netminder

Too much reading and too many tinfoil hats since I first posted. All I wanted to add was last night I watched a BBC documentary on the causes of WW1. So to that end, I'd say it's good to have allies, but let's not follow them into the grave. Probably best in the next major conflict to play as the US did back then and just profit off of it and then step in at the end to mop things up.

If you're not slightly sociopathic, you shouldn't even think about being a politician.

We didn't give two poops about Africa because there isn't oceans of black stuff under that particular desert. And yes, we 100% created Bin Laden to try and overthrow unfriendly governments. Or, we go into places and dethrone dictators and act utterly confused that democracy doesn't just spring up out of this angry, violent power vacuum. Just stay the hell away. Provide humanitarian aid if you absolutely must do something. But fighting them only proves their point, makes them stronger, and makes them angrier.

they were mentioned earlier. I was making my post when you posted and wanted to post about your post (I heard you like to post, so I posted on your post, so you can post while you post).

Nice hair though. And she looked 68 back then too. Hasn't aged a day.

HA! North Korea? You're kidding, right? They can't even feed their own people, how do you expect them to fight a war? If push came to shove I'm pretty sure China would be more than happy to force them into oblivion. If there's any I'm remotely nervous about it's Russia. Obama has actually pushed the US into more wars than he's gotten out of. More so than even Bush Jr.

I think people are looking way to hard at this to find something negative. I went to the MLB website and his introduction didn't even make the news there! The future of this team, especially this year, is going to be heavily dependant on who the next GM is. Sure, Shapiro is a "baseball guy" but there's a lot more to it than just him, and besides, baseball moves are much more up to the GM than the CEO. After the last trade deadline this team is going to be very difficult to manage after this season. Very little in true talent coming down the pipeline and a big chunk of the core is getting old and beaten down. Hopefully free agency goes well. I'm still on the fence with this guy too, but I'm very much more on the positive than negative, especially after some of the things he said yesterday.

I honestly feel bad for the actual people that call and try to sell things. Has to be one of the most depressing jobs imaginable. I'd also bet those shady companies that hire them told them they'd be working a "sales" position and that they have the opportunity to earn commission. Then set them down in front of an auto-dial phone and tell them their salary is 100% commission.

That's something else I don't understand. He does his press conferences like he expects his team to win every night, but the organization has made a commitment to sucking for the next few years.

Revere is arbitration eligible this year, but his contract doesn't expire until 2018. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reverbe01.shtml#contracts If Shapiro was brought in to make money, there's no way he can think it's a good idea to throw all that good will the Jays gained in the last two months away to stock up on prospects for next spring. The team is basically in place for next year and I'm pretty sure most everyone was ready for spring the day after the last game. There is no reason to believe whatsoever that anything has changed for the worse on the field. Yes he created the current team, and it will be the same team for a little while yet. Funny how I brought up the hockey disease in this city when Brian Burke was the face of the Leafs as opposed to the players, and then Jeremy brings it up when quoting me, lol. But to that point, you can still see Burke's finger prints all over the current Maple Leafs team. The only thing that has changed in BJ land so far is there is no GM. And personally I think it was just AA being stubborn and foolish. Or, maybe it was just him taking a stand against the way they handled Beeston's "retirement". Which is honourable, I guess. To some extent Either way, one or two top tier starting pitcher free agents being signed will make everyone forget about AA. He sent us on a nice ride to finish off 5.5 years of mediocrity. Let's still support the TEAM that actually plays the game and forget about the front office.

As a fellow habs fan, yes this is true. But they are due for a correction soon too.

So AA is gone... Who is still on the team: Revere Donaldson (Hank Aaron Award winner BTW) Bautista (who is getting old, now 35, may not have many more years left anyway) Encarnacion Collabello/Smoak Tulowitzki Martin Pillar Travis Osuna Stroman Lowe Sanchez Cecil Hendricks Yeah sure, a couple holes to fill in the rotation/bullpen but it's not like they're in complete shambles. Last I checked AA doesn't play on the field (I doubt he ever has in his life lol). Sure he is well liked by the team too, but when the players go out for a pint after the game I highly doubt they invite AA to come. I think the problem here is too many people get caught up in the corporate/front office politics of a team ala Toronto Maple Leafs and tend to forget that baseball is played on the field by the players more than any of the other big 4 sports. Looking back at that lineup I posted there I am still very confident going into next season. Shapiro has never had a budget to work with in Cleveland, and has had success in the past. Think what might be possible when he's overseeing a team that has some money to spend. Up until July 31, everyone wanted AA's head anyway. I just hope they can strike gold again in scouting and development so we're not basement dwellers in a couple years. PS: We don't even know who the next GM might be anyway.

And that doesn't bother you at all? I find it a little disconcerting that you're OK with that. But then think that a proper dose of good old fashioned elbow grease is going to get someone into the top tiers of society. And as for hiding money, when people are living pay-cheque to pay-cheque, there isn't a whole lot of wealth to hide anywhere, now is there? When you have to hide your money out in the open just to make sure you can retire some day, there isn't really millions of dollars left to send to that Caymans. But of course, it's only fair that those people should be able to take advantage of loopholes while everyone below them plays by the rules.

You did rant, but the part about Warren Buffet is true (although he pays less per dollar of income than his secretary). Hiding your money in all sorts of places, in the market, overseas, in shell companies, etc. It's a legal racket. And anyone who thinks they can attain that status with pure gumption and strong boot straps have truly drank the koolaid.

I just had one this morning saying I paid some amount of money to someone in England through paypal. Funny, I don't have a paypal account either! It's usually pretty obvious because the "from" email address is just some random letters.

They also have to fumigate the place to get the smell of cat pee out from all of Mrs. Harper's cats.

Reporters don't tell facts, they tell stories. Some hack at the local rag probably caught on to this and thought he stumbled upon a goldmine flooded with oil. Police officer behaving badly? check Old defenceless dog? check Grainy video with women crying and screaming? check Possibility of headline resulting in instant public outrage and page clicks? you betcha The more I think about this, the more I have to believe that there was no way to go about this. Animal reported as coyote, acting funny, therefore possibly rabid. Would you get out of your car? Even if you did, would you open fire in a residential neighbourhood? I'm sure this guy feels bad for what he did, even if it turns out it was a coyote. It's not like he was the officer in the other facebook video I recently saw where he knocked on the door, shot the dog three times and then calmly walked away while the dog bled out on the walkway.

Yeah, the writing was on the wall as soon as they hired Shapiro. Might not be the end of the world either though. 5 years of mediocrity and one meteoric rise to the post season when he knew there was nothing to lose? I was bummed when I heard that this morning too, but maybe we should keep things in perspective.

When I hear about people's salaries being frozen or being pulled back, especially in times like these where inflation is rampant and the cost of living is getting out of hand, that makes me angry. There are times when I want to commend the teachers union for sticking up for the people and not accepting that the people on top should be allowed to stay cozy by taking a bigger cut for themselves. I honestly think there's a lot of jealousy in these arguments. But to be frank, I think people are becoming complacent again and are just all to happy to have SOMETHING to take home because they know there are a dozen guys waiting in the wings to take their job if they step too far out of line. That, or if everyone bands together the company will just ship operations overseas. But then these are the same people who think the biggest concern when voting is the "economy". Well, unfortunately, true economics is void of ethics and morals. If keeping the economy afloat means not having to pay anyone, which is slowly becoming the case, then they surely will do it.

Who pays for the other side's bargaining costs? That is ridiculous. There's so much misinformation, lies, propaganda, posturing, mud slinging, etc. with these teachers unions and the province I don't think anyone, including the teachers (based on comments from a few I know personally) knows what's true and isn't anymore. But I will say, aside from any propaganda or whatever, it is really difficult to get sympathy from people working in the private sector for these teachers. Sure, it's a difficult and important job, but it's not like you're living in poverty here. And I know it's not just about the money, but then you claim you want better environments for the children but at the same time hold them hostage? Something doesn't add up. Ironically enough, it was the big push from the teachers union that got this government elected. But you didn't really think all your wishes would come true, did you?

I wonder what the fear of socialism is? It's not communism. And if everything on the "slippery slope" argument were true I think everyone responding to this thread would have OD'd on some heavy drugs by now. We have the unfortunate distinction of living next to the biggest capitalist pseudo-libertarian state in the world. The only thing capitalism and libertarianism help is the people on top. But it's easy to sell to the people on the bottom because you have the illusion of hope. Did you know the Greeks believed that all of the evils were let out of Pandora's Box except hope? Interesting that hope could be considered an evil, especially by a very philosophical people such as the ancient Greeks. Socialism, on the other hand, rewards hard work but doesn't artificially inflate people's value. If you truly want your kid to grow up rich, don't send them to university to go into medicine, engineering, or arts (duh), have them get a business degree or and MBA. Oh, and make sure they're well connected and from a rich family before they get there. And as for the "ruining lives" argument: I think it comes down to what people are capable of regardless of what drug or crutch they have. Smoking weed isn't going to ruin the lives of normal people. After reading this thread I think a lot of people would be surprised at how many people they see on a regular basis have a puff every now and then or would be far more inclined to do so if it were legal.

So by this logic, since there is such a storm coming in tonight that there is a "special weather statement" coupled with the full moon we should have some nice fish porn to look at tomorrow? If only I wasn't at work at sundown is at like 5pm...

fishing just after a storm is usually pretty tough. I always like to go right before one is scheduled or about 3-4 days after one when the fish get really hungry. As for the moon stuff, it's usually 3 to 4 days after a full or new moon that brings out the strongest bite. That being said usually whenever I have spare time is the best time for me to be on the water.

I remember that from the last Olympics... it just made more areas where you couldn't score from lol.

was it the one where the guys water is flammable? Yeah, that was 100% fabricated.