THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2019 Volume 6, Number 12 EIR Daily Alert Service P.O. Box 17390, Washington, DC 20041-0390

China’s Little Biosphere Grows the First Plant on the Moon

Rogozin and Bridenstine Reaffirm Russia-U.S. Space Cooperation; Bridenstine Invited To Visit

U.S. and Russia Discussing Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in Geneva

FBI Won’t Keep Trump from Great Meetings with World Leaders!

Japan-Russia Talks at Critical Point, Arrange for Abe To Go To Moscow Next Week

Egypt Constructs Nile-Style ‘Green River’ To Run in New Capital

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EDITORIAL

Russiagate Is Being Transformed into an Exposure of the British Coup

Jan. 16 (EIRNS)—Part III of the three-part report by LaRouchePAC’s Barbara Boyd on the British-orchestrated coup attempt against the President of the United States is now published, under the title: “A British Intelligence Fraud Creates the Coup Against Donald Trump.” The report is rapidly becoming a hot item on the alternative radio and website circuit, but must also get the widest possible circulation in the U.S. and internationally.

As President Donald Trump said after the Jan. 11 New York Timesreport that the FBI had opened a counterintelligence investigation into the President as a Russian agent, the Times article exposed nothing about Trump, and everything about the overt criminality of the entire nest of British assets in the FBI and the Justice Department, nearly all of whom have been driven out of office by their own corruption. New leaks of the Congressional testimony of Bruce Ohr, the former Associate Deputy Attorney General, revealed that MI6 operative Christopher Steele, author of the discredited dossier on Trump and Russia, maintained contact with the FBI long after he

was officially fired for leaking to the press, and the FBI even tried to re-hire him after Trump fired Comey as FBI director.The exposure of this filthy British operation is also a crucial element of the massive crisis in the U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May was handed the biggest parliamentary defeat in British history on Tuesday, when Parliament rejected her fake Brexit plan 432-202. Then this evening, May barely survived a no-confidence vote, 325-306. The connection of this revolt in the U.K. to the Russiagate operation against Trump is never referenced in press accounts, but May herself made the connection, unintentionally, during today’s debate preceding the no-confidence vote. Arguing that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is incompetent to run the country, she rhetorically asked how he would have dealt with the major crises she has faced, namely: the Skripal poisoning by Russia, the use of chemical weapons by the Assad government in Syria, and the threat to NATO from Russia. These are not only total lies, but they are simply the British side of the Russiagate hoax in the U.S.—and all are simply part of a frantic effort to save the dying British Empire, to save the division of the world into warring blocs.Most interestingly, the former Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, posted an article Jan. 14, titled: “Brexit or Not, Things Will Get Worse Unless Neo-Liberalism Is Brought to End.” He pointed to the fact that the post-war progress in the West was reversed when Margaret Thatcher “introduced neo-liberal economics,” which was then quickly adopted in Europe and the U.S., leading to the hellish austerity now oppressing the populations of the Western nations. “People think the world isn’t working and they want to see change,” Livingston wrote. “This is what led to the election of Donald Trump, and, here in Britain, Jeremy Corbyn’s 2017 commitment to dropping neo-liberalism and going for an increase in public spending and investment saw the biggest increase in the Labour vote since 1945.”One could add to this the Yellow Vests revolution in France, the Italian government’s courageous fight with the EU bureaucracy, and similar movements emerging across the Western world. The economic and cultural decay is no longer tolerable to the populations of the Western nations. It is good to recall the words of the U.S. Declaration of Independence:“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”We are indeed experiencing a restoration of the American Revolutionary spirit. That spirit is arising globally. The Chinese have experienced this since the overthrow of the Cultural Revolution, followed by the most explosive economic development in the history of civilization, including the near-elimination of poverty in the largest nation in the world. China is helping to spread this spirit globally through the spirit of the New Silk Road. President Trump has expressed his vision in terms of this spirit, while also insisting that the U.S. can and must build friendships with Russia and China.The war party in America, squatting in both major parties and serving as vassals of the British Empire, are desperate to depose Trump, to continue the “endless wars” which Trump wants to end, and to provoke war with Russia and China. But they are on the defensive. We must crush them. In Schiller’s immortal words, in his version of the Rütli Oath from his play Wilhelm Tell:“No, there is a limit to the tyrant’s power, when the oppressed can find no justice, when the burden grows unbearable—he reaches with hopeful courage up unto the heavens and seizes hither his eternal rights, which hang above, inalienable and indestructible as stars themselves.”

U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

Beto O’Rourke Tells Washington Post, Empires Like Ours Don’t Need No Damned Constitutions

Jan. 16 (EIRNS)—Beto O’Rourke, one of the heroes of the Clinton faction of insane young Democrats, and one of their possible presidential candidates, was interviewed by the Washington PostTuesday. Asked if he thinks he can radically change the nation as he promotes (Green New Deal, etc.), he responded:“I think that’s the question of the moment: Does this still work? Can an empire like ours with military presence in over 170 countries around the globe, with trading relationships and security agreements in every continent, can it still be managed by the same principles that were set down 230-plus years ago?”

Nancy Pelosi Tries To Scuttle Trump’s State of the Union Speech

Jan. 16 (EIRNS)—Nancy Pelosi today issued the following public letter to President Donald Trump: “Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government reopens this week, I suggest we work together to determine another suitable date after government has re-opened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on Jan. 29.”Later she told the press: “This is a housekeeping matter in the Congress of the United States, so we can honor the responsibility of the invitation we extended to the President. He can make it from the Oval Office if he wants.”Donald Trump Jr. told the Daily Caller: “Speaker Pelosi is clearly attempting to block my father from giving his State of the Union speech, not because 20% of the government is shut down, but because she is terrified of him having another opportunity to speak directly to the American people about her party’s obstruction, unfiltered and without her friends in the media running interference for her.”

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

U.S.-Russia Talks on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty a Bust

Jan. 16 (EIRNS)—Talks in Geneva on the INF Treaty between U.S. and Russia delegations, led by Undersecretary of State Andrea Thompson and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, respectively, went nowhere yesterday.“Today we held talks w/ a Russian delegation on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. In doing so, we are upholding Sec. Pompeo’s commitment to continue to talk with Russian officials to urge Russia to return to full and verifiable compliance with the Treaty before the 60-day deadline announced on December 4,” Thompson said in a tweet. “The meeting was disappointing as it is clear Russia continues to be in material breach of the Treaty and did not come prepared to explain how it plans to return to full and verifiable compliance. Our message was clear: Russia must destroy its noncompliant missile system. The U.S. delegation will brief allies and partners, including at NATO tomorrow, on these discussions.”Thompson, it should be noted, was previously Vice President Mike Pence’s National Security Advisor, and, before that, was in the McChrystal Group Leadership Institute.Speaking at a press conference in Moscow this morning, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia had provided constructive proposals to the U.S. side to make conclusions on the 9M729 missile, the missile that the U.S. says was developed by Russia in violation of the treaty.“However, the U.S. delegation came to the talks with a pre-set position which was presented in the form of an ultimatum demand that we destroy the missile, its launchers, and all the related equipment, under the American’s supervision,” Lavrov said. The U.S. side ignored the Russian proposals to address U.S. concerns, provided that the U.S., in return, address Russian concerns about U.S. compliance.“The logic of the American approach as expressed yesterday is as follows: Russia violates the Treaty, while the U.S. does not,” Lavrov went on. “Therefore, Russia must do what the U.S. demands, while the U.S. does not have to do anything. This approach is not at all constructive. It obviously is part of the policy for destroying all the agreements in the sphere of strategic stability, starting with the ABM [Anti-Ballistic Missile] agreement. The INF Treaty is another victim. Many countries fear that the U.S. administration also intends to pull out of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty as well. We hope this is not the case. We are ready to keep working in order to save the INF Treaty.”

Defense Intelligence Agency Releases Its Own ‘China Military Power’ Report

Jan. 16 (EIRNS)—The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) released a 125-page report on “China Military Power: Modernizing a Force To Fight and Win” which purports to describe China’s military modernization and raises the specter that China may soon feel ready to attack Taiwan. According to Defense News, the DIA concluded that Chinese military modernization was not undertaken with a major global war in mind, but rather in preparation for further challenges to its regional efforts, potentially leading to a local war. It claims that much of China’s military modernization has been focused on Taiwan, including the emphasis on short-range missile technology that would largely be useless in any other theater of combat. And while there’s a lot of focus on Chinese technological capabilities, the DIA is worried that the Chinese service members behind each system have reached a critical point of confidence where they now feel that in combat, the People’s Liberation Army can match competitors.Aside from Taiwan, the DIA is also worried about China’s construction of man-made islands in the South China Sea and its growing presence elsewhere in the world, especially in Africa. “We now have to be able to look for a Chinese military that is active everywhere,” said a senior defense intelligence official. “I’m not saying they are a threat or about to take military action everywhere, but they are present in a lot of places, and we will have to interact with them, engage with them, deal with them, monitor them more broadly than we had to before when they were very regionally focused near their own shores.”On the technological side, the official acknowledged that China is on par or ahead of the U.S. in several areas. This includes hypersonic weapons and precision strike capabilities. “They are on the leading edge of technology in that area [and are] getting to the point where they are going to field this system,” the official said in reference to China’s hypersonic glide vehicles. “Precision strike capabilities” refers to China’s arsenal of medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, exactly the weapons the U.S. is prohibited by the INF Treaty from developing. “In the coming years, the PLA is likely to grow even more technologically advanced and proficient, with equipment comparable to that of other modern militaries,” Dan Taylor, a senior defense intelligence analyst with the DIA, told media at the Pentagon, yesterday, reported Defense One. “The PLA will acquire advanced fighter aircraft, modern naval vessels, missile systems, and space and cyberspace assets as it reorganizes and trains to address 21st-century threats farther from China’s shores.”Although several Chinese media criticized the report, one editorial today in Global Times suggests that the report is not as bad as it could have been. “Compared with previous U.S. reports on the Chinese military, this one is relatively moderate with the clearest focus. A positive sign is the report does not exaggerate China’s enthusiasm for seeking regional hegemony. But it sounds the alarm to Washington that the PLA may resort to force on Taiwan,” the editorial says.“China’s military buildup is not aimed at war. Among all the major worldwide countries, China is the most prudent one when it comes to resorting to force. But we must remain dignified and make sure external forces always respect China,” Global Times concludes. “The U.S. on the other hand uses military force willfully. If Washington judges Beijing by the experiences of the U.S. itself, the conclusion is highly likely to be wrong.”

U.S. and British Carried Out a Week-Long Naval Drill in South China Sea—Their First

Jan. 16 (EIRNS)— The U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell and Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll joined forces for a joint provocation of China in the South China Sea—the first such joint operation by the two countries in the region. The deployment lasted from Jan. 11-16, the two countries said, according to the South China Morning Post. The U.S. said the two vessels had practiced communication drills, division tactics, and a personnel exchange designed to address common maritime security priorities and enhance interoperability.Earlier this month the McCampbell passed within 12 nautical miles of the Paracel Islands—which are claimed by mainland China, Vietnam, and Taiwan, but have been long occupied by China—in a provocation which the U.S. Navy described as a freedom-of-navigation exercise designed to challenge “excessive maritime claims.” Last August, a British amphibious assault vessel, the HMS Albion, sailed close to the same island chain, Azerbaijan’s Trend news agency reported.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov Warns, Conflict Potential Increased Worldwide in 2018

Jan. 16 (EIRNS)—During his remarks today prior to answering the media questions at a news conference on the results of Russian diplomacy in 2018, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the international situation remained tense. “The conflict potential increased last year, primarily because of the stubborn unwillingness of some Western countries led by the United States to accept the realities of the objectively developing multipolar world, as well as because of their desire to continue to force their will on others by means of pressure and economic and propaganda instruments.” He pointed out that there had been “attempt to replace the universal norms of international law with a ‘rules-based order.’ This term was recently coined to “camouflage a striving to invent rules depending on changes in the political situation so as to be able to put pressure on disagreeable states and often even on allies,” he said. The transcript in English is reported on the Russian Foreign Ministry website.He said Russia continues to pursue a multidirectional foreign policy focused on protecting Russia’s national interests. “We worked to strengthen the positive trends on the international stage, to find collective solutions based on international law to the problems all countries are facing, and ultimately to promote a fairer and more democratic polycentric world order in keeping with objective modern realities. Towards this end, we closely cooperated with our allies and partners at the CSTO, the EAEU, the CIS, BRICS and the SCO, as well as working constructively in the key global governance bodies, primarily the UN and G20.

ECONOMY

Theresa May Suffered Historic Brexit Defeat, But Scrapes By in No-Confidence Vote

Jan. 16 (EIRNS)—Despite going down in British history as the prime minister who suffered the greatest defeat in modern times in Parliament, Theresa May has no intention of resigning, nor do any of her fellow Conservative Party members wish to oust her, because none wish to take the poison chalice of being head of government at this point. Nor do they want to chance elections in which many will be thrown into the political wilderness.  The vote was 432-202 for, losing by a massive 230 votes.The no-confidence vote called by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn after the defeat of May’s Brexit plan was voted on this evening after a volatile debate, with May barely surviving a vote of 325-306, with the Northern Ireland DUP and rebel Tories from Tuesday voting for May.Regardless, the press had a field day, drubbing her “May or Dismay,” as one headline put it. The Sun’s headline read “Brextinct” over a photo of May’s face superimposed onto a dodo bird. The Guardian headline read “May Suffers Historic Defeat as Tories Turn against Her,” featuring a picture of the “No” lobby packed with MPs walking through it to vote against May’s Brexit deal. The Daily Mirror focused on Corbyn’s no-confidence motion, with the splash: “No Deal, No Hope, No Clue, No Confidence.” The Daily Telegraph headline: “A Complete Humiliation.” Twisting the knife into May’s back, the daily often nicknamed the “Torygraph,” ran a commentary under the headline, “It Takes a Special Kind of Skill To Get That Many People To Unite against You.”After the vote yesterday, the European Commission issued a statement that it will be making contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit. “The risk of a disorderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom has increased with this evening’s vote,” the statement read. “While we do not want this to happen, the European Commission will continue its contingency work to help ensure the EU is fully prepared. I urge the United Kingdom to clarify its intentions as soon as possible.”

THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

South Korean Ambassador Responds to EIR/Schiller Institute Representative

Jan. 16 (EIRNS)—Cho Yoon-je, the South Korean Ambassador to the U.S., and a close friend and ally of President Moon Jae-in, spoke at the Hudson Institute Ambassadors Series on Jan. 9. In response to a question from EIR, the Ambassador referred to the good work of EIR, and gave a long, thoughtful answer to the question. The exchange was not the usual Hudson Institute neo-con fare.The exchange:EIR: “I am Mike Billington from EIR and the Schiller Institute. I think that this incredible breakthrough in Korea can be credited to some extent to the fact that the U.S., Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea were all working together toward a common goal. Even though there is a lot of anti-Russia and anti-China sentiment—even hysteria—here, Trump is committed to being friends with Russia and friends with China. I’m wondering to what extent you think your diplomacy in Korea, and the model of what’s happening in Korea—the Singapore model and the model of Moon and Kim working together—can effect a broader, global cooperation among the major powers, rather than a descent into war and confrontation.”Ambassador Cho: “Thank you, Mr. Billington, for the question. I understand that you have worked long on this very important and fundamental issue of governance and development.“Now, I think we are in a time of great transition, transition in many respects—the state governance system, the competition of the state governance system with a free market system. I cannot predict the future of it, but one thing I can say is that based on our own experience, Korea’s economic development in the early stage was state-led—a very strong government leadership and government partnership, with the private companies and industry. It was very successful.“But we also found that it was not quite sustainable. By the time we reached a certain stage of development, in the late 1980s, we saw that that model no longer could elevate further that economic standard. So it changed, in the 1990s. I read a couple days ago the Martin Wolf column in the Financial Times. I kind of agree with him that ultimately, relying on individuals’ interests, and dreams, and motivation, to achieve himself, and to realize his or her potential in their lives, is the most effective way of making advance in human life.“To that extent, I believe Korea had challenges in making that transition in the 1990s—also, to some extent, Japan had faced big challenges in making that transition. I also think that China will not be free from facing that challenge at some point—perhaps it is already facing that challenge, to further elevate people’s living standard and economic efficiency.Also, everywhere in the world—perhaps not everywhere—liberal democracies are challenged, whether that is the most effective system to advance its people’s standard of life. I believe this debate will go on for a while. Winston Churchill said once, ‘I personally believe that democracy is the worst system, except all the previous systems, for human life.’“Democracy is not a perfect system, it faces many problems, especially one of the big problems is that the future generations are not represented in the democratic decision-making process. And the time horizon for the decision-making process tends to be shorter. That, I guess, is a weakness, especially in this time of global circumstances, and communities where the people are affected directly, through social media—I guess the system will continue to face challenges. Personally, I don’t see any better alternatives. The question is how we can make it more effective and more forward looking, and also how decisions are made in our democratic system can be more long term, vision-based—that is the long term challenge we are facing.”

SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Jordan Expresses Interest in NuScale’s Small Modular Reactors

Jan. 16 (EIRNS)—NuScale Power announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC), to evaluate NuScale’s small module reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant for use in Jordan. JAEC is the government entity leading the development and implementation of nuclear strategy and managing the nuclear program in Jordan. Through this MOU, NuScale and JAEC will collaborate on conducting a joint feasibility evaluation of NuScale’s SMR, which will inform JAEC’s decision on moving forward with the project as part of Jordan’s planned deployment of nuclear power plants, Business Wire reported.“NuScale is at the forefront of U.S. SMR technology,” said Khaled Toukan, chairman of JAEC. “We look forward to this collaboration to assess the viability and potential for deployment of NuScale SMR technology in Jordan.”NuScale’s self-contained SMR design houses the reactor core, pressurizer and steam generator inside a single containment vessel. A single module can generate 50 MWe (gross) of electricity. It is quite compact, at just under 25 meters in length, 4.6 meters in diameter and weighing 450 tons, the company says. A power plant could include up to 12 modules to produce as much as 720 MWe (gross), World Nuclear News reported. (See EIR, “Mass Production of Modular Nuclear Reactors To Industrialize Developing Countries Until Fusion Power Comes Online,” Nov. 16, 2018.)NuScale’s SMR is undergoing design certification review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the first, and, so far, only SMR to do so. The NRC completed the first phase of its review in April last year, and the regulator is scheduled to complete its safety evaluation report in August 2020.Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems plans the development of a 12-module demonstration NuScale plant at a site at the Idaho National Laboratory, with operation expected by 2027. The U.S. Department of Energy in December signed an MOU on the use of power from 2 of the 12 modules, World Nuclear News reported. 
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