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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-May-2010
22-May-10 News -- Germany approves its share of the euro bailout

Web Log - May, 2010

22-May-10 News -- Germany approves its share of the euro bailout

Tempers flare in North and South Korea

Germany approves the $1 trillion euro bailout, amid controversy

On Friday, the German Bundestag (parliament) approved Germany's share of the $1 trillion bailout announced two weeks ago. There is a fair amount of bitterness among the German people towards the Greeks, who lied about their finances to get into the eurozone, and now are going to be paid a great deal of money earned by hardworking Germans. Thus, there was a great deal of bitter discussion in the Bundestag, according to the BBC.

There are also bitter disagreements within the eurozone countries, especially between Germany and France, according to the Independent.

The Germans are calling for a harsh overhaul of the eurozone's budgetary rules, including a new rule suspending a country for violating the budgetary constraints.

The French have a simpler solution, according to the article. They blame the instabilities within the eurozone on the fact that the Germans save their money and export their manufactured goods. So the French want the Germans to consume more and export less.

The French blame the size of the current crisis on Merkel's dithering during discussions on bailing out Greece. PressEurop claims that France is backed in their opposition to German policies by Italy, Spain and Portugal -- three countries in the PIIGS group, who may have to receive their own bailouts.

After a tumultuous week on the financial markets, there's a lot of discussion about whether the euro currency can survive. All the commentators I heard indicated that there will at least be many tumultuous weeks to come.

Tempers flare in South and North Korea after warship sinking accusations

A day after South Korea accused North Korea of being the culprit in the March 26 sinking of the warship Cheonan, tensions are rising on both sides of the border.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young North Korea is quoted by VOA as saying, "Even in a boxing match, the fighters agree to wear gloves. North Korea has stepped over that limit and for that we will make it pay."

North Korea continued its threats of war if South Korea retaliates in any way. However, these threats of war are a sign of panic, according to an expert quoted by the article. North Korea never dreamed that the South would find the fragments of the torpedo that sank the warship.

The more I follow this situation, the more I believe that the North Koreans want to have a war. This is hardly rare in history, and it's the worst form of national self-delusion that a country can solve its problems by going to war. But North Korea's words and actions increasingly point in that direction.

Some people in the Generational Dynamics forum have been comparing the Korea situation today to the situation with Germany in the 1980s, prior to reunification. Korea's last crisis war was World War II, meaning that Korea today is deep into a generational Crisis era, making it very unlikely that Korea can be reunited without a war. Germany, by contrast, was in a generational Unraveling era when reunification occurred after the Berlin wall came down in 1989, with the senior people in all organizations being survivors of World War II, and readily willing to compromise difficult issues to achieve reunification. The two situations are completely different, and not really comparable at all.

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Tensions are also growing in the Mideast. Hizbollah militants are preparing for a possible confrontation with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), who are beginning week-long training exercises on Sunday, near the Lebanon border. So far it's nothing but rhetoric. Haaretz

From Gaza to Golan, IDF soldiers are being trained for war Haaretz

Some intelligence sources claim that the Obama administration is about to deploy thousands of additional American troops to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf regions, challenging Iran. Debka

Pakistan blocked internet access to Facebook, in retaliation for one Facebook member's invitation to draw pictures of Mohammed. But editorial writers in Pakistan are ridiculing the government move. Dawn

Teenage girls send and receive far more text messages than boys. Duh. A teenage girl will typically send and receive 80 texts a day. For a typical boy, the number is 30. Pew Research

Go to http://www.google.com and click on the Google logo, and for a day or two you'll be able to play a traditional game of PacMan for free, celebrating the game's 30th anniversary. CNN

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 22-May-10 News -- Germany approves its share of the euro bailout thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (22-May-2010) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-May-2010 22-May-10 News -- Germany approves its share of the euro bailout

Germany approves the $1 trillion euro bailout, amid controversy

Tempers flare in South and North Korea after warship sinking accusations

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-May-2010
22-May-10 News -- Germany approves its share of the euro bailout