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jm20 posted:Which is puzzling. Vancouver does what for the economy and has what job prospects exactly? Toronto is at least a leader in a few industries. I just don't think it's worth it to live in Vancouver due to housing costs, rates will go up, people will be forced to sell. it's creating more jobs for real estate, bankers and construction workers.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 03:51 |
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# ? Jun 9, 2024 03:24 |
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Cultural Imperial posted:Vancouver's tech scene is the envy of the world when hootsuite leading the vanguard of innovation. Vancouver used to have a very strong science-fiction industry! x-files, stargate, and who could forget Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda?
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 04:06 |
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Half serious answer: Vancouver has several significant athletic and outdoor apparel makers. Arc'Teryx, Wings & Horns/Reigning Champ, Lululemon, Kit & Ace and MEC are all based in Vancouver. Arc'Teryx and Wings & Horns/Reigning Champ also make a lot of their products in Vancouver so there is a highly skilled clothing manufacturing industry present. I believe this highly skilled workforce also makes a lot of outdoor wear for other brands. (this industry is tiny and doesn't account for the housing bubble in any way, but wasn't this factoid kinda interesting?)
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 04:13 |
To be fair the science fiction TV show/movie industry is still thriving (http://yvrshoots.com). And so are the ports, but that's about it for real jobs. Condos are our number one export really. But of course they don't leave.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 04:17 |
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Femtosecond posted:Half serious answer: Vancouver has several significant athletic and outdoor apparel makers. Arc'Teryx, Wings & Horns/Reigning Champ, Lululemon, Kit & Ace and MEC are all based in Vancouver. Arc'Teryx and Wings & Horns/Reigning Champ also make a lot of their products in Vancouver so there is a highly skilled clothing manufacturing industry present. I believe this highly skilled workforce also makes a lot of outdoor wear for other brands. Maybe if MEC still made their products in Vancouver (or anywhere else in Canada, or for that matter, the first world) they wouldn't have such abysmal quality at this point. Boy, that sure would be swell. (P.S. Look up John Oliver's rant on the fashion industry and supply chain management; it's pretty great)
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 04:38 |
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Reverse Centaur posted:I was responding to your post where you made it sound like it was just a downtown issue, or that the property was overvalued compared to its neighbours. "it's not reflective of the market as a whole." No, it is. It is not an aberration, and the problem stretches well out into the Fraser Valley. Real estate prices are much worse than Toronto, even with a worse economy. It extends well beyond the lower mainland. Search MLS for some of our rural communities in BC. Revelstoke and Lilloet have home prices that seem reasonable until you realize they are in the middle of nowhere. Homes that were worth south of 100K ten years ago, command prices that would have been reasonable 10 years ago in actual urban centers.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 04:43 |
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Reverse Centaur posted:To be fair the science fiction TV show/movie industry is still thriving (http://yvrshoots.com). And so are the ports, but that's about it for real jobs. Condos are our number one export really. But of course they don't leave. Mainly due to the big tax credits
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 04:47 |
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PT6A posted:Maybe if MEC still made their products in Vancouver (or anywhere else in Canada, or for that matter, the first world) they wouldn't have such abysmal quality at this point. The decline of MEC across the board over this past decade has been staggering to behold and an excellent example of how democracy fails even at the small scale.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 05:09 |
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...rticle24162884/quote:
It's a good thing that this same debt goes down if real estate prices and 'wealth' decline!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 05:13 |
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http://business.financialpost.com/p...-housing-marketquote:Non-permanent residents might be the secret ingredient in Canadian housing market
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 05:46 |
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Femtosecond posted:Half serious answer: Vancouver has several significant athletic and outdoor apparel makers. Arc'Teryx, Wings & Horns/Reigning Champ, Lululemon, Kit & Ace and MEC are all based in Vancouver. Arc'Teryx and Wings & Horns/Reigning Champ also make a lot of their products in Vancouver so there is a highly skilled clothing manufacturing industry present. I believe this highly skilled workforce also makes a lot of outdoor wear for other brands. Reigning Champ makes really nice stuff but they are probably 1/1000th the size of Lululemon at best. Brb, you just reminded me to buy another hoodie.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 05:47 |
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quote:
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 15:51 |
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quote:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/canadas-economy-stalls-in-february/article24182275/?service=mobile
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 16:02 |
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Cultural Imperial posted:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...rticle24162884/ Haha I had the same terrifying thought as I was reading that
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 16:11 |
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quote:No stone left unturned as RBC hikes fees Gotta bleed everyone dry!!! haha sheesh
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 16:25 |
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quote:The bank says savings accounts are designed for clients who have short-term savings goals and need their money only occasionally. But loan and mortgage payments are typically a blend of principal and interest, which is to say the bank makes good money off them without charging additional fees. Hahahaha loving what
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 16:47 |
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It sure is a lot of work shoveling all these ones and zeroes around! ABAB.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 16:52 |
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I'm currently in the process of switching from RBC to a credit union and couldn't be happier.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 16:58 |
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Ikantski posted:0.7-0.8% in most places. Income tax is much lower there though, on a $150k salary, we'd pay about $50k in tax and you'll pay about $30k. I think this thread would applaud Texas's progressive stance toward taxing the land owning class instead of the working class (they have zero state income tax). Every renter pays property tax. It's built into their rent. Property tax rates directly affect rental rates. edit: evidently renters pay much higher property taxes than owners http://torontoist.com/2014/01/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-property-taxes/ quote:Tenants who live in multi-residential buildings (ones with seven units or more) are in the same boat; they don’t know exactly how much they’re paying, because it’s folded into their overall rent. But there’s another issue here, as well: because these buildings fall into a different tax classification, their tenants get taxed a different rate—a much higher one. A tenant in a multi-residential building is currently taxed 3.2 times more than the owner of a detached house. RBC fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Apr 30, 2015 |
# ? Apr 30, 2015 17:18 |
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Banks are responsible and beloved community citizens, or some poo poo.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 17:20 |
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RBC posted:Every renter pays property tax. It's built into their rent. Property tax rates directly affect rental rates. AKA "What Nenshi's fan club fails to understand"
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 17:21 |
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RBC posted:Every renter pays property tax. It's built into their rent. Property tax rates directly affect rental rates. I hear this all the loving time. "Renters shouldn't be allowed to vote in civic elections, they don't pay property tax!" or "Why are we listening to all these renters who want bike lanes?? They aren't paying for them, I pay property taxes where is my say?!" it's really infuriating. It gets brought up in some form or another in a lot of public meeting. "Not only do I live in this neighbourhood, but _I_ actually pay property taxes..." or "It's easy to ask for all these improvements when it's not your property taxes that will be going up to pay for them!"
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 17:21 |
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Baronjutter posted:I hear this all the loving time. "Renters shouldn't be allowed to vote in civic elections, they don't pay property tax!" or "Why are we listening to all these renters who want bike lanes?? They aren't paying for them, I pay property taxes where is my say?!" Wow, that is toxic as gently caress. If somebody tried complaining about this in Montreal, they'd get lynched. Basically 2/3rds of the population here is renting. Reminds me of the "road tax" argument that motorists try to bandy around when complaining about cyclists taking up "their" roads. Except unlike property tax, road tax doesn't actually exist!
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 17:59 |
I have literally never had a good experience with RBC, ever.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 18:03 |
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Stop hating banks, they aren't a social service, they are a business. Just buy some shares and profit from consumers gripes, what a true capitalist would do.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 18:17 |
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Jan posted:Wow, that is toxic as gently caress. If somebody tried complaining about this in Montreal, they'd get lynched. Basically 2/3rds of the population here is renting. To be fair to these imbeciles, Gas Tax does exist. But Gas Tax, as far as I can tell from my research, does not pay for municipal roads, only provincial. Here in Nova Scotia municipalities can request Gas Tax funding for certain eligible capital projects, such as wastewater, bike lanes, transit facilities, or yes, even roads (I built the loving form they use to make these requests). But only a very, very small percentage of municipal capital projects are funded by Gas Tax. Though I'm not privy to any Gas Tax funding for operating costs, if there is any. Given this, for a car-addicted soccer mom to bitch to me as a cyclist that I'm not contributing to the cost of municipal roads and therefore have no say is the biggest load of horseshit. And it's not like I never drive. I used to own a car. My girlfriend owns a car. I rent and use car-share. gently caress off. Keep driving in your unpriced-externality daily for the detriment of society. Rick Rickshaw fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Apr 30, 2015 |
# ? Apr 30, 2015 18:22 |
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Maybe if I pull a Clockwork Orange on my wife with this article she'll finally agree to wait another year. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...?service=mobile I just need to find suitable music to play while this scrolls on the screen.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 18:33 |
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Holiday-madonna
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 18:38 |
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RBC posted:Every renter pays property tax. It's built into their rent. Property tax rates directly affect rental rates. Yeah, I was just joking about how progressives sell people increased taxes by convincing them that it'll only affect other people, sorry for the confusion. Texas is not, in fact, progressive. Renters don't pay property tax, they pay rent and that's ok. Property tax, in Ottawa anyways, is only 57% of revenue. There's no reason to think that renters don't contribute equally or more (they have more disposable income ) to buying stuff at businesses who pay commercial taxes, work at places that pay industrial taxes, user fees, fines, etc. I'd say it's even a little uppity to think that people should have to contribute equally to deserve a vote. The argument that renters shouldn't be allowed to vote is appallingly stupid on so many levels.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 18:45 |
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quote:
http://www.news1130.com/2015/04/30/vancouvers-housing-market-is-not-overvalued-cmhc/ Vancouver's not overvalued motherfuckers
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 18:51 |
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Homeowners also get rebates so they pay less property tax on their homes than on their investment properties. Tenants' rents are such to pay for the complete costs of the investment properties which receive no property tax relief.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 18:53 |
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Ikantski posted:Yeah, I was just joking about how progressives sell people increased taxes by convincing them that it'll only affect other people, sorry for the confusion. Texas is not, in fact, progressive. Yeah, I hear the same level of idiocy from low-info leftists. "We need to demand more amenities from developers! They should have to install new sidewalks, and public art, and include a daycare, and make their buildings all LEED triple vegan platinum!" then the next breath is "And we need to do something about affordability too!" A lot of people think developers are making insane profits on their buildings and they could totally just cut condo prices in half and make a profit. Showing them the actual numbers on construction/development and how razor thin the margins generally are is just met with "That's just bullshit developers numbers so they can get tax breaks"
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 18:54 |
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Baronjutter posted:Yeah, I hear the same level of idiocy from low-info leftists. "We need to demand more amenities from developers! They should have to install new sidewalks, and public art, and include a daycare, and make their buildings all LEED triple vegan platinum!" then the next breath is "And we need to do something about affordability too!" A lot of people think developers are making insane profits on their buildings and they could totally just cut condo prices in half and make a profit. Showing them the actual numbers on construction/development and how razor thin the margins generally are is just met with "That's just bullshit developers numbers so they can get tax breaks" I know the costs involved are huge, but I find that particular claim hard to believe. I've never heard of such a thing as a poor property developer, especially in Canada, and one generally doesn't get rich on razor-thin margins. Or is this a 'Hollywood accounting' sort of situation?
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 19:23 |
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Regarding the Community Amenity Contributions (CACs) that Baronjutter is talking about that developers are forced to make by the City, I've read positions on both sides. Some say that this doesn't affect the price of the units and the other opinion is that developers are dead set on making their x% profit and CACs of whatever price will just result in an increase of unit price by an equivalent amount. I have no idea who is right here. It's a black box to me.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 19:46 |
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Lexicon posted:I know the costs involved are huge, but I find that particular claim hard to believe. I've never heard of such a thing as a poor property developer, especially in Canada, and one generally doesn't get rich on razor-thin margins. It's a bit of both. I worked in architecture for some time so working with developers was of course my bread and butter. A developer will of course always downplay their profits, always whine about how regulations and building codes and zoning are just soooooo unfair and making it like totalllllly impossible for him to build anything. But at the same time I've seen a lot of projects, even by experienced developers, get canceled due to a slight change in the market. I've had some good long chats with some developers I mostly trust all about the numbers, the risks, what its actually like to be a developer. For instance, one guy I know and probably respect the most of any developer says he doesn't make money on every building, if you want to be a developer as a long term career you have to be able to handle that. A lot of first-time developers end up bankrupt because it actually is a hard game to get into. He has a lot of experience and close relationships with his designers and contractors but he's still built buildings at a slight loss and it can be very hard to predict. You might hit gold on one building, the project doesn't run into any unexpected legal/zoning issues, no big problems or delays in construction, and the market actually buys your units at the prices you projected. In such a situation you'll make a good profit, maybe 20%, which is of course a huge amount of money. But your next building might get held up in council, then there's a concrete issue, then there's a major accident on the site, and now these delays have put your condos on the market after a similar competing building and you have to slash your unit prices and in the end you've barely broken even or even sustained a loss. It's like any investment, there are ups and downs, what matters is the average over the long term. And, this developer I trust, was telling me that personally his company averages out in the 10% range. But of course that's the profit for the company after they've paid them selves. I'm sure any developer could just jack up their personal salaries to the point that they make 0% profit on most projects, or over-pay contractors that are their friends and family or even them selves. But it doesn't take much to destroy those margins, like I said I've seen tons of small-time developers trying to build some lovely 4 story wood-frame condo go bankrupt. All it takes are a few cost over-runs, a bit too optimistic math, or some bad market research and you're stuck with a 10 million dollar building with only 8 million worth of condos inside. Sometimes they figure out it isn't going to work before they even start construction and they're just out a few hundred grand from interest on the land and various soft-costs like design, sometimes they realize they hosed up half way through the project and grab what money they can and have their numbered companies go bankrupt, sometimes they finish the building and realize they are selling their units 30% more than anyone is willing to pay, but if they budge on the price they'll take a loss. Yet every month the units sit unsold they are losing money, so it's a game of waiting if prices go up or enough suckers decide to buy, or bailing and getting what money they can. And amenities and demands by the city just go directly into the idiots that buy the condos, or lease the office space, or rent the apartments. Most developments are not self-financed, and banks and investors will not even look at a project unless it's all been worked out for 20% profit. Everyone knows that 20% is ideal and you probably won't reach it, but the basic optimal math on the project has to work out to 20%. The city demands a bigger setback and a native plant garden? Ok, now the units are just a tiny bit more expensive, or some other feature is cut. The money has to come from somewhere and no one is going to finance your project unless you can show on paper that ideal 20%. Of course no one trusts each other, developers are famously shifty and will lie their asses off to get concessions from the city. At the same time the city and community will always assume the developer is lying about his margins so will just make tons of ridiculous demands. It's like a game of chicken and I don't think it works out. I would never want to be a developer, way too much risk and you have to mitigate that risk by being a greedy shifty piece of poo poo. Baronjutter fucked around with this message at 20:05 on Apr 30, 2015 |
# ? Apr 30, 2015 19:57 |
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^ Interesting, thanks for the perspective.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 20:06 |
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Developers can only pass so many cost increases on to the buyer. Obviously if costs increase to such an extent that passing it onto the consumer results in selling prices that are higher than the market rate it's not going to end well. They'll absorb the costs in the short term and might make more prudent developments in the long term. When margins are really high it's like anything else, there's a goldrush going on and everyone rushes to get into the business and line their pockets, which I think is what's happened in Toronto in the last ten years. The result has been shoddy constructions, unsustainable profits, and a huge bubble. When you have as much development activity as is going on in Toronto currently, it is smart to attempt to cool the market by increasing development costs. That's what happened when development fees were raised by 70% in 2014. It seems developers are moving over to rental development instead as a long term method of maintaining margins, which seems much more sustainable. Instead of large margins driving 10 questionable developments a year all of which are risky, and maybe you're only planning on making money on 5/10 due to poor land speculation, lacking city approval, getting sued, whatever, maybe companies do 2 a year that are well thought out and planned and carry less risk.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 20:37 |
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lol gm cut 1000 jobs in Oshawa. I guess the manufacturing sector isn't really recovering as poloz says.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 21:14 |
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So the government of Nova Scotia incurred the wrath of a bunch of rich film executives and decided not to cut their film tax credits, so that's nice for me. Sorry, Canadian taxpayers, you'll be picking up the tab for a bunch of foreigners to work making TV content for American distributors for a while longer. Though at least this province's companies employ more Canadians than BC does.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 22:50 |
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# ? Jun 9, 2024 03:24 |
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https://twitter.com/hainsworthtv/status/593787256361586688/photo/1 Just FYI.
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# ? May 1, 2015 03:55 |