This morning's key headlines from
GenerationalDynamics.com:
- Libya citizens storm Benghazi Islamist militia hq in backlash against Consulate attack
- Bailout talks for Greece collapse once again
- Capital flight is leading to the disintegration of the eurozone
- Fifteen killed in violent anti-American protests across Pakistan
Libya citizens storm Benghazi Islamist militia hq in backlash against Consulate attack
Tens of thousands of Libyan citizens in Benghazi, chanting "No, no, to
militias" and "The ambassador was Libya’s friend," marched in a rally
against Ansar al-Sharia, the Islamist militia believed to be
responsible for the September 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate that
killed American ambassador Chris Stevens. Hundreds of protesters
stormed the compound of the extremist group, evicting militiamen and
setting fire to their building. Last year, Gaddafi's regime warned
that if he were gone, then the militias in the Benghazi area would
declare an Islamic Emirate and ally itself with al-Qaeda. But now,
the residents are lashing out against Ansar al-Sharia, the main
Islamic extremist group in the city. AP
Bailout talks for Greece collapse once again
In a familiar scene that we've seen many times before, the latest
talks between Greece and the leaders of the EU "troika" of
organizations bailing out Greece -- the European Commission (EC), the
European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
-- are leaving Athens, after Greek officials failed to reach an
agreement with the troika on the austerity measures that will have to
be implemented in return for another bailout. The official statement
is that the talks are going to take a "brief pause" for a few days.
Since we've seen this so many times before, we know exactly what's
coming: Greece will commit to a set of austerity measures. The troika
will authorize the bailout, kicking the can down the road. The
austerity measures that Greece committed to will not be implemented.
Then, when it's time for another bailout decision, the scenario will
be repeated. Kathimerini and Bloomberg
Capital flight is leading to the disintegration of the eurozone
In the 12 months ending July 31, a total of 326 billion euros were
pulled from banks in the "troubled" nations -- Spain, Portugal,
Ireland and Greece. This coincides with a roughly similar increase in
deposits into the banks of the seven "core" countries, including
Germany and France. That’s leading to a fragmentation of credit and a
two-tiered banking system, that's becoming increasingly unsustainable.
According to one analyst, "Capital flight is leading to the disintegration of
the euro zone and divergence between the periphery and the core.
Companies pay 1 to 2 percentage points more to borrow in the
periphery. You can’t get growth to resume with such
divergence." Bloomberg
Fifteen killed in violent anti-American protests across Pakistan
At least 15 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in
anti-American protests across Pakistan, from Karachi to Lahore to
Islamabad to Peshawar. The protests were made worse by what was
apparently a very dumb move by Pakistan's government. On Thursday,
the government said that Friday would be "Love the Prophet Day"
holiday in reaction to the "Innocence of Muslims" film. Thus, many
millions of people had Friday off, leaving them free to take part in
the protests. Dawn and Al-Jazeera
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