[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[crazy canuck]

There isn't much gained by allowing X to still influence the discourse.

I agree, and I suspect BB would as well. But the reality is that social media is where the discourse now occurs.

[PJL]

Trump is just taking notes from Hitler who was also notorious for being vague about his orders (and he even rarely wrote them down). It's up to his minions to interpret and apply his orders. Expect a lot of inter-departmental one-upmanship and backstabbing during his 2nd term.

[crazy canuck]

So he's now saying Feb 1 for tariffs

So again - this is going to be the next four years, isn't it - no idea what the fuck is going on.

Trump's quote was even that he was "thinking about" Feb 1.

I still use Twitter/X just to see what's being said.  I see a bunch of posts along the lines of "Trump just wants to secure the border - so why doesn't Canada just do that?".  It's because A: Trump has never actually said what "secure the border" would look like, and in any event the amount of migrants/drugs coming from Canada are a fucking rounding error compared to Mexico, and B: Trump has ALSO made it clear the tariffs are about the trade deficit.

The suggestion that he made it up on the spot simply because a reporter asked him about it, and he didn't want to look weak on the issue, is the most likely explanation.  His administration's plan for international trade that was released yesterday does not contemplate such a thing.

[crazy canuck]

Trump is just taking notes from Hitler who was also notorious for being vague about his orders (and he even rarely wrote them down). It's up to his minions to interpret and apply his orders. Expect a lot of inter-departmental one-upmanship and backstabbing during his 2nd term.

You are giving Trump way too much credit for having a plan. He is a useful idiot for those who do have a plan. But he clearly only cares about appearances.

[Barrister]

There isn't much gained by allowing X to still influence the discourse.

"allow"?

My using Twitter doesn't allow anything.  Twitter does influence the political discourse whether I use it or not.

My using Twitter only gives me some insight on what's being discussed by those I disagree with.



Although the algorithm can be fucking weird sometimes - I'm pretty sure Twitter thinks I'm part Nigerian for some reason, because I get a bunch of Nigerian content.

[HVC]

BB likes big booties

[Barrister]

BB likes big booties

I would prefer big booty content to Nigerian content.

Not that I have anything against Nigerians.  But why did I get a long thread about what immigrating from Nigeria to Canada would be like (just to pick one example)?

[Grey Fox]

There isn't much gained by allowing X to still influence the discourse.

"allow"?

My using Twitter doesn't allow anything.  Twitter does influence the political discourse whether I use it or not.

My using Twitter only gives me some insight on what's being discussed by those I disagree with.



Although the algorithm can be fucking weird sometimes - I'm pretty sure Twitter thinks I'm part Nigerian for some reason, because I get a bunch of Nigerian content.

Funny, the algorithm thinks I'm Indian. Lots & lots of Indian content.

[PRC]

I would prefer big booty content to Nigerian content.

Not that I have anything against Nigerians.  But why did I get a long thread about what immigrating from Nigeria to Canada would be like (just to pick one example)?

The algorithm has identified you as having the potential to fall prey to a Nigerian Prince money scam.  Be vigilant!

[Barrister]

I would prefer big booty content to Nigerian content.

Not that I have anything against Nigerians.  But why did I get a long thread about what immigrating from Nigeria to Canada would be like (just to pick one example)?

The algorithm has identified you as having the potential to fall prey to a Nigerian Prince money scam.  Be vigilant!

The problem with the algorithm is it can't tell the difference between viewing because "this is relevant to my interests" and "WTF crazy shit is this".

[Neil]

I would prefer big booty content to Nigerian content.

Not that I have anything against Nigerians.  But why did I get a long thread about what immigrating from Nigeria to Canada would be like (just to pick one example)?

The algorithm has identified you as having the potential to fall prey to a Nigerian Prince money scam.  Be vigilant!

The problem with the algorithm is it can't tell the difference between viewing because "this is relevant to my interests" and "WTF crazy shit is this".

The algorithm assumes that WTF crazy shit is an interest. 

[Admiral Yi]

And that's the smallest one, considered in financial difficulty.

No way you compete with any of the others by injecting 25 millions$ alone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banks_and_credit_unions_in_Canada

This article says the smallest credit union has 17 branches.

I am aware of one branch banks in the US.

[crazy canuck]

Yi doesn't read my posts, so could someone point out to him that in Canada a Bank cannot be opened simply by purchasing it.  Copy and paste the link I set out above so he will understand the capital requirements required by our regulations have no relationship to the fair market value of the assets of the financial institution.

[viper37]

And that's the smallest one, considered in financial difficulty.

No way you compete with any of the others by injecting 25 millions$ alone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banks_and_credit_unions_in_Canada

This article says the smallest credit union has 17 branches.

I am aware of one branch banks in the US.

A credit union is not a bank.

Desjardins is not a bank, even if it operates just like a bank.  It took many years for the Desjardins movement, long after its founder death to open their first branches outside of Quebec and they are still pretty much limited to French-speaking dominated areas.

Likewise, credit unions have specific clientele and may appear like banks but have distinct regulations to follow.  Most credit unions follow provincial laws, only 3 are federally registered.  Anyway, the cash requirements to insure the deposits are similar to a bank, and to touch mortgages, if you want to offer your clients the opportunity to insure their loans, you have to comply with Federal regulations.  Not all small credit unions would be able to do that.

Take WealthSimple.  Not a credit union, but a financial institution created to compete with the big banks.  They have deposit accounts, the equivalent of 401ks, limited crypto trading (enough for me, insufficient for crypto bros), TFSA, stock and options trading (margin call too), debit card, credit card, but no personal loans, no mortgage.  Can't replace a bank.  Also, no RESP.  And since they are a virtual financial institution, no physical locations, and more importantly for me, no power of attorney and no replacement system.  

We're talking about one of the richest family in Canada trying to make its way into banking here, not some startup credit union at 25M$.  They've been at it since 2014, they have 10 billion$ in assets with 3 million customers and they're still not making a dent in the banking sector.

Back to banking, CitiBank tried to conquer the Canadian market and they had to scale back their operations.  They sold their credit card operations to CIBC and they split & sold their consumer sub prime loans to Fairstone Ltd.

Wal Mart and Amazon were supposed to take over our grocery market with their respective grocer brands, yet Wal Mart shut down the few Sam stores they opened and Amazon never made a dent here for grocery.

You vastly underestimate the concentration of our market for many industries and the barrier to entry, regulatory or otherwise.

[HVC]

Target crashing and burning is a classic example too.