World View: Over 100 Afghan Diplomats Defect Rather than Return to Kabul

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Sectarian coordinated bombings in Iraq kill 31 in Shia neighborhoods
• Fed official warns of ‘feral hogs’ who harm the economy
• German climate expert says climate models must change
• Over 100 Afghan diplomats defect rather than return to Kabul
• John Kerry arranges for sweet Obamacare bonus for Massachusetts

Sectarian coordinated bombings in Iraq kill 31 in Shia neighborhoods

Scene of two parked car bombs north of Baghdad on Sunday (AP)

At least 10 parked vehicles rigged with bombs exploded in eight Shianeighborhoods across Baghdad on Monday, killing 31 people. Thetargets included a market place and a restaurants, and occurred asShia Muslims marked Shabaniyah, the anniversary of the birth of ImamMehdi, a key figure in their faith. No one immediately claimedresponsibility for the bombings, but sectarian violence by Sunnistargeting Shias has been increasing throughout the Mideast,particularly since the invasion of the Iran-backed Shia terroristgroup Hezbollah into Syria in support of the regime of presidentBashar al-Assad. Terrorist violence in Iraq has been increasing eversince American forces withdrew in December, 2011. Al-Jazeera and AFP

Fed official warns of ‘feral hogs’ who harm the economy

Prices of both stocks and bonds fell sharply on Monday, promptingRichard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve to accuse

“Markets tend to test things. We haven’t forgottenwhat happened to the Bank of England [on Black Wednesday]. I don’tthink anyone can break the Fed . . . . But I do believe that bigmoney does organize itself somewhat like feral hogs. If theydetect a weakness or a bad scent, they’ll go afterit.”

His comment refers to a 1992 attack led by George Soros on the Bank ofEngland, which led to the UK crashing out of the European exchangerate mechanism.

That’s just another one of the desperate attempts to explain the sharpselloff. See “23-Jun-13 World View — The ‘experts’ scramble to explain the stock market plunge”.

Besides feral hogs, some experts are pointing to another reason forthe global selloff: A “cash crunch” in China. China’s economy is evenmore dysfunction than America’s, with a gargantuan real estate bubbleand a huge credit bubble driven by a shadow banking system. TheChinese authorities are attempting to control both bubbles by reducingthe money supply, and this creating a credit crunch that’s slowingdown the economy. This is having a ripple effect in the fall ofglobal commodity prices, as stock prices are falling throughout Asia.Bloomberg

German climate expert says climate models must change

German meteorologist and climate expert Hans von Storch says thatclimate scientists are puzzled by the fact that even though recent CO2(carbon dioxide) emissions have actually risen even more steeply thanpoliticians and scientists feared, there has been almost notemperature rise in the last 15 years. The climate models devised byscientists 10-15 years ago predicted a very significant rise intemperatures by now, but it just hasn’t happened, indicating thattheir climate models are “fundamentally wrong,” according to vonStorch. There are two possible explanations: Either the rise in CO2does not affect climate as much as scientists predicted, or elsescientists underestimated how much the climate fluctuates owing tonatural causes. Spiegel

Over 100 Afghan diplomats defect rather than return to Kabul

When U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the Administration aren’tbegging Russia to return Edward Snowden or to stop supporting Basharal-Assad, they’re begging the Afghanistan Taliban to hold peace talks.

The U.S. Administration has been so desperate to get the AfghanTaliban to have peace talks, they’ve even dropped the preconditionsannounced last year by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Theymust forego suicide talks and violence, they must sever ties withal-Qaeda, and they must accept Afghanistan’s constitution, includingprotections for women and minority. The Taliban have rejected all ofthese demands, and the Administration have acquiesced.

It now turns out that some 105 Afghanistan diplomats defected enmasse on Saturday, when they were all supposed to return to Kabulfor scheduled rotation. They’ve remained in the country where theyhave been posted, and said that they would apply for asylum in theirrespective host countries. Many Afghan diplomats are the sons anddaughters of high-ranking politicians who are also trying to go abroadas soon as possible and stay there until the situation in Afghanistanbecomes clearer.

The U.S. could use a diplomatic victory about now. Let’s see whereSnowden ends up. Spiegeland South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP)

John Kerry arranges for sweet Obamacare bonus for Massachusetts

Without specifically mentioning Massachusetts, then-Senator John Kerryfrom Massachusetts inserted an opaque provision into the Obamacare billwhen it was first created in 2009, requiring Massachusetts hospitalworkers to get significantly higher wages than workers in otherstates. The change has allowed Massachusetts to raise its Medicarepayout by $257 million, forcing cuts to hospitals in 40 otherstates. The Massachusetts manipulation of the program would hand thatstate $3.5 billion over the next 10 years at the expense of Medicarebeneficiaries everywhere.

Since I live in Massachusetts, I guess this helps me at the expense ofmost of you. Tough luck, suckers!

(Actually, the provision is expected to be repealed, which would “harmpatient care,” according to Massachusetts officials.) Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe

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