Since the writing of The Communist Manifesto and the founding of the First International, proletarian internationalism has been a cornerstone of scientific socialism, and is a pillar of Marxism-Leninism. Today, in the era of imperialism, putting genuine proletarian internationalism into practice demands that we be consistent anti-imperialists.
To Be a Socialist One Must Be an Anti-Imperialist
In this next of a series of reviews of some important books published this year, I look at Branco Milanovic’s Visions of Inequality.
Visions of inequality
Last week a US district court granted Sri Lanka’s request for a six-month pause on a creditor lawsuit against the country. Hamilton Reserve Bank holds a big chunk of one of Sri Lanka’s now-defaulted bonds and had been suing it for immediate repayment.
Sri Lanka’s debt trap and the vultures
The Biden administration helped Pakistan get a controversial new bailout from the International Monetary Fund after Pakistan agreed to secretly sell arms to the United States for the war in Ukraine, according to a new blockbuster report by The Intercept. The deal allows Pakistan to sell some $900 million in munitions while keeping IMF loans flowing to the government in Islamabad amid a spiraling economic crisis, which is driven at least partly by the austerity measures imposed by the IMF loan. Pakistan’s position on the war in Ukraine has shifted significantly since Russia’s invasion and the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was removed from office in 2022 under pressure from U.S. diplomats who objected to his “aggressively neutral” stance on the war. Khan is now imprisoned in Pakistan on corruption charges. Meanwhile, the caretaker government backed by Pakistan’s powerful military has delayed planned elections, widely seen as an attempt to block Khan’s supporters from power. “When the United States has a primary foreign policy objective, in particular when it’s a war, everything else falls away. That’s what you’re seeing in Pakistan now,” says The Intercept’s Ryan Grim.
Bombs for Bailouts: Pakistan Supplied Weapons to Ukraine in Return for U.S.-Brokered IMF Loan
Related:
“U.S. Helped Pakistan Get IMF Bailout With Secret Arms Deal For Ukraine, Leaked Documents Reveal”
Dear comrade!
Someone wants to kill you, to rob you, and you will be next!
You are being addressed by Derzhava, a Ukrainian Political Party banned by the neo-Nazi government of Zelensky. Most of the media lies and hides from you the fact that your government openly supports Zelensky’s fascists, openly helps neo-Nazis and actually preaches fascism itself, directing efforts to exterminate as many people as possible.
Letter to workers for unity with IUAFS.
Yves here. We’re featuring a post from openDemocracy on Argentina’s primary results that had far-right candidate Javier Milei beating the candidates of the two parties that have been in power for two decades. The post is telling, and not in a good way. Milei does advocate extreme views (not that he can go as far as he likes since even if he won a plurality again, he would still be leading a coalition government). And too many commentators forget that voters regularly move to the right in bad economic times, which Argentina is certainly suffering. It’s that the piece depicts him as a Trumpian outsider/madman, when Nick Corbishley’s post right after the primary results were in describes Milei’s considerable, if sometimes seamy, establishment connections…including to the Kochs:
How Javier Milei Upset Argentina’s Political Status Quo
Previously:
Is Argentina’s presidential frontrunner Javier Milei US’ “boy?” Rejects China+Mercosur, embraces $$
Orinoco Tribune Editor: There Was a Coup Against Pedro Castillo in Peru + Some Notes
Armed clashes were reported between gunmen in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon.
At Least Five Palestinians Killed in Ain Al-Hilweh Clashes
Video via Ramzy Baroud
Related:
Prominent Fatah Leader assassinated in Lebanon; Fatah vows justice for the martyrs
A prominent leader of the Palestinian Fatah movement, General Abu Ashraf Al-Armoushi, along with several of his comrades, was assassinated in a targeted act of terrorism in Lebanon’s Ein El-Hilweh camp on Sunday, July 30, 2023, Fatah announced in a statement.
“While carrying out their national duty to ensure the safety of their people within the camp, General Al-Armoushi and his colleagues, identified as Mouhanad Kassem, Tarek Khalaf, Mousa Fandi, and Bilal Obeid, fell victim to this horrific act.”
Sudan fighting erupts between rival military factions backed by external powers
Al-Burhan is backed by Egypt’s brutal dictator, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and layers close to the military that have long controlled Sudan’s sprawling military-industrial complex. He is reportedly supportive of the US and the European powers in the US/NATO war against Russia in Ukraine. Dagalo, who has become enormously rich based on Darfur’s gold, is backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Controlling the export of gold, he has close relations with Russia whose Wagner mercenaries operate in Sudan and neighbouring Central African Republic.
…
Sudan’s military has close relations with Russia, which is trying to establish a base at Port Sudan, on the Red Sea; selling much of its gold that accounts for 40 percent of the country’s exports to Russia via the UAE; abstaining on the UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and infuriating the Biden administration. Washington is determined to sever Sudan’s relationship with Iran, Russia and China, close Port Sudan to the Russian navy, and strengthen its regional anti-Iran alliance to which Sudan had signed up earlier this year.
Crisis-hit Pakistan has made various economic modifications including hikes in fuel prices, raising taxes, and others demanded by IMF to unlock the loan program.
IMF sets another condition for crisis-hit Pakistan to revive loan
Related:
Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund:
In 2018, Imran Khan became Prime Minister of Pakistan. For this, they arranged friendly loans from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and China to avoid tough IMF conditions. In 2019, when economic conditions worsened, they went to IMF for the twenty-second time for a loan of US$1 billion. IMF gave loan based on conditions such as hike in energy tariffs, removal of energy subsidy, increase in taxation, privatization of public entities and fiscal policies to the budget.
IMF bailout package — rescue or trap for Pakistan?
“The IMF’s agenda is not to strengthen global economies because if it does that, then the Fund itself will be out of business,” he said.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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