Tuesday, April 11, 2023
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—A special event at the Moscow Economic Forum featured Sergey Glazyev, Minister for the Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission, addressing directly whether Russia can figure out the secret of China’s economic miracle and apply that method for Russia. The special session appeared to be designed around Glazyev’s new book, Chinese Economic Miracle. Lessons for Russia and the World.
At the core of his calm, measured presentation was the reality that, before money makes its first appearance, governments can deliberate over and choose priorities for the general welfare of their populations. They can design credit generation based upon the necessary production, invention, health and education required to accomplish the priorities. They use markets to encourage entrepreneurship, but regulate the markets to prevent untethered financial schemes and scams. The markets encourage individuals to apply their talents to accomplish the social goals set forth in the chosen priorities. Winners do very well for themselves and for their society. Those who never tamed their lust for super-profits get nowhere.
Glazyev recognized this as what the Chinese call “socialism with Chinese specifics,” but a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. The point is that, at its core, China gave priority to public interests.
The U.S. founding fathers called it the “general welfare principle.” Alexander Hamilton explained this matter of government priorities and the creation of credit in his “Report on Public Credit” and his “On the Subject of Manufactures.” Franklin D. Roosevelt’s TVA program was a clear example of it, one that Chinese communists and non-communists studied and applied. After wiping out extreme poverty amongst 800 million Chinese over the last 30 years, China’s President Xi Jinping decided to export this successful model of wiping out poverty to the rest of the world.
The financial derivatives dynasty of the City of London and their junior partners in Wall Street should worry less about whether China ever decides to send one piece of military equipment to Russia, and save their conniptions for Russia importing China’s economic miracle.
Glazyev identified Russia’s problem—the continued mental enslavement of Russia’s Central Bank to financial manipulations. But why keep playing such too-clever-by-half financial games in a world where your foreign exchange reserves are simply grabbed, where the rules change on a whim? What happens when President Putin, no stranger to making bold decisions when the existence of his nation is at stake, turns his attention to his own Central Bank?
France’s President Macron gives indications this week that he thinks survival may involve breaking from the orders to isolate China, and to tie his economic wagon to trade deals with China. While Macron is certainly given to playing games, he presently looks like a Rock of Gibraltar compared to Germany’s commitment to slavish service for the London-Washington war policy. Even Cyprus had no problem defying the U.S.’s plan to have them ship their missiles to Ukraine, telling Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov to go home empty-handed. But Germany goes the extra mile, physically dismantling their world-famous, energy-intensive industrial productivity. Next week, they plan to turn off the last three of their nuclear energy plants. So, countries have clear choices to make.
Mexico’s President López Obrador, in the face of inflation and food shortages, went on the offensive, pulling together the heads of state of his neighbors in a videoconference. Over the next month, they will meet directly in Mexico, with an invite to the rest of Central and South America. In the U.S., former Congressman Dennis Kucinich designed a “how-to” apparatus for the present bungling Congress, to break the war fever and lies. It’s a simple Congressional investigation kit to take the evidence presented by Seymour Hersh, that President Biden and his team planned the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines, and translate it into a competent congressional investigation. It includes a sample subpoena to the Secretary of the Navy, for starters, for the divers and the explosives that were deployed in the bombing last September. It is sort of a basic wake-up call. With one sane and obvious step, perhaps Congress might take the next step and recognize that what Russia is learning from China’s economic miracle, is something that the U.S. could honestly say, we invented it first.
As you read this, there are some 96 hours left to organize your own social gatherings for the most appropriate followup to the Glazyev event—the Schiller Institute’s April 15-16 forum, “Without the Development of All Nations, There Can Be No Lasting Peace for the Planet.” https://schillerinstitute.nationbuilder.com/conference_20230415
Let’s Make Clear to People That We Are in an Epochal Change That Is a Promise To All of Humanity (see slug)
Moscow Economic Forum: How Russia Can Create a “China” Economic Miracle (see slug)
Ibero-American “Presidents Club” Meets on Food Crisis, Inflation; Demands “More Just International Financial System” (see slug)
Ex-Congressman Kucinich Shows Congress How To Investigate Nord Stream Sabotage (see slug)
Partial List of Speakers, Schiller Institute Conference and Concert, April 15-16, 2023 (see slug)
CGTN Interviews Cheminade on Macron’s Meeting with Xi (see slug)
Pentagon Suspects Insider Leaked Classified Intel, Reports Reuters (see slug)
Ritter and Global Times Dismiss the “Russia Exposed U.S. Classified Files” Story (see slug)
Musk Defends Allowing Medvedev To Post on Twitter (see slug)
Another Day, Another Mass Shooting in the U.S. (see slug)
Washington Deploys “Big Guns” To Stop Argentina’s Cooperation with China (see slug)
Macron Calls on Europe Not To Be a “Vassal” to Either China or the U.S. (see slug)
Germans Rally for Nuclear Energy, as Most Oppose Government Nuclear Shutdown (see slug)
Germans March on Easter Against War (see slug)
Cyprus Turns Down Ukraine on Weapons (see slug)
London Times Confirms Russian Story of Ukrainian Attack on Zaporozhye NPP (see slug)
Syria-Turkiye-Iran-Russia Foreign Ministers Meeting Postponed (see slug)
Images of Israeli Police Beating Muslims Inside Al Aqsa Mosque Make Them Look Bad (see slug)
Israeli Public Losing Confidence in Netanyahu Government (see slug)
Israeli Mossad Denies Claims of Leaked U.S. Documents (see slug)
Leaked Documents Show U.S. Spying on ‘Ally’ South Korea (see slug)
U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer Tests Chinese Waters (see slug)
Austria’s Former Foreign Minister Kneissl on the Rise of ‘Multipolar World’ (see slug)
Update on RSVPs for April 15-16 Conference (see slug)
U.S. National Call with Helga Zepp-LaRouche
Monday, April 10, 2023
Helga Zepp-LaRouche: It is quite remarkable that the tectonic change which is taking place, which is a complete realignment in the world, whereby the countries of the Global South have decided that they don’t want to submit any more to the colonialist system, and they’re speedily creating a new system—especially, naturally, with a lot of diplomatic changes going on due to the mediation by China as we have seen in Southwest Asia but also in other areas of the world—the Western establishments are absolutely refusing to consider that their policies may have something to do with it, and are obviously completely unwilling and incapable of reflecting what may be the reason why the world is shifting in this way. And what we see instead, is not only an unwillingness to end the Ukraine war, and also at the same time a clear shift in the direction of the Pacific and an escalation in respect to China: So that is foreboding nothing good in terms of the immediate period ahead. But let me go through the elements of it, because it is a dramatic change, and on the one side, you have an incredibly optimistic idea of colonialism ending, different criteria in international politics becoming the basis for relations among nations; but the West, in quotes, unfortunately, is not yet anywhere where it should be, or even remotely so.
Now, the big issue which dominates the media, and it may be important, but nowhere near as important as what I just said before; nevertheless, it dominates the media, namely, the classified intelligence which was leaked by somebody, of potentially 1,000 people who had the necessary security decrees to have access to these papers, and it’s generally mooted by both U.S. papers, German papers, but also Chinese and Russian sources, that the likelihood that this was spied by Russia and then leaked is extremely incredible and unlikely. Because why would Russia reveal its valuable source, since by revealing it, it makes the whole arrangement useless, because it will be changed. What is more likely is that it was some disgruntled employee; this is what Reuters is mooting, and pictures are appearing of the highly classified documents and so forth. But its not likely that it was Russia; this is also said by Scott Ritter, who in a column on Sputnik on Saturday basically these leaks are “Much Ado About Nothing.” [https://sputnikglobe.com/20230408/scott-ritter-us-document-leak-much-ado-about-nothing-1109280151.html] And he essentially has this argument, why would Russia burn its own sources while disclosing it had penetrated the adversary to such a degree? Global Times says basically what the leakage also reflects is the extreme disunity, distrust, and divergences among the U.S., the West, and Ukraine. They also speculate that it came from some anonymous expert, that U.S. policymakers are losing faith to completely defeat Moscow, so they might want to use the existing leak to ruin the existing plan of supporting Ukraine and to decrease U.S. inputs into new plan.
Obviously, this is all related to the intelligence about a supposed upcoming spring offensive, either by Russia or by Ukraine, or both, whereby the actual condition of the army in Russia is by now so miserable, I would say, both sides have had such incredible losses that it’s hard to imagine that there will be a huge, quantitative, new spring offensive. And that may be the reason why Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is downplaying the chance of success of such a counteroffensive, by saying the narrative of a make or break is dangerous for Ukraine because the upcoming offensive may not yet result in the liberation of 100% of Ukrainian territory, since any war is a series of battles, “We should counter by all means the perception of the counter-offensive as the decisive battle of the war.”
However, that does not mean that there isn’t an existing perspective for a peace settlement by negotiations. There is obviously the Chinese plan in the background; Lula will arrive this week in China, so there may come something not yet on the table, but from the standpoint of U.S. and Europe, no such peace perspective is visible, as a matter of fact, there are statements to the contrary.
However, as I said in the beginning, I think we have to pay extreme attention to a shift of the major containment against Russia and China, which really have to be taken as one from the standpoint of NATO, because they have this alliance, that that is now clearly shifting in terms of the danger point, in my view, toward the western Pacific. Now, the U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Milius sailed within 12 miles of the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, in a so-called other “freedom of navigation operation”; and the U.S. 7th Fleet statement announced that they have the right to do that whenever they want. On the other side, the senior spokesman of the PLA Theater Command said China has the indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters. Obviously, this is conflict potential which could flair up big time any moment, and this FONOP operation came on the third day of the PLA air and naval exercise around Taiwan, which they started one day after Taiwan President Tsai had left the United States. As of 10 this morning local time, Taiwan detected 59 PLA aircraft and 11 warships near Taiwan; 39 of the warplanes cross the median line in the Taiwan Straits, and it is a clear message that there is a red line concerning the One China policy, and if the West and U.S. are continuously violating that, there may be some action which could be decisive.
The U.S. military activity in the region is on a high tempo. U.S. Pacific air forces have deployed four B-52 bombers to Guam on a bomber task force mission. The bomber task force, and specifically the B-52s are deployed there.
Now, this is not to be seen in an isolated way. Already on Jan. 9, 1900, Republican Sen. Albert Jeremiah Beveridge of Indiana had stated in Congress that immediately behind the Philippines are Chinese huge markets. “We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustee, under God, of the civilization of the world.” In any case, this is a racist speech which was given by this senator in 1900, and basically, in that same vein, there are people who think it is the right of the United States to keep domination of this region, even if it’s many thousands of miles from the United States and is clearly the territory which would more belong to China, even if they don’t claim that they’re the only keepers of that region.
Now, the fact that Defense Secretary Austin met with Philippine Defense Minister Carlito Galvez, Jr., they have now, in addition to the existing bases in the Philippines, four additional military bases, which make up nine such bases that will be used on a rotational basis by GIs. That means that they now have a very important strategic position in the southeastern rim of the South China Sea near Taiwan, and that should be kept in mind.
The trip to the U.S. of Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen was seen by China was another clear violation of the One China policy.
It is interesting from that standpoint that Macron took a somewhat independent position, not on everything, but on some points. In a lengthy interview with economic magazine Les Echos and Politico, he said that “strategic autonomy is crucial to avoid European states from becoming vassals”—that alone is an interesting tone from Macron; that “Europe could become a third pole facing the United States and Crimea,” that they don’t want to enter a bloc logic. And he also spoke against the “extraterritoriality” of the dollar. He, however, said there is not yet time for negotiations on Ukraine, it’s still in the military phase, however, preparations should be made for afterwards. Then he talked about that Xi Jinping mentioned a European security architecture and there again, he said, this is not yet the time, because as long as there are occupied countries, you can’t have such a thing. But the most interesting thing was what he said about Taiwan: He said, “as Europeans, our concern is our unity. The Chinese are also concerned about their unity and Taiwan from their point of view is part of it. It is important for us to understand how they think.” Now, that’s a bit of an understatement because the One China policy is official international UN accepted policy, so therefore, it’s not just the Chinese interpretation but it happens to be international law. But, he says, “the worst thing which Europe could do is to follow the United States on the issue of Taiwan. We Europeans do not have an interest in an acceleration of the Taiwan issue. We have to ask ourselves, what is our interest? We Europeans must wake up, our priority is not to adapt to the agenda of others in all regions of the world.”
Now, I think that is useful that he does not want to back the U.S. position on Taiwan. The rest is the usual kind of Macron; he often says things which sound good, but then the big question is what is he actually doing?
However, there was the first de-dollarized deal of the Chinese national oil company and France’s TotalEnergies company. They completed the first yuan-settled LNG trade through the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange. Now that is probably a reaction to the fact that the de-dollarization is going on in many countries. I’m just reporting it, I’m not saying it amounts to much.
The most interesting thing in my view is, talking about who is reflecting on why policies function and why they don’t, a lengthy interview by Sergey Glazyev—and this is reported in Business Online [note the interview was published on March 27, 2022]—where he says that “without understanding the secret of the self-financing of the Chinese economic miracle, you will not be able to understand how it worked.” And then he gives an extensive description, which he was also presenting at the Moscow Economic Forum on April 4, that first of all, the Chinese do not want to impose their modernization model on anyone, but that it’s worthy to study and imitate. He basically says, what the Chinese did and they found out by trial and error the right relationship between planned economy and market economy, but the key thing is that they provided a quasi-zero interest rate for almost an infinite period of time to anybody who would invest in areas of the common good. That for those that work more efficiently than others, and comply with the principle of economic development received unlimited state support in China. This creates condition for the cooperation of all social groups around a common criterion, the improvement of social welfare.
And he says that this has now been imitated by a number of Asian countries that are already using a similar mechanism for strategic planning and market competition. The Chinese model is unique in the sense that it was formed before anyone else. It was formed at the moment when, unfortunately, we (meaning Russia) jumped into the shock therapy and Russia, by contrast, implemented all the regulations that were recommended by Washington financial institutions and the European economic commission; and the difference was that China grew five times in terms of GDP, and Russia which followed the liberal model and the IMF, had the same growth rates as the U.S. and Europe—and everybody knows how miserable they were.
Then he goes into some more details about it. However, he says, Russia can change course, taking the Chinese experience as a basis. But without understanding the secret of self-financing of the Chinese economic miracle we will not be able to understand.
So that is exactly the argument which was developed at length by Lyn in many, many articles, saying why this credit-financing of projects which are increasing the productivity of the common good in the general economy are self-financing, because the state gives credit for a future production and because of the value-added character of human labor the tax revenue and the general out put is always larger than the initial credit. And that’s why these projects are completely self-financing. So that is what Glazyev points to.
Naturally, the horse’s hoof in the whole calculation is that this means practically zero interest for indefinite periods. And that is naturally what the profit-greedy speculators in the West don’t want, and therefore they don’t want to look at that, because it would mean no profit in the short term, no speculation, but long-term increase and quadrupling and quintupling of the economy. But if you don’t want to give up the profit for short-term speculators, then you can’t have the long-term effect.
And that’s the crux of the matter: And since the West is absolutely unwilling to correct this, they will not get out of it, and therefore we have our job cut out for us.
Now, I should just mention there were large Easter marches in many German cities, 120 cities, over Saturday, Sunday and today, which is Easter Monday; these were not huge, for example, in Berlin it was 3,000, and they had slogans like “For cooperation and friendship with Russia”; “Peace Now”; “Diplomacy, not Arms”; “U.S. and NATO, Get Out of Ukraine”; “Against Sanctions—Cheap Energy Now”; “Tanks Never Bring Peace.” So the general tenor was clearly to counter the demonization of Russia, and that was also the reason why the Links Partei and the trade unions did not participate in these demonstrations, but they’re holding separate rallies mainly today’ and also in Hamburg and other places, there are still such rallies today.
The former head of the Protestant church Margo Käßmann addressed the rally of 1,100 people in Hannover on Saturday, demanding an immediate stop to the weapons delivery and immediate negotiations to end the war. If that is not happening, she says, NATO states will become a war party, and there was huge applause to that.
I should mention that on next Saturday, the day of our conference, will also be the last day of the last three nuclear plants in Germany, which is a real disaster. Habeck, this incompetent children’s book novelist, not economic minister, said this is irreversible, there will never again be nuclear energy in Germany. However, an opinion poll by the INSA institute shows that 52% of the population are against shutting down these nuclear plants; 37% want to get out of nuclear power, and 12% are undecided. So that’s a clear majority for the continuation of nuclear power, and hopefully, this means this worst government we ever had will be voted out, as soon as possible.
Now, the only other thing I haven’t mentioned is that there is a huge campaign around the claim that the Russians kidnapped these Ukrainian children. I don’t want to go into the details: It’s just complete nonsense, but it’s filling the headlines. And what is not filling the headlines is that the Russian ambassador in Berlin, Sergey Nechayev basically said that Germany is conducting war with foreign hands, basically, on behalf of someone else, pumping Ukraine full of lethal weaponry in the effort to bring a strategic defeat to Russia; and in doing that, they have long ago crossed all red lines. He has said that in the past, but he came out again with a very severe warning.
OK, so this is basically where we are, and therefore, I want to say there should be absolutely no letdown of the mobilization about the war danger, because, unless we get a real break, and a break would mean there are significant forces in the United States and in Europe, saying there must be a way to negotiate with Russia, with China, to agree on a new paradigm; to agree on reorganizing the financial system, that the West should not oppose the formation of a new economic order but be part of it—unless we get such a break, the war danger will escalate! And just because there has not yet been an escalation does not mean we are not sitting on a powder keg of launch on warning. We should absolutely keep in mind what Peskov had said a week or 10 days ago, that because the U.S. has a preemptive strike doctrine, that Russia felt itself forced to do likewise. So you have the two strongest nuclear powers, both having a preemptive strike doctrine, which means you have a significant amount of the nuclear weapons on missiles which are launch on warning. And I think that should give you a sense of how fragile grounds world peace and existence of the human species depends, and now, with the clear signs of the escalation of the confrontation in the Pacific, I think that is something we really have to take into account as a clear escalation.
So that makes our conference in five days all the more important. I think we have an incredible combination of speakers. We could have doubled the number of speakers, and many people will be disappointed that they are not being asked to speak; but we have a real run, where people contact us and say, “I want to speak!” and because we are full already, we can’t accommodate them.
But we should absolutely escalate the attendance. We have to talk to a lot of people, organize them to be true organizers, multipliers, and transmit a general sense of mobilization in the population, because—and this has been stated by more and more people, very, very openly that they regard the Schiller Institute as an absolutely unique organization which is trying to put together a coalition of people fighting for a solution on a completely different plane than geopolitics. And that makes us unique; however, our forces must be strengthened tremendously, beyond what they are right now, and that can only occur through a lot of people activating themselves as co-organizers for this conference and its aims.
And that is what I wanted to say.
Concluding Remarks
I think it is important, that in organizing for the conference, but more generally, in this historic moment, that you don’t organize simply with a perspective from inside the United States. Because that for sure is then, you run against all the resistance, that people think that the de-dollarization is against the United States and therefore all the people doing it are the enemies of the United States. While I think it’s important that one takes a completely different perspective: I have said it in various of my articles, that what we are seeing right now is an epochal change. And the epoch, this was a notion that Lyn coined at some point, where he said that modern times started with the 15th century, with on the one side the emergence of the sovereign nation-state, and at the same time, the absolute opposition to that coming from the then-existing oligarchy which at that point was Venice, which tried to destroy the nation-state in any way they could. And that for 600 years since, it was always a fight between a state form devoted to the common good of the people, and the effort by various empires to destroy that, where power shifted from Venice to Dutch to the British, and to the present trans-Atlantic configuration.
And that is what’s coming to an end. It’s not something which is American or not American. It is a world system, which condemned the vast majority of the human species to a colonialist state, to slavery, to poverty, to underdevelopment, with horrendous figures! We said in the 1970s, that the IMF was 100 worse than Adolf Hitler, and I think if we would start to count the number of people who did not get born, or who died prematurely, the number of children dying under the age of 5 from malnutrition, or from diseases for which health care existed but which they could not afford; if you make that list, you would end up not only with the millions of people who were killed in the interventionist wars, since Blair’s “Right to Protect” but you would end up with a horrendous story! And that system is coming to an end!
Because you have right now a combination of countries, starting naturally with China, which has as the economic means, because they did apply exactly what Glazyev has been saying; but you have around that, a whole number of countries that are determined to do exactly what China did, to eradicate poverty, and poverty is the worst violation of human rights you can imagine, because if you have to run around all day long, in the glaring Sun, no shade, to get a bucketful of water from the next village, which is not even clean and not hygienically potable; and you have one meal that consists of a little bit of rice and maybe some grass or something else, but no real nutrition, and you are permanently on the starvation level, which is over 90% of the people in Syria are like that! over 90% in Afghanistan are like that! You look at the movie “Hunger Ward” about Yemen, promoted by the World Food Program and David Beasley [https://www.hungerward.org/\]—this is the condition!
And that is coming to an end, because you have finally a combination of the Global South of countries that have gotten the strength to say, “We no longer want to have that, and we want to have the right to develop our own country according to our own tradition, and we don’t want LBGT-whatnot imposed on us.” I mean, in Africa, can you imagine all of these Europeans and Americans and British are running around trying to coerce the African nations into the acceptance of LBGT-whatnot counterculture! And the Africans are rejecting it for very good reasons: Because it’s perverse for the most part! It’s the same reason why the Chinese and the Russians and many other countries also reject that!
So right now, I think we are living in one of the exciting periods you can imagine, because a system which has been totally unjust and totally immoral—if you have ever traveled in the developing countries and seen, or seen photos of Haiti and similar situations—this is coming to an end! The promise that that can be realistically overcome is absolutely there. And why should the United States oppose that: For no good reason, for Wall Street, not for the average American, not for the American interest in the way the Republic was intended to be!
And I think you have to become much more sovereign, and not think about internal American arguments and is this de-dollarization bad or good, or what does it do to my stock portfolio? You have to rise above and look at it from the level of history where we really are. And from that standpoint, there is nothing more exciting than to live in a period when such a transformation is occurring. This is bigger than the Golden Renaissance in Italy ending the Dark Ages of the 14th century! This is on a global scale, and the chance that it can succeed, if we can avoid World War III, this is fantastic!
Can you imagine what the world will be, if we get the United States and European countries to give up this arrogance of sitting on a high horse or an ivory tower, like Borrell saying, “we are in a garden and all these idiots out there are in a jungle.” I mean, that arrogance is what will bring the downfall of this Western system, and not China and not Russia. It is the incapacity of the elites to adjust to what has been clearly a failing system: Why has it been failing? Do you think it’s natural that billionaires should become three-digit billionaires, while billions are starving to death?
So I think we have to take the top view, and look at the historic transformation which is going on, in which we are in the middle! We are an extremely important factor, and I can only say, in the recent period, I’ve had so many different people, from different countries, who said, “Oh, we have been watching you all these years, and what the Schiller Institute is doing is amazing.” They were sitting there in the bushes all these years, and now they are coming forward and admitting “we were watching you all the time”!
In any case: It’s happening, and we should be happy about it. We should integrate these people into what we are doing, and I think we can really transform this historic moment in ways which are totally exciting. And that excitement is what we have to get across to the people we are organizing. [hzl]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Sergey Glazyev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Minister for the Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission, addressed a special panel discussion on April 4 of the Moscow Economic Forum (April 4-5), entitled, “China. Modernization Experience for Russia.” He addressed the questions, will the process of modernization in China become a winning experience for Russia and where is the key to economic growth.
In brief, Glazyev posed that the Chinese economic success means that it is possible, even if not easy, to manage economies in today’s world. China calls what they’ve done, “Socialism with Chinese Specifics,” but it doesn’t matter whether the term “socialism” is used or not. At its core, what they did is that they gave priority to public interests, not just private interests.
Indeed, markets help entrepreneurship, but China used regulation to make the market work for the country. Those who are seeking super-profits got repressed. Strategic priorities are set by government, and the private sector looks to those priorities. There’s intense competition in that sector, and it leads to those who best match the stated priorities being the winners. At this point, Glazyev added, in passing, that India shares some of this approach. He named Mohandas Gandhi and Nehru as being at the core of India’s healthy social values.
What happened to Russia? The shock therapy of the 1990s put Russia behind China.
“Russia has implemented all the regulations that were recommended by the Washington financial institutions and the European Economic Commission. Here is the result: China grew 5 times in terms of GDP, and we grew together with the core of the outgoing world economic structure, at the same pace as the United States and the European Union. We have slid down from the center of the world economy to the raw material periphery.”
However, now we’re entering a new phase, not the American model. China’s investment policy works. But the question is: Where did China get its loan base from? Monetization is twice as high in China than Europe and the U.S., but somehow they avoid all the bubbles of the West.
Glazyev displayed several charts on how investments work through the physical economy, and made the point that China created a sophisticated managerial system to address this reality. There, monies are not being emitted just to finance a budget, which ties countries up in speculative bubbles. Rather, in China, it is funneled into production growth.
The problem is that the Central Bank of Russia has been emitting rubles to purchase foreign currencies. He linked that act to the erratic behavior of the exchange. By primarily servicing foreign currencies, it imports speculation. But the Chinese approach is possible. China’s scheme of organizing the financial supply is a good model. Imprudently printing money as in America will merely leave things in the air, unsound, unsupported and unhealthy. We need target-specific loans.
He ended his introductory presentation by holding up his new book, Chinese Economic Miracle. Lessons for Russia and the World. https://interaffairs.ru/news/show/39725
The video of his remarks, dubbed in English is at https://me-forum.ru/#MEF2023 , slide the program down to Session No. 2 “China. Experience of Modernization for Russia,” Glazyev’s remarks begin about minute 6.07; a writeup of Glazyev’s remarks, with extensive quotes appears at https://me-forum.ru/media/news/16077/ [dms]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—On April 5, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador convened a Zoom meeting of fellow Ibero-American heads of state to “find joint solutions to the pressure that the region faces in terms of prices and shortages” of basic food and nutritional necessities. They denounced the “adverse international context” and the “multidimensional crisis” facing the region, as a result of “extra-regional military conflicts … the impact of the COVID pandemic, an enormous foreign debt … and the application of unilateral coercive measures which are contrary to International Law”—i.e., sanctions. They further called for “the need to have a more just international financial system” that would allow them to have “access to the financial resources needed … to bring about economic recovery in order to guarantee the food and nutritional security of our countries.” They reaffirmed their sovereignty as nations, and said they would take joint action “to eradicate poverty and promote the human right to adequate food.”
Other specific policy proposals in their joint communiqué were positive but limited in scope, by and large focused on trying to improve conditions within the existing system.
The countries represented were Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (in its capacity as rotating chair of the CELAC regional grouping), and the heads of state agreed they would meet again in person in Cancún, Mexico, on May 6-7. Most significantly, they issued an “invitation to all the other countries of the region to join this initiative, in order to contribute to the comprehensive welfare of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Lyndon LaRouche frequently referred to what he dubbed the Ibero-American “Presidents Club,” which would informally gather to review their common situation, leaving other differences, ideological and political, aside. That type of process is what is underway today, with the urgent food issue as the immediate center of their attention. Reliable sources in Mexico have told EIR that the agenda for May 6-7 is open-ended, and will certainly go beyond the food and inflation issue as such.
Mexico’s National College of Economists, whose president is Cong. Benjamín Robles, immediately issued a message of congratulations and support to President López Obrador for his initiative, singling out “the need to strengthen regional cooperation on matters of trade and investment in order to reduce our dependence on international markets and to encourage internal development.” The College recalled that they had sent President López Obrador an open letter back on Jan. 1, 2022 to encourage him to adopt a “Short-Term Anti-Inflationary Program” to address the problem of “the dangerous inflation due to speculation,” among other causes. [dns]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich called upon the U.S. Congress to take seriously the extensive research of Seymour Hersh into President Biden’s sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, and, as a “former chair of a Government Oversight congressional investigative subcommittee,” he took the Congress by the hand and showed it how to incorporate Hersh’s investigation into specific subpoenas.
Entitled “The Bombing of Nord Stream—This Act of War against Europe Requires Congressional Investigation: A draft subpoena for Congressional use,” it can be read in full here: https://denniskucinich.substack.com/p/the-bombing-of-nord-stream-this-act
In part, Kucinich states: “Veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh’s comprehensive account of the Biden Administration’s role in the bombing of Nord Stream has provided a road map for a series of congressional inquiries necessary to confirm or disconfirm Administration culpability…. This is a proper subject for an investigation, under Congress’ Article I, Section 8, Clause 18, constitutional powers to gather information, including to inquire on the administrative conduct of office.”
Further: “The bombing of Nord Stream was an unconstitutional Act of War, involving the destruction of billions of dollars of energy infrastructure and wreaking havoc on the energy markets of Europe. The destruction of this major energy pipeline has affected over 80 million people, threatened the viability of the continent’s manufacturing base and its overall economic stability. The Administration did not have congressional approval, required under Article I, Section 8; nor did they consult with congressional leaders regarding the use of military assets for an attack on Nord Stream.”
Kucinich’s offer of assistance to guide the Congress in their responsibilities began with a model subpoena, starting with the Secretary of the Navy. It requires all records regarding the “Diving and Salvage Center in Panama City, Florida,” including tasks and missions, contracts let, the use of C4 explosives, etc.
He concludes: “If the Administration, as has been charged by a veteran investigative journalist, did indeed conspire to blow up the Nord Stream pipelines, it marks a radical shift in the use of the presidential war power, a usurpation of the role of Congress and, unless checked, could lead to further reckless decisions that put us on an irrevocable path toward World War III.” [dms]
Schiller Institute International Conference
April 15-16, 2023
Without the Development of All Nations, There Can Be No Lasting Peace for the Planet
Panel 1: The Growing Danger of World War III Underlines the Necessity for a New Security Architecture (Saturday, April 15, 9:00 am ET; 3:00 pm CET)
Moderator: Dennis Speed, The Schiller Institute (U.S.)
Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Germany), Founder, The Schiller Institute, Keynote Address
Connie Rahakundini Bakri (Indonesia), Lecturer, strategic analyst
Brief Q&A Session
Dr. Alexander Bobrov (Russia), Acting Dean of the School of Government and International Affairs, MGIMO University (Moscow State Institute of International Relations): “New Security Architecture in the Mirror of Russia’s Foreign Policy Concept 2023.”
Scott Ritter (U.S.), former UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq
Wolfgang Effenberger (Germany), Author, “The Foundations of International Law”
Ambassador Chas Freeman (U.S.), former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, former Deputy Chief of Mission to China
Lt. Col. Ralph Bosshard (ret.) (Switzerland), Swiss Armed Forces; consultant, military-strategic affairs
Graham Fuller (U.S.), former U.S. diplomat, former Vice Chairman of the CIA’s National Intelligence Council
Q&A Discussion Period
Panel 2: The “Global Majority” and the International Peace Movement Are Fighting for the Same Goal (Saturday, April 15, 1:00 pm ET; 7:00 pm CET)
Moderator: Stephan Ossenkopp, The Schiller Institute (Germany)
Diane Sare (U.S.), LaRouche Candidate for United States Senate from New York, 2024; Keynote
H.E. Donald Ramotar (Guyana), Former President of Guyana
Herman (Mentong) Tiu Laurel (Philippines)
Nick Brana (U.S.), National Chair, People’s Party
Jack Gilroy (U.S.), Organizer, Pax Christi, NY State/ Pax Christi International; Board Member, New York Veterans for Peace
Representative of “Mayors for Peace” (France)
Q&A Discussion Period
Panel 3: End the Casino Economy Before It’s Too Late (Sunday, April 16, 9:00 am ET; 3:00 pm CET)
Moderator: Claudio Celani, EIR Strategic Alert (Italy)
Video of Lyndon and Helga LaRouche Press Conference, the Russian State Duma, (2001)
Dennis Small (U.S.), Executive Intelligence Review (U.S.); Keynote
Cong. Benjamin Robles (Mexico); “The Fight for Food, the Fight for a New World Order”
Bob Baker (U.S.) et al., International Farmers Movement
Julio De Vido (Argentina), former Minister of Economics and Public Works, former member of Congress
Marcos de Oliveira (Brazil), Editor, Monitor Mercantil
Pedro Páez (Ecuador); former Minister for Economic Policy (2007-2008), “Three Pillars of the Alternative to the Bankrupt System of Financial Speculation”
Diogène Senny (Congo); Secretary General of the Pan-African League—UMOJA; “Debt Cancellation To Generate an African Renaissance”
Dr. Mohammad A. Toor (Pakistan-U.S.), Chairman of the Board of the Pakistan-American Congress
Simon Miller (U.S.); LaRouche Youth Movement: “The Belarus Great Stone Industrial Park and the BRI”
Q&A Discussion Period
Panel 4: The Necessary Philosophical Foundations for the New Paradigm (Sunday, April 16, 1:00 pm ET; 7:00 pm CET)
Moderator: Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Schiller Institute (Germany)
Jacques Cheminade (France), President, Solidarité et Progrès, former French Presidential Candidate
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar (Malaysia), Founder and President, JUST International
Prof. Cord Eberspächer (Germany), “The Amazing Lack of China’s Competency in the West”
Q&A Discussion Period
Concert: “Let Us Have Peace: Handel’s ‘Messiah’” (Sunday, April 16, 4:00 pm ET; 10:00 pm CET)
Schiller Institute NYC Chorus, Online and Live
St. Paul and St. Andrew UM Church, 263 West 86th St., New York City [rab]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—On April 8, CGTN published an interview with Solidarité & Progrès President Jacques Cheminade on his expectations and proposals regarding French President Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and on the Ukraine crisis. The interview was taped on April 6 in Paris.
CGTN: President Macron’s visit to China this week comes after three years of no direct contact between the French and Chinese authorities. The head of state is accompanied for the occasion by a business delegation—some 50 executives from CAC 40 companies and SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises)—which suggests that trade relations will be at the heart of the visit, with China as the EU’s largest trading partner since 2020. Can you share your thoughts on this visit?
Cheminade: The economic partnership is the essential positive aspect. There are 53 heads of large companies and SMEs—you are right to underline it—and China should be able to understand better the potential role of French SMEs in China. The other very interesting aspect of the trip is the presence of major business leaders with two very important orders for Airbus made by China; then there is the whole aspect of energy, biotechnologies, artificial intelligence, Veolia for all that the ecology to which China is very attached. All this is the essential economic partnership aspect.
CGTN: China is seen by the EU as a “partner” on major issues like climate, but as an economic “competitor,” as well as a “systemic rival.” What are the consequences of this triple approach on EU-China relations?
Cheminade: I think it will be difficult to maintain a three-pronged approach for very long; these things will soon be in contradiction with each other. I think, as far as France is concerned, that the spirit of Emmanuel Macron’s speech on January 8, 2018 in Xian is something we need to come back to more clearly, and that China, for its part, needs to understand the role that France can play within the European Union.
CGTN: Do you think his visit will allow for progress to be made in the peace process?
Cheminade: We must get away from all the prejudices of the Western media. Le Monde, the great French newspaper of reference, is saying that Macron is influencing Xi Jinping’s position. This is absurd! Someone that has the power that China has today will not be influenced by a country like France.
But France can define areas of cooperation and mutual development that can reorient or better direct things, in the spirit, I would say, of a France that, as General de Gaulle said in his speech in Phnom Penh in September 1966, “France must not have its hands tied.” Though it was allied with the United States, de Gaulle nonetheless condemned the Vietnam War. We must have the same courage today.
CGTN: Concerning the Ukrainian issue, President Macron showed interest in the Chinese proposals for peace. What do you think about this involvement of China trying to make progress in the peace process?
Cheminade: What is very interesting is that our international Schiller Institute, to which we in Solidarité & Progrès belong, has published a program of 10 points [Ten Principles of a New International Security and Development Architecture] of reflection, and we coincide completely, with the first point of China. That first point is on the issue of sovereignty, respect for the sovereignty of states; and sovereignty demands that there is non-interference in the internal affairs of a state. This is a fundamental issue which is linked to the entire social, economic, and common prosperity approach behind China’s commitment to the eradication of extreme poverty.
All these aspects go in the direction of the new world economy that the majority of nations in the South and the East of the world are waiting for. But we must avoid blocs, and the confrontations inherent in a system of blocs. Here, China has a very important role to play. France should also play its role, along with China, in order to avoid a bloc against bloc scenario—which is a geopolitical conception of the world—as becoming a substitute for an actual geo-economic conception of mutual development; it is not necessarily the winner that takes all benefit, but rather, the common future that should benefit instead.
CGTN: To conclude, what are the stakes for France and the EU in this visit to China by President Macron and in the present geopolitical context?
Cheminade: It is a challenge to overcome all the prejudices and propaganda in the Western media and, above all, to overcome the rules of the game of the financial oligarchy. The financial oligarchy that we see today in Western countries, in the Western financial dominated economic system, is very much under threat. We see this with the emerging banking crisis: Silicon Valley Bank, and now Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse. We need to get out of this financial crisis by moving on to a system of physical economic development. The Chinese intention behind the New Silk Road concept is very interesting from this point of view, because it is a system of win-win, inclusivity and connectivity.
We must now move for concrete action on these matters—that is the challenge regarding this trip by Emmanuel Macron. [kav]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—The search is on, officially at the Pentagon and otherwise amongst various media, for the source of the large intelligence leak of U.S. classified documents posted on the Internet in March. Reuters reports that the “breadth of topics addressed” in the 50-60 documents that they’ve examined suggests an inside job. They quote a former senior Pentagon official, and ABC consultant Michael Mulroy: “The focus now is on this being a U.S. leak, as many of the documents were only in U.S. hands.”
Reuters also cites two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, whom they interviewed yesterday, who say that the Pentagon suspects a U.S. citizen, and the officials list possible suspects ranging from being a “disgruntled employee to an insider threat who actively wanted to undermine U.S. national security interests.”
They add: “The first defense official said Pentagon investigators were trying to determine who would have an incentive to leak this kind of information. Since the leak first came to light in March, the investigators have been pursuing theories ranging from someone simply sharing the documents to show off the work they were doing to a mole inside the U.S. intelligence community or military, the first official added.” [dms]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Both Scott Ritter and China’s Global Times quickly punctured holes in the baseless assertions coming out of Kiev, that Russia must be the source of the recent damaging leaks of U.S. classified material. Among other things, the leaks show that Washington was spying on President Zelenskyy and his circle—including a February meeting where Kiev had to throw their elite “Kraken” unit into Bakhmut to prevent the last supply line from being closed—and such spying makes Kiev appear as a puppet in a proxy war.
In a column posted in Sputnik late on April 8, Ritter dismisses the charge that Russia was involved in the leaks, for the simple reason that no intelligence agency would want burn its own sources by disclosing that it had penetrated the adversary to such degree. He also concludes that the documents reveal little of value, “underscoring the reality that this entire episode has more to do with helping shape public opinion than compromising potential future military operations.” (https://sputnikglobe.com/20230408/scott-ritter-us-document-leak-much-ado-about-nothing-1109280151.html)
Global Times similarly dismissed the “Russia did it” charge, citing a Chinese expert on international security and intelligence who asked for anonymity, saying that “the leak is unlikely caused by Russian intelligence agencies, because this does not make sense.” Were they to have obtained such documents, they never would have posted them online, as that blows their source. Further, doing so, eliminates any advantage that the material in the intelligence might hold for them. (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202304/1288765.shtml ) [dms]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—In response to voices critical of Twitter for allowing Russian leaders back on to the platform, Twitter CEO and owner Elon Musk, argued that allowing people to decide for themselves the nature of propaganda is an essential component of free speech and “demonstrates strength” in a society.
Following a lengthy post by former Russian President and Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on April 8 titled, “WHY WILL UKRAINE DISAPPEAR? BECAUSE NOBODY NEEDS IT,” howls emitted from the NATO wing of the Twittersphere as to why Medvedev was even allowed to post on Twitter. (https://twitter.com/MedvedevRussiaE/status/1644669039095037953) In response to a viral tweet by AnonOpsUnited#, which lied, arguing that allowing Medvedev’s tweet “for genocide” was a violation of Twitter’s terms of service, of Twitter’s regulations against Putin and Russian officials, and even of sanctions, Musk responded the following day:
“I’m told Putin called me a war criminal for helping Ukraine, so he’s not exactly my best friend. All news is to some degree propaganda. Let people decide for themselves.”
Later, he also tweeted that Twitter “will neither promote nor limit their [Russian officials’] accounts, but we will rapidly address any attempts at gaming the system. It is a weak move to engage in censorship just because others do so. Letting our press be free when theirs is not demonstrates strength.”
It should be noted in this context that Twitter has also recently provided state media labels for NPR and BBC. [dpc]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Louisville, Kentucky got hit with two different mass shootings today. According to police officials, Connor Sturgeon, a 24-year-old employee of the Old National Bank in downtown Louisville, opened fire Monday morning with a rifle, killing four people and wounding nine, including two officers. Sturgeon was livestreaming the death scene. He died in a shootout with the police.
One of the victims, Tommy Elliott, was a very close friend of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who knew the bank and its employees well. In 2016 Beshear had campaigned for Attorney General out of the bank building. He later came and spoke at the bank, appearing rather distraught.
Shortly afterwards, and less than two miles away, one or more suspects shot up Jefferson Community and Technical College, killing one and wounding one. The “suspects fled prior to police arrival.”
The Gun Violence Archive’s count of mass shootings in the U.S. for 2023 is at 145. They didn’t count the second Louisville shooting, as it takes four people to be shot for their particular definition of mass shootings. By that count, the U.S. is hitting more than one per day, on the way to around 500 for the year. [dms]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—As Brazilian President Lula da Silva prepares to depart for his April 11-14 state visit to Beijing, one that will have important ramifications for Brazil’s Ibero-American neighbors, the Biden administration is deploying some heavy hitters to Argentina in a brazen attempt to stop that country’s significant cooperation with China. Aside from a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation that visited last week, in the next week, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Southern Command head Gen. Laura “I hate China” Richardson, and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Christopher Hanson, will all descend on the country. Arriving April 11, Hanson will target Argentina’s nuclear cooperation with China.
The visit of “Iron Lady” Sherman, beginning April 12, is notable. Following the March 27 meeting of President Alberto Fernández with Joe Biden at the White House, Biden designated Sherman as the point person on Argentina, to enforce policy commitments Fernández made, particularly concerning ties with China. Precisely what Fernández promised Biden, however, is the subject of much speculation, so Sherman will squeeze government officials to secure “clarification” on that matter.
Biden made clear that he opposed: Beijing building Argentina’s fourth nuclear reactor, Atucha III; any deal allowing China’s telecommunications giant Huawei to build the country’s 5G network; and Argentina’s possible purchase of China’s JF-17 fighter jets, currently under discussion with Chinese defense officials. General Richardson will certainly zero in on the latter issue when she arrives April 17.
The daily El Cronista reports today that Sherman will meet with Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero and Defense Minister Jorge Taiana to discuss various issues: bilateral trade; U.S. investments in lithium and gas; the giant Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas deposits in the Patagonia; the U.S. role in helping Argentina in its negotiations with the IMF; and Argentina’s call for the U.S. to open up its market to more Argentina products.
While Fernández had begged Biden to support Argentina as it renegotiates the terms of its onerous IMF Extended Fund Facility, the Fund’s harsh April 1 communiqué demanding the government impose stricter austerity was not welcomed in Buenos Aires. Finance Minister Sergio Massa is now reportedly contemplating asking the U.S. Treasury for a bridge loan to help get the country through to the October presidential elections.
But, as the daily Dangdai reported April 8, he will also be arriving in Beijing on May 7 on a scheduled trip during which he will sign agreements securing financing for a large number of infrastructure projects, whose contracts were signed under the aegis of the Belt and Road Initiative in February 2022. This includes financing for Atucha III which falls under a separate agreement, the Strategic Dialogue for Economic Cooperation and Coordination (DECCE), signed between Foreign Minister Cafiero and China’s National Development and Reform Commission also in February 2022. Dangdai quotes government officials saying they will go ahead with these plans despite pressures from Washington. As Página 12 pointed out today, this might be because “Argentina receives far more considerate treatment from China than it does from the U.S.” [crr]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—President Xi Jinping’s defense of multilateral views and his picking up on French President Emmanuel Macron’s long-standing defense of a European “strategic sovereignty,” have inspired the French President in recent interviews to call for an independent role for Europe, between the blocs of the U.S. and China.
On April 9, he told Les Echos, during a long interview, that strategic autonomy is crucial to avoid European states from becoming “vassals,” adding that Europe can be “the third pole” versus the United States and China. “We do not want to enter into a bloc against bloc logic,” said Macron, who also spoke out against “the extraterritoriality of the dollar.”
Regarding peace in Ukraine, “the time is still a military one,” said Macron, adding: "China is making the same observations as we are. The Ukrainians are resisting, and we are helping them. This is not the time for negotiations, even if we are preparing for them and even helping to lay the groundwork. That is the purpose of this dialogue with China: to consolidate common approaches. 1. Support for the UN Charter principles. 2. A clear reminder of the danger of nuclear weapons, and that it is up to China to consider the consequences of the fact that President Putin deployed nuclear weapons in Belarus a few days after having made the commitment not to do so. 3. A very clear reminder of humanitarian law and the protection of children. And 4. A commitment to a negotiated and lasting peace.
“I note that President Xi Jinping spoke of a European security architecture. But there can be no European security architecture as long as there are countries in Europe being invaded, or there are frozen conflicts…. But this dialogue allows us to temper the comments we have heard about some kind of Chinese complacency towards Russia.”
Unfortunately, while Macron implies that it is China’s responsibility to rein in Putin, regarding his decision to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, he says nothing about the U.S. deployment of nuclear weapons throughout Europe, or the need to ensure Russia’s strategic interests. However, Macron is much clearer on the issue of Taiwan:
“As Europeans, our concern is our unity…. The Chinese are also concerned about their unity, and Taiwan, from their point of view, is part of their country. It is important for us to understand how they think. The question for us Europeans is: Do we have an interest in accelerating the Taiwan issue? No. The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans should be followers on this issue…. At some point, we have to ask ourselves what is in our interest…. We Europeans must wake up. Our priority is not to adapt to the agenda of others in all regions of the world.”
However, Macron circles back to Ukraine and argues for a wartime economy: “Ukraine is accelerating the demand for defense equipment. The European defense industry does not meet all needs … which leads some countries to turn to American or even Asian suppliers on a temporary basis…. As history is accelerating, the European war economy must be accelerated in parallel. We are not producing fast enough.”
While Macron correctly suggests that Europe not provoke China over Taiwan or be a “vassal” to the United States, he appears to stay the course regarding the flow of weapons to Ukraine—even as Europe crashes under a financial and physical economic collapse. Meanwhile, the few trillions in euros in public debt continue to add up while the rejection of domestic social policies is visible on the street. (https://www.lesechos.fr/monde/enjeux-internationaux/emmanuel-macron-lautonomie-strategique-doit-etre-le-combat-de-leurope-1933493) [cbi]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Despite increasing criticism, even from the Social Democrats’ and Greens’ coalition partner in the Free Democratic Party, the German government is firmly committed to sticking to the announced final shutdown of nuclear power generation on April 15. Green Vice Chancellor, Economic Minister Robert Habeck told Funke media group today that the last three nuclear power plants would be shut down, and the energy and production cuts of “the last difficult winter … will continue in the future…. [T]he situation is under control.”
A new opinion poll done by the Institute for New Social Answers finds that 52% of the German population do not back the government policy, with only 37% wanting nuclear power to end and 12% undecided. That is a clear majority for the continuation of nuclear power generation to stay warm in the winter and cool in hot summers, and to have light whereby to read at night.
A rally in Berlin against the government’s closing of the last three nuclear plants is planned for April 15, announced by numerous organizations, including some from outside Germany. [rap, dms]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Around 100 cities are involved in anti-war protest rallies over the Easter weekend, somewhat of a tradition in Germany. On Saturday, April 8 in Berlin, several thousand people participated in a mass rally against weapons deliveries to the Kiev regime and for peace talks for the swiftest settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.
According to organizers from the Friedenskooperative national network, about 3,000 people were participating, with slogans like “For cooperation and friendship with Russia,” “Peace—now,” “Diplomacy, not arms,” “U.S. and NATO—Get out of Ukraine,” “Against senseless sanctions, cheap energy now,” and “Tanks never bring peace.” They stressed: “The German government should finally become more active and launch peace initiatives,” and they urged for a ceasefire, peace talks, and Germany’s participation in “China’s peace initiative.” (https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjdt_665385/2649_665393/202302/t20230224_11030713.html)
The national executive of the Linke party did not join this or other rallies, as they complain of the “lack of criticism of Russia’s war of aggression.” Together with similar complaints from trade union leaders, it contributed to containing the potential turnout at the rallies. Instead, the Linke and the labor unions will hold separate rallies.
Nevertheless, individual Linke members joined the protests—such as in Gütersloh, where Ludger Klein-Ridder, active member of Die Linke and the Gütersloh peace initiative, spoke. He stressed that every day of the Ukraine war means more people killed or wounded, and that the German government must therefore finally take action to implement an immediate ceasefire, as well as the start of peace negotiations. Another speaker, Rainer Westphal of the Peace Initiative Gütersloh, said: “More than 240,000 people have already lost their lives in this war. Hundreds of thousands have been maimed, crippled, and the vast majority are traumatized. After a year of war, a third of the country is mined and rendered uninhabitable for years to come. Nevertheless, the spiral of escalation continues unabated.” He added that Germany is increasingly becoming a party to the war by supplying weapons and ammunition, training soldiers and financing Ukrainian warfare, which could lead to a world war, which will then become a nuclear war.
Today’s scheduled rally in Hamburg is organized around the U.S. and NATO as the main dangers to world peace. The call to the rally states that war in Ukraine could have been prevented if NATO had not ignored Russia’s security interests. Bundestag Deputy Zaklin Nastic, Linke party member from Hamburg, is featured to address the rally.
In Frankfurt, senior Linke party politician Willy van Oyen is a main organizer of the rally. “The weapons must be silent. The threatening escalation of war—up to a third world war—must be prevented at all costs,” calls the initiative, “Peace Cooperation Network” to the Easter march in Frankfurt. “Come along to the Easter march and demand with us: an immediate ceasefire in the Ukraine war and negotiations for cooperation and common security, stop the escalation of arms deliveries, no new medium-range missiles to Europe and the dissolution of the U.S. headquarters in Wiesbaden intended for their operational command.”
And despite the fact that the leadership of the Lutheran Church supports arms deliveries to Ukraine (while also endorsing calls for a ceasefire), former leading church official Margot Käßmann spoke at a rally of 1,100 in Hannover on April 8. She called for an immediate stop of weapons deliveries and immediate negotiations in the Ukraine war. “If a crystal-clear stop sign is not put here, the NATO states will become a war party,” Käßmann said to applause. “Then we will supply fighter bombers, warships, perhaps even soldiers, and we will be on the brink of a third world war, which will also be fought with nuclear weapons. This spiral of escalation must be stopped immediately.” [rap]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Despite the personal appearance in Cyprus by Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, the Cypriot government flatly turned his request for weapons. The spokesman for the Cyprus government Constantinos Letymiotis announced yesterday, “The country will not give weapons to Ukraine, because we cannot afford to send them to Ukraine as we need them for our own protection.”
Reznikov met with Cypriot Defense Minister Michalis Giorgallas, and asked for for weapons, in the context of an American proposal for Cyprus to deliver its BUK-M1-2 and TOR-M1 air defense systems, as well as T-80U tanks and the TOMA BMP-3 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. The U.S. had offered to give Cyprus Israeli air defense systems, to replace the Russian ones, but Nicosia rejected the proposal, since it would be two years before the Israeli systems could be delivered.
Letymiotis explained that Cyprus is committed to extending humanitarian aid and will train Ukrainian military personnel in demining operations. [dea]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—While it is almost a half-year after the fact, The Times of London belatedly covered the desperate and doomed Ukrainian assault in October on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, a story the Western media have preferred to ignore up until now. The Times interviewed representatives of the Ukrainian Special Forces, Defense Intelligence and the Navy, who, “on condition of anonymity,” described the disaster.
“[O]n the night of 19 October, about 600 Ukrainian troops in 30 boats packed with weapons, including heavy machine guns, MK-19 grenade launchers and anti-tank weapons, attempted to land on the left bank of the Dnipro” River, in the Russian-controlled area which includes ZNPP. “The idea was that this would be an infantry-only battle. They wouldn’t be able to use artillery against us, as this is a nuclear plant,” according to one source. However, the Russians were ready and most of the attackers never made it across the Dnipro. “When we were approaching, they even pulled up tanks and artillery and started firing at us right on the water.” Ukraine’s elite units, “including Ukraine’s military intelligence, GUR, and including the Shaman battalion, the Kraken Regiment, and the Ukrainian Foreign Legion” were beaten down.
The Times cited the observation of Petro Kotin, the head of Ukraine’s Energoatom, that runs Ukraine’s nuclear plants: “It is very dangerous to do such things near nuclear materials,” and posed the obvious question, what is behind the seeming desperation on Kiev’s part regarding the ZNPP. That might provide the only clue as to why The Times has broken silence on the affair, as President Zelenskyy has recently given up on efforts in the last six months of using an international body such as the IAEA to push the Russians out of the facility (Europe’s largest nuclear power plant), and has stated that Ukraine would use now methods outside of international law to retake the plant. [dms]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—The four-way foreign ministers meeting among Syria, Turkiye, Russia and Iran, originally planned for today, has been postponed. Russian Ambassador to Damascus Alexander Yefimov told the Syrian newspaper Al Watan that it has been put off until May. He stressed that the parties involved are maintaining contact and engaging in consultations in order to achieve positive outcomes in this regard. Yefimov also stressed that the process of normalization between Syria and Turkiye is not an easy one but will continue, even if slowly. “The path ahead may be long, but we are making progress step by step,” he said.
The reason for the delay is not surprising. Anonymous sources told Al Watan that it’s because of the firm stance of Damascus in upholding its commitments to end the presence of Turkish military forces on its territory, cease support for armed factions, combat terrorism, and halt interference in its internal affairs.
The sources noted that Turkiye has not shown any indication in its public statements that it is prepared to commit to the principles that Damascus desires. Turkiye has linked its military presence to the presence of the “Kurdish units” represented by the “Syrian Democratic Forces—SDF.” Not mentioned, but one complicating factor is that the SDF is sponsored by the U.S. as part of its illegal occupation of parts of eastern Syria. [cjo]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Israeli police officials have suddenly come to realize that the imagery that came out of the Al Aqsa Mosque last week, of police beatings of Muslims inside the mosque, is bad for them. Even Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai himself seemed to admit that officers should not have beaten Palestinians during the incident, reported the Times of Israel.
Shabtai acknowledged that officers had used “a little too much” force. “Am I happy with the images that came out of there? No. We’re investigating the incident, we’ll learn from it, we’ll understand what happened, but ultimately everyone saw a brief point out of a larger picture in which a large, large number of officers went in and dealt with the incident with respect,” Shabtai said. An unnamed senior Israeli official made similar comments to Channel 12, telling the network that footage of police striking the Palestinians caused “terrible damage” to Israel.
By Sunday morning, April 9, the police, it seems, had taken a different tack. According to Channel 12, police recognized that those barricaded inside “had not brought with them the kinds of things” that could have caused a violent incident. They were “evacuated” in the early morning hours “in relative quiet,” as the Jewish visitors to the Mount started to arrive. At the conclusion of dawn prayers, police began to allow Jewish visitors into the sensitive compound, but under guard and in groups of around 20.
In Amman, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry sternly rejected Israeli claims that the Islamic Awqaf Department, which manages the Al Aqsa Mosque, somehow had responsibility for the violence there. An official source told the Jordan Times that the Awqaf Department, the exclusive authority that manages all affairs of Al Haram Al Sharif as a purely Muslim place of worship, is capable of fulfilling its full role if the Israeli attacks that fuel violence and cause escalation stop. [cjo]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—While diplomacy, mediated by China and Russia, is breaking out like flowers in spring in the rest of Southwest Asia, Israel is sinking deeper into chaos, chaos which is threatening to sink Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition government.
According to a lengthy analysis in the Times of Israel, public support for Netanyahu and his government is collapsing, because what the electorate sees is a gaggle of government ministers incapable of taking decisive action to stop the violence. On April 7, Friday afternoon, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was complaining about protesters smuggling pizzas into hospitals in violation of the Passover dietary laws, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who had built his image, in part, on always appearing at the scenes of violent attacks, was nowhere to be found after two lethal attacks that same day.
“Netanyahu sees the polls. Most Israelis, including half of Likud voters, think his government is failing them,” writes Times of Israel analyst Haviv Rettig Gur. “Fully 69% of Israelis and 52% of [Netanyahu’s party] Likud voters gave the government a ‘bad’ grade in the latest Channel 12 poll.”
But it isn’t just the government. Israelis think Netanyahu himself is failing them. “Netanyahu’s 30% favorable rating is identical to Ben Gvir’s, possibly a signal that his remaining support on the right, at least for the moment, is more about loyalty than a favorable judgment on his government.”
The only government minister inspiring any hope is Yoav Gallant, the defense minister whom Netanyahu fired on March 27, but has yet to actually remove from office. His poll numbers are 56% “good,” 33% “bad”—in the same realm as those of opposition National Unity leader Benny Gantz’s, 54% “good,” 37% “bad.” Gur’s story is of a “broad, mostly centrist, increasingly dismayed electorate that has lost trust and patience with the government’s extremist wing and pervasive dysfunction, an electorate the right cannot afford to alienate.” [cjo]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Among the other countries touched on in the recent leaked documents is Israel, about which claims are made which are being vociferously denied by the Israeli government. The claim is that the Mossad had encouraged the agency’s staff, along with Israeli citizens, to participate in the then-growing mass protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reforms. While it is the case that sections of Israel’s defense establishment went into revolt against Netanyahu’s controversial consolidation of power, the Mossad and other senior Israeli defense officials denied the assessment’s findings. The prime minister’s office called the report “mendacious and without any foundation whatsoever.” The New York Times said it was unable to independently verify the U.S. intelligence assessment, which dated from March 1.
The information included in the leaked documents, the Times continues, has some overlap with unsubstantiated accusations promoted by Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s son. The younger Mr. Netanyahu has claimed that hostile elements inside Israel’s intelligence community and the U.S. State Department were behind the protest.
Separately, CNN reports that another classified document, titled “Israel: Pathways to Providing Lethal Aid to Ukraine,” explores ways that Israel can be induced into supplying weapons to the Kiev regime. According to CNN, the document says Jerusalem “likely will consider providing lethal aid under increased U.S. pressure or a perceived degradation” in its relationship with Russia. [cjo]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—According to an extensive report in the New York Times, U.S. intelligence resources were able to penetrate internal discussions of the national security staff of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. The U.S. was pushing to get R.O.K. arms and munitions to Ukraine, against R.O.K.’s own policy of not transferring such items into conflict zones. So, R.O.K. suspected that a U.S. plan to buy 330,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition itself was a scheme to transfer the rounds to Ukraine. R.O.K. was willing to sell the ammunition, provided that the end-user certificates specified that the U.S. would be the end user.
According to the New York Times, the report was based on signals intelligence,“which meant that the United States has been spying on one of its major allies in Asia.” The Times report has caused an uproar in the Republic of Korea. After a high-profile American media report that the U.S. intelligence services had wiretapped the Korean government regarding its arms support for Ukraine, R.O.K.’s presidential office said on April 9 that it “will have necessary consultations with the U.S. side,” reported the Korea Herald. When asked by Korean reporters about the Times report, a senior official from the presidential office said on Sunday, on condition of anonymity, that the government “will take a look at countermeasures by reviewing past precedents and cases in other countries.”
Korea Herald reported this morning that the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol said April 10 that it would wait for an investigation underway by the Pentagon and the U.S. Justice Department over classified documents leaked to the media, despite intensifying controversy over U.S. agencies wiretapping officials at its office in Seoul. “The South Korea-U.S. relationship was not fundamentally shaken and the alliance is still strong, and preparation is on the way for the upcoming summit with U.S. President Joe Biden,” a senior official said.
The opposition party, meanwhile, urged the president to bring up the spying allegations suggested by the leak of what appears to be classified Pentagon documents at a summit with his U.S. counterpart. In a joint statement, Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers on the National Assembly’s national defense, foreign affairs and intelligence committees characterized the alleged spying as “the U.S. violation of South Korea’s national sovereignty” and “illegal espionage activities.” [cjo]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—The U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Milius sailed today to within 12 miles of Mischief Reef in the Spratly/Nansha Islands, in another so-called ‘freedom of navigation’ operation (FONOP). “Features like Mischief Reef that are submerged at high tide in their naturally formed state are not entitled to a territorial sea. The land reclamation efforts, installations, and structures built on Mischief Reef do not change this characterization under international law,” the U.S. 7th Fleet statement announcing the FONOP said, reported CNN.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters,” Senior Colonel Tian Junli, the spokesperson for the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command said in a statement in response. “The troops of the PLA Southern Theater Command will always stay on high alert and resolutely safeguard China’s national sovereignty and security, as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea.”
The FONOP came on the third day of People’s Liberation Army air and naval exercises around Taiwan. As of 10 a.m. this morning local time, Taiwan detected 59 PLA aircraft and 11 warships near Taiwan. Thirty-nine of the war planes crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan officials see these exercises as about the same as those that took place last year after Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. “This time around, if you look at the intensity of their air threat or naval threat against Taiwan, I think it’s similar to what we saw at the time,” Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said in an interview with Bloomberg News on April 10, referring to the aftermath of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last August.
U.S. military activities in the region, otherwise, are on a high tempo. U.S. Pacific Air Forces is showing its “might” with the deployment of four B-52 bombers to Guam on a bomber task force mission. The U.S., Japan and South Korea began a combined anti-submarine exercise on April 3, and next week the U.S. begins the largest iteration of the U.S.-Philippines exercise in its history. The combined exercise involves the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group, along with four South Korean destroyers and a Japanese destroyer. The combined operations included anti-submarine warfare exercises, search and rescue drills, and staff embarkations, according to a. U.S. Navy news release issued on April 4.
Separately, the USS Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group wrapped up its participation in Exercise Ssang Yong 2023 in Korea on April 4. That exercise involved 28,000 Korean and U.S. sailors and marines, 30 warships, 70 aircraft and 50 amphibious assault vehicles. A detachment from the United Kingdom’s Royal Marines Commandos also joined in the exercise. [cjo]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Karen Kneissl, who was Austria’s Minister of European and International Affairs from 2017-2019, shared her views on the rising “multipolar world” in an exclusive Sputnik interview. She makes clear, though in diplomatic fashion, that new space is being created for the emergence of many nations to shape the future due to the failure of the axioms and ideology of the transatlantic unipolar order.
Her interview with Sputnik began on the discussion of the Syria-Turkiye talks, and highlighted the role of Moscow in those talks: “I think that with a good portion of pragmatism” Ankara-Damascus rapprochement is possible, “and that is there, also thanks to an equidistant Russian mediation that keeps the natural instrument of equidistance, not being too close to one party, so this helps to hopefully consolidate.”
Kneissl then noted the longstanding relationship between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Bashar Al-Assad and Bashar’s late father Hafez al-Assad, including their previous collaboration on the issue of Turkiye’s Kurdish separatists, the PKK, in Syria, and that this relationship may be playing a role in creating space in the relations between their two countries. However, the relations are being sabotaged, according to Kneissl She cited a recent White House bulletin that expressed concern over “being sidelined, bysided, blind-sided, frustrated” in the process, and was fueled by the longstanding “mantra of Assad must go,” in what Kneissl described as a “proxy war” in Syria. But now Assad is being rehabilitated by the ongoing process of reconciliation, according to Kneissl.
She then turned to the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, highlighting the strong role that China is playing. Kneissl noted the fact that both nations had been “subjugates” of the United States, and that previous theological and economic divides are now being overcome with “pragmatic considerations.” Citing the statement by former Saudi oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani, that relations between nations based on oil were like “Catholic marriages—you just cannot simply dissolve them,” she comically posed that perhaps there is “a new pope in Beijing,” who has developed strategic economic relations with both Iran and Saudi Arabia. She then cited Xi’s trip to Saudi Arabia, which she described as a “tightrope walk,” as China had been closer to Iran, and noted that Oman played a role in this overall diplomacy by solving the crisis surrounding Qatar. Kneissl also usefully challenged the British colonial term “Middle East,” expressing her preference for “West Asia.”
This led to a broader discussion of the rise of a multipolar world, with many nations playing increasingly important roles. The interviewer from Sputnik referred to the role that China and Russia played together in opposing the Iraq War, and asked her which other countries were now involved in shaping a new global dynamic. Kneissl responded emphatically, “India,” while continuing on to note the involvement of nations in Africa and South America, such as Brazil. The increasing assertiveness of nations in Africa also comes from their decades-long relationship with China, based on their common battle against colonialism, according to Kneissl.
As the discussion turned to energy, Kneissl noted the likely political turbulence for President Biden who has drained the strategic petroleum reserves, which will have to be filled at much higher prices. Were Biden to impose an export ban of oil, she said, this would have a negative impact on European nations. They would then have to turn to the nations of West Asia and Africa, nations increasingly aligning with the multipolar world, and it would ultimately lead to an energy and pricing crisis, with disastrous effects upon Europe, especially Germany. Kneissl then took aim at the German political leadership lecturing Xi Jinping, while German auto and petrochemical industries are faltering.
Kneissl finished the interview discussing the diplomatic crisis in Europe. On the one hand, she noted the rise of the potential for diplomatic capabilities in Hungary and Turkiye, who have maintained a measured approach to the crisis in Ukraine; however, on the other hand, Geneva and Vienna will lose their positive historic role, as neutrality has been abandoned by Switzerland and Austria. Kneissl also took aim at the “mantras” and “tweet diplomacy” that have become common in European diplomacy, concluding that a new generation of political and diplomatic leadership must be created that has integrity. (https://sputnikglobe.com/20230410/new-poles-are-growing-in-multipolar-world-system-ex-austrian-fm-kneissl-1109293225.html ) [dpc]
April 10, 2023 (EIRNS)—Total RSVPs: 503 (+70)
Breakdown: English page, 317 (+48); Spanish, 120 (+5); German, 66 (+17) [tnr]