From Volume 36, Issue 32 of EIR Online, Published Aug. 21, 2009

Western European News Digest

Zepp-LaRouche Chancellor Candidacy Draws Attention

Aug. 10 (EIRNS)—Based on a report by Deutscher Depeschendienst (DDP) news agency, Mitteldeutsche Zeitung online today runs a short, factual characterization of Helga Zepp-LaRouche's candidacy for Chancellor of Germany. She is running as the candidate of the Civil Rights Solidarity Movement (BüSo). The article, on small parties running in the federal elections in September, picks out 10 out of 24 parties. Here is what it writes about the BüSo:

"Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität (BüSo): The party, which was founded in 1992, considers itself as part of the international civil rights movement. Its demands are highlighted under the motto 'Right to Life.' The party is characterized by absolute belief in progress: It denies climate change, relies on massive expansion of nuclear power, and demands gigantic maglev networks, which would unite Europe and Asia. BüSo warns of the danger of fascism, opposes the Lisbon Treaty, and wants a new world economic order, modelled after the Bretton Woods System. Besides the CDU, the party is the only one running a female Chancellor candidate: Party leader Helga Zepp-LaRouche has set that goal for herself since 1976."

Mitteldeutsche Zeitung is produced in Halle, Sachsen-Anhalt, one of the former East German states; its print version coverage extends into Saxony, where the BüSo is running a state slate, direct candidates for the federal elections, and is involved in a campaign for the state parliamentary elections on Aug. 30. DDP is an nationwide news agency, which, in 1971, originated out of the German section of American news agency UPI, and has since been taken over successively by various investors.

Austrian Daily Covers Zepp-LaRouche Candidacy

Aug. 14 (EIRNS)—In an article on the small parties in the German election campaign, the Austrian economics daily Der Standard, wrote today, under the headline, "With the D-Mark Against the Crisis," that "the Civil Rights Solidarity Movement (BüSo) has even nominated a self-proclaimed Chancellor candidate, Helga Zepp-LaRouche. Concerning the economic crisis, the party makes several back-flips and calls for the return to fixed currency-exchange rates and of the D-mark, as well as the 'major re-entry to nuclear power.'"

In Germany, the independent website "pressemitteilungen" announces the Zepp-LaRouche webcast from Berlin on Aug. 21. The website also announced the last Berlin webcast a month ago.

LaRouche PAC's 'Obamastache' on German TV

BERLIN, Aug. 11 (EIRNS)—After weeks of blocking out any truth about Obama's Nazi "health-care" plan and the opposition to it, finally the German media had to admit the truth: On Germany's first national TV channel ARD, the late evening news program featured the national brawl taking place around the health-care bill. After noting that 45 million Americans have no health insurance at all, the moderator goes on to say that Obama is running into huge opposition with his plan: The great American virtue of listening to different opinions than your own is sacrificed for "screaming matches at traditionally peaceful town hall meetings."

After showing some footage of the egomaniacal President insisting on having his way this year, the reporter goes on to say: "But, out in the boondocks, something is brewing. Scare-mongering is spreading, fear of equalization, fear of evil." They then interview an LaRouche PAC organizer saying: "This health-care plan is a euthanasia plan." The organizer goes on to say that this is like Hitler's T-4 program, authorized in 1939, while the reporter says that the person is expressing his opposition; the camera then zooms in on the organizer's picket sign, showing Obama sporting his Hitler mustache, and the caption beneath, "I've Changed." The last thing one can hear is the organizer saying, about Obama: "He's actually more stupid than Hitler."

Milan Factory Occupation Kicks Off Italy's 'Hot Autumn'

Aug. 13 (EIRNS)—A successful workers' revolt in INNSE, a small factory in Milan, has set an example for the coming "Hot Autumn" in Italy. Workers at INNSE occupied a crane for many days, until decisions to shut down the plant, buy the equipment cheap, and outsource it, were reversed. Helped by mediation through trade union, government, and local authorities, INNSE workers found a purchaser for the plant. The purchaser, the Brescia-based Camozzi group, plans to integrate INNSE into its production lines of tires, machine tools, textiles, and energy.

Following the example of INNSE, workers at CIM, a small factory on the outskirts of Rome, have also occupied a 37-meter-high crane for three days now, demanding that the factory not be closed and equipment not be moved out.

Similar is the case of the multinational Manuli Rubber group, which decided to close its plant in Ascoli-Piceno and lay off 380 workers. Manuli workers have picketed the plant, in order to prevent machines from being moved to the new outsourced location. The workers are backed by city, provincial, and regional authorities. Suppliers to Manuli employ about 500 more workers.

Trade unionists are expecting an expansion of factory occupations and "unconventional" forms of struggle, in the coming "Hot Autumn" period, in which pre-layoff checks will expire for hundreds of thousands of workers.

French Officials Say Funds Lacking To Fight Flu

PARIS, Aug. 10 (EIRNS)—French public hospital officials are warning the government that current funding criteria are inadequate to prepare for coping with the A/H1N1 swine flu pandemic. The recently introduced insane monetarist standards (the T2A) establish a direct relationship between each medical procedure or treatment and the hospital's income. These standards push hospitals to increasingly perform fewer "unprofitable" procedures for chronic diseases or for health care for the poor. By this Nazi-like system, of course, all the remaining "unprofitable" activities, such as teaching, R&D, and even emergency medical services, depend on small, separated budgets.

Demand Italy Pay a Mega-'Kyoto Tax' by 2012

Aug. 13 (EIRNS)—The managing committee of the Kyoto Agreement has calculated that Italy should buy EU840 million in CO2 "emission rights" by 2012. If the government does not comply, prosecutors could shut down plants, and the EU could impose a fine up to EU5.6 billion.

This insane situation is due to the cap, negotiated one and a half years ago, by the Prodi government in Brussels, by which Italy set for itself a cap 15% lower than the current emission level. Other countries, such as Germany and France, although accepting the CO2 cap insanity, negotiated a more "reasonable" cap for themselves. As a result, Italy will be forced to buy CO2 rights from its neighbors, or cancel 86 energy and industrial plants.

Reflecting a growing protest from industrial circles, the business daily Il Sole 24 Ore wrote that the purchase of CO2 rights "has no positive impact on the environment, but it would be a simple and direct money transfer from Italian citizens, to those who have emission rights." Since current industrial emission standards in Italy are already pretty low, the consequence of the insane deal is: Either pay the ideological tax or shut down industry.

Denmark's Last Big Shipyard Will Be Shut Down

Aug. 15 (EIRNS)—The profound crisis which has hit the German shipyards, also has hit those of Denmark, where yesterday, the management of the Lindoe shipyard, which specializes in building huge container ships for transports between Europe and Asia, like the Emma Maersk, with a carrying capacity of 13,000 containers. Since there is no follow-up of present orders for 12 commercial ships and three frigates for the Danish Navy, which Lindoe will still build, the 2,500 ship-building jobs, and another 10,000 jobs in the feeder industries, will be axed sometime in 2010, some of these already in the remaining months of 2009.

Britannia Party Pushes Drug Legalization in Italy

Aug. 15 (EIRNS)—Beppe Grillo, the clown who runs the largest blog in the world, and has teamed up with "Clean Hands" thug Antonio Di Pietro's Jacobin party, has launched a campaign for drug decriminalization. Small world: Grillo's blog is managed by a firm called Casaleggio Associati, whose founding partner, Eric Sassoon, is a member of the infamous Sassoon family that started opium trade in India for the British East India Company. Sassoon is also chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy.

All rights reserved © 2009 EIRNS