17 June 2009

Congressional Budget Office projection
Democratic health bill would leave 37 million uninsured in 2019

By Kate Randall, 17 June 2009

A Congressional Budget Office report estimates that health care legislation being drafted by a Democratic Senate committee would leave 36 million Americans uninsured, while costing $1 trillion over 10 years.

Sri Lankan government hands greater powers to Chief of Defence Staff

By Sarath Kumara, 17 June 2009

A Bill presented to parliament will create a new Chief of Defence Staff post with substantial powers, further strengthening the military’s role and consolidating the politico-military cabal that now surrounds President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Britain: Brown’s pledge to “clean up” Parliament masks austerity drive

By Julie Hyland, 17 June 2009

Prime Minister Gordon Brown set out his government’s plans to “clean up” Parliament last week.

US Supreme Court refuses to take up case of the “Cuban 5”

By Bill Van Auken, 17 June 2009

The refusal of the US Supreme Court to review the case of five Cubans jailed for over ten years on espionage charges lets stand an act of state persecution that exposes the fraud of Washington’s so-called war on terrorism.

Major banks made whole in GM bankruptcy

By Tom Eley, 17 June 2009

While the Obama administration has used GM’s bankruptcy to force plant closings, layoffs, wage and benefit cuts, sacrifices in working conditions, and the forced closure of thousands of auto dealerships, it has acted to ensure that the major lenders to the automaker will not lose a penny of their investments. Some will even turn a handsome profit.

Canada: Liberals wage “phony” war on Conservative government

By Keith Jones, 17 June 2009

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had two private meetings with Michael Ignatieff, the leader of the Liberal Official Opposition, yesterday in an attempt to stave off the defeat of his Conservative government in a vote Friday.

China relations behind Australian defence minister’s downfall

By James Cogan, 17 June 2009

A persistent campaign by unknown figures within the Defence Department, and possibly within the armed forces itself, forced the resignation of Rudd Labor’s Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon on June 4.

Hungary: What accounts for the success of the extreme right?

By Markus Salzmann, 17 June 2009

The election result for the neo-fascist Jobbik organization in Hungary demonstrates how extreme right organizations have been able to exploit the economic and political crisis in Eastern Europe.

New in German

Iran nach der Wahl:
Unruhen breiten sich aus und Westmächte erhöhen den Druck

Von Bill Van Auken, 17. Juni 2009

Über hunderttausend Menschen protestierten am Montag in Teheran gegen das Ergebnis der Präsidentschaftswahl vom vergangenen Freitag. Derweil unterstützen westeuropäische Mächte die Forderung der Opposition nach einer Untersuchung über Wahlfälschung.

Kita-Streik: 30.000 demonstrieren in Köln

Von unseren Korrespondenten, 17. Juni 2009

Weit mehr Erzieherinnen als erwartet kamen am Montag nach Köln, um für bessere Löhne und Arbeitsbedingungen zu demonstrieren.

In Kalifornien unterstützt Obama Angriffe auf die Arbeiterklasse

Von Joe Kishore, 17. Juni 2009

Mit Zustimmung Barack Obamas wird in Kalifornien die Wirtschaftskrise benutzt, um Sozialprogramme zu kürzen und den Lebensstandard der Arbeiterklasse zu senken.

Israel weitet seine Siedlungen aus

Von Jean Shaoul, 17. Juni 2009

Der israelische Premierminister Benjamin Netanjahu weigert sich, der Forderung des amerikanischen Präsidenten Barack Obama nachzukommen und den Bau neuer Siedlungen im Westjordanland einzustellen.

New in French

Grande-Bretagne : la crise du Parti travailliste

Par Chris Marsden, 17 juin 2009

Des luttes fractionnelles au sein du gouvernement travailliste ont abouti lundi à une impasse après qu’un groupe de rebelles dont le défi avait été encouragé par les médias, a échoué dans sa tentative de forcer le premier ministre Gordon Brown à démissionner de son poste de dirigeant du parti.

La France ouvre sa première base militaire permanente dans le golfe Persique

Par Kumaran Ira, 17 juin 2009

L'inauguration de la base militaire française aux Emirats arabes unis démontre que le capitalisme français est désireux d'assurer ses intérêts dans le golfe Persique et démontre son ambition de jouer un rôle sur la scène mondiale.

Perspective

For workers’ power and a socialist Iran

17 June 2009

The political crisis unfolding in Iran raises fundamental issues for the working class. While there are tactical differences between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi, both are tested defenders of the existing regime and the interests of the Iranian bourgeoisie.

Earlier Perspectives »

Science

DarwinMarx and Darwin: Two great revolutionary thinkers of the nineteenth century
Part 1

By Chris Talbot, 17 June 2009

Marx and Engels immediately recognised the significance of Darwin’s theory when On the Origin of Species appeared 150 years ago, laying out a scientific conception of the process of historical evolution of the biological world.

Arts Review

Orson Welles, the blacklist and Hollywood filmmakingAn interview with Joseph McBride, author of What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?
Orson Welles, the blacklist and Hollywood filmmaking—Part 2

By David Walsh and Joanne Laurier, 17 June 2009

While in the Bay Area for the recent San Francisco Film Festival, David Walsh and Joanne Laurier had a lengthy conversation with Joseph McBride, author of What Ever Happened to Orson Welles? A Portrait of an Independent Career (2006), an unusual and valuable book.

Workers Struggles

CologneKindergarten staff strike in Germany: 30,000 demonstrate in Cologne

Our correspondence, 17 June 2009

Tens of thousands of kindergarten and child care staff protested in Cologne June 15, but union officials provided a platform for German government representatives at the mass rally.

Socialist Equality Party

SEP Detroit campaign launches election web site

The Socialist Equality Party has launched a new web site for its Detroit mayoral campaign.

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