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Trump-Kim summit ends

The summit meeting between President Trump and North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un took place yesterday with much fanfare, ending with a signed agreement that did little but outline some future negotiating goals.

1. The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new U.S.–DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.
2. The United States and the DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
3. Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
4. The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.

While Trump’s hard-nosed policies toward North Korea has clearly forced that nation to back away from its former bellicose positions, threatening war with everyone, we will have to wait and see if this summit really forces them to abandon their nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


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"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

25 comments

  • BSJ

    At least we’ll save money on all that pesky training that our Armed Forces obviously don’t need any more. It’s just so rude… [sarc]

  • Localfluff

    All MSM in the Western World, as far as I have seen, bets all in on this to be a total failure.

    They are so desperate! What will they do when this turns out to be the greatest peace deal since the fall of the Soviet Union??? How could they possibly ever regain any kind of credibility?

  • Localfluff

    At the G7-meeting in Canada, as the imaginary reporter that I am in these imaginary times, I infiltrated a microphone hidden in the skirt of Lady May (as in may have better stayed at home). And this is my transcript from the big ones greeting each other. Trump, Trudeau and the usual suspects:

    – Let me see Trudo, are these eyebrows real? (snatch) No they aren’t, thank God for that! Let me glue it back on ya. And Macron, you still haven’t fixed your dandruff. That’s no good publicity for French cosmetics, you should try Proctor&Gamble’s shampoo. It’s time to get on a diet and some exercise, Merkel, you have to think about that at your age. Now, let’s talk trade and defense expenditures in terms of your cash flow to the US of A. Not enough cash flow coming my way for me to be happy with you guys. Not happy at all.

  • Orion314

    Still waiting for a great big praise God , Hallelujah , we’re not gettin’ nuked by NoKo coming out of Hawaii.
    Still waiting….

  • Cotour

    Since Trump, and his administration, have gotten this far on the N. Korean issue now its just about details and what ever bumps in the road come up and that will determine how serious KJU is about actually doing what he says he wants to do.

    To me what has also happened here and this may be almost more important is the set up for the next “problema” that Trump very clearly pointed out in his comments. And that is the BS Obama Iran deal / Iran nuke issue, that is where this is all headed.

    Trump right now pretty much probably understands how far this NK situation will go, and its Iran that he has moved on to and was telegraphing his next moves to.

    Trump, Pomeo and Bolton will I think prove to be a formidable force in the world for some time to come, rewriting the rules as they go. Well done, may we have some more?

  • Edward

    Localfluff asked: “How could they possibly ever regain any kind of credibility?

    I don’t know how they have retained any credibility after the past few years. Why anyone would bother watching/listening to/reading any American major news source is a mystery to me.

    Orion314,
    Hawaii, Alaska, and the North American west coast may not believe that this deal will fare any better than the last two.

    On the other hand, I heard that Trump has pointed out to Kim Jong Un that once trade restrictions are lifted, Un will be able to build a luxury resort on one of North Korea’s beautiful beaches — which Un apparently desires above all else. That is quite an incentive for Un to go along with the deal and get the restrictions lifted.

    Then again, I heard that from an American major network radio fake-news source, so I take it with a gram of salt.

  • wodun

    Considering the past, we should be very skeptical of anything developing through these talks. It is very interesting to see Trump’s persuasion tactics at play though. Who knows, maybe the idea of a constitutional monarch will take shape. It would hinge on the NK people being able to forgive rocket man, which could happen if he modernized their society before stepping down as dictator.

    The British Royal family carried out many atrocities on their populace and yet they are tolerated, so there is hope for NK.

  • pzatchok

    I am sure Kim has squirreled away a few billion.
    He could open up the country to foreign investment and become an major investor in those companies. thus ensuring a lifetimes income.
    After a few years he could step out and let the two Korea’s become one again. That way he doesn’t have to worry about what his people do.

    Maybe he will help out his new friend Trump and sign a peace treaty just before the next presidential election.
    Then step down just for the next one.

  • Localfluff

    If Trump and Kim make a peace deal, it would be the end of UN!
    Collective world diplomacy has had peace in Korea on their agenda for nearly 70 years. And it has always only gotten worse. Then Trump’s strategy with bilateral negotiations suddenly succeeds! The Palestinians would panic because they might be the next eternal UN conflict that Trump solves. Perhaps by Egypt annexing Gaza and Saudi supporting Jordan annexing the West Bank. Establishing peace and order and a secure borders with the methods traditionally used in the Middle East.

    Modern diplomacy was established was established at the end of the Thirty years war, that started 400 years and a month ago. But it was still a quite limited number of nations involved. A collective world diplomatic committee like the UN cannot possibly achieve any real conflict resolution.

    @Edward
    US MSM is like Heaven compared to Swedish news media. You don’t know how bad it can get.

  • Col Beausabre

    Modern diplomacy was established was established at the end of the Thirty years war, that started 400 years and a month ago.

    My lord, someone else is aware of the Treaty of Westphalia ?!

  • Localfluff

    Have you seen the video that Trump showed Kim, that he mentioned on the press conference? Pretty unconventional. The world is turning. Kim, young as he is, seems to be quite interested in high tech. Maybe offering NASA to train and launch North Korean astronauts would persuade him. Koreans are known to be the best students in the world, and have less body mass than the average American, so why not?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM7O4AOMCYM

    @Col Beausabre
    Of course! I’m Swedish. Our Lion King Gustavus Adolphus Magnus came from nowhere and turned that war around. Making the emperor and his field Marshall pee their pants and European protestants celebrate him to date. Had he not been killed in battle, he would’ve marched to Rome to hang the pope in the dome of Saint Peters Cathedral! Those were the days.

    As an aside, astronomy has its roots in astrology. Astronomy is actually a part of astrology! The clerical work of figuring out when what celestial object is where. The rest of astrology is the interpretation of how that affect our individual life destinies, which of course was what seemed important at the time. The Kaiser’s field Marshall used the advice of astrologers to decide his war campaign, seeking battle when the planets were in favorable positions on the sky and the phase of the Moon and whatever. So Gustavus Adolphus Magnus, being a protestant and not superstitious, also hired an astrologer to figure out what his enemy was up to. Apparently very successfully.

  • Localfluff

    Johannis Kepler was caught up in the thirty years war. The Swedes actually looted his grave later (because he was a dirty catholic pig). But I wonder if the emperor’s financing of his studies were motivated by the idea to improve astrology to get an advantage over the enemies in war planning. An early kind of space race. Kepler was an astrologer, that’s how he earned a living. Just like Galileo and Brahe. It was during the thirty years war that astronomers started to abandon astrology. Cassini is prime example of one of the first astrologers who completely abandoned the superstitions and became a dedicated astronomer-only at the time

  • Cotour

    Two interesting points:

    1. Dennis Rodman. And 2. How Trump made his presentation for peace and denuclearization to the dictator of North Korea.

    Rodman, as wacky as he is has really played a crucial part in this event because he is friends with both Un and Trump. This is just a fact of convergence that brings these three players together and each, as crazy as it sounds contributed to the result.

    And

    How did Trump make his presentation to denuclearization to KJU? He had an infomercial produced and was selling him tourism, hotels, speed boats and prosperity. Go with what you know, a pure Trumpian move.

    I find these to things very, very interesting, things that a fiction writer would never allow him or herself to dare fool with because they are sooooo ridiculous and outrageous and just plain unbelievable.

  • Cotour

    The presentation.

    https://youtu.be/SxowvUN__2g 2:34 min.

    Short and too the point, just like selling a condo in Miami, make it pretty, make it shinny and make them want it. KJU may want it but its going to cost him big time and until the nukes are gone the sanctions must be kept in place and possibly increased in order to further incentivize the North Koreans to close the deal.

    Only Trump could put this together, no other American leader or technique other than warfare and sailing a 1000 lb tomahawk warhead through KJU’s bathroom window while on the throne could have gotten any American president anywhere near this point in negotiations. None.

  • Localfluff

    KJU obviously has a personal interest in tourism development, after having studied in Switzerland. Kim is of the young generation, connected and well aware of what’s going on in the world. This is not Stalin.
    Trump: “-I’d love to build condos at those beautiful North Korean beaches!”
    I think they are getting along for real. I trust Trump’s personal judgement much more than whatever analysis the corrupt ineffective UN diplomatic bureaucracy can come up with. We’ll see.

  • Cotour

    This one proposed event will physically cause American Liberals and Leftists to possibly have strokes and exploding brain aneurysms.

    http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/392058-two-norwegian-lawmakers-nominate-trump-for-nobel-peace-prize

    And excluding a total reversal and hostilities resuming, Trump certainly would be deserving of the honor and those who would be devastated that it would happen might deserve their fate also.

  • Caligula

    I am waiting for the moment if USA is going to abandon its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Ha, ha.

  • BSJ

    The delusions, per number of characters typed, is higher in this thread than any I’ve ever seen!

    Un agreed to exactly the same things N. Korea has agreed to every time they enter these “negotiations”. The only thing new is Trump declaring an end to joint training operations.

    That must be some potent kool-aide to make anyone think that this is “Winning”!

    But then again, Trump often spouts what his Liberal mind really thinks, and then has to be corrected, by his ‘base’, later.

  • To all: Please note that if you call the dictator of North Korea “Un” you are using what they consider to be his first name, or what we call his “Christian name.” They switch things there. His last name, or family name, is Kim.

    Calling him Un is like referring to Trump as Donald.

  • Cotour

    Caligula: Thats not how this works.

    BSJ: Trumps weapon and leverage in this power dance is strong sanctions and doubling down on them at the correct time. Trump has to give something, but he MUST get what he must get or its going to devolve into the Tomahawk through the bathroom window scenario because the threatening the world with nukes is just going to be tolerated if trump is the president.

    It may well work out, only time will tell the tail but the opportunity has been proffered and things are in the North Koreans hands now as to what they will choose. Choose wisely.

  • To all: Rather than speculate on what might happen, or whether Trump is a god or a demigod, let’s look at what has actually happened. For one thing, it is not clear that Trump has gotten much from Kim. This initial deal only outlines some vague promises for future negotiations.

    However, what Trump has done is to change Kim’s international attitude. One year ago he was testing missiles regularly, including tests that flew over Japan, along with periodic nuclear weapons tests. His country’s press, controlled by him, continually threatened war with the rest of the world. Now he has ceased these tests, his press is lauding the idea of peaceful cooperation, and he is saying he wishes to eliminate his nuclear arsenal.

    Will he? Who knows? That he has been forced to change his tune however is progress, regardless. For this Trump’s hardnosed political diplomacy in the past year must receive credit.

  • Andrew_W

    Iran must be really jealous of NK at the moment. Iran have to live under a tough regime of inspections and still the US president isn’t happy, NK gets an agreement that demands no inspections, eliminates much of the US – South Korean military cooperation and the US president is full of trust in and admiration of Kim.

  • pzatchok

    As for removing the NK nuclear weapons, that is a UN sanction on them, not a Us sanction.

    The US can and possibly might come to a peace treaty with them and an official end to all past hostilities and the ‘war’.

    Kim has over a year to ready his people for this possibility. He can feed them any number of lines to make himself the hero of the day. He will then have no fear of loosing power after opening up the country to outside investment.

    Trump is playing this a few steps ahead. This casual meeting has smoothed the road for any further NK/US deal and at the same time it is now forcing the UN to actually do something about NK nuclear weapons.

    Unless the UN wants Trump to take the lead and make all the deals. Not likely.

    Watch for the US dems and the worlds lefties to start trying to have meeting with Kim by themselves, maybe to sink any US deal. But to at least sink Trump.

    And remember Trump got this far by words alone and not by paying 150 billion is cash like Oboma did with Iran.

  • Localfluff

    What has happened is that they have connected personally. The inc on the paper doesn’t mean anything, as usual. Just like when our immune system routinely cures a threatening cancer, it is done by different biological processes interacting. That’s what the minds of Kim and trump are doing now. Forget about all the abstract pretended theories since Machiavelli about these things somehow being decided by some kind of divine machine, rather than by one man simply cutting the Gordian knot.

  • Localfluff

    Actually, the more clever and free thinking people KJU imprisons and murders, the less their capability of posing a threat to the US. So why should Trump care about that in the negotiations?

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