Welcome to Singapore
I quite like the idea of the two leaders who most fit the words 'narcissistic' and 'psychopathic' meeting in Singapore.
If you've been there, you'll understand the irony of letting Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un loose in one of the most congested cities on earth, stopping traffic even in parts of Singapore they're not planning to visit.
And then having them meet on Sentosa island which houses a Merlion, a Universal Studio, a Madame Tussaud's and a place where you can swim with dolphins. In short: there's nothing on Sentosa these days that could in any way be described as 'authentic' Singapore. As long as you can ignore the fact that Sentosa was a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War 2, you can have a great time there.
Irony has no meaning any more. In fact, these two guys are doing satirists out of a job.
Trump has managed to fall out with all of the US's allies in the G7, abandoning alliances that have taken generations to build. And he has suggested that Russia be invited back in to the group, overlooking the fact that the reason Russia was kicked out in the first place was that Putin sanctioned the invasion of a foreign country, namely Ukraine. The Singapore summit is clearly Trump's bid for a lasting legacy. He will achieve something Obama (whom he clearly hates) never managed: peace in the Korean peninsula. He's not a detail man, Trump. He's more likely to describe what he wants in any agreement with Kim on the back of the proverbial fag packet. Unless he tears it up - apparently, he does that with most documents that cross his desk.
Then there's Kim Jong Un, grinning all over the UK press and posing for selfies all over the place, for all the world as if he and his late dad weren't really responsible for the deaths of thousands or maybe even hundreds of thousands of their own citizens. And we seem to be forgetting that Kim has manipulated his way into this summit because the economy of North Korea is in the toilet, and can't go on being propped up by China. Kim wants North Korea to be like the go-get-em economies of Asia: China, Taiwan, South Korea, India. But he needs inward investment to manage that. Where will that come from? How does it square with Trump's desire to bring jobs 'home' to the USA?
And one small detail. Does the USA have any idea what Kim's nuclear arsenal consists of? Will the world be a safer place if he gives up all? half? some? of North Korea's nuclear weapons? If I lived in South Korea, I'd be very afraid.
I've never wished for the death of anyone but it would be a blessing for us all if one of these two keeled over. Both of them look as if it wouldn't take much to push them into it...
If you've been there, you'll understand the irony of letting Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un loose in one of the most congested cities on earth, stopping traffic even in parts of Singapore they're not planning to visit.
And then having them meet on Sentosa island which houses a Merlion, a Universal Studio, a Madame Tussaud's and a place where you can swim with dolphins. In short: there's nothing on Sentosa these days that could in any way be described as 'authentic' Singapore. As long as you can ignore the fact that Sentosa was a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War 2, you can have a great time there.
Irony has no meaning any more. In fact, these two guys are doing satirists out of a job.
Trump has managed to fall out with all of the US's allies in the G7, abandoning alliances that have taken generations to build. And he has suggested that Russia be invited back in to the group, overlooking the fact that the reason Russia was kicked out in the first place was that Putin sanctioned the invasion of a foreign country, namely Ukraine. The Singapore summit is clearly Trump's bid for a lasting legacy. He will achieve something Obama (whom he clearly hates) never managed: peace in the Korean peninsula. He's not a detail man, Trump. He's more likely to describe what he wants in any agreement with Kim on the back of the proverbial fag packet. Unless he tears it up - apparently, he does that with most documents that cross his desk.
Then there's Kim Jong Un, grinning all over the UK press and posing for selfies all over the place, for all the world as if he and his late dad weren't really responsible for the deaths of thousands or maybe even hundreds of thousands of their own citizens. And we seem to be forgetting that Kim has manipulated his way into this summit because the economy of North Korea is in the toilet, and can't go on being propped up by China. Kim wants North Korea to be like the go-get-em economies of Asia: China, Taiwan, South Korea, India. But he needs inward investment to manage that. Where will that come from? How does it square with Trump's desire to bring jobs 'home' to the USA?
And one small detail. Does the USA have any idea what Kim's nuclear arsenal consists of? Will the world be a safer place if he gives up all? half? some? of North Korea's nuclear weapons? If I lived in South Korea, I'd be very afraid.
I've never wished for the death of anyone but it would be a blessing for us all if one of these two keeled over. Both of them look as if it wouldn't take much to push them into it...
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