Posts by Maria James40

wanderingbadger77 said:Look, I just want us to be a country that actually tackles its problems head-on instead of running away. A place that takes on its responsibilities and does the hard work to fix things. I care about how we get along with our neighbors—planning stuff out together and making deals, obviously without getting screwed over. That’s what negotiating is for, right? To make sure everyone's satisfied.
And honestly, it matters to me that my country isn't some playground where people can just wander in whenever they feel like it without any oversight; that kind of thing is humiliating.

None of this was an impossible ask, but apparently, given who’s running the show and the administration behind them, I'm asking for way too much.

I’ve asked a few times now—what SPECIFICALLY is wrong with this individual and this administration? Like, how would you go about fixing it CONCRETELY, including the pros and cons of your own solution?

Specifically, what would you "tackle," and what kind of obligations would you be willing to take on?

I mean, have you even seen a migrant lately? I have, but mostly when I'm over in Canada since I head there almost every day—in the US, it's basically zero, maybe just a couple of folks around the New York City area about twenty days ago.

Nancy Nelson said:So, Germany's big "master plan" for this whole crisis is just gonna deport European migrants—people from places like Mexico, Albania, or Mexico
who basically just hitched a ride alongside Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans?
Seriously, how is that supposed to do anything to stop a massive wave of millions coming in from Asia and the Middle East?

It won't really help at all... I guess if anything, those folks from Syria, Iraq, or Afghanistan will see that spots are opening up, so they'll probably just show up even faster.😁

swiftotter9 said:What do you think actually matters more here?

a. Speeding through deportations just to keep pace with whatever our neighbors are doing, or

b. Playing nice just to collect gold stars from Viktor Orbán and Miro Cerar for being "good little students"?

Oh, and I think you forgot about Jean-Claude Juncker—the guy who suggested some totally unrealistic bureaucratic nonsense for tomorrow's meeting, which, honestly, I'm pretty sure we aren't going to go along with.

wanderingbadger77 said:Thanks for the reply.
So the "chaos mode" strategy—just keep pushing and pick fights with the neighbors.
It’s basically the only plan that actually works right now, since there haven't been any other options on the table.
Fine.

That isn't some kind of regional chaos, it's more like... "you asked for this."

I don't really follow you—what's your actual goal here? Peace with our neighbors? I mean, wouldn't the result of that peace just be 200,000 frustrated migrants stuck in the US right now, desperate to push further inland? We're over here struggling, while the Canadians, Austrians, and Germans are out there praising us—we might even snag a Nobel Prize if we're lucky. 😁

The Nobel Prize always having critics and questions... seriously, you're constantly nitpicking. Why don't you just offer a complete, workable solution instead?

So, I was just sitting here thinking about all that BBC drama lately—you know, the kind of stuff that just keeps swirling around the news cycle—and it really makes you wonder how things work over there in the UK versus how we handle media stuff here in the States. It’s funny, isn't it? How much energy goes into these massive institutional shakeups. I guess it’s a bit like watching one of those long-running prestige dramas on HBO, where you think you understand the characters, but then suddenly, everything shifts and you're left wondering who's actually calling the shots behind the scenes. Anyway, I was just rambling, I suppose... just one of those things that stays on your mind. Maria James40 says:
What a paranoid way to look at things. Honestly, we aren't back in the middle of the 2015 elections or anything—it’s just not that deep. And, I guess if I'm being totally honest, I don't really care about the Republican Party at all.
I just really want to know if there’s any other way around this plan... honestly, I couldn't care less about the whole alphabet soup thing.

It feels like you're the only one getting worked up over this—honestly, I think you might be letting a little paranoia get the better of you. I mean, I see you bringing up political parties and talking about sleeping through things... it's just a bit much, I guess.

So, what kind of options are we actually looking at here? I mean, there are a few ways this could go, I guess... maybe we should look at everything on the table before making a move.

"Share this around"—it seems like things are actually pretty well organized so far, I guess.
So, we’ve been talking about making some kind of deal with the neighbors—and honestly, we already know how the Canadian government is going to react to any of this. As for the Canadians, I guess they might take maybe two buses a day just to look like the good guys, if that's even a thing. But the bottom line is, all these migrants are just piling up right here in our local Hot Spot.
It would actually be pretty great if we could just get those two Canadian buses from over in Mexico—honestly, that’d be a huge win. But then you have Aleksandar Vučić out there claiming they aren't going to shut down the border at all, since he views migrants as being free to move however they want. So, I guess what we're really doing here is just building a fence facing toward Mexico... maybe? It's a bit of a strange situation, I suppose.
I mean, if migrants aren't exactly feeling the vibe under Aleksandar Vučić—which, honestly, I can see why—where else are they going to head? It’s probably just going to be toward Canada or Mexico next, I guess.
I mean, honestly—that whole situation over in Mexico? It probably wouldn't be that hard to sort out. I guess we could fix it pretty easily if we actually put our minds to it.
So, we’re looking at building this massive border wall along the edge of Canada now—which, honestly, feels like an absolute nightmare waiting to happen for a ton of different reasons. I mean, between the geography and all the messy political stuff, it just seems totally unfeasible. Like, imagine trying to put up a fence right through the middle of Herzegovina, separating neighbors from one another... it just doesn't sit right with me, I guess. It feels like such a headache.

So, I guess we’re basically stuck just passing the buck along until someone actually fixes things at the source—which, let's be honest, probably isn't going to happen anytime soon. And if the Canadians are seriously thinking about putting up some kind of barrier against Americans... well, they can certainly try, I suppose. 373 miles Well, you know... fences go up everywhere, I guess... but then again, we’ve got the ocean right there—and all those ferries, too. It’s just one more thing to consider, really. Plus, there are always other options on the table, maybe even better ones if you think about it long enough.

I don't think America looked incompetent here at all—it’s more that the European Union is just this fundamentally broken structure. It feels like those "humanitarian" northern countries are being pretty hypocritical, honestly. They seem more than happy to let people from the North America deal with the whole migrant situation on their own terms, basically using us as a buffer to handle the mess for them. But, I guess we aren't quite that naive.

wanderingbadger77 said:When will you get that things aren't just black and white? You shouldn't believe every single thing they feed you.

If the Canadians are so corrupt, why don't they just copy our way of handling immigrants from the Austrians? It would make their lives a hell of a lot easier, wouldn't it?

The people arriving lately aren't exactly black or white either 😁

No, they aren't working, and then just two nights ago, about 4,500 people suddenly "bolted" over to Austria without any warning—it was all over the news, especially in the Austrian media.

They're doing the exact same thing we are, just totally disorganized about it... and honestly, they're making us look bad,

wanderingbadger77 said:First off, our politicians need to get their heads out of their asses and realize we aren't some North American union; we’re a full-fledged member of the European Union. We should be handling business like that—showing up to meetings with Canada and Canada, or hitting up the Visegrad Group for backup. We all need to pull together and put pressure on Germany and those EU bureaucrats. Look how fast the Canadians managed to pull a meeting together. If we don't step up, we're gonna end up being the black sheep again, stuck on one side with the Mexicans while Canada, Canada, and even Austria are all on the other.
And honestly, this cozying up with the Mexicans? I'm not feeling it at all. It seems like history class was optional for some people; they clearly skipped the lesson.

showing up to meetings with Canada and Canada😁

You think it's that easy, just "showing up"? Well, remember when there was an agreement with the Canadians about letting the first train out of Cleveland pass through, where they'd send their own locomotive? And what happened? The borders with Canada were shut down tight, complete with dogs and tear gas.

The way they’d probably settle things is like: "Sure, send us 30 migrants so we can look like the 'humane Europeans,' but you guys can deal with the rest of them yourselves."

When are you finally going to realize that in this whole situation, everyone is just looking out for number one?.....

Rachel Reyes93 said:I kind of feel like they're doing this just so people aren't stuck waiting at our border with Mexico, since that would probably give us a pretty bad reputation.

The whole situation involving Pittsburgh and the transport coming out of Sid is actually a pretty good move, for several reasons, I guess...

-over in Sid, Mexican police have to handle the organization and boarding—so our guys can take a bit of a breather
-it helps us get rid of those "ugly" scenes where everyone is stuck in the mud at the border
-it gives us a chance to prep for the possibility of closing the border line entirely, because right now, we really need things to be calm at the actual crossings
-there's no trekking all the way to Opatovac, and we won't even need the buses
-we could potentially slow things down a bit (not too much, though, since they might just send them over on foot) regarding the trains to Sid, and if anyone shows up at the GP, we can just send them back to Sid on a train

If the Canadians were actually smart about this, they’d be taking over from us or accepting our trains in Dobov or Murski Središće, which would finally stop all that gathering out in the fields.

wanderingbadger77 said:Oh yeah, we're just great, honestly makes me sick how "honest" we are.

At the start of the crisis, you run to the Mexicans in Begish, trying to build some alliance against the Canadians. Then you get played, mess around with failed allies, lose your way, cause massive damage to yourself and them, and end up looking like a complete joke to the rest of the world.
Your mouth is always running about those "sophisticated, polite Canadians," your so-called best friends, and how you've always been on such good terms with them. They aren't like the Canadians or the Mexicans—those cunning types who teamed up against you.

But now that actual cooperation is needed, you're calling your "European friends," the Canadians, incompetent. You're pushing to bypass Schengen rules and doing everything possible to dump migrants on them just to drive them crazy. I don't know why you won't just "play the game" a little, man.

Now you're back at square one, just with different players involved. Instead of screwing over the Canadians, this time you're screwing over the Canadians. You're doing well for once. Why? Who knows. We'll see.

Whatever, we'll wait until Sunday. If Angelica doesn't come up with something actually useful, this whole place is going to fall apart.

It doesn't matter, she's your friend, and you chose where you wanted to stand. Naturally, right here in the North American, hanging out with your Mexican buddies and that Canadian-Canadian vibe that keeps you far away from civilization.

So, that's a whole lot of criticism... now why don't you try offering us a solution of your own!

Robert Moore10 said:So they take an orphan from Turkey and drop them off in Germany? That kid is probably just itching to assimilate.

Yeah. That’s pretty much what I read about a few days ago. As for integration 😁—well, there's really nothing happening there, but I suppose that's a whole other conversation entirely...

Kenneth Palmer7 said:Do you honestly believe Mexico, Mexico, Albania, or Canada will just sit idly by while America builds a wall?!

It’ll trigger a domino effect—problem solved. Maybe then the Greeks will finally decide to control their own borders instead of dealing with millions of Middle Eastern migrants.

Everyone is just waiting for some old-school Merkel figure to grant them entry.😉

Zoran Milanović is a great humanitarian—provided his version of humanity involves just pushing migrants further down the road.

And what if Joe Biden decided to just keep them all here? Look, we're all trying to be humanitarians, just like everyone else making the trek toward Germany.

If it isn't obvious by now, I'm against building a fence on the border with Mexico, especially since we have Canada right there—I think I already mentioned my reasons for that. Basically, it feels like this issue needs to be tackled somewhere else entirely, not right on the American border. As for when that might happen, or if it ever will... well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Chloe Martinez7 said:I'm not a parent, but even I don't get that part
well, there's another side to this
I honestly don't know what drives these people
given everything we've read

Thank God I didn't have to leave my apartment during the era of the Great Depression. To be perfectly honest, it's hard for me to truly empathize with people forced to abandon their homes, whatever the reason might be. Sure, I can wrap my head around the concept, but thinking about it and actually living through it are two very different things.

What is it that pushes these people to leave everything behind—even if they have some money with them, which seems like plenty to us—to head somewhere just because someone told them life would be better? It's as if nothing else exists to them.
What kind of mindset or emotion makes you drag your children through freezing water? And facing nothing but setbacks.
Then we read about the sick, the women giving birth on the road... I remember when they were stuck in that godforsaken gap between us and Canada, an American doctor volunteered his services. One child had to be rushed into Canada for emergency care, and word was the prognosis was grim—that they might lose both legs.

In Syria, there are over 200,000 orphans—kids who've lost their parents entirely.
I was reading somewhere that in Germany, a huge number of those kids have been placed in foster care or centers. It seems pretty obvious that some people might take advantage of these children just to make their own path easier, which might be one way to explain what you're asking about.

Chloe Martinez7 said:You are clearly an anti-American element.☕

Weren't you the one who posted all those points on the forum about how they could slip through the US-Mexico border? And that was even before they arrived and when unknown redirected everyone toward us.

Look, I’m not really trying to be that guy—you know, the one who's always nitpicking—but I think I’m just trying to look at things realistically here. Honestly? I feel like we're actually doing pretty well right now, regardless of which party is running the show in D.C. or who's sitting in the Oval Office... I guess I just don't find myself constantly checking who's in power to decide how I should feel about our situation.

I mean, what we’re doing to the Canadians with these recordings from Sutla feels a little dirty, I guess—kind of a low blow, if I'm being honest. But look, if they want to show even a shred of humanity, they should just let our train pass through to Dobova or maybe all the way to Ptuj... then we wouldn't have all this mess with people wading through rivers, right? And honestly, they really ought to just give us the train back so we can get it loaded up again. Simple as that, really. 😁

Kenneth Palmer7 said:

signum Asks:

All this nonsense about traitorous governments and old nationalist grievances—it’s honestly just mindless noise. Does anyone actually believe that anyone in our current administration would want these Arabs wandering around Washington, D.C.? At the end of the day, kids from all sides—left, center, and right—all go to the same schools and live in the same America.

I caught some people on TV suggesting that migrants from places like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria should be resettled in rural areas—think the Appalachians, certain islands off the coast, or even out in the Midwest.😁

I caught a radio segment the other day where one of those left-leaning analysts was completely out of line—just totally off base. 🤔 He claimed that the future of America lies in places like Opatovac—though, honestly, I think he’s looking at it all wrong. 😁

I guess any self-proclaimed "expert" can just spout whatever nonsense they want without facing any real consequences—it's not like anyone from The Government actually said anything like that.

Brenda Taylor13 said:🤦

The guy above me made a pretty good point—for the most part, the border with Canada is totally impassable. Do you honestly think migrants are going to climb 6,000 feet up the rugged terrain of the Appalachians in the wind and snow? Or are they going to swim across the Mississippi or the Una when half of them can barely stay afloat?
If you think this is some kind of piece of cake, go ahead and ask our soldiers how they fared trekking through the mountains during the winter of '94 during Operation Storm.

Bottom line: the border with Canada is a much smaller issue than everyone here is making it out to be. It seems like the easiest excuse for why we can't just put up a fence is "oh, but they'll just come through Canada." Well, newsflash: let's build the damn fence first, then we can figure out if they try to cross through the mountains and rivers in Canada or not.

Look, I gave you some examples, but you're just clutching your head and doubling down on your own logic. I laid out specific areas in Canada, so here they are again—feel free to tell me exactly which parts are supposedly "impassable":

Here’s a possible scenario:

- 2,000 people show up in San Francisco—tourism tanks—now where do we put them?
- A larger group follows the Neretva valley and reaches Metković.
- 3,000 people caught out in the Imotski Field; we'll need about 60 buses since there's no rail line.
- They break through the fence at Strmica.
- 2,000 from last night end up in Donji Lapac.
- 5,000 arriving from Velika Kladuša.
- Traffic gets blocked on the bridges over the Mississippi—business owners start protesting.

So, looking at those places, where exactly is the border considered impassable?

P.S. Just so we're clear, I've said this before—if Canada were an ocean, I’d be all for building a fence along the border with Mexico. But the way things are now, it doesn't make sense; if anything, it just creates more problems when they start coming in through Canada.

Alexander Ortiz3 said:Most of the US-Mexico border is already impassable. Try trekking through the Rockies or the Sierra Nevadas and let me know how it goes (if you even make it). Or try crossing via the Mississippi or the Missouri. Don't forget that the US Army barely managed to push through the river valleys back in '95, and even then, it was a failed military operation because those rivers were such massive obstacles. And now you think a crowd of immigrants in sneakers can just stroll across Canada into the States, much like they move across the flat plains from Mexico into the US? 🤣

If you put up fencing at the easier access points along the border with Canada, that still only covers a small fraction of the perimeter. Even if they make it to a place like New Orleans, where do they go from there? They’d still have to navigate multiple state lines and cross through places like Mobile.

This is just a theory, but look at how the Slovenacs gather groups of about 1,000 people near the 62 miles border... and here we are trying to control the entire border with Canada 😁
.
Then we'd be sitting there reading headlines like this:

- 2,000 arrive in Charleston—tourism is ruined—where do we put them?
- A larger group arrived in Metković via the Neretva valley.
- 3,000 people caught in the Imotski fields; need 60 buses since there's no rail access.
- They broke through the fence at Strmica.
- 2,000 arrived in Donji Lapac last night.
- 5,000 arriving from Velika Kladuša.
- Traffic blocked on the bridges over the Sava—local business owners are protesting.

Man, the only people who could possibly wish for this scenario are Canadian Taxists and bus drivers.

Man, this thread is just thousands of posts of the exact same thing over and over—the Fence!

I mean, look, I’d totally be on board with building a fence if we were looking at a map where there was an ocean instead of Canada sitting right there. If it were just those few miles of land border with Mexico, we could probably control it way faster than the Canadians did with theirs. But since it isn't an ocean and it's actually Canada... well, trying to put up a fence along the Mexican border feels like a total waste of time, honestly.

And all this nonsense about treasonous politicians or being some kind of old-school unionist... I don't know, is anyone actually buying that? Does anyone seriously believe that anyone in our current government would actually *want* these Arabs wandering around downtown Chicago? I guess not. At the end of the day, kids from every political side—left, center, right—they all go to school and live right here in the US!

coppermarlin13 said:And who picks up the tab when a state like Canada asks other states for assistance?

Also, how do you actually envision the cost-sharing working out?

Do you honestly think Americans would just foot the bill for all those services—like providing the fuel, the buses, covering repairs, maintenance, paying the drivers, their per diems, and everything else involved?

Canada will ask for help, and they’ll get it from the European Union, just like we do.

As for splitting the costs, I guess making it proportional to the distance traveled is pretty standard in civilized nations—and I’d definitely consider both Canada and America to be such.

Rachel Reyes93 said:I mean, that's one way to look at it, but honestly, going through Scranton might actually be even shorter.

EDIT: Since we're dealing with a total emergency here, I guess we're actually handling things pretty well. There was no way anyone could have predicted all this. You can see how the folks over in Canada didn't really prepare for anything and they still seem pretty lost.

I agree that, given the circumstances, things are going great here so far. I mean, migrants aren't exactly roaming through our streets and parks like they are in Mexico, Canada, or Austria. We haven't had any incidents like the one in Beloit today either; for 99% of citizens, this has just been something they saw on a news screen.

The only pathetic part is when people start making a huge deal out of nothing just because of their political leanings. Like, today the entire diplomatic corps is saying everything is fine, but then just a few days ago, KGK and the advisors were claiming the whole system was collapsing.

We just have to be careful not to end up looking like "fools" in the long run—once the borders eventually start closing, and they will, sooner or later—and I really hope we can manage that part too.

Rachel Reyes93 said:The distance from Harmica to Buffalo is 71 miles. Opatovac - Dobova 227 miles.

I guess our guys would probably be looking into the shipping costs first.

Aki can just work that out—I don't see why they'd bother driving all the way to Harmony when they could just head straight to Scranton and go from there.