Egypt: U.S. Aid 'Secretly' Cut but Saudi Arabia Group to fill gap; Brotherhood Leader Arrested

"The Obama administration has decided to temporarily suspend the disbursement of most direct military aid, the delivery of weapons to the Egyptian military, and some forms of economic aid to the Egyptian government while it conducts a broad review of the relationship," . It's getting the news that such aid has been "secretly" cut from "the office of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the head of the Appropriations State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee."

"[Senator Leahy's] understanding is that aid to the Egyptian military has been halted, as required by law," David Carle, a spokesman for Leahy, tells The Daily Beast.

The law he's referring to requires that aid be suspended to nations where a military "coup" has supplanted a democratically elected government. While the Obama administration has not called the a coup, "two administration officials told The Daily Beast that administration lawyers decided it was best to observe the law restricting military aid on a temporary basis, as if there had been a coup designation."

Any suspension of U.S. aid may have little effect on Egypt. , while "Europeans and the United States considered cutting cash aid to Egypt, Saudi Arabia said Monday that it and its allies would make up any reduction — effectively neutralizing the West's main leverage over Cairo."

Read more: Egypt: U.S. Aid 'Secretly' Cut; Brotherhood Leader Arrested : The Two-Way : NPR

The Netherlands: Dutch Minister Of Finance Dijselbloem Optimistic About Dutch Economic Recovery

Next year there will absolutely be economic growth said Dutch Treasury Secretary Jeroen Dijsselbloem (PvdA) Monday during a party meeting in Amsterdam. '

"But the annual explosive growth rate we had in the 1990s will  not return anymore, and  I don't want this either, because it was not sustainable growth" said Dijselbloem '

The Dutch Office For Economic Policy Analysis (CPB)  reported last week that the Dutch economy will grow by 0.75 percent in 2014, but in that estimate the new austerity package of EUR 6 billion was not included.

It is generally assumed that the new austerity measures and tax increases will slow down the economic recovery said  Dijselbloem , but he reckoned that  the Netherlands will still show some growth next year.

Dijselbloem  also said one of the major difficulties at the moment for the Dutch economy was the depressed housing market.  He said it was not his intention to give any advice or make an appeal for people to spend money, but said he considered this to be an excellent time to buy a home with interest rates at rock bottom before interest rates go up again.

Almere-Digest

Electric Cars: Is Tesla Model S The Best Way To Sell Politicians On Electric Cars? - by Antony Ingram

The Tesla S 2013 model

We've long known the best way to get people interested in electric cars is simply to let them drive or ride in them.

It's easy enough to tell people they're quick, smooth and near-silent, but people are naturally skeptical of something they aren't familiar with.

That includes politicians, but just like everyone else, it seems like a ride in an electric car--specifically, the Tesla Model S--is enough to convince several decision-makers that electric cars are actually pretty good.

New Zealand transport minister Gerry Brownlee is one such politician, whose skepticism for electric vehicles has all but dissolved after a drive in a Model S.

According to The New Zealand Herald, Brownlee experienced a Model S Performance in Los Angeles, and came away highly impressed.

Read more: Is Tesla Model S The Best Way To Sell Politicians On Electric Cars?

Britain: Freedom of the Press: UK government destroyed Guardian hard drives over Snowden story

British government officials ordered the destruction of hard drives at the Guardian offices in London that purportedly contained information relating to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger has revealed.

They took the action even though Rusbridger explained it was pointless, he said. The Guardian's NSA reporting is written, stored and edited in New York, he told them, and journalist Glenn Greenwald, the lead reporter on the story, lives in Brazil.

The officials from GCHQ, Britain's equivalent of the NSA, were apparently unaware of the concept of information in the cloud – and seemed satisfied that they had been able to destroy something tangible. "'We can call off the black helicopters,' joked one as we swept up the remains of a MacBook Pro," Rusbridger wrote on the Guardian website.

One official seemed mystified as to why the Guardian would want to continue to report on the subject. "You've had your debate," he told Rusbridger. "There's no need to write any more."

Rusbridger, who has edited the newspaper since 1995, has been involved in a number of cases involving press freedom and sensitive materials. One of the more prominent was the Wikileaks scoop, for which the editor is portrayed by Peter Capaldi in the upcoming movie The Fifth Estate.

Rusbridger called the hard drive incident "one of the more bizarre moments in the Guardian's long history".

Read more: UK government destroyed Guardian hard drives over Snowden story

EU team to monitor Gibraltar border

The European Commission is to send a fact-finding mission to Gibraltar to investigate controls at the border.

It follows tensions between Spain and the UK over extra border checks on the Spanish side, which have caused lengthy traffic delays.

Britain says the checks break EU free movement rules, but Spain says Gibraltar has not controlled smuggling.
The team of EU observers is expected to be despatched "as soon as possible" to assess the legality of the checks.

A row has erupted between Spain and Britain in recent weeks following the installation of an artificial reef by Gibraltar in the waters off the British territory.

Read more: BBC News - EU team to monitor Gibraltar border

Norway’s Far Right May Come to Power Despite Memory of Anders Breivik’s Killing Spree - by Charlotte McDonald-Gibson

Prableen Kaur has arrived at Grorud Naersenter, a drab shopping mall on the outskirts of Oslo, armed with hundreds of red roses and an unshakable faith in Norway’s democracy. The roses are an easy sell. “It’s an icebreaker — people usually don’t say no,” the 20-year-old Labor Party candidate says as she thrusts flowers and campaign leaflets into shoppers’ hands.

Harder to understand is her tolerance toward those sharing the views of Anders Behring Breivik, the white supremacist who left her cowering under the bodies of her friends as he calmly shot dead 69 people at a Labor Party youth camp on Utoya Island two years ago. He claimed to be on a crusade against multiculturalism and immigration, intent on wiping out the future generation of a party he blamed for the “Islamic invasion” of Norway.

“People can share their thoughts and their opinions — it is their democratic right,” says Kaur, who survived the July 22 massacre by leaping into the cold fjord. “I think democracy works better if every different opinion can be a part of the debate.”

Read more: Norway’s Far Right May Come to Power Despite Memory of Anders Breivik’s Killing Spree | TIME.com

NASA illustrates Earth's frightening chances of an asteroid collision

Earth is sitting in the path of more than 1,400 asteroids that could potentially cause significant damage, but according to NASA we likely won't see any of them smash violently into our planet anytime soon. In a chilling graphic of Earth sitting in a web of possible danger, NASA mapped out data it's collected on potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) that have intersecting orbital patterns with Earth and its neighboring planets.

The PHAs that NASA has visualized, as a part of its Jet Propulsion Labratory Photojournal project, are "fairly large" and measure at least 460-feet wide. Each of these asteroids is traveling as what the agency described as "close" to Earth's orbit. Close, NASA says, is within 4.7 million miles — which thankfully means we've got a bit of breathing room.

Read more: NASA illustrates Earth's frightening chances of an asteroid collision | The Verge

Germany To Offer Third Gender Option On Birth Certificates

As of November, Germany will be the first country in Europe to offer a "third gender" distinction on its birth certificates.

A new German law stipulates that children who are born of indeterminate gender no longer have to be categorized as "male" or "female." Instead, parents can choose to leave the space blank on their child's birth certificate, according to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. Those individuals can eventually decide whether to identify as male, female or neither.

The German legislature voted this as an amendment to the Civil Status Act on May 7. As Süddeutsche Zeitung recently noted, the "legal change has received little attention so far." But that all changed when some determined the new law, while progressive, doesn't go far enough.

FarMZ, a German Family Law Journal, recently outlined the measure's shortcomings as such: Once the third gender option is legal in Germany, those who choose to identify as "blank" are going to encounter a host of bureaucratic headaches when traveling abroad. The group suggests that Germany use an "X" to designate third-gender identifiers on its passports.

Read more: Germany To Offer Third Gender Option On Birth Certificates

Social networking in the Netherlands - by Alexandra Gowling

Social networks are very popular in the Netherlands, with on average 85 per cent of the Dutch internet audience (10 million people) using one of them in recent months.

Of the various networks available, Facebook is the most popular, with just over half of the whole Dutch population using the world’s biggest social network. Second most popular is LinkedIn, with just under half that audience, followed closely by Twitter.

The Dutch social network Hyves is most popular with older users, with two-thirds of their users over 35, while half of Tumblr’s users are under 35. More people in the 45 to 55 age bracket use Twitter and LinkedIn, while the largest age group, surprisingly perhaps, for Facebook users are the over 55s.

According to Facebook Benelux, 6,1 million Dutch people log on to their accounts every day, which is unsurprising as the Dutch use the internet almost more than anyone else in Europe.

People in the Netherlands are also using smartphones more and more, as seen in the 77 per cent of Facebook users who check their account on their smartphone or tablet. Of these six million users, 4,6 million log in every day.

Read more: Social networking in the Netherlands | Dutch News

Egypt: 'Traditional cooperation' between U.S. and Egypt based on geopolitics and money - by Tom Curry

President Barack Obama may not have directly threatened to cut aid to Egypt on Thursday, but he made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable. “While we want to sustain our relationship with Egypt, our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual when civilians are being killed in the streets and rights are being rolled back,” he said following days of violent clashes.

But what has that “traditional cooperation” been?

Although some U.S. foreign aid has been sent to Egypt since 1946, the current dimensions of the U.S. relationship with Egypt were set by the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, which President Jimmy Carter helped negotiate. As Obama and other presidents have said, the continuation of the Egypt-Israel peace accord is an anchor of stability in that volatile region.

Another dimension of the U.S.-Egypt relationship is geopolitical and based on access to the Suez Canal. The Egyptian government allows the U.S. Navy to use the canal on an expedited basis. According to the Congressional Research Service, this access allows the Navy to “deploy carrier groups swiftly to the Persian Gulf region. Without passage through the Canal, the Navy would have to deploy ships around the Cape of Good Hope — adding significant time to deployment from Norfolk, Va., to the Persian Gulf or Indian Ocean.

”'Read more: Traditional cooperation' between U.S. and Egypt based on geopolitics and money - NBC Politics

The Netherlands: If Elections Were Held Today Dutch Coalition Government Would Suffer Massive Defeat - Poll shows

According to Dutch pollster Maurice de Hond the Dutch government coalition parties VVD (Conservative) and PvdA (Labor) would, if elections were held today, together get only 34 seats, 21 for the VVD and 13 for the PvdA.  A loss of 45 seats compared to last years election

The PVV ( Party for Freedom) of anti-Islam and anti-immigration Geert Wilders, who as his opponents say is better know for his "one liner's" rather than his political realism would double it's membership base in the Dutch parliament from 15 to 30 seats and become the biggest party in the parliament.

Almere-Digest

Turkey Elections - Parties shaping their local election candidates

Unless there is an extraordinary shift in the agenda, Turkey will declare its local elections calendar on January 1, 2014, and hit the ballot box on March 30, 2014. Five months later, in August, Presidential elections will take place. After these two elections, if not predated, general elections will be held in June 2015.

When considered in this context, local elections, which will deeply impact the country’s future and are likely to have a triggering effect, have already kicked off. Perfectionist party leaders are attaching a special importance to the three strategically crucial metropolitan municipalities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Surveys are being conducted, organizations audited. And slowly, candidate profiles for these cities are being shaped.

There are multiple scenarios and name predictions enumerated for the capital city. Let us take a look at who stands a better chance in which city, and which names outshine others.

Istanbul: Istanbul means Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In a scenario where the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) loses Istanbul, it will create a demoralization in the party, as much as putting a minus sign to Erdoğan’s 11 years of success. Therefore, Erdoğan is being meticulous while picking out the candidate. If the AKP complies with its three terms limit, which indicates that no party official can hold office for more than three terms, it is likely that a strong minister from the current cabinet will be shifted to govern the city. Kadir Topbaş, the current Mayor, stands a weak chance; he is expected to be made a deputy. Among the names discussed are Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım, EU Minister Egemen Bağış and a surprise name, Industry Minister Nihat Ergün. Bağış is being considered for Beyoğlu Municipality, an area still under the rule of the AKP. In this context, there are rumors that a change in the cabinet will occur in the fall, yet Erdoğan is rumored to make the change right before the election, towards the new year.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is seeking to compete with a promising candidate. In a lot of surveys, the difference between the AKP’s Kadir Topbaş and the current Şişli Mayor, Mustafa Sarıgül is measured to have fallen to four points, despite the fact that Sarıgül has not become a CHP member yet. Sarıgül is close to becoming CHP’s candidate, but some in the nationalist wing of the CHP object to his membership. Another prominent name for CHP’s candidate for Istanbul is the deputy leader of the party, Gürsel Tekin. Other names for CHP candidacy include party spokesperson Haluk Koç, deputy group chair Muharrem İnce, journalist Can Ataklı, former Gaziantep Mayor Celal Doğan, yet they are given slight chances. 

Read more: ANKARA WHISPERS - Parties shaping their local election candidates

Gibraltar: Conflict between Britain and Spain

Gibraltar

UK Prime Minister David Cameron today telephoned European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to express his views over developments on Gibraltar.

President Barroso explained that the Commission is continuously monitoring the situation and will do what is in its competence to ensure respect of EU law.

President Barroso also expects that this matter is addressed between the two countries concerned in a way that is in line with their common membership in the EU.

Note EU-Digest:   Gibraltar is located on the tip of Spain, but is a British territory, thanks to the 1714 Treaty at Utrecht that settled the War of the Spanish Succession. Since then, it's been the source of unending tension between Britain and Spain, but tensions really soared last month when Gibraltar created dumped cement blocks into the waters around the enclave, in order to prevent Spanish boats from fishing there. This infuriated Spanish officials, who retaliated by partially blocking the border checkpoint between Spain and Gibraltar, making it almost impossible for people to travel there from Spain, with some officials calling for a return of the "Spanish Armada" to Gibraltar. Britain is now retaliating back by threatening legal action, saying that the border controls are a violation of European Union rules.

Read more: EUROPA - PRESS RELEASES - Press Release - European Commission President's phone conversation with UK Prime Minister on Gibraltar

Britain Detains Partner of Reporter Tied to Leaks Of NSA Spy Programs by Edward Snowden

The partner of Glenn Greenwald, the journalist for The Guardian who has been publishing information leaked by the former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden, was detained for nine hours by the British authorities under a counterterrorism law while on a stop in London’s Heathrow Airport during a trip from Germany to Brazil, Mr. Greenwald said Sunday.

Mr. Greenwald’s partner, David Michael Miranda, 28, is a citizen of Brazil. He had spent the previous week visiting Laura Poitras, a documentary filmmaker who has also been helping to disseminate Mr. Snowden’s leaks, in Berlin, to assist Mr. Greenwald. The trip had been paid for by The Guardian, Mr. Greenwald said, and Mr. Miranda was on his way home to Rio de Janeiro, where they live. 

Mr. Miranda, Mr. Greenwald said, was told that he was being detained under Section 7 of the British Terrorism Act, which allows the authorities to detain someone for up to nine hours for questioning and to conduct a search of personal items, often without a lawyer, to determine possible ties to terrorism. More than 97 percent of people stopped under the provision are questioned for under an hour, according to the British government. 

Civil rights groups in Britain have criticized Section 7 of the Terrorism Act, accusing the authorities of using the provision to arbitrarily stop and detain travelers, particularly Muslims. The British Home Office has said it is reviewing the provision in an effort to address the concerns. 

Read more: Britain Detains Partner of Reporter Tied to Leaks - NYTimes.com

Poland to cut number of troops in Afghanistan in October

Poland will reduce the number of its soldiers stationed in Afghanistan in October to 1,000 from 1,600 as it moves to wind down its presence there before the NATO combat mission ends next year, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday.

Read more: Poland to cut number of troops in Afghanistan in October | Reuters

Aircraft Industry: Google Maps takes you inside an Emirates Airbus A380

Never set foot inside an Emirates' Airbus 380? Now you can take a stickybeak around the superjumbo courtesy of Google Maps.

Camera-toting employees of Google Maps Streeview project – or should they now be calling it Planeview? – took Google's mapping tech onto an Emirates A380 parked at the dedicated A380 concourse at Dubai International Airport.

Virtual viewers can check out the inflight bars including some of the drinks and snacks on offer, the seats (and their legroom), the deluxe first class suites and the in-flight shower suites (usually seen only by first class passengers).

To switch between floors, click the 'E' button to visit the lower deck or hit 'B' to jump to the upper floor.

Ready for your virtual tour of an Emirates' Airbus A380? Click this link to Google Maps and then click on the image of the interior of the plane, at the left of the screen.

Read more: Google Maps takes you inside an Emirates Airbus A380! - Flights | hotels | frequent flyer | business class - Australian Business Traveller

Syria: Lessons EU needs to learn from the Syrian tragedy - by Christoph Meyer and Karen E. Smith

As the argument rages over whether to provide arms to rebels in Syria, we observe once more that initially-reluctant Western governments are pushed to act just when the available options are limited and generally unpalatable.

In contrast, preventive action can save lives and protect human rights, at significantly smaller cost and risk than acting later. European states and the European Union still need to absorb this vital lesson.

The timing and scale of the Arab uprisings was virtually unforeseeable, but once they had spread from Tunisia to Bahrain and Libya, it was unlikely that Syria would remain unaffected.

Yet, it was not inevitable that the isolated protests in March 2011 would spiral into an increasingly deadly conflict that has now cost more than 90,000 lives, involved war crimes, crimes against humanity and a growing risk of genocide, led to jihadist groups taking over in some places and threatened regional stability.

Read more: EUobserver.com / Opinion / Lessons EU needs to learn from the Syrian tragedy

Egypt: EU warns will 'urgently review' Egypt ties and Euros 5 billion aid program

European Union leaders Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso warned Egypt's army and interim government Sunday the bloc would review its ties with the country unless the violence ended.

Further escalation could have "unpredictable consequences" for Egypt and its neighbours, the presidents of the European Council and European Commission said. "This path will not succeed. It is crucial that violence ends immediately," they said.

The 28-nation bloc would continue efforts to promote an end to violence, resumption of political dialogue, and return to a democratic process, the statement added.

"To this effect, together with its member states, the EU will urgently review in the coming days its relations with Egypt and adopt measures aimed at pursuing these goals."

Senior diplomats from the 28 EU nations will Monday hold emerge\ncy talks on Egypt in Brussels in which they are expected to call for a snap meeting of foreign ministers within the next days.

The EU has pledged nearly five billion euros in loans and grants for Egypt for 2012-2013 and said shortly after the July 3 ouster of president Mohamed Morsi that aid provisions would be "under constant review" as the situation evolved.

Read more: AFP: EU warns will 'urgently review' Egypt ties

Architecture - The Netherlands - Almere: The Green Cathedral A Touristic Gem - by RM

The Green Cathedral seen from the outside

There is a local architectural curiosity called the Green Cathedral in Almere which is a replica of the Rheims Cathedral in France and worth your visit if you are in the neighborhood..

Where it is different from the real Cathedral is that it is an outline of the Rheims Cathedral defined by trees.

Inside the Green Cathedral

Quite a spectacular view, specially once you walk into the tree enclosed area. It probably can also best be seen when flying overhead. De Groene Kathedraal (The Green Cathedral), was designed by Dutch artist Marinus Boezem and replaces the stone and glass of the one in Rheims with poplar trees and sky.

About 20 years after it was started the artwork was "completed" in 1996 and is expected to reach its full height in 2015.

Unfortunately the Green Cathedral in Almere is not easy to find by outsiders because directions to the Green Cathedral are limited and not strategically located. The weathered billboard in front of the Green Cathedral is also unreadable.

Regardless of these shortcomings, the Green Cathedral certainly is a Dutch architectural and artistic gem.

Almere-Digest 

Aircraft Safety: Airlines ordered to inspect beacons after Boeing 787 fire

Transport Canada has ordered airlines to inspect the emergency beacons on their aircraft in the wake of a July 12 fire on a Boeing 787 at London’s Heathrow Airport.

The Canadian regulator said inspections should take place on a broad range of planes that have Honeywell beacons, including Boeing, Airbus, McDonnell Douglas, ATR, Lockheed Martin Corp and Dassault Aviation.

British investigators are still determining the cause of a fire aboard a parked Boeing 787 owned by Ethiopian Airlines, but they found pinched wires on a Honeywell emergency locator transmitter.

Read more: Airlines ordered to inspect beacons after Boeing 787 fire - Business - CBC News

Turkey - Energy becomes new love of large Turkish corporations

The state has been speeding away from the energy sector, in which it has been transferring its assets to the private sector through privatizations. In addition to the handover of public power plants and power distribution grids, it has been avoiding to take an active role in new investments, encouraging private sector and distributing licenses.

At the moment, some holding groups, which have particular influence on the country’s economy, have been leaping forward in the electricity business and have seized the best assets. Let’s first look at the allocation in the distribution market, which consists of 18 regional grids.

“Some names” stand out among the ones that have entered the energy business. The Kolin-Limak-Cengiz consortium, which recently bought some of Çukurova Group’s media assets from the state deposit fund TMSF, has dominated four large regions that conduct power sales to almost 10 million subscribers. The consortium won the tender for the largest of those grids, BEDAŞ, which is the grid serving the European side of Istanbul, for $2 million in May and won the Akdeniz Elektrik power grid in the same month for $550 million. In 2010, the group put down $1 billion for Uludağ Elektrik, the power distributor of Bursa and its environs. Also a company founded by this group, Çamlı Enerji, acquired the operational rights to the electricity distribution for the Central Anatolian provinces of Sivas, Tokat and Yozgat in return for $260 million. The new media group seems like it has taken a hold on four regions for $4 billion.

Read more: ENERGY - Energy becomes new love of large Turkish corporations

Armenia: Aging Concerns in Armenia on World Population Day

Armenia, just as all of Europe, is facing the issue of decreasing and aging population, however the improvement of people’s education quality can help to overcome the demographic challenges. In the European countries this is one of the fundamental principles of fighting aging of the nation, discussed last week in Geneva during the United Nations’ “Enabling Choices: Population Priorities for the 21st Century” conference.

More than 400 participants of the regional conference from 44 countries, discussed with world-known experts the demographic, reproductive health and human rights issues in Europe and Central Asia.

Among the aging nations Armenia is one of the leading countries in the region in that respect.

If now people aged 60 and older make 14 percent of the country’s total population, which is already a heavy social burden for the state, by 2050 their expected share will be more than 31 percent. Azerbaijan has 8 percent pensioners as of this moment and by 2050 will have 25, however its population will keep growing, rather than decreasing, and is expected to reach 11 million.

“Aging in Armenia is the inevitable consequence of low birth rate and high rate of emigration, which will make us face serious economic issues, and because the length of life has increased, steps should be taken to make sure that the elderly are at the extent possible integrated in the economic activities of the society,” United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Armenia Assistant Representative Garik Hayrapetyan told ArmeniaNow.

International research centers have been studying new methods of fighting the aggravating aging issue, because even large-scale investment cannot seriously improve the birth rates, hence the solution seems to be extending the potential and the experience of the elderly, rather than having them retire early.
 
Read more: Aging Concerns in Armenia on World Population Day - Society | ArmeniaNow.com

Privacy Rights: Obama's reversals on the NSA exposed

It has always been clear that Barack Obama's attitude to government surveillance has changed dramatically since he became president. But now a non-profit journalism organization has exposed how stark the reversals are. 

Power corrupts - it's not often that the old cliché gets a good illustration in the media. But New York-based non-profit newsroom ProPublica has gathered together the public record of how Barack Obama's position on surveillance has become dramatically more draconian since he became US president in 2009.

The organization, which focuses on investigative journalism "in the public interest," found that just five years ago, when he was still an Illinois senator, Obama backed a raft of legislation designed to restrict the power of the National Security Agency.

Five years later, and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's revelations have completely altered the debate. The House of Representatives duly proposed an amendment that would have imposed similar limitations, only for Obama to condemn the ideas out of hand. It was a fairly obvious reversal, but the president challenged the question when he was asked at a press conference about the "evolution" of his position on the NSA programs. "I haven't evolved on my position on the actual programs," he claimed, before adding that since becoming president, he has evaluated government surveillance programs, brought more oversight, and now believes they are "worth preserving."

Read more: Obama's reversals on the NSA exposed | World | DW.DE | 13.08.2013

The Netherlands country profile relects low-lying topography

The Netherlands' name reflects its low-lying topography, with more than a quarter of its total area under sea level.

Now a constitutional monarchy, the country began its independent life as a republic in the 16th century, when the foundations were laid for it to become one of the world's foremost maritime trading nations.

Almost 20% of the total area of the Netherlands is water, and much of the land has been reclaimed from the North Sea in efforts which date back to medieval times and have spawned an extensive system of dykes.

It is one of the world's most densely populated nations. As in many European countries, over-65s make up an increasing percentage of that population, leading to greater demands on the welfare system.
After two decades of strong growth and low unemployment, the economy ran into more troubled waters as global trade, in which the Netherlands is a major player, slowed in the early years of the new millennium.

Holland is a proud member and one of the founding members of  the EU .

Read more: BBC News - The Netherlands country profile

Egypt: disaster on Europe's doorstep - editorial

Egypt had less than two days to recover from the shock of the worst bloodshed in its modern history – at least 640 dead and 4,000 injured – when the whole deadly cycle started again on Friday: mass arrests during the night, mass demonstrations on a nationwide scale, heavy gunfire ringing out in the heart of Cairo and the first reports of scores of deaths. The abyss facing Egypt under the current military government is huge.

If the government carries out its ambition to dismantle the Muslim Brotherhood and destroy it as a political force, it will be doing something more ambitious than the dictator Hosni Mubarak attempted. But in the process it may also shatter Egypt. The sheer size of the mass demonstrations on Friday are a sign that the military regime cannot hold the country on their own, and the anti-coup forces' ability to mount such sustained defiance – and do so repeatedly, in the face of live fire – is an indication of what Egypt's new military rulers are up against.

The crackdown has nevertheless been fuelled by the support from a significant section of the population, some of whom set up roadblocks in Cairo to stop marchers from entering the centre of the city. But claims from the supporters of the military government to be the authentic, and exclusive, voice of the Egyptian people should be treated sceptically. Before the polarisation of Egyptian society goes deeper, it is worth restating a few basic hopes.

The first is that the shock generated by the deaths of fellow Egyptians will eventually bring people together. It is one thing to oppose an Islamic movement and fight – at the polls – the cause of a pluralistic, multifaith, democratic Egypt. It is quite another to applaud their deaths and justify their massacre.

So far only the Salafist al-Nour party, the liberal April 6 group and the far left revolutionary socialists have spoken against the killings. Most other factions call the Brotherhood a terrorist threat and support the government action. But the cracks are growing. Khaled Dawoud, the spokesman of the National Salvation Front, who supported the coup, resigned on Friday, tweeting that he could not continue with political parties who refused to condemn the shootings. If the ranks of the demonstrators are being swollen by prominent liberals such as the youth leader Abdul Rahman Fares and the secular poet Abdul Rahman Yousef, then a split between secular revolutionaries and the Brotherhood that goes right the way back to the start of the revolution in 2011 could be in the process of being repaired.

This could be a way forward. The forces that combined to oust one military dictatorship will have to find a way of replacing a second and even more brutal one.

The second hope is that the anti-coup protest remains focused on the coup. This is not certain at present. At least 12 Coptic churches have been torched and over 20 attacked. The Brotherhood has condemned the attacks, saying that the fact that the Coptic church applauded the coup is no justification for sectarian attacks on Christian worshippers. They should go further and provide physical protection for them, especially if the police stand by and do nothing. Sectarianism is as much an enemy of an anti-coup movement as retaliatory violence is.

The international community is starting to grasp the dimensions of what is unfolding. Europe is on Egypt's doorstep and if it descends into civil conflict, as it still might, the displaced will travel north across the sea if they can. The EU foreign policy representative Baroness Ashton, who met with President Mohamed Morsi and called for utmost restraint, should continue with her mission.

 Diplomatic pressure from Europe is all the more important as Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah declared his support for what he termed Egypt's "fight against terrorism". There are no easy options here, but only one condition will guarantee Egypt's stability – the return to full democratic legitimacy.

Read m ore: Egypt: disaster on Europe's doorstep | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian

European Auto Industry: Kick-starting Europe's electric vehicle industry

Electric vehicles (e-vehicles, or EVs) are set to play a key role in the future of urban mobility, reducing pollution, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels and saving drivers money. Although e-vehicles make up only a tiny fraction of the European car fleet at present, sales are expected to grow exponentially over the coming years, thanks, in no small measure, to advances in e-vehicle technology being made by EU-funded researchers.

Fully electric vehicle technologies that optimise safety, energy consumption and kinetic energy recovery are also major contributors to on-going improvements in the performance of hybrid vehicles.

Across the European Union transport accounts for more than 70\;% of total oil consumption, the vast majority of which is imported from abroad. With more than one million additional cars going onto Europe's roads every 50 days, fuel consumption, congestion and pollution will only continue to increase if the internal combustion engine remains the main source of automotive power. Hence, the EU, national governments and private companies are spending billions on supporting the development of e-vehicles.

'Rather than offering forms of mobility based on ever-increasing energy prices, the industry is now faced with satisfying a rational demand for mobility: clean, safe and low-energy-consumption vehicles, requiring less energy to be produced, and using recyclable and eventually self-disposable materials,' says Dr Pietro Perlo, the CEO of Interactive Fully Electrical Vehicles (IFEVS), an Italian SME dedicated to e-vehicle development.

Read more: Kick-starting Europe's electric vehicle industry

European Real Estate:Netherlands real estate bubble bursts during downturn - by Nigel Cassidy

Figures have confirmed that the countries that share the Euro currency finally emerged from recession in the second quarter of 2013, with growth of 0.3%.

However, despite the cautious optimism, the economic picture remains far from rosy and not just for those in the south of Europe.

The Netherlands is struggling with the bursting of a real estate bubble, on a scale only seen in the United States and Spain.

Read more: BBC News - Netherlands real estate bubble bursts during downturn

Egypt Christians Among Over 500 Killed; Churches Burning

Minority Christians woke up in an Egypt on the verge of civil war with as many as 27 churches being attacked and at least two Coptic Christians killed among the at least 525 people who lost their lives in an army crackdown on protests and related clashes.

The Bible Society headquarters in the capital Cairo, Egypt’s main Bible publisher, was also attacked, in the violence that also inured nearly 3,000 people nationwide, Christians and officials said.

Clashes began Wednesday, August 15, when Egyptian security forces cleared out thousands of people at two sit-ins in Cairo demanding the return of ousted president Mohammed Morsi. Dozens of people were believed to have been killed in the operation at the Nahda Square and the Rabaa al-Adawiya sites, where protesters set up camps following Morsi’s ouster on July 3.

Interim President Adly Mansour declared a nation-wide state of emergency while Vice-President Mohammed El Baradei announced his resignation saying he “cannot bear the responsibility for one drop of blood.”

Christians, seen as supporting the ouster of Morsi, were soon targets of furious Morsi supporters, rights investigators and Christian leaders confirmed. Dozens of churches, schools, monasteries, stores, and homes were ransacked and destroyed, according to witnesses, activists and local Christians.

Read more: Egypt Christians Among Over 500 Killed; Churches Burning

How the West failed Egypt's democracy: by Jeremy Kinsman

The death toll in Egypt’s summer of anger makes you wonder how dumping Hosni Mubarak two years ago could possibly have been worth such a cost.

International surveys repeatedly show that in times of crisis and disruption most people choose peace and security over justice.

Egyptians turfed out Mubarak in a quest for justice. In the process, they lost security. What went wrong? And what now?

Getting rid of a dictator is relatively easy compared to the work of constructing democracy from the ground up.

Democracy is not a short-term process that can be downloaded from outside. It has to rely on behaviour that is built up over time, and where the building blocks are civil society and its habits of give and take.

Egyptians, under successive dictators, had no opportunity to build these vital capacities, and the result of that is what we have been witnessing these past weeks.

Read more: How the West failed Egypt's democracy: Jeremy Kinsman - World - CBC News

Europe's Hotbed of Entrepreneurship? France - by John Tozzi

You don’t need to be Gérard Depardieu to think that France’s high taxes and generous welfare state smother entrepreneurship. It’s surprising, then, that France gained more new businesses from 2007 to 2011 than the rest of the wealthy economies known as the Group of Seven (G-7), which include the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, Italy, and Japan, combined.

That’s according to a new tally of government data by consulting firm RSM. France registered a net gain of 562,000 businesses in that period, compared with 95,000 in the U.S. and 75,000 in Germany, according to the report (pdf). (RSM used each country’s national statistics and acknowledged that direct comparisons are difficult because governments report the data differently.) What happened in France?

The jump can be traced to a change that then-President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government made in 2009 to simplify the rules and lower taxes for people forming very small businesses through a program called Auto Entrepreneur. (It has nothing to do with cars: “auto” refers to “self,” as in self-employed.)

The program proved so popular that the current Socialist government of François Hollande has proposed limiting who can take advantage of the favorable tax treatment. The Financial Times reported in June that the government was considering limiting how long businesses could qualify for the program and lowering the ceiling on revenue. The move sparked backlash online, with tens of thousands of French entrepreneurs defending the program.

Read more: Europe's Hotbed of Entrepreneurship? France - Businessweek

European car market begins rebound as economy improves

Renault Fluence

The European car market is showing the first signs of improvement as a recession ends in the 17 countries using the euro and deliveries in key regional markets begin to improve.

Ford Motor Co.'s deliveries last month in its 19 main European markets increased 9 percent from a year earlier to 90,000 cars, the company said today. "The worst is over," Roelant de Waard, head of sales and marketing for the Ford of Europe division, said in a phone interview on Wednesday from the unit's headquarters in Cologne, Germany. "It's a bit early to say that we're now on a way up. Certainly the outlook has improved."

In July, new-car sales rose 2 percent in Germany and 1 percent in France. Both the UK and Spain reported double-digit rises at 13 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Even the monthly decline in Italy was the smallest this year, following a drop across the region in June to the lowest demand since 1996.

Gross domestic product in the euro area rose 0.3 percent in the three months through June, led by expansions in Germany and France, ending a six-quarter streak of contractions, the European Union statistics office in Luxembourg said on Wednesday.

Even so, new-car sales in Europe, including the non-EU countries of Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, are still projected to reach a two-decade low for the full year in a sixth annual drop.

"Markets are stabilizing in Europe and we will see some positive numbers in the second half," Christoph Stuermer, a Frankfurt-based analyst at analyst IHS Automotive, said today. "The second half of the year will be better than the first as markets are bottoming out, yet the total year will remain negative."

Read more: European car market begins rebound as economy improves

U.S. economy still hog-tied by lack of small-business credit - by Linda Nazareth

Economists disagree on a lot of things, but here is one that everybody pretty much knows for sure: Credit is the lifeline to an economy, and when it dries up you can count on economic growth following suit. That’s why a new analysis on small-business lending in the United States is so concerning.

The report, by the Cleveland Federal Reserve, makes the blunt point that since the Great Recession, U.S. small-business lending has dropped sharply. According to its figures, the value of commercial and industrial loans of less than $1-million (U.S.) – a figure often used as a proxy for small-business loans – is now 78 per cent of its 2007 second-quarter levels. In actual numbers, there were 344,000 fewer of these loans at the end of the period, despite the fact that there were 100,000 more small businesses in the United States.

So who’s at fault? According to the Fed researchers, everybody, apparently. Although the recession hurried things along, banks have been shifting away from small-business lending since the late 1990s, instead looking for more profitable ventures. Small businesses have cut back on their asks too, knowing in advance that they are not credit-worthy. Small-business owners often put up their homes as collateral – something that was easier to do in the (real estate bubble) pre-recession days than it has been more recently. Regulatory standards have gotten tighter as well.

Read more: U.S. economy still hog-tied by lack of small-business credit - The Globe and Mail

US Economy: Cosumer confidence drops - Fed cheap money dries up - US stocks lower

"The unavoidable and eminent third collapse of the market since 2000, will certainly not be the charm the world n needs as euphoria turns to disaster", says Fortune Magazine

"Unfortunately the worst possible outcome will become reality. Investors will leave the game and lose faith in the public market."

"You don't need to be Einstein to understand that when the predominant fundamentals inflating the market are artificial, such as they are today, declines will be less predictable and more devastating".

"Absent of any sustainable fundamentals, a market almost entirely controlled by the central bank and institutional traders, has little attraction for ordinary investors. Those investors will be left holding losses when those in control “deleverage” their risk."

"Don’t be fooled by lazy asset allocators, who use a so called, “diversified approach”. This euphoric asset bubble involves both the stock and bond markets. Security in this kind of balanced portfolio is invalid, and investors will be crushed."

EU-Digest

The US-EU trade deal: don't buy the hype - by Dean Baker

There has been a big push out of Washington to convince the public that an economic bonanza awaits us if we can just complete a trade deal with the European Union. This is complete nonsense, unless we define down bonanza to mean finding a quarter on the street.

The first point to recognize is that the promised pot of gold from this trade deal is illusory. Last week, the media held out the promise of an increase in US GDP of $122bn from the trade agreement. The facts that this referred to GDP in 2027, and that the $122bn would be in 2027 dollars, were absent from the discussion.

It also might have been worth mentioning that this $122bn was a best-case scenario in the study that was cited (pdf).

This figure assumed that the trade agreement included all plausible reductions in tariff barriers.
The study also gave numbers for a deal that it described as "less ambitious" and, presumably, more realistic. Its projection of the increase in 2027 GDP in this scenario is 0.21% of GDP. That is roughly equal to a normal month's growth. Since it will take 14 years to achieve this gain, the boost to growth would be just 0.015 percentage points annually.

If that sounds too small to notice, you've got the picture. And just to be clear, this study was produced by an organization in the United Kingdom, the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR),* that is for the most part very supportive of the trade deal.

As growth policy, this trade deal doesn't pass the laugh test, but that doesn't mean that it may not be very important to a number of special interests and, for this reason, bad news for most of the public. Since conventional barriers to trade between the US and EU are already very low, the focus of the deal will be on non-conventional barriers, meaning various regulatory practices.

Each industry group has a list of regulations that it finds troublesome, which it has been unable to eliminate or weaken at the national or sub-national level. An EU-US trade agreement provides these industry groups with an opportunity to do an end-run around such regulation.

For example, several countries in Europe and many state and county governments in the United States impose restrictions that make fracking difficult or impossible. In their dream agreement, the oil and gas industries will have a set of minimal restrictions on fracking. The deal will then define anything more stringent as a restraint on trade subject to penalties.

There are likely to be similar effects on food regulation. Europe has far more restrictions on genetically modified foods and crops than the United States. Since it is not possible, given current European politics, for the industry to get these restrictions eliminated, it will be looking to include provisions in a trade deal that define limits on genetically modified foods and crops as trade barriers.

Millions of people took part in the efforts last year to defeat Sopa and Pipa, two bills that would require individuals and internet intermediaries to proactively work to stop the transmission of unauthorized reproductions of copyrighted material. The entertainment industry would very much like to include comparable provisions in a trade agreement, so that it can avoid having to have another fight over this issue in Congress.

The financial industry will also be at the table trying to include language that limits the ability of governments to impose regulations. It is likely that it will try to include wording that would make it impossible to enforce a financial transactions tax like the one now being considered by the European Union. Although the industry may not be able to sway enough votes in European parliaments to prevent them from supporting a tax, they can use an EU-US trade deal to make that fact irrelevant.

And just as has been the case with every other trade agreement over the past quarter century, the pharmaceutical industry is looking to this trade deal as an opportunity to enhance its patent monopolies. It will likely push for restrictions on price controls and probably also ways to extend the length and scope of their patent monopolies. The CEPR study does not include any projection of the economic losses that would result if the pharmaceutical industry is successful in increasing protection and pushing up drug prices.

The list of industry special interest groups that hope to gain from this deal could be extended at some length, but the point should be clear. This deal is first and foremost about providing powerful industry lobbies with an opportunity to circumvent the normal political process.

As far as the projected gains to the economy from the deal, finding a quarter on the street is the right comparison. If we apply the projected income gain of 0.21% to the projected median personal income in 2027, it comes to a bit more than $50 a year. That's a little less than 15 cents a day. Don't spend it all in one place.
Read more: The US-EU trade deal: don't buy the hype | Dean Baker | Comment is free | theguardian.com

Germany poised to overtake US as world's No 2 exporter this year

Germany could overtake the United States to become the world's second-biggest exporter this year, but its share of global trade is likely to dip as its exports lag global expansion, German chambers of commerce said on Thursday.

Europe's biggest economy, currently the world's third-biggest exporter after China and the United States, has seen its share of world trade fall to 7.5 percent by last year, from a post-German unification peak of 11 percent in 1991-92, according to DIHK Chambers of Commerce.

DIHK sees Germany's share slipping to 7 percent this year and in 2014.

The German economy is rebounding after a slow patch. Data on Wednesday showed it grew 0.7 percent in the second quarter, its fastest quarterly expansion in more than a year and helping pull the euro zone out of an 18-month recession. 

Read more: Germany poised to overtake US as world's No 2 exporter this year: DIHK - The Economic Times

Britain has 'Alice in Wongaland' economy - by Steven Swinford

Britain has an "Alice in Wongaland" economy in which people are taking out payday loans and raiding their savings to fuel shopping sprees.

However Ann Pettifor, of Prime Economics, warned that the improved figures were fuelled by debt and will ultimately prove to be "unsustainable".

She also warned that the government's Help to Buy scheme, under which people can take out government-backed mortgages to buy new homes, will create another "bubble".

She said: "I think it's artificial and can't be sustained. People's incomes are falling in real terms, and have done so for five years. Now there's been this sudden, go on let's just go made because everyone says its recovery.

"At a fundamental level it's quite dangerous because household debt is still 153 per cent of GDP.
"There's nothing seriously underpinning this recovery, and that's why it's Alice in Wongaland, the confidence fairy is out there."

Read more: Britain has 'Alice in Wongaland' economy - Telegraph

EU, Qatar, Iran and Turkey condemn latest massacre of Egypt protesters

Qatar has joined regional giants Turkey and Iran in condemning the Egyptian junta's massacre today against protesters in Cairo, while the European Union said the development was "extremely worrying".

EU said reports that protesters had been killed in a security crackdown were "extremely worrying" and called for restraint from Egyptian authorities.

At least 94 people have been killed on Wednesday when they cleared a camp of Cairo protesters who were demanding the reinstatement of deposed President Mohamed Morsi, according to Al Jazeera's correspondent on the ground.

At least six members of the Egyptian security forces were shot dead, the state news agency reported.

"The reports of deaths and injuries are extremely worrying," Michael Mann, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said.

"We reiterate that violence won't lead to any solution and we urge the Egyptian authorities to proceed with utmost restraint."

Turkey's president Abdullah Gul branded the crackdown as "unacceptable".

Read more: EU, Qatar, Iran and Turkey condemn latest massacre of Egypt protesters

Russia eyes Council of Europe to secure return of pilot jailed in US

A US court’s refusal to review the 20-year sentence for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko has opened the door to appeal to the Council of Europe (COE) to have him returned home, a top Russian diplomat said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry's special representative for human rights, Konstantin Dolgov, made his comments soon after The New York Court of Appeals rejected the motion for a full court review of Yaroshenko’s case.

Konstantin Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a US court in 2011 for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to smuggle drugs to the United States. He was initially arrested in Liberia following a sting operation and handed over to the US despite protests from Russia and violations of diplomatic code.

The pilot himself has maintained his innocence to this day, saying that his poor command of English prevented him from understanding the nature of suggestions he was getting from undercover DEA agents.

The pilot’s relatives had earlier told the press that the case was possibly an attempt by US authorities to extract some evidence against Viktor Bout - another Russian citizen illegally extradited to the US and sentenced as a result of yet another sting operation.

Dolgov noted that Russia was disappointed by the latest US court ruling, but added that it was “a continuation of the absolutely unjust and biased line that US law enforcement agencies and the country’s court system are carrying out against our citizen, starting from his abduction on Liberian territory and illegal extradition to the USA in violation of international law.”

Read more: Russia eyes Council of Europe to secure return of pilot jailed in US — RT Russian politics

European Stock Markets Outperforming Wall Street - by Wanfeng Zhou

European stock markets have outperformed their U.S. counterparts lately as signs grew that the region's economy has finally turned the corner. But they are still lagging U.S. shares, which have hit record highs for the year to date.

"There is some talk of global money arriving in Europe as Europe claws its way out of recession," said Rupert Baker, a European equity sales executive at Mirabaud Securities.

Read more: Wall Street ends down on Fed uncertainty; data boosts Europe | Reuters

Pornography: The Netherlands hosts more porn sites than any European country

The Netherlands is Europe's virtual red light district, hosting more porn websites than any other European country, according to new research.

The Netherlands hosts 187 million web pages of porn - or 26% of the total European porn network - putting it in second place in the world porn league table. This despite a population of less than 17 million.

The Netherlands is also home to more porn site domain names - a total of 1.8 million. Britain, in third place in the ranking, hosts just 500,000 porn sites.

Read more: DutchNews.nl - The Netherlands hosts more porn sites than any European country

The Netherlands-Almere: is the Netherlands still suffering from the "Dutch Self Confidence Disease"? by RM

Dutch disease can be described as the economic condition that arises when a vast amount of wealth, resulting from external factors, flows into a country. Usually these windfall revenues create high inflation and sustain a currency priced beyond its competitive value. It drives up production costs and leaves the output of the economy uncompetitive. Capital invested in the economy becomes unproductive and the productivity of labour declines.

In the 1960's, North Sea oil and gas was the easy and irresistible challenge for the Netherlands to quickly create great financial prosperity. But unfortunately without the steadying hand of government, using policy measures to maintain the competitive viability of the overall economy, the boon soon became a monumental bust.

Basically everyone in the Netherlands is somehow still living in this 60's fantasy-world  and living beyond their means including to having a cocky attitude about it.  .

The Netherland's experience demonstrates that the Dutch disease is a condition that has to be met with policies to maintain the competitiveness of the whole economy if  you don't want the good fortune of a sudden increase in externally generated revenues to become a costly bubble to an economy. Today, we find municipal governments in the Netherlands not really seriously looking at what makes their city attractive to foreign investors in order to create new investments and jobs, but instead most seem to be haggling among  themselves about political, internal and trivial administrative matters.

Instead organizations like the World Trade Center and the Chambers of Commerce and Tourist organizations should become an integral part of strategies which increase interest, investment and employment for the local community.  Obviously it can not be a one man show, but must be a joint effort of people, organizations and corporations, which have a common and personal interest to increase the exposure of their city in order to create wealth.

It's a big world out there and you need to blow your own horn.  Just putting out a brochure (often only in Dutch) does not get investors too excited.

No one will come to your area if you can't get out of your comfort-zone and start putting in some "sweat and tears" to make it happen .

Almere-Digest

German and French economies grew faster than the United States and pull euro zone out of recession

The German and French economies grew faster than the United States in the second quarter, pulling the euro zone out of its longest recession.

Growth in the 17-country bloc was 0.3 percent from the previous quarter, with its two biggest economies both revealing unexpected strength, data from the European Union's statistics office Eurostat showed on Wednesday. A Reuters poll had forecast 0.2 percent.

Germany grew 0.7 percent, its largest expansion in more than a year thanks largely to domestic private and public consumption.

France's economy expanded 0.5 percent, pulling out of a shallow recession to post its strongest quarterly growth since early 2011. The turnaround was driven by consumer spending and industrial output, although investment dropped again.

Read more: Germany, France pull euro zone out of recession | Reuters

Egypt troops clear Morsi protests - EU deplores loss of life and considers speedy return to civilian rule essential

Egyptian security forces have moved in to clear two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo, leaving several dead. Figures about the people killed fluctuate betweem 8 - 600 depending to whom you are listening.

Note EU-Digest: It was also announced yesterday that Egypt’s new military-appointed government on Tuesday named a roster of generals as provincial governors, raising fears of a return to the authoritarianism of former President Hosni Mubarak. 

The New York Times reported that of of the 25 provincial governors named, 19 are generals: 17 from the military and 2 from the police. One police general has become well known for his openly insubordinate refusal to protect supporters of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist whose candidacy was advanced by the Muslim Brotherhood. 

None of Mr. Morsi’s Islamist appointees — 11 of Egypt’s 27 governors — were kept on, but six of nine generals whom he had appointed to governorships retained those posts, although one was moved to Alexandria from the Red Sea region. 

By naming so many generals, the new government installed by Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi also returned to one of Mr. Mubarak’s trademark tactics, using the governorships to cultivate the loyalty of top officers while extending the grip of his police state. 

Even some founders of the petition drive that paved the way for Mr. Morsi’s ouster began for the first time to question the leaders they had helped bring to power. “Our reasons for revolting against the two regimes were the same, so it’s not right for governors to be appointed this way,” Hassan Shaheen, an organizer of the petition drive, known as Tamarrod, said, according to the state newspaper Al Ahram. 

The European Union said on Saturday it deplored the loss of life in Egypt and was following developments there with concern after deadly clashes in Cairo between protesters against the interim military-backed government and police.

EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton said the authorities should ensure a speedy transition to civilian rule and repeated demands that political detainees, including President Mohammed Morsi who was ousted by the army on July 3, should be released.

A spokesman said Ashton "deeply deplores the loss of life" after reports that dozens or more of Morsi's supporters were shot dead in the Egyptian capital early today as violence erupted after a night of massive rallies for and against the ousted Islamist president. 

So far no reactions from the US Government.  e

 

To view live report more here: Egypt troops clear Morsi protests: live - Telegraph

Syria: General Dempsey Again Warns on Syria War

General Martin Dempsey is at it again. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is traveling in the Middle East, seemingly making it clear that he doesn’t want any part of the war in Syria. As I reported a while back, in a letter to members of Congress Dempsey had earlier warned that all of the options open to the United States in the Syrian civil war are bad ones. At that time, Dempsey drew fire from hawks and from advocates who want more and stronger direct US involvement in the Syrian war.

Now, it appears that both Dempsey and the Obama administration are concerned about the Syrian war spreading into Jordan. In the past, the United States has used Jordan as a launching pad for CIA-trained rebels fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad. But the rebellion in Syria is boomeranging, or “blowing back,” as these things usually do.

Following reports that Syrian rebels, especially the radical Islamists, are trying to spread the conflict into Jordan—particularly ironic, since Jordan is funneling weapons to the anti-Assad fighters—The New York Times reports that Dempsey is concerned over the threat to Jordan:

Note EU-Digest: Basically the situation in Syria boils down to the word "chaos" whatever way you look at it and the country is systematically being destroyed.. Several things will need to happen if the conference planned by Russia and the US has a change to succeed. For one it will not only require no precondtions but certainly a participation of all parties concerned including all religious groups which are part of the Syrian secular fabric.

Read more: General Dempsey Again Warns on Syria War | The Nation

Eurozone turning a corner as recession set to end -by Pan Pylas

The recession that’s gripped the eurozone since late 2011 is likely over.

On Wednesday official figures are expected to show that economic growth among the 17 countries that use the euro inched up 0.2 percent in the April-June quarter compared with the previous quarter.

The increase is slight. But it would end six straight quarters of a debilitating recession — the longest to afflict the single-currency bloc since its creation in 1999.

And it would represent an encouraging sign for other economies, including the United States, the world’s largest, because the eurozone is the world’s biggest trading bloc. The eurozone’s recession held back growth in the United States, Japan and elsewhere as European consumers and businesses spent less on goods from those nations.

‘‘Concerns about the eurozone were causing a lot of companies to put investment on hold,’’ said David Owen, chief European economist at Jefferies International.

The eurozone’s recession was a byproduct of the US debt crisis that engulfed the currency union in 2010. The crisis forced debt-laden governments to impose painful cuts, spooked investors and raised doubts about the viability of the eurozone. Shrunken government spending and higher taxes devastated living standards in much of the eurozone, slowed economies and drove the bloc’s unemployment rate to a record 12.1 percent.

Read more: Eurozone turning a corner as recession set to end - Europe news - Boston.com

US Deficit Under Control Fallacy: Republicans and Democrats Both Miscalculated - by R.Glenn Hubbard

Two years ago, Adm. Mike Mullen, at the time the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that debt was the “single biggest threat to our national security” — not some rogue nation, or terrorist group, but debt. What makes the threat of exploding debt especially dangerous is that it’s not like a faucet that can be easily turned down. Federal, state and city governments in the United States have lost their fiscal grip, and the saga of Detroit’s bankruptcy is just one example.

Astonishingly, when the Congressional Budget Office recently lowered its forecast of future deficits, many voices on the left claimed that the problem had been overblown by “austerity scaremongers” (that’s us). Even more astonishingly, some voices on the right have renewed calls to “starve the beast” now that deficits are supposedly under control.

Both responses are wrong, but for different reasons. 

First, “the deficit is now under control” fallacy. The C.B.O. did indeed say that the average federal budget deficit would be $62 billion lower per year than was predicted before. That sounds good, but it lacks context. The C.B.O. still anticipates a 2015 deficit of $378 billion. And Uncle Sam is heading — and this is the best-case scenario — toward nearly a trillion dollars of red ink every year after 2023. In an effort to alert Congress to the danger, the C.B.O. also publishes a more realistic alternative fiscal scenario that anticipates how much will actually be spent by the Treasury in the coming decade. The realistic scenario predicts $1.76 trillion more in debt than the old baseline. For anyone willing to question authority, it gets worse. Both official scenarios naïvely assume a return to old norms of full employment, robust growth and moderate interest rates. How many unfulfilled summers of recovery will pass before policy makers will adjust that rosy outlook? 

Congress should modify the budget treatment of entitlement programs. The federal government continues to analyze Social Security and Medicare through the lens of cash accounting: counting up the costs of new long-term obligations not in the year the obligation is made, but off in the distant future when they must be paid. Private firms must accumulate funds to meet their pension obligations, why not Uncle Sam? This kind of rule in Detroit would have saved the city, and its workers, from the mess they’re in today. Changes in the accrued liabilities of Social Security and Medicare, in particular, should be assessed on the federal budget each year. That change would force elected officials to make the tough choices now — raising taxes, cutting other spending or reforming entitlements — instead of punting to tomorrow. 

But tighter ropes may be needed. Perhaps a 28th Amendment to the Constitution requiring a balanced budget. While this idea may appear radical, it is favored by about 70 percent of Americans.

The amendment may be forced on Congress, given that 32 states have petitioned for its adoption since 1975, two states shy of the constitutional trigger. 

In 1982, 1995 and 2011, some version of balanced-budget legislation passed one but not both chambers of Congress. Those early amendment drafts had many critics, both Democratic and Republican, and many of their criticisms were valid. Successive versions became more of a small-government litmus test than a solution. Let’s fix that. 

If our goal is to “balance” instead of just “starve” the federal beast, the amendment will trust voters to choose the amount of government it wants so long as the sticker price is honest, and there will be as many Democratic senators on board as Republicans. Here are three practical modifications that Congress should consider in a new balanced budget amendment.

Read more: Republicans and Democrats Both Miscalculated - NYTimes.com

Automobile Industry: EU and US car industries pull out of ditch

Car industries in Europe and the United States and Europe are showing clear signs of getting back on track after severe setbacks in the financial and debt crises.

The US auto market returned to pre-crisis levels in July and the slump in European sales seemed to ease.

US car sales reached the best levels for seven years as American consumers are being encouraged by low interest rates and a boom in the shale oil and gas industry.

A closely watched indicator, the sales adjusted annualised rate (SAAR), gave a reading of 15.67 million units, allowing the sector to return to the volumes it knew before the 2007 global financial crisis that crippled the sector.

It's a stunning recovery from a deep and painful downturn which pushed General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and which forced the American auto industry to undergo massive restructuring.

Both GM and Ford last month reported better-than-expected results for the quarter while Chrysler inflated the earnings of its parent company Fiat.

Read more: SKNVibes | US, EU car industries pull out of ditch

Personal Privacy: Never Give Stores Your ZIP Code. Here's Why - by Adam Tanner

Why do merchants sometimes ask us for our ZIP code when we buy something?

I recently visited the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, an interesting addition to Sin City’s attractions. I paid my admission with a credit card, prompting the museum ticket seller to ask me: “What’s your ZIP code?”
When I paused for a moment, she added: “It’s for marketing purposes.”

As much as I had heard good things about the museum, I was unlikely to return soon as I live far from Las Vegas, so I was not anxious to receive subsequent marketing. She said it was okay not to give the ZIP code, and then addressed me by name in wishing me a good visit.

Jo Anna Davis remembers one ZIP code request that did not end well. A California victim of domestic violence who works at a group to help other victims, she guards her privacy carefully. Over the years she became a loyal customer of Ulta, the beauty care company. On one occasion she purchased a skin care kit which caused an unpleasant reaction. She brought the kit back to the store for a refund, and the clerk asked for Davis’ ZIP code to process the transaction.

Read more: Never Give Stores Your ZIP Code. Here's Why - Forbes

Norway: Apple aerial map photos blocked over Oslo in Norway

Norway's government is refusing to let Apple take aerial photography of the capital city Oslo to create 3D images for its Maps app, reports local media.

There are security concerns about access to detailed views of government buildings, says newspaper Aftenposten.

Anyone wishing to fly over Oslo to take pictures requires a licence from the authorities, which has been declined according to official documents.

However satellite imagery, as used by other map brands, is not protected.

Nokia has 3D-imagery of Oslo in its maps but only for parts of the city.
Security measures have tightened in Norway since Anders Breivik planted a bomb outside government premises in the capital before carrying out a separate killing spree at a youth camp two years ago.

Read more: BBC News - Apple aerial map photos blocked over Oslo in Norway

The Netherlands: Dutch Prince Friso dies after year and half in coma

Dutch Prince Johan Friso has died after a year and a half in a coma following an accident at an Austrian ski resort, officials say.

Prince Friso, who was 44, was moved from hospital in London back to the Netherlands last month, but had since suffered complications.

He was hit by an avalanche in February 2012 and buried for 15 minutes.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima are said to be on their way home from a holiday in Greece.
"Prince Friso has died of complications related to the hypoxic brain injury, which he suffered as the result of his skiing accident in Lech, Austria on 17 February 2012," a royal palace statement said.

Read more: BBC News - Dutch Prince Friso dies after year in coma

France: Middle-aged French job seeker confronts Hollande - by Mehdi Chebil

French President François Hollande’s pledge of a turnaround in French unemployment by the end of this year has failed to convince older job seekers, resulting in one confronting the president – and the media – during his PR tour of the country.

French President François Hollande’s efforts to drum up support for his economic policies and lift the morale of the notoriously gloomy French public were challenged last week by a sceptical older job seeker complaining that the government was doing nothing "concrete" to tackle unemployment.

The verbal confrontation between Nathalie Michaud (pictured, above) – who unintentionally appeared as a representative for France’s 3,538,500 job seekers – and the Socialist president was captured by TV cameras on August 7 in front of the employment centre of La Roche-sur-Yon in Western France.

"I’ve been looking for a job for a year and a half; I have to go back to my parent’s home because I can’t find work… What are you going to do for people like me?" asked the 50-year-old woman.
"That’s why we’re here, to find solutions", replied Hollande, who was clearly surprised by the woman’s angry tone.

"No, but what are we going to do? Right now there is nothing concrete," demanded Michaud to an uncomfortable Hollande, who quickly escaped Michaud – and the jostling media – by darting into the employment centre.

In France, job seekers over 50 account for 30 percent of the long-term unemployed (those out of work for more than one year). Since the 2008 financial crisis, the unemployment rate of people aged 50 and over has almost doubled from 4.7 percent to 7.1 percent.


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