biden's statement regarding yemen today seems to be very narrowly focused, and unlikely to stop the actual war there, although it may lead to less civilian deaths.

there's two components to the war in yemen. the first is essentially an attempt at genocide against the yemeni people, which components in the saudi theocracy seem to want to wipe off the face of the earth. the second is a struggle against islamist militants, who are using the region as a base - although the second component, as tends to be the case with these things, is shrouded in confusing contradictions.

the correct interpretation is that they seem to think the idea of bombing civilians is a poor strategy, much as obama argued that iraq was a strategic mistake - and that the resources should have been deployed to afghanistan, instead. they'd rather use those resources on something more relevant - that's what they're saying.

where those resources end up redeployed is not entirely clear, but i'd expect this government to pick up where obama left off in shifting it's focus towards africa. they may also be shifted towards iran.

so, i mean, if you're concerned about what is really an open program of genocide by the saudi government in the region, this is a minor step in refocusing the conflict, at least. and, expect the usual voices to exaggerate it. but, don't get too excited - it's not what you think, it's a rebalancing of forces designed to reproject force towards regions where conflict is of greater direct benefit to the empire.

and, from that standpoint, from the logic and perspective of empire, it's hard to disagree with it; it is a stupid waste of resources.

good.

maybe some that came here will flee the cold and go back.

canada just doesn't have the infrastructure....the prime minister's a trust fund kid idiot....

https://globalnews.ca/news/7620094/biden-refugees-trump-clampdown/

here you go, sweetie - an exemption for paygo! wow!

(and, it was no doubt accepted with wide eyes, too)

it follows that winning a "waiver" for paygo is no less of a theatrical act, and no less meaningless in terms of actual legislative reality.

it seems to have been something that came from an attempt to placate the tea party movement, which was more successful in passing legislation under a democratic government than the occupy movement was - something that should make you stop and think about what the realities on the hill actually are. but, it's been avoided at every opportunity by everybody. as legislation, it's just empty rhetoric designed as political theatre - red meat for the conservative base.

i mean, whatever you think of it, the fact is that they don't use it and it's just pointless for it to exist.

there is some mandatory sequestration that kicks in as a result of the 2011 budget control act (which should be abolished), but anything that's worth funding is protected from it, with the apparent exception of medicare, which has been undergoing 2% cuts for years as a result of it. this only results from spending on specific, core government functions, which they seem to think should be restricted for some reason.

but, sequestration has never occurred due to paygo and has never occurred due to discretionary spending and there's no reason at all to think it ever will.

i support the filibuster.

but, they should abolish the bca - and should abolish this obscure paygo thing along with it.

there are no restrictions on spending by the united states congress.

don't let them try to trick you otherwise.

it's such an empty threat that i was watching a sam seder video where he mentioned it and didn't even know what he was talking about - that's how obscure and absolutely toothless the idea is.

i was just like "what?".

i mean, it seemed like he was talking about the 'grand bargain' in 2011, which i remember well enough as empty theatre. they created this silly drama around the debt ceiling, as though that was a real issue, rather than a routine and almost entirely meaningless process to increase it, in order to create pressure to bring in austerity measures that were mostly targeted at the military. i at least remember that.

but, he was actually talking about this obscure law passed in 2010 that's never been used, as some kind of scare mongering tactic to push through with the end of the filibuster, which was absolutely ridiculous as an argument.

i'd never even heard of this law - that's how obscure and meaningless it is. it's never been used and it never will be.

so, why is the fake left media trying to scare you like this? are they going to play ball with the austerity hawks? they're all a bunch of conservatives in leftists clothing, remember - all of them, from warren to uygur and everybody in between.

the norm and status quo in both the house and senate is to pass exceptions for everything - as though the law, which nobody seems to have wanted in the first place, doesn't actually exist.

i repeat: sequestration through paygo legislation has never happened. the house and senate have waived everything that they've ever been given; there is absolutely no reason to think they wouldn't have waived it immediately, regardless.

what exactly does it mean to win "paygo exemptions", when sequestration through paygo has never been enforced?

it's like giving a child a soother.

what, exactly, is the reasoning behind a posting limit at a blog, anyways?

ugh...

we don't have the best healthcare system in the world. not anymore.

it's not even close.

this is a reality check - canada needs to see itself in the mirror for what it actually is, right now.

nafta completely destroyed this country.

this is just a small window into how bad it really is.

yes - we should have moved to fund production last year, and that we didn't is a disaster that the sitting government needs to be nailed hard on.

but, the fact remains that our industry has evaporated due to the international agreements that we've signed, and this is the consequence of it - we have to sign up for programs meant for third world economies.

but, the fact is that we don't have the production capacity that other advanced economies have.

our production capacity is more comparable to that of a developing country.

"a monstrous swindle" - pierre trudeau, describing nafta, years after he set it in motion, to bring back the reciprocity of his hero, laurier

the years of talking about what free trade might do to this country are over. we're now living through the realities that the critics of free trade predicted, and they're vicious.

we are a poor country - we just happen to have a very wealthy petro-chemical industry that inflates our gdp.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid-19-vaccine-deliveries-1.5900853

the same pattern yet again - i come in from time outside, and i'm agitated and frustrated and being triggered into a migraine. i will no doubt need to sleep it off and sweat it out.

why does this happen every time i exit and re-enter this space?

no. 

i'm going to wait until i get the files in before i start writing the response. it should hopefully be today, but might be tomorrow.

ok.

so, maybe i can get some backposting done tonight, then.