EDITORIAL
‘We Are Not Animals. We Are Human Beings!’
May 17 (EIRNS)—Schiller Institute President Helga Zepp-LaRouche today called on people around the world to speak out on the urgency of a summit between Presidents Putin and Trump occurring as quickly as possible, for the sake of global peace. A summit where the two leaders can take all the time needed to discuss and develop flanks which will create new options for resolving the difficult and complex crises of the world, she specified.
There are no partial remedies to any one of these crises, Zepp-LaRouche made clear in her weekly Schiller Institute New Paradigm broadcast today.
Take the case of Southwest Asia, where the threat of war being unleashed at any moment between Israel and Hamas, Hezbollah, and potentially Iran, is escalating, not receding. The ease with which these could lead to the biggest of wars is known to all. Already, even without that, the region is in Hell, Zepp-LaRouche charged. “The situation in the Gaza is an open-air jail; it’s a new Warsaw Ghetto.”
Zepp-LaRouche put forward the argument that her husband Lyndon LaRouche has made over decades: For this region which has been a playground for British imperialism running proxy wars and inflaming religious hatred for centuries, where an escalation of violence is pre-programmed by youth who see no future, “the only way you can break this terrible nightmare of violence and horror is by having a Four Power agreement among the United States, Russia, China, and India, and that way, you have enough people and enough military, political, and economic power to end the British Empire and their ability manipulate the situation.”
In Southwest Asia, a solution to the hatred and humanitarian catastrophes requires a comprehensive strategy, which provides for both the security interests of every country and every single party—of Israel, Iran, the Palestinians and all Arab nations—and initiates economic development: big development.
“You need something big, and the only way you could get it, is if you had all the neighbors, Russia, China, India, Iran, Egypt, the United States, and hopefully European nations all agreeing that the only way how this can be solved, is, you have to have the extension of the New Silk Road into the region and develop every country as part of one, integrated, industrial infrastructure development program,” Zepp-LaRouche spelled out. Some people are already thinking in this direction, discussing the gigantic projects required which no one country can carry out. And that includes people in Israel who agree with this, also.
Clearly, to reach such an agreement, Trump and Putin have to meet, and thus “if world peace is to be saved, the British coup [against President Trump] must be uncovered completely. All the culprits must be held accountable.”
In closing, the Schiller Institute president took a step back to identify the clear grounds for optimism that this radical change can be accomplished, in time:
“If you look at this from a longer arc of history, it is not natural that people solve conflict with weapons or wars. This I always call the infant diseases of mankind. Like little boys who kick each in the shins when they are four years old, or even seven years old. Eventually, you can become an adult, and you have to cherish the creative mind of the other person and work together like Max Planck and Einstein; like Schiller and Humboldt; you can have a relationship to other countries where you address the creative potential of the other and that enriches in turn, your own potential.
“I think the future of humanity, which is after all the only species capable of creative reason, of making fundamental discoveries about universal principles of the physical universe, again and again, and that way develop more knowledge about our planet, the universe in which we are living, about the principles of science and technology, which we then apply in the production process which leads to an increase in productivity, which leads to an increase in living standards, an increase in longevity,—this is what we are! We are not animals. We are human beings, who are the only species, at least known so far, in the universe, which can relate to their creative power as their identity.
“And if we take that approach, then, to have many nations, and to have many cultures all based on their cultural tradition, all based on their sovereignty, they can work together to a higher level of reason, and that is the only way mankind will survive!
“I think we are at a crossroads: If we decide to stay with geopolitics, in this world, this will lead to World War III, for all we know, the extinction of our species. On the other side, the New Paradigm is already working, 140 countries are already cooperating, and I think we need a mass movement of people who say, mankind has reached a new era and we must consciously form our future, our ‘shared community for the future of mankind,’ as Xi Jinping always calls it.”
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
President Trump Confirms That Libya ‘Is Not Our Model’ for North Korea
May 17 (EIRNS)—Directly contradicting his National Security Advisor John Bolton, who last month suggested that the approach to North Korea should be the “Libya model of 2003-2004,” President Donald Trump said at a White House meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today, that the U.S. is not going to repeat the “Libya model” in North Korea.
“The Libya model is not a model that we have at all when we are thinking of North Korea,” the President said, as reported by CBS News. “In Libya, we decimated that country…. If you look at that model with Qaddafi, that was total decimation. We went in there to beat him.”
As for the possibility that North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un might cancel the scheduled June 12 summit in Singapore, Trump said that “nothing has changed on North Korea that we know of.” He further stated that “we’re willing to do a lot. And he’s [Kim Jong-un] willing, I think, to do a lot also. And, I think we’ll actually have a good relationship, assuming we have the meeting and assuming something comes of it, and he’ll get protections that will be very strong.”
The President mentioned that Syria had never had protection. “If you look at Syria, if you look at—or if you look anywhere around the Middle East, Iraq.”
Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders had distanced the President from Bolton’s earlier remarks on the “Libya model,” saying “there’s not a cookie cutter model on how this would work. This is the President Trump model. He’s going to run this the way he sees fit.”
China’s Foreign Minister Stresses To Make Most of Korea Summit’s Rare Opportunities
May 17 (EIRNS)—In a statement given during his official visit to France today, Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi said the current situation on the Korean Peninsula calls for avoidance of “divergent action.”
“It should be stressed that it had taken much effort to achieve a minor improvement of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea acted as an initiator [of reconciliation], which fact deserves definite approval,” Minister Wang Yi was quoted by TASS. “Resolution of the peninsula’s problem that has a comprehensive nature requires coordinated actions. Any divergent actions are unacceptable.”
“It is necessary to prevent a situation when one party is demonstrating activity while another is only building up pressure,” he stressed, and called to make most of the rare opportunity for reconciliation between the two Koreas.
The Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun claims today that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had told North Korea that the U.S. would be willing to remove Pyongyang from its list of state sponsors of terrorism if the North ships out the nuclear warheads and ICBMs.
According to TASS yesterday, the director of Russia’s Asian Strategies Center at the Russian Economics Institute under the Academy of Sciences, Georgy Toloraya, commented that North Korea’s threats concerning the summit could be part of some backstage bargaining in order to gain a firmer foothold at the talks. “Possibly the United States has put forward some unacceptable conditions, to which North Korea made a corresponding response using the military exercises as a pretext. The real subject matter of bargaining remains unknown,” Toloraya said.
“The North Koreans will agree to negotiate only on their own terms. A meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will largely depend on how the situation in the region will develop,” he said.
“As follows from the U.S. Department of State’s reaction, the news that the high-level talks with the South Koreans have been cancelled has had a stunning effect on the Americans, who wish to go ahead with the negotiations. Possibly, the North Koreans will manage to attain their aims. It depends on what they will agree on. The work is in progress, both parties are moving on towards this goal, but everything looks not easy at all,” Toloraya said. Toloraya has also been the Executive Director of the Russian National Committee on BRICS Research.
Indian Deputy Foreign Minister Leads First Delegation to North Korea in Two Decades
May 17 (EIRNS)—For the first time since 1998, an official Indian delegation visited North Korea on May 15-16. It was led by Vijay Kumar Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, also a former Indian army chief, who met with Kim Yong Dae, Vice President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly; Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho; Vice Foreign Minister Choe Hui Chol; and Culture Minister Pak Chun Nam, reported India’s External Affairs Ministry.
The BBC comments that the visit took place just at the time of the latest crisis in Pyongyang’s talks with Seoul and the U.S., speculating that Singh might be playing a mediating role.
India and North Korea have had a full diplomatic relationship for the past 45 years and both have embassies, conduct cultural exchange programs, have science and technology cooperation agreements, etc.
The India Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Singh “highlighted the threat from nuclear proliferation, in particular India’s concerns in the context of the proliferation linkages with India’s neighborhood.
“The D.P.R.K. side emphasized that as a friendly country the D.P.R.K. will never allow any action that would create concerns for India’s security,” the statement said.
The visit was at the invitation of the North Korean government. North Korean officials provided Singh with an “overview of the recent developments in the Korean Peninsula,” and the minister reiterated India’s support for the Korean peace initiative.
The BBC quotes one Indian observer commenting: “We can only speculate. Mr. Trump does not want to jeopardize his summit meeting. Maybe the Americans are seeking some Indian support to ensure that the summit is saved. India is a bit player here, but is also the only major country in the region that is not a party to the problem but has good contacts with North Korea.” BBC also states that clearly, when it comes to negotiating with an isolated government, even the rare, relatively minor friend can be of help.
COLLAPSING WESTERN SYSTEM
Italian Coalition ‘Contract’ Is Declaration of War against EU and Its Austerity Policy
May 17 (EIRNS)—The draft government “contract” of the “Yellow-Green” coalition between the Five Stars Movement (M5S) and the Lega, published yesterday, is a declaration of war against the EU and its austerity policy. Although many key points are still open to be changed by the two coalition leaders, and President Sergio Mattarella might (ab)use his powers to erase anti-EU parts, the program is a clear signal that the era of unchallenged EU supremacism is finished. The City of London freaked out, and its mouthpiece the Financial Timesopined that “the barbarians are inside Rome”!
The “contract” calls for a national bank for investments; a process leading to bank separation (Glass-Steagall); a “radical review” of the bail-in procedure; a reduction of EU “jurisdictions”; a review of EU treaties and single monetary policies; and for going back to the pre-Maastricht status.
It calls for separating both the capital investment budget and the sovereign assets purchased by the European Central Bank from the calculation of debt to GDP ratio (Maastricht parameters).
It calls for lifting constitutional provisions for a balanced budget, and for an “appropriate” use of deficit spending.
On foreign policy, it calls for an opening to Russia as a potential partner and for lifting the sanctions.
On economic policy, the contract promises to increase pensions and introduce a €780 monthly “basic income,” similar to Germany’s Hartz IV, and seeks to the upgrading of Italian ports—but it also calls for blocking the construction of the Turin-Lyon Corridor 3 high-speed railway, the only major infrastructure project Italy is currently building, and which is a key part of the Genoa terminus of the Maritime Silk Road. This reflects the anti-science mob which is unfortunately strong in the M5S.
Although the Lega and the M5S now have a “contract,” there is still a long way to go to form a government. They have to divvy up ministerial posts and come up with a candidate for Prime Minister, whom President Mattarella, who is pro-EU, must approve. The deadline for that has been set for Monday, May 21.
In response to a preliminary version of what was leaked to the media yesterday, there was a general freakout by the City of London and the mainstream media. Le Monde referred to it as “a deadly challenge to the EU.” The Financial Times ran an editorial, headlined “The Barbarians Are Inside Rome.”
Lega head Matteo Salvini replied: “Better barbarians than slaves.” From M5S, Manlio Di Stefano responded: “The barbarians have been ruling for 30 years” in Italy.
Liu He Is Representing China at the Week-Long Economic Talks in Washington
May 17 (EIRNS)—The head of the delegation is Dr. Liu He, now a Politburo and State Council member, Vice-Premier, and the top government economist in China. Dr. Liu was the author of the 2014 “Comparative Study of Two Global Crises.” That paper summarized the findings of a research group Dr. Liu had led, which compared the Great Depression of 1929 to the international financial crisis of 2008. It found that Franklin Delano Roosevelt had attacked the root causes of the Great Depression, whereas the measures taken in and after the 2008 events were ineffective because they had been dictated by the speculative financiers themselves. Instead of being written off, bad debts were kept on the books and subsidized, and as a result there was no real recovery. (See “Overcoming the Great Recession: Lessons from China,” by Liu He.)
In the party accompanying Dr. Liu from in Washington is Liao Min, China’s leading expert on shadow banking. Liao was a well-known folk singer during his university days in the late 1980s, and is now deputy director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs, the internal party economic policymaking body. In May 2008, when he was director-general and acting head of the general office of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), Liao criticized Western regulators to the City of London’s Financial Times, saying “I feel the Western consensus on the relation between the market and the government should be reviewed.” He explained how Chinese regulators had prevented the emergence of exotic financial instruments there.
The Financial Times concluded its brief article: “The CBRC was established five years ago and since then the country’s previously moribund financial sector has been transformed. The largest state-owned banks have overhauled their internal structures and sold shares to strategic investors such as Bank of America, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Goldman Sachs before listing on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets.”
China-U.S. Trade Talks Have Not Hit a Brick Wall, Says Asia Times
May 17 (EIRNS)—Despite widespread reporting by the Western media that the China-U.S. trade talks have hit a brick wall and a tariff war is ready to break open between the two, Asia Times said today that China’s participation in the second round of talks was due to the United States’ backing off from the harsh penalties which had been slapped on Chinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE. Asia Times cited unnamed experts saying “there is no realistic way to envision Beijing coming to the table without that precondition.”
TechCrunch website pointed out that ZTE, which began its U.S. operations in 1998, had found itself “in the eye of a looming trade war between superpowers,” writing that “Iranian sanctions were violated, fines levied and seven-year international bans were instated.”
Jesse Heatley, director at the China practice of Washington-based consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group, told Asia Times that the United States backing off on ZTE has to be part of a deal. “If ZTE were to fall from its top role [in establishing 5G standards], China would be ceding a great deal,” he said.
Heatley, who advises U.S. technology firms on Chinese policy, further said that the ban on sales to ZTE could potentially have represented a significant setback to China’s plans to be leader in high-tech industries, Asia Times reported.
THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Pavilion Devoted to Russian-Japanese Economic Cooperation Set Up in St. Petersburg
May 17 (EIRNS)—The Japanese will set up a pavilion at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) devoted to Japanese-Russian economic cooperation. A spokesperson for the Japan Association for Trade with Russia & NIS (ROTOBO) told TASS today: “There will be hardly any expositions of isolated companies in the pavilion. It will be devoted to the implementation of a program of eight items which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2016. More than 100 joint projects were studied under this plan during the last two years. Many of them already approached the level of contracts, and the potential of the two countries gives hope for further extension of cooperation.
“Various materials and video programs will be presented in the pavilion, and a bilateral seminar will be held there, as well as contacts and negotiations of business representatives and officials of the two countries,” the ROTOBO official said.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will lead a Japanese delegation of 300, including heads of Japan’s major companies.
The eight items that are to undergird development of economic cooperation between the two countries include energy, small and medium businesses, the industrialization of the Russian Far East, and the extension of an export base. They also incorporate proposals to bolster cooperation in advanced technologies, including the nuclear energy industry, and in the sphere of humanitarian exchanges. Tokyo regards the implementation of the program as an important element in moving towards the signing of a peace treaty to end the Second World War with Moscow.
Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev Proposes Eurasia Canal between the Caspian and Black Seas
May 17 (EIRNS)—The President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has called for the construction of the Eurasian Canal that would connect the Caspian and Black Seas by ship canal. The 700 km canal could be built through the Manych Depression in the Russian Caucasus, thus providing a direct waterway for Central Asian countries from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea and thence to the Mediterranean.
Speaking in Sochi on May 14 before the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), President Nazarbayev said: “Building a Eurasia navigation canal connecting the Caspian and Black Seas could become one more prospective project.” He also called for constructing a Eurasia high-speed roadway, which will connect Europe with Asia through Russia and Kazakhstan.
The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council consists of the leaders of the EAEU member states, Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
“The Eurasia Canal” proposal was the subject of an exclusive report by Dean Andromidas in EIR’s April 13, 2018 issue.
U.S. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
The Pessimistic Current among Americans
May 17 (EIRNS)—According to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), births in the United States have plunged to record lows not seen in decades, marking a profound cultural shift that could have ramifications for the future economy.
Pointing out the “the lowest total fertility rate since 1978,” NCHS reported that the U.S. birth rate plummeted to a 30-year low. “The 3.85 million U.S. births in 2017 were the fewest since 1987, as American women under 40 continued to delay childbearing. About 77,000 fewer babies were born last year than in 2016—about a 2% drop year-on-year.”
What further threatens the United States’ social and economic future is the increase of deaths due to the opioid epidemic, which is continuing to mushroom. In a March 6 press conference, the Centers for Disease Control reported that hospital emergency department visits due to opioid overdoses increased about 30% in the U.S. from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017.
OTHER
Germany Also Had Possession of Novichok in the 1990s
May 17 (EIRNS)— Earlier this month the Czech President declared that his country’s secret service had experimented with the nerve agent Novichok, which the British claim that only Russia had had. Britain had used its undocumented assertion as “proof” that Russia had poisoned ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England in March. Now it is revealed that in the 1990s, Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) had gained a sample of the “Novichok” nerve agent and determined its chemical composition, according to an investigative team from the German dailies Süddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit, and public broadcasters NDR and WDR.
Deutsche Welle, for its part, wrote that the report claims that the BND had a Russian scientist as a secret informant in Russia in the early 1990s, who offered information and samples of a new class of Russian-made chemical weapons in exchange for asylum in Germany. Then-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and the Defense Ministry permitted a sample to be sent to a laboratory in Sweden for analysis. The laboratory transferred the chemical formula, but not the original sample, to the BND and German Defense Ministry. The BND shared the information with Germany’s NATO allies, the United States and United Kingdom.
The report claims that some countries used the information about “Novichok” to produce small quantities of the nerve agent as countermeasures. It also claims Western countries’ knowledge about the nerve agent “largely stems” from the secret mission.
The report confirms statements by the Russian government that several NATO countries, including Germany, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic, and non-NATO member Sweden, were experimenting with Novichok in the 1990s, refuting the British pretense that only Russia could have made the nerve agent.
