07-05-2016, 09:58 PM
*** 6-Jul-16 World View -- Attack on Islam's holy site in Medina caps end-of-Ramadan jihadist carnage
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Attack on Islam's holy site in Medina caps end-of-Ramadan jihadist carnage
****
![[Image: g160705b.jpg]](http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g160705b.jpg)
The aftermath of the suicide bombing attack on the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia (Arab News)
Muslims around the world are horrified and appalled that the grave of
the Prophet Mohammed in Medina was targeted by a suicide bomber on
Monday. Four policemen became suspicious of an individual who was
approaching the Prophet's Mosque, and when they questioned him, he
blew up his explosive belt. Only the four policemen were killed, but
they're actions are being credited with saving the lives of many
others.
Earlier, two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the Faraj
al-Omran Mosque in Qatif, with no casualties. And a suicide bomber
blew himself up near the US consulate in Jeddah, although some Saudi
authorities say that it was the mosque next door, not the consulate,
that was the target of the attack. Two policemen were lightly wounded
in this attack.
There were no claims of responsibility for the three attacks, but it's
assumed that the so-called Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh)
is responsible. It's not even known if the three attacks were
coordinated, or if they were independent attacks, all scheduled for
the last day of Ramadan, in accordance with pre-Ramadan incitement by
ISIS.
Early in June, ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani told "lone
wolves" and other ISIS supporters:
[indent]<QUOTE>"We will make this month [Ramadan], inshallah, a month
of calamities for the infidels everywhere. This call specifically
goes out to the supporters of [ISIS] in Europe and
America."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The scale of the carnage inflicted by jihadists extremists over the
past week alone has been staggering. The attacks included more
than 250 killed by a truck bomb in a crowded Baghdad market in Iraq;
44 killed at an airport in Istanbul, Turkey; 23 killed in a siege of a
café in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
And yet, in another sense, the ISIS incitement was not really
fulfilled. The attacks during the month of Ramadan killed over 800
people worldwide, but the only one that really targeted "Europe and
America" was the ISIS-inspired lone wolf who killed 49 people in a gay
bar in Orlando, Florida.
As I've written many times in the past, there is a war being
prosecuted by al-Qaeda and by ISIS, but it's not a war against
Westerners or Christians. The huge mass of casualties from the
jihadists wars are other Muslims, and the number of Westerners is
minuscule by comparison. This is a war by Muslims against Muslims,
whether it's Sunnis versus Shias, Sauds versus Wahhabis, or some other
fault line.
Possibly nothing illustrates this more than the attack on the
Prophet's Mosque in Medina. This was a shocking escalation in ISIS's
war against Muslims. Medina is the second holiest city in Islam,
behind Mecca, and is always crowded with Muslim visitors. ISIS
considers the Saudi government to be infidels in league with the West,
and so perhaps Medina could somehow be a "Western" target. This has
been particularly true since November 20, 1979, when young jihadists
led by terrorist Juhayman al-Oteibi seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
By the end, the official death toll was 127 soldiers and 117
militants. Unconfirmed reports indicate that over 1,000 civilians
lost their lives. ( "12-Sep-2015 World View -- Saudi Arabia's Grand Mosque, site of huge construction accident, has links to 9/11"
)
But whatever ISIS's justification for attacking Medina, it's still
Muslims that are being killed, and it's still the second holiest
shrine in Islam. As one Muslim tweeted on Tuesday, "Is there anyone
on earth who still thinks these barbarians HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH
ISLAM?" Arab News and The National (UAE) and CNN
****
**** Bond yields continue to plummet globally into negative territory after Brexit
****
Investors worldwide are continuing to seek "safe havens" by investing
in government bonds. The demand for these bonds is forcing prices up
to historical levels, which means that their yields (interest rates)
are falling to historic levels, increasing to negative levels.
Bond yields had already pushed many bond yields lower, thanks to
central banks "printing money" via quantitative easing, and pouring it
into the banking system. This has pushed bond yields on the most
popular bonds in Japan, Germany, Switzerland and much of Western
Europe below zero. A negative yield means that if an investor invests
a million dollars in bonds, then he'll get less than a million dollars
back when the bonds expire.
The Brexit referendum vote, which mandated that Britain leave the
European Union, apparently has accelerated the plunge in bond yields
as an unexpected consequence, because uncertainty about the UK and EU
economies has caused investors to flee to safe havens. ( "25-Jun-16 World View -- Fallout from Brexit: Impact on geopolitics, economics, and stock markets"
)
On Tuesday, ten-year US Treasury bond yields, going into uncharted
territory, fell to 1.367%, down from an already extremely low 1.47% on
Friday.
In Europe, the yield on 10-year UK government bonds ("gilts") fell to
a record low of 0.780%. The Bank of England has already announced
that there will be further quantitative easing during the summer. The
yield on Germany's 10-year bonds ("bunds") fell further into negative
territory to -0.182%. Switzerland's 50-year bond yields became
negative for the first time on Tuesday.
At the same time, massive injections of "printed" money by central
banks is keeping the stock markets at historically high levels,
despite the fact that second quarter earnings are forecast to plunge
about 8%, making the huge stock market bubble even larger, meaning
that it will do more damage than ever when it implodes.
There was a major exception on Tuesday to falling bond yields: Italy,
whose 10-year bond yields rose slightly. As we wrote yesterday, Italy's bank crisis is extremely dangerous,
and may become an EU crisis when bank stress tests are
announced on July 29. AFP and Market Watch and Reuters and Zero Hedge
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Saudi Arabia, Medina, Prophet's Mosque,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Faraj al-Omran Mosque, Qatif, Ramadan, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani,
Juhayman al-Oteibi, Grand Mosque, Mecca,
Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Britain, Brexit, Italy
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Attack on Islam's holy site in Medina caps end-of-Ramadan jihadist carnage
- Bond yields continue to plummet globally into negative territory after Brexit
****
**** Attack on Islam's holy site in Medina caps end-of-Ramadan jihadist carnage
****
The aftermath of the suicide bombing attack on the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia (Arab News)
Muslims around the world are horrified and appalled that the grave of
the Prophet Mohammed in Medina was targeted by a suicide bomber on
Monday. Four policemen became suspicious of an individual who was
approaching the Prophet's Mosque, and when they questioned him, he
blew up his explosive belt. Only the four policemen were killed, but
they're actions are being credited with saving the lives of many
others.
Earlier, two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the Faraj
al-Omran Mosque in Qatif, with no casualties. And a suicide bomber
blew himself up near the US consulate in Jeddah, although some Saudi
authorities say that it was the mosque next door, not the consulate,
that was the target of the attack. Two policemen were lightly wounded
in this attack.
There were no claims of responsibility for the three attacks, but it's
assumed that the so-called Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh)
is responsible. It's not even known if the three attacks were
coordinated, or if they were independent attacks, all scheduled for
the last day of Ramadan, in accordance with pre-Ramadan incitement by
ISIS.
Early in June, ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani told "lone
wolves" and other ISIS supporters:
[indent]<QUOTE>"We will make this month [Ramadan], inshallah, a month
of calamities for the infidels everywhere. This call specifically
goes out to the supporters of [ISIS] in Europe and
America."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The scale of the carnage inflicted by jihadists extremists over the
past week alone has been staggering. The attacks included more
than 250 killed by a truck bomb in a crowded Baghdad market in Iraq;
44 killed at an airport in Istanbul, Turkey; 23 killed in a siege of a
café in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
And yet, in another sense, the ISIS incitement was not really
fulfilled. The attacks during the month of Ramadan killed over 800
people worldwide, but the only one that really targeted "Europe and
America" was the ISIS-inspired lone wolf who killed 49 people in a gay
bar in Orlando, Florida.
As I've written many times in the past, there is a war being
prosecuted by al-Qaeda and by ISIS, but it's not a war against
Westerners or Christians. The huge mass of casualties from the
jihadists wars are other Muslims, and the number of Westerners is
minuscule by comparison. This is a war by Muslims against Muslims,
whether it's Sunnis versus Shias, Sauds versus Wahhabis, or some other
fault line.
Possibly nothing illustrates this more than the attack on the
Prophet's Mosque in Medina. This was a shocking escalation in ISIS's
war against Muslims. Medina is the second holiest city in Islam,
behind Mecca, and is always crowded with Muslim visitors. ISIS
considers the Saudi government to be infidels in league with the West,
and so perhaps Medina could somehow be a "Western" target. This has
been particularly true since November 20, 1979, when young jihadists
led by terrorist Juhayman al-Oteibi seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
By the end, the official death toll was 127 soldiers and 117
militants. Unconfirmed reports indicate that over 1,000 civilians
lost their lives. ( "12-Sep-2015 World View -- Saudi Arabia's Grand Mosque, site of huge construction accident, has links to 9/11"
)
But whatever ISIS's justification for attacking Medina, it's still
Muslims that are being killed, and it's still the second holiest
shrine in Islam. As one Muslim tweeted on Tuesday, "Is there anyone
on earth who still thinks these barbarians HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH
ISLAM?" Arab News and The National (UAE) and CNN
****
**** Bond yields continue to plummet globally into negative territory after Brexit
****
Investors worldwide are continuing to seek "safe havens" by investing
in government bonds. The demand for these bonds is forcing prices up
to historical levels, which means that their yields (interest rates)
are falling to historic levels, increasing to negative levels.
Bond yields had already pushed many bond yields lower, thanks to
central banks "printing money" via quantitative easing, and pouring it
into the banking system. This has pushed bond yields on the most
popular bonds in Japan, Germany, Switzerland and much of Western
Europe below zero. A negative yield means that if an investor invests
a million dollars in bonds, then he'll get less than a million dollars
back when the bonds expire.
The Brexit referendum vote, which mandated that Britain leave the
European Union, apparently has accelerated the plunge in bond yields
as an unexpected consequence, because uncertainty about the UK and EU
economies has caused investors to flee to safe havens. ( "25-Jun-16 World View -- Fallout from Brexit: Impact on geopolitics, economics, and stock markets"
)
On Tuesday, ten-year US Treasury bond yields, going into uncharted
territory, fell to 1.367%, down from an already extremely low 1.47% on
Friday.
In Europe, the yield on 10-year UK government bonds ("gilts") fell to
a record low of 0.780%. The Bank of England has already announced
that there will be further quantitative easing during the summer. The
yield on Germany's 10-year bonds ("bunds") fell further into negative
territory to -0.182%. Switzerland's 50-year bond yields became
negative for the first time on Tuesday.
At the same time, massive injections of "printed" money by central
banks is keeping the stock markets at historically high levels,
despite the fact that second quarter earnings are forecast to plunge
about 8%, making the huge stock market bubble even larger, meaning
that it will do more damage than ever when it implodes.
There was a major exception on Tuesday to falling bond yields: Italy,
whose 10-year bond yields rose slightly. As we wrote yesterday, Italy's bank crisis is extremely dangerous,
and may become an EU crisis when bank stress tests are
announced on July 29. AFP and Market Watch and Reuters and Zero Hedge
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Saudi Arabia, Medina, Prophet's Mosque,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Faraj al-Omran Mosque, Qatif, Ramadan, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani,
Juhayman al-Oteibi, Grand Mosque, Mecca,
Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Britain, Brexit, Italy
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
