Anomaly Posted May 16, 2018 Posted May 16, 2018 As usual... Not as good as hoped, not as bad as feared.
GreenScapularedHuman Posted June 1, 2018 Posted June 1, 2018 I think one's opinion of Trump is directly related to if you listen to the right-wing media ecosystem that has developed or not. Trump for me is a tyrant with narcissistic and anti-social personality disorder tendencies, possibly with some cognitive challenges... but I think more importantly he is a unrepentant unrelenting and unabashed pathological liar. He is grossly unqualified for the office that he holds both in experience and in basic understanding of how the office he uses works, as is cited by far too many even on the political right like those who served in the Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr, and Bush administrations. Considering the mounting evidence of obstruction of justice, which he basically confessed to on national television saying he fired FBI director James Comey knowing that it was not a good idea, knowing it was a bad time, that his decision was made before any other report or advise was made, and that it was very directly related to Comey not swearing his allegiance, not clearing Trump, and not ending the investigation (which is also an admission he exerted illegal pressure on the FBI director before firing him).... The threads that keep connecting to Kremlin backed organizations, oligarchs, and operatives to the Trump organization, campaign, and administration is extremely disturbing... moreover considering Trump's refusal to ever criticize Putin... and his reluctance to enact sanctions on Russia even those mandated by Congress even attempting to relax sanctions on Russia. The fact that Trump's campaign and election hailed the United States for the first time in the history of the world democracy index being demoted from a 'full democracy' to a 'flawed democracy'. The fact that Trump's policies have substantially weakened America's role and presence in the world in the opinion of everyone except the Trump base. The trade war Trump keeps pushing on despite the profound risks to American markets and consumers. The pushing of a wall that he expects Congress to pay for despite promising it would be paid for by Mexico, not even going into how absurd the promise of a wall is... Saying North Korea took good care of their American hostages and thanked them for it, then insanely blamed Obama for failing to get their release despite most of the detainees released were captured under Trump not Obama... Could go on and on and on... Most of the comparisons to Obama and others I consider to be red herrings, specifically 'whataboutisms', and not worthy of consideration... a lot of time could be spent chasing down rabbit holes the red herrings trying to explain how they are factually incorrect... and I am just not convinced Trump supporters are willing to either see evidence that is contrary to Trump's rantings and/or to care about evidence that is contrary to Trump's rantings... But I will make a minor little point... the Special Counsel Muller, a career FBI agent/prosecutor, well respected life-long Republican, appointed by a Republican... James Comey who is also a respected career FBI agent and well respected life-long Republican... are telling us that Trump is basically like a mob boss... literally 'the Don'. Its amazing how willingly and blindly Trump ardent supporters are going to attack and undermine the fair rule of law and the justice department even before any report has been made by Muller, despite no evidence of wrong doing by Muller or Comey (as of yet, despite repeated claims and investigations to date by Congress and Inspectors General).... and more importantly ignoring that there have been repeated indictments and convictions secured in the Muller investigation linked to the obstruction of justice and more specifically to the Kremlin collusion scandal. Michael Flynn who plead guilty to a lesser-included-offense of lying to the FBI about failing to register as and being a foreign agent namely of Turkey and the Kremlin even while he was Trump's national security advisor and even after the FBI/CIA/Obama cautioned Trump about Michael Flynn even on national television when Trump sat down with Obama in the oval office. So two to four years of Republican spearheaded investigations into Clinton and Obama... nada... About a year into Trump... ~20 indictments and/or convictions... and very likely a lot more to come... How anyone can defend Trump I think is a very strong indication that the base of the forever-trumpers are just unwilling to care and/or unwilling to be swayed by facts/evidence/reason/experts... What that means for American democracy is obvious... its dying... just see the world democracy index. What it means for American influence in the world, it means a weaker America. For what it means for American trade it means less trade. What it means for world security it means an Iran that may be uncoupled from a deal and may begin their quest to seek nuclear weapons right now (if not already) and a North Korea that is inceasingly taking advantage of Trump's desperation for a legacy moment.... For Trump saying he is running on 'rule of law'... it looks to me to be 'rule of Trump'. Trump's constant and disturbing and repeated comments saying he wants to be President for life and that he wants to have at least four terms as President should be red flags... but his base just laughs it off... rolls their eyes... and wonders why everyone can't adore Trump unquestionably like they do. As someone who goes around the world... the world hates Trump... a lot... and the world is very angry at America for allowing him to be President. This is also reflected in international pollings. Trump is also one of the least favorable/most unfavorable President in modern United States history... his supporters celebrate numbers that for any other President would be cringe worthy and a shame. To watch it happen is to wonder how anyone could defend Trump... it makes me wonder how anyone could defend Trump when to Trump everyone is expendable, the only man who matters is him, and everyone is fodder in his game to further enrich himself. How anyone could believe otherwise is also kinda strange... he basically spells that out in the Art of the Deal.... TLDR: I think one's opinion of Trump is directly related to if you listen to the right-wing media ecosystem that has developed or not.
little2add Posted June 1, 2018 Posted June 1, 2018 E Jimmy Carter: Trump Has a Shot At a Nobel Prize President Jimmy Carter believes that under Trump, democracy is threatened and moral leadership is lacking. But if Korea goes well, he says there could be a Nobel Prize in Trump’s future. That’s a good thing , isn’t it?
GreenScapularedHuman Posted June 2, 2018 Posted June 2, 2018 (edited) Without giving even the illusion of validation to the stalker of the previous post...http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-01/donald-trump-has-again-been-nominated-for-a-peace-prize.-could-/9713574 To put it very simply Kim Jong Un has a far better chance at a Nobel Laureate than Trump who is considered to never ever be considered for it. As the chair of the committee responsible for the Nobel prize said: https://medium.com/@allanishac/nobel-peace-prize-committee-says-no-f-king-way-to-trump-receiving-award-c83f11511c82 The whole peace prize narrative of Trump is a really good example of Trump's delusional narcissism... North Korea has reneged on every agreement they have ever made for more than... since before the Korean war. Moreover with the United States. You get that North Korea teaches their children math in the form of 'if you kill one american and kill two more, how many dead americans do you have?' The mere idea that Trump, a man who can't even get Mexico to pay for his absurdly dumb wall, can get North Korea to come to task nonetheless do what he wants... to call it delusional narcissism is kinda offensive to those who suffer delusion and/or narcissism. Edited June 2, 2018 by GreenScapularedHuman
Guest Posted June 4, 2018 Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) If President Trump's meeting with Kim Jong Un goes ahead, I would be very suspicious of any apparent good outcome. It is reminiscent to me of Chamberlain's meeting with Hitler and the Munich Pact which proved to be worthless. I am an Aussie. I am not fond of Trump for integrity, same goes for Kim Jong Un. Be that as it may, I would love to be totally surprised and very wrong - so that all went very well at the proposed meeting, which then proved to be well into the future for the Korean Peninsula and the entire world. Trump is certainly a flawed creature like the rest of us but if he was able to negotiate Peace on the Korean Peninsula and a Peace that lasted, then I would think we should look past his flawed nature to what he has with God's Help achieved and a possible Nobel Peace Prize. Gold is wherever it is found. And true Peace on the Korean Peninsula is gold. Edited June 4, 2018 by BarbaraTherese
Guest Posted June 4, 2018 Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) I recall when a strongly held Labour seat here in South Australia years ago was lost to the Liberals. I was in a queue in the area and where politics was being hotly discussed. One guy commented "Not my fault, I voted Labour". I commented "We all desire and choose to live in a democracy, so we are all at fault". "We get the leaders we deserve" and my Mum used to say "the country is run by fools and clowns". Edited June 4, 2018 by BarbaraTherese
GreenScapularedHuman Posted June 4, 2018 Posted June 4, 2018 11 hours ago, BarbaraTherese said: Trump is certainly a flawed creature like the rest of us but if he was able to negotiate Peace on the Korean Peninsula and a Peace that lasted, then I would think we should look past his flawed nature to what he has with God's Help achieved and a possible Nobel Peace Prize. The Korean peninsula has had peace since 1953... How can Trump take credit for something he had nothing to do with? Because hes a LIAR. And lets be a little but more apt... North Korea and South Korea's efforts to smooth relations has been the very long and very extensive work of South Korea since before 1953. For Trump to take any responsibility for that makes Trump a LIAR. Because Trump IS A LIAR.
little2add Posted June 4, 2018 Posted June 4, 2018 52 minutes ago, GreenScapularedHuman said: The Korean peninsula has been in a continuous state of war since 1910 Fixed it BTY: Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945) was a deeply ambivalent experience for Koreans. On the one hand, Japanese colonialism was often quite harsh. For the first ten years Japan ruled directly through the military, and any Korean dissent was ruthlessly crushed. Trump did not create the war with North Korea. 59 minutes ago, GreenScapularedHuman said: How can Trump take credit for something he had nothing to do with? Because hes a LIAR. No one has taken credit yet, if a peace can be made it would be a wonderful and a clear victory for the US and the free world.
GreenScapularedHuman Posted June 4, 2018 Posted June 4, 2018 Quote In light of this I accept this as a full forfeiture. As you have at no point seemed to make any substantial effort or progress to doing just this. I have been far more than generous, patient, and charitable during this process tolerating your poor malbehavior and malattitudes than I think I should of all things considered. There is no purpose to continuing this non-discussion as I do not believe you have the will or ability to benefit from it nonetheless honestly engage in it. And since you have a strong propensity to quote from, without actually sourcing in many cases, articles from sites that are highly questionable, and in those cases where you cite from a less questionable source you ignore/reject portions of those articles that you do not feel imminently serves your purposes. As such I additionally conclude you are extraordinarily biased, unable and unwilling, to arrive at any conclusion that you do not already regard. Littleadd, if you want to lie (be grossly wrong) and say that there has been (or is still) a war on the Korean peninsula that is your choice, but it is unquestionably a lie. And if you want to continue stalking and/or trying to engage with me despite your creepiness and cyberbullying from before you should know that if/when I notice obvious violations of the community guidelines here I will start to report them. To literally lie about what I wrote... within a quote box... shows how extremely deceptive and anti-social you are. In front of everyone no less... It makes me wonder if you are even capable of having a sensible and intelligible conversation. Which is a perfect example of why the United States was demoted on the world democracy index... and why America's ratings on all progress indicators because there is no respect for reality, facts, rule of law, justice, democracy... among other things... Littleadd, your willingness to lie for Trump and to lie about this conversation is extremely telling to me about the kind of character and integrity that you (to be very clear) do not have.
Guest Posted June 5, 2018 Posted June 5, 2018 10 hours ago, GreenScapularedHuman said: The Korean peninsula has had peace since 1953... How can Trump take credit for something he had nothing to do with? Because hes a LIAR. And lets be a little but more apt... North Korea and South Korea's efforts to smooth relations has been the very long and very extensive work of South Korea since before 1953. For Trump to take any responsibility for that makes Trump a LIAR. Because Trump IS A LIAR. https://thediplomat.com/2018/04/a-peace-regime-on-the-korean-peninsula-not-so-fast/ 9 hours ago, little2add said: No one has taken credit yet, if a peace can be made it would be a wonderful and a clear victory for the US and the free world. If President Trump's Meeting with Kim Jong Un goes ahead and has a happy outcome, I dont think it could be cleaimed as a victory until quite some time (years) after the meeting to ensure both parties are going to abide by the outcome to ensure that it is a stable outcome. Whenever I think of a potential meeting with the President and Kim Jon Un, I keep seeing in my imagination the image of Chamberlain getting off the plane waving that piece of paper proudly and joyfully stating: "Peace for our time". World War Two was waiting in the wings. The domino principle took over as countries in Europe were attacked by Hitler and allies came to their aid according to Alliances. Chronology of US - North Korean Nuclear and Missile Diplomacy
GreenScapularedHuman Posted June 5, 2018 Posted June 5, 2018 1 hour ago, BarbaraTherese said: https://thediplomat.com/2018/04/a-peace-regime-on-the-korean-peninsula-not-so-fast/ Nothing specifically here seems to rebut what I wrote. If there is something specifically you want mentioned from the article please do so quote it or at very least explain what you are trying to present from the article. 1 hour ago, BarbaraTherese said: If President Trump's Meeting with Kim Jong Un goes ahead and has a happy outcome, I dont think it could be cleaimed as a victory until quite some time (years) after the meeting to ensure both parties are going to abide by the outcome to ensure that it is a stable outcome. Whenever I think of a potential meeting with the President and Kim Jon Un, I keep seeing in my imagination the image of Chamberlain getting off the plane waving that piece of paper proudly and joyfully stating: "Peace for our time". World War Two was waiting in the wings. The domino principle took over as countries in Europe were attacked by Hitler and allies came to their aid according to Alliances. Chronology of US - North Korean Nuclear and Missile Diplomacy Actually Hitler was already on the move when Chamberlain met with Hitler... it was also notably different because it was a policy of appeasement and concession, the idea that if they let hitler keep what he gained and had established, but would go no further under risk of repercussions... North Korea has no real intentions to war... For an expert-based evaluation of North Korea's situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEoZLGHKvy8 This was the rationale of the Obama administration on 'strategic patience', I disagreed with it then and now, but basically it goes like this. North Korea will not go to war... they continually threaten it but it is not in their interest nor is it their motivation/objective to go to war. Likewise the United States can't really go to war with North Korea without upsetting that entire region of the world moreover their patron-protector China. So the Obama administration decided like how India and Pakistan acquired nuclear weapons without nuclear war... North Korea would likely be much of the same. And they HAVE nuclear weapons right now and don't use them because they won't use them. So in a sense accepting them as a nuclear power and ignoring their threats would actually take away their only real major ploy/gimmick. With that written... North Korea will not give up its nuclear weapons and even without nuclear weapons North Korea will remain a major threat to Japan and South Korea. The idea that this summit will solve any of these challenges is absurdly dumb and false hope. Going a bit further... North Korea despite making threats and being aggressive in otehr non-open-war ways... has kept the peace with the region and South Korea. The idea that there is a state of war anywhere except on paper or by using a very overly broad definition of war is kinda silly. By that definition who isn't at war???
Guest Posted June 5, 2018 Posted June 5, 2018 (edited) I dont think wars begin by a country or countries suddenly engaging in armed conflict on a battlefield without any rationale whatsoever behind their actions. Wars probably do start 'on paper' i.e. abstract ideas, thoughts, supposition, speculation. Edited June 5, 2018 by BarbaraTherese
GreenScapularedHuman Posted June 5, 2018 Posted June 5, 2018 (edited) 36 minutes ago, BarbaraTherese said: I dont think wars begin by a country or countries suddenly engaging in armed conflict on a battlefield without any rationale whatsoever behind their actions. Wars probably do start 'on paper' i.e. abstract ideas, thoughts, supposition, speculation. I don't think that is what I wrote, what I implied, or even could be construed from what I wrote. There has to be a will and motivation for a war to start (and be sustained)... and there has to be a benefit and/or purpose to that war. North Korea unless it is not just an irrational actor but an insane actor has none of that. They have every will and motivation to avoid war. They have nothing to gain but ever so much to lose by war. Back in better times for North Korea when they had the near full support of China and the Soviet Union... when the North Korean state was not as impoverished and as broken as it has become... the prospect of taking South Korea was just as rational as North Vietnam taking South Vietnam. But now... that isn't the case... not even remotely. The Soviet Union is gone. China no longer fully backs North Korea despite holding them basically as a protectorate. The North Korean economy has collapsed and is very poor. Their state is broken and corrupt in so many ways (even for their internal standards) its laughable. The leader of North Korea is not insane... and is not irrational. He is going for the optimal gain. They know that the world wants them to do a LOT... demobilize, disarm, reform their government, stop human rights abuses... So they push to one extreme of NOT... that is constantly saying they will go to war. So the world kinda backs off and accepts minor gestures rather than pushing for more. North Korea needs humanitarian aid to both support their people and to sell on the black market. So North Korea knows that if they threaten war and then back off for aid, which is what they always do, then they got their gravy train setup. Nuclear weapons development and attainment is just this. They know the world will take the threat all the more seriously and even the prospect of disarming nuclear weapons is an offer too tempting for the world to resist... so they know they can get even more aid. Which after developing nuclear weapons they didn't use them... they turned on he charm offensive with South Korea and America. Now they are haggling hoping they can get as much as possible. But don't be fooled they have no intention of getting back into order, decularizing, or to stoping this ploy in the future. So is North Korea waring? No. Is North Korea going to go to war? No. Is there risk of a war with North Korea? Yes.. but namely its from Trump who doesn't seem to understand North Korea is doing a massive fakeout. Edited June 5, 2018 by GreenScapularedHuman
little2add Posted June 6, 2018 Posted June 6, 2018 NBA star turned Kim Jong Un soulmate Dennis Rodman will be in Singapore during President Trump’s summit with the North Korean dictator next week I can see it now. Dennis Rodman gets the Nobel Peace Prize.
Guest Posted June 6, 2018 Posted June 6, 2018 Whoever gets Kim Jong Un to cool the useless rhetoric and have the eyes of the world more meaningfully directed would get my vote. A case of "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..........."...........
little2add Posted June 11, 2018 Posted June 11, 2018 President Trump has landed in Singapore in preparation for the summit with Kim Jong-un. The North Korean dictator got there first, having already met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The real action will be taking place tomorrow, but the details of how Trump and Kim arrived raise a few interesting questions. One item to consider is that Kim Jong-un didn’t just come with his aides and security detail. Kim flew in on a Chinese jet rather than his own personal plane. But he was immediately followed by a Russian cargo jet carrying his armored vehicles and, strangely, a private supply of food. (Washington Times)
StJoseph Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 I am a conservative/ right to life. I think Trump was a better choice than Hillary because I base my decision on which president is prolife. As far as I know he is prolife. Praying everything went well with him meeting the Korean president. Jesus is prolife. So between the two candidates Hillary and Donald. Donald was the better choice.
Guest Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 (edited) CBS NEWS June 12, 2018, 1:31 AM North Korea summit: Trump says meeting went "better than anybody could have expected" — live updates https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/trump-kim-jong-un-summit-north-korea-historic-meeting-singapore-today-2018-06-11-live-updates/ ---0o0--- CBS NEWS June 11, 2018, 9:24 PM Larry Kudlow suffers heart attack, Trump tweets from Singapore https://www.cbsnews.com/news/larry-kudlow-suffers-heart-attack-trump-tweets-from-north-korea-summit-in-singapore/ Last Updated Jun 11, 2018 10:24 PM EDT While waiting at a resort in Singapore for his historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, President Trump tweeted that Larry Kudlow, his chief economic adviser, has suffered a heart attack back in the U.S.: Edited June 12, 2018 by BarbaraTherese
Guest Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 Washington Post on Trump/Kim Jong Un meeting - and will be updated: Washington Post
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