EDITORIAL
The World’s Top Drug-Pusher Backs Hillary
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—Even the top politicians of America, the governors and Members of Congress, have begun showing signs of extreme concern at the epidemic of heroin abuse and addiction which is afflicting the United States from coast to coast.
Combined with the abuse of prescription painkillers and the rampant spread of marijuana use since Obama effectively made it legal, this drug epidemic is helping drive a terrible American phenomenon. Death rates have been rising across the population during the last two U.S. presidencies, a tragic development unheard-of in developed nations. Horrified scholars are finding their studies showing that Americans at all ages have been killing themselves, since the turn of this century, in a mass epidemic of hopelessness spiked by drugs.
No individual has provided more funds, for more decades, for the campaigns to legalize illegal drugs, and spread their use, than the hedge fund manager and British “regime-change” agent George Soros.
Soros was the biggest funder of Barack Obama to the Presidency. Monday he was revealed to be by far the biggest supporter of Hillary Clinton, running for President on Obama’s war-and-Wall Street “legacy.” Soros gave Clinton’s leading super-PAC, Priorities USA Action, millions—between one-quarter and one-third of all the money it raised in the last six months.
The world’s top drug pusher is trying to drive Hillary into the White House. This, while also leading a swarm of hedge funds in a sudden attack on China’s currency reserves, which are the basis for its international lending for needed infrastructure development all over Eurasia, Africa, and South America.
There is a profound difference between nations like China—developing and providing development worldwide—and the European nations, Japan, and the United States. The trans-Atlantic countries are now economic and moral failures; for decades, they have been without any national mission—such as, for example, missions both China and India have, in the two most creative and fastest-advancing space programs on the planet.
Such missions are the vehicles through which nations mobilize their most priceless wealth: the human creativity by which mankind creates its future. The United States was losing its space mission for decades; Barack Obama finally killed it
LaRouche PAC’s leader in Texas, Kesha Rogers, famous for her “Save NASA; Impeach Obama” campaigns, has launched a new mobilization to bring the space mission back.
That kind of creative mission is the basis for shaping a new presidency. Hillary is disqualified; Obama has to be dumped.
COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Soros’s Lemmings in Mass Charge on China’s Currency, New Silk Road
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—One week after London agent and international drug-pusher George Soros announced he was taking a large short position against China’s currency, a veritable horde of “prestigious” hedge fund managers have dropped everything to join the attack.
They might have been looking for a reason to drop everything and go to war with Soros: what Bloomberg called “Top investors Kyle Bass, David Tepper and Bill Ackman” have all been top losers of investors’ money in the past year. Ackman has made bets on price-gouging pharmaceutical companies which have lost him plenty. Bass, after acknowledging his “worst year in a decade,” has sold off 85% of the assets of his Hayman Capital Management Fund, to throw everything into attacking the Chinese yuan. And there are at least a half-dozen other large funds following Soros into battle, including Carlyle, Nexus, and others.
Recall that just one year ago, the lying Soros shouted that Europe needed a “$20 billion war chest for war against Russia” (in Ukraine). Now, he thinks that cooperation with Russia in Syria may be necessary, but is going to war with China over its currency.
This attack is, in effect where not by intention, a war against China’s “win-win” New Silk Road investments in infrastructure across Eurasia, Africa, and South America. The hedge funds are trying to accelerate capital flight from China—already at least $600 billion net in 2015—and make it spend more of its foreign reserves to keep the currency stable and control that flight. The more reserves it must spend this way, the more difficult its massive infrastructure and development lending.
The Chinese government and People’s Bank of China are, however, quite ready and armed for this battle with Soros et al., and have said, “They will lose.” In the first week of the attack, the yuan’s value has actually risen slightly against the dollar. The PBOC has reinstituted capital controls, and recently stopped Hong Kong-based speculation against its economy by a ferocious liquidity squeeze on yuan trading by (British-origin) Hong Kong banks. Soros and company think they will do better, but may short themselves into a trap. It is to be hoped their 2015 losses were nothing compared to those they are walking into now.
Italy Glass-Steagall Debate Briefly Breaks Prime-Time TV
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—The debate about Glass-Steagall continues in Italy, thanks to the mobilization of Movisol (LaRouche’s movement in Italy) but also thanks to the Movimento Cinque Stelle (Five Star Movement, M5S) which has been raising the issue at the Parliament, and at a number of demonstrations against the theft of savings at four failed banks.
On Jan. 25 Cinque Stelle raised the issue on a national prime-time program, “Di martedì” (“The Tuesday Show”), even if only for a few seconds since national TV does not allow discussions about Glass-Steagall or real solutions to the crisis.
Luigi Di Maio, leader of the Cinque Stelle party and vice speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, was interviewed about the troubles of the Renzi government because of the failed Italian banks. Di Maio began describing “the urgent need to nationalize the Bank of Italy and to separate the banks.” He was abruptly interrupted by host, who diverted the focus of discussion to other issues, such as Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s “family card,” an electoral move to buy votes in the upcoming local elections.
As another leader of the Cinque Stelle party, Alessandro Di Battista, stated a few days earlier at a demonstration in Arezzo (the city of the bailed-in Banca Etruria), “These are the tricks used by Renzi to divert the public’s attention, he gives us tips, instead of separating commercial banks from merchant banks, which is the only way to safeguard our savings and avoid other bank failures.”
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
China Warns of U.S. Nuclear War Threat
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—Global Times, a publication put out by People’s Daily, China’s official government paper, published a lead editorial today warning that the United States is preparing for war, nuclear war, against China. It called for China to “accelerate its speed of building up strategic strike capabilities, including a nuclear second-strike capability.”
Titled “Build up defense to thwart U.S. provocation,” the editorial references the U.S. deployment of a warship within the 12-mile limit of one of its islands in the Xisha (Paracel) Islands on Jan. 30, noting that this is not an unoccupied island, nor an artificially created island, as in cases of the U.S. provocations in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands; but rather, the Zhongjian Island is “under China’s actual control, and China has released the territorial sea baseline of the Xisha Islands, including Zhongjian Island. Therefore, the U.S. provocation this time is more vicious.”
The Obama Administration used the excuse, in the case of entering the 12-mile territorial limit of the island artificially created by China, that the UN Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) does not recognize territorial sovereignty around such islands. This is clearly not the case in the case of Zhongjian, and explicitly demonstrates Obama’s lying pretense that he does not take sides in the territorial claims themselves. The fact that about 90% of the trade which passes through China’s claimed territory of the South China Sea (the “nine-dash line”) is with China itself, demonstrates that it is China alone that must be concerned about “freedom of navigation” from the U.S. provocations and the ongoing U.S. military occupation of the Philippines.
The Global Times editorial also notes that “China’s military strength still significantly lags behind that of the U.S. If the U.S. is ready for a face-off in the South China Sea, it can quickly gather its military strength despite the far distance…. China’s military budget only takes up 2% of its GDP, much lower than the U.S. figure of 4%.”
The paper concludes with the above call for a military build-up to prepare a response to a nuclear assault from the United States.
Russia Deploys New Su-35S Fighters To Syria To Checkmate Turkey
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—Russia has deployed four Sukhoi Su-35S fighters to Syria, Sputnik reports, citing an article in Kommersant. The single seat Su-35S, the most advanced fighter jet currently in production in Russia, is described as a Generation 4++ aircraft, in that while a stealth design, incorporates some stealth features and is one of the most maneuverable aircraft in the air. “The General Staff has decided to run a field test of the brand-new Su-35S in Syria for the first time ever,” a military source told Kommersant. The four aircraft that were deployed were, according to the report, delivered to the Russian air force only in October and November.
This is obviously not a direct response to Turkey’s allegation, again, over the weekend, that Russian aircraft violated Turkish airspace. But combined with the deployment of the S-400 air defense system at the Russian air base in Latakia, the cruiser Varyag with its S-300F air defense system offshore, and the arming of Russian fighters flying in Syria with air-to-air missiles, the Su-35S deployment means that Turkey has now been “checkmated” in Syria, as Lyndon LaRouche put it today.
Russia Says Video Shows Turkish Artillery Shelling Syria
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—Citing it as an “irrefutable proof” at a media briefing at Moscow today, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Russia is in possession of a video that shows Turkish military shelling Syrian territory using heavy artillery positioned close to the border, RT reported today. Reportedly, Syria’s General Staff has provided its Russian counterparts with video footage of deployment of self-propelled, large-caliber artillery vehicles at a Turkish frontier post. Syrian opposition groups have also provided video evidence of the Turkish military shelling Syrian territory, Konashenkov added.
“This is what we call a fact. This is irrefutable proof that Turkish armed forces shell borderline Syrian settlements with large-caliber artillery systems,” Konashenkov emphasized. “We expect an immediate reaction and explanations of the actions of Turkish military by NATO and the Pentagon.”
It is likely that the Russian possession of the video showing Turkish shelling across the Syrian borders has shaken up Ankara. According to an Interfax report today, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought a meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters today “Vladimir Putin has been informed about this wish of President Erdogan,” Interfax reported. Peskov did not say whether such a meeting has been actually set up.
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
Hillary’s Biggest Financial Backer Is a British Wall Street Agent
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—The single largest contributor to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential campaign has been revealed to be none other than the Wall Street hedge fund mogul—or, as Lyndon LaRouche referred to him, the “British agent of financial destruction”—George Soros. As revealed in year-end campaign filings made to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Soros contributed a whopping $6 million to the Clinton-supporting super-PAC, Priorities USA Action, in the last six months of 2015, or almost 25% of the $25 million the PAC raised in that period. Soros’s gift was a significant increase from the $1 million he gave in the first half of 2015 period, which, along with another $1 million donation to the Clinton-backing American Bridge 21st Century, brought the annual total of Soros’ push for Clinton, to $8 million.
Wall Street does like Hillary for President; clearly the City of London likes her even more.
This new-found generosity is a marked shift for Soros, who basically sat out the 2012 election, after “becoming dissatisfied” with British agent Barack Obama, giving Priorities USA only $1 million for that election year. At that time, Soros had sent an email—conveniently revealed just last month—to Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, saying he “regretted” his support for Obama at the time, and that he wished he would have backed Hillary. Possibly the best case of “20/20 hindsight” ever, or, more likely, “20/20 FOREsight.”
If America is to survive, and not be pushed into depression or war, it must wrest itself from this British imperial parasite, and that within the coming days and months, not sometime after we select a new President late this year. The entire British trans-Atlantic financial system is crashing, now, and needs to be severed and buried. We do not need their money in our politics, nor their ideas in our institutions.
Clapper Says Russia, Not ISIL, Is a ‘Mortal Threat’ to America
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—In an exclusive interview with Washington, D.C. news radio station WTOP, reported on Jan. 31, Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper said a part of his job is to provide perspective on the security situation. He said that while ISIL is dominating the headlines with brutal murders and scary videos, it is not a “mortal enemy” to the U.S., though “Russia is.”
“ISIL is not a mortal enemy of the U.S. It can cause us harm and can kill our people,” he said. “It can’t inflict mortal damage to the United States, they don’t have the destructive power that Russia has.” He cited Russia’s nuclear arsenal as the driving force behind his comment. He acknowledged that ISIL is dangerous, brutal and savage, but said ISIL “cannot impose the level of destruction on the U.S. as Russia’s nuclear weapons, should it choose to,” WTOP’s correspondent J.J. Green reported on the station’s website.
Clapper is preparing for what he calls a testimony season, which consists of several appearances before Congress. In the upcoming Worldwide Threat Assessment hearings, a newly aggressive Russia, a belligerent and nuclear North Korea, Iranian proxy activities, and Chinese espionage are key areas to be addressed, in addition to terrorism concerns, Clapper told the WTOP, writes Green.
Following his testimony at the Senate Judiciary Committee in October 2013, a group of congressmen led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), had called upon President Obama to fire Clapper for misleading Congress about the extent of the NSA’s surveillance activity.
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Special BRICS Mission for India: Solving Middle Eastern Conflicts
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—China’s special envoy for Southwest Asia Gong Xiaosheng, who met with Palestine’s leaders on Sunday, recently discussed the Palestine and related issues with senior officials of India’s Foreign Ministry. Gong told the Indians that the BRICS should play a role similar to that of the Middle East Quartet—EU, UN, Russia and the United States.
According to Gong, it is important for the BRICS nations to set up a group of secretary-level officers in the troubled region. Originally a Chinese and Russian initiative, the proposal is that Indian diplomacy should and could intervene as a “neutral” and “honest broker.” An understanding may be reached among Moscow, Beijing and Delhi by the end of February. “If agreed, this will be the first political initiative taken by BRICS,” stressed a Chinese official on Jan. 30. India will take over the Presidency of the BRICS from Russia this month.
So far, BRICS members have achieved a lot in global economics. Now, the bloc of five countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is ready to make a tectonic shift in geo-political terms in Southwest Asia, trying to achieve what the United States and Europe have not been able to achieve.
On Jan. 23-24, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj toured Israel, Palestine and Jordan, also attending the first India-Arab Ministerial Conference in Bahrain. The Palestinian leadership requested Swaraj to convey their message to Israel that they are ready for talks for a two-state nation on 1967 borders. The Indian minister received a positive response from the Israelis, who insist however, that terror attacks must stop.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi planning to visit Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel and Palestine in March-April, there is a possibility that India may accept the proposal made by the two other BRICS powers.
Top Iranian Leader in Moscow for Wide-Ranging Talks
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—Ali Akbar Velayati, a leading advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and president of the Center for Strategic Research of Iran’s Expediency Council, has arrived in Moscow on a Feb. 1-4 visit, invited by Director of the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies Leonid Petrovich Reshetnikov, PressTV reported today. Velayati will meet with high-ranking officials from the Russian Federation and address a press conference in Moscow as well.
Prior to his departure for Moscow, Velayati said Iran and Russia “could play a very constructive role in the establishment of peace and the creation of conditions necessary for developing international interactions,” RFE/RL reported today. Velayati described Iran and Russia as “two influential states of the world and the region.” He said his visit to Russia was part “of the fulfillment of the strategic vectors” defined by Khamenei.
“Several meetings with representatives of Russian leadership are planned,” the Iranian Embassy in Moscow said, adding that “bilateral and regional problems will dominate the agenda,” according to TASS. Velayati had paid a visit to Moscow in January 2015 as a special envoy for President Hassan Rouhani, during which he had submitted the Iranian president’s message to his Russian President Vladimir Putin, noted Tasnim News Agency.
In addition to his high-level discussions on strategic matters concerning the Middle East, TASS cited an unnamed Russian official saying Velayati’s talks will focus on Iran’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as Russia and China welcome that. The Islamic Republic of Iran currently holds observer status in SCO. According to the SCO charter, a country under international sanctions imposed on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions cannot become an SCO member.
SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
India Joins NASA To Study Extreme Environments as Mars Analogues
Feb. 1 (EIRNS)—India is, for the first time, participating with NASA in a program to explore extreme environments on Earth that the space agency uses as analogues for Mars. NASA has carried out many “missions” to places on Earth that have some characteristics similar to Mars, most notably in Antarctica and the Atacama Desert in Chile, and also in California’s Mojave Desert, Australia, Spain, and other sites. These studies in astrobiology look for and study life that exists in extreme environments on Earth—such as very cold temperature, lack of water, and high doses of radiation—with the possibility that life could have, or may still, exist in the similar, extreme environment of Mars.
India’s Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany in Luknow, which has expertise in studying ancient climate and life, will coordinate the multinational participation in a 10-day expedition to Ladakh in August, to study the region’s topography and microbial life. This comes under NASA’s Spaceward Bound program, which is an educational program that provides funds for the expeditions. Also participating in this up-coming mission is the Mars Society Australia.
Siddharth Pandey, among the coordinators of the expedition, is an engineer from India who has previously worked at NASA. “We will be testing a rover that will collect samples and analyze some of the high altitude springs” at the site, he told The Hindu daily. According to information from the program, the Ladakh site, at high altitude, has high ultraviolet radiation exposure, is very dry, and has topological features analogous to Mars. The Ladakh region, which is the highest plateau in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, and reaches the Himalaya Mountains, is also the site for a number of astronomical observatories.
