Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—There’s no denying that it is a turbulent world. The twists and turns will leave the unprepared tossed aside. Witness, the vaunted “price cap” on Russian oil that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell worked so hard to impose upon Europe and dictate to Russia. The EU drafters on the energy crisis apparently just walked away from imposing more sanctions, and acted—even in their awkward, still incompetent fashion—as if they were hearing crowds of citizens in the streets of France, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Italy. The draft reads: “This is the moment to act, for this winter and beyond.... The current situation causes economic and social hardship, placing a heavy burden on citizens and on the economy.”
The proposals to be discussed at the European Council on Oct. 20-21—e.g., seeking long-term contracts to avoid the Netherlands’ spot market and such—were completely sensible years ago, but far short of what’s needed now. As Vladimir Putin has repeatedly offered: Just stop choking on your words and simply say, open the section of Nord Stream 2 that works—or expand orders through the underutilized TurkStream pipeline. But the phrase “price cap” has seemingly disappeared as fast as one can say, “OPEC has to increase production of oil,” or as fast as Britain’s Liz Truss can eat her words.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s discussion about the unrest in Europe with ChinaPlus’s “World Today” broadcast made a similar point. The energy and food crisis is real. Western governments have failed to consider the general welfare of their populations, and their people have that palpable sense. There is no way out if governments don’t apply themselves to the unsolved financial crisis from 2008, if they don’t address solutions, and join with China and Russia in building a new economic system.
Russians heard former U.S. Army Col. Richard Black (ret.), an American making perfect sense about the danger of nuclear war, on the hugely popular Solovyov Live television show. U.S. Senate candidate Diane Sare has her rival, incumbent New York Sen. Chuck Schumer caught between a rock and a hard place, possibly creating the sort of catalyst for an ignored populace in the U.S. as Zepp-LaRouche indicated in Europe.
The most efficient pathway through this turbulent world begins with pronouncing the two words, “Lyndon LaRouche.” That is exactly what has been usefully put on the table for the breakout LaRouche youth movement, when the pathetic Ocasio-Cortez or the whining Ben Norton have their bluffs called. The true name of peace is economic development, and the name of economic development is Lyndon LaRouche.
Hold yourself accountable to think like a world leader, one who actually cares for the general welfare of the population, and the present twists and turns don’t have to toss you overboard.
Truth-seeking activity means never having to choke on your words.
• Watch Harley’s Updates with Harley Schlanger on Wednesday October 19, 2022: Every weekday morning on The LaRouche Organization, Schlanger will give you the strategic briefing you need to start your day.
LAROUCHE
Zepp-LaRouche Briefs ChinaPlus Radio’s ‘World Today’ on Unrest in Europe
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche gave a European point of view with China Radio International’s “World Today” broadcast today regarding the outbreak of strikes in France and general unrest in Europe over exploding inflation and energy shortages with approaching winter. Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche addressed the outbreak of strikes in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Italy, saying it was the lawful reflection of Western governments having given up on the general welfare of their populations. Indeed, the geopolitical sanctions against Russia find Russia expanding its economic and political relations with China, India, and Asia, while the sanctions created a disastrous blowback in Europe. But the reality is that Western governments—and the City of London, Wall Street and Frankfurt—allowed the financial cancer of 2008 to expand, and the stupidity of the sanctions served as the trigger of a combined energy and food crisis. The proper course would be for European countries to cooperate with Russia and China for a new economic system, and would get Europe out from underneath the U.S. and NATO dictatorship, that only make the conflicts and crisis worse.
The interview (beginning at minute 34:46) opened with CGTN requesting Zepp-LaRouche’s view from Germany of the expanded strikes in France that day. She simply stated: “In France, they have a better sense of sovereignty than in Germany ... but it is only a question of time” before the level of intensity comes to Germany itself. Asked about the French government’s harsh orders to force key staff back to work, she replied that it was simply further radicalizing the situation, rather than addressing the causes. It fuels the anger of the population, who feel that the government cares little about the common good.
CGTN asked about French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments that Germany’s attempt to alleviate power bills may lead to a “distortion” of the economy, Zepp-LaRouche explained that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is trying to put in some billions of euros as a stopgap, but the will result, in fact, will increase the inflation. She once again pointed to the unavoidability of addressing the actual causes of the turmoil, and the opportunity of taking up the offers of China, Russia, and India in building a new economic system.
NEW WORLD PARADIGM
Putin’s New Europe Gas Deal via Turkiye Could Launch Now
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—Despite the sabotage of three of the four of Russia’s Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, along with Europe’s present determination to move away from Russian fossil fuels, President Vladimir Putin continues to organize for a “new gas world.” Last week, Moscow Times recalls, Putin proposed that the European Union should either commission the remaining, still functioning thread of Nord Stream 2, or switch gas supplies to a Black Sea route via the TurkStream pipeline.
Vedomosti reported on Oct. 17 that, according to Russia’s National Energy Security Fund Deputy Director Alexey Grivach, the implementation of the Turkish gas hub project is one possible option to redirect gas flows via new routes. He pointed out that, even without building additional infrastructure, it is possible to launch the hub, because both TurkStream and Blue Stream have spare capacities. Then the “capacity may be increased later, as infrastructure expands in the European Union,” the expert explained.
Deputy Director General of the National Energy Institute Alexander Frolov, also in Vedomosti, estimated that the first stage of infrastructure construction aimed at creating a gas hub in Turkiye—specifically, the building of two more threads of TurkStream—will take two to three years.
Meanwhile, experts have emphasized that the project may face “significant political obstacles,” Vedomosti writes. Frolov believes that resistance from the European Commission is to be expected. Kira Vinokurova, the Special Advisor on Sanctions Issues at the Pen & Paper bar association, considers that the provision of equipment and technologies may be restricted for the project. However, in her view, if the EU’s energy substitution policy fails, no restrictions will be imposed on the project.
STRATEGIC SHOWDOWN
Colonel Richard Black (ret.) on Russia’s Largest Radio Talk Show: Warning on Nuclear War Threat
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—At 7:30 this morning in Moscow (04:30 UTC) former U.S. Army Col. Richard Black was the guest for 25 minutes on “Solovyov Live,” Russia’s major TV talk show, watched by millions. The interview began with Colonel Black discussing why there is a threat of nuclear war, with reference to former President Donald Trump, in his Oct. 9 rally in Mesa, Arizona, where he demanded negotiations with Russia and from former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (like Black, a combat veteran) on the elitist cabal of warmongers.
Later in the interview the colonel stated that he believes that the period between now and the U.S. midterm elections is one of the greatest dangers, citing the precedent of initiation and escalation of war and terrorism in attempts to influence the outcome of elections. In this regard he cited Bill Clinton’s 1999 attack on Serbia during the Lewinsky affair, the 9/11 attacks, and the 1933 Reichstag fire. He noted that the British and the CIA are adept at creating false-flag operations and went into some detail into the appearance of mass murders in Bucha, Ukraine.
We are in an era of politicians who seem oblivious to the threat of nuclear war, he said, contrasting it with his own experiences in Germany in 1984 and the sensitivity which was brought to bear by leaders on both sides in East and West Berlin to avoid any occasion of escalating conflict. The danger of proximity of borders leading to escalation, he reported, was one of the arguments put forward by President Vladimir Putin against NATO’s expansion closer and closer to Russia.
Host Vladimir Solovyov said that he was frightened by the current of unprecedented rhetoric blasting out of NATO, citing the characterization of President Putin as a legitimate military target and the description of Russia as a terrorist state. Colonel Black replied that in his view, one of the most dangerous aspects of the situation is the unwillingness of the NATO foreign policy establishment, which he described as an “echo chamber,” to ever allow the consideration of any alternative viewpoint. He referred back to his time in the Pentagon, when he could, and did, effectively oppose policy with which he disagreed. There is a “war of illusions,” he said, starting with the cultivated illusion that the Russian Federation is just a generic substitute for the Soviet Union, when actually they are dramatically different. He expressed the hope that the U.S. midterm elections would result in some kind of improvement, but stated that they would not dislodge the warhawks in both parties.
The interview went five minutes long, with Solovyov expressing the hope that Colonel Black could return. The interview is being posted on all the program’s social media outlets, in addition to the live stream.
Agents of British Intelligence on ‘Disinformation Terrorism’ and ‘Genocidal Propaganda’
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—Britain’s daily Guardian featured an op-ed on Oct. 16 so “over-the-top” that it called attention to a curious disinformation operation run out of London and into Kiev. First, Peter Pomerantsev’s article, “Russia’s Genocidal Propaganda Must Not Be Passed Off as Freedom of Speech,” on one level is yet another case of the Brave New World argument that “disinformation terrorism” must be treated as a war crime. And, indeed, the “genocidal propaganda” verbiage sort of gives away the game.
At a time when the West is deluged with anti-Russian propaganda, Pomerantsev takes the next step in the Bertrand Russell world of convincing the population that “black is white,” projecting his world as that of Moscow’s: “Russian military theory sees information operations as integral to military operations to an unprecedented extent.... And rather than just nasty words broadcast on radio or TV, information operations are now continued in tightly controlled digital campaigns with everything from online ‘troll farms’ through to search engine optimization, which rise and crest in tandem with military operations. If, for example, one can show that information campaigns purposefully spread lies that Ukrainian military are hiding in civilian areas such as hospitals in the advent of an attack, and encourage attacks on the areas, then these lies become more than just abhorrent, they become integral parts of aiding and abetting crimes.”
Peter Pomerantsev is a second-generation agent for British intelligence. His father, Igor Pomerantsev, from Kiev, was arrested by the KGB in the 1970s for proliferating anti-Soviet literature, then emigrated to Munich in 1978, and then to London, where he worked for the BBC World Service. His mother produced anti-Soviet documentaries such as “Gulag.” Peter studied at Edinburgh University, then went to Russia in 2001, working as a consultant for what he labels “European Union projects.” Back in London in 2010, he became a project chair for the “Information Warfare Initiative” of the Center for European Policy Analysis. His 2015 book, obviously written at the time of the 2014 Nazi coup d’état in Kiev, Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible, alleges how the Russian state apparatus uses “black PR” to manipulate the truth, and he testified on such matters to the U.S. Senate during the “Russiagate” process. It turns out that at least some of the quotations in his book, he later had to admit, were closer to reconstructions from his memory, which he put into quotes.
Regardless, he describes his article as coming out of his recent forum at the Lviv Book Forum in Ukraine, and out of recent work with two London “human rights” associates, Toby Cadman and Wayne Jordash. The three are deep into fighting “information terrorism.” Pomerantsev provides a colorful description of his two collaborators: “Cadman describes the propagandist as the getaway driver who brings the bank robbers to the location—and drives them off again; Jordash [describes the propagandist] as the grey-haired consigliere who urges the criminal gang to leave no prisoners.”
Most important, the argument Pomerantsev makes is identical to the July 14, 2022 argument of Andriy Shapovalov, the head of Kiev’s Center for Combatting Disinformation, that people on the CCD’s list are “information terrorists.” Pomerantsev, Jordash and Cadman, are likewise seeking to make a criminal argument against those who foster such “Russian propaganda.” Of course, some of the Ukrainian “disinformation warriors” have already managed to boast that those on their lists have been “liquidated,” the most recent being journalist Darya Dugina, whose car blew up in Moscow on Aug. 20 (her father was driving behind her). She and her father are both on the Myrotvorets kill list, as are some of EIR’s authors.
Jordash actually means Vladimir Putin.
Jordash, a Queen’s Counsel, is presently heading a British team working with the Kiev regime Prosecutor General’s office to target Putin. His legal mind, devoid of prejudice, that is supposedly without judging ahead of time, is evidenced by his summary: “The crimes of the Russians in Ukraine are not accidental side effects of attacks on military targets. The attacks are an integral part of the war, as I see from the patterns in these crimes. Russian troops are engaged in persecuting people, which consists of various elements: murders, injuries, sexual violence, and torture. All this is an integral part of the war. And its goal is to destroy the Ukrainian identity at least and, in the worst case—to destroy Ukraine itself. This war is one of those conflicts where the crimes are not random—they are the methods by which Russia seeks to achieve its illegitimate goal.”
Russian Use of Combat Drones Has Kiev Regime in a Panic
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—The effectiveness with which the Russians are employing so-called “suicide” drones, Iranian supplied or not, appears to have the Kiev regime and its backers in a panic, as shown by the desperate demands for air defenses. In just over one week of Russian airstrikes targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, 30% of the power plants in the country have been destroyed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed in a Twitter posting this morning. The devastation has caused “massive blackouts across the country.” He concluded that there is “no space left for negotiations” with the government of Vladimir Putin.
The drones have played a crucial role in the campaign of strikes that Russia is waging against Ukraine. Despite the large number of strikes—a couple of hundred at least over the past day—only four civilians were reported killed. However, at least some of them seem to have died as a result of efforts by Ukrainian forces to shoot one drone down. A Ukrainian soldier admitted, on former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s broadcast channel, that air defense efforts to shoot down a drone had caused it to change course and hit a residential building instead of its target, killing at least three civilians. It seems, therefore that letting these drones hit their targets is less dangerous to civilians than shooting them down.
Moscow Insists Play Fair or the Grain Deal Dies, as UN’s Griffiths Meets with Foreign, Defense Ministries
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—Moscow has made it clear for months now, that the West has ignored the part of the July grain deal that required them to remove the conditions that prevent Russian fertilizer and produce from being exported to needy countries. Yesterday, they made it clear that the grain deal will not be renewed next month without fair play.
UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths was in Moscow on Oct. 16-17, along with Rebeca Grynspan, the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development. A major item on their agenda was renewal and implementation of the deal allowing the export of grain from Ukrainian ports, negotiated last July with Turkiye as the mediator.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, after Griffiths met with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, stated: “Emphasizing the package nature of the agreements reached in Istanbul on July 22, namely, the Black Sea Initiative on Ukrainian food exports (expires on November 18) and the Russia-UN Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Federation and the Secretariat of the United Nations on promoting Russian food products and fertilizers to the world markets (to be implemented over three years), the sides underscored the importance of ensuring full and reciprocal implementation of the above agreements.
“The Russian side emphasized the importance of establishing sustainable fertilizer and grain supplies primarily to the African, Asian and Latin American countries that are in critical need of these supplies as the nations that are most vulnerable to threats of famine and food insecurity.”
At the Defense Ministry, Griffiths met with Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, where, according to the Defense Ministry statement, they “reviewed in detail the implementation of the project for the exportation of grain from Ukrainian ports in direct connection with the implementation of the agreements on the exportation of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers. The interlocutors noted that the possibility of extending the Black Sea Initiative directly depends on ensuring the full implementation of all the previously reached agreements.”
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in New York that Grynspan also met with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov on facilitating the unimpeded export of Russian grain and fertilizer exports to global markets, “relaying the commitment to continued progress with all parties involved on that front in order to address growing global food insecurity.”
COLLAPSING WESTERN ECONOMIC SYSTEM
EU Flinches on Vaunted ‘Price Cap’ Against Russia, Turning Its Attention to the TTF Spot Market
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—Reality might have overtaken the much-ballyhooed Western “price cap” to be imposed upon Russian oil. The draft of the European Commission on Europe’s energy crisis, which Bloomberg News today says its editors have seen, says: “This is the moment to act, for this winter and beyond.... The current situation causes economic and social hardship, placing a heavy burden on citizens and on the economy. Rising energy costs are leading to reduced purchasing power for citizens and loss of competitiveness for companies.” Not exactly the prelude for more blarney about forcing Russia to sell oil below market price to the West.
The package will reportedly offer ways for EU countries to use state aid to deal with the impact of high energy costs on companies and households, in a volume of up to €40 billion from the bloc’s cohesion funds. Member nations will also be offered a common purchase platform which would coordinate the filling of gas reserves, avoiding a dogfight over precious supplies. Energy firms could form a European consortium to negotiate long-term contracts—something Russia’s Gazprom, along with President Vladimir Putin, have been stressing all along. And the ridiculous prices from the speculators at the Dutch TTF trading hub? Well, only “as a last resort,” but there could be price limits put on their transactions.
Reuters reported something similar on this last point, saying that the draft included “potential interventions in the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) price that is widely used in Europe for contracts and hedging.” They added the assurances that the “measures should not ... affect the orderly functioning of energy derivative markets.” There’s a long way between such talk and such EU action, but even such talk has not made it to the surface in quite a while.
Reuters also reported that the “proposal is far short of the EU-wide gas price cap 15 EU countries have called for, but opposed by others such as Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, that argue caps could lead to a gas shortage and fail to incentivize energy saving.” Reuters quotes Georg Zachman, an energy expert at the Bruegel think tank: “As a result of falling gas prices, this proposal shows that the appetite for ambitious reform, such as a price cap, is fading.”
EU energy ministers are said to be presently working out the details for the European Council discussions on Oct. 20-21.
Another Source of LNG to Europe Ends
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—Chinese state energy companies have been told by authorities to stop reselling Russia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, as they have been doing for several months—and as India has also done with Russian oil, reported Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com. China’s National Development and Reform Commission gave the directive to Sinopec, PetroChina, and CNOOC, in order to ensure China’s natural gas supply this winter.
Bank of England Hesitates on ‘Qualitative Tightening’
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—The Bank of England has evidently not resumed qualitative tightening, as its governor claimed it would promptly at the end of its week of bailing out pension funds. The BOE’s Governor Andrew Bailey had insisted that it was going to resume its sale of corporate bonds, beginning Oct. 17. The Financial Times reported late Monday, Oct. 17 that the bank was “further delaying” selling any of its holdings of British gilts and corporate bonds until the credit market “calmed.” Then the bank itself made a weak denial on early on Oct. 18, simply saying that it had not made a decision to delay QT. It had nothing to say about its missing the announced sale on Oct. 17.
Qualitative tightening is largely a façade in any case, covering for the central banks’ current policy of using interest rate hikes to cut demand and slow “wage inflation,” while continuing to support the biggest banks with liquidity loans as necessary. The Federal Reserve, which has supposedly been selling off its bond assets since the start of June, has only reduced its asset book from $9.010 trillion to $8.808 trillion in those five months. At that $40.4 billion/month rate, it would take about ten years just to reduce the Fed’s assets to the $4 trillion level of March 2020.
In Britain, the “painful warrior” Liz Truss, whose tax-cutting “stimulus” plan was just abruptly replaced by an austerity program, went on BBC to apologize for her mistakes and plead for another chance. Conservatives in Parliament seem inclined to replace her; and to show the war curse the U.K. is, their plurality reportedly want Boris Johnson back as Prime Minister.
And the people we don't and never have voted for dance to a different tune, or more aptly, writhe to a different sound, like snakes and the snake charmer. Most of them are completely unknown and wish to remain that way. But you can clearly see their effects. What ordinary person with any grasp of history would ever expect the French, for instance, to simply bow to the conditions imposed on them in the most high-handed way? Obviously push-back was expected, and a calculated response is in the works in France and other countries. That will be the hand of the covert master(s).
And the people we don't and never have voted for dance to a different tune, or more aptly, writhe to a different sound, like snakes and the snake charmer. Most of them are completely unknown and wish to remain that way. But you can clearly see their effects. What ordinary person with any grasp of history would ever expect the French, for instance, to simply bow to the conditions imposed on them in the most high-handed way? Obviously push-back was expected, and a calculated response is in the works in France and other countries. That will be the hand of the covert master(s).
Rather than take up time, I will just use this as my comment (hee hee) because it's just what I would say!!
Fran’s comment:
It does not matter who cops the blame for war crimes against Russian infrastructure.
It does not matter what the western media are reporting.
It does not matter which secret agents are distorting reality this week.
It does not matter who lives in the White House or Number 10 Downing Street.
We all know who rules this world and we never voted for any one of them!. Gr8 minds etc.
Respect & X 2 All