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By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 20 – Toasting the “potential” of the UN before beef tenderloin and chocolate mousse, U.S. President Donald Trump on September 19 shared the head table of the Heads of State luncheon at the UN General Assembly with this South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, three hours after calling North Korea's Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man... on a suicidal path.” On September 20, Sweden's prime minister took a swipe at Trump, in this UNSC stakeout comment: "These days, with the threatening conflict on the Korean peninsula, it is even more important that we reduce tensions. What we’ve agreed upon is to make sre that we put pressure on NK, sanctions, and at the same time keep the political solution. There is no military solution because that would be a disaster, not only for North Korea but for South Korea and Japan. Sweden is very clear on this. The spirit of the UN and the world community is not to threaten each other, but to find community…we must find common ways to handle things, and that’s the Swedish point of view." While many portrayed the reaction at the UN to Trump's speech as unadulterated horror, Japanese Prime Minister Abe's spokesman seven hours after it praised the speech. (This was not noted in the Washington Post's portrayal of all of Japan as "shocked.") Nigeria's on-again, off-again President Buhari in his post-Trump speech said, "Since the Cuban missile crisis, we have never come as close to the threat of nuclear war as we have now" and proposed a UN delegation to "engage the North Korean leaders." We'll have more on this. Trump's was not a conventional UN speech. Then again, some were left wondering, what *is* the “wild rocket and baby red romaine lettuce” listed on the UN's luncheon menu? (It's an Anglophone version of arugula, with which Trump's predecessor Barack Obama had some history.)

Here's how Tuesday's menu began: “Wild Rocket & Baby Red Romaine Lettuce, Roasted Chanterelle Mushrooms, Haricot Verts, Grilled Stone Fruit.” One Inner City Press reader joked Kim should have been called Rocket Boy. Or, following the menu, Wild Rocket, or Baby Red Rocket.

At UN, there's still bitter buzz about “Rocket Man” speech, less on the ““wild rocket and baby red romaine lettuce” on menu pic.twitter.com/0Cmp7BeRCB

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) September 19, 2017

Here's what Trump toasted: “As someone born in New York and raised in New York, it’s a great honor to have the United Nations in New York. It always has been. For years I’ve been a critic but I’m someone’s who’s said the United Nations has tremendous potential.There is no better forum... and certainly there can be no better location where everybody comes together…… but we can do better and we’re going to. The potential of the United Nations is unlimited, you’re going to do things that will be epic. I certainly hope you will. I feel very, very confident…toast to the potential, the great, great potential of the United Nations.” We'll see.

#UNGA lunch: PR Yelchelko pic.twitter.com/CBwmTqrH8a

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) September 19, 2017

In the crowd were not only heads of state, but also ambassadors like Ukraine's Volodymyr Yelchenko, and UN system officials like not only USg Jeffrey Feltman but also Lassino Zerbo of CTBTO and Virginia Gamba, soon to recommended including the Saudi-led coalition in the UN Children and Armed Conflict annex - or not. Watch this site.

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