RUPERTKBD
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Everything posted by RUPERTKBD
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I hate to keep patting my guy on the back (okay, not really ) but the NDP made a huge mistake when they passed on Nathan Cullen. I think he was the one leader with the potential to build on what Jack Layton started. Mulcair (and by all appearances, Singh) have been backward steps. I generally don't bother with predictions this far away from election campaigns, but my guess is that Trudeau has enough support for at least a minority.
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[Official] Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball thread
RUPERTKBD replied to The Stork's topic in Off-Topic General
Sad news in baseball today, as former Expo great Rusty Staub passes away: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/news/rusty-staub-beloved-mets-and-expos-icon-dies-at-73/ar-AAvfhIv?li=AAggNb9 On opening day no less.... RIP Le Grand Orange. -
Watched the tail end of the Raptors-Nuggets last night and I have to say I was impressed by Jamal Murray. For the past few years it was bascially a given that Andrew Wiggins was Canada's best player, but having seen what JM can do, I'm not so sure. Certainly bodes well for the national team in the future.
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[Official] Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball thread
RUPERTKBD replied to The Stork's topic in Off-Topic General
Probably won't happen. Both are starting the season in double A. That's a huge jump to the majors in one season. Vlady might get a September call-up, if the Jays are contending for the wild-card, but there isn't much chance that Bo makes the big club this year. I'm hoping they both make the jump to triple A and continue raking it. After the top 4 in the AL (Houston, Cleveland, NY and Boston) there's no clear #5, so that gives the Jays a reasonable shot at a wild card berth. That being said, I can't see any way they could knock off any of those four top teams, so a playoff game (maybe a series) is probably the best we can hope for. They are a couple of years (at least) from becoming a true contender. -
[Official] Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball thread
RUPERTKBD replied to The Stork's topic in Off-Topic General
Vlad Jr! Couldn't have scripted that one any better. -
[Official] Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball thread
RUPERTKBD replied to The Stork's topic in Off-Topic General
Bad break (no pun intended) for the Giants: https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/giants-bumgarner-fractures-pitching-hand-hit-liner-drive/ -
There's some truth to this. Petronas pulled out because of two things: The difficulty in getting environmental approval and current low price for LNG. I have a friend who used to work for one of the LNG companies, (I can't keep them all straight anymore) but now works for the DP World. His words were a bit more harsh. Something to the effect of "They don't want an LNG plant in BC". The gist being that the government makes the approval process so onerous and expensive, that it eventually drives the companies away. Still, I believe that the global price was the real killer. As Strome and a couple of others have pointed out, the US and Australia have made hay while we dragged our feet and we're now playing catch up. Unfortunately, companies are not going to invest billions unless there is a promise of some profit down the road. With the current glut of LNG on the market right now, there's no money to be made in starting up a new enterprise, at least, not at this stage. This is why Horgan's announcement has to be taken with a grain of salt. Certainly, it's a good gesture, but he also has to know that there isn't a lot of interest out there for taking him up on the offer at this point. The good news is, Northern BC has one thing that no-one else can offer: A naturally deep harbour, that's about a day closer to Asian markets than any other North American port. If and when the prices come back up again, we should be well positioned to take advantage, especially if the government is truly interested in making it happen.
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He asked if I thought it was fair. They outlawed lawn darts after three people were killed. In fact, they have outlawed a lot of things after less carnage than gun violence. How many have died because of firearms? As far as the monetary aspect goes, I'd be okay with a buy back program for any weapons that are outlawed.
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I think it's fair. Just as fair as all those kids losing their lawn darts, when the CPSC decided they were dangerous toys. https://www.cpsc.gov/content/following-recent-injury-cpsc-reissues-warning-lawn-darts-are-banned-and-should-be-destroyed From what I can tell, this action was taken after only three fatalities.
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[Official] Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball thread
RUPERTKBD replied to The Stork's topic in Off-Topic General
We might just see this kid in the majors before too long. Check out the second video to see him at the age of 15, hitting tape-measure shots at a major league park: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2760425-meet-blaze-jordan-the-15-year-old-baseball-phenom-with-500-foot-power?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial -
I noticed the same thing. And yes, it seemed to be a common occurrence last year. I'm hoping this is just early season jitters.
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[Official] Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball thread
RUPERTKBD replied to The Stork's topic in Off-Topic General
So after reading this story, I had to quickly check my calendar to make sure it isn't April 1st: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/mlb/royals-hold-event-to-educate-players-and-coaches-on-the-effects-of-pornography/ar-BBK0H6b?li=AAggXBR Not sure what "harmful" effects the Royals are concerned about....maybe the players' eyesight? -
It's a bit shocking to understand how much power a CRA auditor has. In a very real sense, they are judge, jury and executioner. Years ago, I worked in a computer retail shop. The guy who owned it was an accountant who had formerly worked as the CFO for the Carnaby Mill near Hazelton. he was an absolute stickler for keeping records and making sure there was a paper trail for every transaction, no matter how small. One year, the business was audited. After a few days of going over our books, the "investigator" declared that he could find no discrepancies, or omissions in our bookkeeping, therefore he was "only" going to assess a penalty of a couple thousand dollars, because (in his words) "there is always unreported income". The CRA gives it's investigators the power to make arbitrary decisions like this, with little recourse for the person, or business being audited. To make matters worse, bonuses are paid out on the basis of unclaimed revenue found. (This policy may have changed by now, but it was definitely the norm at the time)
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So this story doesn't necessarily belong in this thread, but it doesn't really need it's own. The content pretty much speaks for itself, but I'd like to point out that I know Rob Punnett and his ruling doesn't surprise me in the least. I'd also like to point out that having watch CRA "investigators" in action before, the conduct of this one surprises me even less: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/cra-slammed-for-reprehensible-and-malicious-prosecution-of-bc-couple/ar-BBJUURq?li=AAggNb9 Sometimes, the good guys win...
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And it's possible that the trend continues, but I don't think it will. My experience is that politicians' approval numbers tend to end up looking much like a valley by the end of the term. It starts off like a honeymoon and then after a year or so, reality sets in. Mistakes are made and people start to engage in the Canadian tradition of complaining about the government. The as we get closer to election day, the sitting government starts to find money for things that people want and the opposition has to actually say what they're going to do differently, rather than just criticizing everything the government does. This usually works for at least one re-election, and I don't see anything right now that makes me think it will be any different with Trudeau.