“I’m glad that there’s some preparatory work happening for this potential summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday morning on MSNBC. “I’m very worried that this summit is going to go very badly . . . but I think we should all admit that it’s good, not bad, that the Trump administration is trying to do some work ahead of this meeting, perhaps setting the stage for success rather than failure.”"Grudging" is the right word. The OED defines it as "unwilling, reluctant; resentful, envying."
“The preparation, certainly, is welcome — there’s no way that Donald Trump should go into that meeting without a lot of groundwork being laid,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said, also speaking on MSNBC. But, he added, as the current CIA director, “Pompeo is the wrong person to be engaging in diplomacy.”
April 18, 2018
"Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo’s newly disclosed trip to North Korea to lay the groundwork for denuclearization talks is earning him grudging praise..."
"... from senators opposed to his bid to be the nation’s top diplomat — a potentially important development as Pompeo tries to shore up at least some Democratic support for his confirmation vote," reports WaPo.
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158 comments:
the senators can throw a spanner into the peace process if they are honest about their meanness for Trump and his success
Not gonna go far with a sour attitude like that you do nothings!
Armchair quarterbacks all.
Hoping for failure is the default Dim positon.
Meanwhile:
Terry J. Albury, a former Special Agent of the FBI, pleaded guilty today in the District of Minnesota in connection with his unauthorized disclosure and retention of classified national defense information.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick foar the Eastern District of Virginia, and Assistant Director Bill Priestap of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division announced the plea. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright.
Hmm. Priestap is still cooperating.
I think Trump should tweet that if Pompeo is turned down, that he will serve as his own SoS. That should scare the bejesus out of the Progs, Rynos and NeverTrumpers.
The side that gave us Jimmy Carter's disastrous giveaway to keep the Kim's in power are now saying that the R's are sending the wrong guy.
Chutzpah!
I'll take begrudging praise over either ignoring or flat out denying reality.
If someone you hate does something you approve of, it's better to admit it's good than to pretend it didn't happen, or doesn't matter, or is somehow bad. It shows you're thinking objectively, and arguing in good faith.
Albury did not leak because of Trump. He felt the FBI was profiling in a bad way and was also racist..."addressing the well-documented systemic biases within the FBI" I don't know if the last statement was about the Bureau washroom policy.
"from senators opposed to his bid to be the nation’s top diplomat"
Do they have enough brain power to keep their knees from jerking?
Peace in our Time!
You can hear the hope in their words: Hope for miserable diplomatic failure and nuclear disaster that can be blamed on Trump.
The message to Trump is that the Left is in charge.
I am just plain fascinated at how Mike Pompeo got in and out of North Korea without anyone knowing, and without it leaking.
Has anybody heard how it all was arranged, technically? Did he fly to North Korea? Did he fly to South Korea and then transport by ground? Did the South Koreans know? I imagine that there was some pretty cool spycraft in the arrangments.
Chuck said...
Has anybody heard how it all was arranged, technically? Did he fly to North Korea? Did he fly to South Korea and then transport by ground?
He might have flown in to China.
Its going to be really embarrassing for the Nobel committee if North and South Korea sign a peace treaty and North Korea denuclearizes (a very big if) and it doesn't give Trump the peace prize. Oh, who am I kidding. They'll just give it to Kim Jong-un.
Presumably the diplomatic genius of John Kerry is finally bearing fruit, and that moron Trump will take all the credit. Just as Obama's brilliant economic policies have finally kicked in. /sarc
Had I been the doctor who delivered Richard Blumentha, I would have slapped his momma's face.
Puffed up, pompous, sanctimonious, lying weasel doesn't begin to describe Blumenthal. I don't know whether Blumeenthal is there to make Jean Fraud Kerry look good by comparison, or whether I have the two roles reversed. When you are looking deep into the bottom of the barrel, it's sometimes hard to figure who's on top.
Maybe a spy is better than a diplomat in this case---I will not make premature judgements.
I'd like to thank the Democrat lawmakers for lowering expectations so far that any result this side of Trump getting into a fistfight will be viewed by most Americans as a positive result.
You think Trump's never attended a big meeting before? Fools, this ain't his first rodeo.
Compare the current effort to the ridiculous posturing and objective failure of someone like John Kerry, or the clownishness of Hillary as SOS. But our betters in DC would say that Kerry and Hillary are the right types of people who should be doing that work. Doesn't matter if they show results, as long as they come from the right tribe. Thus the begrudgement. D'oh! Wrong again.
The direct talks provide a possible breakthrough involving a problem that has grown worse for 5 administrations. Brought about by the wrong person -- the couthless one -- who shouldn't be there. There's no telling if Trump will succeed in ridding NOKO of its nukes, but nobody else even progressed this far when Kim knows going in that he must give up nukes as a precondition for getting anything in return.
Hey, Dick. Trump won. Mike is his guy.
Why don't we send you, Susan Rice, Ben Rhodes and Barack over with a couple of billion in cash. That's working great for Iran.
And this is coming from a guy who LIED about his war service. Loser.
I won’t begrudge him any praise if this draws us back from the brink.
>>They'll just give it to Kim Jong-un.
Maybe. More likely they give it to Obama and Carter.
“Pompeo is the wrong person to be engaging in diplomacy.”
In other words, there won't be a kickback coming my way.
Trump gets shit done.
"-I will not make premature judgements."
Why start now ?
Scott says: Trump gets shit done.
Yes.
Pompeo has the right experience, having before escaped alive from the Tournament on Han's Island.
Never stop campaigning. To hell with what's good for the country and the world. Work on what's good for your tribe.
“I’m glad that there’s some preparatory work happening for this potential summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday morning on MSNBC. “I’m very worried that this summit is going to go very badly . . . but I think we should all admit that it’s good, not bad, that the Trump administration is trying to do some work ahead of this meeting, perhaps setting the stage for success rather than failure.”
“The preparation, certainly, is welcome — there’s no way that Donald Trump should go into that meeting without a lot of groundwork being laid,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said, also speaking on MSNBC.
Golly it's reassuring to live in a country where it's so common for mental giants like this to be attracted to politics and public service. "You need to lay a lot of groundwork before going into a meeting like that, Mr. President" - did ever an executive have such founts of wisdom for advisors?
"Grudging" is the right word. The OED defines it as "unwilling, reluctant; resentful, envying."
Emphasis on the envying part. Pompeo and his boss achieved what THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE ROOM could not.
"I think Trump should tweet that if Pompeo is turned down, that he will serve as his own SoS. That should scare the bejesus out of the Progs, Rynos and NeverTrumpers."
Jack, we used to say this about Karl Rove before he was outed as a RINO: "You magnificent bastard!"
Bonus for Kim prep if Pompeo has a sweet step-back three.
Inga said ... "I won’t begrudge him any praise if this draws us back from the brink."
Two points:
1. You would still never vote for hime because of the Resistance.
2. The only thing on the brink is your sanity.
-newly retired psychologist. Make the completely retired. I was sick of dealing with too many Ingas.
I won’t begrudge him any praise if this draws us back from the brink.
We aren't on the brink of anything.
Good gawd. How to people like you function being in constant fear?
I mean, you screamed this same shit all throughout the '80s when Ronny Raygun was going to get us all killed!!!!
And what happened? Nothing. Just like now.
Grow up.
This was certainly an important and serious story. And it is slightly reassuring. However, I still think Pompeo is a bad choice based on his public statements alone. The visit does nothing to undo those criticisms, and so my opinion remains. think Pompeo is a bad choice for any foreign policy job, CIA or State. The gulf between the US and NK on the nuclear issue is enormous. For example, it is common in the US media to refer to the talks as "denuclearization." While this is how each side sees it, each side also has a different understanding of what "denuclearization" means. The North Koreans do not see "denuclearization" as simply them giving up their nuclear program. "Denuclearization" from the North Korean perspective would also include the removal of US forces and US nuclear security assurances to the South. Now, I don't believe in those things in the first place so have no problem with trading them in exchange for verifiable denuclearization of the North. But it is hard to imagine the Trump administration (or any establishment figure) conceding to such a demand.
“newly retired psychologist. Make the completely retired.”
Thank God.
With all Trumps constant negative MSM attacks, Kim may think assassinating him would gain favor with majority of Americans.
Inga said...
I won’t begrudge him any praise if this draws us back from the brink.
Recognizing cognitive dissonance requires at least a 65 IQ.
“The preparation, certainly, is welcome — there’s no way that Donald Trump should go into that meeting without a lot of groundwork being laid,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said, also speaking on MSNBC."
Blumenthal went on to recount his many combat tours in Korea and his heartwarming lifelong correspondence with a republican lawyer from Michigan whom he befriended and can always count on for support.
CNN had the Clinton's personal North Korea negotiator on for the best way to see this total military victory of immense proportions achieved with nothing but Tweets backed up by space weapons. Bill Richardson gave the credit to great wisdom of Kim Jong Un and the South Korean President.
The CNN news reader mentioned it sounded as if Trump had a success with a sour look on her face as she slowly said that which made her appear seriously ill.
Trump sucesses make women ill.
J. Farmer said...
This was certainly an important and serious story. And it is slightly reassuring. However, I still think Pompeo is a bad choice based on his public statements alone.
You are smart enough to know that when dealing with evil people there is only one thing they understand. We finally have a president and an administration that understand how to get shit done rather than pretend they shit strawberry ice cream.
It also helps that we have a president that actually wants America to succeed and fights for our interests.
And a peaceful and prosperous South Korea/Korean peninsula is in our best interests. Our permanent presence there has been a massive success and well worth it.
Tcrosse:
Conrad Veidt? At first I thought Frederic March.
(Althouse: this cryptic comment pertains to his avatar)
There is no way in hell the dems are going to allow this to continue forward without sabotaging the effort.
Expect a full court press by the dems/left/LLR's to undermine Pompeo and, if at all possible, deny him the Secretary of State position.
I have it on good authority that Trump is an idiot.
Therefore, this story cannot be true.
Over to you, Leftist Collectivists and LLRs.
Conrad Veidt? At first I thought Frederic March.
Thief of Baghdad (1040)
Drago said...
There is no way in hell the dems are going to allow this to continue forward without sabotaging the effort.
Expect a full court press by the dems/left/LLR's to undermine Pompeo and, if at all possible, deny him the Secretary of State position.
Thank you for mentioning the LLR's. The establishment republican party is big a part of this effort.
Chuck is increasingly frantic lately. He serves as a bellweather for the Kristols and McMuffins of the world.
How did Pompeo get to North Korea?
He flew to Beijing and Rocket Boy gave him a ride on his train.
This is a big damn Success. The Korean War was always a very big war that we downplayed as a UN Police Action. This was intentionally done because the Rosenbergs had given the Soviet Communists nuclear weapons and thermo nulear weapons they could use on us if we won. It was the first War with a victory ordered not to happen. A Truce was the accepted result.
But the Commies are gone now. The reality was that 54 thousand US Troops died, 104 thousand were wounded, and 8 thousand were MIA and never found.
Trump's Triumph is magnificent.
"How did Pompeo get to North Korea?"
Commandeered an SR-71, just like that Hitler-like HW Bush did in 1980.
Just ask any lefty.
"NORK nuclear attack on US. Minorities and transgenders affected most."
Drago said...
There is no way in hell the dems are going to allow this to continue forward without sabotaging the effort.
Expect a full court press by the dems/left/LLR's to undermine Pompeo and, if at all possible, deny him the Secretary of State position.
I say that every Republican in the Senate, along with several Democrats, will vote to confirm Pompeo as SecState.
So let's bet, okay? "Put your money" where your worthless, cowardly trashtalking mouth is.
Tcrosse:
That 1040 is a funny Freudian slip! :)
That 1040 is a funny Freudian slip! :)
Damn Autocorrect ! I meant to write 1040-EZ.
Blogger tcrosse said...
Conrad Veidt? At first I thought Frederic March.
Thief of Baghdad (1040)
Conrad Veidt dropped dead on the Bel Air Country Club course after a great role as villain in "Casablanca."
Wiki says Riviera but I heard Bel Air.
His doctor pronounced him on the course. Probably owed him money.
TradGuy: "Bill Richardson gave the credit to great wisdom of Kim Jong Un and the South Korean President."
Remember, the lefties refused to give credit to Reagan/Thatcher/Pope John Paul for putting the full court military/economic/moral press on the Soviets to expedite their collapse.
The lefties and their LLR allies first shifted to the Hooray for Mikhail Gorbachev for saving the world from Reagan tactic.
When that failed for obvious reasons, the lefties shifted to the well, it was Charlie Wilson who did it!! (see the movie with Tom Hanks where the lefties and LLR's, like their Soviet counterparts) completely rewrite history.
Of course, that nonsense didn't last long so the left and their LLR allies shifted to the now very familiar Hey man, EVERYONE knew the Soviet Union was collapsing, Duh! tactic.
Which is of course another hilarious lie and rewriting of history but that's the one they've got.
Along with the Southern Strategy, all the Jim Crow dems were really Tea Partiers, the lefties never attacked Barbara Bush, etc.
LLR Chuck and his lefty pals stay pretty busy on this revisionism thing. LLR Chuck spends hours each day rewriting the history of just the last 2 years on this blog! It's hardly a stretch for his lefty allies to keep their revisionism for the last 100 years.
HOW DARE HE!!!!!
The greatest minds of 3 generations haves struggled with the Korean question for 65 years. Great statesmen have tried and failed multiple times to end the Korean War.
How dare a rank amateur Like president Trump come in and make all these great leaders look useless? How dare he, who is so stupid that he has 2 scoops of icecream after baning a porn whore and then leaves his shirt on the floor, how dare this stupid, insane, unhinged mafia boss do this.
I will completely understand if the establishment works to undo this. If this succeeds, what the Hell good are they? What the Hell do we need to spend money on them for?
THIS PURE INSOLENCE ON THE PART OF DUM-DUM TRUMP CANNOT STAND!!!!
John Henry
LLR Chuck: "I say that every Republican in the Senate, along with several Democrats, will vote to confirm Pompeo as SecState."
That doesn't mean that you and your hero dem pals Durbin and Blumenthal have to like it.
One can only imagine the angst LLR Chuck felt as Blumenthal squirmed to try and attack Trump gambit/strategy on N Korea but he just couldn't come up with anything.
I'll bet that little moment right there drove LLR Chuck back to the bottle!
Careful John Henry, your comment is likely to trigger a LLR Chuck descent back into child rumor-mongering and threats of physical violence to certain journalists.
I suspect that we will never know what caused the earthquake that destroyed the NoKo nuclear facility and 200 of their Top! Men!.
Was it an Act of God?
Or was it a Rod of God?
John Henry
Just think how painful this must be to LLR Chuck that Trump is moving the ball where LLR Chuck's "magnificent" obama and super-duper "effective" Durbin and team could do nothing but fail.
LOL
Fantastic.
I mean, sure, decreasing the possibility of a nuclear strike is fine and dandy and all, but watching LLR Chuck's passionately defended dems flounder is best of all.
LLR Chuck: ""Put your money" where your worthless, cowardly trashtalking mouth is."
I guess one would have to be a repeat Stolen Valor liar democrat like Blumenthal for LLR Chuck to not call you a coward.
Interesting.
Discuss.
These two senators would be ecstatic if a dope like Joe Biden were SOS. They don't give a damn about qualifications.
Blogger Jim at said...
I mean, you screamed this same shit all throughout the '80s when Ronny Raygun was going to get us all killed!!!!
And what happened? Nothing. Just like now.
Well, the Cold War ended, peacefully. The USSR collapsed and became almost a non-threat to Europe and us.
That is hardly "nothing"
I think you may have meant "nothing bad" happened and you are right. Thank God and Reagan for that.
John Henry
What does Kim Jong Un think of gay sex? Senate Democrats want to know.
While there is cause for optimism, a premature evacuation has a recent precedent as a first-order forcing of global man-made conflicts and catastrophic anthropogenic immigration reform.
Inga said ... "newly retired psychologist. Make the completely retired.”
Thank God."
More time to challenge you my little idiot fascist.
I think you may have meant "nothing bad" happened and you are right.
Well, yeah.
Fortunately, I was a part of making that happen ... no thanks to the SaneFreeze nutjobs and the rest of the left who openly cheered for the Soviet Union.
Blogger Drago said...
Careful John Henry, your comment is likely to trigger a LLR Chuck descent back into child rumor-mongering and threats of physical violence to certain journalists.
Fuck Chuck and all those nattering nabobs of negativism.
It is early days and there are still a lot of ifs around this whole deal. But we are way closer to a peaceful closure on this question than any time in the past 67 years.
I think we are entitled to feel hopeful about this. I think we are entitled feel good about this.
John Henry
The USSR collapsed and became almost a non-threat to Europe and us... Thank God and Reagan for that.
To be fair, the Soviets (i.e. leftists) were alien to Russia and the republics. So, God and Reagan, had fair partners with a principled alignment.
The lack of leaks about Pompeo seems to indicate that enough State Department staff have been removed or sidelined to prevent leaks and make such feats possible.
State Department Despair
The "Silent service" has a special flag that they fly when they successfully accomplish a combat mission. The USS Jimmy Carter flew that flag, albeit discretely, twice last year on returning to port. It operates in the Pacific Ocean. North Korea is on the Pacific Ocean. Probably just a coincidence.
https://hips.hearstapps.com/pop.h-cdn.co/assets/17/37/4000x2656/gallery-1505417743-3754953.jpg?resize=980:*
John Henry
"I won’t begrudge him any praise if this draws us back from the brink."
Going by events the tensions are way down.
No missile launches or nuclear tests, and the test site mountain is by all accounts abandoned.
For quite a long time now. The last missile launches were Nov. 28
Prediction: The Nobel Peace Prize will be grudgingly awarded to Donald Trump.
buwaya: "The lack of leaks about Pompeo seems to indicate that enough State Department staff have been removed or sidelined to prevent leaks and make such feats possible."
Indeed, this is what is most disconcerting to the media, dems, Lifelong republicans and others who want nothing more than to strangle any and all Trump diplomatic initiatives in the cradle.
This is why LLR Chuck's bestest dem pals were squealing like stuck pigs today. You should have heard Pedophile Island Sen Menendez going on and on and on and on about how Pompeo's failure to share details of this with the senate dems was enough to warrant more "no" votes.
I'll bet that thought excited LLR Chuck so much he almost went into atrial fibrillation.
Earnest Prole: "Prediction: The Nobel Peace Prize will be grudgingly awarded to Donald Trump."
LOL
Never. In. A. Million. Years.
Never.
They will give it to Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in.....and Barack Obama. Possibly Hillary Clinton and John Kerry as well.
Oh come on! We all know that Trump will tweet something tonight and screw everything up.
John Henry: "I think we are entitled to feel hopeful about this. I think we are entitled feel good about this."
Trust but verify.
Unlike the Iran deal, which, lets be honest, was simply a payout to the mad Mullahs by obama to stick it to America.
Sorry LLR Chuck, I should have written "by the Magnificent obama" for your sake.
The Godfather: "Oh come on! We all know that Trump will tweet something tonight and screw everything up."
Yep. Just like Hitler.
Or is it Mussolini this week? Or John Gotti? Or the Khmer Rouge? Genghis Khan?
I have a hard time keeping up with what all of LLR Chuck's dem operational allies are pushing each day.
If Trump really got the Norks to stop working on nukes, how could he NOT get the Noble Peace Prize?
"Prediction: The Nobel Peace Prize will be grudgingly awarded to Donald Trump."
"Never. In. A. Million. Years."
I agree, never. The Nobel committee will never award to a personal enemy of THEIRS.
The hate is too deep and will not dissipate until there is a cathartic event, or period, probably very violent.
The biggest risk of war in the world today, as in potential damage and violence-generating consequences, is the state of US (and to a degree, Western) cultural and political conflict. Maybe in a few years it will be something else, but for now the US is the red zone.
Wonder the social media feed on the negotiations over the Vietnam War might have looked.
"If Trump really got the Norks to stop working on nukes, how could he NOT get the Noble Peace Prize?"
Because those who would give the award hate and fear him much worse than anyone fears the Norks.
If they gave the Nobel to Kissinger (1973), they can give it to Trump (or Pompeo, maybe).
IN 1971 Henry Kissinger flew secretly to Beijing for meetings with Chou En-Lai to set up Nixon's trip to China in 1972. It's too soon to tell how well that worked out.
From news report:
The White House and Republicans seized on Mr. Pompeo’s trip as another reason for the Senate to confirm him, while Democrats said he had misled them by failing to disclose his mission, even in private conversations.
Might explain the grudging.
Speaking of Freudian slips, I just heard John Robert (formerly of CBS News) announce on Fox News regarding the North Korea negotiations that there are many questions to be unanswered.
Xi and Trump may well let the two Koreas have the honors if anything substantial indeed comes to pass.
Not everyone hated Kissinger in 1973. And the whole intellectual firmament was not in the state it is today. Many of the Swedes of the time were willing to go to war for international peace then -
Carl Gustaf von Rosen
The Nobel Peace Prize is somewhat devalued by having been awarded to Barack Obama for having done exactly zip point squat. In the unlikely event is was offered to Trump, he should refuse it.
David Begley: "If Trump really got the Norks to stop working on nukes, how could he NOT get the Noble Peace Prize?"
You're kidding, right?
From 2011 news report:
Once called "the most controversial to date," the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Henry Kissinger in 1973 was fraught with debate. Critics said Kissinger's alleged involvement as Secretary of State in Operation Condor and the U.S. bombing campaigns in Cambodia made a mockery of the prize and led Tom Lehrer to quip that the award "made political satire obsolete." Further incensing the situation, North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho, who was jointly awarded the prize, declined his half of the spoils on the grounds that he didn't want to share the award with the realpolitik ringmaster. To date, his detractors continue to dispute the accolade, arguing that the prize was for efforts to conclude the Vietnam War — something that didn't actually happen until 1975.
The idea of Trump refusing any prize that comes with a check . . . hah!
readering: "The idea of Trump refusing any prize that comes with a check . . . hah!"
Examples?
Or is this claim of yours like the hoax collusion charge: its true because it just is...
The Nobel Peace Prize — unlike the Nobel prizes for significant scientific and artistic accomplishments — is awarded not by the Swedes but by a committee of the Norwegian Parliament.
The idea of Trump refusing any prize that comes with a check . . . hah!
Remind us again how much of Trump's presidential salary he's actually collecting.
Jim at: "Remind us again how much of Trump's presidential salary he's actually collecting"
That is what is known as an inconvenient fact to readering, LLR Chuck and the other usual suspects.
" arguing that the prize was for efforts to conclude the Vietnam War — something that didn't actually happen until 1975."
The "conclusion" was the loss of the war, something ardently desired by the American left which won it for the NVA.
It's like say someone "concluded his career" by dying.
Trump won't get the Nobel Prize, which is OK since it's a steaming pile of meaningless dog shit. Think of all the actual worthy candidates that Al Gore beat out. It's as meaningless as the Pulitzer.
“More time to challenge you my little idiot fascist.”
OK, sure, just don’t eat me.
Yes, there will be no Nobel Peace Prize. #HateLovesAbortion
Trump donates his salary but does well in exchange
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2018-03-05/how-is-donald-trump-profiting-from-the-presidency-let-us-count-the-ways
"If Henry Kissinger can win the Peace Prize, I wouldn't be surprised to wake up one morning to find I won the Preakness"
-Conrad "Connie" Brean
John Henry
I read that Trump had lost half a billion while presidenting.
Inga: "OK, sure, just don’t eat me."
LOL
Inga thinks she's living in LatestLeftyEconomicParadise Venezuela.
readering: "Trump donates his salary but does well in exchange"
Give us a call when Putin's oligarach buddies dump $140Million into Trumps coffers as payment for Trump giving them US strategic assets.
From Human Rights Watch:
"North Korea remains one of the most repressive authoritarian states in the world, ruled for seven decades by the Kim family and the Worker’s Party of Korea. During his fifth year in power, Kim Jong-Un continued to generate fearful obedience by using public executions, arbitrary detention, and forced labor; tightening travel restrictions to prevent North Koreans from escaping and seeking refuge overseas; and systematically persecuting those with religious contacts inside and outside the country.
A 2014 United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on human rights in North Korea stated that systematic, widespread, and gross human rights violations committed by the government included murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortion, and other sexual violence, and constituted crimes against humanity."
Is human rights going to be on the table for discussion? He gets rid of his nukes, we remove the sanctions, he continues his gross abuses of human rights and entrenches his power. And Trump gets a peace prize?? wtf
May take a while for all the sales to be completed . . . .
http://theweek.com/speedreads/748457/over-20-percent-trump-condos-sold-america-have-characteristics-possible-money-laundering
Stanley Motes: "What do you say when this is all over we get our boy the Nobel for bringing peace."
Conrad Brean: "But there was no war!"
Stanley Motes: "All the greater accomplishment"
John Henry
The photo of the two of them smiling and shaking hands would look good on my dartboard.
Kim gets rid of nukes? Yeah, I'd let him share Peace Prize with Trump. And then urge POTUS to move on to solving Spratly Islands to be first to get Peace Prize twice.
At this rate, by the time Trump is finished, crows will have been eaten to near extinction in this country.
Another great builder of Walls came into a destroyed Monuments town from his leading the high life of a sommelier in the Emperor's capitol city, and he ran into the same kind of crafty characters Trump has run into; enemy tribes, RINOs allied with them, hired sell outs temptation to quit and run or hide in cowardice, and several CIA type hit teams.
But in the end he won and built the wall, and he restored the culture, and called for days of joyful celebrations on fat and wine, reminding his Trump Rally type crowd that The Joy of the Lord is your strength, which became a famous line in Judeo-Christianity.
Nehemiahnever got a Nobel Peace Prize, but God gave him something better. As his reward a Medal of Honor citation for his faithful leadership actions above and beyond the call of duty was written and it became his own Book of the Bible bearing his name and telling men eternally what he did.
Steve Uhr literally demands that the Perfect be the Enemy of the Good.
Leftist Collectivists are dim, aren't they?
Steve Uhr: "Is human rights going to be on the table for discussion? He gets rid of his nukes, we remove the sanctions, he continues his gross abuses of human rights and entrenches his power. And Trump gets a peace prize?? wtf"
The sound you hear are the wheels being installed on the goalposts so that they can be moved at a moments notice.
Hey, remember how Obama really hammered the Iranian regime for human rights violations as a part of the Iran deal that obama was praised non-stop by the media/dems/left/LLR's?
Yeah, me neither.
readering: "And then urge POTUS to move on to solving Spratly Islands to be first to get Peace Prize twice."
Now you are focusing on the correct things.
Congrats.
China is the only real long term existential threat to the US (at this time).
Once the islamists take over France and Britain we will have to deal with significant islamist supremacist nations wielding nukes, but that's still a ways off.
The entire Russian threat thing is so played out as an excuse for the left to attribute their loss on something other than Hillary AS WELL AS, and most importantly, as the basis for non-stop never-ending unlimited investigations of Trump now and every republican that ever comes after him.
Birkel: "Steve Uhr literally demands that the Perfect be the Enemy of the Good."
Steve Uhr, like the lifelong republicans, would rather have failure than any possibility Trump be accorded some credit for something positive.
Why wouldn't there be any pre-planning for this type of meeting?
IF there are signatures between the Israelis and the Palestinians and Trump had a hand in that, then the Nobel committee might have no choice.
Nobel Peace prize? Hell, the thug, murdering terrorist Arafat got one. BFD
I say that every Republican in the Senate, along with several Democrats, will vote to confirm Pompeo as SecState.
Chuck, hasn't Rand Paul said he will not support Pompeo?
Trump could end the Korean War, end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and get Iran to drop its weapons program without firing a shot and still not win the Peace Prize.
I hope he proves me right.
Steve Uhr boggled minds with:
Is human rights going to be on the table for discussion? He gets rid of his nukes, we remove the sanctions, he continues his gross abuses of human rights and entrenches his power. And Trump gets a peace prize?? wtf
Steve, it's not too late to say the cat got your keyboard.
My dad is a Korean War Vet, 87 years old, jumped with the 187th at Munsan-ri in a Ranger unit attached to the RCT. He won't tell stories, but doesn't trust the NORKs. I am not surprised.
As an American, I can only fantasize of what Trump could accomplish if he didn't wake up every day with the weight of leftists, Deep State, and Mueller dragging him down.
-By Trump I mean all the people that he needs to help him, that are too afraid and hamstrung because they don't want to fall prey to leftists, Deep State, or Mueller.
I won’t begrudge him any praise if this draws us back from the brink that Obama and Clinton got us to.
FIFY.
It's almost as traditional "experience" for these governmental roles is not an indicator of success. Years and years and years of "diplomacy" by "expert" diplomats has generally resulted in negative progress. Diplomats seem to like the process and trappings of diplomacy (world capitals, business travel, nice accommodations and meals) too much to give it up by actually achieving something.
Trying to leave ideology aside (which is challenging), it is troubling that the best that my current state of Connecticut can do for selecting US Senators is a pair of shady, blatantly partisan hacks, like Blumenthal and Murphy. Somehow, these are the kinds of characters that our political system favors.
He won't tell stories, but doesn't trust the NORKs. I am not surprised.
Could all be some kind of shuck. Well, we're no worse off than before, are we? Unless we are somehow. Kicked the can down the road as well as anyone else has. But it seems more.
What may this cost us?
Ah, what may it cost everyone? Everyone with a bone in the soup. China is flush. Hell, they have ghost cities, pack em with DPRK refugees.
"Somehow, these are the kinds of characters that our political system favors."
I'll trade you McCain and Flake for them.
Well, maybe not.
How about Harris and DeLeon who will beat Feinstein?
Nonapod said...If someone you hate does something you approve of, it's better to admit it's good than to pretend it didn't happen, or doesn't matter, or is somehow bad. It shows you're thinking objectively, and arguing in good faith.
That's a good point. I've grown so accustomed to my state's US senators (Blumenthal and Murphy) being so reflexively, cynically partisan about just about everything that I failed to give them proper credit for offering "grudging" approval of Pompeo's work. That actually is extraordinarily unusual for them.
Michael K wrote: I'll trade you McCain and Flake for them. Well, maybe not. How about Harris and DeLeon who will beat Feinstein?
It clearly is a systemic problem in many locations.
I do a lot of driving for work, and in the last couple of years, the NYC news radio stations (especially the two CBS affiliates) have been providing Blumenthal and Murphy unusual amounts of air time for interviews and extended quotes. (Chuck Schumer, too.) The cynical partisanship of their remarks reaches the level of caricature.
Inga said ... "OK, sure, just don’t eat me."
I have no sexual interest in you sweet Inga.
Many women seem to enjoy what your vibrator provides.
We all make choices in life ... until the lefty fascists take over.
NYC news radio stations (especially the two CBS affiliates) have been providing Blumenthal and Murphy unusual amounts of air time for interviews
At least Boston has Howie Carr.
He started out as uruk hai for Leahy and biden
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-tony-podesta-a-washington-power-broker-lost-it-all-1524065781
When did photo get back in business:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/18/us-crude-tops-68-for-the-first-time-in-more-than-three-years.html
Phinro the Citicorp oil specuLators.
@Achilles:
You are smart enough to know that when dealing with evil people there is only one thing they understand. We finally have a president and an administration that understand how to get shit done rather than pretend they shit strawberry ice cream.
First, what exactly is the evidence that for "evil people there is only one thing they understand?" I mean, I know it's a banal cliche, but where is the actual proof? I presume that the "one thing" that the Kim regime understands is self-preservation. But, of course, that is true for dealing with almost everybody.
We finally have a president and an administration that understand how to get shit done rather than pretend they shit strawberry ice cream.
Does this describe the Bush administration as well? They pursued a very aggressive approach towards North Korea, and that resulted in North Korea developing its initial nuclear weapon capacity.
It also helps that we have a president that actually wants America to succeed and fights for our interests.
That statement suggests you actually believe that there exists people in the country who have the aspiration to become President and succeed in doing so only because they have a secretive agenda to sabotage the country from inside? I think there is zero evidence of that, and I think it is pretty much a fever dream. What is much more likely happening is that people have different notions of what it means for "America to succeed" and what "our interests" are. What exactly does nuclearization on the Korean peninsula have to do with the average Americans ability or desire "to succeed?" North Korea has been a nuclear power state for over a decade now. Do you know a single American whose success or prosperity has been negatively impacted by this fact?
And a peaceful and prosperous South Korea/Korean peninsula is in our best interests. Our permanent presence there has been a massive success and well worth it.
In a Cold War context, our presence may have made some kind of sense. The South Korea today does not resemble much the South Korea of the second half of the 20th century. South Korea is about 100x richer than the North. The South has nearly double the population. The South has a significantly better trained and better equipped military than the North. There is absolutely zero reason why 25,000 US service members need to be on that border. The South is more than capable of deterring and defending against any attack from the North.
Farmer: "They pursued a very aggressive approach towards North Korea, and that resulted in North Korea developing its initial nuclear weapon capacity."
LOL
There was a little something called “The Six-Party Talks” (NK, SK, US, Russia, China, Japan) which lasted for pretty much the entire W Presidency.
What came of that?
We gave them lots and lots of stuff (economic benefits and energy assistance) in exchange for....wait for it.....wait for it....yes! A promise to cease development of nukes!!
And that worked out swimmingly! Huzzah! Except, of course, no it didn't.
After that failed, the GOPe/State Dept/usual suspects then gave us an "agreement" whereby NK promise to shut down it's nuclear reactors in exchange for....wait for it...wait for it...More Stuff! $400 Million in more stuff, to be precise.
LOL
What came of that "deal"? NK violated it.
Duh.
Not to worry though, at the end of his Presidency W Bush and the rocket scientists at the State Dept sent a personal letter to Kim Jong Il basically begging him to uphold the NK end of the bargain.
Guess what? He didn't!
Gee, that sounds awfully awfully "aggressive"....not.
I guess the "Comfy Chair Strategy" was not available.
Grudging because all the Democrats who sat back fat and happy as their last president presided over a cruise-control / autopilot administration, now comes the big blowhard self-promoter to take advantage of all the lost opportunities and capitalize on them.
How's that working out so far? Trump's smart enough to know that the history will be written later, based on what happened, and most of what's being written now is partisan static and uninformed blithering. What's amazing is that the Democrats (and many Republicans) haven't figured that out yet, despite things playing out the same way, again and again, for the past 30 years.
Cory Booker shocked Pompeo's views on gay marriage didn't pose a big hurdle here..
J. Farmer said...
That statement suggests you actually believe that there exists people in the country who have the aspiration to become President and succeed in doing so only because they have a secretive agenda to sabotage the country from inside? I think there is zero evidence of that, and I think it is pretty much a fever dream.
Both Bushes clearly served their class. Not explicitly shitty but they did not put the interests of the average american anywhere near the top of their priorities. They served the globalists and the neocons.
Clinton sold China ICBM technology. His goal was not explicitly to destroy the country. It was personal enrichment and he sold us out.
Obama explicitly hated this country and the people in it. He clearly wanted more American troops to die. There is no other way to explain what happened in 2010 and on. His secret shipments to Iran without congressional approval was treason definition of.
Does this describe the Bush administration as well? They pursued a very aggressive approach towards North Korea, and that resulted in North Korea developing its initial nuclear weapon capacity.
Name a single thing Bush did not screw up.
Just one thing.
And The norks developed their nukes during the Clinton administration, they just happened to fire it off later. Clinton Bush Obama all gave the norks stuff and kicked the can down the road.
They were all purposely incompetent.
It is hilarious how people think nukes just appear overnight. It takes these countries years to get enough material and get all of the pieces going the right way.
Compared to the last 4 presidents Trump is doing amazingly well despite the traitorous democrat/LLRs in DC.
J. Farmer said...
In a Cold War context, our presence may have made some kind of sense. The South Korea today does not resemble much the South Korea of the second half of the 20th century. South Korea is about 100x richer than the North. The South has nearly double the population. The South has a significantly better trained and better equipped military than the North. There is absolutely zero reason why 25,000 US service members need to be on that border. The South is more than capable of deterring and defending against any attack from the North.
You are being intentionally stupid if you think North Korea is the threat in this situation. You know who will take over South Korea if we pull out.
Inquissima haec bellorum condicio est: prospera omnes sibi indicant, aduersa uni imputantur - Tacitus, Agricola 27:1 (written ~ 98AD)
I.E. This is an unfair thing about war: victory is claimed by all, failure to one alone
Or as JFK said, 'victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan'.
And so if Trump succeeds even the Democrats will somehow claim they had a part... but if it fails...
Blogger readering said...
May take a while for all the sales to be completed . . . .
http://theweek.com/speedreads/748457/over-20-percent-trump-condos-sold-america-have-characteristics-possible-money-laundering
Oh, it's actually Buzzfeed speculation re-reported.
And the core of the story isn't about money laundering, it's that 20% of buyers paid cash. As investors often do.
Say, Readering, wouldn't the time to bring this up have been before the American people elected President Trump?
You guys are crazier than the birthers (and, yes, I know Trump was/is one).
Does this describe the Bush administration as well? They pursued a very aggressive approach towards North Korea, and that resulted in North Korea developing its initial nuclear weapon capacity.
Sorry, Farmer. Not even Pay Buchanan is dumb enough to say this. Clinton and Bush (Condi Rice) tried to buy Nork good behavior.
It didn't work.
By the way, I don't think Pat Buchanan is dumb at all. He just has some contrarian b=views that some less educated people adopt as gospel.
@Achilles:
You are being intentionally stupid if you think North Korea is the threat in this situation. You know who will take over South Korea if we pull out.
Please explain how China will "take over South Korea if we pull out.
@Michael K:
Sorry, Farmer. Not even Pay Buchanan is dumb enough to say this. Clinton and Bush (Condi Rice) tried to buy Nork good behavior.
From Asian Perspective's "Dualism in the Bush administration's North Korea policy":
"Bush seems determined to confront Kim with the ultimate dilemma of his regime: either disarm or face the consequences. This contest is being played out in the context of Bush's global foreign policy strategy that accents preventing the "axis of evil," which includes North Korea, from threatening or using weapons of mass destruction against the United States. The President's foreign-policy team agrees on what they must accomplish, but is divided into "regionalists" and "globalists" regarding strategy to achieve his goals. Bush has allowed their debate to continue, giving his foreign policy a duality that is a source of concern, and some confusion among allies, friends and the primary enemy, North Korea. Bush claims he seeks a "peaceful, diplomatic" outcome in his clash with Kim Jong II, but has ruled out negotiations with his regime. Instead, Bush seems hopeful that Kim's regime will collapse. If it does not, an armed confrontation seems inevitable."
From the Arms Control Association's "5 Myths on Nuclear Diplomacy with North Korea":
"More than a year later, when the U.S. government received preliminary intelligence that North Korea was seeking components for a uranium centrifuge program (which was a violation of the NPT, but not the Agreed Framework, which did not cover uranium), Bush’s Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton called it 'the hammer I had been looking for to shatter the Agreed Framework.'"
From 38 North's "Revisiting the Agreed Framework":
"The alternative, of course, was to blow up everything. Or, as John Bolton would write with exceptional candor, “This was the hammer I had been looking for to shatter the Agreed Framework.” The phrasing—“had been looking for”—is telling.
...
Still, no one listens to me! The Bush administration decided to suspend US obligations under the Agreed Framework.
The consequences were pretty straightforward. North Korea “effectuated” its withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, opened the cans of spent fuel and separated out the plutonium, restarted Yongbyon to produce even more plutonium, then conducted a nuclear explosion in 2006. I guess that showed ol’ Kim Jong Il."
Still, no one listens to me!
Ever wonder why.
@Rusty:
Still, no one listens to me!
Ever wonder why.
The writer was being tongue-in-cheek. Jeffrey Lewis is the Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program and founded ArmsControlWonk.Com. My ellipsis was a paragraph that digressed from the main point, but it ended with the sentence, "The politics though, don’t change the merits. Why on earth would our response to North Korean bad behavior be to free them from their obligations not to produce plutonium?" In any event, you can read the entire thing, which I would recommend, here
Why?
Things transpired much like I told you they would.
@Rusty:
Why?
Why what?
Things transpired much like I told you they would.
What transpired?
I'll leave that to you to figure out. The archives are your friend.
Almost forgot.
What about Hawaii?
We now9according to you0 have an Aircraft carrier taskforce off of each coast, but what about Hawaii? and Guam and whatever other possessions we have out there in the pacific?
@Rusty:
I'll leave that to you to figure out. The archives are your friend.
No thanks.
Almost forgot.
What about Hawaii?
We now9according to you0 have an Aircraft carrier taskforce off of each coast, but what about Hawaii? and Guam and whatever other possessions we have out there in the pacific?
I do not have the slightest idea what you're talking about. But I might suggest asking your doctor to consider increasing your dosage at your next appointment.
Sure, J. Whatever you say.
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