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Thread: Generational Dynamics World View - Page 93







Post#2301 at 05-27-2015 05:07 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by XYMOX_4AD_84 View Post
The Northern Alliance is completely infiltrated by the SVR. Might as well call it Soviet Invasion 2.0.
It's also believed that India's RAW is funding it.







Post#2302 at 05-27-2015 10:54 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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28-May-15 World View -- ISIS stokes sectarian Sunni-Shia clashes across the Mideast

*** 28-May-15 World View -- ISIS stokes sectarian Sunni-Shia clashes across the Mideast and Asia

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • ISIS stokes sectarian Sunni-Shia clashes across the Mideast and Asia
  • Iraq's government changes name of military operation to recapture Ramadi
  • Sunni Arabs are being forced to choose between ISIS and Shias


****
**** ISIS stokes sectarian Sunni-Shia clashes across the Mideast and Asia
****



A Pakistani security official displays cartridges from the scene of an attack on a bus, killing 45 Ismaili Shias two weeks ago(AP)

I am not among those who worry that the Islamic State (IS or ISIS or
ISIL or Daesh) is going to take control of the entire Arabian
Peninsula, but one thing that's clear is that ISIS is becoming the
focal point of the increasingly hostile fault line between Sunnis and
Shias.

Pakistan has long been a hotbed of Sunni-Shia clashes, as certain
branches of Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP - Pakistan Taliban), such as
Jundullah and Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ), specifically target Shias. But
this is being taken to a new level, as we reported two weeks ago,
when terrorists in Karachi
attacked a bus full of Ismaili Shias, killing 45, and left behind
leaflets accusing Shias of "barbaric atrocities," and warning of the
"Advent of the Islamic State!" That's not to say that previous
terrorist attacks on Shias were not equally horrific, but the overlay
of referring to the advent of ISIS is inflaming sectarian tensions
throughout the region.

Similarly, we reported last week

of the bombing of a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia. ISIS claimed
responsibility, and said it would not rest until all Shias were driven
from the Arabian Peninsula.
VOA and Reuters

****
**** Iraq's government changes name of military operation to recapture Ramadi
****


After ISIS's stunning seizure of the city of Ramadi
a few days ago, with the Iraqi army fleeing from the
approaching ISIS militias, the Iraq government has launched a military
operation to recapture Ramadi, using Iran-trained Shia militias known
as Hashid Shaabi (popular mobilization units). This is raising
sectarian fears among the Sunni tribes around Ramadi, who are afraid
that the Shia militias will commit similar atrocities on Sunnis that
they did after the earlier recapture of the city of Tikrit.

In fact, Iraq's government seemed to be headed in that direction, when
they called the attack "Operation Labaik ya Hussein," which roughly
translates as "We are at your service, Hussein." The name refers to
Hussein ibn Ali (or Husayn ibn Ali) who is considered to be a revered
Shia saint. He was killed in 680 at the Battle of Karbala, which was
the seminal battle that resulted in the Sunni-Shia split.

The choice of that name was severely criticized by Sunni leaders, and
was described as "unhelpful" by the Pentagon. Because of the
pressure, the Shia militias have renamed the planned attack "Operation
Labaik ya Iraq," meaning, "We are at your service, Iraq."

This kerfuffle over the name of the operation shows how sensitive the
Sunni-Shia split is, and how many officials are concerned about a
sectarian backlash. Rudaw (Iraq) and
Reuters

****
**** Sunni Arabs are being forced to choose between ISIS and Shias
****


With sectarian conflict growing in the Mideast, many Sunni Muslims are
in a position where they are going to be forced to choose between ISIS
and Shias. This is true to some extent in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, as
neighborhoods and groups become polarized along sectarian lines. For
these Sunnis, the choice may be facing atrocities by ISIS versus
atrocities by Shias.

According to an article translation by Memri, an Egyptian cleric Sheik
Dr. Ahmad Al-Naqib was asked this question. He uses the word
"Rafidites," which is a pejorative term for Shias:

<QUOTE>"I was asked: What is your opinion about ISIS and its
conduct? Should one pledge allegiance to ISIS? Does refraining
from this constitute a sin? This question is part of the
catastrophe that has afflicted the lands of Islam. ...

We must not say that this creation [ISIS], with its rulings and
its conduct, is in keeping with the rightly-guided Islamic state
that we must obey, especially since much consideration is required
to determine whether this "Islamic State" qualifies as a
state. They experience ups and downs. Again and again, they
conquer land, which is then taken from them. In addition, as far
as their upbringing is concerned, most of them are non-Arabs. This
is a very dangerous issue. ...

There is no doubt, however, that they are much better than the
criminal Rafidites [Shias], who kill the Sunnis because of their
Sunni identity, and who kill, rape, and burn the Muslims wherever
they may be. They are better than the [Shias], and their victories
over the Rafidites are good for Islam, but God knows best. ...

Despite their transgressions, injustice, wrongdoing, and
aggression, they are better than the Rafidites. They are better
than the criminal Rafidites, who kill Sunnis just because they are
Sunnis."<END QUOTE>

There have been numerous sectarian wars between Sunnis and Shias over
the centuries, and there have been numerous atrocities committed on
both sides. But in recent times, Al-Naqib was undoubtedly referring
to Syria's president Bashar al-Assad.

Like many Arab Sunnis are appalled that Syria's president Bashar
al-Assad has been conducting virtual genocide against his own people.
Syria's Shia/Alawite president Bashar al-Assad has flattened entire
Sunni villages with Russia's heavy weapons, he's killed children by
sending missiles into exam rooms and bedrooms, he's killed dozens with
sarin gas, and he's killed countless more with barrel bombs loaded
with explosives, metals, and chlorine gas. In addition, he's used
electrocution, eye-gouging, strangulation, starvation, and beating on
tens of thousands of prisoners on a massive "industrial strength"
scale, and does with complete impunity, and in fact with troops and
weapons from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.

So, from the point of view of Americans, Al-Naqib's remarks about ISIS
and Shias seem revolting, but from the point of view of Sunni Arabs,
ISIS is the lesser of the two evils.

In the political news the last few days, it seems that both the
Democratic President Barack Obama and the Republican presidential
candidate Rand Paul have come to full agreement that ISIS was created
by the Republicans. This conclusion is absurd on its face, since ISIS
was formed in Syria, not Iraq. The bizarre conclusion is part of the
conceit of Americans that everything is caused by Americans, and other
people have no histories of their own.

Once again, al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) was created by Jordanian terrorist
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. As I wrote in 2007 in "Iraqi Sunnis are turning against al-Qaeda in Iraq", al-Zarqawi was unable to find Iraqis who were
willing to be suicide bombers, or shed blood in any way, so he had to
bring in Jordanian and Saudi terrorists from abroad. Al-Zarqawi was
killed by an American drone strike in 2006, and AQI was completely
driven out of Iraq in 2007 by Iraqi Sunnis in the "Anbar Awakening,"
with the help of President George Bush's "surge."

As I've written many times, ISIS came into existence because of
al-Assad's actions. By 2012, it was becoming obvious that Sunni
jihadists from countries around the world were heading for Syria to
fight against al-Assad. These jihadists became the fighters that
formed the backbone of the militias that became ISIS, and other
salafist militias. There were no jihadists heading for Syria during
the Bush administration, and there were no jihadists heading for Syria
during Obama's first term, so neither Bush or Obama can be held
responsible for creating ISIS. However, it is possible to blame Obama
for the growth of ISIS, for not killing al-Assad in 2011-12 when he
had the chance, and for not leaving any troops behind in Iraq after
the December 2011 withdrawal.

Whatever happened in the past, Al-Naqib's remarks represent widely
held opinions in the Arab Sunni world, and they indicate that the
Muslim world is headed for a massive Sunni-Shia sectarian war.
Memri


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Pakistan, Karachi, Ismailis, Shias,
Lashkar-e Jhangvi, LeJ, Jundullah, Taliban, Saudi Arabia,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Iraq, Ramadi, Tikrit, Hashid Shaabi, popular mobilization units,
Operation Labaik ya Hussein, Operation Labaik ya Iraq,
Hussein ibn Ali, Husayn ibn Ali, Battle of Karbala,
Syria, Bashar al-Assad, Lebanon, Ahmad Al-Naqib, Rafidites,
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaedi in Iraq, AQI, Jordan

Permanent web link to this article
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Post#2303 at 05-28-2015 09:50 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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29-May-15 World View -- As Russia's economy worsens, withdrawal from Ukraine

*** 29-May-15 World View -- As Russia's economy worsens, withdrawal from Ukraine may be necessary

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • Russia using mobile crematoriums to continue pretense about Ukraine
  • Russia's economic crisis may force withdrawal from Ukraine
  • US-China military tensions get rapidly inflamed over South China Sea Sea


****
**** Russia using mobile crematoriums to continue pretense about Ukraine
****



A group of Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian authorities in August, 2014 (Reuters)

It's an irony. On the one hand, Russia's Vladimir Putin is supporting
the anti-government militias in East Ukraine with Russian weapons and
thousands of Russian troops in order to stoke nationalism in Russia
and burnish his popularity with the Russian people. But on the other
hand, he can't admit that there are Russian troops in Ukraine because
Russia's economy is so bad.

It's becoming increasingly difficult for Russian leaders to hide the
fact that Russian soldiers are dying in eastern Ukraine in large
numbers, but a number of sources are indicating that a way has been
found.

Russia is using mobile crematoriums -- crematoriums on wheels -- to
burn the bodies of Russian soldiers who die in east Ukraine.

According to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry:

<QUOTE>"The Russians are trying to hide their casualties by
taking mobile crematoriums with them. They are trying to hide not
only from the world but from the Russian people their
involvement."<END QUOTE>

The mounting evidence of dead Russian soldiers is causing a domestic
backlash for Putin. But burning the bodies of Russian soldiers killed
in battle, instead of treating them as dead heroes, is causing a
backlash in the army, and making it harder than ever to justify the
military action in Ukraine. Bloomberg and Business Insider

****
**** Russia's economic crisis may force withdrawal from Ukraine
****


The Russian government's original 2015 budget was based on the
assumption that the price of oil would be $100 per barrel, that
Russia's GDP would grow by 2%, and that inflation would not exceed 5%.
None of those assumptions has proven true. Oil has fallen to around
$50 per barrel, and Russia's GDP has contracted 4% instead of growing.
The inflation rate has exceed 15%.

Even worse, Russia's military spending is far higher than expected.
It was budgeted at an already very high level of 4.5% of GDP, but
during the first three months of this year it exceeded 9% of GDP --
twice more than planned. Most European countries are not spending
more than 2% of GDP on defense; the US spends 3.5%, and only nine
countries in the entire world are now spending more than 4%.

Russia's high rate of military spending is forcing it to dip into its
reserve fund. If that level of funding continues, Russia's reserve
fund will be exhausted before the end of the year.

The strategic aims of Russia's war against Ukraine are extremely
unclear, and it's increasingly difficult to justify the Russian
military intervention. Even the annexation of Crimea has turning into
an economic calamity.

Russia is soon going to have to make some difficult decisions, and
only bad options are available. Window on Eurasia and Jamestown

****
**** US-China military tensions get rapidly inflamed over South China Sea
****


Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said on Wednesday:

<QUOTE>"There should be no mistake about this: The United
States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law
allows, as we do all around the world. ...

We want a peaceful resolution of all disputes, and an immediate
and lasting halt to land reclamation by any claimant. We also
oppose any further militarization of disputed
features."<END QUOTE>

However, China is openly doing all of those things, and is building a
series of military bases in the South China Sea in international
waters and in waters that have historically belonged to Vietnam and
the Philippines.

As we reported earlier this week, China says war with US in South China Sea is inevitable.
Since
then, China has issued an extremely aggressive Military Strategy
document indicating the intention "to seize the strategic initiative
in military struggle, proactively plan for military struggle in all
directions and domains, and grasp the opportunities to accelerate
military building, reform and development."

Chinese media responded to Ashton Carter's remarks with:

<QUOTE>"The dangerous provocation of the US, driven by their
illusion of the worst-case scenario, is unwise and reckless. It is
pressing Beijing to act in compliance with Washington's
desire. However, China won't dance to the rhythm of the
US."<END QUOTE>

All of these are signs that nationalism is increasing significantly on
both sides, and that a major military confrontation is building. And
in this generational Crisis era, such a military confrontation will
lead to full-scale war. I've been writing for ten years that China is
planning preemptive war on the United States, and it's hard to escape
the feeling that the time is getting close. Washington Times and Global Times (Beijing) and Full Text: China's Military Strategy


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine,
Mac Thornberry, China, Ashton Carter, South China Sea,
Vietnam, Philippines

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Post#2304 at 05-29-2015 12:08 AM by XYMOX_4AD_84 [at joined Nov 2012 #posts 3,073]
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post
*** 29-May-15 World View -- As Russia's economy worsens, withdrawal from Ukraine may be necessary

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • Russia using mobile crematoriums to continue pretense about Ukraine
  • Russia's economic crisis may force withdrawal from Ukraine
  • US-China military tensions get rapidly inflamed over South China Sea Sea


****
**** Russia using mobile crematoriums to continue pretense about Ukraine
****



A group of Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian authorities in August, 2014 (Reuters)

It's an irony. On the one hand, Russia's Vladimir Putin is supporting
the anti-government militias in East Ukraine with Russian weapons and
thousands of Russian troops in order to stoke nationalism in Russia
and burnish his popularity with the Russian people. But on the other
hand, he can't admit that there are Russian troops in Ukraine because
Russia's economy is so bad.

It's becoming increasingly difficult for Russian leaders to hide the
fact that Russian soldiers are dying in eastern Ukraine in large
numbers, but a number of sources are indicating that a way has been
found.

Russia is using mobile crematoriums -- crematoriums on wheels -- to
burn the bodies of Russian soldiers who die in east Ukraine.

According to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry:
<QUOTE>"The Russians are trying to hide their casualties by
taking mobile crematoriums with them. They are trying to hide not
only from the world but from the Russian people their
involvement."<END QUOTE>

The mounting evidence of dead Russian soldiers is causing a domestic
backlash for Putin. But burning the bodies of Russian soldiers killed
in battle, instead of treating them as dead heroes, is causing a
backlash in the army, and making it harder than ever to justify the
military action in Ukraine. Bloomberg and Business Insider

****
**** Russia's economic crisis may force withdrawal from Ukraine
****


The Russian government's original 2015 budget was based on the
assumption that the price of oil would be $100 per barrel, that
Russia's GDP would grow by 2%, and that inflation would not exceed 5%.
None of those assumptions has proven true. Oil has fallen to around
$50 per barrel, and Russia's GDP has contracted 4% instead of growing.
The inflation rate has exceed 15%.

Even worse, Russia's military spending is far higher than expected.
It was budgeted at an already very high level of 4.5% of GDP, but
during the first three months of this year it exceeded 9% of GDP --
twice more than planned. Most European countries are not spending
more than 2% of GDP on defense; the US spends 3.5%, and only nine
countries in the entire world are now spending more than 4%.

Russia's high rate of military spending is forcing it to dip into its
reserve fund. If that level of funding continues, Russia's reserve
fund will be exhausted before the end of the year.

The strategic aims of Russia's war against Ukraine are extremely
unclear, and it's increasingly difficult to justify the Russian
military intervention. Even the annexation of Crimea has turning into
an economic calamity.

Russia is soon going to have to make some difficult decisions, and
only bad options are available. Window on Eurasia and Jamestown

****
**** US-China military tensions get rapidly inflamed over South China Sea
****


Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said on Wednesday:
<QUOTE>"There should be no mistake about this: The United
States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law
allows, as we do all around the world. ...

We want a peaceful resolution of all disputes, and an immediate
and lasting halt to land reclamation by any claimant. We also
oppose any further militarization of disputed
features."<END QUOTE>

However, China is openly doing all of those things, and is building a
series of military bases in the South China Sea in international
waters and in waters that have historically belonged to Vietnam and
the Philippines.

As we reported earlier this week, China says war with US in South China Sea is inevitable.
Since
then, China has issued an extremely aggressive Military Strategy
document indicating the intention "to seize the strategic initiative
in military struggle, proactively plan for military struggle in all
directions and domains, and grasp the opportunities to accelerate
military building, reform and development."

Chinese media responded to Ashton Carter's remarks with:
<QUOTE>"The dangerous provocation of the US, driven by their
illusion of the worst-case scenario, is unwise and reckless. It is
pressing Beijing to act in compliance with Washington's
desire. However, China won't dance to the rhythm of the
US."<END QUOTE>

All of these are signs that nationalism is increasing significantly on
both sides, and that a major military confrontation is building. And
in this generational Crisis era, such a military confrontation will
lead to full-scale war. I've been writing for ten years that China is
planning preemptive war on the United States, and it's hard to escape
the feeling that the time is getting close. Washington Times and Global Times (Beijing) and Full Text: China's Military Strategy


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine,
Mac Thornberry, China, Ashton Carter, South China Sea,
Vietnam, Philippines

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Regarding our successful use of oil commodity price arbitrage to undermine the Kremlin, I say, "Go frackin' North Dakota!" - yeah!

Regarding the conflict with the PRC, actually, while the PRC gets more nationalistic, we stand ground for internationalism. Freedom of navigation is a core (good) internationalist notion.







Post#2305 at 05-29-2015 01:18 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis;525333...[B
Russia using mobile crematoriums to continue pretense about Ukraine
****[/B]


A group of Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian authorities in August, 2014 (Reuters)...
-Uh, OK. Exactly how many are the Russkis supposedly losing in Ukraine?







Post#2306 at 05-29-2015 05:04 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
> Uh, OK. Exactly how many are the Russkis supposedly losing in
> Ukraine?
According to the referenced Bloomberg article:

> The U.S. and NATO have long maintained that thousands of Russian
> troops are fighting alongside separatists inside eastern Ukraine,
> and that the Russian government is obscuring not only the presence
> but also the deaths of its soldiers there. In March, NATO Deputy
> Secretary General Alexander Vershbow told a conference, "Russian
> leaders are less and less able to conceal the fact that Russian
> soldiers are fighting -- and dying -- in large numbers in eastern
> Ukraine."







Post#2307 at 05-29-2015 11:08 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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30-May-15 World View -- ISIS bombers strike Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia and Baghdad

*** 30-May-15 World View -- ISIS suicide bombers strike Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia and Baghdad

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • ISIS suicide bombers strike Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia and Baghdad
  • ISIS continues to gain supporters throughout the Mideast


****
**** ISIS suicide bombers strike Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia and Baghdad
****



Two Shia Saudi boys stand at the graves of 21 people killed in the May 22 attack on a Shia mosque (EPA)

The Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh) is claiming
responsibility for a suicide bombing during Friday prayers in the Shia
Al Anoud mosque in Dammam, in eastern Saudi Arabia. A male was
disguised in women's clothing to evade detection by heavy security
surrounding the mosque. He was stopped by security just as he entered
the mosque and detonated the device. Three people were killed.

This follows by one week the bombing of another Shia mosque
in eastern Saudi Arabia. ISIS claimed
responsibility, and said it would not rest until all Shias were driven
from the Arabian Peninsula.

Saudi officials condemned the terrorist bombing, and said it was an
attempt to destabilize the security and unity of the Kingdom and local
social cohesion:

<QUOTE>"Terrorists seek to destabilize the Arab and Islamic
nations’ security. Terrorism will never succeed in dividing the
Saudi nation or destabilize national security."<END QUOTE>

However, it appears that ISIS is doing exactly that, throughout the
Mideast and Asia.

Also on Friday, ISIS claimed responsibility car bombings outside two
heavily guarded hotels in central Baghdad, killing ten people. The
bombings are considered reprisals against the Shia Baghdad government
for sending Shia militias to attempt to recapture Ramadi from ISIS.
ISIS seized Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, two weeks ago when
the Iraqi army fled.

And it was just three weeks ago when when terrorists in Karachi attacked a bus full of Shias,
killing
45, and left behind leaflets accusing Shias of "barbaric atrocities,"
and warning of the "Advent of the Islamic State!" Arab News and
AFP and Reuters

****
**** ISIS continues to gain supporters throughout the Mideast
****


A recent poll conducted by Al Jazeera Arabic asked the question, "Do
you support the organizing victories of the Islamic State in Iraq and
Syria (ISIS)?" An overwhelming 81% of those responding voted "Yes".

Al Jazeera Arabic has an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim audience, mostly
in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and the respondents were self-selected.
But the size of the positive response shows that there's a
sufficiently large population of ISIS supporters in the Mideast to
feed its growth.

Furthermore, stories continue of young male jihadists from Asia,
Africa, Europe and Russia traveling to Syria to join ISIS, and young
females traveling there as well to marry them. They're attracted by
the fact that ISIS appears to be winning in Iraq and Syria, and even
defeating large enemies, including Iran, Hezbollah and the United
States. In addition, reports indicate that ISIS is using its vast oil
wealth to pay its fighters well.

For decades, activist rhetoric around the Mideast has been targeted
against Israel. But we're increasingly seeing that the conflict with
Israel is becoming less important than the conflict with Iran and with
Shias in general.

According to Egyptian cleric, Khaled Al-Kholif, the fight against
Shias is more important than the war against "the Jews and Crusaders":

<QUOTE>"Our problem with the Jews and Christians in this
world is ongoing. You get rid of the Christians, and along come
the Jews, and so on.

Our war with [the Shias] is a war of religion and of
existence. This is not a war over Arab identity, over some
regional issue, over petroleum, or over border crossings. It is
much more serious than that. It is a war over religion and its
basic principles. It is a war between us and them over religious
creed. ...

Is it justified to be worried about modern Shiite ideology? The
answer is: Yes. It is justified a thousand times over. Anyone who
does not know and feel this should remember history. We don't want
another [Shiite conqueror] like the Fatimid Al-Muizz li-Din
Allah."<END QUOTE>

Al-Kholif is invoking the name of the Fatimid caliph Al-Muizz li-Din
Allah. Al-Muizz is considered to be the founder of Cairo, but to
Egyptians he was the Shia conqueror of Cairo in 969, putting Egypt
under Shia Fatimid control for a century. The fact that this battle
is being mentioned today shows how deeply and bitterly the Egyptian
people still remember that event of over a millennium ago. Al-Kholif
continued:

<QUOTE>If those [Shiites] gain power and become firmly
established, the Jews and the Crusaders will become the
decision-makers in our own countries. We will become foreigners in
our own countries. The nation must confront these [Shiites] by all
possible means. ...

Our war with the Jews is a simple one, but our war with these
[Shiites] is very serious, and we must commence it."<END QUOTE>

Why would a victory of Shias mean that Jews and Crusaders would become
the decision makers? The explanation is that Al-Muizz got along very
well with Jews and Christians, because most of the citizens were Sunni
Muslims who hated Shias. As a result, Christian and Jewish
intellectuals were often appointed as officials and ministers, and
they became the decision makers in the land of the Sunni Muslims in
Egypt.

So Al-Kholif's argument is really quite remarkable. Fighting Jews and
Christians is just a war over "over petroleum, or over border
crossings," and losing is not very consequential. But losing a war to
Shias is far more serious, because the Jews and Christians will become
the decision-makers, as happened in the time of Al-Muizz, and "We will
become foreigners in our own countries." Amazing!

You know, when one is trying to understand other cultures, one is
always astounded by little nuggets of information like this, where a
battle that took place over a millennium ago is being used to justify
a war today. People who are surprised by this should remember how
much American policy today is still being influenced by the events of
1776.

It also helps to remember that when we talk about something happening
in the Mideast, and blame it on something that Bush did or didn't do,
or on something that Obama said or didn't say -- it's far more likely
that anything that happened in America is far less important than the
events of centuries ago in the Mideast. Breitbart News and Memri and
Jewish Virtual Library


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Saudi Arabia, Al Anoud mosque, Dammam,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Iraq, Baghdad, Ramadi, Syria, Anbar province,
Egypt, Khaled Al-Kholif, Al-Muizz li-Din Allah, Shia Fatimids

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Post#2308 at 05-30-2015 10:34 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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31-May-15 World View -- EU rescues 4300 migrants in one day as country quotas are ena

*** 31-May-15 World View -- EU rescues 4300 migrants in one day as country quotas are enacted

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • US-China tensions in South China Sea take another step upward
  • EU rescues 4300 migrants in one day as country quotas are enacted


****
**** US-China tensions in South China Sea take another step upward
****



Sun Jianguo from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy chats with US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in Singapore on Saturday (AFP)

Secretary of State Ashton Carter gave a speech on Saturday morning in
Singapore at a regional security conference. Once again, he implied
that the US will militarily challenge China's plans in the South China
sea:

<QUOTE>"So let me make clear the position of the United
States:

First, we want a peaceful resolution of all disputes. To that
end, there should be an immediate and lasting halt to land
reclamation by all claimants. We also oppose any further
militarization of disputed features. We all know there is no
military solution to the South China Sea disputes. Right now, at
this critical juncture, is the time for renewed diplomacy, focused
on a finding a lasting solution that protects the rights and the
interests of all. As it is central to the regional security
architecture, ASEAN must be a part of this effort: the United
States encourages ASEAN and China to conclude a Code of Conduct
this year. And America will support the right of claimants to
pursue international legal arbitration and other peaceful means to
resolve these disputes, just as we will oppose coercive tactics.

Second, the United States will continue to protect freedom of
navigation and overflight – principles that have ensured security
and prosperity in this region for decades. There should be no
mistake: the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever
international law allows, as U.S. forces do all over the world.
America, alongside its allies and partners in the regional
architecture, will not be deterred from exercising these rights –
the rights of all nations. After all, turning an underwater rock
into an airfield simply does not afford the rights of sovereignty
or permit restrictions on international air or maritime transit.

Finally, with its actions in the South China Sea, China is out of
step with both the international rules and norms that underscore
the Asia-Pacific’s security architecture, and the regional
consensus that favors diplomacy and opposes coercion. These
actions are spurring nations to respond together in new
ways."<END QUOTE>

Here is a summary of the main points that will infuriate the
Chinese:

  • A demand to end land reclamation projects. China will
    certainly not comply.
  • America opposes the coercive tactics [of the Chinese].
  • "There should be no mistake: the United States will fly, sail, and
    operate wherever international law allows, as U.S. forces do all over
    the world." Other reports suggest that Carter has ordered even more
    aggressive surveillance around China's man-made islands.
  • "Turning an underwater rock into an airfield simply does not
    afford the rights of sovereignty or permit restrictions on
    international air or maritime transit."


There have been unconfirmed reports that the Chinese have installed
mobile artillery weapons on one of China's man-made islands. A
Vietnam official said, "If it has actually happened it is a very bad
sign for what is already a very complicated situation in the South
China Sea."

In response to Carter's speech, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Senior
Colonel Zhao Xiaozhuo said:

<QUOTE>"Over the past decades, the region has been peaceful
and stable, just because of China's great restraint. So I think
China's activities are ... legitimate, reasonable and
justified."<END QUOTE>

I've been puzzling over what this statement means. Zhao appears to be
saying that the South China Sea has been China's sovereign territory
for the past decades, but China has been kind enough to let other
nations use it, and the only reason that there hasn't been a war so
far is "because of China's great restraint." Is he saying that
this restraint is coming to an end?

In response my article last week, "26-May-15 World View -- China says war with US in South China Sea is inevitable"
, one web site reader commented: "In 2008,
well connected people I know in China said Xi Jinping 'would not mind
going to war with America.' To-date actions have played out as
explained to me." I've read hundreds of articles about China's
president Xi Jinping over the last couple of years, and everything
I've read is consistent with this comment.

When Xi took office in 2013, he gave a number of speeches about
"China's Dream," in which he called for China to shed its past as a
secondary player, and become the world's top military and economic
power. He visited Chinese military bases and told the troops to be
ready for war at any time. He vowed that China will take every step
necessary to gain control of the East China Sea and South China Sea
regions, including areas that have been owned by other countries for
centuries.

China has had a major policy change in the last few months. They used
to deny that the land reclamation had any military purpose, but now
they're openly acknowledging that the islands are for military
purposes.

China is in a massive state of denial, believing that they will win a
war quickly, because the US will quickly back down. One possible
first step is likely to be to shoot down an unmanned drone, or even a
manned surveillance plane, saying that it's an unauthorized entry into
China's sovereign territory. They believe that Obama is so weak that
he won't retaliate, and they're completely wrong about that.

It's hard for me to see how the status quo is going to continue
much longer. In the worst case scenario, which is the one I expect
and the one that Generational Dynamics predicts, the war will go on
for several years and engulf the entire world. Dept. of Defense and Xinhua and Defense News and Reuters

****
**** EU rescues 4300 migrants in one day as country quotas are enacted
****


European Union vessels rescued 4300 migrants from waters off the coast
of Libya on Friday and Saturday, packed into 9 boats and 13 large
rubber dinghies. Seventeen dead bodies were found, people who had
died from exhaustion, thirst or exposure.

More than 40,000 migrants and asylum seekers have reached Italy so far
this year. An estimated 1,800, including women and children, lost
their lives during the journey. Last year, Italy rescued some 170,000
migrants at sea.

The huge surge in arrivals follow a pattern. There were several
days with no rescues, because stormy weather prevented boats from
leaving Libya. But calm seas on Friday brought a flood of
smuggler launches.

The EU government in Brussels enacted a controversial quota system
this week. EU countries will accept around 60,000 refugees, and each
country will be required to take in a number of refugees, based on a
calculation that looked at each country's size, GDP and unemployment
rate. France has a quota of 7,000. Germany has a quota of 8,700.
Sweden has a quota of 1,300. A financial incentive of 6,000 euros for
each migrant has been offered to member states.

Britain has a constitutional right to opt out of the quota system, and
has already it will do so. Ireland and Denmark are also expected not
to take part. Irish Independent and Al Jazeera and The Local (France)


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Sun Jianguo, China, Ashton Carter,
South China Sea, People's Liberation Army, PLA, Zhao Xiaozhuo,
Xi Jinping, European Union, Libya, France, Germany,
Sweden, Britain, Ireland, Denmark

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Post#2309 at 05-31-2015 10:29 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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1-Jun-15 World View -- Report: Russia may end support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad

*** 1-Jun-15 World View -- Report: Russia may end support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • Report: Russia may end support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad
  • Russia searches for a plan for a post-Assad Syria
  • Greece faces new financial crisis with no solution in sight


****
**** Report: Russia may end support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad
****



Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin (Reuters)

According to a report in Asharq Al-Awsat, there are signs of a
dramatic U-turn in Russia's policy toward the regime of Bashar
al-Assad in Syria, including consideration of a future without
al-Assad, according to unnamed Russian officials. This admission
would be the first of its kind from Russian officials.

Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Russia's support has been
essential to the survival of al-Assad. Al-Assad, a member of the
Alawite/Shia religious group, began using heavy weapons on peaceful
Sunni Muslim demonstrators. He's flattened entire Sunni villages with
Russia's heavy weapons, he's killed children by sending missiles into
exam rooms and bedrooms, he's killed dozens with sarin gas, and he
continues to kill countless more with barrel bombs loaded with
explosives, metals, and chlorine gas dropped from helicopters.

Al-Assad's genocidal sectarian attack on Sunnis caused the formation
of Iraqi rebel groups, such as the Free Syrian Army (FSA). But it
also triggered a worldwide tsunami of young men from around the world
traveling to Syria to fight against al-Assad, joining the al-Qaeda
linked Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Nusra Front), and causing the creation of
the Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh).

Al-Assad predicted a quick victory in 2012, and that might have
happened if his only enemy had been the FSA. But he began to suffer
defeats at the hands of al-Nusra and ISIS, and his regime could only
continue with the help of a massive supply of heavy weapons from
Russia, fighters from Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC),
and fighters from the Lebanon-based Iran-back terror group Hezbollah.

But even with all that help from three different countries, al-Assad's
army has suffered one setback after another. In just the last couple
of weeks, the army lost the big Palmyra air base to ISIS, including
its large stocks of ammo and military equipment, and Syrian military
and air units have begun pulling out of the big air base at Deir
ez-Zour. Because of falling morale, enormous casualty rates, and
significant increases in draft-dodging, desertions and defections, the
army of al-Assad is showing signs of collapse.

The stunning ISIS victories in Iraq are certainly being watched
carefully by those remaining in Syria's army. In particular, every
time Iraqi soldiers drop their weapons and flee from oncoming ISIS
fighters, Syrian soldiers may be thinking of doing the same.
Desertion by a few divisions or brigades, following the example of the
Iraqis, could be all it takes for al-Assad's army to collapse
completely. Asharq Al-Awsat (Riyadh) and Jerusalem Post and Debka

****
**** Russia searches for a plan for a post-Assad Syria
****


The Asharq Al-Awsat report suggests that Russia is thinking about a
post-Assad Syria, but few believe that Russia will end its support of
al-Assad as long as he has a chance to survive.

The main problem is that the collapse of al-Assad's regime would
probably mean a complete victory for ISIS, which would have control of
Damascus, as well as large portions of Syria and Iraq.

There have been thousands of young jihadists around the world who came
to Syria to fight the al-Assad regime. Once ISIS had defeated
al-Assad, many of those jihadists would wish to return to their home
countries. This will subject almost every nation in the world to
potential terror attacks. For Russia, it would mean that the armies
of Chechen soldiers fighting in Syria would return to Chechnya and
join the Chechen separatist movement. Russia's president Vladimir
Putin would get what deserved for having supported al-Assad, but
unfortunately, every other country would suffer as well.

The problem is that no one has a serious post-Assad plan. Iran and
Hezbollah have increased deployments in Syria, but not enough to
replace the lost soldiers in al-Assad's shrinking army. As a result,
Iran and Hezbollah have begun paid recruitment efforts among Shias in
Pakistan and Hazaras in Afghanistan. Jerusalem Post and The National (UAE) and Debka and Foreign Policy

****
**** Greece faces new financial crisis with no solution in sight
****


It seems that Greece is always just a few days away from total
bankruptcy, but then always manages to come up with the funds to get
through the next deadline. Greece is due to repay 300 million euros
to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by Friday of this week, and
it's not known where it will get the funds, nor how it will the funds
to pay three more installments in June, with all four totaling 1.6
billion euros.

The Europeans and the IMF are demanding that Greece reduce pension
payouts and its bloated public sector, something that prime minister
Alexis Tsipras and his far-left Syriza party have refused to do.
According to a news article written by Tsipras on Sunday:

<QUOTE>"If we have not reached an agreement with our
partners, it’s not because of our intransigence or
incomprehensible positions from the Greek side. It is rather
because of the obsession of some institutional representatives who
insist on unreasonable solutions and are being indifferent to the
democratic result of recent Greek elections.

Currently, 44.5 percent of pensioners receive a pension under the
fixed threshold of relative poverty while approximately 23.1
percent of pensioners ... live in danger of poverty and social
exclusion. These numbers ... cannot be tolerated – not simply in
Greece but in any civilized country."<END QUOTE>

On Sunday, Tsipras held a "constructive" phone call with German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's president François Hollande, but
there was no sign of a deal. Irish Times and Kathimerini


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Syria, Bashar al-Assad,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Nusra Front, Palmyra air base, Deir ez-Zour air base,
Chechnya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Hazaras,
Greece, Alexis Tsipras, Syriza, International Monetary Fund, IMF,
Germany, Angela Merkel, France, François Hollande

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Post#2310 at 06-01-2015 02:49 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post
According to the referenced Bloomberg article:
That's the problem with the Bloomberg article. How many corpses in a "large number"? It's not very helpful.
The reason I ask is that it would take dozens of corpses a day to make a crematorium (a mobile crematorium, for Christ's sake) forth the while. TTBOMK, the fighting is not that intense. Color me skeptical. Not that I'd have a problem with it if it were true...







Post#2311 at 06-01-2015 06:02 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
> That's the problem with the Bloomberg article. How many corpses in
> a "large number"? It's not very helpful. The reason I ask is that
> it would take dozens of corpses a day to make a crematorium (a
> mobile crematorium, for Christ's sake) forth the while. TTBOMK,
> the fighting is not that intense. Color me skeptical. Not that I'd
> have a problem with it if it were true...
http://www.businessinsider.com/russi...ukraine-2015-5

> The mobile crematoriums — which burn about eight to 10 bodies a
> day, according to Ukraine security service chief Valentyn
> Nalyvaichenko — reveal how far Russia is willing to go to hide its
> military presence in the war.

> "Every day, the hotline of the Security Service of Ukraine records
> a great of number of calls from dozens of Russian citizens who are
> looking for their relatives or Russian soldiers who have been sent
> to the territory of Ukraine," Nalyvaichenko said in
> January.







Post#2312 at 06-01-2015 10:55 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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2-Jun-15 World View -- Hamas and ISIS turn on each other in the Gaza Strip

*** 2-Jun-15 World View -- Hamas and ISIS turn on each other in the Gaza Strip

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • Hamas and ISIS-linked group clash in the Gaza Strip
  • ISIS and Hamas turn on each other after Yarmouk invasion


****
**** Hamas and ISIS-linked group clash in the Gaza Strip
****



ISIS terrorist (Reuters)

A Gaza Strip group claiming to be linked to the Islamic State (IS or
ISIS or ISIL or Daesh) has given Hamas, the governing authority of the
Gaza Strip, a 48-hour deadline to stop cracking down on the members of
the group.

The group calls itself the "Islamic State supporters in Bayt al-Maqdis
(Jerusalem)" (ISIS in Gaza), and is linked to Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis
(Supporters of Jerusalem), a group in Egypt's Sinai that has committed
numerous terrorist bombings that we've reported on several times.

The ISIS in Gaza group has been conducting terror attacks against
Hamas targets for the last couple of months, and Hamas has been
cracking down on the group by arresting dozens of its members.

On Monday, the ISIS in Gaza group sent a statement to the media giving
Hamas 48 hours to end the crackdown. The statement did not say what
the group would do if the crackdown continued.

The statement included a claim taking responsibility for a rocket
fired at Israel from Gaza last week. That claim could not be
verified, but the rocket firing did occur on Tuesday, and early on
Wednesday the Israeli Air Force attacked four targets in the Gaza
Strip in response.

However, following the rocket firing, Hamas security forces arrested a
number of militants from the al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of
Islamic Jihad. At the same time, Egyptian officials on Wednesday
demanded that "Israel hold its aggression," and practice restraint
toward the Gaza strip. Jerusalem Post (27-May) and AP and Times of Israel

****
**** ISIS and Hamas turn on each other after Yarmouk invasion
****


ISIS in Gaza has apparently been operating since last Gaza's summer
war with Israel, but its existence has been denied or played down by
Hamas. On November 3 of last year, the group pledged allegiance to
ISIS. In response to questions about whether the group would be
targeting Hamas, a spokesman said:

<QUOTE>"Hamas should not have any concerns regarding the
announcement of [ISIS in] Sinai. Despite their differences, ISIS
does not target Hamas, since the group is confronting the Egyptian
army. [ISIS in Sinai] would protect Gaza from any possible attacks
by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi."<END QUOTE>

That attitude began to change dramatically in April, when ISIS invaded
the Palestinian refugee camp at Yarmouk in Syria in April. ( "10-Apr-15 World View -- Syria's Yarmouk refugee camp descends into the 'deepest circle of Hell'"
)

The invasion caused the latest flip-flop in Hamas's relationship with
Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Hamas and al-Assad used to be close allies,
and Hamas's headquarters were actually located in Damascus, Syria's
capital city. But then in 2011 al-Assad started massacring and
butchering innocent Sunni Arab women and children in Syria, and this
forced Hamas to turn against al-Assad, and move its headquarters to
Doha Qatar.

But the invasion of the Yarmouk camp has thoroughly roiled the
situation again. ISIS is inflicting its usual gruesome massacres on
the Palestinians in Yarmouk, and the only defender of Yarmouk is
al-Assad. In particular, ISIS beheaded several Palestinians,
including a senior Hamas official in the camp.

So now Hamas is tentatively allying itself again with al-Assad, at
least for the purposes of defending the Yarmouk camp. In addition,
Hamas promised to exact revenge.

So that all happened in April. At the beginning of May, Hamas
retaliated against ISIS by demolishing a mosque used by the ISIS in
Gaza group and arrested dozens of its members, including several ISIS
preachers in Gaza.

In response, ISIS called Hamas "worse than the Jewish and American
occupiers." (As an aside, recall that I recently quoted an Egyptian
sheik who said that Shia Muslims are worse than Jews and Crusaders.
)

The clashes between ISIS in Gaza and Hamas are continuing to escalate,
and ISIS is continuing to trigger further conflicts throughout the
Mideast. Gulf News/Financial Times and International Business Times (16-July-2014) and Israel National News (7-May) and Al Monitor (20-Nov-2014)


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Gaza Strip, Hamas,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Islamic State supporters in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem),
Egypt, Sinai, Abdel al-Fattah al-Sisi, Syria, Bashar al-Assad,
Yarmouk refugee camp

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Post#2313 at 06-02-2015 10:25 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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3-Jun-15 World View -- Greece will NOT go bankrupt on Friday

*** 3-Jun-15 World View -- Greece will NOT go bankrupt on Friday

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • Greece's game of Chicken no closer to resolution
  • Greece's Alexis Tsipras faces a government mutiny from the far left


****
**** Greece's game of Chicken no closer to resolution
****



Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (center) speaks with Minister of Culture Aristides Baltas (L) in Athens (Kathimerini)

"Greece could face bankruptcy on Friday."

That's what we've been hearing almost every week for months, but now
we're being told that even though Greece has a 300 million euro
payment due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday, there
is no danger of a bankruptcy.

The reason is that the IMF has agreed to postpone the payment. Greece
owes four payments to the IMF this month (June), totaling 1.6 billion
euros. And the IMF has agreed to wait until the end of the month for
Greece to pay the entire amount. And so, Dear Reader, you'll be
relieved to know that Greece will not go bankrupt this week on Friday.

Nonetheless, the clock is clearly running out. Postponing this
Friday's payment simply has the effect of postponing the final
deadline, again. It looks like the end of the month is a hard
deadline, but we've heard that before.

As many people have noted, it looks like both sides are playing a game
of Chicken. This would be particularly appealing to Greece's colorful
finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who is an expert on game theory.
In the 1950s game of Chicken, two cars race towards each other at top
speed. The first one to veer off is the "chicken." If neither car
veers, then there's a collision, and both drivers are dead. (They
didn't have seat belts in those days.)

So as the clock runs out, both sides are maintaining their demands,
hoping that the other side will give in. According to the logic of
the game of Chicken, there's no hope of a compromise until the very
last moment, which means that the game will continue at least until
the end of June.

The institutions -- IMF, European Central Bank (ECB) and European
Commission (EC), formerly known as the "Troika," a word that's now
forbidden -- are demanding that Greece continue the austerity programs
that were in place until January, when Alexis Tsipras's far left
Syriza party won the elections on a platform of no more austerity.
The institutions are demanding that Greece institute reforms to
address various economic issues, including Greece's bloated public
sector, curbing tax evasion and corruption, privatizing public
businesses, and adjusting generous pension and minimum wage policies.

In January, Tsipras agreed to some minor reforms, but even those
have not been implemented.

On Sunday, Tsipras wrote an editorial that blamed the failure to reach
a compromise on " the obsession of some institutional representatives
who insist on unreasonable solutions."

This was not received well. It resulted in an emergency meeting in
Berlin on Monday evening. Attending were the leaders of Germany,
France, the ECB, the EC and the IMF. Greece was not invited.

The result was a new final proposal from the Troika. Tsipras has
defiantly countered by announcing that he has his own new 47-page
proposal. The contents of the two proposals have not been revealed,
but analysts seem to agree that they're likely to be very far apart
when they're revealed on Wednesday. So the game of Chicken will
continue.

There's an assumption behind the game of Chicken that does not
apply to the situation in Greece. In the 1950s game of Chicken,
if one or both cars veer off, the nothing has been lost, except
that someone may be humiliated.

But the game of Chicken has already cost a lot. Greece had a budget
surplus last year, and Tsipras has blown that away on new social
programs. Greece's government has confiscated the cash reserves of
all the public institutions, including municipalities, provinces,
universities and hospitals. That money also has been blown away.

So even if a compromise of some kind is reached this month, the game
of Chicken is going to result in a major wreck. Kathimerini and RTE (Ireland) and Value Walk

****
**** Greece's Alexis Tsipras faces a government mutiny from the far left
****


Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras is facing open rebellion in his
far left Syriza party, over the austerity demands of the Europeans.
The far-far-left politicians are calling themselves the "Left
Platform" faction of Syriza. They are demanding that Tsipras stop
humiliating himself and Greece, and that Greece leave the eurozone and
return to the drachma currency.

According to Syriza member Stathis Kouvelakis,

<QUOTE>"It has become now clear that the 'institutions' are
not striving for what some are calling an 'honorable
compromise'. ...

What the ruling circles of the EU, the ECB and the IMF are
ruthlessly and consistently aiming for in the last for months, is
to strangle the economy, to milk even the last euro from the
country’s reserves and to push an 'unprotected' government to full
submission and exemplary humiliation."<END QUOTE>

After that, the Left Platform is demanding all sorts of new spending
programs, nationalizing the banks, substantial taxation of top
earners, and full implementation of labor union rights.

Polls have shown that most Greeks want to find a compromise that lets
Greece stay in the eurozone, but among Syriza supporters, 58% want to
return to the drachma. Telegraph (London) and Guardian (London) and Red Flag

KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Greece, Game of Chicken, Alexis Tsipras,
European Central Bank, ECB, International Monetary Fund, IMF,
European Commission, EC, Troika, Yanis Varoufakis,
Syriza, Left Platform, Stathis Kouvelakis

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Post#2314 at 06-03-2015 10:41 AM by JREw [at joined Jul 2014 #posts 103]
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Will anybody explain this thread to me? Why does this chap keep reposting things from some website every day?







Post#2315 at 06-03-2015 10:37 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by JREw View Post
> Will anybody explain this thread to me? Why does this chap keep
> reposting things from some website every day?
If you've joined the Fourth Turning forum, then you must be interested
in generational theory. Strauss and Howe did the foundational work on
generational theory for the Anglo-American timeline, as was published
in their book, The Fourth Turning. But it's been many years since
they've done anything to develop generational theory any further.
Generational Dynamics is built on the Fourth Turning, and extends it
so that generational theory is now valid for all places and times and
history. As far as I know, there is no one else in the world who is
actively developing and advancing generational theory. So, to return
to the original point, if you've joined the Fourth Turning forum, then
you must be interested in generational theory, and so you should
continue reading the Generational Dynamics World View postings. If
you have any questions, let me know.







Post#2316 at 06-03-2015 10:37 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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4-Jun-15 World View -- FBI investigating awarding of 2018 and 2022 World Soccer Cups

*** 4-Jun-15 World View -- FBI investigating awarding of 2018 and 2022 World Soccer Cups

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • FBI investigating awarding of 2018 and 2022 World Soccer Cups
  • FIFA investigation brings the Russia and Qatar awards into question
  • Palestine drops demand to ban Israel from FIFA
  • Philippines president Aquino compares China to Nazis


****
**** FBI investigating awarding of 2018 and 2022 World Soccer Cups
****



Sepp Blatter

In a new announcement on Wednesday, the FBI said it is investigating
the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Football (Soccer) Cups to
Russia and Qatar, respectively. This follows the Justice Dept.'s
indictments last week of nine world soccer officials.

If you aren't a follower of world football (soccer), then you may not
be aware of the news story that's consumed international news outside
the United States, with 24-hour almost continuous coverage every day,
almost wiping out coverage of anything else, including Iraq, Yemen and
Ukraine.

On May 27, the United States Department of Justice indicted nine
officials from the Zurich, Switzerland, based Fédération
Internationale de Football Association (FIFA - International Football
Association) for racketeering, conspiracy and corruption.

According to the Obama administration's new Attorney General Loretta
Lynch:

<QUOTE>"The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant,
systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United
States. It spans at least two generations of soccer officials
who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire
millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. And it has
profoundly harmed a multitude of victims, from the youth leagues
and developing countries that should benefit from the revenue
generated by the commercial rights these organizations hold, to
the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the
game makes those rights valuable. Today’s action makes clear that
this Department of Justice intends to end any such corrupt
practices, to root out misconduct, and to bring wrongdoers to
justice – and we look forward to continuing to work with other
countries in this effort."<END QUOTE>

The indictment did not mention FIFA's controversial president Sepp
Blatter, but the indictment came just two days before FIFA was to hold
an election for the next FIFA president. Blatter had already been
president for 17 years, and was re-elected despite all the
indictments. However, when word leaked that he was also being
investigated by the US administration, he announced his resignation.

So why the heck is the U.S. Justice Department doing this? Why not
the European Union or the Swiss?

Well, FBI director James Comey has an answer to that question:

<QUOTE>"If you touch our shores with your corrupt enterprise,
whether that is through meetings or through using our world class
financial system, you will be held accountable for that
corruption."<END QUOTE>

Oh really? Comey is going to hold people responsible for corrupting
our "world class financial system"??? Long-time readers can easily
guess what I'm going to say next.

First we had original financial crisis, where thousands of bankers
corrupted our world class financial system by knowingly created tens
of trillions of dollars in faulty subprime mortgage backed synthetic
securities, and knowingly defrauded thousands of investors with them.
This triggered the financial crisis and caused millions of people to
lose their homes and go bankrupt. But these bankers gave millions of
dollars in contributions to the Obama administration, and so the Obama
administration has adamantly refused to prosecute even a single one of
these criminals.

Because the Obama administration made it clear that no banker
criminals would be prosecuted, the same bankers stayed at the same
jobs and found a new form of fraud -- the Libor scandal. Bankers
corrupted our world class financial system by colluding with one
another to fix interest rates. According to one banker, "It's just
amazing how Libor fixing can make you that much money." Those actions
cost clients hundreds of millions of dollars.

However, bankers have given millions of dollars in contributions to
the Obama administration, so even though the bankers doing this
criminal activity were easily identified, the Obama administration
refused to prosecute them. In fact, Timothy F. Geithner, Obama's
Treasury Secretary, knew about Libor fraud as early as 2008, but
refused to do anything about it.

So bankers knew that they could continue committing fraud with
impunity and make billions of dollars, as long as they gave a
percentage of that money to the Obama administration.

That brings us to Forex (foreign exchange) fraud,
where bankers colluded with one another to defraud
their customers making currency conversions from one currency to
another. Libor fraud cost clients hundreds of millions of dollars,
while Forex fraud cost trillions of dollars.

The interesting thing about the Forex investigation is that the
bankers continued committing fraud even after it became public that
Forex fraud was being investigated. Why did they do that? Why not?
They wanted to make as much money as they could, knowing that they
would never be prosecuting. They had a free ticket to commit fraud
and keep the money. As one banker was quoted as saying, "If you ain't
cheating, you ain't trying."

Two weeks ago, the Justice Dept. fined four banks a total of $6
billion for committing Forex fraud. Just to give you an idea of how
much that is, one of the banks, JP Morgan, made $4 billion in the
first quarter of this year in just one unit, the commodities unit. So
the $6 billion was a tiny fraction of the money that the banks made
fraudulently. And NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON was charged for Forex fraud,
even though the Justice Dept. knows exactly who the criminals are.

So now the Justice Dept. puts on this big dog and pony show over
bringing criminal charges against some foreign officials in the world
soccer organization, because they may have corrupted our world class
financial system.

As I've written many times, this kind of criminality in the
administration was unthinkable before the 2000s and the rise of
Generation-X. Not only do a sizeable minority of Gen-Xers feel that
it's OK to defraud anyone they want, it seems that a majority of
Gen-Xers refused to prosecute crimes.

As I'm typing this, there's a TV report that street crime and street
homicide is at an all-time high in Baltimore, Chicago, and other
cities. At the same time, financial "experts" on Wall Street lie
about stock valuations frequently, as I've documented many times, and
no one cares.

And you can be sure that the same bankers who created the phony
synthetic subprime backed securities, and who perpetrated the Libor
and Forex frauds, are still working at the banks, looking for other
ways to defraud people.

The Obama administration is directly responsible for millions of
Americans losing their homes or going bankrupt through its failure to
prosecute crime. But fear not. The next time you watch an
international soccer game, assuming you can afford a TV, you can feel
confident that the Justice Department is protecting you. U.S. Justice Dept. and Fox Sports and Reuters and Guardian (London)

****
**** FIFA investigation brings the Russia and Qatar awards into question
****


Here are some political notes related to the FIFA investigation:

  • The 2018 World Football (Soccer) Cup was awarded to Russia,
    and the investigation has raised suspicions that Russia won because of
    bribes. The same is true of the 2022 Cup awarded to Qatar. The
    United States wanted to win one of these two competitions, and so some
    are raising suspicions that the Obama administration investigated FIFA
    out of revenge.
  • There are demands that the competitions of both the 2018 and 2022
    awards be reopened, in view of the possibility of bribes.
  • Because of the extreme heat in Qatar, the tournament could not be
    held in the usual June/July timeframe, but instead has been moved to
    December. This is completely messing up everyone's schedules, as it
    conflicts with other sports events and other television programming.
    This has increased demands to reopen the competitions for the 2022
    award.
  • Sepp Blatter is generally disliked by Americans and Europeans, but
    is much loved by Asians and Africans, because he gave them special
    treatment and awards. It was the Asians and Africans who were
    responsible to Blatter's reelection last week, before he
    resigned.
  • You can be certain that the selection of the next FIFA president
    to replace Blatter will become extremely political, and will probably
    result in furthering bitter relations between Russia and the
    West.


Guardian (London) and Slate

****
**** Palestine drops demand to ban Israel from FIFA
****


Before the US Justice Dept. made the surprise announcements of the
indictments against FIFA officials, the big news was that the
Palestinian Football Association was going to introduce a motion to
expel Israel from FIFA, accusing it of unjustly restricting
Palestinian soccer players’ freedom of movement and claiming that
Israel’s West Bank settlement teams violate FIFA rules.

However, because of the indictments, the Palestinians were
forced to drop their plan.

The Palestinians are expected to try similar actions at the Olympics
and other international arenas. Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Washington Post

****
**** Philippines president Aquino compares China to Nazis
****


Speaking at a business meeting in Tokyo, Philippines President Benigno
Aquino III suggested that the world cannot continue to appease China
as it annexes other countries' territories in the South China Sea:

<QUOTE>"If there was a vacuum, if the United States, which is
the superpower, says 'We are not interested,' perhaps there is no
brake to ambitions of other countries.

I'm an amateur student of history and I'm reminded of ... how
Germany was testing the waters and what the response was by
various other European powers.

They tested the waters and they were ready to back down if for
instance in that aspect, France said (to back down).

But unfortunately, up to the annexation of the Sudetenland,
Czechoslovakia, the annexation of the entire country of
Czechoslovakia, nobody said stop.

If somebody said stop to (Adolf) Hitler at that point in time, or
to Germany at that time, would we have avoided World War II?

So, I say again, America's rebalancing sends a definite signal
that we are all supposed to be living under norms that we agreed
upon."<END QUOTE>

China's Foreign Ministry pretended to be shocked at the "outrageous
and unreasonable" comments by Aquino:

<QUOTE>"I once more seriously warn certain people in the
Philippines to cast aside their illusions and repent, stop
provocations and instigations, and return to the correct path of
using bilateral channels to talk and resolve this
dispute."<END QUOTE>

Reuters and AFP/Rappler

KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Sepp Blatter, FBI, Loretta Lynch, Justice Dept.,
FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association,
James Comey, subprime-backed synthetic securities, Libor, Forex,
Russia, Qatar, Palestine, Palestinian Football Association, Israel,
Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, China, Nazis,
France, Czechoslovakia, Adolf Hitler

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Post#2317 at 06-04-2015 10:36 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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5-Jun-15 World View -- With Syria's army nearing collapse, Iran plans to deploy troop

*** 5-Jun-15 World View -- With Syria's army nearing collapse, Iran plans massive troop deployment

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • With Syria's army nearing collapse, Iran plans massive troop deployment
  • Iran and Syria may invoke 2006 mutual defense agreement
  • Greece and Europeans fail once again to reach an agreement


****
**** With Syria's army nearing collapse, Iran plans massive troop deployment
****



Idlib (Reuters)

As we've been reporting since April,
the army of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad has been
increasingly showing signs of collapse, losing one major city after
another either to the Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh) or
to the al-Qaeda linked Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Nusra Front). The collapse
has become so serious that even Russia is considering ending support
for al-Assad, as we reported a few days ago.

Al-Assad has been mostly relying on fighters from Hezbollah, but even
Hezbollah has been suffering substantial losses, between 700 and 2000
fighters, according to reports. Hezbollah claims that its purpose is
to be the army of "resistance" against Israel, but the disastrous
situation in Syria has forced Hezbollah to transfer hundreds of
fighters from the border with Israel into the fight in Syria.

But now in a major escalation in the (proxy) war in Syria, Iran is
planning to deploy tens of thousands of troops in Syria to prevent the
fall of al-Assad. 15,000 to 20,000 troops are already being sent to
the region around Idlib, and up to 50,000 are reportedly on the way.

Iran has a second objective in deploying troops to Syria. They want
results by the end of the month (June), because that's the deadline
for a nuclear agreement with the United States and the West. They
believe that they'll get a better nuclear deal by scoring a win in
Syria. It would also improve Tehran’s leverage on negotiations with
other parties after the nuclear deal is completed.

Gen. Qassam Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds force, whom
ISIS humiliatingly defeated in the battle of Tikrit Iraq a couple of
months ago, promised a "surprise":

<QUOTE>"The world will be surprised by what we and the Syrian
military leadership are preparing for the coming
days."<END QUOTE>

Soleimani made the statement during a secret trip to Idlib, where he
determined that Syria's army made numerous operational errors,
resulting in a loss to al-Nusra. YNet and
Daily Star (Beirut)

****
**** Iran and Syria may invoke 2006 mutual defense agreement
****


The purpose of a new agreement between Iran and Syria, which may
involve invoking a 2006 mutual defense pact between the two countries,
is to allow tens of thousands of Iran's soldiers to prevent ISIS and
al-Nusra from cutting off the corridor between Damascus and Syria's
coastal region.

According to a report by Saudi-based al-Arabiya:

<QUOTE>"Iran must send 50,000 soldiers from the infantry
force to Syria to manage the war there and prevent the fall of the
Assad regime, which has begun to collapse recently.

Iran must preserve the vital corridor [connecting] Damascus to
Latakia, Tartous and the Lebanese border.

[Any] delay by Iran in [implementing] this pre-emptive action will
cause the fall of Damascus airport, which in turn [means] the
severing of the essential communication and supply line Iran
[uses] to assist the Syrian regime."<END QUOTE>

Ironically, al-Assad is agreeing to this deployment of Iranian
soldiers because he has no choice. He has opposed the establishment
of any Iranian bases in Syria, because he knows that once Iran has a
military base in Syria, it won't be long before Iran is in charge of
the whole country.

Long-time readers are aware that Generational Dynamics predicts a
major war engulfing the entire Mideast. Since last year, we've been
reporting that ISIS and other terror groups are not fighting
Christians and Jews; they've been overwhelmingly fighting other
Muslims, with the number of Christians and Jews killed by Muslims
being a minuscule amount compared to the number of Muslims being
killed by other Muslims.

With wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, the entire Mideast is
increasingly in flames. A major military deployment by Iran in Syria
would substantially inflame the Shia-Sunni fault line in the Mideast,
and would cause the Saudis and other Gulf Arab nations to prepare for
further military action. Now Lebanon and Debka and AFP (2006)

****
**** Greece and Europeans fail once again to reach an agreement
****


Although Greece was due to make a 300 million euro debt payment to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday, I wrote a few days ago
that Greece will NOT go bankrupt on Friday.
The reason is that analysts were predicting that Greece
would take advantage of a loophole that allows Greece to postpone the
payment to the end of the month. Greece exercised that loophole on
Thursday, and Friday's payment will be bundled together with three
others, and now Greece will have to pay 1.6 billion euros to the IMF
at the end of the month. Greece's PM Alexis Tsipras, in his usual
pretense of normality, said that there will be no problem making the
payment, though almost no one believes him.

Tsipras was in Brussels on Thursday, meeting with IMF and European
officials. The meeting ended in failure, though both sides said that
it had been "constructive."

The Europeans are demanding that Greece institute reforms to address
various economic issues, including Greece's bloated public sector,
curbing tax evasion and corruption, privatizing public businesses, and
adjusting generous pension and minimum wage policies.

In the past, Tsipras has refused to agree to any of these. But
there's now evidence from leaked documents that the Tsipras is
beginning to back down. He appears to have given ground on
privatizing public businesses, and he seems willing to raise taxes and
cut pensions, at least by a small amount. However, Tsipras is still
insisting on implementing a huge minimum wage increase, undoing a cut
in the minimum wage from 2012.

However, Tsipras does not have a free hand in agreeing to the
creditors' terms. He's facing a backlash from the far left in his own
party, and his government may collapse if he meets too many of the
Europeans' demands. Greek Reporter and Kathimerini and Economist


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Syria, Iraq, Idlib, Bashar al-Assad,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Russia, Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Nusra Front, Iran, Qassam Soleimani,
Greece, Alexis Tsipras, International Monetary Fund, IMF

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Post#2318 at 06-05-2015 12:31 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post
According to the referenced Bloomberg article:
-Ok, I missed it; the Bloomberg article has (the number of crematoriums) x (number of corpses per crematorium per day).

It's in the previous sentence:

http://www.bloombergview.com/article...ine-aggression

The head of Ukraine’s security service, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, said in January that seven truck-mounted crematoriums crossed into his country over a four-day period. "Each of these crematoriums burns 8-10 bodies per day," he said...

...my main point being, 56-70 per day is a lot. Color me skeptical.

Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post
... Gen. Qassam Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds force, whom
ISIS humiliatingly defeated in the battle of Tikrit Iraq a couple of
months ago...
-I.S. lost that one, although it took a while. The Shi'a militiamen took heavy losses under the Iranians. Assistance from the Coalition turned the tide. Don't know about "humiliated" though.







Post#2319 at 06-05-2015 12:54 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by JDG 66 View Post
> -I.S. lost that one, although it took a while. The Shi'a
> militiamen took heavy losses under the Iranians. Assistance from
> the Coalition turned the tide. Don't know about "humiliated"
> though.
That's what I mean. Originally, Soleimani and his Shia militias were
going to capture Tikrit. He was going to do it within a few days,
without the help of US airstrikes. Instead, Soleimani and his Shia
militias had to retreat, and Soleimani fled to Tehran. Afterwards,
the Iraqi army captured Tikrit with the help of US airstrikes.

** 24-Mar-15 World View -- Iraq's battle for Tikrit reaches a standstill, humiliating Iran
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/...24.htm#e150324







Post#2320 at 06-05-2015 12:59 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post
That's what I mean. Originally, Soleimani and his Shia militias were
going to capture Tikrit. He was going to do it within a few days,
without the help of US airstrikes. Instead, Soleimani and his Shia
militias had to retreat, and Soleimani fled to Tehran. Afterwards,
the Iraqi army captured Tikrit with the help of US airstrikes.

** 24-Mar-15 World View -- Iraq's battle for Tikrit reaches a standstill, humiliating Iran
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/...24.htm#e150324
-Oky-doak.







Post#2321 at 06-05-2015 03:07 PM by XYMOX_4AD_84 [at joined Nov 2012 #posts 3,073]
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I expect the combined Al Quds / Hezbollah force to attack ISIS with at least low tech chem weapons (mustard gas, etc) and most likely high tech chem weapons (Sarin, etc). If they now have them, also tac nukes.







Post#2322 at 06-05-2015 03:40 PM by JDG 66 [at joined Aug 2010 #posts 2,116]
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Quote Originally Posted by XYMOX_4AD_84 View Post
I expect the combined Al Quds / Hezbollah force to attack ISIS with at least low tech chem weapons (mustard gas, etc) and most likely high tech chem weapons (Sarin, etc). If they now have them, also tac nukes.
-Just for starters, if the Iranians already had nukes, don't you think they'd save them for something more important than clearing (DESTROYING) Ramadi?







Post#2323 at 06-05-2015 10:37 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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6-Jun-15 World View -- Speculation grows about China's purpose in hack

*** 6-Jun-15 World View -- Speculation grows about China's purpose in giant government hacking breach

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • Tsipras gives bitter, defiant speech to Greece's parliament
  • Speculation grows about China's purpose in giant government hacking breach


****
**** Tsipras gives bitter, defiant speech to Greece's parliament
****



Alexis Tsipras giving speech to parliament on Friday (Kathimerini)

As expected, Greece did not make its 300 million euro debt payment
International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday, and instead will have to
pay 1.6 billion euros to the IMF on June 30. June 30 will be the end
of Greece's current bailout plan, and there will be no more bailout
money available under any terms.

So it seems that after several years of "kicking the can down the
road," and postponing making the hard decisions, the Greece bailout
crisis will finally run out of road on June 30. And whatever the
outcome, it's certain to be very unpleasant.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was defiant and bitter in a speech he
gave to Greece's parliament on Friday:

<QUOTE>"Time is not only running out for us, it is running
out for everyone. ...

The proposals submitted by lenders are unrealistic. The Greek
government cannot consent to absurd proposals. ...

I would like to believe that this proposal was an unfortunate
moment for Europe, or at least a bad negotiating trick, and will
very soon be withdrawn by the same people who thought it up. ...

We don’t just need an agreement, we need a definitive solution,
both for Greece and for Europe, that will finally end the talk of
a Greek exit from the eurozone. ...

The fiscal strangulation of a country is a moral issue that
conflicts with Europe’s founding principles – which raises
well-founded questions on Europe’s future."<END QUOTE>

Tsipras called on opposition parties to support him in the ongoing
negotiations. The far left factions in his own Syriza party have
already indicated that they won't support any plan that calls for any
austerity.

Tsipras's predecessor, center right New Democracy leader Antonis
Samaras, responded by telling the prime minister that he had "some
nerve" asking for support at this time. He accused Tsipras of
mishandling the negotiations and tipping Greece back into
recession. "You have totally destroyed the country and isolated us,"
he said. Kathimerini and Guardian (London)

****
**** Speculation grows about China's purpose in giant government hacking breach
****


Chinese hackers are suspected in a massive breach compromising the
computers at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and
Department of the Interior. The personal information of 4 million
U.S. current and former federal employees were compromised in the
breach. The OPM is the human resources department for the federal
government, and so every government agency is potentially affected.
The data goes back to 1985.

As usual, the Chinese feigned outrage at anyone who could suspect them
of such a thing, and complained that any such accusation would be
"irresponsible and unscientific."

The perpetrators are believed to be the same Chinese hackers behind
the Anthem health insurance data breach
in March, where 80 million current and former customers of
Blue Cross Blue Shield plans had their personal information
compromised, including birthdates, addresses, and social security
numbers.

Assuming that the Chinese are the perpetrators, questions are being
raised about what they're planning to do with all this data. The
Chinese now have a massive data base of detailed personal information
on tens or hundreds of millions of Americans. What are they going to
do with this?

If the Chinese want to penetrate another company, they can use
detailed information from the files to craft personalized phony
messages to trick workers. These are called "spear phishing"
messages. A worker receiving such a message might think it's from a
family member and click on something in the message that infects their
computer, or which gives the hacker access to the other data bases in
the company network. With this technique, the Chinese can penetrate
one company after another, using the information gathered from
one breach to gain access to perpetrate the next breach.

It's not known how certain government officials are that the Chinese
government is the perpetrator. It's possible that they know with 100%
certainty based on NSA data. However, even if they're that certain,
they couldn't say so because they would be accusing China of an act of
war, and a response would be required. AP and CNN and Reuters and Dark Reading


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Greece, Alexis Tsipras, Antonis Samaras,
China, Office of Personnel Management, OPM, Anthem health insurance,
spear phishing

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Post#2324 at 06-06-2015 01:55 AM by Ragnarök_62 [at Oklahoma joined Nov 2006 #posts 5,511]
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post

**** Speculation grows about China's purpose in giant government hacking breach
****


Chinese hackers are suspected in a massive breach compromising the
computers at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and
Department of the Interior. The personal information of 4 million
U.S. current and former federal employees were compromised in the
breach. The OPM is the human resources department for the federal
government, and so every government agency is potentially affected.
The data goes back to 1985.
in March, where 80 million current and former customers of
Blue Cross Blue Shield plans had their personal information
compromised, including birthdates, addresses, and social security
numbers.
I don't think the problem is who is doing this, but the fact that hacking into US government and US companies seams so easy. There is an obvious problem of misplaced priorities. US entities need to spend more time using secure programming techniques and building out computers with multi layered security policies. It's not that hard. A website that's built to be pretty doesn't matter if it's a security hole.

Uh, what's up with OMB anyhow? The NSA has the procedures here.
https://www.nsa.gov/ia/mitigation_gu..._systems.shtml
I use EMET on my box so if Firefox goes to some evilsite.com, it just crashes if evilsite.com attempts a buffer overflow.

Here's one of the best write ups. I used it to lock down my box.
http://hardenwindows8forsecurity.com...it%20Home.html

I mean really, if some home user wahoo like me can duckduckgo.com and find this stuff, why can't high paid consultants do something like this to reduce this "hack of the week" stuff?
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."







Post#2325 at 06-06-2015 10:46 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by Ragnarök_62 View Post
> I don't think the problem is who is doing this, but the fact that
> hacking into US government and US companies seams so easy. There
> is an obvious problem of misplaced priorities. US entities need to
> spend more time using secure programming techniques and building
> out computers with multi layered security policies. It's not that
> hard. A website that's built to be pretty doesn't matter if it's a
> security hole.

> Uh, what's up with OMB anyhow? The NSA has the procedures here.
> https://www.nsa.gov/ia/mitigation_gu..._systems.shtml
> I use EMET on my box so if Firefox goes to some evilsite.com, it
> just crashes if evilsite.com attempts a buffer overflow.

> Here's one of the best write ups. I used it to lock down my box.
> http://hardenwindows8forsecurity.com...it%20Home.html

> I mean really, if some home user wahoo like me can duckduckgo.com
> and find this stuff, why can't high paid consultants do something
> like this to reduce this "hack of the week" stuff?
Actually, all these security experts say the same thing. You can lock
down your computer in all sorts of ways, use all sorts of anti-malware
software, but the weak component in the organization's network is the
human being. In the Sony case and in the Anthem case, and probably in
the OMB case, the hacker got in through a spear phishing attack --
crafting an e-mail message that fooled someone into clicking on
malware. Now, with that huge data base of information available to
them, they have plenty of information at hand to fool a lot more
people in a lot more organizations.

I would just warn everyone not to be complacent about this. Anyone
can be fooled by a very good spear phishing message. You have to be
paranoid 24 hours a day. One bad click is all it takes.
-----------------------------------------