The Summit of Petulants: No Way It Can End Well

There are probably no two people who meet the definition of petulant, that is: one who is “childishly sulky or bad-tempered” as defined by the Oxford dictionary or if you prefer the Merriam-Webster dictionary: :insolent or rude in speech or behavior” than the two individuals who will get together tomorrow in Singapore for the so-called summit.

Both are products of pampered upbringings which is apparent in their everyday reaction to others. We are in the process of witnessing the unhinged behavior of Trump who is attacking the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau personally calling him: “very dishonest and weak” and threatening to cut off all trade with our allies if they reciprocate to his imposition of tariffs on them.

Trump’s silliness that other countries are exploiting the United States in trade is shown by the simple fact that our unemployment is at or near all time lows, our economy is booming, and our businesses returning record profits. This has all come about through the economic relationships we have maintained over the past six or seven years since turnabout in the Great Recession which was inherited from President Bush by President Obama.

Of course while Trump petulantly involves himself in ad hominem attacks against the leader of our Canadian neighbor he tells us, despite the United States intelligence community establishing that Putin interfered in the 2016 election, that Putin “said he didn’t meddle. He said he didn’t meddle. . . . And I believe, I really believe, that when he tells me that, he means it.”  

It certainly makes you doubt whether Trump has the ability to distinguish when one is or is not telling the truth. Yet he says within the first minute he’ll know what’s up with Kim.

Petulant Kim has been in absolute power since he was 26-years-old. Among his accomplishments is that he has had his brother and his uncle, along with the uncle’s immediate family, murdered.  He has also executed two high-ranking officials in the military who displeased him by having them gunned down by anti-aircraft guns: one fell asleep during  one of his talks and the other came up with ideas to improve agriculture production. Those were only two of many.

Which brings me back to the summit between the Two Petulants. The first weird thing about it is that 72-year-old Trump will be sitting down alone with 33-year-old Kim Jong-Un as an equal in a negotiation. Immediately that confers status on Kim which makes mockery of his  power and position in the world.

North Korea has a population of 25 million people  about half that of South Korea; the United States has 325 million people or thirteen times that of Kim’s country. The GDP of the US is 19.39 trillion dollars and that of North Korea, as best one can guess, 40 billion (compared to South Korea’s 2.12 trillion dollars).  What is it then that puts two people in so unequal positions on an equal footing.

Simply put it is that Trump lowered the presidency to the point of meeting with this murderous dictator because he has nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them. Trump having hyped up the danger he poses to America forced himself into meeting with him by his rhetoric and dreams of a Nobel Peace Prize (which is awarded by Europeans with whom Trump is now fighting which gives him as much chance of getting that as recently pardoned Jack Johnson).

Trump’s goal is to have him give up those instruments of war. In exchange for doing this America will lift its sanctions against his country, give tons of aid, and a seat of honor at the Washington DC military parade. (Except for the latter, this has been tried before and North Korea held to the deal for a bit and when it got whole reneged.)

Now remember both of these men are used to getting their way and if they don’t they have a fit. That’s why Trump can’t get along with other democratically elected world leaders and why Kim executes people on a whim. But Trump has an ability to have a decent relationship with other dictators because he doesn’t criticize or want anything from them and they play up to him. But this time he’s meeting with a guy like himself and he wants him to give up something.

Kim’s predicament is  without his nukes and missiles he’s a nobody. Without them he’d have as much chance of having a meeting with a United States president in a summit as would Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi or Jovenel Moïse or Hery Rajaonarimampianina. These men are leaders of countries with similar economic or demographic attributes as North Korea.

The only way Trump saves face since Kim won’t relinquish control of those things that make him a contender is to come up with a bogus deal that will make it look like Kim is giving up his weapons. His big worry is that Kim might immediately and publicly stab him in the back.  Trump thinks his ducks are all in order; Kim thinks his ducks are lined up correctly. But with two childish, hot-tempered, guys in a grandson/grandfather age relationship the odds are stacked against anything good coming out of this.

Trump, though, has to save face. Kim, though, has to keep his nukes. Despite nothing  good coming from it we look forward to see how the debacle will be papered over.

 

 

 

 

8 Comments

  1. jon stuen-parker

    Dear Matt,
    As a drug addict I was petulant. My friends would say, “I’m never getting high with you again.” Once I asked a police officer in Kenmore Square, “Do you know what time it is?” He was standing beside the clock near the trolley entrance. He smashed me twice in the face with his billy club. The police officer proceeded to assault my companion with his fists. When my companion was tossed into the dark paddy wagon, he thought he was alone because I was unconscious. At Station 4, I was tossed into a cell and all night my face was beside the toilet bowl – in a puddle of piss. My friend’s father tried bailing me out, but yelling “Jon” into the cell didn’t wake me. The next morning, I was placed in a line with winos (I remember standing lopsided) and herded out the back door. My face had two large oval scabs, one across the bridge of my nose and one above my upper lip. That “high” came after breaking into a drugstore and consuming Dilaudid cough syrup (plus other drugs).
    Last week, I put “GOD WANTS ROBERT MUELLER EXPOSED: THE GHOST OF WHITEY BULGER” on Amazon Kindle. I know Robert Mueller – the decorated Maine – is one of your idols – but the truth must be known!
    My grandfather was a Marine drill instructor. Age 17, I enlisted in the Marines [scored 80 on the entrance exam (high school dropout] and hoped to avoid jail by fighting in Vietnam. Luckily, the judge declared, ‘You don’t deserve the military – you deserve jail.”
    Your blog is mentioned in my book. It only cost $4.99, so treat yourself to a copy. Golden light actually wants Mueller exposed. Here’s the journal entry mentioning your blog:

    “~8:25am Friday July 22, 2016
    Warm sunny day. At People’s Palace favorite kitchen seat. Radio announced temperature expected to reach 27 degrees Celsius – same as yesterday (warmest July day since 1947).

    Open window allows clear view of red brick windowsill. Happy music on radio. Left index finger holding open Wordsworth’s Contemporary Critical Essays. Passages state:

    ‘Much has been made of Wordsworth’s anxiety, expressed in ‘Tintern Abby (1798), that at the very moment of discovering his poetic voice, he found himself threatened by silence because his creative powers seemed to be on the wane. This anxiety should be understood as a recognition on his part that the true subject of his and every poet’s art seemed to be beyond words forever unattainable.’
    ‘The poet, Wordsworth insists, must carry ‘sensation into the midst of the objects of the science itself.’ What may seem abstract (‘sensation’), even ‘miraculous’ must be scientifically addressed, ‘for it is a fact:’’
    ‘The passage from The Prelude that forms the centerpiece of the discussion is appropriately a dream sequence, where problems of credibility in every respect will occur, the most serious of which must be the nightmare that – no matter how vivid the experience – there is in fact nothing there, the ‘mise en abyme.’’
    ‘The moment when the ‘real’ is on the point of dissolving is for him that moment of ‘naked simplicity;’ its very ‘unliterary’ nature was a source of power that could glimpse into the divine; at the same time it could be equally terrifying glimpse into the an abyss of incomprehension. ‘Naked simplicity’ is therefore both the route by which he advances into the realm of what cannot be rationally be known, and his means of escaping from it to tell the tale.’’
    ‘Helen Darbishire’s work in the 1920s and after was, together with that of Ernest de Selincourt and Emile Legouis, instrumental in revealing a biographically and textually reconstructed Wordsworth. What remained unaltered, however, was Darbishire’s image of Wordsworth as a poet in supreme control of his inspirational powers. In the following extracts from her essay of 1926 on The Prelude (written to welcome Selincourt’s publication for the first time of the original 1805 text), we should note her emphasis on the purity, strength and power of the poet’s experiences, and in Wordsworth’s firm belief in the value of what he writes. Darbishire’s style verges on the evangelical: she never doubts Wordsworth’s ‘belief,’ Wordsworth never doubts his own ‘creed.’’
    ‘‘He had only to speak…of the soul that ‘passing through all Nature rests with God,’ and he had uttered the first article of his creed.’’

    Golden lights photos are fact. Firmly believe my creed: Earth’s magnetic force pulls love together. Unlike randomly colliding material particles which made man, electrical particles emitted as love contain infinite number of permutations for combination. Love combining with love created electrical engine (‘higher power’) surrounding Earth, one which humans can touch through prayer and one which humans can add love.

    Hillary Clinton becoming president guarantees she’d follow her husband’s footsteps. Hillary Clinton would give Israel’s war machine billions and billions of taxpayers money. Israel’s planes, helicopters, tanks, missiles and bullets will kill more innocent Arabs and fuel more religious turmoil. Hillary Clinton becoming president guarantees she’d bring world closer to nuclear holocaust.

    Now heading to library. Main purpose – finishing letter to Dr. Raymond Sackler. Last night wrote concluding paragraphs:

    ‘Hillary Clinton becoming president means the pain crisis will worsen. It means crack heroin will continue killing thousands. Hillary Clinton would never expose crack heroin. She would never expose the blood on her husband’s hands.
    Traditional heroin, prescription painkillers and fentanyl overdoses are painless. Crack heroin overdoses can be extremely painful. Today crack heroin is found east of Mississippi River. Eventually, Mexican drug cartels will process heroin with lidocaine and procaine. Mexican cartels will kill Americans with crack heroin because profit creates transition. Hillary Clinton becoming president guarantees that will happen.’

    ~3:30pm

    In city library first floor reading area. Spent five hours in state library. Walk bridge loop (other side of Brisbane River) allowed 360 degree view of blue sky. No clouds, no wind – felt like wonderful summer day.

    Almost finished Dr. Raymond Sackler letter. Inserted Hillary Clinton ending, reread text, scanned for more information, again worked until ass hurt. Now on nice cushion seat thinking about Dr. Sackler letter.

    Included, then deleted from Dr. Sackler letter New York City crack heroin deaths: ‘River Phoenix 1993; Raphael de Rothschild 2001; and, Philip Seymour Hoffman 2014.’

    Considering chapter: ‘REGRETS.’ Regret not knowing Purdue Pharma previously faced criminal charges concerning OxyContin (paid $200 million settlement). Would have loved using that opportunity to expose crack heroin. Dr. Sackler and his wife established and support many important charities. But federal government crack heroin epidemic cover-up used Purdue Pharm as scapegoat.

    Bigger regret concerns 9 Bleecker Street – only New York City location warning about crack heroin. In 2005, NAB and Yippie Holdings purchased building (former Yippie headquarters) for $1.8 million. NAB paid for one third with $600,000 donation receipt. Yippie Holdings, unable to obtain $1.2 million dollar mortgage, gave previous owner cash payments.

    When person responsible for cash payments was at New Orleans conference, previous owner came to 9 Bleecker Street and said, ‘Let me hold the deed for collateral.’ Once having deed, he filed complaint to evict NAB and Yippie Holdings.

    I happened to arrive in America day before deadline for answering eviction complaint. Lawyer (claiming HIV infection) was filing answer to complaint on behalf of NAB and Yippie Holdings. I reviewed his answer to eviction complaint and suggested several changes including: ‘‘aids’ needs capital letters.’

    The next day, we were supposed to meet in New York Superior Court. Woke feeling suspicious. Spent most of day writing answer to eviction complaint, then ran from 9 Bleecker Street to New York Superior Court. Arrived at courthouse 15 minutes before 5pm deadline. Within 10 minutes of deadline, I filed answer to eviction complaint.

    Next day, that lawyer came to 9 Bleecker Street and yelled at me for answering complaint. Shocked at this spectacle, I let him unleash anger without response. Why would lawyer be angry at me for doing something he failed to accomplish? Believe previous owner arranged for ‘lawyer’ to ‘help’ NAB and Yippie Holdings.

    NAB still owns part of 9 Bleecker Street. But building in legal limbo. Doubt NAB will be victorious. Previous owner’s portfolio estimated $100 million dollars. As Gaga says, ‘MONEY WINS ANYTHING.’

    Here’s another regret. Day after filing answer to eviction complaint, I brought letter to Robert Morgenthau (law firm’s mail room) asking for his help. Next day, I phoned Robert Morgenthau’s secretary, Ida, and heard, ‘Yes. Robert Morgenthau will help.’

    Since I was returning to Australia, planned having AIDS Brigade in Boston communicate with Robert Morgenthau’s office. But Yippie Holdings insisted it should be done from 9 Bleecker Street. I regret saying, ‘Okay.’

    Nobody phoned Robert Morgenthau’s office. Two years ago, I contacted Robert Morgenthau by email and again asked for his help. Explained former owner put 9 Bleecker Street deed on fictitious corporation. Robert Morgenthau replied he was too busy ‘for legitimate concern.’

    Now heading upstairs to work on Dr. Raymond Sackler letter. Today, like yesterday, spent time reading ‘‘Gaga’: The Real Whitey Bulger/Irish Mob Story.’ Love Gaga’s sing-song storytelling. Things look bleak (Hillary Clinton becoming president, terrorism killing children, etc.), but happy because Gaga.”

  2. Amnesia covers a multitude of sins. Remember 2008? Boy George handed Obama the biggest bag of economic shit since Hoover. Growth? Survival was a feat. Internationally W also left his poo all over the world. Obama was a disappointment- but you are honoring the bully who throws bombs when he has safely left Canadian air space.

    You know he is going to claim a great victory–the greatest international deal in the history of the USofA. Maybe he’ll get a tour of the camps and relate what a wonderful penal system they have. I’m sure the parents of the recently deceased American, sent home dying, appreciate their president waxing philosophic with his killer.

    PS We do not have ant bauxite to make aluminum. Boeing must be real happy.

  3. And maybe some dancing?

    Kim is winning at the outset . I wish the best for our boy. Its going to be tough getting the upper hand. We’ll see. It’s a start.

  4. Do I detect a note of negativity from Our Good Host towards America’s duly elected President?

    Donald Trump inherited a diplomatic disaster on the Korean peninsular from the previous administration. He is exploring by any means possible to resolve the mess Obama bequeathed him.

    If peace and security can be attained by sacrificing the “honor” of the presidency then I am for it. The lives of tens of millions of human beings in Korea and Japan are on the table and they are more important than what is left of the “honor” of the presidency after LBJ left the crew of the USS Liberty to the murderous savagery of Moshe Dayan and Bill Clinton made salacious use of a cigar in the Oval Orifice.

    Trump has always dealt with the world as it is rather than a pipe-dream concocted by some Emily Post cartoon in State Department approved striped pants. As a builder and employer he is a man at ease dealing with plumbers, chambermaids, crooked building inspectors, electricians, ditch diggers and medal laden dictators. He sees through the facade of putting on hoity-toity airs. He gets things done, with the high and with the low.

    As for treating Kim better than the Shiny Pony Of Canuckistan, the main complaint seems to be that The Donald and the Korean Godzilla are scions of privileged backgrounds. Duh! Justin Trudeau attained high office with fewer accomplishments, other than spending scads of da’s money on cocaine, than either Kim or Trump. The Liberals in the tundra rode him into office on nostalgia for his anti-American sire Pierre Trudeau.

    By the way, take notice that last week the Canadian Prime Minister, that you so highly value, led his party, a Molson chugging version of our Democrats, into the Valley of Death in Ontario. The Liberal Party fared so poorly in the provincial election that it is no longer even the recognized official opposition in the largest province, a former stroghold. The former ski bum’s political skills are so infantile that they deserve Trump’s response to the constant pussymarcher like barbs lobbed regularly from Ottawa.

    Politics aside, a resolution of the decades old Korean impasse is worth a toss of the dice. Let us hope that Lady Luck is kindly disposed towards the Hermit Kingdom’s tyrant and our own duly elected Golden Dome.

  5. John King McDonald

    Petulant pair poses paradox as World awaits results of a Summit concerning nuclear annihilation and the fate of Man !

    • I assure you, the phone number of that porn star is all Kim has been thinking of since the beginning of this hoax.

  6. Maybe Trump could ask Kim to release some of the 2-3 million North Koreans he has placed in concentration camps without trial. I’m a contractor and I can assure you we get enough work gloves from the Chinese Laogai concentration camps to last us for another century. Some of those gloves last as long as a month! Can’t beat that with a South African riot baton.

  7. Obama embraced the European social welfare state model in his economic approach. High taxes, over regulation, environmental excess, limited energy exploration and anti business efforts over all. Obama produced 1.7% economic growth on average over his term comparable to what the E U does. Trump reversed those policies and embraced Reagan;s approach which produced one of America’s great economic booms. Tax cuts, regulatory rollback, energy independence, eliminating environmental extremism( leaving the Paris Accord), generally a pro business formula. Trump has produced 3% growth double what Obama did. Reagan completely reversed Carter’s economic effort. Carter created malaise. Reagan created the boom. His policies caused it. Not Carter’s. Trump’s policies are responsible for the increased growth. Obama and Carter hindered growth. 2. Trump made an offer at the G7 to eliminate all tariffs, barriers and subsidies if our trading partners would. They all declined. They want to keep this lopsided, unfair trading system in place whereas the Administration wants a level playing field and free, fair and balanced trade. 3. Who knows what will happen in Singapore. But nothing ventured . Nothing gained.