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Boudrias

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  1. These stories have prompted more memories of other vets I knew. We had a neighbour who would come to the field next to our place with his kids. They would fly kites attached to a fishing pole on a reel. I always thought this was the height of technology. This father was a big man with a quick and hearty laugh. He drove truck for Imperial Oil but did not like driving off the highway. He absolutely would not drive his truck up bush roads. I found out later that he was a tail gunner in a Lancaster. He drank a little to much. My father was a aircraft mechanic in England (RCAF) and never talked about the war. He took me to a cafe with a group of businessmen who met regularly for coffee. We were leaving one day and Dad paid for the lunch of a fellow who was sitting a couple of booths over. I had noticed him while we sat as he was talking to himself and acting strange. As we walked down the street I asked Dad why he had bought this fellow lunch. Dad said he was a war hero, that was all. My uncle and Dad joined up together and went thru basic before being slit into different units. They both ended up in England. Dad died at 51 and we never got to talk as adult men. I was laughing about the latest Hogan's Heroes episode one day and my uncle got very upset. The war was not a joke he told me. That started a conversation. My uncle told me that Dad's unit had to meet returning bombers to prep them for their next mission. That prep always started by cleaning out the remains of crews that had been killed. Dad had never shown us what must have been a traumatizing experience. So many WW II vets suffered in silence or used alcohol to hid the affects.
  2. We’re in great need of heroes these days. Yeager was a hero no doubt. Climbing into a airplane knowing the odds were against you coming back is an experience we will never know. Yeager was not unique in responding to the call in WW II but he made a life time of doing it. I will always remember the video of him being strapped into the ‘flying rocket’ he broke the sound barrier with. Guts! In my town we just lost a WW II vet who was 94 years young. His obit said he flew 54 missions and received 2 Disguished Flying Crosses. Lancaster pilot RCAF. The survival rate was less than 20% for 25 missions I believe. We lost another 6 months ago who I knew personally. I knew him as a quiet family man, gentle in nature, who never flew a airplane that I know. Yet in WW II he piloted a B21 bomber for over 30 missions. I think of these men and thank them for the fact that I never had to answer such a call and more importantly my sons did not have to.
  3. I agree with much of your post. I would add other considerations. 1) Balance of Trade: Trump isn't the only leader who keeps tabs on the $ totals going back and forth. That forces Canada to give favorable trade access. 2) the cost of developing markets: Many businesses go to big markets as they can spread their development costs over a bigger potential return. Canada usually supplements these costs by establishing missions in key markets to allow Canadian companies to trade there. 3) Rising Canadian debt: quite simply the more debt Canada takes on the less money there will be for trade development. Not a popular attitude now adays but I saw the development of the Canadian energy industry as the golden ticket to funding a diversification strategy for the economy. IMO Canada should be exporting + 6 million boe per day and taken that revenue to fund a number of key industries. Pharma, EV's, Tech.
  4. When Max came to the Canucks I thought it was the 2nd coming of Sergio Momesso. Both big boys who like to play heavy. Both earned their spurs in the Hab's org when that meant something. Both played roles in taking the Canucks to CUP finals. Congrats to Max on his retirement.
  5. I am glad Marky got his payday. He won many games last year that he should not have. Played lites out. He often made the Van d-core look better than they were. For me it is all about 2-3 years out. Adding players to the young mix that is already here and then making a serious CUP run. This group should be competitive for a number of years. Benning had to make the decision of which goalie he wanted for serious CUP contention and picked Demko. Demko will need more playing time than Markstrom would have allowed.
  6. No disagreement with your thoughts other than I consider SAM's as part of the overall network of defense. Perhaps not very applicable in the north. Totally agree that ships and aircraft are better suited. Did you ever read that report of the Russian division in Siberia dedicated to northern operations? I was at a meeting a few years back where James Moore talked about it. With the success the CPP has had putting people inside Canada we have to assume the Russians have as well.
  7. Doesn't politics do the same thing? You might make a good libertarian. Isn't modern society about exerting control over people's action, good or bad?
  8. How about smoking in a public place? I come from a generation where most adults smoked. Science proved the harm and now the practice is dying, so to speak. We have never seen something like Covid, not in my life time anyway. When I was a kid many of us feared the inoculation needle at school but no one was protesting the science behind having the shot. Mind you back then most people didn't question authority. I suspect masks will become part of our life for some time into the future.
  9. A pastor I know as telling me about all the Covid protocols he had to put in place for his church. To no avail as they are closed for services. Street demos with and without masks go on, it seems daily, and yet there is no enforcement. What the pastor told me was the huge need for emotional support for so many in his congregation as they struggle to get by. He is now doing much of that by phone but finds it a poor alternative.
  10. Pods-Mott-Virt: wouldn't that be a show.
  11. I found it interesting that the Russians got so upset that the USA sold Ukraine both ground to ground and ground to air missile defence systems. IMO Canada has to demonstrate a willingness to defend sovereignty. Russian aircraft regularly violate Canadian airspace and are challenged by Norad. The longer 'turning the other cheek' goes on the bolder the aggressor becomes.
  12. Most Canuck fans will realize that Mark Donnelly hasn't sang the anthem for some time. When he did I loved how he reached out to the fans and had them join in a grand salute to Canada. I highly doubt he thought he was dissing the Canuck org by his action. Considering his relationship with the Canucks thru the '11 Cup run it would have been classier to have made a phone call to him followed by a statement summarizing the thinking. Tweeting was not very classy. The so called "job" he lost was probably a inconsequential stipend, which knowing the man, he likely donated to a good cause.
  13. Canada cannot engage in all out battle against the military might of China, USA or Russia. That isn’t the end game IMHO. The military is the extension of sovereign claim. A willingness to defend territory is a sovereign claim. In the court of world accountability that stands for everything. The ability to form alliances that defend national claims are based on the ultimate call to arms if needed. Failure to defend will ultimately result in a failed state. Over dependence on allies will lead to a failed state. Many people would not agree but I would pull all Canadian ground forces from Europe and redeploy them in Canada. Joint training exempted. Canada should focus their military in the Artic and in maritime defence. That should be their NATO role.
  14. If the science says wearing masks makes sense then I support it. Governments are not enforcing things universally. The S.E.Asian communities are street protesting about conditions in India across Canada. Little apparent pushback from authorities. Yet churches that want to have services with masks and distancing are being fined. People under emotional distress need support and churches can help. There should be a way to help them.
  15. What price freedom? Canada has the 10th largest economy in the world. Population edging toward 40 million. Many Canadians fret about American dominance and yet the country does little to chart an independent course. Israel had the same dominating influence by America and yet they have become world leaders in their military and industry. I can appreciate that Israel feels far more threatened militarily but they saw strength beyond the military. A strong economy allows countries to chart their own course. I think you are quite right to point the finger to our north. Russia, the USA and China all have ambitions over Canada's territory. Did the Chinese push us around because that is who they are or did they take their cue from the Americans? Trump was not the first American president who thought he could push Canada around.
  16. Canada signs such agreements to maintain the protection offered by the USA. As a chronic underspender on the military Canada cannot take a more independent position.
  17. In Pfizer's case it was the volume of product they could produce. IMO there is so much money floating around playing the momentum game that spikes up or down can almost be counted on.
  18. I think you could run a portfolio of just VBAL and VGRO. Adjust the weighting’s based on market sentiment. A degree of active management from Vanguard and whatever weighting’s you decide. MERs are very cheap. VBAL rode thru the down turn quite well.
  19. I appreciate the USA exposure but have to make choices. I cashed out of BCE but kept T because of diversification. The div is great and you get the tax credit. If T hits $30 I will reassess. Actually bought some MFC this morning. 1/3 of sales in SE Asia. 5% Y
  20. Nothing wrong with that. I don't really like using ETF's as I don't know how to measure them. You buy them because the geography or market they represent appeals but then what do you do? If sentiment changes how quickly do you clue in? Being CDN I knew I wanted exposure to healthcare, technology and space. To get that I had to go to the USA where you get good exposure but you lose the dividend tax credit. That said the USA side of my portfolio has carried the year for me. I diversify across 8 sectors. I pick LTH's for each sector and adjust the allocation for each stock as needed. Before I buy/sell I run my numbers to check on the trade. I carry 30 stocks and review all of them at least quarterly. I am a value investor so there are lots of sources to use. I have created sheets to record the key data and fill them out quarterly. When you talk about buying Europe or Emerging markets I already know how much my existing companies do business overseas. That is my foreign exposure IMHO. CDN & USA stocks that is it but they have lots of sales around the world. Someone rightfully questioned the amount of time you can spend on this. I can blow half a day without even realizing it.
  21. Never seen a politician or civil servant who didn't love a blank cheque book. They will do it until someone says the emperor has no clothes. Did you hear the story about IHA ordering in gourmet meals into their Kelowna offices? That is one up on the MP's and staff who were double dipping on their meal stipends when they ate at meetings where the food was provided. It took a motion in Parliament to expose that. Ethics is gone.
  22. Being a market timer is a tough call over the long term. Markets are crazy right now and momentum is carrying stocks up. That won't last. The minute governments stop pumping money out there will be a correction. It sounds like you have a nice entry point on some solid stocks so don't sell unless you do some homework. I have blue chip long term holds (LTH) and use the cash flow to buy more or start new positions. Some of the guys on here sound like they are cleaning up and good for them. I guess I am more the tortoise type. That said I keep about 75% LTH and then 25% for short positions. For example I bought JPM, held it for 2 weeks and sold for 25% profit. It was never a LTH. Took the profit and put it into C as it was much cheaper. I have been doing this for a long time and frankly the home runs are rare. Preserving capital is more important than home runs. It is so cheap to get in and out of stocks now a days that the temptation is to take on more risk. I have always found buying a stock is far easier than knowing when to sell. When you buy set a sell price and when the stock hits it revisit the numbers and see if the reason you bought has changed. Taking profits is never a bad thing but you have the added risk of making another investment decision. I have owned some of my blue chips for 30 years.
  23. I got chased out of CVS with the AMZN news release but got back in at a slightly lower ACB. Up about $12 since I bought ABBV. What is going on at T. Heavy volume and up about $2.00 in the last 4 weeks. Entwhistle is a top notch CEO. Telemed, International, Security and now Agri applications. Obviously using the CF to diversify. International alone is supposed to be worth $2 a share. He really delivers value IMHO.
  24. Softwood Lumber tariff all during the Trump and Obama admins. IMHO one of these first chips the feds throw on the table when dealing with the Americans. It only cost jobs and corporate sales revenue in BC. Eastern Canada is rarely impacted since Maritimes is private wood.
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