THE LEAD
The Murder of Greece
July 14, 2015
Upon reflection on the new and brutal cruelties just imposed on the Greek nation and people by European "leaders," Lyndon LaRouche declared last evening,
"This is a genocide, which is being steered from Britain, and it is the death knell of the European Union."
"The EU will disintegrate, it is the British Empire which has done this. They operated through the German Finance Minister, Schäuble, who represents the extreme right-wing influence on German Chancellor Merkel. But Germany cannot get by with this. Therefore, it, too, now will go into a crisis.
"And more than that, this British-driven breakdown crisis of the European Union, also represents a serious and immediate danger of war with Russia, and one of fascism."
The day also saw the thorough exposure of Hillary Clinton's disqualifications as a Presidential candidate, by the simple five-word question demanded of her by LaRouche PAC representative Daniel Burke at her New York City speech: "Will you restore Glass-Steagall?" Her failure to answer, and then her advisor's statement to the press that she will oppose Glass-Steagall, became growing news all over the United States and in British press.
LaRouche said:
"Hillary's political career was a mistake. She's a lawyer, not a scientist. She was asked a question, and refused to tell the truth about it in public. That will kill her.
"Her career is now based on supporting Obama — both in her refusing comment, and then in her consultant opposing it. Both reflect the fact that she's still with Obama.
"This means that she's exposed as a fake. She has no Glass-Steagall policy, when members of the Senate, do have one. She's implicitly finished in political life, and that, through her own fault. She blew her career, by acting like a dummy opportunist."
The two matters are directly linked, as LaRouche PAC's Burke made clear in his interviews with press: The euro debt breakdown can trigger a trans-Atlantic banking crisis at any time, and the only sure action against that is to restore Glass-Steagall to force, fast, in the United States in order to push it through in Europe. That is why Senators moved on Glass-Steagall legislation this week, knowing the rapidly growing danger of a new and greater financial crash.
SUPPORTING MATERIAL
'Senator Clinton, Will You Restore It...?'
It was a mere five words, almost inaudible, even in the video, then drowned out by intentional applauding by the crowd, yet history has been changed as a result. "Senator Clinton, will you restore Glass-Steagall?"
was the call from LaRouche PAC activist Daniel Burke, made repeatedly from the back of the room, as Clinton was ending her "economic policy" speech—a speech entirely devoid of any content—at the New School in New York City yesterday morning. There were to be no questions allowed. While Burke was quickly escorted out, and Clinton thus saved by the orchestrated crowd noise, the news had already begun to circulate around the globe.
The first coverage appeared within minutes, on the website Business Insider, which interviewed Burke immediately after his expulsion from the hall. It reported his affiliation with LaRouchePAC and Lyndon LaRouche, what the Glass-Steagall Act is, and that Burke was supporting the action, "by a bipartisan group of Senators including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to restore Glass-Steagall." He said this is particularly important because the situation in Greece could fuel another crisis. "It should be passed immediately, preferably in the next two weeks," Business Insider reported him saying. "We really do not know what will come of the potential for an immediate financial crash on the basis of the Greek trigger."
In its coverage, American Banker succinctly noted,
"Each Democrat's position on 'too big to fail' and other issues coming out of the crisis may be judged on how closely it aligns with that of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who recently reintroduced a bill along with Sen. John McCain to revive elements of the Glass-Steagall Act. Her bill would require banks to separate their depository institutions from higher-risk businesses."
By his own count, as a result of his intervention, Burke had been interviewed by at least nine news venues, within minutes of his ejection from the event, including the Wall Street Journal, French TV, Politico, Newsday Britain's London Independent, with additional outlets taking photos or printed material for further reference.
Thus forced to respond, Clinton issued one of the few declarative policy statements of her campaign, so far. "You're not going to see Glass-Steagall" from Hillary, was the curt statement to Reuters of Alan Blinder, one of a stable of ten "economic advisors" recently hired by her campaign. The Hill led the U.S. coverage of this "no" from Clinton, with the New York City and Los Angeles press, among others, reporting that Hillary was isolated among other candidates who support Glass-Steagall. On Facebook and Twitter, this was galvanizing supporters of those other candidates and undecided Democrats; one New York teacher activist, for example, slammed his union leadership for prematurely endorsing Hillary, while publicly supporting Senator Warren's Glass-Steagall bill S 1709!
In his first reaction to the events, Lyndon LaRouche declared, "If she's not willing to defend Glass-Steagall, then she's definitely not qualified to be a candidate."
Mr. LaRouche elaborated his view of the matter further, on yesterday's LaRouchePAC Policy Committee.
EU Destroys Itself with Insane, Virtually Nazi Plan for Greece
Yesterday was a day of shame for Europe, said Helga Zepp-LaRouche, who as Schiller Institute Founder has led the campaign to bring Europe into the BRICS-allied nations. The EU now exists only as a monstrous construct, Zepp-LaRouche said in a conference call yesterday; she cited Financial Times senior columnist Wolfgang Munchau, who wrote on Monday morning, "Greece's creditors have destroyed the Eurozone."
The European Union "plan" for Greece is yet another criminal, evilly intended, and grossly incompetent action by what passes for the leaders of Europe. After cutting off all liquidity to the Greek banking system by European Central Bank action, in effect collapsing Greece's payments system, it forced a looting agreement on Greece that will directly seize its infrastructure and banks, impose deeper austerity to dramatically worsen depression which is already killing and sickening large numbers, and force a regime change. The economy has already collapsed by 25%, unemployment is 27%, youth unemployment 65%, etc.
This insane and virtually Nazi "solution" for Greece is most dramatically demonstrated by its intention to increase Greece's absolutely unpayable debt pile—already at over 350 billion Euros and 180% of its Gross Domestic Product—by another 86 billion Euros to 225% of GDP! In addition, according to Eurogroup president Joeren Diysselbloem yesterday, the plan will take "airplanes, airports, infrastructures, and most certainly banks," and put them in a "fund" to be sold off under control of the European Commission, for Greece's creditors, from Germany to the vulture funds.
During the Nazi occupation of Greece in WWII, Hitler compelled a "forced loan" from Greece to Nazi Germany — still unrepaid. Now Chancellor Merkel compels "forced payments" of unpayable debts, which arose from a massive 2010-12 bailout of London and European banks.
This morning's "plan" is based on a huge public lie, attempting to claim that just because that debt is unpayable, does not mean any of it should be written down.
The document reads:
"There are serious concerns regarding the sustainability of Greek debt, this is due to the easing of policies during the last twelve months, which resulted in the recent deterioration in the domestic macroeconomic and financial environment."
The truth is that the London-centered megabanks are bankrupt despite the massive bailouts, are deep in trillions of euros of derivatives bets on the debts of Europe's superindebted countries, and therefore will not stand for any debt writedown. That is why those debts are unpayable; the only way out is Glass-Steagall reorganization of those banks to let the speculative units fail. The debt writedowns could occur, as they did for Germany in 1953 to launch its "Wirtschaftswunder."
EIR Founding Editor Lyndon LaRouche said again today: "The claims against Greece are fake, The British Empire institutions issued fraudulent debt to bail out banks, and said Greece owed it! These guys are really Nazis."
The new "plan" calls for a series of tax increases including raising the value added tax, reforming pensions and eliminating supplements for the poorest pensioners, and labor reforms. It calls for the establishment of a 50 billion Euro fund comprised of state assets slated for privatization. This is despite the fact that the International Monetary Fund in the recent debt sustainability report stat that such a figure is pure fantasy.
These measures all have to passed as laws — laws reviewed in advance by "European institutions" — by the Greek Parliament by Wednesday, July 15. Until then the European Central Bank will not restart even emergency liquidity operations to the Greek banks, which remain closed.
In a statement released after the end of the talks Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the deal was extremely tough, but that it was agreed upon to prevent the "financial asphyxiation and the collapse of the financial system—this was planned to the last detail — having recently been designed to perfection, and in the process of being implemented."
But as noted, this asphyxiation will continue, as blackmail, at least until after the Parliament legislates the "plan."
Firestorm in Greece against 'New Versailles Treaty'
The plan Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was brutalized into accepting from the country's creditors, has created a huge popular backlash which calls into question whether the policy can be implemented. The sense of rage in the Greek population is clear. Former diplomat, and member of the EPAM People's United Front, Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos told Russian broadcast agency RT that the agreement was unacceptable and could not be implemented. He said he fears that the situation could get violent.
The defense minister and leader of Tsipras' coalition partner Independent Greeks Party, Panos Kammenos, spoke to Reuters after meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras: "'The prime minister of this country was faced with a coup staged by Germany and other countries, this deal introduced many new issues ... we cannot agree with it.'"
Former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis denounced the agreement in no uncertain terms. He told Australian Radio:
"'This is the politics of humiliation. The Troika have made sure that they will make him eat every single word that he uttered in criticism of the Troika over the last five years. Not just these six months we've been in government, but in the years prior to that.
"This has nothing to do with economics. It has nothing to do with putting Greece on the way to recovery. This is a new Versailles Treaty that is haunting Europe again, and the prime minister knows it. He knows that he's damned if he does and he's damned if he doesn't."
Comparing the agreement to the 1967 military coup d'état, he said,
"In the coup d'état the choice of weapon used in order to bring down democracy then was the tanks. Well, this time it was the banks. The banks were used by foreign powers to take over the government. The difference is that this time they're taking over all public property... The project of a European democracy, of a united European democratic union, has just suffered a major catastrophe."
Varoufakis revealed that he had drafted very preliminary plans in case of a forced Grexit, but it was feared that once known, the plans would become a self-fulfilling prophecy playing into the hands of those who want Greece out.
There is opposition being expressed throughout Tsipras' Syriza Party; it is reported that 32 Syriza MPs, including four ministers, have distanced themselves from the agreement.
Labor Minister Panos Skourletis, a former spokesman for Syriza, told state television the government will need "borrowed votes from the opposition" in order to pass the new austerity measures demanded by creditors. Kathimerini quotes him as saying, "I cannot see how we can avoid elections in 2015. ... It's unnatural: We believe in something different than what we've been forced to sign with a gun pointed to our head.
The Iskra website, which speaks for Syriza's Left Platform led by Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, charged that "After 17 hours of 'negotiations,' the leaders of Eurozone states reached a humiliating agreement for Greece and the Greek people," as a "debt colony" in a "German-supervised EU."
The Syriza parliamentary faction is to meet Today.
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