Category: Europe

[1999] Philippines: The Great Left Divide

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A SPECTER is haunting the revolutionary movement in the Philippines — the specter of seemingly interminable splits.

In the seven years since Armando Liwanag issued his “Reaffirm our Basic Principles and Rectify Errors” document, the Left — or more appropriately, the Left of the national democratic (ND) tradition — has gone through an unprecedented period of metastasis. The once monolithic movement that at its peak in the mid-1980s commanded 35,000 Party members, 60 guerrilla fronts, two battalions and 37 company formations, and foisted ideological and organizational hegemony in the progressive politics during the Marcos dictatorship is now history. Out of it have emerged fragments of disparate groups — eight at least — that continue to wage “revolution” in similarly disparate forms.


The Great Left Divide

Related:

Philippine Socialism Archive

Banned or Suppressed Publications in the Philippines

Sean Gervasi, 1992 lecture: The US Strategy to Dismantle the USSR

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Sean Gervasi, 1992 lecture: The US Strategy to Dismantle the USSR

Related RAND Corporation documents:

Economic factors affecting Soviet foreign and defense policy: a summary outline

The Costs of the Soviet Empire

Sitting on bayonets : the Soviet defense burden and the slowdown of Soviet defense spending

Moscow’s Economic Dilemma: The Burden of Soviet Defense

Exploiting ‘fault lines’ in the Soviet empire: an overview

Trump Sold-Out His Base to Shovel $95 Billion to Ukraine and Israel

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America last. America last. That’s all this is. America last, every single day. – Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene

The man who is most responsible for the $95 billion giveaway to Ukraine and Israel, is the same guy who pretends to oppose America’s “wasteful” foreign wars. Donald Trump. It was Trump who consulted with Speaker Mike Johnson about the contents of the Ukraine aid package, just as it was Trump who concocted the idea of issuing loans instead of dispersing the standard welfare handout. It was also Trump who said:

Trump Sold-Out His Base to Shovel $95 Billion to Ukraine and Israel

Related:

Michael Tracey: America First, or Ukraine First?

Brazilian lawyer exposes deceit at heart of “Twitter Files Brazil”

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An interview with Estela Aranha, who forced Michael Shellenberger to apologize after exposing  his manipulation of data to build a false narrative about “totalitarian” Brazil

By Brian Mier

On April 3,  Michael Shellenberger tweeted a series of excerpts from emails by X executives dubbed, “Twitter Files Brazil”, which alleged to expose crimes by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Moraes, he claimed, had pressed criminal charges against Twitter Brasil’s lawyer for its refusal to turn over personal information on political enemies. Elon Musk quickly shared the tweets and they viralized and were embraced by the international far right, to the joy of former President Bolsonaro and his supporters. A week later, Estela Aranha, former Secretary of Digital Rights in the Brazilian Justice Ministry, revealed rot at the heart of Shellenberger’s narrative. The only criminal charge filed against Twitter Brazil referenced in the leaked emails was made by the São Paulo District Attorney’s Office, after the company refused to turn over personal data on a leader of Brazil’s largest cocaine trafficking organization, the PCC. Shellenberger had cut the section of an email about a São Paulo criminal investigation and mixed it with communications complaining about Moraes on unrelated issues. Pressed by Brazilian reporters, Shellenberger wrote, “I regret my my mistake and apologize for it. I don’t have evidence that Moraes threatened to file criminal charges against Twitter’s Brazilian lawyer.” 


Brazilian lawyer exposes deceit at heart of “Twitter Files” 

US Reimposes Sanctions on Venezuela After Brief Relief

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US Reimposes Sanctions on Venezuela After Brief Relief

Related:

Venezuela: Washington Reimposes Oil Sanctions, Maduro Gov’t Pledges Continued Growth

Washington Revokes Oil and Gas License Issued to Venezuela (+Sanctions)

The document specifies that the US regime does not authorize “any transactions involving any financial institution blocked pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13850 other than Banco Central de Venezuela or Banco de Venezuela SA Banco Universal.”

As a second prohibition, it further indicates that “the provision of goods or services to, or new investment in, an entity located in Venezuela that is owned or controlled by, or a joint venture with, an entity located in the Russian Federation,” is also forbidden, thus keeping the same provision that existed in the revoked license against Russia.

The Foreign Policy of the Russian Revolution

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Source

No idea could be more erroneous or harmful than to separate foreign from home policy. The monstrous falsity of this separation becomes even more monstrous in war-time. Yet the bourgeoisie are doing everything possible and impossible to suggest and promote this idea. Popular ignorance of foreign policy is incomparably greater than of home policy. The “secrecy” of diplomatic relations is sacredly observed in the freest of capitalist countries, in the most democratic republics.

The Foreign Policy of the Russian Revolution