Commenter Thread

Greenlanders are genetically East-Asian too (essentially Mongols in kayaks)

Well, if you want to get technical about it, all Native Americans (First Nations) are genetically East Asians, too.

Hmmm, wonder where they'll decide to put the reservations this time. (Well, except for those like Miller, who will go for a "final solution")

That timing of the snatch happening just after meeting with the Chinese has been taken by some as a warning to China, and it is difficult to imagine that the US didn’t know Maduro’s schedule, however, I would have expected Trump to crow about it in some way, so maybe it was dumb luck?

I would expect that, if the timing was dumb luck, Trump would be crowing like it was his brilliant planning. Neither do I think it likely it was a warning -- that would be a level of subtlety the current administration seems incapable of.

I think a more likely possibility is that it was carefully timed out of (absolutely never under any circumstances to be admitted!) fear of the possible Chinese reaction. Trump might (probably did) warn his buddy Putin, so Russians would be moved out of harms' way. But, not having that kind of BFF relationship with Xi, what was left was careful timing.