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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 28-Nov-2011
28-Nov-11 World View -- Four major party coalitions vie for seats in Egypt

Web Log - November, 2011

28-Nov-11 World View -- Four major party coalitions vie for seats in Egypt

China home builders face payment delays, as real estate bubble implodes

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com.

* Egypt's elections to go ahead despite violence
* Four major party coalitions vie for seats in Egypt
* Nationalist Imran Khan gets political boost from Pakistan air strike
* Arab League approves 'unprecedented' sanctions on Syria
* China home builders face payment delays, as real estate bubble implodes

Egypt's elections to go ahead despite violence

Cairo street with competing political signs (Reuters)

Cairo street with competing political signs (Reuters)

Sunday was the ninth consecutive day of running street battles between demonstrators and police. There is widespread suspicion that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has allowed the violence to develop as a pretext for delaying elections and thus maintain its own grip on power, though they deny this. Many protesters have an "anyone but SCAF" view, and look forward to the changes that might occur after the parliamentary elections that start on Monday. Other groups, including some protesters, are fearful of the elections -- not because they like the SCAF, but because they fear what will take its place. Thus, there is widespread concern that there are many people who hope to use violence to scuttle the elections, to prevent a completely uncertain future. Haaretz

Possibly the most concerned are the Coptic Christians, who received public support from Hosni Mubarak, but have been left on their own since Mubarak was overthrown. It's estimated that 93,000 Copts have left Egypt since March, and estimates are that the number could reach 250,000 by 2012, especially if a hardline Islamist government comes to power. he community is still reeling from the Maspero incident on October 9, in which security forces clashed with Copts who were protesting an attack on a church in Aswan. At least 26 Copts were killed in the violence and more than 300 were wounded. Al-Jazeera

Four major party coalitions vie for seats in Egypt

Since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February, ending decades of enforced one-party rule, dozens of parties have sprung up, all hoping to make it big. They fall into four major groups:

The Democratic Alliance is led by the Freedom and Justice Party, a new party created by the once outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. The alliance includes a number of liberal forces in an effort not to scare off more secular voters.

The Egyptian Bloc is led by the Free Egyptian Party, a new party created by Coptic Christians. The alliance is largely secular and includes some left-leaning outfits. This is the biggest rival to the Democratic Alliance.

The Islamist Alliance is led by Nour Party and other Salafis, ultraconservative Muslims whose ideology resembles Saudi Arabia's Wahhabism. It includes the Gama'a Al Islamiyya terrorist group's Building and Development Party. This group hopes to pick up support from those disillusioned by the Brotherhood's apparent drift towards the political center.

The Revolution Continues Alliance is leftist and includes many of the youth groups that helped lead the anti-Mubarak uprising in January, as well as the Brotherhood's youth wing, which has broken away from its parent organization.

The Muslim Brotherhood has become more centrist than in the past, as it is torn between the vanishing old leaders, who yearn for the days of violence, and the youth groups that want it to become fully secular. It is expected to emerge as the largest party, though not a majority, since it has the best organization. Guardian

Nationalist Imran Khan gets political boost from Pakistan air strike

Imran Khan at rally last month (AFP)

Imran Khan at rally last month (AFP)

As we reported last month, former cricket superstar turned politician Imran Khan has become the "hope and change" candidate for president of Pakistan by nationalistic criticisms of Nato and the United States. His Islamist party, Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) (Movement for Justice), received a big boost on Sunday when former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi joined Khan's PTI party, having bolted from the governing PPP party of President Asif Ali Zardari. At Sunday's rally, Imran Khan condemned the NATO strike and demanded that Pakistan order all CIA agents to leave in protest. "We should raise the issue at the UN Security Council because it was an attack on our country and soldiers… We need not bow before any one. The time has come to build a new Pakistan by introducing a new system reflecting will of the people." Earlier, Khan said that this is the time to part ways with America and walk out of its war which has already engulfed over 40,000 Pakistanis. He said there is no win in sight in this war and no one even knows how a victory could be defined regarding this conflict. Pakistan, he asserted, was fighting this war only for dollars. The Nation (Islamabad)

Arab League approves 'unprecedented' sanctions on Syria

As expected, the Arab League overwhelmingly approved economic sanctions against Syria on Sunday, to pressure the Bashar al-Assad regime to stop slaughtering innocent Arabs. The move was called "unprecedented" by the Arab League, but forced out of fear that if the Arab League didn't take action, then there might be unwanted foreign intervention in Syria, from Turkey or Nato. Of the 22 member nations of the Arab League, all voted for the sanctions except for Syria, whose membership has been suspended, and for Iraq and Lebanon, who abstained. Day Press News (Syria)

China home builders face payment delays, as real estate bubble implodes

About 80% of China's construction companies are reporting increasing delays in receiving payments for work on belahf of property developers, according to a survey by Credit Suisse. Home builders also said they were being asked to further slow down the pace of work on projects already underway. Land purchases by Chinese developers have plummeted. China is experiencing a massive real estate bubble, much larger than America's, whose collapse is still in progress after almost five years. China's real estate bubble is only beginning to collapse, with falling prices accelerating in October. With Europe's finances in crisis, and America's finances close to crisis, it looks like 2012 is going to be a very difficult year. Bloomberg

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 28-Nov-11 World View -- Four major party coalitions vie for seats in Egypt thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (28-Nov-2011) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 28-Nov-2011 28-Nov-11 World View -- Four major party coalitions vie for seats in Egypt

Egypt's elections to go ahead despite violence

Four major party coalitions vie for seats in Egypt

Nationalist Imran Khan gets political boost from Pakistan air strike

Arab League approves 'unprecedented' sanctions on Syria

China home builders face payment delays, as real estate bubble implodes

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 28-Nov-2011
28-Nov-11 World View -- Four major party coalitions vie for seats in Egypt