Here to sing and sync along with Lloyd, it's...
T H E J U I C E A N D G I N
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Term XL, Issue 2 (#179)
Weather outlook:
Same old crappy cold. Unless you like that sort of thing.
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* Contents *
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- Editor's Blurb
- Ongoing Events
- Photographia
- Greg's DTK
- Humour
- General Info
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* Editor's Blurb *
******************
Hey all
Brief introduction this week. Yeah, I know I say that every week, but
this week has been strangly busy. But after rambling on about all the
stuff that I have to ramble on about, this will probably end up being
eight paragraphs anyway, and then I'll just look like a no good liar.
But that's the chance I have to take. Because that what comes from...
living on the EDGE.
As mentioned last week, the Pool League is back up and running in its
regular Monday night time frame. As an added bonus I've included a full
description of all the shenanigans in the Ongoing Events sections. And
having it add extra content to the newsletter this week is just an added
bonus.
Rock climbing is also going full steam ahead this week, starting January
12. I don't have any fancy descriptions for that, so you'll just have
to email Andrew for more information.
Only two weeks until the fabulous post-election wrap up in the DTK. I'm
sure you're all pumped for that. Yee har.
Until next time,
Duct tape is like the force, it has a light side and a dark side and it
holds the universe together.
Michael (mailto:nutsinfo$yahoo.ca)
And now, the rest of the story...
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* Ongoing Events *
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[See the Event Calendar on the web site for full descriptions.
--Ed.]
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Pool League
===========
Mondays
The University Pool League!
(better moniker pending)
Where: Cue N Cushion Billiards (319 Bank Street)
Directions: Bank and MacLaren street. 2nd floor of building, take the
stairs up.
When: Monday nights at 7:00 pm (6:45 pm to warm up and practice)
Cost: $4 per person for the whole night
Contact: Larisa and Michael (pool$solutionsatsource.com)
This is a very social 8-ball billiards league that plays every Monday
night. The goal is to have fun and hopefully improve your game.
Players are divided into tiers depending on their own skill level. How
well you do over the course of several weeks determines the tier in
which you play so that you compete against people of the same ability.
There is no obligation to play every week; players can come out when
it's convenient for them. But the more times out the better your
overall ranking will be (and help improve your skill level!).
Every Thursday or Friday, an email is sent out to everyone on the
mailing list reminding them that there is a game coming up on Monday.
Players are asked to respond if they are attending or not, to help the
organiser gauge how many people will be playing to plan tiers and the
number of tables required.
And if you participate in half of the games in the term, you receive
free entry into the End-of-Term Tournament (playing for great prizes)
and access to the celebration party afterwards.
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Indoor Rock Climbing
====================
Thursdays
Contact: Andrew (akpallek$hotmail.com)
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* Photographia *
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New photos coming. Soon. Really. Just not quite yet.
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* Greg's Deep Thought Korner *
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Special Federal Debate DTK
Let's be clear who the players are:
* Paul Martin - Liberal Prime Minister (old white guy)
* Stephen Harper - Conservative Leader (old white guy with darker helmet
hair -- is that a wig?)
* Jack Layton - NDP Leader (old bald white guy)
* Gilles Duceppe - Separatist Bloc Quebecois Leader (slick old white
guy)
That said, there's the story of the two tax programs.
The Liberal/NDP budget means a 1% cut in the lowest income tax bracket
and a $400 increase in the basic deductible. What this means is that
anyone making around 10K will get an extra 16% * $400 back from the
government (that's about sixty four dollars). The income you get from
10K to around 35K will be taxed at one percent less, so you get between
$0 and $250 more back. Anyone making more than 35K will get the $250
plus the $64 back and no more.
The Conservative plan must be understood as quite different. Instead of
directing the tax cut so it kicks in for poor people and those middle
class people under 35K, the tax plan directs a 1% (and eventually 2%)
cut in the GST. If you make, for example, about $20K, you spend most of
your money on food, rent and maybe clothing for your underprivileged
child. Since all of these things are exempt from GST in the first
place, and you get a GST credit for most of your other purchases in the
second place, you will benefit very little from a cut to the GST. If,
on the other hand, you were well to do, a 1% cut in GST would get $10K
off your one million dollar house, $5K off your half million dollar
yacht, etc. etc.
You can see why the GST cutting plan is considered to be unbalanced. A
Value Added Tax is put in place to redress the imbalances that allow
wealthy people to avoid taxes. Cutting a VAT will always
disproportionately benefit the wealthy. No amount of Stephen Harper
saying "everyone gets a benefit" from a cut to the GST will change this
fact.
The other real issue here is one that both Layton and Duceppe hit on
pretty hard: there is no real difference between the Liberals and the
Conservatives. Gilles Duceppe put it best when he said that Martin
governs like a Tory, but sounds like an NDP at election time. This much
is true. When Martin thought he could get away with it, he got together
with the Conservatives and built a right wing budget that gave a huge
chunk of the budget surplus away in corporate tax cuts. It wasn't until
Harper thought that he could be the next Prime Minister, and split with
Martin, that Martin had to take up with the NDP. It was the NDP who
forced him to adhere to his own Liberal party platform and implement
sound social policies like affordable housing, educational assistance
and a tax break that helped poor people as much as it helped rich. Of
course, Gilles Duceppe has a capacity for zingers that the rest of them
simply lack.
The last issue I want to mention is this bit about "mandatory minimum
sentencing." Stephen Harper, being a conservative, sees a crime problem
and wants to solve it with punishment. That would be okay, if
punishment alone would solve the problem. Historically, it doesn't. It
simply isn't a sufficient deterrent because criminals don't think
they'll be caught. As Duceppe and Layton pointed out, without youth
programs and a reduction in poverty, children will still grow up to be
criminals. "Cracking down on crime" alone won't solve that.
Yes, obviously I'm going to vote for the NDP. Unless you're so greedy
for a GST rebate that you aren't worried about the massive benefits this
gives the wealthy and the massive cost it will incur in social programs,
you'll probably want to vote the same way.
Greg.
GST rebate calculator (go ahead, plug in $20000 and 1 child, you'll get
a GST rebate equivalent to the GST paid on about $8000)
http://www.moneysense.ca/calc/gst_credit_calc/index.jsp
[Send responses to DTKs or new Editorials to nutsinfo$yahoo.ca]
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* Humour *
**********
[Forward any good jokes or interesting web sites you see to
nutsinfo$yahoo.ca]
[Disclaimer: The Humour Section may contain content that includes dirty
words, adult situations and jokes that make fun of politicians. Viewer
discretion is advised. --Ed.]
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Just A Wee Bit
==============
Thanks to Linda G.'s Chuckle Factory And Surplus Donut Shoppe
An extraordinarily handsome man decided he had the responsibility to
marry the perfect woman so they could produce beautiful children beyond
compare.
With that as his mission he began searching for the perfect woman.
Shortly there after he met a farmer who had three stunning, gorgeous
daughters that positively took his breath away. So he explained his
mission to the farmer,
asking for permission to marry one of them.
The farmer simply replied, "They're lookin' to get married, so you came
to the right place. Look 'em over and pick the one you want."
The man dated the first daughter. The next day the farmer asked for the
man's opinion.
"Well," said the man, "she's just a weeeeee bit, not that you can hardly
notice... pigeon-toed."
The farmer nodded and suggested the man date one of the other girls; so
the man went out with the second daughter.
The next day, the farmer again asked how things went.
"Well," the man replied, "she's just a weeeeee bit, not that you can
hardly tell... cross-eyed."
The farmer nodded and suggested he date the third girl to see if things
might be better. So he did.
The next morning the man rushed in exclaiming, "She's perfect, just
perfect. She's the one I want to marry."
So they were wed right away. Months later the baby was born. When the
man visited the nursery he was horrified: the baby was the ugliest, most
pathetic human you can imagine. He rushed to his father-in-law asking
how such a thing could happen considering the beauty of the parents.
"Well," explained the farmer, "she was just a weeeeee bit, not that you
could hardly tell... pregnant when you met her."
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* General Info *
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Contact the NUTS Committee:
nutsinfo$yahoo.ca
The NUTS Website is:
http://nutsevents.topcities.com
http://torpedo.ca.newbridge.com/mirror (for people within Alcatel)
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