This morning's key headlines from
GenerationalDynamics.com:
- Egypt's president Morsi refuses any compromise on constitution
- Brotherhood offices torched, hundreds of casualties, as violence continues in Egypt
- Geithner, representing Obama, refuses any compromise in fiscal cliff negotiations
- Rate of decline in Russia's population doubles from previous decade
Egypt's president Morsi refuses any compromise on constitution
An angry Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi addressed the nation on
Thursday in a much-anticipated speech that many hoped would offer
some compromise to end the violence in Cairo. Instead, he accused the
opposition of being remnants of the old Hosni Mubarak regime, and
vowed he would never tolerate anyone working for the overthrow of his
"legitimate" government. He invited the opposition to a
"comprehensive and productive dialogue" but gave no sign that he
might offer any meaningful concessions, so that "comprehensive and
productive dialogue" apparently means doing everything his way.
He
said: "It is my duty ... to protect institutions of the
nation," he said. "I will always fulfill this role, no matter how
much pressure or what the situation."
Another one of Morsi's advisers quit in protest on Thursday, following
three such resignations earlier in the week. AP
Brotherhood offices torched, hundreds of casualties, as violence continues in Egypt
After Wednesday's "massive assault" by Muslim Brotherhood supporters
of Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in
Cairo was torched, as were several regional MB offices. Tens of
thousands of Morsi supporters and opponents fought each other on
Thursday, leaving at least six dead and 700 injured. Al-Ahram (Cairo)
Geithner, representing Obama, refuses any compromise in fiscal cliff negotiations
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, representing president Barack
Obama, said Wednesday that the Obama administration is “absolutely”
ready for the U.S. economy to go over the “fiscal cliff” rather than
accept a budget deal that doesn’t include higher tax rates for top
earners: "There’s no prospect in an agreement that doesn’t
involve those rates going up on the top 2 percent of the
wealthiest Americans."
As I've written in the past, both "hope and change" candidates who won
on the basis of personality, and who are now refusing to compromise in
any way.
In the next few months, we should be seeing a third example of this
"hope and change" phenomenon.
Imran Khan, one of Pakistan's greatest cricket players of all time,
once voted as the "Sexiest Man of The Year" by Australia Magazine Oz,
is the "hope and change" candidate who is expected to win next year's
presidential election. Khan is running on vitriolicly anti-American
platform, referring to Pakistan's relationship with America as "client
and master." If and when Khan wins, it will be interesting to see
whether he refuses any compromise with his opposition as well.
AP and Indian Express
Rate of decline in Russia's population doubles from previous decade
The fact that Russia's population has been declining has been known
for some time, but new analyses of the 2010 census show that the
decline is much more rapid than previously estimated -- nearly doubled
during the past decade compared to the rate in the 1990s. However,
it's even more significant that the share of ethnic Russians in the
population is declining relative to the others, both indigenous and
immigrant, but not as significantly as had been the case in the 1990s,
largely because fertility rates among many non-Russian peoples have
declined, approaching those of the ethnic Russians. Many non-Russians
and especially Muslim writers suggested that the decline of the ethnic
Russians reflected "high infant mortality, low fertility, emigration,
poor health, a short life expectancy and a culture that supported high
levels of consumption of alcohol." Jamestown
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