Monday, March 01, 2010


Xynthia Batters Continent

Heavy Storm Kills At Least 54 in Western Europe


An brutal Atlantic storm wrought devastation across Western Europe over the weekend and into Monday, killing at least 54 people. Most of the casualties were in France, where coastal towns were flooded and battered by gusts of winds of up to 166 kilometers per hour.

At least 54 people died in a violent storm that left a trail of destruction across Western Europe on Sunday. Some 45 people were killed on the Atlantic coast of France, the French Interior Ministry said after a crisis meeting. Most of them drowned in heavy flooding.



Firefighters evacuating residents in L'Aguillon sur Mer, France, on Sunday.
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DPA

Firefighters evacuating residents in L'Aguillon sur Mer, France, on Sunday.


The storm, named Xynthia, hit the western coasts of France, Portugal and Spain on Sunday with torrential rain and winds of up to 166 kilometers per hour (103 miles per hour). It then moved into Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.


Towns along the Atlantic coast were buffeted by huge waves and strong gusts that cut off electricity to more than 1 million households in France, officials said. The storm blew down trees and tore the roofs off houses, caused short-circuits on overland power lines and in switching stations.

On Monday morning, half a million households were still without power and it will take until Wednesday for the power to be fully restored.

"It's a national disaster," said French Prime Minister Francois Fillion. He said coastal flood defenses would be strengthened as a result of the disaster.

In the port of La Rochelle, the center was flooded and yachts were washed onto the quays. In the town of L'Aiguillon sur Mer on the Atlantic coast, the floods surprised residents in their sleep. "I heard a rushing of water," said an 82-year-old woman. "And as I swung my legs out of the bed I got wet feet -- up to my ankles." She was rescued by helicopter. Others climbed into their attics, knocked holes in their roofs and waited for help.

Perfect Storm

Meteorologists said the disaster was caused by the concurrence of a lower pressure front with unusually strong winds that moved up from Spain through the Bay of Biscay, an exceptionally high tide and heavy rains. Despite the damage, the French meteorological office said the storm appeared less fierce than the one that hit France in December 1999, in which 92 people were killed.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to visit the worst-hit regions on Monday. Meanwhile the country is bracing for another high tide on Monday afternoon, but the winds are much less powerful than they were on Saturday and Sunday.

Air France said 100 of its flights had been cancelled from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

At least five people were killed in northwestern Germany, and all train services in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, were stopped on Sunday. Local train services were also stopped in other German states.

A two-year-old boy in the town of Biblis in the western state of Hesse was blown into a river and drowned. Train and air traffic in Germany was gradually returning to normal on Monday. On Sunday, the storm had led to the cancellation of more than 250 flights at Frankfurt airport.

The European Union said it would release funds to help with reconstruction.

cro -- with wires and reporting by Stefan Simons



More Teeth for Brussels

Plans for European Economic Government Gain Steam


With Greek finances dragging down the euro, calls for coordinated fiscal policy within the common currency zone have become more frequent. Now, Germany and France have presented a paper outlining what such a regime might look like. Increased monitoring is at the top of the priority list.

Up until just a few months ago, it wasn't easy to find people on the Continent who were seriously skeptical about the euro. The European common currency had performed well during the financial crisis and had steadily strengthened against the dollar. Indeed, the only concern was that the dollar would become too weak, thus making euro zone exports unaffordable.


A man looks out the door of the Bank of Greece, marked with anarchy graffiti.
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AFP

A man looks out the door of the Bank of Greece, marked with anarchy graffiti.


With Greek finances a shambles, however, the weaknesses of the common currency regime have been exposed for all to see this winter. First among them: there is no policy tool to mandate fiscal responsibility in the 16 countries that use the euro -- a significant Achilles' heel for the currency's stability.

With Greece dragging the euro down, however, the concept of an economic government for the euro zone is gaining momentum. Indeed, the German and French Finance Ministries have developed a draft plan that would significantly strengthen financial policy cooperation in the EU.

The plan, which has been seen by SPIEGEL, calls for increased monitoring of individual member states' competitiveness so that action can be taken early on should problems emerge. States which have pegged their currencies to the euro -- like Denmark or the Baltic countries -- will likewise be monitored.

'Candid and Serious'

The plan also calls for the European Commission to ensure that the euro group spends more time addressing the finances of its member states. In particular, the paper demands that euro group finance ministers "take more time for candid and serious discussions on the goal of a functioning currency union." German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde have sent their plan to Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the euro group. The idea is to be discussed at the next meeting of euro zone finance ministers in mid-March.

In a Monday interview with the German business daily Handelsblatt, Juncker voiced support for the idea of greater economic oversight of euro zone members. "We need a European economic government in the sense of strengthened coordination of economic policy within the euro zone," he said. "The Greece case makes it clear."

Juncker said that the euro group will examine divergences in the competitiveness of euro zone countries in March. Recommendations for reform will then be transmitted to each country with the expectation that national governments will formulate proposals to eliminate those divergences. The euro zone, Juncker said, will closely monitor the process.

Many have pointed to a lack of common financial policy among countries belonging to the European common currency as a significant weakness for the euro. Indeed, Greece's current problems, which include a budget deficit of 12.7 percent of gross domestic product and €300 billion in sovereign debt, have led to a significant weakening of the euro against the dollar. Furthermore, after years of at times painful social reforms in countries like Germany, the willingness in Europe to come to Greece's aid is tepid at best.

Assert Control

An early idea for a common European economic policy, voiced by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in early February, called for forcing countries to institute structural reforms under pain of financial sanctions. Greece currently finds itself in a comparable position, with the EU closely monitoring Greek reforms and demanding deep spending cuts. Greece aims to cut its budget deficit by four percentage points this year with the eventual goal of dropping below the euro zone ceiling of 3 percent by 2012.

In a syndicated column, former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer also threw his support behind a European economic government. "The euro, which turned out to be the critical tool for defending European interests in this crisis, will now be subjected to an endurance test directed at the soft political heart of its construction," Fischer wrote. He urges that the French and German governments establish a financial oversight body with the teeth to assert control over the finances of member states.

"What is necessary now," he writes, "is statesman-like leadership -- and even more so stateswoman-like leadership. Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are facing the defining challenge of their respective terms in office."

cgh/SPIEGEL



Whistleblower website back online after Microsoft withdraws complaint

27 February, 2010, 07:36

US whistleblower website Cryptome is up and running again, after a complaint by Microsoft saw it taken offline. Microsoft alleged it had posted a document classified for law enforcement agency use only.

The company then asked internet managers to block Cryptome – shutting it down – before later relenting and allowing it back on-line.

Cryptome's owner says the US government was behind the complaint.

“They haven’t found a way to shut us down, that is why they are using a subterfuge like copyright. And this is part of the worldwide phenomenon to clamp down on the Internet using copyright and a variety of other civil means, rather than openly doing it by law enforcement,” John Young says.


Russia lashes out at NATO for not fighting Afghan drug production

28 February, 2010, 03:39

The US refusal to destroy opium poppy crops in Afghanistan guarantees that raw drug sources there will be inviolable, leading to heavy drug use in Russia, the head of the Russian federal drug control agency said.

The amount of narcotics brought into Russia has increased two-fold since the beginning of the anti-terrorism operation in Afghanistan, Viktor Ivanov, Russian Federal Drug Control Service chief, said on Saturday.

“Afghan heroin amounts to 90% of all drugs sold in Russia. Annual supplies stand at 35 tonnes or 5 billion shots,” Ivanov said, as quoted by Interfax news agency.

At the same time, the Taliban’s share in Afghan drug production is minimal, Ivanov pointed out.

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“Nevertheless, the NATO command has focused entirely on this minority producer and generously lets local Afghan authorities combat the remaining 99% of drug production,” he said.

It is high time to formally declare the phenomenal narcotics production in Afghanistan to be a threat to international peace and security, Ivanov said.

Viktor Ivanov warned that drugs production in Afghanistan is “a global factor destabilizing the situation in Russia as the target market and in Central Asia which has become a transit territory.”

Moreover, drug trafficking from Afghanistan energizes negative processes in the North Caucasus, Ivanov added. Drug availability in the region increased by eight times, and in the Russian republic of Dagestan by 60 times, noted Ivanov.

The federal drug control agency’s head stressed that drug trafficking growth causes a proportionate increase in terrorist attacks and other crimes in the North Caucasus.

According to the Federal Drug Control Service’s data, there are up to five million drug addicts in Russia and half of them are addicted to Afghan heroin.

Annually, tens of thousands people in Russia die due to drug addictions.



North Korea’s “secret cyber-weapon”: brand new Red Star OS

01 March, 2010, 16:11

Not only does North Korea have “its own Internet” – a national information network independent from the US-based Internet regulator – it also has an operating system, developed under by order of Kim Jong-il.


Russian student Mikhail, who studies in the Kim Il-sung University and writes a blog from the Russian embassy in Pyongyang, has recently purchased the Red Star Operating System (OS) and tested it. Courtesy of Mikhail, RT gives you an opportunity to take glimpse at IT life of world’s most closed country.

The Red Star is a Linux-based OS developed by North Korean IT specialists last year. Readme file, which goes with the install disc, even gives a quote from Kim Jong-il about how important for DPRK is to have its own Linux-based operating system compatible with Korean traditions.

The version tested by Mikhail is the latest build, which, according to locals, still needs polishing. The OS is not popular (yet?), with most people who need one preferring Windows XP and Windows Vista.

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Mikhail bought his copy for about $5 in an information center 5 minutes walk from the university dorm. Interestingly, no permission is required for it, which is probably explained by the regulation of the sale of computers.

The system has server and client versions, and apps can be bought separately at twice the price.

Installation of the Red Star is possible straight from the bootable disk, from hard drive, or via the net. The whole process takes 10 to 15 minutes. While the files are copied, the user is shown tips like in a Windows installation, saying that the system “is now faster and simpler”. Unlike Windows, you will not be allowed to select your system language: only Korean is available.

Then the system starts. Here is the logo on the start screen:

User selection screen is standard. User “root” is the default one, while user “Kim” was created by Mikhail. The picture is that of a popular Korean cartoon character.

Red Star desktop.

Red Star cannot be called modest in terns if system requirements. You will need at least a Pentium III 800 Mhz with 256 Mb RAM and astounding 3Gb hard drive space!

The desktop is pretty much standard, with a My Computer icon, a trash bin and a link to a system tour. The red star in bottom left corner opens the system menu, while icons next to it are the quick launch panel. Notice the clock on the left – the year is 99th of the Juche Idea, the official North Korean ideology.

My Computer launches the file browser. Here is how it looks:

Standard applications for the system are low in number: web-browser “My Country” (which is actually Firefox in disguise), a simple word processor, a picture viewer, a pdf reader, players for audio and video files, a file archiver, a virtual disk manager and stuff like calculator or symbol table. All the applications except the web-browser are named after their functionality.

The OS has its own keyboard layouts for Korean (does not match the Windows version), English, Russian, Chinese and Japanese.

There are also four games: Minesweeper, Klondike solitaire, Jawbreaker and a logic game where the player builds correct chemical formulae.

Applications on the second disk included: service programs for the client version of Red Star, which strictly speaking should have been on the first disk, an office app suite “We”, similar to OpenOffice and another similar software suite, a program for recording CD/DVD, an e-mail client “Pigeon” (after the mail-delivering bird), Janggi board game (Korean chess), a fax communication tool, antivirus “Woodpecker”, notebook “My Comrade”, a graphics editing program, firewall “Pyongyang Fortress”, an engineer’s calculator and a Windows emulator.

The Application Manager shown here is also used for system updates.

Naenara web browser was successfully recognized by Firefox website, which offered downloads of the latest Korean version of the browser for Linux i686. Note that the default search engine is not Google but Naenara BBS. Since Mikhail was tinkering with the system in the embassy, where the Korean national network is not available, he had no opportunity to do some test searches.

Mikhail did test the antivirus, however, which (along with the firewall) was built from scratch by North Korean coders rather than re-written from an open source applications. It did well at finding and killing the viruses offered to it.

The Windows emulator worked well too. Mikhail launched Warcraft 3, and the game worked smoothly. So did the dictionary software and a digital library available on the disk.

What is interesting for a North Korean product is the near-total absence of propaganda – unless you treat the word “red” in its name as an instance.


German parliament approves new Afghanistan strategy

By Peter Schwarz
1 March 2010

A large majority of the German parliament voted Friday, February 26 to expand the country’s military operation in Afghanistan. In future, the number of soldiers deployed in the Hindu Kush will be increased from the current level of 4,500 to 5,350. In addition, significantly more police will be sent to Afghanistan to train local security forces.

By extending its mandate for Afghanistan an additional year, the parliament has declared its approval of the US government’s new Afghanistan strategy. Central to this strategy is a massive escalation of the war and an increase in the number of occupation forces. Aggressive military operations are also to be increased in order to bring insurgents to their knees through the exercise of brutal violence. The result will be a corresponding surge in the number of civilian and troop deaths.

Parliament decided to redefine the Afghanistan operation at the beginning of February. It no longer talks of a stabilisation operation for the maintenance of peace, but of a “non-international armed conflict.” This a euphemism for civil war. This means German soldiers will be subject to international law and allowed to kill unarmed civilians under certain conditions. Until now, they have only been permitted to use firearms in exceptional circumstances.

Although an escalation of the war has been rejected by more than two thirds of the German population, parliament approved it by a large majority. Some 429 of the 586 deputies voted for the new strategy, 46 abstained and 111 voted against it. Apart from the governing parties, the CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union alliance) and the FDP (Free Democratic Party), the overwhelming majority of the SPD (Social Democratic Party) also supported the new mandate. The leadership of the Greens recommended that its fraction abstain, while the Left party opposed it.

The SPD’s executive had recommended that its parliamentary fraction unanimously support the move despite serious reservations in the party. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the former foreign minister, justified this with the claim that the government had come into accord with the SPD in many respects. “A change in perspective has gained acceptance,” he said. Efforts to reconstruct civilian life were to be doubled and withdrawal of military forces would begin in 2011.

Actually, it is the effort toward waging war rather than securing peace that is to be doubled. There will also be no fixed date for withdrawal. Prior to the parliamentary ballot, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (FDP) once again expressly refused to set a specific date for the departure of the German army. On Friday, he told the Südwestrundfunk radio station that such an announcement would only encourage the terrorists to hold out for a certain time before striking back again.

Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg also opposed setting a fixed date for withdrawal. “To say that we’ll have no more German soldiers in Afghanistan by a particular day would be playing into the hands of those who are only waiting to say: ‘Great! When that time comes, we’ll just turn the clocks back,’” he said in a television interview last Wednesday.

Fogh Rasmussen, general secretary of NATO, had already stressed at the London conference on Afghanistan at the end of January that “transition” (of power) was not a code word for “exit.”

“The Afghan people should have no fear that we will leave too early,” he said. “We will not.”

The German parliament’s consent to an escalation of the war comes at a critical time for the US and NATO. The war front is beginning to crumble in view of increasing opposition within Europe. Only last week, the government of the Netherlands collapsed because the Social Democrats felt they were no longer able―faced with breaking their earlier election promises―to sanction a further extension of the mandate for the 2,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan. As a consequence, fears grew within NATO that this could lead to the withdrawal of other countries.

In the last few days, representatives of the US government have therefore put great pressure on European NATO members to send additional troops to Afghanistan and participate more robustly in military operations. The number of US soldiers killed in Afghanistan having risen to over 1,000, and the US government is now trying to shift a larger measure of the war burden onto other lands in order to appease opposition at home.

On February 23 at the National Defense University in Washington, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates declared: “One of the triumphs of the last century was the pacification of Europe after ages of ruinous warfare. But, as I’ve said before, I believe we have reached an inflection point, where much of the continent has gone too far in the other direction. The demilitarization of Europe―where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it―has gone from a blessing in the twentieth century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the twenty-first.”

Last week in Berlin, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke warned that at least 2,000 more personnel were needed for the training of Afghan police and soldiers. “I hope Germany will think about making a more solid commitment,” he said.

By accepting the new mandate, the German government has yielded to pressure from Washington. There are several reasons why this happened.

Firstly, the German government is unwilling to relinquish to US control the strategically significant region in the Middle East, which is of considerable importance to the energy supply of Europe. Although―or rather because―it is becoming increasingly obvious that the war is guided by imperialist goals, Germany wants to make sure it gets a share of the booty.

Secondly, Berlin fears a crisis or even a fracture within NATO. As a consequence of the international economic and financial crisis, economic tensions between the US and Germany have sharpened considerably. Economic contradictions have also intensified within Europe. If these are exacerbated by a political conflict with the US, Germany fears isolation. During the Iraq war, Washington showed that it knew how to exploit political tensions within European for its own purposes. Numerous European commentators have already attributed to Wall Street speculators a large measure of blame for the crisis in Greece and the fall in the euro.

And thirdly, there exists a close relationship between militarism and the dismantling of social gains. The German government is vehemently insisting that European Union member states balance their budget deficits at the expense of social expenditure and not give way to the opposition mounting against this course. Thus it is also unwilling to make any concessions to the opposition to the war in Afghanistan. To do so might encourage popular resistance.

The SPD is playing a particularly despicable role in supporting the warmongers. By accepting the new Afghanistan mandate, it is delivering a stab in the back not only to those who oppose the war, but also those who resist social cutbacks. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the SPD parliamentary fraction leader, has made his consent to an extension of the Afghanistan military operation, as well as reform of Hartz IV (unemployment benefits) legislation―recently necessitated by a ruling from the German Constitutional Court―contingent upon an offer to cooperate with the federal government. In view of a sharpening dispute within the CDU/FDP coalition, Steinmeier seems to have hopes of a return to government via a reconstitution of the grand coalition.

The SPD is backed by the Greens and the Left party. By abstaining from the ballot, the Greens made clear that they are not prepared to take a stand against the war, despite mounting pressure from its own ranks. In 1998, they bought their way into the federal government by consenting to the war in Kosovo and, as a governing party three years later, organised the despatch of the German army to Afghanistan. In the meantime, they have attempted to form a coalition with the CDU in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (and possibly also at a federal level) and are incapable of changing their position on the war. Therefore, they cowardly shirk any candid statement about it.

The Left party speaks out against the war at an official level, drawing attention to itself with headline-grabbing campaigns. During the debate about the Afghanistan commitment, the Left party fraction was thus expelled from the assembly hall by the president of the parliament, Norbert Lammert, when they unrolled posters bearing the names of civilians that had been killed in a bomb attack in Kunduz, ordered by a senior officer of the German army last September.

However, despite such spectacular stunts, the Left party strictly refuses to mobilise the population in serious opposition to the Afghanistan operation and cause the government real difficulty. On February 20, it drew a mere 2,000 people to an anti-war demonstration in Berlin, although several dozen organisations had signalled their support for the demonstration and the Left party could have easily mobilised 10 times the number.

Rejection of the Afghanistan war enables the Left party to conserve its “leftist” image, while actively implementing social cutbacks in Berlin, Brandenburg and numerous municipalities in eastern Germany.

In fact the Left party’s opposition to the war is merely a bargaining chip that can be exchanged for a place in government when the opportunity presents itself. When the chance of entering government emerged in Saarland and Thuringia last year, several leading party functionaries were quick to stress that, naturally, the Left Party was not calling for an immediate military withdrawal, but merely for an “exit strategy.” This is also how the federal government describes its new strategy.


WSWS speaks with leader of GSSE union federation

The Greek trade unions: Partners in the government’s austerity program

By Markus Salzmann and Robert Stevens
27 February 2010

As the debt crisis intensifies in Greece, the country’s trade unions are playing a crucial role in ensuring that the social democratic government of Prime Minister George Papandreou is able carry out its austerity programme. Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund are demanding an escalation of the attacks on the Greek working class.

The total debt burden of Greece is estimated at more than €300 billion and is set to rise in 2010 to 120 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The country’s budget deficit currently represents 12.7 percent of GDP. The government has pledged to reduce this to 3 percent by 2012 to comply with EU regulations, and to cut the deficit to 8.7 percent this year.

To achieve this and satisfy the financial markets, Papandreou recently stated that it would be necessary to “draw blood.” To this end, an immediate €2.5 billion reduction in public spending is being implemented, including a wage freeze across the public sector, a 20 percent across-the-board cut in civil service bonuses, and a two-year increase in the average retirement age.

Other measures set to be introduced include an increase in the value added tax rate (currently 19 percent) and a hike in fuel, alcohol and tobacco taxes. The EU has also demanded that Athens slash one of two extra months of pay that public sector workers now receive in addition to their normal 12-month salary.

The two main trade union federations, the private sector General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) and the public sector Civil Servants’ Confederation (ADEDY), both supported the election of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) government of Papandreou last October.

Whilst making the occasional populist criticism of the Papandreou regime for “succumbing” to the financial markets, union leaders are working closely with government representatives to impose the spending cuts.

There is widespread popular anger over the unprecedented austerity measures. The attacks are being imposed on a population that already had one of the lowest standards of living in the European Union. Many workers live in conditions of poverty in a country where about a quarter of all employees earn the minimum wage.

This is the background to the one-day general strike called by the two trade union federations on Wednesday. The unions resorted to such a step to contain public opposition, hoping to provide an opportunity for workers to let off steam and thereby buy time for the crisis-ridden Greek government.

In the 1990s, mainly under PASOK governments, the unions were instrumental in the privatisation of publicly owned industries. Under Prime Minister Constantin Simitis in 1996, PASOK set in motion a process of deregulation and privatisation of broad areas of public service. In pursuing these free-market policies, PASOK utilised to the full its close links to the unions—in particular, the GSEE. Apart from token protest demonstrations and strikes, the GSEE and ADEDY did nothing to oppose the privatisations.

Today, the trade union federations are playing the same reactionary role, but under drastically changed conditions.

The corporatist agenda of the unions was summed up in comments made in January by Stathis Anestis, the GSEE spokesman and member of the executive committee of the union. He said, “We can't escape the fact that we have a very serious problem on our hands,” and added, “We are willing to accept tough measures on the condition that they are just.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, on January 29, Anestis declared that in its current round of wage bargaining, the GSEE, representing more than a million workers, was considering supporting a freeze on private-sector wages, providing that employers guaranteed no layoffs. Given the treacherous record of the GSEE, the proviso demanding a no-layoff guarantee should be dismissed out-of-hand by workers.

On February 25, one day after the general strike, reporters from the World Socialist Web Site conducted an interview with Anestis, who confirmed that his union was essentially opposed to strike action. Anestis reiterated that, “The confederations and the trade unions supported the election of this government.” He added, “It is not that we wish to strike.”

The unions gave this critical political support on the grounds that PASOK represented a progressive alternative to the hated conservative New Democracy government, headed by Kostas Karamanlis, which ruled from 2004 to 2009.

Anestis pointed to the 15 percent decrease in the buying power of workers’ wages in Greece in the last year, but at the same time made clear that his union had no intention of defending workers’ living standards. Echoing the language of the government, he claimed that “times are now difficult,” and therefore, “I cannot demand a full 15 percent increase in salaries.”

Anestis said GSEE would ask for a 4 percent increase in pay. At the same time, he made clear that the union would do everything in its power to ensure that workers contributed their “fair share” to help the Greek banks and corporations and the government out of their current dilemma. This is a signal that the union federation is prepared to drop even its paltry 4 percent demand.

The unions’ policy dovetails with the demand of the PASOK regime that “highly paid” public servants earning more than €2,000 a month forgo pay rises in the future.

The same message of “sharing the pain” is being propagated by the ADEDY civil servants’ union, whose leader, Spyros Papaspyrou, told the Financial Times recently, “If the measures are proportionate and affect not just the public sector but the whole of society, we will mobilise to help the country get out of this situation.”

Anestis insisted in his interview with the WSWS that the union federation had to agree to cuts. He said, “What you accept and what you don’t accept depends on the situation you are in. When you have a knife at your neck, then it is a different situation.”

Putting forward the union as a force for stability and order, Anestis declared that it was impossible for workers to act independently on behalf of their interests, and bluntly told the WSWS, “Workers cannot overthrow this political system considering the way it is constructed today.”

The arguments of Anestis are totally dishonest. It is workers in Greece who are confronted with “a knife at the neck,” and the unions have whetted this knife through decades of support for the Papandreou dynasty.

The union bureaucracies were for many years able to profit from their close relationship with PASOK, in the form of privileges, sinecures and fat salaries. Now their chief concern is to ensure that their role in diverting working class opposition into safe channels is sufficiently recognised and rewarded.

In times of crisis, the Greek bourgeoisie has repeatedly resorted to social democratic governments supported by the trade unions to safeguard its interests. Today, the Greek debt crisis has revealed PASOK to be nothing more than an instrument of the global financial institutions and the European Union.

The unions are the most steadfast defenders of the profit system. On the basis of their nationalist perspective, they demand that the working class make “sacrifices”—meaning the destruction of all previously won social gains.

Sunday, February 28, 2010


40 Percent of Students Ignorant of Mar. 1 Uprising

By Do Je-hae

Staff Reporter

The 1919 March 1 Independence Movement is one of the milestones in Korea's resistance campaign against Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945), and yet many of today's young people are not sufficiently knowledgeable about the civil uprising, a recent survey found Sunday.

A poll by the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) showed that only 59.1 percent of those questioned were correctly informed of what the date March 1 stands for.

Around 40 percent held the mistaken perception that "March 1 was the day that Korea was liberated from Japan." Five percent said they were completely ignorant of the movement.

The respondents were composed of 3,919 students in elementary, middle and high schools nationwide.

"It seems many students are confused as to why March 1 is commemorated nationally every year.

"Schools need to provide more education on the true significance of the March 1 commemorations," a KFTA official said.

Triggered by the repressive policies of the Japanese occupators that began in 1910, the movement refers to the series of demonstrations that erupted nationwide, beginning March 1, 1919, with 33 core organizers gathering at a Seoul restaurant and officially declaring: "We herewith proclaim the independence of Korea and the liberty of the Korean people."

The students' ignorance is partly due to poor history education.

Recently, the authorities sought to undermine the place of the iconic martyr Yu Gwan-Sun (1902-1920), one of the organizers of the March 1 movement, in history textbooks for elementary schools.

The education ministry planned to eliminate sections on Yu, but cancelled the plans in the face of intense opposition from history experts and commemorative organizations.

The study showed that more than 60 percent of students thought Yu was most symbolic of the March 1 Movement. Others associated the day with the national flag or a national holiday.

It took the Japanese as long as 12 months to suppress the series of protests in which two million Koreans participated. Though more than 7,000 of them were killed during the course of the movement, it brought about major changes to some of the most oppressive Japanese imperial policies toward Korea.

One of its biggest achievements was that it laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai in April 1919.

While the historic and constitutional status as well as its role in ultimately achieving independence from Japan has invited contending views over the years, the Provisional Government is increasingly being appreciated as a unique example in the history of liberation movements worldwide.

Meanwhile, the government will hold a ceremony at the Yu Gwan-Sun Museum in South Chungcheong Province to mark the 91st anniversary of the movement.

From Saturday through June 1, reenactment ceremonies will be held in 60 different regions, including the hometowns of the female student activist Yu in Cheonan, and army leader Shin Dol-seok in Yeonghae on the southeastern coast.

"We hope these ceremonies will play a role in Korea keeping alive the spirit of independence," the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said.

Reenactment ceremonies were first held in 1999 in 15 regions.

jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr


El cancerbero del sexo
Alejandro Saldívar


Infierno

“Me siento como en el infierno y yo soy el único que tiene la ley sabiendo que en el infierno no hay ley. Todos hacen lo que quieren. Se drogan. Tienen sexo. Siempre.”

Eso dice Iván como si la luz de neón fuera fuego y él un cancerbero del deseo. Él se encarga de repartir los boletos entre las chicas que salen de los “privados”. Él cuenta los cinco minutos de fugacidad de los “clientes” con las bailarinas. Él las ve “borrachas, drogadas y cogidas”.

Iván es un tipo con ojeras profundas, desgarbado. Hosco con la clientela pero delicado con las mujeres. Es el capitán de un reservado bar al sur de la ciudad de México. Cuenta que ellas son muy reservadas, sobretodo las extranjeras. “No se sienten en su pueblo para poderse descarar”.

Iván estudió computación pero prefiere catar mujeres. En ocho años han pasado por sus manos mujeres de nacionalidad argentina, checa, brasileña, turca… “Todo el tiempo las estoy viendo (a las bailarinas). No puedo estar con ellas. Eso es muy duro” confiesa. Reloj en mano es el cronómetro de las bailarinas. “Tiempo mi niña”, le dice a una rubia que rápidamente se ajusta su vestidito y un antifaz salpicado con diamantina morada.

—¿Otro boleto caballero?

—¿De a cuánto?

—200 pesos caballero, por el placer de tener a Sofi.

Detrás de la mampara Sofi lo anima. Le pone la mano encima de la bragueta.

—Ándale, te va a gustar— anticipa.

Su pantomima erótica provoca erecciones entre los solitarios asistentes. Ella bate su trasero a ritmo de convulsiones. Coquetea. Roza las entrepiernas con su cabeza. La mayoría de los hombres tiene manos inexpertas y ansiosas. Ellos pellizcan los senos, persiguen su aroma. Ella cobra. Ellos pagan.

“Vamos a agarrarnos a una buena bestia”, se regodean un par de mujeres con las cejas delineadas. Son Paula y Paris. Su voz huele a tabaco adulterado con vodka. Entre las mesas son valquirias que acechan a su cliente y luego le ofrecen su cuerpo.

Paula le pidió a Juan Carlos dos mil pesos por “tirársela” en un hotel. Ya compró tres bailes privados. Sus manos están manchadas de diamantina y su lengua probó la línea de sudor que se empantana en medio de sus “tetas”.

Según Paris, una “chica de variedad” es el sueño de todo hombre. Por las noches intercambia el delantal por los tacones altos. “Después de las 8 de la noche somos muñequitas de fantasía y antes de esa hora somos amas de casa”, resume.

Iván dice que la mayoría del tiempo va gente muy adinerada. También revela que la Exposexo sirve para intercambiar modelos exóticas. Una suerte de supermercado ilegal donde los dueños de los bares ofrecen salarios que van de los 30 mil a los 50 mil pesos mensuales.

Detrás del biombo que separa la estridencia de los “guagüis” Brenda esnifea cocaína con una cucharita tan delicada como sus uñas postizas. Aspira. Después guarda el dosificador en su diminuta bolsa, donde se revuelve con los boletos que lleva acumulados. Iván lo tolera, en el infierno no hay reglas.

En una noche normal Brenda junta entre 20 y 30 boletos. Por cada uno le reembolsan 100 pesos, son las 6 de la tarde y ya cuenta más de 25. Se le perturba la mirada y balbucea: “Pues si, todas somos unas putitas, queramos o no, somos putas”.

Justifica el cerbero de Lucifer: “Siempre al terminar me quedo un momento con ellas y lo único que escucho es que están hartas de esto. Pero es por necesidad”.

Limbo

Su sexo está húmedo. Su entrepierna brilla. La cámara hace un extreme close-up. Su vagina adquiere las dimensiones de tres pantallas gigantes. En su piel ondulan los reflejos rojizos. Con ese contoneo se presume como sibarita del deseo, del baile y del sexo.

Una fila de solitarios aguzan su mirada en el pecho de las mujeres. Algunos hombres se acercan discretamente a rozar traseros con el dorso de su mano. Los focos azules dilatan sus pupilas. Líbidas. Perversas. Sus labios se entreveran como esperando un beso.

Una malla hace rombos en su piel acanelada. El lunar en su glúteo derecho se ilumina con el flasheo indiscreto de las cámaras. El pubis depilado, terso. Su tanga que sostiene al mundo. Sus tacones que son anzuelo de la fantasía. De su cintura cuelgan las herramientas propias de la construcción. Entre los hombres apuntan miradas con lujuría desatendida.

—¿Te sirve chiquito o lo quieres grandote?— le gritan, refiriéndose al desarmador en su cintura.

Su poca ropa lame la pista de atrás para adelante y de un lado a otro. La luz tenue desdibuja las estrías y la celulitis. Sus pechos rugosos se adhieren al tubo enclavado en el Palacio de los Deportes. En las mesas, los vasos no tintinean porque son de plástico. Poca bebida y mucho hielo, dicen.

“Mia Fox” se deja tocar “mientras no le falten el respeto”. Tiene una hija de 8 años. Gana en 30 mil y 40 mil pesos al mes. Utiliza un vestido color mamey que revela su entallada gordura. Dice que algunos hombres son muy “enfermos”, y confiesa que es la primera vez que baila en lo que presume ser el “table dance más grande del mundo”.

En los asistentes abundan las corbatas desanudadas y esa mirada de quien pasa más de ocho horas sentado frente a un monitor.

—¿Y sí son de a de veras?— inquiere un cliente.

—Tócale cielo— le dirigió Mia con sus manos perdularias.

“René” tiene un niño de 5 años. Piensa que los hombres son arrogantes. Dice que es modelo pero le ofrecieron bailar por única ocasión. Gana entre 40 y 50 mil pesos al mes. Los flashes revelan las cicatrices de sus múltiples operaciones: una mamoplastia y una lipoescultura.

—Qué ricura, esto no se ve en las películas porno— confiesa un asistente con mirada invasiva y perversa. Sus pómulos cacarizos se iluminan con la luz de las tramoyas. Utiliza una playera polo tan deslavada como sus ilusiones. Sus zapatos tienen el mismo color que los charcos de agua sucia.

Algunos de los solitarios se resignan al onanismo en alguno de los baños públicos. Otros se restriegan con los codos debajo de la mesa. Quien puede paga 200 pesos por un baile privado en medio de los gritos de pe-los-pe-los y las cámaras voyeuristas y las soledades rijosas.

Con los oídos reventados por la estridencia del lugar un grupo de amigos corre de pista en pista con el teléfono celular en la mano. Exigentes comentan: “Guanga pero ya qué. Mientras más chapotee mejor.”

Se desconoce cuánto dinero mueve hoy la prostitución en México, pero la trata de personas, un problema asociado al table dance, genera ganancias anuales por 9 mil 500 millones de dólares y según un informe de la ONU “está conectada al lavado de dinero, al narcotráfico, a la falsificación de documentos y al tráfico ilegal de personas”.

El 18 de febrero de este año el senado de la República catalogó la trata como una de las “conductas más crueles que existen en la actualidad” y reconoce que es un negocio redituable a nivel mundial. Tan solo la Organización Internacional del Trabajo estima que el número mínimo de personas víctimas de explotación laboral y explotación sexual como consecuencia de la trata de personas es de 2.5 millones a nivel mundial.

Cielo

“Lluvia” promueve productos sexuales al mismo tiempo que exhibe su cuerpo. Con una mano detiene los dedos inquietos que no dejan de frotar sus pezones. Con la otra sostiene Retardex “un liquido eficaz para retardar la eyaculación”. Las instrucciones en la caja son precisas: “Moje la yema de su dedo índice y aplique en el glande 5 min. antes de la penetración”.

Son productos con efectos tan falsos como los penes de chocolate. “Lluvia” no se moja, ni abre los productos. Detrás de ella un grupo de mujeres adulteradas bailan con sombrillas plateadas y sombreros de bombín. “Lluvia” se deja fotografiar con sus aureolas al aire, su vientre, su naturalidad.

En los pabellones de la Exposexo se venden dildos tan grandes como el optimismo de una pareja que pregona: “Mi novio la tiene más grande que esa chingadera”.

En otras tiendas grupos de amigas auscultan penes de plástico y consoladores discretos en colores chillantes. Algunos hombres dudan sobre la textura de vaginas de plástico que son réplica de las estrellas porno del momento. De las que bailan en el escenario.

La publicidad tiene un despliegue casi infinito. Un conglomerado que abarca revistas, agencias de modelo, franquicias de juguetes sexuales, distribuidoras de películas, canales para adultos, páginas web, productoras de películas XXX, moteles, bares y table dance. Son parte de un industria millonaria que involucra autoridades, traficantes y clientes. Mafias trasnacionales.

En el infierno, Iván está contento. Tal vez esta noche enmiende su corazón. Dice que sale con una bailarina. “En el fondo son más abiertas”, asegura. En el limbo, ellas bailan como marionetas. En el cielo, Exposexo 2010 se anuncia en los espectaculares de las principales arterias del Distrito Federal. En el metro. En los parabuses. En la radio. En la prensa. Y no importa, nadie se condena por vender placer.


China still biggest foreign buyer of US debt

08:24, March 01, 2010



The US government now says that China did not lose its place in December as the largest foreign holder of US Treasury debt.


The Treasury Department said that under annual benchmark revisions released Friday, China's holdings of US Treasury securities stood at $894.8 billion at the end of December, keeping it in first place ahead of Japan.


On Feb 16, the government reported data that showed China had been surpassed by Japan. However, the government said in the new report that those figures did not account for purchases by Chinese investors in such places as Britain.


When those purchases are taken into account, the government said that China's holdings in December grew by $139.4 billion above what was reported on Feb 16.


That increase put China back into first place as the top foreign holder of US Treasury securities at $894.8 billion followed by Japan, now back in second place, at $768.8 billion.


The revised figures represent the annual revisions Treasury makes based on a more detailed report of the actual foreign holdings of the Treasury debt. That survey revised the figures through June 2009, and those more accurate figures were used to update the monthly reports through December 2009.


The revised figures did show that China reduced its holdings in December compared with November, a drop of $34.2 billion. However, with the more accurate assessment of the actual ownership of the securities, the levels of China's holdings were much higher than expressed in the report two weeks ago.


The replacement of China by Japan as the largest foreign holder of Treasury securities when it was reported two weeks ago had raised worries that China was carrying through on comments it made about diversifying its holdings based on rising concerns about America's soaring federal budget deficits.


Some economists had seen the change in China's position as a warning signal that the biggest holders of US debt were starting to dump those holdings. Such a development could dramatically increase the interest bill the federal government must pay to finance its deficits and also drive up the cost of borrowing for US businesses and consumers.


On Feb 1, the US President Barack Obama released a budget plan that projects the deficit for this year will total a record $1.56 trillion. That would surpass last year's record of $1.4 trillion deficit, reflecting a severe recession that has cut into government revenues and increased spending to stabilize the banking system and jump-start the economy.


The administration has pledged to address the soaring deficits once the economy gets back on track. The president by executive order last week created an 18-member deficit panel that is charged with issuing a report by December on how to reduce the annual budget deficits to 3 percent of the national economy by 2015.


Obama named four members of the panel on Friday. However, the commission is considered a weak substitute for what Obama really wanted - a commission created by Congress that could force lawmakers to vote on remedies to reduce the debt.


Source: China Daily

China pledges to ensure fair, high quality education in decade ahead

08:33, March 01, 2010



The Chinese government pledges to improve the quality of education and enable people to enjoy fairer education through more investment and reforms in the coming decade.

The draft of the National Outline for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) was published Sunday for public opinions.

The amount of government investment on education annually will increase to 4 percent of the country's total GDP by 2012, according to the outline. The proportion was 3.48 percent of its GDP in 2008.

Ding Xuedong, vice minister of finance, indicated on Sunday that the four-percent target was ambitious but also challenging because other sectors such as agriculture, science and technology, health care and social security need investment, too.

"Governments at all levels will have to make greater efforts to ensure the fulfillment of the target," Ding said.

He said the government would increase its education budget through more effective taxation and better management on education funds.

Education Minister Yuan Guiren said at a press conference Sunday in Beijing that the top task in the coming ten years was to guarantee equal access to education while enhancing the quality of education.

"To achieve the goal, local government at all levels should give top priority to the development of education and strive to deepen the education reform through innovation," Yuan said.

China will invest more to improve facilities in elementary and middle schools, such as school buildings, teaching equipment, libraries, sports facilities and lodging conditions, particularly for rural schools, the outline said.

More college graduates will be encouraged to teach at elementary and middle schools in remote and poor areas to improve the quality of education there, it said.

China will support the development of vocational education and carry out pilot reforms to allow vocational schools to better serve demands of enterprises.

High schools, colleges and universities shall adopt more flexible enrollment policies, rather than just using examination marks, in order to encourage comprehensive development of students, according to the outline.

The outline said private education will be greatly encouraged and unfavorable policies against them shall be eliminated.

There were about 100,000 privately-run schools in the country which educated about 28 million students in 2008.

The outline said children of migrant workers would be able to sit high school exam in areas where their parents work, a step which would allow equal opportunities of education to those children.

The outline also called for the removal of bureaucracy-like management at schools, which was seen as a hurdle of education development in China.

Source: Xinhua

http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2010-03/01/nw.D110000renmrb_20100301_4-01.htm

Chile quake death toll hits 708 as rescue heats up

08:10, March 01, 2010

Heroism and banditry mingled on Chile's shattered streets Sunday as rescuers braved aftershocks digging for survivors and the government sent soldiers and ordered a nighttime curfew to quell looting. The death toll climbed to 708 in one of the biggest earthquakes in centuries.



A car is smashed over after the magaquake in Concepcion, Chile, Feb. 28, 2010. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said on Sunday the death toll of the magnitude-8.8 earthquake reached 708 and was likely to increase as rescue went on. (Xinhua/Victor Rojas)




In the hard-hit city of Concepcion, firefighters pulling survivors from a toppled apartment block were forced to pause because of tear gas fired to stop looters, who were wheeling off everything from microwave ovens to canned milk at a damaged supermarket across the street.


Efforts to determine the full scope of destruction were undermined by an endless string of terrifying aftershocks that continued to turn buildings into rubble. Officials said 500,000 houses were destroyed or badly damaged, and President Michele Bachelet said "a growing number" of people were listed as missing.


"We are facing a catastrophe of such unthinkable magnitude that it will require a giant effort" to recover, Bachelet said after meeting for six hours with ministers and generals in La Moneda Palace, itself chipped and cracked.


She signed a decree giving the military control over security in the province of Concepcion, where looters were pillaging supermarkets, gas stations, pharmacies and banks. Men and women hurried away with plastic containers of chicken, beef and sausages.


Virtually every market and supermarket had been looted — and no food or drinking water could be found. Many people in Concepcion expressed anger at the authorities for not stopping the looting or bringing in supplies. Electricity and water services were out of service.


"We are overwhelmed," a police officer told The Associated Press.


Bachelet said a curfew was being imposed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and only security forces and other emergency personnel would be allowed on the streets. Police vehicles drove around announcing the curfew over loudspeakers.


As nightfall neared, hundreds of people put up tents and huddled around wood fires in parks and the grassy medians of avenues, too fearful to return to their homes amid continuing strong aftershocks.



A rescuer searches for surviors in debris of a collapsed building in Concepcion, Chile, Feb. 28, 2010. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said on Sunday the death toll of the magnitude-8.8 earthquake reached 708 and was likely to increase as rescue went on. (Xinhua/Victor Rojas)