General updates

Zakharova Warns of Pitfalls of Western ‘Sanctions War’

May 4, 2021 (EIRNS)–“Diplomacy is being replaced by sanctions,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned in an interview with RT Television yesterday, and this is “undermining mutual trust and darkening the prospects for normalizing relations” between Russia and the collective West.

“The vicious practice of imposing unilateral political and economic restrictions, especially the extraterritorial application of such measures, is an infringement on the sovereignty of states and interference in their internal affairs aimed at keeping, at any cost, their [imposers’–ed.] dominant position in the global economy and international politics, which they are gradually losing,” she charged.

She discussed various measures which Russia is taking to defend itself: consolidating its national financial system, searching for new international partners, diversifying foreign economic ties while developing advanced, competitive domestic industries which lay the basis for substituting domestic products for what was previously imported. New legal mechanisms are being worked on, and legislation “providing for measures to counter new potential unilateral steps by the United States and other countries” is being drafted.

RT asked several questions about ways Russia might protect itself from restrictions on its access to Western financial systems. Zakharova noted that cutting Russia off from the SWIFT system for international settlement of payments “is so far considered a hypothetical scenario.” That said, work is underway on reducing Russia’s dependence on the dollar, a discussion that has been underway for at least a decade, she noted. She referenced that the 2007-2008 crisis “called into doubt the sustainability of the world currency system based on the supremacy of one national monetary unit.”

Zakharova made clear that such discussions are not taking place just in Russia, as finding ways to secure “the independence and sustainability of the financial system to external threat is increasingly becoming a priority for any state.” Russia will not be driven by the “hostile foreign policy” of others to shut out the outside world; it is discussing measures that can be taken with regional neighbors, the BRICS, and others.

Once again, Zakharova, as other high-ranking Russian officials have consistently been doing, proposed that Western nations change course, and come to the table to reach agreements which defend everyone’s interests: “We have repeatedly made it clear that we did not start this sanctions war, but we are ready, at any point, to do our part in order to end this pointless confrontation, in which there will not be and cannot be any winners…. We strongly support a broad international discussion of ways to counteract the illegitimate unilateral measures. We are confident that a systematic dialogue should help reduce the business community’s concerns regarding the uncertainty and instability in global affairs, which are provoked by the West’s one-sided and inconsistent policy.” The RT coverage can be found here.

The Foreign Ministry carries the transcript of the interview on its website.

U.S. Post-war Policy Toward Afghanistan Sets the Stage for More War

September 23, 2021by Malene Robinson in General, General updates, Harley Schlanger Daily Update

The freezing of Afghanistan’s national funds held in the N.Y. Federal Reserve Bank, ordered by Treasury Secretary Yellen on August 15, is setting the stage for further chaos in that war-torn country. You don’t have to love the Taliban to demand the unfreezing of those funds — they belong to the sovereign nation of Afghanistan, and are needed to feed people, provide medicine, purchase fuel, etc. By withholding those funds, the U.S. and its allies are starving children, exactly as the British colonial administrators did to their colonies. Is this what the Biden administration intends, when it says the era of endless wars is over???

Economist Writes ‘the Most Dangerous Place on Earth’: Taiwan

May 5, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Color Revolutions, Economic development updates, General, General updates, Geopolitics updates, World war danger updates

May 4, 2021 (EIRNS)--In its May 1 cover article, the Economist wrote with satisfaction about the dangerous strategic condition created with respect to Taiwan. The outgoing head of the Pacific Command, Adm. Phil Davidson, had told Congress in March that he worried about China attacking Taiwan as soon as 2027. The {Economist} notes the unique position of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which leads the world in the production of advanced semiconductor chips, with technologies and production processes years ahead of those of either the U.S. or China. The British rag also exults in recent changes from what had been the status quo of the ambiguous state of U.S. support for a one-China policy while in effect guaranteeing Taiwanese independence. With a growing independence movement in Taiwan, strengthened by reporting on Hong Kong, will China remain at bay?

“Nobody in America can really know what Mr. Xi intends today, let alone what he or his successor may want in the future…. Mr. Xi’s appetite for risk may sharpen, especially if he wants unification with Taiwan to crown his legacy.” To prevent this, the Economist calls for action: “America requires weapons to deter China from launching an amphibious invasion…. China must be discouraged from trying to change Taiwan’s status by force even as it is reassured that America will not support a dash for formal independence by Taiwan.” Rather than achieving an actual resolution of the dispute, through a true detente and discussion, the British magazine suggests an effort to “sustain ambiguity,” maintaining the state of conflict while acknowledging that “The risk of a superpower arms race is high.” The full article is here.

Police-State Measures Against Protesters with ‘Wrong’ Thoughts

May 5, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Color Revolutions, Counterintelligence, General, General updates, Geopolitics updates

Police-State Measures Against Protesters with 'Wrong' Thoughts

May 4, 2021 (EIRNS)--An Arkansas man photographed at a desk in Nancy Pelosi's office was taken into custody on Jan. 8, charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct, and possession of a "deadly or dangerous weapon" (the retired firefighter's walking stick -- fitted with a stun gun but without batteries on Jan. 6). Federal prosecutors requested, and secured, an order from Judge Beryl Howell, the chief judge of the D.C. district court, for the man to be taken to Washington D.C., where he has been incarcerated in solitary confinement pending his trial later this month.

In another case, that of the "zip tie guy" and his mother, a D.C. appellate court denounced their pre-trial detention, leading to their release--pending trial--after more than two months in jail.

As the kid-gloves approach towards Antifa protesters in Portland makes clear, this strict approach is not pursued against all protesters in the United States, but rather is trained on those who are to be exhibited as examples of the DVEs (domestic violent extremists) that supposedly pose a mortal threat to "American democracy."

Just last Wednesday, April 28, a couple in Alaska were roused from their bedroom by armed FBI agents, who had broken the door to their home and inn. The agents handcuffed the pair, along with several houseguests, and interrogated them for hours about their participation in the Jan. 6 event at the Capitol.

The couple had attended Trump's speech and walked to the Capitol, but had not entered it. Eventually the agents revealed that they believed the wife had stolen Nancy Pelosi's laptop. After ransacking their home and confiscating electronic equipment, the agents left. The same day, Rudy Giuliani's home was searched.

In total, an enormous police and intelligence operation has led to the arrest of over 400 people for their participation in the Jan. 6 events.

Are we really to believe that this same apparatus was unable to foresee the need for additional security at the Capitol that day?

Afghanistan Is at “the Precipice;” More Than Half of Its People Now Face Famine

October 28, 2021by madeleine in Afghanistan, General, Healthcare, Healthcare, World Food Program

The latest “Food Security” report on Afghanistan released yesterday by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) raises the alarm that Afghanistan is becoming the largest humanitarian crisis in the world—beyond even the horror of the famines in Yemen, Ethiopia, Syria, and South Sudan. The facts, maps, and descriptions included in that report make clear that mass death has begun, and that the U.S.-led Western financial sanctions are playing a major role in this catastrophe. This is genocide.

The number of Afghanistan’s people suffering “acute food insecurity” has risen, even after this season’s harvest, from 14 million to 18.8 million people—47% of the nation’s population. That’s a 37% increase since the last assessment carried out by these agencies in April. The FAO and WFP now project that, come the November to March winter months, at least 22.8 million people—more than half (55%) of Afghanistan’s people—will be starving to death. Be clear: “acute food insecurity” is not chronic hunger; it is defined as “when a person’s inability to consume adequate food puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger.”

“Economic decline” stemming from the imposition of international financial sanctions is identified right up front as a “key driver” of this catastrophe, along with conflict and drought. “In the wake of Afghanistan’s political transition and the consequent freezing of US$ 9.5 billion in national assets, the economy plummeted,” the report acknowledges. “The banking system suffered severe disruption, and the national currency lost 12.5 percent of value, leading to high unemployment and food prices.”

In large part because of the sanctions, “for the first time, urban residents are suffering from food insecurity at similar rates to rural communities…. Across cities, towns and villages, virtually no family can afford sufficient food, according to recent WFP surveys,” the World Food Program reported in a press release. “Rampant unemployment and a liquidity crisis are putting all major urban centers in danger of slipping into a Phase 4 emergency level of food insecurity, including formerly middle class populations,” the report finds.

“Afghanistan is now among the world’s worst humanitarian crises—if not the worst—and food security has all but collapsed,” WFP executive director David Beasley warned in releasing this report. “This winter, millions of Afghans will be forced to choose between migration and starvation unless we can step up our life-saving assistance, and unless the economy can be resuscitated…. Hunger is rising and children are dying … the international community must come together to address this crisis, which is fast spinning out of control.”

The WFP press release cites one of the authors of the report, Jean-Martin Bauer, on how one million Afghan children, right now, are in danger of dying of hunger. Bauer asserted that “no one wants to see Afghan children die as a result of, you know, politics, essentially.”

Prove him right; join the Schiller Institute’s international campaign to end the financial strangulation of Afghanistan, and sign and circulate its “Call to Release the funds of the Afghan people.”

Russia Answers Biden With Expulsions and More

April 17, 2021by madeleine in General, Geopolitics updates, World war danger updates

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Friday that ten US diplomats are being declared {persona non grata} and ordered out of Russia, as part of what he labeled a “tit-for-tat response” to President Biden’s actions on Thursday. He also matched the US by barring eight Americans from entering Russia: FBI Director Christopher Wray, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons Michael Carvajal, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, and former CIA Director James Woolsey. He indicated that further actions, if provoked, would include imposing “painful measures” on US businesses in Russia and expelling 100 of the 450 staff at the American embassy in Russia, to match the 350 Russians at their embassy in the US.

President Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, met with his Security Council today: “There was a conversation about measures in response to the US sanctions imposed on our country the day before.” Also, military construction was high on the agenda, and Putin informed the Council of his call with Biden.

Earlier, on Thursday, Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had made it clear that a response to Biden’s actions was “unavoidable” and that the American ambassador, John Sullivan, was summoned for “tough talks.” Also on Thursday, the State Duma’s Speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin described Biden’s measures as showing that the “whole arsenal of accusations has been exhausted, and the US is going in a circle… by imposing sanctions, they punish themselves. In the end, they will have to build relationships that they themselves have destroyed.” The First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs, Dmitry Novikov, told Izvestia that there was nothing surprising: “They say that they are ready to meet and contact, but only on topics that interest them, and in all other respects they will continue pressure. They call this a pragmatic approach.” Izvestia interviewed the president of the American University in Moscow, Eduard Lozansky, who suggested that, while the inconsistency of Biden’s actions this week casts doubt upon his sincerity, it could also be that advisers and party members have the bulk of control over Biden, making him twist and turn.

Tass’s coverage on Friday noted that Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin had noted weeks ago, that the US was planning on attacking Russian bonds, “a deliberate calculation to create a toxic atmosphere around Russian securities in order to reduce their investment potential”—and that Russia was preparing measures to counteract this escalation.

Haiti Stands “at the Gates of Hell” Where Human Life Is Unbearable

October 28, 2021by madeleine in Haiti, Healthcare, Healthcare

This was the headline in today’s edition of the Haitian online daily Haite Libre, describing the unbearable existence that citizens of Port-au-Prince and other cities face every day, because of the ongoing work stoppages and gang activity that have affected every aspect of human life. The armed gangs which make transportation by road of gasoline and diesel fuel impossible, also block trucks’ access to the main petroleum storage facility at Varreux, holding hostage 25,000 barrels of gasoline and 50,000 barrels of diesel fuel that should be going to gas stations, hospitals, communications companies, state water and electricity companies, etc. Yet, there is no functioning police force to deal with the gangs. As the Miami Herald’s veteran Haiti expert Jacqueline Charles pointed out in an Oct. 25 interview with Slate, the gangs are far better armed than the police and, as many observers have pointed out, act like a quasi-state, in the absence of a functioning state or functioning state institutions.

So today, most hospitals in Port-au-Prince are not open except for perhaps a skeleton crew of a few doctors and nurses or a couple of medical students. There is no fuel for the power plants that keep the generators going that provide electricity for operating rooms or oxygen tanks. At Haiti’s largest cancer treatment center, X-ray machines and other equipment lie idle—there is no power to run them. Hospital director Kedner Pierre told CNN’s Matt Rivers that refrigerators have been packed with ice to try to preserve some chemotherapy medicines. The National Ambulance Center can’t deploy ambulances, because there is no fuel. The nearby Hospital Universitaire de la Paix is turning away pretty much every patient because, aside from fuel shortages, there aren’t enough doctors or nurses on staff. Personnel can’t get to work, or sometimes sleep at the hospital, as kidnapping is a risk for anyone traveling on the streets. Rivers concludes, then, “that one of Haiti’s largest hospitals simply isn’t functioning.” This is the case at every healthcare facility in the capital..

But the damage doesn’t stop here. Fuel shortages are also affecting mobile telecommunications services whose antennas are powered by generators that can’t function without fuel. Digicel, Haiti’s largest mobile network, reports that 433 of its 1,500 antenna sites are not operational because there is no fuel for generators, Le Nouvelliste reports. The Haitian government department in charge of potable water and sanitation, DINEPA, warns of water shortages as it lacks the diesel fuel needed to keep operational its powerful generator that in turn supplies energy to the stations and pumps that supply drinking water. The state electric company, EDH, warns of blackouts. A former Haitian consul in the Dominican Republic, Edwin Paraison, who has lived in Santo Domingo since the 2010 earthquake, told Dominican TV yesterday that, obviously, Haiti needs the help of the international community to deal with the gangs and security situation. But, he warned, the solution must not be one imposed on Haiti by the international community, but rather the result of a dialogue between the international community and Haitian authorities and civil society to determine together a strategy to deal with the current untenable security situation.

The Issue Facing Humanity: Development Versus Depopulation

September 22, 2021by Malene Robinson in General, General updates, Harley Schlanger Daily Update

As the United Nations General Assembly convened in New York yesterday, the only real issue before the members is that of Development versus Depopulation. While British PM Boris Johnson was openly pushing depopulation, President Biden made an effort to hide behind rhetoric about “diplomacy” and “no Cold War”; but his actions last week, in formally announcing a new strategic alliance with the Brits and Australia — against China and Russia — shows why so many nations no longer trust the U.S. In contrast, China’s Xi called for a new Global Development Initiative, based on multilateralism, and non-interference in other’s internal affairs.

Kissinger on U.S.-China War Threat

May 3, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in China, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Global Diplomacy, Russia, United States, World war danger updates

Kissinger on U.S.-China War Threat

May 2 (EIRNS)–Henry Kissinger warned that pushing the conflict with China is threatening the extinction of humanity. Speaking to the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum on April 30, said: “For the first time in history, humanity has the capacity to extinguish itself in a finite period of time. We have developed technology beyond what anyone imagined 70 years ago.” This is not only a nuclear issue as it was then, Kissinger said, “but also a high-tech issue with artificial intelligence, now based on the fact that we are now a partner of machines, and machines can make their own decisions.”

Kissinger also observed that while the Soviet Union was a major nuclear power, it was not, like China today, a major technological power. “A conflict today with such a high-tech power would be of such colossal input and significance…. It’s the biggest problem for America; it’s the biggest problem for the world. Because if we can’t solve that, then the risk is that all over the world, a kind of Cold War will develop between China and the United States.”

While the U.S. must remain “true to its principles,” Kissinger said, there must be “continual negotiations with China,” as well as with Russia. It was a mistake, he said, “that we haven’t had serious negotiations with Russia for over a decade.” Diplomacy cannot always resolve the problems, he said, but if it fails, “we have to be sure that we have tried all options.”
Russia had a powerful nuclear military capacity, he said, but they “didn’t have developmental technological capacity as China does. China is a huge economic power in addition to being a significant military power.”

Venezuela Exposes How U.S.-Imposed Economic Sanctions Block Vaccines

April 17, 2021by madeleine in General, Healthcare

Venezuela has finally been able to make the down payment required for developing countries to begin to receive their allocations of COVID-19 vaccines from the international COVAX facility, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez announced on April 9. But Rodriguez reported that the government was only able to do so through elaborate maneuvers to secure Swiss francs for the purchase. President Nicolas Maduro explained the next day, that Venezuela could only do this by “liberating some resources which had been kidnapped by the U.S. and deposited in Swiss francs, because if it had been done in dollars, the U.S. Federal Reserve would have stolen it.”

That Venezuela was forced to go through such maneuvers to be able to purchase vaccines, exposes the lie by successive United States administrations, that U.S. economic sanctions do not affect humanitarian aid or the people of the dozens of nations on which sanctions have been imposed. Neither the President or Vice President gave any details, but Maduro said “at the right time,” people will find out how they had freed up a tiny portion of the country’s own reserves to make the needed payment to COVAX. (The 59.2 million Swiss francs paid equal a little over half of the $120 million cost of nearly 11.4 million vaccine doses.)

Led by Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, the Trump administration enacted sanctions against Venezuela which are nothing less than an economic blockade, a blockade which Biden’s Secretary of State Tony Blinken has reaffirmed. Under the sanctions, Venezuela’s foreign reserves held abroad have been seized by the Federal Reserve, Bank of England, and other banks. At the same time, Venezuela is prohibited from selling its oil on international markets—a measure enforced by U.S. navy gunboats as well as legal threats—thus shutting down its primary means of earning new dollars to cover vital imports, including food, medicines—and vaccines.

President Nicolas Maduro reported on April 10th that a great diplomatic and legal effort had been required to access enough of Venezuelan government funds which had been “kidnapped by the Federal Reserve” under the “criminal financial sanctions” to make the payment. The Biden administration had refused the government’s appeal for some of its frozen reserves to be released for the Venezuelan government to purchase vaccines, driving Maduro to even offer “oil for vaccines” on March 29—although, that, too, would be “illegal” under U.S. sanctions.

Venezuela is one of the South American countries where the coronavirus is surging right now, and particularly the Brazilian variant, yet until now, the only vaccine commitments the government has been able to line up were for Russia’s Sputnik V and EpivacCorona (for which payment arrangements were made), China’s Sinopharm (donated), and Cuba’s yet-to-be approved Abdala.

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