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Online Almanac
From Volume 36, Issue 50 of EIR Online, Published Dec. 25, 2009

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Bernanke Exits Now!:
National Banking
by Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr.

Queen Elizabeth II's Commonwealth address of this November 27th, was the death-rattle of the present world monetary system. The crisis of European Union member Greece, now signals the threatened early doom of that Euro system set into motion by the combination of Britain's Margaret Thatcher, her President François Mitterrand of France, and her lackey of that moment, U.S. President George H.W. Bush. Presently, in the meantime, the U.S.A., if it is to survive, will have scrapped the entire package of policies associated} {with the Presidency of Barack Obama, so far, and will, in that way, have averted the plunge of the entire planet into an immediately threatening, prolonged new dark age for all mankind. At the same time, the U.S.A.'s joining in the process of extending the agreement reached between Russia and China, during this October just enacted, would provide the conditions for wiping the present world monetarist scheme from the surface of this planet. This would be accomplished by agreements initiated by the four powers of the U.S.A., Russia, China, and India, accords reached through agreements establishing a virtually world-wide, fixed-exchange-rate credit-system, accords which would mean the effective eradication of the international monetary system which is presently the gravest threat to all mankind....

In-Depth articles from EIR, Vol. 36, No. 50
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This Week's Cover

International

Economics

  • 72 The Failed System Has Become Unmanageable
    It was a wild week in Washington. President George W. Obama started it off by proclaiming that 'I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street,' a statement that flies in the face of his actions, both before and after his election.

National

  • 74 Why Do We Call Susan Rice a Racist?
    Because She Is One

    Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice is one of the filthy British agents leading the United States into disaster, and since her influence is on the ascendancy in the Obama Administration, Lyndon LaRouche commissioned this dossier, as a matter of urgency.

Interviews

  • 67 Craig Isherwood
    An interview with leader of the LaRouche-allied Citizens Electoral Council of Australia.

This Week's News

U.S. Economic/Financial News

Detroit Unemployment Estimated at 50%

Dec. 16 (EIRNS)—The Detroit News reported today that, "despite an official unemployment rate of 27 percent, the real jobs problem in Detroit may be affecting half of the working-age population, thousands of whom either can't find a job or are working fewer hours than they want." The News said that "Using a broader definition of unemployment, as much as 45 percent of the labor force has been affected by the downturn. And that doesn't include those who gave up the job search more than a year ago, a number that could exceed 100,000 potential workers alone. Mayor Dave Bing recently raised eyebrows when he said what many already suspected: that the city's official unemployment rate was as believable as Santa Claus. In Washington for a jobs forum earlier this month, he estimated it was 'closer to 50 percent.'"

The paper reported that, although the state of Michigan's official unemployment rate was 12.6% for the fiscal year that ended in September, calculations using the broadest definition place it at 20.9%—66% higher than the official rate. Using the same method, Detroit's official 27% is re-calculated to an estimated 44.8% unemployment rate.

New York City Announces Savage Cuts in Mass Transit

Dec. 17 (EIRNS)—The New York Times and other local media reported in Dec. 17, that the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority unanimously approved a slate of service cuts on Dec. 16, including eliminating two subway lines from the southern tip of Manhattan to northern and central Queens, reducing service on dozens of bus routes, and phasing out free fares for students—to cope with a $400 million shortfall in state financing that emerged in the past two weeks. Fox News noted that the policy of free or discounted student rides has been in place since 1948, and that ending it could cost half a million students nearly $1,000 per year in transportation fees. "Official numbers show that 417,243 students receive free Metrocards and another 167,912 get half-fare cards.... The new budget would have students start paying half fares in Sept. 2010 and full fares in Sept. 2011." The MTA board will hold public hearings and vote again, hoping that, in the meantime, the city or the state will come to the rescue.

U.S. Looks into Building Smaller Nuclear Reactors

Dec. 16 (EIRNS)—Pre-fabricated modular nuclear reactors of not more than 300 MW power generation capacity have drawn the attention of U.S. lawmakers. Warren Miller, assistant secretary for nuclear energy in the Department of Energy, said small reactors could do better from the standpoint of economics and security than existing large-scale types, and those proposed reactors in South Texas and Maryland. Smaller projects would carry lower investment risks and be more affordable to smaller utilities, which could install one initially, and then link others when power needs increase, Miller said.

The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is examining two bills that would spur the creation and licensing of the small, modular reactors. One measure would authorize the government to spend $250 million over five years to support the technology. Another bill would create a demonstration program at the Energy Department to test out modular reactor designs. Meanwhile, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it is expecting applications for licensing of small, modular reactors as early as next year.

Peterson Commission: We Must Cut Millions of Throats

Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—A private group, representing the speculative global bankers who have destroyed the world economy, called for murderous cuts in medical care and social security, and deep reduction in the income of the population through consumption taxes, as the way to overcome the national debt blowout.

The Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform released a report ("Red Ink Rising") at a Washington event, calling for the cuts to be imposed under guidelines not subject to interference by elected government representatives—a fascist coup d'état.

A leading spokesman for the Commission, former Federal Reserve vice chairman Alice Rivlin, told EIR that swindles such as derivatives by which incomprehensibly vast sums become owed to speculators, must be honored (i.e., paid off, bailed out), cannot be touched—"they are contracts"; while any and all national commitments to the survival of the American population ("entitlements") are "on the table" for elimination.

The Commission was created by billionaire financier Peter G. Peterson, who rose in the London-Wall Street power axis after he wrote the justification for the Nixon Administration to end Franklin Roosevelt's Bretton Woods system, to swamp the world with speculation and destroy our manufacturing. Members of the Commission include many former heads of the Congressional and White House Budget Offices, who presided as "experts" over the transformation of the economy into a globalist casino.

Legislation proposed by the Peterson Commission is now under Congressional consideration, and President Obama has parroted Peterson's lie that Social Security and Medicare overspending are the cause of the dollar/debt crisis.

At the press conference, when Rivlin was asked if ending the present Asian wars might save money, she replied that military spending is trivial compared to the government spending on the elderly, which she said takes money away from the younger generation. Other panelists said the states are spending too much on education, that governors who do not drastically cut services would soon be "out of office."

The spokesmen repeatedly predicted that some catastrophic "triggering event" would come along to scare the population into submitting to the dictated destruction of living standards.

Global Economic News

European Central Bank Swindle

Dec. 15 (EIRNS)—The real story behind European banks not lending is the great bond market/European Central Bank swindle. It is well known that banks have been buying highly rated state bonds simply to go to the ECB for almost free money. Now commercial bonds can be added to this shell game.

Bloomberg reports that European banks have virtually stopped making loans to industry. In fact, the old syndicated loans are on the way to going out of existence. This is forcing AAA-rated companies to go to the bond market, where they have little problem selling their debt. This is okay for large companies, but for small and medium-size companies it is a disaster, because they cannot easily go into the bond market for the type of ongoing credit lines they need to run a business. Bloomberg notes that this is all happening despite the $5.3 trillion worth of aid the banks have gotten from the governments of Europe since the crisis began.

Bond sales, which have reached EU337 billion, have surpassed loans for the first time. Loans have collapsed by 46% and stood at EU279 billion. Bank purchases of government bonds have increased from EU1.19 trillion to EU1.51 trillion in the last year.

While Bloomberg claims that this is part of the so-called "deleveraging" policy, what they do not say, is the obvious: that the banks are taking these highly rated assets in order to go to the ECB for new money, which is nothing more than a different type of leveraging.

Average French Farm Income Fell By 32% in 2009

Dec. 15 (EIRNS)—In line with the Copenhagen drive for global genocide, the consequences of the British-imposed total deregulation of EU food production to destroy food production is now showing its consequences. The French Agricultural Ministry yesterday published its anticipated catastrophic figures for 2009. The profile is identical "in all major farm countries, in the EU as well as in the USA," says the ministry.

Considered an annus horribilis, the 400,000 French farmers' average income this year fell by 32%, on top of a 20% drop in 2008! "This is the worst crisis agriculture has undergone in 30 years," admitted Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire. All sectors are hit. First of all, dairy farmers, whose net income fell by 54%, followed by fruit growers (-51%), cattle for meat (-42%), horticulture (-34%), and vegetables and produce (-32%). Even wine income dropped by 8%.

Production costs fell slightly, but sales crashed. A French grain farmer commented that "my disposable income will be zero. We can no longer make a living from our profession and are obliged to hold another job.... All this confirms the need for European-wide market regulation. These price variations are unbearable; I see it on the ground. The instability of agricultural prices absolutely has to be limited," insists Le Maire.

French Medical Sector in Revolt

Dec. 16 (EIRNS)—A meeting last night of the large hospital group Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), composed of 37 hospitals and over 90,000 employees, confirmed the fact that 902 top doctors and other medical professionals will resign from their posts if French President Nicolas Sarkozy's health-care "reform" is not stopped.

Taking the lead in a fight which is in fact taking place on a national scale, Pierre Coriat, the president of the Medical Commission of AP-HP, already announced two weeks ago that he would resign if things didn't change. Now he is supported by nearly a thousand medical professionals who confirmed they would do the same. Their argument is simple: reducing the workforce by 4,000, as scheduled by the "reforms," will impair both the quality and the quantity of care for patients. Said an emergency room physician, "How can we agree to have personnel reduced, when patients have to wait six, seven, eight, or more hours before receiving care?" Over 1 million people receive emergency medical treatment per year by AP-HP.

United States News Digest

Dirty Deals Ram Through Hitler Health Bill

Dec. 21 (EIRNS)—Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the Senate version of the Obama health-care travesty was rammed through in the wee hours this morning, and that there were now 60 votes to pass the bill, and defeat a GOP fillibuster. Now, more and more of the dirty details of the bill are leaking out. While claiming to clamp down on insurance companies, the Democratic bill actually permits significant price hikes, especially for older people, and the imposition of annual limits on health payouts, until 2014. In addition, it puts more cost-cutting measures in place, often sold under the title of "innovation" in billing. For example, the Democrats' own summary of the Reid Manager's amendment (which is virtually unintelligible, at over 300 pages, even though it was read on the Senate floor) includes the following: "Medicare will be able to test new models and, if successful, implement them via a strong Innovation Center, Independent Payment Advisory Board, and other authorities." In other words, new ways to cut. Some form of Independent Medicare Advisory Board (i.e., "death panel") is also included.

Reid managed to secure the 60 votes, after Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) was paid off with a guarantee that the Federal government will cover all increased Medicaid costs for Nebraska.

Not surprisingly, the leading British voice in the U.S. press, the Washington Post, isn't satisfied. The Sunday editorial says that more killing will be required to make the health plan really profitable. After noting that the nation is heading for bankruptcy—not due to the bailouts, but due to "rising health-care costs" and "the aging of the population"—the Post praises the Senate health bill for containing "something like a medical Federal Reserve Board that would have considerable power to promote cost reductions even in the face of political pressure." However, it continues, "The medical board must be given sway over more of the health-care system than the Senate bill allows, and it must be tasked to tolerate less health-cost inflation than the bill has deemed acceptable."

The bill must still go back to the House for reconciliation, and presuming something will come out of that, must be voted on again, in both Houses of Congress.

There is only one appropriate response, and that's what LaRouche said yesterday: "Cancel that bill!"

Senator Exposes Health-Care Rationing Under Obama-Reid Bill

Dec. 21 (EIRNS)—During the Senate debate on the health-care bill Dec. 18, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) exposed the rationing and cost-cutting that is part and parcel of the bill that has just passed the Senate.

Roberts presented two color charts, on of which was captioned "Here Come the Rationers," depicting some of the means by which rationing will be conducted under the Reid bill; the other was a graphic of Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel's "Complete Lives System," including what Roberts described as the "humpback whale" chart, which shows a sharp decline in health-care expenditures in later life. "The older you are, the more you've lived, the less you deserve health care," Roberts said in summarizing Emanuel's system. He also pointed out that this should be of interest of the Senate, since the average age of U.S. Senators is 62—pretty far down on Ezekiel's chart. Roberts went on to suggest that Ezekiel should be named "the Rationing Czar" and said it's clear that Obama has been listening to him, since Obama's stated goal is to save money for the government by rationing care.

Office of Congressional Ethics Closes Murtha Inquiry

Dec. 18 (EIRNS)—The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) announced that it has closed its investigation into the relationships of Democratic Reps. John Murtha (Pa.), Norm Dicks (Wash.), and Jim Moran (Va.), to the now-defunct lobbying firm PMA Group, Roll Call reported today. The OCE also advised against an investigation into this matter by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, known as the House Ethics Committee.

The House Ethics Committee has up to 90 days to decide whether to accept the recommendation of the Office of Congressional Ethics. The OCE itself is a recent creation aimed to accelerate action by the Ethics Committee, in place of long-running investigations.

EIR has covered the political reasons for the targetting of FDR-style Democrat Murtha (See EIR Sept. 26, 2008).

GOP Senators Murkowski And Voinovich Will Move Against EPA

Dec. 18 (EIRNS)—Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released a statement of support on Dec. 17 for Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-Ak.) announcement of her intention to file a resolution of disapproval, to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act by declaring them dangerous pollutants.

Lyndon LaRouche has characterized the EPA's intent to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant, as administrative fascism. It is pure "unitary executive" filth, LaRouche charged, noting that the U.S. Senate has made it clear that there is no chance of passage of any cap-and-trade law, so the Obama White House is circumventing the Congress—and the Constitution—through executive regulatory fiat.

Sen. James Webb of Virginia has also questioned the constitutionality of an anticipated EPA move.

Voinovich said, "EPA's endangerment finding shows the Obama Administration's willingness to bypass the United States Congress ... I applaud Sen. Murkowski's disapproval resolution to stop the EPA.... The Clean Air Act was designed to address traditional, localized pollutants—not climate change."

HHS Official: Obamacare Would Increase) Costs

Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the agency that administers Medicare, in a report issued Dec. 10, said that the current version of the health-care bill in the U.S. Senate would actually raise, not cut, health-care costs for Americans. This blows away the primary stated rationale that the Obama Administration has put forward for imposing the bill—leaving its genocidal intent there for everyone to see, if they aren't willfully blind.

The chief actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a division of HHS, has estimated that if the Senate health-care bill became law, it would make the U.S. health-care system more expensive than if we simply did nothing—undermining the primary rationale for the Nazi bill.

The CMS report concluded Americans would spend $234 billion more on health care over the next ten years than if no bill were passed at all. Under ObamaCare, health-care spending would rise to 20.9% of GDP, according to CMS, compared to 20.9% with no bill at all.

CMS, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, also found that if the proposed cuts to hospital payment rates were imposed, medical providers would start losing money and be forced to drop Medicare. It said that 20% of providers to Medicare's hospital insurance program "would become unprofitable within the 10-year projection period." This would cut access to medical care for the nation's most vulnerable population, the poor and the elderly.

Ibero-American News Digest

LaRouche Plan Presented in Peru's Congress

LIMA, Dec. 15 (EIRNS)—At the invitation of Congressman Aldo Estrada Chiroque, head of the Constitution and Rules Committee, EIR's Lima correspondent Luis Ernesto Vásquez Medina yesterday presented the "LaRouche Plan" for saving civilization from the collapse of globalization to a select audience gathered in the historic "Francisco Bolognesi" Room of the National Congress.

Businessmen, politicians, press, educators, and trade unions participating in the forum on "A Real Solution to the Worst Crisis in History" filled the room to its capacity of 100 people.

In introducing Vásquez, Estrada Chiroque emphasized that it is necessary to listen to those who know the true evolution of the current international crisis, and what solutions exist as an alternative.

Vásquez explained the origin and unfolding of the crisis, based on LaRouche's Triple Curve, in such a way that it was clear to those present that the world economy has become a casino. Vásquez, author of a groundbreaking history of the fight for American System of Economics in Mexico, detailed the LaRouche Plan to resolve the crisis from the standpoint of the substantial difference between that American System and the British system of looting.

Peru, located on the Pacific coast of South America, is situated to take advantage of the ongoing shift from an Atlantic-centered economy to one whose center of gravity is the Pacific, where more than two-thirds of the world's population resides, Váquez stressed. Just as the LaRouche movement in Peru had indicated in its 1990 program, Mercantilist Manifesto for an Industrial Peru, the density of transport of both people and goods in the Pacific region, underscores the urgency of launching the transcontinental integration of the southern part of the Americas. Vásquez gave a map briefing emphasizing Peru's geostrategic advantage for becoming South America's gateway to the Pacific Basin.

An animated discussion, including the implications of such ideas for the 2011 elections, followed the presentation, and similar forums were announced for the future.

Argentine President Targetted with Death Threats

Dec. 15 (EIRNS)—As she was traveling by military helicopter on Dec. 11, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner received death threats, when a voice interrupted radio communication between the helicopter and the control tower with the words "kill the mare" and "kill her." The voice repeated several obscenities, after which military music was played.

These threats have all the markings of an intelligence operation, taking place in the strategic context of global instability, caused by the breakdown of the world financial system. This is the environment in which an attempt on the life of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi occurred Dec. 14 in Milan. Threats to the Argentine President should also be seen in this light.

Chief of Staff Anibal Fernández said the government is taking these threats "extremely seriously," although he attributed them to "coup mongering" related to the beginning of a trial of 19 Army and Navy officers, charged with human rights atrocities during the 1976-83 military dictatorship.

Colombian Senate Dumps on Soros

Dec. 17 (EIRNS)—Much to the horror of George Soros's dope lobby, on Dec. 10 the Colombian Senate voted 60-14 to ban drug possession and consumption for "personal use," reversing the Constitutional Court's 1991 ruling which made such acts legal on grounds that they contributed to the "free development of the personality."

The vote, which amends Colombia's Constitution, is a major victory for President Alvaro Uribe, the only Ibero-American head-of-state who hasn't succumbed to British agent Soros's lying assertion that anything except legalization is doomed to failure in the war on drugs.

"I thank the Senate for having taken this step in defense of the country," Uribe told Cadena Melodia on Dec. 10. "I believe that what we've seen in the world for many years is a process of drug legalization. Why? Because they've legalized consumption; and with legal consumption it's very difficult to deal with crops, cocaine production, trafficking, chemical precursors and money-laundering.... Consumption is at the root of everything."

The Colombian President vowed that with the new law, which must be approved by the Constitutional Court, the government would be able to pursue distributors of drugs for retail sales, who have operated with impunity to date, "even though they were poisoning Colombians with drugs, and pulling children and young people into this criminal business of drug distribution." Uribe also emphasized that the new law wouldn't punish the drug addict, but offer him treatment at a rehabilitation center.

Soros's outlets in Colombia and abroad are pulling out the stops against Uribe. Colombia's Semana magazine, run by the family of the deceased drug 'Godfather' Alfonso López Michelsen, went overboard in a Dec. 16 editorial charging that Uribe is resorting to "authoritarian" and "paternalistic" policies, typical of a fascist government.

Successful Strike at Mexican Cartel

Dec. 17 (EIRNS)—The Mexican military now have in their possession the central financial files of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel, one of Mexico's biggest. The files were captured in a Navy commando assault yesterday on a luxury apartment building in the center of Cuernavaca—just an hour from Mexico City. That cartel's kingpin, Arturo Beltran Leyva, was killed in the firefight. The success emphasizes what could be done against the drug trade, were the current British stranglehold on Mexico broken.

Brazilian Scientist Warns of 'Malthusian' Global Warming Hoax

Dec. 15 (EIRNS)—Brazilian meteorologist Luiz Carlos Molion, director of the Institute of Atmospheric Science at the Federal University of Alagoas, and a specialist in paleoclimatology, is not afraid to take on the global warming fraud. Carbon dioxide (CO2) "is not the villain, or a polluter," Molion told UOL magazine in an interview published Dec. 13. "It is the gas of life.... When you double CO2, plant production increases." Moreover, he explained, "It's the Sun," not CO2, which determines the Earth's temperature. There is "no solid science" to prove that global warming even exists.

In 2008, Molion told Istoe magazine that it's quite possible that the population-reduction theories of Britain's genocidalist Thomas Malthus, "are being resuscitated and imposed through global warming...." It's impossible, he said, for man to produce enough carbon emissions to, in any way, affect the Earth's temperature.

By his own account, Molion, who is an Ibero-American representative to the World Meteorological Organization, is one of a growing number of Brazilian scientists who dispute what they call the "religion" of anthropogenic global warming. He admits that he's suffered reprisals as a result of his outspoken attacks on the climate hoaxters, but explains that when governments do that, "they hurt the nation and society, not me."

"There are many factors that affect global climate. Without exaggerating, I say that the Earth's climate is the result of everything that happens in the universe. If the dust of a supernova that exploded 15 million years ago is dense and passes between the Sun and the Earth, it is going to reduce the entry of solar radiation into the system and change the climate," Molion stated.

Western European News Digest

New Italian Magazine Features LaRouche

Dec. 18 (EIRNS)—A new monthly Italian magazine, published Dec. 14, features a one-page article on Lyndon LaRouche as the only economist who forecast the collapse of the system, and who has a solution, in terms of bankruptcy reorganization and a new credit system.

The magazine is called Il Borghese del Nord and is close to the Lega Nord (Northern League), whose Euro Parliament Member (MEP) Mario Borghezio is prominently featured. In another article, it is reported that the newly formed European Parliament Committee on the Financial Crisis will travel to the U.S. in January. "Will it have the courage to hear an 'inconvenient guru' such as Lyndon LaRouche?" Borghezio asks.

The editors say that the magazine wants to address the "productive bourgeoisie" of Northern Italy.

The official radio station of the Lega Nord party also aired a live interview with Liliana Gorini, chairwoman of the Italian Solidarity Movement and LaRouche representative in Italy, on the question of the British connection to the attack against Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi.

Greek Crisis Escalates

Dec. 17 (EIRNS)—Standard & Poor's became the third rating agency to downgrade Greece's debt on Dec. 16. Apparently, the government is scrambling to get cash for immediate payments, and needs to "buy time"—this is what Finance Minister Georges Papaconstantinou told the London Financial Times in an interview today. Papaconstantinou said that Greece will implement a tougher plan than Ireland, but it needs time. It will cut the budget deficit by 4% next year, and then 2% the following years, through a series of stop-gap actions and structural reforms. Papaconstantinou says that his hard line represents a minority in the party, but he has the backing of Prime Minister George Papandreou. Meanwhile in Berlin, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble again issued a statement on the Greek crisis as being dangerous for the stability of the euro.

France: 1 Million Unemployed Will Lose Benefits in 2010

PARIS, Dec. 17 (EIRNS)—According to the calculations of the government unemployment agency, Pole Emploi, 1 million long-term jobless will run out of unemployment benefits in 2010. Already, 850,000 have reached the end of that rope this year. Out of these million, 17% will switch to the specific solidarity allowance (ASS), which provides EU450 per month under Hartz IV-type conditionalities; only a small portion of the remaining 83% would go to RSA (formerly RMI, minimum income allowance, around EU400 per month). To prevent this nightmare scenario from coming to pass, the social partners may decide to extend unemployment compensation for another three months. Cost: EU1.342 billion, which is nonexistent.

The situation is fueling both the rise of Jean-Marie LePen's right-wing populist National Front and the danger of new riots. In its latest annual report, the official watchdog that monitors the so-called "sensitive urban zones" (ZUS) found that the gaps in income and jobless rates within the zones, continued to widen after the 2005 riots. Jobless rates remained stuck at daunting levels in the troubled suburbs, on average more than 9 percentage points higher than in neighboring streets where residents were better integrated into society, the report found. Claude Dilain, the mayor of Clichy-sous-Bois, the suburb of Paris where the unrest began after two local youths died while fleeing police, told Le Monde, "We are back where we were before 2005.... If nothing is done, we are heading for disaster."

Solidarnosc Union Protests in Warsaw, Again

Dec. 16 (EIRNS)—Workers from the Polish Solidarnosc trade union launched a highly visible demonstration in Warsaw yesterday, in an attempt to pressure the government to do more to protect jobs in heavy industry. The workers carried the historical white and red flags of the union, delivered a petition at the Labor Ministry, and then marched on to the Parliament building and Prime Minister Donald Tusk's office. In particular, the trade union is demanding that the government pay unemployment benefits for people laid off from the shipyards in Gdansk. The shipyard is highly symbolic for Poland, because that is where the Solidarnosc movement, a forerunner of the mass movements that overthrew all of Eastern Europe's socialist regimes in the Autumn of 1989, had its origin, in the 1980s.

The protesters also demanded government help for the "anemic" weapons, railway, and shipbuilding industries, which have been targetted for shutdown, or at least downsizing, by privatizers at the EU Commission—which is also keeping pressure on the Polish government not to interfere with the "free-market process."

Following the restructuring and privatization of many heavy industries by successive post-communist Polish governments, thousands of workers have lost their jobs, many of them are now faced with poverty. "In Poland," Solidarnosc chairman Janusz Sniadek told the crowd, "there are people even today who must fight for their bread and their place of work."

Blair To Be Protected by Official Secrecy

Dec. 13 (EIRNS)—The Independent reported today that key parts of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's testimony to the Chilcot inquiry on the Iraq War will be held in secret. Specifically, "His conversations with President George Bush when he was prime minister, and crucial details of the decision-making process that led Britain into war, will fall under the scope of national security and the protection of Britain's relations with the U.S. But there are also suggestions by well-placed sources that anything 'interesting' will also be shrouded in secrecy, leaving his public appearance containing little more than is already known."

As already reported, Blair's meeting with Bush at the Crawford Ranch constituted a secret meeting to plot aggressive war, which is grounds for an indictment under the Nuremberg tribunal.

Such a decision to keep Blair's testimony secret is no different than the decision to shut down the investigation of the BAE-Saudi Al-Yamamah deal in the interests of imperial security and the protection of Britain's dirty terrorist relations with the Saudis. As also in the case of David Kelly, the British imperialists are intent upon preventing any rock from being turned.

Tremonti Brings EU110 Billion Home

Dec. 15—According to wire reports from parliamentary sources, Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti's tax amnesty has repatriated EU110 billion of flight capital. The exact figure will be known in the next days. The amnesty deadline was Dec. 15, but the government is considering an extension of six more months, given the positive results. The amnesty for flight capital was conceded in exchange for a low flat tax, about 5%. This means that the state has gained over EU5 billion in revenues. The "carrot" has been accompanied by a "stick" in the form of intensified police investigations, including undercover operations in Switzerland.

Speaking at a trade union meeting today, Tremonti said that a reform of the tax law in Italy is necessary, in order to introduce penalties for speculation and bonuses for Italian families.

Russia and the CIS News Digest

Yakunin Speaks on World Rail and Bering Strait Tunnel

Dec. 20 (EIRNS)—Creating another headache for the British Royals, an article in the London Sunday Express today—based on an extensive interview with Vladimir Yakunin, CEO of the state-owned Russian Railways—highlights Russia's plans to link Eurasia with North America across the Bering Strait. "Dreams of travelling from London to New York by train were evoked last night after one of Russia's most powerful men pledged a crucial tunnel linking his country to North America would be 'feasible' within 10 years," the Sunday Express writes.

"Vladimir Yakunin, the president of state-run Russian Railways and Prime Minister Putin's closest confidant, said his ambition was to connect more than half the planet by train." He said American investors had already approached him about boring a 64-mile tunnel under the famous Bering Sea that separates Asia and North America. "With new rail links planned through Alaska and eastern Russia, the tunnel would help enable freight and passenger trains to run from the U.S. to London on uninterrupted tracks," he said. Yakunin suggested that the state should be responsible for the rail connections: "There should be a system that either demands the private investor should invest into these spheres, or the state becomes the owner of the infrastructure and they invest budgets into infrastructure and that enhances the security of operations."

The article continued, "Yakunin said he had been negotiating with potential partners from around the world to trigger a 'renaissance of railways.' 'We are in contact with countries in Latin America, Africa, and with Arab countries and China. It's in everyone's interest to develop railways.'" The Sunday Express interview has already circulated to other media, including an article in India's Economic Times.

Commenting on the Yakunin statement, Lyndon LaRouche said that it represents an obvious extension of what must be done, in the aftermath of Britain's defeat at Copenhagen. "Such a worldwide rail link," LaRouche said, "running from Eurasia to Africa, through Europe, and into North and America, would define a new conception of cooperation among sovereign nation-states. It would represent one global economic process which would be a giant step toward solving the present crisis of humanity. What we are looking at, with the moves toward upgrading of cooperation between China, Russia, India, and the United States, is a real global reform. It is a revolution in economy and statecraft. We will be uniting continents in the common economic interest of nation states. This is the real alternative to globalization."

Russian Researchers Expose British Climate Fraud

Dec. 17 (EIRNS)—The Institute of Economic Analysis (IEA), based in Moscow, and linked to the U.S. Cato Institute, said in a new report that the Hadley Center for Climate Change and the Climate Research Unit of East Anglia (HadCRUT) have "cherry-picked" data from Russian meteorological stations for their database, thus exaggerating estimates of "warming" in Russia. HadCRUT selectively used only 25% of stations for their database, excluding 40% of Russian territory completely. The IEA reviewed meteorological reports for the past 130 years, which did not substantiate HadCRUT's figures.

The IEA analysts indicate that those stations showing either consistent temperatures, or even cooling, were excluded by HadCrut, and at the same time, HadCRUT used data reflecting urban warming, rather than remote stations offering correct data, and selectively used incomplete reporting that emphasized a warming effect, rather than complete observations. Overall, the IEA report states, actual warming from 1877-1998 was increased by 0.64°C. If used across the board, such exaggeration would considerably increase the rate of change of global temperatures, the IEA report states.

The IEA says the scale of distortion in current climate modeling cannot be known until calculations are completed using full and correct data-sets, as opposed to the fraudulent data used.

'Russia Today' Airs Interview with Danish Schiller Institute

Dec. 20 (EIRNS)—Russia Today, the Russian quasi-official English-language TV channel, today had a wrap-up of the COP15 Conference in Copenhagen and showed a short excerpt of an interview it conducted with Schiller Institute chairman Tom Gillesberg on Dec. 18, on the British attempt to use the climate change conference to do away with national sovereignty. In the full exchange recorded by RT, Gillesberg also stressed the failure of Copenhagen, resulting from China and India sticking to the idea of national sovereignty; the weakened position of Obama and the increased pressure this creates inside the U.S. to go with Lyndon LaRouche's idea of the U.S. joining China, India, and Russia in a Four-Power agreement to set up a new credit system; and finally, the LaRouche plan for global reconstruction and development.

The clip aired by RT omitted most of these points, but showcased Gillesberg's point about sovereignty and development. Correspondent Laura Emmett, after describing the failure of the conference overall, says: "But some say this summit was never about climate change, and that the real goal was to force countries to act against their national interests in the name of preventing global warming. The way forward, according to the Schiller Institute, is for the U.S., India, China, and Russia to join together to create global financial system."

Video is available on RT's website at http://rt.com/Top_News/2009-12-20/climate-change-copenhagen-summit.html

Russian Security Council: Build Anti-Drug Belt Around Afghanistan

Dec. 16 (EIRNS)—"Efforts to counter the further spread of narco-aggression must be stepped up [in Afghanistan]; mainly as part of our initiative to create 'anti-narcotic security belts' around Afghanistan," Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said in an interview with Interfax published two days ago. Patrushev said that Russia will pay careful attention to the situation in Afghanistan, since the Obama Administration has announced its new strategy for the Afghan War: "We shall see whether additional forces will change the situation. We are also going to carefully monitor the change dynamics in the situation in Afghanistan."

The Russian official went on to say that the Afghan population needs "stable and legal sources of income to replace their involvement in the mass-scale production of narcotics," but "right now, the complete opposite can be seen." (See article in EIR InDepth.)

Kapitsa's Son Calls for Rejuvenation of Russian Science

Dec. 20 (EIRNS)—Sergei Kapitsa, son of renowned Russian nuclear physicist Pyotr Kapitsa, refers to the collaboration between Dmitri Mendeleyev and Sergei Witte, in an article published in the weekly Argumenty i Fakty. Kapitsa, a mathematical physicist, warns of the tremendous brain drain from Russia, meaning the loss of cadre who can train a new generation of innovative, young scientists, who are attracted by the salaries and conditions of work abroad, compared with those in Russia. This state of affairs will lead, Kapitsa notes, to a collapse of scientific innovation in Russia, the lifeblood of any society. "The resolution of the problem of innovation—that is, the introduction of scientific knowledge and its utilization in society—is the most important task for the development of Russia, important not only for the preservation of the State, but perhaps also for the preservation of the integrity of the nation and society," Kapitsa writes.

He then refers to the cooperation between Mendeleyev and Witte at the turn of the 20th Century. Pointing to the great innovators like Faraday, Planck, and Mendeleyev, he notes Mendeleyev's contributions to the development of the Periodic Table and to the creation of the Russian oil industry, as well as his "work on economics and tariff policy," which "created the means to defend Russian production from the intrusion of foreign capital." "In that task, he was working with the support of S. Yu. Witte, who as finance minister and as premier turned to the thoughts and advice of Mendeleyev," Kapitsa writes. Nevertheless, Kapitsa continues, the "scientific associations" did not appreciate fully the work of Mendeleyev and passed him over twice when he was nominated for membership in the Academy of Sciences.

Similar short-sightedness exists today in Russia, Kapitsa says. He calls for an improvement in the pay and living conditions of scientists and engineers in Russia (unfortunately recommending that they be paid in dollars rather than rubles), and enhancing the reputation—and the quality of the work—of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Southwest Asia News Digest

Iran: Hundreds of Thousands Attend Montazeri Funeral

Dec. 22 (EIRNS)—The funeral for Iranian Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who had become a spiritual inspiration for the Iranian opposition, turned into a mass protest.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched in the funeral procession Dec. 21 for Montazeri, including opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the two defeated reformist candidates from the June Presidential elections. Montazeri died on Dec. 19 at the age of 87. Demonstrations in favor of Montazeri, and implicitly against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also took place in the former's birthplace of Najafabad in Isfahan.

Khamenei's reported comments on Montazeri's death were that he hoped he would be subject to "God's lenience" after failing a "test" by disagreeing with Ayatollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

Now, according to Hossein Bastani, an Iranian political analyst, the protests had moved beyond anger over the election, and were aimed directly at Khamenei. "Khamenei's comments about Montazeri met with a very negative reflection in Iranian opposition websites and media," he said. "Today we had a very great demonstration in Qom, a small provincial city and the ideological center of the Islamic regime," he added. "I don't think there were demonstrations there of that size even during the revolution. The slogans people were chanting were indirectly against the Islamic regime and similar to what was chanted before the revolution against the Shah."

Montazeri Letter Underscored Depth of Iran's Opposition

Dec. 22 (EIRNS)—On June 16, 2009, Iranian Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri issued a letter denouncing the election fraud and violence as endangering the foundations of the Islamic Republic. Montazeri had been the assumed successor as Iran's Supreme Leader, but in 1989, he was abruptly dismissed for criticizing Khomeini on human rights. While Montazeri spent most of the last 20 years under house arrest, he was still a highly respected and widely read spiritual leader among Shi'ites.

Montazeri's June 2009 letter struck the conscience of Iran. Addressing the "sacrificial efforts," especially of the youth, throughout the 2009 election campaign, Montazeri said the election "was an excellent occasion for the government's officials to take advantage of and establish religious, emotional and nationalistic bonds with our youth and the rest of our people." Yet, he adds, "this opportunity was wasted," the "election results were declared that no wise person in their right mind can believe...."

Denouncing the repression, he said that the protests by "the same people who have carried the heavy weight and burden of the Revolution during eight years of war and resisted the tanks of the imperial government [of the Shah] and those of the enemy [Iraq]—they attacked the children of the same people and nation right in front of the domestic and foreign reporters, and used astonishing violence against defenseless men and women and the dear students, injuring and arresting them. And, now, they are trying to purge activists, intellectuals, and political opponents by arresting a large number of them, some of whom have even held high positions in the government of the Islamic Republic."

"A characteristic of a strong and legitimate government—Islamic or not—is that it is capable of respecting all opinions, whether they support it or oppose it," Montazeri continued. "This is necessary for any political system, in order to embrace all social classes and encourage them to participate in the affairs of their nation...."

The election fraud and violence, Montazeri wrote, have made the people "pessimistic" about their government. Unless the government addresses this and protects the people's rights, "trust in the government" will be lost, and its "legitimacy will become questionable."

He appealed to everyone, "particularly our dear youth," to continue to demonstrate for their rights, but to avoid violence and provocations by "the thugs who wish to distort their lawful demands ... [and who], creating chaos and destruction, wish to create a besieged atmosphere in the country." He appealed to government officials, security and military personnel, "to preserve their religion and not sell it out for the sake of others," concluding that unlawful repression would "never be accepted by the great God."

U.S. Reportedly Rejects Iran's Uranium Swap Offer

Dec. 21 (EIRNS)—On Dec. 12, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced that Iran is ready to take 20% of its low-enriched uranium to the Island of Kish, and exchange it for nuclear fuel, but so far, the U.S. has officially ignored the offer. This stubborn U.S. position needlessly increases tensions, a well-informed Arab commentator told EIR.

The U.S. is insisting that Iran follow a UN plan worked out in October—to which Iran agreed "in principle," according to Mottaki—where Iran would ship most of its uranium (up to 1,200 kg) to Russia for reprocessing. It would be further enriched in Russia, then fabricated into fuel rods in France, and shipped back to Iran to be used to produce badly-needed medical isotopes.

Although the Obama Administration has not made public an official answer to this proposal, numerous press accounts quoted unnamed Administration officials saying the offer is unacceptable. "If Iran wants to produce those medical isotopes itself," an unidentified senior Obama Administration official is quoted in the Dec. 20 Washington Post as saying, "then the best way to do that is to accept the IAEA proposal." AFP quoted an unnamed U.S. official as saying that "Iran's proposal [of Dec. 12] does not appear to be consistent with the fair and balanced draft agreement proposal by the IAEA in consultation with the United States, Russia, and France." The official said Iran should take up the IAEA proposal and send 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium to Russia "in one batch."

Tehran has noted that in the past, France reneged on an promise to deliver reprocessed uranium to Iran.

House Votes Gasoline Sanctions Against Iran

Dec. 16 (EIRNS)—A pattern of war provocations by neoconservatives and others against Iran includes the "Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act," which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 412-12 on Dec. 16. The bill, which has not yet been voted on in the Senate, imposes sanctions on foreign companies supplying gasoline to Iran—with Chinese firms high on the target list. It authorizes the President to sanction not only firms that supply gasoline to Iran, but also firms that provide insurance and tankers for fuel shipments.

The Obama Administration reportedly wants to wait until January 2010, to impose sanctions, in an attempt to get the UN Security Council's approval, after the UNSC's rotating membership changes. In a Dec. 11 letter, Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, requested a delay in any Senate vote on sanctions, noting that the U.S. is involved in "intense negotiations" with Iran. Legislation now "might weaken rather than strengthen international unity," he wrote.

Opposition to the House bill came from Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who said, "We're telling the Iranian people, 'we have feelings of friendship for you, we like you so much, but we're going to cut off your home heating oil,' " and from Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.).

Army Officers Detained in Plot To Assassinate Turkish Leader

Dec. 22 (EIRNS)—The ongoing destabilization of Turkey through British-linked terrorism and assassination plots using the historic "Young Turk" networks has reached a high point of tension over the last weeks.

On Dec. 18, two Turkish military officers were detained by police on suspicion of plotting to assassinate State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc. The officers, who are members of the Special Forces Command, were released after interrogation.

These latest arrests occur as new revelations have surfaced around the ongoing trial of former military officers and others accused of being members of the Ergenekon, a secret network that has penetrated Turkey's security forces, and been accused of plotting against the government. More recent revelations involved the arrest of ten naval officers accused of plotting the assassination of two Turkish admirals.

Another revelation that surfaced in November was a document known as the "Cage Plan," which detailed plans to assassinate public figures, and was allegedly prepared by a group in the military also linked to Ergenekon. At the same time, there has been an escalation of terrorism by the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) just as the government has launched a series of initiatives to enhance the rights of the Kurdish minority in Turkey.

Turkey has been an important nation for peace in Southwest Asia. Until the Israeli attack on Gaza in January 2009, Turkey was mediating peace talks between Syria and Israel. It recently offered to mediate the nuclear enrichment issue with Iran. And, Turkey has mapped out an extensive and inspiring series of transportation and energy projects to enhance regional development and stability.

Asia News Digest

More Problems for Obama's Af-Pak Policy

Dec. 18 (EIRNS)—Pakistan Supreme Court's decision to repeal the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) on Dec. 16 has jeopardized not only Pakistan's internal political stability, but also all the plans outlined in President Obama's speech at West Point on Dec. 1. Although the full impact of the decision is expected to be felt in the coming weeks, it is for certain that the U.S.-backed Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, will be fighting to keep his job, with his back against the wall.

Meanwhile, a number of senior ministers of the Zardari Cabinet, including Interior and Defense, will have to quit. Today, at the Islamabad airport, Defense Minister Mokhtar was stopped from boarding the plane that would have taken him to Beijing on an official visit.

For all practical purposes, the control of Pakistan's government is back again in the hands of the military, with Prime Minister Gilani, a friend of the Army, acting as its proxy.

The shift will most certainly affect Washington's half-baked plans vis-à-vis Pakistan. With Zardari in power, Islamabad had given Washington a carte blanche to work inside Pakistan. Islamabad's security is now virtually in the hands of the Americans, most of whom are private contractors. The Pakistani military strongly resents that, and this is going to change.

Moreover, Zardari, under directives from Washington, had also used his authority to cajole and direct the Pakistani Army and intelligence to go after all terrorists, not just selected ones. This is going to change, too. The Pakistani military has realized that Obama's Af-Pak policy will fall flat on its face, and control of Afghanistan could be regained. Therefore, the Pakistani Army is not willing to eliminate all insurgents, some of whom could be of use in the future in helping to re-secure Afghanistan.

China and India 'Cement Ties' at Copenhagen

Dec. 18 (EIRNS)—In the past few weeks, China and India, the world's two most populous nations, have built a level of international policy cooperation not seen since their 1962 border war, in their determination not to yield national sovereignty at the just-collapsed Copenhagen Climate summit. The two nations' delegations closely coordinated policy, both before and during the conference, to the very end.

"The single biggest achievement of Copenhagen has been BASIC," Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told The Hindu today. The BASIC nations are China, India, Brazil, and South Africa, which Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao called together in Beijing Nov. 29, to formulate and sign a policy agreement for their strategy at Copenhagen. The nations had agreed then, to walk out of Copenhagen if the developed countries tried to undermine their national interests and non-negotiable policies. In the end, the developed nations had to cave in on the non-negotiables, including that there would be no yielding to international inspections.

Most important is the breakthrough in Chinese-Indian relations. Tensions continue over border issues—a direct legacy of the British Raj in India and its reach into Tibet—and China's close relations with Pakistan. However, joint trade has been growing rapidly in the past decade, and China is now India's largest trading partner. Copenhagen could lay the basis for a new strategic level of joint political and economic relations.

Before the summit began, Wen Jiabao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a 30-minute bilateral meeting, which made it clear to both that their nations share a "common perception" on the outcome of the meeting, Singh's special envoy Shyam Saran told the press. "The meeting was very important," Saran said. Not only were both committed to blocking any secret agreement among the Europeans and U.S., but also determined that final agreements must be based on "transparency" and an "inclusive process."

More important in bilateral terms, Wen assured Singh during the meeting, that a joint statement he had issued with visiting President Obama in November, which referred to peace in South Asia, was "not directed at India," and that "China did not have any intention to interfere in [India's] region," foreign secretary Nirupama Rao told the press.

Later, China and India staged a walk-out of the Heads of State summit itself, over their objections to a paragraph of the draft then being debated. Earlier in the week, the two nation's delegates had lambasted U.S. special envoy Todd Stern for his targetting of China.

Most revealing was an article in India's Business Standard Dec. 16, based on its exclusive access to a bilateral meeting between China's chief climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and Ramesh. Xie, vice chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, told Ramesh about the latest "Danish text" being circulated, and that he had information about the rich countries' intentions to use the draft, including a "surprise attack" by Australia and the EU. Ramesh told the Business Standard, that the two sides were meeting up to six times a day at Copenhagen, and then stated to the Times of India that he is "very happy that one of the positive outcomes of Copenhagen is the cementing of ties between India and China."

South Korea Introduces Commercial Maglev

Dec. 15 (EIRNS)—Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korean train-maker, today unveiled a maglev train set for commercial release in 2013, the company said. According to the statement, after trial operations, the maglev train will run a 3.8-mile line between Incheon International Airport and a subway station near Seoul. The unmanned two-car train will carry 180 passengers and run at a top speed of 70 miles per hour.

Although this is a very modest application of maglev potentialities, it is extremely important that another major engineering operation will be getting practical, operational experience with the technology.

Hyundai Rotem began developing a trial version of a maglev train in 1988, and operated a trial version at an international exposition in the city of Daejeon, Korea in 1993. It was the designation of a maglev train as a government project in 2007, that set a way for Hyundai Rotem to develop a commercial version of the train.

Africa News Digest

Rice Ally Fears Sudan Election, Promotes Civil War

Dec. 21 (EIRNS)—John Prendergast, a crony of Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, is calling for the United States to stop providing funding support for the election in Sudan scheduled for April 2010.

With the hard-core anglophile Rice becoming more influential in the Obama Administration (see article in EIR InDepth), her sidekick Prendergast, who shares her hatred of the Sudan government, has stepped up his campaign to undermine it, and reignite the North-South civil war. Prendergast claimed in a Washington Post op-ed published yesterday, that Sudan's national election in will not be free, and that the United States should therefore stand up "for a free and fair election in Sudan by suspending U.S. taxpayer support to the current process."

Today, Prendergast, via the ENOUGH project he cofounded, delivered another blast targeting the Sudan election, saying that "non-credible elections will ... provide false legitimacy" to the government. In his ENOUGH attack, he also demonstrated his determination to bring down the government, by calling for an increase of U.S. sanctions against Sudan, which will further undermine the ability of Khartoum to develop the South, and improve the living standards of the population of that region. He also urged support for the campaign by the so-called International Criminal Court against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

Prendergast and his allies fear that if Sudan carries out the election that was called for by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), it would be much more difficult for him and Rice, and their allies, to continue the British agenda for regime change in Sudan. The election was specified to take place by the U.S.-supported CPA which ended the prolonged North-South war in Sudan, as a precursor to the 2011 referendum which will determine if the South remains part of a united Sudan, or secedes. If the election can be sabotaged, the referendum cannot take place, and the groundwork for a renewal of the civil war will be in place.

Prendergast revealed his real intention when he said recently that a failure to hold the 2011 referendum, as called for in the 2005 CPA agreement to stop the North-South civil war, would be the "clearest trigger for all-out war," according to a recent CNN release.

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