THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019

Volume 6, Number 216

EIR Daily Alert Service

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

• APEC and COP25 Cancelled–The Old Paradigm Has Collapsed, and We Must Build the New
• Pelosi’s ‘Public Impeachment’ Is More of the Same Scam
• White House Statement Terms Democrats’ Impeachment as an ‘Illegitimate Sham’
• Ukraine Foes Begin Mutual Withdrawals in Donbass Region Russia’s Lavrov Blasts U.S. PlanTo Occupy Syrian Oil Fields
• Syrian Democratic Forces Complete Withdrawal From Syria-Turkey Border Region
• Syrian Constitutional Committee Meets in Geneva
• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Chief Lashes Out Against Anti-China ‘Debt Trap’ Propaganda
• Chilean President Cancels APEC and COP25 Summits; U.S. Still Plans To Sign Trade Deal With China
• Confucius Institute Head in Belgium Expelled From Europe for Eight Years Over Spy Lies

EDITORIAL

APEC and COP25 Cancelled—The Old Paradigm Has Collapsed, and We Must Build the New

Oct. 30 (EIRNS)—Anyone who may still have harbored the misconception that the world will somehow “get by” without the need to take any personal responsibility for action, must wake up and look at the world as it is today, “from above,” as it is said.

Today, the nation of Chile, and the “Chile Model” so beloved by the City of London and Wall Street, essentially collapsed. President Sebastián Piñera, with millions of people on the streets demanding an end to the economic model put in place 45 years ago by the fascist Pinochet dictatorship and his “Chicago Boys” controllers, announced this morning that the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit meeting, of the heads of state from 21 countries on the Pacific Rim, scheduled for Nov. 16-17 in Santiago, has been cancelled.

Beyond that, the UN Climate Change Conference, COP25, the core institution of the eco-fascistmovement to shut down industrial development and reduce the world’s population, scheduled for Dec. 2-13 in Santiago, has also been cancelled. Not only are poor Greta Thunberg and the Extinction Rebellion wackos distraught, but Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, who heads the genocidal Green Finance Initiative, is chewing the rug.

This mass upheaval against the vicious austerity in Chile is not an isolated event. In fact, every corner of the world is experiencing one or more such upheavals, many of them quite violent. The Hariri government in Lebanon fell on Tuesday, Oct. 29, as the population demands the end of the sectarian division of the nation which has degenerated into mass corruption and economic decay. Iraq’s government is collapsing as huge portions of the population have had little access to electricity or even water since the destruction of their country some two decades ago by George Bush and Tony Blair. Argentina has voted out the IMF puppet government of Mauricio Macri, with the victorious supporters of the new government waving Chilean flags of solidarity. Across Europe, the old established parties which have governed since the Second World War are collapsing, with no leadership in sight to reverse the economic decay.

Perhaps you believe you are safe because you have a good pension? Those pensions are invested in speculative paper which is about to disappear. The U.S. Federal Reserve has been printing money at rates not seen since the 2008 collapse, frantically trying to keep the “too big to fail” banks afloat for a few more weeks or months, at the rate of more than $100 billion daily, and growing. But the financial bubble, now half-again greater than in 2008 at $1.5 quadrillion, is beyond “bail out” this time. Ten years of zero interest and trillions of dollars of “quantitative easing” (QE) have only made the bankruptcy of the real economy far worse.

And yet, the solution to this mess is closer to being implemented than at any time in recent history. Lyndon LaRouche warned 50 years ago of precisely these disasters if his wise words were ignored: end the transformation of the financial system into a global casino of speculative waste; restore the Hamiltonian “American System” of directed credit into the real economy; join forces internationally to reach out to the Moon, Mars and beyond; and launch a crash program to bring fusion power on line for all mankind.

A pipe dream? Far from it. In Donald Trump we have, for the first time since Jack Kennedy, a President who believes in scientific progress; who has recommitted the nation to a Moon-Mars program; who rejects the phony British “overpopulation” myth which drives the green agenda; who opposes the drugging up of our children; and who insists that America must be friends with Russia, China, and all nations that believe in the progress of their people.

That is why there is a frantic effort to impeach the President, to tie his hands, to block his effort to end the regime change wars and to build friendly relations with other sovereign states. Most importantly, these oligarchs are terrified that as the financial bubble bursts, he will not follow the dictates of Wall Street and the City of London, but will follow LaRouche’s policy, his “Four Laws,” putting the financial empire centered in London through bankruptcy reorganization rather than bailing it out. They are terrified that he will not only restore relations with Russia and China, but also join with them in the greatest enterprise in all of history, the New Silk Road transformation of the former colonized nations into modern industrial states, alleviating poverty, as China has succeeded in achieving in the largest nation on Earth.

Heed the wise words of Lyndon and Helga LaRouche. Now is the time.

U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC

Pelosi’s ‘Public Impeachment’ Is More of the Same Scam

Oct. 30 (EIRNS)—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will present her plan for a “public” impeachment process as a bill to be voted on by the full House on Thursday, Oct. 31, claiming that this will meet the demands of the Republicans. It is certainly true that the Democrats were forced by what they themselves admit was a highly successful attack by Trump on the Star Chamber charade that the Democrats have been holding in secret these past weeks, but it is far from the case that they are turning it into an honest process.

The bill establishes a two-stage process of public hearings (while the secret ones will likely continue). First, the House Intelligence Committee under Shifty Adam Schiff will hold public hearings, but President Donald Trump will not be allowed to have a representative there to confront his accusers. While ranking member Devin Nunes (R-CA) will be allowed to “suggest” witnesses, he will be required to submit requests with “detailed written justification of the relevancy of the testimony” to Lord Schiff, who at his own prerogative can reject the request as irrelevant. One cannot help but recall Federal Judge Albert Bryan in the trial of Lyndon LaRouche in Virginia, pontificating that all the defendants’ nonsense about government misconduct (that had just been proven in Boston Federal court) was totally irrelevant and would not be allowed. “This case is about money!”

Following some period of time in the Intelligence Committee, Lord Schiff will write up a report and hand it on the Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who will run Part 2. The President will be allowed representation, but, the bill says, if the President should “unlawfully refuse to make witnesses available, or to produce documents,” then “the Chair shall have the discretion to impose remedies, including denying requests by the President to call or question witnesses.” So much for Presidential prerogatives. So much for “democracy.”

The intent, as in the LaRouche case, is to keep the truth off the table—in this case, the reality of the coup plotters, and the Ukrainian role in particular. “This case is about quid pro quo!” roars Lord Schiff. (See “The LaRouche Case: Mueller’s First Hit Job,” on the Schiller Institute website.)

White House Statement Terms Democrats’ Impeachment as an ‘Illegitimate Sham”

Oct. 30 (EIRNS)—Yesterday, the office of the White House Press Secretary issued the following statement, posted on the White House website, on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment resolution:

“The resolution put forward by Speaker Pelosi confirms that House Democrats’ impeachment has been an illegitimate sham from the start as it lacked any proper authorization by a House vote.

“It continues this scam by allowing Chairman Schiff, who repeatedly lies to the American people, to hold a new round of hearings, still without any due process for the President.

“The White House is barred from participating at all, until after Chairman Schiff conducts two rounds of one-sided hearings to generate a biased report for the Judiciary Committee.  Even then, the White House’s rights remain undefined, unclear, and uncertain—because those rules still haven’t been written.

“This resolution does nothing to change the fundamental fact that House Democrats refuse to provide basic due process rights to the Administration.”

STRATEGIC WAR DANGER

Ukraine Foes Begin Mutual Withdrawals in Donbas Region

Oct. 30 (EIRNS)—The process of reducing tensions in the Donbas region took a small step yesterday when the two sides in the Ukraine conflict reportedly began pulling their forces back from the town of Zolote in the Luhansk region. The next step is for a similar pullback from the town of Petrivske in the Donetsk region.

“Today, the Trilateral Contact Group received the information about the beginning of the disengagement of forces and equipment in Zolote. In accordance with the framework decision of the Trilateral Contact Group dated 2016; the next step will be the division of forces and equipment in Petrivske, if the ceasefire regime is observed for seven days,” Darka Olifer, the spokesperson of Ukraine’s Representative at the Minsk Talks, reported on Facebook.

These withdrawals are supposed to set the conditions for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said yesterday that President Zelensky is ready for a meeting with the Russian President. “I believe, yes,” he replied when asked by the media during an investment forum in Mariupol. “He has talked to him on the phone thrice. I am certain that he is well aware of what can be done and how.” It’s not clear, reports TASS, whether he was referring to a bilateral meeting or a Normandy Four summit, which would also include France and Germany.

Russia’s Lavrov Blasts U.S. Plan To Occupy Syrian Oil Fields

Oct. 30 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking in Geneva, expressed strong criticism of U.S. plans to keep troops in the oil fields in eastern Syria. “When it comes to U.S. actions in Syria, they of course run counter to international law,” Lavrov said. “The U.S. and members of the U.S.-led coalition are stationed in Syria illegally, contrary to the position of the Syrian legitimate government,” he stated. Lavrov further stated that sending U.S. troops to allegedly protect oil fields in Syria from ISIS “is just an excuse, all the more so as the U.S. leaders publicly announced in March that ISIS was defeated and completely destroyed.”

Lavrov cited expert opinion in the U.S. and rulings of international courts to the effect that the exploitation of one state’s natural resources by another without agreement is illegal, and he stressed that the Russian side shares this approach. “We proceed from this assumption. Our American colleagues know our position very well. We will continue to defend it.”

Lavrov stated that the agreements negotiated in Sochi, the one on Idlib last January and last week’s agreement on northeast Syria “were approved by the government in Damascus, personally by President Assad, as well as by Kurds,” Lavrov said. “That’s why we proceed from the fact that our activities are aimed at achieving peace, ensuring Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. I don’t remember similar assessments regarding the actions of the United States on the [Syrian] border,” he said. “If we consider the statements about the necessity to ‘protect’ oil fields in Syria, it looks like they are ‘protecting’ them from the Syrian Arab Republic itself,” he concluded.

Syrian Democratic Forces Completes Withdrawal from Syria-Turkey Border Region

Oct. 30 (EIRNS)—The Russian Defense Ministry announced yesterday that the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had completed its withdrawal back to 32 km from the Turkish border as called for in the Oct. 22 Turkish-Russian agreement. “The pullout of the armed formations from the territory where a safe corridor is due to be created has been completed ahead of schedule. Both Syrian border guards and our military police have moved in,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said during a joint appearance with his Armenian counterpart in Yerevan. This was acknowledged by a statement issued by the Turkish Defense Ministry. “The Russian Federation informed us that after the expiration of the 150-hour term, People’s Protection Units, YPG, withdrew with heavy weaponry from the Turkish-Syrian border beyond the 30 km zone, except for Manbij and Tell Rifaat,” the statement said. The ministry also noted the start of “the process of locating and clearance of mines to the west and east of the location of Operation Peace Spring, excluding Qamishli.”

The Oct. 22 agreement called for joint Russian-Turkish patrols in the border region once the SDF withdrawal was verified and now, according to news reports, those patrols will start on Nov. 1. A Russian military delegation has been in Ankara to discuss implementation going forward. “The first day of the discussions was completed with the Russian military delegation, which came to Ankara to plan the activities to be carried out within the framework of the agreement reached with Russia on Oct. 22, 2019 in Sochi,” said the Turkish Defense Ministry on late Oct. 28.

Syrian Constitutional Committee Meets in Geneva

Oct. 30 (EIRNS)—The Syrian Constitutional Committee convened in Geneva today, after nearly two years of arduous work to assemble the committee and agree on a set of procedures by which it might function. Today’s meeting was largely ceremonial, with introductory speeches by UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen and by its two co-chairs, Dr. Ahmad al-Kizbari leading the government-backed delegation and Hadi al-Bahra for the opposition delegation. Pedersen, in his remarks, acknowledged that there was much deep feeling among all of the delegates but “the fact that you are here today sitting together face-to-face ready to start a dialogue and negotiations, is, I believe, a powerful sign of hope for Syrians everywhere, both inside and outside the country.” He called on the delegates to “be patient and also to be persistent; to be ready to compromise; and to engage constructively as you fulfill the important mandate entrusted to you. It is my sincere hope that by signaling your good intentions to one another from the very beginning, trust will steadily grow and a positive working environment can be created.”

Al-Kizbari affirmed that the Syrian people have resisted a fierce war which has been waged against them for years, and they are still achieving victories over terrorism. “We reject all forms of foreign interference in our internal affairs and the Syrian people only have the exclusive right of deciding the future of their country,” he was quoted as saying by the official Syrian Arabic News Agency (SANA). “We reject any form of foreign interference in the work of the Committee of Discussing the Constitution and any talks we hold in Geneva are based on the principle of respecting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

He continued: “Our war against terrorism will continue till liberating every inch of the Syrian territories. The presence of any occupational forces on the land of our country or looting its resources will threaten the political track of solving the crisis in Syria.”

Opposition co-chair Hadi al-Bahra said 65% of Syria’s infrastructure had been destroyed, and that, “It is time for us to believe that victory in Syria is achieving justice and peace, not winning the war,” reported Reuters. “The memory of 1 million victims must guide us out of this dark tunnel. The aspirations of millions of Syrians to go back to their homeland and find their loved ones must be our compass.”

ECONOMY

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Chief Lashes Out against Anti-China ‘Debt Trap’ Propaganda

Oct. 30 (EIRNS)—The president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) pushed back on Oct. 29 against U.S. assertions that China’s Belt and Road lending has unfairly saddled poor countries with unsustainable debt. AIIB President Jin Liqun said during an investment conference panel discussion that debt problems associated with China’s massive infrastructure drive were often the result of long-standing fiscal mismanagement. “The debt problems of these poor countries were accumulated over the years. I don’t think it’s fair to put it down to the Belt and Road Initiative,” Jin said at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.

Jin defended the Belt and Road’s purpose as being aimed at upgrading infrastructure to improve the growth and development potential of many countries. “But we should learn from the history. For many countries I think the issue is not whether you borrowed the money from outside, it’s how you spend the money you borrow,” Jin said. “You spend it well or not.” He said China borrowed heavily from external sources over the past 40 years, but spent the money “judiciously,” and therefore never experienced a debt repayment problem.

OTHER

Chilean President Cancels APEC and COP25 Summits; U.S. Still Plans To Sign Trade Deal with China

Oct. 30 (EIRNS)—In a press conference this morning in Santiago, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, flanked by his foreign and environment ministers, somberly announced that Chile would have to cancel the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and COP25 climate change summits, scheduled for Nov. 16-17 and Dec. 2-13, respectively. Among other things, this is a big blow to Chile’s reputation, already badly hurt by 11 days of nationwide protests.

Piñera explained that as “painful” as the decision was, given the importance of both summits, he felt he had no other choice, given the escalating social protest that has wracked Chile since Oct. 17. “Our first concern and priority as a government is to concentrate absolutely, firstly, on fully reestablishing public order, citizen safety and social peace,” he said. He also vowed he would promote “with all the force necessary, the new social agenda to respond to the primary demands of our citizenry.”

No one is buying Piñera’s promises. Protests in the country, some violent, have escalated over the past 48 hours all over Chile, with another huge mobilization planned for today in Santiago. Chileans aren’t content with the band-aid measures that Piñera is proposing, and want a total overhaul of the deadly Pinochet economic model.

Given the cancellations, there is much discussion and speculation as to when, and if, U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping will meet to sign “phase one” of the U.S.-China trade agreement, as they had planned for Santiago. According to AFP, however, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley stated that even though APEC doesn’t have a secondary site prepared, “We look forward to finalizing Phase One of the historic trade deal with China within the same time frame, and when we have an announcement, we’ll let you know.”

The COP25 summit was to have evaluated nations’ compliance with the UN’s Copenhagen climate change dictates, and whether any alternative venue can be arranged is unknown. Patricia Espinosa, the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, was quoted by the Guardian as saying “we are currently exploring alternative hosting options … it is our understanding that the organization does not currently have a secondary site prepared.”

Confucius Institute Head in Belgium Expelled from Europe for Eight Years over Spy Lies

Oct. 30 (EIRNS)—The head of the Confucius Institute at the Vrije University in Brussels has been expelled and banned from the 26 visa-free Schengen area nations in Europe for eight years, on a self-evidently fraudulent charge of spying for China. South China Morning Post reports today that Song Xinning, a professor at Renmin University in Beijing, who has headed the Institute in Belgium for the past three years, was accused “by authorities in Belgium” of “supporting Chinese intelligence activities in the city,” and recruiting Chinese students and businessmen in Brussels as spies.

But the real story, unfortunately, sounds very much like the kind of operation that would be run in the U.S. by FBI Director Christopher Wray. Professor Song said that he “found this accusation laughable,” and that he was appealing it. But he also said he was not surprised: In April, an American diplomat (whom he named, but the Post did not print it) approached him. “From my memory, he put it rather bluntly, asking: ‘I know you cooperate with the Chinese intelligence service, can you cooperate with me?’ ” When he refused, the diplomat threatened him, he said. “I was warned at the meeting that if I did not cooperate, there would be serious consequences. So obviously this is the result, I was prepared.”

The professor who apparently precipitated this fraud, Prof. Jonathan Holslag, who lectures on geopolitics and is a special adviser to the European Commission, as well as head of the Trilateral Commission for Belgium, gave away the perverted mindset of those involved: “Song is a nice, polite gentleman, but the Institute is clearly an instrument of propaganda and shouldn’t be part of the academic community,” he opined. Song, he said, could “identify young and bright students” and “influence them with an uncritical, positive view about China.” Indeed, Socrates was polluting the minds of the children….

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