/2012

Air incident escalates Japan/China tensions over disputed islands

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/dec2012/jpch-d15.shtml
By Peter Symonds
15 December 2012

The entry of a Chinese maritime surveillance aircraft on Thursday into the airspace around the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands has further heightened tensions with Japan, which scrambled eight F-15 fighter jets and an early warning aircraft to intercept the plane. The small twin-engine aircraft, which went undetected by the Japanese military’s radar, left the area without a direct confrontation.

The incident is a marked escalation of the island dispute both by China, which dispatched an aircraft to the area for the first time, and Japan, which responded with the heavy-handed use of force. Both sides have exploited the issue to stir up nationalism to divert attention from a worsening economic and social crisis at home.

South Korean “progressives” line-up behind the Democrats
►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/dec2012/kore-d15.shtml

South Korean “progressives” line-up behind the Democrats
By Ben McGrath
15 December 2012

In the campaign for the December 19 South Korean presidential election, self-proclaimed progressives and “left” organisations have fallen in behind the main bourgeois opposition candidate—Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party (DUP). They are portraying him as the “lesser evil” compared to Park Geun-hye, the candidate from the right-wing Saenuri Party of outgoing President Lee Myung-bak.

The political line-up was on full display during the first presidential debate between Moon, Park and United Progressive Party (UPP) candidate Lee Jung-hee. Lee made it clear that her purpose in the campaign was to see Moon elected president.

Russia starts construction of the South Stream pipeline
►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/dec2012/pipe-d14.shtml

Russia starts construction of the South Stream pipeline
By Clara Weiss
14 December 2012

On December 7, the first two sections of the South Stream pipeline were laid in the southern Russian city of Anapa on the Black Sea. The pipeline will run along the bottom of the Black Sea and transport gas from southern Russia through Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia to Italy, bypassing Ukraine on the way.

South Stream is to be completed by 2015 and will provide Central Europe with up to 63 billion cubic metres of gas per year. Along with the Russian state company Gazprom, which holds 50 percent of shares, other major participants in the project are the German company Wintershall, the French company EDF, and the Italian energy group Eni.

Austerity without end

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/pers-n29.shtml
29 November 2012

The media has largely ignored the main message from Monday’s meeting of euro zone finance ministers: that the Greek people confront years, if not decades, of austerity.

In comparison, the issues headlined by the media—whether Greek debt falls below 120 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 or in 2022; whether lending rates are lowered or a debt haircut is imposed—were of a marginal and largely hypothetical nature. They boiled down to the question of how many food scraps one allows the victim, in order to exploit him as long as possible, before he eventually dies.

The brutal face of global capitalism

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/pers-n28.shtml
28 November 2012

The worst factory fire in Bangladesh’s history, which broke out on Saturday night in the Ashulia industrial zone, has exposed the ugly workings of global capitalism.

At least 112 workers died in the blaze, either through suffocation and burns, or from jumping out of the eight-storey building in a desperate attempt to escape. The fire, which began on the ground floor, where flammable textile and yarn was stored, blocked the stairs. The only other exits were locked.

No debt reduction for Greece

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/gree-n28.shtml
By Peter Schwarz
28 November 2012

Euro zone finance ministers finally agreed early Tuesday to the pay the tranche of loans to Greece that had been due since the summer. However, they rejected calls by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), among others, to reduce the debt of the highly indebted country.

This was the third attempt by the euro zone finance ministers to reach agreement on how to proceed in relation to Greece. Over the preceding two weeks, hours of meetings lasting into the wee hours of the night had been dominated by fierce differences among the euro zone countries and between the euro zone and the IMF.

Chinese journalist arrested for reporting homeless children’s deaths

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/chin-n28.shtml
By Oliver Campbell
28 November 2012

Li Yuanlong, the journalist who broke the story of five homeless children being found dead in an industrial rubbish bin in Bijie, in China’s south-western province of Guizhou, has reportedly been sent on a forced “vacation.”

The children apparently died of carbon monoxide poisoning after lighting a coal fire to stay warm in the bin in which they were sleeping. Their deaths quickly became the focal point of popular hostility to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime. Bijie is a centre of coal mining, known for its high levels of poverty. The incident, along with criticism of the authorities, featured prominently on social media sites and blogs.

Rebel soldiers advance in Congo

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/cong-n27.shtml
By Ernst Wolff
27 November 2012

Rebel soldiers attached to the Movement M 23 are continuing to advance in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On November 20, they captured the city of Goma in the east and the following day the city of Sake. A representative of the rebels addressed an audience of 10,000 inhabitants in the main stadium in Goma, declaring that they intended to take the city of Bukavu in the near future and then advance on the capital city of Kinshasa in the west.

The rebel militia M 23 was founded in April 2012 after a mutiny by about 700 soldiers. It consists largely of former members of the organization “National Congress for the Defence of the People” (CNDP), who belong to the Tutsi ethnic group. The CNDP was disbanded in 2009. Following the arrest of their leader, General Laurent Nkunda on March 23, 2009 (hence the name M 23), the soldiers were integrated into the Congolese army.

The growing impact and dangers of global warming

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/clim-n27.shtml
By Bryan Dyne
27 November 2012

The growing impact and dangers of global warming

Climate change, and a clear understanding of its impact on all aspects of life, has taken on acute importance in the past several months. The extreme weather events—the historic drought conditions over large parts of the world, the flash melting of Greenland’s surface ice and the intensity of Hurricane Sand—are examples of the changes to global weather patterns that can be expected from an overall rise in Earth’s surface temperature.

This temperature is determined by the incoming solar energy—how much sunlight is reflected into space by the atmosphere, the energy of light that is re-radiated from the surface, and how much of the re-radiated light is captured by the atmosphere.

#changement-climatique

Worst factory fire in Bangladeshi history (WSWS)
►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/bang-n26.shtml

At least 112 workers died and 150 were injured in Bangladesh’s worst-ever factory fire, which gutted the eight-storey Tazreen Fashions building in the Ashulia industrial zone on Saturday night. The fire began in the ground floor, trapping hundreds of workers on the upper storey. Several died and more were injured as they jumped to escape the blaze. Fire fighters took hours to bring the fire under control and to remove the badly burned bodies of those who died in the upper floors. Major Mohammad Mahbub, the fire department’s operations director, told the Associated Press that there were no escape exits leading outside the building. (...) Source: WSWS

Protests hit Walmart stores

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/walm-n26.shtml
26 November 2012

Protests were held at Walmart stores around the United States on November 23 opposing management abuse, irregular working hours and the poverty wages the giant retailer pays its 1.4 million workers. The protests were timed for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year.

It is still not clear how many Walmart workers walked off their jobs and joined the protests. According to Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), which organized the events, 100 stores in 46 states were hit by the demonstrations. It appears selective groups of striking workers at various stores were joined by demonstrators organized by unions, liberal and religious groups to pass out leaflets to store customers.

Worst factory fire in Bangladeshi history

Un peu plus de détails sur l’incendie de l’usine textile de dacca, et un rappel :

“The Tazreen Fashions’ blaze is just the latest and worst of a series of factory fires in Bangladesh and other countries used as cheap labour platforms, According to the Clean Clothes Campaign, more than 500 Bangladeshi workers have died in factory fires since 2006.

In February 2006, at least 54 workers were killed and over 100 seriously injured when a textile factory burned down in Chittagong. Many of those killed or badly injured were unable to escape because the main entrance and other gates were locked.”

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/bang-n26.shtml
By Peter Symonds
26 November 2012

At least 112 workers died and 150 were injured in Bangladesh’s worst-ever factory fire, which gutted the eight-storey Tazreen Fashions building in the Ashulia industrial zone on Saturday night. The fire began in the ground floor, trapping hundreds of workers on the upper storey. Several died and more were injured as they jumped to escape the blaze.

Fire fighters took hours to bring the fire under control and to remove the badly burned bodies of those who died in the upper floors. Major Mohammad Mahbub, the fire department’s operations director, told the Associated Press that there were no escape exits leading outside the building.

Mass protests erupt in Egypt against Mursi’s antidemocratic decrees
►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/egyp-n24.shtml
By Johannes Stern
24 November 2012

Mass protests erupted throughout Egypt on Friday against the country’s president, Mohamed Mursi, and the ruling Muslim Brotherhood (MB). The day before, Mursi had issued a new Constitutional Declaration expanding his dictatorial powers, which he initially claimed by taking over the powers of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) junta in August.

In scenes reminiscent of the early days of the Egyptian Revolution, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Angry youth chanted slogans against Mursi and the MB and for the continuation of the revolution. Common chants were: “Down with the regime of the Brotherhood Supreme Guide”, “The people want to topple the Brothers” and “The people still want the downfall of the regime.”

The social crisis in the U

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/pers-n24.shtml
24 November 2012

Thanksgiving Day 2012.

As President Barack Obama and Congress prepare to slash trillions of dollars from social programs that keep vast numbers of people out of destitution, the prevalence of hunger and poverty in the United States has reached rates unseen in decades.

The figures are staggering.

The number of Americans receiving food stamps reached a new record in August this year, at 47.1 million people, according to the latest figures from the Department of Agriculture. This is up by one million from last year, and up by more than half since October 2008, when the figure was 30 million. In Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, and the state of Mississippi, more than one-fifth of residents now receive food stamps.

Moody’s downgrades French debt rating, presses for austerity in Europe

Moody’s toujours aussi sympa, pousse à mort pour encore plus de mesures d’austérité

By Alex Lantier
23 November 2012

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/mood-n23.shtml

On November 19, the credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded France’s sovereign debt by one notch from Aaa, the top rating, to Aa1. It warned that its outlook on France’s creditworthiness remained negative.

The Moody’s downgrade aims to pressure French President François Hollande to intensify his reactionary and unpopular austerity policies. Hollande’s Socialist Party (PS) government has announced plans for over €80 billion (US$103 billion) in spending and corporate tax cuts and for slashing labor law protections for workers to boost French corporate competitiveness. The PS now faces a political crisis as Hollande’s approval ratings collapse, to 36 percent.

IMF steps up pressure on Romanian government prior to election

Le FMI, plus nocif pour ls peuples que jamais

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/roma-n23.shtml
By Diana Toma and Markus Salzmann
23 November 2012

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has increased pressure on the Romanian government to implement further austerity measures prior to the country’s general election due to be held in December.

In 2009 the country was only saved from bankruptcy by a €20 billion [$US 25.6 billion] loan from the IMF. Since then the government in Bucharest has carried out a series of attacks on the living standards of the population. In March 2011, the IMF and European Union (EU) once again agreed to provide €5 billion in the form of emergency loans. Romania has been a member of the European Union since 2007, but is not part of the euro zone.

A significant report on the global economy

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/conf-n23.shtml
By Nick Beams
23 November 2012

A report by a major US forecasting group has poured cold water on the idea that China, or any of the so-called emerging markets, can provide a new base of expansion for the global capitalist economy, either in the short- or long-term.

The Conference Board, described by Wikipedia as an unbiased and “trusted source for statistics and trends, second only perhaps to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics,” issued a series of economic forecasts earlier this month, stretching to the year 2025.

Greece in the grip of the EU

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/pers-n22.shtml
22 November 2012

On Tuesday, EU finance ministers again delayed payment of the next tranche of financial aid to Greece, which is due since this summer. The decision is now supposed to be reached next Monday.

The delay is a result of serious differences between the major powers involved, including the European governments and the International Monetary Fund. In particular, the German government is refusing to agree to a relaxation of harsh loan conditions. Although Greece has now imposed five rounds of austerity measures, resulting in budget surpluses, overall debt continues to rise since gigantic sums are flowing to the creditors.

Elderly couple dies in Detroit fire
By Lawrence Porter and Bryan Dyne
21 November 2012

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/fire-n21.shtml

Firefighter says budget cuts are “killing people.”

A fire on in northwest Detroit early Sunday morning resulted in the deaths of an elderly couple in their 70s, Kyle and Theresa Bozeman. The fire destroyed much of the house at 20200 Rutherford.
House on Rutherford St. in northwest Detroit. Back porch where fire started

The Detroit Fire Department fights an average of thirty fires a day. The department has been hit hard by a series of budget cuts, including one recently that reduced the number of companies on duty from 59 per day to 40-46. Salaries for firefighters were also cut by 10 percent.

Deepening economic crisis in Japan

►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/pers-n15.shtml
15 November 2012

Deepening economic crisis in Japan

Little more than 20 years ago, Japan was being held out as the new economic model destined to become the wave of the future for global capitalism. Today, it faces a mounting economic crisis, providing a stunning refutation of the claim that China or other so-called “emerging markets” can form the basis for a stabilisation of the world economy.

This week it was announced that its economy, the third largest in the world after China and the US, had contracted at an annual rate of 3.5 percent. It now faces the prospect of entering a recession—defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth—for the fifth time in the past 15 years.

#japon #économie