At a recent gathering in the State of Guayana President Chavez announced a series of new nationalisations, but he also stressed the need for workers’ control, planning and socialism.
En français ici: Venezuela : nationalisations dans le secteur sidérurgique

The Israeli cabinet has rejected a controversial proposal to require Israeli citizens to take an oath of loyalty to the Jewish state.

It is an outrage that abortion doctors should still have to fear for their lives.

“Britain must have root-and-branch reform of its constitution — and a referendum on proportional representation”
It seems the calls for democratic electoral reform have extended across the pond. The UK’s recent expenses scandal have brought them to the surface again. Opponents of reform should be ashamed of themselves.

The global credit crisis is affecting everyone, but Cuba’s planned economy can handle it better than that of a country with a similar GDP.

From SolidarityEconomy.net. Discussion on these is welcomed.

Walden Bello on why China’s government spending is not going to buoy the world economy.

“The two great murderous, refugee-producing countries are the US and Israel. Between them, they have murdered and dislocated millions of people who were a threat to no one.”

More on the newest phase of capitalism: The state as the insurer of last resort for all of monopoly-finance’s bad debts. It is socialism for the rich; the US Fed is basically nationalizing $trillions in loses, by shifting them onto the American taxpayers. They are just trying to reinflate the bubble. Good luck.

–Shell once again is accused of acting against any and all measures of morality.

–I think that it is clear that the Conference Board of Canada is both partisan and skewed in its analysis.

–Nice to see some good old union militancy from NB workers.

“CDS contracts are not cleared on a centralized exchange nor are they government regulated. That means that no one really knows whether issuers of CDS can pay off potential claims or not. It’s a Ponzi-insurance racket of the first order.”

–University do not seem to take any issue of accessibility seriously these days.

–Some interesting analysis of the recent elections with a focus on CPI(M).

–Human trafficking continues to be a growing problem in Europe as the economy suffers.

–From overproduction comes the the problem of waste management and ecological damage. One cannot help but think that the problem with waste management is also tied to the contradictions in the current economic system.

–To bring you up-to-date on the goings on after Proposition Eight in California.

–I just cannot bring myself the be shocked by this. I also have the feeling that if the US really wanted to stop Israel building/expanding settlements they would stop.

–This story is not over. We must continue to push for international observers and help for the Tamils trapped in camps in Sri Lanka. More here from Inter Press Service.

–The cowardly and unconstitutional acts of the New Brunswick Government never cease to amaze.