TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 Volume 6, Number 39 EIR Daily Alert Service P.O. Box 17390, Washington, DC 20041-0390

Chinese Media Show Restrained Optimism About the U.S.-China Trade Negotiations‘

Kim and Trump in Hanoi—Dinner Wednesday, Summit Thursday‘

Former CIA Korea Chief Presents the U.S. and the North Korea Negotiations Positions‘

Lima Group Rejects Military Option on Venezuela, as British Empire Neo-Cons Seek Pretext for War‘

Ocasio-Cortez Lets It All Hang Out: The Green New Death‘

OECD Report Warns of Corporate Debt Ticking Bomb‘

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EDITORIAL

Trump Builds Peace and Great-Power Cooperation, but Being Pulled Toward War: LaRouche’s Wisdom Is Needed

Feb. 25 (EIRNS)—In the past 72 hours President Donald Trump has spoken out optimistically in every direction about the prospects for a cooperative and productive U.S.-China relationship, peace and development on the Korean Peninsula, and has kept watching for a chance to pull relations with Russia out of the abyss. Over the next month of summits and a potential U.S.-China trade/economic agreement, he has every hope of achieving the peace and cooperation among great powers his four predecessors could not, or did not want to achieve. The potential is there, even for the four powers (including India) to start doing something about the current international slide into recession—a new credit system for great projects to build on China’s Belt and Road.

But at the same time, there is in the White House the specter of an isolated John F. Kennedy being pulled by Cabinet members, military/CIA leaders and Congressional warmongers into the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961. Just a year later the same hawks demanded a full-scale U.S. military invasion of Cuba to “take out” Russian missiles emplaced there. With greater wisdom, courage, and luck, JFK barely found a way to avoid being dragged to World War III.

Now President Trump faces House Democrats outrageously holding a hearing to attack, and incredibly, accuse him of treason and corruption on the day of his summit in Hanoi with Kim Jong-un of North Korea. He faces his Cabinet, Congressional and military leaders—not to mention the lying likes of DNI Dan Coats—blatantly opposing his policy toward China, his belief in the prospect of peace in Korea, his orders to bring troops home from Syria and Afghanistan. And he has his Secretary of State, Vice President, National Security Advisor, and Congressional Republicans out to create uprisings against South American governments and back them with U.S. “force”—a new “Bay of Pigs” disaster in several nations at once!

And President Putin of Russia, because of the growing effects of the “ABM systems” policies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, is publicly discussing the possibility of a new Cuban Missiles Crisis, and 5-minutes-to-target missiles Russia is bringing out “to which there is no analogue in other countries.”

The American people, while furiously “taking sides,” are effectively taking no action. There must be a mass movement for peace and for national and international economic development, if the nation is to survive.

That means the ideas, the “Four Laws” of economic progress, of one man—Lyndon LaRouche. He was attacked, prosecuted, blacked out for decades for foreseeing and creating the potential of a New Silk Road of modern infrastructure—now coming into being—a New Bretton Woods credit system, breakthroughs to fusion energy, international collaboration in developing the Moon and the Solar System.

LaRouche fought the insane “ecology”—that is, “eugenics”—movements of the British royal family’s “greenies.” He took seriously that development was the name of peace, as President Trump is seeking it.

“Justice for LaRouche” is one way of naming the mass strike America now needs. Without it the Presidency, the economy, and the nation are threatened with destruction.

THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

President Looks to Success on Trade with China, Puts Off March 1 Deadline

Feb. 25 (EIRNS)—President Donald Trump made clear on Feb. 24 that he had cancelled the March 1 deadline at which his administration was to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25% unless a trade agreement had been reached. This change appears to apply at least through the planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in late March.

After meeting with the Chinese delegation on trade in Washington Feb. 24-25, Trump tweeted: “I am pleased to report that the U.S. has made substantial progress in our trade talks with China on important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues. As a result of these very productive talks, I will be delaying the U.S. increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1. Assuming both sides make additional progress, we will be planning a Summit for President Xi and myself, at Mar-a-Lago, to conclude an agreement. A very good weekend for U.S. & China!”

President Trump Optimistic on Meeting with Kim Jong-un

Feb. 25 (EIRNS)—U.S. President Donald Trump conveyed optimism and hope about his trip to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, scheduled for Feb. 27.

Sunday night at the U.S. Governors’ Ball, before leaving for North Korea today, the President said: “But we’ll be leaving for Hanoi, Vietnam, and we’ll be meeting with Kim Jong Un. It’s a very interesting thing to say, but I’ve developed a very, very good relationship [with him]. We’ll see what that means. But he’s never had a relationship with anybody from this country, and hasn’t had lots of relationships anywhere….” His comments to the governors were reported on the President’s website.

On Twitter, the President said Feb. 24: “Chairman Kim realizes, perhaps better than anyone else, that without nuclear weapons, his country could fast become one of the great economic powers anywhere in the World. Because of its location and people (and him), it has more potential for rapid growth than any other nation!”

And, “President Xi of China has been very helpful in his support of my meeting with Kim Jong Un. The last thing China wants are large-scale nuclear weapons right next door. Sanctions placed on the border by China and Russia have been very helpful. Great relationship with Chairman Kim!”

U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

Pompeo and Pence Seek Coalition of the Willing against Venezuela—Not All Are Willing

Feb. 25 (EIRNS)—Speaking yesterday to Fox News Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that “we’ll continue to build out the global coalition, to put force behind the voice of the Venezuelan people.” Today, Vice President Mike Pence, in a bombastic speech in Bogota to representatives of the 14 Ibero-American nations making up the Lima Group, demanded that all those governments that haven’t yet recognized Venezuela’s “interim President” Juan Guaidó, and called for the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, must do so now.

The neo-con duo seek to resurrect the “coalition of the willing” which British Empire interests have cobbled together for past imperial exploits against sovereign nations, with disastrous results. Always claiming to speak for President Donald Trump, Pence swore the U.S. seeks a peaceful solution, but insisted that “all options are on the table.”

With great evangelical fervor, even quoting Biblical scripture, Pence went through his litany of denunciations of Maduro, and vowed there will be no letup in the attempt to get aid into the country. He was also adamant that nations that have yet to join this offensive, and haven’t recognized Guaidó—specifically mentioning Mexico, Uruguay and Caribbean nations—have to act now.

While some nations have taken action against the Maduro government’s finances and frozen assets, he said, now “it’s time to do more … there can be no bystanders in Venezuela’s struggle for freedom.” He urged member nations to take specific steps to isolate the Maduro government financially, and politically, in support of which he said the U.S. will apply additional tough sanctions on Maduro officials and financial interests.

All the Lima Group nations are on board with additional measures against Maduro; not so, on the military option. Pence has made much of how close an ally Brazil is in the anti-Venezuelan crusade, but in a joint press conference following the meeting, Brazilian Vice President, Gen. Antônio Hamilton Mourão (ret.) effectively spoke for the entire group when he said, “For us, the military option was never an option. Brazil always defends peaceful solutions to any problem occurring in neighboring countries. We defend non-intervention, and therefore we will continue with diplomatic, political and economic pressure to reach a solution in Venezuela…. As things stand now, no one [in the Lima Group] is betting on a military option. You have to be patient and resilient.”

Marco Rubio Rants To Eliminate Venezuela’s Maduro with Libya or Panama Style

Feb. 25 (EIRNS)—Tweets sent out over the Feb. 23-24 weekend by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Venezuela have shocked even those who think regime-change isn’t a bad idea. Rubio’s tweet of two images of Libya’s murdered leader Muammar Qaddafi, one prior to the 2011 NATO-U.S.-led invasion, and one showing him beaten and bloodied, before he was assassinated. The message from the Rubio was clear: invade Venezuela and kill Nicolas Maduro. The last person who sadistically celebrated the Qaddafi murder that way was then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Just a couple of hours before he tweeted the Qaddafi images, Rubio posted another pair showing Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega; one where he was delivering a speech, and the second as a handcuffed prisoner of the United States. In mid-December 1989, then-President George H.W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama to capture Noriega, who was accused of being a “dictator” and had been framed up and indicted on drug-trafficking charges in the United States. He spent the rest of his life in prison.

As reported by Slate magazine today, even some of Maduro’s fiercest opponents found Rubio’s tweets too much. Journalist Dan Murphy tweeted “Qaddafi was a horrible man. He was also anally raped with a bayonet and beaten to death in the street by a mob, and a U.S. senator is celebrating that? What a time to be alive! In short, thanks to Rubio, Maduro has something else he can point to as evidence of his claim that he is the victim of a U.S.-sponsored coup.” Political scientist Ian Bremmer, who frequently attacks Maduro, tweeted, “Calling for another Libya is not the way to defeat Maduro. And not the way to create peace and prosperity for the Venezuelan people. (Unless Marco is sending a message to Kim Jong Un that here’s what happens if you give up your nukes.)”

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

Russian Media List Potential U.S. Targets for Zircon Missiles

Feb. 25 (EIRNS)—The weekly “Vesti Nedeli” program aired on Russia’s Channel 1 TV on Feb. 24 included a segment on the Zircon hypersonic missile which President Vladimir Putin described both during his nationally televised address to the Federal Assembly on Feb. 20 and in remarks to reporters afterwards. During that press conference he clearly indicated that while Russia does not want a new Cuban Missile Crisis with the United States, it is ready for one should it come. The “Vesti Nedeli” segment included a list of five targets for Zircon missiles which would be deployed aboard nuclear attack submarines should the U.S. deploy nuclear-armed missiles in Europe. The list included the Pentagon, Camp David near Thurmont, Maryland, Fort Ritchie in Maryland, McClellan Air Force Base outside of Sacramento, California, and a U.S. Navy communications station in Washington state.

When asked about the broadcast this morning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that Putin, during his remarks, did not name any particular geographic location as possible targets. “The President said that if our country is under threat and intermediate- and shorter-range missiles are deployed near its borders, a proportionate response will have to be made and our missiles targeted not only at the launchers, but at the territories where the center of decision-making is located. Please remember that the President did not mention a single geographic name in this connection,” Peskov said. He otherwise refused to comment on the content of the broadcast.

Two of the sites, Fort Ritchie and McClellan AFB have been closed for many years, and presumably the Russian military knows that. Their inclusion on a list by the Russian media might be used to suggest a lack of competence on the part of the relevant journalists.

The point is, however, that state TV is conveying to the Russian population that Putin said the Russian military will put in place the capability to wipe out U.S. command centers, if the Aegis Ashore, etc. proceeds.

COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Idiotic, Genocidal, and Immoral: Illinois’ Green New Deal Case Study

Feb. 25 (EIRNS)—The state of Illinois is taking the lead in providing a “Green New Deal” for Midwest farmers, as reported in theWashington Post Feb. 24. Its watchword could be: Grow less food, become wheelers and dealers.

The state has set a target for 25% of its electricity generation to come from solar and wind. Research based on current conditions shows that this requires 75-100,000 acres be covered with solar panels to generate (intermittently) 10,000 MWe; and another 375,000 acres with wind turbines—under the average parameters of Illinois, which already has plenty of wind turbine farms—for an (intermittent) 5,000 MWe. In total, 450,000 acres or 750 square miles.

Currently, six nuclear plants occupying about 1,000 acres in total produce twice that share of state electricity (50%). So solar and wind require nearly 1 million times as much land per megawatt as nuclear power generation.

For the solar part of this, Illinois farmers are being incentivized, and advised by agricultural extension “authorities” to turn over some of their cultivated land to solar fields, and sell the power to electric utility companies.

The 15,000 MWe of solar or wind power Illinois is trying to force, will require, besides 750 square miles, about 16,500 MWe of natural gas-fired electric plants to back it up when the Sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow. It is likely from the current nationwide pattern that this buildup of natural gas capacity will lead the state to shut down some or all of the nuclear plants, requiring still more natural gas-fired plants, “saving money,” lowering electricity reliability, increasing pollution, and lowering air quality.

This is the purely idiotic side of the Green New Deal.

The genocidal side is shown by Illinois’ plan to convert some of the most productive agricultural land in the United States—for corn, wheat, soy, vegetables—into fields of solar panels radiating heat. These are solar fields of anywhere from a few acres to thousands.

The fact that a lot of farmers are desperate enough to do this, according to the Post article, shows the immoral side to a Green New Deal. These corn and soybean farmers, who are already induced to put a lot of their land into producing gasoline from corn, are now signing up to, in effect, grow natural gas plants as well, with solar panels as the politically correct “cover.” They know this means that fewer human beings are being fed by them; but state university extension experts are encouraging them to excuse themselves as “being smart,” since Wall Street has soybean prices “in the toilet.”

SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Greenies Feel Cold Sting of ‘Polar Vortex’ Reality

Feb. 25 (EIRNS)—In the wake of the utter failure of “renewable” energy sources to cope with the extremes of January’s U.S. “Polar Vortex”—during which temperatures in the Central Plains States dropped to a life-threatening wind-chill of −50° F for several days running—Green sympathizers have been thrown a bone-chilling dose of reality, one that strategizers are now scrambling to recover from. A report by leading environmentalist publisher Wood Mackenzie, released Feb. 7, reveals the massive shortfalls which would ensue should America to continue down the “renewable” road.

It should serve as an international wake-up call.

Based on the report, on Feb. 20 InsideClimate News headlined an article, “100% Renewable Energy Needs Lots of Storage. This Polar Vortex Test Showed How Much.” Impending disaster is everywhere apparent as one reads, “During the Jan. 27-Feb. 2 polar vortex event, the analysts’ test case of 50% wind, 50% solar would have had gaps of up to 18 hours in which renewable sources were not producing enough electricity to meet the high demand,” leaving readers to imagine the deadly consequences.

Quoting the Wood Mackenzie report (available to anyone for a mere $1,050) the article reveals that, “Storage would need to go from about 11 GW today to 277.9 GW in the grid regions that include New England, New York, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest and parts of the South”—in other words, about half the continental United States. Even if the 11 GW storage is believed, the requirement is still fully 25 times what is currently claimed, and “roughly double” what had been called “optimum.”

Somewhat surprisingly, the report’s authors are forced to address the “nuclear factor” in their calculations, and (not surprisingly) the numbers are strongly in favor of the higher-technology power source. “Analysis shows that continuing to use nuclear power plants would dramatically decrease the amount of wind, solar and storage needed to get to a grid that no longer burns fossil fuels,” says the report. Wade Schauer, one of the report’s authors, told InsideClimate News that “If your goal is decarbonization, then nuclear gets you a lot further than if you retire the nuclear.” Now imagine what might happen if we actually built some more nuclear plants.

What these peddlers of this “nature-loving” green policy are desperate to hide (until it is too late) is that their program has nothing to do with “saving nature,” as it is sold, and everything to do with depopulation.

Australia Is a World Model of Blackouts, Thanks to ‘Renewables’ and Electricity Market Privatization

Feb. 25 (EIRNS)—Australia is a world leader in spectacular blackouts, thanks to its shift to wind and solar along with the impact of deregulated electricity “markets,” a gambling game, in which prices spike up and down. The entire state of South Australia (1.7 million people,) the leading renewables state, was blacked out for a day in September 2016. Most recently, Melbourne (New South Wales) was hit by a rolling blackout that affected more than 200,000 households and businesses on Jan. 25, 2019.

What is required, is to scrap the nation’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) program, begun in 2001, which mandates more wind and solar, and go for plentiful nuclear power, along with re-regulating electricity. The Citizens Electoral Council, the LaRouche movement organizers in Australia, has promoted this for several years, warning all along against the RET “electricity fiasco.”

Look at South Australia: The CEC wrote a warning in July 2016, months before the September blackout, that “South Australia is the largest producer of wind energy in Australia and with an installed capacity of 1,473 MW; under ideal conditions wind power could meet 100% of electricity demand. But wind power mostly provides only a small fraction of demand and on some days, no power at all. On 7 July [2016] calm weather, all wind farms in South Australia produced a miserable 190 MW between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. By early afternoon the energy generation was in deficit, as the turbines consumed more power than they produced; at 2:20 p.m., energy generation by all wind farms was −2 MW. As a result wholesale electricity prices on 7 July averaged a crippling (A)$1,251.86/MWh and major businesses threatened to shut down.”

Then on Sept.  28, 2016, came the day of total blackout in South Australia. Engineers confirmed that 9 of the state’s 13 windfarms that had been online at the time of a storm that generated some damaging tornadoes, could not “ride through” continuing normal operations, after the damage caused voltage disturbances. That resulted in a loss of 445 MW of generation, setting off a rapid chain reaction that separated the state grid from the national grid.

OTHER

Neo-Cons Issue ‘Declaration’ of Dying World Order

Feb. 25 (EIRNS)—On Feb. 16 at the Munich Security Conference, “a prestigious group of bipartisan former leaders from democratic nations issued a Declaration of Principles to outline the shared values that underpin the rules-based international order and unite the democratic world,” hails the release by the Atlantic Council. A more honest review of the document—issued by two bastions of neo-con thought, the Atlantic Council and Canada’s Centre for International Governance Innovation—would see it as a desperate effort to resuscitate the dying geopolitical “old paradigm.”

Last year London’s Royal Institute of International Affairs/Chatham House tried to gin up a coalition of the willing against President Donald Trump, Russia and China, to replace NATO! Europe has further splintered since. Now the Atlantic Council tries, with any old-order “prominent” who will join.

From the very top, this project is led by a group of four “has-beens,” starting with, “former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, [and] former U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley,” along with “former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, and former Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi.”

The actual “Declaration” is a seven-point laundry list of “hope and change”-type platitudes, such as “Freedom and Justice,” and “Democracy and Self-Determination.” Of note, however is its point six, “The Right of Assistance,” which might otherwise be read as, “Sovereignty Is Conditional.” “We uphold the right to national sovereignty,” the intoners intone, provided that the “sovereign” follows the rules of this declaration! If not, we “assist” the sovereign out. The “if not” part is not spelled out, but the current attempt to “assist” Venezuela with “humanitarian aid” might provide a working example.

Other signers are Alexander Downer, Tzipi Livni, David Miliband, Malcolm Rifkind, Carl Gershman, Robert Kagan, Frederick Kempe, Joseph Nye, and Anne-Marie Slaughter, along with a dozen or more “former” U.S. State Department and National Security Council officials, and an equal number from Europe.

No current official, from anywhere in the world, signed.

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