20 December 2012

Obama announces task force on gun violence

By Joseph Kishore, 20 December 2012

While working to obscure the social roots of the mass killing in Connecticut, the Obama administration is seizing on the tragedy to press for expanded police powers under the banner of “gun control.”

UBS Libor-rigging settlement exposes pervasive bank fraud

By Andre Damon, 20 December 2012

The Libor scandal has laid bare the rampant criminality in the operations of the world's major banks.

Daughter of former South Korean dictator wins presidency

By Ben McGrath, 20 December 2012

Park Geun-hye’s election represents a turn to authoritarian forms of rule by the South Korean corporate elite.

US, Arab allies call for intervention in Syria after bombing of Palestinian camp

By Jean Shaoul, 20 December 2012

All media reports of the bombardment of Yarmouk stress that the Syrian government is guilty of a crime and must pay a price.

Bangladesh factory fire report blames “sabotage”

By Oliver Campbell, 20 December 2012

The report covers up the responsibility of the government and the major international corporations that exploit cheap labour in Bangladesh.

Pakistan: Ethnic violence in Karachi deadliest since 1994

By Ali Ismail, 20 December 2012

Pakistan’s largest city is being ravaged by increasingly bloody ethnic and sectarian violence, as gangs associated with rival establishment political parties fight over turf and criminal rackets.

Government threatens UK teachers with pay cuts as punishment for industrial action

By Julie Hyland, 20 December 2012

By threatening teachers with pay cuts, the government intends to create a precedent that will be used against all public-sector workers.

US Department of Agriculture pushes for weaker rules on poultry industry

By James Brewer, 20 December 2012

Under new rules, the USDA will remove inspectors and speed up production lines.

New in Persian

مشخصات رفراندوم قانون اساسي در مصر: ميزان مشاركت پايين همراه با سوظن به تقلبات در رأيگيري

17 دسامبر 2012 يوهانس اشترن

مرحله اول رأيگيري پيش نويس قانون اساسي در كشور مصر در 10 استان از 27 استان، از جمله در دو تا از بزرگترين شهرهاي اين كشور، در قاهره و شهر ساحلي اسكندريه روز دوشنبه صورت گرفت. براي 17 استان باقي مانده، تاريخ رأيگيري روز 22 دسامبر تعيين شده است.

New in Spanish

Los extorsionistas de NML Capital

Por Ernst Wolff, 20 Diciembre 2012

El fondo buitre NML Capital ha demandado a la Argentina en los tribunales neoyorkinos por más de 1.3 mil millones de dólares.

El ingreso nacional Australiano disminuye a medida que se intensifica la recesión mundial

Por Mike Head, 20 Diciembre 2012

Lejos de ser inmune a la crisis economical global, Australia se acerca a una nueva recession económica.

New in French

Le nouveau gouvernement japonais engage un dangereux tournant vers le militarisme

Par Peter Symonds, 20 décembre 2012

Le nationalisme droitier qui imprègne la campagne électorale montre la détermination de la classe dirigeante japonaise à réaffirmer ses intérêts par tous les moyens possibles, y compris la force militaire.

La centrale syndicale tunisienne UGTT annule la grève générale de 24h contre les islamistes

Par Antoine Lerougetel et Alex Lantier, 20 décembre 2012

A la dernière minute la centrale syndicale UGTT annule la grève générale de 24h visant à protester contre l'attaque de gros bras Islamistes contre des adhérents de l'UGTT

New in Romanian

Mass-media şi politicienii ascund rădăcinile sociale ale crimelor din Conneticut

De Joseph Kishore, 20 decembrie 2012

În mass-media americană şi în cadrul clasei politice nu poate fi găsită nicio analiză privind condiţiile sociale şi politice, care dau naştere la crimele în masă din SUA.

New in Turkish

Sonu gelmeyen kemer sıkma

Peter Schwarz, 20 Aralık 2012

Gerçekte, Yunanistan’da ve Avrupa’da, işçi sınıfının toplumsal kazanımları ve demokratik hakları, yalnızca, kapitalist sistemin alaşağı edilmesinden ve toplumun sosyalist temelde yeniden örgütlenmesinden yana devrimci bir perspektife dayanarak savunulabilir. SYRİZA, ‘Sol Parti’ler, sendikalar ve onlara bağlı bir dizi sahte sol örgüt, bu tür bir perspektife şiddetle karşılar.

Mısır’ın önerilen anayasası diktatörce yetkileri ve askeri yönetimi yüceltiyor

Chris Marsden, 20 Aralık 2012

Mısır’daki Kurucu Meclis, [29 Kasım] Perşembe günü, Müslüman Kardeşler ve Devlet Başkanı Muhammed Mursi tarafından gerçekleştirilen saldırgan bir hamleyle, hazırlanmış yeni anayasayı oylamaya başladı.

Seçimlerin ardından: Obama Ortadoğu’daki savaş kışkırtıcılığını kızıştırıyor

Bill Van Auken, 20 Aralık 2012

Geniş bir sözde liberal ve “solcu” kesimi tarafından “insani” müdahaleyi gerektiren bir kriz olarak gösterilen Suriye’deki savaşın acımasız ve kanlı bir fetih faaliyeti olduğu her zamankinden daha açık bir şekilde ortaya çıkmaktadır. Washington ve bütün büyük güçler, kanlı bir mezhep savaşını kışkırtmada, Beşar Esad rejimini devirmeyi amaçlayan daha doğrudan bir askeri müdahalenin ve onun müttefiki İran’a karşı daha büyük bir savaşın hazırlığında yer almaktadır.

New in German

Neue japanische Regierung stärkt Militarismus

Von Peter Symonds, 20. Dezember 2012

Der von Nationalismus und Militarismus geprägte Wahlkampf hat gezeigt, dass die herrschende Klasse ihre japanischen und globalen Interessen mit allen, auch militärischen Mitteln verteidigen wird.

Junta zwingt malischen Premier zum Rücktritt

Von Ernst Wolff, 20. Dezember 2012

Am vergangenen Montag verhaftete die malische Militärjunta Modibo Diarra, den Premierminister des Landes, und zwang ihn unter Androhung von Gewalt, seinen Rücktritt zu erklären.

Im Gedenken an Keerthi Balasuriya

Von David North, 20. Dezember 2012

Dieser Artikel wurde zuerst am 18. und 19. Dezember 2007 in zwei Teilen auf der WSWS gepostet.

Other Languages

Perspective

Fiscal cliff talks get down to business
Obama proposes Social Security cuts

20 December 2012

The cuts in Social Security and other critical social programs proposed Tuesday by Obama demonstrate the bipartisan agreement that the working class must pay for the crisis of American capitalism.

Earlier Perspectives »

Arts Review

Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty: Hollywood embraces the “dark side”

By Bill Van Auken, 20 December 2012

Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty brings to film-making what “embedded” reporting did for journalism—an uncritical embrace of and identification with the military-intelligence complex and its crimes.

“Andrew Marr’s History of the World”: A slur against revolution

By Thomas Scripps, 19 December 2012

Socialist Equality Party

Tsar to Lenin premiered in Berlin

By Elizabeth Zimmermann, 20 December 2012

An audience of well over a hundred attended the first public screening in Germany of the film Tsar to Lenin in Berlin last Saturday.

The enduring significance of the life and work of Comrade Keerthi Balasuriya

18 December 2012

The International Committee of the Fourth International and the World Socialist Web Site today mark 25 years since the death of Comrade Keerthi Balasuriya, the general secretary of the Revolutionary Communist League, forerunner of the Socialist Equality Party of Sri Lanka

In Memory of Keerthi Balasuriya

By David North, 18 December 2012

This article was originally posted on the WSWS in two parts on December 18-19, 2007.

Sri Lankan SEP marks 25th anniversary of Keerthi Balasuriya’s death

By our correspondent, 19 December 2012

SEP members and supporters attended the memorial ceremony in the Colombo General Cemetery.

Obituary

Ravi Shankar, acclaimed Indian musician, dies at 92

By Kapila Fernando, K. Ratnayake and Peter Symonds, 20 December 2012

What was unique about Ravi Shankar was the breadth of his interests, willingness to experiment and passion for making classical Indian music available to the world.

Commentary

The Australian Labor government and the “mummy bloggers”

By Patrick O’Connor, 20 December 2012

The feminist “rebranding” of Gillard is part of the Labor Party’s desperate efforts to prevent an electoral rout at next year’s federal election.

New Japanese government marks dangerous turn to militarism

By Peter Symonds, 19 December 2012

Germany’s Left Party and the closure of GM-Opel’s Bochum plant

By Dietmar Henning, 19 December 2012

Times prescription for “When the Doctor Is Not Needed”

By Kate Randall, 19 December 2012

Killings highlight epidemic of police violence in US

By Tom Carter, 19 December 2012

Horror in Newtown

By the editorial board, 17 December 2012

Science

Stone tools and the evolution of modern human cognition

By Philip Guelpa, 18 December 2012

25 years ago: Wall Street insider trader sentenced to prison

Ivan Boesky, 50 years old and one of Wall Street's most successful speculators, was sentenced to three years in prison on December 18, 1987.

More »

50 years ago: Juan Bosch elected president of the Dominican Republic

The first free elections in the history of the Dominican Republic, held December 20, 1962, resulted in the election of the left bourgeois nationalist Juan Bosch.

More »

75 years ago: “Rape of Nanking” by Japanese army horrifies world opinion

The first reports of the mass slaughter of Chinese residents of the city of Nanking by invading Japanese forces reached the world December 18, 1937.

More »

 

100 years ago: Fake Piltdown man unveiled

On December 18, 1912, one of the most notorious of scientific hoaxes began.

More »

Correspondence

Letters from our readers

20 December 2012

A selection of recent letters to the World Socialist Web Site.