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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 9-Mar-2013
9-Mar-13 World View -- China urges calm as North and South Korea trade military threats

Web Log - March, 2013

9-Mar-13 World View -- China urges calm as North and South Korea trade military threats

Venezuela has anti-American love fest at Chavez's funeral

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

China urges calm as North and South Korea trade military threats
Venezuela has anti-American love fest at Chávez's funeral

China urges calm as North and South Korea trade military threats

Kim Jong-un inspects the troops on Friday

Kim Jong-un inspects the troops on Friday

Following the U.N. Security Council approval of a resolution condemning North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons tests, North Korea has upped its vitriolic threats even further, and appears to be taking steps to prepare for military action. North Korea has canceled the 1953 armistice agreement, as well other non-aggression agreements with North Korea. They threaten to turn Seoul and Washington into a “sea of fire,” and exercising its “right to a nuclear pre-emptive strike." Kim Jong-un is inspecting military installations near the border and on the islets in the Yellow Sea. According to Kim,

"All the service personnel of the ground, naval, air and anti-air and strategic rocket forces are fully ready to fight a Korean style all-out war."

South Korea responded in kind:

"If North Korea provokes a nuclear war, it will vanish from the earth by the will of South Korea and humankind."

China has urged both sides to calm down, but calm seems a long way off, right now. Dong-a Ilbo (Seoul) and Global Times (Beijing)

Venezuela has anti-American love fest at Chávez's funeral

Venezuela's acting president Nicolás Maduro broke into tears again at Friday's funeral for Hugo Chávez, shouting:

"Here we are, Comandante, your men, on their feet. All your men and women ... loyal until beyond death."

Huge crowds traveled to Caracas from all over the country to see Chávez's body, and to express their love and eternal devotion. A line of people stretched 1 1/2 miles to see the body, but many were turned away. But there will be plenty of time later to see it, as it will be embalmed and enclosed in a crystal case, and left on display forever.

Cuba's preside Raul Castro and Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were there, receiving loud applause. Ahmadinejad said:

"It is a great pain for us because we have lost a friend. I feel like I have lost myself, but I am sure that he still lives. Chávez will never die. His spirit and soul live on in each of our hearts."

Rev. Jesse Jackson was there, and said, "We pray to God today that you will heal the breach between the U.S. and Venezuela," Jackson said. He later attended Maduro's swearing-in, and was hailed by the acting president as "a good man from the United States."

Sean Penn was there, and like Ahmadinejad, Penn also lost a friend, as he explained a day earlier:

"Today the people of the United States lost a friend it never knew it had. And poor people around the world lost a champion. I lost a friend I was blessed to have. My thoughts are with the family of President Chávez and the people of Venezuela."

As we've discussed in previous days, Chávez, himself a mestizo (mixed blood), has become a beloved hero to the mestizo citizens, about 60% of the population, because he defeated the "pure" European descendant élite.

Henrique Capriles on Friday (AP)

Henrique Capriles on Friday (AP)

The fault line between the mestizos and the European descendants was clear from the fact that the political opposition, led by Henrique Capriles, did not attend the funeral at all, because they were told, "better that you don't come." Capriles gave an hour-long televised speech in which he called Maduro a bold-faced liar, nd accused him of using Hugo Chávez's funeral to campaign for the presidency:

"I tell you clearly, Nicolás [Maduro], I am not going to speak of the times you lied to the country, shamelessly," Capriles said. "The people have not voted for you, boy."

I don't know enough about the language and culture to be certain, but I'm pretty sure that "boy" is an epithet referring indirectly to Maduro as a dark-skinned mestizo. AP and Venezuelanalysis

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 9-Mar-13 World View -- China urges calm as North and South Korea trade military threats thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (9-Mar-2013) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 9-Mar-2013 9-Mar-13 World View -- China urges calm as North and South Korea trade military threats

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