WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2019

Volume 6, Number 60

EIR Daily Alert Service

P.O. Box 17390, Washington, DC 20041-0390

Rep. Devin Nunes To Make Criminal Referrals on FBI and DOJ ‘Dirty Cops’

Rhode Island House of Representatives Honors Lyndon LaRouche

The West Is Suddenly Worried About Neo-Nazis in Ukraine

Zakharova Demands U.S. Media Should Apologize for Lies about Russia

Lavrov Affirms Russia Seeking Better Business and Investment Ties with the U.S.

Djibouti Port Director Describes How BRI Greatly Expanded Africa’s Trade and Development

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EDITORIAL

The Time of Reckoning Has Arrived: Trump Has Been Exonerated; Now Exonerate LaRouche

March 26 (EIRNS)—There is an earthquake of sorts sweeping the United States, as the reality of the entire “Russiagate” operation against President Donald Trump sinks in: There is nothing there, there never was anything there, and this was as much an operation against the American people as it was against President Trump himself.

Angry commentators are asking: “Is this where it’s going to end? Are those responsible going to have to pay for their crimes?” Others are saying that this is now “a time of reckoning,” against the media, against the Obama Democrats, and, with much greater precision, against the British intelligence apparatus that started the whole operation in the first place. This is a point which Trump himself emphasized last week in his tweets: that the British launched the operation to prevent him from establishing peaceful cooperation with Russia and China.

But there is an even deeper significance to the changes being unleashed in the U.S. and globally by the meltdown of the Mueller “Russiagate” scam. In remarks today, Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche addressed that issue:

Now we can really put the entire world in order, in the way that EIRfounder Lyndon LaRouche dedicated his life to achieving, Zepp-LaRouche stated. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russiagate operation turned out to be a big “nothing-burger,” and there will be more earthquakes to come in the weeks ahead, especially if you look at the big advances of the Belt and Road Initiative as a result of Xi Jinping’s trip to Italy and Europe. Now is the time of reckoning, as many in the media have recognized, but to ensure that happens, the fight to exonerate Lyndon LaRouche will have to be center stage.

That is because the same apparatus behind Russiagate was responsible for jailing Lyndon LaRouche, Helga Zepp-LaRouche stated. “That apparatus, which went after Mr. LaRouche did incredible damage to the U.S. and the world, by vilifying him in such a way that people were completely blinded to the kind of options which his ideas mean for the world and the future of humanity.

“I think that, despite the wonderful things that China is doing,” Zepp-LaRouche continued, “that Mr. LaRouche has brought in a depth to the discussion, in terms of scientific and cultural ideas, which is really lacking. It’s as if you were to take Beethoven out of music—it wouldn’t be the same thing. And if you would take Schiller out of poetry, it wouldn’t be the same thing.”

Zepp-LaRouche also emphasized the remarks posted yesterday by retired senior U.S. Military Intelligence officer and security analyst Col. Pat Lang (ret.), who wrote that, as a result of Russiagate, “a great opportunity has been lost for improving relations with the Russian thermonuclear power.” Lang said further that “only hyper-nationalist madmen like Brennan and Clapper and ignorant Jingos like Bolton and Pompeo can imagine that an improvement in relations with a country which can destroy you was not a good idea.”

To which Zepp-LaRouche added: “It’s my view that we have to have the approach to free Trump from these elements, and point to the fact that they are doing the opposite of what Trump’s stated intentions are,” including having good working relations with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping.

Zepp-LaRouche continued:

“The only way to get out of this mess is to cooperate in a new paradigm: close the trade gap by having joint ventures, have American firms cooperate with Chinese firms in the construction of Africa, for example. People have to think differently. If we don’t overcome geopolitics, the world will blow up, and that danger still is clearly there.

“The American people will have to see that Trump is an incredible President. He has stood up to one of the biggest conspiracies, and now the Democrats and others have egg on their face: They are conspiracy theorists who failed, they are completely discredited. For the Trump Presidency to achieve a Four Power agreement such as that proposed by LaRouche, a good relationship with Russia and China is needed, because if you declare these countries enemies, competitors and rivals, you will never get a Four Power agreement.

“So Trump is still President, and his policies on this should be followed; and if there are members of his cabinet who contradict him, then he should get better people in their place.”

Zepp-LaRouche concluded with the following perspective:

“We have to have a completely optimistic view. History is not endless; history is not a soap opera, where you have one episode after another, but you have certain inflection points where you have to change, use a new gear, go to a new plateau—or you will go under in the old mess. And the only way to get out of this mess is to go fully with Mr. LaRouche’s ideas, and that means people have to be freed of all the garbage thrown against him. That now has to be cleaned up. Just think about the shock effect it would have around the world if LaRouche were to be exonerated: everything would fall into place. There are certain flanks, even in a seemingly impossible situation, that you can use to remedy the problem on a higher level.”

U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

Ramsey Clark Message on the Death of Lyndon LaRouche

March 26 (EIRNS)—Ramsey Clark, the former Attorney General of the United States who was also Lyndon LaRouche’s appeals attorney, wrote the following message about Mr. LaRouche’s passing:

“I feel very saddened about the loss of Lyndon LaRouche. These things come in their time. Everyone’s death diminishes us all and Mr. LaRouche will certainly find his place in history. He was treated unfairly in his life, for his vision and his work. His courage is especially notable in the face of pervasive and vicious propaganda. Time will correct this, in his memory. The truth will out.”

Trump Raises Question of Treason Behind Assault on the Presidency

March 26 (EIRNS)—President Donald Trump celebrated in a morning tweet today the general revulsion over the mainstream media’s disgusting role in the now-proven false “Russian collusion” campaign—a campaign identified increasingly as “the WMD lie” of today. (Seymour Hersh became the latest to make that charge, in an email toThe Hill.)

“The Mainstream Media is under fire and being scorned all over the World as being corrupt and FAKE. For two years they pushed the Russian Collusion Delusion when they always knew there was No Collusion. They truly are the Enemy of the People and the Real Opposition Party!” the President tweeted.

Yesterday, in addressing reporters at the White House after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Trump spoke of treason when discussing Russiagate, and the urgency of defending the institution of the Presidency itself from such assaults.

“There are a lot of people out there that have done some very, very evil things, very bad things. I would say treasonous things against our country.

“And hopefully people that have done such harm to our country … those people will certainly be looked at. I have been looking at them for a long time.  And I’m saying, ‘Why haven’t they been looked at?’  They lied to Congress.  Many of them—you know who they are—they’ve done so many evil things.

“We can never let this happen to another President again.  I can tell you that. I say it very strongly.  Very few people I know could have handled it.  We can never, ever let this happen to another President again,” the President said.

‘U.K. Is Epicenter of the Coup Attempt of Last Two Years’

March 26 (EIRNS)—George Papadopoulos, one of those dragged into British intelligence’s desperate drive to fix the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, hasn’t forgotten that it was the British who ran (and are running) the operation against President Donald Trump, and him. Papadopoulos has been going after the British, in promoting his bookDeep State Target: How I Got Caught in the Crosshairs of the Plot To Bring Down President Trump, released today. He summed up British responsibility in a pre-release on March 24 tweet: “The person who introduced me to western intelligence asset, Joseph Mifsud, also introduced Alison Saunders (the UKs top prosecutor) to Bruce Ohr 4 days before the Trump tower meeting. I expose this person in my book. U.K. is the epicenter of the coup attempt of last 2 years.”

Others are demanding scalps, without yet targeting the British directly, but any serious investigation cannot avoid looking into the role of former leading MI6 agent Christopher Steele at the center of this now-exposed coup against the U.S. Presidency.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham announced yesterday that he believes a special counsel should be appointed to look into the origins of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant against Carter Page, in which Steele’s infamous lying dossier is reported to be central. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed Graham’s call today, saying that “Senator Graham has raised a legitimate question…. It’s not inappropriate for the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, with jurisdiction over the Justice Department, to investigate possible misbehaviors.”

Wall Street Journal Associate Editor James Freeman published a call today for former President Barack Obama to be questioned. “The Mueller report confirms that the Obama Administration, without evidence, turned the surveillance powers of the federal government against the presidential campaign of the party out of power. This historic abuse of executive authority was either approved by President Barack Obama or it was not. It’s time for Mr. Obama to say what he knew and did not know,” Freeman wrote.

Sen. Rand Paul likewise tweeted: “Time to investigate the Obama Officials who concocted and spread the Russian conspiracy hoax!”

The spirit of the day is expressed by Daniel McAdams, the Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute, who told RT:

“All of us were also exonerated, not just the President. It was a witch hunt. [Trump] knew it was a witch hunt … perhaps one of the greatest hoaxes in U.S. history…. We were demonized, we were vilified for two years, called all manner of names…. Now that these people have pushed this false narrative, and have damaged lives, and have damaged careers, is this where it’s going to end? Are they going to have to pay for their crimes?”

Clinton Pollster Targets British Empire Agent Steele, Defends Presidency

March 26 (EIRNS)—Writing in The Hill that “The Steele/Mueller Nightmare Is Over and Should Be,” Mark Penn, President Clinton’s pollster during the impeachment period, demanded action against those who put the country through “two years of speculative stories and lurid headlines” without any factual basis.

“It is now clear, I think, that the Fusion GPS effort with former British spy Christopher Steele was the real driver of this national obsession,” Penn argued on March 24. “Those who launched this disruption of the presidency on the basis of questionable evidence and procedures should be held accountable for their actions. Those who were investigated but not charged should have their legal fees reimbursed.”

He roasts Congressmen Schiff and Nadler’s intent to continue investigations as “the kind of raw partisanship” which, “after the largest criminal investigation of a campaign and an administration in history, has no place in our democracy. It’s an abuse of power without precedent. The Mueller investigation systematically went after everyone named in the Steele dossier, using the toughest possible tactics. Rather than investigate the crime, they investigated the people, finding unrelated crimes to use as leverage to squeeze out any potential drops of evidence related to collusion. They still came up empty on Russian collusion and in trying to implicate Donald Trump.”

Citing his experience in 1998, helping defend President Clinton from impeachment, Penn addressed the issue raised by President Donald Trump, albeit without citing him: that no president should be subjected to such investigations, ever.

“We need all our presidents, Democrat and Republican, being able to focus on the job without the constant pressure of investigations of themselves, their families and their administrations…. Let our presidents do their job. It’s time for our government to get back to being devoted to solving the problems of people and to get out of the endless investigation business.”

Pot Legalization Fails in New Jersey

March 26 (EIRNS)—The sponsors of the bill to legalize marijuana in New Jersey, led by the state’s Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, were forced to cancel yesterday’s scheduled vote on the bill after it became clear that it did not have the votes to pass, despite the millions thrown around by the industrial pot “industry.”

Key to the defeat of the measure was opposition from the black community, particularly the black churches, who refused to swallow the sick lie promoted by George Soros that drug legalization would end sentencing discrimination against minorities. State Sen. Ron Rice, the chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, organized town hall meetings across the state in minority communities to mobilize opposition to the bill, in which he went after the marijuana industry’s targeting of minorities in states which have legalized. Senator Rice congratulated his legislative colleagues for standing firm against “an onslaught of last-minute horse trading and arm bending. This bill was not about social justice and helping black and brown people, it was about wealthy investors making money at the expense of us.”

THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

France and China Sign Exceptional Bilateral Contracts, as Macron Clarifies His View of China

PARIS, March 26 (EIRNS)—Contrary to what was expected, China’s President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron signed an exceptional number of contracts, worth what is estimated to be tens of billions of euros.

First, there is the mammoth sale of 300 Airbus aircraft for close to €30 billion, consisting of 290 of the A320 and 10 of the very large, long-haul A350. Negotiations had been ongoing for a number of years for “only” 184 aircraft. In a major gesture, Xi Jinping added another 116 aircraft to China’s purchase.

Other deals, in order of importance:

• A contract was also signed between the French multinational, Schneider Electric, and Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) which could reach a maximum €6 billion for the industrial modernization of PowerChina factories in China and in third countries. Two projects have already been identified in Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

• CMA-CGM, a French world leader in maritime transport and China State Shipbuilding Corp. signed a global framework of cooperation and a construction contract for 10 new 15,000 container equivalent ships (EVP) for €1.2 billion.

• EDF signed a €1 billion accord for construction of phases 4 and 5 of a windmill park (502 MW) in Dongtai (Jiangsu province).

• BNP Paribas, Eurazeo and China Investment Corp. also signed an MOU for the creation of a €1 billion Franco-Chinese cooperation fund addressed particularly to French companies investing in China.

• Worth mentioning also is the lifting of the embargo on French poultry exports to China, imposed after France experienced cases of avian flu during 2015-2017. This market represents close to €7 billion for French poultry farmers.

All in all, these are very important bilateral contracts.

What is emerging as regarding Macron’s outlook during the course of Xi’s visit is: 1) that France’s fear and distrust, as well as that of most of the G7, with the major exception of Italy, is not against business-as-usual large bilateral contracts, but against the Belt and Road Initiative because of its scope and its win-win (community of destiny) worldview; 2) the fear is that if EU countries individually sign onto the BRI, China will contribute to the dislocation of the EU; 3) thus, Macron, along with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, is trying to get all of the EU members onboard to accept an EU “filtering process” of BRI-type contracts with China; 4) at the same time, China and the EU are both happy to reinforce their ties, as against the “unilateralism” and the “protectionism” which they ascribe to the Trump Administration trade wars against both China and the EU.

Geraci Explains to Media, the Italy-China MOU Is Just a Beginning

March 26 (EIRNS)—In various interviews since Xi Jinping’s visit to Italy, Michele Geraci, the architect of the Italy-China Memorandum of Understanding on the Belt and Road, explained to media what the MOU is and celebrated Italy’s decision to take European leadership in the Belt and Road.

The MOU is “just a beginning,” he explained.  It was the product of an effort by Italy’s two Deputy Prime Ministers, Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, and was endorsed by State President Sergio Mattarella, Geraci said. This is not the first time that Italy has taken the lead. In 1970, Rome was among the first countries to diplomatically recognize the People’s Republic of China. At that time, Italy was criticized as well from the U.S. Today, Italy has given a “new acceleration.”

The MOU is of a commercial nature, but of course one can read it politically. This, however, is more on the Chinese side than the Italian side. In fact, the MOU is not an obligation for Italy. Nor is it an obligation for the Chinese either, but “they move as if there were an obligation.” This is because China is a “statist” system, and therefore, when Xi Jinping does something, Chinese companies tend to follow what their “director general” says and does.

Italy is taking a leadership role for the first time in the EU, Geraci pointed out. When you take a step forward, there is necessarily an imbalance, but that is good, that is normal, he said. “Tomorrow, Macron, Merkel and Juncker meet with Xi Jinping. They did not tell us in advance. Now, I would like to see them being criticized the way we were,” Geraci remarked ironically.

China Will Address Crisis with Innovation and New Technologies, Not QE

March 26 (EIRNS)—Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met yesterday with some of the heads of the world’s top 500 companies, who were in Beijing to attend the China Development Forum 2019. Li told them, according to a Xinhua wire, that “in the face of new downward pressure, China will continue to vigorously promote countermeasures such as tax and fee reduction and fostering new growth engines. Instead of expanding the deficit and relaxing the monetary policy, China will roll out measures focusing on the market, said Li,” referring to what in the trans-Atlantic sector is known as “quantitative easing.”

The Prime Minister also said that “China encourages the development of new technologies and new industrial models and makes efforts to create space for innovation.”

Compare that approach with that of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has just swung the pendulum back towards hyperinflationary quantitative easing, in their desperate attempt to keep the $1.5 quadrillion speculative bubble afloat.

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

Pompeo and Bolton Threaten Russia, Stop Sending Military Personnel to Venezuela, or Else

March 26 (EIRNS)—The Washington Post’s Karen DeYoung reported March 25 that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called up Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “and told him that the U.S. ‘will not stand idly by’ if Russia continues to send military personnel to Venezuela to prop up President Nicolás Maduro, the State Department said.” Two Russian military planes with some 100 personnel landed in Venezuela over the weekend, as part of ongoing military cooperation between the two countries and for training on Russian equipment.

DeYoung further wrote that “U.S. frustration with the situation has grown as efforts to convince the Venezuelan military to switch sides and support Guaidó have produced few results.”

National Security Advisor John Bolton echoed Pompeo’s attack on Russia in a March 25 tweet: “The United States sends food and medicine to help the people of Venezuela. Rather than sending nuclear-capable bombers and special forces to prop up a corrupt dictator, Russia should work with the international community to support the Venezuelan people.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that the call between Pompeo and Lavrov was initiated by the U.S. side, and that Lavrov “emphasized that Washington’s attempts to organize a coup d’état in Venezuela and threats against its lawful government constitute a violation of the UN Charter and open interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state.”

COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM

European Court Rules that EU Commission Provoked the Italian Banking Crisis

March 26 (EIRNS)—A ruling by the European Court of Justice has established that the EU Commission acted illegally by rejecting a bank bailout in Italy in 2015, thus forcing early bail-in procedures as the only alternative under EU law. That decision unleashed a bond crisis and was ultimately the cause for a 60% drop in capital value of the Italian banking system.

The Italian Banking Association has announced that pending an appeal by the Commission, it will ask for €13 billion in damages from the Commission. The Italian government is considering a similar action as well.

In 2014, Tercas, an Abruzzi regional bank, was bailed out through the Interbanking Deposit Insurance Fund (FITD). A few months later, in 2015, the EU Commission (Margrethe Vestager, Competition) ruled that the bailout was illegal and forced restitution of the funds. That decision blocked the use of FITD for bailouts altogether, thus forcing the government to implement a bail-in in the case of four banks: Banca Etruria, Carife, Banca Marche and Carichieti.

The government caretaker at that time, Roberto Nicastro, explained in an interview with Corriere della Sera March 22 that the Commission decision “turned what could have been a limited crisis into a systemic crisis. The depreciation of the non-performing loans of the four banks down to 17% of their nominal value put pressure on the entire system, accelerating the crises of other financial institutions: from the Veneto banks to Monte dei Paschi.

“Not being able to use the FITD on Tercas and on the four banks unleashed systemic contamination of a crisis that could have been managed in a pragmatic and limited way. The four banks were worth less than 1% of the entire banking sector in Italy. And yet, that episode has blocked the issue of bonds for the entire system in the following period.”

The European Court of Justice ruled on March 21 that a bailout by the FITD, a private fund financed by the Italian banks, was not “state aid” and was perfectly legal, and the EU Commission decision was wrong.

SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Marijuana Use Increases Incidence of Psychosis, European Study Documents

March 26 (EIRNS)—Cannabis use accounts for substantial increases in psychotic disorders, a study published in the U.K.’s leading medical journal, The Lancet, on March 19 found. Its conclusions are devastating for advocates of marijuana legalization: “Our results show that in areas where daily use and use of high-potency cannabis are more prevalent in the general population, there is an excess of cases of psychotic disorder.”

The study was carried out as a subsection of a five-year project, the EU-GEI, to identify the interactive factors involved in the development, severity and outcome of schizophrenia. It was led by national schizophrenia/mental health networks of the U.K., Netherlands, France, Spain, Turkey and Germany, along with researchers of other institutions.

Extensive prior research had established that “background cannabis use is associated with increased risk of later psychotic disorder,” the researchers wrote. This particular study set out “to identify patterns of cannabis use with the strongest effect on odds of psychotic disorder across Europe, and explore whether differences in such patterns contribute to variations in the incidence rates of psychotic disorder.”

The findings made clearer what exactly that means.

Data were collected on patients ages 18-64 presenting with a first episode of psychosis to 11 sites in six European countries and one site in Brazil. Two principal factors were considered: amount of use, and whether high-potency cannabis was involved.

They found:

“If high-potency cannabis were no longer available, 12.2% of the cases of first-episode psychosis could be prevented across the 11 sites, rising to 30.3% in London, and 50.3% in Amsterdam.”

“…In the three sites with the greatest consumption of high-potency cannabis, daily use of high-potency cannabis was associated with the greatest increase in the odds for psychotic disorder compared with [cannabis] never having been used….

“Starting to use cannabis by 15 years of age modestly increased the odds for psychotic disorder….

“Compared with never users, participants who used high-potency cannabis daily had four-times higher odds of psychosis in the whole sample, with a five-times increase in London and a nine-time increase in Amsterdam….

“Therefore, assuming causality, if high-potency cannabis were no longer accessible, the adjusted incidence rates for all psychotic disorder in Amsterdam would drop from 37.9 to 18.8 cases per 100,000 person-years, and in London from 45.7 to 31.9 cases per 100,000 person-years….”

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