World

  • UNITED STATES: New security document targets Iran

    Doug Lorimer Undeterred by the erosion of public support for the war in Iraq, in an update of its September 2002 US National Security Strategy document, US President George Bush reaffirmed his policy of "pre-emptive" attacks — what used to be

  • Are the Iraqi insurgents 'terrorists'?

    Doug Lorimer "What we're seeing in Iraq is an attempted power grab by extremists and terrorists", US President George Bush declared at an April 16 White House press briefing. The claim that Iraqis who are engaged in armed resistance to the US-led

  • GHANA: Gay and lesbian conference banned

    On August 31 Ghana's government banned an international conference for gay men and lesbians that was due to take place on September 4. Information minister Kwame Bartels said: "Unnatural carnal knowledge is illegal under our criminal code.

  • INDONESIA: Rejecting the old 'elit politik'

    Max Lane Despite what some media may tell us, the 2004 Indonesian election results indicate that there is no nostalgic swing to the past, but instead a popular rejection of the elit politik. Not a single major political party has increased its

  • AFGHANISTAN: Who are Canadian troops defending?

    The following open letter to Canadian PM Stephen Harper was issued on September 8 by Ken Georgetti president of the Canadian Labour Congress the largest trade union federation in Canada representing 3 million workers. In May Harper's minority

  • Philippines progressives set up coalition

    MANILA — SANLAKAS (People's Solidarity for Democracy and Freedom), a broad coalition of organisations campaigning for national freedom and democracy, held its inaugural convention here on October 29. The coalition is

  • EL SALVADOR: Fear the real winner in elections

    Amid a sea of red, white, and blue flags and chants of "Homeland — yes, Communism — no", the right wing held its eerie celebration on the evening of March 21, election day in El Salvador. By an unexpectedly high margin, Tony Saca, the

  • PALESTINE: Hamas, Fatah to form coalition government

    Kim Bullimore On September 13, Palestinian political leaders condemned Washington's refusal to lift its aid embargo against the Palestinian Authority (PA) after Hamas and Fatah, the two major Palestinian political parties, reached agreement on

  • SOUTH KOREA: Impeachment attempt provokes mass protests

    Lee Yu-kyung& Iggy Kim A move by conservative opposition parties in the Kukhoe, South Korea's single-chamber parliament, to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun are galvanising a pro-democracy backlash, leading to mass protests against the attempted

  • ZIMBABWE: Creating the tipping point

    Briggs Bomba The cruel impact of the Zimbabwean crisis on the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans can no longer be fully described through terms such as rate of inflation, percentage unemployment, GDP, and so forth. Today one has to talk in terms of the

  • UNITED STATES: Paul Sweezy

    Phil Gasper, Chicago Paul Sweezy, the grand old man of American Marxism, died at his home in Larchmont, New York, on February 28, just short of his 94th birthday. Sweezy founded the independent socialist magazine Monthly Review in 1949 and remained

  • UNITED STATES: US plots Cuba invasion

    Stuart Harrison A US$80 million fund has been approved by US President George Bush to help the United States achieve "regime change" in Cuba. The second report from the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, released on July 5, outlines