Tunnel Wall: Jun 13, 2018

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Trump's video played for Kim elicits sneers from media but was a brilliant persuasive device

Thomas Lifson "Because everything President Trump does has to be bad in the eyes of the mainstream media, there was considerable elite media sneering yesterday over the video that the White House produced for President Trump to show to Kim Jong-un during their meeting in Singapore. If you haven't seen it yet, you watch it here.

"The man who, more than any other commentator, understood Trump's appeal, and who boldly predicted his win early on, is Scott Adams, the "Dilbert" cartoonist and expert on persuasion. He livestreamed his reaction yesterday to the video yesterday, commenting on it while playing audio. He was not restrained in his praise:

It might be the best thing anybody ever did in a negotiation, period[.] ... [I]t hits every note.

"You can watch this commentary as he starts and stops the video, explaining each segment after playing it. He does a thorough job, requiring 18 minutes of your time."

Something you can count on

From Jeff Dawald‎atExpose Liberals & Media Bias

During the Reagan Administration when the Soviets were being made to open their society, Mikhail Gorbachev was Time's Man of the Year. Someone remarked that if Hitler had been stood up to and made to back down at his first aggression, would he have been Time's choice then? TD

Here's the Video Trump Played For Kim Showing What North Korea's Future Could Look Like

Leah Barkoukis "As part of his effort to get dictator Kim Jong Un to agree to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, President Trump showed him a video that presented all the possibilities for North Korea’s future if sanctions come off.

"In addition to the benefits economic development and innovative technologies would bring to the Hermit Kingdom, Trump also emphasized what developing the country’s beaches could do for the nation.

“ 'They have great beaches! You see that whenever they're exploding the cannons into the ocean, right?” Trump said after playing the four-minute video for the press.

“ 'So I said, ‘Boy, look at that beach. Wouldn't that make a great condo behind’ – and I explained it,” the real estate mogul said.

“ 'I said, ‘Instead of doing that you could have the best hotels in the world right there.’ Think of it from a real estate perspective.” . . .

Radical plan to split California into three states earns spot on November ballot

LA Times

Tim Draper, seen here submitting signatures for his earlier, six-state split of California in 2014, has qualified a three-state plan for California voters to consider on this November's ballot.

"California’s 168-year run as a single entity, hugging the continent’s edge for hundreds of miles and sprawling east across mountains and desert, could come to an end next year — as a controversial plan to split the Golden State into three new jurisdictions qualified Tuesday for the Nov. 6 ballot.

"If a majority of voters who cast ballots agree, a long and contentious process would begin for three separate states to take the place of California, with one primarily centered around Los Angeles and the other two divvying up the counties to the north and south. Completion of the radical plan — far from certain, given its many hurdles at judicial, state and federal levels — would make history.

"It would be the first division of an existing U.S. state since the creation of West Virginia in 1863." . . .

Trump meets Kim and sets the stage for fundamental change in Asia -– Here's what his critics missed

Fox News Opinion "President Trump achieved a major diplomatic breakthrough Tuesday in his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dramatically improving America’s national security.

"Most fundamentally, Kim agreed at the summit in Singapore to give up his nation’s nuclear capabilities, the acquisition of which has been its foremost priority for decades. To get to this point, President Trump conceded very little.

"During the President Clinton-era negotiations with North Korea, the United States and our allies agreed to millions of dollars in food aid – easily converted to cash on the black market – and billions of dollars in so-called energy assistance that were a huge boon to Pyongyang. But the North kept its nuclear program.

"During the administration of President George W. Bush, U.S. negotiators offered cash payments to North Korea just to get the nation back to the negotiating table. We relieved pressure from tough financial sanctions and sent other assistance. That didn’t work any better than President Clinton’s approach.

"President Trump got to this point by ignoring all the establishment experts.

"This time, President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have insisted that North Korea undertake actual disarmament before real financial concessions or even sanctions relief. That, plus President Trump’s pressure campaign that involved working with allied militaries and governments around the world, proved to be decisive. This is proof that peace paradoxically comes from strength.

"So far, President Trump – in close coordination with our allies in Japan and South Korea – has agreed merely to suspend occasional military exercises. He also agreed to provide a security assurance to North Korea in exchange for its nukes – part of what Pompeo has described all along as convincing North Korea that giving up its nuclear arsenal will actually make it safer. " . . .