Standing in solidarity with the Syrian people - February 24th, 2012

Syria: the horror of Homs, a city at war

Occupy Kitties strike again...

Homelessness - it's closer than you think

When raised in a bourgeois middle class or when you're part of the upper class or even 1%, it's really easy to ignore the scores of homeless people that litter downtown Montreal and many indoor public spaces. Depending where you go, it can be some of Canada's natives - who's life on their reserves are even worse then being homeless downtown Montreal, or just plain Quebecois down on their luck and sometimes it's new arrivals who fail to navigate through the maze of social services.  Many don't realize this but many new arrivals suffer from PTSD and many have witnessed crimes no human should see. Not to say this doesn't also happen to the locals, but many of those destitute are people who need help, NOT tickets from the city!

Sure a percentage of the homeless have either drug, alcohol or mental health issues, but what does this say about our society, when not only do we not provide help to the downtrodden but instead impose fines on them for loitering, drunk and disorderly, public urination, and lord knows what  other petty crimes they may be doing. Some actually go to antagonize homeless guys to find an excuse to toss them in jail. I'd much rather pay for more shelters then more jails personally!

Article in La Presse this morning talks about the problem with the city of Montreal and it's abuse of  tickets. 

What is frightening having now known several  young men [men in their 30's] who have ended homeless, is to realize how  close any of us are to being homeless. It doesn't take that much when you're already on the edge to lose it all.  If you're lucky and you have friends, they let you couch surf until you're back on your feet, or if you have family.  But sometimes your family are losers and your friends have all double-crossed you so where do you go?

And then people wonder why we Occupy? I mean corruption at Entrelacs is basically aimed at getting rid of the poorest residents of the area, those on welfare and other social programs. 

Here's another interesting link that discusses homelessness and housing crisis across Canada. 

Photos from Entrelacs Week 6 and Syrian Awareness day

Last Friday I went back to Entrelacs and we took pictures around Lac des Iles, the municipal skating ring and around the municipality. Pictures are from Friday February 10th and Saturday February 11th, 2012. 

On Sunday February 12th,  I went from 2-5pm to Syrian Awareness day at Concordia. I took some video and some photos.  There was an important panellist later but I was too exhausted to stay past that time and I really wanted to catch the early train.

I've got a nasty stomach flu, that's kept me bedridden for the 3rd day.  I know I've been in bed since about 2pm Sunday. I was cold and decided to take a warm bath and I've never felt so ill after a warm bath. I spent a solid 2 hours lying in bed being hot and cold and thinking I was going to throw up violently. Thankfully I suspected a stomach thing and took my no name Strawberry extract.  It's ironic for a house full of people, I was alone the first 4 hours I was in pain. But at least I could moan without alarming anyone!

I had a momentary blank and could not remember what I did this Friday and Saturday. Well DUH I was in Ottawa visiting a friend who had just suffered a nervous breakdown. After working himself ragged for months he finally collapsed and had to be picked up by his friends who rescue wild animals. They brought him back to a semblance of normality.

Anti Bill C11 promo video

Corruption in Entrelacs - another video

A poem

November 16th, 2007

Those Eyes

Those eyes, it is a place to get lost
It is a place to reflect.
To feel the journey within.
Those eyes that have stopped a thousand ships
To which is is so hard to resist
Or to say no to.

Those eyes, full of sadness and melancholy
That you want to hold tight
and protect from the world
Those eyes, full of passion and desire
That you hope you can share
The ecstasy.

Those eyes with that magical spark
That enchants as a unicorn does
Leaves you mesmerized.
Those eyes, a mix of naive innocence
That sense of wonder
Those eyes.

---------

I found this poem looking through my hard disk this morning.

Dawn in Ottawa

Sit-in at CEGEP du vieux Montreal.

Link to video about events at CEGEP du view Montreal this morning.

IS police brutality on the rise in Montreal ?

I have no statistics on the matter, but I know what recently happened. I know we had a vigil for Farshad Mohammadi, he was homeless and was the first death in Montreal in 2012  - shot by SPVM. They claimed he had a knife. What? 2 trained police officers cannot disarm a man with a knife without killing him? 

Then I heard about the student protest, where police got brutal with them, never mind the protest yesterday morning at Tour de la bourse where some of my friends got pepper sprayed! 

This morning I go read in our media team group and someone is telling us that the SPVM shot one of his best friends. The man was suicidal. Wow so the police shot him. Article here. We'll be organizing a vigil for him and against police brutality. May he rest in peace.

Happy Valentines day

I should have written this earlier today... 

At 5:30 today, at Berri-UQAM there is a Marche a l'amour - where poems will be read. 

Also at 5:30 today, at Cabot Square [Atwater metro] there is a Memorial march for disappeared and murdered indigenous women. This is the 3rd year for this event in Montreal. 

At 6pm in front of St James the Apostle Anglican church on the corner of Bishop and SteCatherine there is a silent stand for all the fallen heroes of the Syrian revolution.

Last but not least, apparently at McGill there is a large group of protesters that have entered the downtown campus through the Roddick Gates. Wonder what is going to happen if anything? 

C-11 Protest in Montreal Friday February 10th, 2012

C-11 protest in Montreal. Now I have Welcome to the Jungle stuck in my head :P

They need a Zamboni to fix the ice on the LAKE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Zamboni on Lac des iles in Entrelacs

I had to see it to believe it. They have a Zamboni - a real one to fix the ice on the skating ring on the lake!!!!! They also have a 4x4 truck just to keep the ice clear of snow. Talk about wasting municipal funds on a few dozen people.

Walking on lac des iles in Entrelacs

Love the effect of the shadows in the snow on this photo, we were walking on lac des iles in Entrelacs.

City of Montreal claims it cost them a fortune to take down Occupy Montreal

Here is the thing, they kept much of the equipment they took that day and I can't help but wonder how much money they could have recouped if they had sold the materials. Because they certainly didn't give us back our things as promised.  Read more about the story here.

Old female dog passes in Entrelacs

I found out last night that Princess, the old female German Shepard that belongs to Tony has passed away. I'm upset because I had a chance to bond with her. She's the dog that kept me warm the week-end I camped there and it was -35C.

May old Princess RIP.

Corruption a Entrelacs - video

Solidarity between movements - Arab Spring & Occupy

Solidarity with Homs - February 4th 2012

More Shelling in Bab Amr, Homs, Syria

It's another humanitarian disaster in Bab Amr Homs, the Syrian Army has been shelling indiscriminately for days now. Check the story on Al Jazeera here.

I also love the people who are condemning the vandalizing of the Syrian Embassy in Ottawa. Let me see splashing paint on people who represent the Syrian regime [Did not physically hurt anyone] in comparison to the Syrian Army killing people just because they are there....  

People are saying that splashing paint is being a thug like the Syrian Army. I dunno I think splashing red paint on the embassy makes them look like they have blood on their hands. It's not like anyone got hurt in Ottawa, but a message was relayed. 

I have it on good authority that the door to the Syrian Consulate in Montreal was also vandalized.  I will look to see if someone has photos.

Another photo of the Syrian Embassy in Ottawa

Syrian embassy in Ottawa gets vandalised

The gazette reports that the Syrian embassy in
Ottawa got vandalized on Saturday. The RCMP isn't sure if it's related to the demonstration that happened on Saturday.

Photos I found on the net of the vandalism :)

The red paint symbolized the blood on the hands of all who stand with the regime of Bashar al Assad.

Standing in solidarity with Homs Syria, February 4th, 2012

Today we stood for two hours in solidarity with Homs, in front of the Syrian Consulate in Montreal. Despite the fact that the event was called only a few hours before it happened, about 60 people showed up. There were a lot of women and they were in fine chanting form. It was a spirited demonstration! My pictures are here, and hubby's are here.

Entrelacs - does this sleepy municipality in Lanaudiere think they can invent laws?

Apparently Tony has been told that the municipality wants to remove the signs. Here's the thing, last I checked the municipality cannot do much on private property. I'm not sure what kind of power trip the officials are in Entrelacs, but they seem to think because one neighbour complains they have to do things. Let the neighbour complain.  He claims it's  because he wants to sell his home but cannot because of Tony... 

Sounds to me like just excuses. Sounds to me like there are ulterior motives.  I mean if I wanted to sell my house I'd find a buyer that would fit into the current neighbourhood. Problem solved!

Remembering the Hama massacre in 1982 - and Demo today at Syrian Consulate

Last night in front of Montreal's St James the apostle Anglican church, we gathered for a vigil to commemorate the deaths of those killed in Hama in 1982 by Assad Sr. Here are photos of the vigil.

I didn't take many because I was only there one hour, most of which I spent talking to this 82 year old woman who was curious what our vigil was about. Turns out she's also a photographer herself and had been to Damascus in the 1970's. She was very supportive and very nice .I wish I could remember her full name at this point. I hope she finds me on facebook :)

Meanwhile while Syrians both local and abroad mark the anniversary of the Hama massacre, there was a new massacre in Homs, over 200 people killed in a couple of neighbourhoods.

Today there's a demonstration in front of the Syrian Consulate, on Cote Vertu - in front of the Jean Coutu Pharmacy of the Consul.

Video of vigil for Farshad Mohammadi

Here is the video for the vigil of Farshad Mohammadi, the homeless man shot by the SPVM. Amusingly we were one of the first people at the event, and the police officer in charge of supervising the event came to ask who was in charge of the event and if we had an itinerary. I told him that as far as I knew, we were going to stand there for one hour and then disperse, and that the organizers were not there yet. They did show up but were about 15 minutes late probably due to the snow. It was hell walking in those conditions.

Mind you I'm of the mindset that if it's downtown somewhere it walkable. So I take the train to Gare Centrale and walk anywhere I need to go. That day I figured we had a window of opportunity to go get hubby his doc martens. So we walked from Gare Centrale to St Denis a bit above Sherbrooke to Rio [or was it X20 I can never remember] and then walked back to the SPVM headquarters for the vigil holding boots.

He loves his new docs and finds them really comfortable and warm. I like the fact that though they are just leather boots, unlined, often I find them warmer then winter boots. Unless I'm going to be outside long, I prefer wearing docs.

I also love my new docs. I have 20 hole docs that go to my knees, but I don't find those practical for certain activities, though I love them for going to protest marches. For camping and other activities I prefer 8 hole docs. The pair I got back in the 90s were so dead, though I keep them for camping. So I ended up taking a pair of floral doc martens home with me. Did I mention I love them? I've had several people say that they were so me :)

Canadian MPs laugh at potential transgender flight ban.

The conservative government in Canada is turning this country into a place where few of us will want to live.  They seem to think it is amusing that transgendered people may be banned from flying. Having a letter from your medical doctor to prove that yes it's normal for you to not be the same gender as your outward appearance is offensive.  I don't need a letter to travel, neither should they.  People should be treated the same whether they are male, female or a mix of the above. It is not for the people in the government to decide. 

See this article for more details. I'm appalled. 

Case dropped against journalist

This story makes me realize that if you are going to photograph or videograph interactions with the police you should make sure to have witnesses, otherwise they might change the facts to charge you even if you did nothing wrong. See this article from the Gazette today.

Sabotage by stupidity

It sucks that sadly when involved with a leaderless movement, you also end up with idiots who sabotage because they are too dense to realize what they are doing. 

A bunch of us have been working relentlessly on the Entrelacs project only to have a few unicorns think that bringing an GA to Entrelacs is a good idea. I'm not sure on what planet it's a good idea. The best part is they think they are bringing democracy to Entrelacs, what they are bringing is one way of seeing things, if it was democracy, there would have been a vote done in the Entrelacs group - and with the whole group, not just one person with 2 new arrivals. 

The whole GA concept hasn't been working for Montreal but let's bring it to a small town and show them how it's done!?!?! Yeah. Sure whatever.  The people involved in Entrelacs up to now have been doers, not GAers but let's bring in the deadbeats who will spend the next couple of months talking while the municipality bowls over it's residents.

Here's the thing, the 1% isn't afraid because they know the infighting in the end will win!

Syria, does it have to get worse before it gets better?

I haven't blogged much about Syria recently because I'm so discouraged. As suspected the Arab league monitor system failed. Sadly there was more daily deaths in Syria with the monitors in the country then there had been before.  At least the Arab League has said, Syria is not living up to it;s end of the bargain and pulled out the monitors and is bringing a resolution to the UN. 

If only Russia would see the light and go with the flow rather then against the resolution. Russia doesn't want to support action against Syria because then they can no longer sell their weapons. What is for sure is that Russia's hands are just as bloody as Assads. 

I was too exhausted to go stand at the Russian Consulate this past Sunday but at least I was happy to hear about 50 people showed up even though the event was put together at the last minute. John Jantac took photo's. This coming Saturday there is a fund raising dinner that I will most likely attend, this should make me less guilty for missing the event on Sunday. 

This morning the article in Al Jazeera has the US saying Assad's days are numbered.  Let's pray that this is true. The Syrian people keep fighting and moving on and hopefully very soon Assad will be gone.

Update on Entrelacs "tent" situation

Currently Occupons Entrelacs is occupying both on Tony and on his neighbours land. The army tents are on his neighbours property.  Well you see the letter below from the city, the neighbour never received one. So of course they are singling out Tony again. 

Tony and one of the occupiers went around Entrelacs and took photo's of 8 other folks with roulottes on their properties and who probably have not received a notice from the town. 

City of Entrelacs abusing power

The city of Entrelacs is trying to tell Tony that he cannot put tents on it. I don't know what planet they are on really. I mean I've always put my tent in my back yard in Montreal the day before I go camping. It's been known to stay over a week sometimes due to inclement weather especially when I want the tent to dry. 

I've also put our Occupy Tent on the front of my property in Pierrefonds as a protest and it has been there since November 25th, 2011. I have not received a single complaint. Heck I haven't received a single comment even from my neighbors. 

This is the letter Tony received from Entrelacs and the funny part is if you look up the law they refer to, it only applies to camping trailers, not tents.

___________________________________________________________

Type d'infraction / Règlement et articles : USAGE NON AUTORISÉ
Règlement #00-426, ART 14.6 Grille des usages R-4
Date d'inspection : 23/01/2012
Délai accordé : 10 jours

25 janvier 2012

Avis d'infraction

Monsieur,

La présente fait suite à une inspection de votre propriété cité en rubrique en date du 23 janvier 2012. Lors de cette inspection nous avons pu constater la présence de deux (2) entes installées sur votre terrain et servanpour des activités de camping.

À cet égard, il appert donc que vous contrevenez à l'article 14.6 du règlement de zonage 426 de la municipalité d'Entrelacs.

Articl14.6
"Sauf pour des fins temporaires conformes aux dispositions du présent règlement, les roulottes ne sont autorisées que sur les terrains de camping.
Les activités de camping ne sont autorisées que sur les terrains de camping."

De plus, je profite de la présente pour vous signifier que dans la zone R-4, laquelle votre terrain fait partie, l'usage commercial de type "271-5 camping" n'est pas permis.

Pour ces raisons, nous vous demandons de bien enlever ces tentes et cesser toutes activités liées au camping sur votre terrain dans les dix (10) jours suivant la réception de la présente, sans quoi la municipalité entreprendra les procédures légales nécessaires.

Merci de votre collaboration,

Alexandre Morin
Directeur aménagement du territoire
Municipalité d'Entrelacs

___________________________________________________________________________________

I'd also love to know how much municipal tax money has been used to fight USELESS court orders. I mean so far they have fought Tony twice up to Superior court where he won his case!!!! I wonder if the residents of Entrelacs would be so pleased that their tax money is going to court cases over stupid things like dogs, and bridges and tents!!!!

Occupons Entrelacs - photos 4rth week

These are the photos I took on the 4rth week at Occupons Entrelacs. We had an activity day and my gf came with her children. Snow men were built and signs were put up :)

Eglise St Emile a Entrelacs

I love the effect of taking photo at dusk!

Nouvelles pancartes at Entrelacs!

Bonne chance au voisin - il aura certainement besoin d'une echelle pour vandaliser ces pancartes!

New signs for Occupons Entrelacs.

When rescuing becomes a disease

Interesting article on Slate on overprotective animal rescue groups. I noticed myself when I rescued Pixie, that the questionnaire was long. and we had to visit, me and the girls a month before we got to adopt the cat. I guess she was a rescuer who was fine with people with children. It could also be the way we were with the cat when we visited and in general all the pets. 

When I rescued Zeke, the rescuer came to see me with 2 cats. and also I suppose check me out to see if I was suitable. She talked with me for an hour while she watched the way Zeke just settled on my lap. I mean he wasn't my first choice for a cat, but after having him on my lap for one hour I knew he needed a home and he'd be happy. Sadly the rescuer 'lied' to me telling me the cat was 1 1/2 years when I adopted him. Turns out he was probably closer to 8 or 10. 

It's pretty sad when people who claim to rescue become hoarders and end up hurting animals instead of doing good by them.

Full house again

Our friend Nina got a job starting tomorrow, so she's going to be staying with us for a bit. She's been living with her dad near Granby, and it's not conducive to working in Montreal, especially without a car. I'm not sure if they figured out what was wrong with her car yet. 

I've also had my sense of security shattered a bit. When I think about the guy staying with us. Who was homeless after the Montreal occupation camp got dismantled. I was thinking he might be clueless like the ex I don't talk to anymore, who can't cook until it's already made - he can reheat, who brings his laundry to his mom [and claims she likes it and she needs the money - right good excuse] and who can't clean much either... he likes moving stuff around and tidying.  No this guy is resourceful and self-sufficient. He's intelligent and well read. He's ingenious and thinks outside the box.   It just leaves me puzzled to think about it.  I'm sensitive and I guess it makes me realize how crappy the world is and the fact that I'm this paranoid and  not trusting isn't a bad thing.

Gotta run got miles to go before I sleep :)

Occupy Entrelacs Needs you!!!! Occupons Entrelacs a besoin de vous!!!

Occupons Entrelacs (OE)

a besoin de :

- sacs de couchage
- couvertes
- chandelles
- petites bonbonnes de propane
- petits chaudrons/poêles
- matériaux pour faire des pancartes (markers, cartons, etc.)
- nourriture non-périssable
- fouin
- argent Canadian Tire

- argent
- un bureau
- tables et chaises
- petit poêle à bois pour chauffer la grande tente militaire
- raquettes
- skis de fonds
- radio

Occupy Entrelacs needs the following: 

- blankets

- candles

- small propane tanks

- small pots and pans

- materials for making signs [markers, cardboard, paint]

- non-perishable food

- hay [for making floor of tent]

- Canadian tire money

- money

- a desk

- tables and chairs

- small wood stove

- snow shoes

- cross country skis

- radio

Please send your donations or drop them off at:

SVP envoyer vos dons ou venez les porter a:

Occupons Entrelacs

10891 Route Pauzé

Entrelacs, Quebec

 J0T 2E0

Neighbor suspected in sign removal at Occupons Entrelacs!

On Saturday we nailed some of the signs I made to Tony's fence in Entrelacs. Apparently this morning the signs were gone.  He took photo's of  footprints in snow and it seems that his 'bad' neighbor snuck around in the middle of the night and took down the signs.

Funny Tony was saying that he needs to add yet another camera, this one near the road. Well this is something we're going to need to do very shortly. This way in the future we can nail the bastard neighbor who's been the source of his problems.

My babies are spreading their wings

This morning my youngest daughter chatted me a bit on Facebook. She's considering going to teach aboard next year.  I know she was toying with going to teach in a remote location in Canada, most likely on a native reserve, but then she changed her mind because she was thinking she's going to get an internship in one of the institutions in Montreal and that would be more beneficial. 

Today she's mentioning she's considering going to teach in England next year.  I encouraged her.  She's young and unattached, it's the best time for trying out new stuff and traveling. By teaching in England she'll be able to travel around Europe on her week-ends and get a chance to experience a whole new continent. 

As far as my eldest daughter is concerned, as soon as she finishes her last semester at Concordia, in May she's moving to Halifax and joining the Navy full time. She's extremely enthusiastic about it! 

So come next year I will have one daughter in Halifax and one daughter in England!

Winter camping

I was pretty pleased with myself this year going camping in early October. Turned out to be one of the warmest Thanks-giving week-ends we've had on record. It was warmer camping in October then it had been in early September in the same provincial park. 

I had perhaps excepted I might camp out at Place des Peuple once just to do it, though I was more looking forward just to spend the night at the camp and not sleep. However as it turns out, this never happened because the camp was dismantled prematurely.

When Occupy Entrelacs started, I didn't think about twice. Nina and I were ready to winter camp all we needed was a guy to accompany us since we did not know the people who's property we were going to Occupy.  The guy we took is the guy staying with me. He was surprised to be asked by 2 women to go camping in January.  Nina is an expert at winterizing a tent so I didn't worry about sleeping outdoors in winter. 

The week-end of January 7th, it wasn't that cold outside, maybe went down to -15C. This time around though, it was just me and the guy in the tent along with an old German Sheppard dog. It was around -28 when we went to sleep but it went down to -35 apparently. I was warm throughout. The second night wasn't as warm mostly because my companion had been drinking and left the tent to pee four to five times... tent unfortunately was not as warm that night, but thankfully I think it was a warmer night.

The only thing I was disappointed is that so far I have not seen northern lights. However the sky was stunning Saturday night. All the stars that were visible. It would have been so sweet to have photo's of green northern lights above the tents. I've seen photos of northern lights along with tents and I always thought the people were crazy to camp in the winter. I figure so long as you're not one person, you manage to keep your heat pretty well. 

For tips on how to winterize a tent, check the above video out:

Pictures of third week of Occupons Entrelacs.

I put up photos from this week-end.  So did hubby, here are his photos.

Occupons Entrelacs - and my life gets busy and complicated!

Wow. I hadn't realized that I hadn't managed to blog in a week. Also I hadn't really noticed!

Admittedly this week has been a busy week. This was the second week with my batch of new students. They are all great choices, but since they are new they are full of questions. But my choices were good. These are eager to learn students. CJ in HQA has been giving them all hardware training and is having them compete assembling a system.

CJ and I grade the students not only on if the PC boots and windows is installed, but also attention to detail. Like are the cables passed funny and awkward. Are all the drivers installed in the OS? So his student and my students are competing to as who assembled the system the best and we'll tell them who is 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 ... and what they did wrong. Of course this is being done in a constructive way to teach them all about quality assurance and pride in doing the job right the first time.

Other then that since the camp at Occupy Montreal got taken down, I've let two people squat  here from time to time and I suspect as time progresses it might be more. So I've been more busy.   For a girl that was almost a hermit until this summer, I'm sure socializing way more then ever. Here's the thing, I'm tolerating being with people a lot fairly well at the moment.  Considering I just spent the week-end with about 10 people or so most of the time with me, I'm remarkably chipper. :)

I've also developed feelings for one of the people that has been living with us. I suspect this person will be in my life a lot in the future. Hubby likes him a lot too, we enjoy having him around. I thought I originally met this person because he was one of the animators on the Occupy Montreal livestream, but it turns out he was the guy helping my buddy John put up the tarp at the People's kitchen on October 15th. We're all part of the Occupation movement's independent media team.

A small group of us went to Occupy Entrelacs this week-end, and I wandered around entrelacs so my friend could get his 'stock shots' for the news report he's preparing.  It permitted me to get particularly stunning photo's of St Emile church in the process :)

rEvolution - Tunisian sponsored event

Today I attended rEvolution an event sponsored by the Tunisian collective in Montreal and that wanted to unite together the different groups. In as such, the Syrian collective had a table and so did the 20th of february supporters for Morocco!

Here are my photo's for this event.

Vigil for Farshad Mohammadi

Earlier tonight about 50 of us gathered in front of the SPVM headquarters in a vigil for Farshad Mohammadi. 

Here are my photo's of this vigil.

Corruption in Entrelacs!

Corruption in Entrelacs


The residents of Entrelacs have been subject to municipal corruption for over half a decade. The harassment ranges from unfounded fines of barking dogs, to not issuing needed building permits, to filing false charges of attempted murder.


The problems seem to have started for Tony Scafuro five years ago when he attempted to get a permit to build a bridge to join his driveway on one side of a river to his house on the opposite bank. Four homes share this strange situation and while some homes have bridges of their own, Scafuro was repeatedly denied a permit.


The problems since then have only grown for the residents of Entrelacs when a new mayor and city inspector came into power. The residents can’t help but feel they are being forced away from their land by the city officials. Many residents have received repeated and unfounded complaints and fines, other residents have been repeatedly arrested over false charges. This has left the residents of Entrelac terrified to leave their homes or even speak up against this tyranny.


One resident did reach out and did so to Occupy Montreal. After investigating the situation in Scafuro’s neighbourhood it was quickly decided to start Occupons Entrelacs. This new Occupation is in need of your help; we need people interested in spending time in the newly made camp to give the residents a sense of security they have long forgone. Occupons Entrelacs is also in need of camping supplies, food, propane and monetary funds. Help us say No to municipal corruption.

By Nina Haigh

Occupons Entrelacs!!!

Syria - a Human disaster area!

One of the monitors appointed to be in Syria quits and calls the whole process a farce!

On another front a convoy of young Syrians and peace activists from all over the world are planning to go into Syria tomorrow to help those in need.  This is something I would have liked to participate in, though I know full well that they will need God's protection to survive this mission.

Occupons Entrelacs!!!!

As it goes - What appears to be happening is that this man owns property next to crown land and some of the 1% want to drive him to sell his property so that they can easily access this crown land.

So far other then calling his bridge "Not conform with standards" [Which the supreme court twice said was not true and he was allowed to have this bridge], they have sent the DPJ [there was no reason and the people at the DPJ said as much], the SPCA [there was also no reason and the woman from SPCA would be willing to talk about that], he has also lost is SAAQ [he was injured in a car accident a few years ago and thanks for his asshole neighbors who constantly complained, lost his insurance].

Also - they claim his dogs are vicious, dangerous, noisy and howl non-stop - hence the several thousand dollars in dog fines.... We slept on the property. What dogs barking all night?

With 5 dogs on the property, not one barked at night. The 'vicious' dog, was so vicious when I showed up, he put his head in my hand to say "Pet me" and I'm not really a dog person. He was one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met and extremely friendly. Yes he has been trained to protect, but he was not trained to be vicious or aggressive!

However if you say how afraid of people some of his dogs are [Because one neighbor SHOT ONE OF HIS DOGS 3 times!!!] you would wonder what was done to them. And you can tell it's not Tony because they run to him but are nervous around anyone new.

They are looking to break this man so they can take his property. All those of you who feel he hasn't done his due diligence are welcome to come to Entrelacs and go through his several boxes of papers, judgements, proofs etc....

This is truly the kind of case this movement should be behind. Other Occupies in the US have occupied people's properties to prevent them from having their homes repossessed this is similar.

This man doesn't like being alone at home with his 4 year old son because he's afraid that the police will come over and arrest him again on bogus charges. At least with a bunch of occupiers on his property we can make sure if police show up to arrest him that no one hurts his dogs or come to burn down his property - Like they threatened to do to his and DID burn down a home just a few feet away from his - and while they did not find the culprit, firemen said it was criminal set.

Here are some photos

ENTRELACS : Un cas de persécution

Si vous avez besoin de plus d’information, donnez-nous un jour ou deux pour monter les séquences vidéo que nous avons tournées.

Il appert que la propriété de cet homme (Tony) jouxte des terres publiques, et que des membres du 1 % veulent l’obliger à la vendre afin de bénéficier d’un accès à ces terres publiques.

À ce jour, en plus de prétendre que son pont « ne répond pas aux normes » (bien que la Cour Suprême ait déjà démenti ces allégations à deux reprises et confirmé qu’il avait le droit de posséder ce pont), ils lui ont envoyé la DPJ (sans aucune raison, ainsi qu’en ont convenu eux-mêmes les représentants de la DPJ), la SPCA (sans raison non plus, et la dame de la SPCA est même prête à en témoigner), et il a aussi perdu ses indemnités de la SAAQ (il a subi des blessures dans un accident d’auto il y a quelques années et ses détestables voisins, à force de porter plainte contre lui, ont fini par lui faire perdre ses indemnités).

De plus, ils prétendent que ses chiens sont féroces et bruyants, et qu’ils aboient sans arrêt – d’où les amendes totalisant plusieurs milliers de dollars qui lui ont été remises à cause de ses bêtes… Nous avons dormi sur sa propriété et n’avons pas entendu un seul jappement de toute la nuit.

Malgré la présence de cinq chiens sur la propriété, aucun n’a aboyé une seule fois. Le chien soi-disant « méchant » était si féroce qu’à mon arrivée, il est venu spontanément poser sa tête dans le creux de ma main pour mendier une caresse – et je ne suis pas spécialement douée avec les chiens. En fait, c’est l’un des chiens les plus doux et amicaux qu’il m’ait été donné de rencontrer. Bien sûr, il a été entraîné pour protéger ses maîtres, mais certainement pas pour être méchant ou agressif!

En revanche, on peut se demander ce qui est arrivé à ses bêtes quand on constate à quel point celles-ci semblent effrayées par les étrangers (un de ses voisins a tiré TROIS FOIS sur l’un de ses chiens!) Et il est évident que ce n’est pas Tony lui-même qui rend ses chiens nerveux, car ils lui font la fête dès qu’ils le voient, mais ils sont agités en présence d’inconnus.

On cherche de toute évidence à briser la volonté de cet homme pour l’obliger à céder sa propriété. Et si vous croyez qu’il n’a pas fait ses devoirs ou qu’il s’est montré négligent, nous vous invitons à venir à Entrelacs pour examiner ses nombreuses boîtes de documents, de jugements de cour, de preuves, etc...

C’est tout à fait le genre de cause que ce mouvement doit endosser. D’autres groupes Occupy aux États-Unis ont occupé des propriétés privées pour éviter à leurs propriétaires d’en être évincés dans des cas tout à fait similaires.

Cet homme n’aime pas rester seul chez lui avec son fils de quatre ans parce qu’il craint que la police ne vienne encore l’arrêter sous de fausses accusations. Si quelques occupants se trouvent sur place, nous pourrons au moins nous assurer, si jamais la police se présente pour le mettre en état d’arrestation, que personne ne vienne faire du mal à ses chiens ou incendier sa maison en son absence – une menace qui lui a été formulée très clairement; on a même brûlé une maison voisine de la sienne, probablement en guise d’avertissement. Bien qu’ils n’aient pas réussi à trouver le coupable, les pompiers ont en effet conclu à un incendie criminel.

They Occupy at Entrelacs!

UN official says Yemen amnesty may be illegal

UN official says Yemen amnesty may be illegal - Middle East 

I'm glad that it's not just Tawakol Karmen who can see that the GCC brokered deal for Yemen is wrong. Here's hoping that Yemen gets real democracy.

Bombing in Damascus today.

 First here's an article about the bombing.

ALJAZEERA INTERVIEW WITH COLONEL ASA'AD Today
-Anchorman: Colonel Riad Al Asa’ad, as a military expert, how would you describe the bombing in Al Midan today that resulted in the killing of more than 25 people?
- First, may mercy be granted to the martyrs. Second, the regime is starting to lose control over itself  because of the Syrian Revolution.This operation is just like the two earlier bombings in Damascus. We are used to this ever since the 80s. Why did the bombing take place in al Midan, Damascus, which is one of the most respectable cities in Damascus? And Al Midan is holding protests. The regime is doing this to terrorise the people and convince them with their lies.
WE DON’T HAVE THE KIND OF EQUIPMENT THAT ENABLES US TO MAKE AN OPERATION LIKE THIS, AND NO POLICTICAL PARTY IN SYRIA HAS THAT POWER.
-Do you still insist on taking the Syrian situation to the international community?
-THE ARAB LEAGUE IS IN A WEAK STATE WHEN IT COMES TO DEALING WITH THE REGIME. THE REGIME NOW IS PLAYING WITH THE CARD OF “BOMBINGS”.
-Mufti Hasoun said that he will bring the region to an explosive situation in the Gulf region?
- THEY THREATENED TO KILL THE FAMILIES OF THE REGIME’S OPPOSERS. THEY THREATENED TO KILL MY FAMILY NAD BURN MY VILLAGE.
-Aren’t you afraid that if the Syrian situation is taken to the International Community, it will bring disaster to the Syrians?
-KILLING HAVEN’T STOPPED FOR 11 MONTHS. THERE IS NO REVOLUTION IN THE WORLD THAT CAN HOLD ON FOR 11 MONTHS. THE ARABIC REGIMES ARE HELPLESS IN FRONT OF THE SYRIAN REGIME. IF THEY CAN’T TACKLE OUR ISSUE THEY SHOULD STEP ASIDE AND PASS IT TO THOSE WHO CAN. THIS REGIME'S LANGUAGE IS KILLING, TORTURE AND DESTRUCTION.
- What is the Free Syrian Army's position now in Syria, and what are its future prospects?
- WE ARE FROM THE PEOPLE AND WE SWORE TO PROTECT THE SYRIAN PEOPLE WHEN WE FIRST ENLISTED IN THE ARMY. IT IS OUT DUTY TO PROTECT THE SYRIANS AND PROTESTORS.THE SYRIAN REGIME TOOK ADVANTAGE OF OUR LATEST STATEMENT.
- Can the FSA hold on and increase its numbers?
- WE HAVE BATTALIONS IN ALL SYRIAN REGIONS. THE FSA ARE ORGANIZED AND WE ARE DOING INDIVIDUAL OPERATIONS, AND YOU SAW THAT. THE NUMBER OF DEFECTIONS ARE INCREASING EVERYDAY

-Making the revolution a military one, isn't that a strategic mistake?
-NEVER. WE HAVE THE REIGHT TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND CITIZENS AS WELL.
THE REGIME IS TRYING TO IGNITE A SECTERAIN WAR BY KILLING AND TERRORIZING PEOPLE. IT IS OUR FAITH TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE UNITY OF OUR COUNTRY WITH ITS ENTIRE SPECTRUM. THESE PEOPLE HAVE STOOD IN THE FACE OF OPPRESSION FOR FORTY YEARS

This was translation of interview with head of Free Syrian Army by Al Jazeera. The original interview was in Arabic. 

 

More occupy Lol cats I made....

Montreal Boxing day - Flash Mobs of 99%, Syrian Collective & annonymous

Syria deceiving the Arab League???

Would the Syrian Regime do that?  Damn right they would. It's crazy that the Syrian Regime still thinks we believe their crazy lies. 

Here's a BBC article about the situation.

Here's an interview with a guy who's just defected: [Video was in Arabic so no point in posting it here]

What is your motive behind this defection?

I just can’t accept what is being said about armed and terrorist groups. And no sane mind can take that! And I assure you that there is NO armed groups on the streets, just peaceful protestors.
The ministry of defense, which he works in, is surrounded by intelligences branches. We saw the arrested individuals being blind folded and handcuffed behind their backs and taken to the intelligences basements (where they are tortured)
I saw the security forces with their vehicles and 4x4 cars moving towards the protestors to kill them.

The Free Syrian Army: they are honorable people which I know, since I work at the ministry of defense, they defected because they weren’t able to kill the protestors as they were ordered.
Reporter: You may be accused of repeating what the opposition is saying and there is no evidence or collaboration to what you are saying. How do you reply to that?
I was the one responsible for the financial reports. The Syrian Regime spent 2 billion Syria pounds to pay their thugs and all these are documented. And I saw with my own eyes they paid the shabiha to kill the protestors.

What is your opinion regarding the ministers and government official inside Syria?
- I believe they are “incarcerated”
How can you describe the state of the Syrian Regime? Especially that the opposition says that there are a lot of people who are waiting for the proper time to defect
“The regime is collapsing, it is falling apart.”
The regime is bombing the cities with airplanes especially the cities that represent a mighty state like Homs and some towns in Damascus Rural. The situation is out of their control”
I can assure you that 80% of the Syrian officials want to defect but they fear their lives and their families’ lives as well, so they calculate each step they want to take. I know because I am one of them.

How can you describe the regime’s financial situation?
It is too bad. They are receiving financial help from Iran, Iraq, and rich business men who support the regime like Rami Makhlouf. They are doing this thinking that they can control the revolution but they can’t and will not because the revolution is chantingr “to die is better than to live humiliated”. I saw the protestors and have taken part in protesting as well. I used old Arabic clothes, in order not to be recognized, and shared in the protests.

Work today.

I was supposed to go back to work yesterday, but I couldn't get myself out of the house. Today though I'm aiming to be at work for 9ish. I have zero interest. I could use another 2 weeks of vacation and even then...

However I'm going to be a good girl and get my ass into a bath and get ready for work. I'm so not feeling it. Especially since it's -18C right now. BRRRRRR.

Occupy this!

Apparently the word Occupy made 2011's most overused words :)  This is no surprise. However it does not mean we need to stop using it, though - some would rather use decolonize. It's more politically correct at least from the natives point of view who feel we have been occupying Montreal for the past 450 some odd years. 

Other then feeling more alive for the first time in years, the occupy movement has given me a lot of friends who are a lot like me. Maybe not on all levels, but a much wider pool of people to create bonds with.  Not the type of people I tend to meet at work in an engineering firm which is rather homogenous.  Well other then a few people who are also involved in some shape or another with the Occupy movement. 

I have two friends currently that are homeless. Well I think one is no longer considered homeless since living in this home in Longueuil starting last week. The other isn't technically, he's living with probably close to a dozen people at a communal apartment.  So far he's dropped in on us for a few days on three different occasions,  because  he needs to clear his head and get a bit of peace and quiet.   

I have a third friend, who lives in the eastern townships with her dad. She will probably be staying a few days here as well, over the next few months when she needs to be in town for a few days.  

Think this place will become an occupied home :P

Occupy LOL cats - a new batch.

Operation Boxing Day!

Montreal seen from lookout on Mont Royal