US Politics: Biden Hood - Prince of Plebs

[Wilbur]

3 hours ago, Gorn said:

I'm sorry, I simply cannot take seriously any actions of a real-world organization of adults who call themselves "cyber ninjas".

Cyber Ninja!  Seems about right:

 

[Prince of the North]

15 hours ago, Gorn said:

I'm sorry, I simply cannot take seriously any actions of a real-world organization of adults who call themselves "cyber ninjas".

 

14 hours ago, DanteGabriel said:

It does smack of the sort of name an out of touch pillock would think is a cool and intimidating security company name.

 

13 hours ago, Gorn said:

I mean, if someone proposed that name in the writing room of Cyberpunk 2077 or The Matrix, they'd be laughed out of the room.

Matrix sequels, on the other hand...

Completely agreed with all of the above!   ...aaaand...I've just discovered my new fantasy football team name

11 hours ago, Wilbur said:

Cyber Ninja!  Seems about right:

 

This just makes my new fantasy football team name that much cooler!

[DMC]

Well this isn't cool...

Biden fills immigration court with Trump hires

Quote

The first 17 hires to the court system responsible for determining whether migrants get to remain in the country is filled with former prosecutors and counselors for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as a few picks with little immigration experience. 

Almost none have made their career representing migrants in court.

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

28 minutes ago, DMC said:

Well this isn't cool...

Biden fills immigration court with Trump hires

 

It's strange that in all other areas Biden has seem to make good decisions, but he keeps fucking up his immigration choices. 

Also, I really hope the Magic have a great game tonight (don't you dare fucking lose to us). 

[Ran]

34 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

It's strange that in all other areas Biden has seem to make good decisions

Trade policy is a protectionist, "Buy American" mess. Not as bad as under Trump, but Biden's administration is still lamentably hawkish on trade.

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

14 minutes ago, Ran said:

Trade policy is a protectionist, "Buy American" mess. Not as bad as under Trump, but Biden's administration is still lamentably hawkish on trade.

 

That's a pretty standard message and approach though. There's nothing wrong with "buy American," and frankly there are a lot of communities and industries that need it. You just have to be honest in that you can't do it in every sector, i.e. the tech ship has sailed as far as manufacturing goes.

I can't say I've seen much criticism of Biden's trade policy approaches outside of those who wanted to complain about them the moment he put his hand on that massive Bible and took his oath. If you've seen otherwise I'm open to reading about them, especially since trade policy is an area in which I don't have a ton of strong opinions,

[Ran]

3 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

. If you've seen otherwise I'm open to reading about them, especially since trade policy is an area in which I don't have a ton of strong opinions,

Dan Drezner has been writing about it for awhile, such as here. The WSJ has had a few reports (not editorial) on it. Forbes had a recent piece pointing out the policies that Biden so far has retained from Trump were losers for both consumers and manufacturers. 

[DMC]

The rhetoric - i.e. Buy American - being continued is clearly a political calculation.  I'm not sure I have much of a problem with that.  On policy Biden has been reticent to break away from some of Trump's postures, but I'm not ready to call it protectionist.  The other aspect to consider there is trade, obviously, is (at least) a two-way street - and a lot of countries are not ready to just snap back to the pre-Trump status quo.  I think Biden's failures on immigration are much more glaring, thus far.

[Fragile Bird]

Well, maybe it’s been too unimportant for you guys to notice, but there’s an issue that is reaching boiling point between Canada and the US, coming to a head this month as it goes to court.

Thers’s a long-standing international agreement pursuant to which oil is transported through a pipeline that crosses upper Michigan and goes under the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, south to the Ontario border at Sarnia.

Governor Whitmer in her election campaign swore to shut the pipeline down. The current underwater pipeline is being replaced with a double concrete tunnel for the pipeline. Whitmer says the pipeline is a ticking time-bomb. The pipeline had never leaked in it’s 65 year history. The pipeline carries 50% of the oil used to provide fuel for Ontario and Quebec, not to mention the propane used in Michigan (Michigan is the biggest user of propane in the US). Ontario and Quebec represent 26 M of Canada’s 38 M population, and Whitmer has basically said, fuck you, you can pay double or triple for your oil while you build a new pipeline north of Lake Superior. Whitmer gave notice last fall that she was cancelling the easement under which the pipeline operates.

The pipeline owner, Enbridge, took the state to federal court, and the court ordered both sides to resolve their issue through mediation. Michigan had made an application to move the matter from federal to state courts. Every Democratic state in the US has filed briefs in support of Michigan. Biden has remained mum.

Nobody wants a trade war between our countries but if Whitmer prevents 2/3 of the population of Canada to have regular fuel supplies, shit will hit the fan.

[A True Kaniggit]

8 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Well, maybe it’s been too unimportant for you guys to notice, but there’s an issue that is reaching boiling point between Canada and the US, coming to a head this month as it goes to court.

First I've heard about it.

Sadly, I'm not omnipotent.

Luckily, I got you guys to keep me informed !

[DireWolfSpirit]

I hope the feds assessment is right, but I fear it's overly optimistic. This inflation feels real. Adding to my fears I think I heard on the radio 20% of all U.S. dollars were printed in 2020 alone.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/09/investing/stocks-week-ahead/index.html

1 hour ago, Fragile Bird said:

Well, maybe it’s been too unimportant for you guys to notice, but there’s an issue that is reaching boiling point between Canada and the US, coming to a head this month as it goes to court.

I've been following it for a few years, I think most Michiganders are aware of a dispute, even if were slightly vague on the specifics.

Let's hope it gets resolved in the least distresful manner without endangering the Great Lakes with pollution. I don't want Canadians to suffer economically, but on the other hand, I have zero trust in the oil companies to not pollute our waters.

[Larry of the Lawn]

1 hour ago, Fragile Bird said:

Well, maybe it’s been too unimportant for you guys to notice, but there’s an issue that is reaching boiling point between Canada and the US, coming to a head this month as it goes to court.

Thers’s a long-standing international agreement pursuant to which oil is transported through a pipeline that crosses upper Michigan and goes under the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, south to the Ontario border at Sarnia.

Governor Whitmer in her election campaign swore to shut the pipeline down. The current underwater pipeline is being replaced with a double concrete tunnel for the pipeline. Whitmer says the pipeline is a ticking time-bomb. The pipeline had never leaked in it’s 65 year history. The pipeline carries 50% of the oil used to provide fuel for Ontario and Quebec, not to mention the propane used in Michigan (Michigan is the biggest user of propane in the US). Ontario and Quebec represent 26 M of Canada’s 38 M population, and Whitmer has basically said, fuck you, you can pay double or triple for your oil while you build a new pipeline north of Lake Superior. Whitmer gave notice last fall that she was cancelling the easement under which the pipeline operates.

The pipeline owner, Enbridge, took the state to federal court, and the court ordered both sides to resolve their issue through mediation. Michigan had made an application to move the matter from federal to state courts. Every Democratic state in the US has filed briefs in support of Michigan. Biden has remained mum.

Nobody wants a trade war between our countries but if Whitmer prevents 2/3 of the population of Canada to have regular fuel supplies, shit will hit the fan.

The Great Lakes are 1/5 of the world's freshwater.  The Line 5 pipeline has been dented by anchor strikes multiple times over the last few years, and oil companies don't necesarilly classify a pipeline leak as a leak until it's leaking significantly.  Enbridge has had years to do something about this and plan for the lifespan of an underwater steel pipe.  This isn't just about sticking Canada with fuel costs, there are legitimate enivronmental issues and just because it hasn't leaked yet doesn't mean that it wont in the future or that it's due to be improved or replaced.  If we wait for everything to become a disaster before we fix it we might as well just say fuck it and not even try to fix the planet or turn global warming around.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

3 hours ago, Ran said:

Dan Drezner has been writing about it for awhile, such as here. The WSJ has had a few reports (not editorial) on it. Forbes had a recent piece pointing out the policies that Biden so far has retained from Trump were losers for both consumers and manufacturers. 

I think the Forbes article is a bit misleading in that it is very selective in what is being discussed, but the WaPo piece does raise some points of concern that I need to read more about. 

That said, my takeaway from both articles is that there are winners and losers to such trade policies and that we have to be honest about them. "Buy American" doesn't necessarily translate to a better U.S. economy, but continuing to buy in large amounts from developing countries doesn't really seem to help the average worker outside of some higher end tech stuff being cheaper to buy. There needs to be some balance and parity between the countries doing business.

I do think it's odd though, and perhaps I'm speaking too specifically through the lens of an American, but it does feel like we're overly judged for the phrase "Buy American"  when the same thing would be the norm in most other countries. I don't think I'd win many allies if I showed up in Paris and argued they shouldn't buy stuff primarily made in France, all things considered. 

[Fragile Bird]

26 minutes ago, larrytheimp said:

The Great Lakes are 1/5 of the world's freshwater.  The Line 5 pipeline has been dented by anchor strikes multiple times over the last few years, and oil companies don't necesarilly classify a pipeline leak as a leak until it's leaking significantly.  Enbridge has had years to do something about this and plan for the lifespan of an underwater steel pipe.  This isn't just about sticking Canada with fuel costs, there are legitimate enivronmental issues and just because it hasn't leaked yet doesn't mean that it wont in the future or that it's due to be improved or replaced.  If we wait for everything to become a disaster before we fix it we might as well just say fuck it and not even try to fix the planet or turn global warming around.

Right, a concrete tunnel is going to be built which Whitmer won’t allow. Instead, 26 M people need to have their economy crippled. Or thousands of tanker trucks need to replace the oil pipeline. That will be environmentally better, right? Maybe a train can explode and kill a few hundred people instead of just 50 like the train that exploded in Lac Megantic a few years ago. “The pipeline is going to pollute the Great Lakes” is a bullshit scare tactic after 65 years. 
Hell, why don’t we just shutdown all the oil going to Michigan period. That’ll protect the state. See how that goes over.

[Fury Resurrected]

2 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

Well, maybe it’s been too unimportant for you guys to notice, but there’s an issue that is reaching boiling point between Canada and the US, coming to a head this month as it goes to court.

Thers’s a long-standing international agreement pursuant to which oil is transported through a pipeline that crosses upper Michigan and goes under the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, south to the Ontario border at Sarnia.

Governor Whitmer in her election campaign swore to shut the pipeline down. The current underwater pipeline is being replaced with a double concrete tunnel for the pipeline. Whitmer says the pipeline is a ticking time-bomb. The pipeline had never leaked in it’s 65 year history. The pipeline carries 50% of the oil used to provide fuel for Ontario and Quebec, not to mention the propane used in Michigan (Michigan is the biggest user of propane in the US). Ontario and Quebec represent 26 M of Canada’s 38 M population, and Whitmer has basically said, fuck you, you can pay double or triple for your oil while you build a new pipeline north of Lake Superior. Whitmer gave notice last fall that she was cancelling the easement under which the pipeline operates.

The pipeline owner, Enbridge, took the state to federal court, and the court ordered both sides to resolve their issue through mediation. Michigan had made an application to move the matter from federal to state courts. Every Democratic state in the US has filed briefs in support of Michigan. Biden has remained mum.

Nobody wants a trade war between our countries but if Whitmer prevents 2/3 of the population of Canada to have regular fuel supplies, shit will hit the fan.

Saying the pipe has never leaked is pretty unverifiable. Pipeline leaks are detected by pressure, and a pipeline can have a slow leak the entire time and never be detected. The amount before it becomes detectable is a big flaw in the design of these pipelines. And- unless it shows up on the surface, these need to be reported by Enbridge themselves- who are a pretty big evil company.

[Fragile Bird]

Just now, Fury Resurrected said:

Saying the pipe has never leaked is pretty unverifiable. Pipeline leaks are detected by pressure, and a pipeline can have a slow leak the entire time and never be detected. The amount before it becomes detectable is a big flaw in the design of these pipelines. And- unless it shows up on the surface, these need to be reported by Enbridge themselves- who are a pretty big evil company.

Ok, let’s shut off 50% of all fuel being delivered to Minnesota. See how you deal with that.

Or how about just make the the area of the strait where the pipeline runs a no-stopping zone for ships, so anchors don’t accidentally hit it.

Or, why don’t we stop oil shipments to the US? That’s 20% of your oil supply. Let’s see if that hurts. Whitmer can go fuck herself, and you know what? I’m a big fan of Whitmer. But when she tells 26 M people to go fuck themselves, like I said, she can fuck off.

[Fury Resurrected]

11 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Ok, let’s shut off 50% of all fuel being delivered to Minnesota. See how you deal with that.

Or how about just make the the area of the strait where the pipeline runs a no-stopping zone for ships, so anchors don’t accidentally hit it.

Or, why don’t we stop oil shipments to the US? That’s 20% of your oil supply. Let’s see if that hurts. Whitmer can go fuck herself, and you know what? I’m a big fan of Whitmer. But when she tells 26 M people to go fuck themselves, like I said, she can fuck off.

Yeah that actually has nothing to do with whether or not pipelines leak, though. I can see why you *want* the pipeline, and I was not arguing with you about that. I was pointing out that we do not know that the pipeline doesn’t leak. We know that according to Enbridge (the company currently trying to force another pipeline through my home reservation against the will of the tribe, who has been entirely a bad actor through that process), it doesn’t leak enough for them to have to tell us about it.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

16 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Ok, let’s shut off 50% of all fuel being delivered to Minnesota. See how you deal with that.

Or how about just make the the area of the strait where the pipeline runs a no-stopping zone for ships, so anchors don’t accidentally hit it.

Or, why don’t we stop oil shipments to the US? That’s 20% of your oil supply. Let’s see if that hurts. Whitmer can go fuck herself, and you know what? I’m a big fan of Whitmer. But when she tells 26 M people to go fuck themselves, like I said, she can fuck off.

Operation Blame Canada could have some problematic side effects. I'd threaten you with sticking our straw into your Milkshake, but that much syrup is just too rich to drink. 

But seriously, why are we risking running anything through portions of the Great Lakes? We should always avoid material extraction, transportation and processing that could hurt the land unless we absolutely have to do it. This pipeline doesn't seem worth it given the potential costs and how it further weds us to the old way of energy production. 

[Ran]

58 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

I don't think I'd win many allies if I showed up in Paris and argued they shouldn't buy stuff primarily made in France, all things considered. 

I mean, EU single market, you'd be preaching to the choir outside of the protected status products.

There was a brief surge of focusing on consuming French agriculture due to the impact border closures during the pandemic had on moving foodstuffs across borders (we had the same suggestions in Sweden) but for the most part the EU is a strong proponent of free international trade. Stronger than the US, anyways.

[Wilbur]

2 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

I hope the feds assessment is right, but I fear it's overly optimistic. This inflation feels real. Adding to my fears I think I heard on the radio 20% of all U.S. dollars were printed in 2020 alone.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/09/investing/stocks-week-ahead/index.html

It is difficult to see anything other than an inflationary period in our near to mid-term future.