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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 14-Sep-2010
14-Sep-10 News -- Kashmir protesters burn Obama in effigy

Web Log - September, 2010

14-Sep-10 News -- Kashmir protesters burn Obama in effigy

EU dithering on financial crisis is now backfiring

Muslim protesters burn Obama in effigy as dozens are killed in Kashmir

Obama burned in effigy by Kashmir protestors <font face=Arial size=-2>(Source: VOA)</font>

Obama burned in effigy by Kashmir protestors (Source: VOA)

Policemen fired on hundreds of Muslim protestors in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday, killing 14 people and injuring 45, according to the VOA, in the deadliest violence in years. The protesters had set fire to a Christian missionary school and some government buildings.

During one of the protests, protesters burned President Barack Obama in effigy, after an Iranian state-run channel had reported that a copy of the Koran had been damaged in anti-Muslim protests in America over the weekend.

The situation is reminiscent of the worldwide Muslim protests that followed the publication of the "Danish cartoons" in 2005. (See "Cartoon controversy explodes into worldwide confrontations between Muslims and Westerners.")

It later turned out that Islamist militant activists had used the Danish cartoons to stoke protests in the Muslim community. The same thing appears to be happening again.

Kashmir and Jammu were a major site of the extremely bloody war between Hindus and Muslims after Partition in 1947 (when the India subcontinent was partitioned into Pakistan and India). After the war, Kashmir and Jammu were split into Pakistani-controlled and India-controlled regions, separated by a "line of control" (LoC). Since then, Pakistan and India have fought two non-crisis wars over the region, and it's been a continuing source of unrest, terrorist attacks, and violence.

During the past three months, violence in the Kashmir region appears to be spiraling out of control. From the point of view of Generational Dynamics, India and Pakistan will re-fight the 1947 war, this time with nuclear weapons, and Kashmir will be a major issue in that war.

Pakistanis fear anarchy and terrorism, while the world forgets them

Not only have the floods not yet receded in Pakistan, but in fact they're still destroying towns and villages, especially in Sindh province in the south, forcing tens of thousands of people to abandon most of their possessions and flee, according to Reuters. Some 250,000 may still be forced to evacuate their homes in the next few days.

The floods have already affected one fifth of Pakistan's land, a land area equal in size to the entire country of Italy. 7.5 million people have been displaced, and 20 million have been affected. 1.4 million houses have been destroyed, and one thousand bridges have been destroyed. 4 million acres of farm land have been washed away, and 500,000 tonnes of seeds have been destroyed.

In addition to coping with the floods, Pakistan has been facing a new wave of suicide and bomb attacks carried out by Taliban militants linked to al-Qaeda. There had been a lull in such attacks because of the floods, but the attacks have resumed in full force.

The result is that many Pakistanis are increasingly concerned about facing total anarchy. The government has shown itself to be incompetent and corrupt, according to the Asia Times. Many fear that the Taliban will control much terrority in Pakistan before long, as they already do in Afghanistan.

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The "wait and see" approach adopted by the European Union following the collapse of Lehman Brothers two years ago has not worked, according to Wolfgang Münchau. The original short-term strategy was to throw a lot of money at the problem; the long-term strategy was to pray for a strong V-shaped recovery. The ridiculously optimistic assumptions are now backfiring. "If you assume a post-reform Greece will miraculously turn into a Aegean tiger, or that Ireland will generate another housing price bubble, the present rate of indebtedness will be no big deal. It all rests on your assumptions about growth." This strategy came badly unstuck last week in Ireland, when it became clear that the Irish government massively understimated the scale of the problem. Financial Times (Access).

A census report to be issued later this week is expected to show record increases in the number of people in poverty. Associated Press

An Australian lawyer, who is an atheist, is smoking pages torn from the Koran and the Bible, to determine which is best. Telegraph

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 14-Sep-10 News -- Kashmir protesters burn Obama in effigy thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (14-Sep-2010) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 14-Sep-2010 14-Sep-10 News -- Kashmir protesters burn Obama in effigy

Muslim protesters burn Obama in effigy as dozens are killed in Kashmir

Pakistanis fear anarchy and terrorism, while the world forgets them

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 14-Sep-2010
14-Sep-10 News -- Kashmir protesters burn Obama in effigy