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posted by mrpg on Saturday October 21 2017, @09:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the and-the-fauna? dept.

The last two of eight prototypes for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall took shape Thursday at a construction site in San Diego.

The prototypes, including one built by Israeli defense firm Elta, form a tightly packed row of imposing concrete and metal panels, including one with sharp metal edges on top.

[...] The models, which cost the government up to $500,000 each, were spaced 30 feet (9.1 meters) apart. Slopes, thickness and curves vary. One has two shades of blue with white trim. The others are gray, tan or brown — in sync with the desert.

Bidding guidelines call for the prototypes to stand between 18 and 30 feet (5.5 and 9.1 meters) high and be able to withstand at least an hour of punishment from a sledgehammer, pickaxe, torch, chisel or battery-operated tools.

Features also should prevent the use of climbing aids such as grappling hooks, and the segments must be "aesthetically pleasing" when viewed from the US side.


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  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Sunday October 22 2017, @02:49PM (6 children)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Sunday October 22 2017, @02:49PM (#585957) Journal

    We don't do that because what policymakers want is not to end illegal immigration, but to have an underclass workforce willing to put up with absolutely any horrific treatment you can imagine (and a few you can't) for pay that's a joke. And that's true regardless of political party.

    Absolutely true. Therein lies a lesson for those on the left who think illegal immigration is good. It doesn't help those people to a better life, and it undercuts any bargaining power Americans might have to win a better deal from corporations. Of course that's why capital wants illegal immigration.

    Personally I find the nativist motivations of those who oppose illegal immigration repugnant. But that doesn't mean the policy goal of stopping illegal immigration is wrong, for the aforementioned reasons.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
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  • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Sunday October 22 2017, @03:47PM (5 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Sunday October 22 2017, @03:47PM (#585974)

    It doesn't help those people to a better life

    Hang on one second there.

    The folks coming to the USA to work illegally aren't particularly irrational, stupid, or ignorant. That means they wouldn't walk hundreds of miles through treacherous terrain and find a way across the border (none of the options for that are easy or safe), all for the privilege of working some of the worst jobs in America and constantly fearing deportation, if they didn't think it would improve their lives or the lives of their kids.

    Yes, their lives absolutely suck here in the USA. Their lives suck even more in Mexico (or wherever they came from: nowadays some are coming from Honduras and Guatamala and walking the entire length of Mexico to get to the USA).

    The alternative policy that could fix both the problem of their life sucking where they are, and the problem of their illegal work undercutting American bargaining power: Make it easier for people from Mexico or Central America to immigrate to the US legally. That lets them in, but also prevents employers from abusing them the way they do now. The US has done that before, it could do so again if it wanted to.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Sunday October 22 2017, @05:04PM (4 children)

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Sunday October 22 2017, @05:04PM (#585986) Journal

      And maybe we could go after the bankers in the USA who undermine democracy in those countries of origin, fostering corruption and incompetence there to facilitate their looting of those countries, such that the citizens of those countries could improve things for themselves where they are. (See: Unaoil [huffingtonpost.com]).

      Then, conditions wouldn't suck so much in those places and produce emigration.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
      • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Sunday October 22 2017, @06:33PM (3 children)

        by Thexalon (636) on Sunday October 22 2017, @06:33PM (#586004)

        I'd be in favor of that policy too. One reason I was (and still am) a Sanders backer is that he more than any other candidate seemed like he would have told the bankers to go straight to hell.

        --
        The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
        • (Score: 3, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Sunday October 22 2017, @07:38PM (2 children)

          by Phoenix666 (552) on Sunday October 22 2017, @07:38PM (#586022) Journal

          Dammit, Thexalon, when will we learn that Jamie Dimon has the solution? Clearly the answer is to eliminate all taxes on banks, not punish them for being successful!

          Jamie Dimon for president.

          --
          Washington DC delenda est.
          • (Score: 3, Touché) by Thexalon on Sunday October 22 2017, @09:12PM (1 child)

            by Thexalon (636) on Sunday October 22 2017, @09:12PM (#586056)

            when will we learn that Jamie Dimon has the solution?

            Well, we tried to #AskJPM, but they decided to not answer our questions. Of course, that might have had something to do with the questions, like:
            - "I have Mortgage Fraud, Market Manipulation, Credit Card Abuse, Libor Rigging and Predatory Lending AM I DIVERSIFIED?"
            - "Can I have my house back?"
            - "Did you always want to be part of a vast, corrupt criminal enterprise or did you 'break bad'?"
            - "What's it like working with Mexican drug cartels? Do they tip?"

            --
            The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
            • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday October 23 2017, @02:29AM

              by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday October 23 2017, @02:29AM (#586139) Journal

              Those are all excellent questions. Why does no one ask them?

              That no one does proves how broken the first American Republic is.

              --
              Washington DC delenda est.