It is an idealized interpretation - favorable to Franklin Delano Roosevelt - of his differences with the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, that are a true view of the contradictions between the decadent British Empire and the rising imperialism of the United States.

The Greek working class closed down that country for 24 hours on Feb. 13 to protest another attempt by the right-wing capitalist state, run by Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, to weaken the country's pension system.

As the President’s party, the Union for the Popular Movement (UMP), is preparing itself for defeat in the oncoming local elections, all the initiatives taken by the President with a view to limiting losses seem to boomerang against him.

Under existing EU rules there is no such thing as the G5 or an "inner circle"; but it is clear that the major economic powers will increase their political co-operation and, given their voting strength, will ensure that they get their way in most matters at the EU Council of Ministers.

Enthusiastically hailed by some and greeted with pessimism by others, the climate-change plan revealed by the European Commission on January 23rd is dangerous for two reasons.

So far the campaign has shown, to any independent, intellectually astute observer, that there is currently no such thing as a free election in this country. Since Mr. Putin was appointed #1 in the electoral list, all the government’s administrative resources, all the power structures and ministries, are being used on behalf of his party’s campaign.

We are entering a new stage in the political battle, the presidential elections of March 2, 2008. The previous stage the parliamentary elections has proved to be a serious test for the people.

By the end of 1990, it was quite obvious that the Soviet Union, as it was then, would not last long. At the time I was a member of the Politburo of the Soviet Communist Party, which was elected under Gorbachev several months before.

I first met Dr. Julian Tudor Hart as a newly qualified medical doctor, when he gave a lecture for a student meeting at Bristol University. Even then, he impressed with his knowledge and commitment to the health service.

The end of 2007 has proven to be rather disturbing for France's newly elected president, Nicolas Sarkozy. Nicolas Sarkozy, leader of right-wing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), was elected President in May 2007 on the basis of an aggressively anti-social-welfare program.

A recent large-scale survey by the University of Limerick, which examined the patterns of trade union recognition among transnational corporations in Ireland, points to a growing trend of union avoidance among already unionized companies.

One of every two primary and secondary French schools will close on Tuesday because of a strike called by public professors, heating up the environment already caused by the interruption of transportation.

The Soviet Health system was introduced in the 1920s with an emphasis on securing health for all working people. The "socialized medicine" system was based on prevention, access and equity.

The draft treaty, an inextricable tangle designed to discourage any debate, takes no account of the reasons that led the citizens, two years ago, to vote "No."

Lenin walks around the world....

At 10 am on October 25 1917, an appeal "To the Citizens of Russia!" was published in the Russian capital Petrograd. It proclaimed: "The provisional government has been deposed...."

Two years ago, when Gordon Brown unleashed his campaign to slip into 10 Downing Street, he said that "the days of Britain having to apologise for its colonial history are over."

In Hungary, a state court is threatening to imprison the entire leadership of the Hungarian Communist Workers’ Party (HCWP) for having committed "libel in a public place", while in The Netherlands, an exiled leading member of the Filipino Communist movement, José Maria Sison, has just been arrested on trumped up murder charges.

Thump, thump, ... The beating of the heart begins again. Laboratory rats, sick, have regained their well-being.. The reason for this convalescence: their defective heart cells have been, in a fashion, replaced by stem cells from human embryos.

The anti-social threats of the Sarkozy presidency, the prospect of a system of paying for medicines and the increase in VAT mobilized millions of voters. The Right won its majority but the dike held back the predicted "blue tidal wave".