The Economist (24 December 2005)

Various

Table of contents :
The Economist – December 24th, 2005……Page 1
Contents……Page 2
Politics this week……Page 3
Business this week……Page 6
Evolution: The story of man
……Page 8
Dodgy science: Patriot games
……Page 11
The European Union: Brussels fudge
……Page 13
The IMF and Argentina: Nestor unbound
……Page 15
Entrepreneurship: Gerontocapitalism
……Page 17
Letters
……Page 19
The Poor: The mountain man and the surgeon
……Page 21
The story of wheat: Ears of plenty……Page 26
Pranks: a competition: From Hermes to bonsai kittens
……Page 31
Micronations: Castles in the air
……Page 34
French anti-Americanism: Spot the difference
……Page 37
The Finno-Ugrics: The dying fish swims in water
……Page 42
Churches as businesses: Jesus, CEO
……Page 46
The curse of oil:
The paradox of plenty……Page 51
Luxury: Inconspicuous consumption……Page 54
Africa 40 years on: Return to Lundazi……Page 57
Tibetans in exile: The wrong side of the mountains……Page 62
Japan’s humanoid robots: Better than people……Page 66
America’s most-hated companies: The very bottom line……Page 69
Jay Gould: A bad-hat baron……Page 73
Capitalism and sex-toys in China: Family values……Page 74
Frequent-flyer miles: Funny money……Page 77
Personal finance in Jane Austen: Percents and sensibility……Page 80
Collecting: To have and to hold……Page 83
Uncle stories: Whatever happened to Uncle?……Page 86
Homeland security: Look who’s listening……Page 90
Security v liberty(well, sort of): Hans off……Page 92
Massachusetts or the presidency?: An easy choice for Mr Romney……Page 93
Student loans: Out of the mouths of babes……Page 94
Lexington: A grain of sand for your thoughts……Page 96
Bolivia’s election: A leftist landslide in the Andes……Page 98
Asia’s tsunami: Relief but little rebuilding……Page 102
Kashmir’s earthquake: In the bleak midwinter……Page 105
China: Catching up……Page 107
Palestine and Israel: Wobbles all round……Page 108
Iraq’s election: And now for unity? Alas, not yet……Page 110
Iran and the world: Still not blinking……Page 112
The proper study of mankind……Page 114
The long march of everyman……Page 116
Meet the relatives……Page 119
If this is a man……Page 122
The concrete savannah……Page 126
Starchild……Page 130
Acknowledgment and sources……Page 132
Offer to readers……Page 133
Oil: Life after Lee……Page 135
Energy: Shock to the system……Page 137
Daiei: It’s alive!……Page 139
Mobile phones: Somalia calling……Page 140
Face value: Ho ho ho……Page 141
World trade: Hard truths……Page 143
Italian banking: Year-end accounts……Page 145
French banks: Battle of the pocket-books……Page 147
Russia’s stockmarket: The Yukos rally……Page 148
Economist focus: Wealth from worship……Page 150
Stem cells: Running for cover……Page 152
The human epigenome: Life story, the sequel……Page 154
Intellectual property: Bayhing for blood or Doling out cash?……Page 156
Discovering the truth about Santa Claus: The travellers’ tale……Page 158
The politics of Christmas: Bah, humbug……Page 161
Modern warfare: Model major-general……Page 163
New cinema: The ethics of assassination……Page 165
Russian theatre: Bringing home the revolution……Page 167
Literary criticism: Subliminal thinking……Page 168
Obituary: Devan Nair……Page 169
Overview……Page 171
Output, demand and jobs……Page 172
Prices and wages……Page 173
Netherlands……Page 174
Money and interest rates……Page 175
The Economist commodity price index……Page 176
Stockmarkets……Page 177
Trade, exchange rates and budgets……Page 178
Champagne shipments……Page 179
Overview……Page 180
Child labour……Page 181
Economy……Page 182
Financial markets……Page 183