Trump was caught on tape saying how good China's leader is now President for life and the US should try it.

Americans voted for the death of their democratic process.

freitasm:

 

Trump was caught on tape saying how good China's leader is now President for life and the US should try it.

 

Americans voted for the death of their democratic process.

 

But anyone who thinks we don't have any skin in the game is seriously underestimating what Trump may do when cornered. He has nukes at his disposal, and is looking for a way to distract from the ever tightening Russia collusion noose.

Well, that's the billion dollar question isn't it. If Trump throws a temper tantrum and demands the briefcase, will the people in the room say 'Yes sir' and let him end the world simply because he is Mr. President, or will they declare him mentally unfit/criminal/whatever and arrest him?

SaltyNZ:

 

... If Trump throws a temper tantrum and demands the briefcase, will the people in the room say 'Yes sir' and let him end the world simply because he is Mr. President, or will they declare him mentally unfit/criminal/whatever and arrest him?

 

+1

SaltyNZ:

 

Well, that's the billion dollar question isn't it. If Trump throws a temper tantrum and demands the briefcase, will the people in the room say 'Yes sir' and let him end the world simply because he is Mr. President, or will they declare him mentally unfit/criminal/whatever and arrest him?

 

I don't think that's going to happen.

Trump is however "going nuclear" on the Mueller investigation - and I think it's going to get much worse for him.

Fred99:

 

I don't think that's going to happen.

 

Trump is however "going nuclear" on the Mueller investigation - and I think it's going to get much worse for him.

 

dclegg:

 

Fred99:

 

I don't think that's going to happen.

 

Trump is however "going nuclear" on the Mueller investigation - and I think it's going to get much worse for him.

 

There has already been talk of a "Bloody nose strike" on North Korea. That would serve as a pretty good distraction for him. It could also result in huge casualties for nearby countries if NK do something unpredictable as a response.

 

It's not just NK's response, PRC has told the US that if they initiate any first strike (not limited to Nuclear) then China will step in to defend North Korea.
If North Korea initiates a first strike, then China will remain neutral.

NK isn't going to strike first, neither is the USA, so it's stalemate - with some risk that an accident or misinterpreted action could trigger something very nasty. 

Sideface: [Cartoon about replacing nuclear launch codes with PI]

Is it sad that I could immediately tell that they skipped the 10th decimal place for PI?  The sequence after that is correct for at least the next 9 digits, but one got missed out...

jamesrt:

 

Sideface: [Cartoon about replacing nuclear launch codes with PI]

 

Is it sad that I could immediately tell that they skipped the 10th decimal place for PI?  The sequence after that is correct for at least the next 9 digits, but one got missed out...

 

It was a deliberate extra safety measure. 

You can downloaded the value of pi to one million digits here. 

HUFFPOST - The Growing List Of Trump Administration Departures Will Make Your Head Spin

"A revolving door never spun so fast."

NK is offering talks, and I think they have actually frozen tests, and the intimation from SK is that ceasing progress on weapons is on the table from NK

Will Trump engage, or will he say do these 46 things first then we might talk? I expect so, and invoke a stalemate. I hope so. I hope then that SK, Japan, Europe and others engage with NK. The tipping point is when will the others step back for fear of US trade retaliations, and when will the US see that they can also be cut off, and not just be the cut offerer? If we was somehow removed tomorrow its not hard to see a huge amount of progress made with NK.

BUT, it works the other way too, NK is as bad as Trump. They may want to give little, and expect BIG in return, but at least its a start

tdgeek:

 

BUT, it works the other way too, NK is as bad as Trump. They may want to give little, and expect BIG in return, but at least its a start

 

NK regularly says they're ready for talks, at which they demand a lot of things, e.g. more food, without actually being serious about giving anything up. Sadly, my bet is that Kim wants to capitalise on the twin opportunities of international good-will from his Olympic gesture plus negotiating from a position of strength with a working thermonuclear bomb that can at least threaten SK and Japan, if not yet the continental US (and knowing that that isn't too far away either if he doesn't get what he wants).

So yeah, they'll expect a lot in return for freezing their tests, which coincidentally are no longer required to show that he can vapourise a lot of people.