kenned3

what is funny here is you both claim to have lived in China for a decade and your experiences are so vastly different.

Here's the thing, one of you is lying and it is clear which one it is.

Had you spent any actual time in China, and not a major metropolis you would realise two things:

1) Their electric system is.. lets just call it "shitty". 2) The vast majority of the population cant afford an electric stove, or the electricity needed to run it.

So tell us, from your decade of experience in China how do they cook?

I've been married to a Chinese for 25 years, own a home in China and have been there many times...

Our house in China lacks an electric stove, and in fact NO ONE in our entire apartment complex has an electric stove. Probably because the complex itself almost certainly cant support the power draw to run all those electric stoves.

I never checked, but i'd guess the kitchen doesnt have the hookup for an electric stove...

No, normally the government in Canada can be sued for this sort of thing.

not exactly the same thing, but this is a $500,000 class action lawsuit for losing a USB Key containing patient data:

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2012/05/28/durham_region_he...

The expectation is that the government protect your privacy or pay if they fail to do so.. as with any private data.

This is so typical of the Canadian government.

The effectivly FORCE you to use this site as they try to cut costs and reduce "call in" support.

Then, they create a ToS which absolves them of all responsibility if they are hacked?

I would be willing to bet that if any Canadian business tried this the government would crack down and state it not permitted.

The government has a tendency of "do as i say not as i do".

Any Canadian can tell you that for the most part government IT is utter garbage.

<cough>arrive-can</cough><cough>Phoenix</cough>

....

This sort of perpetuates the same myth about Plutonium being dangerous covered in the article.

If you have the right plutonium isotope, in the correct shape and compress it just right.. it is a very dangerous metal.

if you have a small piece of it, it is rather harmless given it is an alpha emitter and can be stopped via single sheet of paper.

Tritium falls under the same category.

If you have a nuclear device, and put tritium in it, the tritium participates in the reaction and effectively "boosts" the yield.

If you have some Tritium, it is a weak beta emitter and you will either exhale it out (Tritium gas) or urinate it if it is in liquid form.

Like all radioactive material it does increase your chances of cancer, but you would need a fair amount of it.

Given Tritium is an isotope of Hydrogen, it isn't "like water" it IS water..but radioactive.

water - H2O Heavy water - D2O Super heavy water - T2O

Comedy is subjective.

Try telling a sexually charged joke at your place of employment and see what happens.

World leaders freely slandering other countries like this is shameful, and not what you expect from a "world leader".

Many countries are still stranded with "cold war" environmental problems.

The US has many "superfunds" dedicated to cleaning up "cold war radioactivity" issues.

A bit more info on the Quebec asbestos issues. Canada didnt stop exporting it until 2012.

" Canada led world production of asbestos before the country’s two largest mines (both in Quebec) halted operations in 2012. The closure marked the suspension of the country’s asbestos production for the first time in 130 years. "

Exporting this wasn't unique to the Soviets.

So like telling "jokes" at Russia's expense by a man of questionable ethics?

what is the point of his joke, if not to mock another country?

The OP posted a quote, and i posted one too?

Thanks for a link to a site labeled "free propaganda". It really rang true here, it is propaganda, and it is free?

Do read the comments on youtube.

I suggest you look at the external debt of China vs other nations, you may be surprised with what you find.

Thanks!!

Non-American here.

Any "lawyer" around as the laws seem very unclear.

In the case of Whole Foods vs BLM shirts, the courts ruled in favour of the "uniform" and banned the BLM shirts:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/whole-foods-win-sho...

"The June 28 decision by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals further restricts employees’ ability to change their working conditions at a time when U.S. workplaces have become a locus of divisive cultural battles and disagreements over some Americans’ basic rights."

In this "similar" case the ruling is drastically different?

Both attempt to "ban"clothing due to "dress code" rules?

> Not really.... But even if it were damaging, the damage would be very localized, it would affect at most one cell, and the immune system is easily able to handle that.

you could not be more wrong about this. Alpha and Beta are fairly safe OUTSIDE the body. In the case of Alpha it is not able to penetrate the layer of dead skin on your hands.

Internal, it is VERY damaging because there is no "dead skin" to protect the internal organs.

https://www.epa.gov/radiation/radiation-basics

"Some beta particles are capable of penetrating the skin and causing damage such as skin burns. However, as with alpha-emitters, beta-emitters are most hazardous when they are inhaled or swallowed."

Your view really depends on the design.

CANDU (Canadian reactor design) is moderated via deuterium in which case there is a LOT of it circulating in the reactor core.

The heavy water is syphoned off to a tritium separation unit for recovery. With a market value of $30,000 a gram, there is a clear incentive to recover it ;)

non-metals have their own problems and glass tends to have some really weird properties.

I would think a major one would be their failure mode. Metals flex and expand before they eventually fail. Glass/ceramic is fine until suddenly it isn't and has a total failure.

Think of a window being hit. If it were metal it would probably deform but if it is glass it shatters.

Next would be joining them on-site. If needed, metal piping can be bent and welded in-place. what do you do with a glass pipe that needs a join? what do you do if there is a small variation in the plans and the pipe needs an adjustment?

I think there are a host of reasons why glass is not used for pipes.

i love it when people make statements liek "you are projecting" yet dont fully understand them.

What it means to be projecting?

According to Karen R. Koenig, M. Ed, LCSW, projection refers to unconsciously taking unwanted emotions or traits you don't like about yourself and attributing them to someone else. A common example is a cheating spouse who suspects their partner is being unfaithful.

I've not taken any of my views and projected them anywhere.

you simply look around, and you can find TONS of so called "Social justice warriors" demanding more public transit, more density..

Usually under some "Stop urban sprawl" mantra - who gives them the right to enforce how others want to live?

This is where things get even more strange.

Most people who do manage to afford to live in Toronto still have to commute. you can get condo's right in the downtown core, but they are insanely expensive.

So the debate he had was a ~30 min commute and a "toronto" address vs a 45-60 min commute and an address in a small city outside Toronto.

I worked in toronto a very long time, dont know many people who actually lived there. Most commuted from cities in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).

Sometimes the commute is sort of unavoidable.

What are the options to avoid a 30 min commute if you work in a specific industry which prefers "on site" work, and that company owns property in a city you cant afford to live in?

You can change industries, etc.. but those are personal choices.

> So i am wondering isnt the root of all evil the fact that high paying jobs are clustered around large urban centres? Shouldnt tech have solved this issue by now? Even if people prefer office work, cant this work be done in smaller urban areas?

This gets into an interesting "can of worms" problem.

My background is finance which tends to be clustered around "financial hubs" (London, New York, Toronto...).

Again, I will keep my "Toronto" perspective as I am most familiar with it.

Why are all the banks located on "Bay street"? Because if you dont have a "bay street" address you are a "nobody". This odd mentality can be found globally, "wall street" , specific "pockets" of London.

The "big 5" banks here COULD build places in smaller urban areas, but those lack the "power" of that Bay street address.

Now that we established that for odd reasons you have to be located in "bay street" there is also the view that you must be "seen". Remote work is a career killer in Finance.

One large Canadian bank has started the "we want you back in the office" discussions :

https://financialpost.com/fp-work/rbc-staff-back-office-more...

RBC CEO asks staff to come into the office more often 'Technology can’t replicate the energy, spontaneity, big ideas, true sense of belonging and fun' of being in the office, CEO says

Now RBC has issued a press statement on this, the other Canadian banks will quickly follow suit (they move in lock-step with one another).

So.. work in finance, you need to be on "bay street" monday to friday. You don't want to commute, increase demand to live in Toronto.

Basic economics show that increased demand leads to increases in pricing..

See this :

https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toronto/2022/08/toronto-r...

you are overlooking several other "american" issues.

1) Lawsuits

- The US court system is often used as some sort of "i won the lotto" system where people do dumb things, and somehow win substantial sums of money. It is often easier to preemptively prevent anything that could trigger a lawsuit

2) Powerful lobby groups.

- Many things that are legal elsewhere are not in the US, and often there is a government lobby group behind it.

Think things like this : https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/the-anti-consumer-25-chicken-...

This!

I love how people seem to feel they can enforce their views of how a city should be build on others.

The fact of the matter is very clear.. we have so many detach houses because that is what people WANT.

For some odd reason there is a subset of the population who feel entitled to dictate how OTHERS should live. These people go on and on about "increasing density" while ignoring that some don't want to live like this.

This is a great conversation as there is so much input from around the world.

I can sort of paint the picture of what takes place here (Canada - also a large land mass country).

we have a rather large public rail system run by the government (GO Transit: https://www.gotransit.com/en/)

it is fairly cost effective, modern, and the trains are all new and comfortable.

we also have a major problem with a population which seems to refuse to accept they cant afford to live where they want.

Everything is about "affordable housing in Toronto", but this is unrealistic.

Once i had a conversation at work on this. A younger employee was complaining that he wasnt able to afford a nice house in Toronto and how "unfair" this was.

The problem is he was making these comments to 5 others, not one of us lived in Toronto either, as we cant afford it.

He refused to commute, and felt he was somehow "entitled" to live where he (and millions of others) want to live.

So in short, while the US and Canada have plenty of space, the population doesn't want to live there because the commutes are around an hour each way to work.

we also have serious NIMBY issues, where any attempt to increase population density is met with fierce resistance by the local residents who are concerned about their own property values.

Well put.

Adding to this.

The government is always there, with its hands out looking to get a slice of the real-estate market.

- Property taxes

- Land transfer taxes

- Development fees

And once you buy your house, any attempt to improve it could trigger more government involvement. Building permits, inspection fees.

Your point is spot-on. I think a big part of it is "keeping up with the Joneses". Everyone wants that 3,000 square foot house, and naturally it has to be within walking distance from work.

Lastly - Location is a a major problem.

Here (Ontario) the common complaint is "i cant afford to live in Toronto" - Living in Toronto is NOT A RIGHT. No one owes you "affordable housing" in Toronto to avoid a commute. A Lot of people commute on the GO train daily..

How do you know they intended to sell them? Read the article, they were homeless.. i'd guess they were looking for something to stay warm in an uncomfortable Canadian winter?

I thought the "goal" of the bin was go put used clothing in the hands of those who need it?

I have three kids (two daughters an a son).

The boy is the oldest and we would still "hand-me-down" until they became a bit older and didn't want to wear "boys clothes" anymore.

With three kids, costs add up and so we would get the boy things the girls could wear as well (future planning).

Say he needed new t-shirts and one had a large tractor on it, and the other was just a T-Shirt with nothing on it..

The problem as they age becomes "social norms".

To this day, I continue to push both my daughters to try boys jeans. They constantly complain girls pants lack pockets, yet refuse to even try on boys jeans to see if they work?

The other issue is some kids REFUSE hand-me-downs and too many parents take the easy road, and buy new clothes?

Our youngest had hand-me-downs from both her older brother and older sister and simply didn't care that she was wearing "boys clothes". This really helped our budget.

I have to question those large "boxes" and their true motives.

Homeless People have literally DIED trying to get things out of the bins.

If the goal is to get the clothing to those who need it, why build the bins in such a way that removal is impossible?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/cambridge-...

"At least seven Canadians have died after getting stuck in clothing donation bins, and the latest fatality has prompted an advocate to call for the "death traps" to be immediately fixed or removed."

It seems the true goal is to accept donations (free) and then turn around and sell the clothing?

So you build bins in a way that they are "one-way" doors, and only those with keys can remove the goods?

I spent most of my career in finance including a hedge fund and several international banks.

Personally I really enjoy his books and recommend them to my friends and family. Professionally, I have never heard his name being mentioned.

You find the same 'fluffy' management books on trader desks (varies between firms).

- Some translation of "the art of war". - Tribal leadership and their whole "Tribe of tribes" nonsense - its name escapes me at the moment, but some leadership book written by a US marine? Because this maps directly to finance? - six sigma

Usually they are "management" focused chanting type material.

As I posted above.. I have family who work there. They were not a "referral or something".

I also worked at a hedge fund myself, and i was not a "referral" either.

They post positions online, apply. if you have the skills they are looking for you can get in.

I've spent time at a very large and well known hedge fund and I also have family at JS.

Regardless of what the individual you responded to thinks.. Firms like this have very difficult interview processes. They are looking for something "Special" and this excludes the vast majority of applications.

I took a taxi to my interview, and the taxi driver himself told me he drives many people to the location for interviews, and drives a lot of unhappy people back (failed the interview).

It should tell you something when even a local taxi driver knows how difficult it is to get into these places.

I will try to answer your questions as well:

1) I did support work when i was at "hedge fund" - They want people who can think outside the box and be a culture fit. their culture is well known, and you either fit in or you don't. There is no "faking it".

They generally hire fresh grades from ivy league schools. This way they can indoctrinate the culture. This is not always the case, but probably 70% of their employees were done this way.

2) Many of my former coworkers are now CEO's, COO's etc. Besides the money the culture encourages you to push past your limits and grow. One guy was a developer, he's now the CIO for an international makeup company..

At the firm I worked at, it did not matter what your role was. If you wanted to change groups, you would be given a fair chance to take the tests. if you passed, you were in the new role. The tests were INTENSE... but many "techs" moved to business roles over the years.

I'd suggest taking a look at some of the writing from Ray Dalio.

Pain + Reflection = Progress.

https://www.principles.com/principles/4a903526-2db6-4a0a-9b7...

Valid but painful criticism is an opportunity to grow.

Are you aware that almost every country has some sort of "good Samaritan" which would offer protection in this situation.

" All 50 states and the District of Columbia have some type of Good Samaritan law. The details of good Samaritan laws/acts vary by jurisdiction, including who is protected from liability and under what circumstances. "

I'm not advocating what what took place was correct but it is not "kidnapping" regardless of how you wish to twist things around.

I have three kids, so I am also a parent, does that change things? you mention you are a parent so it somehow contributes to the discussion?

you have now taken a story about an v "karen" walking a kid back home and painted it such that "Karern" has driven across the country and now you cant find the child.

Can you elaborate how you feel returning a kid to their own home is "kidnapping"?

Given I am Canadian, here is our legal definition:

Kidnapping

279 (1) Every person commits an offence who kidnaps a person with intent

(a) to cause the person to be confined or imprisoned against the person’s will;

(b) to cause the person to be unlawfully sent or transported out of Canada against the person’s will; or

(c) to hold the person for ransom or to service against the person’s will.

You could argue the child did not want to be sent back home, but I think you would not be successful making this case in a court of law.

Escalating this by reporting her to the police will simply cause her to escalate back.

She reports you to CAS, you report her to the police. You now face a false police report charge, and if anything further happens you already have one strike against you as the police will document this interaction.

Clearly the child is in no danger, so what was the point of calling the police?