This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Greece's parliament squeaks through the austerity package amid violence
• Israel announces plans to build 1200 new homes in East Jerusalem and West Bank
• Al-Qaeda chief says that jihadists should be cheered by America's losses
• Palestinians hope that President Obama's 2nd term will bring change
• U.S. stocks slump most in past year

Greece's parliament squeaks through the austerity package amid violence

A protester on Wednesday about to throw a petrol bomb is struck by water cannon (Guardian)

The faltering coalition of the government of Greece's prime minister Antonis Samaras managed to get 153 votes in parliament, out of 300 MPs, just enough to pass the package of austerity measures that the European leaders are demanding in exchange for a new bailout payment. The payment is needed before mid-November to prevent Greece's bankruptcy. Outside the parliament building, tens of thousands of people engaged in anti-austerity protests that were peaceful at first but turned violent. Protesters threw petrol bombs, while police used tear gas and water cannons. Greek protesters were particularly angry at the use of water cannon, the first such incident in many years. Kathimerini and Guardian

Israel announces plans to build 1200 new homes in East Jerusalem and West Bank

Israel announced that plans to build over 1200 new settlement homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The announcement triggered widespread criticism, especially from European countries. The British Foreign Office said that the announcement was "provocative" and "deeply disappointing":

"The UK has been consistently clear that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and by altering the situation on the ground are making the two state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, increasingly hard to realize."

East Jerusalem and the West Bank were captured by Israel during the Six Day War in 1967. CNN and YNet

Al-Qaeda chief says that jihadists should be cheered by America's losses

Ayman al Zawahiri, the man who replaced Osama bin Laden as leader of al-Qaeda, posted a pep talk to al-Shabaab jihadists in Somalia, who have been losing ground recently. He said that they should be cheered from recent United States defeats:

"They were defeated in Iraq and they are withdrawing from Afghanistan, and their ambassador in Benghazi was killed and the flags of their embassies were lowered in Cairo and Sana'a, and in their places were raised the flags of tawhid [monotheism] and jihad.

After their consecutive defeats, they are working from behind agents and traitors. Their awe is lost and their might is gone and they don't dare to carry out a new campaign like their past ones in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The statement about flags refer to attacks on American embassies where the American flag was pulled down and replaced with an al-Qaeda flag.

According to a collection of letters that Arab TV reporters found when they went to the Benghazi consulate where U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed, the Libyan police had stopped providing protection. Furthermore, on the morning of September 11, a Libyan policeman had been taking pictures inside the consulate, suggesting that the police were conspiring with the jihadists. It's now believed that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Ansar al-Sharia, and other al-Qaeda affiliated jihadist groups participated in the murder of Stevens. Long War Journal and Memri

Palestinians hope that President Obama's 2nd term will bring change

Following President Obama's reelection victory, with no need to worry about reelection, Palestinians are hoping that Obama will bring about a two-state solution to Mideast peace. According to one Palestinian analyst:

"On the one hand, he is more knowledgeable of the issues, and on the other he has to deal with the changing politics in the region, particularly with the emergence of two new powers in the Middle East — Iran and Turkey — which means the U.S. cannot afford to leave a political vacuum that could be filled by either of these two powers."

However, Palestinians don't expect Obama to change his support of Israel, since Congress is "hijacked by the pro-Israel camp." LA Times

U.S. stocks slump most in past year

The day after President Obama won reelection, and the pre-election hysteria has begun to disappear, the Dow Industrials had the biggest decline in a years. Pundits are blaming it on the worsening debt crisis, and the approaching "fiscal cliff." In addition, some of the onerous price control and employment regulations of Obamacare will be kicking in during the next few months. On Wednesday, the European Commission sharply downgraded the 2013 economic forecasts for the region. Bloomberg

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