...ntatives (though the rate of turnover in the US Congress in the last two decades is lower than it was in the last 20 years of the Politburo). But ... ... by cozying up to the West and, in particular, to America - even as he provides the lower classes with a sense of direction and security they lacked... ...he remainder of this year. Not surprisingly, Standard and Poor's is contemplating a lowering of Turkey's country rating, currently below investment ... ...has just downgraded Israel's 2002 country credit rating to 45th place - seven rungs lower than in early 2000. It is ranked behind Kuwait, Cyprus, Q... ...th party in 1968 and, later on, by Saddam Hussein, represented the interests of the lower middle class and the petty bourgeoisie: shopkeepers, low a... ... firms. Russia and France are not alone in their reluctance to bin Iraqi credits. Austrian Minister of Finance, Karl-Heinz Grasser, was unambiguou... ... through mutual customs agreements ... including France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Austria, Poland, and perhaps Italy, Sweden, and Norway". It is ...