EDITORIAL

Ninety Days To Make a Breakout for All Ages

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—The U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 6 are less than 90 days away. In these 90 days, the present British Empire coup against the President can be thoroughly and roundly defeated, and the basis for a New Bretton Woods agreement among the Presidents of the United States, Russia and China, and the government of India put into place—the remedy proposed by EIR Founding Editor Lyndon LaRouche for routing the British Empire once and for all.

If, however, the present Democratic Party prevails in the elections, then the Congressional effort to destroy the agents of the coup will be ended, and an impeachment proceeding against President Donald Trump will take its place. History will be on a different world-line.

Those are the stark alternatives we face, along with the populations of the four nations who could implement LaRouche’s proposal. We have the unique potential to turn this battle in the right direction, but the clock is now ticking, and actual leadership, modeled on that of Lyndon LaRouche, is what we must now summon.

Never before in human history have the British stood so exposed, as the further revelations about Christopher Steele’s paid role with the FBI beginning in February of 2016, and his continuing relationship with Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr and the Obama Justice Department hierarchy, have revealed over the last few days. How they have aimed squarely at bringing down this President now has been fully exposed. As Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Aug. 6, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is going to blow up, and the law enforcement focus is going to turn to those who fulminated this corrupt witch hunt. The job now is to point out that all roads lead to the fact that this has been a full-scale British Empire subversion operation against the United States.

U.S. POLITICAL & ECONOMIC

Via DOJ’s Bruce Ohr, Christopher Steele Urged FBI To Rehire Him To ‘Help’ Mueller Get Trump

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—“Ex” MI6 operative Christopher Steele, who worked as a “Confidential Human Source” for the FBI in the Russia investigation, was reportedly fired in November 2016 after leaking information to the media in violation of his contract.

But according to a trove of documents recently released to several Congressional committees, Steele, hired by Fusion GPS and the Democratic National Committee to dig up dirt on Donald Trump, in fact was never really fired. Well into 2017, he continued to conduit intelligence into the FBI through Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, with whom he had at least 60 exchanges, and was negotiating with the Department of Justice to get himself reinstated as an FBI informant to assist Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the coup attempt against Trump.

In an Aug. 8 article in The Hill, investigative reporter John Solomon reveals that months after being dismissed from the FBI, Steele discussed his possible reinstatement with Ohr, texting him on Aug. 6, 2017 that, “whenever convenient, I would like a chat, there’s a lot going on and we are frustrated with how long this reengagement with the Bureau and Mueller is taking. Anything you could do to accelerate the process would be much appreciated.” In his reply, Ohr suggested times the two could discuss the matter.

The Aug. 6 text was apparently the one time that Steele specifically mentioned Mueller by name to Ohr, claiming that “there are some new, perishable, operational opportunities which we do not want to miss out on.” According to Solomon, the texts are the first indication of the effort to get Steele reinstated, first surfacing as a serious idea in July 2017. In a July 16 text to Ohr, Steele says, “I spoke to my old colleagues last week and they assured me they would not stand in the way of our reengagement with the Bureau.”

Although it’s not known how this ultimately played out, Solomon reports that in multiple texts, Ohr and Steele continually used the term “SC,” possibly a reference to Special Counsel Mueller, or to FBI attorney Lisa Page, who also held that position within the Bureau. In a private letter to Congress, Solomon reports, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein claimed he was unaware of Bruce Ohr’s activities with Steele, that Ohr was not assigned to the Russia investigation and was not “in the chain of command. Any involvement that Mr. Ohr had in this matter was without my knowledge.” Congressional sources with whom Solomon consulted, reported they were “stunned” that Ohr, a top Rosenstein aide, would even consider rehiring Steele.

New York Times Op-Ed Demands U.S. Dump Its Constitution Along with the President

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—The treasonous New York Times published an opinion piece today by Megan Day and Bhaskar Sunkara from Jacobin, “the socialist magazine,” which calls for doing away with the U.S. Constitution on the grounds that it is an undemocratic document. “The subversion of democracy was the explicit intent of the Constitution’s framers,” they state. “The byzantine Constitution [James Madison] helped create serves as the foundation for a system of government that rules over people, rather than an evolving tool for popular self-government….

“These perspectives are vital at a time when many progressives regard the Constitution as our only line of defense against a would-be autocrat in the White House. Yet whether or not the President knows it, the Constitution has long been venerated by conservative business elites like himself on the grounds that it hands them the power to fend off attempts to redistribute wealth and create new social guarantees in the interest of working people….

“As long as we think of our Constitution as a sacred document, instead of an outdated relic, we’ll have to deal with its anti-democratic consequences.”

Trump Attorney Giuliani Warns Russiagate Will Blow Up Bigger Than Watergate—In Reverse

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—In an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News yesterday, President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani said that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s case against the President isn’t going to fizzle, but “the real story” is, “it’s going to blow up on them.”

“When this plays out over the next year or two, it’s not going to be about President Trump…. It’s going to be about all the things they did.

“You know how sometimes the cover-up is worse than the crime?  In this case, the investigation was much worse than the no crime.”

“I think it’s going to lead to some very, very big reforms, just like Watergate. A different kind of Watergate, on the side of the investigator.”

Hannity said that President Trump has the power to declassify all the unredacted Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) wiretap requests, and other documents subpoenaed by Congress which will expose the illegal actions committed against the President.  Giuliani’s answer may mean that this is right now under active consideration.

He answered that it was a matter the President has to address with his government lawyers, as against his private lawyers like Giuliani. But, Giuliani said, “he’s going to do it right now.”

Senate Intelligence Committee Invites WikiLeaks’ Assange To Testify

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is considering a request from the Senate Intelligence Committee to testify to bipartisan staffers, on the Committee inquiry that Russia allegedly interfered in the 2016 election. The letter, dated Aug. 1, and posted to WikiLeaks’ Twitter account reads:

“As you are aware, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is conducting a bipartisan inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.  As part of that inquiry, the Committee requests that you make yourself available for a closed interview with bipartisan Committee staff at a mutually agreeable time and location.” It was signed by Chairman Richard Burr (R) and Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D).

WikiLeaks’ tweet says the letter was “delivered via the U.S. Embassy in London,” addressed to Assange at the Ecuador Embassy in London.

NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

Two Koreas Plan High-Level Meeting To Prepare for Summit

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea agreed today to hold high-level talks on Aug. 13 at the border village of Panmunjom, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry, Xinhua reported. North Korea had proposed to South Korea earlier in the day holding a senior-level dialogue on Aug. 13 to implement the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration.

Although it’s not clear when another summit may take place, if the April 27 summit agreements are followed through on, the leaders will likely meet in Pyongyang in the next couple of months, Associated Press reported.

AP’s report cited an unnamed South Korean official at the Unification Ministry, who said the two Koreas will also discuss ways to push through tension-reduction agreements made during the earlier summit between Chairman Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Those agreements including holding another inter-Korean summit in the fall in Pyongyang.

African Development Bank President: Africa Should Be World’s Breadbasket

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—Addressing the 2018 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting in Washington, attended by over 1,600 agricultural and applied economists from around the world, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina said Aug. 5 that Africa should be the breadbasket of the world, and questioned why Africa should be spending $35 billion a year to import food.

“All it needs to do is harness the available technologies with the right policies, and rapidly raise agricultural productivity and incomes for farmers, and assure lower food prices for consumers,” Adesina said, addressing the 2018 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, reported the bank’s website. “Technologies to achieve Africa’s green revolution exist, but are mostly just sitting on the shelves. The challenge is a lack of supportive policies to ensure they are scaled up to reach millions of farmers,” he stated, not referring to phony “green” environmentalism, but the green revolution that raises productivity and would make Africa food secure.

Adesina, who was the 2017 World Food Prize winner, is advocating the creation of staple crops processing zones across Africa (SCPZs): vast areas within rural areas, set aside and managed for agribusiness and food manufacturing industries and other agro-allied industries, made possible with the right policies and infrastructure. “I am convinced that just like industrial parks helped China, so will the SCPZs help to create new economic zones in rural areas that will help lift hundreds of millions out of poverty through the transformation of agriculture—the main source of their livelihoods—from a way of life into a viable, profitable business that will unleash new sources of wealth,” he said.

Putin Congratulates Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa on Successful Election

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to Zimbabwe’s President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa. “Please accept my sincere congratulations on the occasion of the reelection to the Presidency of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” the message said, according to the Herald of Harare. “I am confident that traditionally friendly relations between Russia and Zimbabwe will continue to develop for the benefit of the peoples of our nations in the process strengthening stability and security on the African continent. I wish you good health and every success in your important position as head of State.”

Of the five BRICS nations, Russia, China, and South Africa have officially recognized Mnangagwa’s election victory. The July 30 elections were Zimbabwe’s first general elections since Robert Mugabe stepped down in November 2017, and was replaced by Mnangagwa.

Ethiopian Government and Oromo Liberation Front Sign Reconciliation Agreement

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—A major step in reconciliation among Ethiopians has been made, in which, after negotiations, the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) signed a Reconciliation Agreement on Aug. 7, under the auspices of Eritrea. The agreement was signed in the Eritrean capital of Asmara by Oromia Region President Lemma Megersa on the Ethiopian side, and Chairman Dawud Ibsa on the OLF side. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu was also involved in the negotiations and was present at the signing. The agreement includes termination of hostilities, the agreement by the OLF to conduct only peaceful political activities, and the establishment of a joint committee to oversee the implementation the agreement.

The OLF had been in armed conflict with the government for over two decades and operated out of Eritrea when the two countries where in a state of war. The reconciliation agreement is one of the benefits of the July 8 normalization of relations between the two countries.

Mozambique Government and Renamo Opposition Seek To End Tensions

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—The long-simmering tensions between the Mozambique Liberation Front, or Frelimo party, and the opposition Mozambique National Resistance, or Renamo, are on their way to a solution. Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi announced Aug. 6 the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the government and Renamo.

A Russian Foreign Ministry statement stated Aug. 8 that the “memorandum stipulates the demilitarization, demobilization and partial integration of the main opposition party’s forces, which Renamo preserved after the end of the civil war in 1992, into the country’s regular army. Although relatively small and only charged with protecting the Renamo leadership, these armed groups were often used in the ongoing political struggle to pressure the Mozambican legitimate authorities.”

The statement further elaborates that, “Moscow welcomes the signing of this memorandum. We support the friendly Mozambican people and hope that the settlement of differences between the government and the opposition will preclude a repetition of military confrontation and help establish a lasting peace, which Mozambique needs for comprehensive and sustainable development.”

The agreement, signed by President Nyusi and Renamo acting head Ossufo Momade, will ensure a peaceful municipal election in October, and otherwise is a key element of the package of agreements that are designed to bring about a lasting political settlement in Mozambique. President Filipe Nyusi has also urged the international community to support the efforts of the Mozambican government and opposition to implement these agreements.

COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Portugal’s Recovery Hoax

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—Positive figures on unemployment and GDP for Portugal provide arguments for both critics and supporters of EU austerity. Whereas the former insist that this is because the Socialist government terminated austerity programs and started stimulus actions in 2015, the latter claim that it is the delayed effect of the Troika’s austerity measures.

They are both wrong.

The dramatic drop in Portugal’s unemployment figures (6.7% in Q2 2018, down from 7.9% in Q1 and from 17.50% in Q1 2013) and GDP growth of 2.7% in 2017, are driven by exports, 75% of which go to other EU countries. The first two major exports are car components and refined oil products. Hence, exports are totally dependent on the car market outside of Portugal and even outside of the EU, insofar as the car components go into automobiles that are exported from the EU.

Both this sector and tourism are profiting from the suppression of labor costs.

Indeed, the wage ratio of GDP has dropped from 46.8% in 2008 to 44.2% in 2016. Furthermore, the ratio of part-time employment and temporary contracts to total employment went from 17.1% in 2009 to 18.6% in 2016.

In other words, people are paid less and their jobs are more insecure. True, the Socialist government has increased minimum wages and pensions, but while improving some social conditions, it is too little to claim a real change. Indeed, people at risk of poverty increased from 8.8% in 2008 to 11.2% in 2016.

But, the deficit has gone below 1% and the debt has been reduced, albeit slightly.

German Minister Müller Has Bizarre Ideas for Developing Africa

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—German Development Minister Gerd Müller has insisted that Europe invest more in Africa, but has put forward some bizarre ideas on how this should be done. In an interview with Die Welt, Müller on the one hand calls for increasing EU money for Africa, for a new EU-Africa treaty and for an EU “Africa Commissioner.”

He has also announced he will travel to the Horn of Africa soon, to meet Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. “We will support the historic peace process between both countries and we will support selected reforms, among others, with measures for dual job training and in the agricultural sector.” Saying it’s not enough for the EU and the African Union to hold summits every two years, he insisted, “we need permanent working structures to implement the decisions of heads of state and government.”

On the other hand, he’s promoting a lot of green environmentalist and free trade idiocy. He observes that Africa’s population will double by 2050, “more and more people will move into towns, and in the next 10 years they will build more in African cities than in the last 100 years in Europe.” This will mean increased demand for energy, he states, and hundreds of new coal plants will be needed to ensure electricity for every African household. But then warning that Berlin’s Reichstag would become “black from soot” if that giant energy need is satisfied with fossil fuels, he proclaims that “our aim must be to make Africa a green continent with technologies for renewable energy. Therefore we invest among other things, in research projects to store solar energy and to develop synthetic fuels.” Nuclear energy is clearly not on his agenda. Also, he argues that if the potential for 300 million automobiles is satisfied with conventional vehicles, “people will suffocate in smog. The effect on climate would also be dramatic.”

Furthermore, he avers, Brussels must “open [EU] markets to all African goods. In particular, agricultural products should be imported without tariffs and quotas into Europe.” European farmers will not be amused by this proposal.

Müller sees agriculture as the sector where jobs should be created in Africa, but makes no mention whatsoever of infrastructure. He points to Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana and Ivory Coast as examples of successful cooperation, but in his myopic view, this successful model stems from helping Africans to “help themselves” in areas such as “the fight against corruption, the improvement of the rule of law, respect for human rights, and the creation of Courts of Accounts and efficient administrative structures.” These are hardly priorities for the serious economic development that Africa cries out for.

SCIENCE & INFRASTRUCTURE

Uganda’s Museveni Makes Case for Investment in Infrastructure Development

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, who arrived in Tanzania today to discuss regional matters with President John Magufuli, said he requested the meeting to brief Magufuli on the July 25-27 BRICS summit in South Africa, during which Museveni made a case for the BRICS countries to invest in the East Africa Community (EAC) which provides high returns on their investments, higher than Europe, Latin America and Asia.

“Investment in infrastructure development is key,” he said, “especially in roads, railway and electricity. The Chinese have already helped us construct two hydropower dams, in Karuma, which is 600MW, and Isimba 183MW,” the Kampala Post reported today. Museveni attended the BRICS summit as rotating head of the East African Community this year.

Uganda is a significant beneficiary of Chinese investments in East Africa. China has invested in many African countries, and continues to do so to improve their economies. Liaoshen Industrial Park and Mbale Industrial Park in Uganda, launched last March, are set to increase local employment. The Chinese investors will offer training to the Ugandans who will work there. Among other benefits would be increased trade between Uganda and China.

Chief U.S.-China Trade Negotiator Liu He Adds New Science Post

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)— Liu He, who has been serving as the point person on the somewhat stalled trade negotiations with the U.S. has been named the deputy director of a newly constituted National Science and Technology Leading Group.

Formally, this is simply renaming the National Science, Technology and Education Leading Group, but the appointment of Liu gives the panel added importance and perhaps added prerogatives. And given that part of the reason for the trade dispute with the U.S. has to do with concern among some U.S. administration officials over China’s desire to become a top producer in some high-tech fields, the appointment could also be related to the stalled trade talks. In addition to his new appointment, Liu He also serves as head of the Financial Stability and Development Committee and plays a leading role in the reform of the state-owned enterprises.

The major responsibilities of the group will include studying and reviewing national strategies, plans and major policies for science and technology development; deliberating major national scientific tasks and projects, and coordinating major science and technology affairs among ministries, departments and local authorities. The group’s other 14 members are mainly heads of ministries and departments in related fields, such as the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

OTHER

China Delegation To Provide Full Support for Afghanistan Peace Process

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—The office of Mohammad Hanif Atmar, National Security Advisor to the Afghan President, announced today that a high-level delegation from China is expected to visit Afghanistan in the near future, “where it will announce Beijing’s full support for the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process,” TOLONews Agency reported.

On Aug. 8, Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Liu Jinsong said the level of distrust between the Afghan government and the Taliban is a key obstacle in the way of achieving peace in the country, and that this issue has created serious challenges. He said China has always supported peace talks, and that Beijing will “continue to facilitate the talks based on the principle of (it being) Afghan-led and Afghan-owned,” TOLONews quoted Liu as saying.

In recent years, China had attempted to broker peace between the Taliban and Kabul, including developing close contacts with some Taliban leaders. In 2016, a delegation led by Sher Abbas Stanekzai, head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, visited Beijing on July 18-22, 2016 at the invitation of the Chinese government, according to a senior member of the Taliban, reported Reuters at the time.

Again, in March 2017, Stanekzai led a five-member delegation for talks with Chinese officials. On Aug. 6, the Financial Times reported that Chinese officials had reportedly met the Afghan Taliban several times in the past year, TOLONews reported.

CPC Political Bureau Member Yang Jiechi To Visit Moscow

Aug. 9 (EIRNS)—Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee’s Political Bureau, will visit Russia on Aug. 14-17 to participate in the 14th round of Russian-Chinese consultations on strategic stability. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang reported today that Yang Jiechi’s visit is at the invitation of Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.  Patrushev said earlier that Yang will also meet with President Vladimir Putin.