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China’s red aristocracy - World Socialist Web Site

En Chine, une aristocratie rouge

►http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/12/31/chin-d31.html

China’s red aristocracy
By John Chan
31 December 2012

China’s newly appointed anti-corruption head, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, recently called on party officials to read the classic book by French historian Alexis de Tocqueville, The Old Regime and French Revolution. The message was clear. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime, which is widely detested as the representative of China’s super-rich, is in danger of sharing the fate of the French aristocracy.

Fear of food scarcity hits US capital, outlying suburbs - World Socialist Web Site

Sous-alimentation et problème de la faim dans... la banlieue de Washington ?

►http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/12/31/dchu-d31.html

Fear of food scarcity hits US capital, outlying suburbs
By Nick Barrickman
31 December 2012

In the outlying areas surrounding Washington DC, students qualifying for free or subsidized meals face a difficult period ahead while schools prepare for their springtime curriculums, according to a recent report by the Washington Post. The existence of widespread food scarcity in the outlying suburbs of the nation’s capital, some of which reside within some of the wealthiest counties in the US, gives the lie to claims that the DC area is “recession-proof.”

Homelessness soars among US Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans - World Socialist Web Site

►http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/12/31/vets-d31.html

Homelessness soars among US Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans
By Shannon Jones
31 December 2012

According to a new government report, the number of US Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are homeless or at risk for becoming homeless is rising at an alarming rate, more than doubling over the past two years. The US Veterans Administration said that through the end of September 2012, 26,531 veterans were living on the street, at risk of losing their homes, staying in temporary housing or receiving federal vouchers to pay rent. That compares to 10,500 in 2010.

Canada’s native peoples protest chronic poverty and government attacks - World Socialist Web Site

Résistance et révolte des peuples premiers du Canada contre le gouvernement

►http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/12/31/cana-d31.html

Canada’s native peoples protest chronic poverty and government attacks

By Carl Bronski
31 December 2012

The last weeks of 2012 have seen protests by Canada’s impoverished native population snowball.

As Attawapiskat First Nations Chief Theresa Spence enters her fourth week of a hunger strike aimed at drawing attention to the federal government’s failure to honor native treaty rights, aboriginal peoples across the country continue a series of road and rail blockades, demonstrations, and sympathy hunger strikes in what has become known as the “Idle No More” movement. This mobilization, although initially unassociated with Spence’s protest, has dovetailed with the Chief’s actions and served to highlight recent Conservative government actions aimed at opening up vast swathes of native land for capitalist resource-extraction projects.

Anti-Semitic outburst in the Hungarian parliament - World Socialist Web Site

Poussée de fièvre antisémite en Hongrie

►http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/12/31/hung-d31.html

Anti-Semitic outburst in the Hungarian parliament
By Markus Salzmann
31 December 2012

The latest anti-Semitic outburst by a leading member of the far-right party Jobbik was met with little serious opposition from the side of the governing Fidesz party and marks a further turn to the right in Hungarian politics. Faced with rising social protests against austerity, the government is increasingly relying on fascist forces.