Kingstonian
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No talks with North Korea.
Some say the hawks engineered the rift deliberately.
Some say the hawks engineered the rift deliberately.
A Futile and Stupid Gesture: The History of the First Trump Presidency & Q-Anon
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Read somewhere China put a kibosh on it. NK is a buffer for both the east and the west, I honestly think no one truly wants reunification.
Scherensammler
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No way, all the threats, military maneuvers and the hints towards Ghadaffi's miserable end made KJU change his mind.
TBH, SK cannot afford a full reunification. Germany piled up an enornous debt by modernising the East German states.
There is also the risk of cheap NK workforce flooding SK.
However, if there is going to be an US attack according to Trump the US allies in the region are more than happy to pay for it.
At least you can get the Trump/ Kim peace summit memorial coins at a discount now. But be quick, the demand crashed the White House website already (actually happened)!
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44257383
"Speaking to reporters outside the White House in Washington, the US president said: 'We gonna see what happens. We're talking to them [North Korea] now. It was a very nice statement they put out.' And Mr Trump added: 'Everybody plays games.'"
Playing games? I'm not sure you're supposed to say that in public and on record.
"Speaking to reporters outside the White House in Washington, the US president said: 'We gonna see what happens. We're talking to them [North Korea] now. It was a very nice statement they put out.' And Mr Trump added: 'Everybody plays games.'"
Playing games? I'm not sure you're supposed to say that in public and on record.
Pimpernel Smith
Tone Deaf Daddy
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It's theatre and this is the Kabuki phase, the meeting will happen, there's no cause for worry at this stage.
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Is Sessions on his way out? The President tweeted he wished he could have picked another Attorney General.
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We can only hope
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...hope that Giuliani isn't the next Attornery General?
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also hoping
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Canada and Mexico included in the tariffs. I thought we get a pass because we're still (re)negotiating NAFTA.
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The NAFTA negotiations are taking too long for Trump's liking and no one is accepting his bullshit so he felt he needed to do something to change that.
Canadian aluminum producers had already raised their prices to include the tariffs in March. Now prices will go up again.
Making America great again by paying even more for the aluminium they buy from us.
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So EU is being punished for NAFTA delays? Don't forget we will tariff yankee maple syrup. Buy Quebec syrup.
Pimpernel Smith
Tone Deaf Daddy
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The EU is punishment enough...
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Talks with NK back on the table........ I wonder what's pushing Kim to proceed forward since China has nothing to gain by the idea of reunification.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/macron-trudeau-meeting-g7-1.4693770
"Trudeau reportedly asked Trump how tariffs could be imposed on Canada on 'national security' grounds. Trump reportedly responded: 'Didn't you guys burn down the White House?'"
Yes - we did. This is certainly banter befitting two close allies.
"Trudeau reportedly asked Trump how tariffs could be imposed on Canada on 'national security' grounds. Trump reportedly responded: 'Didn't you guys burn down the White House?'"
Yes - we did. This is certainly banter befitting two close allies.
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We didn't as we were not a nation.
It was British regular troops and most of them were brought in from the Caribbean.
Plus it was in retailiation for the US invading first.
Trump should at least banter correctly
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As someone born in the city historically known as York which was razed, I'm well aware of the history.
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It was meant for Trump
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I knew Canada wasn't a nation. But it's the same reason I claim affinity to England for the upcoming World Cup.
InstaHate
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There is only one real York in this world and it’s the one with Long Island. The others are fake. #neverforget #america
Kingstonian
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Boris says Trump would be a better Brexit negotiator than our current shower. He is correct of course.
https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-attacks-governments-brexit-negotiation-strategy-11398033
https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-attacks-governments-brexit-negotiation-strategy-11398033
InstaHate
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Well, unfortunately the Dems are more right about the corporate tax cut than are the Republicans. Played around with the most recent Compustat data, and while reinvestment increased, the rate of the increase didn’t change, and it is consistent with its increases since midway through the Obama administration after the economy started picking itself up off the floor. Dividends, however, increased dramatically, which is good news for the wealthy and upper middle classes (from which there is little trickle down), but also pretty much what the Dems said would happen.
However, Execucomp data isn’t available yet, so I can’t say anything about top management team compensation (one of thevwarnings given by the Dems is that it would be used for executive bonuses). It is also possible that companies are accumulating slack resources and holding off on reinvestment, though this is unlikely given the economy. Finally, it may be that public companies are reacting differently to the tax cut than are private companies, though there is little evidence of this.
Trump and the GOP could have done more to ensure the corporate cuts had their intended benefit. They could have worked with the Dems on the bill they floated incentivizing reinvestment of the cuts over bonuses/dividends. They also could have coordinated the cuts with certain protectionist trade policies, increasing the future benefit of reinvestment.
However, Execucomp data isn’t available yet, so I can’t say anything about top management team compensation (one of thevwarnings given by the Dems is that it would be used for executive bonuses). It is also possible that companies are accumulating slack resources and holding off on reinvestment, though this is unlikely given the economy. Finally, it may be that public companies are reacting differently to the tax cut than are private companies, though there is little evidence of this.
Trump and the GOP could have done more to ensure the corporate cuts had their intended benefit. They could have worked with the Dems on the bill they floated incentivizing reinvestment of the cuts over bonuses/dividends. They also could have coordinated the cuts with certain protectionist trade policies, increasing the future benefit of reinvestment.
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Love him or hate him, Trump successful pulling this meeting with fat Kim is impressive.
On another note, they could just assassinate Kim and get things over with.
On another note, they could just assassinate Kim and get things over with.
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Is this theatre or politics?
"'There's a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door,' trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox News. "
"'You don't walk away and start firing bullets,' Kudlow said....'POTUS is not going to let a Canadian prime minister push him around … on the eve of this,' he said firmly. 'Kim must not see American weakness.'"
Yes, yes it was all done to aid Kim Jong Un. Damn that wily operator.
"'There's a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door,' trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox News. "
"'You don't walk away and start firing bullets,' Kudlow said....'POTUS is not going to let a Canadian prime minister push him around … on the eve of this,' he said firmly. 'Kim must not see American weakness.'"
Yes, yes it was all done to aid Kim Jong Un. Damn that wily operator.
Scherensammler
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I read about that "Trudeau thing"! What happened to him? Allegedly not that agressive during the G7 talks and afterwards playing the tough guy?
Did his other ball drop in the meantime and he had a testosterone rush?
Did his other ball drop in the meantime and he had a testosterone rush?
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Trudeau is a natural pussy
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Or he could fly his dodgy plane that even his government doesn't have faith in...
"The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes said three aircraft took off from Pyongyang - an Ilyushin transport plane carrying Mr Kim's armoured limousine, then an Air China 747 which normally carries the Chinese president, and lastly Mr Kim's personal jet, a Soviet-era Ilyushin 62.
It eventually became apparent that he had arrived in the Air China plane after Singapore's foreign minister posted a photo of him greeting Mr Kim on Instagram."
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I w
I wouldn't fly old Tupelovs even if someone paid me. This meeting has a lot of china written in it, though I am unsure of what the details are. Chinese news media have not leaked any information either. I think Xi might be getting tired of supplying NK.
Everyone prays for the existence of NK, I am going to wait and see the outcome of this meeting.
I wouldn't fly old Tupelovs even if someone paid me. This meeting has a lot of china written in it, though I am unsure of what the details are. Chinese news media have not leaked any information either. I think Xi might be getting tired of supplying NK.
Everyone prays for the existence of NK, I am going to wait and see the outcome of this meeting.
Scherensammler
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With Merkel and May in front of him he (Trump) probably went to his happy place.I didn't follow the G7 talks. This doesn't look like an image between allies.
InstaHate
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Ivanka?
Whomever replaced Stormy Daniels.
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Let's be real. Other than having a James Bond villain to bark out he wants to destroy the world with dodgy nuclear missiles, what benefit is North Korea to anyone? I'm sure China, US, Russia, and even South Korea would rather be rid of this headache.
I like how everyone is saying the President will make a deal. Other than offering to stop shooting missiles with nuclear warheads - what can North Korea offer to anyone in the world? Not much of a deal making there.
Scherensammler
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Unlike the US, NK has never ever invaded another country. Not to mention that it was bombed into oblivion in the Korea war by (you guessed it) the US.
Besides, the only way to be save from US invasion is to have something that can hurt the US. And nuclear weapons are by far the cheapest option.
InstaHate
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The Korean War was started by North Korea invading another country.
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To China and Russia, North Korea serves as a bargain chip with the West. For the US, NK allows US to continuously maintain military bases in Japan and South Korea.
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Yes, that is a small flaw in Scherensammler's argument...
If NK does end up making some concessions and if a peace treaty is signed, Trump will most likely go down in history as a peacemaker. Frankly, if that does happen, I think that it will be more a case of lucky timing than anything else, as I think that NK is now more prepared to negotiate than it was in the past, for two main reasons:
- It has working nukes, which gives it bargaining power; and
- Over the past couple of years, Kim Jong-un has repeatedly talked about prioritising economic growth. Now that they have successfully obtained nuclear weapons, he sees his country as being secure and now is the right time to put weapons and army on the backburner and concentrate on economic growth.
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The US will always have a military presence in Japan ever since the Japanese surrendered to MacArthur in 1945. If they need another proxy country besides Korea they'll find one - probably Philippines or someone else they feel owes them.
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He's already saying he will get the Nobel Peace Prize if he gets a deal. And if he doesn't win he can always make his own replica and put it on display at Mars-a-Lago.
Scherensammler
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Agreed, but apparently the South Korean dictator was about to attack NK first.
https://original.antiwar.com/justin/2013/07/28/who-really-started-the-korean-war/
"On February 8, 1949, the South Korean president met with Ambassador John Muccio and Secretary of the Army Kenneth C. Royall in Seoul. Here the Korean president listed the following as justifications for initiating a war with the North: the South Korean military could easily be increased by 100,000 if it drew from the 150,000 to 200,000 Koreans who had recently fought with the Japanese or the Nationalist Chinese. Moreover, the morale of the South Korean military was greater than that of the North Koreans. If war broke out he expected mass defections from the enemy. Finally, the United Nations’ recognition of South Korea legitimized its rule over the entire peninsula (as stipulated in its constitution). Thus, he concluded, there was "nothing [to be] gained by waiting."
The only reason Rhee didn’t launch an attack was due to American reluctance to supply him with the arms and aid he would need: war, when it came, would be on America’s terms, and our leaders had good reason to think it would come sooner rather than later. Washington’s policy was to keep Rhee supplied with just enough arms to control the South. There is also evidence for Congressman Howard Buffett’s contention that the secret testimony before Congress of CIA director Admiral Hillenkoeter proved US responsibility for the war.
Buffett, Republican anti-interventionist from Nebraska, went to his grave demanding the declassification of that crucial testimony: alas, to no avail. And yet what we do know is this: the US government had ample warnings of the pending North Korean invasion, via intelligence reports sent to top cabinet officials well before the June 25 commencement of large-scale hostilities. Yet Washington took no action, either diplomatic or otherwise, to deter the North Koreans.
While he's at it he could go on and give Germany a proper peace treaty as well. Maybe next year and he'll get another Peace Nobel prize.
Hasn't Mattis already ruled out that the US will leave SK?
I read that one of the reasons why NK wanted nuclear weapons was that they are cheaper in the long term compared to maintaining an arsenal of conventional forces and weapons, which are useless against US forces.