This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com:

A ‘long way to go’ in talks between Greece and EU troika


Antonis Samaras – Greek Prime Minister

With Greece’s membership in the eurozone hanging in the balance, Greekofficials are struggling to cut another 11.5 billion euros of publicspending out of the budget over the next two years. The Greeks haveto convince the EU “troika” of organizations bailing out Greece — theEuropean Commission (EC), the European Central Bank (ECB) and theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) — which arrived in Athens onFriday, that the cuts are real and will actually be implemented,unlike a number of previous promised cuts that were forgotten as soonas the bailout money was received. After Sunday’s meeting, Greece’sFinance Ministry said,

“They have objections to some of the measures. Theywant more details to understand some of the measures better.

This is just the start, there is a long way to go.”

The troika officials have to approve the cost cutting measures tosecure the next tranche of the 31.5 billion euro EU-IMF bailout.Approval is also required from the Socialist and Democratic Leftpolitical parties. A decision will be reached by early October, justin time to save Greece from bankruptcy.

There’s a lot of talk these days about “Grexit,” Greece’s exit fromthe euro currency. Last year I proposed the “Kick the Can Theory” forthe European financial crisis. It says that if you want to knowwhat’s going to happen, just assume that European leaders will lookfor a way to “kick the can down the road,” meaning that they’ll do theminimum possible to postpone the crisis a little longer, to prevent acurrent disaster without fixing the problem, so that the crisis willrecur in worse form weeks or months later. The Kick the Can Theoryhas been right every time so far, and so we can expect that thepoliticians will find some way to approve the bailout payment.Kathimerini

Iraq: 100 dead in a wave of sectarian terrorist attacks

A wave of more than 20 attacks, thought to be by Sunni terrorists, onSunday left hundreds injured and up to 100 dead across Iraq. Theterrorist blasts were coordinated, targeting crowded marketplaces andsecurity forces in at least 11 cities across the nation. In Baghdad,car bombs killed dozens in six mainly Shia Muslim neighborhoods.Sectarian attacks have been increasing in Iraq for the followingreasons:

From the point of view of Generational Dynamics, the entire Mideast isheaded for a major sectarian Sunni/Shia war. Australian Broadcasting and LA Times

France providing direct aid to rebel opposition in Syria

In a potential escalation of the Syria conflict, France has startedproviding direct aid and money to rebel-controlled areas and is evenconsidering supplying anti-aircraft weapons to the opposition. It’snow been several weeks since Lakhdar Brahimi replaced Kofi Annan asSyria’s “peace envoy,” but as far as I know, he’s accomplished nothingexcept to say several times that he has no idea what to do. RT

How to start a new business in America today

From the “Financial Topics” thread of the Generational Dynamics Forum,Higgenbotham is providing the following prudent and sage advice on howto start a new business in America today:

These would be my thoughts on starting a business.

First, get ready for a post-collapse world. In the currentpre-collapse world, existing businesses are conditioned to operatingin the pre-collapse environment. They will be lost post-collapse. Thisis when the prepared entrepreneur can step in.

To get ready for the post-collapse world, travel to a third worldcountry or to a country that has already collapsed and observe howbusiness is conducted. Talk to the locals to get an idea of whatbusiness conditions were like pre-collapse and try to envision how theconditions in the US that are different pre-collapse will change thepost-collapse environment vis-a-vis the country you are observing. Ichose to travel to one of the poorest areas of the former USSR to makeobservations. It was formerly pretty well off because it was amanufacturing area and not too far from Moscow.

Begin by pilot testing an idea with a very limited amount of capitalat risk. My thought would be less than 10% of capital should be riskedon the whole initial operation. Operate on a cash basis and under theradar. Let’s say that a formula for laundry soap has been obtained andsomeone wants to make an attempt to manufacture this product. I wouldnot rush headlong into buying equipment, renting space, and otherthings a conventional business person might do today. Instead, pay acontract manufacturing outfit to mix some up on a small scale, thenfigure out how to sell it. Observe what equipment the contractmanufacturer is using and do some research because that equipment maybe picked up for pennies on the dollar at auction when thebankruptcies roll in. If it’s thought that the future of America willmost resemble Detroit, Michigan or Las Vegas, Nevada, and there areprobably better places to consider but people can understand what I amtalking about by mentioning those places. Take the product there andlive there a few months. Figure out what works best to move it in thepost-collapse world of strip mall flea markets, craigslist, orwhatever is envisioned. See if customers match the envisionedpost-collapse profile and find out what else they need to buy wherethey would seek alternatives to the current distribution channels, inorder to save a few bucks or which may be shut down,post-collapse. Probably enough said, but that’s my general idea.Generational Dynamics Forum


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