Jobs in the USA continue to hemorrhage with no end in sight. Companies keep announcing layoffs as the official unemployment rate reaches a 16-year high of 7.2 percent and is expected to reach 10 percent or higher over the next 12 months. The number of Americans continuing to claim unemployment is now at 4.78 million, the highest level since records began in 1967. Workers are beginning to think.
In the afternoon of Thursday, January 29 (Venezuelan time), two workers were killed by police in the state of Anzoategui, Venezuela. The workers killed are Pedro Suarez from the Mitsubishi factory and José Marcano from nearby auto parts factory Macusa. They were killed when regional police of Anzoategui was attempting evict hundreds of workers who had been occupying the Mitsubitshi (MMC) factory.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has just declared his intention to support the Conservative budget. In response, an angry Jack Layton said that the NDP-Liberal coalition has been replaced by a Liberal-Conservative coalition. However, we don't know why he is so angry. When the NDP leadership bailed out the Liberals through the unprincipled coalition they gave the Liberals the opportunity to save the Conservatives. Canada has been through two months of intense political turmoil and it is important to take a balance sheet of events.