[North Korea] The Dear Loser comes into his own.

[Alefroth]

I honestly think they are crazy enough to lob something over if the Orange Menace pushes his luck too much.

They are like RIP and think burning the whole thing down is the best way forward. They have little to lose.

[Octavious]

Guess I should start collecting nails for my nail guns. And bottlecaps.

[Fitzy]

http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/apocalypse-soon

[coopasonic]

It seems like it would make more sense to use the stockpiled food to bridge the gaps in cannibalistic opportunities rather than to eat it all first.

[hepcat]

Well, at least my Lord Humongous outfit will be in fashion again...

[Holman]

Here we are: Trump is facing his first international crisis (or at least the first he acknowledges).

So far he has escalated through threats and cut out the press, allowing bombast and rumor to set the tone of the day.

[pr0ner]

North Korea just threatened to attack Guam, so....

[Kraken]

Here we are: Trump is facing his first international crisis (or at least the first he acknowledges).

So far he has escalated through threats and cut out the press, allowing bombast and rumor to set the tone of the day.

Trying to out-crazy Kim is probably not prudent. Trump undoubtedly believes that it's all bluster and he can out-bullshit a bullshitter. Maybe he's right, but what if he isn't? Maybe the Chinese will step up and be the adults in the room? Maybe that's Trump's ulterior motive?

Nah, I'm giving him too much credit for strategic thinking.

[Holman]

Nah, I'm giving him too much credit for strategic thinking.

His only strategic thinking is "A foreign attack at about this time gave GWB a big win."

[Victoria Raverna]

Here's the question I have - why don't we try to shoot down the NK test missiles? If they can't test them, then they can't advance their missile tech. And I doubt they would go to war because missile was shot down.

Because it'll show that US is unable to shoot down NK's missiles.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

North Korea just threatened to attack Guam, so....

Everything is going just peachy.

[Blackhawk]

It seems like NK's capabilities, both in missile and nuclear tech, have advanced very, very rapidly. Just a year or two ago they couldn't reliably get a short range missile over the sea. Now they have ICBMs. Their nuclear programs was supposedly just getting off the ground, and now they're on the brink of achieving miniaturization.

Is someone feeding them tech?

If I've learned anything from TV, it was...

Spoiler:

Klingons.

[Enough]

It seems like NK's capabilities, both in missile and nuclear tech, have advanced very, very rapidly. Just a year or two ago they couldn't reliably get a short range missile over the sea. Now they have ICBMs. Their nuclear programs was supposedly just getting off the ground, and now they're on the brink of achieving miniaturization.

Is someone feeding them tech?

If I've learned anything from TV, it was...

Spoiler:

Klingons.

I was more thinking

Spoiler:

Admiral Mark Jameson from STNG season 1

[Blackhawk]

I was more thinking

Spoiler:

Admiral Mark Jameson from STNG season 1

Spoiler:

I was thinking Krell

/edit - did I really spoiler a 49 year old episode?

[em2nought]

Na-na na-na boo-boo

[Paingod]

Normally I'd say something about how horrific it is for anyone to take the potential deaths of millions as an opportunity to "Neener Neener" the opposition, but in reality we'll need a wall of fat and guns to hold the line while the east coast figures out how to evacuate from the planet.

[pr0ner]

Na-na na-na boo-boo

You're disgusting. Go away.

[pr0ner]

North Korea just threatened to attack Guam, so....

Everything is going just peachy.

I've seen a couple interviews on major news sites thinking that Trump is just full of hot air, especially since NK crossed Trump's newest "red line" immediately and the US has done nothing about it (other than tweet more).

God, how I hope it really is just bluster and nothing serious.

[Zarathud]

Back to celebrating a nuclear attack on America? Despicable isn't a strong enough word.

This is not Making America Great Again. It's the opposite.

[malchior]

Trump is a one man disaster. He is ratcheting up tension when confrontation is completely the last think you'd ever want here. The intersection with the major regional powers there increases greatly the chance of world ending consequences. And he is blithely tweeting away and shooting off his mouth. Hopefully all 'his' general's are working on him overtime to stfu.

[Grifman]

It's all talk and bluster from both sides now. Neither nation is taking any steps to prepare for war, and neither side is going to do anything unless they are prepared. When you see the US sending ships, troops and planes (and I mean lots of them) and when you see the NK mobilizing their army and moving it into position, then you need to worry. I'm not saying that words don't matter, and that accidents or incidents are impossible. It's just that NK would be foolish (which is always possible) to attack Guam or anywhere else without being prepared for a response. And Trump's rhetoric, while not helpful, is irrelevant on the ground unless the US mobilizes forces on the Korean peninsula. War is not imminent.

[malchior]

It's all talk and bluster from both sides now. Neither nation is taking any steps to prepare for war, and neither side is going to do anything unless they are prepared. When you see the US sending ships, troops and planes (and I mean lots of them) and when you see the NK mobilizing their army and moving it into position, then you need to worry. I'm not saying that words don't matter, and that accidents or incidents are impossible. It's just that NK would be foolish (which is always possible) to attack Guam or anywhere else without being prepared for a response. And Trump's rhetoric, while not helpful, is irrelevant on the ground unless the US mobilizes forces on the Korean peninsula. War is not imminent.

This is likely true but a good Statesman would *not* be increasing tension and/or the risk of an accident. I personally have considered that "we" have no idea what the calculations are in the NK camp or what their internal dynamics are. The best case is our IC knows that to some extent and is feeding intelligence that is shaping this muscle flexing. However that seems incredibly unlikely and this is very likely just an ad hoc response which is absolutely not ideal. To distill the idea a little, it isn't that we have a the sky is falling problem. Instead, it shows that he is completely incapable to the world and indicates the high chance that a real crisis will not be handled competently. Nothing could be more dangerous for us, imminent war or not.

[geezer]

It's all talk and bluster from both sides now. Neither nation is taking any steps to prepare for war, and neither side is going to do anything unless they are prepared. When you see the US sending ships, troops and planes (and I mean lots of them) and when you see the NK mobilizing their army and moving it into position, then you need to worry. I'm not saying that words don't matter, and that accidents or incidents are impossible. It's just that NK would be foolish (which is always possible) to attack Guam or anywhere else without being prepared for a response. And Trump's rhetoric, while not helpful, is irrelevant on the ground unless the US mobilizes forces on the Korean peninsula. War is not imminent.

Maybe. Then again, to Trump, looking "weak" is about the worst sin one can commit. He and his idiot base will have enormous pressure to back up his words if for no other reason that he's a pathetic little man who might rather literally start a war than look bad. It's terrifying.

I remember the run up to Iraq - the words, the "evidence," the pro-war faction in the country inching closer to justification every day, all the while the more sane amongst us thinking it was ludicrous. Eventually even the holdouts went along just because the public had been so thoroughly beaten into acceptance. I'm seeing very disturbing parallels here, now, but the stakes are massively higher.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Of course Trump is full of hot air, but provoking someone as batshit insane as Kim Jong-un is just reckless. The dude has no problems killing his own people and publicly assassinating family members in other countries; who the hell knows what he'll do.

[Kraken]

It seems like NK's capabilities, both in missile and nuclear tech, have advanced very, very rapidly.

Or so we are led to believe. Might a fearful public benefit someone with authoritarian tendencies?

I remember the run up to Iraq - the words, the "evidence," the pro-war faction in the country inching closer to justification every day, all the while the more sane amongst us thinking it was ludicrous. Eventually even the holdouts went along just because the public had been so thoroughly beaten into acceptance. I'm seeing very disturbing parallels here, now, but the stakes are massively higher.

I am not prepared to hop on this bandwagon yet. Yes, NK is a foreign policy crisis, and Yes, it's going to keep getting more threatening unless something is done. If we had a functional State Dept I would think that "something" still lies in diplomacy rather than in nuclear fire, lunatic ravings notwithstanding.

[LordMortis]

It seems like NK's capabilities, both in missile and nuclear tech, have advanced very, very rapidly.

Or so we are led to believe. Might a fearful public benefit someone with authoritarian tendencies?

I dunno. Trump personally saw to it our entire arsenal was "modernized" in the last six months.

[Enough]

It's all talk and bluster from both sides now. Neither nation is taking any steps to prepare for war, and neither side is going to do anything unless they are prepared. When you see the US sending ships, troops and planes (and I mean lots of them) and when you see the NK mobilizing their army and moving it into position, then you need to worry. I'm not saying that words don't matter, and that accidents or incidents are impossible. It's just that NK would be foolish (which is always possible) to attack Guam or anywhere else without being prepared for a response. And Trump's rhetoric, while not helpful, is irrelevant on the ground unless the US mobilizes forces on the Korean peninsula. War is not imminent.

Maybe. Then again, to Trump, looking "weak" is about the worst sin one can commit. He and his idiot base will have enormous pressure to back up his words if for no other reason that he's a pathetic little man who might rather literally start a war than look bad. It's terrifying.

I remember the run up to Iraq - the words, the "evidence," the pro-war faction in the country inching closer to justification every day, all the while the more sane amongst us thinking it was ludicrous. Eventually even the holdouts went along just because the public had been so thoroughly beaten into acceptance. I'm seeing very disturbing parallels here, now, but the stakes are massively higher.

When I heard the story on the miniaturized nukes it brought back shades of the weapons of mass destruction run up to Iraq. They may have them, but my spidey senses are tingling. I need to listen to my Arms Control Wonk podcast.

[hepcat]

It seems like NK's capabilities, both in missile and nuclear tech, have advanced very, very rapidly.

Or so we are led to believe. Might a fearful public benefit someone with authoritarian tendencies?

I dunno. Trump personally saw to it our entire arsenal was "modernized" in the last six months.

He ordered the Pentagon to use leftover alien tech from the failed Chitauri invasion he learned about from a show Barron saw.

[malchior]

However that seems incredibly unlikely and this is very likely just an ad hoc response which is absolutely not ideal.

Confirmed by the failing NY Times. HIs 'fire and fury' remarks came as a surprise to his aides. Firing from the hip -- always a good move when nukes are involved!

[Rip]

It will be the biggest fire and the most fury, ever!

[geezer]

However that seems incredibly unlikely and this is very likely just an ad hoc response which is absolutely not ideal.

Confirmed by the failing NY Times. HIs 'fire and fury' remarks came as a surprise to his aides. Firing from the hip -- always a good move when nukes are involved!

Huh. For once I think maybe Bannon and his folks have gotten it right. From the NTY article linked above...

While General McMaster and others consider North Korea a pre-eminent threat that requires a tough response, Mr. Bannon and others in the nationalist wing argue that it is really just a subset of the administration’s conflict with China and that Mr. Trump should not give more prominence to an unstable rogue operator like Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader.

Probably the reality is somewhere in the middle, but I would agree that the way to "solve" this current crisis is to work through China, rather than a directly aggressive response to ongoing NK actions.

[Rip]

For those that were wanting a more subtle approach.

"cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and destruction of its people"

[Isgrimnur]

Wait, which leader was he addressing with those remarks?

[hepcat]

I love it when he calls a newspaper or business "failing" when he feels slighted by them. 75 years from now, a Trump will be calling them "failing".

[Octavious]

Him calling the news fake and/or failing is one of the things that just drives me insane. He's creating a distrust in the media that could last for a long time and it's just disgusting. I hate him so much and wish he would get the f out of my state. Go vacation in Moscow.

[Carpet_pissr]

I love it when he calls a newspaper or business "failing" when he feels slighted by them. 75 years from now, a Trump will be calling them "failing".

Ironically, since he has brought his unique brand of "dumpster fire" to the oval office, many of those "failing" newspapers have had record profits, with people scrambling to find out what stupid shit he's done lately.

Like a train wreck, it's hard even for those who typically aren't "news interested", to look away and not read just how bad the head turd is doing on any given day.

[Kraken]

Him calling the news fake and/or failing is one of the things that just drives me insane. He's creating a distrust in the media that could last for a long time and it's just disgusting. I hate him so much and wish he would get the f out of my state. Go vacation in Moscow.

How America Lost Its Mind is a very long piece from The Atlantic. Worth your time when you can spare half an hour or so. It directly addresses the rise of fake news and the fall of reality in a convincing way.

Each of us is on a spectrum somewhere between the poles of rational and irrational. We all have hunches we can’t prove and superstitions that make no sense. Some of my best friends are very religious, and others believe in dubious conspiracy theories. What’s problematic is going overboard—letting the subjective entirely override the objective; thinking and acting as if opinions and feelings are just as true as facts. The American experiment, the original embodiment of the great Enlightenment idea of intellectual freedom, whereby every individual is welcome to believe anything she wishes, has metastasized out of control. From the start, our ultra-individualism was attached to epic dreams, sometimes epic fantasies—every American one of God’s chosen people building a custom-made utopia, all of us free to reinvent ourselves by imagination and will. In America nowadays, those more exciting parts of the Enlightenment idea have swamped the sober, rational, empirical parts. Little by little for centuries, then more and more and faster and faster during the past half century, we Americans have given ourselves over to all kinds of magical thinking, anything-goes relativism, and belief in fanciful explanation—small and large fantasies that console or thrill or terrify us. And most of us haven’t realized how far-reaching our strange new normal has become.

Much more than the other billion or so people in the developed world, we Americans believe—really believe—in the supernatural and the miraculous, in Satan on Earth, in reports of recent trips to and from heaven, and in a story of life’s instantaneous creation several thousand years ago.
If the 1960s amounted to a national nervous breakdown, we are probably mistaken to consider ourselves over it.

We believe that the government and its co-conspirators are hiding all sorts of monstrous and shocking truths from us, concerning assassinations, extraterrestrials, the genesis of aids, the 9/11 attacks, the dangers of vaccines, and so much more.

And this was all true before we became familiar with the terms post-factual and post-truth, before we elected a president with an astoundingly open mind about conspiracy theories, what’s true and what’s false, the nature of reality.

We have passed through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole. America has mutated into Fantasyland.

...

People see our shocking Trump moment—this post-truth, “alternative facts” moment—as some inexplicable and crazy new American phenomenon. But what’s happening is just the ultimate extrapolation and expression of mind-sets that have made America exceptional for its entire history.

[noxiousdog]

How America Lost Its Mind is a very long piece from The Atlantic. Worth your time when you can spare half an hour or so. It directly addresses the rise of fake news and the fall of reality in a convincing way.

Thank you very much for that.

[Rip]

By mid-August, the military will have completed its plans to launch four Hwasong-12 rockets over Japan and 18 miles off the coast of Guam, the statement says.

It will then report back to the commander-in-chief of the North Korean nuclear force and wait for his order.

“We keep closely watching the speech and behavior of the U.S.,” it concludes.

http://nypost.com/2017/08/09/north-kore ... king-guam/

See, this should all be over by the end of August.

[Holman]

link

Southern Baptist minister Robert Jeffress (one of Trump's Evangelical advisers) says God gives Trump the moral authority to nuke, assassinate, or do whatever it takes to end Kim's regime.

In 2012 he declared Obama to be linked to the Antichrist. More on Jeffress.