EDITORIAL

Zepp-LaRouche Depicts the Battle Lines Are Clear: A New Paradigm, or Economic Chaos and War

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—In her weekly strategic webcast today, Schiller Institute founder and President Helga Zepp-LaRouche emphasized the dramatic nature of the moment in which the world finds itself. International events—turmoil in France, the Brexit break from the EU in Britain, the political breakdown in Germany, to name only a few—demonstrate “that we are experiencing the end of an epoch, and the emergence of a new one.” The old neo-liberal order is crumbling, reflected in President Donald Trump’s 2016 election, the British referendum to leave the EU, called the “Brexit,” and the election victory of the Italian government. What the new order will look like, “is not yet decided and not clear,” Zepp-LaRouche said, “but it’s one of these, what Friedrich Schiller would call ‘pregnant moments in history,’ where the subjective intervention is what really makes the difference.”

In this context Zepp-LaRouche emphasized that people should become active in the Schiller Institute, “because only if you implement a New Bretton Woods and the general reforms my husband [Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr.] has demanded, in the Four Laws—Glass-Steagall, national bank, credit system, cooperation in a New Paradigm—only if you have this totality of the package, can you avoid a disaster.” The world is at a crossroads, and this is not the time for people to sit on the sidelines.

Consider, for example, the tumultuous developments in France, where the Yellow Vests mass strike ferment is transforming the country. The farmers, workers, truckers and fisherman who make up the movement, and suffer under the insane austerity measures of the Macron government, are supported by 80% of the French population, including the police and most probably the army as well. The provocateurs who unleashed violence in Paris last weekend don’t reflect the “process which is going on in France,” Zepp-LaRouche emphasized, because beyond the protest over gasoline taxes, people are beginning to grapple with “a much more fundamental question, namely, where is society going? That a policy which is only made for the very rich must stop and that a much more fundamental transformation is what is required.” The situation hasn’t yet evolved to the point where Emmanuel Macron is losing his ability to govern, but that’s where it’s headed unless there is real change.

In Britain, Prime Minister Theresa May is barely holding onto power. She just lost a vote in Parliament, and, as Zepp-LaRouche pointed out, the vote was not about the Brexit deal with the EU per se, “but it was about May’s effort to keep the text of that deal secret. Now, that would have meant that the Members of Parliament would have to vote on something they could not even read! And naturally this was rejected … her coalition is in shambles.” It seems likely that May will lose next Tuesday’s Parliament vote on Brexit, but what comes next is unclear. May could be replaced with another Tory or new elections could bring in the Labour Party’s Jeremy Corbyn who is committed to Britain’s reindustrialization. But, as Zepp-LaRouche pointedly noted, “what will happen to the derivatives market in the City of London, which is one of the huge bubbles? … If there is an uncontrolled Brexit and all hell could break loose in an already extremely volatile financial system.”

A similar process is occurring in Germany, where the Christian Democrats (CDU) are meeting this weekend to elect a new chairman, but of the leading candidates, there is no one in sight capable of addressing Germany’s—or Europe’s—problems in a meaningful way, Zepp-LaRouche said. “In general, I don’t see that there is anything positive coming.” And even if there were new elections to remove Chancellor Angela Merkel, “with the present spectrum of politics in Germany, except for my party, the BüSo, and the Schiller Institute, there really is nobody who presents the kinds of solutions where Germany would work together with the countries of Russia, China, the United States, and the new paradigm of the Silk Road. So, the German situation in my view remains the biggest dark hole in the whole situation.”

The irony of the situation is that Italy, which is being so violently attacked by the mainstream media, “is the only stable government in Europe,” Zepp-LaRouche underscored, adding that “it is quite interesting that this Italian government is positive towards Trump, towards Russia and towards China … and one can only hope that this kind of reasonable international cooperation would spread to other countries.”

It is of crucial importance, Zepp-LaRouche continued, that at the Nov. 30-Dec. 1 G20 meeting in Argentina, the rapport between President Trump and President Xi Jinping was reestablished. If these two countries work together, “it is extremely important for world peace and world stability.” Ukrainian provocations against Russia, and an escalation of anti-Russia hysteria inside the United States created a situation where Trump felt he could not meet with President Vladimir Putin in Buenos Aires, which is very unfortunate, Zepp-LaRouche stressed. Trump subsequently turned the tables on Special “Russiagate” Prosecutor Robert Mueller and the neo-con crowd, by tweeting right after the G20, that he sees a future possibility of an agreement between Putin, Xi Jinping and himself on a comprehensive new arms control system. Trump further stated that the U.S. military budget had now reached $716 billion, calling this “crazy.” It’s nonetheless important, Zepp-LaRouche warned, to be clear on the faction fights and neo-con manipulations taking place around Trump, whose purpose is to trap the President in a “spider-web where he can’t really do what he wants to do.”

As Zepp-LaRouche emphasized, in the midst of these dramatic developments, “the dynamic of the Silk Road is continuing.” Portugal has become the first European nation to sign an MOU with China to cooperate on the New Silk Road, and most importantly, their agreement says that the two nations will work together on industrial development of Africa and of Latin America. This, Zepp-LaRouche said, “is exactly the kind of model which we have been advertising as the way to go … [with] joint efforts to solve the urgent problems of both areas of the world which need that kind of intervention, such as many parts of the developing sector.”

“So,” she concluded, the world is at “a crossroads: We will see more turmoils, the financial system could come down at any moment, and … even before then, we have to have the Four Laws of Lyndon LaRouche; and we have to have a new credit system … that is not out of the question but it requires all of you to help us. Because we have been doing a lot for a very long time … the ideas of Lyndon LaRouche have affected many parts of the world, and are working now in processes which clearly have been inspired by his work. But now comes the crucial battle: So, don’t sit on the sidelines. Join the Schiller Institute and let’s do everything we can to move the world to be a safer place.”

U.S. POLITICAL & ECONOMIC

The Trump-Xi Dinner and the Role of the Individual

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—President Donald Trump’s top economic advisor Larry Kudlow said yesterday that he had never seen Chinese President Xi Jinping “up close” until his Dec. 1 dinner with President Trump. There he had seen the real chemistry between the two Presidents. (Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has recalled that President Xi spoke for 45 minutes, taking Trump through “very specific plans.”) Kudlow said that when President Trump asked Xi whether he would reconsider the U.S. advanced chipmaker Qualcomm’s takeover of its Dutch counterpart NXP, blocked by China, Xi answered “Yes,” almost without hesitation. When Trump asked him whether he would classify the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl as a “controlled substance,” again, Xi answered “Yes,” almost without hesitation.

Fentanyl, much of it mailed from China, was the predominant synthetic opioid responsible for 30,000 of the 72,000 U.S. drug-overdose deaths in 2017.

High-level distribution of a “controlled substance” in China is potentially a capital offense, and Trump would like to institute the death penalty for high-level, death-dealing drug kingpins here in the U.S. as well.  The several commissions and conferences he has organized to fight drugs, have mainly endorsed the same old recipes of the “experts” who have failed at this for year after year, as the death toll continues to mount without limit.

Trump tweeted that the death penalty for fentanyl kingpins in China will have “incredible” results.  “It could be a game-changer,” he wrote. More generally, Trump tweeted that “President Xi meant every word” of what he had said, “on all the subjects discussed.”

Rome-Washington Axis against the EU and Geopolitics Consolidates

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—U.S. Ambassador to Italy Lewis Michael Eisenberg endorsed the Italian government in its confrontation with the European Union. Citing a tweet by Trump, Eisenberg said that “Prime Minister Conte is working a lot for the Italian economy and will be highly successful. This is what Trump believes and his hope as well.” Speaking at an Aspen Institute Italy meeting on “U.S.-Italy Dialogue” on Dec. 3, he said: “We believe that the process on the budget undertaken by Italy is very significant for Italy, the European Union and for the world.”

Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi spoke next, saying, “I think that what we heard” from Ambassador Eisenberg “is clear. The United States is with us.”

At the same time, it has been reported that the U.S.-Italy axis on Mediterranean policy is making progress. After a meeting in Washington of Italian and U.S. officials in the framework of the “U.S.-Italy steering committee” set up during Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s visit to Washington last summer, Libyan National Army head Khalifa Haftar flew to Rome Dec. 5 to meet with Conte. This is part of the work to implement the roadmap agreed upon at the International Libya Conference last November in Palermo.

Canada Detains Top Huawei Executive Detained at U.S. Request for Alleged Iran Sanctions Violations

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—Acting on a request by U.S. authorities, Canadian police arrested Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chair of the Board of Chinese electronics giant Huawei, over suspected Iran sanctions violations by Huawei, according to AFP. The arrest of Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, took place on Dec. 1, the very day that Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping held their summit in Argentina. But it was only made public on Dec. 5.

Meng was arrested in Vancouver, Canada’s Ministry of Justice said in a statement. She faces a bail hearing on Dec. 7. The Ministry could provide no further details due to a publication ban that was sought by Meng.

“The Chinese side firmly opposes and strongly protests over such kind of actions which seriously harmed the human rights of the victim,” the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa said in a statement. “The Chinese side has lodged stern representations with the U.S. and Canadian side, and urged them to immediately correct the wrongdoing and restore the personal freedom of Ms. Meng Wanzhou.”

In its own statement, Huawei said it was unaware of any wrongdoing by Meng and was provided “very little information” about the charges. “Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations where it operates, including applicable export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, U.S. and EU,” Huawei’s statement said.

The Wall Street Journal reported in April that the U.S. Department of Justice (through the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, based in Brooklyn) had opened an investigation into alleged suspected violations of Iran sanctions by Huawei.

COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Britain’s Prime Minister May Offers MPs a Choice

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—Prior to the Dec. 11 vote on her Brexit deal, British Prime Minister Theresa May said to the Members of Parliament, “There are three options: one is to leave the European Union with a deal … the other two are that we leave without a deal or that we have no Brexit at all,” May told BBC radio.

She also sketched out today the idea of allowing MPs to choose when and if they want to go into the controversial “backstop”—the insurance policy against a hard border on the island of Ireland, since the Republic of Ireland is an EU member. “The backstop is something nobody wants to go into in the first place, and we will be working to make sure that we don’t go into it…. If we get to the point where it might be needed, we have a choice as to what we do, so we don’t even have to go into the backstop at that point,” she said.

Meanwhile, the European Court of Justice will formally rule on whether Britain can unilaterally cancel Brexit. The ruling will come after the court’s top legal advisor, the EU advocate general, recommended this week that the U.K. be given the power to revoke Article 50 without the consent of the 27 other EU member states. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union states that: “Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.”

If the recommendation is followed, as the advocate general’s suggestions usually are, then an accidental no-deal Brexit would effectively be taken off the table, as the government could stop it in any circumstances, the Independent reported today.

Italian State Bank Announces €200 Billion Investment Plan

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—The Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) unveiled its three-year plan yesterday, announcing a €110 billion investment plan which should be able to mobilize additional €90 billion from private investors. In total: €200 billion. Of the €110 billion, €83 billion will be destined for companies and €25 billion for “infrastructure,” including “new strategic” ones. Some €3 billion will be invested in “international cooperation.” CDP is a state-owned bank which owns the Post Bank with deposits up to €265 billion.

It is not clear what the investments will be. The CDP’s CEO and General Manager Fabrizio Palermo spoke about “digitization,” “sustainability” etc.

Moreover, ministers from the Five-Star Movement party in the government are blocking precisely these “strategic infrastructure” projects the CDP is promoting, such as the Turin-Lyon rail link and the Genoa “Third Pass.” Expert Ercole Incalza has calculated that blocking such projects, while waiting for the findings of ostensible “cost-benefit” reviews, has already cost €260 million.

The government has also announced taxes on conventional cars and subsidies for electric cars next year.

NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

Nigeria Outflanks Climate Conference with Call for Transaqua, Expresses Gratitude to Italy

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari outflanked the green-fascist lobby at the ongoing COP24 climate summit circus, in Katowice, Poland, by calling on the international community to help build the inter-basin water transfer infrastructure to replenish Lake Chad (Transaqua) and thanking the Italian government for financing the feasibility study.

As the Nigerian daily Independent reported, “President Muhammadu Buhari lauded the Italian government for providing a grant of €1.5 million towards conducting feasibility studies on the Lake Chad basin.

“With water receding in the Lake which provides livelihood to over 40 million people, the federal government in conjunction with [Lake Chad Basin Commission] member nations are proposing inter-basin water transfer from the Congo basin to revive it.”

Buhari “said Nigeria would build on the success of an International Conference [on Lake Chad] held earlier in February this year in Abuja to create additional awareness globally on the serious environmental and security challenges facing the Lake Chad region.”

Buhari reminded the COP24 Summit that a consensus was reached at the Abuja conference that an inter-basin water transfer from the Congo Basin remains the most sustainable option available to save Lake Chad. With that, he referred to the conference resolution endorsing Transaqua by name as the only available option. “I once again call on the international community to support this worthy project, for the benefit of nearly 40 million people who depend on the Lake for their livelihood, and to guarantee future security of the region,” Buhari said.

Kyrgyzstan Invites Pakistani Investment

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—During his meeting with the Ambassador of Pakistan Faisal Niaz, Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn Province Gov. Amanbai Kaiypovich Kaiypov invited Pakistani businessmen to come and invest in his province in meat processing, tourism, and energy. In recent months, Pakistan’s economic interactions with the Central Asian nations have grown significantly. During the first eight months of the current fiscal year, Pakistan exported goods and services valued at $50.7 million to the Central Asian countries while its imports from the region stood at $7.718 million, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan. Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the region is Kazakhstan, to which Pakistan exported goods worth $36.8 million during the period, followed by Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, the Express Tribune reported in March.

While the turmoil in Afghanistan remains a tough barrier, the growth in economic relations between Pakistan and Central Asia is due to some recent positive developments in the region involving Pakistan. A significant improvement in Russia-Pakistan relations in recent months is perhaps the most important reason that the Central Asian nations have begun to look towards Pakistan for closer economic interaction. In addition, Pakistan’s securing full membership in the regional security structure, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this year, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), now under construction, have also brought Pakistan into the focus of the Central Asian countries.

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

Yemen Talks Begin in Sweden

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—Delegations from Yemen’s warring sides assembled today in the Swedish town of Rimbo, about 50 km north of Stockholm, to begin a week of talks mediated by UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, who had earlier flown to Sana’a to personally escort the Houthi delegation to the talks. In his opening remarks, Griffiths said that, “Today marks, we hope, the resumption of a political process.” That there is a potential for forward movement is indicated by the announcement by Griffiths that the two sides had already agreed to an exchange of prisoners. The International Committee of the Red Cross announced separately from Geneva that it would be overseeing implementation of that agreement, hailing it as “one of the first positive steps for Yemen.”

“Here in the coming days, we will have a critical opportunity to give momentum to the peace process to move towards a comprehensive agreement based on the three references, the [Gulf Cooperation Council] GCC initiative [of 2011] and its implementation, the Outcomes of the National Dialogue, and the relevant resolutions of the [UN] Security Council, including 2216,” Griffiths continued. He cited, in addition to the prisoner exchange, a number of other issues, including economic issues, a reduction of violence, especially in the port of Hodeidah, the re-opening of the Sana’a airport, and humanitarian access. “Yemen’s future is in the hands of those of us in this room,” Griffiths admonished. “The country’s institutions are at risk, the fragmentation of the country is an enormous concern, and we must act now before we lose control of the future of Yemen.”

Griffiths said the ongoing week of talks are not yet negotiations, but so far only consultations leading to negotiations.

While there are indications of the potential for progress, a potential obstacle to a political agreement also appeared. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, who is hosting the talks, said the they can be “an important beginning.” She said, “What is needed are concessions, compromises and courage.” But Khaled al-Yamani, the foreign minister of the Saudi-backed Yemen government, balked at the notion that the government will have to make concessions to the Houthis. He demanded that the Houthis withdraw from all the institutions of state “and hand them back to the legitimate government,” and give up their arms, or there will be no solution.

Lurking over the whole process is the horrific humanitarian crisis in Yemen. “Yemen today is a living hell for millions of children [and] … there is only one message to those who are gathering today in Sweden. That is the message of peace for this brutal war … for that war to stop now,” said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF’s regional director for Yemen. Cappelaere spoke after a visit to a hospital in the southern city of Aden, where he met with child patients, reported the Associated Press. He said 7 million children in Yemen go to bed hungry every night. The UN World Food Program (WFP) also announced today that it is planning to increase the number of people it supports in Yemen from 8 million to 12 million over two months, a 50% jump. The target population includes some 3 million women and children who need special support to prevent malnutrition, said WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel.

SCIENCE & INFRASTRUCTURE

China Will Launch Chang’e-4 to the Far Side of the Moon on Dec. 7

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—Humanity’s first spacecraft to land on the non-Earth-facing, or far side of the Moon will be launched by China, at 02:15-02:34 Beijing time on Saturday, Dec. 8 (18:15-18:34 UTC on Dec. 7). There are no indications that the launch will be broadcast live, so the first official post-launch news will likely be when the spacecraft enters its lunar transfer orbit, reports Andrew Jones for GBTimes.

Chang’e-4 will not land immediately, but will orbit the Moon for perhaps a month. There are indications that the landing could take place around Jan. 3, because of the sunrise then over the Von Karman crater. Chang’e-4 will land inside the relatively small, flat Von Karman crater, in the area of the huge ancient South Pole-Aitkin Basin, which has a proliferation of smaller craters inside indicating its age. High-resolution photographs taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal a strikingly different geology and geography on the far side than on the side facing Earth. The Chang’e-4 rover is equipped with an imaging spectrometer for analysis of the lunar soil, and a radar to look into the geological past of the far side of the Moon.

The landing mission was made possible by the May launch of the Queqiao relay satellite, which sits in a halo orbit past the Moon. From this vantage point, it can communicate with both the spacecraft on the Moon and mission control on Earth.

The world lunar science community (and the NASA Administrator) are eagerly awaiting the flow of data from Chang’e-4.

Russia and Rwanda Sign Agreement on Nuclear Cooperation

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)— During an official visit of Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure Claver Gatete to Moscow, an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy was signed between the two countries. “The cooperation agreement will lay the foundation for active dialogue between the two countries in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy, and will allow for practical implementation of particular projects,” ESI Africa, a power journal, reported on Dec. 6. Rosatom’s Director General Aleksey Likhachev signed the agreement on behalf of Russia and Gatete signed on behalf of Rwanda.

Likhachev said: “We are happy to share our more than 70 years expertise in the field of peaceful use of nuclear technologies with our Rwandan partners. We hope that our cooperation in that area will contribute to the economic growth and improve the quality of life of the Rwandan population.”

The document establishes a legal basis for cooperation between the two countries in a wide range of areas, including elaboration of the project for the construction of a Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology, and of a Nuclear Power Plant in the Republic of Rwanda, World Nuclear News reported.

OTHER

Egypt Puts Top Muslim Brotherhood Leaders Behind Bars for Life

Dec. 6 (EIRNS)—The Cairo Criminal Court on Dec. 5 sentenced six people, including the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood group, Mohamed Badie, his deputy Khairat al-Shater, and four others, to life in prison (25 years), Anadolu Agency reported today. The defendants faced charges in the “Guidance Office incidents” including for providing unknown individuals with the weapons, ammunition, incendiary materials, explosives, equipment and planning required to commit crimes in 2013, following the military ouster of Brotherhood-backed President Mohamed Morsi, according to Egypt Today. After the ouster of Morsi, Cairo declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

Mohamed Badie is the eighth Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood and considered to be one of the most loyal followers of Sayyid Qutb, a leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1966, Sayyid Qutb was convicted of plotting the assassination of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and was executed by hanging.

Khairat al-Shater is a wealthy textile and furniture trader whose business empire is said to be the main source of funding for the Muslim Brotherhood. He has been described in some Arab media as the Muslim Brotherhood’s “hawk” or “enforcer.” Al-Shater was released from jail in March 2011, just a month after President Hosni Mubarak was toppled.