EDITORIAL
LaRouche: Stop the FBI Fraud, Stop the Coup against the President
June 8 (EIRNS)—Lyndon LaRouche called upon the American people to shut down the coup underway against President Trump which was fed Thursday by the lying testimony of fired FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. LaRouche said that the coup is an FBI-type operation attempting to destroy the United States, and if it is not stopped, the world will face general warfare.
On June 7, former Director of National Intelligence Clapper revealed the actual motivation for the coup against Trump in remarks in Australia. He said that Trump’s openness to peace with Russia—the platform upon which Trump was elected by the American people—was itself wholly against U.S. national security interests, in effect, equivalent to treason. It was already known in official Washington well before the election, that President Obama, in collusion with the British, candidate Clinton, DNI head Clapper, CIA head Brennan, and FBI head Comey, had steered the U.S. on a war course with Russia and China, which was meant to be fully activated with Clinton’s election. Trump was elected instead, triggering the coup which has followed. President Trump has kept his promise and established better relations with both Russia and China, who are seeking cooperation with the United States in developing the world based on great infrastructure projects. That is the only issue here. Comey backed that up Thursday in a long rant against Russia as a mortal enemy, in response to a question from Sen. Joe Manchin.
What the Lying Media Are Not Telling You
Here’s how the actual conspiracy worked in general outline. According to Comey’s own words and their actual implication, on January 6th, FBI Director Comey is selected by Obama’s intelligence chiefs to do a “J. Edgar Hoover” on Trump, briefing him on salacious blackmail material fabricated by British intelligence and Clinton campaign operative Christopher Steele. It is a pure Hoover blackmail operation. Comey signals to Trump, “give up your fantasy about cooperation with Russia and we won’t release this.” Trump doesn’t budge. The very next day the whole Steele dossier is leaked all over the international news media, accusing the President-elect of perverse sexual acts with Russian hookers. Comey admitted as much in his testimony Thursday, saying he was aware that this briefing could be construed as a “J. Edgar Hoover moment,” in response to a question from Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. During this meeting, Comey assured Trump that the President wasn’t under FBI investigation. Comey goes out and writes a classified memo about the briefing and the President’s responses. Was this memo shared with the British? Who else was it shared with?
Comey claims that he wrote this up because he thought the President would lie. This is hogwash. Comey had already been targeted to bring down the President, to entrap him, if Trump did not back down on seeking better relations with Russia and China. That James Comey set out to entrap the President, is the only logical conclusion which can be drawn from Comey’s testimony in response to questions by various Republican Senators.
First, Sen. James Risch: I remember, you talked with us shortly after Feb. 14th, when the New York Times wrote an article that suggested that the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians … that report by the New York Times was not true. Is that a fair statement?
Comey: In the main it was not true.
With respect to the alleged Michael Flynn conversation:
Risch: You quoted exactly what the President said, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”… He didn’t direct you to let it go?
Comey: Not in his words, no.
Risch: He didn’t order you to let it go?
Comey: Again, those words are not an order.
Risch: You don’t know of anyone being charged for hoping something?
Comey: I don’t as I sit here.
In any truthful scenario that should have ended the matter there.
Various Republican Senators asked Comey repeatedly, why, if the President had asked for his loyalty, had told him to drop the Flynn investigation (which was a false statements investigation that the President in all probability did not even know about), why did he not report it to the Attorney General? Alternatively, why did he not threaten to resign, as he had done previously in a confrontation with President George W. Bush? Why keep meeting with the President, telling the President he was not under investigation, while refusing to tell the public the same thing, and returning to strategize with FBI agents about what was said and the next steps. Comey admitted during his testimony that he did not do logical things, including telling the President to stop any improper conduct, because the FBI had decided that these conversations were of “investigative interest,” i.e., Comey, acting as an undercover informant, had not yet succeeded in completely setting up President Trump.
Comey includes Assistant FBI Director McCabe in the circle of people he was briefing on all of his interchanges with the President. Unfortunately for Comey and this entire “obstruction of justice” scenario, McCabe testified under oath to Congress following all of these events, that there had been no effort by Trump or anyone else to interfere with or obstruct the FBI investigation. In fact, Comey himself testified to the Senate Thursday that prior to his firing, there was no investigation of President Trump for either obstruction of justice or collusion with the Russians.
In a statement following Comey’s staged performance, President Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz denied that the President ever asked Comey to let the Michael Flynn matter go, ever pressured Comey, or ever asked for Comey’s “loyalty.” Kasowitz appropriately emphasized these parts of Comey’s testimony:
- The alleged Russian hacking did not change any votes.
- The President told Comey that if any of his satellite associates did something wrong it would be good to find that out.
- James Comey admitted that he leaked all of his memos about his conversations with President Trump to the New York Times, in order to provoke the appointment of a Special Prosecutor. At least one of these memos was classified.
This is not a battle which will go to court. Whether it continues or not is a question for the American people and their representatives. As LaRouche said, it is time for the people to speak and end this disruptive and highly dangerous attempted coup. It’s also time for the coup plotters to be investigated, including the treasonous news media.
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
Kaptur Again Argues Glass-Steagall in House
June 8 (EIRNS)—Speaking again in the House today on Glass-Steagall reinstatement and against the “CHOICE” deregulation act, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) said: “Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose the Financial CHOICE Act, which abandons the American people, as well as safety and soundness, in favor of Wall Street.
“Six megabanks now control two-thirds of the financial sector in our country, and reaped record profits of over $170 billion in 2016. That’s too much power in too few hands….
“This week, Congressman [Walter] Jones and I proposed to table the current legislation and replace it with our bipartisan bill, the [Return to] Prudent Banking Act, which reinstates Glass-Steagall protections by separating prudent banking from risky Wall Street banking that tanked our economy in 2008.
“The Rules Committee refused to allow our bill a vote. Nevertheless, we remain resolute. Glass-Steagall is something President Trump ran on, as did Bernie Sanders, and in 2016 both the Republican and Democratic platforms enshrined the policy of restoring Glass-Steagall protections.
“Americans should know there is a growing bipartisan consensus fighting to protect the progress we have made, rein in Wall Street, and keep the wolves at bay and out of your pocketbook.”
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) also spoke on the House floor for replacing the CHOICE Act with the Glass-Steagall Act. Kaptur and Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), with 50 co-sponsors, plan more action to intensify the Glass-Steagall debate.
Under pressure on the Glass-Steagall question, Glass-Steagall opponent Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), falsely compared his CHOICE Act to a “21st Century Glass-Steagall act” in remarks reported by The Hill.
A respected expert for Glass-Steagall reinstatement, author and former investment banker Nomi Prins, released a strong and lengthy argument for Glass-Steagall today, addressed to President Donald Trump. The piece originally appeared in the blog “TomDispatch.com.”
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Japan Comes Out in Support of Belt and Road as SCO Meets
June 8 (EIRNS)—Asked today whether Russian President Vladimir Putin’s staff will be glued to their television sets watching fired FBI head James Comey’s U.S. Senate testimony, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin has no special interest in it, because Russia has another international agenda. “The summit of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) being held today and tomorrow in Astana is of far greater interest to us,” he said.
“He’s right,” said Lyndon LaRouche.
The SCO heads of state and government are meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana, and will be expanding the membership of the organization for the first time since its founding in 1996. When India and Pakistan are brought in during this summit, the SCO will have expanded to cover about 60% of the entire Eurasian landmass, and 43% of the world’s population. Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping met in Astana yesterday; their discussion emphasized the Korean problem. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived today. He will meet with President Putin and may meet with President Xi as well.
In a related development which is likewise part of the New Paradigm for which Lyndon and Helga LaRouche have been fighting for almost half a century, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking June 5 at a “Future of Asia” conference in Tokyo, offered official Japanese support, for the first time, to the Belt and Road Initiative—although joined with conditions such as “transparent and fair” procurement. The next day, China’s Global Times newspaper, owned by People’s Daily of the Chinese ruling party, published an unsigned editorial, “Abe’s Belt and Road Change of Heart a Welcome Step.” Global Times noted Abe’s reservations, but wrote that “Japan used to hold the most passive attitude toward the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative, two signature programs that are symbolic of China’s rise. Abe’s new attitude reflects a certain change in Tokyo’s mentality, and this change is welcome.
“The normalization of bilateral relations depends primarily on the normalization of the two sides’ vision and mentality, which is a hard task for both…. No matter how far Tokyo will go in the right direction, China should promote this change and make the change stick, which is in line with China’s national interests.”
New China-Europe Silk Road Trains Galore
June 8 (EIRNS)—The first direct freight train on the New Silk Road from Italy to China will start in September, CDC International Logistics Co. general manager Chen Gang reported to Corriere della Sera. The train will start from the northern Italian center of Mortara (Pavia) and will reach the Chengdu productive region in China.
The train will travel 10,800 km, with two intermediate stops in Warsaw and Alashankou (Alataw Pass).
“We will start with one train per week, but by the end of 2018 we will triple that: three trips in seven days, and connection with the Shanghai and Beijing logistic poles,” Chen Gang said.
Goods will reach China in 18 days, reducing costs. The advantages in terms of time, compared to the sea route, are evident: 18-22 days against 40-45; a plane takes only one week, but with higher costs.
Trains to China will carry food, wine, design and fashion goods, Corriere reports.
“It is not a question of saving time,” Chen Gang said. “The stability risk for containers is higher on ships; to conserve certain food items is difficult by plane because of temperature changes. The train guarantees more safety.”
Belgium, too, is getting onboard. The Chinese city of Daqing and the Belgian port of Zeebrugge have officially opened a new railway route, according to the railway administration of Harbin, the administrative center of Heilongjiang province in China. This will be the first transcontinental railway route between Heilongjiang province and Europe, and the first train on this route will bring 41 containers of Volvo cars to Belgium.
The project has been implemented with the participation of the Directorate of the Harbin Railways, a container operator China Railways Container Transport, and HAO Logistics company. The travel time is 18 days, along a route of almost 10,100 km, which passes through the territories of Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany.
Indian-European Rail Freight Connection via Iran
June 8 (EIRNS)—Railway authorities of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran will create a working group to coordinate the transportation of cargo round trip from the Persian Gulf region and India to Europe. Azerbaijan Railways reported that the decision was made in Tbilisi, Georgia, at a recent meeting of Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Javid Gurbanov, with CEO of Georgian Railways Mamuka Bakhtadze, and Chairman of the Board and President of Iran Railways Saeed Mohammadzadeh.
The meeting focused on the organization of the transportation of cargo by land from the Persian Gulf region and India (passing through Azerbaijan and Georgia) to Europe and back, as well as the organization of cargo transportation via Azerbaijani and Iranian ports.
They noted that a large volume of cargo roundtrip from the Persian Gulf region and India to Europe, is currently being transported by ocean, and takes 30-40 days. Transporting the cargo through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran will reduce the transportation time. This includes cargo shipped from India to Iran’s Chabahar port (which is being upgraded with Indian support right now), and transported from there by rail.
The meeting participants also decided to organize services of container trains on the Poti/Batumi-Astara-Poti/Batumi route, and (in the future) on the Gazvin-Tehran/Bandar Abbas-Gazvin route. A trilateral protocol was signed at the end of the meeting.
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
Lavrov: U.S. Air Strikes on Syrian Troops Aid ISIS
June 8 (EIRNS)—The Russian government has denounced U.S. attacks on Syrian forces in southeastern Syria as a violation of Syrian sovereignty, and an aid to the terrorist groups that the Syrian army is fighting in southeastern Syria. Yesterday, during a joint press conference with Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Alfonso Dastis Quecedo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov provided specific information on how the U.S. strike on June 6, near the Syrian-Iraq border, aided the intentions of ISIS. It was reported, he said, “that those pro-government forces were advancing to the area to prevent the destruction of two bridges linking Syria and Iraq. ISIS wanted to blow them up, and eventually did so. If this information is correct, then the strike was carried out against the forces that wanted to foil the terrorists’ plans to destroy links between the two Arab countries.”
The U.S.-led coalition announced today that it had conducted a third strike against Syrian forces in the area of al Tanf, near-where the Syrian border meets Iraq and Jordan, after which it shot down a drone which had allegedly fired near a position “occupied” by coalition personnel. “The Coalition’s mission is to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” the statement said. “The Coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian or pro-regime forces partnered with them.” The statement goes on to blame Syrian government forces for escalating the situation by coming so close to coalition positions despite the fact that it is U.S. and allied forces that are the invaders on Syrian territory.
COLLAPSING WESTERN SYSTEM
Soros Backs Color Revolutions To Defend the EU from Putin and Trump
June 8 (EIRNS)—In a speech given at the Economic Forum in Brussels June 1, megaspeculator George Soros called for “top-down and bottom-up” initiatives to defend the EU from its ostensible enemies: “Externally, the EU is surrounded by hostile powers—Putin’s Russia, Erdogan’s Turkey, Sisi’s Egypt and the America that Trump would like to create but can’t.”
“I am a great believer in momentum … and I can see a momentum developing that would change the European Union for the better. This would require a combination of top-down and bottom-up elements, and I can see both of them evolving,” said Soros. He then praised the bottom-up “Pulse of Europe” initiative, which was born in Frankfurt last November, “and spread to some 120 cities across the continent.”
“To defend open societies,” Soros says, “it is not enough to rely on the rule of law; you must also stand up for what you believe in.”
“Pulse of Europe” has been holding demonstrations in several German cities, collecting a few hundred zombies waving EU flags. It was founded by Daniel Röder, a Frankfurt lawyer who has made a career in the Freshfields law firm, one of the four firms of the “magic circle” in London. Eventually, Röder created his own law firm, called Greenfort, with partners also coming from Freshfields.
The “magic circle” in London is the group of four law firms that make the largest income of all. Of these four, Freshfields (full name is Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) is the one that made the largest profit last year: each partner took £1.48 million home on average.
Freshfields customers not only include the large banks and funds and corporation in the City of London and elsewhere, but also governments. As a matter of fact, Freshfields drafted the German government bailout laws, in the case of Hypo Real Estate (over €100 billion taxpayers’ money) and even the law establishing the European Stability Mechanism. In 2012, the German government confirmed, in response to a parliamentary interrogation, that “The Federal government had external expertise from the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in form of reports, studies, or other advice to the following aspect of the so-called comprehensive packet for ensuring financial stability in the Eurozone: introduction at European level of clauses in the general conditions for government bonds, which allow a modification of the performance agreed upon, as well as the rights and obligations of debtors and creditors (bond conditions) through majority decisions.”
So much, for the “bottom up” pro-EU initiative that Soros pushes for!
Barack Obama’s deployment to Europe last month must be seen as part of Soros’s promotion of pro-EU, anti-Putin and anti-Trump color revolutions. He said publicly that he is helping to build youth movements against “populism.” He continued his tour by meeting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau June 6.
SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
India To Get Full Access to Japan’s Nuclear Technology
June 8 (EIRNS)—On June 7, at the plenary session of the Upper House of the Diet, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party cleared the way for India to have full access to Japan’s nuclear materials and technology. Under the accord, India may reprocess nuclear materials and by-products, but cannot make highly enriched uranium without approval from Japan. Highly enriched uranium can also be used in nuclear weaponry. The agreement was signed last November during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tokyo, but needed ratification by the Diet.
The deal required a high degree of input from both the Indian Premier and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, since India has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). NPT prohibits non-signatory nuclear weapon states, such as India, from having access to nuclear materials and technology. The deal also pointed out that the agreement will be nullified if India carries out a nuclear test, or even a sub-critical test. However, Modi and Abe succeeded in adding a provision that gives a special consideration to carrying out a nuclear test in cases where a third-party state acts in a way that threatens India’s national security, Nikkei Asian Review reported.
The nuclear agreement is very important for India’s nuclear program, since the Modi administration wants nuclear to become a key ingredient of India’s power industry in the coming decades. India has 22 nuclear power plants in place, and another 5 under construction. However, Japan’s present ability to export nuclear reactors has been badly diminished since the Japanese nuclear reactor manufacturer Toshiba’s partner, Westinghouse, filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2016. India was scheduled to receive six AP-1000 units from Westinghouse, but that has now become a part of history and has severely weakened Toshiba financially.
“Conditions have changed due to Toshiba and other issues,” said Takeo Kitsukawa, a professor at Tokyo University of Science. “The first issue is how to get [nuclear reactor] manufacturers back on their feet,” Kitsukawa commented.
Deep Chinese Investment in ‘Silk Road of Youth’
June 8 (EIRNS)—Expecting that youth will derive the greatest future benefit from the Belt and Road strategy, China intends to triple the number of foreign students at Chinese universities. According to Liu Jianqing, an official with the Education Ministry’s Department of International Cooperation and Exchange, 170,000 students from countries along the proposed trade routes studied in China in 2014, accounting for 45% of all the international students in the country that year. Of those, 150,000 studied at their own expense, while the others were supported by scholarships. The total number of students is to be increased to 500,000, over the coming years.
In response to the growing enthusiasm, the Chinese government has already established a special scholarship program to support 10,000 students from countries along the proposed routes every year, according to documents jointly released in March by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce.
