China Youth Daily Exposé of Goldman Sachs Marks Phase-Shift

June 8 (EIRNS)—A May 31 article in China Youth Daily detailing the criminal operations of Goldman Sachs in China, exposes the comprador capitalism practiced by foreign investment banks in China. The article outlines Goldman's manipulation of the relatively primitive Chinese market during the period of China's "opening up" to the West, and the inability of Chinese regulators to defend the national patrimony in this unfamiliar terrain. "Many people believe Goldman Sachs, which goes around the Chinese market slurping gold and sucking silver, may have, using all kinds of deals, created even bigger losses for Chinese companies and investors than it did with its fraudulent actions in the U.S.," the article says. It shows how Goldman put out stories that the state-owned banks, which were being put up for privatization, were in a state of financial chaos and carried huge bad loans, thus driving down their price and allowing Goldman to come in and purchase their assets at bargain-basement prices.

One particular area of concern is that Goldman suckered major Chinese companies to hedge against future oil price inflation right before oil prices collapsed. The Chinese government has supported the several companies in refusing to pay Goldman the millions in these derivative losses.

Youth Daily shows how Goldman used their interests in a variety of "front companies" to gain a controlling interest in the meat-processing industry, in spite of the formal limitations on foreign control of any specific industry, which the article characterizes as Goldman's "kidnapping of domestic industries." Similarly, in the securities field, Goldman has been successful in using its leverage in a variety of companies, using what Youth Daily calls the "policy of the ambush," to garner a controlling share in that market. The article refers to the "black hand" of Goldman Sachs.

The wide circulation of this article in the state-run media indicates a reaction to the "Wild West capitalism" that has been allowed to proliferate during the period of "reform and opening up." It has generally been out-of-bounds for Chinese journalists to lambaste in this way any company which has been considered to be working in China's interests. This critique goes far beyond Goldman Sachs in its treatment of the workings of the London financial mafia, in general.

It is of note that two months ago, one of Goldman Sachs' Chinese "golden boys," Fred Hu, was making a bid to get on the board of the People's Bank of China (PBOC). The scandal around Goldman and the disillusionment over this new unexpected "phase" in the world market put him out of the running.

China also postponed indefinitely the planned introduction of credit default swaps this past week, which had been pushed by Goldman and its friends at the Central Bank.

The Real Surge in Afghanistan and Pakistan Is the Number of Deaths

June 11 (EIRNS)—While the Obama Administration continues to protect the British drug trade, the death toll in the longest "hot" war the British have ever induced the United States to enter, is rising rapidly.

During the past week, 23 NATO soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, including four Americans whose helicopter was shot down in Helmand Province. In Pakistan, two NATO convoys on their way to Afghanistan were attacked, one near Islamabad today, destroying 20 trucks and killing eight; another convoy was hit June 8, near the Afghan border, in an area where the Pakistani army is fighting the Taliban.

Also, Obama's increased use of CIA-run drone attacks in Pakistan killed 17 in North Waziristan this week. There have been more than 35 drone attacks this year alone, the highest rate since the attacks began in earnest in 2008. Lyndon LaRouche has condemned this "video game" assassination operation as a crime against humanity.

Cameron Nearly Killed in Afghanistan

June 11 (EIRNS)—David Cameron, on his first visit to Afghanistan as Prime Minister, almost didn't make it out of Helmand Province, London's international opium production capital. His trip to a village where British troops were building a school was aborted when two Taliban communications were intercepted as they were discussing bringing down Cameron's helicopter. Cameron was only ten minutes from the ambush site when his helicopter was diverted to a nearby air base.

Cameron spoke to British soldiers at the main British base in Afghanistan, Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, promising to double their pay and to give more money to the government—but not to send more troops. He did not say whether the funds were to come directly from the drug production which is under British control and protection.

Malaysian Judicial Organization Calls for Murder Charges Against Israel

June 6 (EIRNS)—The Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalize War, which is linked to former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) and to the War Crimes Tribunal which indicted Tony Blair earlier this year, called on Turkey and Ireland to bring charges against Israel for its May 31 attack, in international waters, on the flotilla that was attempting to bring aid to Gaza. Foundation secretary-general Datuk Dr. Yaacob Husaain Merican said the attack was in "clear violation of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation. For this act of piracy, murder and abduction committed on the high seas, both Turkey and Ireland can bring up charges against Israel under the convention."

The PGPO was one of the funders of the Gaza relief flotilla attacked by Israel in international waters, although no Malaysians are among the dead. Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and an advisor to the PGPO, called Israel's action a violation of international law. "We don't recognise Israel's illegal siege of Gaza. We think it's our right to continue our mission there. After all, we're not sending arms or anything like that," he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.

But Mukhriz said the mission was partly successful, as it had raised awareness of the Palestinians' plight.