I said before the weekend, I think in a comment, that I expected North Korea to respond to Trump’s threat of nuclear war over the weekend. I was off by a few days.
Another all-tweet post, sorry. There should be a more readable form of the statement in a bit.
KCNA: "Choe Son Hui, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, issued the following press statement on Thursday: At an interview with Fox News on May 21, the U.S. Vice-President Pence has made unbridled and impudent remarks that north Korea might end like Libya…and so on."
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
KCNA: "As a person involved in the U.S. affairs, I cannot suppress my surprise at such ignorant and stupid remarks gushing out from the mouth of the U.S. vice-president."
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
KCNA: "If he is vice-president of 'single superpower' as is in name, it will be proper for him to know even a little bit about the current state of global affairs and to sense to a certain degree the trends in dialogue and the climate of detente."
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
KCNA: "We could surmise more than enough what a political dummy he is as he is trying to compare the DPRK, a nuclear weapon state, to Libya that had simply installed a few items of equipment and fiddled around with them."
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
KCNA: "Soon after the White House National Security Adviser Bolton made the reckless remarks, Vice-President Pence has again spat out nonsense that the DPRK would follow in Libya's footstep."
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
KCNA: "In view of the remarks of the U.S. high-ranking politicians who have not yet woken up to this stark reality and compare the DPRK to Libya that met a tragic fate, I come to think that they know too little about us."
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
KCNA: "To borrow their words, we can also make the U.S. taste an appalling tragedy it has neither experienced nor even imagined up to now."
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
KCNA: "It is the U.S. who has asked for dialogue, but now it is misleading the public opinion as if we have invited them to sit with us. I only wonder what is the ulterior motive behind its move and what is it the U.S. has calculated to gain from that."
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
KCNA: "We will neither beg the U.S. for dialogue nor take the trouble to persuade them if they do not want to sit together with us. Whether the U.S. will meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is entirely dependent upon the decision…of the U.S."
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
KCNA: "In case the U.S. offends against our goodwill and clings to unlawful and outrageous acts, I will put forward a suggestion to our supreme leadership for reconsidering the DPRK-U.S. summit."
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
Here's the transcript of the Fox News interview that Mike Pence gave earlier this week that the N. Koreans were displeased by. "This will only end like the Libya Model ended if Kim Jong-un doesn't make a deal."https://t.co/dL9kbN8dQu
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) May 24, 2018
B.B.A.
The sad thing is, in this administration Pence is the smart one.
Roger Moore
@B.B.A.:
The loser of a stupidity contest shouldn’t be considered the smart one.
terraformer
That was more than a bit of verbal ass-kicking.
I’m sure we’ll soon hear how Trump was never going to meet with KJU, and that this was an example the best US diplomacy by the best people.
MobiusKlein
So you’re saying Doctor Strangelove was not a prono film? Better put it back on the watchlist.
MomSense
This feels like it’s spiraling. We have arrogant amateurs in charge of incredibly complicated and dangerous affairs.
Major Major Major Major
I’m upset by how satisfying that was to read.
ETA Also, if the dang site is gonna keep wiping my email on mobile with each comment (I only see the remember me button on desktop), well, that sucks.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
So much winning…
So much. So much winning. I really always kind of thought winning would be so much better. I want to go back to losing all the time. Can we go back to losing? Please? For the love of God, please?
Chet Murthy
@Major Major Major Major:
IKR
RepubAnon
Perhaps if Mr. Pence returns to the North Korean border and stares resolutely at them again, North Korea will surrender. They’ve surrendered to Mr. Pence before, after all…
Yarrow
Wow. That’s pretty brutal.
Baud
@Major Major Major Major:
Baud!/Kim! 2020!
Jager
The North Korean equivalent of the notifications the big New York banks sent trump when they cut off his credit.
Citizen_X
Gee, I guess the Nobel Prize ain’t happening, huh?
Baud
WHY IS THE BLOG NOT SAVING MY NYM!
RepubAnon
@terraformer: Not to mention another example of Mr. Trump’s superb negotiating skills. Look for his new book, “The Art of the Dotard”
Wapiti
@B.B.A.: I’m not sure if Pence is smarter, and keeping his mouth shut some of the time, or if he’s just too dumb to get on Twitter by himself.
kindness
It is truly sad to see that in this exchange it was the North Korean gentleman who actually showed more sophistication and experience than our own Pence & Bolton. We are truly being led by adults playing King of the Hill.
Major Major Major Major
@Baud: right!‽
sdhays
They should have mentioned the challenge coin. That level of absurdity should not be forgotten.
Gravenstone
Once again, our government* representatives making us proud.
/sigh
Baud
@Major Major Major Major: What did you do?
Cheryl Rofer
A little bit of interpretation:
In the previous communique, Bolton was targeted. Now Pence. They are trying to split Trump from his associates. I don’t think it will happen with Pence, who is fine with everything Trump. In any case, Trump said those words first, so the attack is indirectly at him. But Bolton, they might split off. I don’t think it’s the greatest strategy, but hey why not.
I don’t know what the unavailable tweet here is, but what’s said is worthwhile.
sdhays
@Baud: The Russians are getting started early for 2020 in clearing the field.
Aleta
Pence insulted them twice at the Olympics.
Major Major Major Major
@Baud: ‘twas Alain. I’m using the desktop version of the site on my phone (available at very bottom).
Platonailedit
So, what happens to those stupid tacky coins now? A ‘collector’s item’ for his rabid racist base?
Duane
So many things with Trump and his criminal cabal are unimaginable. The concept of negotiating all these deals, like they were super geniuses is dangerous as hell. Jarvanka has security clearance. They shouldn’t be near the White House. These clowns worry me. My apologies to clowns.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Kim? You want to run with my niece? Sorry, she’ll be about 5 years too young in 2020.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Wapiti:
No, Mother won’t let him.
RSA
@Roger Moore:
This is one of the most quotable comments I’ve ever read on Balloon Juice. Nice.
Peale
@Baud: because the blog is asking you to call it by your nym. Your nym isn’t just yours any more.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@RSA: That should be a rotating tag line.
Cheryl Rofer
North Korea normally operates at a higher level of invective than most countries, but they do seem to be angry.
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer:
They’re negotiating. They know Trump will give up the farm for a deal of his own.
Davebo
These guys could fuck up a wet dream.
Jager
@Cheryl Rofer: I don’t blame them.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Peale: Are we all part of the
BorgBaud collective?Chet Murthy
@Cheryl Rofer: Unavailable tweet? you mean the link in there?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Trump seems to think that they can be bought off.
Cheryl Rofer
@Baud: Yes, Trump’s stated desire for a Nobel Prize and his caving on several points give the North Koreans lots of reasons to hold firm. I really dislike the nuclear threats, though. In the past, world leaders have not felt it necessary to compare buttons this way.
White & Gold Purgatorian
@B.B.A.: I don’t think Pence can ever be the smart one. No bar can be that low. Manafort and friends specifically picked Pence for his stupidity and lack of curiosity. As I recall, Trump seemed to be leaning toward Chris Christie and that had to be worrisome for his handlers. I dislike Christie intensely but believe he is nobody’s fool and has a good awareness of anything nefarious going on around him. Plus, a VP Christie would rat out Trump and Co in a heartbeat to put himself in the Oval Office. Just my opinion, but I think Pence’s stupidity was a feature, not a bug.
patrick ii
When Bolton asserted the U.S. would implement the “Libyan” solution he was talking about what would happen if NK talks succeeded, not if they failed. If they failed then military strike . If they succeed then line like Libya regime change through other means and Kim Jung Un with a spike up his backside. Bolton wants war and was trying to break up talks.
raven
I’m going to share the comments of the woman who lost in our district last night.
Cheryl Rofer
@Chet Murthy: Thanks! For some reason, it wouldn’t show up for me.
Brachiator
Wow. I’m impressed with the language of this rebuke. The verbal imagery of the empty words of the Trump administration compared to vomiting or reaction to a very bad meal by a stupid child. Gushing, words being spat out, bad taste.
Also, the rebuke focuses on Pence and Bolton, but does not specifically mention Trump.
Leaving room for the summit to proceed, but rejecting team Trump’s negotiation points.
debbie
I think we have returned to the little button — big button days.
Aleta
Talking about Libya and total rapid DN would be a good tactic if T wanted NK to walk away.
Baud
@raven:
Shouldn’t she have held off on her endorsement so she could negotiate a better platform from the winner, and then gotten her goons to protest the nominee all the way through the election?
raven
@Baud: Her goons are us!
Chet Murthy
@Cheryl Rofer: Perhaps the author blocked you? Uh (gotta ask) did you try to view the tweet in an incognito window? That typically works for me when a “tweet is unavailable”. Though, I no longer login to twitter, so if a tweet is public, I’ll see it.
debbie
@Baud:
Go to your desktop and comment. There’s a little checkbox by the post button that will save your info. That will carry over to your mobile.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Major Major Major Major:
You’re not good at taking hints, are you?
.
.
.
Zing!
Cheryl Rofer
@Chet Murthy: I get blocked occasionally by people I don’t know. I am lazy about using the incognito window. There are lots of tweets in the world.
Baud
Test
cain
@patrick ii:
A military strike will put us at odds with China who holds a lot of our debts. They will crush us financially and god knows what they’ve been doing while we’ve been busy and distracted with the Iraq War.
Baud
Test2
Baud
Test3
Platonailedit
@Baud: No do-overs.
Baud
Test 4
cain
Test 4 Echo
Baud
Ugh. Does not work.
Steve in DUVAL!
@Major Major Major Major: I tried to mock you for this, but then the same thing happened to me. Merde!
Baud
One more try.
Lapassionara
@raven: wow. Thanks
Baud
Here goes nothing.
ETA:. drat.
patrick ii
@cain:
I didn’t say a military strike is a good idea, but it is what Bolton wants. Also a strike on Iran, and probably parts of California.
Platonailedit
Time for FU Alain rotating tag thingy?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Platonailedit: No, we like Alain; Word Press, on the other hand…
J R in WV
@raven:
She is really something, isn’t she!!
I hope the winner is as much better than this as the voters indicated — that would be amazing!!!
GregB
I am back to my nagging fear that before these horrible people are done, there will be an unfathomable tragedy because of their arrogance, stupidty and bellicosity.
cain
@patrick ii:
What does he think happens he starts these wars? Does he think that Gen Y is going to answer the call and fight? They’ll tell him to fuck himself and happily go to jail. Starting wars with two countries at the same time is insane. Plus you’re still in afghanistan. They’ll put the country in so much insane debt that.. Fuck.
Duane
@Davebo: These guys could fuck up someone else’s wet dream.
Steeplejack
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
Hey, Trump said we would get tired of winning. That’s one goddamn thing he was right about.
Gin & Tonic
For those who care, reports from Europe are that the Dutch JIT group (the official investigating body for the MH17 disaster) will be having a press conference tomorrow naming a specific Russian military unit as supplier of the Buk battery that shot that plane down.
tobie
@Cheryl Rofer: North Korea has nothing to lose…either Trump caves to their demands because he so desperately wants a deal he’ll agree to anything or he gets irate and walks away from the summit, which would prove yet again that the US government’s word is not its bond with this clown at the helm. We’re the ones who are boxed in.
RSA
@?BillinGlendaleCA: It should be!
Mnemosyne
@Cheryl Rofer:
I’m still marveling at this:
KIM JONG UN is making himself look like the rational, reasonable leader when he’s compared to Trump.
Jesus fucking Christ.
Steeplejack
@Major Major Major Major:
Re desktop site on phone:
1. Is it readable? I have been using the mobile version on my phone for a long time and seem to remember the problem with the desktop site was that the text was way too small.
2. Can you switch back to mobile if you want? Another problem I saw a while ago—but haven’t checked in a while—was that if you switched one way (can’t remember whether it was desktop to mobile or vice versa) you couldn’t go back. I would hate to switch to desktop on my phone, then not be able to get back to mobile if I hated it (desktop).
Chip Daniels
@cain:
I am happy to stand corrected, but by my count we have forces in harms way in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Niger. I would bet money we are involved in hostilities in a few other places which are classified.
We don’t call any of these “wars” until or unless it becomes convenient to do so. But we are essentially in that continuous war with Eastasia which we have always been engaged in.
jl
@Mnemosyne: Why not try it? With Trump, it ain’t hard to win at that game, and promises to yield some diplomatic benefits.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: It is saving mine. Just saying.
Chip Daniels
@GregB:
And in my moments of pessimism, I think we are like the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914.
Jeffro
@Baud:
Same here…hmm…
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
Baud is talking about the mobile version of the site. Are you using that?
Ken
@Platonailedit:
I could readily believe that the entire summit was set up just to sell those coins. However, there’s no way that they planned to derail the summit just to drive up the value. That would require Trump to plan weeks in advance, and from all available evidence he doesn’t even know how he’s going to end whatever sentence he’s currently babbling.
The Lodger
I’m on the mobile version of Chrome… my nym and email are showing up as always… here goes.
ETA: so it works.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: No, I am not. I was taunting him.
Doug R
@Major Major Major Major:
Doesn’t your browser remember your comment settings from before? All my browsers do until I delete cookies on exit, then they autocomplete when I come back. How hard is it to remember your email-I guess that’s one reason I kept my nym simple.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
Ah. Carry on, then.
Steeplejack
@The Lodger:
What OS? And are you using the mobile version of the site? Not clear from “mobile version of Chrome.”
Steve in DUVAL!
@Doug R: unfortunately, US nym memory regulations are not as robust as Canada’s, so our mobile browsers don’t work properly. Maybe they work ok on Android, but honestly who cares about non-iPhone users?
Steeplejack
Just did a test (mobile version of the site with Chrome on Android phone):
Closed all Chrome tabs, closed Chrome, did a hard reboot of the phone (turned it off, turned it back on).
Opened up a minty-fresh instance of Chrome. Went to Settings | Privacy | Clear Browsing Data and cleared “cookies and site data” for the last seven days, excepting Google, NYTimes and Weather.com but including WordPress.com.
Opened up Balloon Juice in a tab. Entered my nym and e-mail address and posted a comment. No joy: nym and e-mail not saved. End of story.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: Works fine in FF with the save your shit automatically checked.
Shalimar
@sdhays: Brian Williams casually mentioned the other day that he collects government commemorative coins and he couldn’t recall one ever being issued before the event it was supposed to commemorate.
Frankensteinbeck
So, North Korea pulls its five hundredth bait-and-switch, but this time Pence and Trump are such asshole dimwits that NK comes out of it sounding like the mature, reasonable negotiators. It should serve them well dealing with South Korea and China. Trump is going to sit on his thumb and spin. He was never going to contribute anything but idiot bluster anyway.
sdhays
@Shalimar: Another norm broken!!
Mandalay
@Chip Daniels:
No doubt, but there are others which aren’t classified.
Add Djibouti (“The one permanent U.S. military base in Africa”) and Somalia (“The U.S. has several hundred troops here “) to the list.
Looking on the bright side, our troops are less likely to be killed there than in our high schools.
Chet Murthy
ISTR Daniel Larison is terrible on domestic issues, but he really hit this one out of the park on North Korea
And he writes for Racist Paleocon Unka Pat Buchanan’s mag.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
“Save your shit” appears only on the desktop version, not the mobile.
Oh, wait, I guess you’re taunting me. My bad.
Steeplejack
@Shalimar, @sdhays:
Reliable sources say that the “Infrastructure Week” coins are really piling up.
Platonailedit
Ukraine paid ‘the fixer’ 400K to set up a meeting with the corrupt in chief and this pay for play didn’t even create a fucking ripple in the fucking msm.
Platonailedit
The Lodger
@Steeplejack: Android, mobile. Rather old.
Chet Murthy
@Platonailedit: Damn. Laura Jarrett (don’t know her from Eve, but sheeite) bringin’ the pain:
moops
@Platonailedit:
I would guess that the presence of Gowdy indicates that no high clearance material can be presented that is not already in the public space. Material is in the public space because Nunes has knowingly violated security protocols and the DOJ and FBI know it and can likely prove it now. Reading the tea leaves, I think they are serving Nunes an indictment. Kelly re-invited himself to try and stop it.
Platonailedit
If only.
Peale
@Platonailedit: goody is there because he’s the leader of the group in the house demanding a full investgation into the “political crimes” committed by Obama and the Hillary Campaign. My guess is that while the gang of 8 is being briefed, he’ll be put braying that he’s seen proof that Obama had Jarrett cover up Hillary email crimes and planted spies to hand Hillary the presidency while demanding that the e-mail case be brought to court.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: He’s been pretty saucy lately.
MisterForkbeard
@Platonailedit: I’d love to believe this (it would be kind of amazing on several levels) but not gonna happen
ohthatguy
I guess it was deal with a nuclear North Korea or kneeling football players
Joe Miller
@Davebo: Bwa ha ha.
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@Baud: Russian Hackers. They know you are the real threat…… /
NorthLeft12
Choe Sun Hui and the DPRK government in general, could teach Deadbeat Donald and the rest of his idiot sidekicks more than a few lessons in diplomacy and insulting.
That was some elegant and highly effective put down of Pence in particular.
Really, was there anyone with any knowledge of Mike Pence that honestly thought he would not make a public ass of himself if he ventured onto the world stage?
He looked like a complete doofus in Indiana, for pete’s sake. INDIANA!