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President Trump: North Korean International Catalyst

I don’t talk much about politics, and the intent is certainly not to talk about it here on a daily basis.  I like to talk about theory; the ‘what ifs’ in our daily lives.

President Trump has not been known or recognized by his peers as someone that actually inspires change.  I didn’t vote for him (and I didn’t vote for Hillary either), and I’m lost somewhere between defending the Office of the Presidency even with Trump in it, and not vomiting.  It’s a weird place to be mentally.  Sometimes I can’t see myself saying that I can’t believe we’re barely 25% done with this term yet.

With that being said, I think we ought to give credit where credit is due.  Over the last 6 months there has been a dramatic shift with the North Koreans, and that is due, in part, because Trump stirred the pot.  Trump said he’s going to deal with the North Koreans.  He said he’ll put pressure on China.  He did both of those things by being a catalyst – he changed the status quo.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/26/world/korea-summit-kang-kyung-wha-amanpour-intl/index.html

 

(CNN) South Korea’s foreign minister has said she believes President Donald Trump is largely responsible for bringing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the negotiating table.

Speaking ahead of Friday’s historic summit between the leaders of North and South Korea, Kang Kyung-wha told CNN that the US President had played a significant role in bringing the two sides together.

“Clearly, credit goes to President Trump,” Kang told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in Seoul. “He’s been determined to come to grips with this from day one.”

People tend to forget how much Trump has done with regard to North Korea. Six months ago, Trump signed a coal deal with China.  This helped China because they were too dependent on coal from North Korea to block it, but with the deal from Trump they are in a fine position for their coal deliveries.

A month after the coal began arriving into China, they stopped all imports from North Korea.  With China no longer helping North Korea, all the DPRK has is Russia to turn to while the US-backed sanctions continued to bite.

North Korea turned to the black market to try and bypass sanctions, but the International community caught them.

European countries started smelling the roses, and Sweden – a North Korean allay – basically told them they’re going to withdraw their embassy if they did not sit at the table and negotiate.  North Korea can not sit and threaten the ROK, the United States, and the rest of the world with no response.

Additionally, with President Xi in China consolidating power in China making himself essentially President for life, China can no longer kick the DPRK into the tall grass for the next person to deal with.  Xi IS the tall grass now, and best to deal with the DPRK now than later.  Broker peace now, or be replaced.

So in this case, it appears that Trump’s unorthodox decisions have actually worked out in our favor.  Upsetting the status quo has proven to be exactly what was needed.  As much as it pains me to say it, Trump should get some credit for this.  While we are in the early stages of NPRK/ROK peace, it’s encouraging what has transpired over the last 36 hours.

A user on Reddit (SovietWomble) posted a rather lengthy “dumbed down” version of the NPRK crisis into a well done and elaborate version of a playground.  It’s a good read.

Trump may not be the solution, but he is the catalyst – chemically speaking.

 

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2008 NY Mets – Thanks for Trying

If someone were to tell me in June of 2008 that on the very last day of the season, the Mets could possibly be in the playoffs, I would have laughed and taken that bet. And, I would have lost.

In 2007, the Mets had a good team. They had a spectacular collapse under what now appears to be a manager that couldn’t rally the troops. This year, they worked very hard to get from 8 games back in July to tied for the wild card before the start of the final game. This year was not a loss—this year was growth. If nothing else, it showed who shined brightly under different management and different direction. In 2007, the Mets gave away the division. In 2008, the Mets simply did not reach the opportunity. In 2007, Tom Glavine didn’t make it through 1 inning. This year, a solid Mets starter gave 6 excellent innings. A loss is a loss, but in no way does this loss hurt as bad as last year. At least not for me.

So, that leaves this year finished with 2009 soon approaching. Pitches and Catchers report in mid March, which is only 5 short months away. Some changes will need to be made for next year. Some individual, some team-wide. Here’s my short list of necessities:

The Mets, in my opinion, must sign Jerry Manuel to a contract of no less than 3 years. The team – key word being team – seemed to respond much better to Manuel than to Randolph. With all due respect to Randolph, and I was very critical of the Mets firing Randolph earlier this year, the team simply performed remarkably better under Manuel compared to Randolph. Similary, Warthen (Mets pitching coach), should as well be signed to no less than a 3 year deal as he transformed Pelfrey and Perez into quality starters.

So, where are the problems. Here we go:

Offense: Too inconsistent. Consider replacing HoJo as hitting coach. He was a fantastic player, but perhaps he is not the best teacher. Nothing against the man, but sometimes – in any profession – this is the case.

Relief Pitching: Second half, when the offense took off, the bullpen was terribly inconsistent. I don’t believe this is Warthen’s fault. It’s just simply the fact that relief pitching in baseball is tough to come by. Hopefully, Wagner can come back and be a quality closer. If not, decide early to acquire another high-quality closer. Find a middle relief that can hold a game.

Injuries: None can be prevented, but always expected. As much as I like Alou, he’ll be gone. Keep Ryan Church–he’ll be back to true form of good offense and excellent defense.

Free Agents: Pickup Delgado’s year. Sign Oliver Perez. No questions here. Mets don’t do either, they will make a big mistake. Martinez? Ehh, that’s iffy. Can he be put in the bullpen?

Miscellaneous: Dump Castillo. He doesn’t fit with this team. Get what you can for him. Get a second basemen, either from the farm or from a trade. Do not give up Reyes or Wright. Get a left-fielder—I cringe at the idea of Nick Evans and Murphy platooning. Somehow acquire a quality starter. Not a Santana – as I don’t think anything of that caliber will be available, but defintely a “second” starter. Lastly, if Easely wants to play, let him play. He says he does, so please sign him. Two years, $5 million.

This season was not a let down!! This was a remarkable turn around from a team that was destined for last place in June. Some of the older, more seasoned Mets players (like Easley) may disagree with me, but that’s how I feel. Fix a few of the core problems, and 2009 will be an excellent year.

For now, I tip my hat to Milwaukee and Philadelphia for a season well-played. Good luck to all teams, but I’ll be rooting for Milwaukee in their series vs Philly, and for Los Angeles in their series vs. the Cubbies. No offense Cubbies–I want you to get a ring, but I love Joe Torre. The way Joe Torre was flushed down the toilet by the Yankees was innapropriate, so I have a special place in my heart for him.

A post like this would not be completely without a prediction, so here we go:

National League Division Series:
Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia: Philadelphia in 4 games.
Los Angeles vs. Chicago: Los Angeles in 5 games.

NLDS:
Philadelphia Vs. Los Angeles: Los Angeles in 7.

American League Division Series:
Minnesota vs. Tampa Bay: Tampa Bay in 3 games.
Boston vs. Los Angeles: Los Angeles in 5 games.

ALDS:
Tampa Bay vs. Los Angeles: Los Angeles in 7.

World Series:
Los Angeles Angels in 6.

Here’s to exciting baseball times. Good luck!

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Russia vs. Georgia – What Are Our Options?

There are no “ifs”, “ands” or “buts” about it. Russia invaded a neighboring state, who is a democratically-elected government. They’re currently occupying it, and even as a cease-fire has been signed, there are conflicting reports of exactly how far the Ruissians have removed themsleves from Georgian territory, and how far they plan to go. From some reports, it appears that they will be staying in Ossetia in similar fashion how the US is staying in Iraq. This is unacceptible.

I am not a fan of the current United States administration, but comparing our invasion of Iraq to Russian’s invasion of Georgia is not an accurate similarity.

So, what is there to do? As Defense Secretary Gates said recently, the United States has worked hard for 45 years is ensure that there is no military confrontation between the United States and Russia [the USSR]. In our best efforts, we should continue to keep this a valid line of reasoning. However, the USSR is no more. Georgia, a former Soviet republic, is now fighting a former republic for independence. The United States promotes democracy, and always steps in when efforts of democracy are being extinguished, so let’s hope the that the US has a better response to Russia than they have had so far.

Militarily speaking, there isn’t much that the US can do without endangering the lives of millions of people and setting the word back to 1984. However, combined with European backing and various NATO alliances, there are several moves that can be made to pressure Russia to remove itself from Georgian territory, which include, but are not limited to:

  • suspending NATO military excercises with Russia
  • boycott the 2014 Olympic games in Russia
  • Dissolve the G-8, and the instantly reform the G-7 without Russia

I read these fine suggestions in an Op-Ed piece from a journalist from the Washington Post, and at the current time, I can’t find the original article.

Something needs to be done. The US was asleep at the wheel watching the Olympics for the first week. We’re now in the third week—let’s all hope this works out. If not, looks like it’s time to break out the Cold War history books.

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Wisconsin Bans Sex With Dead People

This story prompted Wisconsin to create a law that specifically bans people having sex with dead people.

I find it funny that we need to put a law on the books that explicitly prohibits this. I don’t know, I thought it was implied you don’t dig up a grave and have sex with the contents.

“Armed with shovels, a crowbar and a box of condoms, the men went to a cemetery in Cassville in southwestern Wisconsin in 2006 to remove the body of a 20-year-old woman killed the week before in a motorcycle crash, police said.”

I like how they brought condoms with them. That’s showing that they are at least thinking about their decision to dig up a corpse. Because, you know, when you want to have sex with a dead woman, you want to make sure that you don’t get (or give) anything to her, including a child.

One of them had seen an obituary photo of the pretty nursing assistant and asked the others for help digging up her corpse so he could have sexual intercourse with it, prosecutors said. They used the shovels to reach her grave but were unable to pry the concrete vault open and fled after a car drove into the cemetery.”

Talk about intent! Wow, this kid really planned this!

If this story absolutely make you want to hurl and question whether or not these 3 kids are even human, I think we’re all in a lot worse shape than we think. If Wisconsin needs a law to say you can’t have sex with a dead body, fine. May be I’m different, but I realize that it’s not only illegal, but inhuman to do that, which sort of trumps any law we could put on our local code of accepted social guidelines.

The issue here is these 3 kids really need to be taken off the street before they kill someone in a few years.

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4,060 Years for Molestation

Ok, first things first. Sexual Exploitation of a minor is a terrible, terrible crime. It’s my opinion that the ramifications for this offense are severe. In my opinion, your second conviction for a sexual crime against a minor warrants life in prison.

All of a sudden this case from the AP comes to light. This guy sexually assaulted 3 girls over 2 years. Horrible? Yes. Four thousand and sixty years in prison is what the judge and jury decided.

Call me crazy, but that’s a bit excessive. A life sentence is a life sentence. Whether it’s 60 years or 100 years, a person even of 20 years of age with a 60 year sentence may very well die in prison. Depending on the crime, that’s fine with me.

But this 4,060 year thing bothers me. He was actually sentenced to that time frame. What if, just what if, something happened in the next 40 years that granted immortality to some people. It costs $19,000 per year to house an inmate in a US prison. Say, just say, he gets some potion in that grants him immortality. Multiply $19,000 x 4,000 years and you’re getting a figure approaching $100,000,000 – at the current value – to keep this inmate alive and well for his stay.

Why not save the money and just execute these people? That’s a definite, legal argument. In my eyes, why not just sentence them to 100 years in prison, and call it a day. That way they’re either too old to live or too old to move, and surely too old to fuck, so all is ok.

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Back from a long abscence…Come to up bat for Willie.

Well, I’m back again. My blog here has sat for just over a year, with no new posts. A lot of readers, but no new content. 🙂 I really didn’t stop writing for no other reason that lack of time. A lot has happened in the last year…but I’m not going to rehash any of what we already know.

I’m back because I always used my blog to write about things I’m passionate about, whether it’s politics, the environment, transportation, computers, or whatever. Today, I’m writing about how the Wilpons – owners of the NY Mets – handled the firing of Willie Randolph.

The Wilpons should be ashamed of themselves. Firing Willie in the middle of the night on the west coast to avoid the NY media for a day, the Wilpons made a joke out of the Mets, out of Willie, and out of the fans. It left such distaste in my mouth, after this classless, classless act.

Willie—you’ll go on to bigger and better management jobs. Good luck to you.

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Paris Hilton, Inmate #9424185

I don’t care if you like her or don’t like her, you’ve heard by now that she’s going to jail. I think this will be a good dose of reality for her. To see what the rest of society is like. To see what a jail cell might be like. To see just how far that holier-than-tho attitude of hers will get her. Damn, it’s going to be an interesting 45 days, isn’t it? Sadly, this is going to make her even more popular – isn’t that just the best irony? I’m sure some of you might want to write to her, so now is your chance! Send all correspondence to:

Century Regional Detention Facility (CRDF)

Inmate Mailing Address:
Inmate name and Booking Number: Paris Hilton, 9424185
11705 S. Alameda St.
Lynwood, Ca. 90262

Note: This information provided by Sqwable, one of my favorite things to read lately.

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U.S. Rejected Most Foreign Aid from Hurricane Katrina

In the not so distant past, I wrote about the immediate aftermath of hurricane Katrina, the most deadly hurricane to ever hit the United States. In this post, I was angry that no other nations had yet to come forth with monetary aid, supplies, or people to help in the rescue efforts. Several days later, as shown by this post, I had read reports on the news that many nations had pledged aid to the U.S. to help the Katrina victims. I was happy – thrilled even – that regardless of the U.S.s mighty military mistakes in Iraq, that other nations, even some that we’re not on the best of terms with, offered aid. I withdrew my harsh comments of other nations, and thanked them for their support. To this day, I still do.

Today however, I read this article at MSNBC that after investigation and after some private documents are made public, it has been shown that most of the aid offered by other nations was rejected by the Bush Administration. In the most colassal fuckup ever by a U.S. government, a disaster of far-reaching proportions, a disaster which showed that the Government can’t protect a single person much less a city from a disaster that they had several days warning for, a disaster that showed governmental ineptitude on every level, foreign aid was rejected by the U.S. Government.

The Katrina disaster has cost American taxpayers over $130 billion as of April 2007. Lives were lost, families were permanently moved, thousands of homes destroyed. Hell, most of the people that once lived there have never returned because there is nothing to return to. With world-wide coverage on this disaster, showing the world’s lone superpower powerless against something that could have been much better prepared for, we decide to decline foreign aid. As the MSNBC article says, Greece offered to send over 2 huge cruise ships to act as floating hotels or hospitals, and because it would be three weeks before they arrived, the U.S. declined the aid. Three weeks. I’ll say that again because it bears repeating. Because, in the most horrible natural disaster after effecting human soil, 2 cruise ships would take 3 weeks to cruise from Greece to the U.S., the U.S. government declined the aid offer. Here we are 1.5 years after the disaster, and thousands of people are still displaced, thousands are still effected, and yes, we’re still cleaning up.

I learned about 10 years ago in my early 20s that it’s ok to ask for help. We all love to do stuff ourselves and do things our own ways, but at some point or another, everyone needs help, and it’s ok to ask for it and it’s ok to accept it. I guess that’s just another thing our Government hasn’t learned.

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4/26/07 – 21st Anniversary of Chernobyl

Not that 21 years is a particularly significant milestone, but this post is just to remind us all of the dangers of unsafe nuclear power generation, and the amount of harm it can use to both people and the environment for generations.

Below, I have included some links to photos, photo journals, and information about the Chernobyl disaster of 1986.

Photos/Journals/Links:

http://www.hlswilliwaw.com/GhostTown/html/spring2007.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961336-1,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster
http://www.answers.com/topic/chernobyl-disaster-1
http://www.spaceman.ca/gallery/chernobyl
http://www.helpmearoundtheworld.com/elenafilatova/ghosttownfilm.mpg
http://todayspictures.slate.com/inmotion/essay_chernobyl/
http://www.pixelpress.org/chernobyl/
Google Maps
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18244315
http://insp.pnl.gov/photobook/UK_CH/

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Alec Baldwin’s a Bad, Bad Man

Ok, by now you have heard that he left his daughter some god-awful voicemail message. I ignored the news for a few days, until finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and I had to listen.

Well, what I heard was rather astounding. Granted, we don’t know the truth to both sides of the story. At this point, either his daughter is an evil little bitch, or boy did he over-react as a father. I’m not even sure what she could have possibly done to warrant the language he used to her, calling her names. To me, it sounds like he’s ultimately concerned about his public/private image, and no so much her well-being, and for that, he should be spanked.