United States
Obama signs bills for record Pentagon, Homeland Security spending
By Patrick Martin, October 30, 2009
President Obama signed legislation Wednesday authorizing $680 billion for the Pentagon, the largest military budget ever. On Thursday, he signed a bill giving another $44 billion to the Department of ...
The swine flu pandemic and the market
By Tom Eley, October 30, 2009
The Obama administration entrusted preparations for the H1N1 pandemic to pharmaceutical corporations and stood by as state and local governments laid off public health workers. The result is an acute ...
US: GDP figure masks deepening economic crisis
By Barry Grey, October 30, 2009
The Commerce Department on Thursday reported that the US gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.5 percent on an annualized basis in the third quarter, breaking a string of four consecutive quarters of ne...
US: Lack of insurance linked to thousands of child deaths
By Naomi Spencer, October 30, 2009
Lack of health insurance may have caused or directly contributed to the deaths of nearly 17,000 children in the United States over the past two decades, a new study has found.
Swine flu vaccine shortage disrupts local response plans
By Andre Damon, October 30, 2009
People lined up at treatment centers throughout the country this week to receive swine flu immunizations.
The way forward for Ford workers
By Socialist Equality Party, October 29, 2009
With votes tallied at factories employing more than a third of Ford’s 41,000 US workers, the concessions contract being pushed by the UAW appears headed for defeat.
What are US troops dying for in Afghanistan?
By Bill Van Auken, October 29, 2009
After several days in which US troops suffered their worst casualties in the eight-year-old war in Afghanistan, it was revealed Wednesday that President Hamid Karzai’s brother, reputedly a key figur...
Chicago city and transit budgets pose mass layoffs and deep cuts in services
By Alexander Fangmann, October 29, 2009
The city of Chicago and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) have recently announced budget proposals for 2010 that include furloughs and layoffs that will affect thousands of workers in and around Chi...
Pension fund probe into possible bribery of former Los Angeles deputy mayor
By Kevin Mitchell, October 29, 2009
The California Public Employee’s System (CalPERS) is investigating allegations that over $50 million in fees were paid to agents who directed the pension fund’s investments.
Israel, the United States and international law
By Jean Shaoul, October 28, 2009
Israel has responded to accusations of war crimes during its assault on Gaza by denouncing the United Nations and seeking to overturn existing international law.
October the bloodiest month for US troops since Afghan war began
By Bill Van Auken, October 28, 2009
The deaths of eight more soldiers in bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan Tuesday made October the bloodiest month for US occupation forces since the war began in 2001.
US companies, governments continue to slash jobs and pay
By David Walsh, October 28, 2009
The US economy continues to shed jobs, wreaking havoc on countless lives, even as government officials prepare to announce the official end of the recession that began in December 2007.
