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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-May-2017
22-May-17 World View -- North Korea test-fires another ballistic missile

Web Log - May, 2017

22-May-17 World View -- North Korea test-fires another ballistic missile

Socialist Venezuela again delays eliminating 100-bolivar notes despite hyperinflation

by John J. Xenakis

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

North Korea test-fires another ballistic missile
Socialist Venezuela again delays eliminating 100-bolivar notes despite hyperinflation

North Korea test-fires another ballistic missile

A ballistic rocket launching drill in Pyongyang, North Korea, on March 7, 2017 (Reuters)

A ballistic rocket launching drill in Pyongyang, North Korea, on March 7, 2017 (Reuters)

Eight days after the last one, North Korea test-fired another ballistic missile on Sunday. It flew about 500 km, before falling into the Sea of Japan.

According to North Korea state media, Kim Jong-un "supervised" the test firing, and "analyzed the results of the test-launch and expressed his great satisfaction over them, saying it is perfect."

The new president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, had promised to begin talks with North Korea in the hopes of convincing them to stop the tests. North Korea has not responded at all to the call for talks, and this latest ballistic missile test appears to be intended as a complete rejection.

Analysts generally are saying that North Korea already has the ability to send a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile to countries and US bases in the region, and that its development is proceeding quickly enough that the ability to send one to the US mainland is in sight.

An opinion writer, Paul Wee, for the Seattle Times explains North Korea's motivations as follows:

"There is something more that needs to be said. In the early 1950s, responding to the North Korean threat, U.S. B-29s, with little opposition, carried out the saturation bombing of villages and towns across the North. The capital, Pyongyang, was 75 percent destroyed with more than 3 million people killed. Over a three-year period, 20 percent of the population was wiped out.
Then Undersecretary of State, Dean Rusk, said that the U.S. bombed “everything that moved in North Korea, every brick standing on top of another.” With the cities in ruins, attention was then given to the destruction of irrigation and hydroelectric dams and the destruction of crops.
Although little is spoken or written about this side of the war, in North Korea it is remembered as if it happened yesterday. During a visit in 1984, I recall billboards along the main roads that purported to graphically document the destruction and convey the enormity of the human suffering."

Here's what I wrote after the last ballistic missile test:

"The United Nations Security Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss the situation. They're expected to issue a statement condemning the missile test, calling it "unacceptable," and threatening that if there's another test then the Security Council will hold another meeting."

Well, not surprisingly, that has turned out to be completely true. South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. AFP and Kyodo and KCNA Watch and Seattle Times

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Socialist Venezuela again delays eliminating 100-bolivar notes despite hyperinflation

Hyperinflation continues in the Socialist economy of Venezuela, with an inflation rate of 93% in just January-April of this year. The country's bolivar currency is down more than 99% since Socialist leader Nicolás Maduro became president in 2013.

Because the currency is becoming almost worthless, Maduro has ordered the elimination of lower-denominated bills. The 100-bolivar bill was supposed to be eliminated in December, but the order has been delayed for the seventh time, and now the elimination is scheduled for July 20.

The 100-bolivar bill is currently worth about 14 US cents, and its value is continuing to fall. The plan is to eliminate it, and print new bills of 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 bolivars.

No reason has been given for the seventh delay, but in the past the government has been unable to purchase paper because it didn't have enough foreign exchange to be able to pay foreign suppliers.

Throughout history, Socialism has had a 100% failure rate, causing nothing but economic disaster and dead bodies floating down the streets in rivers of blood, while Socialist leaders bask in opulence. Venezuela is headed down the same road, and it won't be long before Maduro orders the army to massacre thousands or tens of thousands of people, so that he can stay in power. Whether Kim Jong-un or Maduro, these Socialist leaders are all the same. Latin American Herald Tribune and Reuters

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(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 22-May-17 World View -- North Korea test-fires another ballistic missile thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (22-May-2017) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-May-2017 22-May-17 World View -- North Korea test-fires another ballistic missile

North Korea test-fires another ballistic missile

Socialist Venezuela again delays eliminating 100-bolivar notes despite hyperinflation

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-May-2017
22-May-17 World View -- North Korea test-fires another ballistic missile