Re: 2020 Election
 

Vancouver just got Uber this year, but there are more licensing here than it seems in the US for Uber and Lyft and the like. Not quite as regulated as taxi's but not too far off.

Need a BC class 4 commercial license
Need a vehicle less than 9 years old with clean title
BC Commercial vehicle inspection
Uber has to maintain insurance as the drivers personal insurance policy doesn't cover Uber rides.
The rates are regulated partially as well, the province has set minimum rates they can charge.
There is a 30 cent drop off/pick up fee in certain areas of the city (congested areas)
Uber/Lyft have to pay something like $150 per vehicle on their platform and each driver has to pay for a business license which I think is $100 per year.

Just to start driving for Uber or the like you need a few hundred bucks just in fees.

It's $4.50 just to get into the Uber in Vancouver before even moving (base fare + booking fee)


It really took a lot for Uber to get into BC, no politician for years wanted to piss off the Taxi cartels, and their votes.

Re: 2020 Election
 

To be honest I think it matters little for several reasons. In 2016 Clinton raised twice as much as Trump but Trump still won the electoral college with states to spare. I would conclude this was thanks, in part, to the free wall-to-wall coverage of Trump by the media, mostly negative of course, but this played into Trump's pitch of being the only guy would who genuinely take on the establishment. Another significant factor is that the rise and rise of social media means that a relatively small cadre of hardcore supporters can have their message amplify many times louder than in previous elections at no cost to the candidate. Lastly in such a polarised political environment how many genuinely undecided voters are there left to convince who are going be swayed at this stage by campaign ads and go on to cast a ballot come election day?

Depends on whether strong Trump opposition will always translate into strong Biden support. For a lot of people it will do but you only need a few thousand otherwise Democrat voters in swing states not to bother due to their lack of enthusiasm for Biden to significantly aid Trump.

Re: 2020 Election
 

received my ballot, filled it out, and submitted it this weekend. One more boring vote for Biden (and Kelly in the Senate). I went online today to check the status. Here's what I had to fill in:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...f69c4e8a92.png


So that's last name, house NUMBER (not street name), DOB, and then ONE of (SSN - last 4; Voter ID; State ID; Drivers License).

The status came back as:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...51e6e359fc.png
I'll check again in a few days.

I'm posting the details because I think zzrmark commented that anyone could guess at his info; not the case for me (Arizona).

Re: 2020 Election
 

^^^ Yeah, that's better. Mine only needed my DOB and name. I'm sure that kind of data can be found on stalker sites such as Whitepages - can't say for sure as it's not something I'm given to doing but if I'm going to pay for a site to give me data on someone else I figure I'd be wanting their DOB and address as the barest minimum.

Re: 2020 Election
 

So much historical based drama recently has had so much contemporary relevance.not least the Netflix drama The Trial of the Chicago 7. Recommended.

Re: 2020 Election
 

Just watched that last night. And yes. The riot scenes, police actions, and the behaviour of the justice system.

Re: 2020 Election
 

The muting of microphones only for the initial 2 minutes of a candidate's response means that there will still be opportunity for Biden to tell Trump to shut up, but now when one of them interrupts it's going to cost them time: (sorry no electrified anal probe)
"Time taken up during any interruptions will be returned to the other candidate."
https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/world/...nses-1.5151993

Re: 2020 Election
 

I'm not really convinced that the rules will change anything. Trump can just yell and Bidens mike will pick it up, and the 9 minute exchanges will just be a repeat of the 1st debate.

It's only morbid fascination that will make me tune in since I've already voted.

Re: 2020 Election
 

If he yells and yells it could mean that via those penalties Biden gets to talk for twice as long, so maybe worth it.

Re: 2020 Election
 

Not only will Biden's mic still pick up Trump's voice, but Biden's EARS will still pick up Trump's voice, which means he will still get distracted. Imagine trying to explain some policy position with an angry rude man yelling in your ear! Has the subject of screens come up? For the VP debate, there was a somewhat useless-looking plexiglass sheet, but I haven't heard for this debate.
​​​​​​⠀‹

Re: 2020 Election
 

Directional mics and filters should eliminate trump almost completely (if they chose - they may think it good TV to keep it), Biden's ears, as you say will not be able to do so.

Re: 2020 Election
 

I'd insist on greater physical distance between Biden and Trump due to Trump being a known spreader of the virus, who knows what members of his entourage are still infected.

Re: 2020 Election
 

The whole 'family members'/'audience' aspect really needs to be controlled better. Hopefully they'll do some audience shots so we can see if people are complying with the rules or not.

Re: 2020 Election
 

Ear plugs?

Re: 2020 Election
 

One conduit for Russian disinformation is a former University of Ottawa professor:
"The platform, Global Research, features a Canadian domain name and offers an ever-expanding collection of conspiracy theories"
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/r...site-1.5767208