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Friday free-for-all!

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174 Comments

Another week draws to a close and another Friday free for all post is ready for your weekend – It’s time for our regular news roundup and open topic economic discussion thread!   Here are a few links to kick off the chat:

–BC Real estate a buyers market
–A soft landing or something worse?
–Financial advice from bank tellers
–To boost net worth live in a mid-sized city
–House prices fall for first time this year
–Sex sells? Maybe not
–Sacramento flippers in trouble

So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!

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midnite_toker

@Devore: I'd pay 400$ for that tops.. Might be a little tricky to bring some ladies back there though 😉

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realpaul

171 Scullerymaid, you should wear a mask when you douche out the shithole. The responses from you are getting ever more infantile. Countries like Switzerland have labour contracts that do not include bringing families along for the very reason that those more enlightened and revenue concious contries do not have the same bleeding heart immigration holes that Canada does for the 'guestworkers' to suck up tax revenues, healthcare or education dollars. Being a toilet wiper doesn't lead to higher thinking obviously.

For a bushrat(?) who got the bums rush out of Vancouver at a time when they had to import kitchen staff you really seem to have picked up a case of self agrandisement. I guess screaming at your betters makes it all OK? Go back to scrubbing bubbles, the city life ain't for you.

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patriotz

@chip:

And the dictator accusation is not something I’ve heard normal people say.

Well I agree with you on that. But the US seems to have a lot of "not normal" people in positions of influence:

http://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&ch…

BTW, universal health insurance MEANS that everyone has to buy health insurance. Whether directly or through one's employer, or through the government (like all those US seniors who hate big government but love Medicare), is a detail.

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scullboy

Grampy, you're such a retard. Seriously. Let's see, we'll import a whole class of people to perform middle class work at third world wages, thus gutting the Canadian middle class, creating a permanent underclass who of course will bring their spouses, grandparents and kids to take advantage of free medicare, education etc. Weren't you screaming like a stuck Boomer pig over that just a while ago? Yeah that's a great idea. That'll work really fucking well. Personally I'm all for it because I'm pretty sure those of us you are younger can slip ol' Manuel the night nurse a 50 to add a lil' something to your IV drop there Grampy. YOu get to go in your sleep, nice and peaceful and we get your property since as hard as I'm sure you'll try, you can't take it with you.… Read more »

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chip

@patriotz:

I was with you all the way Patriotz until the Obama bit. He won the most votes because the population is growing. His margin of victory however was only the fifth biggest in the last eight elections.

And the dictator accusation is not something I've heard normal people say. I would think the fact that he hasn't kept his campaign promises is the real problem:

Close Guantanamo, ban earmarks, not raise taxes on those under $250,000, nobody forced to buy health insurance, no recess appointments, health talks on C-Span, no military tribunals, tougher border security and many more.

But the biggest whopper of course was the promise to have a net spending cut. He blew that f**cker out of the water.

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chip

@Drachen:

"Free speech is what a government provides."

No. Free speech is the natural condition. Government can leave it alone or it can impose restrictions.

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patriotz

@Drachen:

Free speech is what a government provides.

No, free speech is what a government leaves alone. Or ought to leave alone.

Rights are not granted by government, government simply recognizes and secures them.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed

Speaking of the "consent of the governed", Obama received the highest number of votes ever cast for a US presidential candidate, yet for some reason gets accused of acting as a "dictator" for keeping his campaign promises.

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vibe

particularly considering that two of their top four executives are women.

Seriously?

Anyway I don't know about a reputation for rape but here is some info on one case:

http://vodpod.com/watch/2216354-kbr-rape-victim-w…

I know they had at least one other case go to arbitration as well. For a company with TWO top female executives they sure didn't deal with this in a very sympathetic manner. On the other hand I think it would be a pretty big stretch to say that rape doesn't happen in the non-privatized parts of the army as well.

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chip

@Drachen:

Not sure that laundry services come under the definition of mercenary unless you think too much starch is a capital offence. As for KBR having a reputation for rape and torture of young women, that's a pretty well hidden reputation for a 57,000 person company, particularly considering that two of their top four executives are women.

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Drachen

@No More Gordocracies:

Free speech is what a government provides. Individuals and companies are free to censor the content they host.

Don't be an idiot.

Also, this is hardly the forum for your conspiracy theories.

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No More Gordocracies

URGENT FREE SPEECH MESSAGE

“The Obama Deception”, one of Alex Jones’ most popular documentary films has been censored on You Tube. The most viewed online version of the film, which had more than 6.5 million views, has been illegally removed from the You Tube account “ChangeDaChannel”. The URL link of the said video ranked among the top results of the keyword “Obama”.

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No More Gordocracies

URGENT FREE SPEECH MESSAHE

“The Obama Deception”, one of Alex Jones’ most popular documentary films has been censored on You Tube. The most viewed online version of the film, which had more than 6.5 million views, has been illegally removed from the You Tube account “ChangeDaChannel”. The URL link of the said video ranked among the top results of the keyword “Obama”.

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Drachen

@chip:

Actually KBR, a subsidiary of Haliburton (though I think they may have detached now) is running a variety of services for the military, laundry, kitchens and such. They're overcharging and underproviding from all I've heard. They also have a reputation for rape and torture of young women who go to work overseas for them (not kidding, even slightly, you should read up on it it's completely disgusting) and then hiding behind the Iraqi law that says American contractors aren't subject to their laws (and of course it's not happening on US soil so it's not by THEIR laws, they're not in the military so they're not subject to military law. These guys haven't even been REPRIMANDED for their behaviour!).

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chip

@gonzonista:

" That is what is happening in the USA and it doesn’t seem to be winning any wars or doing anything other than enriching Haliburton. "

I think you're mixing up your right-wing boogymen. Haliburton is the oil services company that's the real reason we went to war in Iraq, while Blackwater (now Xe Services) is the gaggle of mercenaries that kills for fun and profit.

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gonzonista

@152RealPaul, Ah, so your complaint is not about government but about unions. The comment about mercenaries is related to privatizing the military. That is what is happening in the USA and it doesn't seem to be winning any wars or doing anything other than enriching Haliburton. But that is a side issue to the union argument. Unions are not the evil institutions that you portray them to be. Your idea of laziness is another person's idea of good life balance. Unions are there to protect their workers. The side effect of this is that incompetent workers are protected when they shouldn't be. The other side effect is that management incompetence is also exposed. In a non-union shop, a management blunder is more easily corrected by making staff work extra hours with no compensation. Management blunders in union environments come with… Read more »

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McLovin

Hey Real Paul: This one is for you:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100718/busines…

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McLovin

Superboom/Superduper Bull time is a moron.

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Spec

SBT: "Bar I just drove through Kelowna and rich Albertan were everywhere since the HST passed everything cheaper bar. Most rich Albertan buy boat in Kelowna since so much cheaper and now with HST bringing price down make it easier bar. Kelowna condo market about to explode with rich alberta HST money."

Those are dumb Alberta mofos then. No sales tax there. Cue Nelson voice: "Ha ha"

You crack me up.

🙂

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superboomtime

Bar I just drove through Kelowna and rich Albertan were everywhere since the HST passed everything cheaper bar. Most rich Albertan buy boat in Kelowna since so much cheaper and now with HST bringing price down make it easier bar. Kelowna condo market about to explode with rich alberta HST money.

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Keeping An Eye On Th

"Don’t knock Don Cherry’s trustworthiness.

I’m sure he is highly trusted by all the other redneck, xenophobic, warmongering douchebags in this country.

I’ll bet they even like his fruity suits."

Best Place:

They should pair him up with Patricia Lovett-Reid; she has been pimping hard for the mortgage sharks as of late.

Personally I suggest a music video perhaps a gothic theme.

Don and Patricia in leather thongs…..

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painted turtle

Yesterday I was in Northern BC and I talked to an old lady (85) who just got approved for a 25 years mortgage (she moved to a new village and wanted a house of her own, the prices there are flat and the inventory is rising) … I did not dare to ask how this is possible. Who says all mortgages in Canada are sound and our banks are perfectly healthy?

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McLovin

Current Inventory anyone? Just got back from a wonderful week in Osoyoos renting a house on the lake. We go there every summer and several years ago were flirting with the idea of going in with a few couples and buying a place. We looked for a few seasons but every time we did the math it just made no sense. Basically anything we wanted, fair size, waterfront, dock, nice yard was $ 1mil – $1.3 mil yet we were renting the same thing for $3,000 a week with no hassles. In the end the price was just too high to justify the purchase especially in light of the fact boating season is really only 12 weeks. Its nice to drive out as the maid is coming to clean it with no worries about maint, upkeep, taxes, insurance, etc. Osoyoos… Read more »

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realpaul

That should read 'we can have good government WITHOUT unions

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realpaul

#149 G, Who said anything about mercenaries? Is that the unions red herring reaction to rationalizing spending? We can certainly have ood government which avails itself of all efficiencies. Who says we can't have good government with union? We certainly don't need overpayed bloated scumbags cutting the grass and shutting the city down anytime the union boss decides to put a gun to our heads. We can easily replace government workers with fixed term contract workers at much lower rates. They can be from Canada or anywhere. Police, firemen, teachers, garbagemen, landscapers, civic workers are a 'dime a dozen'. They can individually be replaced in hours. As taxpayers we shouldn't have to face the escalating demands of the local parasites when it is so obvious that we have hit the wall with the cost structure of maintaing this dinosaur system.… Read more »

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ulsterman

Fall from grace: I'm back in Belfast, Northern Ireland visiting family and i'm temporarily enjoying living in a country that has suffered a 40-55% drop in prices, depending on the area of the city.

One friend has sold a house for 130k that peaked around 279k in 2007. To top it off, the C$ has appreciated 30% since 2007 vs the GBP, so this effectively makes my friends house over 70% cheaper from my Canadian perspective.

I haven't bothered checking VCI since i've been back in Belfast because i haven't wanted the insanity of Vancouver housing to interfere with the joy of calculating price drops and negative equity amounts. Unfortunately reality returns on July 25!

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