This morning's key headlines from
GenerationalDynamics.com
- Al-Qaeda prepares for war in northern Mali
- Egypt's currency collapses to seven-year low
- Fiscal cliff negotiations lead to farcical conclusion
Al-Qaeda prepares for war in northern Mali
Djenna Mosque in Timbuktu, Mali, built around 1300. Islamists say they'll tear down and destroy all Timbuktu mosques
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and affiliate Ansar Dine are
now in almost complete control of northern Mali, a region as large as
France, and is entrenching itself to prepare for a war by external
forces attempting to eject it. The U.N. Security Council has
authorized military intervention in Mali, under a proposal by 15
nations in West Africa, but there is little energy to mount the
intervention. For years, al-Qaeda has been trying to gain control of
an entire country, in order to use it as a base to launch attacks
against other countries. Now, for the first time, they may be close
to success. AP
Egypt's currency collapses to seven-year low
Egypt's pound currency, which has been falling steadily since the
January, 2011, Egyptian revolution, has fallen to its lowest value
against the dollar in seven years. The collapse has been caused by a
number of factors: bank runs by Egyptians, converting pounds to
dollars; political turmoil; slowing tourism revenue and foreign
investment; and a sharp fall in foreign currency reserves in the
central bank. The collapse will increase the prices of imported
staples, such as tea and sugar, and underlines the crisis facing
Egypt's economy. President Mohamed Morsi said that the situation
"does not worry or scare us, and within days it will balance out."
Reuters and
Al-Arabiya
Fiscal cliff negotiations lead to farcical conclusion
A couple of days ago, I wrote, "America is truly Greece now," and the
past 48 hours have shown that in the worst sense. President Obama has
been gloating constantly, bragging that he's been able to screw the
Republicans by forcing them to raise taxes without having to agree to
any spending cuts. The whole point of the sequestration agreement in
mid-2011 is that long before 1/1/2013 arrived, Congress would be
forced to implement tax reform and reduce spending.
Just the opposite has occurred. The "compromise" fiscal cliff bill
makes taxes more complicated, and increases the deficit. (As I write
this, early Tuesday evening, it appears that this bill will pass
within a couple of hours.)
The "Kick the Can Theory" predicted that Washington would do the
minimum possible to get through the current crisis, and would do
nothing to fix the underlying problems, so that there would be a worse
crisis later. That's exactly what's happening. America today is much
worse off than it was a month ago.
As usual, expect President Obama, the Congressional Democrats, and the
Congressional Republicans to lie to the press, and to declare some
sort of great victory for the American people. And, as usual, expect
the mainstream press to be completely in the tank for Obama, and to
agree with everything he says, even when it's totally incoherent.
Meanwhile, get ready for one crisis after another in 2013. Reuters
KEYS:
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