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Stolen Maple Syrup Found and Returned To Strategic Reserve

First time accepted submitter bmxeroh writes "Remember the tragic maple syrup heist? Police have seized more than 600 barrels of maple syrup they say are related to the missing syrup. It was transported back to Quebec via a 16 tractor trailer, heavily guarded (and presumably heavily armed) convoy Wednesday."

182 of 255 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds like by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 5, Funny

    Someone came to a sticky end :)

    --

    Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

    1. Re:Sounds like by maroberts · · Score: 5, Funny

      The cops are no doubt celebrating the sweet smell of success - with pancakes for breakfast....

      --

      Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
      Karma: Chameleon

    2. Re:Sounds like by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Ahhh, sweet victory.

    3. Re:Sounds like by elfprince13 · · Score: 2

      "I am all that is man"

    4. Re:Sounds like by Dogtanian · · Score: 3, Funny

      Surely he should have been shot *13* times for a real "Baker's Dozen"? :-O

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    5. Re:Sounds like by Scr4tchFury · · Score: 2

      Sounds like a happy ending ;)

    6. Re:Sounds like by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      More like a sappy ending.

    7. Re:Sounds like by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Er, dammit... I just rewatched it and hadn't realised that there was loads more animation after the "Who" titles (now that I know this, I Won't Get Fooled Again). The smaller egg thing actually made the same point anyway. :-(

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    8. Re:Sounds like by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · · Score: 1

      God that's annoying. And four years past the curve, too. [shades] [Daltrey howl]

    9. Re:Sounds like by Rinikusu · · Score: 1

      The crooks will be getting their just desserts..

      --
      If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
  2. A Lead on the Culprit by Scarletdown · · Score: 5, Funny

    So far, the only significant bit of evidence found at the scene where these barrels were retrieved was the cryptic phrase B. Worth, written in syrup on the floor.

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    This space unintentionally left blank.
    1. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Mrs. Butterworth's syrup contains no maple syrup.

    2. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by Scarletdown · · Score: 3, Funny

      So someone is trying to frame her? I heard there is a Log Cabin near the scene that may warrant investigating.

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      This space unintentionally left blank.
    3. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by SeaFox · · Score: 3, Funny

      Let's not take too much stock in it. It's possible her Aunt Jemima is trying to frame her.

    4. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by Dunbal · · Score: 2

      We call that "telephone pole syrup".

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    5. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by shentino · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Are they sure that the syrup they're returning hasn't been contaminated?

      Stealing something and then making it easy to recover seems to be a perfect trojan horse.

    6. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by crazyjj · · Score: 1

      I was thinking the same thing. Better check for urine, saliva, and...other fluids.

      --
      What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    7. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by snemarch · · Score: 2

      As long as they don't run mass spectrography tests for LSD!

      --
      Coffee-driven development.
    8. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by Tarlus · · Score: 1

      It was eventually traced back to the Log Cabin where she was hiding out.

      --
      /* No Comment */
    9. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      and theres no vagina either

      I really don't want to know why you were looking for one.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    10. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by Golddess · · Score: 1

      Who said she was stealing it for herself? Maybe she was stealing it because if she can't be filled with the stuff, then no bottle will?

      --
      "I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
    11. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by xmousex · · Score: 1

      it said Mrs on the bottle

    12. Re:A Lead on the Culprit by tomhath · · Score: 1

      Nothing. Why do you ask?

  3. Hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Sounds like the leaked Ocean's 14 script.

    Those Canadians really are serious about their maple syrup.

    1. Re:Hmmm... by rwise2112 · · Score: 1

      Sounds like the leaked Ocean's 14 script.

      Those Canadians really are serious about their maple syrup.

      Liquid gold, baby!

      --

      "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert"
    2. Re:Hmmm... by Guspaz · · Score: 2

      It was worth about $20 million, that's serious business.

    3. Re:Hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Canadian dollars.

      Currently worth 1.0251 USD.

    4. Re:Hmmm... by tqk · · Score: 1

      It was worth about $20 million, that's serious business.

      This was from the strategic reserve, ie. that which is held from the market in order to pump up the price of what does get sold.

      --
      "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
    5. Re:Hmmm... by amRadioHed · · Score: 2

      Yeah, like 10 years ago. The tables have turned and now Canadian dollars are actually worth more than ours.

      --
      We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
    6. Re:Hmmm... by Minwee · · Score: 1

      More like ten minutes ago. One Canadian dollar really is worth 1.0251 US dollars. Ten and a half years ago it was at an all-time low of 61.2 cents.

    7. Re:Hmmm... by amRadioHed · · Score: 1

      I know what the conversion is. As I said and you just repeated, Canadian dollars are worth more the US dollars now and 10 years ago they were worth much less. What is your point?

      --
      We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
    8. Re:Hmmm... by Algae_94 · · Score: 1

      The point is to constantly restate the fact that Canadian dollars are worth more than US dollars. Like the post you originally replied to said. The problem is that you replied to that as if it were wrong and 10 year old data, when in fact is was correct and current and agreeing with your bizarrely contradictory statement.

  4. THANK GOD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thank God! This could have turned into a real sticky situation!

  5. Did they test it for poison? by tlambert · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Did they test it for poison, or did they just put it back in the reserve without testing? There was no chain of custody during the time it was missing, after all.

  6. I just don't understand.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I just don't understand how someone makes off with half a million gallons (possibly more, mind you) without tipping anybody off.

    1. Re:I just don't understand.. by Aryden · · Score: 1

      This was what the hell I was wondering when I read about it the first time.

    2. Re:I just don't understand.. by bfandreas · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, but since everybody expecty syrup just to stick around nobody really thinks that those trucks are actually nicking syrup. Somebody is bound to have the paperwork so no need to be nosy. Diamonds, yes. Syrup? How do you fence stuff like that? It leaves quite a bit of a trail if the barrels leak. Also ants could be a problem.
      Diamonds! That's where it's at!

      --
      20 minutes into the future
    3. Re:I just don't understand.. by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      I'm wondering how big those barrels are. If they were 55 gallon drums, that would be about 33,000 gallons recovered out of what, half a million supposedly out there?

      No wonder they did it in an armed convoy. The recovered syrup increased in percieved value by 12 times! And dammit, I was gonna have pancakes this morning, too...

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    4. Re:I just don't understand.. by cowboy76Spain · · Score: 2

      My bet? They profited from the syrup properties.

      It was an insider operation. Workers of the reserve dipped inside the vats each day; when they arrived home they just had to remove from their bodies and clothes and into the vat.

      --
      Why can't /. have a rich-text editor? Editing your own HTML is so XXth century.
    5. Re:I just don't understand.. by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      You get a hold of a tanker.
      Heck the guy could have worked for someone security recogonized, and worked twice as hard. One tank for the company one tank for me.
      You drive up and say, I am here for a drop off. You go in and instead of pump to your truck to the reserve you go the other way.

      Being only Maple syrup, I doubt there was massive security.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    6. Re:I just don't understand.. by nazsco · · Score: 2

      They are canadians. they don't lock their doors. I saw it on TV.

    7. Re:I just don't understand.. by pspahn · · Score: 1

      I was thinking more along the lines of how this exporter didn't expect that his "usual supplier" suddenly had an amazing deal on a larger shipment.

      If he's in the maple syrup exporting business, he must have known about the heist, which means he either had some suspicion that his supplier had "hot" syrup ( *teehee* ), or he flat out knew where it came from and couldn't pass up a great opportunity to make a loon...

      Loon, right? That's what they call a buck?

      --
      Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
    8. Re:I just don't understand.. by Algae_94 · · Score: 1

      A "Loonie" is a Canadian dollar coin named after the image of a loon on the coin. I'm not Canadian, but I don't think "loon" is common slang for money like "buck" is.

  7. Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bacon Shortage. Stolen Maple Syrup. Clearly there is an international threat to our wholesome breakfast way of life. But where to the Presidential Candidates stand on this issue? Clearly the moderator dropped the ball by not bringing up this vital issue of world peace and security during the debate.

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    1. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by Sulphur · · Score: 2

      Bacon Shortage. Stolen Maple Syrup. Clearly there is an international threat to our wholesome breakfast way of life. But where to the Presidential Candidates stand on this issue? Clearly the moderator dropped the ball by not bringing up this vital issue of world peace and security during the debate.

      Strawberry or the old stalwart bacon and lingonberry haven't been used to jam radar for decades. Nothing beats maple syrup.

    2. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by MysteriousPreacher · · Score: 5, Funny

      Bacon Shortage. Stolen Maple Syrup. Clearly there is an international threat to our wholesome breakfast way of life. But where to the Presidential Candidates stand on this issue? Clearly the moderator dropped the ball by not bringing up this vital issue of world peace and security during the debate.

      It is a serious issue that threatens to rend the social fabric of society. Women make breakfast for men. That's as traditional as church on Sunday, Real Marriage, and meth-fuelled sex with male prostitutes - all cornerstones of the Republican Party, and what made America great.

      What do women do when there's no breakfast to make? Right, they get ideas! Can you imagine a world in which men, weakened by a lack of bacon and maple syrup, lose control over women? A world where women are free to use their in-built pregnancy prevention mechanism, not only to protect themselves from impregnation during rape, but also during normal marital sex? Obama can, and with another term that's exactly where he'll bring America. Romney for traditional values. The black guy for feminazis, socialism, and failing to keep open factories that had already been closed under Bush.

      P Ryan.
      (Borrowing my friend's account.)

      --
      -- Using the preview button since 2005
    3. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      Since when did Canada have a president? Did the Queen die or something?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    4. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 4, Funny

      You use raspberry to jam radar.

    5. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by eth1 · · Score: 1

      Bacon Shortage. Stolen Maple Syrup. Clearly there is an international threat to our wholesome breakfast way of life. But where to the Presidential Candidates stand on this issue? Clearly the moderator dropped the ball by not bringing up this vital issue of world peace and security during the debate.

      At least the eggs should be safe. We've been spending way too much money on the DHS (Department of Henhouse Security) for anyone to touch our eggs! Anyone who's had to stand in line there knows how slow the DPS (Department of Pigsty Security) is, though.

    6. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by theycallmeB · · Score: 4, Funny

      The first debate was supposed to be about domestic concerns. The bacon shortage news originated in Europe, and this maple syrup caper is a product of Canada (also, by the by, a leading exporter of frozen waffles), so you will have to wait until the foreign policy debate to find out where the candidates sit on breakfast table issues.

    7. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by yurtinus · · Score: 1

      Her Majesty's Kingdom for a mod point!

      --
      +1 Disagree
    8. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by niado · · Score: 2

      To clarify for US readers, Canada uses the Westminister System of government. The prime minister is head of the executive branch for Canada in practice, though the Queen is actually head of the executive branch (as well as the judicial and legislative branches??) and theoretically works through her cabinet and viceroy (in practice appointed by...the prime minister??) to actually govern. In practice the Queen doesn't actually perform any governmental functions personally, due to the tenets of responsible government requiring duly-elected leadership of the country.

      Did I get all that right?

    9. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by tqk · · Score: 1

      Since when did Canada have a president?

      When we need one (which is very seldom), we use yours. It's less expensive and we don't have to suffer any (well, many) consequences from it.

      --
      "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
    10. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

      Only moronic savages would put maple syrup ON bacon, something I'd expect a bored child to do, playing with their food.

      (I'll take the karma hit, the rest of the world are completely o_0 at the whole maple syrup on pancakes thing)

    11. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

      (Maple syrup on bacon thing rather... on pancakes, of course!)

    12. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Er, whose? How dare you accuse me of being a septic, you bounder! There'll be fisticuffs if you're not careful.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    13. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by tqk · · Score: 1

      Since when did Canada have a president?

      When we need one (which is very seldom), we use yours. It's less expensive and we don't have to suffer any (well, many) consequences from it.

      Er, whose? How dare you accuse me of being a septic, you bounder! There'll be fisticuffs if you're not careful.

      [Picture me banging my head against the wall trying to rattle my brains loose on a Sunday morning.]

      Are you drunk? Honest question, because I have no idea what that means (and none of that's not an accusation of any kind, honest). What's a "septic"? Are you trying to tell me, in some bizarre 'Stralian sort of way that you're not a Murrican? Sorry for assuming wrongly if so. /. is Murrican, so it's usually a safe assumption.

      Canuck here, if it helps, and I think my cup of Scotch needs more coffee. :-|

      --
      "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
    14. Re:Where do the Presidential Candidates stand? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      What's a "septic"? Are you trying to tell me, in some bizarre 'Stralian sort of way that you're not a Murrican?

      Now you accuse me of being a bloody convict! Outside, now!

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  8. Heavily armed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    heavily guarded (and presumably heavily armed)

    Woah, woah, woah...
    It isn't the USA, put those guns away.

    1. Re:Heavily armed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      heavily guarded (and presumably heavily armed)

      Woah, woah, woah... It isn't the USA, put those guns away.

      I figured it was heavily armed for Canadian standards. One of the guys had a knife.

    2. Re:Heavily armed by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      Nah, every guy had two arms. Thick ones.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    3. Re:Heavily armed by SuperMooCow · · Score: 1

      It wasn't a knife. It was a spork.

  9. For Cooking Up Some by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 1

    Old school hoser meth,

  10. Sorry but... by xded · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm from Europe and I don't really get why a strategic reserve of maple syrup is needed... Do you plan on living on maple syrup in case of a nuclear holocaust?

    1. Re:Sorry but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm from Europe too, but I can Google: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/09/why-does-canada-have-a-strategic-maple-syrup-reserve/261869/

    2. Re:Sorry but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm from Africa, but I can make a clickable link ;)

      Thanks for the article, btw. It answers the question quite nicely.

    3. Re:Sorry but... by necro81 · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'm from Europe and I don't really get why a strategic reserve of maple syrup is needed

      For the same reasons you stockpile any commodity: it makes you less susceptible to price swings in the marketplace. When prices are low, Quebecois producers can have the reserve buy up excess inventory, then later sell it when prices rise, to protect consumers. The U.S. has strategic reserves of oil, corn, and wheat for similar reasons. Like all complex systems, it helps to have some capacitance to buffer transients.

    4. Re:Sorry but... by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      Instead of "strategic reserve" read "stockpile so that we can use the economics of scarcity to keep the prices artificially high". Maple syrup is extremely expensive, and not because maple trees have such a good union.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    5. Re:Sorry but... by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Stockpiles don't create scarcity, they help avoid scarcity; it brings the price down in poor years, and push it up in good years.

      Only if they were systematically destroying maple syrup would it create scarcity.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    6. Re:Sorry but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I'm from Europe and I don't really get why a strategic reserve of maple syrup is needed...

      To prevent extinction of the maple syrup we have carefully created a habitat devoid of predators and poachers such that it may thrive.

    7. Re:Sorry but... by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      Maple Syrup is a major industry for Canada. However it is a fickle industry.

      You can't grow hundred year old maple trees in a greenhouse, they are exposed to normal weather conditions. Also they can only harvest for a short period of time a year. So having the reserve will allow them to keep supply all year long, and cover when there is a bad year. If supply get too low the prices will go too high, and the market will switch to substitutes. American Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and New York Maple Syrup are quite good too. Then you have the cheap Colored Sugar Syrup.

      For the parent (a European) Real Maple Syrup is really expensive. And the Good Stuff is actually very good.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    8. Re:Sorry but... by inhuman_4 · · Score: 1

      Because Russia is also a cold northern country with lots of trees. And we cannot allow a maple syrup gap!

    9. Re:Sorry but... by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      producers can have the reserve buy up excess inventory, then later sell it when prices rise, to protect consumers.

      T... what?

    10. Re:Sorry but... by Another,+completely · · Score: 2

      It's like putting a capacitor in parallel with the circuit. Smooths out bumps in both directions.

    11. Re:Sorry but... by sootman · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm from America. Can someone click that link for me and tell me what it says?

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    12. Re:Sorry but... by donutz · · Score: 1

      Nice article. The Atlantic glosses over the bit, though, where the syrup cartel *causes* a calamity that threatens their industry, before they wise up.

    13. Re:Sorry but... by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 1

      You have no appreciation for the riots that would spread across Canada if someone suggested putting corn syrup on pancakes. Oh CRAP! I just suggested it. But ONLY IN JEST, PEOPLE! ONLY IN JEST!

    14. Re:Sorry but... by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I mean, they stockpile it when prices are low (keeping prices up), then sell it when prices rise (taking massive profit) "to protect the consumer". Sounds like what I do with securities, but I call it "robbing old peoples' retirement accounts."

    15. Re:Sorry but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Canada produces like 75% of the world's maple syrup.
      Annual production fluctuates widely, largely due to changing weather.
      The strategic reserve is part of a system for stabilizing the price.

    16. Re:Sorry but... by Beorytis · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm also from America, but I don't mind giving this short summary: It's an agricultural product with a wide variation in harvest from year to year.

    17. Re:Sorry but... by Thorodin · · Score: 1

      Well, for personal consumption, we have Maple trees in NW Michigan and tap them for maple syrup, too. Some people do sell it, also.

    18. Re:Sorry but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Stockpiles = capacitors

    19. Re:Sorry but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I'm from America, I didn't RTFA, I didn't click on the link, but now I think I know the whole story from the comments. Thanks sootman!

    20. Re:Sorry but... by arkane1234 · · Score: 1

      The market's basic drivers are supply & demand.
      When supply drops and demand remains the same, the scarcity raises prices.
      When supply drops and demand rises, the price increases quite a bit.
      Add in a strategic reserve flow to the line, and the supply does not drop as steep and the prices don't fluctuate as much.

      --
      -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
    21. Re:Sorry but... by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

      I once ate breakfast at a friend's house as a child, and they served pancakes. So I grabbed the maple syrup, loaded up my pancakes, only to discover that this family used CORN SYRUP.
      That's the most horrid lump of sticky awful I've ever encountered, and it still haunts me to this day.

    22. Re:Sorry but... by amRadioHed · · Score: 1

      He should have said they sell it when production is low for the year, the idea is to stave off the high prices with an increased supply.

      --
      We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
    23. Re:Sorry but... by nazsco · · Score: 1

      you sir, have no idea how markets work.

      read how the gov control corn prices and such, and you will understand how canada probably does the same with maple syrup.

      stockpiles controls price. they create scarcity or offer depending on the market. but the option for both are the same after you have the stockpile.

    24. Re:Sorry but... by sjames · · Score: 2

      You will soon find a line millions of people long forming in front of you. Each will in turn tell you "That's not a very nice thing to say, you know" and then yield to the next in line. It could be a few years before you've fully served your penance.

    25. Re:Sorry but... by Minwee · · Score: 1

      I'm from Europe and I don't really get why a strategic reserve of maple syrup is needed... Do you plan on living on maple syrup in case of a nuclear holocaust?

      Travel to the USA some time and try the carpenter's glue that passes for "table syrup" there. Then you will understand why we take extreme measures to make sure that Canada never suffers the same fate.

    26. Re:Sorry but... by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · · Score: 1

      It's like OPEC, and Canada is the Saudi Arabia of maple syrup. Disaffected hosers will soon be flying commandeered hangliders into redwood trees, death to America, eh? Smokes backbacon Mounties Rush tar sands DOA Joni Neil Gordon take off

    27. Re:Sorry but... by HornWumpus · · Score: 2

      They've been known to ferment the semi-concentrated syrup. Never exported so it must be good.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  11. This is clearly an injustice! by Dutchmaan · · Score: 3, Funny

    Won't somebody think of the saplings!

  12. News for nerds? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I could've sworn I was reading Slashdot... do nerds like maple syrup more than most people?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:News for nerds? by jamstar7 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    2. Re:News for nerds? by makapuf · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Easy to like anything more than most people when you don't like people.

    3. Re:News for nerds? by JSC · · Score: 1

      No, it's that we know that aliens tried to steal the syrup. This is obviously the start of The Maple Syrup War!

      --
      Time's fun when you're having flies. - Kermit the Frog
    4. Re:News for nerds? by Ogive17 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I just don't understand why some people assume that because a story isn't interesting to them, it's not slashdot worthy.

      Here's a hint, if you see the summary and it doesn't interest you, skip over it. I do it all the time, probably only making it to the comment section on 10-20% of the articles.

      --
      "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
    5. Re:News for nerds? by dkleinsc · · Score: 1

      Yo momma's so fat that she stole 600 gallons of syrup just to get through breakfast!

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    6. Re:News for nerds? by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      nerds like maple syrup more than people

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    7. Re:News for nerds? by vettemph · · Score: 1

      Absolutely.
      I buy Vermont 'Grade B' syrup.
      Oddly enough, The old rating system has Grade B being darker, thicker, more expensive and more flavorful than Grade A.
      The rating has nothing to do with modern 'Grade A' foods that we have come to know.

       

      --
      The government which is strong enough to protect you from everything is strong enough to take everything from you.
    8. Re:News for nerds? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      I just don't understand why some people assume that because a story isn't interesting to them, it's not slashdot worthy.

      Because it has nothing to do with technology or science. It's not "news for nerds" and it doesn't matter to anyone except those who work in the syrup industry.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    9. Re:News for nerds? by sootman · · Score: 1

      Quit whining. Just go to Settings -> Topics and uncheck "syrup" and you won't see these stories anymore. :-)

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      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    10. Re:News for nerds? by cusco · · Score: 1

      Not 'news for nerds'? Is your only interest in life technology? Not me, I like tech, work bathed in the radiation from computer monitors all day, and play games and tinker with systems every evening, but that doesn't fill every synapse in my brain. There are things outside the technological realm that are of interest to most SlashDotters, and things that fall under the heading of 'weird shit' is in that category for most of us. Thus the posting of the annual Darwin Awards finalists, articles about the bizarre penis configurations of beetles, or someone stealing a million pounds of maple syrup.

      If an article isn't in area of interest, don't read it. A lot of us will, thus the 120+ comments so far.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
    11. Re:News for nerds? by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      We like bacon, and maple syrup is one of the few things in life that makes bacon taste even better than it already is.

    12. Re:News for nerds? by yurtinus · · Score: 1

      What kind of nerd doesn't giggle at the thought of a strategic maple syrup reserve?

      --
      +1 Disagree
    13. Re:News for nerds? by yurtinus · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Barrels man, BARRELS!! Yo momma's so fat, she stole THIRTY THREE THOUSAND gallons of syrup just to get through breakfast!

      --
      +1 Disagree
    14. Re:News for nerds? by tqk · · Score: 1

      I could've sworn I was reading Slashdot... do nerds like maple syrup more than most people?

      Consider that today is the first day of post-season baseball. Which would you expect nerds to be talking about? MLB, or Maple syrup heists?

      --
      "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
  13. Puts and Calls for fun and profit? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The short and long of it - any strange trades in syrup futures?

  14. Should you be worried about the food you buy? by blind+biker · · Score: 2

    From the article:

    Etienne St-Pierre said his usual suppliers, small producers based in Quebec, sold it to him.

    This made me think: basically, a foodstuff was sold to someone who'll sell it to the public later on. He didn't ask about the source of the foodstuff, didn't check for quality, didn't check for adulteration, didn't check for chemical or biological contaminants - NOR DID HE KNOW SHIT whether anyone has done such tests.

    He could have gotten maple syrup laced with anthrax, and would have sold it forward, and noone would have been the wiser.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    1. Re:Should you be worried about the food you buy? by EmagGeek · · Score: 1

      And, because the chain of custody has been violated, the Canadian government doesn't know shit about it, either.

      It's quite honestly horrifying that they would take it back, considering it could very well be adulterated now, or laced with anthrax, or cyanide, or have been totally replaced with artificially flavored high fructose corn syrup.

      They'll have to empty all 600 barrels, test them, reprocess them, and repackage them, which will certainly change the flavor and consistency.

    2. Re:Should you be worried about the food you buy? by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      Do you test the food you bring home from the supermarket every single week? I mean, they could sell you food laced with anthrax and you would be no wiser.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    3. Re:Should you be worried about the food you buy? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      I think if your food was laced with Anthrax you'd know about it, eventually.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    4. Re:Should you be worried about the food you buy? by blind+biker · · Score: 1

      And, because the chain of custody has been violated, the Canadian government doesn't know shit about it, either.

      Exactly.

      My comment was more general, though. It's about the fact that, generally, it is plausible that food sold at grocery stores could come from untrusted sources.

      --
      "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    5. Re:Should you be worried about the food you buy? by blind+biker · · Score: 1

      Do you test the food you bring home from the supermarket every single week? I mean, they could sell you food laced with anthrax and you would be no wiser.

      If there is no guarantee of who the source is, then yes, that's exactly my fucking point!

      --
      "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    6. Re:Should you be worried about the food you buy? by bws111 · · Score: 1

      Yes, this is why you should also carefully read the Certificate of Authenticity that comes with each and every apple, etc, that you purchase.

      Have you every actually been to a grocery store or otherwise purchased food?

    7. Re:Should you be worried about the food you buy? by dryeo · · Score: 1

      This is the modern right wing Canada. No more food inspectors as obviously industry can self inspect and the free market will take care of any tainted food.
      Google "beef recall" to see how well it works.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    8. Re:Should you be worried about the food you buy? by yurtinus · · Score: 3, Funny

      Did you know that there is practically *never* a reliable chain of custody on the tin foil you buy from the grocery store? Did you know that it's not even made of tin anymore! How can you trust your hat when the strategic tin foil reserves are filled with product from untrusted sources!?!

      --
      +1 Disagree
    9. Re:Should you be worried about the food you buy? by cusco · · Score: 1

      Generally? How about 'almost always'? Tyson, for example, should never be considered a "trusted source". Besides their continual interference with FDA inspectors, including bribes, whoops, I mean campaign contributions, to congresscritters to reduce the amount of inspections, the amount of products inspected, the number of personnel hired to inspect, the percentage of each product inspected, and reduce funding for enforcement of the regulations that are left, they also employ illegal aliens by the hundreds so that they don't have to pay workers compensation claims. (Oh, you've got carpel tunnel syndrome? We'll be calling La Migra tomorrow and you can get a taxpayer-provided ticket back to Mexico.) Hardly what I would call a trustworthy source for food.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
  15. Let's not get carried away by LrdDimwit · · Score: 1

    If some nefarious group really wanted to poison people, there are a lot less flamboyant and troublesome ways to get your poison into the food supply. For example, why not just contaminate the supply? If they can break into the reserve and go undetected long enough to siphon off hundreds of gallons of the stuff, that's surely long enough to poison the whole reserve. Much easier.

    The stuff's really valuable, right? That's why they keep a strategic reserve in the first place, after all. So the motive is obvious - money. And pure maple syrup is worth more than contaminated deadly maple syrup. A lot more. So poisoning the maple syrup would be a really boneheaded move.

    Only movie crooks would come up with a plan that involves stealing hundreds of gallons of valuable merchandise, moving it across a border, then poisoning it and letting it be recovered. About the only thing missing are the sharks with frickin laser beams.

    1. Re:Let's not get carried away by mwvdlee · · Score: 2

      About the only thing missing are the sharks with frickin laser beams.

      I don't see why that couldn't happen; http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/swimming-in-syrup-minimyth.htm

      --
      Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
    2. Re:Let's not get carried away by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      I agree.
      We as a culture needs to work harder to separate fantasy from reality. We are living in a world of potential fear because every bad guy seems to have these devious plot to make our lives miserable.

      We can't let our kids outside without intent supervision (heck laws are getting in place that the parent is in trouble if they let their kids go out and play without supervision) because there could be a Sexual Predator just around the corner ready to snatch your child. Or a teenager who is pushing you kid to take drugs.

      The people who we have political differences are somehow part of a grand plot to make our lives miserable. Just for the sake of it.

      We don't live in a world where there are good people and bad people. We live in a world where Good People can do bad things, and Bad People try to do good things. We always had this. We hear more about it then before but it has always happened... Back in the 1950 there may had been a reason why Uncle Joe wasn't invited to Thanksgiving the next year and we don't see him anymore and your little Sister is happy for that.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    3. Re:Let's not get carried away by sjames · · Score: 1

      We can't let our kids outside without intent supervision (heck laws are getting in place that the parent is in trouble if they let their kids go out and play without supervision) because there could be a Sexual Predator just around the corner ready to snatch your child. Or a teenager who is pushing you kid to take drugs.

      Meanwhile, the adults that might have once provided that supervision are busy working now just to try to maintain a lifestyle that their parents managed with one income, so the kids just have to stay inside. Then we wonder why 'kids these days' don't get as much exercise as the previous generation.

  16. SWEET! by Razgorov+Prikazka · · Score: 1

    And that is all I have to say about this....

    --
    rm -rf --no-preserve-root / ...and let /dev/null sort them out...
  17. Stickyfinger by jcphil · · Score: 2

    Fort Knox had Goldfinger. Who is Quebec's Stickyfinger?

  18. With Bacon! by EmagGeek · · Score: 1

    One fried egg over easy
    Grated Irish Cheese
    3 (or 4, or 5, or 6, or 10) strips of thick-cut bacon
    1 tbsp maple syrup
    Make a sandwich out of it and grill to perfection

    You know you want it

    1. Re:With Bacon! by jandersen · · Score: 1

      Yummy, that sounds almost as appetising as sea cucumber.

    2. Re:With Bacon! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      3 (or 4, or 5, or 6, or 10) strips of thick-cut bacon

      My sandwich goes to 11.

  19. How? by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

    It was transported back to Quebec via a 16 tractor trailer, heavily guarded (and presumably heavily armed)

    I'd like to know how somebody was able get access to the strategic reserve of anything. But I guess if an 82 year old nun can break into a nuclear facility damn near anything's possible. But then to be able to leave with 16 tractor trailers worth of it? If the convoy returning it was "heavily guarded" was the facility not guarded too? Did the thieves steal it using a 16 vehicle convoy? Or did somebody who worked there smuggle it out one bottle at a time in their lunch box over the last 120 years? And, more to the point, what in the hell were they planning to do with it? Was a Telly Savalas look-a-like stroking a white Persian cat while monologuing about world domination through controlling the worlds maple syrup supply? Or was it part of a bigger plot to take over the world by controlling breakfast food?

    1. Re:How? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      No, you read that wrong. The syrup was on a trailer pulled by sixteen tractors.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  20. Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by zippthorne · · Score: 1

    Neither one of them use actual maple syrup, so the frame job would appear to trying to make the other one less of a fraud...

    --
    Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    1. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by jd2112 · · Score: 5, Funny

      It was the corn industry: "We secretly replaced Canada's maple syrup with High Fructose Corn Syrup, artificial maple flavor, and food coloring. Let's see if anyone can tell the difference"

      --
      Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
    2. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      LOL mod parent up!

      It's the truth, real maple syrup is hard to find and bloody expensive. It's a high-end specialty ingredient.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    3. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Pretty much every supermarket I've been to in several different parts of the US has had a couple real maple syrup options on the shelf. Even places like Costco seem to frequently carry it. It definitely costs more, but doesn't seem that expensive or hard to find in the US and Canada at least. Now if you are trying to track down different, specific grades of maple syrup, it can be hard depending on where you live.

    4. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by arkane1234 · · Score: 1

      "high-end specialty product" does not mean "unavailable".

      --
      -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
    5. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by Stavr0 · · Score: 1

      [spit-take]
      Ouache. Kosse-ça, stie. Du crisse de sirop de poteau?

    6. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by nazsco · · Score: 1

      I don't think costco ever had it.

      I think it's only a case of you not finding the smal print saying it's actually corn sugar. they keep getting smaller and smaller.

    7. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Costco definitely has it in Canada. If it's really that hard to find in the US, that's another reason I won't accept job offers from down there.

    8. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      No, but "hard to find" which I think he was replying to usually can be associated with "unavailable" (not that anybody actually said "unavailable" to put in quotes to begin with.)

    9. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by Algae_94 · · Score: 1

      Where is the maple syrup at TJ Maxx and Marshall's? Aren't those clothing stores?

    10. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by unitron · · Score: 1

      "high-end specialty product" does not mean "unavailable".

      On my budget it does!

          : - )

      --

      I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

    11. Re:Carmel Colored Corn Syrup... by Skynyrd · · Score: 1

      LOL mod parent up!

      It's the truth, real maple syrup is hard to find and bloody expensive. It's a high-end specialty ingredient.

      Where do you live that it's hard to find and expensive?
      Every grocery store here (west coast, USA) has it. I can get grade A, grade B, organic, etc. It's not cheap as fake maple syrup, but it costs less than a good bottle of gin - and lasts much longer.

  21. Re:Price contarol cartel in maple syrup by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If yu are joking ... nice work.

    If you are serious - please read the arcticle http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/09/why-does-canada-have-a-strategic-maple-syrup-reserve/261869/

  22. And M.S. is the codeword for what exactly? by Sqreater · · Score: 1

    Nuclear materials? Antibiotics for anthrax?

    --
    E Proelio Veritas.
  23. Re:Price contarol cartel in maple syrup by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This makes sense, until you realize that maple syrup production really is highly variable from year to year. That means some years people will be clamoring for the stuff, but unable to get it at any price, thus switch to alternatives; and other years people will be awash in the stuff and producers will go broke. It's not so much a matter of getting people to pay more, but a buffer against wildly-fluctuating markets that wouldn't be helpful to either producers or consumers. What do you think would happen if the supply of oil went up and down by as much as 2x every year? It would be nuts.

  24. party time! by slashmydots · · Score: 1

    *pours maple syrup all over this post* Party time! Let's all have a maple syrup slashdot party, lol.

  25. Breaking Bad by Corporate+Gadfly · · Score: 1

    Reminds me of an episode of breaking bad (about a heist to pilfer some precious liquids).

    --
    Corporate Gadfly
    Jonathan Archer: the most beaten up Enterprise captain in Star Trek history
  26. How much syrup is that? by RNLockwood · · Score: 1

    Is the 600 barrels a measure of volume, 42 gallons to a barrel? Did it mean 600 drums of unknown capacity, perhaps 55 gallon drums? But it's a Canadian story and wouldn't they use metric? Perhaps the barrels are made of maple wood, charred inside and used for aging the syrup, eh?

    --
    Nate
    1. Re:How much syrup is that? by slew · · Score: 2

      Is the 600 barrels a measure of volume, 42 gallons to a barrel? Did it mean 600 drums of unknown capacity, perhaps 55 gallon drums? But it's a Canadian story and wouldn't they use metric? Perhaps the barrels are made of maple wood, charred inside and used for aging the syrup, eh?

      A barrel (used in a liquid measurement context) is usually approx 120 liters. However, there is some variation, and each commodity tends to have it's own "barrel" measurement. For example, a barrel of oil is about 160 liters, but a barrel of beer is a bit light of a standard liquid barrel (except in the UK where it's a bit bigger).

      The history of the "barrel" measurement is that it is defined to be 1/2 a hogshead (a really big barrel 4ft tall, 30inches diameter), 1/4 of a pipe, and 1/8 of a liquid tonne. For smaller measurements, you had the kilderkin (1/2 barrel), the firkin (1/4 barrel). These measurements were simply the capacity of the common containers used for shipping ale, wine, and tobbaco (among other things) back in the american colonial times. In many ways, the factor-of-two system is preferable to the factor-of-ten metric unit for stuff like this...

  27. Hello, we're Canadians by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Funny

    Our military expenditures are a tiny fraction of our Southern neighbor's

    Less likely to carry guns

    Have better healthcare and are therefore more relaxed

    We emphasize coordination and and compassion and getting along at the U.N.

    Our labor rights are more sound, so we're less agitated

    Our commitment to education is high, we see ways to resolve conflict in wise ways rather than brutal vicious ways

    We're polite to a fault, we stop our cars in the street so you can cross, we let you go first in line if we both arrive at the same time, and we express in low tones the thinking behind our disagreements

    BUT DON'T YOU MOTHERFUCKERS EVER FUCKING MESS WITH OUR MOTHERFUCKING MAPLE SYRUP

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by quacking+duck · · Score: 1
    2. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by Bigby · · Score: 1

      Better healthcare? That seems like a statement of perspective. I would bet that a majority of your neighbors to the south have better healthcare than a majority of Canadians.

    3. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      they live longer and spend less

      any questions you propagandized idiot?

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    4. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by H0p313ss · · Score: 2

      Better healthcare? That seems like a statement of perspective. I would bet that a majority of your neighbors to the south have better healthcare than a majority of Canadians.

      Rich Americans have better healthcare than most Canadians. Canadians will not die in poverty to pay a Cancer health bill.

      --
      XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
    5. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by ngc5194 · · Score: 1

      Our labor rights are more sound, so we're less agitated

      Imposter! If you were really Canadian you'd spell it "labour"! Go learn something about hockey.

    6. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      hockey is a game where people beat each other up, and occasionally hit a puck with a stick. it is theorized the people are upset because it is so cold and the water is frozen

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    7. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      As a Canadian who has lived in the US for 20 years, I can rebutt this pretty well. I have what would be considered one of the best plans in the US, and it pretty much matches the health care I received in Canada when I was growing up. At age 15 I walked myself into an ER for a broken finger, and never had to think about what it might be costing my parents. It was just dealt with.

      My father-in-law (US) and my father (Canada) both hit the hospital at the same time 5 years ago, the former for pancreatic blockage, the latter for colon cancer. In the US, we had hospital staff working on billing and payment details while they were getting prepped for the last rites. My father got swift and immediate treatment, and never had to think about how he was paying for it. Both recovered fully. My father-in-law took years to pay off the debt for his visit, and the worry didn't help much with his condition. My father completed his treatment, has free regular follow-ups, and only had to concentrate on getting better.

      As a customer of both, I'll take the Canadian system any time. The American system is great if you have money, and you never get sick.

    8. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      Our labor rights are more sound, so we're less agitated

      Yeah, I've seen footage from Canadian postal strikes - US unions have nothing on you guys.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    9. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There are plenty of problems with Canadian healthcare. And you will find that not in a billion years will a single Canadian prefer our broken dysfunctional wasteful system over theirs.

      What the USA excels in is critical care: when you have the heart attack. Why? Because IT MAKES MONEY. What is there no money in? Preventive care. Because it's cheap. You also live longer.

      Wouldn't you prefer to prevent the heart attack for $100 than maybe live through the heart attack for $100,000? Well guess what: your stupid healthcare system doesn't agree with you. It is made so some asshole CEO can sit on a gold toilet, it's not made so you actually live a longer healthier life and spend far less on your healthcare.

      Because some complete fucking retards in this country actually believe the profit principle has a place in a healthcare system. What is the system for? Your health? Or a shareholder? Why the fuck do so many ignorant fucking Americans not see the problem therein? You can't have both. No really: you cannot have a system to maximize profit, and a system that maximizes your health, at the same time. Those two goals are diametrically opposed to each other. But the cult of the unicorns and rainbows free market fundamentalism is so strong in this stupid fucking country common sense does not prevail.

      Oh and "FREEDOM!" As in FREEDUMB: people who believe freedom means freedom from responsibility. "How dare you make me buy health insurance!" (And then they break their arm and avoid the bill because they can't afford it: freeloading, irresponsible ignorant assholes.)

      You can make giant volumes of the problems in the Canadian healthcare system. In Great Britain. In France. In all of our economic peers on the world stage. And none of them, not a single citizen of those countries, with all of the problems in their health systems, would change it for the far, far worse system we have here. Go ahead, ask your friend. They look on our "healthcare" system with a mix of revulsion and disgust. Because our system is far far far more expensive, and we live shorter lives, because our system is made to profit off the attempt to MAYBE you save you from the heart attack, while the other systems are made to save the country, and you, money, by preventing you from getting the heart attack in the first place with screenings and cheap drugs (as opposed to expensive drugs with marketing campaigns and fashion model sales reps visiting doctors offices to get them push that instead).

      A healthcare system doesn't mean a fucking thing if you can't afford it.

      It blows my mind how Americans can be so utterly propagandized and so fucking retarded on how they are being shafted by paying so much and living shorter unhealthier lives. Oh but "EVIL SOCIALISM WHARGGARBBLBBLLE." Good for you retard, you hate the word "socialism." Now live a shorter life and pay a heck of a lot more for your healthcare, you dumb ignorant moron afraid of a silly word. That asshole CEO getting paid by policies that trade your lifeblood for his gold toilet thanks you.

      Wake the fuck up America.

      http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121003/REVIEWS/121009995

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    10. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

      Timmee's!

      --
      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    11. Re:Hello, we're Canadians by SpanglerIsAGod · · Score: 1

      And, on average no matter how it was paid, the cost of doing it in Canada was less than half the cost of doing it in America.

      --
      War doesn't show who is right - just who is left.
  28. Article a signal to one of our intelligence agents by Provocateur · · Score: 1

    He was informed that if an article appears in Slashdot that doesn't quite fit in the News For Nerds category, that the operation has been green lighted. He is to move at once, while the world is distracted by hot gossip about the Kardashians (local operatives in the mainland as well).

    Nothing to see here, fellow /. readers; move along now.

    --
    WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
  29. We've been Jammed! by bobbied · · Score: 2

    NOBODY gives me the raspberry except .... LoneStar!

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  30. Mr. Prime Minister! by Pope · · Score: 2

    We simply cannot allow a maple syrup gap!

    --
    It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
  31. Re:Price contarol cartel in maple syrup by bobbied · · Score: 1

    Ever heard of futures contracts on commodities? In this case, they are just storing up the actual commodity for delivery at a later date when the price is higher. No big issue with this in my book. Actually, I like this idea of actually having the commodity in storage over selling contacts for stuff you don't have... But alas that's a whole other debate.

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  32. So, am I the only one... by Kiyyik · · Score: 1

    ...getting a huge "Road Warrior" vibe offa this whole thing?

    "To understand who he was, you have to go back to another time. When the world was powered by the dark syrup. And the forest sprouted great cities of pipe and steel. Gone now, swept away. For reasons long forgotten, two mighty warrior tribes went to war and touched off a blaze which engulfed them all. Without syrup, they were nothing. Man began to feed on man, because who wants dry pancakes? The gangs took over the highways, ready to wage war for a barrel of sap. And in this maelstrom of decay, came the warrior we called Mad Makenzie..."

  33. Die Hard 5 by TheSpoom · · Score: 2

    If this isn't the most obvious plot EVER for a Die Hard movie, I don't know what is. ;^)

    --
    It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
    - E. Debs
  34. Re:Price contarol cartel in maple syrup by PPH · · Score: 1

    Not oil supply, but refinery capacity. It happens. BP blows one up every year or two. We live with it.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  35. Re:Price contarol cartel in maple syrup by PPH · · Score: 1

    From your article:

    "It's got to be an inside job," he said. "What do you do with that much syrup? You have to be in the industry."

    Probably true. Some insiders probably unhappy with the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers. They may not have gotten the production quotas they desired, or they want to develop their own markets. So they screw with the cartel in hopes of bringing it down.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  36. Canadians by hackus · · Score: 1

    You know, only the Canadians would move syrup with a armed convoy.

    I blame this whole stick mess on Canada.

    -Hackus

    --
    Got Geometrodynamics? Awe, too hard to figure out? Too bad.
  37. And so ends the story by nimbius · · Score: 3, Funny

    of how 600 barrels of Maple Syrup and some poor convoy with a brand new Garmin learned the difference between Ontario, Canada and Ontario, California.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  38. Nobody expects the Canadian Inquisition by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Their chief weapons are Beer, Maple Syrup, and the repeated use of the word Eh, eh?

    All your syrup is belong to Canada.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  39. I dont believe it by Yakasha · · Score: 2
    I simply do not believe in the heist. I do not believe that any culture, race, or other human group can so ably live up to their stereotypes! It MUST be a hoax.

    Whats next? Columbian coke reserves damaged by mice? Chinese slave labor stolen? American military bankrupt?

  40. I never thought I'd hear... by roc97007 · · Score: 2

    ..."strategic" and "syrup" in the same sentence.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  41. MItt Romney did write this post by circletimessquare · · Score: 2

    as governor of Massachusetts

    then he disavowed his greatest legacy to pander to the ignorant propagandized wing of the hysterical right

    Romney abandoned probably the greatest piece of legislation he will ever be identified with, to win the vote of the kind of douchebag that will vote against policies that means cheaper healthcare for him and a longer life. because some CEO brought enough of the right sort of propaganda on Fox News to appeal to his low IQ prejudices

    i can't fathom a retard so fucking stupid he would choose to pay more for his healthcare and live less. so some CEO can pad his Cayman Island bank account

    it's mind blowing how propagandized, ignorant and just beyond belief knuckle dragging dumb some Americans on the right can be

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:MItt Romney did write this post by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      i agree with universal healthcare

      mandating private insurance is the best we can get though in this country because of the entrenched financial interests and their hordes of propagandized retards

      think of it as a first step. universal healthcare is the nirvana, but we need to take baby steps to get there. the morons and the parasitical corporations won't let us have common sense all at once

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  42. i still dont beleive it by hesaigo999ca · · Score: 1

    I never knew we had a reserve,....of maple syrup!
    Just in case we run out...????
    Is there even a value to this, seeing as it can go bad (shelf life?)

  43. Where's the rest? by DarwinSurvivor · · Score: 1

    Wasn't there something like 15,000 barrels stolen? This would be like finding a brick of 20's a block away from a bank robbery...

  44. Re:Price contarol cartel in maple syrup by aurizon · · Score: 1

    Marketing boards are mixed good and evil. The question is: Should we pay double the market price for the stability. I even suspect the Aunt Jemima company funds the Maple Syrup control board.

  45. They mainly sell clothes and shoes but by portforward · · Score: 1

    they also sell other stuff. I'm more familiar with Ross, but it is the same concept. In addition to clothes and shoes they have crappy electronics, toys, kids books, towels, sheets, some furniture, pots and pans, and yes, "gourmet-ish" food. Think spices, crackers, hot chocolate, hot sauce and probably expensive maple syrup. But for every one aisle for pots and pans they will have ten for women's clothing.

  46. No reason to poison it to poison people by tlambert · · Score: 2

    Once it's in the reserve, who owns what drop of syrup is no longer pertinent. It's just as believable that someone would do it for the same reasons as that Tylenol was poisoned http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tylenol_murders (least likely) or to drive up the price, given that there's no price/production floor for producers (good for producers in general as plowing under a large percentage of the corn crop was at one point, and as milk-dumping in 1939 and the late 1970's; by the 1980's, the government was buying excess supply to make cheese and keep public supply low).

    An alternate possibility is to games the commodities market with a short term supply discontinuity.

    The first possibility is most likely to be of long term benefit to various producers, merely by being a possibility.

    If it can be proven non-toxic, I'd keep it separate from the reserve, and start bottling "kidnapped brand maple syrup" myself...

  47. Re:What does this have to do with maple syrup??? by YetAnotherBob · · Score: 1

    The poster you are referring to is using quite a lot of profanity. This indicates a weak mind. It also is something that Mr. Romney doesn't believe in doing. Neither does Mr. Obama. You may dislike one, or both of them, but, they are at least publicly decent men.

    This is just the usual High School and Jr. College "Liberal" Brain Dead Stunts. The person wants to insult someone he/she has been told by a teacher they should dislike, for no appreciable reason, so they make stupid stuff up.

    A real Liberal would of course defend the rights of any one they differed with politically. Those who act differently, like Harry Reid, are fake Liberals.

    The problem is that they are probably just as stupid on the job. That can create situations where people's lives may be put in danger.

    Really, it is a very sad commentary on the United States, Almost as bad as the writers for MSNBC. Even the Huffington Post knows that MSNBC just makes stuff up.

    --
    Everybody knows 3 people with my name.
  48. only 600 out of 16,000 barrels recovered by straz · · Score: 1

    The stolen amount was 16,000 barrels, or $20 million worth. 600 barrels is not quite a full recovery.