North Korea firing missiles into the sea...

[Anglian]

Well I was going to get my old tin hat out but if Mr Pudgy has an H-Bomb not much point, I feel Mr Trumpy, should back off, as the NK nitwit has no intention of dropping a bomb(I hope) I feel the Chinese should be a bit more forceful and force a regime change that suits them, if everyone starts chucking H-bombs about there will be no winners. The poor lad had sad childhood so I think we should give him a bit of love

 

[Bad_azz]

Its all bloody scary to be honest. I just don't know what the hell will come next in the penis size contest & I'm not sure I want to guess.
I think it would be rather nice if Anonymous could take out the lot of these idiot megalomaniacs by disconnecting them from any form of communication or interactive technology

 

[waarmstrong]

Perhaps we should be looking for a house for sale north of the arctic circle. Who knows, the preppers could be on to something.

 

[fastpitch17]

I think that if China gets advance notice of a US attack on N. Korea they will attack it first. China is the one that has the biggest worries over a change in the governing of N. Korea. I don't think China likes Kim what so ever so won't hesitate to remove him. It was reported that China had been involved in a covert plan to remove Kim which led to Kims uncle meeting the grim reaper.

Kim is a crazed man but is at the same time working this better than the US is. He won't attack anyone unless he breaks but so far, he is just causing weaker minds to break. Eventually Kim will have all his threateng toys. He than will use the treat of them to bring in money to support his kingdom. He will use them as a tool to force nations to give into his demands. At least I feel that is his plans. He may also become a supplier of these weapons to those nations that have none of their own, He isn't held to any treaties and even if he was, they would be ignored if he thought he would get something out of ignoring them.

Kim has a plan but as plans go, if the US or someone tries to break those plans than all hell is going to break lose. S. Korea will pay the biggest price almost immediately with all the conventional weapons aimed at them. If Kim could launch missiles , which I doubt, than Japan would be next. The two areas with heavy US military build up. I doubt he could launch to hit Guam.

No matter what, Kim with nuclear weapons and rockets is bad news any way you look at it. The best Plan would be if China would go in. It would be swifter coming from a relatively unprotected boarder and from where it wouldn't be expected as much. It would make it quicker. That or a MOAB right on top of Kim may do the same thing because I doubt his generals would react. I doubt they agree with Kim's mindset. They just can't tell anyone.

 

[waarmstrong]

Using asymmetrical military advantage (or at least the presumption of advantage) to extort concessions worked pretty well for the Germans in the late 1930's. I wonder how well that strategy will work out in the nuclear age.

 

[Bad_azz]

Perhaps we should be looking for a house for sale north of the arctic circle. Who knows, the preppers could be on to something.

I figure the arctic circle is full of military experiments.
I suggest scrap a house & start to kit out an underground bunker.

& realistically somewhere naturally warm- or with lots of trees.
A nice cave in a forest would be pretty good, one with a deep water supply that has been filtered over 1000s of years through rock. Should see you ok Waarmie..

 

[fastpitch17]

I figure the arctic circle is full of military experiments.
I suggest scrap a house & start to kit out an underground bunker.

& realistically somewhere naturally warm- or with lots of trees.
A nice cave in a forest would be pretty good, one with a deep water supply that has been filtered over 1000s of years through rock. Should see you ok Waarmie..

And what do you think it would take to protect that bit of safe haven for yourself?

 

[Bad_azz]

And what do you think it would take to protect that bit of safe haven for yourself?

Secrecy & brains... * a big knife. & Bruce Willis.

 

[Anglian]

I read that Mr Pudgy could ruin the US economy by firing a magnetic pulse into space, would this ruin the worlds economy,

 

[Davita]

I wholeheartedly agree with fastpitch17's eloquent post #124.

This classic case of brinkmanship can only lead to a horrendous disaster unless intervention by China who have been feeding this rogue regime for all the wrong reasons. China needs to decide...does IT want to belong to the rest of the world or become a pariah country in isolation.
Everyone is aware that N.K. is a basket case but they are abusing China and the Chinese do not seem to be prepared to deal with this daring regime.
It's time the Chinese, if they wish to continue their effort to be a future world-power, recognise this is a good time to show they can take-on that responsibility.

Re-arming Japan and other Asian countries with nuclear is the only alternative and should be part of the current UN debate as soon as possible.

Nothing makes peoples arse twitch more than knowing suicide is his only alternative...one false move and Fatboy will be the first to be blown into smaller pieces than those he machine-gunned.

America will survive and so will Trump. China...not so much!

 

[waarmstrong]

Suggesting a resurgence of Japanese militarism does not strike me as a particularly well thought out strategy.

 

[Davita]

Suggesting a resurgence of Japanese militarism does not strike me as a particularly well thought out strategy.

Really...better tell the current Japanese Prime Minister because that's exactly his manifesto.
His position is... if Japan just accepts USA alliance it may not be suffice to protect its citizens. Since President Trump took office, 'America First' may be a clarion call for the domestic market but many allied countries are now reviewing their own security, including EU.

 

[waarmstrong]

Trump opening the Pandora's box of Japanese militarism, along of the willingness of Abe to seize the opportunity, pretty confirms the strategy as ill advised.

 

[fastpitch17]

UN Security Councel meeting. US says time to intervien with military since they are the ones being directly threatened. Russia say must be through diplomatic channels with talk. China says must be through diplomatic channels through talk. Both Russia and China says maybe could get Kim to stop if US and S.Korea stop their bi-annual exercises. The US says exercises are legal and N. korea is breaking UN rules. S. Korea us scared shitless and suggest a milder aporoach.

Kim refuses to talk to anyone.
Russia and China just want to see less US military build up anywhere on Earth.
Trump threatens China with stop of all trade but expects them to work with him. Probably not good if you want help from them or at least an agreement. China still continues to go against UN sactions for trade with N. Korea.
Trump calls S.Korea weaklings and has ussues with trade imbalance. Again, probably not a good move with the current climate and Trump should know that S. Korea will probably pay the biggest price if this isn't handled properly.
Military experts feel the US is the one feeding the tension build up.
The winner if things blow up. China. May get their hands on the entire Korean Peninsula after it's destruction. Diplomatically? Will not happen with Kim and Trump at the leads. The two last people you would want to keep level heads about.

I guess I still think that if someone could eliminate Kim, the generals do not retaliate. Then again on the US side you may find the same.

 

[dafluff]

I guess I still think that if someone could eliminate Kim, the generals do not retaliate. Then again on the US side you may find the same.

Why not both. Avert needless suffering by millions/billions, and just end the crazy egomaniacs.

 

[Davita]

Why not both. Avert needless suffering by millions/billions, and just end the crazy egomaniacs.

Maybe get the Indonesian maid that sprayed poison on Kim's half brother at KL's airport to do the job...she has experience.
However...would put Indonesia on the map!!!

 

[Chiron]

With all the brinkmanship, threats, and craziness in the news regarding DPRK and nuke testing, I for one really don't think this is heading towards a real nuclear war. No one benefits from 15 million people dying in the first day of any war. All sides - US, DPRK, Russia, and China get this. The fanatical goal of Kim Jong Un and his people, with the blessing of China, is to get the US military out of their backyard. The real game is control of Asia, and China wants to take that title from the US. I personally think that the US has painted itself into a corner, thanks to failed policies of previous presidents, and now the insanity of the current one. This may eventually leave the US with no choice but to negotiate, and may also result some day in sending the troops stationed in South Korea back home. The next US president, which is not favoring a Trump reelection, may get the honor of executing that task. The bottom line is that we now must face a future with North Korea having powerful nuclear weapons and having a feasible way of delivering them to a target.

The implications of this above scenario are far reaching, and one that would eventually have an effect on all countries in Asia, and possibly Australia and NZ as well. China would likely proceed with their version of Asian control, replacing the US who has been calling the shots - especially where borders and territorial claims are at stake. The other problem for the US, is its perceived invincibility if some small beleaguered country like DPRK calls checkmate. How many other fringe states would copy this strategy? I think the same scenario is brewing with Iran, especially in light of the 20 year Afghanistan affair. Iran wants the US out of there, and the entire region if possible. Could we see US troops packing their bags from Kabul in like fashion? Possibly, but much against the wishes of Israel I'm sure.

All of this has consequences for the US dollar - which I believe has been the core motivation for the past couple decades of "democracy" building around the world by US foreign policy (i.e. military, CIA, etc.). Anyone who has started talking about elimination of the dollar, hasn't fared very well. Go read the recent news on Venezuela. As Maduro keeps talking about dropping the US dollar, the US keeps talking about military intervention under the pretext of saving Venezuela. The US has almost $20 trillion in debt, and US dollar global hegemony is quite important to US politicians, and other US government entities. If countries stop using the USD for things like oil, gas, and other commodities, the US could lose control, and may have to deal with an unprecedented internal financial crisis and global power degradation. Imagine a world where the US can't apply sanctions that punish "misbehaving" countries, as the so called sanctions really wouldn't matter that much. This brings to mind the recent barter deal between Indonesia and Russia for MIG fighter jets. The US has sanctions on both countries for different reasons, but it didn't stop them from talking about another way of getting a deal done.

I'm not sure of the eventual impact the above scenarios would have on Indonesia, but would certainly affect (possibly in a positive way) large dollar based deals (e.g. aircraft, commodities, etc.). However, I don't think people in Indonesia would care for China rearranging sea lanes, and claiming small islands nearby as their territory - especially ones with a potential for oil and gas. There may be other long term impacts on Indonesia, but my crystal ball gets fuzzy at that point.

 

[Daniel50]

I think regarding NK I like what Putin had to say basically that the NK would rather 'eat grass' then give up its nuclear program and that there won't be a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula.

The US has been trying to get China to "help" with NK for years and it never really happens. Obviously punishing China economically is not that easy considering the large market and the number of US companies doing business there.

 

[Davita]

Trump calls Kim a 'rocket-man' and Kim calls Trump a 'dotard'....this is WAR!

 

[vocalneal]

If countries stop using the USD for things like oil, gas, and other commodities, the US could lose control,

I believe this is why Qaddafi is no longer around. He wanted to sell his oil in Euros!