SpankyMcFarland

I presume she won't run too but there must be some doubt in Clement's mind. He didn't need to be so emphatic in his reply about her solemn vow etc. That was not a casual statement of fact: “I think Rona Ambrose has been very clear, and she made a solemn vow prior to running for the interim leadership that she would not run for the leadership,” Clement told reporters Monday in Ottawa. “I take Rona at her word. I think that she wants to maintain her integrity and credibility and she also wants to preserve the unity of the Conservative caucus, so to me, this is a non-issue.”

So why did Clement make such a big deal of emphasizing the solemn promise angle? You know that pols deny something until they change their minds? On one of these threads I was saying how she couldn't run and now it's a discussion again.

Because there seems to be a suspicion that Ambrose may run.

One company that is working in that directionhttp://momentummachines.com http://kwhs.wharton.upenn.edu/2015/08/robots-advance-automation-in-burger-flipping-and-beyond/ I am looking forward to driverless cars given the risks I see my fellow humans taking every day.

Filled out mine yesterday, no problem. In a world of mass surveillance, public and private, this is the least of my worries.

The immediate danger of more intelligent machines is to our jobs, most of which will disappear soon. This is not like previous advances - machines are taking jobs at every intellectual level. Only a few humans will be needed for work in the future. You better get some hobbies out there.

Brighter machines may pose more immediate problems: http://takimag.com/article/useless_mouths_john_derbyshire/print#axzz47jN2NXK8 http://takimag.com/article/workers_of_the_world_goodbye_jim_goad/print#axzz47jN2NXK8

Running a hospital or a health authority is a nightmare these days with constant media pressure.

Perfectly legal - I should have included that one as well. The problem with many issues in law and accountancy is that the lads in the know mostly line up for one team, so one does not often encounter a dialogue between experts evenly divided on, say, tax issues.

I always assumed he was gay. Shows how much I know.

That pales beside den Tandt being called a Liberal. Ivison is half reasonable on occasion and has a sense of humour too.

Political leadership is a bit like the decathlon - there's a minimum level you have to reach in each discipline. Looking the part matters. Kellie Leitch does not look or sound like a leader. She's an excellent surgeon by all accounts and a good organizer but a party leader she will never be.

It is often legal - completely, utterly or entirely legal as its cheerleaders are inclined to say - because the people doing it are intimately familiar with the rules and may have had a hand in drafting them.

Yes, I would restrict that ability. There is an appearance of preferential treatment here. If collective agreements or whatever have to be changed, so be it. We can't let this cosy arrangement discredit the taxation system.Take the specific example I quoted. You see absolutely no reason to be concerned about that?

My knowledge of this is next to zero - I am reading it on the CBC site so I have no idea how many younger CRA tax people are being recruited by the firms which is alarming in its own way. However, for ordinary Canadians like me, the little I know already looks deeply wrong. Wealthy people are clearly getting special treatment. And we haven't touched the legislative angle yet. Laws are made for these people like bespoke suits. The basic Canadian 'strength of ties' model for determining tax residency is a good one - you reside where you really live, unlike the UK and Ireland where you can make it all up. However, public trust has taken a big dent over the KPMG revelations. We need to know the laws aren't being bent into pretzels by the mega-rich and their minions. BTW one interesting side effect of medical tourism is the importation of highly resistant bacteria from foreign hospitals.

There should be at least a ten year cooling off period between CRA and a private tax job. Gold plate their pensions, give them Senate seats, whatever, but don't let them work for the opposition.

Please tell us more. We do have the names of a few of these people and some of them were not spring chickens. For example, this man was thirty, yes - thirty years in the agency. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kpmg-canada-revenue-agency-jeff-sadrian-1.3526618 You do realize how awful it looks at ANY age when the cats go to work for the mice?

So what are the facts about taxes? What matters is total tax take, not just income tax. Wealth and income are imperfectly connected as well. Seriously wealthy people have all sorts of interesting and no doubt COMPLETELY LEGAL ways of lobbying MPs and the CRA to reduce their contribution.

Too funny: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kpmg-canada-revenue-agency-tax-industry-receptions-1.3536946 Why can't average criminals hold events like this and invite the RCMP? It's discrimination, so it is. Where's that lawyer's number?

The news does not get better: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kpmg-canada-revenue-agency-receptions-conferences-1.3540285

It sounds like sensible legislation, a cautious start in a new area. More radical proposals might not have gained enough support from MPs to make it through Parliament. Let's see how we do with this first.

As Senfeld put it, you end up just cheering uniforms because the wearers change so often.

I am surprised this kind of thing does not happen more often. In the heat of battle it must be tempting to reach for more resources. Not the worst of crimes by any means.

In my naive book, fans are the heart of a team. Players, coaches, owners come and go but it is the fans who build the culture and mythology. Winning matters to fans while profit matters only in as much as it facilitates winning. Some NA franchise owners seem to have lost sight of this.

This sort of thing makes a joke of the tax process: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/accounting-firms-recruited-cra-justice-staff-1.3526762