Video via The New Populists with Dave Brown
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Tag: Hyperinflation
“The Only Thing You Have to Offer Is Nuclear World War III” – Peace Activist Interrupts Cory Booker and Chris Christie Speech
Jeffrey Sachs Discusses The War in Ukraine, ‘Shock Therapy,’ and More
Jeffrey Sachs Discusses The War in Ukraine, ‘Shock Therapy,’ and More
Perhaps the most stunning bit of information in the interview comes from Sachs’s disclosure of the reason for the failure of “Shock therapy” in Russia. “Shock therapy” is the name given to the abrupt transition from the Soviet-style command economy to a market-oriented economy. It was a success in Poland, but a failure in Russia where it led to a depression deeper and more costly than our own Great Depression. Why? Sachs was an advisor to Poland and then Russia for the “therapy.” So he had witnessed a “controlled experiment,” as he put it elsewhere. At a certain point it the process, financial help from the outside was needed to revive the economy on a new basis. It was provided to Poland; but when Sachs called for the same help in Russia, it was refused by the West, specifically by the White House. This happened despite Sachs’s direct pleas to the White House. The depression that followed was neither accidental nor a surprise. Far from it. This was the first time that the US attempted to “weaken” post-Cold War Russia, an attempt that was eventually reversed under Putin.
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With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded a project by the HIID to help rebuild the Russian economy on the basis of western concepts of ethics, democracy and free markets. Jeffrey Sachs was said to have “packaged HIID as an AID consultant”. USAID were glad to accept help from Harvard, since they lacked expertise for such a project. The HIID oversaw and guided disbursement of $300 million of US aid to Russia with little oversight by USAID. HIID advisers worked closely with representatives from Russia, notably Anatoly Chubais and his associates. Once USAID accepted help from the HIID, HIID was in a position to recommend U.S. aid policies while being a recipient of that aid. It also put the HIID in a position of power overseeing some of their competitors. The project, which ran from 1992 to 1997, was headed by economist Andrei Shleifer and lawyer Jonathan Hay. HIID received $40.4 million in return for its activities in Russia, awarded without the normal competitive bidding approach.
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Belgium PM: “Next 5-10 Winters Will Be Difficult” As Energy Crisis Persists
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo might have spilled the beans about the duration of Europe’s energy crisis. He told reporters Monday, “the next 5 to 10 winters will be difficult.” “The development of the situation is very difficult throughout Europe,” De Croo told Belgium broadcaster VRT.
Belgium PM: “Next 5-10 Winters Will Be Difficult” As Energy Crisis Persists
How Ukrainians voted for the preservation of the Soviet Union in 1991, but still ended up in an independent state later that year
By Alexander Nepogodin, RT, 8/10/22
Back in early 1991, few thought the disappearance of the Soviet Union from the political map was likely. The results of a huge national referendum held in March indicated as much. Ukraine’s vote exceeded 70%, and public discussion of the joint future for all the socialist republics mainly focused on various forms of a federation.
How Ukrainians voted for the preservation of the Soviet Union in 1991, but still ended up in an independent state later that year
Today I saw Syrians dancing and celebrating life, and a return to peace – but, of course, the Western media won’t report that
Although the West has waged 10 years of war on Syria, and there is much destruction, the entire country isn’t in ruins and the pulse of life continues, albeit strangled by brutal Western sanctions.
Today I saw Syrians dancing and celebrating life, and a return to peace – but, of course, the Western media won’t report that
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YouTube: Defiant Syrians celebrate reelection of President Assad, shun Western war on & interference in Syria
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Why capitalism now needs ‘lockdowns’ (social enclosure/segregation) and ‘medical’ tyranny
Because capitalism is working towards its own abolition by replacing commodity-producing labour with automated machines, capital’s profitability is increasingly dependent on low wages, high unemployment, public debt, state purchases, the centralisation of wealth, and — frankly — depopulation.
Why capitalism now needs ‘lockdowns’ (social enclosure/segregation) and ‘medical’ tyranny
The US Plan to Imprison Businesspeople in other Countries for “Violating” Illegal US Sanctions: The Cases of Alex Saab, Meng Wanzhou, Mun Chol Myong
The US uses economic sanctions as a weapon against states which choose a development path independent of US global domination. Sanctions can take the form of blocking a nation’s financial and trade transactions, not allowing financial institutions to process them. The US can also freeze the assets of another country.
The US Plan to Imprison Businesspeople in other Countries for “Violating” Illegal US Sanctions: The Cases of Alex Saab, Meng Wanzhou, Mun Chol Myong
Monopoly Board Game Updated For Our Times
On the Ground in Venezuela vs. the Media Spectacle
British photojournalist Alan Gignoux and Venezuelan journalist-filmmaker Carolina Graterol, both based in London, went to Venezuela for a month to shoot a documentary for a major global TV channel. They talked with journalist Paul Cochrane about the mainstream media’s portrayal of Venezuela compared to their experiences on the ground.
— Read on www.counterpunch.org/2019/03/18/on-the-ground-in-venezuela-vs-the-media-spectacle/
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