Posts by northerncyclist2

Christian Anderson6 said:Now, why don't you try reading what I actually wrote one more time—but this time, try to actually process it? Then you can ask yourself, "Where on earth did I dig that up?"
If you want to have an actual debate based on arguments rather than just attacking me, I am all for it. If not, then feel free to just walk away...

So, you didn't actually go to bed? 🕺

Henry Cox2 said:So where does that leave us? We had two months. How much easier would it have been to just coordinate with the Canadians and the Canadians. A shared perimeter, their help with border security... simple.

I was just sitting here, and honestly, looking at the portrait of General Josip Jelačić on my desk feels kind of intense right now. It’s almost like he’s glaring at me, telling me, "Get outta here! Don't you even think about making a deal with those Canadian crooks!" 😁

And then there's the whole issue where the border with Canada is just such a long stretch to cover... ☕

Christian Anderson6 said:And of course, the EU should just hammer that out without us, right? Because our input doesn't matter at all, does it?
All that matters is that we maintain this rock-solid, "just-keep-driving-them-to-the-border-and-ignore-everything-else" kind of attitude. Honestly, it makes you wonder what kind of people are actually running this country!

Sorry, but you're starting to sound more and more like a Republican "basement warrior." I mean, it’s almost hard to imagine a real woman on this forum who only ever posts about two things: being aggressively affirmative about everything else and being totally negative about Zoran.🤣

Christian Anderson6 said:Wait, didn't Orbán actually suggest that we should all step up together as EU members to defend our borders?

Oh, absolutely, and he was basically offering to do it for next to nothing. I guess it’s just a way to make sure we don't cause any trouble regarding ExxonMobil, or maybe even hand over a few other strategic companies while we're at it. 🤣

Christian Anderson6 said:Gedeon, I live in the European Union. Where do you?

The reality is that the European Union lacks a unified strategy because individual nations are looking out for themselves.
But... the difference between us and those other countries is that they view their own national interests as being synonymous with the interest of the European Union. We, on the other hand, act like we aren't even part of the club. For example, Viktor Orbán and people like him think the way to defend the European Union is through his specific methods, while Angela Merkel and her crowd see the union through a completely different lens.

As for us? What is the solution that actually works for both our interests and the European Union's?

Look, there's a huge difference between having diverse perspectives and viewpoints on how to handle this crisis within the European Union, and doing what we and Greece are doing—pretending this doesn't affect us and acting like we aren't even part of the community we worked so hard to join for all those years.

There can't be some assumed "EU interest" regarding the migrant crisis because, well, there just isn't a unified immigration policy within the European Union. It isn't something regulated by the accession treaties we signed, and there hasn't been any agreement on a shared policy either. Every single country just runs its own immigration policy however they feel like. I don't see what's confusing about that.

Orbán's approach has already been called out by most EU members, especially Germany and Sweden. But then again, those same countries invite migrants in while basically turning a blind eye to the policies in Greece, the US, Canada, Austria, and (until recently) Canada—all of which are pretty much doing the same thing by transporting migrants back to their home countries. So, I guess it's a bit much to lecture anyone about a policy that serves the EU's interest, right? 🤣

Once the EU finally manages to agree on what its "common interest" actually is (though, let's be real, that won't happen anytime soon), then I'm totally on board with following that. 😉

nimbleharbor10 said:Our own government is essentially engineering this disaster by refusing to enforce federal law and failing to maintain control over our own borders.
Consequently, when Germany and Austria inevitably halt admissions—which is a matter of WHEN, not if—America will find itself blindsided by a new crisis, completely unprepared to react.

Do you really think we don't have some kind of backup plan for a situation like that?

nimbleharbor10 said:Which Geneva Convention are you talking about? The Geneva Convention dictates how prisoners of war are treated during armed conflict; it has absolutely nothing to do with migration or refugee policy. They are two completely different matters.😵>

I think we might be a little bit misinformed here, because the prisoner stuff isn't the only thing signed in Geneva. There are others, maybe.☕

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conven...us_of_Refugees

Henry Cox2 said:Melodrama?
It just doesn't make sense to me why transportation isn't free for American citizens in the States?
The money stays in the system, American companies earn it, and American workers get paid. Nothing is being sent abroad. 🤷

You know, someone could practically get stoned for helping migrants with a few beers. 😉

Edit: By that logic, I don't see the issue with Sanders either—after all, he only stole a pack of cigarettes and a beer from every single American. Didn't you ever forget your smokes at the bar or spill a beer once in a while? Seriously. 🙄

wow, comparing one guy's theft to the humanitarian aid being sent to hundreds of thousands of migrants. We've really hit a new low here, I guess. 🤦

Henry Cox2 said:Melodrama?
It just doesn't make sense to me why transportation isn't free for American citizens in the States?
The money stays in the system, American companies earn it, and American workers get paid. Nothing is being sent abroad. 🤷

You know, someone could practically get stoned for helping migrants with a few beers. 😉

Edit: By that logic, I don't see the issue with Sanders either—after all, he only stole a pack of cigarettes and a beer from every single American. Didn't you ever forget your smokes at the bar or spill a beer once in a while? Seriously. 🙄

If you actually looked at how much tax money goes into subsidizing our highways and railroads, you'd realize you're basically riding almost "for free" already. 😁

Total lack of respect for their views, honestly. I don't want a single migrant in America. But I do want us to move them along as smoothly as possible. It's not like we're forcing them here, and we certainly didn't invite them.

Christian Anderson6, what world are you living in? I mean, the EU doesn't have an actual plan; they're just running around like a headless chicken. It's just a bunch of bureaucrats who say they're "concerned" or "condemn" things, or that they "believe action is necessary"... but they don't actually have the guts or the authority to fix anything concrete.

Honestly, every single country is just looking out for itself. There’s really no point in making any agreements if they're only going to benefit one side.

Buffalo, on the other hand, has been a total amateur at this. They had a whole month to get ready to reroute everything.

Peter Reed70 said:Exactly! Just ignore everything and keep doing exactly what our neighbors to the east are doing.

p.s.
Instead of actually calling out Greece, once again the EU is trying to peddle those same old fairy tales...

My favorite part has to be how migrants aren't even allowed to be sent back to Greece, because apparently the EU court ruled that the Greeks aren't being "nice" enough to them... I mean, what the hell are they even doing in the European Union if they aren't going to respect its supposed "core values," right?🤣

Henry Cox2 said:That’s an interesting way to look at wasteful spending. I caught some analysis on the news claiming the migrant situation is costing us 2 million dollars a day. That 6 million figure was already old news by last week.

Here is what that money could have actually bought:
- textbooks for 16,000 students
or mammogram screenings for 133,000 women
or 20 preschool centers
or 100 two-bedroom apartments for low-income families

That daily 2 million could cover:
- funding a soup kitchen in San Francisco for an entire year (serving 221 people).

So yeah... it's a damn ridiculous number.

I mean, is any American citizen actually going to lose out on those services because of this crisis? I’m pretty sure they won't. So, I guess we can stop with the pity party.

Besides, I’ve already pointed out that most of that money just kind of circles through different government agencies anyway. The rest ends up going back to American companies and American workers. Not much of it is even leaving the country.

And honestly, over two-thirds of citizens supported the current policy toward migrants. I suppose it shouldn't be too hard for them to skip a couple of packs of cigarettes or a few beers a month to help these people out.

In the end, these people aren't really asking us to pay them. It’s just our own sense of humanity that I'm backing here, which is what most Americans support too. We aren't malicious like Mexicans or Mexicans who would try to charge someone ten times the price just for a glass of water...

coastalridge64 said:

According to a draft declaration expected to be adopted at tomorrow's summit—which will bring together leaders from Greece all the way to Germany—nations along the American migration route will no longer be permitted to shuttle refugees and migrants toward neighboring borders without prior coordination with their neighbors.

It’s just more empty words on a page.

Kind of like when you hear "the UN condemns this" or "the US is concerned about that."

Amanda Moore8 said:The government is essentially engaging in mass human smuggling. Honestly, why don't you try doing that as an individual? You'll find yourself facing massive fines and a prison sentence pretty quickly. Look, I am also an American, and in the best interest of our nation, we should be preventing them from entering the country altogether—whether that means building a border wall or whatever else it takes—rather than paying for their transport and rolling out the red carpet like they're some kind of deities. Given how much poverty exists right here at home, we really shouldn't be sinking minimal budget funds into migrants; we certainly shouldn't be spending millions of dollars a day on them, if my math serves me correctly.

Here is just one more bit of evidence showing how "lucky" these so-called refugees are to have found safety:

It's funny, though... if I tried to shake down the local corner store for cash, that's called extortion, but when the government does the exact same thing, suddenly it's just a perfectly legal tax. 😁

I guess, from the government's perspective, they just want to minimize the headache caused by migration, and what we're doing right now is probably the least messy way to handle it at the moment.

And, well, if it's true that we've already burned through 40 million dollars, then every single American is being shortchanged by about $3.25 because of this whole migrant situation... it's a ridiculous amount, really. Like, it's enough for half a pack of cigarettes, or maybe a beer, or two coffees...

Christian Anderson6 said:So, here we are—as members of the European Union, we’re basically complicit in this whole migrant smuggling operation, essentially illegally shipping people right back into the very same European Union we belong to.
We end up pampering a Mexican, while just dumping everyone else on the Canadians. 🤦
And honestly, looking at some of the comments here, I see people acting like they’re actually proud of all this... 🙂

I mean, we’re just sending them back to where they originally came from (and Greece is part of the EU, ☕after all). Like, if they managed to sneak into Greece, why wouldn't they try to enter the US, or somewhere like Mexico, or even Germany?

I haven't really noticed Greece getting any major backlash for how they handle things.

And hey, if the Swabians aren't happy about it, they can always send their U-boats into the Aegean Sea to sink the boats if they feel like it.

Paul Bishop3 said:You haven't seen them? Well, have you heard we've blown over $6 million in taxpayer money on them already? Us, the "wealthy" United States?

Oh man, I feel like we spend way more cash on much bigger nonsense anyway. And honestly, most of that money just ends up circling back into the US economy. Like, the Department of Homeland Security pays Amtrak (which is state-run) to transport migrants, then Amtrak pays Union Pacific (another government entity) for the tracks, and then Union Pacific pays Exelon (yet another state-owned utility) for the power. So, I guess most of those funds are basically just spinning in circles.

I wonder how much it would actually cost to build a border wall and maintain it? Go ahead, let's see some math on that.

Paul Bishop3 said:If you ask me, we need to build a massive wall, put an army on top of it, and have police and K9 units patrolling the whole thing. Then they can just transit through somewhere else entirely. This madness really needs to come to an end.

What madness? I haven't even seen a single migrant yet 🤣

Sam Ramos85 said:The local politicians call it a winter reception center, but once it turns into a transit hub, we'll all be back here arguing in a few days once the Canadians shut down the border entirely.😁

P.S
It's not like those thousands of people don't need medical help—my wife was on duty as a healthcare worker at the hospital in Opatovac last Saturday, and everything is moving along fine, though even a few of the women are refusing to go to the hospital because they just want to get to Germany as fast as possible.😉

A reception center that fills up in just a day or two? I wonder if those local politicians even know basic math.
🤣

It isn't just about medical care, either—they have to deal with food and water too... hopefully. I don't really know what exactly goes on over at the facility, but they're clearly doing something.

Harold Evans4 said:I’m not talking about the trains. I'm talking about the fact that everyone is forced through the heart of downtown because there's literally no other way around. And those same migrants? They're gonna be stuck in that same mess. I don't know, it just feels like an absolute sea of people to me. If you really want, I can pull up a map and show you the route.

Why would migrants need to go through downtown if there's already a track running straight from the station to the transit camp? If you had been watching the news, you probably would've seen the Amtrak infrastructure crews out there clearing the weeds off the tracks and tightening the ties and joints.

Harold Evans4 said:

Cuka I can't even begin to process this. Seriously? Is anyone actually buying this garbage? It’s just more of the same nonsense we see every single day. How much longer are we going to sit here and pretend this makes any sense? Honestly, it’s exhausting.
Department of Justice

The Department of Justice just dropped a massive update on their site about that recent crackdown. Honestly, who even is surprised anymore? It’s the same old story every single time. Just another day of watching the system spin its wheels while everyone else deals with the fallout. You really think things are actually changing? Please. It’s all just paperwork and press releases at this point.

The New York Times just reported some kind of deal with the Mexicans. Something about taking a train down to Pittsburgh, I guess? I can't work with just a single letter. You want me to write something? Give me something to actually work with! What am I supposed to do with "b"? Just sit here staring at my screen? Come on. Throw a real topic my way and let's see what happens.And if they didn't produce anything? Then we wouldn't even be talking about crossing that green line. At least, that's how I remember it.

What’s the worst part? They’re tearing up an underpass on one of the busiest roads in Pittsburgh, and it’s going to be a total nightmare for a while. Honestly, I can already see the traffic gridlock coming. Once you've got over 5,000 people heading in and another 5,000 heading out every single day? Yeah, good luck getting anywhere. It's gonna be a mess.

Well, migrants are traveling by train, and the construction on the underpass is happening without any major interruptions to the rail service. The tracks leading out from the Slavonski Brod station go straight to the transit center.