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Messages - Anonymous (User Deleted)

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122
Serious / Re: Hol up, *smacks lips* so you be sayin...
« on: December 07, 2016, 09:26:15 AM »
Hol up, *smacks lips* so you be sayin...
nice racism

123
Serious / Re: Trump secures $50 Billion investment towards 50,000 jobs
« on: December 06, 2016, 08:04:45 PM »
Quote
though he didn’t provide details.
Let's not jump the gun, here.

124
Gaming / Re: Pokemon Thread (Massive Spoilers Page 49 and Beyond!)
« on: December 06, 2016, 06:31:15 PM »
My poor friend--he just found his second shiny ever today
boohoo

my only shinies are scripted  :'(

Somehow I've played Pokémon for years and never encountered a single shiny in the wild. Still waiting for that day щ(ಠ益ಠщ)

125
Serious / Re: So much for draining the swamp
« on: December 06, 2016, 06:01:53 PM »
Is there anything he is so far sticking to which he said he was going to do? So far he's coming off exactly like Microsoft before and after the Xbone launched.
Nine days until his news conference about "leaving his business entirely" even though he apparently won't put his assets in a blind trust. Meanwhile he met with three business partners after winning the election.

Yawn, the guy could cure cancer and end world hunger and you'd still have a problem with him.

No one cares.
I'm sure you think very fondly of Fidel Castro, considering their literacy rates and national health care. Police state regimes are great!
Real talk though, Castro did some good things for Cuba and writing them off because he was a ebil gommie dictator is bullshit. Cuba has a stronger chance of remaining Cuban and independent thanks to him. As a US puppet it would be a degenerate shithole. Now its just a poor shithole.

I'm not a fan, but the man was complicated.
I think you missed the point I was making there. Fucking hell if I'm going to sign my civil liberties away to fix one ill in the world.

I have mixed feelings about Cuba. I'm glad the embargo is gone. Health care and reading are valid successes that do not excuse the litany of human rights abuses that occurred under Castro.

126
Serious / Re: Trump "punishes" Carrier by giving them $7 million tax deal
« on: December 06, 2016, 05:56:52 PM »
what kind of message does this send to other companies looking to save some money? Make threats about leaving if you want lower taxes and fewer regulations and still be able to ship half the jobs overseas anyway?
This is the reality of the economy in the country, though. They don't have to threaten anything; companies do this naturally. And I'm not sure why I need to restate this, but Carrier didn't actually gain from staying -- how could they, if this was a pittance to appear favorable to the government?
Quote
Fifthly, Trump acted unilaterally. Trump had the opportunity to craft a long-term solution with Congress, but he blew them off.

Where is the evidence that Trump actually had any part in this? And why on Earth would Congress have any business strong-arming a company into staying in the country at a significant loss? Trump isn't even president yet, how is he supposed to be crafting a solution to anything right now?
I dunno, man. After reading into it some more, I don't know if it's really all that bad for the US. Subsidies are a valid maneuver for keeping jobs, within reason. You may be right that Carrier got the raw end of the deal here. But I'd be a lot less skeptical if Trump had used the opportunity to craft a longer term plan.

As for Trump acting unilaterally, that's been the implication from virtually every news report on the matter and from Trump and his team. But it may be a moot point.

127
Serious / Re: So much for draining the swamp
« on: December 06, 2016, 04:46:44 PM »
Is there anything he is so far sticking to which he said he was going to do? So far he's coming off exactly like Microsoft before and after the Xbone launched.
Nine days until his news conference about "leaving his business entirely" even though he apparently won't put his assets in a blind trust. Meanwhile he met with three business partners after winning the election.

Yawn, the guy could cure cancer and end world hunger and you'd still have a problem with him.

No one cares.
I'm sure you think very fondly of Fidel Castro, considering their literacy rates and national health care. Police state regimes are great!

128
Serious / Re: So much for draining the swamp
« on: December 06, 2016, 01:37:21 PM »
Is there anything he is so far sticking to which he said he was going to do? So far he's coming off exactly like Microsoft before and after the Xbone launched.
Nine days until his news conference about "leaving his business entirely" even though he apparently won't put his assets in a blind trust. Meanwhile he met with three business partners after winning the election.

129
I was SO over this band by the time this song came out. But I still have Move Along on CD. It's still good for those mid-2000s nostalgia feels.

YouTube

130
Serious / Re: Trump "punishes" Carrier by giving them $7 million tax deal
« on: December 05, 2016, 03:22:20 PM »
They stood to lose some of their billions in federal contracts by leaving, which was a major factor for their staying here, at least if Trump had put that on the table.

I'm very confused about what you think would have been a fair outcome. You and I have both expressed that the tax break is a drop in the bucket. Whether this was merely an attempt to stay in good graces with Trump for defense contracts is uncorroborated. The fact that they got "less taxes" is irrelevant; they're getting a net loss. And "fewer regulations"? What are you even referring to?

It's also pretty speculative that this incredibly minor deal could have been used to leverage $6B in contracts. But let me ask you this: if it was, how does that smack of crony capitalism any less than this deal? Because the government would have saved a measly ~$3M?
Firstly, letting corporations off the hook is pretty much the opposite of what Trump campaigned on. So I'm pretty peeved about that, because it was one of the few policies of his that I agreed with.

Secondly, what kind of message does this send to other companies looking to save some money? Make threats about leaving if you want lower taxes and fewer regulations and still be able to ship half the jobs overseas anyway? It sets a terrible precedent for the next four years. This was an opportunity to impose tougher penalties for taking away American jobs, and Trump caved in to Carrier's desires.

Thirdly, however small the tax cut is, however specific this deal is to the circumstances, it's still $7 million out of taxpayers' pockets.

Fourthly, this is not a sustainable tactic and could lead to longer term losses for the American people.

Fifthly, Trump acted unilaterally. Trump had the opportunity to craft a long-term solution with Congress, but he blew them off. I'm particularly wary of the executive branch's increasing powers and influence--ignoring Congress sets a bad precedent that's very much in-line with his previous autocratic statements during the campaign trail.

131
Serious / Re: Trump "punishes" Carrier by giving them $7 million tax deal
« on: December 05, 2016, 02:39:16 PM »
The company's actually getting fucked from this deal, and the state is benefiting.
False. They stood to lose some of their billions in federal contracts by leaving, which was a major factor for their staying here, at least if Trump had put that on the table. Half the jobs are going away regardless. Carrier can take the loss you calculated since they still made over $4 billion last year.

Carrier gets less in taxes, fewer regulations, and zero political consequences for basically saying a few scary words. They got everything they wanted. And as you admitted yourself:
Quote
I don't see this is a viable tactic to keep jobs in the country, and it fails to address the underlying cause of inversions or outsourcing.
There's no guarantee this will work for the longer term.

132
Serious / Trump "punishes" Carrier by giving them $7 million tax deal
« on: December 05, 2016, 01:28:34 PM »
Carrier wants to move jobs from Indiana to Mexico to save money. Trump said he wasn't going to let that happen. To help the president-elect accomplish his agenda, Bernie Sanders introduced a protectionist anti-outsourcing bill.

Trump blew off Congress completely. Carrier's """""penalty""""" will be a $7 million tax cut, and we're still losing half the jobs anyway. It's a deal so blatantly crony capitalism that it makes Sarah Palin sound competent.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/carrier-gets-tax-breaks-but-it-s-still-sending-jobs/article_d2f958e5-1eaf-5401-93b1-c6b0990acab2.html

Update: The jobs saved will ultimately be replaced by automation.
Quote
Carrier gets tax breaks, but it's still sending 1,300 jobs to Mexico

Reuters
Dec 1, 2016

Updated at 4:33 p.m.

WASHINGTON • Indiana state officials have agreed to give United Technologies Corp. $7 million worth of tax breaks to encourage the company to keep at least 1,069 jobs at its Carrier unit in Indianapolis, Carrier and the state said on Thursday.

President-elect Donald Trump has claimed credit for keeping well-paid manufacturing jobs in the country, but the deal is less than a complete victory for the Republican who campaigned on "putting America first."

In the election campaign, Trump vowed to impose hefty tariffs if Carrier did not reverse course on shifting jobs to Mexico. The deal means Carrier will still send an estimated 1,300 jobs there.

United Technologies chief executive Gregory Hayes said at an event that the company will invest more than $16 million over two years to keep its Indianapolis plant in the state.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. said it has offered Carrier $5 million in conditional tax credits based on a plan to retain 1,069 jobs with an average wage of $30.91 per hour, spokeswoman Abby Gras said.

She declined to say how many of those jobs are at the plant or at the company's headquarters, but the Wall Street Journal reported the deal would save about 800 of the 1,400 jobs at the plant and about 300 at the headquarters.

Indiana is also offering $1 million in training grants to support workforce development and $1 million in tax credits, Gras said. The agreement has not been finalized yet.

Some other details of the deal in Vice President-elect and Indiana Governor Mike Pence's state were unclear but it has already been criticized on the left and right.

Trump and Pence celebrated the 1,000 jobs deal at an event in Indianapolis on Thursday, but employers elsewhere in Indiana are laying off five times as many workers because of foreign competition.

Trump "did just what he said he would do," Pence said, recounting his push to convince Carrier to remain in Indiana. "He made the case for America."

Neither Trump nor Pence made any reference to United Technologies' planned job cuts in Indiana.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who lost the Democratic presidential primary to Hillary Clinton, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that "it is not good enough to save some of these jobs. Trump made a promise that he would save all of these jobs, and we cannot rest until an ironclad contract is signed to ensure that all of these workers are able to continue working in Indiana."

Republican Representative Justin Amish of Michigan tweeted: "Not the president(elect)'s job. We live in a constitutional republic, not an autocracy. Business-specific meddling shouldn't be normalized."

Reuters reported earlier this week that United Technologies would still would proceed with plans to close its Huntington, Ind., United Technologies Electronic Controls plant that employs 700.

Trump also faces pressure to prevent other job cuts. There are several other factories in Indiana that closing and Senator Joe Donnelly, a Indiana Democrat, urged him to take action to prevent other job losses. The United States has shed about 5 million manufacturing jobs since 2000. Indiana alone has lost about 150,000 factory jobs since 2000 to about 500,000.

133
The Flood / Re: Why did it take white vets to get the ACoE to rethink DAPL?
« on: December 05, 2016, 10:32:03 AM »
Lol kupo, you're such a faggot bitch boy.
Civil disobedience would be organizing a sit in full of protestors at the meetings, not blowing them off and refusing to voice your objections when the time is proper to do so.
what is a boycott

Oh shit this isn't in serious



The Sioux are protesting so much you'd think the pipeline threatened their whiskey supply instead.
ew, whiskey

134
fooken 'ell it's been like a week and I still haven't played it yet

I'm a dingus

135
The Flood / Re: Why did it take white vets to get the ACoE to rethink DAPL?
« on: December 05, 2016, 10:13:56 AM »
Surely you can see how ridiculous it is to sit out parts of a process spanning multiple years with the inclusion of 55 tribes, and then later claim to have been ignored. Tribes, including the ND Sioux, actively influenced the route of the pipeline.
Despite all of this planning, the project still managed to run into problems. I can't speak for the tribes, but it sounds like they were wholly unprepared.
Quote
You're right, it doesn't. There were three independent reviews that concluded there were no burial or cultural sites on the route. The route went through private property with easements from the owners, through an existing utility corridor which also had it's own cultural review. Because of the existing corridor, it's simply not possible for anything historic to be there. The land was already bulldozed and refilled. Again, this route was determined after hundreds of meetings with community and tribal representatives' input. It was not unilateral, and was designed to minimize water crossings. The project managers have also offered to reroute the Sioux water supply 50 miles further away (it is currently 20 miles away from the pipeline's crossing).

Fuck the federal government and all that, but this really does seem to be above board. It's an impossible situation at this point, since the entire pipeline is basically complete except for this spot, and further rerouting has been described as untenable.
It wouldn't have to be like this if the USG were willing to stop construction before now, as opposed to like, prosecuting the people reporting on the situation. Their actions indicate to me that they just wanted to finish the deal as soon as they could with as little trouble as necessary. I believe that, similarly to how the courts assign public defenders to those without attorneys, the USG has an ethical obligation to ensure that each side can competently express their concerns and understand the decisions being made. As far as I can tell, they really didn't give a damn. This is on them.

136
The Flood / Re: Why did it take white vets to get the ACoE to rethink DAPL?
« on: December 05, 2016, 09:52:55 AM »

1) The tribes made their opinions on the pipeline clear by not showing up to the meetings. Civil disobedience is a valid form of free speech. USG thus had zero grounds to unilaterally approve it anyway.
I know this is just a shitpost but come the fuck on. You can't just not fucking show up to a meeting and then be all "hurr durr I expressed my dissent via my absence free speech muhfucka" or some shit like that. A country that refuses to negotiate with the enemy in war has no business complaining when it is granted no conditions for its surrender.
"I'm too brain damaged to look outside and see hundreds of protesters"

okay buddy

(also see my post above this one)

137
The Flood / Re: Why did it take white vets to get the ACoE to rethink DAPL?
« on: December 05, 2016, 09:51:53 AM »
Preface:
Spoiler
this is not serious board

It's fucking retarded anyway. The fucking Indians own no rights to the lands that the line traveled and all of the actual land owners signed easement leases.
It's the wrong decision today, which is why this outcome was not the right decision a month ago.
Oh fuck off Charlie
Race had nothing to do with it
General rule of thumb is that you do not fuck with veterans
America will fucking eat you alive
Just ask Hoover

Plus let's not pretend the protests were peaceful either
They have literally shot bullets at the police
There are already numerous other gas and oil lines going through the same corridor, and it wasn't going through Sioux land. The whole situation was fucked, and it was largely fueled by media looking for another story of oppression to happen. Bear in mind this tribe skipped out on meetings to voice their protests for a year.

But yeah, big oil is full of racist meanies.
These are both hideously incorrect memes. Nice apologetics, corporatist shills.

1) The tribes made their opinions on the pipeline clear by not showing up to the meetings. Civil disobedience is a valid form of free speech. USG thus had zero grounds to unilaterally approve it anyway.

2) Regardless of who sold what, it still does not give the government or anybody else free reign to bulldoze as they see fit.

3) In what's likely an admission of guilt that ND acted wrongly, the state tried and failed to prosecute the journalist who broke the story. Prosecuting journalists for doing their work *completely legally* is something that happens in autocracies.

4) >le a few people misbehave so let's take out the hoses and rubber bullets in near-freezing weather

Congrats on having so much in-common ideologically with the Third Reich. I'm surprised you're not jumping on the couch over President Trump considering it'll be the oppressive police state you've always wanted. If you think any of this is acceptable, it's time to look in the mirror and re-evaluate where you politics really lie.

I doubt anyone agrees with the decision to run a pipeline over an aquifer and burial ground

What we're saying is that the tribes didn't handle it appropriately beforehand and they're not handling it appropriately now

Skipping out on the opportunity to literally tell them what they want and don't want is not civil disobedience

Civil disobedience happens when the government won't listen to you but in this case they were literally inviting them to tell them their concerns
It may be the case that the tribes mishandled the situation, but I have to disagree with you otherwise. The state didn't need a meeting to figure out how the tribes felt about the pipeline. This situation should not hinge on a technicality.

138
The Flood / Re: Why did it take white vets to get the ACoE to rethink DAPL?
« on: December 05, 2016, 09:24:07 AM »
Preface:
Spoiler
this is not serious board

It's fucking retarded anyway. The fucking Indians own no rights to the lands that the line traveled and all of the actual land owners signed easement leases.
It's the wrong decision today, which is why this outcome was not the right decision a month ago.
Oh fuck off Charlie
Race had nothing to do with it
General rule of thumb is that you do not fuck with veterans
America will fucking eat you alive
Just ask Hoover

Plus let's not pretend the protests were peaceful either
They have literally shot bullets at the police
There are already numerous other gas and oil lines going through the same corridor, and it wasn't going through Sioux land. The whole situation was fucked, and it was largely fueled by media looking for another story of oppression to happen. Bear in mind this tribe skipped out on meetings to voice their protests for a year.

But yeah, big oil is full of racist meanies.
These are both hideously incorrect memes. Nice apologetics, corporatist shills.

1) The tribes made their opinions on the pipeline clear by not showing up to the meetings. Civil disobedience is a valid form of free speech. USG thus had zero grounds to unilaterally approve it anyway.

2) Regardless of who sold what, it still does not give the government or anybody else free reign to bulldoze as they see fit.

3) In what's likely an admission of guilt that ND acted wrongly, the state tried and failed to prosecute the journalist who broke the story. Prosecuting journalists for doing their work *completely legally* is something that happens in autocracies.

4) >le a few people misbehave so let's take out the hoses and rubber bullets in near-freezing weather

Congrats on having so much in-common ideologically with the Third Reich. I'm surprised you're not jumping on the couch over President Trump considering it'll be the oppressive police state you've always wanted. If you think any of this is acceptable, it's time to look in the mirror and re-evaluate where you politics really lie.

139
The Flood / Re: Shrek 2 had a great soundtrack
« on: December 04, 2016, 09:18:36 PM »
Shrek 1 & 2 both had good soundtracks.

YouTube


YouTube


YouTube

140
Gaming / Re: Pokemon Thread (Massive Spoilers Page 49 and Beyond!)
« on: December 04, 2016, 08:37:20 PM »
I know, >emulation, I don't like it either, but fuck dude, seeing youtubers play this game at 1080p is so good

Spoiler

wow that's gorgeous
I remember inspecting Gen VI's models that were ported over to Garry's Mod. The textures were a tad low-res but the models were otherwise very impressive for handheld. The 3DS' tiny screens don't do them any justice.

Spoiler

141
Serious / Re: Peter Thiel insider joins Trump's transition team
« on: December 04, 2016, 08:33:45 AM »
bump

updated with clickbait title for guaranteed replies

142
Serious / Re: Peter Thiel insider joins Trump's transition team
« on: December 03, 2016, 12:13:37 PM »
YouTube

A few weeks ago you replied to me about how Trump might infringe civil liberties, and I made a poor argument for my case. >.>

It's a complicated issue but here's a good place to start.

143
Serious / So much for draining the swamp
« on: December 03, 2016, 08:32:34 AM »
Despite the report that the transition team had drained its own swamp of lobbyists, they kind of really didn't.

Spoiler
Quote
Peter Thiel Insider Picked to Oversee Donald Trump’s Defense Department Transition

Lee Fang
November 28 2016
1:27 p.m.


Trae Stephens, a principal at billionaire Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm Founders Fund, was appointed last week by Donald Trump to help lead the transition effort at the Defense Department.

Thiel, who made a $1,000,000 donation to a pro-Trump Super PAC, is Trump’s highest-profile supporter in Silicon Valley.

At Thiel’s Founder Fund, Stephens “focuses on startups operating in the government space,” according to his official biography. Before that, he worked at another Thiel-backed firm: Palantir, a highly controversial data analysis firm that is currently competing for Defense Department contracts.

“Trae was an early employee at Palantir Technologies, where he led teams focused on growth in intelligence and defense as well as international expansion,” says the biography.

Palantir gained notoriety in 2011 after the hacking collective LulzSec dumped thousands of hacked emails from HBGary Federal, a firm collaborating with Palantir to pitch clients, revealing plans to use Palantir’s data analysis tools on a project to spy on labor unions, journalists, and activist groups on behalf of business interests. The proposal detailed a variety of surveillance techniques, including a PowerPoint presentation calling for the use of malware to steal data from target computers.

Palantir and HBGary Federal denied that the plans were acted upon and said they were merely part of an ongoing discussion, though the hacked emails revealed that the chief executive and board of Palantir signed off on the proposal.

The controversy did not stem the growth of Palantir, which is now reportedly valued at over $20 billion, a valuation that would make Thiel’s stake in the company worth potentially $2 billion.

Last year, another leaked document from Palantir revealed that as of 2013, the firm counted over a dozen federal agencies as clients, including the FBI, NSA, CIA, Special Operations Command, and the Air Force.

Palantir has been engaged in a pitched lobbying battle to win over a $3 billion contract to develop battlefield intelligence systems. In October, Palantir secured a victory in court, allowing them to move forward with the bid. The firm has hired a number of political insiders to influence military contracting decisions, including retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Terry Paul.

But no amount of outside lobbying can compare to having a Palantir insider now shaping the entire future of the Defense Department.

News of this comes around Congress' quiet amendments of "Rule 41" that grants the FBI broad hacking powers, and the passage of the UK's sweeping investigatory powers bill. I know I've posted about this before, but here's another reminder that Trump will inherit the executive branch at the height of its power with very little to keep him in-check.

I've written before about """""libertarian""""" Peter Thiel's unsavory actions against the media. Now that he's buddies with a similarly authoritarian president-elect, who wants to bet Thiel or his followers will try this stuff again?

UPDATE: Two more Thiel associates join the transition, and a third guy may lead the FDA.

144
The Flood / Re: what we all wanna know: is verb a virgin
« on: December 02, 2016, 11:31:59 PM »
yagitme
holy fuck I'm tired, I thought this was anglicized weeb until I said it out loud

Al Baghdadi rented your namesake for her 3 year old tonight. Beautiful flick. Just a bit too mature for a toddler
It's on my watch list. It looks fascinating.

145
The Flood / Re: what we all wanna know: is verb a virgin
« on: December 02, 2016, 11:23:28 PM »
yagitme
holy fuck I'm tired, I thought this was anglicized weeb until I said it out loud

146
The Flood / Re: what u man got for me
« on: December 02, 2016, 11:07:32 PM »
norf london

147
what system tho

148
Gaming / Re: FFXV UCE Unboxing
« on: November 29, 2016, 10:30:35 PM »
Oh man, I can't wait to play for myself. I wasn't able to go out today, so I'm picking it up tomorrow.

149
Ugh, let's try something else
Now  watch
And  learn

Here's  the  deal

150
Gaming / Re: Hey Verbatim.
« on: November 29, 2016, 07:40:05 AM »


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=485537937
Quote
all mods are the devil
but budget and deadlines are objects
Quote
all mods distort the developer's vision
nope

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