The
LaRouche Connection
Program
Summaries: 1997
287-338
Updated August 17, 2007
To
order videotape copies of any edition of The LaRouche Connection,
send e-mail to: Charles Notley
[Summaries of Programs 287 - 307,
309, 311, 313-317, 319-330, and 332-338 are not available at this time.]
Program
No. 308
"European Labor Fights Maastricht
Austerity"
[The following is a transcription of host Webster Tarpley's introduction to
an in-studio interview with Liliana Celani, Schiller Institute activist in Italy,
conducted June 10, 1997. A summary of the entire program is not available at
this time.]
WELCOME TO THE LAROUCHE CONNECTION. MY NAME IS WEBSTER
TARPLEY. TODAY WE WILL BE TAKING A LOOK AT THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SITUATION
IN EUROPE. RIGHT NOW THE DOMINATING THEME IN
EUROPE IS THE MAASTRICHT
TREATY AND THE SINGLE EUROPEAN CURRENCY. ON JANUARY 1, 1999 THE EUROPEAN
COUNTRIES, AT LEAST SOME OF THEM -- MAYBE -- ARE SCHEDULED TO ABOLISH THEIR
MARKS AND FRANCS AND LIRE AND PESETAS AND LAUNCH THE NEW CURRENCY UNIT CALLED
THE EURO. THE DECISION OF JUST WHICH COUNTRIES WILL MAKE THAT LEAP WILL COME IN
THE SPRING OF 1998. AND IN ORDER TO JOIN THE EURO, YOU HAVE TO SUFFER. THE MAASTRICHT CONVERGENCE
CRITERIA DEMAND THAT NO COUNTRY'S BUDGET DEFICIT EXCEED THREE PER CENT OF ITS
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT. ALSO, NO COUNTRY'S TOTAL PUBLIC DEBT CAN EXCEED 60 PER
CENT OF ITS GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT. CROWNING THE ENTIRE EDIFICE IS THE EUROPEAN
CENTRAL BANK, WHICH IS BEYOND THE REACH OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION, AND OF THE ELECTED RUBBER-STAMP EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT IN
STRASBURG. THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK IS A TRUE IMPERIAL, OLIGARCHICAL AND
DICTATORIAL INSTITUTION. NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS ARE EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN TO TRY TO
INFLUENCE ITS DECISIONS. THE CENTRAL BANKS ARE GUARANTEED SOLE POWER TO PRINT
MONEY; THE GOVERNMENTS THEMSELVES ARE FORBIDDEN TO DO SO. GOVERNMENTS ARE
FORBIDDEN TO PROVIDE SUBSIDIZED OR LOW-COST CREDIT FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
ECONOMIC RECOVERY PURPOSES. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION CAN IMPOSE FINES AND
SANCTIONS ON THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBER STATES, AS IF THEY WERE UNRULY SCHOOLBOYS OR
TIPSY MOTORISTS. THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY HAS BEEN IN DEEP RECESSION FOR MOST OF
THE PAST DECADE.
THE MAASTRICHT
PROGRAM IS A PROGRAM OF BRUTAL AUSTERITY AND SAVAGE DEFLATION WHICH CAN ONLY
MAKE THINGS MUCH WORSE. TAKE THE CASE OF GERMANY. RIGHT NOW THERE ARE MORE
THAN 8 MILLION UNEMPLOYED AND UNDEREMPLOYED IN GERMANY; THE OFFICIAL FIGURE IS TWELVE
PER CENT. BUT THIS IS ALREADY MORE UNEMPLOYMENT THAN WHEN HITLER SEIZED POWER
IN THE DEPTHS OF THE DEPRESSION IN JANUARY, 1933. GERMANY ALSO HAS ONE OF THE
HEAVIEST PUBLIC DEBTS PER CAPITA IN THE WORLD, AND IT IS RISING VERY FAST.
GERMAN CHANCELLOR HELMUT KOHL CONSIDERS HIMSELF THE ARCHITECT OF THE EUROPEAN
SINGLE CURRENCY, AND HE HAS BEEN VERY STAUNCH IN LECTURING OTHER COUNTRIES --
LIKE THOSE DISORDERLY ITALIANS AND SPANIARDS AND GREEKS -- ABOUT THE NEED FOR
STRICT OBSERVANCE OF THE MAASTRICHT
CRITERIA. BUT IN MAY 1997 THE GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER THEO WAIGEL REVEALED THAT
BECAUSE OF FALLING TAX REVENUES COMBINED WITH EXTRA EXPENSES FOR UNEMPLOYMENT
INSURANCE, GERMANY WAS SURE
TO FAIL THE MAASTRICHT
TEST. KOHL AND WAIGEL THEN COOKED UP EXACTLY THE KIND OF CHEAP ACCOUNTING TRICK
THEY HAD BEEN WARNING THE OTHER EUROPEANS NOT TO PULL. KOHL DISCOVERED THAT THE
GOLD RESERVES OF THE GERMAN CENTRAL BANK, THE BUNDESBANK, WERE STILL VALUED AT
THE OFFICIAL LEVELS OF THE 1970'S. KOHL AND WAIGEL DECIDED TO START COUNTING
ALL THAT GOLD AT ITS PRESENT MARKET VALUE, WHICH IS EIGHT OR NINE TIMES MORE.
THE RESULTING PROFIT WOULD BE USED TO BRING THE GERMAN
DEFICIT BELOW 3% OF GDP, AND EVERYTHING WOULD BE HUNKY-DORY. ENTER AT THIS
POINT HERR HANS TIETMEYER, THE LEADER OF THE MONETARIST CLIQUE AT THE
INDEPENDENT BUNDESBANK. TIETMEYER OBJECTED TO KOHL'S TRICK, AND POLITICAL
ARM-WRESTLING AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL ENSUED. AS OF NOW, KOHL WILL UPVALUE THE
GOLD, BUT HE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO USE THE WINDFALL PROFITS THIS YEAR. IN FRANCE, THE JUPPE GOVERNMENT TRIED IN LATE 1995
TO DISMANTLE WHAT IS LEFT OF THE SOCIAL SAFETY NET, AGAIN TO MEET THE MAASTRICHT BUDGET
CRITERIA. THE RESULT WAS A MASS STRIKE THAT WENT ON FOR MONTHS.
THE HATRED AGAINST JUPPE AND HIS AUSTERITY WAS EXPRESSED
AGAIN IN THE FRENCH PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS OF MAY, 1997, WHEN THE GAULLISTS
AND GISCARDIANS WERE VOTED OUT AND THE SOCIALISTS WERE VOTED IN. NOW THE NEW
FRENCH SOCIALIST PRIME MINISTER LIONEL JOSPIN HAS A PROBLEM: HE WAS ELECTED TO
STOP MAASTRICHT AUSTERITY, BUT HE IS ALSO PLEDGED TO GO AHEAD ON THE SINGLE
CURRENCY. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE. NOT SURPRISINGLY, JOSPIN HAS ASKED THE OTHER
GOVERNMENTS FOR A PAUSE ON THE ROAD TO MAASTRICHT,
SINCE HE HOPES THAT FRENCH VOTERS WILL FORGET HIS ELECTION PROMISES AFTER A FEW
MONTHS. JOSPIN'S GOVERNING COALITION INCLUDES THE COMMUNISTS, WHO NEED FOR
POLITICAL REASONS TO MAKE A SHOW OF OPPOSING MAASTRICHT. SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING
CHANGES HAVE COME IN GREAT
BRITAIN. HERE THE CONSERVATIVES WERE VOTED
OUT AFTER 18 YEARS IN POWER IN THE BIGGEST LANDSLIDE IN A CENTURY. THE LABOUR
PARTY IS NOW IN POWER WITH TONY BLAIR AS PRIME MINISTER. BLAIR IS A MEMBER OF
THE BRITISH OLIGARCHY AND THE QUEEN'S PRIVY COUNCIL. BLAIR IS CLOSER IN HIS
POLICIES TO MARGARET THATCHER THAN TO THE OLD TRADE-UNION BASED LABOUR PARTY.
IF THE ANTI-MAASTRICHT MASS STRIKE COMES TO BRITAIN, BLAIR WILL ACT AS THE
CHIEF STRIKEBREAKER, WITH LEFT- WING COVER. BLAIR IS ALSO A RATHER OBVIOUS
ATTEMPT TO DISORIENT PRESIDENT CLINTON BY OFFERING HIM A NEW FRIEND ON THE
INTERNATIONAL SCENE. BLAIR CAN ALSO BE COMPARED TO RAMSAY MACDONALD, THE LABOUR
PARTY PRIME MINISTER OF THE EARLY 1930'S WHO DITCHED HIS OWN PARTY TO BECOME
THE LEADER OF A NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT FOR AUSTERITY. REMEMBER THAT RAMSAY
MACDONALD WAS THE MAN WHO PRESIDED OVER THE DELIBERATE AND PRE-PLANNED BRITISH
DEFAULT ON GOLD PAYMENT IN SEPTEMBER, 1931, WHICH DESTROYED THE POUND-BASED
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY SYSTEM OF THE INTERWAR PERIOD. IN DOING THIS MACDONALD
MADE THE WORLD DEPRESSION PERMANENT, AND ALSO SET OFF THE AMERICAN BANKING
PANIC OF LATE 1932 AND EARLY 1933, WHICH SHUT DOWN VIRTUALLY EVERY BANK IN THIS
COUNTRY. ONE OF TONY BLAIR'S FIRST MEASURES HAS BEEN TO GIVE EVEN MORE POWER
AND INDEPENDENCE TO THE BANK OF ENGLAND. IN THE
CASE OF ITALY, WE HAVE A
COUNTRY THAT HAS BEEN REDUCED TO A PUPPET
STATE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND. JUST ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO A SERIES OF PILOTED
CORRUPTION SCANDALS STARTED WHICH DESTROYED THE CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC AND
SOCIALIST PARTIES, WHICH HAD FORMED the GOVERNMENTS OF THE POSTWAR
PERIOD. MORE THAN TWO
YEARS AGO THE PRIME MINISTER BECAME LAMBERTO DINI, A
FORMER OFFICIAL OF THE BANK OF ITALY
AND OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND HERE IN WASHINGTON. THE CURRENT PRIME MINISTER IS
ROMANO PRODI, A BRITISH-LINKED ACADEMIC TECHNOCRAT AND PROFESSOR. DINI, THE IMF
MAN, IS THE FOREIGN MINISTER. THE FINANCE MINISTER IS CIAMPI, ANOTHER FORMER
OFFICIAL OF THE BANK OF ITALY.
THE OLD ITALIAN COMMUNIST PARTY, NOW RE-NAMED THE PDS -- DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF
THE LEFT -- IS THE STRONGEST FORCE IN THE GOVERNMENT. THE PDS SUPPORTS THE IMF
AUSTERITY PROGRAM, WHICH NOW INCLUDES A $20 BILLION AUSTERITY PROGRAM AND THE
DISMANTLING OF PENSIONS TO MEET THE MAASTRICHT
CRITERIA. IN ALL THESE COUNTRIES THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE ESTABLISHED POLITICAL
PARTIES ARE PLAYING THE MAASTRICHT
GAME. BUT THERE IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT OPPOSITION TO MAASTRICHT, MUCH OF WHICH IS ORIENTED TOWARDS
THE IDEAS OF THE AMERICAN POLITICAL ECONOMIST LYNDON LAROUCHE. RECENTLY, FOR
EXAMPLE, THE ITALIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT PUBLIO FIORI, FORMERLY ONE OF THE
CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC LEADERS IN THE CITY OF ROME AND NOW A LEADER OF NATIONAL
ALLIANCE, ONE OF THE MAIN OPPOSITION PARTIES, ENDORSED LAROUCHE'S CALL FOR A
NEW BRETTON WOODS CONFERENCE FOR A NEW WORLD MONETARY SYSTEM, AND SOON AFTER
HOSTED LAROUCHE AT A CONFERENCE IN ROME.
WITH US TODAY IS LILIANA CELANI, AN ACTIVIST
OF THE SCHILLER INSTITUTE IN ITALY,
GERMANY,
AND OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. MRS. CELANI HAS BEEN A POLITICAL COMMENTATOR ON
OUR PROGRAM SEVERAL TIMES, AND WAS ALSO OUR REPORTER IN BUSSETO, ITALY
FOR THE DECEMBER 1996 CONFERENCE ON MUSICAL TUNING ATTENDED BY THE CELEBRATED
TENOR CARLO BERGONZI.
June 10, 1997
Program
No. 310
"Return to the Machine Tool Principle!"
[The following is a transcription of host Webster Tarpley's introduction to
an in-studio interview with Richard Freeman, of EIR, conducted June 24,
1997. A summary of the entire show is not available at this time.]
WELCOME TO THE LAROUCHE CONNECTION. MY NAME IS WEBSTER TARPLEY. TODAY WE ARE
GOING TO FOCUS ON ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND LEAST UNDERSTOOD FACTORS WHICH
HAS MADE MODERN CIVILIZATION POSSIBLE - THE MACHINE TOOL.
YOU DON'T HEAR MUCH IN THE MEDIA ABOUT THE MACHINE
TOOL INDUSTRY THESE DAYS, ESPECIALLY NOT IN COMPARISON WITH THE WONDERS OF
MICROCHIPS AND SOFTWARE AND WEB SERVERS. BUT WITHOUT MACHINE TOOLS, THE MODERN
CIVILIZATION THAT SUPPORTS COMPUTERS AND THE REST COULD NOT EXIST. THE CURRENT
DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN MACHINE TOOL INDUSTRY EXPRESSES THE CRISIS OF OUR
CIVILIZATION MORE CLEARLY THAN JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE. POLITICIANS RUN AROUND
YELLING ABOUT A BUDGET DEFICIT, BUT THEY OUGHT TO BE YELLING MUCH LOUDER ABOUT
A MACHINE TOOL DEFICIT -- OR BETTER YET A MACHINE TOOL GAP, SINCE THIS IS A
STRATEGIC THREAT TO AMERICA'S
FUTURE. MACHINE TOOLS ARE THE MACHINES THAT MANUFACTURE OTHER MACHINES,
INCLUDING OTHER MACHINE TOOLS. THEY ARE THE ESSENCE OF AN INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY IN
ITS MOST CONCENTRATED FORM. MACHINE TOOLS FORM A VITAL NEXUS OF MODERN
CIVILIZATION BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE THE LINK BETWEEN THE SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY ON
THE ONE HAND AND THE FACTORY PRODUCTION LINE ON THE OTHER. THE SCIENTIST WORKS
IN THE LABORATORY AND COMES UP WITH A DISCOVERY THAT EMBODIES SOME FUNDAMENTAL
NEW INSIGHT INTO THE NATURE OF THINGS. BUT HOW DOES THIS NEW DISCOVERY COME TO
REPRESENT PROGRESS FOR THE WHOLE SOCIETY, SUCH AS A HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING?
TO BECOME AVAILABLE TO ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF CIVILIZATION IN THAT WAY, THE NEW
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY HAS TO BECOME EMBODIED IN THE DESIGN OF A NEW MACHINE TOOL
OR MAYBE EVEN A WHOLE CLASS OF MACHINE TOOLS. SO IT IS THE NEW MACHINE TOOL
THAT BRINGS THE NEW SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY TO THE SHOP FLOOR, THE FACTORY, THE
MASS PRODUCTION LINE. IMPLICIT IN THIS ARGUMENT IS THE IDEA THAT YOU CANNOT RUN
A SOCIETY BASED ON INFORMATION ALONE. YOU CANNOT RUN A SOCIETY BASED ON
SERVICES ALONE. THE PRODUCTION PROCESS HAS ALWAYS INVOLVED AND WILL ALWAYS
INVOLVE CARRYING OUT PROGRESSIVE PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE ORDER OF
NATURE. PRODUCTION IS INDISPENSABLE, AND PRODUCTION MEANS THE PRODUCTION OF
TANGIBLE PHYSICAL WEALTH, OF HARD COMMODITIES. IN THIS ENTIRE PROCESS, MACHINE
TOOLS ARE THE POINT AT WHICH THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD.
BETTER MACHINE TOOLS IMPROVE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF HUMAN LABOR. AND SO IT IS
THAT THE MARCH OF MODERN INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND ADVANCES OF MACHINE TOOLS HAVE
GONE HAND IN HAND. MACHINE TOOLS, AS WE SAID, ARE THE MACHINES THAT CREATE
OTHER MACHINES, INCLUDING OTHER MACHINE TOOLS. THERE ARE TWO BASIC KINDS OF
MACHINE TOOLS: FIRST THERE ARE THE MACHINE TOOLS THAT CUT METAL OR CERAMICS.
THIS INCLUDES BORING, BROACHING, DRILLING, GEAR- CUTTING, GRINDING, TURNING,
AND MILLING. THE OTHER BIG CATEGORY OF MACHINE TOOLS ARE THOSE THAT SHAPE
METAL; THESE DO THE FORGING, DIE-FORMING, BENDING, PRESSING, SHEARING AND
PUNCHING.
IMPORTANT BASIC IDEAS IN THIS REGARD GO BACK TO LEONARDO DA VINCI. MACHINE
TOOLS WERE A KEY PART OF THE EFFORT TO BUILD A STEAM ENGINE THAT WENT FROM
LEIBNIZ TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND JAMES WATT. THE AMERICAN ELI WHITNEY WAS
ANOTHER MACHINE TOOL PIONEER, AS WAS HENRY FORD. THE GREATEST MACHINE TOOL
TYCOON IN WORLD HISTORY WAS FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. ROOSEVELT'S PRESIDENCY LEFT
US WITH THE MOST MODERN MACHINE
TOOL PARK
IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY. BY CONTRAST, THE GREATEST WRECKER OF US MACHINE
TOOL BUILDING WAS PAUL ADOLF VOLCKER OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE, WHO IN THE EARLY
EIGHTIES GAVE US A 22% PRIME RATE AND AN EXPORT- STRANGLING SUPERDOLLAR AS PART
OF HIS PROGRAM FOR THE CONTROLLED DISINTEGRATION OF THE WORLD ECONOMY. THE
VOLCKER ERA WAS THE DOWNWARD PLUNGE IN US MACHINE TOOL PRODUCTION. THE US MACHINE TOOL
INDUSTRY HAS NEVER BEEN ABLE TO RECOVER FROM VOLCKER'S ASTRONOMICAL INTEREST
RATES. THE FIRST COMPUTER-CONTROLLED MACHINE TOOLS WERE BUILT WITH THE HELP OF
THE US
AIR FORCE. BUT FEDERAL RESERVE CREDIT POLICIES HAVE CREATED A SITUATION WHERE US MACHINE TOOL
BUILDERS LAG BEHIND THEIR FOREIGN COMPETITORS WHEN IT COMES TO INSTALLING
NUMERICALLY-CONTROLLED AND COMPUTER- CONTROLLED MACHINE TOOLS. AMERICAN MACHINE
TOOLS ARE GETTING OLDER AND OLDER ON THE AVERAGE. IF WE WANT TO GET AN ECONOMIC
RECOVERY GOING IN THE US,
THE FIRST BOTTLENECK WE WOULD FACE WOULD BE THE DECREPIT STATE OF OUR MACHINE
TOOLS. THE NEXT STEP IN DEVELOPMENT OF METAL CUTTING AND METAL-FORMING TOOLS IS
OBVIOUSLY GOING TO BE THE APPLICATION OF HIGH-ENERGY LASERS, WHICH WILL MAKE IT
POSSIBLE FOR THE WORKER TO ALTER THE MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF MATTER AT THE
FACTORY WORK-BENCH. HERE THE 1983 STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE WOULD HAVE GIVEN
THE UNITED STATES A COMMANDING LEAD, BUT THIS INESTIMABLE ADVANTAGE HAS BEEN
THROWN OUT THE WINDOW AS THE CONGRESS REFUSED TO FUND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
AT ADEQUATE LEVELS. ANOTHER SPECIAL QUALITY OF MACHINE TOOLS IS WHO MAKES THEM.
HISTORICALLY MACHINE TOOL DESIGN AND PRODUCTION HAS NOT BEEN THE DOMAIN OF HUGE
CORPORATIONS.
IT HAS BEEN THE SPECIALTY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM
INDUSTRY. MACHINE TOOL FIRMS WERE OFTEN FAMILY-OWNED, WITH THE EXPERTISE OF
RUNNING THEM PASSED DOWN OVER GENERATIONS. AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, THIS KIND OF
SETUP CREATED A MENTALITY WHICH WAS DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF THE TYPICAL CHIEF
FINANCIAL OFFICER WHO IS LOOTING THE COMPANY TO PAY A BIGGER DIVIDEND SO HE CAN
LOOK GOOD AT THE ANNUAL MEETING.
FIERCELY INDEPENDENT SMALL AND MEDIUM PRODUCERS ARE
CAPABLE OF TACKLING JOBS THAT NO ONE ELSE CAN HANDLE, BUT TODAY THEY ARE A
VANISHING BREED. WE OUGHT TO GO BACK TO THE KENNEDY-ERA INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT
TO HELP REVIVE SMALL AND MEDIUM MACHINE TOOL BUILDERS.
June 24, 1997
Program
No. 312
"The Landbridge: Driver for World Economic Recovery"
[The following is a transcription of host Webster Tarpley's introduction to
an in-studio interview with Jonathan Tennenbaum, Science Advisor to the
Schiller Institute. A summary of the entire program is not available at this
time.]
WELCOME TO THE LAROUCHE CONNECTION. MY NAME IS WEBSTER TARPLEY. TODAY WE ARE
GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHERE WE STAND IN TERMS OF THE REALLY BIG CHOICES IN UNITED
STATES FOREIGN POLICY FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. 1997 HAS SEEN SOME BIG
EVENTS IN WORLD AFFAIRS, INCLUDING THE RETURN OF HONG KONG TO CHINA AFTER A
CENTURY AND A HALF OF BRITISH IMPERIALIST RULE. WE HAVE WITNESSED THE
LONG-AWAITED RUSSIAN-CHINESE SUMMIT OF JIANG ZEMIN WITH BORIS YELTSIN.
PRESIDENT CLINTON HAS BEEN TO EUROPE TO PRESIDE OVER THE ADMISSION OF SEVERAL
NEW COUNTRIES TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC ALLIANCE.
HERE AT HOME, THE MOST-FAVORED NATION TRADING RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA HAS BEEN RENEWED AFTER AN ACRIMONIOUS
CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE, ALTHOUGH THE FUTURE COURSE OF US
CHINA
POLICY REMAINS VERY UNCERTAIN. AS A RECENT REPORT FROM THE BANK FOR
INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS HAS AGAIN POINTED UP, THE WORLD FINANCIAL SYSTEM
CONTINUES TO TEETER ON THE VERGE OF A FINANCIAL MELTDOWN. AND ALL THIS TAKES PLACE BEFORE
THE BACKDROP OF A NEW ROUND OF BRITISH EMPIRE-BUILDING IN CENTRAL AFRICA, WITH
THE GENOCIDAL EXPANSIONISM OF UGANDA'S
MOUSEVENI PROMOTING THE TAKEOVER OF ZAIRE BY THE BRITISH ASSET KABILA.
AS EXECUTIVE INTELLIGENCE REVIEW AND THE SCHILLER INSTITUTE HAVE BEEN ARGUING,
THE WORLD AFTER THE END OF THE COLD WAR IS A FOUR-CORNERED GAME, WITH THE
UNITED STATES, THE BRITISH EMPIRE, RUSSIA,
AND CHINA
QUALIFYING AS GREAT POWERS. CONTRARY TO WHAT MOST AMERICANS THINK, IT IS THE
BRITISH WHO ARE THE MOST HOSTILE TO OUR COUNTRY, AND THEY ARE ALSO VERY
POWERFUL. DURING THE HONG KONG HANDOVER, IT WAS IRONIC TO HEAR THE AMERICAN
NETWORKS PRATING THAT WITH THE LOSS OF HONG KONG, THE BRITISH EMPIRE HAD CEASED
TO EXIST APART FROM THE FALKLAND ISLANDS, GIBRALTAR,
AND A FEW OTHER IMPERIAL OUTPOSTS. IT WAS IRONIC BECAUSE JUST AS THE BRITISH
WERE LEAVING HONG KONG, THEIR PUPPET KABILA WAS TAKING OVER THE VAST AND
MINERAL-RICH COUNTRY OF ZAIRE.
IT WAS ALSO IRONIC BECAUSE THE BRITISH HAVE NEVER CEASED TO CONTROL BETWEEN ONE
QUARTER AND ONE FIFTH OF THE LAND AREA AND POPULATION OF THE WORLD. NOW IN THIS
CRISIS-RIDDEN FOUR-CORNERED WORLD OF THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, WHAT OUGHT THE
AMERICAN POLICY TO BE? IT OUGHT TO BE A SPECIAL OUTREACH TO CHINA AND RUSSIA TO SECURE A WORLD ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT POLICY BACKED UP BY THE NECESSARY MONETARY ARRANGEMENTS IN THE FORM
OF A NEW BRETTON WOODS SYSTEM. CONTRARY AGAIN TO WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK, THE
PROSPECT OF COOPERATION AMONG THE UNITED STATES,
RUSSIA, AND CHINA IS NOT A NEW DEPARTURE -- IT WAS THE VERY
BASIS OF FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT'S FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS THE END OF HIS LIFE-- A
FACT WHICH DOES NOT EMERGE SUFFICIENTLY FROM THE NEW FDR MEMORIAL HERE IN WASHINGTON.
UNFORTUNATELY, FDR'S VISION OF A WORLD DOMINATED BY WASHINGTON,
MOSCOW, AND NANKING
WAS THROWN OVERBOARD BY HARRY TRUMAN AND HIS CREW OF PRO-BRITISH ADVISERS LIKE
DEAN ACHESON, AVERILL HARRIMAN AND CLARK CLIFFORD. BUT TODAY THERE IS A CHANCE
TO RETURN TO FDR'S GRAND DESIGN. TODAY ASIA AND EUROPE
ARE DOMINATED BY A DESIRE TO PUT ASIDE POINTLESS OLD RIVALRIES IN FAVOR OF
COOPERATION, ESPECIALLY OF COOPERATION IN THE BUILDING OF MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL
INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE MODERN RAILROADS AND ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEMS. OUR REGULAR
VIEWERS HAVE SOME FAMILIARITY WITH CONCEPTS LIKE THE EURASIAN LAND BRIDGE AND
THE NEW SILK ROAD, WHICH REFER IN THE BROADEST SENSE TO A COMPLEX OF AMBITIOUS
PLANS TO CONNECT BY RAIL CHINA, RUSSIA, INDIA, IRAN, TURKEY, AND THE NEW
REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL ASIA WITH EUROPE, JAPAN, AFRICA, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND EVEN
WITH THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
THE EURASIAN LAND
BRIDGE PROGRAM IS THE VERY OBVIOUS WAY TO BEGIN PROMOTING AN ECONOMIC RECOVERY
AMONG THAT VAST MAJORITY OF HUMAN KIND WHO LIVE IN ASIA AND EUROPE.
THE EURASIAN LAND BRIDGE IS ALSO THE CLEAREST FORMULA FOR IMPOSING PEACE ON THE
MANY PARTS OF EURASIA WHERE ARMED CONFLICT HAS
BEEN ENDEMIC AND CONSTANTLY THREATENS TO BREAK OUT INTO WARFARE. OUR AMERICAN
INTEREST IN A PEACEFUL WORLD AND IN ECONOMIC RECOVERY OUGHT TO IMPEL US NOT
JUST TO SUPPORT THE EURASIAN LAND BRIDGE, BUT ALSO TO PARTICIPATE IN WHAT IS
UNQUESTIONABLY THE BIGGEST AND MOST PROFITABLE BUSINESS VENTURE OF OUR TIME OR
OF ANY TIME. BUT THE WHOLE US STRATEGIC AND FOREIGN POLICY COMMUNITY IS
DOMINATED BY DEVOTEES OF BRITISH-STYLE GEOPOLITICS. WHEN JIANG ZEMIN MET
YELTSIN, THE PRO-BRITISH GEOPOLITICIANS ARGUED THAT THE UNITED STATES HAD TO
FEEL THREATENED, ALTHOUGH PRESIDENT CLINTON WISELY REPUDIATED THESE
SUGGESTIONS. THESE DAYS THE QUESTION USUALLY CENTERS ON CHINA. IS CHINA DESTINED
TO BECOME THE GREAT ADVERSARY OF THE NEW CENTURY-- AS THE GEOPOLITICIANS ARGUE
-- OR IS THE PATH OF COOPERATION BETTER? THE TRUTH IS THAT A POSITIVE RELATION
BETWEEN THE US AND CHINA WILL BE
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT IN WORLD AFFAIRS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY.
IMPORTANT FORCES IN CHINA ARE BUSILY SENDING SIGNALS THAT THEY SEE THE
MATTER IN JUST THIS WAY -- LIKE THE RECENT ARTICLE IN HUNDRED YEAR TIDE, THE
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY, WHICH PORTRAYS THE KOREAN WAR
OF THE 1950'S NOT AS A GREAT EXERCISE IN PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM, BUT AS A
CASE OF A BLUNDERING MAO BEING DUPED AND PRESSURED BY STALIN TO BECOME
EMBROILED IN A NEEDLESS AND COSTLY CONFLICT WITH THE UNITED STATES. IF THE ONLY
SINO-AMERICAN WAR IN HISTORY WAS NOT NECESSARY, THEN NEITHER IS CONFLICT TODAY.
OUR GUEST TO EXPLORE ALL THESE ISSUES IN JONATHAN TENNENBAUM, AUTHOR OF THE
EXECUTIVE INTELLIGENCE REVIEW SPECIAL REPORT ENTITLED THE EURASIAN LANDBRIDGE
-- THE NEW SILK ROAD, LOCOMOTIVE FOR WORLD WIDE DEVELOPMENT. TENNENBAUM HAS
VISITED BOTH RUSSIA AND CHINA IN THE CONTEXT OF ORGANIZING EFFORTS FOR BUILDING
EURASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE. HE HAS ALSO BEEN ACTIVE IN THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE
LAROUCHE EUROPEAN PRODUCTIVE TRIANGLE PROGRAM OF 1989. TENNENBAUM HAS LIVED FOR
MANY YEARS IN DENMARK AND
THEN IN GERMANY.
HE IS ALSO THE AUTHOR OF A VERY INTERESTING STUDY ON THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE
DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS.
July 8, 1997
Program
No. 318
"British Geopolitics Targets Asia"
[The following is a transcription of host Webster Tarpley's introduction to
an in-studio interview conducted August 19, 1997 with Kathy Wolfe and Gail
Billington. A summary of the entire program is not available at this time.]
WELCOME TO THE LAROUCHE CONNECTION. MY NAME IS WEBSTER TARPLEY. TODAY OUR
FOCUS IS THE IMMENSE REGIONAL CRISIS WHICH IS BOILING OVER IN ASIA.
UNTIL RECENTLY, IT APPEARED THAT ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN ASIA
WAS THE MOST DYNAMIC IN THE WORLD, BUT NOW THE PICTURE IS MUCH MORE
COMPLICATED. LIKE EVERY OTHER PART OF THIS WORLD, ASIA
IS BEING BUFFETED BY THE TYPHOON OF WORLD FINANCIAL DISINTEGRATION, WHICH HAS
BECOME MORE INTENSE IN THE SECOND HALF OF 1997. BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, ASIA
IS ALSO BEING LASHED BY BRITISH GEOPOLITICAL DESTABILIZATION, MUCH OF IT
CENTERED ON THE ENCIRCLEMENT OF CHINA.
AS A RESULT, ASIA IS INCREASINGLY CRISIS-
RIDDEN. UNTIL RECENTLY, YOU HEARD A LOT ABOUT THE GREAT ECONOMIC EXPANSION
GOING ON IN THE ASIAN TIGERS, THE SO-CALLED NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES LIKE
SOUTH KOREA, TAIWAN, HONG KONG,
SINGAPORE, PLUS THAILAND AND MALAYSIA. BECAUSE OF THE FINANCIAL
DISINTEGRATION AND BECAUSE OF DESTRUCTIVE BRITISH OPERATIONS, A NUMBER OF THESE
TIGERS HAVE FALLEN UPON HARD TIMES, AND THE GLOSS IS OFF THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC
MIRACLE. SURELY THE MOST DRAMATIC FEATURE OF THIS CRISIS IS THE COLOSSAL FAMINE
IN NORTH KOREA.
HERE, AT THE CLOSE OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, OVER 5 MILLION PERSONS ARE FACING
STARVATION IN THE SHORT RUN, AND ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILLION OF THESE ARE
INNOCENT CHILDREN. ALL 24 MILLION NORTH KOREANS ARE THREATENED BY MALNUTRITION
AND DISEASE. WE WILL BE SHOWING YOU SOME DIRECT PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF THIS
TRAGIC SITUATION. NOW IF WE BELIEVE IN THE SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE, THE DIGNITY
OF THE HUMAN PERSON, AND THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF MAN, THEN WE MUST PUT ASIDE
POWER POLITICS AND SAVE THESE FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS. THAT WOULD ALSO BE GOOD
POLITICS. SO FAR THE US HAS
SENT 177,000 TONS OF GRAIN TO NORTH
KOREA IN BULK CARRIERS, BUT THE NORTH
KOREANS NEED TEN TIMES THAT, JUST UNDER 2 MILLION TONS.
TRUE TO FORM, THE BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE DENIES THAT THERE IS ANY CRISIS AT
ALL IN NORTH KOREA.
THE NORTH KOREAN POLITICAL REGIME FOR ITS PART HAS BEEN ATTEMPTING TO SEND
CONCILIATORY SIGNALS TO WASHINGTON.
SO IT IS UP TO THE UNITED STATES TO BRUSH THESE GHOULS AND VAMPIRES OF LONDON ASIDE AND FULFILL
THE DICTATES OF ELEMENTARY MORALITY.
IN THE OTHER HALF OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA, ALL IS NOT SO WELL IN PREVIOUSLY
PROSPEROUS SOUTH KOREA.
DURING 1997, FIVE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT INDUSTRIAL GROUPS IN THE COUNTRY HAVE
GONE BANKRUPT, THREATENING TO DETONATE A NATIONWIDE BANKING PANIC. FARTHER
SOUTH, A NUMBER OF ASIAN COUNTRIES HAVE ALSO BEEN CAUGHT UP IN THE BIGGEST
CURRENCY AND EQUITY MARKET TURBULENCE SINCE MEXICO IN 1994-95. THERE ARE NO
FIXED CURRENCY PARITIES IN ASIA, BUT MANY
COUNTRIES INFORMALLY PEG THEIR CURRENCY TO THE US DOLLAR, WHICH IS OFTEN THEIR
BIGGEST MARKET. THE TECHNICAL REASON FOR THE TURBULENCE IS THAT THE DOLLAR IS
VERY STRONG AT THE MOMENT, AND THE YEN VERY WEAK, SO THE WILD RISE IN THESE
CURRENCIES AS THEY FOLLOWED THE DOLLAR UP HAS PRICED THE EXPORTS OF THESE
COUNTRIES OUT OF THE WORLD MARKET. BEFORE LONG THE LINKS OF THE DOLLAR TO THE
PHILIPPINE PESO AND THE THAI BAHT BEGAN TO LOOK LIKE BIG TARGETS TO THOSE
MODERN VANDALS, THE INTERNATIONAL HEDGE FUND OPERATORS. THE FIRST ASIAN COUNTRY
TO SAY UNCLE WAS THE PHILIPPINES,
WHICH SUBMITTED TO THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND TOWARDS THE END OF JULY, AND
RECEIVED A $1 BILLION IMF LOAN TO STABILIZE THE PESO. WE WILL GET A FIRST-HAND
REPORT FROM THE PHILIPPINES
FROM GAIL BILLINGTON OF EXECUTIVE INTELLIGENCE REVIEW, WHO HAS JUST RETURNED
FROM A VISIT IN THAT COUNTRY. THEN CAME THAILAND, WHICH HAD BEEN TARGETED
BY THE INTERNATIONAL CORSAIR AND SPECULATOR GEORGE SOROS. THE THAI BAHT HAD
BEEN UNDER ATTACK FOR MONTHS WHEN THE GOVERNMENT FINALLY DECIDED TO KNUCKLE
UNDER TO THE IMF, APPLYING FOR A BAILOUT PACKAGE AT THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST. AS
ALWAYS, THE PRICE OF THE BAILOUT PACKAGE IS THAT THE IMF TAKES OVER YOUR
COUNTRY. THAILAND
COULD IMPROVE ITS SITUATION WITH SOME HELP FROM CURRENCY CONTROLS, EXCHANGE
CONTROLS, AND CAPITAL CONTROLS, BUT ALL THAT IS TABOO UNDER THE IMF RULES FOR
GLOBALONEY INTERNATIONAL FINANCE. SO THE FUTURE FOR THAILAND WILL BE VERY GRIM. THIS
REGIONAL CURRENCY CRISIS THEN SPREAD FURTHER, ENGULFING CURRENCIES MANY
AMERICANS HAVE NEVER HEARD OF, UNLESS THEY ARE HEDGE FUND OPERATORS. ON JUST ONE
DAY, JULY 22, THE INDONESIAN RUPIAH LOST 7% OF ITS VALUE UNDER SPECULATIVE
ATTACK. THE MALAYSIAN CURRENCY, THE RINGIT, ALSO BEGAN TO SUFFER. THE MALAYSIAN
GOVERNMENT OF PRIME MINISTER MAHATIR MOHAMMED, WHO IS A MORE MILITANT
NATIONALIST THAN MANY OF HIS NEIGHBORS, RAISED A SPIRITED PROTEST WITH THE US STATE
DEPARTMENT ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE MARPLOT SOROS. INCREDIBLY, THE STATE
DEPARTMENT DEFENDED THIS MODERN MILLKEN, SAYING THAT HE WAS AN HONORABLE MAN
WHO HAD DONE MUCH GOOD. DID THE STATE DEPARTMENT MEAN THAT SOROS WAS AN
HONORABLE MAN IN THE SAME WAY MARC ANTONY
SAID THE SAME ABOUT BRUTUS IN SHAKESPEARE'S JULIUS CAESAR? DON'T GET YOUR HOPES
UP. IN ANY CASE, SOON THE SINGAPORE
DOLLAR WAS ALSO UNDER SPECULATIVE ATTACK. SOME OF OUR VIEWERS ARE NO DOUBT
GETTING IMPATIENT WITH ALL THE TALK ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN SOUTHEAST ASIAN
CURRENCIES.
WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE PROBLEMS OF AN AMERICAN WORKING
FAMILY, YOU MAY ASK. WELL, THE JAPANESE EXPOSURE TO THAILAND IS ABOUT FIFTY
BILLION DOLLARS IF THE BANKS IN THAILAND BLOW SKY HIGH, AS THEY ARE THREATENING
TO DO, THAT COULD BLOW A HOLE IN THE JAPANESE BANKING SYSTEM, WHICH IS ITSELF
ALREADY IN DEEP TROUBLE, WITH $1.5 TRILLION IN BAD REAL ESTATE LOANS LEFT OVER
FROM THE JAPANESE BUBBLE ECONOMY O SOME YEARS BACK. AND IF BIG JAPANESE BANKS
FACE BANKRUPTCY, THEIR FIRST RESPONSE WILL BE TO RAISE CASH BY DUMPING HALF A
TRILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF US TREASURY BONDS ONTO THE NEW YORK MARKET, WHICH
WOULD BRING DOWN EVERY SKYSCRAPER IN WALL STREET.
THAT IS A PERFECTLY VALID SCENARIO FOR A WORLD FINANCIAL MELTDOWN THAT COULD
HAPPEN ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. THE JAPANESE BANKING CRISIS, CLEARLY, HAS BEEN A
TIME BOMB TICKING UNDERNEATH GLOBAL CAPITAL MARKETS FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS AND
MORE. FINALLY, IN THE MIDDLE OF ASIA, WE HAVE CHINA, THE ONE COUNTRY THAT OFFERS
A CONTRAST TO THE CHAOS BREAKING OUT AROUND IT. CHINA
IS NOW RE- ASSIMILATING HONG KONG, WHERE
BRITISH FREE TRADE WILL DOUBTLESS LEAVE A BITTER AFTERTASTE, ESPECIALLY IN THE
REAL ESTATE MARKET. BUT THE CHINESE LEADERSHIP IS NOW MORE CONFIDENT, MORE
SERENE, AND THUS BETTER ABLE TO PURSUE THEIR GOAL, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE BETTER
RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES. CHINA
IS THE ONE COUNTRY IN ASIA THAT IS ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE THE LOGIC OF GLOBALONEY
BY PROMOTING INFRASTRUCTURE
BUILDING INCLUDING MODERN
RAILROADS AND WATER PROJECTS LIKE THE THREE GORGES DAM. THE SILK ROAD, THE EURASIAN LAND BRIDGE, AND
RELATED POLICIES ARE THE KEY TO OFFERING THE REST OF ASIA
A NEW MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT, AN ALTERNATIVE TO GLOBALONEY.
I AM JOINED IN THE STUDIO TODAY BY KATHY WOLFE OF THE EIR ASIA DESK, WHO
FOLLOWS JAPAN AND KOREA. I AM
ALSO JOINED BY MRS. GAIL BILLINGTON, AN EXPERT ON SOUTHEAST
ASIA. AS A OUR REGULAR VIEWERS KNOW, MRS. BILLINGTON IS THE WIFE
OF MIKE BILLINGTON, THE CELEBRATED POLITICAL PRISONER WHO IS BEING ILLEGALLY
KEPT IN JAIL IN VIRGINIA AS THE RESULT OF THE FRAME-UP CARRIED OUT BY THE GET
LAROUCHE TASKFORCE; MRS. BILLINGTON HAS BEEN WORKING TIRELESSLY FOR HER
HUSBAND'S RELEASE. MRS. BILLINGTON IS GOING TO HELP US MAKE SENSE OUT OF THE
CAMBODIAN SITUATION. WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE BOTH OF YOU WITH US ON THE LAROUCHE
CONNECTION.
August 19, 1997
Program
No. 331
"The MIR: Foundation for the International Space Station"
[The following is a transcription of host Webster Tarpley's introduction
to a November 4, 1997in-studio interview with Marsha Freeman. A summary of the
entire program is not available at this time.]
WELCOME TO THE LAROUCHE CONNECTION. MY NAME IS WEBSTER TARPLEY. TODAY WE
WANT TO RETURN TO ONE OF OUR FAVORITE TOPICS, SPACE EXPLORATION AND SPACE
COLONIZATION, WITH THE HELP OF MARSHA FREEMAN OF EXECUTIVE INTELLIGENCE REVIEW.
WE WANT TO DEVOTE SOME ATTENTION TO THE CONTROVERSY ABOUT THE RUSSIAN SPACE
STATION MIR, WHICH NOW HAS US ASTRONAUTS AS FULL MEMBERS OF ITS PERMANENT CREW.
THE CORE BLOCK OF MIR HAS BEEN IN SPACE SINCE FEBRUARY 1986. VARIOUS MODULES
WERE ADDED ON BETWEEN 1987 AND 1996. WHATEVER ELSE YOU CAN SAY ABOUT MIR, THE
BASIC FACT REMAINS THAT FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, IT HAS BEEN THE ONLY
OPERATIONAL SPACE STATION CONTINUOUSLY UP THERE - THE ONLY ONE. AND IN CONTRAST
TO THE US
SPACE SHUTTLE, IT HAS BEEN UP THERE ALL THE TIME, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION. A MISSION ON THE SPACE
SHUTTLE IS NEVER MORE THAN TWO WEEKS. BUT A MISSION ON THE MIR CAN LAST MONTHS, OR EVEN
YEARS. THIS IMPLIES TRAINING, EXPERIMENTATION, AND MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS THAT
THE SPACE SHUTTLE SIMPLY DOES NOT ENCOUNTER. TAKE DOCKING IN SPACE. IF YOU ARE
GOING TO HAVE A SPACE STATION, YOU MUST CONTINUOUSLY SEND SPACE VEHICLES BACK
AND FORTH FROM THE SPACE STATION TO EARTH, AND EACH TRIP INVOLVES A RENDEZVOUS
AND DOCKING IN SPACE. DOCKING IN SPACE IS AN EIGHT-DIMENSIONAL PROBLEM THAT HAS
GOT TO BE MASTERED IN STRICTLY LIMITED TIME. IT IS THE KIND OF PROBLEM IT TAKES
A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO SOLVE. WHEN THE SPACE SHUTTLE DOCKED WITH MIR FOR THE
FIRST TIME IN JUNE 1995, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE SHUTTLE HAD EVER DOCKED
WITH ANY OTHER SPACECRAFT -- OR WITH ANYTHING ELSE. SO MIR HAS BEEN THE ONLY
GAME IN TOWN, OR RATHER IN SPACE, AND THE EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN SIMPLY INVALUABLE.
CONGRESSMAN WHO BAD-MOUTH MIR NEED TO BE ASKED WHY THEY NEVER, IN ALL THOSE
YEARS, WERE WILLING TO COUGH UP THE MONEY TO PUT UP A SPACE STATION MORE TO
THEIR LIKING. SO MIR HAS ADDED A WHOLE NEW DIMENSION TO HUMANITY'S EXPERIENCE
IN SPACE. IN THAT SENSE MIR HAS BEEN AND CONTINUES TO BE AN EPIC ACHIEVEMENT.
THE MEDIA THAT ARE EAGER TO REPORT EVERY DETAIL WHEN SOMETHING BREAKS DOWN
ABOARD MIR HAVE IGNORED VIRTUALLY EVERY ASPECT OF THE EXPERIMENTS WHICH
CONTINUE TO BE CARRIED OUT ON BOARD. RIGHT NOW THERE IS AN AMERICAN ASTRONAUT
FLYING ABOARD THE MIR. HIS NAME IS DOCTOR DAVID WOLF, M.D. BASED ON READING THE
NEW YORK TIMES OR THE WASHINGTON POST, HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD KNOW THAT
ASTRONAUT WOLF HAS HELPED TO DESIGN THE ROTATING WALL VESSEL, A DEVICE WHICH
TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE ZERO-GRAVITY ENVIRONMENT ON BOARD THE SPACE STATION TO
CARRY OUT HUMAN TISSUE CULTURING, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING AREAS OF
CANCER RESEARCH? AND THIS IS ONLY ONE PART OF THE WORK ASSOCIATED WITH THE MIR.
OTHER RESEARCH HAS APPLICATIONS TO CARDIOVASCULAR PROBLEMS AND THEREFORE TO
HEART DISEASE. THE CHANGES IN BONE STRUCTURE THAT OCCUR DURING LONG PERIODS IN
SPACE CAN TEACH US LESSONS ABOUT OSTEOPOROSIS. THEN THERE ARE THE SUBTLE
CHANGES IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM OF THE HUMAN BODY WHICH COME FROM
MICROGRAVITY.
THE BEHAVIOR OF HUMAN LYMPHOCYTES AS STUDIED IN SPACE CAN PERHAPS TEACH US
SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY THESE CELLS RESPOND TO CANCER CELLS IN THE HUMAN BODY.
BUT FROM THE MEDIA COVERAGE, YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW THAT THE MIR CREW WERE
ADVANCING HUMAN KNOWLEDGE OF CANCER, HEART DISEASE, IMMUNE SYSTEM DISORDERS,
OSTEOPOROSIS, LIVER DISEASE, AND OTHER AILMENTS. WE SHOULD ADD THAT US
PARTICIPATION ON BOARD MIR HAS BEEN DECISIVE FOR ALLOWING THIS BIOMEDICAL
RESEARCH TO GO ON. THE RESULTS OF THESE EXPERIMENTS ARE POSTED ON THE INTERNET,
WHERE THEY ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANYBODY IN THE WORLD WHO WANTS TO EXAMINE THEM.
THE VERY FACT OF HAVING A LONG-TERM SPACE STATION INHERENTLY POSES QUESTIONS OF
BREAKDOWNS AND REPAIRS, AN ISSUE WHICH CERTAIN MEDIA WANT TO WRAP IN A CLOUD OF
HYSTERIA. THE RUSSIAN METHOD IS TO OPERATE NON-CRITICAL EQUIPMENT UP TO THE
POINT OF FAILURE. THIS AMOUNTS TO BREAKDOWN MAINTENANCE, WHICH YOU WOULD NOT
WANT ON YOUR SUBWAY SYSTEM BUT WHICH MAY BE UNAVOIDABLE IN SPACE, WHERE PREVENTIVE
MAINTENANCE HAS GOT TO BE CONCENTRATED ON THE CRITICAL SYSTEMS.
THIS METHOD IS GOING TO BE EMPLOYED ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, SO
WE SHOULD ALL BECOME FAMILIAR WITH IT NOW. IT OUGHT TO BE OBVIOUS TO ANYBODY
THAT SPACE FLIGHT, ESPECIALLY DURING THE CURRENT PIONEERING PHASE, IS ALWAYS
INEXTRICABLY LINKED TO RISK. ALTHOUGH MORE MONEY AND MORE RESOURCES CAN HELP TO
REDUCE RISKS, RISK CAN NEVER BE TOTALLY BANISHED. NO COUNTRY HAS BEEN IMMUNE TO
SUCH RISK, AS THE DRAMATIC SAGA OF APOLLO XIII OR THE TRAGIC FATE OF SOVIET
COSMONAUT GERMAN TITOV BACK IN 1967 OUGHT TO REMIND US. BUT, AS APOLLO XIII
ALSO REMINDS US, MOMENTS OF GREAT PERIL CAN ALSO PROVIDE THE SETTING FOR GREAT
HEROISM AND GREAT TECHNOLOGICAL VIRTUOSITY. THEY CAN BECOME AND HAVE BECOME THE
FINEST HOURS OF MANKIND'S GREAT VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY INTO THE COSMOS. THE
WRETCHED FOES OF SCIENCE AND PROGRESS IN THE AMERICAN MEDIA ESTABLISHMENT HAVE
DONE EVERYTHING TO RIDICULE THE MIR, CONJURING UP THE WING AND A PRAYER IMAGE
OF A SPACE STATION HELD TOGETHER WITH CHEWING GUM AND BALING WIRE.
NOW THIS IS A TISSUE OF LIES, AS WE WILL SHOW. THERE ARE INDEED FOOLHARDY
AND IRRESPONSIBLE PROJECTS FLOATING AROUND IN THE DEBATE ABOUT SPACE
EXPLORATION, BUT MIR IS NOT ONE OF THEM. HOW ABOUT BOB ZUBRIN AND HIS FRIENDS
FROM THE REALLY LOW-BUDGET MARS NETWORK, WHO WANT TO SEND HUMAN BEINGS TO MARS
ON A SHOESTRING IN A SPACE VEHICLE WHICH ZUBRIN HAS REFERRED TO AS A 'TUNA FISH
CAN.' CHARACTERISTICALLY, NATIONAL NEWSMAGAZINES HAVE GIVEN THIS SCHOOL OF
THOUGHT OF SPACE FLIGHT ON THE CHEAP VERY FAVORABLE PUBLICITY, EVEN WHILE THEY
ARE ATTEMPTING TO DISCREDIT THE MIR. HAVING SAID THIS, WE MUST ALSO RECALL THAT
THE RUSSIAN MIR SPACE STATION HAS NOW BEEN IN USE FOR MUCH LONGER THAN ITS
DESIGNER EVER PLANNED.
FROM THAT POINT OF VIEW, MIR HAS PROVEN TO BE A REMARKABLY DURABLE SPACE
VEHICLE. ITS ABILITY TO PERFORM FAR BEYOND ITS BUILT-IN SPECIFICATIONS DOES
HONOR TO THE SOVIET AND RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS WHO DESIGNED AND BUILT
IT. SO, IF MIR IS NOW OBSOLESCENT, IT IS CLEARLY TIME TO BEGIN PUTTING UP A NEW
SPACE STATION. WE ARE NOW ON THE EVE OF THAT NEW ERA. THE FIRST ELEMENT OF THE
NEW INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IS SCHEDULED TO GO INTO ORBIT IN JUNE OF 1998.
AFTER THAT THE NEW SPACE STATION WILL BE GRADUALLY ASSEMBLED OVER A NUMBER OF
YEARS. EVENTUALLY THE NEW SPACE STATION WILL BE ABOUT TWO FOOTBALL FIELDS IN
LENGTH. RIGHT NOW IT IS SCHEDULED TO BE COMPLETED BY 2009. THE NEW SPACE
STATION WILL NORMALLY CARRY A CREW OF SIX, AND IT IS EXPECTED THAT A STANDARD MISSION WILL AVERAGE
ABOUT THREE MONTHS FOR EACH ASTRONAUT. THE NEW SPACE STATION IS BEING BACKED BY
A LARGE GROUP OF COUNTRIES. IN ADDITION TO THE UNITED STATES, THE PARTICIPANTS
INCLUDE RUSSIA, JAPAN, CANADA,
AND THE FIFTEEN MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY, INCLUDING GERMANY, FRANCE,
ITALY,
AND THE OTHER EUROPEANS. VERY IMPORTANT IN MY OPINION IS THE FACT THAT BRAZIL IS ALSO
PART OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CONSORTIUM. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT
A DEVELOPING COUNTRY, A COUNTRY WHICH IS NOT IN EUROPE
AND NOT A MEMBER OF THE GROUP OF SEVEN WILL HAVE ITS ASTRONAUTS AS MEMBERS OF
THE CORE GROUP. THE INCLUSION OF BRAZIL IS NOT JUST A POLITICAL
GESTURE, BUT IS FULLY JUSTIFIED BY THE HIGHLY ADVANCED AEROSPACE INDUSTRY IN
THAT COUNTRY. IT WOULD BE DESIRABLE TO BROADEN THIS PARTICIPATION EVEN FURTHER,
WITH OBVIOUS CANDIDATES BEING CHINA,
INDIA,
AND A NUMBER OF OTHERS.
AS WE REPORTED ABOUT A YEAR AGO IN LATE 1996, WE ARE WITNESSING A WORLDWIDE
REBIRTH OF INTEREST IN SPACE TRAVEL AND SPACE EXPLORATION. MUCH OF THIS NEW
INTEREST HAS INVOLVED MARS, THANKS TO THE MARS PATHFINDER WHICH PLACED THE
NOW-CELEBRATED ROVER ON THE SURFACE OF THE RED PLANET, AND THE MARS SURVEYOR,
WHICH IS MAPPING THE MARTIAN GEOGRAPHY MORE ACCURATELY THAN EVER BEFORE. MORE
RECENTLY, THE CASSINI SPACE PROBE HAS BEING ITS JOURNEY TOWARDS THE GIANT
PLANETS BEYOND THE ASTEROID BELT, DESPITE THE PUERILE PROTESTS OF THE
ENVIRONMENTALISTS WHO BECAME HYSTERICAL ABOUT THE PRESENCE OF PLUTONIUM ON
BOARD.
SO, TO BRING US UP TO DATE ON ALL THESE ISSUES WITH HER UNPARALLELED
EXPERTISE, WE ARE GLAD TO WELCOME IN THE STUDIO MARSHA FREEMAN, WHO
COVERS AEROSPACE AND SCIENCE ISSUES FOR EXECUTIVE INTELLIGENCE REVIEW.
Nov. 4, 1997
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