Would be 'honored' to meet North Korea's Kim Jong-Un: Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump on Monday said he would not rule out meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, saying he would be "Jong-Un, saying he would be "honored to do it," despite weeks of tough talk against the regime.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him I would absolutely. I would be honored to do it," Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Tensions with North Korea have soared in recent weeks, amid Pyongyang`s series of provocative missile tests.

The Trump administration has repeatedly warned "all options are on the table" when it comes to dealing with North Korea`s missile and nuclear programs -- but it also stressed last week it is open to direct talks with Pyongyang.

"If it`s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that," Trump said.

Ben Stein unloads on the press: The media ‘should be laughing at themselves’

Journalists gathered in Washington, D.C., Saturday night for the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and they all had a good laugh at President Donald Trump’s expense.

But actor, comedian, and economist Ben Stein said Sunday that the media should be laughing at themselves — not the president, who decided to skip the gala and instead host a campaign-style rally in Pennsylvania.

“Without the media, he would still be back running casinos somewhere,” he told CNN’s Ana Cabrera. “He has played the media fantastically well. The media is not his enemy.

“He has cleverly made the media his main ally, and the media is laughing as if they think they’re somebody great and holy and neutral and above it all,” he continued. “They’re not above it all.”

In his intense broadside against the mainstream media, Stein called the press corps a “joke” and a “sharp instrument of the left” constantly “attacking” Trump. Stein made his remarks after Cabrera played a few clips of comedian Hasan Minhaj, who headlined the Correspondents’ Dinner, calling Trump the “liar in chief” and joking that Russian President Vladimir Putin was actually the U.S. president.

“I thought what Mr. Minhaj said was sickening,” said Stein, who later noted that he’s “not a huge fan” of Trump. “Frankly, I felt like vomiting, and I couldn’t watch it for very long.”

Cabrera, clearly perplexed by Stein’s disapproval, asked why Stein would have such a harsh opinion of journalists.

“I think it’s stunning to belittle and attack and mock a president at such a base and villainous level and to describe him as a Soviet agent and ‘liar-in-chief,’ especially to the media — the media is a joke in this situation,” Stein said, adding that it was the media who on the campaign trail “built him up.”

He went on to say Trump has been able to make the media “the bad guys out there in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and places he was never expected to win.”

“They should be laughing at themselves,” he told Cabrera, “not laughing at him.”

The CNN anchor defended the media, pointing to the fact that several past presidents have had contentious relationships with the press. Regardless, she said it is up to reporters “to hold government — elected officials — accountable.”

Stein didn’t seem to have a problem with holding the president accountable, but he did take issue with what he sees as a constant barrage against Trump’s administration.

“Every day’s newspaper has got more stories attacking him, attacking him, attacking him,” he said. “They just don’t give the guy a break.”

For his part, Trump was too busy making fun of reporters in front of a crowd of supporters to be bothered with what was happening at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Capitol Hill.

“You may know there’s another big gathering taking place in Washington, D.C. Did you hear about it?” the president asked Saturday night. “A large group of Hollywood actors and Washington media are consoling each other in a hotel ballroom in our nation’s capital right now.

“I could not possibly be more thrilled than to be more than 100 miles away from Washington’s swamp,” he continued. “Spending my evening with all of you and with a much, much larger crowd, and much better people, right?”

A familiar restaurant menu item has just been blasted for its ‘casual racism’

Bonnie Tsui — author of “American Chinatown: A People’s History of Five Neighborhoods” — penned a recent op-ed for  The New York Times that blasts the “casual racism” of a popular item that can be found on many restaurant menus.

The “Asian salad.”

“You might think this is progress — cultural inclusion on a menu,” Tsui writes. “And yet the Asian salad is often the one that comes with a winky, jokey name: Oriental Chop Chop. Mr. Mao’s. Secret Asian Man. Asian Emperor. China Island. Chicken Asian Chop Chop. Chinese-y Chicken.”

She goes on to note that the “persistence of these names — let’s at least call them ‘questionable’ — on the American restaurant menu underscores how non-Asian-Americans have been making up their own version of Asianness for a long time now.”

Tsui’s issue is with the terminology surrounding the dish:

So what’s my problem with Asian salad? It’s not the salad itself, though it’s not my favorite. It’s the words — which, I think, matter. In many ways, the broad, generic terminology used to refer to an entire continent is the heart of it. Applebee’s menu features an “Oriental chicken salad” with the following description: “fresh Asian greens tossed in a tasty Oriental vinaigrette.” The “Asian greens” and “Oriental vinaigrette” are so laughably vague as to have no meaning at all. When I asked Applebee’s for more specifics on what made its Asian greens Asian and its Oriental vinaigrette Oriental, a spokesman told me the company was unable to “provide a thorough response.” No kidding.

“When I see an Oriental Chop Chop or a Secret Asian Man, I feel … weary,” she adds. “Because the language of the Asian salad is revealing of the dangers of bland, disembodied generalization: When you fail to see countries and cultures as discrete entities, what kind of consideration could you be expected to give to individual people?”

In that vein, Tsui argues that the “casual racism of the Asian salad stems from the idea of the exotic — who is and isn’t American is caught up wholesale in its creation. This use of ‘Oriental’ and ‘Asian’ is rooted in the wide-ranging, ‘all look same’ stereotypes of Asian culture that most people don’t really perceive as being racist. It creates a kind of blind spot.”

Interestingly, “Asian” seems to have become an accepted, politically correct term over the years — in many ways displacing the word “Oriental.” The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed last year discussing that very issue, noting how then-President Obama signed a bill outlawing the use of “Oriental” in all federal documents.

But the author of the L.A. Times piece, Jayne Tsuchiyama — a “doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine” — not only uses the term “Asian” frequently in her op-ed, she questions the negative connotations associated with the term “Oriental.”

“Literally, it means of the Orient or of the East, as opposed to of the Occident or of the West. Last I checked, geographic origin is not a slur,” Tsuchiyama writes. “If it were, it would be wrong to label people from Mississippi as Southerners.”

While she acknowledged fellow Asian Americans’ discomfort with the term “Oriental” — noting one who said it “perpetuates inequality, disrespect, discrimination and stereotypes toward Asian Americans” — Tsuchiyama has a different take.

“I don’t see it that way; I see self-righteous, fragile egos eager to find offense where none is intended. A wave of anti-Oriental discrimination is not sweeping the country. Besides, the term has been steadily falling out of circulation since the 1950s, and it’s mainly used today by older Asians and the proprietors of hundreds if not thousands of restaurants, hotels, shops and organizations with Oriental in their name,” she wrote. “The well-intention meddlers will create trouble for exactly the population they want to defend.”

One might say that could answer a question Tsui posed in her NY Times op-ed: “Am I taking this too seriously?”

World needs to act against those who support, shelter and spread terrorism: PM Narendra Modi

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday reviewed the status of bilateral ties, including in key areas of security and trade, and discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern.

Ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the area of counter-terrorism and the regional security scenario were among key issues that were discussed during the meeting.

Addressing a joint press conference, PM Modi said, "We live in times where our societies face new threats and challenges every day. The context and contours of some of the exiting and emerging security challenges globally are our common concern. In particular, the constantly evolving threat from terrorism is our shared worry. I held an extensive conversion with the Turkish president on this subject. We agreed that no intent or goal or reason or rationale can validate terrorism."

PM also strongly pitched for the need to work as one to disrupt the terrorist networks and their financing and put a stop to cross-border movement of terrorists, in an obvious reference to Pakistan-based terror outfits.

"Nations of the world need to work as one to disrupt terrorist networks and their financing and put a stop cross-border movement of terrorists. They also need to stand and act against those who create, support, shelter and spread terrorism," he emphasised.

PM Modi further said, "Both of us recognize the need for the UNSC to reflect the world of the 21st century and not of the century gone by. People of India and Turkey have nurtured deep and historical links, ties of culture and language connect our societies since millennia."

"President and I are clear that strengths of our economies present an enormous opportunity to expand and deepen our commercial linkages. We need to approach the entire landscape of business opportunities in a strategic and long-term manner. 

On his part, Turkish President Erdogan said that his country will always be with India in its battle against terrorism.

"Terrorist will be drowned in the blood they shed," he said.

Turkish President arrived in India yesterday.

Today he was accorded ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Erdogan also visited the Raj Ghat to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi.

This is Erdogan's first foreign visit after winning a controversial referendum on April 16 that further consolidated his executive powers.

"Pink Floyd – The Wall" Behind The Scenes (21 Pics)

On the set of «Pink Floyd – The Wall» (1982)

Donald Trump's Twitter engagements tumble

 Ever since Donald Trump assumed office as the US President, there has been a significant decline in his number of tweets and other engagements on Twitter.

According to US-based digital metrics firm Huge that conducted a deep analysis of Trump's tweets in commemoration of his 100 days in office, it was found that the US President has been tweeting less frequently of late.

The number of likes, responses and retweets has dropped by 66 per cent over the last three months, Fortune reported on Sunday.

Trump's "likes" now make up 64 per cent of engagements, down from 77 per cent three months ago while his total number of likes per tweet has fallen a whopping 72 per cent.

Trump's tweets were categorised as "agitated, calm and prepared". The findings showed that 24 per cent of his tweets were "agitated" in April, down from 44 per cent in February.

"But that doesn't mean that Trump himself has calmed down all that much. After cross-indexing content to tweet time and location, it was found that most of the agitated tweets were posted on weekends and early mornings, while the calmer tweets were posted during the day on Monday through Friday," the findings noted.

What analysts deduce from the research is that there might be a "tug of war" between the Trump and staffers who try to moderate his communication strategy.

North Korea vows to step up nuclear programme

North Korea on Monday vowed to step up its nuclear weapons programme to a "maximum pace" in response to increasing pressure from the US.

"Now that the US is kicking up the overall racket for sanctions and pressure against North Korea, pursuant to its new North Korea policy called `maximum pressure and engagement`, Pyongyang will speed up at the maximum pace the measure for bolstering its nuclear deterrence," a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.

Published by state-run news agency KCNA, the statement also warned that these measures could happen "at any moment and any place decided by its supreme leadership", Efe news reported.

Pyongyang`s warning comes at a moment of heightened tensions in the region, amid fears that North Korea may be preparing to conduct a sixth nuclear test as it continues to test-launch missiles.

Meanwhile, Washington has not ruled out military strikes in response to the Kim Jong-un regime`s repeated threats, and has even dispatched a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the region.

The North Korean spokesperson accused President Donald Trump`s administration of escalating tensions and claimed that Pyongyang is well-prepared to respond to any military action by Washington.

The statement added that "the US aggression and hysteria has never reached such a height and the situation on the Korean peninsula has never inched close to the brink of nuclear war as in the period of the recent drills."

Since 2006, North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests, the last two taking place in January and September 2016, respectively.

Pyongyang maintains that its nuclear arms program is for the purposes of self-defence against the hostile stance of the US, accusing its military drills on the Korean peninsula of being a rehearsal to invade North Korea.