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
Pakistan has a general election today. It will decide on the next government of the world’s fifth-most populous nation and the governments of its four provinces — Punjab, Singh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Around 128 million people can vote to pick 266 representatives to form the 16th parliament in a first-past-the-post system. They will also vote to elect the legislatures of the country’s four provinces.
Pakistan’s misery continues
The revival of the Stellantis plant is a stunning reversal of fortunes for Belvidere, Ill. But workers say they won’t rest until they see the concrete being poured.
The UAW Strike Saved Their Shuttered Plant, But the Fight Is Just Beginning
For some reason, these quotes made me think of Milei, at the World Economic Forum. On another note, I still have to read “The Che Reader”. I found his quote through Wikipedia. As for “The State and Revolution”, I’m 60% finished.
Ever since monopoly capital took over the world, it has kept the greater part of humanity in poverty, dividing all the profits among the group of the most powerful countries. The standard of living in those countries is based on the extreme poverty of our countries. To raise the living standards of the underdeveloped nations, therefore, we must fight against imperialism. And each time a country is torn away from the imperialist tree, it is not only a partial battle won against the main enemy but it also contributes to the real weakening of that enemy, and is one more step toward the final victory. There are no borders in this struggle to the death. We cannot be indifferent to what happens anywhere in the world, because a victory by any country over imperialism is our victory, just as any country’s defeat is a defeat for all of us. The practice of proletarian internationalism is not only a duty for the peoples struggling for a better future, it is also an inescapable necessity.
Che Guevara, The Che Reader
Taiwan has a general election on Saturday. The international media has highlighted the election as an important geopolitical pivot – namely, if the current incumbent government party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), wins the presidency and legislature and continues its call for formal (not just de facto) independence from mainland China, that will mean intensified attacks on Taiwan by Beijing, perhaps leading to military conflict.
Taiwan: the technology trade turn
As we were about to publish the latest editorial of the Argentine section of the IMT, concerning the first budget announcements of the new government of far-right demagogue president Milei, he doubled down: announcing by decree the abolition of over 300 pieces of legislation, which regulate economic activity in a wide range of fields. This is an unprecedented, ultra-liberal assault on the rights and living conditions of the working masses, introduced using undemocratic emergency decree powers. The announcement provoked a spontaneous movement of protest, with thousands coming out into the streets of Buenos Aires, as Alejandro Spezia describes in this special update (the original article follows after).
Argentina: the movement against Milei has begun
“Protest is elemental to Argentine social and political life, so it’s not difficult to imagine how this ends,” said one journalist.
Milei Couples ‘Total Crackdown’ on Protest With Economic Shocks in Argentina
When Benjamin Netanyahu boasts of “hellfire” being rained down on Gaza, he is correct. “Hellfire” has rained down on Gaza creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory. But what Israel’s prime minister gets wrong is that this crisis dates back long before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Hell on earth has been the reality in Gaza since 2005 when the territory’s population of more than 2 million had its movement and freedom restricted as the Israelis began a blockade of the land that limited the amount of fuel, food, medicine and water that the Gazans could access.
Where Are the Tears?
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
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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