Mar. 23 (EIRNS)–Liu Zhiqun, a noted Chinese economist at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, in an interview with CGTN’s Tian Wei on March 23, was asked to comment on the global economic effects of the U.S. sanctions regime on Russia. Liu commented, “It has already been estimated that the spread of Covid will lead to conditions of starvation for 200 million people. But with the effects of the sanctions regime that number will be one billion.” He made the point that this is the greatest violation of “human rights” in history.
May 9, 2022 (EIRNS)—“There is no family in Russia that was not burnt by the Great Patriotic War; its memory never fades,” said Russian President Putin at the Victory Day parade in Moscow.
He explained that NATO’s proxy war against Russia demanded that his nation take action:
“[D]espite all controversies in international relations, Russia has always advocated the establishment of an equal and indivisible security system which is critically needed for the entire international community.
“Last December we proposed signing a treaty on security guarantees. Russia urged the West to hold an honest dialogue in search for meaningful and compromising solutions, and to take account of each other’s interests. All in vain. NATO countries did not want to heed us, which means they had totally different plans. And we saw it.
“Another punitive operation in Donbass, an invasion of our historic lands, including Crimea, was openly in the making. Kyiv declared that it could attain nuclear weapons. The NATO bloc launched an active military build-up on the territories adjacent to us.
“Thus, an absolutely unacceptable threat to us was steadily being created right on our borders. There was every indication that a clash with neo-Nazis and Banderites backed by the United States and their minions was unavoidable.
“Let me repeat, we saw the military infrastructure being built up, hundreds of foreign advisors starting work, and regular supplies of cutting-edge weaponry being delivered from NATO countries. The threat grew every day.
“Russia launched a pre-emptive strike at the aggression. It was a forced, timely and the only correct decision. A decision by a sovereign, strong and independent country.”
(In a sense, Ukrainian military forces had already started the war, through a dramatic increase in strikes in the Donbass republics, as determined by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.)
After reviewing past heroic acts of the armed forces, he spoke to the present and the past, together:
“I am addressing our Armed Forces and Donbass militia. You are fighting for our Motherland, its future, so that nobody forgets the lessons of World War II, so that there is no place in the world for torturers, death squads and Nazis.
“Today, we bow our heads to the sacred memory of all those who lost their lives in the Great Patriotic War, the memories of the sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, grandfathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends.
“We bow our heads to the memory of the Odessa martyrs who were burned alive in the House of Trade Unions in May 2014, to the memory of the old people, women and children of Donbass who were killed in atrocious and barbaric shelling by neo-Nazis. We bow our heads to our fighting comrades who died a brave death in the righteous battle—for Russia.” Pres. Putin’s full speech is here. Putin’s speech did not announce any new initiatives in Ukraine, a declaration of war against that country, or a military draft.
March 23 (EIRNS) – Sergei Glazyev, the distinguished Russian economist and currently Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission of the EAEU, gave a presentation on March 22 in which he said that “a new economic era has already begun, and the center of the world economy has shifted to Southeast Asia.” As reported by Tazabek of Kyrgystan (Google translation), Glazyev said that “a new economic structure has emerged in the world, which, unlike liberal globalization, is based on a combination of strategic planning, in which the state sets goals, and a market economy, which is controlled.” The state plays a role as “regulator… It also blocks those types of private activities that cause destabilization, capital flight and disruption of the reproduction of the economy.”
“The state ensures price stability and control over the basic sectors of the economy, which provides raw materials, fuel and energy. And this is a sector where the state dominates. Here is such a mixed, and if you want – a planned market economy today is proving its advantages and the center of the world economy is moving to Southeast Asia. It is a center that includes China, India, the countries of Indochina, Japan and Korea. Today, they absolutely surpass the US and even the entire European Union in terms of production. There is no doubt that the further development of the world economy will go in this direction,” he concluded.
In other recent video interviews Glazyev has stated that the issue of a new non-dollar monetary system is under discussion, but not within the EAEU proper but more broadly, e.g. between Russian and Chinese academics. If such a new currency is developed, one option is for it to be gold-backed, and based on a treaty agreement, perhaps using the SCO as a platform, he said.
May 9 (EIRNS)—Italian Gen. Fabio Mini (ret.), former commander of the NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosovo (2002-2003), said in a May 7 interview with AmbienteWeb that NATO should be dissolved because it has become a threat to world security, and that we are already on the brink of the third world war, as reported in yesterday’s briefing.
General Mini: “From an operational point of view, and considering the nature and multiplicity of the actions taken against our adversaries, we are in the middle of a global conflict. The alignments between the West and the East speak clearly, and just because we are only given the ‘military’ picture of this conflict, does not mean that the war is merely military. The various wars overlap and include operations in Ukraine such as economic, financial, cyber, demographic, information and propaganda wars—these are not metaphors. They are real wars that produce greater damage than conventional warfare. And they are global. …
“[NATO] Articles 5 and 6 on so-called mutual defense refer to the territories of individual member states threatened by armed attack. Ukraine is not a member state, but we are sending weapons and whatnot. Article 7 states that the treaty does not and shall not be considered in any way detrimental to the rights and obligations under the charter to the parties that are members of the United Nations or the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security. Russia, like Serbia, is a part of the United Nations and NATO’s policy has harmed its rights, compromising peace and security throughout the world. Finally, I believe that the European NATO countries have renounced that all states are to be treated on an equal footing, not because of the United States, but because of their own choice and convenience. The United States is doing its job and protecting its own interests. These interests never coincided with those of Europe, not even during the Cold War, when a hot war was being prepared that would have taken place in Europe and not in the U.S., where it was clear that the U.S. would not have lifted a finger to save Europe except if the continental United States had been directly attacked. No European state objected to NATO’s call to arms in areas outside its responsibility and for reasons not pertaining to Europe. Nor did anyone object to certain countries being invited to join NATO, that did not meet requirements, but brought with them a heavy burden of insecurity. We were disloyal to the United States by not pulling them up short when they wished to do things that made no sense. You can show your loyalty to friends by moderating them, not by egging them on or passively supporting them. I believe that at the end of the day, a restructured and revised NATO would also benefit the Americans, with or without their participation.” The Ambienteweb article is here.
German Railway Suffers Partial Blackout
Mar. 23 (EIRNS)–Early Wednesday morning (Mar 23) all rail freight traffic in Germany was brought to a standstill because of an ‘under supply’ of electricity according to a statement by German network operator DB Netz. The Deutsche Bahn had to pull the plug on rail freight in order not to interrupt the passenger network in the middle of the rush hour. The extra power was restored by the afternoon according to an article in railfreight.com.
No reason was given for the power shortage. Deutsche Bahn has its own energy provider, DB Energie which produces and purchases all the energy requirements for the railway. DB makes a big deal in its advertising that its high speed passenger network runs on 100% green energy – whatever that means. The problem is DB Energie plans by 2038 to be totally green by phasing out all the other sources including, nuclear, coal and gas. The nearly 40% which now comes from non green sources is planned to be sourced from new wind farms in the North Sea, some of which have yet to be built, and from Norwegian hydro-power plants. The Deutsche Bahn consumes as much electricity as Berlin, a city of four million people.
May 9, 2022 (EIRNS)—There is an open letter circulating in Greece addressed to the Greek government protesting its shamelessly pro-NATO policy on Ukraine. It has 159 signatures, including many university professors, retired diplomats, two former government ministers and a very high-ranking, recently retired General.
Entitled, “Protest the Attitude of the Political System and the Media on Ukraine,” they slam the unprecedented propaganda campaign the public has been subjected to.
“Although the situation in the war zone for the past eight years was a prelude to what we are experiencing today, although we have witnessed attacks by our allied countries on various fronts (Cyprus, Serbia, Iraq, Libya, Syria…), this is the first time that the attacker has been convicted, while the campaign has reached the limits of official racism. Ideological terrorism in the media is reminiscent of McCarthyism at its worst….”
It characterizes the “unbelievable” media campaign as “rampant barbarism that, among other things, demonizes the Russian leadership” and leads to a “self-manipulation of Europe, to its complete submission to U.S.-NATO plans, while the unthinkable possibility of a global nuclear catastrophe comes closer.”
Significantly, it contrasts “the Turkish counter-example of a balanced attitude” with the fact that the Greek government has “decided to destroy longstanding Greek-Russian relations, to be indifferent to the unknown fate of the Black Sea Hellenism, to endanger the energy and defense security of our homeland, to undermine even the peace in our country—not for Cyprus or but for a province of Ukraine, Donbass, defending at all costs a country that has never helped us!”
It concludes: “Those who understand the national interest of Greece and not in Euro-Atlantic terms, those who learned about war from Thucydides … and those who know who the real enemies of Greece are, feel that this government, by its attitude to the issue, offends them, poses a huge risk, and certainly does not represent them.” Among the noted signers are former Associate Minister of Finance Nadia Valavani, former Deputy Minister of National Defense Kostas Isychos, both of whom served in the previous government led by Syriza; Lt. Gen. Athanasios Tsouganatos, who retired in 2019, and Ambassador Ad Honorem Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos, who has also signed the Schiller Institute petition.
Africa Faces an ‘Unprecedented Crisis,’ UN Warns —
May 9, 2022 (EIRNS)—Representatives of the United Nations warned of major crises emerging in the continent of Africa due to the Western sanctions against Russia, in a press conference on May 6 in Geneva. Al Jazeera reported the UN officials said that the ongoing conflict has not only led to shortages of wheat, fertilizer and other goods, but also zooming inflation has impacted many nations, pointing out that already, commodity prices have soared—with the price of sunflower and colza oil shooting up 40%. “This is an unprecedented crisis for the continent,” UNDP Africa chief economist Raymond Gilpin said on May 6. “We are seeing a reduction of GDP growth on the continent.”
“With the disruptions that now happen, you see an urgent situation materialize because where do these countries turn overnight for commodities?” UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Africa regional director Ahunna Eziakonwa said. “Tensions, particularly in urban areas, low-income communities, could spill over and lead to violent protests and violent riots,” he said, noting that countries holding elections this year and next year were particularly vulnerable.
In a signal development, domestic air travel in Nigeria is stopping completely. The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) announced that starting on Monday, May 9, all domestic flights will be grounded, due to the soaring price of jet fuel, which has increased from 190 to 700 Nigerian naira per liter (from $0.45/liter to almost $1.70—attributed to the economic effects of the sanctions). This means that even a one-hour flight would cost about 120,000 naira ($289), a sum unaffordable for Nigerians “already experiencing a lot of difficulties,” said AON.
China: Failed Bloc Policy in Europe Not Needed In Asia —
May 7, 2022 (EIRNS)–Global Times lead editorial today expressed the outrage in China at the new military cooperation between Japan and the UK, following the Thursday signing of a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Fumio Kishida in London. They write: “NATO, which created division in Europe and waged wars around the world, is trying to apply the tricks of `bloc politics’ and `confrontation between camps’ to the Asia-Pacific region. For a long time, the UK has propagated on several occasions `the globalization of NATO’ and the `need to preempt threats in the Indo-Pacific’ and to ensure the island of Taiwan `is able to defend itself.’ Within the Asia-Pacific, Japan is abnormally active in catering to such a scheme. It seems Tokyo wants to be the `traitorous guide’ for NATO’s expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.”
The editorial warns that Japan is planning to dump its pacifist constitution and “resurrect its militarism.” Noting that Kishida visited Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand before travelling to Europe, the editorial says his efforts to get these ASEAN nations to join in bashing Russia and China did not succeed: “Asian countries that received Japanese officials have kept vigilant toward Tokyo’s remarks and been reluctant to echo Japan. Not until in the UK, which wants to recover its glory, has Kishida felt some `warmth of a friend.’ This will easily make people recall the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in the 20th century.”
Asia has remained peaceful in recent decades, they add, because Asian nations “have been seeking common ground while putting aside differences. With vision beyond ideological and geopolitical divergence, Asian countries have engaged in pragmatic cooperation in the globalization era. These made Asia the most vital and dynamic region in the world and made `Asian century’ a lasting discussion topic in the international strategic sphere.” It is now clear that the western security model has failed, they add, and bringing that failed model to Asia has the “intent to undermine regional peace and stability…. Asian countries must remain on high alert. History over and over again showed that a country’s security cannot be based on other countries’ insecurity….. The NATO military bloc is poison, not an antidote, to the security anxieties and tensions in the region…. Vigilance against and rejection of the `NATO expansion into Asia-Pacific’ should become the strong consensus and collective consciousness of all countries in the region.
China Releases “Fact Sheet on the National Endowment for Democracy”
May 7, 2022 (EIRNS)–In a move meant to kill “many birds with one stone,” the Chinese government has released a “Fact Sheet on the National Endowment for Democracy.” The “Fact Sheet” explains how the Cold War CIA operations in undermining foreign governments were transformed into this public-private mechanism labeled as an “NGO,” to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and shape the policy of these countries to bring them in line with U.S. geopolitical goals. It then goes through country by country to document NED’s operations to foment color revolutions and overthrow popularly elected governments which didn’t see eye-to-eye with the United States. These include a rundown of NED’s operations in Poland (Solidarnosc), Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, and Mongolia as well as countries in Latin America, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela, and Africa, Libya, Uganda, and Sudan, as well as Thailand in Southeast Asia.
The Fact Sheet also runs through the extensive operations NED has conducted against China, including their campaigns for Hong Kong independence, Tibetan independence, and the “genocide” and “human rights” claims in Xinjiang. It also notes NED operations in tandem with Taiwan. Rather than deal with these issues individually, the background to the situation in Ukraine or the nature of the operations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, the “Fact Sheet” rather focuses on the modus operandi characteristic of U.S. policy in attempting to overthrow governments that would pose any threat to U.S. hegemony. The publication of the Fact Sheet may also be a preemptive strike against the expected China Policy Review which was expected to be announced this week by Secretary of State Blinken, which has been delayed following his being infected with Covid. The fact sheet is here.
