EDITORIAL
What Does It Mean for the Individual? Can You, Personally, Afford To Miss This Opportunity?
June 17 (EIRNS)—The results of the June 13 Trump-Kim summit in Singapore have now “made official” the enormous changes which have occurred in this world at an ever-faster pace, ever since the end of the 20th century—changes which have in large part been catalyzed by the ideas fashioned by Lyndon LaRouche, and by the world leadership role of his wife Helga. This Friday, June 22, Executive Intelligence Review will republish a key article by Lyndon LaRouche from July 18, 1999, titled, “Can You Personally Survive This Bust?” On that same red-lined date of June 22, William F. Wertz, Jr. and Dennis Speed will begin the first of an eight-part series of classes on LaRouche’s economics in Manhattan.
For such reasons, today we should add another question to that one that Lyndon LaRouche asked almost 19 years ago in EIR. This one is, “Can you, personally, afford to miss this opportunity?”
In the face of the greatest developments of world history like those that confront us now, there is a strong tendency to view the human individual—at least the individual who is not currently in the newspaper-headlines—as merely one among a group, whether smaller or larger. One of the “gang.” “One of the boys.” But that is not true. That is not human nature.
For all its limitations, the balance of the truth lies instead with the insight that many call “Scriptural”—the view which says that I came into this world naked and alone, as I will sooner or later leave it naked and alone, to give an account of what use I have made of what LaRouche has called my “pilgrimage to mortality.” This is the more truthful human nature, as painters of Egypt were portraying it many centuries before Moses was born.
This is grippingly illustrated by the circumstances of the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott of 1955-56, where Martin Luther King, Jr., was first thrust as if by chance into a leadership position he never asked for, and then suddenly forced to fight through his own anguished crisis of confidence, before he could actually begin to lead.
As David J. Garrow recounts it in his 1986 King biography, Bearing the Cross, none of the established Black leaders of Montgomery were eligible to lead the new movement to boycott the city’s buses for their mistreatment of Blacks, because of the aggravated lines of personal-factional cleavage which divided those leaders. If one faction grabbed the position of president of the new association, the others might not fully support the boycott. The mutually-hostile factions settled on the very young Dr. King, the newcomer, if only because he had not yet had the time to attract personal grudges and resentments. One faction-leader told a friend that the Rev. King, although he was extremely well-educated and an articulate speaker, did look “more like a boy than a man” at his 26 years of age.
When Rev. King was the only one nominated for president, his closest friend, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, fully expected him to decline. Instead, after a pause, he answered, “Well, if you think I can render some service, I will,” and accepted.
Returning home that evening less than an hour before the mass meeting at which he would deliver the major speech, Dr. King pondered what he could tell the people at the rally. Realizing he could not prepare any remarks, he “became possessed by fear” and “obsessed by a feeling of inadequacy,” as he later wrote. Prayer somewhat calmed his fears, but he was still unsure about what he should say to the thousands who had already gathered outside to hear him.
In celebrating Dr. King as the LaRouche Movement has just done again in Manhattan with the Schiller Institute’s performance of Beethoven’s Mass in C and African-American spirituals in honor of Dr. King and Robert Kennedy, assassinated 50 years ago, we celebrate our real human nature. This is our opportunity, one that will never recur.
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Helga Zepp-LaRouche: ‘History Is Now Written in Asia: Europe Must Follow the Singapore Example’
June 15 (EIRNS)—Schiller Institute Founder and Chair Helga Zepp-LaRouche has put forward a bold new agenda for the June 28-29 European Union summit, necessary to further transform the world, in the wake of the Singapore summit of U.S. President Trump and North Korea’s Chairman Kim Jong-un. Her proposal, issued as the lead for the June 21 issue of the German weekly newspaper Neue Solidarität, concludes:
“If the Merkel government is still in place when this article appears, there is a very good way by which the present crises can be overcome—from the migrant crisis to the government crisis and the EU crisis. Taking the example set by the Singapore Summit—that real change is possible, and that the past does not determine the future—the German government should ensure that the agenda of the European Union summit on June 28-29 be quickly changed. EU cooperation with China’s New Silk Road initiative for the development of Africa should be made the sole subject on the agenda, and [President] Xi Jinping or [Foreign Minister] Wang Yi should be invited to attend, as well as some African heads of state who are already cooperating with China.
“If the EU summit, the Chinese government representative, and the African representatives then pronounce in a joint declaration the commitment to undertake a joint crash program for a pan-African infrastructure and development program, and promise all the young people of Africa that the continent will overcome poverty in a short time, such a declaration, due to the participation of China, would have all the credibility in the world in Africa, and would change the dynamic in all the countries towards definite hope for the future, and thus would immediately effect a change in the migrant crisis. It would also free the EU from its current crisis of legitimacy, and give the European nations a mission which would place the unity of Europe on a great new level.
“Will the heads of state and government of Europe manage to follow the example of Trump and Kim Jong-un? The prospective of developing Africa together with China, would also give President Trump the urgently needed opportunity to overcome the otherwise looming spiral of trade war, and to balance the [U.S.] trade deficit by increasing trade, primarily through investment in joint ventures in third countries.
“The crisis in Europe, the migrant crisis, the crisis of the German government—they have all assumed such dimensions, that the opportunity for a change of course in policy can absolutely be seized. Needed now, are the people to make it happen.”
President Trump: ‘If There’s a Chance To End the Horrible Threat of Nuclear Conflict, We Must Pursue It’
June 17 (EIRNS)—Three days after his world-altering summit with Chairman Kim Jong-un of North Korea, Trump TV Network posted a three-minute video, “President Donald Trump Addresses the Nation, June 15, 2018” to YouTube, telling the people of America and the world what has been accomplished, and what has to be done. (The transcript from FedNews was published by Breitbart.)
“Earlier this week, I returned from a summit in Singapore where I met with Chairman Kim Jong Un of North Korea. This summit marked a new beginning for relations between the United States and North Korea, and it opened a path for a future for all Koreans, North and South.
“The summit also made a clean break from the failed approaches of past administrations, and failed they were.
“Our meeting was the first time a sitting American President has ever met with a leader of North Korea. Our conversation was open, honest, direct and very, very productive. We produced something that is beautiful.
“At the conclusion of the summit we signed a joint statement in which Chairman Kim, ‘Reaffirms his ‘firm and unwavering commitment’ to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.’
“This is the beginning of the process toward the denuclearization of North Korea. I sometimes say the ‘de-nuking’ of North Korea, and those are beautiful words.
“During our conversation I emphasized the tremendous new prosperity, security, and opportunity that awaits North Korea when they de-nuclearize.
“As I said in Singapore, Chairman Kim has the chance to seize an incredible future for his people. Anyone can make war, but only the most courageous can make peace.
“Our world has seen more than enough conflict. If there is a chance at peace, if there’s a chance to end the horrible threat of nuclear conflict, then we must pursue it at all costs.
“The people of America, the people of Korea, the people of world deserve a future of security and of peace, and that is why we signed this joint statement.
“In the coming days, and weeks and months, Secretary Pompeo will be working directly with North Korea to implement the denuclearization deal. In the meantime, sanctions will remain in place.
“We know that there’s a great deal of work ahead, but peace is always worth that effort. We’ve been working very hard. I made the trip. It was worth every second. It was an incredible event. The people of Asia feel safe.
“And, right now, the people from all over the world feel much safer than the days before I was President. We’re doing a good job. We’re working very hard, and we’re going to produce. It’s all going to happen. Thank you.
“God bless you, and God bless America.”
Trump’s Battle To Meet with Putin
June 17 (EIRNS)—The June 16 Sydney Morning Herald, in its article “After Kim Meeting, Trump Turns to Putin,” and a similar report in the June 15 Washington Post, shed light on the intense battle President Trump has had to wage inside his own administration, in order to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the Post, citing an unnamed administration official and two diplomats familiar with the matter, a Trump-Putin meeting is provisionally scheduled for July.
“Trump’s success in advancing the summit planning marks a victory over his aides, who have pushed him to embrace a number of hawkish policies that he has later regretted…. Trump’s insistence on a summit stems from his view that together, [he and Putin] can resolve major geopolitical issues in the Middle East and Europe,” the Sydney paper wrote.
The Post, for its part, reported on June 15 that after President Trump had had impromptu meetings with President Putin in Vietnam on the sidelines of 2017 APEC Summit, he had pushed for a direct meeting with Putin. An unnamed U.S. official told the Post, “After that meeting, the President wanted to invite Putin to the White House. We ignored it.” (At that time, H.R. McMaster was U.S. National Security Advisor and Rex Tillerson was U.S. Secretary of State.)
But as the June 12 summit in Singapore with Chairman Kim illustrated, President Trump does not want to get stuck in dozens of procedures in which nothing will ever be accomplished; he trusts in the confidence of his power as a leader to meet with other leaders to actually solve problems, in the environment of the Silk Road spirit.
The Post’s sources now report that “it’s possible” that Trump would meet with Putin this summer while he is in Europe for the NATO summit. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman is also reported to be arranging for a delegation of Republican senators to visit Moscow, including Richard C. Shelby (AL), John Neely Kennedy (LA), and John Hoeven (ND).
Abe Moots International Foundation To Fund North Korean Denuclearization
June 16 (EIRNS)—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering creating an international foundation to finance North Korea’s denuclearization, according to Kyodo News. On June 16, Abe mentioned a global “mechanism,” to be funded by the international community that would aid North Korea in its bid to get rid of nuclear weapons., Kyodo said.
Abe said Japan would benefit from North Korea’s denuclearization, and further, that Pyongyang would have to make concrete steps to prove it was willing to carry out its promises, reported Sputnik.
‘Getting North Korea On Board Belt and Road Initiative Will Be Easier Than Expected’
June 15 (EIRNS)—The above is the headline in Global Times on June 13, discussing how easily North Korea could be integrated into the Belt and Road Initiative and facilitate the economic integration of Northeast Asia.
Author Hu Weijia cites data from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency revealing that North Korea’s economy is not as dilapidated as popularly suggested. In fact CIA data showed that in 2014 the total length of North Korea’s railway network reached 7,435 km of standard gauge track, which was about twice that of South Korea; 5,400 km of that is electrified. While much of the economy is weak, this railway network is key for integrating the country into regional transport networks with neighboring China and South Korea, and hence the Belt and Road network.
Following the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un, writes Hu, now is the time to begin lifting sanctions and “gradually shift to economic assistance” and “giving priority to economic development.”
Hu writes that South Korea is ready to move, citing the fact that South Korean President Moon Jae-in gave Chairman Kim a UBS flash drive by during their April 27 summit containing the plans for economic development, including electric power infrastructure, railways and highways, that could be built if Pyongyang works toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The article concludes: “North Korea has economic and geographic advantages to join the B&R, which will help the country realize its economic potential. It won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight. However, getting North Korea into the B&R initiative to promote economic integration may be easier than what people would have imagined.”
Bolivian President Deepens ‘Strategic Association’ with Russia
June 15 (EIRNS)—Bolivian President Evo Morales spent June 13-14 in Moscow, meeting with President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club, and signing several key agreements aimed at strengthening the strategic association between the two nations. Discussions focused on expanding cooperation in mining, oil and gas exploration, defense and trade, among other sectors. Next week, Morales will be in Beijing for a two-day visit June 19-20.
Aside from his bilateral meeting with Putin, a highlight of Morales’ visit was the signing of a $1.2 billion investment deal between Gazprom and the state-run Bolivian oil firm YPFB, whereby Gazprom seeks to double its current extraction of 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas at the two Bolivian fields it is developing, Bolivian daily La Razónreported. President Putin also expressed interest in industrializing Bolivia’s enormous lithium reserves. “Dealing with a company with so much experience in exploration and industrialization inspires much confidence,” Morales tweeted.
In discussions with the Russian fertilizer company Acron, Morales discussed supplying that company with 4 million cubic meters of gas for the two fertilizer plants it plans to purchase in Brazil. He indicated that Bolivia wants to explore the idea of partnerships to purchase urea plants in Brazil, or to set up a joint venture to provide fertilizer to the rest of Ibero-America.
Putin told Morales that he’s also interested in the proposed building of a bioceanic railroad extending from Ilo in Peru to Santos in Bolivia, traversing Bolivia. Cuba’s Prensa Latina news agency reported that Morales met with Russian Railways Deputy CEO Vyacheslav Pavlovskiy, who emphasized the company’s expertise in railroad building and requested all information about the bioceanic project, for future discussion.
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
Forget the Punditry—The IG’s Report Is a Bombshell
June 15 (EIRNS)—On June 15, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz released his 565-page report on the FBI and Justice Department Hillary Clinton email investigation. The report is a bombshell even if written in carefully parsed Justice Department lawyer language. If the United States were not in the middle of an insurrection against the Trump presidency, it would cause an immediate halt to Robert Mueller’s investigation.
The implications of the report, including the question as to whether Horowitz softened the language in his report because of Justice Department pushback, will be fully explored when the IG testifies in Congressional hearings in the upcoming week. The report has already emboldened Congressmen such as House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy, who only a couple weeks back was found cowering under the skirts of Paul Ryan as things got hot about British interference in the U.S. election in the form of FBI/MI6 informant Stefan Halper. In response to the IG Report, Gowdy stated: “The report also conclusively shows an alarming and destructive level of animus displayed by top officials at the FBI. Peter Strzok’s manifest bias trending toward animus casts a pall on this investigation. Bias is so pernicious and malignant as to both taint the process, the result, and the ability to have confidence in either.”
The IG report’s revelation that FBI agent Peter Strzok—the lead case officer on both the Clinton and the Russiagate investigations—planned to use the Russia investigation to stop Trump from winning the Presidency, “hopelessly taints it,” as American Spectator columnist George Neumayr recognized in his article today. So does the revelation that an open “Resistance” lawyer at the FBI served on the investigation for over a year.
We recommend reading LaRouche PAC’s full coverage on the IG Report, “Forget the Punditry; the IG’s Report Is a Bombshell.” https://larouchepac.com/20180615/forget-punditry-ig-s-report-bombshell
By finding that then FBI Director James Comey was “insubordinate” and operating far outside Justice Department rules and prosecutorial ethics in his actions in the Clinton email investigation, the IG has provided a bulletproof factual refutation of any attempt by Robert Mueller to charge that the President obstructed justice when he fired James Comey, LaRouche PAC’s Barbara Boyd explains in that article. The Comey firing, in turn, was the factually thin and constitutionally suspect peg for Mueller’s appointment as special prosecutor.
Mueller is firing back: He has leveled new obstruction of justice charges against Paul Manafort and on June 15 succeeded in convincing U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson in Washington, D.C. to send Manafort to jail pending trial for alleged witness tampering. The New York Attorney General, who has collaborated with Mueller, filed charges seeking to dissolve the President’s charitable foundation, and pressure has increased on Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to either turn on the President or face Manafort’s fate.
Yet IG Horowitz continues to investigate improper Justice Department and FBI actions in Russiagate, and the DOJ and Congress remain locked in a battle over documents concerning MI6’s Stefan Halper. If the truth be told about Halper and his British operations against the Trump campaign, further evidence about who actually interfered in the 2016 elections can emerge. It was British intelligence in the form of a spy ring run by former MI6 head Richard Dearlove, acting on behalf of British geopolitical and strategic interests, in conjunction with the Obama White House and Obama’s intelligence directors, not the Russians. As EIR and the LaRouche movement have urged, the way to bring the whole affair crashing down is for the President to declassify everything regarding Russiagate and send it over to the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees for a full report to the American people.
New Tariffs Are Self-Inflicted Wounds on Trump’s Entire Policy
June 15 (EIRNS)—Supporters of President Trump’s agenda of great power diplomacy for peace and economic development, should strongly oppose his newly adopted tariffs, and the ideologues who are advising the President to enact them.
Having begun with steel tariffs which were relatively universal and intended to protect an 80% steel industry capacity utilization in the United States, the Trump Administration has degenerated to enacting and threatening tariffs directed at single countries, and waging war against other countries’ industrial subsidies—when it should be adopting such subsidies in the United States. The tariffs announced today against 1,200 Chinese product lines are purely punitive, and not in any way protective of American industrial production or employment. This “tariff policy” is completely opposed to the use of tariffs (and subsidies) as explained by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in his Report on the Subject of Manufactures to the U.S. Congress in 1791, a bedrock of the American System of economy.
Chinese leaders like Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi have volunteered that America’s trade deficit with China could be reduced by exporting more goods—especially high-value-added, high-technology goods—to China; organizing joint credits for development projects in third countries; and welcoming Chinese industrial investment in the United States both to serve the American market and to export to other countries.
Trump Administration tariff policy has taken the “lose-lose” opposite of this approach. The tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese exports announced today, involve 1,200 product lines, most of which China exports little or not at all to the United States! One example: power plants, including nuclear power plants, and/or all the associated turbines, pumps, valves, shielding and metering devices, etc. The purpose of such tariffs is to prevent potential future development of such exports between now and 2025, and thereby retard China’s progress in high-technology fields. They are purely punitive, with no economic content—as befits actions advised by figures, like Trade Advisor Peter Navarro and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, with strong ideological anti-China views.
Another $16 billion of Chinese products—on a new list now threatened with tariffs after further hearings by the Trade Representative—are products the development and production of which are being subsidized by China.
Announcing the tariffs, President Trump said, “My great friendship with President Xi of China and our country’s relationship with China are both very important to me. Trade between our nations, however, has been very unfair, for a very long time. This situation is no longer sustainable…. [T]he United States will implement a 25% tariff on $50 billion of goods from China that contain industrially significant technologies. This includes goods related to China’s ‘Made in China 2025’ strategic plan to dominate the emerging high-technology industries that will drive future economic growth for China, but hurt economic growth for the United States.”
That latter statement is false. China, by its major infrastructure credits to and investments in other nations, is expanding its export markets for high-value-added products. The United States could be doing the same, including joint projects with China. Attempting to shut down U.S.-China high-technology trade entirely, self-inflicts injury to the American economy even before China decides whether to impose retaliatory tariffs.
On June 13, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Beijing that there are two options, “cooperation” and a “win-win” scenario, or a “lose-lose” approach. “China opts for the first one and has made such a decision, we hope the U.S. will make a wise choice, and China on its part is prepared on all fronts.” He said that the pledge to buy more U.S. products will not be implemented if tariffs are imposed.
Mattis Takes Geopolitical Aim at Russia and China … Following Theresa May’s Cue?
June 16 (EIRNS)—Secretary of Defense James Mattis delivered a graduation address at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I., yesterday, with attacks on Russia which followed right in line with Theresa May’s imperious June 9 right-think order to trans-Atlantic nations, on how to treat Russia. Her statement was titled, “Hostile States To Face Rapid and Unified International Response.” Mattis’ speech also struck out against China.
Mattis claimed that Russia is an enormous threat to NATO, not because Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to invade the Baltics, but because of other ways in which he’s supposedly using power against the alliance. “[W]e see the Russian Federation as the nation closest to us in nuclear parity, and proven willing to use conventional and irregular power in violation of international norms,” Mattis claimed. “For the first time since World War II, Russia has been the nation that has redrawn international borders by force of arms in Georgia and Ukraine, while pursuing veto authority over their neighbors’ diplomatic, economic and security decisions.” Furthermore, “Putin seeks to shatter NATO. He aims to diminish the appeal of the Western democratic model and attempts to undermine America’s moral authority. His actions are designed not to challenge our arms, at this point, but to undercut and compromise our belief in our ideals.”
Mattis accused China of “harboring long-term designs to rewrite the existing global order.” He claimed that “The Ming Dynasty appears to be their model, albeit in a more muscular manner, demanding other nations become tribute states, kowtowing to Beijing; espousing One Belt, One Road, when this diverse world has many belts and many roads; and attempting to replicate on the international stage their authoritarian domestic model, militarizing South China Sea features while using predatory economics of piling massive debt on others.”
COLLAPSING WESTERN SYSTEM
Prins Warns When Asset Bubble Pops, Watch Out for Deep Depression
June 16 (EIRNS)—Banking historian Nomi Prins was interviewed by British economist Liam Halligan this week, whose June 15 article covers her warning of the bursting of the financial bubble, and need for Glass-Steagall. Posted on UnHerd website, the article of Halligan, a frequent contributor, is titled, “Nomi Prins: The Central Banking Heist Has Put the World at Risk.”
Prins is quoted, “When the asset bubble pops, the fragile financial system and the broader economic environment could be thrown into deep depression and turmoil. That’s why the QE baton has been passed from the U.S. to other nations, and why the central banks are so desperate to collude.” Prins explains this at some length, reporting on many aspects of the bubble process. “Public and private debt combined amount to a staggering 225% of global GDP—much of it accumulated since the financial crisis.” She predicts, “The next financial crisis will be sparked by a debt failure somewhere—then this QE bubble will pop very quickly,”
Prins reviews what ought to have been done in the 2007-2008 crisis—direct support of homeowners, and selective support of banks—which is, though partial, in line with Lyndon LaRouche’s proposal at the time, in the draft law, “Homeowners and Bank Protection Act.”
Halligan states in his writeup of Prins, “What we need, she says, is ‘better regulation’—in particular, a return to the ‘Glass-Steagall’ environment where investment banks can’t leverage their balance sheets by so much and rely on government support.”
Halligan himself is a backer of Glass-Steagall bank separation. Prins’ latest book is Collusion: How Central Bankers Rigged the World.
German Government Coalition Hit by a Twitter Hoax
June 16 (EIRNS)—The political situation is Germany is so unstable that the German government coalition, comprised by the Christian Democracy’s CDU and CSU, and the Social Democracy’s SPD, seems to have barely survived a Twitter hoax. On June 15, a Twitter account claiming to be state broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk tweeted that Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, the leader of the Christian Social Union, “had announced according to an internal email the termination of the partnership” with the Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. Given the conflict between Seehofer and Merkel over her immigration policy, the tweet had great credibility.
Hessischer Rundfunk managed to confirm that the account was fake, while SPD Finance Minister Olaf Scholz called for calm, tweeting: “The task of governing our country is serious and not an episode of Game of Thrones.” Or is it….?
Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert also issued a denial during a press conference.
Before the denials were made, however, the mass national tabloid Bild headlined the story on its website as the collapse of the government.
SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
China’s Chang’e-4 Relay Satellite Has Reached Its ‘Halo Orbit’
June 15 (EIRNS)—The Chang’e-4 relay satellite, which was launched on May 20, reached its halo orbit, 60,000 km past the Moon yesterday, the China National Space Administration reported. From this stable position, where the gravitational force of the Moon and the Earth cancel each other, a region of gravitational equilibrium is created. From there, the satellite will be able to relay communications between the lander and rover on the surface of the far side of the Moon, and Mission Control on Earth. Its first important job will be to observe and report back to Mission Control on the landing of the Chang’e-4 lander, which engineers on the ground would not otherwise be able to see. The lander is expected to be launched at the end of this year.
