Archive for 2016

A PIPELINE PROJECT EVERYONE WILL APPROVE: This summer, a two-mile pipeline that carries beer will open in a Belgian city.

“In the beginning, everyone thought it was kind of a joke,” Vanneste told The Washington Post in a phone interview. “Something like an underground beer pipeline would never be possible.”

So he spoke with some friends who are used to transporting a slightly more viscous liquid.

“I talked about it with some people I know in the oil and gas industry, and they said, ‘Why would it not be possible for beer?’” he said.

Not only is it possible, it’s opening this summer.

For all the EU’s bureaucratic malaise, Vanneste is getting his pipeline built in just four months, while in Obama’s America we don’t have any beer pipelines at all.

QUESTIONS ASKED:

Thursday’s violence erupted in a left-leaning part of the country that likes to think of itself as unusually tolerant. And yet, would its residents feel safe wearing a Trump 2016 t-shirt around San Francisco or Oakland or San Jose? People in the Bay Area regularly—and often rightly—urge other parts of the country that are intolerant toward different people in different ways to engage in introspection and improve their community.

How many will do anything to respond to the fact that yesterday, at a political rally in their community, some of their neighbors got beat up merely for attending?

Well, not San Jose’s Democrat mayor:

“At some point Donald Trump needs to take responsibility for the irresponsible behavior of his campaign,” Mayor Sam Liccardo told the Associated Press, praising the city’s  police while adding that “we’re all still holding our breath to see the outcome of this dangerous and explosive situation.”

Glenn called it last night.

QUIET RIOT: Vox’s Emmett Rensin is temporarily suspended by JuiceVox godfather Ezra Klein.

I wonder how brief his timeout will be?

HOPE: Top Clinton Adviser Says the Primary Is Over.

“Here’s what’s not in doubt — that at some point Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton will have a majority of pledged delegates. No. 1, she’ll have a majority of delegates overall and a significant majority in the popular vote,” senior Clinton strategist Joel Benenson said in interview with Jonathan Karl and Rick Klein on the ABC News “Powerhouse Politics” podcast.

“That’s why everybody in the party, except for a small group of people, are acknowledging that she will be and is the presumptive nominee in the Democratic Party,” Benenson said.

With numbers like these, Senator Sanders, there’s no reason to stop before Philly!

WHILE SCHOLARS FRET IN THE NEW YORK TIMES ABOUT THE THREAT OF A TRUMP PRESIDENCY TO THE RULE OF LAW, WE HAVE THIS HAPPENING:

Among the supporters taunting the protesters was the woman who would eventually be cornered by the angry mob. Pinned against the doors of the Marriott hotel next to the convention center, she became the focal point of the crowd’s anger. Protesters hurled obscenities, spit on her, and ultimately began egging her.

Although hotel staff eventually rescued her, police never stepped in — a decision that clearly emboldened protesters, who took to the streets, marching, burning flags, and chanting “Fuck Trump!” . . .

In at least two instances Trump supporters engaged with protesters, chanting “Donald Trump” and walking directly into the thickest, angriest portions of the protests. But things quickly spiraled, and rallygoers simply trying to get back to their cars were chased down and beaten — often at the feet of San Jose Police, who stood by motionless.

Police were present at the gathering, but took a hands-off approach to the crowd. In some cases, officers stood nearby as fighting and violence broke out.

A police source told BuzzFeed News that officers were under orders to not break ranks.

When seconds count, police are only seconds away — standing there watching you get assaulted. And whose fault is it? Trump’s of course!

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, a Clinton supporter, praised the police response in an AP interview, saying “we are still holding our breath to see the outcome of this dangerous and explosive situation.” Liccardo also criticized Trump.

“At some point Donald Trump needs to take responsibility for the irresponsible behavior of his campaign,” Liccardo said on the phone with the AP.

Related: San Jose Mayor Justifies Mob Violence.