63 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  1. I must say, your Prime Minister is in rare form today. The bad news is – Canada gets all of our terrorist refugee rejects. The good news is Justin is your negotiator for the new NAFTA.

  5. Must be using his quantum computer again.

    Quantum computers differ from conventional computers in that quantum bits, or qubits, can achieve superposition, or a state that is both 1 and 0 simultaneously, boosting the quantum processing unit’s (QPU’s) problem-solving powers.
    “Computation is performed by initializing the QPU into a ground state of a known problem and annealing the system toward the problem to be solved such that it remains in a low energy state throughout the process. At the end of the computation, each qubit ends up as either a 0 or 1.
    This final state is the optimal or near-optimal solution to the problem to be solved,” explains D-Wave.

    Sounds about right.

  6. Oh, there are a few holdouts, notably Ferrari and McLaren, resisting the lure of filthy (as in muddy) lucre, but next year sometime – Italian automakers are notoriously vague about precise launch dates — Lamborghini will introduce its Urus “super” SUV.
    http://driving.ca/auto-news/news/motor-mouth-suv-sales-are-both-unstoppable-and-unfathomable
    By Domenicali’s own reckoning, Urus sales will, in just two years, equal the 3,500 units a year that it took the company’s supercars 54 years to reach….
    WHY ARE PEOPLE BUYING SUVs WHEN SEDANS (HAVE LOWER CARBON FOOTPRINT)? Sport-utes of every price and every size are where the market is heading, the consuming public seemingly not caring that SUVs are less efficient, less economical and, sometimes, not even as well developed as their sedan counterpart….”Ford of Canada may be bragging of yet another record year, but beneath that profitable veneer, sales of the company’s passenger cars are in free fall, the Fiesta down some 45 per cent in 2016 compared with 2015, the Focus down 21 per cent and the Fusion almost nine per cent. Ford might contend that all its passenger cars are long in the tooth but the whole intermediate sedan segment is down 10.4 per cent”.
    Meanwhile, SUV sales are booming…

  8. One reason SUV sales are booming: In the past 20 years the number of pet dogs in the US has increased by about 55% from 54 million to 84 million, and more people are taking their dogs with them when they drive. SUV style vehicles are much better for carrying dogs than sedans. SUVs also provide better access to the cargo area rather than the pile of junk in the trunk. There is also a perception that SUVs are safer.

  9. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, Edmonton and Vancouver are all cities that voted HRH Justine as PM in October 2015. It’s thereby normal and logical that those leftard cities get rewarded with the awesomeness of diversity and so they can become stronger. All new Muslim immigrants to those cities and may they all become “no go zones” soonest.
    #WelcometoCanada

  10. So, let me get this straight. The inconvenience to 172 foreign nationals is more important than the safety of 322 million Americans?!

  11. I don’t understand that. They have some of the best looking small cars and SUVs on the road. The new Explorer is gorgeous. As you indicate, too small for me, but still handsome vehicles. While long a GM aficionado, I went Lincoln two years ago, made somewhere in Canuckistan, and am enjoying the MKX immensely, which goes back to your SUV refrain. Lincoln has the new Continental out which is a beautiful piece of machinery. The problem for me is the sightline. The view from the MKX or the Wrangler Sahara (dog hauler) provides a better vantage on what’s happening ahead. I also am lucky enough to enjoy an extremely low slung sports car. In that case, the torque and horsepower make up for the lack of traffic perspective.

  12. I saw that. Here’s a link from the Sydney Morning Herald:
    http://www.smh.com.au/world/in-face-of-donald-trumps-muslim-ban-canadas-trudeau-welcomes-refugees-20170128-gu0q04.html
    And you’d be right, of course.
    As it happens, less than 48 hours ago, I wrote to a correspondent of mine as follows (having to do with the Conservative leadership race; whether any or everyone agrees with my perspective, from here in Stratford ON, on the candidates or not, I’d say it’s spot on re: Trudeau’s behaviour; it all sort of goes together, so I’ve taken the liberty of including the whole thing):
    “I’ve been trying to frame a response to your question re: the leadership. Here are some current thoughts:
    – I don’t think that conditions in this country are quite as near the tearing point as they are in the States, but the GTA housing bubble, the “climate change” crap and the condition of public-sector finances are going to bite us in the back-side soon enough. Consequently, I haven’t been of a mind that a Trump-style revolt had been in the offing.
    – I’ve mainly been interested in Maxime Bernier, and am helping with his campaign. Overall, so far at least, I’m liking his policy proposals, and I’m with Conrad Black regarding the political suicide that would accompany the selection of unilingual leader. I have no problem with the selection of a leader from Quebec, particularly one who has been a steady Conservative/conservative over the long haul. I think there are real possibilities for the Tories off the island of Montreal, in Quebec, with Bernier as leader. I have few concerns about his chances in Western Canada, although I’m not sure yet how well he’ll be received in rural and small-town Ontario.
    – I’ve been basically agnostic on O’Leary, although his entry into the race was really lame (one day after the French-language debate) and I don’t like his foreign and defence policies at all. I have been basically discounting his chances, particularly with his lengthy hemming and hawing over whether he was going to run or not.
    – That was until Kathleen Wynne opened her big fat trap with that open-letter stunt, and handed O’Leary the advantage. To the extent that she was put up to it by the federal Liberals (being the loyal Trudeau boot-licker that she is), on account of their not wanting to be seen to have their finger prints on an O’Leary “take down”, they’ve got to be regretting that blunder. I haven’t read what she wrote or how O’Leary responded, but it doesn’t matter, in my judgment: when even the public-sector union members employed at XXXXXX’s XXXXXXXX viscerally despise her, somebody should have known better than to bring her into it.
    – And this cross-country, obviously contrived town-hall “reconnect tour” by Trudeau, where he’s talking “climate change” and “treatment of the first nations” is beyond pathetic. In general terms, I don’t think it’s a particularly smart play, when you’re falling in the polls, to advertise that you know that you’re falling in the polls. The Wynne nonsense and Trudeau’s parade are obviously transparent, in my view. I’ve felt for some time that he’s out of gas already, although some Tories I’ve talked to have been resigned to his winning a second term. At least some of them are surprised by this turn of events, and they are starting to re-think their negativism.
    – My own view is that the Liberals have been sleep-walking along since October, 2015, confident that Hillary was going to win the U.S. election, and that they could just carry on for the next three years with their Obama-style celebrity-adulation pixy-dust magical mystery spectacle, all the while recycling every one of the running-on-fumes broken-record tropes of Liberal yesteryear, and all the while feasting at the taxpayer trough. And with these latest moves, they’re giving every indication that they’re still sound asleep. Deer in the headlights: in fact, they’re making all the same mistakes that Hillary, the media and self-anointed “informed opinion” made. Even some of the media robots are starting to develop self-awareness of this problem. Personally, I think they’ve waited too long to get back to reality.
    – That said, I think that O’Leary’s entry into the race will make it a good deal more interesting. Me and XXXXXXXX went to see four of the other candidates at a riding dinner a couple of weeks ago — BORING! Not to worry, you’ve probably never heard of them. Two of them are former M.P.s who lost in 2015, while one was Michael Chong and the other was Erin O’Toole (correction: you may have heard of Michael Chong, who’s the M.P. for the next riding over from here, who was in Harper’s first cabinet and who was dropped in 2008, thereupon becoming a thorn in Harper’s side from then on).
    – There is no guarantee that O’Leary will win this thing for a number of reasons (it’s definitely between him, Bernier and Kellie Leith, however, probably in that order at the moment; the rest should just quit now, in my opinion). First, as I alluded to at various points above, the American situation probably isn’t directly transferable to Canada, not least because the election will be two-and-a-half years after the leader is chosen (although the Liberals are really asking for it, in my opinion).
    – Second, I’m not sure whether anybody in the media, other than Joel-Denis Bellevance, really understands the voting system (sort of like Hillary and her hangers-on didn’t know to count electoral votes, although I’m sure that Mr. O’Leary will have somebody like Kellyanne Conway on board who will be able to explain it to him). Bernier could easily be out-polled in the popular vote by O’Leary and still win. It’s a first-past-the-post system, despite the Liberal and NDP “electoral system reform” mouthpieces, both inside and outside the media. Each riding is worth one hundred leadership votes, and, if memory serves, each riding’s votes are distributed according to votes cast for each candidate (it’s either that or all leadership votes are allocated to whomever wins a the majority in the riding), regardless of the number of individual votes cast in each ridings. To this end, there are 80 ridings in Quebec, and another two dozen or so with significant Francophone populations across the country. Count on Bernier winning the vast majority of leadership votes from those ridings (104, say, ridings of 338). That leaves 234 or so other ridings, of which O’Leary would need to win the equivalent of at least 170 other ridings (100 times 170 = 17,000 votes for the overall win). So, it’s not a sure thing for him in the least, even if leads in the popular vote.
    – I personally think that the winning strategy is to play up the “threat” posed to Canada by Trump, and to cross-position against the Liberals with a credible prescription of what we need to do to counter the “threat”, which inevitably begins with a full-frontal assault against the assumptions behind the pieties of Liberal dogma. If history is any guide, and they really get into trouble, they’ll reflexively pull out the anti-American, anti-Trump clap-trap and run against Washington, not the Conservatives. Example: Trump’s policies, if successful, will dramatically increase the labour productivity of the U.S. economy, thereby pulling jobs south of the border. We need to do X, Y and Z to counter the “threat”, and maintain the employment opportunities of Canadians and standard of living of Canadian workers.”
    It certainly didn’t take the Liberals long to pull out the anti-American, anti-Trump clap-trap. Trudeau has no idea what he is doing. Fundamentally unserious.

  13. RE: Quantum Computer.
    All well and good. Seriously. But note the operating temperature: 15 milliKelvins. How much energy does it take to reach .0015 degrees above absolute zero: 25,000 Watts per the article. Small by some standards but not ready for home use yet.
    I note also that Google is one of their customers. They’re probably planning to power it entirely by solar panels so it’s all good.

  14. I agree it’s between O’Leary,Leitch and Bernier. Speaking of Chong,he was not a team player and that’s a springboard to leadership IMO.

  15. (You can Run but you cannot hide)Trump keeping campaign promises:
    http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/29/yemeni-officials-us-raid-with-troops-kills-3-alleged-senior-al-qaida-leaders.html
    Yemen: One of the countries where refugees are blocked from.
    Apparently some Saudi’s also killed in the raid. Wonder what they were doing there.
    Two captured. More prisoners for Gitmo?
    Probably some civilian casualties. Wait for the spin on this angle.
    The news just gets better and better.

  16. I’m not laughing as I type this but Trump might save the Western world from terrorism. He’s not being politically correct and is calling it as it is and acting on it. We need that in a leader right here in Canada which means we need to listen carefully before we choose our leaders. We have the opportunity right now to do just that with the Conservative leadership coming down to the wire.

  17. Also to thank John Galt for the very interesting analysis. On the latter, while I like O’Leary’s style, his flaws (foreign entanglements; ducking the bi-lingual factor; and shallow policies) tell me he is too little, too late. The CPC has dithered on leadership; giving the sham of a government time for its long, lazy swan-dive into a deep empty pit, but sharing with the little potato the squandering of invaluable time that should have been focused on the next election. Our never-ending debating society has bored the hell out of people and left little but loose straw in its wake. There are serious candidates in the race, but its format has given the leftist media the excuse to lump them all in with the sound bites from the clumsy punters. As with the Republican nomination process last year, the mud-wrestling has become the story; an exploration of policy and personality with the over-arching aim of defeating the government (the rational for the process) is not happening. Which should bring up the issue of a good house-cleaning of the CPC party structure in charge of this; an ignored central issue of the election loss. I am more than a little surprised that the shotgun marriage of the PCs and Reform has survived the departure of both Mr Harper and Mr McKay. The aftermath of the consummation saw a lot of unnecessary bad blood created (at least in Eastern Ontario, where I was involved) as the new organization stomped all over the existing PC cadres and looted their treasuries. The elections since made things worse with patronizing dictates from on high to “send us every dime you can collect so we can spend it somewhere else” and an clear message that the Ridings in question have been written-off, and were only fit for NDP-style parachuted candidates to flesh out the slate. I guess grass-roots was only for places where reformed grass grows. I suspect that the PC bedrock in the Maritimes suffered similarly; someone needs to seriously look into why we lost so massively in these regions, and how much of this was self-inflicted.
    Sandy is, unfortunately, only too correct. The good news is that I think that he has, yet again, misread the mood of the Canadian public. The bad news is that while our relations with our Southern neighbor should be his priority. Mr Trudeau seems to have delegated this to a clumsy committee made up of second-string light-weights (Andrew Leslie excepted, who I thought would be Dion’s replacement; but is apparently only on board because the children need an adult to open doors for them). The child- in-charge has disappeared to the highest tower on his fairy castle to drop water-balloons on the people his committee is going to have to deal with; I wonder what his excuse will be when consequences ensue – yet again.

  18. How is Trudeau galavanting around the country promoting his party at taxpayer expenses different from what Duffy did? Local Liberal ridings are much involved in organizing these coffee events and town halls. This is a campaign tour and there us no election on. Where is the public outrage?

  19. On the thread about the leadership race.
    Whenever I analyze whats happened and what might be the result there are three things to keep in mind.
    The probabilities-possible factors, actualities-those factors that exist, and all possible outcomes including the undesirable ones.
    Things that have not happened wrt the candidates and PM potato head are the probabilities, with those its a guess of whats the most likely thing to happen. Things that have happened are knowns and we don’t need to guess.
    The possible outcomes are determined by what is the individual in question possibly going to do and what have they done under similar circumstances. As an example I offer the following, whenever potato head gets in a jamb what does he do? Accepts blame or deflects with a rehearsed word salad? What is the outcome of that action? Favourable polls or unfavorable polls? Voters buying it or voters expressing buyers remorse?
    Right now there is a narrative taking shape that potato head is in desperate need of new adult supervision and under such circumstances its possible that someone’s Butt could get thrown under the bus as a sacrificial lamb.

  21. No, Butts and the PMO don’t let him near the crayons. They push him off on international jaunts or trans-Canada “Tim Horton” tours.

  22. In response to John Galt and Anna Mac. The driver’s perspective in traffic is a key consideration, and the ability to drive more safely in all weather conditions. For me, the light came on when, a few years back, I drove my mother-in-laws Infinit G30 sports sedan to the lake. When I got there I then took a short drive in my wife’s Acadia. I couldn’t get over how much more enjoyable and comfortable it was to drive than the G30 and the perspective from the driver’s seat just felt better. Wow, a domestic manufacturer with a better driver’s car than a foreign luxury brand.
    It’s great that we still have a choice in this country to make decisions based on personal taste and need, and not have those choices dictated to us (yet) by our intellectual superiors!

  23. “”Muslim ban” hypocrisy: Left quiet when Obama also halted visas”
    “There has been hysterical media condemnation of Donald Trump’s decision to refuse visas to travellers from seven mainly Muslim countries, including Iraq, for the next 90 days.
    But why was the Left silent when the Obama administration refused to issue visas to Iraqis for six months?”
    “The hysterical reaction to Trump’s decision seems driven in large part by partisan politics, prejudice and ignorance.
    Here is yet another example of the maxim that what counts for the Left is not the principle but the side.”
    http://www.heraldsun.com.au/blogs/andrew-bolt/muslim-ban-hypocrisy-left-said-nothing-when-obama-also-halted-visas/news-story/17c901096824ecd0a2e3a4d1e5ded377

  25. The real motivation behind the left’s “niceness”. (via Instapundit)
    http://acculturated.com/niceness/

    Niceness isn’t really a virtue, Lawler says. It’s more of a cop-out, a moral shrug. “A nice person won’t fight for you,” he points out. “A nice person isn’t animated by love or honor or God. Niceness, if you think about it, is the most selfish of virtues, one, as Tocqueville noticed, rooted in a deep indifference to the well-being of others.”
    …………..
    Niceness, however, means, “I let you do—and even affirm—whatever you do, because I don’t care what you do . . . Niceness, as Allan Bloom noticed, is the quality connected with flatness of soul.”

    Reminds me of what an old friend says: that look of grave concern is often just hemmorrhoids.

  28. All aforementioned organizations would have recommended doing nothing. The swamp would have claimed the US.

  29. “It’s like Trump is an imbecile or something” unome
    Hmm do you think baiting the ideological Judges will help spur the Congress to fight back…Those who are not looking will miss the “International Law” connection.. The state of America is either the result of incompetence, or treason…Both may be found. Trump gets a free pass to demand (bash Mitch) his way..fighting back is an American sport
    The demonstrators represent the George Soros organization and would be in the street regardless of the issue.. This time they will be helping target the imbeciles..
    The A in ACLU does not just stand for America.. A2 (squared).. It is Anti-American.. They & ideological Judges are hated more than the MSM… When the left loses… they go to the cockroaches
    JMHO

  30. Trump cleaning up H-O’s Mideast mess. Start with al-Qaeda, supporters, Isis infested, destabilized countries.
    Protect your homeland.
    Trudeau’s blather will hurt Canada.

  31. While it certainly is a disadvantage as a leadership candidate not to have a seat in Parliament, I think highly of those who ran in the last election and were defeated by the Trudeau wave unlike people like Peter MacKay who sat out the election.

  33. “Populist Leaders Praise Trump’s Refugee Ban as Model for Europe”
    “While Europe’s socialist leaders predictably denounced President Trump’s recent temporary ban on new refugees from a list of countries, rising populist leaders praised him as a model for what Europe should be doing.”
    “Meanwhile, the National Democratic Party in Germany, which has been extremely critical of Prime Minister Angela Merkel’s open-door policy toward migration, lauded the measure.
    “The apostles of multiculturalism weep bitterly because U.S. President Donald Trump heavily restricts the entry of pseudo-refugees and Muslims into the USA,” they said on their Facebook page.
    “For the first time ever one can say from a nationalist perspective: keep going, USA,” the party added.”
    http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/29/populist-leaders-praise-trumps-refugee-ban-model-europe/

  34. I had a friend who had a change of eye color on his Saskatchewan driver’s licence. At 55, he changed his eye color from grey to blue to correct an error that was there right from the time he moved to Sask. His former Manitoba license stated he had blue eyes.
    When he received his new license in the mail, he overlooked destroying the old one (Sask) that was still in his wallet when he handed it to an RCMP traffic officer. He was charged and fined, can’t recall how much.
    If you were hiding an illegal driver’s license, would you show it to the RCMP??
    I doubt it.
    Another money grab to help the gov. buy wind turbines and condoms.

  35. (Corrected.)
    I have a friend who had a change of eye color on his Saskatchewan driver’s licence. At 55, he changed his info (eye color) from grey to blue to correct an error that was there right from the time he moved to Sask. His former Manitoba license stated he had blue eyes.
    When he received his new license in the mail, he overlooked destroying the old Sask. license. (Sask) It was still in his wallet when he handed it to an RCMP traffic officer. He was charged and fined for having two Sask. driver’s licenses.
    If you were hiding an illegal driver’s license, would you show it to the RCMP??
    I doubt it.
    Another money grab to help the gov. buy wind turbines and condoms.

  36. I. Leaning towards Bernier also, however the first candidate who makes this a major issue will receive my support. ” I will eliminate the racist Indian Act the Indian Industry and give our native citizens the same rights and responsibilities as all other Canadian’s

  37. I. Leaning towards Bernier also, however the first candidate who makes this a major issue will receive my support. ” I will eliminate the racist Indian Act the Indian Industry and give our native citizens the same rights and responsibilities as all other Canadian’s

  38. I ‘m Leaning towards Bernier also, however the first candidate who makes this a major issue will receive my support. ” I will eliminate the racist Indian Act the Indian Industry and give our native citizens the same rights and responsibilities as all other Canadian’s

  39. I ‘m Leaning towards Bernier also, however the first candidate who makes this a major issue will receive my support. ” I will eliminate the racist Indian Act the Indian Industry and give our native citizens the same rights and responsibilities as all other Canadian’s

  40. I’m also leaning towards Bernier However the first candidate who makes this a MAJOR issue will receive my support. “I Will eliminate the racist Indian Act, the Indian industry and give our people the same rights and responsibilities as every other Canadian

  41. I’m also leaning towards Bernier However the first candidate who makes this a MAJOR issue will receive my support. “I Will eliminate the racist Indian Act, the Indian industry and give our people the same rights and responsibilities as every other Canadian

  42. I’m also leaning towards Bernier however the first candidate that makes this a MAJOR issue will receive my support ” I will eliminate the racist Indian Act, the Indian industry and allow our people the same rights and responsibilities as other CANADIANS”

  45. Immi Gration Who? Where? Crackdown What?
    Leftists & RINOs united in hypocrisy.
    “A member of staff working for Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, warned of the risk to Europe’s reputation.”
    …-
    “20 Republicans criticize Trump’s immigration ban (updated)” (axios)
    …-
    “Europe’s crackdown on African immigration is hitting vulnerable refugees”
    “Documents cited in the Guardian on Monday showing that the UK government downplayed the risk of human rights abuses in Eritrea in an attempt to reduce asylum-seeker numbers are the latest indication of Britain’s determination to reduce African immigration. But this is a Europe-wide initiative, co-ordinated in Brussels.
    With French, German, Dutch and Italian elections later this year, there is intense pressure across the European Union to cut the flows of refugees and migrants across the Mediterranean. European plans to deal with the question have been veiled in secrecy, since they involve close cooperation with some of Africa’s most notorious dictatorships.
    The German magazine Der Spiegel revealed a warning from the European commission that “under no circumstances” should the public learn what was said during talks held in March last year. A member of staff working for Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, warned of the risk to Europe’s reputation.”
    http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3518996/posts

  46. The driver’s perspective in traffic is a key consideration, and the ability to drive more safely in all weather conditions.
    Exactly the reason I’ve owned SUVs even before they were called SUVs.

  47. You are wrong. There is a difference between immigrants and refugees. Trump seeking more careful scrutiny of refugees coming into the country is perfectly legal. And it is not the first time such action has been taken. For example, Obama put a temporary ban on Iraqies coming in for 6 months.

  48. The left is always left behind.
    …-
    “Priebus on Immigration Ban: ‘Perhaps We Need to Take it Further’”
    “Sunday on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” while discussing the details of President Donald Trump executive order halting access to the United States for immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said, “Perhaps we need to take it further.””
    http://www.breitbart.com/video/2017/01/29/priebus-immigration-ban-perhaps-need-take/

  49. I will support Bernier. He is the only candidate that can give JT a run for the money. It will be worth it just to watch him make a fool of JT in the French debates. By 2019 Canada is going to be fed-up with JT, especially after a couple of years of Trump making America great. Bernier will split the French speaking vote across Canada and that might be all thats needed to win the close ridings.

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