Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Rally to mark 1 year of Syrian revolution
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| Photo taken from Basha's restaurant on 2nd floor - I'm told 1500 people marched. |
Friday, March 16, 2012
Shocking news - there was police brutality at the March against police brutality!
Like most years there was police brutality at the March against police brutality. The thing that bugs me is that I wonder how much it's a small group of people who like to break things and attack people or even if it's police infiltrators that cause the rock throwing to give police excuse to come in with the riot squad. One of the police cars that was attacked by protesters was left unattended by itself as if to incite people to do things.
I overheard from a third party that this person had found during a march a couple of years ago an unattended police car with keys left in ignition. He was able to pop the trunk and run off with something that was in the trunk of the police car. I mean it's not cool if the police incite the violence as a means to prove to the city that there is violence and we need more police.
I find it interesting that the march against police brutality had lots of police brutality. I can tell you that Saturday's Rally in support of the Syrian people will NOT have any. The organizers gave the police the trajectory and the police will just act as escorts during the length of the rally.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Overheard today...
"March against police brutality might as well be organized by the police because it will end up with police brutality. "
I hear that the SQ and the RCMP will be on hand to assist the SPVM.
If you want to participate in Montreal in a march against police brutality, the info for event is here:
Excited utterance!
My eldest daughter called me last night because she was really excited that she got her 1 year contract on The Moncton, the ship she wanted to sail on. Originally the contract offered started in late March, but she managed to get it moved to late April to be able to finish off her last course at Concordia University. She's going to be moving to Halifax in April for a year.
The ship she will be on will most likely sail the Great Lakes so will be docking in Montreal twice over the summer, so I'll get to visit the ship.
The ship she will be on will most likely sail the Great Lakes so will be docking in Montreal twice over the summer, so I'll get to visit the ship.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Rally against RoboGate on Sunday
I was disappointed with the turnout for the rally against the Robogate and election fraud. There was way too few people. Not sure how come a whole segment of the splinter groups of Occupy Montreal who were not aware of this event. I'm talking about the ones who come to all the marches - especially the anonymous mask wearing ones. I did end up taking photos.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Everytime an Enjoy leaves Syria...
The Syrian government sees it as a sign to finish off the protesters. In the past 2 days the bloodshed has been horrific and has not been limited to Homs but also Idlib. New tactic I was reading about in one of the Syrian groups I'm in on facebook - they shell, bomb a neighborhood and then send people in to finish off those who were injured by the shells by knife. They rape the women in front of the men, who they then kill off. Sometimes they just kill everyone they find. They also loot everything still usable.
When the various enjoys sent to broker peace in Syria say they want both sides to lay down arms and open a dialog, do they not realize that it's like telling the opposition to negotiate while at gunpoint? I can barely read what goes on in Syria anymore, it's just more then I can handle in terms of horrors of war. This morning's report from Al Jazeera.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
SPVM recherche des victimes potentielles...
Interesting choice of words from a tweet from Service de Police de la Ville de Montreal, especially when translated into English. Check out this blog :)
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Monitor repair company has never heard of displayport!!!
I had a BENQ monitor whose displayport input died. We shipped it to get fixed to the monitor repair company in Montreal that handles BENQ. The technician calls us to tell us that the analog and DVI work, but he cannot test displayport as he has nothing to test it with, besides it was just turned off in the menu so it should work!!!
Turned off in the menu? No, the menu offers autodetect or you can choose which port is going to be the main focus, but you cannot TURN OFF a port. Does he think that a company that specializes in graphics cards would not know when a port is dead? Besides this would not be the first LCD who's displayport port dies but the analog and DVI port still work fine. What's the point of having 3 ports if one of them is dead?
I cannot believe that 2 years after displayport LCDs have been on the market that a company that repairs monitors does not even have a displayport cable or a displayport card to be able to test them!!!!
EDIT 10-03-12: On my 2nd BENQ monitor, that was displaying graphics in displayport, we did notice in the menu "DP autodetect" and it was at OFF. Yes... the port works regardless and you can use all 3 sources at once and cycle between them even if DP autodetect is at off!!! I still cannot believe that tech was that incompetent.
Happy International women's day to all women!
This is Google's doodle for this years international women's day. Happy woman's day to all :)The current edition of the Occupy Montreal publication is for the women's day and is using two of my photos :)
Student loses an eye in protest
Yesterday there were reports of police brutality at the Student protest in front of the Loto Quebec building. One student will lose an eye due to having received some form of projectile launched by the anti-riot squad.
Students had a vigil later that night in support of the student who lost an eye. They were about 50 and they were chased by hundreds of anti-riot squad police and just brutalized without provocation. Even a teacher who joined the students in the vigil was brutalized by the police despite asking repeatedly if this was an illegal assembly because if it was he was leaving, and the police who brutalized him refused to give him their badge numbers or names or let him leave peacefully.
Students had a vigil later that night in support of the student who lost an eye. They were about 50 and they were chased by hundreds of anti-riot squad police and just brutalized without provocation. Even a teacher who joined the students in the vigil was brutalized by the police despite asking repeatedly if this was an illegal assembly because if it was he was leaving, and the police who brutalized him refused to give him their badge numbers or names or let him leave peacefully.
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Would you be pissed to realize your significant other is an UNDERCOVER POLICE officer?
Several activist women in Canada, the US, Great Britain and I'm sure other countries wake up to realize that their boyfriend is nothing but an undercover cop and their entire relationship has been a scam to monitor the activities of an activist group. Even worse when they FATHER CHILDREN with these women. Read more.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Monday, March 05, 2012
Canada sees the light and closes it's embassy in Syria
Several articles say that Canada has closed it's embassy in Syria. I thought this might cause problems for the Lebanese as in the past, as when hubby came to Canada he needed to pick up his VISA from Damascus, but it seems that there is now an Embassy in Beirut - which will handle what was being handled in Syria.
Protest to commemorate one year of Syrian revolution - March 17th
There will be a protest march in Montreal starting from Norman Bethune Square [Corner Guy/de Maisonneuve] on March 17th at 1pm that finishes at Philips Square [On Ste Catherine in front of the Bay] at 3pm.
This march is one of many - There will be marches worldwide, anywhere there are Syrians opposing the regime.
Sunday, March 04, 2012
Friday night vigil photos - Solidarity with Baba Amr
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Friday, March 02, 2012
Protect your Charter rights. Support the Liberal amendments for judicial oversight on electronic surveillance.
The Conservative government has introduced an Online Surveillance Bill that could violate your Charter right to privacy — unless you act now to stop them.
This bill would force internet service providers to track, preserve and hand over your personal subscriber information, including your email and IP addresses, upon request without a warrant. Forget creeping your Facebook. Stephen Harper’s people would now have the legal right to monitor your emails and track your every move online without any kind of judicial oversight.
The government is on the defensive following a public outcry. They will be sending the bill to committee and said they’ll consider opposition amendments. But with a majority government they can oppose any fair, sensible amendments we propose unless we demonstrate an overwhelming show of public support.The Liberal Party’s Public Safety Critic Francis Scarpaleggia has studied the work of experts like Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart and Canada Research Chair Michael Geist to craft amendments that strike a proper balance between privacy rights and public safety. We need you to sign our petition promoting the amendments, and then share it as widely as possible before the committee meets.
With your support we can force the government to hold open, televised committee hearings and stop them from using procedural tactics to limit debate and ram the bill through Parliament to avoid further scrutiny.
Support the Liberal amendments calling for judicial oversight on electronic surveillance.
Sign the electronic petition and also ask your friends and relatives to do the same:
Hon. Jim Karygiannis, P.C., M.P. Scarborough-Agincourt
Almost one year later Assad's goons still killing
Tonight there will be a vigil in front of St James Apostle Anglican church on the corner of Bishop and Ste Catherine in Montreal from 7 to 9 pm in solidarity with Baba Amr, Homs. This is the area of Homs where many of the defectors of the Syrian Army would end up, to join the Free Syrian Army. Until yesterday, they were in force in this part of Homs. As of yesterday, they left so the civilians still stuck in this area of Homs could get medical aid and supplies.
Here's an interesting article from the CBC on Syria Here is another interesting article, this one from the Gazette on Syria Last but not least from Al Jazeera this morning - the red crescent prepares to enter Baba Amr after 28 days of shelling.
As my daughter commented on a previous entry on Syria - the Syrian people are strong and they will overcome their oppressor. Now let's hope they do something good once Bashar is gone.
Thursday, March 01, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
My android interferes with my Suzuki.
Yep. My Samsung android smartphone interferes with my Suzuki Grand Vitara keyless entry system. I thought the battery on my electric key was low because the key seemed to lose range. It would seem it's something installed on my android phone that is causing the problem.
Also the bluetooth that seems to cause a problem to the sound system on my Grand Vitara is also an android problem. Not a Suzuki problem. I went to the dealership today to get maintenance done on my truck. I do prefer my experience with their service department over Mazda that's for sure.
The guy who works at the service department is the son in law of a Matrox employee that I've known for years. He's really nice and he explained the phone issues with my truck . Apparently he realized his iPhone was interfering with the electric key on his Suzuki a couple of days earlier. He can't keep his key in the same pocket as iphone. He says he's heard of blackberries also doing that.
February over at Midnight!
Finally the last day of February - the month that is short but still too long! Also bear is mind that February is Black History month - and although it's not as promoted as much as it used to 20 years ago, Africa is the cradle of civilization so black History is technically everyone's history.
I wish I could say it was over in Syria. Nearing the first year anniversary of the start of the Syrian revolution and Bashar's thugs are still killing with impunity. Homs the city besieged is still in desperate need of food and medical supplies. The two journalists that were injured in Homs are now in Lebanon, but to what cost of Syrian lives?
I'll be marching with my Syrian friends on March 17th, in solidarity with the Syrian people to mark the one year of the start of the Syrian revolution. I remember last February when things were going on in Tunisia and Egypt, I said Syria was next, hubby said it was unlikely. Well a year later they are still pushing on. There is no turning back. Syria can never be run by Al-Assad again.
My prayers as always are with the Syrian people. Inshallah, they will win!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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?
Here's another interesting link that discusses homelessness and housing crisis across Canada.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
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.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
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!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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.
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
Monday, February 13, 2012
They need a Zamboni to fix the ice on the LAKE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
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| Zamboni on Lac des iles in Entrelacs |
Saturday, February 11, 2012
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.
Thursday, February 09, 2012
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.
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
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.
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| May old Princess RIP. |
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Monday, February 06, 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.
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Syrian embassy in Ottawa gets vandalised
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.
Saturday, February 04, 2012
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...
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.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
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 :)
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
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!
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