Wall Street bonus season has begun again, with billions handed out in bonus pay as banks and investment firms report gigantic 2009 profits.

The recent earthquake has hit the poorest metropolitan area in the Americas and brought a new wave of devastation to a country that had already suffered the worst effects of capitalism, poverty and imperial meddling.

NEW YORK CITY—On January 26, around 2,000 teachers, students and parents attended a rally called by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and then entered a mass hearing of the Panel for Education Policy (PEP) at Brooklyn Tech High School. The overwhelming majority, if not the entirety of those that attended were there to speak out against mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to close 19 public schools, which would be voted on by the PEP at the end of the hearing.

Radical historian Howard Zinn passed away today at the age of 87. Here we re-publish a review of his documentary, The People Speak, which premiered on the History Channel in December, and is undoubtedly among the best programs in TV history.

Unimaginable a few short weeks ago: Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat in Massachusetts was won by a Republican. Two months ago, Martha Coakley had a 31 percentage-point lead in polls over the obscure Republican state senator Scott Brown. Most had thought that the real race was over for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat when the Democratic primary ended. After all, the seat had been held by the Democratic Party for over 58 years, most of that time by two brothers with the last name Kennedy. Just over a year ago, Obama had carried Massachusetts by 26%. What happened?

The humanitarian catastrophe that has befallen Haiti beggars belief. The powerful earthquake that struck on 12 January left many thousands dead, with estimates running to 200,000 and more. The flimsy slum dwellings in Port-au-Prince, the capital, collapsed, as did public buildings, including schools and hospitals. Many thousands are still missing and more are badly injured.

While desperate survivors in Haiti’s destroyed capital of Port-au-Prince tried to find food, water and shelter, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton breezed into the main airport for a photo opportunity, diverting aid relief flights which included a field hospital from the charity Médecins Sans Frontières.

Much has been said about the change promised by Barack Obama prior to his election, and the depressing continuity between his administration and those of Bush and Clinton. During the drawn-out months of his election campaign, there were even some rumblings in right-wing media circles that an Obama presidency would not be “sufficiently” pro-Israel. Comparisons were drawn with Jimmy Carter’s supposedly pro-Palestinian administration, while a false controversy was manufactured in Obama’s friendship with the moderate, and indeed quite uncontroversial, Palestinian historian Rashid Khalidi. It is clear, however, that even prior to November 2008, Obama was never going to buck the trend when it came to Washington’s long-term “special relationship” with Israel.

Democratic Governor Chet Culver of Iowa is attempting to implement a 10% ($600 million) across the board cut to the state budget. With the support of both his own party and the Republicans, no program is off limits - Medicare, food stamps, public education and more are all on the chopping block.

Disaster has struck the impoverished people of Haiti once again; a powerful earthquake, on January 12, toppled buildings in the capital Port-au-Prince.

The Youth Fight for Jobs campaign in Britain caught the attention of Socialist Alternative and Justice newspaper. With over a million young people now out of work, the campaign has organized dynamic, high-profile actions to demand jobs and affordable education. Bryan Koulouris from Justice interviewed Ben Robinson and Sarah Sachs-Eldridge, two leaders of Youth Fight for Jobs (YF4J).

In late October, in a historic show of rank-and-file opposition, Ford’s 41,000 hourly workers voted down proposed contract modifications endorsed by the company and the international leadership of the United Auto Workers (UAW). The modifications would have removed limits on hiring low-wage entry-level workers and frozen their wages for six years, while also limiting the right to strike. This was the first national Ford contract to be voted down by UAW members since 1976 (Detroit Free Press, 10/31/09).

The future for working people under capitalism can be seen most sharply by looking at its impact on young people. The recession has accelerated already falling living standards for U.S. youth and hit young people harder than any other section of the population. 16 to 24 year-olds have lost at least 2.5 million jobs since December 2007. As of September 2009, only 46% of youth between 16 and 24 were actually working – the lowest figure on record since 1948 when the government started keeping track of this statistic.

There is a war going on, a war against working people throughout the country, especially in the “failed state” of California.

One year ago, millions of Americans were in the streets cheering the election of Obama as the end of Republican policies and the start of a new era. How quickly these hopes have been dashed.