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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 9-Sep-2013
9-Sep-13 World View -- Poland confiscates private pension funds to pay public debt

Web Log - September, 2013

9-Sep-13 World View -- Poland confiscates private pension funds to pay public debt

Egypt launches military operation against Sinai militants

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Egypt launches military operation against Sinai militants
Egypt - Israel alliance grows with Sinai attacks
Syria may have used chemical weapons without Assad's permission
Poland confiscates private pension funds to pay public debt
Nasa satellite pictures show a switch from global warming to cooling

Egypt launches military operation against Sinai militants

Egyptian soldiers stand guard on top of a minaret in Sinai (AFP)

Egyptian soldiers stand guard on top of a minaret in Sinai (AFP)

Egypt's police and armed forces launched on Saturday the largest and most violent military operation yet seen in the Sinai Peninsula. The clashes took place near the borders with Gaza and Israel.

Ground forces raided a number of houses, accompanied by a number of Apache helicopters. Armed forces also bombed militants’ locations in Central Sinai with reports of casualties in the region.

A security source stated that the initial attack resulted in the death of 10 militants and injuring of 20 others, in addition to the arrest of 15 armed assailants. Eye witnesses stated that during the campaign, armed forces employed nearly 30 different types of tanks and armoured vehicles, along with 6 Apache helicopters which were used to pursue militants attempting to flee the area.

Eye witnesses stated that Apache helicopters launched strikes against militant locations, accompanied by tanks and armored vehicles. Witnesses further described loud explosions being heard in the area, along with rising clouds of smoke, after a number of four-wheel-drive pickup trucks had been attacked, which led to the death and injury of a number of individuals.

The Egyptian attack was triggered by an al-Qaeda linked group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis ("Partisans of Jerusalem"), which claimed responsibility for a suicide bomber attack in Cairo that targeted the convoy of Egypt's interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim, whom the terrorists blame for killing and arresting of hundreds of Islamist and Muslim Brotherhood supporters of Mohamed Morsi, overthrown by the military in a popularly backed coup on July 3. Daily News Egypt and AFP

Egypt - Israel alliance grows with Sinai attacks

Although not discussed publicly, the growth in Sinai attacks is resulting in greater cooperation between Israel and Egypt. According to Israeli army figures, more than 300 attacks were launched against Egyptian troops in Sinai over the past few weeks. Last month, 25 Egyptian policemen were shot to death execution-style in the Sinai, prompting widespread anger in Cairo. Israeli military sources say there are hundreds of terrorists in Sinai, in jihadist groups supported by local Bedouin tribes. Cooperation between Israel and Egypt will get even closer if jihadists launch attacks on Israel from Sinai. The Media Line

Syria may have used chemical weapons without Assad's permission

One of the puzzles of the massive August 21 chemical weapons attack by Syria's forces is why the attack took place when the United Nations inspectors were in the country. I speculated at the time that perhaps president Bashar al-Assad did not personally order the attack, and that it might have been ordered by one of his lieutenants who didn't even know that the U.N. inspectors were in town. Now German intelligence is saying that it may have happened that way. The intelligence was obtained from radio traffic intercepted by a German naval reconnaissance vessel sailing close to the Syrian coast. Reuters

Poland confiscates private pension funds to pay public debt

Poland announced that it will confiscate private pension funds and transfer them to the national government in order to alleviate public debt. Although some pension reform was expected, total confiscation caught investors off guard. By putting the private funds on the government balance sheet, the debt-to-GDP ratio is lowered enough so that Poland can borrow more money. This is the latest of European policies that began with the Cyprus confiscation of private bank accounts where countries confiscate private assets to pay public debt, in order to keep borrowing. Reuters and ZeroHedge

Nasa satellite pictures show a switch from global warming to cooling

Six years ago, global warming scientists predicted that there would be no Arctic ice left by 2013, but Nasa satellite pictures show that after a chilly Arctic summer there's 60% more Arctic ice this summer than in 2012. In the 1970s and 80s, the term "climate change" referred to global cooling and a "nuclear winter." In the 1990s, it changed to mean "global warming." Now it's apparently back to "global cooling." Daily Mail (London)

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 9-Sep-13 World View -- Poland confiscates private pension funds to pay public debt thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (9-Sep-2013) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 9-Sep-2013 9-Sep-13 World View -- Poland confiscates private pension funds to pay public debt

Egypt launches military operation against Sinai militants

Egypt - Israel alliance grows with Sinai attacks

Syria may have used chemical weapons without Assad's permission

Poland confiscates private pension funds to pay public debt

Nasa satellite pictures show a switch from global warming to cooling

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 9-Sep-2013
9-Sep-13 World View -- Poland confiscates private pension funds to pay public debt