This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Pope Francis may side with Argentina in Falklands dispute with Britain
• Venezuela's Maduro says that Chávez picked the Pope
• Venezuela won't be embalming Chávez, after all
• As Egypt deteriorates, what will the army do?

Pope Francis may side with Argentina in Falklands dispute with Britain

Kirchner and Bergoglio shake hands in this 2008 photo. (AP)

Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner never got along very well with Jorge Mario Bergoglio when he was the Buenos Aires Archbishop. They clashed in 2010 when Bergoglio opposed Kirchner's bill to allow gay marriages, saying:

"[The gay marriage bill is a] plan to destroy God’s plan. This is no mere legislative bill. It is a move by the father of lies to confuse and deceive the children of God. If approved, this law would be a real and dire anthropological throwback."

Kirchner said Bergoglio’s comments were "really reminiscent of the times of the Inquisition."

But that was just the latest skirmish in a long-running battle with the government to re-litigate alleged repression and torture by the Catholic Church during the military government from 1976-83.

However, now that Bergoglio has become Pope Francis, Kirchner is changing her attitude towards him, asking him to intervene in the disagreement between the UK and Argentina over the Falkland/Malvines islands. His frequently stated views in the past are that the islands belong to Argentina. In a memorial mass last year marking 30 years since the 1982 war between the two countries over the islands, he said:

"We come to pray for those who have fallen, sons of the homeland who set out to defend their mother, the homeland, to claim the country that is theirs and they were usurped."

However, it's expected that Pope Francis will completely avoid the issue. It was Pope Alexander VI who divided the New World between Portugal and Spain in the 15th century, but there are no recent precedents for a pope becoming involved in a territorial dispute and experts believe it is unlikely he would wish – or have the time – to become embroiled in the matter. NBC Latino and Buenos Aires Herald and Guardian (London)

Venezuela's Maduro says that Chávez picked the Pope

Venezuela's acting president, Nicolás Maduro, is suggesting that Hugo Chávez may have had a hand in the selection of Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina as the new Pope. According to Maduro:

"We know that our commander ascended to the heights and is face-to-face with Christ. Something influenced the choice of a South American pope, someone new arrived at Christ's side and said to him: 'Well, it seems to us South America's time has come.'"

He (Chávez) may also call a constitutional assembly in Heaven at any moment to change the (Catholic) church on Earth so the people, the pure people of Christ, may govern the world."

Last week, Maduro announced an investigation into charges that "imperial forces," particularly from the United States, conspired to kill Chávez by injecting him with something that gave him cancer. Reuters

Venezuela won't be embalming Chávez, after all

An employee adjusts the embalmed body of Nicolai Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov) (AFP)

Venezuela's acting president, Nicolás Maduro, said that it is highly unlikely that the body of Hugo Chávez will be embalmed, after all. The bodies of dictators Lenin, Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong were all embalmed, and are on permanent display for posterity. But Maduro said that the decision to embalm Chávez's body was not made in time, and now it probably can no longer be embalmed. BBC

As Egypt deteriorates, what will the army do?

Egypt is getting out of control: The police are on strike in a number of cities, the civil disobedience in Port Said is in its fourth week, hooligans are attacking and ransacking public buildings, and angry youth are clashing with anti-riot police on daily basis. The government has been unable to end chronic fuel shortages while large parts of Sinai suffer from lawlessness. The economy is on the brink of collapse and the stock market has been losing billions of pounds every day. The economy is suffering and negotiations with the IMF over a $4.8 billion loan are faltering. Everyday there is death and mayhem somewhere in the country. And now a high court has ordered the suspension of parliamentary elections, throwing government processes into total chaos. The time may be coming close when the army will take over. Arab News

KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis, Pope Alexander VI, Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, Hugo Chávez, Egypt, Port Said, Sinai, IMF
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