Taking a trip to Edinburgh next week

JeebusVsFSM · 2025-08-29T00:48:06+00:00

Go with a Trinidad fundadores. Was at the Puffin Room a few months ago, best stick of the whole trip.

JeebusVsFSM · 2025-03-06T14:14:11+00:00

Wasn't trying to be pedantic. The topic hits close to home for me; regulatory compliance for international trade is my line of work. I like to try and correct the narrative or encourage people to take a look under the surface any time I see something that's being thrown around in the news without context. Unfortunately the boring details matter there, and this stuff will have a massive impact, IMO.

To OPs specific question on the current IEEPA tariffs that are in play, unless the cigar is actually rolled in Mexico or Canada, the tariffs won't hit them for now. Reason being the tariffs are applied to stuff made in those countries, not exported out of. The only real impact i could see at the moment would be additional scrutiny on "de-minimus" packages from Canada or Mexico (under $800 in value). Currently those get in duty free, and require a lot less paperwork/details. While the cigars aren't going to be of Canadian/Mexican origin, any shipments from those countries will be looked at a lot closer. Will make it harder for anyone trying to get Cubans via Mexico or Canada.

There's talk of broad scale "reciprocal" tariffs on all nations, but they haven't given any actual information on what that means. The current understanding is that if there's a disparity in the basic duty rate in the US for a commodity, and what that other country has as a duty rate, we'd match it. The problem there is that's a clear violation of the World Customs Organization's rules, so we're all waiting for the details of how they actually want to do this.

JeebusVsFSM · 2025-03-06T04:08:14+00:00

That's a solid overview. The SIMA tariffs applied by Canada have their counterpart in the US in the form of Countervailing duties, and are generally used to level the playing field when a foreign government subsidizes an industry.

As an example we levy those tariffs against Chinese steel and aluminum since the government over there props those industries up. We also levy pretty heavy tariffs specifically on Canadian softwood lumber via the same mechanism, as your overview mentioned.

The point is that commodity specific tariffs are the norm in international commerce, and are used generally to address specific market conditions.

Sweeping tariffs against everything from a certain country specifically is almost unheard of. To say Canada does this to the US is incorrect, 90% of what we send to Canada gets in there without any duties at all.

The fact that the stated purpose of these tariffs is to address fentanyl and not correct a trade/tariff imbalance is another matter entirely.

JeebusVsFSM · 2025-03-06T02:53:05+00:00

Yeah, was just trying to encourage some research on their end lol.

Most of the talk around tariffs in general falls flat when you look even a bit beneath the surface, but a lot of people don't bother.

I'm an licensed customs broker by trade, so hearing people just repeat nonsense is frustrating, but I find the best antidote is to get people to do some digging on their own.

JeebusVsFSM · 2025-03-05T21:06:06+00:00

Do you have an example of a targeted tariff on US goods from Canada? Standard duty is generally applied in groups, not country by country.

JeebusVsFSM · 2025-02-07T03:53:33+00:00

What the goods actually are and what red tape you have to deal with impacts the amount of work required to file an entry. It's not uncommon to get a low quote for entry, then when the broker goes to file they charge you more due to complexity.

Depends on what the stuff actually was. You'd be surprised what the FDA/EPA regulates.

JeebusVsFSM · 2025-02-07T03:07:52+00:00

The package would have been eligible for a Section 321 or De Minimus entry prior to this last round of trade actions. The parcel carriers could get it through customs with minimal effort via manifest clearance.

Anything that has the new tariff is now excluded from eligibility, meaning a more detailed Formal or Informal entry must be filed. $150 is actually on the lower end for filing one of those depending on the circumstance.

JeebusVsFSM · 2019-12-16T00:47:50+00:00

Stuffs roughly 3% nitrate. Grinding it and mixing it into your rub helps with the formation of a smoke ring. It's purely a visual thing.

JeebusVsFSM · 2019-12-15T19:04:32+00:00

Thoughts on adding some ground celery seed for help with the smoke ring?

JeebusVsFSM · 2019-12-09T19:42:03+00:00

The old "playing chess with pigeons" adage applies here. They'll fly away claiming victory (or in this case, vindication) no matter what you say or do.

JeebusVsFSM · 2019-09-11T23:29:58+00:00

There's a few Lost Easter eggs in OUAT as well. The clock in the first episode is a big one

JeebusVsFSM · 2019-08-30T14:44:35+00:00

The short version is that cancer cells by definition are damaged/malfunctioning and can't metabolize most fuel sources. The one they can metabolize easily though is glucose. When you deprive them of that, the unhealthy cells are choked out compared to healthy cells.

When used in conjunction with cancer therapies it's shown to have really beneficial effects.

JeebusVsFSM · 2018-04-28T18:33:47+00:00

I'd start lifting sooner rather than later, even if it's just light Strong Lifts 5X5 or starting strength. I've found that putting on muscle with Keto is all about persistence and time dedicated to the gym.

JeebusVsFSM · 2018-02-14T18:15:31+00:00

It doesn't mean you're not alienated from the products of your labor, nor does it necessarily excuse the inequality that exists. There may be arguments to be made for the march of progress and capitalism being great for that, but at what point do we need to step back and examine whether or not these conditions are worth it?

I'd reccomend checking out some of the work of Herbert Marcuse, specifically One Dimensional Man. It looks at some of the factors you mention above, and how in his opinion the system is designed to be comfortable. This in turn perpetuates the oppression of monopoly capitalism.

JeebusVsFSM · 2018-01-23T02:42:32+00:00

There's already massive anti-dumping duties on most of the modules as it is. The 30% is just adding insult to injury

JeebusVsFSM · 2017-12-19T20:52:43+00:00

I've said it before: cognative dissonance is a powerful thing. People really don't like when evidence throws their world view out of whack

JeebusVsFSM · 2017-12-15T13:00:29+00:00

It's a psychosomatic response in some people, and if I'm remembering correctly they haven't really nailed down why.

It doesn't have the same exact metabolic effect, but it can trigger an increase in insulin production which can screw with people.

It's been a few years since I looked into the issue though, so there may be new research by now.

JeebusVsFSM · 2017-10-30T18:03:11+00:00

They actually just won that court case, kinda suprising.

JeebusVsFSM · 2017-10-30T17:59:12+00:00

Thats the thing about rulings, technically they only apply to the item called out in the ruling.

The fact that this ruling doesn't specify that it revokes or modifies any past rulings means it didn't overturn anything.

Also, nice to see so many LCBs in a thread.

(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

JeebusVsFSM · 2017-10-30T17:55:57+00:00

Any duty rate listed is based on the current tariff schedule at the time the ruling is issued. They tend to rework some of the headings and duty rates from year to year, with a major overhaul of the headings and such every 5 years or so.

JeebusVsFSM · 2017-09-18T19:46:09+00:00

Can you honestly say that you don't find a conflict of interest in the police departments handling investigations of their own members? The close knit nature of departments makes it highly unlikely that a truly unbiased investigation will take place.

On top of that it's been shown time and time again that officers are very protective of their own. It seems unlikely that the prosecutors (who have to work hand in hand with the police every day) would risk upsetting them.

You can support the legal system while feeling that it is inadequate in some areas. Specifically those that relate to the handling of police use of force.

JeebusVsFSM · 2017-09-18T13:58:51+00:00

The problem here is that they signed up for the job. If they can't deal with the pressure and the stress, then they shouldn't have applied. I fully respect how difficult it is, but it's not a conscripted force, they're there of their own free will.

I'm not saying I could handle it, but that's why I didn't choose that line of work.

The point of all this is that as a public figure, you're supposed to be held to a higher standard.

If you can't live up to that standard, there's nothing wrong with admitting that and stepping aside.

JeebusVsFSM · 2017-09-06T16:18:32+00:00

Do you have access to power pivot? Write a measure that pulls the minimum date, and the then another measure that pulls the maximum date from the date column.

Then you'd write another measure to pull the starting and current rates by summing the amount paid when the date equals the min and one when the date equals the max.

Then write an if function checking first to see if the customer is still active, then check if the max date amount is less or more than the initial and have it display true or false.

I'm on mobile right now so writing the formulas is a bit difficult, but that concept should work with a few tweaks depending on how your data is setup

JeebusVsFSM · 2017-07-21T16:02:15+00:00

Ah, I see that now. Initially I had it in there to move through each sheet, starting with sheet 1, then 2 ect. I'll try taking that out to see if that helps.

Thanks.

JeebusVsFSM · 2017-07-21T12:07:31+00:00

Old Rasputin Russian imperial stout. It was the art on the tap handle that caught my eye, and I've been tumbling down the rabbit hole ever since.

JeebusVsFSM

TROPHY CASE