Top Left Link Buttons
  • English
  • German
  • Russian

General updates

Category Archives

Italy’s Conte to Sign MOU on Belt and Road During Xi Jinping’s Visit

March 10, 2019by Jason Ross in General, New Silk Road / BRI updates, World Land-Bridge updates

The Italian government has just announced it’s intention to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to join the Belt and Road Initiative with China when President Xi Jinping visits Italy on March 22-23.  Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, speaking at an event in Genoa March 8th declared,

“The Silk Road, is a major project of infrastructural connectivity which offers a large availability by  China to promote a trade exchange and not only that. I believe that, with all necessary caution, this can be an opportunity, a chance for our country. It is an opportunity for our country system and for Europe in general.”

Conte also said he promised to attend to the second Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation in Beijing at the end of April. As for their U.S. ally,

“we have explained that this is for us a choice of economic and trade relationships. The fact that we are comfortably in the Atlantic Alliance and in the European system does not prevent us from making economic and trade choices that allow us to have more opportunities.”

This wonderful news of international cooperation in major infrastructure projects, as well as joint projects in Africa, was greeted with absolute horror by the Financial Times, the voice of the City of London, and by Garrett Marquis, a member of the US National Security Council under John Bolton. The FT rants that China is building a “Trojan Horse” in Eastern and Central Europe to divide and undermine the EU, ordering Italy to cease and desist. The FT quotes Marquis that he and his neocon associates believe the BRI to be “made in China, for China,” and that it will not bring any “sustained economic benefit to the Italian people, and it may end up harming Italy’s global reputation in the long run.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to the attack on Italy’s plan to join the Belt and Road by Garrett Marquis, a long-time ally of National Security Adviser John Bolton (who brought him onto the National Security Council). An unsigned editorial in Global Times, titled: “White House’s Criticism of Italy’s Plan To Join BRI Ridiculous,” reports that Lu Kang, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a routine press conference today, said: “Italy, as a major country and economy in the world, is clear about its interests. It could make its own policies and decisions.” Global Times added:

“The BRI is an important international public good that China contributes to global cooperation for common development. China and more than 150 countries and international organizations have signed BRI cooperation agreements, which witnessed more than $6 trillion in cumulative trade between China and participating countries, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said at the 55th Munich Security Conference in February, the Xinhua News Agency reported.”

The FT goes on to allege that,

“Italy’s support for China’s BRI initiative would undercut U.S. pressure on China over trade and would undermine Brussels’ efforts to overcome divisions within the EU over the best approach to deal with Chinese investments. Italy is a founding member of the EU.”

In an interview with the Italian financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore, Italian Undersecretary to the Economic Development Ministry rejects criticism raised by the City of London’s Financial Times and defends Italy’s sovereign choice to join the Belt and Road. “Sincerely, I am a bit surprised. I do not understand what it is, that is controversial,” Geraci said. “I confirm what I said in an interview with this newspaper last Feb. 21st. I said the same thing to the Financial Times: We work every day down to the last detail.

“It will be a framework agreement: Just the indication of some strategic sectors in which joint investments are promoted and orders by Italian firms are accelerated. We work on infrastructure, transport and highways, trade, industry, green economy. It will be up to private companies to choose whether to participate or not. If they do it, they will have guarantees in terms of protection from disputes and questions about rules.”

As for the U.S. position, Geraci stated:

“I wonder where such a big concern comes from. We will protect our know-how thanks to a ‘golden power’ rule we have in Italy, which is among the strictest in Europe. And we just fulfill demands from our companies to create for them more room in the most promising markets, such as China. Anyway, we have supplied the United States, as per normal exchanges we have with our main diplomatic partners, all insurances on the issue.”

On the concern about Italy being the first G7 country to sign a New Silk Road protocol, Geraci replied:

“So what? Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Greece have done it and I do not consider them second-class countries in Europe. Those who think differently do not have a real European view. And the G7 club may be a somewhat outdated concept: It no longer represents the real world economic powers, since it does not include either China or India.”

Italy is not “selling out” its ports, as some have claimed, he countered:

“We do not sell, at most we give concessions to create greenfield  investments, which means starting from zero. You cannot sell out things that were not there in the first place.”

WHO Director General: G7 Health Declaration Is Insufficient

June 14, 2021by madeleine in General, Healthcare

The World Health Organization (W.H.O) Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, applauded the intention of the Carbis Bay Declaration on Health released today by the G7 meeting near Carbis Bay in Cornwall, UK, but stated that it is insufficient to address the current pandemic crisis.

The Declaration signers pledged one billion doses of vaccine to the poorest nations; to decrease the approval time for new vaccines to 100 days, and to increase capabilities for the world to track and sequence new diseases, among other initiatives.

Dr. Ghebreyesus stressed, “‘Many other countries are now facing a surge in cases – and they are facing it without vaccines. We are in the race of our lives, but it’s not a fair race, and most countries have barely left the starting line. We welcome the generous announcements about donations of vaccines and thank leaders. But we need more, and we need them faster…Together we need to build on the significant scientific and collaborative response to the Covid-19 pandemic and find common solutions to address many of the gaps identified.’” He also emphasized that (even though it’s too little, too late) 11 billion doses are needed to vaccinate at least 70% of the world’s population by mid-2022.

His statements were underscored by Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, who said this weekend: “‘We have reached a grim milestone in this pandemic: There are already more dead from COVID-19 in 2021 than in all of last year. Without urgent action, this devastation will continue. Equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines represents the clearest pathway out of this pandemic for all of us — children included. 

“UNICEF thanks G7 member states for their significant pledges and continued support. However, much work remains to continue to ramp up both the amount and the pace of supply to the rest of the world, because when it comes to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, our best interests and our best natures align. This crisis will not be over until it is over for everyone.’” UNICEF Press Release

The upcoming two-day Schiller Institute International June 26-27 conference is part of a continuous process to build a stronger and stronger anti-Malthusian alliance worldwide, incorporating a network of people who understand the profound importance of a Renaissance of Classical culture.

For the Common Good of all People, not the Rules Benefiting the Few!

International Schiller Institute/ICLC online conference, June 26/ 27, 2021

RSVP today →

Beethoven: Sparks of Joy

February 10, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Daily Beethoven — Sparks of Joy, Music updates

Beethoven’s “Tempest,” Opus 31 #2 in D-minor.

We come to one of the greatest sonatas in the entire repertoire, the Opus 31 #2 in D-minor, nicknamed “The Tempest”. From the unsettling eerieness of the opening movement, to the marvelous , orchestra-like setting of the Adagio second movement, and then the “moto perpetuo” Allegretto at the close, this sonata is riveting throughout. 
The technical demands of this sonata place are overshadowed by its interpretive challenges, so really great performances are hard to come by.  [Notes by Margaret Scialdone.]

We’ve selected this one by  Daniel Barenboim:

Webcast—Italy joins with China in battle for the New Paradigm, Geopoliticians Flip!

March 7, 2019by Jason Ross in Helga Webcast, New Silk Road / BRI updates

This week’s webcast with Helga Zepp-LaRouche and Harley Schlanger focuses on three developments, first, Italy’s indication that it will join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (a big deal, it’s a G7 country),  the “New Green Deal” proposal being pushed by the so-called Progressives in the United States, and finally, they discuss the campaign for the late Lyndon LaRouche’s exoneration, and its implications on the current witch hunt against President Trump.

 

 

Beethoven: Sparks of Joy

February 9, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Daily Beethoven — Sparks of Joy, Music updates

Beethoven’s Opus 31 piano sonatas began a new path for him.

Beethoven composed his trio of Opus 31 piano sonatas in 1801-1802, after he had remarked to his student Carl Czerny that he was dissatisfied with his compositions so far and was setting out on a new path. Each of the sonatas is strikingly different, and none is reminiscent of the courtly style of Haydn or Mozart.
The Opus 31 no. 1, Beethoven’s 16th sonata, is described by one commentator as “a running joke on the excesses of Italian opera”. 

That spirit is captured perfectly in this performance by Szymon Nehring:

China Constructs a Mobile Covid-testing Lab in Ten Hours, Capable of One Million Tests/Day

June 11, 2021by madeleine in General, Healthcare

The Chinese take their public health pretty seriously. When the coronavirus pops up in a locale, certainly there is quarantining, and then tracing all the contacts. But mass testing in a few days, whether of a confined neighborhood or of a metropolis of millions, is par for the course.  

Guangzhou, a city of 18 million, found their first case of the highly contagious delta variant two weeks ago. Prior to that, they had been averaging about 2 new cases/day of the regular strain, and zero cases on May 24. But on May 26, there was a ‘spike’ of 14 cases, and the public health authorities sprang into action. From May 26 to June 7, about 29 million tests were conducted, where 119 people were found to be infected, seven of which were asymptomatic cases. They are confident that they can surround and finish off the invading enemy virus. 

Their massive testing capacity, over two million tests per day, was achieved with the aid of a new, quick-to-assemble mobile testing lab, capable of a million tests per day. The “Huo-Yan Air Lab” can be flown in, transported on a truck, and erected/inflated in ten hours. (Note the time-lapse video) The P2-level lab has an automated nucleic acid extraction robot. 

Developed by BGI and Etopia, it has already been exported to a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Togo, Benin, Gabon, and Kazakhstan. BGI first used an inflatable structure for fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014. “Huo-Yan” means “fire-eye.” It refers to the power of the legendary Monkey King to detect evil hidden beneath covers – or, in this case, the presence of the coronavirus. A spray is being developed to ‘concretize’ the walls, in case it is desired to make the temporary structure more permanent. The same team is working on an inflatable COVID hospital ward design.

Meeting and beating a crisis can be an inspiration.

The required measures to defeat the enemy virus globally will be discussed at the upcoming international Schiller Institute conference.

For the Common Good of all People, not the Rules Benefiting the Few!

International Schiller Institute/ICLC online conference, June 26/ 27, 2021

RSVP today →

Second “Dialogue on Climate” Webinar in Italy

June 11, 2021by madeleine in Environmentalism updates, Finance, General, Green New Deal, Power & Energy

The second “Dialogue on Climate” webinar took place in Italy yesterday, with professors Franco Battaglia and Franco Prodi as speakers. Prof. Battaglia is a teacher of physics and chemistry at the Modena University, while prof. Prodi, brother of Italy’s former Prime minister Romano, is teacher of Physics of the Atmosphere at the University of Bologna. 

Prof. Battaglia demonstrated in a conclusive way that all forecasts of the IPCC have been wrong. “Nobody can deny that human activity has produced CO2, but this is not the cause of climate change”, he said. We are in the end phase of a mini-glacial era, and global warming has already occurred in the past, when there was no anthropogenic CO2 production. 

Solar and wind energy will never be able to replace other energy sources, which today represent 80% of the energy mix. The insanity of renewables can be shown in Italy, where ca. 100 billion euro have been invested for photovoltaic parks that produce 2.6 GW of power, whereas one nuclear power plant would produce 3 Gw and would cost one tenth of it! Battaglia revealed that when he was advisor to Environment minister Altero Matteoli, the latter asked him whether he should sign the Kyoto protocol. Don’t sign it, Battaglia told him. Nobel prize winner Carlo Rubbia also told me so, Matteoli confessed – but eventually signed the Protocol. 

Prof. Prodi went into a long and detailed explanation on how the formation of clouds affects the climate. This is a complex and articulated system, but the IPCC focuses only on some aspects, neglecting some very influential factors. 

During the Q&A period, former minister Carlo Giovanardi asked why scientists who argue against the IPCC are excluded from the public debate. 

Prof. Alberto Prestininzi, who moderated the event, answered that “there is a direction. When economic leaders get together…. if the EU decides that one trillion Euro should go to decarbonization”. Prof. Renato Ricci, honorary chairman of the Italian Physics Society, commented that it is “big finance” behind the so-called climate emergency. 

Claudio Celani from EIR intervened in support of prof. Ricci explaining that the climate emergency is a pretext to create a new financial bubble in the attempt to save the bankrupt financial system. The origin of climate activism and environmentalism is neo malthusianism, and answering Sen. Giovanardi, Celani said that politicians have a responsibility for having accepted a decades-long slide into the current regime. 

Celani’s remarks were backed by prof. Mario Giaccio, an economist, who said that he agrees about neo malthusianism and went into a description on how liquidity has moved into energy assets, creating the bubble. However, he concluded with the pessimistic remark that you cannot do anything against it because they are too strong! 

Prof. Prodi intervened saying that he has been ostracized by media because of his “negationist” views, and the situation in the scientific community is “more rotten than you think”, almost as rotten as in the financial system. 

There will be a “Climate Dialogues” Webinar every other week between now and October.

The science of climate change is not settled, and much of what is presented is not based on science at all. Leading scientists with the integrity and courage to buck dangerous “popular” dogma will discuss so-called manmade climate change, and the most-advanced science including the galactic science of astronomical-scale oscillations at the upcoming Schiller Institute/ICLC conference. The suicidal trend in some European countries to stick with anti-nuclear attitudes will also be discussed.

For the Common Good of all People, not the Rules Benefiting the Few!

International Schiller Institute/ICLC online conference, June 26/ 27, 2021

RSVP today →

Poles Enter Intense Cooperation with Huawei

March 6, 2019by Jason Ross in Economic development updates, New Silk Road / BRI updates

As China’s CGTN TV network reports, at the Mobile World Congress 2019, held in Barcelona, Spain last week, Poland’s infrastructure network service provider Hawe Telekom and China’s Huawei announced in-depth cooperation in the development of competence of the Polish company in the field of 5G technology. The announcement is important, as other European countries hesitate to, or even hostile about working with Huawei, because of the allegations that the company spied for the Chinese state.

Hawe and Huawei stated in Barcelona that Poland has a strategic location for the Silk Road of Information as it contains a segment of the shortest route from Frankfurt to China via Russia. Hawe networks will play a vital part in the fiber connection along the Silk Road.

Hawe has more than 6,000 km worth of optical fibers deployed across Poland and has expanded to key switching nodes in Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, and Finland. 

Beethoven: Sparks of Joy

February 8, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Daily Beethoven — Sparks of Joy, Music updates

Beethoven, Franz Schubert: musical dialogue and the C-minor series.

No investigation of the C-minor dialogue among composers can be complete without the astonishing C-minor sonata by Franz Schubert, whose birthday we recognized on January 31. Schubert, a native of Vienna, was 15 years Beethoven’s junior, although he died just one year after Beethoven at the age of 31. In fact, he was one of the pallbearers at Beethoven’s funeral. His C-minor sonata, D958, is often performed together with Beethoven’s 32 Variations on an Original Theme, WoO 80 also in C minor, with which it has obvious affinities.  Notes by Margaret Scialdone.

Beethoven’s variations are performed by Sookkyung Cho: 

and Schubert’s sonata by Sergey Kuznetsov: 

Beethoven: Sparks of Joy

February 6, 2021by Mary Jane Freeman in Daily Beethoven — Sparks of Joy, Music updates

Beethoven and the C-minor dialogue.

We return to Beethoven with two of his best-known sonatas in C-minor: the Pathétique and the Opus 111. Listen for the development of the theme that Bach put forward in his Musical Offering!

Sonata Pathétique (1st movement) played by Dubravka Tomsic:

Opus 111 (1st movement) played by Alfred Brendel:

Page 76 of 104First...757677...Last