the buzz log

As dictators like Fidel Castro and Kim Jong Il age, news of their illnesses throw searches into tumult: Il's online profile has popped 5,725% in the past week. Among the many concerns, one question sinks below the rest: What to do with the remains?

To grossly exaggerate, the practice of more democratic nations allows a viewing period in which the esteemed figure lies in state, before the body reaches a well-entombed resting place. In the case of Communist leaders, they get preserved ... even pickled, as one San Francisco Chronicle writer puts in an article about visiting the Mao Zedong mauseleom.

The author explains how deceased leaders get a semi-regular chemical spa treatment at a "secret Moscow lab at the Research Center for Bio-structure." The article, which describes the etiquette of visiting Mao, also lists where else embalmed communist leaders lie. Sounds like a travel tour whispering to be made.

Filed under: Politics, Death, China, North Korea

While the U.S. basked in the glare of fireworks and glory of a space shuttle launch, far across the Pacific Ocean, the government of North Korea ignited another round of international controversy.

The Korea Times called it "a strategy to make the U.S. pay attention" when Pyongyang test-fired a series of missiles on July 4. Most notable was a Taepodong-2 (+21%) long-range missile, which imploded shortly after it launched. Though the missile test itself failed, the maneuver was successful in gaining the attention that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (+167%) seems to be seeking.

Indeed, searchers paid close attention: Queries on "north korea" heated up 160% the day of the missile launches, and continue to rise as responses and analyses pour in from the United Nations, governments, think tanks, and the media. Searches for "north korea news" (+10%) and "north korea missile test" (+85%) all rose in Search as well. "North korea map" (+52%) was another top mover, underscoring the mystery this isolated country holds for many people around the world.

There's no question that the world is paying attention—again—to North Korea. What remains to be seen is what happens next.

Filed under: North Korea