Znet

Iraqi economy has been severely affected by decades of sanctions, wars and occupation. The Iraqi trade unions and federations believe in the capacity of the country with all its oil and mineral resources to provide a decent living standard for Iraqis.

Given the recent political death of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, many in Israel and the Occupied Territories are wondering who will the former premier's spot. Likewise, Palestinians and Israelis are closely watching to see who will govern Palestinian society. By Remi Kanazi

Quote: "In my eyes, it is not a problem of parties, but a problem of peace, how to create a strong coalition for peace. The elements are now in place for a real peace." By Noam Chomsky and Alan Dershowitz

Will the U.S. economy do as well in 2006 as it did in 2005? That may well depend on whether we can make it through another year without any of the current economy's big imbalances and unsustainable trends coming back to bite us. By Mark Weisbrot

The twentieth anniversary issue of Monthly Review in May 1969 carried the announcement that Harry Magdoff - the independent economist - had officially joined Paul Sweezy as co-editor, replacing Leo Huberman, who had died in 1968. By Christopher Phelps

An Ocean of Ignorance. By Stephen Soldz

The once-cosmopolitan and relatively wealthy people of Bethlehem are now isolated, increasingly impoverished, and imprisoned within a land area of only a few square kilometers. Many are leaving. By Phyllis Bennis

Freedom Of Speech Cases In Turkey Should Be Subject To International Law And Action. By Noam Chomsky and John Tirman

A New December 24 Holiday. By MickeyZ

In elections that have captured international attention, Morales' Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) won over 50 percent of the popular vote, with a 20 percent lead over conservative opponent Jorge Quiroga. By Gretchen Gordon

A widely used form of DuPont's Teflon, suspected of being a carcinogen and creating organ damage in animals, is being studied by the Food and Drug Administration, according to abcnews.com. By Ben Bagdikian

The WTO in Hong Kong. By Puck Lo

Iraq Developments: December 9, 2005. By Gilbert Achcar

For the fourth time, Venezuela's opposition parties are undergoing a bizarre process implosion. Like lemmings, they are committing mass political suicide by withdrawing from one of the country's most important elections in the past five years. By Gregory Wilpert

The decision of four opposition parties in Venezuela to withdraw from elections this weekend raises important questions for the media. By Mark Weisbrot and Larry Birns

While the Iraqi people struggle to define their future amid political chaos and violence, the fate of their most valuable economic asset, oil, is being decided behind closed doors. By Greg Muttitt

Richard Bulliet's new book. By Sonia Nettnin

Hugo Chavez seems to take great pleasure in tweaking George Bush's nose. By Mike Whitney

G.W. Bush returned from a brief but difficult November learning foray in Latin America: "Wow, Brazil is big." Meanwhile, US citizens grew impatient with his performance. By Saul Landau

When Hurricane Katrina tore up the roof of my house, it didn¹t care that I'm black. By Emma Dixon

When U.S. and coalition troops invaded Iraq in March 2003, many Iraqis hoped that at least their conditions of life would improve--after a decade and a half of living under the strictest system of economic sanctions ever known. Now, they know different. By Anthony Arnove

Amir Peretz's stunning victory last week has been hailed by some as the dawning of a new day of hope in Israeli politics. By Mitchell Plitnick

What happened to the American Dream? By Lee Sustar

The situation in Iraq appears to deteriorate by the day. The USAF have been carrying out bombing raids on Iraqi cities, and insurgent attacks occur just about everywhere outside of Anglo/American bases.

While the debate about the use of children in war is relatively new, the practice is ages old. By Mark Ealey

Caracas. "This is an historical gathering. For the first time workers from occupied factories from across the continent are meeting together" (Serge Goulart, United Workers' Council of Brazilian group of occupied factories)

During the recent corporate globalization inspired economic downturns in Argentina, workers confronted disaster when their capitalist workplaces often went bankrupt.

Going to Venezuela? There are beautiful waterfalls and mountains. There is rich surf, sand, and sun. But nowadays the biggest attraction is revolution.

The Roman historian Tacitus observed: "Crime once exposed has no refuge but in audacity." By Dave Edwards

Early last century, industrial technology allowed business interests to produce mass media at a cost that outclassed the capacity of non-corporate media to compete. By David Edwards