Greece has signed a 29-page document with the troika concerning the terms of the release of money being offered in order to allow Greece to repay its debts on time. The document is breathtaking in its scope–it involves an almost complete abdication of national sovereignty. The agreement reads, in part:
“No unilateral fiscal or other policy actions will be taken by the [Greek] authorities. All measures, legislative or otherwise, taken during the programme period, which may have an impact on banks’ operations, solvency, liquidity or asset quality should be taken in close consultation [with the troika].”
The Greek parliament has to approve the deal, and Germany has indicated that it still has some reservations. Furthermore, it is not clear that the deal meets the IMF’s insistence on a degree of debt reduction. So there is still more drama to come.
The outgoing Army chief of staff, General Ray Odierno, testified that US troops on the ground will be necessary to defeat the Islamic State. Odierno has a great deal of experience directing US troops in Iraq over the last years of the US war in Iraq, and he does not believe that an air campaign will be sufficient to eliminate the ISIS threat. His position has a great deal of support among some members of Congress, and his statement is worrisome in that it provides cover for those who want a more robust response to ISIS. Unfortunately, it remains unclear how a large number of American troops could accomplish the mission. Large numbers of American troops did not achieve the objectives of the Iraq War from 2003-2011.
Heat waves continue to be a global problem. After extreme heat in India, Pakistan, and Iran (where a heat index–temperature and humidity–reached an astonishing 163 degrees F), now Egypt is in the grip of a heat wave that has killed 61 people. As is usually the case, the dead are the most vulnerable: the elderly and those who are required to work outside. Air conditioning is a unreliable alternative as electrical generating services are sporadic.
World Politics News 
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