EDITORIAL

The G20 Is the Test Case

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—On Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Argentina, President Donald Trump will hold formal meetings with both President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin. Although the G20 meeting itself is not likely to address the life-or-death issues now confronting mankind—the presence of the British makes this a near-certainty—the crucial meetings between the leaders of the U.S., Russia and China have the potential to initiate the kind of world historic transformation necessary to prevent the looming danger of global war, and at the same time to bring the United States into concordance with the transforming process of the New Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative initiated by Xi Jinping, and now embracing most of the nations of Eurasia, Africa and Ibero-America.

But time is short. The institutions in the Western world, over the past weeks, have finally begun to acknowledge the level of economic decay and pending financial collapse facing Europe and the United States. The current speculative bubble is now far in excess of the bubble that led to the 2008 crash, while the IMF, the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have exhausted their monetarist means of bailing out the banks through the creation of masses of fictitious capital, while leaving the real economy to rot. Nothing short of a revolutionary transformation of the means of production, and the aesthetic and scientific education of the population, based on the Hamiltonian ideas which governed this nation’s first revolution against the British Empire, can reverse the decay and unleash again the creative powers of humanity.

President Trump has refused to capitulate to the neo-conservatives, the degenerate Democratic Party, and the corrupt press, and is intent on establishing friendly relations with Russia and restoring friendly relations with China, including finding a mutually agreeable resolution to the trade deficit crisis with China. His biggest vulnerability is the onrushing financial collapse. Helga Zepp-LaRouche addressed this today in an international strategic webcast:

“The stock market gains which President Trump often refers to could be evaporating in a minute, and I think the real Achilles’ Heel of Trump is that, at least in some of his speeches and statements, he has named the increase in the stock market as a sign of success. There may be new jobs he has created, and for sure, he has brought some development to some areas of the economy, but we are talking about the need to have maybe $4, $5, $6, $7, $8 trillion in investments in the reconstruction of infrastructure. So I think we are very far away from an economic recovery, because if you have these developments of an aging infrastructure which is collapsing, or the spread of poverty—you know, one-third of the American population cannot take care of its basic needs!  That is not something to be content with.

“So I think the G20 meeting will be a big test. I don’t think this combination [the G20 nations] is capable of putting on the table the necessary kind of reforms, because this would require the City of London to change their views, which I think the probability of that goes toward zero; and it would require that Brussels takes a different approach. But I have some hope that the summits between some of the other leaders, including Trump, Putin, Xi Jinping, Abe, and others on the sidelines of this meeting, can actually come forth with useful initiatives.”

She concluded: “But don’t be passive about it:  Help us to mobilize for it.  Join the Schiller Institute, and let’s make sure that the agenda is clearly understood and available to the population, and that the principles of physical economy are better understood, because money is not a criterion of physical economy, but only the increase in the productivity of the labor force, the industrial capacities, the increase in science and technology, in energy flux-density in the production process—all of these are principles which are very much forgotten today, in a world which only thinks about money, money, money. So, join the Schiller Institute and let’s work together on these questions.”

U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

Comey, Lynch Issued Congressional Subpoenas, Comey Calls It a ‘Stunt’

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—Both disgraced former FBI Director James Comey and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch received subpoenas on Nov. 21 to appear before the House Judiciary Committee in closed session on Dec. 3 and 4 respectively. Outgoing House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (VA) issued the subpoenas.

Comey and his lawyers are calling the subpoenas a “stunt,” and intend to fight it in court. Comey tweeted: “Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. I’m still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a ‘closed door’ thing because I’ve seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Let’s have a hearing and invite everyone to see.”  This from a confessed criminal leaker.

Comey’s attorney David Kelley said he would fight the subpoena in court, writing: “While the authority for Congressional subpoenas is broad, it does not cover the right to misuse closed hearings as a political stunt to promote political as opposed to legislative agendas.”

Unfortunately, Goodlatte may indeed be too late, since Comey, by fighting the subpoena in court, will likely drag the issue out beyond the first of the year, when the new Congress comes in with a Democratic Party majority, which will almost certainly move to end the investigation of the crimes of the Obama justice system in the fake “Russiagate” campaign against President Trump.

Turkish Daily: CIA Has Tape of Saudi Crown Prince Saying Khashoggi Should Be ‘Silenced’

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported today, as covered in many Western press outlets, that the CIA has a recording of a phone call between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and his brother Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi Ambassador in Washington, calling for Jamal Khashoggi to be “silenced.” Hurriyet claims that CIA Director Gina Haspel, during her visit to Turkey on Oct. 23, told Turkish officials about the wiretapped call. Hurriyet claims that in the call MBS complained of the “discomfort” created by Khashoggi and that MBS called to “silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible.”

Turkish officials would not confirm the report to journalists.

President Donald Trump said, in part, in a statement posted to the White House website on Nov. 20: “Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an ‘enemy of the state’ and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that—this is an unacceptable and horrible crime. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi.  Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event—maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!

“That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi.” [emphasis in original]

The Aircraft Carrier USS Ronald Reagan Visits Hong Kong

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—The Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan made a port call in Hong Kong Nov. 21, together with three other U.S. Navy warships—the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville, and guided-missile destroyers USS Benfold and USS Curtis Wilbur.

Global Times wrote in an Editorial that the visit “signals that the Chinese and U.S. militaries have stabilized relations, and shows that the two militaries can maintain cooperation even when China-U.S. strategic suspicion is increasing, which sheds an optimistic light on bilateral relations. Trade cooperation used to be regarded as the cornerstone of China-U.S. relations, but now it’s the wrestling mat for their disputes. Military cooperation, which was once the most sensitive and vulnerable aspect between the two, has in turn become the key to maintaining their relationship.”

The timing of visit, just days before the planned summit between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, carries special significance. China refused a requested port call from the U.S. two months ago.

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

Are the Brits Starting To Sweat a Bit?

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—In a story yesterday by Britain’s Daily Telegraph’s U.S. editor Ben Riley-Smith, London appears to show real alarm lest its interference into the U.S. elections and its coup attempt against our elected President could be made indisputable through an official document, if President Donald Trump declassifies and releases the full Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to surveil Carter Page, as he has said he will.  The headline is, “MI6 Battling To Stop Donald Trump Releasing Classified Russia Probe Documents.”

“The U.K. is warning that the U.S. President would undermine intelligence gathering if he releases pages of an FBI application to wiretap one of his former campaign advisers.

“However, Trump allies are fighting back, demanding transparency and asking why Britain would oppose the move unless it had something to hide….

“[George Papadopoulos] has suggested he was ‘lured’ to London ‘so that the British would spy on me’ and was targeted by a ‘plot by Western intelligence.’ The Fox News presenters have often echoed the suggestions.

“Mr. Papadopoulos told the Telegraph: ‘The British government has a lot of explaining to do. It’s in their interest to be transparent. Why was the British intelligence apparatus weaponized against Trump and his advisers?’

“Other Trump allies are pushing similar claims. One former top White House adviser to Mr. Trump made similar insinuations, telling this newspaper: ‘You know the Brits are up to their neck.’

“The [Telegraph’s] source added on the Page wiretap application: ‘I think that stuff is going to implicate MI5 and MI6 in a bunch of activities they don’t want to be implicated in, along with FBI, counter-terrorism and the CIA.’ ”

ECONOMY

White House Holds Talks with German Carmakers

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—Bypassing the European Union and the German government, the Trump Administration has invited the heads of Volkswagen, Daimler AG, and BMW to the White House for talks on tariffs. According to German business daily Handelsblatt, the meeting could take place next week.

Sputnik reports that the European Union bureaucracy in Brussels is outraged, along with the German government, at what they see as an attempt by President Donald Trump to bypass official circles, especially EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström. Berlin’s own conspiracy theory is that the meeting will be used to obtain information that could be used in government-to-government trade talks.

Since the U.S. is the most important foreign market for their cars, the German car manufacturers will be more reasonable than the lunatics in the EU and German government.

Admin:  The ‘Lunatics’ are the insane Israel Firster ZIONISTS!

French ‘Yellow Vest’ Demonstrations Spill Over into Belgium and Bulgaria

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—Hundreds of demonstrators, wearing the same yellow highway safety vests that have been a symbol of the French protests, have been blocking motorways in central Belgium, also protesting the “green” fuel price hikes. The demonstrations have been held in the Walloon city of Feluy where Total’s petrochemical plant is located, according to the Belgian daily Dernière Heure (DH), reported Sputnik.

About 400 protesters “were hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at police, and breaking [police] car windows with metal rods,” Sputnik wrote, as well as using lasers to drive away a police helicopter.

Other demonstrators blocked traffic on highways towards Brussels, stopping hundreds of trucks on the Mons-Brussels motorway and at the Belgium-France border crossing. DH reported that police used water cannons to disperse the crowd, and made 30 arrests on charges of “theft, violence-related crimes and the use of weapons,” Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon confirmed on Nov. 22.

In Bulgaria, similar demonstrations against fuel price hikes have been taking place over the past three weeks. On Nov. 19, highways were blocked, causing serious traffic problems in Sofia. The demonstrations also targetted corruption and poverty. One sign read “People against political parties.”

THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

Japan and Russia Are Dead Serious about Peace Treaty

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are determined to reach a peace treaty formally ending World War II between their countries while both are still in office.  After sidelines talks between the two in at the ASEAN summits in Singapore Nov. 14, Abe said, “Under the leadership of me and President Putin, I’m determined to complete peace treaty negotiations, an issue of concern that has been left after the end of the war.”

Their scheduled meeting on the sidelines of the Nov. 30-Dec. 1 G20 summit in Buenos Aires, is only the first of three they are expected to hold during the coming months. Japan Times reported Nov. 16 that a Japanese government source had told them that arrangements are being made for Abe to visit Russia in late January, and that Abe is also exploring substantive discussions with Putin when Japan hosts the G20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.

Meanwhile, TASS reports today that Japan’s Foreign Minister Taro Kono has suddenly dropped his ministry’s standard phrase for referring to what Japan calls its “Northern Territories,” which have been occupied since World War II by the Soviet Union and then Russia, which calls them the “Southern Kurile Islands.”  The Japanese government had always called them “ancestral territory,” but now Kono refuses to do so. According to Kyodo News, Kono said, “Since the next round of [high-level] talks is expected to take place soon, I would like to refrain from making statements on the issue.”

Agreement on the status of these islands has long been the major sticking-point for a peace treaty.

South African Foreign Minister Meets with Lavrov, While in Moscow for Mandela Centenary

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—The Russian Foreign Ministry reported Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks yesterday at talks with South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ms. Lindiwe Sisulu, who had come to Moscow over Nov. 20-22 to celebrate the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth with the Russian leadership. Foreign Minister Lavrov began:

“Today we have a good opportunity to review our cooperation under the agreements reached by President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg last July. At that time, our leaders reaffirmed their desire to continue promoting our partnership based on long-time traditions linked, in part, with our cooperation during the struggle of your people against apartheid and colonialism. Of course, this is highly symbolic now that you are celebrating the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth together with us and all your friends. I would like to convey special gratitude to our friends in South Africa for their attention to our common history. I know that a monument with the names of Soviet servicemen who died in the struggle for the liberation of southern Africa, including in Angola and Mozambique, will be unveiled in Pretoria in the near future.”

He said that Minister Sisulu had attended regular meeting of the Russia-South Africa Combined Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation earlier that day, which had also been joined by Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dmitry Kobylkin.

“We maintain very substantive cooperation in high-tech, and have signed an agreement on the use of nuclear energy for oncology treatment.

“We have a working group on space exploration….

“Naturally, today I hope to discuss in detail our continuing close cooperation at international organizations. Yesterday, we acted as one in the [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] OPCW to uphold the immutability of the convention signed and ratified by all countries. Now that international law and the international system based on the results of World War II are being subjected to very serious trials, foreign policy coordination is much needed, both in bilateral relations and through BRICS….”

In her Foreign Ministry briefing today, Maria Zakharova said their meeting would discuss the “bilateral strategic cooperation with focus on the build-up of investment interaction and cooperation in the science-technical, humanitarian and other spheres,” reported TASS. They also reviewed the “current agenda with regard to the results of the BRICS summit that was held in Johannesburg on July 25-27, and the election of South Africa as temporary member of the UN Security Council for 2019-2020.”

SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Russia Completes Design for New Nuclear Icebreaker Service Vessel

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—Russia’s Iceberg Central Design Bureau has completed the design of a service vessel for Russia’s new generation of Lider nuclear icebreakers. The first Lider icebreaker is currently under construction by the United Shipbuilders Corporation’s Baltic Shipyard. When completed, these 33,000-ton ships will be the most powerful icebreakers afloat, and will service the Artic shipping lanes, TASS reported yesterday. “We have finished design of a technical part for the project 22770 nuclear technology service vessel,” said the Bureau’s Director General Alexander Ryzhkov. “All the work is done, and all documents are now with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.” Now the necessary licenses must be issued and the choice of the shipbuilder must be made.

The current generation of nuclear technical service vessels is unable to service the new Lider ships. The Baltic Shipyard’s Director General Alexei Kadilov told TASS it would be necessary to begin building such a service vessel no later than 2020, so that it could begin working in 2023.

Ryzhkov said, “This vessel is technologically complicated, it is big—its deadweight tonnage is 20,000 tons…. It will be used to service icebreakers of the earlier projects and the new icebreakers, which the Baltic Shipyard is building now…. We have designed a vessel 40-50 years ahead of time.”

Founded in 1947, the Iceberg Central Design Bureau designed the first nuclear icebreaker Lenin, icebreakers Yamal, 50 Let Pobedy, and the Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power station.