workers Struggles: The Americas

29 September 2020

Protesting health care workers in Chile and teachers in Mexico faced police repression while call center workers in Cordoba, Argentina and transit workers in Recife, Brazil have launched strikes.

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

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

#Trotsky2020: A Morenoite slander against the legacy of Leon Trotsky

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.

Socialist Equality Party (Australia) holds online health workers’ forum

By our reporter, 29 September 2020

Australian health workers speak out over the lack of PPE and proper training to deal with COVID-19, and the government’s run-down of the healthcare system.

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

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 »