EIR Daily Alert Service
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017 Volume 4, Number 33 EIR Daily Alert Service P.O. Box 17390, Washington, DC 20041-0390
EDITORIALTrump Unfazed by Hysteria from London, Obama and the MediaFeb. 15 (EIRNS)—Neither President Donald Trump nor statesman Lyndon LaRouche are the least bit fazed by the totally desperate effort by the British Empire and its minions in the U.S. to bring down the U.S. Government under President Donald Trump. Trump issued a tweet today, not at all defensive about the insane claim that talking to the Russians is some sort of criminal act, but rather directly accusing the U.S. intelligence community of committing a heinous crime. Without using the word, Trump indicated that the NSA and the FBI are guilty of treason—conducting a color revolution against the Government of the United States. “The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by ‘intelligence’ like candy. Very un-American!” Trump said in one tweet today. “Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?),” said another. “Just like Russia,” he added ironically. Meanwhile, in an interview with the editor of the San Francisco Review of Books, Joseph Ford Cotton, published today, Lyndon LaRouche said: “Trump has promised to invest $1 trillion in urgently needed infrastructure and promised the implementation of a 21st century Glass-Steagall Act. If he implements his infrastructure promise, he will need that reform to finance it…. Really we’re talking about Trump on the basis that he is now the new leader for the United States. He has promised to build up the American economy again, and there are great precedents of American presidents using the American System of Economy as it was developed by Alexander Hamilton, explicitly in contrast to the British System of Free Trade. That is the system that worked in the past, and it will work again. Now, what Trump has done by his success, here, is to build up the possibility of a revival of the U.S. economy.” What the British and their controlled entities in the U.S.—Barack Obama, George Soros, Sen. John McCain, the mainstream press—are most hysterical about is that Trump has promised to take measures to restore Franklin Roosevelt’s economic policies, while already rebuilding Roosevelt’s coalition which defeated fascism once before—the U.S., Russia and China. On Thursday, Trump’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, will meet with his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, in Azerbaijan, while his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Germany. Will they be accused of cavorting with the enemy by the crazy war-mongers in both parties? At the same time, Trump not only made a telephone call to China’s Xi Jinping last week to discuss joint economic development, but he has also packed his Strategy and Policy Forum, tasked with restoring America’s “economic growth, job creation, and productivity,” with business leaders who maintain very tight relations with China. Its Chairman is Stephen Schwarzman, head of the Blackstone Group private equity fund, which is 9.3% owned by the China Investment Corp. (CIC), China’s national sovereign fund. Schwarzman has endowed a $100 million scholarship program in China, Schwarzman Scholars, which is centered at the prestigious Tsinghua University, where Schwarzman is on the Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management. Also on both the Tsinghua Advisory Board and Trump’s Strategy and Policy Forum are CEOs Mary Barra of GM, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Doug McMillon of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and Elon Musk of Tesla. Trump has surrounded himself with business leaders deeply engaged with the unprecedented Chinese economic miracle. As Helga Zepp-LaRouche said on Feb. 4 in Manhattan, if Trump succeeds in bringing the United States into China’s New Silk Road process, he “will not only be a great American President, but if he can mobilize his country to join hands with China right now, he will go into history as one of the towering giants of all of universal history.” The British Empire is threatened with extinction, and with it the use of war as a means of imposing political and economic domination over sovereign nations. The absurd and preposterous lies coming from the NSA and the FBI, from Obama’s defeated neocon cohorts in both political parties, and from the hated American mainstream press, are believed by only the very few who refuse to think, who demand their right to be slaves. This is a moment for victory, for optimism, and for joining LaRouche’s fight for the common aims of mankind. As Joseph Cotton wrote in the introduction to his San Francisco Review of Books interview with LaRouche: “Whether one should read his views on classical music or space technology, it is a wonder that a single fellow is capable of holding so much knowledge about such a diverse array of topics…. [I]t seems clear to me that, for the immense complexity of his life’s work, the overarching goal is raising the bar of civilization so as many people as possible enjoy a more-than-decent standard of living.” This is what Friedrich Schiller meant when he insisted that to be truly human, one must be both a patriot of one’s nation and a citizen of the world. U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMICSan Francisco Review of Books Interviews Lyndon LaRouche, ‘A Living Historical Monument’Feb. 15 (EIRNS)—The recently-relaunched San Francisco Review of Books today published the first of a two-part interview with statesman Lyndon LaRouche, conducted in January by its editor, Joseph Ford Cotto. In his introduction to the interview, Cotto speaks highly of LaRouche, “Whether one should read his views on classical music or space technology, it is a wonder that a single fellow is capable of holding so much knowledge about such a diverse array of topics,” saying “he should be deemed a living historical monument.” Cotto’s question asked for LaRouche’s view of the influence of conservative forces on the Trump Administration. LaRouche’s responses included: “The point is the support for Trump’s …. presidency, that is the key. Right wing libertarian politics per se are not important. It is Trump and his role which is important. It is a new, improved practice. Trump has promised to invest $1 trillion in urgently needed infrastructure and promised the implementation of a 21st-century Glass-Steagall Act. If he implements his infrastructure promise he will need that reform to finance it…. Trump’s way of dealing with the people—protection—the issue is to make the economy work with real measures…. “Ronald Reagan conservatives would surely find something interesting in Donald Trump. Absolutely! We had a President who was taken out of action [the attempt on Reagan’s life] but he came back in. It was not a simple thing because I was one of the victims of that thing…. I had been one of the key figures of his administration. “But we’re talking about Trump…. He has promised to build up the American economy again, and there are great precedents of American Presidents using the American System of Economy as it was developed by Alexander Hamilton, explicitly in contrast to the British System of Free Trade. That is the system that worked in the past, and it will work again. Now, what Trump has done by his success, here, is to build up the possibility of a revival of the U.S. economy.” President Trump Attacks Intelligence Community’s ‘Illegal’ Document Leaks in Flynn CaseFeb. 15 (EIRNS)—In a number of tweets today, and also in his press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, President Trump swiftly and effectively dispensed with the hysteria emanating from the New York Times, Washington Post, and other U.S. media which are on a tear over the Michael Flynn resignation and Trump’s alleged Russian ties. While the Times today went on at great length about how U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies—the FBI and NSA, those bastions of integrity—intercepted “repeated communications” with the Russians by unidentified Trump associates, Trump tweeted this morning that “the real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by ‘intelligence’ like candy. Very un-American!” In another, he said that “the Russian connection nonsense is merely an attempt to cover up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton’s losing campaign.” Then, later, “the fake news media is going crazy with their conspiracy theories and blind hatred. @MSNBC and @CNN are unwatchable.” In his press conference with Netanyahu, Trump described General Flynn as a “wonderful man” who has been “treated unfairly by the media, or as I call it, the fake media. It was a sad thing that he was treated so badly. In addition to that, from intelligence [agencies], papers are being leaked, things are being leaked, it’s criminal action, a criminal act, and it’s been going on for a long time—before me—but now it’s really going on. People are trying to cover up for a terrible loss that the Democrats had under Hillary Clinton. I think it’s very, very unfair what’s happened to General Flynn … and the documents and papers that were illegally, and I stress that, illegally leaked—very, very unfair.” Members of Congress, meanwhile, are thumping their chests, intoning darkly, as Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are doing, that General Flynn may have engaged in “criminal violations.” His resignation, Hoyer told CNN, “doesn’t take care of the problem,” because there was an “ongoing pattern.” Schumer is calling for a separate investigation of the alleged violations by law enforcement, and warns that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself from any investigation because of his close ties to the White House. Kremlin: We Don’t Respond to Fake News; Diplomacy with the U.S. Continues as UsualFeb. 15 (EIRNS)—In comments to Kremlin reporters today on U.S. media hysteria about alleged Russian contacts with Donald Trump, Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “let us not believe in what the media says, for nowadays it is very difficult to tell actual news from fake news,” TASS reported. He pointed out that U.S. media reports, such as that coming from the New York Times, cited five different sources, “but not one of them is identified, which is just ridiculous. Let us not rely on unidentified sources. These reports are absolutely groundless, not based on any facts.” As for ongoing contacts between diplomatic representatives of both countries, Peskov emphasized that “working contacts are maintained.” U.S. diplomats in Russia do what diplomats normally do, he said: They “communicate with Russian officials, meet with Foreign Ministry officers. The U.S. diplomats also meet with representatives of the Russian regions, they also travel the country, which is a common diplomatic practice.” There is nothing unusual about this, he stated. STRATEGIC WAR DANGERFormer U.K. Ambassador Slams Amnesty International’s Lies of Syrian Prison MurdersFeb. 15 (EIRNS)—In remarks to Sputnik published today, former British Ambassador to Syria Peter Ford scathingly attacked Amnesty International, for its claim that the Bashar al-Assad regime had carried out mass hangings and extermination of 13,000 prisoners—alleged opponents of the government—at the Saydhaya prison outside of Damascus. These allegations, Ford said, do not stand up to scrutiny. Ford, who was ambassador to Syria from 2003-2006, pointedly asked why it was that Amnesty chose to release its report on Feb. 7, just two months after Syrian forces liberated the city of Aleppo. Moreover, the witnesses cited were anonymous, and no evidence was provided. While Amnesty claims that the prison held 10-20,000 prisoners at a time, Ford explained that the prison was far too small to hold that many prisoners at one time. At best, he said, Saydhaya could hold 10% of that number. Recall, Ford added, that this is the same Amnesty that during the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, made “sensationalist” charges that Iraqi soldiers had stolen incubators from Kuwaiti neonate ICUs and left the babies to die on the floor. “It was a total fabrication … they used it to justify the Iraqi war.” The reality, the former ambassador asserted, is that Amnesty International is the “vanguard of liberal interventionism…. They have become part of the liberal, elite establishment. … This is the new way of picking up the white man’s burden—you go around changing regimes that you accuse of human rights abuses.” Austrian Foreign Minister Denounces Western Cold War ‘Bloc Thinking’Feb. 15 (EIRNS)—Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, who is presently also the rotating chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said in an interview with Germany’s Die Welt that the “massive thinking in blocs” which dates from the Cold War era, must be “driven back into the history books,” because it is no longer acceptable in today’s world. Solving the Ukraine crisis is impossible with such an intense level of distrust built up by the bloc-thinking, Kurz said. “We should move away from the model of punishment, to a system of incentives,” he said, and called for a gradual easing of Western sanctions and for a corresponding Russian approach. Priority should be given to the improvement of living conditions for the Ukrainian population, Kurz said. COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEMGreece and Its Creditors Likely Heading to a CrisisFeb. 15 (EIRNS)—The likelihood that Greece and its creditors are heading for a crisis is back on the agenda. The current review of the Greek bailout program by creditors is still not completed, thus blocking the release of funds, which do not go to Greece but to its creditors. The government refuses to implement any new austerity measures other than those agreed upon. The IMF is playing a double game, in which it says the Greek debt is not sustainable, while at the same time continues to demand “reforms” including another round of cuts equivalent to 2% of Gross Domestic Product. This is absurd since it was announced by the Hellenic statistical authority that Greek GDP shrank by 0.4% in the last three months of 2016, which followed a 0.9% shrinkage in the previous three-month period. The further collapse of the economy follows the European Commission announcement that Greece could achieve a budget surplus of 2.3% for 2016, thus continuing the trend in which the economy collapses further after each round of austerity. The Guardian cites a statement on Greece’s state TV by Digital Policy Minister Nikos Pappas, that it was the conflict between the EU and International Monetary Fund that was causing the delay in an agreement on the review. “The negotiations should have ended. Greece has done everything that it was asked to do,” he said, adding that there would be “no more measures.” The payment of €7 billion Athens is supposed to receive once the review is approved will go directly to the European Central Bank in July. China Is Training South Africans for Their Nuclear ProgramFeb. 15 (EIRNS)—South African workers have begun the first nuclear power plant construction training course set up for them in China, as agreed upon in an accord between the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa and the China Nuclear Energy Engineering Group. China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., which is one of the vendors competing to build the nuclear plants South Africa is planning to order, will train around 300 nuclear professionals, in two years of basic training at Shanghai Jiao Tong and Tsinghua Universities. The program will consist of lectures and visits to Chinese nuclear facilities, reports China Radio International’s website CRI English today. Under a companion agreement, project managers will be sent to the construction site where China is building its indigenous CAP1400 units. “Through this collaboration with China, we are enhancing our skills base with practical experience from China’s massive nuclear build program,” the South African corporation stated. It describes the relationship of the two countries as “indispensable partners in the exploitation of nuclear technology.” Although the South Africa nuclear build program has been delayed multiple times, the government is determined to implement it, in spite of the opposition from the financial oligarchy and anti-nuclear activists. THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDERChile, Uruguay Look to China, Russia for Greater Development, Trade CooperationFeb. 15 (EIRNS)—In the course of this week, President Michelle Bachelet of Chile, and Tabaré Vázquez of Uruguay, have taken steps to intensify their relations with BRICS members, China and Russia. Vázquez is in Moscow today with a high-level delegation, and will meet with President Vladimir Putin among others, while Bachelet will be traveling to China in May for a state visit, and also to participate in the May 14-15 Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Also, in March, Chile will be hosting a forum to which all signators of the defunct Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), have been invited, in addition to China and other Asian countries, to discuss perspectives for expanded trade cooperation and integration among them. Chile’s hope is that China will send a high-level delegation to the forum. Brazil and Argentina, the two diehard allies of the sinking trans-Atlantic financial system, insist on clinging to deals with the European Union. Vázquez is hoping to attract more Russian investment to Uruguay in areas such as auto assembly, pharmaceuticals, and high-technology energy projects, and has also expressed interest in establishing closer ties with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). In early October of last year, he also spent nine days in China, during which he told Sputnik that Uruguay “wants, and is prepared to become, part of that 21st Century Silk Road…. We are here.” At the time, he was seeking investment for his $12 billion infrastructure program. SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTUREIndian Space Program’s ‘Remarkable Feat’: One Rocket Launches 104 Satellites from Seven NationsFeb. 15 (EIRNS) —On Feb. 15 the Indian space program reached a landmark when its workhorse rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), deployed 104 spacecraft into orbit 320 miles above Earth. The 104 satellites from India, the United States, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Israel, Kazakhstan, and the United Arab Emirates is by far the largest number of satellites ever launched on a single booster. While the launching of so many satellites in one go was spectacular, what also stands out is the consistency of the PSLV. This is the 38th consecutive successful launch mission of the PSLV. The basketful of satellites launched from Satish Dhawan Space Center will take pictures of planet Earth, monitor the environment, validate new technologies, and serve as tools in the education and training of future aerospace engineers, Stephen Clark wrote in Spaceflight Now today. Congratulating the scientists of the state-owned Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Prime Minister Narendra Modi, rightfully a fan of the nation’s space program, tweeted: “This remarkable feat by ISRO is yet another proud moment for our space scientific community and the nation.” Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Center P. Kunhi Krishnan said: “This year’s first launch has turned out to be a remarkable event that will be inscribed in golden letters in the space history of India,” Spaceflight Now quoted him as saying. Author Clark wrote: “Less than a minute after reaching orbit, the fourth stage released the Cartosat 2D environmental satellite—the mission’s primary payload—about 17-and-a-half minutes into the mission. Ten seconds later, two experimental Indian nanosatellites separated to test new types of sensors to observe Earth’s surface, atmosphere and the conditions in the harsh environment of space. Then came a carefully choreographed deployment sequence for the remaining 101 payloads stowed inside 25 Dutch-built ‘QuadPacks’ for the ride into orbit. The QuadPacks opened two at a time to eject their CubeSat passengers. Most of the CubeSats separated while the PSLV was flying over a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean between ground stations in Mauritius and Antarctica.” OTHERThe European Union’s Wall-to-Wall HypocrisyFeb. 15 (EIRNS)—The European Union’s criticism of the Trump Administration’s proposal to build a wall along the Mexican border has been shown to be nothing but hypocrisy as exposed in an article in today’s Yeni Safak, a major Turkish daily. Despite EU foreign policy representative Federica Mogherini’s self-righteous proclamation that, “In Europe, we have a history that reveals that every time one invests in divisions and walls you might end up being in a prison if you build all walls around you. We have a history and a tradition that we celebrate when walls are brought down and bridges are built,” there are no less than twelve barbed wire fences in seven EU countries—Spain, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, France, Austria, and Slovenia, plus Macedonia, which is not in the EU. Spain’s walls are located on its Morocco border around the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta where border fences have been built to stop migrants from Africa. A picture of this formidable fence would be the envy of the East German border guards. The Ceuta fence, is 8.4 km (5.2 miles) long and was already built in 1993. The Spanish government doubled its height from 3 to 6 meters (9 ft to 19 ft) in 2005. The other fence in the city of Melilla was built in 2005 and is 11 km long. Bulgaria constructed a 146 km long and 3.5 m high fence along its borders with Greece in 2014 while the Greek government erected a razor-wire fence in 2012 along the Greece-Turkey border to block refugees. Hungary completed construction of three razor-wire fences in 2016 along its border with Croatia and Serbia for a total length of 109 km. Austria constructed a fence near the Slovenian border, completed in January 2016. Slovenia built its fence along its border with Croatia in November 2015. France constructed a wall with financing contributed by Britain in the French port city of Calais in 2016 to prevent migrants in France from getting into the U.K. Non-EU member Macedonia built a fence on Greek border to control refugees in 2015. Meanwhile, Estonia is planning the construction of a razor wire fence on its border with Russia stretching up to 135 km, estimated to finish in 2019. |
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