overthere

The Jays don't have much in the way of long relief, I don't see Chavez as much better than average, and have no faith at all in Hutchison in any role at all. They now have some quality in one inning guys: Osuna, Soren, Sanchez and Cecil all do admirably. Their need in the bullpen is the same as it was: long relief, a reliable guy to go a few innings- and it would really help a lot if he was a lefty. Revere will be easy to replace in the field, but there is no obvious replacement now on the roster at leadoff. Candidates, certainly. Of course EE is on the block....... Budget constraints aside, and he will want and get far more money from somebody than he gets now- EE himself has dialed up the pressure. He wants the lifechanging contract, and he'll get it with term and money at age 32. He wont' talk contract after spring training starts, so his value diminishes steadily because the Jays can't sign him, they cannot even do a sign and trade. I don't care if nobody in the press is talking about trading him, you can bet the Jays are running all scenarios and that is one of them. Of course Shapiro wants to keep everybody that is good, but you don't always get what you want especially when you have a budget and also have to sign Joey B. The Jays have many more options in the power part of their order, it is a rare luxury in baseball. Bautista can bat cleanup, Tulo could do it , Donaldson can bat anywhere 2 through 4 or 5, the Jays have Colabello as an option and they may just platoon Cola and Smoak at 1B and DH since that worked very well last year. The Jays don't even really need any power at DH, which opens up many options. Don't think you'll get many takers for Dickey at $12 million, I thought they might buy him out in November for $1 million but no.... If they deal Dickey I hope it for a quality lefty in the pen.

I am actually encouraged a little bit by developments in relations with First Nations lately. I had thought that Harpers actions in establishing the Truth and Reconciliation inquiry might help, as would his national apology for residential schools. But the failure of the education funding initiative(which the AFN eventually rejected over accountability of funds) is the legacy he'll be remembered for. The inquiry into dead and missing aboriginal women will proceed, but I predict it will return some results that won;t sit well with FN leadership, assuming the Inquiry has a broad mandate. I doubt Trudeau will permit a broad mandate though. What does give me some hope is that the broader public is now more aware of the issues, and the actual consequences upon First Nations of residential schools now- not over the course of 100+ years, but the consequences now, on FN people today. Even better is the impact I trust it will have on FN people at a much more grassroots level than before. FN people were polticized by Idle No More, and more so by the last election where many FN people voted for the first time. And I think that will result in an outcome badly needed by AFN, needed as much as an engaged federal govt and an engaged white population. That outcome is an improvement in FN leadership, which is required for progress. What we all need to remember is to be patient. Many First Nations have come through a mini-Holocaust....... where the children were taken away from their parents for forcible cultural assimilation. They were returned to their communities, then their children were taken away in turn. The result was successive generations of people who were scarred early by the experience, and have little idea on how to be parents. Let's be patient for as long as it takes.

One of the best(short) vacations ever for me was to Bali. It was reasonably cheap to get there, really cheap for everything purchased there, good shopping, good beaches, very friendly and genuine locals, and plenty of interesting things to do. You need 2 weeks because the trip there and back is long. The only other downside is the overabundance of Aussies, who are generally easily avoided if you stay away from Kuta Beach. They come to drink. It was funny to watch them continue WWII with the Germans though. There were a few of both nationalities in one very nice hotel we stayed in, and they didn't get along. The Germans, being Germans, would send an ambassador out each morning at about 5:30 AM to mark out prime spots at the pool. This process consisted of dragging the big chairs to the prime spots poolside, and marking them with special heavy beach towels which were issued one per guest. Then the Germans would show up a few hours later to sunbathe, and have all the prime ground staked out for their exclusive use. I am an early riser, so from my balcony witnessed a pack of loaded Aussies arriving home from a night of partying soon after and- objecting to this systemic hogging of real estate- proceeded to toss all the towels into he pool then head of to pass out in bed. The Germans showed up a couple hours later to find all those prime spots taken by others(not the Aussies, who were no doubt sleeping it off). Near the pool was a big pile of sodden towels fished out by staff. Arguments ensued, arguments lost by the 'possession is 9/10ths of the law' rule. Next morning, I heard but did not see that much the same thing happened. Next morning, the Germans laid in ambush for the Aussies staggering home. They started to chuck the towels in, the Germans sprang out from the weeds nearby and a big argument ensued. While they argued one of the Aussies succeeded in tossing the rest of the towels into the drink. It looked like there was going to be a fistfight as tension escalted but the Aussies diffused it by tossing two of the bigger Germans into the pool too. All parties then went back to the rooms without further damage, except the Germans had no towels to dry off and some sorely wounded pride. We only stayed another day, but heard no reports of homicides from our next stop in Bali.

More likely the cartel will promise to kill some prison staff, their families and their pets if they don't just agree to be bribed.

It would have been more fun if the black guy was their son. The movie was OK. The plot seemed to mostly be a rehash of the first couple movies, with the old actors plopped into the story. They plugged in a woman as a Like clone, and a ginger monkey subbing for Darth Vader.The only question is how long can they string it all out? My guess is for at least 20 years from now. Speaking of Darth Vader, if you have not seen this you should: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv5iEK-IEzw

A major problem , and fairly recent, is how many people of voting age are unaware of the strong, direct connection between all the lovely things we like so much about Canada(the generous social contract) and the need for each worker bee to do something productive to make it continue. It is a bizarre concept, but sooner or later before you distribute the wealth you must create the wealth. I know for certain that Trudeau Sr never bought into this idea, and I fear that Jr learned at Papas knee all too well.

Nah, it has been sent to the wilderness and Blairs instructions won't be in writing, but they will be summarized as 'don't come back soon Bill". It is a minefield for Trudeau, and even when he wins he loses. Ordinary citizens don't really give a rats ass about this, and the 'wake n bake' crowd have already forgotten. Trudeau won't and cannot afford to invest much political capital in this 'promise'. Luckily for him, the complexitiy of it all means it could take years. His best bet is to try to scratcvh it from the Criminal Code, dump it all on the provinces to administer, tax, do what they want as long as he doesn;t have to speak about it.

OK, who will win the US Presidency: Gandh(Mahatma) or Clinton(Hilary)?? In a fair fight, who would win a fist fight : Steven Seagal or Jesus Christ?

So now Kimmy gets free parking and access to the sumptuous 24/7 senior management seafood buffet?. Mmmmmmph!!

Having Pompey/Saunders fills the hole in left field, which is not that difficult since Revere is pretty average fielding, with a substandard arm.. But filling the hole he leaves at leadoff is another matter. Revere is a hit factory and steals bases. Donaldson and Bautista are RBI monsters, but you gotta have somebody on base to make that work. Saunders can steal a base too, but he is not a hit machine like Revere. And Pompey has not yet proven he is a major league hitter. Goins has some of the tools, Pillar too. The leadoff role might be done by committee until they settle on one. But it is a decent move by the Jays overall, they badly need bullpen help and Storen looks strong. I really like that he has solid experience as a closer, becausee.... I know this is heresy.... but I am not yet convinced with Osuna as our closer. Too many bad things happened late last season late in games.... So Storen is a good option if Osuna falters, and is a fine pitcher in any case. Perhaps now they will move Sanchez down the order a bit so he pitches more long relief instead of one inning, we need that badly too. Haven't heard anything yet about Edwin E. The closer we get to spring training, the less he is worth in a trade.......If he starts the season without a contract, that is amplified.

Notley has sort of revealed some more strategy, by having energy discussions with Sillinger in Manitoba. Part of the discussion was interlocking the electricity grids better, so AB can buy hydro from Manitoba. AB has already had talks with BC. So, looks like the 'switch' to non renewables for AB will mean AB industry will be dependent on purchases from state owned enterprises elsewhere. And of course, contrary to what Waldo says, AB consumers will pay every nickel of the cost to shut down any [power plants when those plants are shut down by govt order, all the costs of new construction of new capacity if any kind, and any ongoing premiums required for expensive renewables. Oh, and taxpayers will foot the bill for rebates for energy too. It does get annoying when you hear this BS, folks just don't seem to mind when a govt bribes them with their own money. And apparently Sillinger/Notley did not discuss support for Energy East. Curious. But not really. Slowly but surely the curtain gets pulled back on the AB NDP agenda.

While we waste time on a national wankfest about a drug that really nobody cares about...... could somebody please keep an eye on our electoral system?

When is a contract not a contract? When an American signs it.

You'd like to think so. Do you have information that Trudeau is not 'of faith' but an atheist.?

Confederation Life was an insurance company that went through a remarkably gentle liquidation. It was not a bank and was not involved in residential mortgages. The last 2 bank failures were in the 1980s, both involved small commercial banks that also had little or nothing to do with residential mortgages. Some believe their failure was rooted in the NEP...... iniit6ted by a familiar name.... Trudeau Sr. I reckon that Trudeau Sr certainly and somewhat gleefully pushed Alberta into the abyss, but the bank failure was more grounded in bad business choices. There were also a bunch of 'mortgage' companies that have failed in Canada, that are in the second /third mortgage business. Prinicpal Group was one where some folks went to jail, as their business involved some fraud. But none of them matter at all in the big scheme. One change in Canada has been the advent of many lenders in first mortgages. There are around 60 r so now, when 25 years ago there may have been 10 or 12. All are subject to the Bank Act up to 80% LTV, all are required to get an insurer for anything high ratio. No exceptions for residential customers.

Look up. Way up. It is all over your head, like a 747 vapour trail.

Really? Where do they come from in Canada? Western Canadians go to Arizona and Califronia for the weather. Easterners, mostly Florida. Everybody goes to Lost Wages. Do't think many go to Texas. Well, nobody is going anywhere with a $.71 loonie.

How do you say 'Fourth Reich' en Francais?

time to turn off the electricity.

Prepare to be shocked then And remember, there is no such thing as a lapsed Catholic, it is an oxymoron. When Dad is hardcore, and you go all the time as a child, you are hooked and hooked hard. Make that 7 out of 9.

You still have time to go back and edit your mistake in post 8.

The OP has a trick question. Trump will not be running for President for the Republicans, won't be on the ballot.

These have been our Catholic PMs: John Thompson Paul Martin Jean Chretien Brian Mulroney John Napier Turner Joe Clark Pierre Trudeau Louis St. Laurent Wilfrid Laurier 6 out of the last 8 PMs have been Catholics. Not sure about Trudeau Jr. May be a follower of Selfie Worship.

Maybe BC Hydro should rethink their plans to build more dams on the Peace River. They're getting peanuts for the power they sell -from the Peace and Columbia rivers- to to the Western US. That could be sold for more elsewhere. Unplug? Nothing personal, just politics

It is not a certainty that Mathews is still the best or a lock at #1 .... You'd have to take a look at the two Finns, Laine and Pulujarvi