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Beethoven: Sparks of Joy!

March 12, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Daily Beethoven — Sparks of Joy, General updates, Music updates

Beethoven: Sparks of Joy – A Call for Creatures of Prometheus.

Ballet  was a very popular entertainment in 18th century Vienna, and Beethoven composed his first ballet, the “Ritterballet” (Dance of the Knights) in 1791, while still in Bonn. Ten years later, he collaborated with the noted dancer and composer Salvatore Viganò on a ballet with mime, called “Creatures of Prometheus”.

A handbill for the first performance in the Burgtheater in Vienna on 28 March 1801 provides the following synopsis: “This allegorical ballet is based on the myth of Prometheus. The Greek philosophers who knew him tell the story in the following manner: they depict Prometheus as a lofty spirit who, finding the human beings of his time in a state of ignorance, refined them through art and knowledge and gave them laws of right conduct. In accordance with this source, the ballet presents two animate statues who, by the power of harmony, are made susceptible to all the passions of human existence. Prometheus takes them to Parnassus to receive instruction from Apollo, god of the arts, who commands Amphion, Arion and Orpheus to teach them music, [and] Melpomene and Thalia [to teach them] tragedy and comedy. Terpsichore aids Pan who introduces them to the Pastoral Dance which he has invented, and from Bacchus they learn his invention – the Heroic Dance.”

In addition to the overture, Beethoven composed 16 numbers. It was well received by the audience, with 21 further performances, but with one critic opining that “his writing here is too learned for a ballet”. Today, only the overture is regularly heard. The following performance is arranged as “a concert suite in four movements with overture”, omitting some of the numbers. [Notes by Margaret Scialdone.]

Great Leap Backwards: Pushback to Biden’s “30×30” Cuts in Food, Water …

March 11, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Agriculture, Economic development updates, Environmentalism updates, General, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Green New Deal

Pushback Against Biden’s “30×30” Move to Cut Agriculture and All Human Use on 30% of U.S. Land, Water by 2030

Mar. 10 (EIRNS)–A key part of the Great Leap Backward is that land and water use must be dictated, first, by greening the environment, and only secondly, for agriculture use, which will produce far less food. This is explicit in the EU “Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies” May, 2020 document; and in the 2020 Agriculture Law of Britain. For the U.S., this green dictate appears in the “30 x 30” scheme, which says that by 2030, human use of any kind—agriculture, forestry, transportation, energy, minerals–must be reduced on 30 percent of U.S. land and water, including oceans.

Biden was programmed to say this during his 2020 campaign, and it was formally announced Jan. 27, in his Executive Order 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” (86 Fed. Reg. 7,619).

A huge pushback is underway. On Feb. 22, 17 state governors signed a letter to Biden, opposing the Federal government overreach on this. Many also issued their own press releases. The states include most of the farmbelt, e.g. the Dakotas, Montana, Nebraska, Idaho and others.

There are local meetings of all kinds in opposition. For example, March 2 in Wyoming, a resolution opposing the 30×30 plan, and calling for local consultation, was introduced in the Uinta County Commissioners meeting, by the county’s Citizens Coalition for Sound Resource Use. The Commissioners will take it up March 16.

Last night in the small town of Valentine, Nebraska, a public briefing was held by Margaret Byfield, who has been holding meetings across the Plains states to mobilize people. Her organization is the American Stewards of Liberty, based in Texas. See https://americanstewards.us/

The usual citation is made that 12 percent of U.S. land area is already currently in Federal control. Most of it is in the Western states, and varies widely state by state. However a 2020 estimate by the Federation of American Scientists is much higher.

The text of the EO 14008, in Section 216, directs various Federal departments to provide a report within 90 days of Jan. 27, “recommending steps that the United States should take, working with state, local, tribal and territorial governments, agricultural and forest landowners, fishermen, and other key stakeholders, to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30% of our lands and waters by 2030.”

The save-nature groups are all issuing specifics on where human uses should be locked out first—Sierra Club, National Geographic, Conservation Foundation and others. The National Wildlife Federation, for example, has put out, through its Associate VP for Public lands Tracy Stone-Manning, a starter list of which lands to lock up: 80,000 acres in Montana; 1.3 million acres of the Mojave Desert in Nevada; 250,000 acres in California of redwood forest and river rapids; and over 400,000 acres in Colorado.

The 30×30 catchy concept is also pushed in other nations, as a benchmark on the way to “50×50,” the crazed idea—also called “half Earth”—that by 2050, half of the land and water area of the Earth should be in a state of nature, minus people, so that biodiversity can prevail, and this, it is asserted, will keep creature life in balance, so that zoonotic diseases won’t happen, and life will be peachy.

The “half Earth” lunacy was promoted a few years back in a book by E.O. Wilson, the so called biologist. The Center for American Progress has backed it; and it was in the 2020 Democratic Party Platform, it is reported. A resolution was introduced in Congress on this. There is a 30×30 Ocean Alliance.

On October 4, 2020, Scientific American carried an article sub-titled, “The so-called 30 by 30 plan would protect 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters from development by 2030.” Under the main headline, “An Ambitious Strategy to Preserve Biodiversity,” the author is David Shiffman. He wrote,  “Scientific American’s historic endorsement of Joe Biden noted that Biden ‘has a record of following the data and being guided by science.’ With his campaign’s incorporation of 30 by 30 goals, that’s also true when it comes to biodiversity conservation…”

In May, the U.N. Biodiversity Summit will be in China in Kunming.

Russian UN Energy Forum in Run-up to Glasgow COP26 – Look to Nuclear, Hydro

July 16, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Activity of the Schiller Institute, China, Economic development updates, General updates, Power & Energy, Russia

July 15, 2021 (EIRNS)–In preparation for the Glasgow UN Climate conference – COP26 (Oct. 31-Nov. 12, 2021), the Mission of the Russian Federation to the UN held a virtual side event, titled, “Low Emissions Solutions in Energy and Beyond: Partnering with Businesses for a Sustainable Recovery.” The event was opened by Russia’s Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, and included speakers from Russia, China, Japan, Australia, and the UK. The Schiller Institute attended the event, which had 60 participants.

Russia was represented by speakers from the IAEA and from Rosatom, as well as by the Minister of Economic Development. Minister Reshetnikov stated that Russia’s goal is to reduce emissions to less than 70% of Russia’s 1990 emission levels by developing all technologies, especially nuclear and hydropower. He appealed: “Don’t discriminate against any technology,” saying that this must be done in a cost-effective way and one that does not impede economic development.

Speaking as the Deputy Director General, and chief of the Nuclear Energy Dept. of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr. Mikhail Chudakov made a series of sharp points addressing the importance of nuclear energy from the vantage point of urgent global energy deficits: 1) globally, 700 million people are still without access to electricity, and demand is growing, 2) nuclear is the most dense form of all energy sources — we need a level playing field for all low-carbon electricity sources, including access to financing, and 3) “Don’t forget about fusion:” Many companies are now investing over $2 billion in fusion research, which will yield a clean and unlimited new source of energy. Dr. Chudakov said that the promotion of nuclear power as a key part of the solution to the emissions question will be the message taken by the IAEA to COP26. Kirill Komarov of Russia’s Rosatom, documented in many dimensions the power of nuclear energy as a friend of the environment. For instance, in measuring Life Cycle Emissions (measured in gCO2eq/ kWh) we see the following: Solar – 48, Hydro – 24, Nuclear – 12, Wind – 11

Chinese Charge d’ Affaires at the China Mission to the UN, Amb. Dai Bing urged a “people-centered approach” to energy policy, which can create a “beautiful ecological environment.” Dame Barbara Woodward OBE, the UK Permanent Representative to the UN — who was apparently added to the program at the last minute — gave an arrogant speech attacking both Russia and the use of coal, demanding that nations adhere to the dictates of the Paris Climate agreement “4 to 5 times faster” — which will be the UK’s demand at COP26 in Glasgow. Corporate representatives from Brazil and Australia promoted biofuels, hydrogen production, wind, and solar panels.

The Schiller Institute’s Paul Gallagher posed this question to the panel of speakers: “Nuclear power plants have the highest power density per area and time of operation and are extremely reliable — but, they take a long time to build relative to other sources. Can this be solved through factory production of modular nuclear power units; how quickly can this become a reality?” Dr. Chudakov responded that Belarus had built a nuclear plant in only six years. So, the process can be expedited. “We need a clear policy of support of nuclear power from governments, governmental credits for infrastructure” so as to advance reactors and reduce construction time. “It’s easy to scale up when you produce the same unit. That’s why SMRs are the future. They need governmental support.” Russia and China are building nuclear plants because there is government support.

Russian scientists have a distinguished history of promoting — on the world stage — the universal use of nuclear power. Physicist, Academician Yevgeny Velikhov, then-head of the prestigious Kurchatov Institute, speaking at the Arctic Energy Summit in Alaska in October, 2007 addressed the vast “energy gap” between world supply and world demand for electricity. Dr. Velikhov was clear, then: sticking with the current dependence on oil, gas, and so forth will not work — there must be nuclear power.

U.S.-China High Level Meeting March 18

March 11, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in China, Economic development updates, General, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Global Diplomacy, United States

U.S. Sec. of State Blinken and National Security Advisor Sullivan to Hold First in-Person Meeting With Chinese Counterparts Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi In Alaska March 18

March 10 (EIRNS)–The State Department today confirmed that on March 18, Secretary of State Tony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, with high-level Chinese officials Yang Jiechi, Director of the Central Commission of Foreign Affairs, and Wang Yi, Foreign Minister and State Councilor to discuss what Blinken called a “range of issues” including those on which there is “deep disagreement.” 

The Anchorage meeting will follow the March15-18 trip to Japan and South Korea, by Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. According to a Pentagon press release, the meetings with both governments are intended to bolster relations with allies in the region “in the face of long-term competition with China.” The State Department added that the meetings will “highlight cooperation that promotes peace, security and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world.” Just prior to these meetings, President Biden will hold a virtual meeting on March 12 with his “Quad” allies–India, Japan and Australia.

Blinken will return from Asia directly to Anchorage where he will be joined by Jake Sullivan. Austin will go on to India, to meet with his counterpart and other national security officials, to also focus on “free, prosperous and open Indo-Pacific and Western Indian Ocean Region,” as reported by the Pentagon.

Webcast: Great Opportunity to Learn from 50 Years of Strategic Insanity

July 15, 2021by Megan Dobrodt in Geopolitics updates, Helga Video, Helga Webcast, Helga Zepp-LaRouche

In reviewing the multiple strategic crises confronting humanity today, Schiller Institute leader Helga Zepp-LaRouche kept coming back to words such as “lunacy”, “insanity” and “dangerous immaturity” to characterize the policies pursued by leaders of the U.S., the U.K. and the EU. In their zeal to confront and provoke Russia and China, impose austerity while bailing out bankrupt corporate cartels, cut funding for health care, and impose an anti-human Green New Deal, the corruption behind their genocidal intent has become ever-more obvious.

Have we learned the lessons of the dangers implicit in allowing their imperial will to dominate international policy making?

One example of the potential for change is coming from the neighbors of Afghanistan, who met under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and engaged in serious discussion of how to bring stability to the people of that damaged nation. Instead of using the withdrawal from Afghanistan to “pivot to Asia”, to contain China and Russia, Wang Yi made a proposal for cooperative economic development.

Beethoven: Sparks of Joy!

March 11, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Cultural renaissance updates, Daily Beethoven — Sparks of Joy, General updates, Music updates

Beethoven: Sparks of Joy — Out of ruins; bring forth a renaissance.

“The Ruins of Athens” is the third of three plays written by August von Kotzebue for the opening of the lavish new theater in Pest (the first was “King Stephen”, and the second didn’t survive the censor’s knife). In the play, Athena wakes from a thousand-year sleep to find her city in ruins and under foreign occupation. She’s then whisked to Hungary, where a new center of learning and culture is being created.
For the play, Beethoven composed an overture and eight musical pieces, the best-known of which is the famous Turkish March (which is also the subject of his Opus 76 variations). [Notes by Margaret Scialdone.]

UN Sec. General Guterres: The World Needs 11 Billion Doses to Vaccinate 70% of The Population to Defeat the Pandemic

July 15, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in COVID-19, Economic development updates, General updates, Healthcare, Healthcare

July 14 (EIRNS) – Speaking to the U.N.’s High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, Secretary General Antonio Guterres stated succinctly: “Pledges of doses and funds are welcome — but they are not enough. We need at least 11 billion doses to vaccinate 70 percent of the world and end this pandemic… Everyone, everywhere, must have access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests, treatments and support,” he said.

“The world needs a Global Vaccination Plan to at least double the production of vaccines, ensure equitable distribution through COVAX, coordinate implementation and financing, and support national immunization programs,” Guterres added. “To realize this plan, I have been calling for an Emergency Task Force that brings together the countries that produce and can produce vaccines, the World Health Organization, the ACT-Accelerator partners and international financial institutions, able to deal with the relevant pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers, and other key stakeholders,” he said.

U.S. States File Lawsuit To Stop Biden’s Climate Fraud

March 10, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Economic development updates, Environmentalism updates, General, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Green New Deal

U.S. States File Lawsuit To Stop Biden’s Climate Fraud; Defend Jobs, Food, and Energy for Americans and Millions of Poor Worldwide

March 9, 2021 (EIRNS)– Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, joined by the Attorneys General of the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah, filed suit yesterday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division, challenging the constitutionality of Section 5 of President Biden’s Executive Order 13990, issued on his first day in office under the title “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.”

The twelve states intend to stop implementation of regulatory measures which they rightly contend will not only destroy U.S. jobs, energy production, energy independence, agriculture, and innovation, and impoverish its working families, but which will also deprive millions of people around the world of the affordable food and energy they urgently need to escape from poverty and hunger. And they are feeling pretty frisky about doing so. Schmitt proudly tweeted that “JoeBiden recently took executive action that will cost hardworking families, farmers & businesses trillions — crushing jobs & innovation. It’s a Trojan Horse for the #GreenNewDeal. Today we led a coalition to stop it. Missouri is fighting back.”

The states recognized the deadly ramifications of Section 5’s seeming gobbledygook. Titled, “Accounting for the Benefits of Reducing Climate Pollution,” the section establishes a federal interagency Working Group which is charged with estimating the “social cost,” or “monetized damages,” allegedly incurred from incremental emissions of three so-called “greenhouse gases,” carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. Those estimates, which supposedly will “capture the full costs of greenhouse gas emissions as accurately as possible … taking global damages into account,” then are to become the basis for regulating the activities producing those “emissions” out of existence, using rigged “cost-benefit analyses.”

 According to the lawsuit, the interim report issued by that Working Group, came up with the incredible figure of $9.5 trillion a year in “social costs” from those three gases, but repeatedly indicated that the group believes that these numbers “likely understate” the true costs of these gases and that higher numbers are likely in future calculations. “The potential regulatory impact of such numbers is enormous,” the suit warns. “These numbers are high enough to justify massive increases in regulatory restrictions on agricultural practices, energy production, energy use, or any other economic activity that results in the emission of such gases.”

The lawsuit summarizes the real world consequences if this EO is allowed to stand:

“In practice, President Biden’s order directs federal agencies to use this enormous figure to justify an equally enormous expansion of federal regulatory power that will intrude into every aspect of Americans’ lives—from their cars, to their refrigerators and homes, to their grocery and electric bills. If the Executive Order stands, it will inflict hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars of damage to the U.S. economy for decades to come. It will destroy jobs, stifle energy production, strangle America’s energy independence, suppress agriculture, deter innovation, and impoverish working families. It undermines the sovereignty of the States and tears at the fabric of liberty.

“The Biden Administration’s calculation of such `social costs’ of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane is also arbitrary and capricious. Affordable and reliable methods of agricultural and energy production—which these actions would stifle—have global benefits that the Biden Administration studiously ignores. Affordable food and energy production lift millions of people out of poverty, eliminate hunger, promote economic development and opportunity, create millions of jobs, enable innovation and entrepreneurship, encourage industry and manufacturing, promote America’s energy independence, and create the conditions for liberty to flourish. These benefits enrich the entire world, and yet the Biden Administration gave them little or no weight in its calculation of the `social cost’ of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.”

The defendants named in the suit start with President Biden, and continue with ten cabinet secretaries and agencies, plus the members of the interagency Working Group.

South African Riots Are Major Destabilization of this BRICS Nation

July 15, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in BRICS updates, Economic development updates, General updates, Geopolitics updates, So. Africa, World war danger updates

South African Riots Are Major Destabilization of this BRICS Nation —

July 14 (EIRNS)—The opposition parties in South Africa are united in blaming (with varying emphases) President Ramaphosa, his government, and the ruling ANC at large, taking no account of the intense undermining of the country by London/Wall Street centered finance—for example, through destroying South Africa’s electric power development. Will no one stand up and tell Ramaphosa that it is his London/Wall Street patrons that are the problem?

As for this immediate destabilization, one interesting voice has been heard. Bantu Holomisa, MP, leader of the minor United Democratic Movement, said on SABC-TV, “We note the curious absence of the police in some areas. There has been radio silence from the top police echelons for two days. They are the ones who usually keep us [meaning, members of Parliament] informed. Are some intelligence people and police behind this?” That is now being investigated, but by whom, and with what end in view? Stay tuned.

Putin: Developing Coal; Learn From Texas Crisis

March 10, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Economic development studies, Economic development updates, General, General updates, Studies & contributions

Putin: Russia Will Develop Its Coal Industry; Suggests Others Learn the Lessons of the Texas Crisis

March 9, 2021 (EIRNS)—Russia has no intention of committing suicide by submitting to the “Great Reset” hoax. On March 2, President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of government officials and the leaders of the coal regions and industries to review the country’s drive to develop its coal industry. He pressed the participants to provide answers, set deadlines, and get results in order to guarantee the steady development of the coal-mining industry, and increase exports, especially to the Asia-Pacific region, to gain the revenues needed to “improve the well-being of people and to create modern, comfortable living conditions” in the coal-mining regions, while ensuring environmental protection.

Participating with Putin were the Prime Minister, four Vice Prime Ministers, the Chiefs of Staff of the Presidency and the Government, five cabinet ministers (Industry and Trade, Economic Development, Transport, Finance, and Energy), the heads of various coal regions, and the CEO’s of the major Russian coal industries and transport sector companies.

Coal is not going to be shut down in Russia. Putin opened: “The national coal industry [is] a key pillar of the national fuel and energy sector. It has great significance for the socioeconomic development of entire Russian regions; we have five coal-mining regions. It is also important for the labor market, for securing employment to hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens and securing their incomes. We have a total of 11 million residents in these regions. Of course, the industry employs far less. However, a total of 11 million people live in these regions….

“Russia’s traditional and new coal-mining centers have substantial capabilities… Russia has been producing over 400 million tons of coal per year since 2017. Over 50% of this amount is exported elsewhere. Coal export volumes have soared by over 33% in the past eight years… Today, the main coal sales are happening in the Asia-Pacific. Last year, 122 million tons of Russian coal were supplied to that region. At the same time, there is an additional demand in the Asia-Pacific that Russian companies could meet. And it is important not to pass up this opportunity….” (Putin specified at the end of the meeting that coal exports from the Kuzbass region to the East should increase by at least 30% over 2020 levels, by 2024.)

Putin never said “Great Reset” or “climate hoax,” but his reference was unmistakable:

“As for the long-term prospects of the global coal market beyond the current decade,” he told participants, “I know that there are different forecasts in this regard. It is no secret that some of them suggest a significant market contraction, including due to technological changes in the global fuel and energy sector, as well as the active use of alternative fuels.

“We also know what is happening with this: Texas froze because of the cold weather. And the windmills had to be thawed in ways that are far from environmentally friendly. Maybe this will also cause adjustments.

“In any case, it is necessary to carefully study all possible scenarios in order to guarantee the steady development of our coal-mining regions even with a decrease in global demand for coal and with a decline in the global situation.”

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