EIR Daily Alert Service, Wednesday, January 29, 2020
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
Volume 7, Number 20
EIR Daily Alert Service
P.O. Box 17390, Washington, DC 20041-0390
- Dershowitz Asserts, Articles of Impeachment Will Make U.S. a British Parliamentary System
- New York Times Continues Its Bolton Revival Operation
- Democrats’ Impeachment Aims for U.S. To Be a British Parliamentary System, Says Dershowitz
- Trump and Netanyahu, Minus Palestinians, Unveil President’s Peace and Development Plan
- ‘Deal of the Century’ Peace Plan Could Be Overshadowed by Israeli Trial of the Century
- Pat Lang Asserts, ‘Bolton Bombshell’ Comes from Covert Warfare Center, and Wants FISA Judge Impeached
- Pompeo Gets Belligerent With Syria, Russia and Iraq
- German Government Declared War in 2018 Against Transaqua Plan To Replenish Lake Chad
- Cartel Firms Sign Huge Meat Deal for China-U.S., European Farmers May Benefit, or Not
- South America’s Bioceanic Railroad Via Bolivia Now on Hold, Brazil Not Interested
- Russia Lays Out Ambitious Agenda for Deeper Cooperation With Argentina
- Italian State President Receives Thunberg But Has No Time for Real Climate Scientists
| EDITORIAL Dershowitz Asserts, Articles of Impeachment Will Make U.S. a British Parliamentary System Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—Constitutional lawyer Alan Dershowitz, defending the President against the current round of the attempted coup by British intelligence and their assets within the U.S., told the Senate “jury” Monday night that the Impeachment Articles presented by the Democrats from the House would, if allowed to be voted up in the Senate, reduce the United States to the level of the British Parliamentary system—a condition strenuously avoided by the nation’s Founding Fathers. The Articles, he argued, contained no crimes, and reflect only the hatred of most of the Democratic Members of Congress toward the President. Even the drafting of the Articles represents an effort to impose a totally partisan “parliamentary vote of no confidence” such that the republican form of government embedded in the U.S. Constitution would be severely, even irreparably, damaged. The war-mongering fanatic John Bolton, summarily fired by President Donald Trump precisely due to Bolton’s support for regime change against literally dozens of countries, as well as military confrontation with Russia and China, has now become the darling of the “peace loving” Democrats. The New York Times (who else?) is peddling his supposed “exposure” of Trump’s crimes with Ukraine in his not-yet-publish memoir. As with every other “smoking gun,” this lie has a brief half-life, but may be used by the Democrats to extend the show-trial by forcing the calling of witnesses so they can hear from Bolton. They would need four Senate Republicans to vote for calling witnesses in a vote expected to be held on Friday, Jan. 31. Also today, President Trump and the visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released Trump’s “deal of the century” (as he calls it) for peace in Israel and Palestine. No Palestinians were present. Contrary to most expectations, Trump does call for a Palestinian state, with a capital in East Jerusalem, saying that the Palestinians “deserve a better life,” offering $50 billion in construction aid to “end the cycle of Palestinian dependence on foreign aid.” But, as Trump has made clear from the beginning of his administration, he supports turning the settlements on the West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights into permanent parts of Israel. Netanyahu, who spoke alongside Trump, said the deal grants Israeli security control over the Jordan Valley, does not uproot any Israeli settlers, insists that the refugee issue must be resolved “outside of Israel” (i.e., no right of return), and other aspects that will certainly, at least at first, be rejected by the Palestinians. Even before today’s announcement of the plan, the Arab League said it will convene an urgent meeting on Feb. 1, in response to a call from Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas calling for Arab unity against the plan. Although the deal was worked out without any input from the government of Palestine, Trump thanked Oman, Bahrain and the U.A.E. for their help in formulating the plan, and said that the King of Jordan would help in implementing the plan if Palestine agrees to begin negotiations. Helga Zepp-LaRouche noted that the urgent call she issued this month for Presidents Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping to hold an emergency summit to avoid the threat of war in the region following the assassination of Iran’s IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, is even more necessary to address the Israel-Palestine conflict. As Lyndon LaRouche insisted throughout his life, political solutions to the conflicts set in motion by the British Empire’s “divide and conquer” policies over the past centuries must begin with joint economic development plans, which address the common interests of both sides. This requires Russia, and especially China, to be engaged, bringing the New Paradigm of the Belt and Road Initiative to the region, and providing a basis for the Arab, Persian and Palestinian states to have faith that their own security will be protected. Twenty-four LaRouchePAC organizers are deployed today to the Trump rally being held Tuesday evening in Wildwood, New Jersey, calling on President Trump and his supporters to join in the call for the Tripartite Summit, to bring the world’s leading powers together for development, for cooperation in space exploration, for cultural renewal, and to end the imperial era once and for all. U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC New York Times Continues Its Bolton Revival Operation Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—Today’s issue of the New York Times’ contribution to the British coup effort, pushing the war-maniac John Bolton as the savior of the impeachment effort, includes both an editorial and a new “scoop.” The editorial headline is: “Surprise, Mr. President. John Bolton Has the Goods. Who’s telling the truth about Ukraine? There’s one way to find out.” The content is typical Times fake news, such as: “Revelations from John Bolton’s book manuscript, which the New York Times reported over the weekend, have made impossible to ignore what everyone has known for months: President Trump withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine to benefit himself politically, and against the strenuous objections of his top aides and both parties in Congress.” But the Times also offered a new fake news story, under the title: “Bolton Was Concerned That Trump Did Favors for Autocratic Leaders, Book Says.” They claim that Bolton reports that “Attorney General William P. Barr was concerned about President Trump’s conversations with autocratic leaders in two countries,” naming China and Turkey. They go on that Barr “responded by pointing to a pair of Justice Department investigations of companies in those countries and said he was worried that Mr. Trump had created the appearance that he had undue influence over what would typically be independent inquiries.” Attorney General Barr wasted no time debunking this nonsense. A statement from Barr’s spokesperson said that the Times (or Bolton, if he really said it—there are no quotes from his book) “grossly mischaracterized” the discussion, and that there were no “personal favors” or “undue influence” from the President. If Bolton really said this, Barr’s statement continued, then they were “his own view, which AG Barr does not share.” Democrats’ Impeachment Aims for U.S. To Be a British Parliamentary System, Says Dershowitz Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—Alan Dershowitz, representing President Donald Trump in the impeachment trial last night, focused his central fire on the fact that the Democrats’ Articles of Impeachment, if allowed to stand to remove the President, would overturn the most important effort of the founding fathers: to not allow the British system of parliamentary democracy to infect the American System. Over and over again he quoted Gouverneur Morris, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and others from the Federalist Papers and the reports on the debates of the framers of the Constitution, warning that removing the President with no delineated crime would destroy the Constitution and turn the country into a British-style Parliamentary system, in which a mere vote of “no confidence” could remove a President, overturning the will of the people. It is the Congress, he said that is acting as if it were “above the law.” (He quoted Rep. Maxine Waters saying “Impeachment is whatever the Congress says it is.”) He said that during the debate over the categories to be included as impeachable by the founding fathers, one representative argued for “mal-administration” to be included, with Dershowitz adding that this was essentially equivalent to the “Abuse of Power” of the Democrats’ Article 1 against Trump. James Madison insisted that mal-administration be removed as too vague, that it could mean whatever the accusers wanted it to mean, just as with “abuse of power,” and would allow a British-style “no confidence,” with no crime enunciated. Only actual crimes—in fact, only high crimes and misdemeanors—equivalent to the enunciated “treason and bribery,” could be considered impeachable. The argument by some Democrats that “misdemeanor” included non-criminal acts, he argued, was refuted by the wording itself (“high crimes and misdemeanors”) and by the understanding at the time that “misdemeanor” was essentially equivalent to “crime.” He stated that even “incapacitation” was not included as impeachable, since it is not a crime, even though it clearly should be a basis to remove a President, and observing that a new Amendment had to be added to deal with that eventuality—not impeachment. Dershowitz was the only Trump-team lawyer on Jan. 27 to address the Bolton “revelations” by the New York Times, which every corporate media outlet is screaming about as the latest “smoking gun” that proves Trump is guilty, and shows why there must be witnesses. Even if everything Bolton is reputed to say in his book were true, Dershowitz said, that would not be grounds for impeachment. Making up the term “quid pro quo” as a crime was a hoax, he said, pointing out that every negotiation with a foreign power, by every President in history, has been a matter of quid pro quos, which is the nature of negotiations. (He did not address the corruption/Biden issue, as he was only tasked with the constitutionality of the charges.) He said that Hamilton had insisted that the Congress could not determine its own powers, that when a conflict arose with the Executive branch, only the courts could determine the issue. The Article 2 bogus contention of an Obstruction of Congress based on Trump claiming Executive privilege, as every President in history has done, is not only not a crime, he asserted, but it is only the courts that can decide on particular issues, not an impeachment trial. The House, of course, refused to take it to court because of “lack of time,” hardly a legal argument. Dershowitz posed the “shoe on the other foot” test, calling on the Senators to conduct a “thought experiment.” Otherwise, he concluded, Hamilton’s concern that impeachment would be abused, based on the “passion of the times,” would prove to be the undermining of the Constitution. Trump and Netanyahu, Minus Palestinians, Unveil President’s Peace and Development Plan Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—President Donald Trump, together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today presented the long-awaited “Deal of the Century” (as Trump calls it) for peace and development in Israel and Palestine. The Palestinians long ago broke all ties (other than counter-terror) with the Trump Administration, accusing it of a pro-Israel bias, after Trump moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, cut aid to Palestine, and recognized the Syrian Golan Heights as Israeli territory, as well as all the settlements in occupied Palestine. The plan confirms those previous steps, but contrary to most speculation, it does call for a Palestinian State with a capital in East Jerusalem, Trump pledged to open an Embassy there if it works out. Israel is granted all it ever asked for—security control over the entire West Bank, a “demilitarized” Palestinian State (which would supposedly be lifted over time), and no “right of return” for Palestinian refugees within Israel. Israel did agree to a four-year “land freeze” (presumably meaning no new settlements), while the establishment of the Palestinian State was being negotiated. The disconnected parts of the West Bank and Gaza which would constitute a Palestinian State would be connected by some means. The facilities at the Haifa and Ashdod ports would be made available to the Palestinians. The published plan calls for: “a $50 billion Peace to Prosperity economic plan, which will spur the Palestinian economy. When properly implemented, the Vision will: Create more than 1 million new jobs; More than double Palestinian GDP; and Reduce unemployment below 10% and cut the poverty rate in half.” The Arab League will hold an emergency meeting on Feb. 1 at the request of Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, calling for Arab unity against the plan. The potential for a strong reaction from the Palestinians, perhaps a new intifada, is high. If the nations of the region unite, with support from Russia and China, then it would be possible to begin negotiations, both to avoid new violence, and discuss an acceptable route to a Palestinian State. The best start, and which is essential, would be for Trump to accept President Vladimir Putin’s invitation for a summit of leaders of the UN Security Council permanent five to counter the dangers of war, while bringing in the New Silk Road and get the development process moving immediately. ‘Deal of the Century’ Peace Plan Could Be Overshadowed by Israeli Trial of the Century Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—The announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Deal of the Century Middle East Peace Plan today might be overshadowed by the trial of the century, at least for Israel. Netanyahu has withdrawn his bid to seek immunity from the Knesset, opening the way for Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to announce a date to begin Netanyahu’s criminal trial. The prime minister, had no real choice, since such immunity probably would not have passed the Knesset. Mandelblit charged Netanyahu today with variously fraud, breach of trust and bribery in three separate cases. Netanyahu is the first sitting prime minister to be criminally charged. Pat Lang Asserts, ‘Bolton Bombshell’ Comes from Covert Warfare Center, and Wants FISA Judge Impeached Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—As the “Bolton bombshell” dominates the airwaves, military intelligence official Col. Pat Lang (ret.) charged that “there is an operations center or ‘war room’ somewhere that researches political vulnerabilities and serves them up seriatim to ‘the resistance.’ ” He specified: “As a former practitioner on behalf of the U.S. government of similar dark arts in covert warfare, I recognize this pattern of behavior.” That pattern is: “Since the day Trump was inaugurated there have been continuous and unending propaganda and political warfare themes and memes launched against him in the interest of either outright overthrow or of dirtying him up so much that he cannot be reelected. As soon as one effort goes down, another immediately surfaces. Think about that pilgrims. Think about it,” Lang wrote on his “Sic Semper Tyrannis” blog today. Lang called for FISA Court Judge Rosemary Collyer to be impeached, on Jan. 25. Collyer presided over the FISA Court until the Horowitz report and what followed from it “unmasked” her as “a co-conspirator of the FBI in framing [Carter] Page,” Lang wrote. He summarized how Collyer “made a living hell” of Page’s life, with FBI connivance, “for the purpose of gaining legal authority to surveille the Trump political campaign.” Collyer, he reported from firsthand knowledge having testified in her district court several times, is “extraordinarily pro-DOJ,” bending over backwards to do its bidding. Therefore, “in my opinion, her conduct in the matter of the FISA warrant against Carter Page should be examined with a view to impeachment and removal.” STRATEGIC WAR DANGER Pompeo Gets Belligerent with Syria, Russia and Iraq Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—Just as Syrian forces were about to drive al-Qaeda terrorists out of the town of Ma’arat Al-Nu’man in Idlib province, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a belligerent statement yesterday threatening more sanctions against both Damascus and Moscow if they didn’t stop the Syrian army offensive. Pompeo accused “the combined forces of Russia, the Iranian regime, Hezbollah, and the Assad regime” of “conducting a large-scale assault upon the people of Idlib and western Aleppo provinces,” including the indiscriminate bombing of civilians. “The United States is prepared to take the strongest diplomatic and economic actions against the Assad regime and any state or individual that aids its brutal agenda,” he concluded. The fact that the U.S. war on ISIS in Syria flattened several cities, leaving thousands of civilians (as well as terrorists) under the rubble, seems to have been forgotten by Mr. Pompeo. Pompeo was similarly belligerent with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in a phone call earlier in the day. According to the State Department readout, Pompeo “expressed his outrage” over the Jan. 26 rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. “The Secretary underlined once again that these attacks demonstrate a wanton disregard for Iraqi sovereignty and a failure to rein in these dangerous armed groups.” Pompeo also “noted that we view last night’s attack on the Embassy as an attempt to distract Iraqi and international attention away from the brutal suppression of peaceful Iraqi protesters by Iran and its proxies,” the statement continued. Pompeo may believe that Iran-backed armed groups are responsible for the attack on the embassy but, in fact, no group has claimed responsibility. Nor did Pompeo take note of the more than 1 million Iraqis (not Iran-backed militias) demonstrated last week in Baghdad demanding the U.S. get out of Iraq. ECONOMY German Government Declared War in 2018 against Transaqua Plan To Replenish Lake Chad Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—EIR has discovered that following the decision by the Lake Chad Basin Commission, representing all African countries neighboring Lake Chad, to endorse the Transaqua project as the only feasible option to recharge Lake Chad, the German government mobilized to sabotage the plan and announced it in the Bundestag. Berlin’s action is not only a crime against humanity, but since the Italian government has officially endorsed Transaqua and provided a grant to help finance the feasibility study, the fact that another EU member government acts to sabotage it, should become a political scandal. This is the exchange between Green Bundestag Deputy Frithjof Schmidt, who referred to LaRouchePAC as his source, and Undersecretary of State for Cooperation and Development Maria Flachsbarth, on Oct. 2, 2018. Schmidt: What does the Federal government think about the criticism of the Transaqua project, which was endorsed at the International Conference on Lake Chad in February 2018 as a preferred option to prevent Lake Chad from drying out [see “Transaqua Moves Forward: Water Transfer Is Not an Option, It Is a Necessity” March 2, 2018], that this project takes too long to prevent Lake Chad from completely disappearing [see, “Save Lake Chad: Analysis of Transaqua, The Solar Option”] and what is the evaluation of the Federal government on the effects of the necessary infrastructure measures on the local population and the environment? Flachsbarth: The Transaqua project-Lake Chad is an idea that has been discussed repeatedly since 1972. The Federal government has no reliable knowledge of the actual ecological, economic and social effects of the project. A first step to assess the impact would be a feasibility study, the total cost of which is estimated at least €10 million. According to the information available here, the African Development Bank has taken the lead in financing such a feasibility study. Regardless of this, it can be assumed that a large number of highly complex ecological systems would be lost. The Congo Basin, in its diversity and in terms of its capacity as a water reservoir and green belt of the Earth, ranks second behind the Amazon basin. Potential dangers to security, food security and economic development in the Congo Basin cannot be excluded. Schmidt: To what extent does the Federal government intend to provide financial and political support to the Transaqua project or related projects and studies? Flachsbarth: Due to the possible political, ecological, socio-economic and economic risks, the Federal government currently has no intention of supporting the Transaqua project or related studies financially or politically. In political dialogue among others with the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the neighboring countries involved in the project, the Federal government has repeatedly expressed its critical stance, most recently during the Lake Chad Basin Conference in Berlin on Sept. 3-4, 2018. The Federal government will also present this critical stance in the relevant committees of international financial institutions, such as the African Development Bank’s supervisory board. Cartel Firms Sign Huge Meat Deal for China—U.S., European Farmers May Benefit, or Not Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—Yesterday Brazil-based JBS SA, the world’s largest meat packer, with extensive operations in North America, Europe, Australia and elsewhere, announced it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Hong Kong-based WH Group, also one of the world’s largest meat packers, committing to supplying over $715 million a year of beef and poultry to WH networks for the Chinese market, with shipments to begin the first quarter of 2020. The potential complementarity between China’s need for meat, and supplier nations’ ability to meet that need, is very great right now, and should make for positive foreign relations. However, farmers and ranchers are in crisis to stay in operation, given the low prices they receive from JBS, WH Group, and cohort cartel firms, such as Cargill and Tysons. The deal spotlights the urgency to reinstate parity-related pricing for farmers and ranchers, and also to implement anti-trust. Such moves are in the interests of everyone involved, from the Chinese eating public, to the farmers in other nations, except for the cartel profiteers in the middle. In the U.S., cattlemen are seeking relief in the courts, and Twitter storm appeals to President Donald Trump. In Europe, cattle and milk producers are in the forefront of street protests. JBS said that the new deal will extend its presence in China, as JBS will have direct access to 60,000 WH Group sales outlets throughout the country. A top JBS official said, “It will be an opportunity for us to evolve in our supply chain in an unprecedented business model for JBS.” The meat sourcing can come from a number of countries, given the monopoly-positioning JBS commands in many nations. In the U.S. one of its most famous brands is Pilgrim’s chicken products; the company boasts that one in every five U.S. chickens comes from Pilgrim’s. In Canada, JBS owns one of the biggest beef-processing plants, in Brooks, Alberta. WH Group itself owns the brand and operations of Smithfield Foods, one of the top hog producers and pork processors in North America. THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER South America’s Bioceanic Railroad Via Bolivia Now on Hold, Brazil Not Interested Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—The Bioceanic Central Railroad Corridor (CFBC), the 3,500 km bioceanic railroad project that would link the Atlantic to the Pacific, traversing Bolivia, is now on hold, according to Peru’s Transportation and Communication Minister Edmer Trujillo, Reuters reported Jan. 27. The project is “suspended,” Trujillo said, because Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has “lost interest” and would rather prefer to work with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera on a bioceanic corridor linked to that country. Of course Chile’s government, wracked by three months of social upheaval, can hardly be called stable. Without Brazil’s participation, the CFBC can’t proceed. It is projected to extend from Brazil’s Atlantic port of Santos, via Bolivia with its terminus at Peru’s Pacific port of Ilo, offering economic and trade benefits to Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. Since 2013, the CFBC has been a signature project of now-deposed Bolivian President Evo Morales, who organized for it aggressively internationally, and succeeded in bringing several European governments on board—Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the U.K., and Spain among them. Russian Railways had also expressed great interest in the project as well. But Brazil never really committed to the project, only going through the motions of being interested. With the advent of the neo-liberal Bolsonaro government, the CFBC effectively died. Bolivia’s illegitimate neo-liberal President Jeanine Añez shares Bolsonaro’s geopolitical outlook and has no interest in pursuing such a great project. In addition, her recent announcement that she will run for President in the May 3 elections has set off a firestorm of dissent within Bolivia’s right-wing parties, which have already fielded five separate presidential candidates, greatly increasing political tensions in an already tense situation. Russia Lays Out Ambitious Agenda for Deeper Cooperation with Argentina Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—Russian Ambassador to Argentina Dmitry Feoktistov laid out to a Sputnik interviewer his government’s ambitious agenda for deepening bilateral cooperation with the Argentine government of Alberto Fernández. Expressing the hope that Fernández will come up with a viable solution for resolving the country’s foreign debt problem, Feoktistov indicated that Russia hopes to conclude deals with Argentina in the nuclear sector, including a floating nuclear plant, oil and gas, railroad construction—Russia is interested in building a rail line from the Vaca Muerta shale oil/gas deposit in Neuquén north to the port of Bahia Blanca in the province of Buenos Aires—as well as providing train locomotives and cars, and a variety of military equipment—planes, helicopters and possibly a submarine. Russia understands that Argentina is in a difficult economic situation, and is prepared to be flexible in terms of financing projects, Feoktistov said. He also reported that in coming weeks, several Russian ships will visit Argentina as part of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica and also to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. In mid-February, the Russian scientific ship Krushenstern, built in 1926, will arrive at the Patagonian port of Ushuaia on the Atlantic and meet up with two other Russian ships. On Feb. 13, the Russian Geographical Society will sponsor a photographic exhibit in Ushuaia, and commemorative plaques will be placed there to honor the discovery of Antarctica. In addition, a documentary film on the Great Patriotic War (1941-45) will be shown from the archives of Russia’s Culture Ministry. SCIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE Italian State President Receives Thunberg But Has No Time for Real Climate Scientists Jan. 28 (EIRNS)—Prof. Uberto Crescenti, among the initiators of the Italian scientists’ petition “There Is No Climate Emergency,” revealed that Italian State President Sergio Mattarella refused to receive their delegation, citing his tight schedule. Mattarella said that “they could not receive us because of too many engagements. I had to respond that the President found the time to meet Greta [Thunberg], but cannot find the time to receive university professors,” Crescenti said in an interview with Libero Quotidiano. Crescenti asserted that it is not true that 99% of scientists agree on man-made global warming, but rather it is 40%. And “the green economy is a global business. Financial interests have invested in it and if you get along as a researcher you get funds, otherwise it is difficult to even get out your opinion. Environmentalists try to prevent use from having congresses. Sometimes we’ve had to call the police to get them out.” Libero Quotidiano editor Pietro Senaldi introduces Crescenti’s group, stating that they have been “committed for years to moving the environmental debate back to a scientific level, free from mass hysteria pushed by Big Finance and multinationals, which ride on the issue of global warming in order to make money from it.” Reach us at eirdailyalert@larouchepub.com or call 1-571-293-0935 |
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