Me too. As long as their funding lasts, NPR will be first rate. If they have to go begging for funds, because listeners aren't getting it done, then the quality may decline pretty fast. Here's hoping that doesn't occur.Originally Posted by The Wonkette
Last edited by Marx & Lennon; 01-15-2015 at 05:43 PM.
Marx: Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
Lennon: You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die.
Attacks such as the one in Paris may provoke a response.
Europe Rediscovers Nationalism | Stratfor
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/eur...#axzz3OphIb9lE
…”After decades of post-war supranationalism, the Europeans are once again discussing their national identities. The French tried to start a discussion in 2009, when then-President Nicolas Sarkozy launched a public debate on "what it means to be French" — an exercise that degenerated quickly into a discussion of the role of Muslims in the country. The Pegida protests led to similar debates in Germany, a country that for historical reasons feels extremely uncomfortable with the topic but also considers generational change to be breaking old taboos. Pegida-inspired demonstrations will take place in Austria in February, potentially leading to controversy there as well. These debates will not go away in Europe and will force the Europeans to deal with difficult questions that have remained dormant for decades.”…
The problem with any 24-hour news programing dedicated to the United States almost exclusively is that there really isn't that much hard news. One can fill the rest of the time with fluff (like "fashion" or "entertainment") easy to tie to advertisers. CNN has spun off sports to a 24-hour channel, so that is out of the question. That's CNN. One can fill it with analysis, which sounds like a noble use of time... except that the analysis can easily become spin as on FoX News MSNBC does analysis, too, and I am sure whether one likes MSNBC analysis depends on where one is on the political spectrum.
In-depth stories in international news? I wish that my cable company offered al-Jazeera. I once saw one of its stories on a badly-treated Muslim minority in Burma, a minority desperately seeking to leave. al-Jazeera showed some Pangloss-like government minister saying that there was nothing wrong with how that minority was being treated... and then the reality.
The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" (or) even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered... in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by (those) who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern."
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
16-Jan-15 World View -Belgium police raid multiple groups of returning Syrian jihadis
*** 16-Jan-15 World View -- Belgium police raid multiple groups of returning Syrian jihadists
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Belgium police raid multiple groups of returning Syrian jihadists
- The growing problem: Young men return home after ISIS terror training
- Lithuania asks citizens to prepare for Russian invasion
- The Historical Thesaurus of English now available online
****
**** Belgium police raid multiple groups of returning Syrian jihadists
****
Foreign fighters flow to Syria. This graphic is from Oct 2014, so the figures may have doubled by now (WaPost)
Belgium police raided ten locations where it was suspected that
home-grown jihadists returning from Syria were planning terror acts.
One location was in the town of Verviers, where two suspected
terrorists were killed after a shootout, and the others were spread
across the capital city Brussels, which is also the capital city of
the European Union.
Police believe that the terrorists were planning a "major attack,"
although there was no evidence of an imminent threat. The
counter-terrorism raids come one week after the Charlie Hebdo
terrorist attack in Paris, though it's not believe that the two are
linked. AFP and Bloomberg
****
**** The growing problem: Young men return home after ISIS terror training
****
The Belgium raids highlight a rapidly worsening problem: That
disaffected young people from any country can go to Syria and receive
terrorist training from the Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria (IS or
ISIS or ISIL), and then return home and use their newly acquired
skills for a terror attack.
I've been discussing this issue for almost two years, but the graphic
at the top of this article illustrates it beautifully. The actions of
Syria's Shia/Alawite president Bashar al-Assad to conduct a genocidal
war of extermination against innocent Sunni women and children in his
own country, using weapons supplied by war criminal Vladimir Putin,
have turned Syria into a magnet for depressed and disaffected young
men around the world who think that they'll find true happiness
maiming and killing other people. (The graphic is from October 2014,
so the figures may have doubled or tripled by now.)
The most significant development of the last year has been the rise of
ISIS in Syria and Iraq, led by the charismatic Abu Omar al-Baghdadi,
who is attracting even more would-be jihadists to populate his
self-declared caliphate.
The events of the last couple of weeks have seen another major,
significant development. The Charlie Hebdo attackers were trained in
Yemen by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), before ISIS ever
gained prominence. In the last few days, AQAP has been crowing about
how they were responsible for the Charlie Hebdo attack. The new
development is that the leaderships of ISIS and AQAP are apparently
now in competition with each other to be most fashionable and trendy terror
group, so that they'll attract the most would-be jihadists.
Unfortunately, there's every sign that these trends are going to
accelerate. It takes only a few lone-wolf jihadists, after getting
some training in Syria or Yemen, to set off a bomb or launch a gunfire
assault, and it's apparently the desire to both ISIS and AQAP leaders
to encourage such attacks. The number of young men willing to go to
Syria and Yemen to get terrorist training is growing, and the number
of young women going to Syria to marry a terrorist because maiming and
slaughter is so erotic is also growing. So the simple math is that
there is going to be more of these attacks.
In Belgium on Thursday, the police were able to act before it was too
late. It's doubtful that they'll always be so lucky. Washington Post (11-Oct-2014)
****
**** Lithuania asks citizens to prepare for Russian invasion
****
For most of the last century, Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union,
and only achieved independence in 1991, after which it joined Nato and
the European Union. But the recent Russian invasions of Georgia and
Ukraine, annexing territory from each, has led Lithuania's government
to issue a manual on "How to Survive a Russian Invasion."
The main advice is:
<QUOTE>"Keep a sound mind, don’t panic and don’t lose clear
thinking. Gunshots just outside your window are not the end of
the world."<END QUOTE>
In the event of invasion, the manual says Lithuanians should organize
themselves through Twitter and Facebook and attempt cyber-attacks
against the enemy.
In case of Russian occupation of Lithuania, the manual advises
demonstrations and strikes or "at least do your job worse than usual"
as resistance techniques. Reuters and Russia Today
****
**** The Historical Thesaurus of English now available online
****
The University of Glasgow Historical Thesaurus of English web site was
launched on Thursday. It contains 800,000 words from Old English to
the present day, based on the Oxford English Dictionary, arranged into
detailed hierarchies within broad conceptual categories such as
Thought or Music. According to the university, it is the world's only
complete historical thesaurus published in any language.
193 words for "drunk," include drink-drowned, jug-bitten, swilled,
bumpsy, drunk as wheelbarrow, muckibus, half-shaved, grogged, pickled,
swizzled or elephant's trunk, many from the 1600s.
Instead of "darling," try: honey, babe, my dove, lamb, mopsy,
flitter-mouse, prawn or my ding-dong.
The Historical Thesaurus has been under development since 1965, and
some 230 linguists have been involved in the project. Daily Mirror (London) and University of Glasgow Historical Thesaurus of English
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Belgium, Brussels, Brussels, Verviers,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Yemen, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, Syria, Iraq,
Bashar al-Assad, Vladimir Putin, France, Paris, Charlie Hebdo,
Russia, Lithuania, Georgia, Ukraine,
University of Glasgow, Historical Thesaurus of English
Permanent web link to this article
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Last edited by John J. Xenakis; 01-16-2015 at 08:34 AM.
Yup. From that Stratfor link, I expect Sweden will explode before this 4T if over. I don't even need astrology to make that prediction.
MBTI step II type : Expressive INTP
There's an annual contest at Bond University, Australia, calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term:
The winning student wrote:
"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end."
So, John; Any idea when Sweden [the location of band, Suma] starts the centrifuges spinning and sets the Mideast churches [mosques] to burn? I think in a 4T, all it takes is for Sweden to get its 9/11 type incident for such a response.
Lithuania : dirty bombs as a new asymmetric warfare device?
MBTI step II type : Expressive INTP
There's an annual contest at Bond University, Australia, calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term:
The winning student wrote:
"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end."
It's really simple, isn't it? Someone domiciled in a Western country, exposed to public education and liberal democracy, who comes back as an agent of violent Jihad is a traitor, right? So it was with the international Communist menace that used to exist.
Islam of course has more of a culture attached than Marxism ever did. The old East Germany did not replace Bach with Tchaikovsky as one would expect with 'good' Russophile stooges.
Do people participate in violent Jihad because they are fervently Muslim or do they participate in violent Jihad because they are sociopaths? In view of the extensive condemnation of ISIS and Boko Haram by Muslim scholastic leaders who are as completely Muslim as is possible (they use the Koran to condemn ISIS, Boko Haram, etc. as pathological and even heretical), part of the problem may be that those who participate in violent Jihad have only superficial connections to Islam.
The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" (or) even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered... in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by (those) who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern."
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Why use a dirty bomb when an enhanced radiation low yield device will kill the troops but let you swoop in and grab hardware 48 hours later?
To me, the really interesting thing about Russia and Sweden is the
Great Northern War, 1700-1720. It seems that every time Europe has a
crisis war, it has a side war with Russia which is an Awakening era
war in Russia.
So, the most recent example is the Nazi invasion of Russia, during
World War II, which was a crisis war for Europe, and an Awakening
war for Russia.
The previous example was France's invasion of Russia, during the
Napoleonic wars, which was a crisis war for Europe, and an Awakening
war for Russia.
And the example before that was the Great Northern War with Sweden,
which occurred during the War of the Spanish Succession, which was a
crisis war for Europe, and an Awakening war for Russia. Russia was
nearly defeated, but in the end it was a great victory for Russia, led
by Tsar Peter the Great.
So maybe, as you suggest, it's approaching the time for Sweden to play
a prominent role again, in a new generational crisis war with whoever
the enemy turns out to be.
I agree that the agents of violent Jihad are traitors and very dangerous . I don't understand why the Muslim leaders don't do more to stop or suppress these violent agents. Words of condemnation are not working.
It seems that the West needs to find some effective way to defend against the violence. So far, we have not found a solution.
There will eventually be a reaction to events such as the Paris disaster.
The ONLY reason Xenakis says the napoleonic wars were an awakening for russia is because he knows that russia was at war on numerous occasions between 1700 and 1860. Because he knows that fact; he has to interpret the historical record in such a way to be able to say that wars occur only in crisis eras, that only prophet generations generate memorable leaders, thus he downplays Russian participation in European power politics and expansionism in those eras and outright omits several wars because to do otherwise would discredit his own theory. Also Sweden was neutral in both WW1 and WW2.
Last edited by Cynic Hero '86; 01-16-2015 at 04:17 PM.
As for muslims, what people need to understand is that ISIS is real islam. It's the jihadist terrorists who are following the dictates of the Koran, not the moderates.
Last edited by Cynic Hero '86; 01-16-2015 at 05:38 PM.
17-Jan-15 World View -- Intl Criminal Court opens probe into Israel's war crimes
*** 17-Jan-15 World View -- International Criminal Court opens probe into Israel's war crimes
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- International Criminal Court opens probe into Israel's war crimes
- Moody's lowers Russia's bonds to near-junk status
- Fearing bank runs, Greece's banks make emergency aid request
****
**** International Criminal Court opens probe into Israel's war crimes
****
Masked Hamas members carry a model of a rocket in a Gaza rally in December (Flash90)
In a move that some are describing as purely symbolic, at least
for the time being, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has
opened a preliminary investigation into war crimes committed
by Israel during the summer 2014 Gaza war.
Once Mahmoud Abbas, representing the State of Palestine, made the
request to the ICC, the prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is required by ICC
policy to conduct a preliminary investigation, to determine whether
she should launch a complete formal investigation. She has two
options, in that she can decide to launch the formal investigation, or
decide not to. However, there's no timeline or deadline. In fact,
according to one analyst, there are already pending preliminary
investigations for Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Guinea, Honduras,
Iraq, Nigeria and Ukraine, so Israel would just be another one. If
she does launch a formal investigation, there could be war crimes
charges against both Israeli leaders and Hamas leaders.
It's far from clear whether the ICC has the jurisdiction to take on
this case. The U.N. General Assembly voted in November 2012 to create
a State of Palestine, but it's not a member of the U.N., and only has
observer status. There is no precedent for a non-member (like the
Holy See) to join the ICC. For the ICC to have full jurisdiction in
this case, there would have to be an affirmative vote of the Security
Council, and the U.S. has already indicated that it would veto such a
resolution. Al Jazeera and LA Times and Washington Post
****
**** Moody's lowers Russia's bonds to near-junk status
****
Moody's Investors Service cut its rating on Russia's government bond
to Baa3 from Baa2. This puts the bonds just one notch above the
non-investment grade, or "junk status."
Moody's lowered the bond grade to Baa2 in October, just three months
ago. According to Moody's today:
Moody's one-notch downgrade to Baa2 in October 2014 balanced an
increasingly subdued growth outlook -- in part reflecting Russia's
weak institutional strength and the challenging geopolitical
environment -- against the government's still extremely strong
balance sheet.
The negative outlook reflected the fragile nature of that balance,
with both the growth outlook and the government's fiscal position
exposed to further shocks that could more profoundly undermine
consumer and investor confidence, hastening the erosion of fiscal
and foreign currency buffers.
As evidenced by the recent further steep falls in oil prices and
the exchange rate, these shocks have materialized. According to
Moody's, the severe -- and likely to be sustained -- oil price
shock, alongside Russian borrowers' highly restricted
international market access due to ongoing sanctions, is
undermining economic fundamentals and increasing financial
stresses on both the public and private sectors. In its updated
growth outlook for Russia, Moody's now expects real GDP
contractions of around 5.5% in 2015 and 3% in 2016, bringing real
growth over the 10 years through 2018 to virtually zero.
Last week, Fitch Ratings downgraded Russia’s credit rating to BBB-
from BBB, which is also just one step away from junk level. In
December, Standard & Poor's revised Russia’s rating to BBB-, saying
there is a 50 percent possibility it will drop Russia to junk level in
mid-January 2015. Moody's Investors Service and Russia Today
****
**** Fearing bank runs, Greece's banks make emergency aid request
****
Two of Greece's banks have requested an emergency credit line under
the Emergency Liquidity Assistance program, or ELA. Neither bank
plans to use the money at this stage, but it requested out of concern
over a possible bank run following the January 25 election. The
radical far left Syriza party is leading in the polls and is expected
to win. The party's leader, Alexis Tspiras has said that he will
renege on Greece's austerity commitments that it made in return for
its 240 billion euro bailout paid so far. There is a possible
"Grexit" scenario with Greece will leave the eurozone and start
printing drachma currency again, which would substantially devalue
existing Greek bank accounts.
Fearing this scenario Greek bank account holders have been withdrawing
money from Greek banks and depositing the money foreign banks, where
it would be safe from Grexit. Bank deposits fell by 3 billion euros
in December, and have been accelerating since then.
Tspiras has said that Greece will not leave the eurozone because the
eurozone needs Greece more than Greece needs the eurozone. He may be
right. There are new reports that Eurogroup members are considering
offering Greece a six-month bailout extension, and possibly
renegotiating a new bailout package. A Eurogroup meeting of eurozone
finance ministers will take place one day after the elections to
decide what to do next. Bloomberg and Kathimerini
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Israel, State of Palestine,
International Criminal Court, ICC, Fatou Bensouda,
Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Guinea, Honduras, Iraq, Nigeria, Ukraine,
Russia, Moody's Investors Service,
Greece, Emergency liquidity Assistance, ELA, Syriza, Alexis Tspiras
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
FoX "News" Channel is about as propagandistic as Pravda was in its heyday. It has learned much from totalitarian media.
Please see the video Outfoxed to see how it is done.
.
The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" (or) even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered... in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by (those) who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern."
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Some questions answered here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/wo...ebdo.html?_r=0
(behind a partial pay-wall; you can get ten free articles a month. This one is well worth the use of one of them).
The brothers did not have easy lives. They lost their father when they were very young and their mother became helplessly ill when they were 12 and 14. They basically ended up in foster care of the French government, which isn't usually as good at offering guidance as parents are. They found their way to a mosque whose imam brainwashed them into violent Jihad. They got stopped before they could board a flight that would have led them to Iraq... and ended up in prison. Among fellow inmates was an eventual confederate, Amedy Coulibaly, who had participated in several armed robberies and in drug trafficking (sure, prime Muslim behavior... end of snide remark) and who would in the end shoot up a kosher grocery. (Few parents want their kids affiliating with extremist groups or outright criminals... but the Kouachi brothers could only find questionable role models among adults).
French penal authorities, to put it mildly, had little idea of how to deal with Islam. Eventually the authorities brought in Islamic clerics, but prisoners like them disrupted prayer services with politicized questions. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.
The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" (or) even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered... in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by (those) who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern."
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
There is a lot of information in these articles. Thanks for posting the links. It is a scary situation.Some questions answered here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/wo...ebdo.html?_r=0
(behind a partial pay-wall; you can get ten free articles a month. This one is well worth the use of one of them).
The brothers did not have easy lives. They lost their father when they were very young and their mother became helplessly ill when they were 12 and 14. They basically ended up in foster care of the French government, which isn't usually as good at offering guidance as parents are. They found their way to a mosque whose imam brainwashed them into violent Jihad. They got stopped before they could board a flight that would have led them to Iraq... and ended up in prison. Among fellow inmates was an eventual confederate, Amedy Coulibaly, who had participated in several armed robberies and in drug trafficking (sure, prime Muslim behavior... end of snide remark) and who would in the end shoot up a kosher grocery. (Few parents want their kids affiliating with extremist groups or outright criminals... but the Kouachi brothers could only find questionable role models among adults).
French penal authorities, to put it mildly, had little idea of how to deal with Islam. Eventually the authorities brought in Islamic clerics, but prisoners like them disrupted prayer services with politicized questions. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.
The following is the type of activity that I have problems with. No government should tolerate cells within the country that foster suicide attacks. The past policies come across to me as aiding and abetting your own assassins.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/wo...ebdo.html?_r=1
…”Charismatic and self-assured, Mr. Benyettou incited young men to join jihad. He set up a pipeline for young French Muslims to travel to join Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s network in Iraq, which would soon become Al Qaeda’s franchise in the region, according to a detailed account in the court files.
By September and October 2004, court transcripts show, Chérif and Saïd began going regularly to Mr. Benyettou’s apartment to discuss the religious justification for suicide attacks. There, they talked about how to load a bomb into a truck and drive it into an American base.”…
<QUOTE>
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/wo...ebdo.html?_r=1
"Charismatic and self-assured, Mr. Benyettou incited young men to
join jihad. He set up a pipeline for young French Muslims to
travel to join Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s network in Iraq, which would
soon become Al Qaeda’s franchise in the region, according to a
detailed account in the court files.
By September and October 2004, court transcripts show, Chérif and
Saïd began going regularly to Mr. Benyettou’s apartment to discuss
the religious justification for suicide attacks. There, they
talked about how to load a bomb into a truck and drive it into an
American base."<END QUOTE>
The problem with what you're saying is that this is the 2004-2005 time
frame. At that time, the liberals, the French, and the NY Times were
all on the same side as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and were doing
everything in their power to aid the enemy and bring about the defeat
of the United States army in Iraq.
So, from the point of view of the liberals, the French, and the NY
Times, Mr. Benyettou was a GOOD GUY, because he was indirectly helping
to defeat the U.S. army. So there was no way that Benyettou was going
to be stopped. If the NY Times had written about Benyettou at the
time, it would have been to paint him as a victim and a hero.
There is much dark history. At this point I am concerned about the present and the future. I understand that the same type cells are ongoing and should not be tolerated.
18-Jan-15 World View -- Thousands in Muslim countries protest cartoon of Mohammed
*** 18-Jan-15 World View -- Thousands in Muslim countries protest cartoon depiction of Mohammed
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Fox News apologizes for misreporting on 'no-go zones' in Europe
- Swiss franc revaluation panics East European currency markets
- Troops and police spread across Europe, in fear of terror attacks
- Thousands in Muslim countries protest cartoon depiction of Mohammed
- Barack Obama describes an American advantage over Europe
****
**** Fox News apologizes for misreporting on 'no-go zones' in Europe
****
Fox News anchor Julie Banderas reading apology statement
As I reported last week ( "13-Jan-15 World View -- Concern rising over Muslim 'no-go zones' as terror breeding grounds"
), Britain's prime minister
David Cameron called a Fox News contributor "an idiot" when he said
that Birmingham England was "totally Muslim, and that non-Muslims just
simply don't go in." The contributor was Steve Emerson,
self-described as "an internationally recognized expert on terrorism,"
who described similar "no-go zones" in England and France.
Emerson himself apologized, and Fox News issued a retraction, pointing
out that only 21% of the Birmingham population is Muslim, as I
reported. But Fox News has received a continuing stream of backlash,
ridicule and criticism this week for the error.
On Saturday evening, news anchor Julie Banderas on Fox News read the
following statement (my transcription):
<QUOTE>"A correction now. Over the course of this last week,
we have made some regrettable errors on air, regarding the Muslim
population in Europe, particularly with regard to England and
France.
Now this applies especially to discussions of so-called no-go
zones, areas where non-Muslims allegedly aren't allowed in, and
police supposedly won't go.
To be clear, there is no formal designation of these zones in
either country, and no credible information to support the
assertion that there are specific areas in these countries that
exclude individuals based on solely on their religion.
There ARE certainly areas of high crime in Europe, as there are in
the United States and other countries, where police and visitors
enter with caution. We deeply regret the errors, and apologize to
any and all who may have taken offense, including the people of
France and England."<END QUOTE>
According to a Fox News spokesman, it's highly unlikely that Emerson
will ever be booked again on Fox News. Washington Post
****
**** Swiss franc revaluation panics East European currency markets
****
Back in September 2011, as we reported at the time,
the Swiss Central Bank (SNB) conduct a major
experiment. Switzerland is not part of the eurozone, so has its own
currency, the Swiss franc. Before the 2008 credit crisis, one euro
could buy you 1.65 Swiss francs. But then the Swiss franc became
stronger and stronger, and the euro became weaker, and by August 2011,
the two currencies were at parity, meaning that one euro could buy you
just one franc. This did a great deal of harm to Switzerland's
tourist and export business, since people with dollars or euros could
buy less and less in Switzerland.
So the SNB announced that it was going to "print" billions of
Swiss francs, and use them to purchase euros. It was an incredible
experiment. They guaranteed that the franc would not become
stronger than 1.20 francs per euro.
They actually kept that promise. The SNB now has hundreds of billions
of euros on its balance sheet that it doesn't know what to do with.
The euro to Swiss franc exchange rate has been almost flat since then,
at 1.20 francs per euro.
Until Friday. Suddenly, and without notice, and much to the surprise
of the financial community, the SNB abruptly abandoned the printing
program. They issued this statement, where "CHF" is the symbol for
the Swiss franc:
<QUOTE>"The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is discontinuing the
minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per euro. ...
The minimum exchange rate was introduced during a period of
exceptional overvaluation of the Swiss franc and an extremely high
level of uncertainty on the financial markets. This exceptional
and temporary measure protected the Swiss economy from serious
harm. While the Swiss franc is still high, the overvaluation has
decreased as a whole since the introduction of the minimum
exchange rate. The economy was able to take advantage of this
phase to adjust to the new situation.
Recently, divergences between the monetary policies of the major
currency areas have increased significantly – a trend that is
likely to become even more pronounced. The euro has depreciated
considerably against the US dollar and this, in turn, has caused
the Swiss franc to weaken against the US dollar. In these
circumstances, the SNB concluded that enforcing and maintaining
the minimum exchange rate for the Swiss franc against the euro is
no longer justified."<END QUOTE>
When they refer to "a trend that is likely to become even more
pronounced," many believe that they're referring to reports that the
European Central Bank (ECB) is going to start its own "printing"
program, using quantitative easing (QE) to purchase bonds and make
billions or trillions of additional euros available.
The results were dramatic. The franc immediately strengthened to
above parity with the euro, and closed at parity (1 euro for 1 franc)
by the end of the day, 20% stronger than before. In currency trading,
a 2-3% change is considered big. A 20% move could be disastrous (just
as a 20% fall in the stock market could be disastrous).
Financial markets went into panic in Croatia and Serbia on Friday.
Hundreds of thousands of people have loans denominated in Swiss francs
in these two countries, and the amount of debt owed by these people
effectively increased by 15-20% in one day. Newspaper headlines read
"Catastrophe" and "Debt crisis" and "Swiss strike."
At least two currency brokerages in the U.K. filed for bankruptcy
by the end of the day, and others across the globe may follow
next week. The reason that currency brokerages are filing for
bankruptcy is that their clients are applying for bankruptcy.
In many cases, investors made currency bets based on margin,
and after the SNB move, they're no longer able to meet margin
calls. This means that the brokerages that funded these margin
debts are now responsible for them, driving some of them into
bankruptcy.
If I were to take a guess, I would guess that there are top secret
meetings going on this weekend of Fed officials and ECB officials,
with the purpose of finding a way to prevent this situation to spiral
into a global panic. DPA and Reuters and Swiss National Bank and XE.com - Euro vs Swiss Franc historical conversion chart
****
**** Troops and police spread across Europe, in fear of terror attacks
****
Thousands of police and troops are in the streets of Belgium, Germany
and other countries, hoping to head off new terror attacks. This
following the terror attacks in Paris two weeks ago, and raids targeting returning Syrian jihadists
in the last few days. In Belgium, police are stationed
in buildings within the Jewish quarter of Antwerp and the Jewish
Museum in Brussels. Troops will reinforce police at least until
Thursday. This is the first time in decades that troops have
been on the streets of Belgium.
Police in Athens Greece arrested four people allegedly
connected to a foiled terror plot that last week's police
action in Belgium had foiled. The alleged mastermind was
identified as a Belgian of Moroccan descent.
Up to 300 members of the military will be stationed at locations such
as the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Brussels and NATO and EU
institutions. AFP and VOA
****
**** Thousands in Muslim countries protest cartoon depiction of Mohammed
****
Muslims across the world have expressed revulsion at the jihadist
attack on the journalists of Charlie Hebdo in Paris last week, but
they're also expressing fury that Charlie Hebdo insulted Islam by
publishing a new satirical cartoon depicting Mohammed, something
that's forbidden in the Muslim culture.
Protests are common on Fridays, after midday prayers, and on this
Friday there were thousands of protests in many countries, including
Sudan, Russia's North Caucasus, Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and Jordan.
However, in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, three people were
injured as police battled activists from the Jamaat-e-Islami party,
who were trying to enter the French consulate.
In Niger, at least ten people have died in violence on Friday and
Saturday, as rioters burned churches and cars, and attack
French-linked businesses. All if the dead were civilians, with most
killed inside burned churches or bars. Guardian (London) and AFP
****
**** Barack Obama describes an American advantage over Europe
****
At a press conference on Friday with UK prime minister George Cameron,
President Barack Obama discussed the difference between the U.S. and
Europe with respect to Islamic terrorism (my transcription):
<QUOTE>"Europe has some particular challenges. The United
States has one big advantage in this whole process. And it's not
that our law enforecement or our intelligence services etc are so
much better, although ours are very very good, and I think
europeans would recognize that we've got capabilities that others
don't have. Our biggest advantage is that our Muslim populations
-- they feel themselves to be Americans, and there is this
incredible process of immigration and assimilation that is part of
our tradition that is probably our greatest strength.
Now that doesn't mean that we aren't subject to the kinds of
tragedies that we saw at the Boston Marathon, but that I think has
been helpful. There are parts of Europe where I think that's not
the case, and that's probably the greatest danger that Europe
faces. Which is why as they respond, as they work with us to
respond to these circumstances, it's important for Europe not to
simply respond with a hammer and law enforcement and military
approaches to these problems, but there also needs to be a
recognition that the stronger the ties of a north African or a
Frenchman of North African descent to French values, French
Republic sense of opportunity -- that's gonna be as important, if
not more important, in over time solving this problem. And I
think there's a recognition across Europe and it's important that
we don't lose that."<END QUOTE>
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Fox News, Britain, David Cameron,
Steve Emerson, Julie Banderas,
Switzerland, Swiss franc, Swiss National Bank, SNB,
Belgium, Germany, France, Charlie Hebdo, Greece, Israel,
Sudan, Russia, North Caucasus, Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Jordan,
Jamaat-e-Islami, Karachi, Pakistan, Niger, Barack Obama
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Most liberals, however much they may have seen fault in Dubya, recognized Saddam Hussein as one of the arch-villains of history (I often referred to him as "Satan Hussein") and had no use for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. We may have disliked our glory-seeking President and his coterie, but we had no desire for a military or diplomatic disaster. Most of us wanted him to get away with it. But we got both, and culpability lay with Dubya and those around him.
The New York Times was not treating the Ba'athists or the practitioners of violent Jihad as heroes.
The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" (or) even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered... in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by (those) who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern."
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
As bad as Saddam Hussein was, I was always opposed to the 'war'. In my opinion, this only made the situation in the Middle East worse and was a drain on American life and resources. Totally counterproductive, as would be expected from history.
Precisely. Saddam Hussein was so weakened as a national leader (except for having the absolute power of life and death in Iraq) that he wasn't going to do anything to another country. As G K Chesterton put it, before
you tear down a fence make sure that you know why it is there.
The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" (or) even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered... in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by (those) who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern."
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
19-Jan-15 World View-Lebanon on edge after Israeli strike kills Hezbollah commanders
*** 19-Jan-15 World View -- Lebanon on edge after Israeli air strike kills Hezbollah commanders
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Miss Lebanon may lose her title over selfie with Miss Israel
- Lebanon on edge after Israeli air strike kills Hezbollah commanders
- Europe, under intense financial pressure, expected to start quantitative easing
****
**** Miss Lebanon may lose her title over selfie with Miss Israel
****
From left to right: Miss Israel, Miss Lebanon, Miss Slovakia, and Miss Japan
A selfie of four girls, in which Miss Lebanon Saly Greige is posing
next to Miss Israel Doron Matalon, with wide smiles on their faces,
may get Greige kicked out of the Miss Universe contest. Miss Slovenia
and Miss Japan also appear in the selfie. Social media in Lebanon is
being harshly critical:
<QUOTE>"You could have avoided mingling with the Israeli
contestant like previous Lebanese contestants have done throughout
the years. And if you were harassed like you say, you could have
at least avoided the huge smile [we see] on your
face."<END QUOTE>
Greige could be stripped of her Miss Lebanon title, and kicked out of
the Miss Universe contest, but Greige said it wasn't her fault:
<QUOTE>"From the first day I arrived at the Miss Universe
pageant I was very careful not to take any pictures with Miss
Israel, who tried repeatedly to take pictures with me. While I
was preparing with Miss Slovenia and Miss Japan to get our
photograph taken, Miss Israel jumped in and took a selfie with her
phone and posted it on social media. This is what happened. I
hope you continue supporting me."<END QUOTE>
In 1993, Miss Lebanon Huda al-Turk was stripped of her title for
posing with a picture with Miss Israel at the time.
Lebanon's government will launch a full-scale investigation on Monday.
Daily Star (Beirut)
****
**** Lebanon on edge after Israeli air strike kills Hezbollah commanders
****
Lebanon and Israel are both on edge after an Israeli air strike in
Syria killed two Hezbollah commanders. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah is promising revenge, and there are fears that tit for tat
retaliation might spiral out of control.
An Israeli helicopter struck a convoy of Hezbollah operatives, killing
12. One of the dead is field commander Jihad Mughniyeh, 25, the son
of top commander Imad Mughniyeh. Imad was on the United States' most
wanted list for terrorist when he was killed in Damascus by a car bomb
in Damascus in 2008, allegedly from the Israelis. Imad's son Jihad
had been taking a more prominent role since his father's death, and
was overseeing operations in the Golan Heights.
Also killed was field commander Mohamad Issa, chief of Hezbollah
operations in Syria, making this strike a major blow against
Hezbollah, according to reports.
A Hezbollah statement confirmed the names of six Hezbollah fighters
that had been killed, but omitted the names of six fighters from the
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) that are fighting alongside
their Hezbollah counterparts. Iran has been supplying IRGC troops to
Syria's president Bashar al-Assad and to Hezbollah, as well as to
Iraq's army, but has denied doing so. YNet (Israel) and Daily Star (Beirut) and Ya Libnan (Lebanon)
****
**** Europe, under intense financial pressure, expected to start quantitative easing
****
Many analysts expect the European Central Bank (ECB) to announce on
Thursday a quantitative easing (QE) program, in which it will purchase
hundreds of billions of euros of bonds issued by the various eurozone
countries. Effective, the ECB will be "printing money," and giving it
to the individual countries.
Several countries, including the U.S. and Japan, have been
aggressively pushing QE for years, but the ECB has resisted it because
of fears of harming the euro currency and because the Germans have
been opposed.
But pressure on the ECB to start QE has been increasing, along
with numerous eurozone financial problems:
- The eurozone has been in a deflationary spiral for years, and
in December the eurozone fell into actual deflation,
with a negative inflation rate.- On Friday, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced that it was
ending its own "money printing" program for Swiss francs, which it had
used to purchase hundreds of billions of euros since 2011. The result
was that the Swiss franc gained 20% against the euro, causing further
eurozone deflation, and possibly triggering a chain reaction of bankruptcies.
- Greece will have an election on January 25, and the winner
expected to be the radical far left Syriza party, led by Alexis
Tspiras, who has promised to renege on Greece's austerity commitments
that it made in return for its 240 billion euro bailout paid so far.
This may cause Greece to leave the eurozone,
or if Europe agrees to allow Greece to renege, then other
eurozone countries may demand the same treatment.- Britain will hold an election in April or May, and the
euro-skeptic UK Independence Party (UKIP), which advocates taking the UK out of the European Union,
has been gaining strength.
The markets are widely expecting QE to be announced this week, and as
the US QE situation has shown, that money just goes into the stock
market, so that the top 1% make even more money. So if there's no QE
announcement this week, then disappointed investors may sell off,
causing the stock market to fall.
Some analysts are concerned that whatever the ECB tries, it will be
too little too late. Pressure from Germany may keep the ECB program
from being too aggressive. Furthermore, other countries started QE
years ago, and it may be too late to catch up. Forbes and Bloomberg and Brisbane Times (Australia)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Lebanon, Saly Greige, Israel, Doron Matalon,
Slovenia, Japan, Miss Lebanon, Miss Universe, Huda al-Turk,
Hezbollah, Syria, Bashar al-Assad, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,
Jihad Mughniyeh, Imad Mughniyeh, Mohamad Issa,
Iran, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, IRGC,
European Central Bank, ECB, Swiss National Bank, SNB,
quantitative easing, QE, Greece, Syriza, Alexis Tspiras,
Britain, UK Independence Party, UKIP
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20-Jan-15 World View-Israel on alert after Iran confirms its general killed by Israel
*** 20-Jan-15 World View -- Israel on alert after Iran confirms its general was killed by Israel
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Nigeria's Boko Haram terrorists spread into Cameroon
- Major escalation in fighting in Yemen
- Israel on alert after Iran confirms its general was killed by Israel
****
**** Nigeria's Boko Haram terrorists spread into Cameroon
****
The town of Baga, after the Boko Haram attack, where hundreds or thousands of people were slaughtered
As I've been reporting for the last few weeks, there is a large and
growing war in the Mideast and South Asia of Muslims at war with
Muslims. Where a few dozen Westerners may be killed in terror attacks
each year, the Muslim versus Muslim war is killing tens of thousands
of Muslims every year, mostly civilians. This Muslim versus Muslim
war is almost invisible in the West, which focuses on the occasional
terrorist acts. There is almost no evidence of a war between Islam
and the West, and it's increasingly clear that things like the Paris
Charlie Hebdo terror attacks have as their primary purpose the public
relations value of attracting disaffected young men from the West to
come to Syria or Yemen for training in terrorist skills, to aid in the
slaughter of other Muslims. ( "12-Jan-15 World View -- Is Islam at war with the West?"
) Judging from the global daily news coverage, this
public relations plan has been remarkably effective.
So today's news is about three countries participating in this huge
Muslim versus Muslim war, and how the war is escalating in each of the
three countries.
The fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria is becoming more
international, as troops from neighboring Chad entered Cameroon to
fight Boko Haram there. Boko Haram terrorists kidnapped 80 people in
northern Cameroon over the weekend, many of them children and young
girls.
Boko Haram gained international notice when they kidnapped hundreds of
schoolgirls, aged 12-25, on April 16 last year, in order to sell them
into sexual slavery or force them to marry its fighters. Last week,
Boko Haram burned down the town of Baga in northeast Nigeria, and
15-20 other nearby villages, killing up to 2000 resident civilians.
Cameroon's has been fighting Boko Haram in northern Cameroon
apparently more successfully than Nigeria has been fighting Boko
Haram. It's widely believed that some of Nigeria's politicians and
parts of Nigeria's army support Boko Haram. With a presidential
election scheduled for next month no February 14, the country is
almost paralyzed in confronting Boko Haram.
Boko Haram's goal is to mimic the Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria
(IS or ISIS or ISIL) in setting up an "Islamic State" in Nigeria,
Cameroon and Chad. There are reports that Boko Haram has been linking
up with elements of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), making it
a much more international terror group. The fear is that Boko Haram
is going to gain so much power that it force Nigeria's government to
collapse completely. All Africa and
CNN and Guardian (London)
****
**** Major escalation in fighting in Yemen
****
Iran-backed Shia al-Houthi militias surrounded the presidential palace
in Sanaa, the capital city of Yemen, on Monday, clashing with Yemen's
army. President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi doesn't actually live in the
presidential palace, but it's believed that he's hiding out there
during the escalated fighting.
This major escalation in the fighting is threatening the stability of
Yemen, which is already one of the poorest countries in the world. If
the Shia militias take full control of Sanaa, then there would be
several consequences: The warlords of Sunni tribes have promised to
take control of oil fields, essentially starving Sanaa of income;
al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) will become more active; and
southern tribes would call for the secession of South Yemen, which had
only joined with North Yemen in the early 1990s.
Another fear is that the war in Yemen will spiral into a proxy war
between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iran has been providing military and
financial aid to the al-Houthis, while the Saudis have refrained, so
far, from getting involved. However, the Saudis have also made it
clear that if the Shia al-Houthis gain control of Yemen, or if Yemen's
government collapses, then Saudi Arabia will intervene.
For all of these reasons, some analysts believe that the current
al-Houthi military initiative is little more than political posturing,
to gain political leverage as a new Yemen constitution is being
considered. According to this view, the al-Houthis could have taken
control of Sanaa several months ago, but didn't do so because they
don't want to be in control of the government. Governing costs a lot
of money that they don't have, and they can't count on money from
Iran, which is having its own financial problems. Instead, the
al-Houthis want to have a major minority position in whatever
government evolves. Al-Jazeera and Reuters
****
**** Israel on alert after Iran confirms its general was killed by Israel
****
Israel's armed force have gone on alert after Iran confirmed on Monday
that Sunday's Israeli air strike that killed Hezbollah commanders also
killed Gen. Mohammad Ali Allahdadi of Iran's élite Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps (IRGC), as well as five more Iranians.
As we reported yesterday
the air
strike on the convoy was a heavy blow to Hezbollah because it killed
two of Hezbollah's top commanders. But now it turns out that it's
also a heavy blow to Iran's IRGC, which means that Israel's air strike
was a strike at all three: Hezbollah, Iran and Syria.
Iran does not like to admit that it has IRGC forces in other
countries. According to some analysts, the IRGC has about 150,000
fighters in its al-Quds paramilitary force, and also has a navy and
air force. It's primary mission is to foment terrorism in other
countries, but its forces are currently fighting in Iraq and Syria.
At this point, it's not a question of whether, but only a question of
how and when Hezbollah, Iran and Syria will strike back. Hezbollah
claims that it has 60-100,000 rockets that it could use to strike
anywhere in Israel. Iran might also strike at Jewish targets in other
countries, as it has in the past struck at Jewish targets in Bulgaria
and Argentina. Or Hezbollah may abduct Israeli soldiers near the
border with Lebanon -- a move like this triggered the 2006 war between
Israel and Hezbollah.
Everyone "knows" that a war between Israel and Hezbollah is coming.
Hezbollah is so tied down in Syria, that it may not want to risk a
full-scale war at this time, and so may decide to strike back only
symbolically. However, even a symbolic strike could cause the
situation to deteriorate quickly, and Israel and Hezbollah may find
themselves in a war earlier than either of them expected. McClatchy and YNet
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Nigeria, Boko Haram, Cameroon, Chad,
Baga, Al-Qaeda on the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, Syria, Iraq,
Yemen, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, al-Houthi, Iran, Saudi Arabia,
Iran, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, IRGC, al-Quds,
Mohammad Ali Allahdadi, Hezbollah, Syria
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Heavy metal in the Islamic World.
Question for John.
What do you make of this sort of thing going down? Heavy metal concerts in the Islamic world.
http://www.meaning.org/hmi_book.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertain...-islam/259680/
IMHO, this looks like a 2T rebellion against societal norms.
MBTI step II type : Expressive INTP
There's an annual contest at Bond University, Australia, calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term:
The winning student wrote:
"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end."
