Again, he's going to see Kim Jong Un who will play nice for an hour, then Trump will be like "this guy is the most best person in the world. But that Justin Trudeau is going to hell."
This guy is crazy. Republican voters brought this on us along with the boot lickers that prop him up. And you still find people defending this guy.
And believe it or not there are a lot of people who support and defend Trump here in Canada. The seeds of fascism are blowing in the winds everywhere, it would seem. The G7 fiasco has given alt-right Canadians ammunition against Trudeau, who they perceive as ruining Canada by ripping off our American allies. Of course, they have other 'reasons' for believing Trudeau is ruining Canada, including our immigration policies, through which terrorists are allegedly slipping through our borders like a sieve. And they'd be happy to see a crack-down on the indigenous population as well, who, in addition to being a drain on the system, are interfering with oil pipelines and other tar sand projects.
We want to believe these extremists are a minority in Canada, but the Ontario election just showed us that political populism can flourish here. It's conceivable that we could have a demagogue PM in the next decade or so. My greatest hope is that Québec will provide a check to this, as the number of seats in the province will make it unlikely for an anglophone to succeed. We will see...
The Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling (eff you McConnell, Trump and Gorsuch) ruled that people who don't respond to written letters or vote in two consecutive elections can be purged from voting rolls.
I have no doubt Republican state legislatures across America are being given bills by Koch brothers groups, if they haven't done so already, to purge voters across America.
If you don't vote or if they "accidentally" mail the notice wrong and you miss the notice (which they will probably make on a micropostcard) you will lose your voting rights. It won't be easy to regain your rights but they will sure make it easy to lose them.
Between this ruling and the "Citizens United" ruling allowing unlimited dark money to flood elections the regressive Republican Supreme Court has effectively helped to destroy Democracy in the United States. There is no other way to look at it.
The Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling (eff you McConnell, Trump and Gorsuch) ruled that people who don't respond to written letters or vote in two consecutive elections can be purged from voting rolls.
I have no doubt Republican state legislatures across America are being given bills by Koch brothers groups, if they haven't done so already, to purge voters across America.
If you don't vote or if they "accidentally" mail the notice wrong and you miss the notice (which they will probably make on a micropostcard) you will lose your voting rights. It won't be easy to regain your rights but they will sure make it easy to lose them.
Between this ruling and the "Citizens United" ruling allowing unlimited dark money to flood elections the regressive Republican Supreme Court has effectively helped to destroy Democracy in the United States. There is no other way to look at it.
There is a unassailable fact of American politics over the last decade. And that is that ONE party does everything it can to make sure less people can vote and will go to any lengths necessary to do so. This is not arguable. You can make the argument as to WHY someone might think that is a good thing, but there is no denying that Republicans are waging an all-out war to keep certain people from voting. It's a deliberate tactic, and everyone knows it.
Oh, and the NRA?? They were WAY more than knee-deep in the Russian attack on our elections. WAY more:
Oh, and the NRA?? They were WAY more than knee-deep in the Russian attack on our elections. WAY more:
Irrelevant. The NRA--of which I am not a member--is a private organization and may thus meet with whomever it pleases. On the other hand, it is doubtful that the NRA can *prove* that no money went where it should not have gone. End result? Nothing except another talking point for anti-NRA people.
re: the SCOTUS decision....no, Ohio should not be so efficient at removing people from the voting rolls. On the other hand, if voting is important to you then *you*, as the voter, need to take the responsibility to ascertain that you are on the rolls and eligible to cast a vote. If you don't, then that is *your* problem and I have no sympathy for you. I make sure that my voter registration is current each and every year in January, even if off-years, because sometimes State or local elections happen at odd times.
Meetings like the G7 should not be conducted by the heads of various nations. Instead, their top economic/financial people, having titles such as "Secretary of the Treasury" or "Finance Minister", should hold the meetings. They know more about the subject than their bosses do so why send the CEO when the CFO should be the one in attendance?
We want to believe these extremists are a minority in Canada, but the Ontario election just showed us that political populism can flourish here. It's conceivable that we could have a demagogue PM in the next decade or so. My greatest hope is that Québec will provide a check to this, as the number of seats in the province will make it unlikely for an anglophone to succeed. We will see...
That’s kinda an ironic statement as Quebec has had the most extreme views of late against religious minorities, and have been the stage of these alt-right gatherings.
The Ontario election was Russian Roulette. No matter what party Ontario chose they’d be screwed. The PCs just have a better track record on the economy than the NDP.
And you are right, Canada will never have an anglophone Prime Minister because each party always has the priority of making sure their leader speaks both National languages.
Oh, and the NRA?? They were WAY more than knee-deep in the Russian attack on our elections. WAY more:
Irrelevant. The NRA--of which I am not a member--is a private organization and may thus meet with whomever it pleases. On the other hand, it is doubtful that the NRA can *prove* that no money went where it should not have gone. End result? Nothing except another talking point for anti-NRA people.
re: the SCOTUS decision....no, Ohio should not be so efficient at removing people from the voting rolls. On the other hand, if voting is important to you then *you*, as the voter, need to take the responsibility to ascertain that you are on the rolls and eligible to cast a vote. If you don't, then that is *your* problem and I have no sympathy for you. I make sure that my voter registration is current each and every year in January, even if off-years, because sometimes State or local elections happen at odd times.
Meetings like the G7 should not be conducted by the heads of various nations. Instead, their top economic/financial people, having titles such as "Secretary of the Treasury" or "Finance Minister", should hold the meetings. They know more about the subject than their bosses do so why send the CEO when the CFO should be the one in attendance?
The G7 does have Finance Minister meetings and are usually held before the Leader meeting.
Oh, and the NRA?? They were WAY more than knee-deep in the Russian attack on our elections. WAY more:
Irrelevant. The NRA--of which I am not a member--is a private organization and may thus meet with whomever it pleases. On the other hand, it is doubtful that the NRA can *prove* that no money went where it should not have gone. End result? Nothing except another talking point for anti-NRA people.
Not at all irrelevant. Electoral law forbids foreign nationals from making contributions of value to any political campaign (there is an exception for working as a volunteer). The FEC issued an advisory notice in June 2017 to help address any misunderstandings about this.
If the NRA deliberately helped foreign nationals in such activity that would certainly be a crime and there seems to be grounds to suspect that the NRA did just that. My guess is that if they did Mueller will be able to prove that.
@Grond0 If a person knows they are pregnant and they smoke, drink, etc. not necessarily with the intent to harm, is still reckless endangerment.
@ThacoBell my concern about this line of thinking is that it tends to promote unequal treatment of the sexes, with females being made to be subservient to males who tell them what they can and can't do. I can see though that, even if someone thinks that's a bad thing, they will think that's preferable to allowing abortion if that is seen as murder.
I think you (though my memory is poor) have posted before that some people refuse to accept abortion is murder as that would put them in an unconscionable position and I expect there's something in that. In my case I feel that it's not reasonable to assign the same value to the human rights of a small cluster of undifferentiated cells (I know this is not your position, I'm just talking about my views here) as to a fully functioning human - instead those rights become stronger as the pregnancy progresses. I also feel that it's not healthy for society to use biological differences to justify taking away freedom of action from many women. I don't really know though how those convictions have influenced each other as I find it much easier to analyse other people than myself .
If the NRA deliberately helped foreign nationals in such activity that would certainly be a crime and there seems to be grounds to suspect that the NRA did just that. My guess is that if they did Mueller will be able to prove that.
I did say "on the other hand".... As to whether he (or his team) can prove it....*shrug* I have no way of knowing.
Why don't they just say "we don't want anymore brown people in this country" and be done with it already. At least we'd be having an honest conversation at that point. Now some might say "wait a minute, domestic or gang violence isn't an issue that applies to governments, and thus, political asylum". And technically you'd be right, I suppose. But what if that government simply turn a total blind eye to those issues??
Again, this isn't just about people coming into this country illegally anymore (if it ever was). They are now flat-out trying to get people to stop trying to get asylum. That is what the taking away the children policy is designed to do, and it is what this is designed to do. Actions like this were ALWAYS the core of Trump's appeal. This was always the alliance between Sessions and Trump. And that alliance is focused on keeping America as white as possible.
Why don't they just say "we don't want anymore brown people in this country" and be done with it already. At least we'd be having an honest conversation at that point. Now some might say "wait a minute, domestic or gang violence isn't an issue that applies to governments, and thus, political asylum". And technically you'd be right, I suppose. But what if that government simply turn a total blind eye to those issues??
Since when is it our duty to take in victims of violence? Everybody that gets mugged in say, India or Pakistan, suddenly becomes eligible for asylum in the U.S.? Not only that, but we're supposed to feel guilty about it if we don't let them in? We have enough gang violence and domestic abuse in our own country. Maybe we should ship our victims off to Sweden since they're such a nice liberal country...
Why don't they just say "we don't want anymore brown people in this country" and be done with it already. At least we'd be having an honest conversation at that point. Now some might say "wait a minute, domestic or gang violence isn't an issue that applies to governments, and thus, political asylum". And technically you'd be right, I suppose. But what if that government simply turn a total blind eye to those issues??
Since when is it our duty to take in victims of violence? Everybody that gets mugged in say, India or Pakistan, suddenly becomes eligible for asylum in the U.S.? Not only that, but we're supposed to feel guilty about it if we don't let them in? We have enough gang violence and domestic abuse in our own country. Maybe we should ship our victims off to Sweden since they're such a nice liberal country...
If that's the case then maybe we should stop pretending the United States is what so many people claim it is, which is some sort of bastion of freedom and hope. That was really the point of my post. If Trump is indeed someone who "cuts through the bullshit", it would be far more honest if we just admitted what the goal of all these recent acts are. You can apply for asylum, but with the caveat that we are going to forcibly remove your child from you. If you happen to have traveled from Honduras fleeing some horrible situation, well, sorry you didn't get the memo. I'm fine with this as long as we replace the Statue of Liberty with a giant middle-finger, but as long as it's still sitting in the harbor in New York, we all look like monumental hypocrites.
That’s kinda an ironic statement as Quebec has had the most extreme views of late against religious minorities, and have been the stage of these alt-right gatherings.
The Ontario election was Russian Roulette. No matter what party Ontario chose they’d be screwed. The PCs just have a better track record on the economy than the NDP.
Oh, the irony about Québec isn't lost on me and I'm really disappointed by what's going on in the province. I mention it because it brought an end to Kevin O'Leary's bid for the leadership of the federal Conservatives and may help prevent other anglophone buffoons from getting in.
As for the election, I agree they were all bad choices, but I'd argue that the PCs have zero track record on the economy, as the liberals have been in for so long. And the current crop (especially Ford) seems uniquely unqualified for the job. Personally, I was hoping for a minority government of some sort.
I'll play along. I have no problem with people entering our country if, like back in the day, they get jobs and contribute. What I don't want to hear is how we 'owe' them a place in our country. They weren't born here thus they're not 'owed' anything. If we grant them asylum it should be for a damn good reason, like they're escaping from genocide, war or famine not 'gee I can't find a job' or 'my boyfriend hit me'. That's what their governments are for.
Again, this isn't just about people coming into this country illegally anymore (if it ever was). They are now flat-out trying to get people to stop trying to get asylum. That is what the taking away the children policy is designed to do, and it is what this is designed to do. Actions like this were ALWAYS the core of Trump's appeal. This was always the alliance between Sessions and Trump. And that alliance is focused on keeping America as white as possible.
That tweet cites domestic and gang violence, specifically, so it won't take long for immigrants to be taught the phrase "estoy huyendo de la violencia política y la persecución" (I am fleeing from political violence and persecution).
As far as getting jobs and paying into the system are concerned...I suppose that manufacturing jobs could come back here as we give jobs to these new immigrants, presuming they are willing to work for minimum wage. If they are working 40-hour weeks they also qualify for other benefits in accordance with Federal employment laws.
I'll play along. I have no problem with people entering our country if, like back in the day, they get jobs and contribute. What I don't want to hear is how we 'owe' them a place in our country. They weren't born here thus they're not 'owed' anything. If we grant them asylum it should be for a damn good reason, like they're escaping from genocide, war or famine not 'gee I can't find a job' or 'my boyfriend hit me'. That's what their governments are for.
You have to prove that your government is unable or unwilling to protect you though. In a way, asylum is exactly for those situations when governments don't or won't do their job. And I think you're being unfair to victims of domestic abuse. "My boyfriend hit me" could be that a woman is trapped in a marriage where she gets beaten and raped by her husband constantly. She can't leave the marriage because of laws, social stigma and the risk of getting persecuted by the whole community. She can't get help because the police don't care. Marital rape might even be legal. So she flees instead of staying in a situation that is very likely to kill her. You might not think asylum should apply to that kind of situation, but it's not some kind of luxury problem.
I'll play along. I have no problem with people entering our country if, like back in the day, they get jobs and contribute. What I don't want to hear is how we 'owe' them a place in our country. They weren't born here thus they're not 'owed' anything. If we grant them asylum it should be for a damn good reason, like they're escaping from genocide, war or famine not 'gee I can't find a job' or 'my boyfriend hit me'. That's what their governments are for.
Most people do contribute. Do you think that has stopped? The loss of taxes and income from Trumps dropping dreamers will be in the billions.
@Grond0 There is no easy answer for this. And ANY kind of legislation or even social acceptance relies on people working on good faith, not just hitting political bullets points or us vs. them mentality. Though that is basically true for anything that requires people coming together.
@Grond0 There is no easy answer for this. And ANY kind of legislation or even social acceptance relies on people working on good faith, not just hitting political bullets points or us vs. them mentality. Though that is basically true for anything that requires people coming together.
A good point and it feels very timely as well with pictures of Trump and Kim shaking hands dominating the news this morning. I'm sure it's obvious that I dislike and distrust Trump and the bulk of his policy program. I immediately supported his decision to meet directly with Kim though - because the only way to overcome distrust is to talk. I'm not optimistic that the summit will make much progress towards its stated aims and Trump's penchant for changing his mind over things at a moment's notice is a big concern (as evidenced in the wake of the G7 summit). However, there have already been significant gains from the process - not least that internal broadcasts in North Korea have already started to prepare the ground for moving away from portraying the US as the enemy.
Kim appears to crave international recognition and I've seen some people argue that we shouldn't give him that - at least until it's been earned through denuclearization. However, providing that recognition costs very little and helps keep dialogue going which I think is a good thing in itself. Even for an authoritarian dictator there are also costs for changing your mind and the more Kim is involved in the peace process the more difficult he would find it to simply walk away and go back to international isolation.
Just a warning note here though that the US is not Kim's only option for international recognition and economic support. He's had recent friendly dialogues with both Syria and Russia - and the importance of Russia in being able to maintain a dictator in power has been clearly demonstrated in Syria. It's also unclear how far China would be prepared to back him in the event that relations with the US break down, but I think it would be both dangerous and foolish for the US to assume that they could take unilateral military action against North Korea without wider consequences.
I'm not sure how we are ever even going to really know what is being said in these one on one talks, as one person is a murderous dictator who just got the accolades and attention from the US the regime has been dreaming about for decades, and the other is a pathological liar. Meanwhile I'm watching CNN interview Dennis Rodman about how both men have such "big hearts" while plugging a cryto-currency. We are officially living in a cartoon. Both Trump and Kim know this is nothing but a big show of spectacle for the cameras. It's everyone else who is treating this like a serious meeting. In 50 years people are going to look back at this era of history and seriously question whether the entire populace of the United States was high on LSD.
I am waiting for the closing press conference to pass judgement on this meeting.
I am streaming CBSN and they’ve admitted this is all just a show for the media and it’s all the back room politicking where these two arrn’t even involved where a deal is going to get done.
They also said this could just be Kim playing out the clock knowing Trump isn’t going to be around in 4 years.
Trump hails 'excellent relationship' with Kim Jong Un. And he's going to sign a pledge to keep things going.
This guy can't get along with Macron, Merkel, and Treadeu but he gets along fine with Putin and Kim Jong Un. He won't sign a pledge with G7.
I know why people say #notmypresident he does not represent America's best values. He does represent some American values - racism, homophobia, predatory capitalism out for the rich.
They also said this could just be Kim playing out the clock knowing Trump isn’t going to be around in 4 years.
It’s a we’ll see. Let me use that crystal ball you've/they've been scrying with please.
I don't.
But staying a step ahead of others means thinking of all possible outcomes and determining a proper course of action if any of those possibilities pop up.
Still waiting for what this "comprehensive" document is. I was going to make a joke about how any document longer than one page and not in bullet form would be comprehensive to Trump, until he held it up and showed that it was one page and bullet format...
“The Trump Doctrine is ‘We’re America, Bitch.’ That’s the Trump Doctrine.”
It struck me almost immediately that this was the most acute, and attitudinally honest, description of the manner in which members of Trump’s team, and Trump himself, understand their role in the world....
This "summit" appears to be over and the "joint statement" that was signed was a total farce, as predicted. When asked why he didn't get Kim to agree to complete, verifiable denuclearization, he said "cause there's no time". When asked about North Korea's human rights record, Trump said Kim "wants to do the right thing". He appears to have praised a murderous dictator as being "very talented" and having "run it tough". A South Korean spokesman has said, “At this moment, the meaning and intention of President Trump's remarks requires more clear understanding.” Yeah....no shit. Imagine how bad you could have thought it would be, then multiply it by 10. That's your Trump/Kim summit. Good god. This was a complete and utter joke. Absolutely nothing has taken place here. This whole thing in nutshell:
And this guy is the one who said the IRAN DEAL, which had verified inspectors on the ground 24/7/365, was something we couldn't trust. I give up. We are living in some sort of science fiction novel. Who the f**k can take this shit seriously anymore?? Trump now telling ABC News "He trusts me and I trust him." Well, let's all pack up our things and go home then. Problem solved.
"We had a great conversation, it was a very heartfelt conversation... I don't have to verify because I have one of the great memories of all time."- Donald Trump, June 12, 2018.
This wasn't diplomacy, this was Ringling Brothers.
Correction, Trump appears to have given up joint military exercises with South Korea in return for......nothing. Though South Korea and Japan appear to have had NO IDEA this was going to take place.
“The Trump Doctrine is ‘We’re America, Bitch.’ That’s the Trump Doctrine.”
It struck me almost immediately that this was the most acute, and attitudinally honest, description of the manner in which members of Trump’s team, and Trump himself, understand their role in the world....
When I skimmed over your post I assumed it was just you making a joke. But they ACTUALLY said this. And I can verify that this is not just a Trump problem. This is what every one of his supporters thinks. It's the attitude that brought us Iraq, but on steroids. The puffed-out chest nationalism in this country is off the charts.
Correction, Trump appears to have given up joint military exercises with South Korea in return for......nothing. Though South Korea and Japan appear to have had NO IDEA this was going to take place.
I don't think it was a joke. I think something like this was needed to offer the prospect of improvements in the longer term. However, I recognize that Trump has given up far more than he's gained at this point and doing that is a gamble it's hard to imagine any other US president taking. Trump is a gambler though, with a poor understanding of risk (which is why all his casinos went bust), so has been willing to take the plunge.
Even though I think the chances of something going wrong with the process are high, the risk also seems worthwhile to me as the alternative was to continue down the previous line of increasing pressure on a nuclear-armed country - the best outcome from that is to bring them to the conference table (as has just happened), but many other outcomes would be far worse.
In relation to halting the military exercises, Trump referred to those as provocative to North Korea. That's a choice of language inspired by North Korea and will make it more difficult to reinstate the exercises at a later date if desired. The decision of course came as a surprise to the US military as well as US allies - don't you just love government by Twitter.
Incidentally, I'm not surprised that Trump was generally able to control himself at the summit. He had deliberately cut that short to reduce the time he had to behave and had recently vented his spleen on the G7 - I suspect part of the purpose of that was to relieve his own frustrations before moving on to Korea. However, it's good to see that Kim has a decent measure of self-control. He's going to need that if he has more dealings with Trump - a spot of fat shaming is Trump's idea of being diplomatic when he's in a good mood ...
Comments
We want to believe these extremists are a minority in Canada, but the Ontario election just showed us that political populism can flourish here. It's conceivable that we could have a demagogue PM in the next decade or so. My greatest hope is that Québec will provide a check to this, as the number of seats in the province will make it unlikely for an anglophone to succeed. We will see...
The Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling (eff you McConnell, Trump and Gorsuch) ruled that people who don't respond to written letters or vote in two consecutive elections can be purged from voting rolls.
I have no doubt Republican state legislatures across America are being given bills by Koch brothers groups, if they haven't done so already, to purge voters across America.
If you don't vote or if they "accidentally" mail the notice wrong and you miss the notice (which they will probably make on a micropostcard) you will lose your voting rights. It won't be easy to regain your rights but they will sure make it easy to lose them.
Between this ruling and the "Citizens United" ruling allowing unlimited dark money to flood elections the regressive Republican Supreme Court has effectively helped to destroy Democracy in the United States. There is no other way to look at it.
Oh, and the NRA?? They were WAY more than knee-deep in the Russian attack on our elections. WAY more:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/latest-news/article212756749.html
re: the SCOTUS decision....no, Ohio should not be so efficient at removing people from the voting rolls. On the other hand, if voting is important to you then *you*, as the voter, need to take the responsibility to ascertain that you are on the rolls and eligible to cast a vote. If you don't, then that is *your* problem and I have no sympathy for you. I make sure that my voter registration is current each and every year in January, even if off-years, because sometimes State or local elections happen at odd times.
Meetings like the G7 should not be conducted by the heads of various nations. Instead, their top economic/financial people, having titles such as "Secretary of the Treasury" or "Finance Minister", should hold the meetings. They know more about the subject than their bosses do so why send the CEO when the CFO should be the one in attendance?
The Ontario election was Russian Roulette. No matter what party Ontario chose they’d be screwed. The PCs just have a better track record on the economy than the NDP.
And you are right, Canada will never have an anglophone Prime Minister because each party always has the priority of making sure their leader speaks both National languages. The G7 does have Finance Minister meetings and are usually held before the Leader meeting.
https://g7.gc.ca/en/g7-presidency/themes/investing-growth-works-everyone/g7-ministerial-meeting/chairs-summary-g7-finance-ministers-central-bank-governors/
These meetings do cover cost, where the leader meetings cover everything from Climate Change to World Peace.
If the NRA deliberately helped foreign nationals in such activity that would certainly be a crime and there seems to be grounds to suspect that the NRA did just that. My guess is that if they did Mueller will be able to prove that.
I think you (though my memory is poor) have posted before that some people refuse to accept abortion is murder as that would put them in an unconscionable position and I expect there's something in that. In my case I feel that it's not reasonable to assign the same value to the human rights of a small cluster of undifferentiated cells (I know this is not your position, I'm just talking about my views here) as to a fully functioning human - instead those rights become stronger as the pregnancy progresses. I also feel that it's not healthy for society to use biological differences to justify taking away freedom of action from many women. I don't really know though how those convictions have influenced each other as I find it much easier to analyse other people than myself
Why don't they just say "we don't want anymore brown people in this country" and be done with it already. At least we'd be having an honest conversation at that point. Now some might say "wait a minute, domestic or gang violence isn't an issue that applies to governments, and thus, political asylum". And technically you'd be right, I suppose. But what if that government simply turn a total blind eye to those issues??
Again, this isn't just about people coming into this country illegally anymore (if it ever was). They are now flat-out trying to get people to stop trying to get asylum. That is what the taking away the children policy is designed to do, and it is what this is designed to do. Actions like this were ALWAYS the core of Trump's appeal. This was always the alliance between Sessions and Trump. And that alliance is focused on keeping America as white as possible.
As for the election, I agree they were all bad choices, but I'd argue that the PCs have zero track record on the economy, as the liberals have been in for so long. And the current crop (especially Ford) seems uniquely unqualified for the job. Personally, I was hoping for a minority government of some sort.
As far as getting jobs and paying into the system are concerned...I suppose that manufacturing jobs could come back here as we give jobs to these new immigrants, presuming they are willing to work for minimum wage. If they are working 40-hour weeks they also qualify for other benefits in accordance with Federal employment laws.
Kim appears to crave international recognition and I've seen some people argue that we shouldn't give him that - at least until it's been earned through denuclearization. However, providing that recognition costs very little and helps keep dialogue going which I think is a good thing in itself. Even for an authoritarian dictator there are also costs for changing your mind and the more Kim is involved in the peace process the more difficult he would find it to simply walk away and go back to international isolation.
Just a warning note here though that the US is not Kim's only option for international recognition and economic support. He's had recent friendly dialogues with both Syria and Russia - and the importance of Russia in being able to maintain a dictator in power has been clearly demonstrated in Syria. It's also unclear how far China would be prepared to back him in the event that relations with the US break down, but I think it would be both dangerous and foolish for the US to assume that they could take unilateral military action against North Korea without wider consequences.
I am streaming CBSN and they’ve admitted this is all just a show for the media and it’s all the back room politicking where these two arrn’t even involved where a deal is going to get done.
They also said this could just be Kim playing out the clock knowing Trump isn’t going to be around in 4 years.
It’s a we’ll see.
This guy can't get along with Macron, Merkel, and Treadeu but he gets along fine with Putin and Kim Jong Un. He won't sign a pledge with G7.
I know why people say #notmypresident he does not represent America's best values. He does represent some American values - racism, homophobia, predatory capitalism out for the rich.
http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2018/06/11/01003-20180611ARTFIG00153-la-manie-de-donald-trump-de-tout-dechirer-complique-la-vie-de-la-maison-blanche.php
^^ In French, an article on his habits of tearing up everything and how his aides waste their times digging up bins and fixing torn up documents with tapes. American laws demand official presidential documents to be archived so these aides do prevent him from doing illegal things on a regular basis.
But staying a step ahead of others means thinking of all possible outcomes and determining a proper course of action if any of those possibilities pop up.
Still waiting for what this "comprehensive" document is. I was going to make a joke about how any document longer than one page and not in bullet form would be comprehensive to Trump, until he held it up and showed that it was one page and bullet format...
“The Trump Doctrine is ‘We’re America, Bitch.’ That’s the Trump Doctrine.”
It struck me almost immediately that this was the most acute, and attitudinally honest, description of the manner in which members of Trump’s team, and Trump himself, understand their role in the world....
And this guy is the one who said the IRAN DEAL, which had verified inspectors on the ground 24/7/365, was something we couldn't trust. I give up. We are living in some sort of science fiction novel. Who the f**k can take this shit seriously anymore?? Trump now telling ABC News "He trusts me and I trust him." Well, let's all pack up our things and go home then. Problem solved.
"We had a great conversation, it was a very heartfelt conversation... I don't have to verify because I have one of the great memories of all time."- Donald Trump, June 12, 2018.
This wasn't diplomacy, this was Ringling Brothers.
Correction, Trump appears to have given up joint military exercises with South Korea in return for......nothing. Though South Korea and Japan appear to have had NO IDEA this was going to take place.
Even though I think the chances of something going wrong with the process are high, the risk also seems worthwhile to me as the alternative was to continue down the previous line of increasing pressure on a nuclear-armed country - the best outcome from that is to bring them to the conference table (as has just happened), but many other outcomes would be far worse.
In relation to halting the military exercises, Trump referred to those as provocative to North Korea. That's a choice of language inspired by North Korea and will make it more difficult to reinstate the exercises at a later date if desired. The decision of course came as a surprise to the US military as well as US allies - don't you just love government by Twitter.
Incidentally, I'm not surprised that Trump was generally able to control himself at the summit. He had deliberately cut that short to reduce the time he had to behave and had recently vented his spleen on the G7 - I suspect part of the purpose of that was to relieve his own frustrations before moving on to Korea. However, it's good to see that Kim has a decent measure of self-control. He's going to need that if he has more dealings with Trump - a spot of fat shaming is Trump's idea of being diplomatic when he's in a good mood ...
Incidentally I think that demonstrates (as has been previously suggested) that Kim is pretty fluent in English ...