There is a new policy note by three fellows of the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, the first by the three authors which draws the lessons of the London Debt Conference on Germany’s debt in 1953. The authors, who also head up the Levy Institut…
After months of internal discussions and wrangling over the future of Russia’s manned space program, Roscosmos announced, yesterday, after a meeting of its science and technical council, that Russia will continue use of the International Space Station …
After months of internal discussions and wrangling over the future of Russia’s manned space program, Roscosmos announced, yesterday, after a meeting of its science and technical council, that Russia will continue use of the International Space Station …
In its release, yesterday, of major space projects for the current year, the India Space Research Organization (ISRO) confirmed it is working towards the launch of its second mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-2. Although this press coverage of the up-co…
In its release, yesterday, of major space projects for the current year, the India Space Research Organization (ISRO) confirmed it is working towards the launch of its second mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-2. Although this press coverage of the up-co…
The Greek Parliament is planning to audit the Greek debt and investigate what led to the Greek bailout. Parliament Speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou revealed plans on Feb. 24 to set up two committees to audit Greece’s public debt and to examine the country’s…
The Greek Parliament is planning to audit the Greek debt and investigate what led to the Greek bailout. Parliament Speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou revealed plans on Feb. 24 to set up two committees to audit Greece’s public debt and to examine the country’s…
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said that Greece will be able to pay its public sector workers but not the debts. He told Alpha Radio:
“We will not have liquidity problems for the public sector. But we will definitely have problems in making debt payments to the IMF now and to the ECB in July.”
While Varoufakis gave no figures, Reuters reports that there are interest payments this month of about EU2 billion, an IMF loan of around EU1.6 billion that matures in March, and about EU7.5 billion for maturing bonds held by the ECB in July and August.
From Varoufakis’s statement, he seems to have made clear where his priorities are when it comes to payments. He also said today that he wants discussion of debt restructuring to begin immediately, and to encompass bond swaps that would “significantly reduce the debt” to official creditors.
Of course, this has caused great consternation among the euro sharks, led by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. Commenting on the Eurogroup “agreement” and the list of Greek reforms, he told SWR2 radio:
“The question now is whether one can believe the Greek government’s assurances or not. There’s a lot of doubt in Germany, that has to be understood.”
Earlier in the day, Varoufakis was interviewed by Charlie Hebdo, and compared the European promoters of the bailout to medieval doctors:
“In the Middle Ages doctors prescribed blood-letting to patients that often resulted in a worsening of their condition. Nonetheless, they did it again after that. This is a perfect illustration of the current attitude of the EU—the more austerity policies fail, the more they are implemented.”
“Syriza has been cast to play a role in the upheavals of history with the sad honor of having to repair damage left by the parties and institution of the system.”
He continued by saying that if pro-European governments such as the previous ones of Greece continue to “suffocate the people who elected them and lead them to despair, then the only ones who benefit are the fanatics, racists, nationalists and those who live with hatred.”
In an obvious attack by those who really are making the policy, two of Greece’s four main lenders, Eurobank and Bank of Piraeus, are being dropped from the pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark index, potentially depriving them of investments.
Speaking on Latvian television yesterday, Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma said that no one is ready to start the Third World War. Western countries are refraining “from too sharp a reaction” by not disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT international interbank system and avoiding military intervention in the Donbas conflict, since they fear that their actions can further contribute to escalation of the conflict.
As cited by Mirror of Ukraine from (Latvian) Delfi.lv, she said:
“No one is ready to start the Third World War. Germany is especially cautious in this regard. Because there is nothing more important than to engage in a dialogue and come to a consensus.”
The foreign ministers of the Normany Four — France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine — met in Paris yesterday, and the French Foreign Ministry issued the communique, calling for strict implementation of all provisions of the Minsk agreements, earliest possible withdrawal of heavy weapons, access of OSCE monitors to all areas, Ukrainian working groups to achieve progress, among other things, on the political process in Ukraine, and unhindered humanitarian access.
“Lastly, we confirm that France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine remain determined to continue taking action in this format and to do their utmost to ensure that the commitments are upheld and the crisis is resolved.”
Once outside the meeting, the French and German Foreign Ministers warned of the impact of ceasefire violations near Mariupol, without, however, mentioning the possibility that those violations were committed by Nazi-linked militias from Kiev, as has been reported.
In follow-up comments in Moscow today, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said:
“A lot now depends on an honest, objective, unbiased approach by the observers who must record what is happening on the ground, so that we can all resist the attempts to present the Minsk agreements as having already failed. There are many people outside Ukraine and in Kiev who want them derailed.”
Tass reported that he also said that all other provisions of the Minsk agreement must also be complied with, not just the withdrawal of heavy weapons.
“This applies to the political process and the constitutional reform, with decentralization being its main thrust.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov warned yesterday that the whole process would blow up if the US started supplying weapons to Kiev. He said:
“It would be a major blow to the Minsk agreements and would explode the whole situation.”
Moscow would not be able to remain indifferent “to such provocative actions,” he added.
“We’ll have to respond appropriately. Is that necessary for those who are allegedly calling for the normalization of the situation in Ukraine? I have serious doubts. People may be irresponsible in their actions, but there must be an end to this madness [of] indulging Kiev’s warmongering.”
Rep. Walter Jones (R—N.C.), a leader of initiatives for a full and open debate in Congress on Obama’s Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), and for an immediate de-classification of the 28 pages from the Congressional 9/11 inquiry, spoke strongly on these points yesterday on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” program. During the nearly hour-long program, people who calling in were moved by the morality and clarity of Jones’s leadership, and expressed this explicitly.
Jones’s TV appearance comes soon after the release of the letter he initiated with Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), signed by 18 other Congressmen (9 of each party), sent to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) Feb. 18, stating the same demands.
Rep. Jones began by referencing this letter, stressing:
“Let’s have a full three-day debate, eight hours a day, or six hours a day, on this issue. It’s too important to the security of our country and it’s too important that we are spending absolutely billions of dollars with little accountability.”
Jones’s letter stated that over $1.5 trillion has been spent so far, and we have “lost over 6800 brave men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan…”
Jones said of the first AUMF in 2002, that “when we debated the Iraq AUMF, we only had two amendments…”. It was a closed process. Today, we must have an open debate. He spoke of the circumstances in 2002, saying:
“Obviously, that was a different administration and a different time. I sincerely believe that the previous administration had manipulated the intelligence to justify an unnecessary war. So I’m very cautious…I’ll use the word, dubious…”
Jones repeated the word, “dubious,” on Obama’s AUMF today. He continued, by warning:
“I know what the President sent to us was very vague, and he probably did that intentionally… Congress needs to be wary… We are going to spend a good deal of money on something that is unclear in both mission, measures of effectiveness, in start and exit strategy. Haven’t we been down this road before?”
He elaborated several specifics of today’s situation, which indicate the direction of what he believes needs to be done. For example:
“I would like at this time to thank the King of Jordan, and to thank the President of Egypt, for taking the lead to attack ISIL after they have done so much damage. This is what needs to happen. They are Middle Eastern Countries—Muslim countries. They need to take the lead. Let America support and back them, but not have America continuing to send our men and women on the ground.”
Jones spoke critically of the chaos and spreading terrorism resulting from the interventionist, regime-change approach, highlighting the consequences which have arisen from the invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Saddam Hussein using the pretext of falsified intelligence, as well as the more recent regime-change in Libya:
“Until the day I die, I believe sincerely that, if Saddam Hussein was still in power, I don’t think we would have all of these jihadists running around the world… Was he an evil dictator? Absolutely. I believe, had we not bombed Libya and taken out Qaddafi, I believe we would not have the terrorists living in Libya….Diplomacy is the best way to try to maintain some type of order…”
He denounced the carnage and brutality which results from war:
“[We are] not only killing the enemy, but also killing innocent people. When you are killing innocent people, their families will tell people for centuries that Americans killed their uncle or aunt…”
When asked how he originally come to vote for the first AUMF, then regret it, Jones answered that, the “Administration manipulated the intelligence.” Jones said that he attended all the classified briefings, “from Donald Rumsfeld to Condoleeza Rice, [who] talked about the threat of Saddam Hussein.” But stated regretfully, “I did not read the CIA analysis. I wish I had…”
Among Jones’s other key points was to reiterate his demand for the declassification of “the 28 pages that were in the 9/11 bipartisan report… It will help educate the American people and members of Congress to the role of foreign governments in the attack…”
Throughout his remarks, Jones stressed the need for citizens and Congressmen to take responsibility. “We, for too long, have abdicated responsibility.” He spoke sadly of writing letters to the families of stricken soldiers, wounded or killed.
“I still write letters—not as many. I have sent over 11,000 letters since we went into Iraq. I still go to Walter Reed to visit the bodies. I was there in October and need to go again, and will in March. We had Marines from my district… So many people watching this show, know [this]…”
Among the call-ins were citizens who responded to Jones’ leadership deeply moved. A few of their comments:
Caller: “Do you remember the Greek story about how the genie, who carried a lamp, looking for an honest man—about Diogenes…looking for an honest man? I thought that was you. I was impressed.”
Caller: “Thank you for your seriousness when it comes to this ultra-important issue.”
Caller: “I ask you this, Congressman, do you feel lonely up there in Washington? I wish there were more people that feel the way you do.”
Caller: “Good morning. I’ve been listening, and am completely overwhelmed by what he has been saying. From the Republican side of things, I have not heard this kind of candor before. It is greatly appreciated. I think it is having an effect even on the phone calls you are getting this morning, instead of the rant that I so often hear…”
It should not be surprising that the hysteria against Moscow for its alleged transgressions in Ukraine is really coming from London. It began last week, when British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon claimed that the Baltic countries were Russia’s next target. He was followed by General Sir Adrian Bradshaw a day later, who warned that Russian irregular warfare could undermine NATO decision making. Then, yesterday, US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in London to meet with British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond. With Hammond by his side, Kerry threatened further sanctions against Russia. Former Defense Secretary Liam Fox, in a Feb. 21 op-ed in the Daily Telegraph, called for providing weapons to the Kiev regime—”the capabilities they most require in order to defend themselves against the military superiority of the pro-Russian separatists and their Kremlin allies.”
Now, Prime Minister David Cameron has joined the chorus, saying yesterday in Glasgow:
“What we need to do now is to deliver the strongest possible message to Putin and to Russia that what has happened is unacceptable, that the ceasefires need to hold and if they don’t there will be more consequences, more sanctions, more measures. The truth here is that we have to be clear that we’re prepared to do this for the long term and that Russia should not make the mistake of thinking in any way that America, Britain, France or Germany will be divided or will be weak. We won’t. We’ll be staunch, we’ll be strong, we’ll be resolute, and in the end, we’ll prevail.”
The prevailing defense policy of the Cameron government, however, ever since the 2010 Strategic Defense and Security Review, has been to cut the hide out of the military budget, something for which Cameron himself has been under increasing criticism. The flight, last week, of two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers around Cornwall has served to put the spotlight on the shrinking capabilities of the Royal Air Force, particularly its lack of surveillance and intelligence-gathering aircraft. In the midst of that hysteria, the Telegraph opines that the decision to cut Britain’s military “now looks like a big mistake,” in hindsight. “No one can predict the nature of future threats,” the Telegraph editorial concludes. “Hence, let us be prepared for anything.” The problem, of course, is that the shrinkage of Britain’s armed forces has done nothing to slow the Empire’s drive for World War III, something that the Telegraph neglects to acknowledge.
The only sign of sanity in all of this comes from former Foreign Secretary William Hague who ruled out the possibility of the UK sending arms to the Kiev regime. “We are not planning, as the UK, to send arms to Ukraine. It has not been our approach in any of the conflicts in recent years to send arms into those conflicts,” Hague told the BBC, adding that one has “to think very, very carefully” before sending additional weapons to a conflict zone.
It should not be surprising that the hysteria against Moscow for its alleged transgressions in Ukraine is really coming from London. It began last week, when British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon claimed that the Baltic countries were Russia’s next target. He was followed by General Sir Adrian Bradshaw a day later, who warned that Russian irregular warfare could undermine NATO decision making. Then, yesterday, US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in London to meet with British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond. With Hammond by his side, Kerry threatened further sanctions against Russia. Former Defense Secretary Liam Fox, in a Feb. 21 op-ed in the Daily Telegraph, called for providing weapons to the Kiev regime—”the capabilities they most require in order to defend themselves against the military superiority of the pro-Russian separatists and their Kremlin allies.”
Now, Prime Minister David Cameron has joined the chorus, saying yesterday in Glasgow:
“What we need to do now is to deliver the strongest possible message to Putin and to Russia that what has happened is unacceptable, that the ceasefires need to hold and if they don’t there will be more consequences, more sanctions, more measures. The truth here is that we have to be clear that we’re prepared to do this for the long term and that Russia should not make the mistake of thinking in any way that America, Britain, France or Germany will be divided or will be weak. We won’t. We’ll be staunch, we’ll be strong, we’ll be resolute, and in the end, we’ll prevail.”
The prevailing defense policy of the Cameron government, however, ever since the 2010 Strategic Defense and Security Review, has been to cut the hide out of the military budget, something for which Cameron himself has been under increasing criticism. The flight, last week, of two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers around Cornwall has served to put the spotlight on the shrinking capabilities of the Royal Air Force, particularly its lack of surveillance and intelligence-gathering aircraft. In the midst of that hysteria, the Telegraph opines that the decision to cut Britain’s military “now looks like a big mistake,” in hindsight. “No one can predict the nature of future threats,” the Telegraph editorial concludes. “Hence, let us be prepared for anything.” The problem, of course, is that the shrinkage of Britain’s armed forces has done nothing to slow the Empire’s drive for World War III, something that the Telegraph neglects to acknowledge.
The only sign of sanity in all of this comes from former Foreign Secretary William Hague who ruled out the possibility of the UK sending arms to the Kiev regime. “We are not planning, as the UK, to send arms to Ukraine. It has not been our approach in any of the conflicts in recent years to send arms into those conflicts,” Hague told the BBC, adding that one has “to think very, very carefully” before sending additional weapons to a conflict zone.
The British and Swiss governments are moving ahead with investigations into allegations of HSBC’s global tax evasion conspiracy, centered in its private bank in Geneva, but, according to Reuters, the bank executives’ biggest fear is that the US Department of Justice will be forced to reopen its investigation and reopen the 2012 deferred prosecution agreement that let HSBC and its top officials off the hook, in exchange for a $1.9 billion fine.
This week, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has scheduled a Feb. 26 vote on the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be the next Attorney General. However, she has been given nine questions about her involvement in the HSBC deferred prosecution deal, in her capacity as US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and the answers may determine whether her nomination survives or sinks.
This week, HSBC is due to release its annual financials for 2014, and the bank will declare $21 billion in pre-tax profits. While that figure is down 7 percent from 2013, the release of that data is likely to put a renewed spotlight on the bank’s global criminal operations.
Herve Falciani, the IT employee who delivered the evidence of the global tax evasion scheme to French prosecutors, and is now under French government protection against Swiss criminal theft charges, told the Italian newspaper La Stampa this week that the HSBC case is the tip of the iceberg, and that the entire offshore financial empire is one gigantic criminal enterprise, with all of the too-big-to-fail banks engaging in the same swindles.
This week, Executive Intelligence Review will be publishing an extensive report on the HSBC Royal crime syndicate, with detailed background on the LaRouche movement’s 35-year war against the Dope, Inc. apparatus, centered around HSBC.
The British and Swiss governments are moving ahead with investigations into allegations of HSBC’s global tax evasion conspiracy, centered in its private bank in Geneva, but, according to Reuters, the bank executives’ biggest fear is that the US Department of Justice will be forced to reopen its investigation and reopen the 2012 deferred prosecution agreement that let HSBC and its top officials off the hook, in exchange for a $1.9 billion fine.
This week, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has scheduled a Feb. 26 vote on the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be the next Attorney General. However, she has been given nine questions about her involvement in the HSBC deferred prosecution deal, in her capacity as US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and the answers may determine whether her nomination survives or sinks.
This week, HSBC is due to release its annual financials for 2014, and the bank will declare $21 billion in pre-tax profits. While that figure is down 7 percent from 2013, the release of that data is likely to put a renewed spotlight on the bank’s global criminal operations.
Herve Falciani, the IT employee who delivered the evidence of the global tax evasion scheme to French prosecutors, and is now under French government protection against Swiss criminal theft charges, told the Italian newspaper La Stampa this week that the HSBC case is the tip of the iceberg, and that the entire offshore financial empire is one gigantic criminal enterprise, with all of the too-big-to-fail banks engaging in the same swindles.
This week, Executive Intelligence Review will be publishing an extensive report on the HSBC Royal crime syndicate, with detailed background on the LaRouche movement’s 35-year war against the Dope, Inc. apparatus, centered around HSBC.