He’ll dance Trump around for awhile.

You guys are so negative. Maybe they'll hit it off, become best friends and destroy the world as one.

Kim Jong apparently said he's committed to denuclearization, a stop to testing, accepts joint operations w/ South Korea and the US, and wants to meet with Trump.

This has to be a trap.

I'd guess they both know they can meet, go home and declare total victory to further entrench their own power.

If Trump's previous televised negotiations are any guide, after Kim talks to Trump about how the US has a huge trade deficit with South Korea but none with North Korea, explains to him how much we spend stationing our troops in Korea, and promises to build him a big statue in Pyongyang, Trump will agree to withdraw all American troops from the peninsula and signal he would be OK with it being under unified Nork control.

Clinton and both Bushs and Obama were invited

It’s a major goal to get US president to US. It would elevate NK to world stage / US treating NK as an equal

This is NK thinking Trump is dumb enough to show up.

Earlier today from Tillerson:

“We're a long way from negotiations. We just need to be very clear-eyed and realistic about it."

The Savior wrote:Clinton and both Bushs and Obama were invited

It’s a major goal to get US president to US. It would elevate NK to world stage / US treating NK as an equal

This is NK thinking Trump is dumb enough to show up.

NK is not alone in thinking he is dumb enough to take the bait.

jerseyhoya wrote:If Trump's previous televised negotiations are any guide, after Kim talks to Trump about how the US has a huge trade deficit with South Korea but none with North Korea, explains to him how much we spend stationing our troops in Korea, and promises to build him a big statue in Pyongyang, Trump will agree to withdraw all American troops from the peninsula and signal he would be OK with it being under unified Nork control.

I think you are close, except the deal twist is to relocate the troops to NK side of the border for a big savings to the US, giving Kim a nice profit to show for his efforts.

Trump, Jr. is already negotiating the deal to build the barracks.

The Savior wrote:Clinton and both Bushs and Obama were invited

Is this accurate? I can find that they all held discussions remotely but were they directly invited?

A long held belief of Republicans is for the president to sit down with line wolf, murderous, dictators.

CalvinBall wrote:A long held belief of Republicans is for the president to sit down with line wolf, murderous, dictators.

Huh?

Trump's Historic Bet on Kim Summit Shatters Decades of Orthodoxy https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/arti ... -orthodoxy

I'm a big fan of absurdist humor but pretty crazy to think that kim jong il's shithead son deciding to grow balls and either snub or try to embarrass Trump could plausibly trigger global conflict

nerve agent used to take out a former russian spy, who had spied on russia for the UK. Also took out his daughter. No announcement of the nerve agent used. It will be interesting to see what it was. Dear NK leader took out his brother with a nerve agent last year, so I'm really hoping it wasn't the same agent. Better if it turns out to be Putin knocking off an old enemy than some kind of pact between NK and Russia.

Numerous UK citizens were also exposed, including one cop who is in bad shape.

All this stuff with Trump is going on in the foreground, but there's also stuff under the surface. I'm hoping this isn't part of the bigger picture.


https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... ei-skripal

so what does Trump have to gain from the NK meet and greet?

guessing it's a combo of two things

1) distraction from Mueller and Stormy
2) in his head this is a Nixon in China moment

I think he just feels he will be able to bully KJ and end up looking like a hero tough guy. YEAH THIS WILL GO WELL

The Crimson Cyclone wrote:guessing it's a combo of two things

1) distraction from Mueller and Stormy
2) in his head this is a Nixon in China moment

Well, there is a Nixon moment we can hope is in the wings, especially if he can compromise his VP before his fall from power.

Caught a few minutes of BBC this morning. The world is loving this tariff play. Our allies are spinning that they fit in the national security narrative, so they are requesting exception. China is angry, and Japan is concerned.

Separately, there are scores of companies applying for their exemptions too. Car manufacturers, which account for a huge portion of the imported aluminum apparently, cryotank manufacturers because we do not produce steel that can deal with pressurized negative 275 degree fluids for natural gas, pipeline companies, etc.

Deadman Walking Wilbur Ross and his can are making the rounds. I heard him on NPR be effectively challenged that the administration is guaranteeing at least 0.5% automatic inflation. Wilbur went with 'who cares' because he only understands a can will cost $0.005 more and that will not break anyone. He could not get his head around the idea that it is 1) a whole cart full of 0.005% increases, and 2) the way cost increases actually work from the supplier, with beer in particular and its 3 tier system, if a six pack costs 1.50 to produce, and it goes it to 1.52, then it then the 6 pack from the distributor goes from $4 to $4.18, and the to consure from $6 to $6.27, which is a 4.5% increase. Maybe I am just simple and each tier will just suck up the increased cost and will not change any part of the supply chain more.

Willllbuuuur said that cars are a non-sense example because car prices change all the time.

Best people.