[Lady Bliss]

It’s very hard at our age to get a visa in other countries and unless we can buy property.

[Macros]

oh.

Naïve on my part I guess. We see so many people coming into jobs from all over the world here never really considered visa angles. I guess a lot of them have ancestral passport options too with the Irish being such a migrant nation and the British stamping their heels on most of the world.

But still with any kind of a job offer you don't need to buy property afaik

[HoosierDaddy]

My wife has already emigrated once in her life from China as a child. Her parents brought her here so that she could have a better life than they did (they were sent to the fields as part of Mao's glorious Cultural Revolution and suffered under the 1 child policy after that).

While I didn't experience how hard that process is, they do, and I think if they were to go anywhere again it'd be back to China unfortunately. That's even worse than here (for now).

Getting a visa and finding work that would make our lives easier than what they currently are is going to be difficult as well.

[Mentalist]

lol, now they're demanding a public, on-camera apology from Zelensky.

goddamn kindergarteners

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Mentalist, on 03 March 2025 - 10:57 PM, said:

lol, now they're demanding a public, on-camera apology from Zelensky.

goddamn kindergarteners

Wonder if Trump wanted to demand it be on his knees, slamming his forehead into the floor (like the Grace of Kings)....

So it's tariff apocalypse eve...

The market's been doing its solemn duty by tanking a little. We'll see to what extent Trump chickens out. (Lutnick already signaled the tariffs may be less than 25% and/or possibly limited to or excluding certain things.)

He's a bit like a toddler playing Russian roulette but with the gun aimed at his feet (and the world...).

China's finally prepared to retaliate with tariffs on US agricultural products. Punching the bully in the breadbasket. Wonder how that's going to affect my dried edamame---as I mentioned before the US is a net exporter of soybeans, primarily to China, so the price of soybeans will in the US almost certainly go down (as it did last time China retaliated with tariffs on soybeans, during Trump's first term), but my brand is a product of China (so would be subject to the tariffs, even though the price hasn't gone up since the 10% tariff was enacted), but also a US company, so who knows---I've stockpiled six months worth which seems like it might be enough time for them to change up their supply chains (or for Trump to chicken out). The price of almonds, pistachios, and walnuts should also go down, since the US is the world's biggest net exporter of those and a large percentage go to China (as well as Canada, Mexico, etc.).

Quote

'No room left' for a deal: Trump says Canada, Mexico tariffs take effect Tuesday

Trump gave no indication Monday that he plans to grant any [exceptions]. What manufacturers will have to do "is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they [will] have no tariffs," he said. [...]

"Reciprocal tariffs start on April 2," Trump said, joking that he didn't want to do it on April 1, because it's April Fool's Day.

He also tried to reassure American farmers, who are likely to be one of the first casualties of any retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico as well as China, that his forthcoming tariffs will ultimately help their bottom lines. In a post on Truth Social on Monday addressed to "the Great Farmers of the United States," the president wrote, "Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!," Trump wrote.

https://www.politico...ariffs-00207238

The US exports so much agricultural stuff that the domestic market can't make up for the effects of tariffs. Even if Trump bans Ozempic. And especially with Trump deporting people. Though prices going up will help to compensate. Difficult to imagine biofuels or more bullshit subsidies making up the difference with the "deficit hawks" in Congress already throwing fits about funding the tax cuts but perhaps death threats (or deaths) will silence them.

Then again maybe Trump just wants to be able to say he really did it and so wasn't bluffing about the tariffs, he's a very scary Big Boy now, so he can rescind them in a month or two because the other countries have done such-and-such (they were probably going to do anyway) and "learned their lesson".

[worry]

If you'll allow me to vent a little, USCIS just posted a bunch of new editions of forms that are now -- with no warning -- the only acceptable version of those forms with no grace period. They did backdate the labels at the bottom to 1-20-25 just to be extra gaslight-y about it though. This includes the I-485, which is the foundational form to become a permanent resident domestically, as well as several other forms for victims of specific severe (often violent) crimes, or of labor or sex trafficking, who have been helpful in investigating or prosecuting those crimes.

[Abyss]

ok, trade war it is.

[Mentalist]

let's slap tariffs on our neighbours, and China.

let's also think about how to lift sanctions off Muscovite Oligarchs.

HMMMM

[Cause]

Surely it would make sense to slap tariffs on Mexico or Canada. Surely simultaneous tariffs on Americas 3 largest trading partners is not a clever move?

Also is it crazy to imagine Canada and Mexico will partly offset the loss by trading with each other. Obviously neither is the size of Americas market but it can offset some of the loss

[Cause]

Surely it would make sense to slap tariffs on Mexico or Canada. Surely simultaneous tariffs on Americas 3 largest trading partners is not a clever move?

Also is it crazy to imagine Canada and Mexico will partly offset the loss by trading with each other. Obviously neither is the size of Americas market but it can offset some of the loss

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

The most prominent headline on Yahoo Finance: "Trump Pulls Trigger on Threatened Tariffs". Apropos. But the gun is also pointed at us...

Shouldn't be too difficult for Mexico and Canada to use boats to trade with each other by going around US territorial waters, unless Trump turns to piracy. (Or lets Russian pirates run wild, in exchange for a slight percentage to be paid in clandestine $Trumpcoin?)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 04 March 2025 - 10:14 AM

[Lady Bliss]

Say goodbye to maple syrup, modelo, and avocados.

[Macros]

Say hello Cheap Russian Vodka!

Drown your sorrows comrade!

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Macros, on 04 March 2025 - 11:17 AM, said:

Say hello Cheap Russian Vodka!

Drown your sorrows comrade!

Who needs the rest of the world when you've got Russian oil, rare earths, and vodka? Just sprinkle a little bit of caviar (and towers of $Trumpcoin) on top....

Plus the US could sell Russia military equipment. Including robots! China could give us ample competition, but they might be too worried about European sanctions to sell to Russia---plus they may be wary of helping the Russian military too much, given their proximity and history.

Trump could even threaten sanctions against companies that refuse to return to doing business with Russia.

But global warming would really have to hurry up for Russia to become more of a verdant paradise and destination for people fleeing climate change... but hey, Trump is on it---drill baby drill, burn burn burn, let the garbage fires churn!

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

So now Trump might normalize relations with Iran---Putin is going to facilitate talks.

Putin Agrees to Help Broker Talks Between Trump and Iran: Reports - Newsweek

Guess it should really only be a mild surprise---they're an evil dictatorship after all, based around a theocracy, so they're "the good guys" in Trump's new American worldview. Never mind that they're Muslim and they oppose Israel---at least so long as they can pay good Trumpcoin...

In principle Russia could drastically reduce their domestic agricultural production to get more human fodder for the front and import US agricultural products instead (to help feed the Russian army), but it's difficult to imagine that making up for the loss in US agricultural exports to other countries. Even if you toss in exports to Iran and North Korea (they may be hungry over there, but do they have enough money?... provided Trump doesn't help them pillage or extort South Korea).

Oh and here's an absolute shocker:

White House directs officials to draft proposal to lift US sanctions on Russia - The Guardian

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 04 March 2025 - 03:26 PM

[Maark Abbott]

We are gonna ban some protests, the worst protests, terrible, not good. The protests are the bad. We are gonna make sure that they do prison and deportation to the protests. Then we're gonna have some tariffs, terrific. The best tariffs. Lots of revenue and tariffs, but not for protestors, they're the worst and we have to deport their protests bigly.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Maark Abbott, on 04 March 2025 - 04:59 PM, said:

We are gonna ban some protests, the worst protests, terrible, not good. The protests are the bad. We are gonna make sure that they do prison and deportation to the protests. Then we're gonna have some tariffs, terrific. The best tariffs. Lots of revenue and tariffs, but not for protestors, they're the worst and we have to deport their protests bigly.

... and he says he's going to cut off federal funding to any universities that allow "illegal" protests, or refuse to "permanently expel" students who protest "illegally". He also wrote "NO MASKS!" though it's not clear what that means---any universities who allow masks at protests will lose all federal funding, maybe.

https://www.theguard...unding-protests

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 04 March 2025 - 05:19 PM

[Mentalist]

Wear wraparound shades and pop collars. Also, hats

[HoosierDaddy]

Hey, you guys 'member the 1st Amendment? I 'member the 1st Amendment. Wasn't it great?

[Mentalist]

All I'm gonna say is, it's easier to build barricades when there's lots of snow you can freeze into ice.