It’s the end of the week!
Let’s kick back and have another open topic discussion thread.
So what are you seeing out there?
Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes in the comments below and have a great weekend!
354 Comments
[…] –Home prices are economically justified –No major price drops for 2019 –Welcome to the 1980s –Detached prices descending rapidly –Victoria mayor concerned about casino laundering –economic outlook dims […]
[…] CRA is now using ‘proceeds of crime’ provisions to freeze assets and seize property of tax […]
spy queen isn’t going anywhere.
extradition will drag on for years. the best lawyers in canada are at her disposal and a team of them will make sure of it.
by the time extradition becomes closer to reality the political/judicial landscape might be very different than it is now.
if things start to look bad for her she is just a private boat ride or private plane with a fake flight plan away from freedom. i’m sure she’ll be working on the private security until then. i expect her to be very courteous with them. they might even get nice xmas presents.
she isn’t dumb and naive like the average canadian. she knows how to work people. and she will. just in case she needs to escape.
For starters, while she is around and as an accountable businesswoman she’ll open real estate agency, immigration consulting company, and maternity luxury hotel and spa adjacent to YVR airport and laundry service.
she will make a fine addition to our vibrant community. we are all better for having her live among us.
trust me, the “intervention” will take place well before the 60 day window closes. everyone here i am sure had the feeling something was off with the whole scenario for some time now. in the last 24hrs financial markets figured out this whole thing was staged by both trump and xi. we all assumed Meng was part of Xi’s inner circle, now i am not so sure. given that they’ve known about the arrest warrant since the summer, the only plausible explanation for why this was allowed to happen (as seemingly other ppl like trudeau himself were given advanced notice) is that certain parties wanted it to play out this way for one reason or another. i’d bet this is another powerplay orchestrated by xi himself and the only ones that come out of this looking like big steaming turds… Read more »
Dang – 3 years would have been my guess, too!
China says it has no information on detained ex-Canadian diplomat
https://www.citynews1130.com/2018/12/12/china-detained-ex-canadian-diplomat/
Kidnapped diplomat’s fate is unknown at this time.
even more proof that our PM is in over his head on most of these matters. we should be very concerned…
“even more proof that our PM is in over his head ”
China detained a Canadian couple on trumped-up charges over the extradition of a Chinese spy while Harper was PM. They simply don’t care what we think and there’s nothing any PM can do to prevent it, short of forbidding Canadians from visiting China.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4751174/michael-kovrig-arrested-china/
More good news.
“Apple is considering moving iPhone production out of China”
Good. China has a demographic time bomb just waiting to go off. Apple would be wise to move production before the house of cards collapses.
Family living in Canada for 6 years to be deported Christmas Eve
https://globalnews.ca/news/4751451/family-canada-deported-christmas-eve/
“The Montoyas have lived in Canada for more than six years. They own property, run small businesses and volunteer within their community.”
>>> these are the type of immigrants we need in Canada, not the blood sucking leeches from China who freeload and mooch from our generous Canadian social system. What is wrong with this country ???
Our bureaucracy likes easy wins. It’s easier to audit a waitress than a money laundering fentanyl dealer from China.
This seems like a consistency across government. I think the problem is ultimately lack of accountability.
There was a counter example to this false narrative posted only yesterday.
If they were from China you’d be making snide remarks about the nature of their businesses and real estate holdings. Double standards much?
“these are the type of immigrants we need in Canada”
They are refugee claimants not immigrants and their claim was rejected. There is nothing to stop them from applying to immigrate once they leave Canada. I think there’s a case to be made that people like them, whose claims were delayed for years through no fault of their own, might be given special permission to stay. But the rule change would have to apply to all such cases not just those who appeal to you.
WTF…
No limits here with attracting and pleasing the favourite customers…
Detached home prices are descending rapidly in Vancouver
https://www.straight.com/news/1176056/detached-home-prices-are-descending-rapidly-vancouver
Canada’s immigration ministry now accepts credit reports produced by a Chinese mobile app Alipay as proof that Chinese citizens applying for travel visas are financially stable
https://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/alipay-and-wechat-push-into-canada-with-mobile-payment-appsutm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FP_TopStories+%28Financial+Post+-+Top+Stories%29
Shilling time…
“…then what factors are driving home prices up so high? A possible answer, though unpalatable, is that… home prices are [economically] justified. This is perhaps the most terrifying threat of all: not an imminent economic crisis, but the possibility that homes may never be affordable for those who are already priced out; that, on their way to becoming world class, our major cities stopped being the bastions of equal opportunity we like to think they are. This may simply be what Canada is now.”
Canada’s high home prices likely to just stay high
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2018/12/10/canadas-high-home-prices-stay-high/
In other words buy now or be priced out forever?
These prices aren’t justified by any logical measure of valuation. This article is just wishful thinking by housing speculators (aka. most homeowners) and nothing more.
The message todays events sends to the people on this group: nothing will be done for the public good or you. Have no allegiances to the state and try to get ahead.
New
86
Price Change
45
Sold
99
TI: 12224
Wtf?
For those that haven’t figured it out. This guy ‘screwed’ is a troll.
Pot, please allow me to introduce you to my friend kettle.
Silence, naive minion! The authorities will be watching you closely when the war starts!
Et tu space889?
No, that was my best Oracle impression. I guess I missed the mark.
File this one for now. We’ll check back next year.
“No major home price drops for Metro Vancouver and B.C. next year: forecasts”< Vancouver Courier
https://www.vancourier.com/real-estate/no-major-home-price-drops-for-metro-vancouver-and-b-c-next-year-forecasts-1.23528952
"Two separate brokerage surveys predict home values will stay virtually flat or decrease only slightly"
“Detached home prices are descending rapidly in Vancouver”, Georgia Straight
https://www.straight.com/news/1176056/detached-home-prices-are-descending-rapidly-vancouver
“Prices of single-family homes in Vancouver show no signs of recovering after a freefall over the past year.”
“sale prices of condos fell by 10.5 percent downtown, 4.5 percent in Southlands, 3.3 percent in Kitsilano, and 2.4 percent in Yaletown compared to November 2017.”
Shameless asshole…
Trump says he would consider intervening in the case of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou and setting her FREE as part of a broader trade deal to ease rising tensions with China amid national security concerns
This whole thing has been an orchestrated setup from the beginning. It just a negotiation tactic in the trade war. We should send the USA a bill for our wasted time.
Set up? Do you suggest she is innocent?
Political set up.
“Earlier Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s top representative in Canada, Ambassador Kelly Craft, dismissed Chinese claims of a political motive behind Meng’s arrest as “absolutely false.””
And Trump himself contradicts her the same day. Occupational hazard.
You guys are starting catch on what is happening. Trump is just upping the ante on the trade negotiations. How many elites attention in China did this arrest get? Many in dog faces inner circle. China will be crushed and Trump will get China to agree to the crushing. Pure genius.
@ YVR
The art of the deal….something even China likely understands….
The people above your post are still trying to keep up.
the arrest is not politically motivated.
letting her go is politically motivated.
two different things. it’s not a contradiction. of course, trump isn’t perfect. this is a failure of communication on his part. he needs to always keep in mind that the public gets confused very easily and the message must always be dumbed down.
Most politicians policy is created in back rooms by advisers who carefully craft the policy, run it by focus groups and then pass it on to the politician and his subordinates in talking points to announce to the people.
Trump creates the policy himself. He often tells the people before he tells his advisers and subordinates. That is the way geniuses work. Do you think Steve Jobs had advisers and focus groups that created the ipod and iphone? Nope, he told his people what it will do and then said do it. They told Jobs he was crazy and it can’t be done just like people do to Trump.
Jobs’ original directive was to research (multi)touch tablet displays. There was no top-down phone design produced in advance.
“I’ll tell you a secret,” Jobs told the crowd. “It began with the tablet. I had this idea about having a glass display, a multi-touch display you could type on with your fingers. I asked our people about it. And six months later, they came back with this amazing display. And I gave it to one of our really brilliant UI guys. He got scrolling working and some other things, and I thought, ‘My God, we can build a phone with this!’ So we put the tablet aside, and we went to work on the iPhone.”
“we can build a phone with this” – Steve Jobs
So that quote confirms the iphone concept and design was Steve Jobs idea. Thanks but we already knew that.
The technology drove the idea, not the other way around.
Basically it’s everyone for themselves. The naive are the ones that fight for their countries. Just do what you can to get ahead without getting caught I guess. Or have powerful friends.
i think there might be more going on here than meets the eye…and there are lots of things that quite frankly don’t make any sense at all…
-yes, trump will make the most of this engineered situation
-i have sneaking suspicion that certain parties in the PRC might be complicit in the whole fiasco to send a message
-it does seem rather odd the Meng was not warned by her people prior to hopping on that particular flight
-it seems suspicious that her home was apparently broken into in the dark of night. no reason was given, no one was caught and nothing further has been (or will be) done. it was also cute that a work/cleaning crew was at the house many hours before she was let go on bail (as if certain parties already knew outcome)
-imho this whole story concludes way before the 60 day period expires with no one being charged
-somehow Cda winds up looking like both the fool and the bad guy here….by design. as a result, none of Meng’s financial dealings, real estate transactions etc are given a 2nd look by the cdn authorities
-Meng and family sever all those “close ties” with the city and leave the country before anyone can followup on the story
-the outcome is an obvious win for trump and also for Xi as he continues on with his anti-graft campaign
-now that a prominent example has been made, Vancouver’s reputation as a money laundering destination for the rich and infamous is tarnished forever
She was arrested on Dec 1st. Now, from MelanieNagyCTV twitter:
“Judge says “Meng was arrested on a provisional warrant” and the requesting State (US) has not yet completed documentation regarding official extradition request. The US has 60 days to complete that.”
They had 10 freaking days. WTF?
Funny, how this short list more or less sums up the entire population segment of a certain background in the city.
“Guarantors: a realtor, an insurance agent, a part-time yoga instructor and a homemaker whose husband once worked with Meng at Huawei”
Guarantors not on list who should be:
Student
Duck farmer
generic businessman
Very solid and reassuring. Well done Canada…
“Martin says the proposed sureties have pledged more than $3 million based on the value of their homes and $50,000 in cash from retirement savings in one case by a woman who he says brought a certified cheque to court, knows the couple well and has vacationed in Alaska with Meng’s in-laws.
Martin says one person who is offering a financial guarantee is a realtor who met Meng in 2009 and sold two properties to the couple. The man has pledged his home, valued at $1.8 million, and Martin says he understands he would lose it if Meng violated the conditions of her release.”
Anyone want to start a pool on how long it takes before Meng mysteriously vanishes?
or rather turns up dead?
So it will be up to the Americans to clean up our garbage…
And she won…
Huawei exec Meng Wanzhou granted bail
And now Trudeau will bend over backwards so she can escape. Then everyone will play dumb.
This sends a huge message to the Chinese elite. That Canada can keep getting raped.
She’ll “commit suicide” tomorrow night IMO. China can’t allow to sing once in the US.
I’m actually hoping she skips bail and sneaks out of the country with China’s help…this would cool off our relationship with China an reenforce that those that grew up in the Mainland China are never to be trusted.
Agree….let her do a runner…..good riddance. Better than having this crap drag on and on in the courts for a year or so….
😀
Vancouver radio host says Chinese community taking China’s side in Meng case
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-radio-host-says-chinese-community-taking-chinas-side-in-meng-case
Well, that would probably mark a beginning of an end of a beautiful friendship.
for sure the second guy in the photo is still sporting his Cda Goose parka. didnt get the memo I guess…
Nonsense! Of course, it is a criminal issue. Perhaps they are calling from “home”.
“Chinese community members Chan has spoken with believe a diplomatic solution is preferable. “Callers are saying this is a political issue, not a criminal issue and this should be solved by the leaders of the three countries,” said Chan.
And if there was ever a doubt as to what side these “Canadians” would take in a China VS Canada issue/ problem we already knew the result but pretty much have confirmation now.
War is coming. I’m on the USA side.
Can’t trust one single person from communist china.
The motherland will always come first, they’ll turn on us in a heartbeat.
That’s because they see lying and cheating in business as an acceptable practice.
Which Canadians?
“Ottawa considering increasing China travel risk warnings for Canadians”
They’ve kidnapped random Canadians before.
It’s an evil country.
How could anybody buy-in such crap, let alone court?
“Martin says one person who is offering a financial guarantee is a realtor who met Meng in 2009 and sold two properties to the couple. The man has pledged his home, valued at $1.8 million, and Martin says he understands he would lose it if Meng violated the conditions of her release.”
They know the Chinese government will make them whole.
This company is deeply tied to the Chinese government and there is zero chance they aren’t being used to spy on Westerners and their own population. The Chinese government is probably quite worried that she’ll spill the beans, so they’ll do anything to get her back home.
She’ll make a run for sure. She’ll hop on an inflatable boat off a dock in Steveston or Richmond in the dark of night and then a Chinese sub sitting in the middle of Georgia Straight will take her back home.
Unless the sea lion gets to her first.
I say let the Government of China post her bail. $10 billion. If she jumps ship then I am more than happy with that sort of compensation.
The release of Meng will send a strong message to the Chinese elite that they can do anything in Canada.
Expect more law breaking especially when Trudeau and all BC parties have your back.
Not only elite but each and every apparatchik, cadre, fraudster, thief, pigs counter, and any permit issuer that happened to had some power over anything and made a shitload of money in the meantime.
That message is already loud and clear. This changes nothing.
Wearrrrr Ebbbbyy?
Making calls to release Meng.
I am confused, what this has to do with Eby? What kind of power or influence he has on this matter?