I don't really know if I would say that the Uyghurs and the Turks of Turkey are members of the same ethnic group. At best, you can say they are distantly related.

EDITED to add, pan-Turkism is still more notional than it is a real political and cultural force in the here and now. I don't deny that there are people and politicians with those sorts of aspirations, just that they aren't really close to being realized.

*** 28-Jun-13 World View -- Egypt braces for massive 'Tamarod' rebellion on Sunday

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Ecuador ends U.S. trade deal in order to protect rapists and traitors
• Fed reverses itself on ending quantitative easing
• Egypt braces for massive 'Tamarod' rebellion on Sunday

****
**** Ecuador ends U.S. trade deal in order to protect rapists and traitors
****


Rafael Correa, protecting rapists and traitors (Reuters)

Ecuador announced on Thursday that it is unilaterally canceling its
deal with the United States that provides trade benefits on $223
million of Ecuadoran goods sold to the U.S., including everything from
roses and socks to ceramics. The existing deal is scheduled to end on
July 31, and U.S. politicians were threatening not to renew if Ecuador
granted asylum to the sleazy American traitor Edward Snowden, who is
currently hiding out in the "transit area" of Moscow's airport. So
Ecuador decided to beat the U.S. to the punch, by unilaterally
canceling the deal. According to Ecuador's president Rafael Correa:

<QUOTE>"They’re threatening to take the trade preferences
away because of the Snowden case. Our dignity doesn’t have a
price."<END QUOTE>

This is really laughable because Correa himself is totally without
dignity. He attacks and jails journalists on a regular basis
if their newspapers print anything that he dislikes. His government
just passed a new law against "media lynching," which is
defined as

<QUOTE>"the dissemination of concerted and reiterative
information, either directly or by third parties, through media
outlets, with the purpose of undermining the prestige [of a person
or legal entity or] reducing [their] credibility."<END QUOTE>

At the same time, Correa is using his London embassy to protect sleazy
alleged rapist Julian Assange from having to return to Sweden to face
the rape charges, and now he wants to protect sleazy traitor Snowden.
So Correa is not only totally lacking in dignity, but in fact is a
sleazy politician who attacks journalists who disagree with him, but
protects rapists and traitors that he likes. Human Rights Watch #1 and Miami Herald and Human Rights Watch #2

****
**** Fed reverses itself on ending quantitative easing
****

Last week, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that the
Fed might begin to reduce the $85 billion quantitative easing that's
pouring in the banking system each month. This money isn't helping
you and me, but it's creating numerous distortions and it's the only
thing keeping the stock market bubble from crashing. (See "23-Jun-13 World View -- The 'experts' scramble to explain the stock market plunge"
.)

The suggestion panicked wealthy investors, who began selling stocks to
beat the crash and so, not surprisingly, the Fed is going into
full-scale damage control and reversing itself. The reversal was
announced on Thursday by William Dudley, president of Federal Reserve
Bank of New York and vice-chairman of Ben Bernanke's Federal Open
Market Committee (FOMC). According to Dudley:

<QUOTE>"Economic circumstances could diverge significantly
from the FOMC's expectations. If labor market conditions and the
economy's growth momentum were to be less favorable than in the
FOMC's outlook — and this is what has happened in recent years — I
would expect that the asset purchases would continue at a higher
pace for longer."<END QUOTE>

Dudley's statement that "this is what has happened in recent years" is
quite amusing. It's worth repeating what I've said many times before:
mainstream economists didn't predict and still can't explain the tech
bubble of the late 1990s, the Nasdaq crash of 2000, the credit and
real estate bubbles of the mid 2000s decade, the credit crunch of
2007, and the financial crisis that began in 2008. Pretty much every
economic forecast since then has been totally wrong. Mainstream
economists have no idea what's going on now, which we've seen in the
past week, and have no clue what's coming next year, which is what
Dudley is saying. Reuters

****
**** Egypt braces for massive 'Tamarod' rebellion on Sunday
****

Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi is warning that the huge
anti-government demonstrations planned for Sunday are threatening the
country with "paralysis and chaos," and blamed the country's problems
on conspiracies by "thugs," the supporters of the toppled regime of
dictator Hosni Mubarak. The demonstrations come two years after
similar demonstrations resulted in the deposing of Mubarak, and
protesters are now hoping to achieve a similar result with Morsi.
However, many others are concerned that a new wave of violence will
sweep the country, with the country extremely polarized between
Morsi's opponents and supporters. In a televised speech, Morsi
admitted unspecified "errors" since he became president, but:

<QUOTE>"Political polarization and conflict have reached a
stage that threatens our nascent democratic experience and
threatens to put the whole nation in a state of paralysis and
chaos."<END QUOTE>

The opponents call themselves the "Tamarod" (or "Rebel") campaign.
They've collected over 15 million signatures on forms demanding that
Morsi step down as president, and 15 million is more than the number
of people who voted for Morsi in the last election. The army is
warning that it may step back in to keep order. The National (UAE) and Reuters



KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Ecuador, Rafael Carrea,
Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Russia,
Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, William Dudley,
Egypt, Tamarod, Mohamed Morsi

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*** 29-Jun-13 World View -- Jihadists from Russia join opposition fighters in Syria

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Jihadists from Russia join opposition fighters in Syria
• Russia withdraws forces from Syria as tensions escalate
• Terrorist attack in Iraq kills 19 Sunni 'traitors'
• Southern Europe gives up the siesta, thanks to German demands

****
**** Jihadists from Russia join opposition fighters in Syria
****


Top Chechen jihadist Doku Umarov. Some reports say he was recently killed.

Jihadists from Russia's North Caucasus provinces, particularly
Chechnya, are achieving growing prominence in Syria's civil war, much
to the distress of the Russians, who fear that they'll get training
and develop terrorist skills in Syria, and then come back and use
those skills in Russia. Furthermore, the active participation of
North Caucasians in the Syria jihad has brought greater world
recognition and appreciation among jihadists for the North Caucasus
jihad movement, which had former been fairly isolated. Doku Umarov,
leader of the Caucasus Emirate and the North Caucasus jihadist
movement, experienced a sharp flip-flop in policy about the Syria war.
A year ago, he was condemning any North Caucasians who went to fight
in Syria, saying that the jihad in the Caucasus was more important.
But the Syria war has been so popular with North Caucasus jihadists
that recently Umarov proudly bragged about the fine work that his
fighters were doing in Syria. Jamestown

****
**** Russia withdraws forces from Syria as tensions escalate
****

With tensions rising in Syria, Russia has been withdrawing all
military personnel from Syria for weeks. Russia’s Deputy Foreign
Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that no military servicemen remain in
Russia, although his claims have been disputed with respect to
Russia's naval base in Tartus, Syria, on the Mediterranean Sea.
According to Bogdanov:

<QUOTE>"Russia decided to withdraw its personnel because of
the risks from the conflict in Syria, as well as the fear of an
incident involving the Russian military that could have larger
consequences."<END QUOTE>

He added that such an incident would likely have some unfavorable
reaction from the international community. Russia Today
and
Debka

****
**** Terrorist attack in Iraq kills 19 Sunni 'traitors'
****

Over 19 people were killed on Friday in a series of terrorist bombings
in Iraq targeting Sunni militiamen who joined forces with U.S. troops
fighting al-Qaeda during the Iraq war, and are therefore considered to
be "traitors" by Sunni jihadist terrorists. The Sunni militiamen were
protecting Shias attending the funeral of a Shia leader. Sectarian
violence in Iraq has been increasing steadily since December, 2011,
when the American troops completely withdrew from Iraq, and Iraq has
now become a major battlefield in the sectarian war between Sunnis and
Shias that's spreading throughout the Mideast.

Meanwhile, in a major twist that sounds like it came from a late night
comedian, a senior advisor in Iraq's Shia government is saying that
Iraq is no longer opposed to receiving further military help from the
United States to fight the terrorist violence. LA Times and AP

****
**** Southern Europe gives up the siesta, thanks to German demands
****

The financial debates caused by the financial crisis in Europe are
forcing southern Europeans "to live like Germans," according to Italian
philosopher Giorgio Agamben. The debate, he says, has escalated into
a battle of mentalities, of a Protestant work ethic against a Catholic
savoir vivre. There's even a war against sleep, since you should be
working instead of sleeping. In particular, the siesta hasn't existed
in Spain since the fall of 2012, when the financial crisis forced the
Spanish government to eliminate it. Spiegel


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Russia, North Caucasus, Chechnya, Syria,
Doku Umarov, Caucasus Emirate, Mikhail Bogdanov, Tartus,
Iraq, Spain, siesta

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*** 30-Jun-13 World View -- Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future
• Morsi's opponents in Egypt list the human rights complaints against him
• Egypt shuts down the smuggling tunnels with Gaza
• Tech: Computer viruses increasingly attack mobile phones

****
**** Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future
****


Muslim Brotherhood members wave sticks and shout slogans in support of president Mohamed Morsi (Reuters)

Two and a half years after mass demonstrations toppled Egypt's
president Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled for decades, the biggest mass
demonstrations since then are planned for Sunday by opponents of
president Mohamed Morsi, as the first anniversary of ascension to
power arrives. The "Tamarod" (rebel) movement has gathered over 22
million signatures demanding that Morsi step down.

On Saturday, thousands of people gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo,
in anticipation of Sunday's demonstrations. At the same time, Muslim
Brotherhood members and Morsi supporters have been gathering for a
counter-demonstration. Both sides say they want to avoid violence,
but there have already been violent clashes the last few days, and a
young American student was killed as collateral damage. Religious
leaders have warned of "civil war," but the army has said it will step
in if violence gets out of control.

It's worth mentioning, at least in passing, that these mass
demonstrations are not directed at either Israel or America. There
are plenty of anti-Israel and anti-America demonstrations in the
Mideast, but not in Egypt. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Reuters

****
**** Morsi's opponents in Egypt list the human rights complaints against him
****

As Egypt approaches the first anniversary of the election Mohamed
Morsi as the first elected president in thousands of years, Morsi's
popularity has suffered because of massive economic problems,
including high unemployment and massive gasoline shortages.

The opponents of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood party are pointing
to a number of human rights violations perpetrated by Morsi since he
was elected President last year. As Egypt's first elected president
in thousands of years, he was initially given the benefit of the doubt
by many Egyptians, especially after his stunning success in mediating
last year's war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. However, his
prestige and support evaporated very quickly after that, when stunned
the nation by issuing a decree giving himself dictatorial powers and
forcing adoption of a new constitution written by and for the Muslim
Brotherhood.

Morsi's opponents are now saying that he never cared about the
Egyptian people, or reversing the human rights violations when Hosni
Mubarak was in power. They point to the following:

• He brutally suppressed political and social protest
  movements.
  
• He gave his Muslim Brotherhood supporters free rain to use
  violence to punish and intimidate their opponents, including through
  torture and even killings.
  
• He's taken revenge against the courts, including the Supreme
  Constitutional Court, for opposing some of his decrees, by dismissing
  judges and ignoring court rulings.
  
• Military trials from the Mubarak era are continuing in the Morsi
  era.
  
• He expanded harassment of journalists and media workers.
  
• He's given the Muslim Brotherhood control over the labor
  unions.

During the election campaign, Morsi was the "Hope and Change"
candidate who promised a free, secular society that would NOT be
controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, with a growing economy and
opportunity for everyone. Morsi's opponents say that he never meant
any of his promises, and that they were all forgotten the day he was
elected.

In a conciliatory speech on Thursday, Morsi said:

<QUOTE>"I stand before you as an Egyptian citizen, not as the
holder of an office, who is fearful for his country.

Today, I present an audit of my first year, with full
transparency, along with a road map. Some things were achieved and
others not. I have made mistakes on a number of
issues."<END QUOTE>

Morsi apologized for the fuel shortages, and for not involving the
nation's youth more in the new political system. All Africa and
Al-Jazeera

****
**** Egypt shuts down the smuggling tunnels with Gaza
****

With June 30 approaching, Egyptian security has harshly cracked down
on smuggling though tunnels connecting Gaza to Egypt's Sinai region.
The result has been a fuel shortage in Gaza, doubling of the price of
building materials and the shutting down some construction sites.
Morsi's policies with regard to the tunnels has been very severe for
several months, ever since a brutal terrorist attack in Sinai was
blamed on jihadists from Gaza.

When Mohamed Morsi became president and the Muslim Brotherhood scored
major political victories last year, the people of Gaza were ecstatic,
believing that Morsi would completely open up the crossings between
Gaza and Egypt. Whether or not Morsi actually intended to open up the
crossings, what he actually did do was to maintain Mubarak's policy of
keeping the crossings closed, and make it even more strict in some
ways. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and AP

****
**** Tech: Computer viruses increasingly attack mobile phones
****

Statistics from a new report are quite dramatic:

• Computer malware or viruses that attack mobile devices are
  skyrocketing.
  
• 92% of all malware attacks target smartphones running the Android
  operating system from Google. Nearly 70% of all smartphones shipped
  in 2012 were Androids.
  
• 96% of all Android smartphones have old versions of the operating
  system, and so are completely unprotected by the latest security
  fixes.

Most of the malware comes from malicious apps that the users install.
One common malicious app is one that tricks the user into sending SMS
messages to premium-rate numbers, resulting in charges up to $10 per
message.

The latest version of the Android OS protects against many of these
attacks, but only 4% of the Androids have the latest version. The
problem is that mobile carriers (Verizon, Sprint, etc.) do not update
their customers' phones because it's too much trouble for them, even
though it leaves their own customers exposed to malware. Users should
demand that their carriers provide the updates, and should sue the
carriers if they lose money because an old Android OS version allowed
an expensive attack to occur.

If you purchase a new Android phone, one thing you should investigate
is whether the Android operating system is capable of being updated
directly by Google, rather than by the carrier. This way, you'll at
least have the latest security fixes. Dark Reading


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, Cairo, Tahrir Square,
Muslim Brotherhood, Tamarod, Hosni Mubarak,
Gaza, Sinai, smartphones, Android OS, Google

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*** 1-Jul-13 World View -- Millions fill Egypt's streets with mostly peaceful protests

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Millions fill Egypt's streets with mostly peaceful protests
• Pakistan terrorists continue Shia Hazara extermination plan
• Pakistan terrorists kill dozens in Peshawar
• Burma Buddhists protest Time's portrayal of 'Buddhist Terror'

****
**** Millions fill Egypt's streets with mostly peaceful protests
****


Oceans of anti-government protesters fill Tahrir Square in Cairo (BBC)

In towns and cities across Egypt, millions of people filled the
streets in competing protests by against and for president Mohamed
Morsi, with hundreds of thousands of people in Cairo alone. The
protests were almost entirely peaceful, but with isolated incidents of
violence that killed two people in separate incidents in Cairo
suburbs.

Anti-Morsi protesters complained Morsi had allowed the economy to
collapse, and that he had governed for the benefit of the Muslim
Brotherhood, and not for all the people of Egypt. They claim to have
22 million signatures on petitions demanding that he step down.

Pro-Morsi protesters responded that Morsi is the first legitimately
elected president of Egypt, and that he should be allowed to finish
his 4-year term. Most pro-Morsi supporters also support a version of
Sharia law that's much stricter than the versions supported by the
liberals and secularists.

This was the biggest protest in the history of Egypt. Everyone is
breathing a sign of relief that there was so little violence, but with
millions of people on the streets, there's the feeling that Egypt is
like a coiled spring, ready to snap. Officials are hoping that things
will remain relatively peaceful until Ramadan begins on Monday, July
8, at which time many people expect the demonstrations to peter out.
Al-Ahram (Cairo) and BBC

****
**** Pakistan terrorists continue Shia Hazara extermination plan
****

The al-Qaeda linked Sunni Muslim terror group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ),
have vowed that "Our mission [in Pakistan] is the abolition of this
impure sect and people, the Shias and the Shia Hazaras, from every
city, every village, every nook and corner of Pakistan," and on Sunday
they continued to pursue that mission. LeJ claimed responsibility for
a suicide bomber attack in a Shia Hazara neighborhood of Quetta that
killed at 28 people and wounded dozens more. This is just the latest
in a series of gun and bomb attacks by LeJ on Hazara communities in
and around Quetta in southwestern Pakistan that have killed hundreds
of people this year alone. LeJ is an offshoot of the Pakistani
Taliban (Tehrik-e-Taliban or TTP). Although sectarian violence is
hardly new in Pakistan, Sunni vs Shia sectarian violence has sharply
increased in recent months from Africa to India, as a result of the
conflict in Syria, which itself is turning into a proxy war between
Sunnis and Shias. The News (Pakistan) and Reuters

****
**** Pakistan terrorists kill dozens in Peshawar
****

Also on Sunday, a remote control bomb killed at least 17 people in a
busy marketplace in Peshawar, in northwest Pakistan, injuring dozens
more, resulting in almost 50 deaths between the two terrorist attacks.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the Peshawar attack, but
it's assumed to be the work of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP - the
Pakistan Taliban), who have been conducted many terrorist attacks in
the northwest and in Pakistan's tribal region. Pakistan's new prime
minister, Nawaz Sharif, made a campaign promise to negotiate a peace
with TTP, but not surprisingly it seems that promise won't be
fulfilled. On Sunday, TTP were apparently targeting a convoy of a
government paramilitary force, but the convoy escaped the bomb and the
marketplace bore the brunt. TTP has promised to stop killing
civilians with terrorist attacks, but apparently that promise won't be
kept either. Express Tribune (Pakistan) and Dawn (Pakistan)

****
**** Burma Buddhists protest Time's portrayal of 'Buddhist Terror'
****


Time Magazine July 1 cover portraying Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu as 'The Face of Buddhist Terror'

More than 1,000 people, including about 100 Buddhist monks, rallied on
Sunday to support a decision by the Myanmar/Burma government to ban
sale or distribution of the July 1 edition of TIME magazine. The
magazine's cover story was a reaction to April's mob attack on Muslims
in Burma (Myanmar) by thousands of Buddhists, including many Buddhist
monks, led by Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu, who calls himself the
"Buddhist Osama bin Laden." (See "5-Apr-13 World View -- Meiktila, Burma, violence has echoes of Kristallnacht"
)

The magazine's cover has a photo of Wirathu as "The Face of Buddhist
Terror." Burma's government has banned the magazine saying that it
might trigger new violence Sunday's protesters called for legal action
against the magazine and its editorial team and carried placards
saying, "We support monk Wirathu who is just trying to protect our
religion." However, other Burmese claim that only a small minority
took part in the Muslim genocide, and most Burmese oppose it.
Kyodo and The Diplomat


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Egypt, Tahrir Square, Mohamed Morsi,
Muslim Brotherhood, Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, LeJ,
Pakistan, Tehrik-e-Taliban, TTP, Pakistan Taliban,
Hazaras, Quetta, Peshawar, Nawaz Sharif,
Time Magazine, Ashin Wirathu, Buddhism

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Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon

> Moderate Muslims are getting to be as common as moderate
> Republicans. We know they're out there, but they seem to be in
> hiding ... or maybe it's denial. Meanwhile, the stupidity just
> gets worse.

Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis

> In other words, Republicans are the same as radical Islamist
> terrorists. I believe that the President and his union supporters
> agree with you. That is exactly the reason why there's so much
> dysfunction in Washington.

Originally Posted by RasmussenPoll

> 26% of Obama Supporters View Tea Party
> as Nation’s Top Terror Threat
> ...
> However, among those who approve of the president’s job
> performance, just 29% see radical Muslims as the bigger
> threat. Twenty-six percent (26%) say it’s the Tea Party that
> concerns them most. Among those who Strongly Approve of the
> president, more fear the Tea Party than radical Muslims.
> http://www.rasmussenreports.com/publ..._terror_threat

This doesn't surprise me in the least.

*** 2-Jul-13 World View -- In stunning intervention, Egypt's army sides with protesters against Morsi

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• In stunning intervention, Egypt's army sides with protesters against president Morsi
• Army says it will not stand idle while Egypt 'is in severe danger'
• How the world recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan

****
**** In stunning intervention, Egypt's army sides with protesters against president Morsi
****


Opposing protests: Morsi opponents in Cairo's Tahrir Square, and supporters in Cairo's Nasr City (Al-Jazeera)

Sunday's pro- and anti-government protests were the largest in the
history of Egypt. Still, there was no way to be certain that they
would lead to worsening political chaos, or whether they would just
peter out, especially with Ramadan approaching on July 8. But on
Monday, the army made a stunning move that practically guarantees
political chaos -- by issuing a statement that threatened president
Mohamed Morsi and sided with his political opposition, the Tamarod
movement. ("Tamarod" is the Arabic word for rebellion.)

The anti-government crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square were considerably
smaller on Monday than they were on Sunday, but within an hour of the
army making its statement the crowd in Tahrir Square doubled in size,
demanding that Morsi step down. The crowd was further cheered later
when army helicopters, trailing large Egyptian flags, flew of Tahrir
Square in open support for the Tamarod.

At the same time, the pro-Morsi crowds at Cairo's Nasr City were
absolutely furious, chanting "Down with military rule," "Egypt's
legitimacy is with the president" and "We love you Morsi." Pro-Morsi
protests erupted in violence in scattered incidents across Egypt. One
ultra-conservative group, a staunch supporter of the president, urged
Morsi supporters nationwide to hit the streets to peacefully express
the need to "respect the constitution and the public will." Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Al-Jazeera

****
**** Army says it will not stand idle while Egypt 'is in severe danger'
****

The statement issued by the army on Monday demands political
resolution within 48 hours if politicians wish to prevent intervention
by the army. I find this to be a truly remarkable statement, well
worth reading in its entirety:

<QUOTE>

• "Egypt and the whole world witnessed yesterday
  demonstrations by the great people of Egypt expressing their
  opinion in an unprecedented, peaceful and civilized way. Everyone
  saw the movement of the Egyptian people and heard their voices
  with the greatest respect and concern. It is necessary that the
  people receive a reply to their movement and the call from every
  party with any responsibility in the dangerous circumstances
  surrounding the nation. As a main party in the considerations of
  the future and based on their patriotic and historic
  responsibilities to protect security and stability, the armed
  forces state the following:
  
• The armed forces will not be a party in the circles of
  politics or governance and are not willing to step out of the role
  defined for them by the basic ideals of democracy based on the
  will of the people.
  
• The national security of the state is exposed to extreme
  danger by the developments the nation is witnessing, and this
  places a responsibility on us, each according to his position, to
  act as is proper to avert these dangers. The armed forces sensed
  early on the dangers of the current situation and the demands the
  great people have at this time. Therefore, it previously set a
  deadline of a week for all political forces in the country to come
  to a consensus and get out of this crisis. However, the week has
  passed without any sign of an initiative. This is what led to the
  people coming out with determination and resolve, in their full
  freedom, in this glorious way, which inspired surprise, respect
  and attention at the domestic, regional and international
  levels.
  
• Wasting more time will only bring more division and conflict,
  which we have warned about and continue to warn about. The noble
  people have suffered and have found no one to treat them with
  kindness or sympathize with them. That puts a moral and
  psychological burden on the armed forces, which find it obligatory
  that everyone drop everything and embrace these proud people,
  which have shown they are ready to do the impossible if only they
  feels there is loyalty and dedication to them.
  
• The armed forces repeat their call for the people's demands to
  be met and give everyone 48 hours as a last chance to shoulder the
  burden of the historic moment that is happening in the nation,
  which will not forgive or tolerate any party that is lax in
  shouldering its responsibility.
  
• The armed forces put everyone on notice that if the demands of
  the people are not realized in the given time period, it will be
  obliged by its patriotic and historic responsibilities and by its
  respect for the demands of the great Egyptian people to announce a
  road map for the future and the steps for overseeing its
  implementation, with participation of all patriotic and sincere
  parties and movements - including the youth, who set off the
  glorious revolution and continue to do so - without excluding
  anyone.
  
• A salute of appreciation and pride to the sincere and loyal
  men of the Armed Forces, who have always borne and will continue
  to bear their patriotic responsibilities toward the great people
  of Egypt with determination, decisiveness and pride. God save
  Egypt and its proud, great people."

<END QUOTE>

Following this statement, an army spokesman asserted that army doctrine
does not allow for "military coups":

<QUOTE>"Egyptian Armed Forces' doctrines do not include
military coups as a policy. The armed forces already deployed on
Egypt's streets in 1977, 1987 and 2011 and this did not lead to a
coup, but rather [led the army] to stand with the will of the
great Egyptian people and their desire for reform and change.

The armed forces statement was issued to push all political
players to find a solution to the current political crisis and
reach national reconciliation in line with the demands of the
Egyptian people."<END QUOTE>

It's believed that the army is getting revenge for president Morsi's
actions following his election as president last year. After Hosni
Mubarak was deposed, the army was governing the country. During his
campaign, Morsi promised that his government would be for all the
people, not just for his own Muslim Brotherhood.

As soon as he was elected, Morsi immediately nullified decrees that
had been issued by the army, and issued new decrees giving himself
dictatorial powers that could not be contravened by either the army or
the courts. He took steps to give all government powers to his Muslim
Brotherhood cronies, and even used this power to allow the Muslim
Brotherhood to rewrite Egypt's constitution. The result is that Morsi
has been governing for his own minority of supporters, and not for all
the people. These power plays are now coming home to roost for
Morsi. Al-Jazeera and Al-Ahram (Cairo)

****
**** How the world recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan
****

In 1997, in the aftermath of the bloody genocidal civil war that had
wracked Afghanistan since 1990, the Taliban increased in political
power. The Taliban were ethnic Pashtun Sunni Muslims who many people
thought could bring the war-torn country back together. The Taliban
in Afghanistan were negotiating with the government of Pakistan to
gain recognition, and on May 25, 1997, Pakistan announced its official
recognition. Prior to the formal announcement, the envoys of Russia,
Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the US, China, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan
were taken into confidence, and their reactions were surprisingly
positive.

The Taliban had promised that their government would be for all the
people, not just for their own Pashtun people. The assessment of
Pakistan and other governments was that as the new multiethnic entity
demonstrated its staying power, the Taliban would become more
moderate, but within days it became clear that this assumption was
ridiculously naive. Their short-lived success made the Taliban
insufferably arrogant and Pakistan was told to immediately introduce
their distorted interpretation of Islamic tenets in the country.

Four years later, the Taliban helped Osama bin Laden launch the
9/11/2001 attacks on the United States. The News (Pakistan)


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, Tamarod,
Muslim Brotherhood, Afghanistan, Taliban, Pakistan

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Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis

This doesn't surprise me in the least.

I think that the country can survive just about anything thrown at it except itself. If we degenerate into a backwards and intolerant mob, then yes, it's over. We may not be there, and we may never get there, but the forces of intolerance are certainly more than evident. And backwards may be a kind portrayal of the current far right, who believe in a 6,000 year old earth, creationism, and the certainty that global warming is a hoax.

*** 3-Jul-13 World View -- Aghan Taliban scores another big terror attack in Kabul

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Egypt's Morsi gives angry, desperate speech to save his job
• Egypt's deposed president Hosni Mubarak says Morsi should resign
• Aghan Taliban scores another big terror attack in Kabul
• Greece and Portugal compete for this week's biggest euro crisis

****
**** Egypt's Morsi gives angry, desperate speech to save his job
****


Fireworks burst over anti-Morsi protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square (AP)

The job of Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi appeared increasingly shaky
on Tuesday in another day of massive anti-Morsi protests countered by
much smalled pro-Morsi protests, as as five cabinet ministers and
several other high government officials all resigned from the
government. At the end of the day, a furious Morsi gave an hour-long
televised speech running past midnight, punching the air and pounding
the podium, warning that he was the country's legitimately elected
president and must be permitted to serve out his four-year term:

<QUOTE>"It is normal after revolution for there to be
opposition and support. We wrote a constitution and it was
(passed) via referendum. We had legitimacy afterwards, and this
legitimacy is what guarantees for us that there be no infighting
between us and no bloodshed if we respect it. ...

The old regime don’t want democracy. They’re used to rigging
elections. They don’t know what democracy and freedom of
expression are. They are using the youth and those suffering from
the economic problems to sow chaos and violence. Why doesn’t this
violence appear until they announce they will change the regime
and abort democracy? ...

My message to you all, to the opposition, is that I will stand by
this legitimacy. And to the supporters who respect democracy and
love legitimacy, safeguard Egypt and the revolution. Don’t let the
revolution be stolen from you, opponents and supporters. ...

I want to say some clear points... There is no alternative for
legitimacy, constitutional legitimacy, legal legitimacy, the
legitimacy of elections held before. After this I decided there
is no alternative for legitimacy and keeping an open channel for
dialogue...Legitimacy is the only guarantee against violence. The
old regime won’t return....If this initiative isn’t accepted, the
country will go down a dark road and we’ll be back to square one.

To save the nation we need to sacrifice, but not against each
other....when we announce jihad that must be against foreign
enemies and not against each other. We sacrifice for our country
and I am the first to sacrifice. If the cost for legitimacy is my
blood I will give it easily. There are many challenges but the
biggest is not to fall in the trap and take the country in the
wrong direction, and make our enemies happy.

My iron will is with my people and is unshaken."<END QUOTE>

The army has issued an ultimatum saying that unless a political
agreement is reached by Wednesday, then they will lay out a political
roadmap to amend the constitution and have elections within six
months. Morsi's defiant speech was his response.

According to one report, the army turned against Morsi two weeks ago,
when he was speaking at an international conference on Syria being
held in Cairo. At that conference, he used the word "infidels" to
denounce both the Shia militants supporting Syria's president Bashar
al-Assad, and the secularists opposing him in Egypt. Even worse,
Morsi suggested that Egypt's army join the fight against al-Assad.
According to one anonymous army source, "The armed forces were very
alarmed by the Syrian conference at a time the state was going through
a major political crisis."Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Reuters

****
**** Egypt's deposed president Hosni Mubarak says Morsi should resign
****

Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for decades until he was deposed by the
January 2011 "Egyptian revolution," and is now in jail, says that he
stepped down in 2011 because he wanted to respond to the demands of
the people and to "save lives." He says that Morsi should step down
for the same reason. Al-Arabiya

****
**** Aghan Taliban scores another big terror attack in Kabul
****


Ruins of Nato supply building in Kabul on Tuesday (AP)

The Afghan Taliban are taking credit for a truck bomb and gun attack
on a Nato supply company, killing nine people, including four
Nepalese, one Briton, one Romanian, and three Afghans. According to
the Taliban statement:

<QUOTE>"An important foreign logistic and supply facility was
attacked, first by an explosive-filled truck which removed all the
barriers and followed by devoted mujahideen armed with small and
heavy weapons entering the base."<END QUOTE>

You may recall, Dear Reader, that this is the same Taliban to which
the U.S. administration is making one concession after another, in its
desperate attempt to reach a peace agreement with, rather than face a
military disaster as troops are withdrawn in 2014. President Barack
Obama said recently that he expected "a lot of bumps in the road" to
achieving a peace settlement, and so I guess this major attack on a
Nato facility in Kabul is just one of those bumps. At any rate, the
"peace process" will continue. AFP

****
**** Greece and Portugal compete for this week's biggest euro crisis
****

Spiegel is reporting that Greece can expect a new "haircut" after
Germany's elections three months from now. According to the report,
the reason that German chancellor Angela Merkel is saying that no new
haircut will be necessary is because doing so would her reelection
chances.

What we're talking about here is investors who hold bonds issued
by Greece (Greece's version of U.S. Treasury bonds). When the
bailout agreement on July 21, 2011, was announced with great
joyous fanfare and singing and dancing, the eurozone finance
ministers said that these investors would have to take a 21%
"haircut," meaning that they would lose 21% of their investment,
and that they would do "voluntarily." Things went downhill
after that. Every time the eurozone finance ministers held a meeting,
the amount of the haircut went up -- to 50%, then 60%, then 70%,
and finally at 74%. That is, an investor who held $1 million in
Greek bonds would now have only $260,000 in bonds. So if the
report is correct, then investors in Greek bonds are going to lose
even more.

However, that crisis is at least 3 months off. Greece faces a much
bigger crisis this weekend. Representatives of the "troika" of
organizations bailing out Greece -- the European Commission (EC), the
European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
-- are in Athens again this week, and they're saying that Greece has
not sufficiently reduced its public sector to meet its bailout
conditions. If Greece fails to convince the troika that it's on
target, then IMF rules will require that it back out of the bailout,
and Greece will go bankrupt in August, when it has to pay about 2.2
billion euros to bondholders. So it's going to be one of those
weekends when everyone is in a state of panic, and then on Sunday
night a new agreement is announced with great joyous fanfare and
singing and dancing, and it will be just as much of a scam as all the
other bailout announcements.

Meanwhile, the government in Portugal appears to be collapsing, as two
cabinet ministers resigned this week over bitter disagreements over
the terms of Portugal's bailout program. Like Greece, Portugal is far
from meeting the austerity commitments for its bailout, and the
economy appears bleaker every week. Spiegel and Reuters and BBC



KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Egypt, Mohamed Morsi,
Syria, Bashar al-Assad, Hosni Mubarak,
Afghanistan, Taliban, Nato,
Greece, Troika, Portugal

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Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon

> I think that the country can survive just about anything thrown at
> it except itself. If we degenerate into a backwards and intolerant
> mob, then yes, it's over. We may not be there, and we may never
> get there, but the forces of intolerance are certainly more than
> evident. And backwards may be a kind portrayal of the current far
> right, who believe in a 6,000 year old earth, creationism, and the
> certainty that global warming is a hoax.

I really had to laugh out loud at this. This is such a dysfunctional
view of tea partiers that it's totally absurd.

Since I have thousands of readers, I constantly get criticized from
both the right and the left. I've run into people on the loony right
who express themselves in exactly the same way as you have. The loony
right have the same dysfunctional view of Muslims that the loony left
have of tea partiers, with the same bigotry and blind hatred.
Apparently hating the tea party is this crisis era's version of the Ku
Klux Klan from the last crisis era, even going so far as to have the
epithet "teabagger" which is equally offensive as "ni--er". Bigots
have different targets from one crisis era to the next, but their
weapons are all the same. "History doesn't repeat itself, but it
rhymes."

I wrote about loony right versus the loony left in 2010. Check the
following out:

** American xenophobia on the Left and on the Right
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/...07.htm#e101107

By the way, I'm curious. What's your belief about how the earth
and the universe came into existence? Do you believe that the universe
just popped into existence in a big bang 16 billion years ago?
And if so, why is that belief any less absurd than the beliefs
that you disparage and censure?

More to the point, why are you any less dangerous to the survival of
the United States of America, believing that the universe popped into
existence 16 billion years ago, than someone who believes that it
popped into existence just 6000 years ago?

Originally Posted by The Grey Badger

Concert-goers pay good money for it!

And each generation thinks the music they grew up with is better than that which succeeded it. For the most part I am no exception here.

Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis

I really had to laugh out loud at this. This is such a dysfunctional view of tea partiers that it's totally absurd.

Since I have thousands of readers, I constantly get criticized from both the right and the left. I've run into people on the loony right who express themselves in exactly the same way as you have. The loony right have the same dysfunctional view of Muslims that the loony left have of tea partiers, with the same bigotry and blind hatred. Apparently hating the tea party is this crisis era's version of the Ku Klux Klan from the last crisis era, even going so far as to have the epithet "teabagger" which is equally offensive as "ni--er". Bigots have different targets from one crisis era to the next, but their weapons are all the same. "History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes."

I don't hate these people. I live around them. I deal with then every day. So save your platitudes for folks that sit in isolated places and pontificate. That's not the case here.

*** 4-Jul-13 World View -- Egypt's army deposes Morsi in a non-coup coup

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Egypt's army deposes Morsi, appoints Court head Adly Mansour
• President Obama's Egypt statement does not use the word 'coup'

****
**** Egypt's army deposes Morsi, appoints Court head Adly Mansour
****


Adly Mansour, head of Egypt's High Constitutional Court, now President

The army had given Egypt's elected president Mohamed Morsi and its
Muslim Brotherhood party 48 hours to negotiate with the Tamarod
("Rebellion"), the opposition represented by massive crowds in Tahrir
Square in Cairo and in cities across Egypt. When the deadline expired
on Wednesday afternoon, the army took action. It blocked all the
streets with armored personnel carriers, it shut down all the
pro-Muslim Brotherhood television stations, and it issued some
300 arrest warrants for Muslim Brotherhood members.

The military chief-of-staff Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi appeared on a
televised press conference and announced a "roadmap" that includes the
following:

• The ousting of president Mohamed Morsi.
  
• Suspending the constitution temporarily, until it can
  be changed.
  
• Handing power over to a new appointed president, Adly Mansour, the
  head of Egypt's High Constitutional Court.
  
• Forming a council for "national reconciliation."
  
• Revising the laws for parliamentary elections.
  
• Holding early presidential elections.

The army was responsible for governing Egypt for about a year
following the fall of Hosni Mubarak, and it seemed pretty clear that
they have no desire to have to govern again. At the press conference,
El-Sisi gave the podium to a series of non-army officials, including
the Coptic Orthodox patriarch and nobel peace prize winner Mohamed
ElBaradei, who may yet become president of Egypt. The press
conference also included a representative of the extremely religiously
conservative Salafist al-Nour party, who have been just as shut out by
Morsi as the liberals and secularists.

The army has appointed Judge Adly Mahmoud Mansour, 67, head of Egypt's
High Constitutional Court (HCC) to be the interim president until new
presidential elections can be held.

The only major group that didn't take part in the army's press
conference was the Muslim Brotherhood. They were invited, but
declined to attend. About 30% of Egypt's population are Muslim
Brotherhood supporters, and they are currently furious. So far, there
have only been sporadic acts of violence between the pro-Morsi and
anti-Morsi groups, but it seems likely that much worse violence is to
come. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Al-Ahram

****
**** President Obama's Egypt statement does not use the word 'coup'
****

Egypt's army is claiming that its coup is not really a coup.
The reasoning is that a real coup is done in secret, killing
the leader and the replacing him with the leader of the coup
plotters. But what happened on Wednesday is not a coup. It
was the army enforcing the will of the vast majority of the
people, and then providing a roadmap to return to civilian
rule within a few months.

The reason that the army is saying this kind of transparent nonsense
is that Egypt receives $1.5 billion in U.S. aid per year, and the
U.S. has a strict law that aid will be terminated to any country where
the army stages a coup against a democratically elected leader.

Everyone understands that it would be a disaster for the entire
region, including Israel, if U.S. aid to Egypt were suspended.
For that reason, both Cairo and Washington are being very
careful not to use the word "coup" when describing what happened
on Wednesday.

Preside Barack Obama issued a very tough statement that did
not use the word "coup":

<QUOTE>"The United States is monitoring the very fluid
situation in Egypt, and we believe that ultimately the future of
Egypt can only be determined by the Egyptian people. Nevertheless,
we are deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian Armed
Forces to remove President Morsy and suspend the Egyptian
constitution. I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly
and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically
elected civilian government as soon as possible through an
inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary
arrests of President Morsy and his supporters. Given today’s
developments, I have also directed the relevant departments and
agencies to review the implications under U.S. law for our
assistance to the Government of Egypt."<END QUOTE>

As of this writing, nobody seems to know where Mohamed Morsi is, and
he may have been arrested. Certainly some of his supporters have been
arrested. So one part of Obama's statement has already been violated.

The last sentence is the most threatening. It says, in essence, that
aid may be cut off if Egypt doesn't return to civilian rule quickly.
CBS News and White House statement


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Egypt, Mohamed Morsi,
Muslim Brotherhood, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi,
Adly Mahmoud Mansour

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Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon

I don't hate these people. I live around them. I deal with then every day. So save your platitudes for folks that sit in isolated places and pontificate. That's not the case here.

Oh, that reminds me - some of my best friends are Jews.

Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis

Oh, that reminds me - some of my best friends are Jews.

Like I said: folks sitting in isolated places and pontificating.

*** 5-Jul-13 World View -- Eurozone and Obamacare continue their parallel economic collapse

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Euro crisis returns as yields spike in Portugal and Spain
• Wall Street stock valuations reach new recent high
• Obama Administration postpones major Obamacare provision
• President Richard Nixon's Wage-Price controls
• Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward
• What can we expect from Obamacare?

****
**** Euro crisis returns as yields spike in Portugal and Spain
****


10-Year bond yields Spain 4.77% and Portugal 7.47% on 3-July-2013 (Bloomberg)

With the postponement of a crucial part of Obamacare, and a new bond
crisis in Europe, Obamacare and euro currency appear to be collapsing
in parallel, as the global financial crisis continues to worsen and
heads for worldwide panic.

Portugal's government is collapsing because its austerity measures
are failing. Portugal's government had to agree to the austerity
measures in May, 2011, in order to receive a 78 billion euro bailout.
Since then, Portugal has been feted as an example of a country
doing the right thing. But unemployment is at 17.6%, and
there are 932,000 people without jobs. Two cabinet ministers
resigned this week over bitter disagreements over the financial
program.

But Europeans are panicking since the real bombshell occurred on
Wednesday, when Portugal's 10 year bond yields briefly spiked up above
8%, before falling back to 7.47% by the end of the day. This is the
market interest rate that Portugal will have to pay and investors are
demanding if they're going to lend money to Portugal by purchasing
bonds. Everything about 6% is considered unsustainable, since debt
keeps growing exponentially. (For comparison, the yield on U.S. 10
year Treasuries is 2.5%. For Germany, it's 1.65%.)

If you look at the above graphs, you can see why people are suddenly
panicking. Beginning in May, Portugal's bond yields started spiking
up again, and the trend line is up again. Apparently, Portugal is
going to need another bailout. Furthermore, the "contagion" issue is
rising, as Spain's bond yields are also going up, though not as
quickly as Portugal's.

What happened in May? Well, there were the disastrous unemployment
figures that were announced in April. Also, there was the disastrous
Cyprus bailout that was completed in April. Since then, there has
been bad economics news almost every day, and investors are responding
to that by demanding higher and higher interest rates on Portuguese,
Spanish and Italian bonds.

As the eurozone heads into the next crisis round, it's well to
remember that nothing that the European politicians say can be
believed. I've documented many overt lies by these politicians during
the various Greek bailout crises. In fact, Jean-Claude Jüncker,
chairman of the Eurogroup finance ministers at the time of one of
these crises, was quoted as saying, "When it becomes serious, you have
to lie."

As I've said many times, there's a good reason why the European
politicians can't agree on a solution to the euro crisis. It's not
because there are three or four really good solutions, and they can't
agree which one to take. It's because there are NO solutions at all,
and all they can do is cover their ass and hope that somebody else
will be blamed when the inevitable total disaster comes. In the
meantime, they'll make up numbers that are obviously false, and the
credulous mainstream press will simply repeat them. BBC

****
**** Wall Street stock valuations reach new recent high
****

According to Friday's Wall Street Journal, the S&P 500 Price/Earnings index (stock
valuations) on Friday (June 28) morning was 18.41, which is a new
recent high, and astronomical by historic standards, indicating that
stocks are far overpriced, and the bubble is worse than ever. The
bubble started growing again when the Fed reversed itself, and said
there are no plans in the foreseeable future to end the $85 billion
per month quantitative easing program. The historical average is 14,
and as recently as 1982, the index was down to 6. It appears to be
headed that way again, which means that the Dow Industrials will fall
to below 3000.

As I've written many times, the financial analysts on CNBC and other
mainstream financial media lie about stock valuations constantly,
claiming that stocks are "cheap," and P/E ratios are around 9 or 10.
(See, for example, "14-Apr-12 World View -- Wharton School's Jeremy Siegel is lying about stock valuations"
from earlier this year.) Whether it's politicians
in Europe or Washington, or analysts on CNBC, lies and fraud and
extortion have become the norm today.

****
**** Obama Administration postpones major Obamacare provision
****

When Obamacare was announced in 2009, I called it "a proposal of
economic insanity," and I've said repeatedly since then that it can't
be implemented. (See "Obama's health plan, a proposal of economic insanity, appears to be losing support"
from 2009.)

I made this statement because I've seen this movie before. Obamacare
is worse than Nixon's 1970s wage-price controls, and those were an
unmitigated catastrophe.

The 1970s movie is continuing, as the administration postpones the
business mandate for a year. Just as Nixon's wage-price controls were
so disastrous that they collapsed of their own weight, Obamacare is
doing the same.

Unfortunately, they waited so long for this postponement that most of
the damage has already been done. Millions of businesses have already
changed their policies to reduce employment, or to keep part-time
employment below 30 hours per week, and they now have no incentive to
reverse direction, since they're facing the same disastrous policy in
2015. This means that the poor and the minorities will find it even
harder to find jobs, which means that they won't have any health
insurance at all.

The only core thing left is the "individual mandate." So now we're
supposedly going to hear how perfectly young, healthy poor people are
going to be forced to buy a government-endorsed health policy, or pay
a large fine. This disaster is far from over.

And just like the European politicians and the analysts on CNBC,
President Obama and the politicians who work for him are
accomplished liars who will say anything they can get away
with.

It was just a couple of weeks ago the President Obama said that the
Obamacare implementation was on track, as others were pointing out
that it that it was facing massive problems. Obama probably new
months ago that this announcement would have to be made, but he
decided to lie constantly since then, just like Jean-Claude Jüncker,
who said, "When it becomes serious, you have to lie." AP

****
**** President Richard Nixon's Wage-Price controls
****


The collapse of this factory building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 24, containing 3,120 workers, of whom 315 were killed and over 1500 injured, is a good symbol of the catastrophic collapse of certain economic policies

Obamacare is supposed to impose government controls on the
entire medical services sector of the U.S. economy. A person
would have to be exceptionally stupid to believe that's
even possible, but here we are.

With the business mandate now postponed, and with the individual
mandate likely to be postponed, it's possible that the entire
thing will be canceled, sparing the country an economic disaster.

But if the mandates ARE implemented, we can get an idea of what will
happen by looking back at Nixon's wage-price controls. The following
summary is from a paper, Nixon wage-price controls - Forty Years After The Freeze by
William N. Walker, who worked for President Nixon and played a major
role in the implementation.

Obamacare has been an enormously divisive issue among the American
people, but Nixon's wage-price controls were extremely popular among
both Democrats and Republicans. The inflation rate was 4%,
and the American people thought that government could do anything,
particularly lower the inflation rate. So Nixon announced
a wage-price freeze on August 15, 1971.

The rules were simple in the first phase: neither prices nor wages
could increase, period. Virtually the only exception was raw
agricultural products. As one politician said, "Remember, Virginia,
when it’s a cucumber you can raise the price, but when it becomes a
pickle, it’s frozen."

Powerful bureaucracies were set up to control inflation. first there
was a Cost of Living Council, and after 90 days there was a Price
Commission to control prices, and a separate Pay Board to limit wage
increases.

At first, everything seemed OK, and the inflation rate actually fell
to below 3% in the next few months. But by June, 1972, less than a
year later, the inflation rate started climbing sharply,
as "Phase III" was being introduced. According to Walker:

<QUOTE>"What no one understood at the time was that economic
conditions had undergone a profound and dramatic change. The cycle
of wage-driven price hikes had been broken during Phase II. But
government and private forecasters uniformly failed to recognize
that demand had begun putting such severe pressure on supplies
that within a matter of months, prices of virtually all
commodities -- foodstuffs, minerals and petroleum -- would
explode, reaching historic highs. The rate of inflation shot up to
11% by the summer of 1973, leaving Phase III in
shambles."<END QUOTE>

Then the Administration got tougher, and started threatening
major industries. The Cost of Living Council targeted
major U.S. oil companies for price increases, and got the IRS
to launch an immediate investigation. (As we now know, the
Obama administration's IRS is also targeting political enemies
with investigations.) Similar threats were made to the food
industry.

By mid-1973, there were gasoline shortages and food price
increases, according to Walker:

<QUOTE>"The Administration had anticipated some pressure on
food prices during the first half of 1973 and had retained
mandatory, though looser, controls over the food industry during
Phase III. The results, however, were worse than even the most
pessimistic predictions. During the first quarter of 1973,
consumer food prices shot up at an annual rate of 29.8% while the
wholesale price index for farm products rose at an annual rate of
51.9%. Red meat prices alone surged at an annual rate of 90%
during the quarter."<END QUOTE>

There were more regulations, more investigations, and more
freezes, but prices continued to skyrocket, with the inflation
rate topping 12% (that's TWELVE percent) by the end of 1974.

The program ended on April 30, 1974. It was a disaster for the
U.S. economy from which it didn't recover until the Reagan
administration a decade later.

****
**** Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward
****

Another drastic government economic program that led to disaster was
Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward, implemented in China in 1958. The
following summary is from John King Fairbank's 1986 book, The Great
Chinese Revolution 1800-1985.

500,000,000 million peasants were taken out of their individual
homes and put into communes, creating a massive human work force. The
workers were organized along military lines of companies, battalions,
and brigades. Each person's activities were rigidly supervised.

Mao's stipulated purpose was to mobilize the entire population to
transform China into a socialist powerhouse -- producing both food and
industrial goods -- much faster than might otherwise be possible.
This would be both a national triumph and an ideological triumph,
proving to the world that socialism could triumph over capitalism.

The individual peasants and managers were required to report the
size of the crop harvests up the line to the central government,
but there was no way to guarantee that the reports were accurate.

On the one hand, there was no economic incentive for the farmers
and managers to provide accurate reports, since everyone in a
socialist society is paid the same ("according to his need").

On the other hand, there was no independent check of the crop
harvest estimates. If the population had been much smaller, then
the central government might have been able to send out enough
bureaucrats to check the reports, or at least do spot checks. But
with about a billion peasants, no such meaningful checks were
possible.

For the farmers and managers themselves, there was plenty of
political incentive to overreport the crop harvest results.

Early in 1959, and again in July 1959, officials in Mao's government
had begun to see that the program was failing. Their objections were
rewarded with punishment. Mao was determined to follow his
ideological course, no matter what else happened.

As a result, even though actual crop yield in 1959 was a little
smaller than it had been in 1958, the crop reports added up to an
enormous increase in production, more than a doubling of output.

By the time that Chairman Mao was finally ready to accept the
situation, it was too late. There was too little food to feed
everyone, and tens of millions died of starvation.

Chairman Mao was disgraced by the disastrous failure of the Great Leap
Forward, and his critics proliferated.

****
**** What can we expect from Obamacare?
****

Hopefully, the postponement of the business mandate is the first sign
of a total collapse of all the Obamacare mandates. If that doesn't
happen, then history tells us that the results will far worse than
even the most pessimistic forecasts: massive doctor shortages, massive
insurance shortages, massive price increases for insurance and
services, poor medical services, shortages of medicines and medical
devices, and so forth. Furthermore, assume that every politician,
especially President Obama, will lie almost time he opens his mouth.

No matter what happens, parts of Obamacare will still survive -- like
the parts about preexisting conditions, or parents insuring their kids
to age 26. Whatever parts remain, Obama will claim that Obamacare is
a success because those things have been implemented, and he will get
his political legacy anyway.

Whether in Europe or America or China, politicians are always the
same: No matter how much damage and destruction they cause, they
always make sure that they come out on top.

KEYS: Generational Dynamics, eurozone, Portugal, Spain,
Jean-Claude Jüncker, price/earnings ratio index, CNBC,
Richard Nixon, Obamacare, William N. Walker,
wage-price controls, Cost of Living Council,
Price Commission, Pay Board,
China, Mao Zedong, Great Leap Forward

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As a person with strong libertarian sympathies, it pains me to say this, but: The Great Leap Forward? Really? Obamacare might be a clunky, bureaucratic mess and a giveaway to the insurance companies, but I can't help but feel you're being a little melodramatic.

Also, given how high the P/E ratio rose before the peak of our last two bubbles, I suspect we might still have a little ways to go.

Originally Posted by JordanGoodspeed

> As a person with strong libertarian sympathies, it pains me to say
> this, but: The Great Leap Forward? Really? Obamacare might be a
> clunky, bureaucratic mess and a giveaway to the insurance
> companies, but I can't help but feel you're being a little
> melodramatic.

> Also, given how high the
> P/E ratio rose before the peak of our last two bubbles, I suspect
> we might still have a little ways to go.

Mao's Great Leap Forward contained exactly the same elements as
Nixon's wage-price controls and Obamacare -- attempts to control
a huge market by passing a law. (It's just as stupid to try
to control the weather by passing a law.)

But if the elements are the same, there are major differences in
degree. Mao carried those elements much farther, and the results were
commensurately more disastrous, with the deaths of tens of millions of
people. Nothing like that happened with Nixon's controls, or is
expected to happen with Obamacare, where the "only" result is a
disastrous economic and medical crisis.

As for the P/E ratio:



I don't believe that it's going back to 123.8, if that's what you
mean.

That high seems a bit ridiculous as well, but if you look at that chart, you'll see that it usually tops out in the 25-30 range.

Originally Posted by JordanGoodspeed

> That high seems a bit ridiculous as well, but if you look at that
> chart, you'll see that it usually tops out in the 25-30
> range.

I have to agree that you may well be right, especially since I've been
expecting a major panic well before now. But then, I never dreamed
that I would see the Fed, ECB, BoJ, and PBoC each "printing" trillions
of dollars and pouring it out in the form of quantitative easing,
in order to prevent exactly that occurrence.

The P/E ratio could go up dramatically if earnings fall sharply -
that's what happened in 2009. But once a panic occurs, then
it will fall extremely quickly.

*** 6-Jul-13 World View -- Angry 'Day or Rejection' protests in Egypt lead to dozens killed

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Angry 'Day or Rejection' protests in Egypt lead to dozens killed
• Egypt's coup deals a blow to Syria's Muslim Brotherhood
• U.S. employment shifts from full-time to part-time
• Britain's National Health Service moves in opposite direction to Obamacare
• Terrorist Doku Umarov threatens terror attacks on 2014 Sochi Olympics
• Concerns grow about MERS Coronavirus as Hajj approaches

****
**** Angry 'Day or Rejection' protests in Egypt lead to dozens killed
****


Supporters and opponents of Morsi clash on the 6 October Bridge over the Nile in Cairo on Friday (AP)

There were fierce clashes between opponents and supporters of deposed
president Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo,
Alexandria, and other cities on Friday, leaving over 30 deaths and
hundreds of injuries. Some deaths were caused by army live fire.
Furious Morsi supporters poured out of mosques into the streets after
Friday midday prayers to hold "Day of Rejection" protests, to reject
the coup that overthrew Morsi, and to demand that Morsi be reinstated.
In Cairo, the clashes took place on the 6 of October Bridge, so named
to commemorate the beginning of the Yom Kippur war on October 6, 1973,
when Egypt's army crossed the Suez Canal to attack Israeli
fortifications. The widespread euphoria that followed the overthrow
of Hosni Mubarak two years ago is now long gone, and Egyptians are now
turning against each other, threatening civil war. Morsi opponents
are calling for massive new protests on Sunday. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Al-Jazeera

****
**** Egypt's coup deals a blow to Syria's Muslim Brotherhood
****

Syria's rebel forces have been fairly disorganized in their
opposition to the monolithic machine of Syria's president
Bashar al-Assad. Things got even worse for them this week
when their most influential faction, Syria's Muslim Brotherhood,
was dealt a blow by Egypt's coup that deposed president
Mohamed Morsi, one of the leaders of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.
In fact, al-Assad has been openly gloating the last few days
over Morsi's fall, saying:

<QUOTE>"What is happening in Egypt is the fall of so-called
political Islam. This is the fate of anyone in the world who
tries to use religion for political or factional
interests."<END QUOTE>

Al-Assad doesn't bother with "political Islam." His army, and their
allies from the terror group and Iran client Hezbollah, are in the
process of trying to repeat their success in al-Qusair, where they
flattened the city with heavy weapons killing thousands of civilians
last month. This month they're flattening the city of Homs, where
thousands more civilians are expected to be killed.

AP and Reuters

****
**** U.S. employment shifts from full-time to part-time
****

We now have a better idea of why the Administration finally panicked
and postponed Obamacare's employer mandate on Tuesday. According to
Friday's jobs report, the economy created 195,000 new jobs during June
-- which is the figure that the analysts on CNBC are euphorically
quoting.

But what they're not saying is considerably darker. The number of
part-time jobs (working under 35 hours per week) increased by 360,000,
while the number of full-time jobs actually FELL by 240,000. A lot of
this can be attributed to the postponed Obamacare employee mandate.
(See yesterday's article, "5-Jul-13 World View -- Eurozone and Obamacare continue their parallel economic collapse"
)

There appears to be a big shift going on from full-time to part-time
employee and employers refusing to hire full-time workers, since any
full-time worker requires a very big financial commitment with
Obamacare. The one-year postponement may relieve the situation, but
probably not my much, since the same mandate is supposed to be in
place a year later. Zero Hedge and Washington Post

****
**** Britain's National Health Service moves in opposite direction to Obamacare
****

In yesterday's article , I compared
Obamacare with some historical government attempts to control large
markets. A major reason why all such attempts fail is that the
government creates a huge bureaucracy to control the markets as they
exist on that day. As soon as the bureaucracy is in place, it's no
longer capable of coping with changes in technology or other changes
in global markets, and the bureaucracy collapses of its own weight.

The same is true of Britain's National Health Service (NHS), which was
designed in the 1950s and is no longer able to cope with new
technologies. The result is that Britain is moving in the opposite
direction to Obamacare, and is instituting pilot projects to privatize
the NHS. In one project, hundreds of NHS employees are being
transferred to British Telecom, which will use new technologies to do
such things as monitor people with long-term conditions in their own
homes. The privatized services will produce better outcomes and save
billions of dollars. The bureaucrats and the unions are fighting any
attempts at privatization, for fear of losing their jobs. BBC

****
**** Terrorist Doku Umarov threatens terror attacks on 2014 Sochi Olympics
****

Doku Umarov, the Islamist terror leader from Chechnya, is calling on
jihadists around the world to attack the Winter Olympics games to be
held in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi in 2014. Russia's law
enforcement agencies are planning massive security measures to ensure
safety to all visitors of the Olympic games. Undoubtedly, Umarov will
receive a lot of help from jihadists returning from Syria, where
received training while fighting Russia's client and friend, Bashar
al-Assad. Pravda (Moscow)

****
**** Concerns grow about MERS Coronavirus as Hajj approaches
****

MERS coronavirus is in the same family as the SARS virus that was
raising pandemic concerns a decade ago, mostly in Asia. Since MERS
was discovered in September, 2012, it has been spreading slowly in the
Mideast, where there have 40 deaths out of 70 cases, mostly in Saudi
Arabia. However, earlier cases were discovered retroactively, the
earliest being in Jordan in April, 2012. In comparison to SARS, MERS
is considerably more deadly, but does not transmit from human to human
as efficiently, so there's no significant pandemic fear at the present
time. However, concerns are growing that a pandemic might begin in
October triggered by a mutation in the virus that might occur when
millions of Muslims from around the world arrive in Mecca, Saudi
Arabia, for their once in a lifetime pilgrimage. National Post and Saudi Embassy - Hajj


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood,
Day of Rejection, Yom Kippur War, Hosni Mubarak,
Syria, Bashar al-Assad, al-Qusair, Homs, Aleppo,
Obamacare, jobs report,
Britain, National Health Service, NHS, British Telecom,
Russia, Chechnya, Doku Umarov, Sochi Olympics,
SARS, MERS coronavirus, Saudi Arabia, Hajj

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Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis

I have to agree that you may well be right, especially since I've been
expecting a major panic well before now. But then, I never dreamed
that I would see the Fed, ECB, BoJ, and PBoC each "printing" trillions
of dollars and pouring it out in the form of quantitative easing,
in order to prevent exactly that occurrence.

The P/E ratio could go up dramatically if earnings fall sharply -
that's what happened in 2009. But once a panic occurs, then
it will fall extremely quickly.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I remember reading about the housing bubble back in 05, after living in Fort Myers, Fl for a couple years before, and waiting years for the inevitable recession. Then, when it happened, I basically watched the economy dance along the precipice for the first half of 2008 before finally going over the edge in the fall. Ever since mid 2009, when I realized they'd managed to patch things up without actually fixing anything, I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. The moral being, it always takes longer than you think it should. As the saying goes, "The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent."

Earning are already starting to slow, and the P/E should go up from here. It shouldn't take longer than a year or so. I still think it'll start somewhere else, then spread here, as opposed to the crisis in 08. Look at the steep drop we've seen in commodities and emerging markets this year. Japan and China are already slowing, and most of Europe is in a recession again. We're just waiting on the next Lehman moment.

*** 7-Jul-13 World View -- Mohamed Morsi's replacement in Egypt may be 'better' for Israel

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• RSS feeds are reinstated
• Egypt's opposing camps plan large rival protests on Sunday
• Political drama over appointment of ElBaradei as Egypt's PM
• Mohamed Morsi's replacement in Egypt may be 'better' for Israel
• Bond yields rising worldwide

****
**** RSS feeds are reinstated
****

Ever since the GenerationalDynamics.com web site suffered a major
attack in March (apparently though not certainly by Chinese hackers),
I've been using the time I had available to focus on content, which
meant that some features of the web site remained unavailable. I've
been restoring these features one at a time, as time allowed, and I'm
pleased to announce that the RSS feeds have finally been restored. I
apologize for the long delay. The new links to the RSS feeds are on
the home page. They are as follows:
Generational Dynamics: Web Log News Feed
Generational Dynamics: Analysis News Feed
Generational Dynamics: Forum News Feed

****
**** Egypt's opposing camps plan large rival protests on Sunday
****


Mohammed ElBaradei, who was appointed Egypt's PM on Saturday, and then fired (AP)

The two opposing camps of protesters -- the one cheering the coup that
led to the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi, versus the one bitterly
angry about the coup and demanding Morsi's reinstatement -- are
planning rival demonstrations on Sunday.

The coalition supporting Morsi's reinstatement is led by the Muslim
Brotherhood and is called the National Alliance in Support of
Legitimacy, and is calling for mass rallies to "Protect the
Revolution." When this coalition uses the term "legitimacy," it
refers to the election of Morsi as president in a legitimate election.

The "Tamarod" or "Rebel" anti-Morsi campaign is also calling for
Sunday protests to defend what they call "popular legitimacy."
For them, "legitimacy" refers to the demands of millions of
Egyptian citizens.
Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Al-Jazeera

****
**** Political drama over appointment of ElBaradei as Egypt's PM
****

There was a fair amount of political drama on Saturday, when it was
announced that Mohamed ElBaradei would be sworn in as Egypt's new
prime minister. ElBaradei is well known internationally for his work
as former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, for which he
won a Nobel peace prize. In Egypt's political context he's considered
a liberal. He was very popular in Egypt for supporting the overthrow
of Hosni Mubarak, but he disappointed his followers because of his
apparent disinterest in following up politically.

So a lot of people were questioning why he accepted an appointment as
PM on Saturday, given his previous disinterest. However, his
appointment as PM was withdrawn a few hours later when the al-Nour
party threatened to withdraw from the governing coalition. The
al-Nour party is far more conservative than the more moderate Muslim
Brotherhood, but they've joined the liberals and secularists in
opposing the Muslim Brotherhood's rise to power. However, the
appointment of ElBaradei was too much for them, and ElBaradei's
appointment was doomed. Whatever the circumstances, this portends
major divisions in the mixed coalition of Egyptian activists and
politicians who supported the army's ouster of Mohamed Morsi.
Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Toronto Star

****
**** Mohamed Morsi's replacement in Egypt may be 'better' for Israel
****

Israel is officially silent about the events in Egypt, but some
officials are applauding the ouster of Egypt's president Mohamed
Morsi. Israel has good relations with Egypt's army, and there is a
mutual dependence to prevent terrorist attacks in Sinai, near border
between Egypt and Israel. However, Israel's relations with Morsi have
been much more difficult than the relations with the army. During
Morsi's year in power, there have been some worrying developments.
Morsi has refused to allow top Israeli officials into Egypt, has not
appointed an ambassador to Israel, and has refused to allow Israel to
rebuild its embassy in Cairo after the former embassy was destroying
during riots. Israeli officials are hoping that a new Egyptian regime
will be more friendly with Israel than the last one. Israel National News and AFP

****
**** Bond yields rising worldwide
****

A couple of days ago, I reported
that eurozone finance ministers were beginning to panic because bond
yields for Portugal and Spain have been spiking since the beginning of
May, indicating the investors are selling Portuguese and Spanish
bonds, and refusing to lend more money to those two countries. Well,
it turns out that bond yields are rising for a number of European
countries, and also for U.S. Treasuries. This may mean nothing, or it
may mean something. But if it means something, then here's what that
something could be: It could be that large over-leveraged investors
have been losing money in the stock market, and are being forced to
raise cash quickly to cover their debt margins, and so they're selling
their most liquid asset, government bonds, which pushes bond prices
down and yields up. If that's true, then it could be an early sign of
a bigger selloff in stock markets in the weeks to come.

KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, Tamarod,
National Alliance in Support of Legitimacy, Al-Nour party,
Mohammed ElBaradei, Muslim Brotherhood,
Israel, Sinai, bond yields

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*** 8-Jul-13 World View -- Jihadists conduct revenge attack on Buddhist temple in India

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Jihadist attack on India's Buddhist Temple in revenge for Burma atrocities
• World fault lines
• Millions of Egyptians protest in rival demonstrations

****
**** Jihadist attack on India's Buddhist Temple in revenge for Burma atrocities
****


The Bodhi Tree where Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment in 531 BC

Terrorists struck a famous Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya in India's
Bihar province early on Sunday morning. Nine coordinated bomb blasts
injured two monks, one from Tibet and one from Myanmar (Burma), and
did limited damage to the famed Mahabodhi temple complex. The temple
is famous because it's believed that Lord Buddha attained
enlightenment in 531 BC sitting under the giant Bodhi Tree within the
complex. The temple and the Bodhi Tree are both safe.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but it's believed
that the perpetrators are Pakistani-based Islamist terrorists
conducting previously threatened revenge attacks for as series of
atrocities conducted by Buddhists on Muslims in Myanmar (Burma), where
at least 237 people have been killed and 150,000 people, particularly
Rohingya Muslims, have been displaced from their homes.

According to tweets from terrorist leader Hafiz Saeed in Lahore:

<QUOTE>"The Indian government is working in cahoots with
Burmese government to wipe out Muslim population of #Burma.

The prevailing silence of international community on the issue of
#Burma is saddening to say the least.

It is also an obligation on the whole Muslim ummah to defend the
rights and honor of #Rohingya Muslims in #Burma.

It is a moral responsibility on the newly elected government to
take practical measures for stopping this genocide of Muslims in
#Burma.

We will work for consensus between all religious and political
parties on #Burma issue.

Muslim rulers must unite and raise their voice for the genocide of
muslims in #Burma at the security council."<END QUOTE>

Last year, the al-Qaeda linked Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the
Pakistan branch of the Taliban, threatened to "attack Burmese
interests" if the Pakistan did not cut off its diplomatic relations
with Myanmar. Hindustan Times and India Today

****
**** World fault lines
****

Long-time readers are aware that generational theory predicts an
approaching Clash of Civilizations world war, with China, Pakistan,
and Sunni Muslim countries versus the U.S., India, Iran and Israel.

The spectacular rise in genocidal fury between Buddhists and Muslims
in the last year in east Asia has added to the understanding of the
fault line trends in the world. The following is my informal list of
some of the major fault lines that are developing and leading to this
new world war:

• Buddhists versus Muslims in east Asia
• Hindus versus Muslims in central Asia
• India and Russia versus China and Pakistan in central Asia
• Sunni Muslims versus Jews and Shia Muslims in Mideast
• Northern Protestants versus southern Catholics in Europe
• Orthodox Christians versus Sunni Muslims in the Caucasus
• European descendants versus indigenous descendants
  in Latin America
• Peasants versus Communist elite (by birthright) in China
• North (Mandarin speaking) versus South (Cantonese) in China
• Rural versus Urban in China

The above list is subject to change as the news develops.

****
**** Millions of Egyptians protest in rival demonstrations
****

Millions of Egyptians demonstrated in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday
in support of Wednesday's ouster of Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi
as president, while tens of thousands of angry Islamists, mostly
members of the Muslim Brotherhood, protested in a smaller square at a
mosque miles away for the reinstatement of Morsi. There had been some
violence on Friday, as confrontations between the two groups resulted
in dozens of deaths. However, there has been almost no violence since
then, as leaders of both groups avoided confrontations, while the army
set up checkpoints throughout the city.

Saturday's political farce, where the position of prime minister was
offered to, then withdrawn from, the extremely divisive liberal
politician Mohamed ElBaradei, has not been entirely clarified on
Sunday. On Sunday evening, reports surfaced that ElBaradei would be
appointed as one of Egypt's many vice-presidents, while the
appointment of prime minister would be offered to Ziad Bahaa El-Din,
founding member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, a socialist
left of center party. The ultra-conservative Salafist al-Nour party
had rejected to appointment of ElBaradei, but a party deputy says that
they would welcome El-Din: "He is one of the liberal figures that we
greatly respect." However, none of this is official as of
this writing.

Bitterly angry Muslim Brotherhood members are rejecting any government
appointments that don't reinstate Morsi. It's now considered the
highest priority among officials of the interim government to seek
ways to bring Brotherhood members into the new government, as they
comprise some 30% of the population. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Al-Ahram (Cairo)


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, India, Bodh Gaya, Bihar, Tibet,
Myanmar, Burma, Mahabodhi temple, Bodhi Tree,
Lord Buddha, Rohingya, Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan,
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, TTP, China, Russia,
Egypt, Tahrir Square, Mohamed Morsi,
Mohamed ElBaradei, Ziad Bahaa El-Din

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*** 9-Jul-13 World View -- Bin Laden capture: Pakistan's greatest humiliation since 1971

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Bin Laden capture: Pakistan's greatest humiliation since 1971
• Egypt in political chaos after morning massacre of Morsi supporters
• Burma's Muslims receive training from Pakistan's radicals

****
**** Bin Laden capture: Pakistan's greatest humiliation since 1971
****


Osama bin Laden (file photo)

Pakistan's Abbottabad Commission has issued a scathing report
on the U.S. capture of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan,
on May 1, 2011. According to the report:

• "The U.S. acted like a criminal thug."
  
• Pakistan's government and military were responsible for
  "gross incompetence" over the fact that bin Laden
  was right there from 2002 to 2011, and nobody noticed.
  
• In a "Government Implosion Syndrome," the commission found
  "culpable negligence and incompetence at almost all levels of
  government can more or less be conclusively established."
  
• This was "a case of nothing less than a collective and sustained
  dereliction of duty by the political, military and intelligence
  leadership of the country."

The circumstances surrounding the capture of bin Laden is being
described as the second greatest humiliation in the history of
Pakistan, with the first being the loss of East Pakistan in a 1971
war, to become Bangladesh. The Commission concludes that the
country's "political, military intelligence and bureaucratic
leadership cannot be absolved of their responsibility for the state of
governance, policy planning and policy implementation that eventually
rendered this national failure almost inevitable," and calls on the
leadership to formally apologize to the people of Pakistan for "their
dereliction of duty."

It's hard for me to avoid comparing Pakistan's dereliction of duty
with the dereliction of duty by the U.S. administration in refusing to
investigate and prosecute bankers who purposely created tens of
trillions of dollars in phony synthetic subprime mortgage-backed
securities, and then sold them to investors as AAA rated, creating the
the global financial crisis which is far from over. And today I was
reminded that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner knew in 2008 that bankers were rigging Libor rates,
and did nothing about it. Dereliction of duty seems to be a
problem in many countries these days. Al-Jazeera and Commission Report (PDF)

****
**** Egypt in political chaos after morning massacre of Morsi supporters
****

A massacre of at 51 deaths and 435 injuries occurred early Monday
morning in Cairo, Egypt, as a result of clashes between the army and
supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi. Almost all of the
casualties were the result of live fire by the army on demonstrators.
Pro-Morsi activists claim that the live fire was completely
unprovoked, but the army responds, with support from video and
eyewitnesses, that Morsi supporters started firing first,
and the army was defending itself.

If it was the intention of pro-Morsi activists to provoke an
overreaction by the army, they certainly succeeded. The interim
governing coalition has all but fallen apart, and some activists are
calling for revenge attacks. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Al-Ahram

****
**** Burma's Muslims receive training from Pakistan's radicals
****

Sunday's terror attack in India (see "8-Jul-13 World View -- Jihadists conduct revenge attack on Buddhist temple in India"
) is the first of an expected new
wave of attacks provoked by atrocities committed by Buddhists against
Muslims, especially Rohingyas, in the last year in Burma (Myanmar).

In recent months, radicalized Rohingyas have established links with
Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror group, and Rohingya Muslim
radicals have received training at an LeT training camp, as well as in
training camps in Bangladesh, near Burma's border. South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP)

KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Pakistan, Osama bin Laden,
Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, India, Burma, Rohingyas,
Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Toiba, LeT

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