Mexican immigrant beaten to death by US Border Patrol

Original article, Mexican immigrant beaten to death by US Border Patrol, by Bill Van Auken via World Socialist Web Site:

Anastasio Hernández Rojas, a Mexican immigrant construction worker and father of five, died in a San Diego hospital Monday after a brutal beating and tasering by US Border Patrol agents at the San Ysidro crossing to Tijuana left him brain dead.

The US has some majorly sick people in it's 'justice enforcement' agencies.

The San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office Wednesday ruled the death a homicide, with the beating having resulted in a loss of oxygen to the brain and a heart attack.

One can only hope that the killers are brought to justice. The problem will trying to find a jury that's not caught up in the anti-immigrant wave, or the callousness of the society in general. Actually, the first problem will be actually getting them charged.

The 42-year-old worker had lived in the Encanto, California, area since he was 14, his entire adult life. His children, ages four through 20 were all born in the US and are American citizens. He supported his family through work installing swimming pools.

I'll let you read the rest of the article. It's not pretty. I don't know if there's a good immigration system to be had (there probably is, but the immigration issue has been around for decades), but there is no reason for someone to be beaten to death while in custody. It is an outrage.

Japanese prime minister resigns after just nine months

Original article, Japanese prime minister resigns after just nine months, via World Socialist Web Site:

Under mounting pressure from within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced yesterday that he and DPJ secretary general Ichiro Ozawa would resign their positions. The resignations follow a disastrous slump in the government’s poll ratings ahead of upper house elections expected on July 11.

The Prime Minister promised change and didn't deliver. Hmmmm...sounds kind of familiar. At least he had the good sense to resign.

Hatoyama came to office just nine months ago after the Democrats won national elections, defeating the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which had ruled virtually continuously for more than 50 years. The DPJ capitalised on widespread disaffection with the LDP over its support for US militarism, including the war in Afghanistan, as well as growing economic uncertainty and rising social tensions in Japan itself.

The advantage of a parliamentary system is that the leader of the party can resign without bringing down the government. The disadvantage is that the new leader/Prime Minister is not elected directly for the position (nor is he/she under normal circumstances). If a PM resigns, the party has a chance to rebuild it's support under a new regime. It will be interesting to see if this happens.

The immediate trigger for Hatoyama’s resignation was public outrage over his government’s reversal of an election promise to move the Futenma Marine Corps airbase out of Okinawa. Hatoyama had promised to renegotiate a 2006 deal with the US to relocate the base within Okinawa. But he backed down two weeks ago in the face of Washington’s intransigence and agreed to move the base to the north side of the island.

Here's the kicker. If the DPJ doesn't renegotiate the base off of Yokohama, it's toast. Service of the Empire is not particularly a popular position in Japan at the moment.

I'll let you read the rest of the article. Japan's economy is in no better shape that the US's, although the Yen is much stronger against the dollar. For the DPJ to stay in power, it will have to deliver on it's promises. The question is whether it is willing to risk Japan's relationship with the US. There are, of course, other factors in play, such as Japan's ailing economy. The DPJ also has the advantage of it's major opponent, the LDP, is equally (if not more) unpopular. As the article sums up:

With no avenue to express itself through official channels, political opposition is likely to take new and potentially explosive forms.

Israel's lie machine goes into overdrive

Original article, Israel's lie machine goes into overdrive, subtitled Israel's slander campaign against peace activists from the Gaza Freedom Flotilla isn't only about justifying the murder of at least 10 of them, writes Alan Maass via socialistworker.org:

NO SMEAR is too crude and no lie too outrageous in Israel's attempt to justify the murderous commando assault on a flotilla of boats carrying humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza.

The astounding part is that the US government has decided that Israel is quite capable of investigating itself. This, of course, is a joke. That the Obama administration is going along with the joke should come as no surprise. It is tied hand and feet to the corporatist militarist mindset that has infected the US ruling elite for decades.

The flotilla carried hundreds of peace activists from more than 40 countries, many of them renown for their commitment to nonviolence and the struggle for justice.

Any thought that the Obama administration could possibly be a fair dealer in the Middle East should be put to rest now.

But that didn't stop Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon from announcing that "[t]he organizers are well-known for their ties to global jihad, al-Qaeda and Hamas. They have a history of arms smuggling and deadly terror."

I'll let you read the rest of the article. Needless to say, there's a hair trigger in the Middle East right now. If the Israelis should attack the Turkish Navy, there will be war. Will Washington abide by NATO's commitment to come to the aid of a member state should it be attacked? And, if not, will this be the end of the alliance between Europe and the US? It's a terrifying situation, and one that could spiral out of control if any of the actors should slip up.

China: Honda strike sends shudder through financial circles

Original article, China: Honda strike sends shudder through financial circles, by John Chan and via World Socialist Web Site:

A strike by 1,900 workers at the Honda Motors transmission plant in southern China paralysed production for almost two weeks and raised concerns in international financial circles about the prospect for wider unrest. Although workers yesterday agreed to return to work following government threats and a pay rise, the strike has highlighted the degree to which global capital has become dependent on China as a cheap labour platform.

Anybody who's been paying attention knows that China is one large authoritarian sweatshop. It's also clear that to call China a Communist country is a misnomer. It's a Capitalist paradise.

The strike erupted in the Honda Automotive Components Manufacturing factory at Foshan in the southern province of Guangdong on May 17. Workers who earn just 900-1,500 yuan (US$130-$220) a month—a little higher than the local minimum wage of 920 yuan—demanded an increase to 2,000-2,500 yuan. Management promised to address the issue and the strike was halted.

The pay rates are better than those in Haiti, but compared to the West they're abominable. China relies upon keeping their labor cheap: If workers start being paid what they deserve, the multi-nationals will find some other cheap labor country to build their products. Profits before people is the Capitalist motto and China's right with them.

However, when workers found out that the pay rises would fall far short of their expectations and that strike leaders would be fired, a second strike erupted on May 22, forcing Honda to suspend production at its four assembly plants in China last week. The strike threatened Honda’s plans to boost output by one-third, to 480,000 vehicles, by the end of 2011.

I'll let you read the rest of the article. It's good to know that Chinese workers are willing to take strike action, even though they no longer have a right to strike in their Constitution. Also, it's good to know that they are willing to fight for their livelihoods even though their state-sponsored union has lined up with (surprise) the state. Workers around the world are finding that they need to stand up to their employers, and at least some of China's workers have shown that they are willing to do so.