EDITORIAL
Call the British Bluff: They Are Bankrupt, and They Are Lying About Trump and Russia-gate
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—From Seattle to Greenwich, from France to Spain, the international LaRouche movement is hammering away at the British Empire’s plot to topple the Trump government, a plot premised entirely on the Big Lie that Russian President Vladimir Putin hacked Democratic National Committee computers to throw the 2016 U.S. presidential election to Trump.
That mobilization is drawing blood, but it must now be escalated on a foreshortened timeline, before the British Empire succeeds in their attempted coup, which would bring the world to the brink of thermonuclear war. We are in a position to break the situation wide open, with the assistance of the VIPS memo, because the majority of the American population does not buy the whole fairytale about Russia’s role, nor the drive for confrontation and war with Russia and China. They don’t have a clear idea of what policies should be adopted—that is an educational task which also falls to us—but they do know that the whole anti-Trump media uproar stinks to high heaven.
The British bluff must be called; neither the American people nor President Trump should continue to play by the rigged rules of their game. Theirs is a thoroughly bankrupt empire, which begs to be buried by FDR’s Glass-Steagall policy and the establishment of a Hamiltonian credit system linking the Americas and Europe to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
President Trump, Helga Zepp-LaRouche noted today, could outflank the whole gambit around the Congressional stampede for sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea—a bill unfortunately signed into law today, albeit with a Presidential signing statement which correctly characterized the bill as unconstitutional—by new, unexpected initiatives, such as calling an urgent summit meeting with Putin to jointly address common concerns regarding the economy, terrorism, the drug trade, and other matters.
Meanwhile, a highly visible policy fight is raging in and around the Trump Administration in Washington. Vice President Pence is on a tour of Balkan nations to promote conflict with Russia, descending to such absurd depths as characterizing Montenegro (population 600,000) as an “inspiration to the world” for standing up to Russia and joining NATO. At the same time, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the press Aug. 1 that he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are “trying to find ways that we can bring this relationship back closer towards one another,” and that “we’re working closely with Russia and other parties” in the fight against terrorism in Syria.
Which it will be—war or peace, depression or development—is largely in our hands.
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
Trump Signs Sanctions Bill, but Warns Congress of Unconstitutionality
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—President Donald Trump today signed H.R.3364, the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act,” into law. He issued a statement with the signing, denouncing it for “including a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions.” These include:
Violating “the President’s exclusive constitutional authority to recognize foreign governments, including their territorial bounds”;
Allowing Congress to change the law without going through the constitutionally prescribed procedures;
Directing Executive branch employees to “undertake certain diplomatic initiatives” without Presidential authorization; and
Preventing the President, in some cases, from receiving ambassadors as provided for in Article II, section 3 of the Constitution.
Trump pledged “My Administration will give careful and respectful consideration to the preferences expressed by the Congress … and will implement them in a manner consistent with the President’s constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations.” He then concluded with the admonition, “My Administration particularly expects the Congress to refrain from using this flawed bill to hinder our important work with European allies to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, and from using it to hinder our efforts to address any unintended consequences it may have for American businesses, our friends or our allies.”
In a separate, more personal statement, Trump said, “The Framers of our Constitution put foreign affairs in the hands of the President. This bill will prove the wisdom of that choice.”
U.S. Secretary of State, Russian Foreign Minister Will Meet at ASEAN Regional Forum
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he will be meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Philippines on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum and East Asia Summit. “I will be meeting face-to-face with Foreign Minister Lavrov this weekend on the margins of the (ASEAN and East Asia Summit) meetings in Manila,” Tillerson told reporters on Aug. 1.
Commenting on his telephone discussion with Lavrov, following Russia’s demand the U.S. withdraw over half of its diplomats from Russia, he said: “He and I have already spoken. I would say, our conversation following the actions has been professional, there’s been no belligerence.” He continued: “I think Foreign Minister Lavrov and I understand our roles, we understand our responsibilities, and I think he’s as committed as I am to trying to find ways that we can bring this relationship back closer towards one another.”
Tillerson said the Russian move will negatively affect diplomatic activities in Moscow. “Does it make our life more difficult? Of course it makes our life more difficult.”
Tillerson on Path to Cooperation with Russia and China
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—Despite the Congressional sanctions and other stress points, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson yesterday outlined the Trump Administration’s commitment to continuing cooperation where possible, and conflict avoidance where necessary, with Russia and China as we confront a new “pivot point” in world history.
Tillerson met with journalists at the State Department last night to update and clarify the nature of the Trump Administration’s foreign policy. He said that looking back 50 years, there was a major change at the time of the collapse of European communism, and that now we are confronting a “pivot point” due to the dramatic expansion of China’s role in the world. He reaffirmed the Administration’s commitment to “Make America Great Again,” but emphasized that when President Trump says “America first,” he does not mean “America alone.” Tillerson emphasized that, despite difficulties and disagreements, the administration was committed to mutually beneficial and peaceful resolutions of these difficulties.
Tillerson said the fight against terrorism was “one area of mutual interest,” and told reporters, “We are committed to the stability of Syria following the battle to defeat ISIS,” and stressing that the U.S. favored “a unified Syria, not divided,” as well as the drafting of a new constitution, free and fair elections and a new political leadership.
He said that both the United States and Russia are committed to the defeat of ISIS and its allies, and to the future stability of Syria. He said that the administration finds Russia’s support for the indefinite continuation of the Syrian government of Bashar Assad “unacceptable” and that Iranian forces must leave the Syrian territory, “and it continues to be our view that the Assad regime has no role in the future governing of Syria.” He explained that, “The sequencing of all of that, we’re open to, as long as that is what is achieved at the end.” He said, “Again, we’re working closely with Russia and other parties to see if we can agree on a path forward on how to stabilize Syria, in the post-ISIS world, create zones of stabilization and lines of deconfliction that will hold, and then create conditions for the political process to play out in Geneva.” He said the creation of a de-escalation zone in the southwest part of Syria, created by Russia, the United States and Jordan, was “one small measure of success,” to be replicated throughout Syria.
Speaking on China, Tillerson said: “How should we define this relationship [with China] and how do we ensure that economic prosperity to the benefit of both countries and the world can continue, and that where we have differences—because we will have differences, we do have differences—that we will deal with those differences in a way that does not lead to open conflict?
“We test this relationship through things like the situation in North Korea,” he said. “Can we work together to address this global threat where we have a common objective? And where we have differences—in the South China Sea, and we have some trading differences that need to be addressed—can we work through those differences in a way without it leading to open conflict and find the solutions that are necessary to serve us both?”
Tillerson went on to discuss the stress in the relationship with Russia over Ukraine, commitments to NATO, the Mideast, cyber security, Iran, the dispute between the U.A.E. and Qatar, the drug cartels, the internal difficulties in the Trump Administration. In every instance, he stressed working toward cooperation on our common aims and avoiding conflict both with our “allies and partners” and “our adversaries.”
Media Liars Launch Attack against Tillerson after He Insisted on Better Russian Relations
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—Within hours of the Aug. 1 press briefing by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the State Department, in which he said that both he and the President are unhappy that the Congress ignored opposition from the White House to the sanctions bill, and insisted they would not let the Congress sidetrack their effort to build better relations with Russia, the whorish media have turned their guns on Tillerson—focussing precisely on the issue of Russia. Politicotoday runs a fake-news diatribe under the title: “Tillerson Spurns $80 Million To Counter ISIS, Russian Propaganda—The Secretary of State Won’t Tap Funding Approved by Congress, Angering Officials.”
The article refers to an unnamed source, supposedly within the State Department, saying: “There’s paranoia and inertia, decisions are not being made.” They write: “Sources cited another sensitive factor at play: Russia. At one point during the discussions, Tillerson aide R.C. Hammond suggested the money is unwelcome because any extra funding for programs to counter Russian media influence would anger Moscow, according to a former senior State Department official. ‘This is an extraordinary example of the dysfunction that is ripping through the State Department,’ said Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat in contact with State employees involved in the funding fight. ‘What we’re seeing is a small group of people with very thin knowledge making all the decisions in a very centralized and isolated process. It causes unnecessary delays and confusion.’ ”
The money referred to is an infamous bill Obama rammed through in December 2016, after Trump was elected, to “broaden the center’s mandate to include battling state-sponsored disinformation campaigns by countries such as China, North Korea and Russia,” Politico writes. “U.S. intelligence officials say Moscow used fake news reports and malicious Twitter accounts to influence the 2016 election, and lawmakers in both parties have called for a more robust U.S. response.” The “center” refers to the Global Engagement Center, an interagency unit based at the Kerry State Department that was created in Spring 2016 to replace the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, but adding counter operations against Russian “propaganda” to the counter-terror operations.
Politico acknowledges that Tillerson’s aide Hammond “expressed hesitation about needling the Russians at a time when Tillerson was trying to find common ground with the Kremlin on sensitive matters such as the war in Syria. The Kremlin-backed news outlet Sputnik has compared the Global Engagement Center to George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth.”
Clearly Sputnik is the truth-teller in this case.
Congressmen Backing Good Relations with Russia Become Targets
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—Rep. John Duncan (R-TN), one of only three congressmen who voted against the fraudulent and unconstitutional Russia-North Korea-Iran sanctions bill, announced that he is planning to retire next year after having served 16 terms. The Tennesseanreports that Duncan had come under attack by the recent reporting of the old news that his son had been paid $293,250 over four years ($73,213.50 per year) to serve as Duncan’s campaign manager. He was hired for that position after pleading guilty to official misconduct for improperly granting small bonuses to himself and others.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has also come under attack for promoting good relations with Russia and looking into allegations made against Russia.
As the chairman of the House Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats Subcommittee, he got information on the “Magnitsky” case from Russian officials. Congress had been bombarded with allegations about that case by partisans of the defense, to support sanctions against Russia, and, as this same group began agitating to renew and expand those sanctions, Rohrabacher was interested in learning the Russian side of the story. The case and subsequent sanctions had proven disruptive to both U.S. and Russian interests.
Last month, in the midst of the campaign against Russia based on the ludicrous claim that it had stolen the U.S. Presidential election, a campaign against Rohrabacher was launched. His public appearances have been disrupted by hecklers, and despite his objections, the lead staffer of his subcommittee, Paul Behrends, was fired from that post. Reports suggest that House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA), a firm supporter of the “Russian hack” fairytale, was responsible for having Behrends fired.
Michigan Governor Snyder in Beijing To Discuss Cooperation in Manufacturing, Innovation
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang met with visiting Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in Beijing yesterday, and issued a call for improved “sub-national cooperation” between the two countries, i.e., between their respective states and regions. China is already in the process of advancing such relations with other states, such as California, which has just had a delegation visiting China. In late July, Iowa’s Gov. Kim Reynolds led a delegation to China, called “All Iowa,” because, for the first time, the 35-person group represented all major farm commodities produced in the state.
Xinhua reported that, in the meeting with Governor Snyder, “Li stressed that China-U.S. common interests are far greater than their differences, saying China is willing to continue to promote mutual understanding and trust with the United States and push forward pragmatic cooperation in key areas on the basis of mutual respect and benefit. Snyder said that Michigan is looking forward to expanding cooperation with China in trade, investment, tourism, innovation, manufacturing transformation and other fields.”
Li also called on the U.S. states to “tap the potential in manufacturing, innovation and other fields,” Xinhua wrote.
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
Russia’s Gatilov Still Expects U.S. Cooperation in Syria To Continue
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennadiy Gatilov told TASS yesterday that he expects Russian cooperation with the U.S. in Syria to continue despite the poor state of U.S.-Russian relations. When asked if souring relations between Russia and the United States were affecting the process of the Syrian settlement, he said that “until now, we have been in contact with the Americans, particularly as far as the setup of de-escalation zones in southern Syria is concerned.” He added that now there is a small pause, but, “I would like to hope that in the future, our cooperation aimed at eliminating the terrorist threat in Syria will continue.”
Russian Special Envoy Bogdanov Blasts U.S. Iran-Russia Sanctions Act as Unlawful
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov, who met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Ansari in Moscow yesterday, denounced the recently approved U.S. sanctions act against Iran, Russia, and North Korea, as unlawful.
“You know our position, these actions are absolutely unlawful, they do not help reach an understanding and the necessary level of trust between us and the Americans,” Bogdanov said. “This is sad, it affects our bilateral relations,” Bogdanov continued. “I think that it does not add optimism regarding the possibility for us to coordinate our approaches towards a whole range of regional issues, including our relations with such an important partner and neighbor as Iran.”
Ansari was in Moscow for meetings with Bogdanov and other Russian officials on implementation of the cease-fire in Syria.
In Tehran, the Iranian committee in charge of monitoring implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 agreement by which Iran agreed to give up any effort to develop nuclear weapons in return for lifting of UN sanctions, charged yesterday that the U.S. has violated three articles of the agreement by passage of the Iran-Russia sanctions bill, and emphasized the necessity for Iran’s “decisive, appropriate and wise response” to the U.S. government’s policies. The monitoring committee, chaired by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, further devised a plan in 16 articles on the proper reaction to the U.S. provocative measures, reported Tasnim News Agency. The committee also endorsed a motion the Iranian Parliament had recently passed to counter the “U.S. adventurous and terrorist measures in the region.”
Parliament Chairman Ali Larijani told Tasnim that Iran has already filed a complaint with the international commission on the JCPOA in Vienna. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, who was in Istanbul yesterday for meetings with Turkish officials, said that Iran will respond the U.S. breach of commitments and hostile conduct in connection with the JCPOA through legal and proportionate practical means, including by legal actions in international bodies.
Vice President Pence Continues His War Propaganda Drive in Montenegro
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—Vice President Mike Pence continued his anti-Russia war propaganda tour in Montenegro today. He has been to the Baltic, and is now in the Balkans.
During a dinner last night with Montenegro President Filip Vujanovic, Pence said that “your courage, particularly in the face of Russian pressure, inspires the world and I commend you for that.” He also said that “I bring greetings from President Donald Trump. He sent me here as a tangible sign of our commitment to Montenegro as the newest member of NATO.”
What contribution Montenegro could make to NATO, other than a deepwater port on the Adriatic, is not at all clear, however, since its population is just over 600,000 people, with only about 2,000 of them under arms.
TASS reported on Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov response to Pence’s comments and the ties of the Baltic nations to the U.S. “Peskov said that the countries in question are independent states having the right to develop relations with other countries as they wish. … ‘Such cooperation only becomes a problem for us when it leads to the expansion of various alliances and their military infrastructure towards our borders. This is what causes us concern.’ ”
COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Commerzbank Finds That Cost-Cutting Is Expensive!
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest private bank, has found that its cost of eliminating 7,000 jobs has driven the bank into net loss of €406 million for the first half of 2017, as against the first half of 2016, which still showed a net gain of €384 million. The preliminary estimate of management for the total cost of the reduction of jobs, done to cut costs for the bank, actually amounts to €807 million. Commerzbank is trying to improve its balance sheet for 2017 by selling its headquarters building in Frankfurt now, expecting to reap in €390 million.
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
China Offers Gambia Support in Infrastructure, Agriculture, Tourism and Other Areas
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—After meeting in Beijing with visiting Gambian Foreign Minister Ousainou Darboe, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China was prepared “to enhance cooperation with Gambia in infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, and other fields.” Chinese and French companies have been trying to help boost Gambia’s Atlantic port of Banjul, reported Reuters. Wang said the resumption of diplomatic ties had not only brought bilateral relations back onto the right track, but also opened up broad prospects for cooperation.
Gambia ended formal relations with Taiwan last year. Gambia’s new government, which took over from former long-time leader Yahya Jammeh this year, has pledged to continue relations with Beijing, reported Reuters.
China’s planned cooperation with Gambia will further its involvement in Africa. According to a report released in late June, the consulting firm McKinsey pointed out that China-Africa relations have ramped up over the past decade, with trade growing at around 20% per annum, and with foreign direct investment (FDI) growing even faster, at an annual rate of 40%, Xinhua reported.
The report pointed to three main economic benefits Africa is expected to accrue from Chinese investment and business activity: job creation and skills development (employing several million Africans); transfer of knowledge and new technology; and financing and development of infrastructure.
Japan-Russia ‘Ship of Friendship’ Brings Schoolchildren to Sakhalin
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—A Ship of Friendship carrying Japanese schoolchildren has arrived at Sakhalin island in Russia’s Far East, TASS reports. “A total of 42 Japanese citizens, including 30 children and 12 adults, have arrived,” a source from the regional Ministry for Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy told TASS. “Almost all of them will stay with local families for the next three days, so that they could get acquainted with Russian culture and everyday life. After that, they will go on guided tours around the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.”
The Ship of Friendship project was launched in 1998 and is arranged by Sakhalin regional Ministry for Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy and the Russia-Japan Society, supported by the Sakhalin-Japan organization. They arrange such trips once a year, alternatively in Sakhalin and Japan.
SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
China Building a High-Speed Rail Tunnel under the Great Wall
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—China is building a 12 km-long tunnel under the Great Wall, part of a 174 km high-speed rail connection between Beijing and Zhangjiakou city, which is co-hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics along with Beijing. Xinhua reports that the line will shorten the one-way trip from more than three hours to one hour. The line is estimated to be completed in 2019.
The tunnel will range from 4 meters to 432 meters below the surface, with a spacious and well-decorated station 102 meters under the Great Wall itself.
Due to concern to not damage the Great Wall, China is using precision micro-blasting technology, “which has a velocity of 0.2 cm per second and is able to make the tremor weaker than the traditional firepower blasts that have a velocity of 5 cm per second,” reports Global Times.
OTHER
The Destruction of Germany’s Automobile Industry Prepared by Long Green Hand
Aug. 2 (EIRNS)—Behind all the front-page scandal news about Germany’s automobile industry being an “axis of evil” which has to be eradicated, are organizations such as Agora Verkehrswende (Transport Change), which is fully in line with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s climate guru Sir John Schellnhuber, who calls for the elimination of all technologies that came on the market since 1775. This total re-start of the economy and society under the slogan “total de-carbonization” by a return to the state of development reached more than 200 years ago is claimed by Schellnhuber and his many followers, to maybe save the Earth from what they insist would be “heat death” caused by man-made CO2 emissions.
Agora Verkehrswende, a twin of the other extremist greenie organization Agora Energiewende, is chaired by Achim Steiner, a German diplomat who is administrator of the UN Development Program, and previously was German representative to the United Nations and director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), and was founded in June 2016 as a joint initiative of the Stiftung Mercator and European Climate Foundation. The European Climate Foundation, chaired by Caio Koch-Weser, (longtime Deutsche Bank director and sometime leading official at the German Finance Ministry, as well as a vice chairman of the World Bank). Since September 2016, Koch-Weser has been director of the notorious Oxford Martin School, where Lord Nicholas Stern, author of the likewise notorious “Stern Report” which is a founding document of the entire global warming fake, has been based.
During the five years before 2006 when he took over the UNEP environment office, Steiner was director of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), which once gave birth to the World Wildlife Fund. Director of the IUCN before Steiner was Maritta Rogalla von Bieberstein Koch-Weser, whose husband is Caio Koch-Weser.
