Tag: perestroika

[1999] Philippines: The Great Left Divide

Ms. Cat

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

Ms. Cat
Source

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

[2013] Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: How the West Won

Ms. Cat

Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: How the West Won (archived)

There are many theories of why Soviet communism collapsed and the Cold War ended. Here are a few of them to consider:

…

That is a claim also made by a former Hungarian ambassador to Washington, Andras Simonyi*, who led a rock band in Budapest during the Cold War. In a talk titled “How Rock Music Helped Bring Down the Iron Curtain,” delivered at the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Simonyi said, ”Rock ‘n roll, culturally speaking, was a decisive element in loosening up communist societies and bring them closer to the world of freedom.”

Related:

*Wikipedia-András Simonyi:

He plays guitar in the rock band, The Coalition of the Willing (est.2003) with top rated U.S. guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers) which has Secretary of State Tony Blinken (guitar, vocals) as a regular guest.

Blinken picks up guitar for new US music diplomacy push

An Asia-Pacific NATO: Fanning the Flames of War

Ms. Cat

“My country, the U.S., is unrecognizable. I’m not sure who runs the country. I do not believe it is the president.”, says Jeffrey Sachs in a speech at a Saving Humanity and Planet Earth (SHAPE) seminar, Melbourne, Australia. “U.S. actions are putting us on a path to war with China in the same way that U.S. actions did in Ukraine.”

An Asia-Pacific NATO: Fanning the Flames of War

Related:

YouTube: An Asia Pacific NATO: Fanning the Flames of War

[1997] Zbigniew Brzezinski: A Geostrategy for Eurasia

Grand Chessboard Brzezinski 1997

Scott Ritter Interview: How Donbass Joining Russia Just Turned the Tables on Ukraine

Ms. Cat

A New War

“Do you know who endorses revenge?” he says, “Azov endorses revenge. So the Donetsk people will have to look themselves in the mirror and say ‘do we really want to become that which we hate, or are we better than that?’ And its hard to be better than that when so many bad things have happened to you. But again, if they want to become part of Russia, they’re going to have to behave as Russians.”

Scott Ritter on the prisoner exchange, which included four leaders of Azov Battalion.

I didn’t see a tribunal, as revenge, but as justice. Revenge would’ve been executing them, on the spot, or worse!

Video via Deborah Armstrong

How Ukrainians voted for the preservation of the Soviet Union in 1991, but still ended up in an independent state later that year

Ms. Cat1 Comment

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

Russian-Hating Dream of Brzezinski Clan Nears Fulfillment as Poland Agrees to Host Permanent U.S. Base and Turn Baltic Sea into NATO Lake

Ms. Cat1 Comment

By Jeremy Kuzmarov – July 16, 2022

Mark Brzezinski, the U.S. Ambassador to Poland, is the son of the late Zbigniew Brzezinski, a descendent of Polish aristocrats and mastermind of U.S. foreign policy for decades, whose dream was to use Poland as a base to try to weaken and destroy Russia.

Mark is now at the center of the implementation of his dad’s plans.

Russian-Hating Dream of Brzezinski Clan Nears Fulfillment as Poland Agrees to Host Permanent U.S. Base and Turn Baltic Sea into NATO Lake