A vigil was held for the dépanneur owner who was murdered a few days ago in Ahuntsic, and some spoke of concerns about safety in the area. The Gofundme page mentioned in the article is here.
Updates from November, 2020 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
The city has once again renewed its state of emergency for another block of 5 days. It’s been extended every 5 days since March 27.
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Kate
Now that Kamala Harris is to be the first woman, and first woman of colour, to be Vice-President of the USA, Montreal is staking its claim on her and Westmount High may never quite get over it. CTV’s headline “Kamala Harris becomes first Westmount High alum ever elected to American vice-presidency” suggests there are others lining up for the job.
Let’s not forget Dan Bilefsky’s piece in the New York Times, discussed here, where it mostly came out that Harris wasn’t exactly enchanted by her time in the city.
The Gazette, in its wisdom, headlines this piece “Americans living in Montreal celebrate Biden’s win over Trump” and I was like, wow, at the photo – before realizing it was from New York. I don’t mean to constantly critique the paper, I know that they’re running on fumes like a lot of media, but can they not be a little more coherent? I want a better local anglo paper. (Bring back the Montreal Star!)
Incidentally, I could hear fireworks Saturday night in Villeray, quite a few minutes of them. I don’t know whether these were joyous Americans, but it seems possible.
Raymond Lutz
There’s nothing for progressives to rejoyce about Biden and Harris election. Yes, fighting a rightwing opponent is better than a fascist one. Which one would you chose? Biden or Franco, Pinochet, Suharto? The choice is clear. Yes, by his violence incitations, call outs to ProudBoys, etc… Trump IS a fascist; go read Gov. Gretchen Whitmer testimony in The Atlantic on the failed Michigan coup.
So we can be relieved but the fight for MED4A, student debt abolition, living wages, end of wars, racial and gender equity, fossil fuels phasing out continues.
And Harris is an horrible person. I won’t paste the URLS but here’s her pedigree (those are exact journal artcile titles):
“As San Francisco District Attorney, Kamala Harris’s Office Stopped Cooperating With Victims of Catholic Church Child Abuse”.
“Kamala Harris laughed about jailing parents over truancy.”
“How Kamala Harris Fought to Keep Nonviolent Prisoners Locked Up”And don’t get me started on Biden-I-wont-ban-fracking… I’ll simply suggest this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XBSB1VLIbI and google “Part 4 – Shokin Strikes Back” for an interviwe of the former General Prosecutor of Ukraine, who got fired under Biden pressure.
Chris
>And Harris is an horrible person.
But she’s a womxn of colour! That makes her automatically good! /s Unfortunately, some people can’t see past colour of skin to real content of character. 🙁
Kevin
The US is not a progressive country.
If Biden had mentioned anything on Raymond’s list he would have lost.JaneyB
@Kevin – Precisely. Their ‘natural governing party’ is basically Reagan’s Republicans. Annoying to us but that’s what resonates with the vast majority of Americans. Some states and some cities will be more progressive but there is no secret Sweden to be liberated. A centrist in power is as good as it’s gonna get.
This election is a pretty solid improvement for America. I think we’ll see some real action on climate and better race relations. The background star of the election is Georgia’s Stacey Abrams and her expansion of voter registration. If their Senate run-off races in January go Democrat, wow!
jeather
Rejoicing that there are centrists instead of fascists and that progressives (US versions of it anyways) got elected to congress, that people who campaigned on Medicare for All did better than people who didn’t — I grant that this is all incremental, and the results aren’t the absolute disaster for Trump one would have hoped for, but lots of progressives are really happy. Joy doesn’t mean you give up the fight.
Michael Black
People will never be satisfied.
Shirley Chisolm didn’t win. Angela Davis didn’t win. Geraldine Ferraro didn’t win. Winona LaDuke didn’t win. Hillary Clinton didn’t win. There were others, but they didn’t win.
Long after other countries had women leaders, 244 years after US independence, and now for the first time a women is vice president (still no women president). And in 244 years, only the second time that there’s been a Black president or vice president.
It’s easy to dismiss from a white perspective, it’s a giant leap for black people, and likely for women.
Wilton Guerrero
The argument that Americans are fundamentally conservative is belied by the success of many progressive ballot initiatives legalizing marijuana and raising the minimum wage, not to mention the strong majorities that favour Medicare for all.
What is unpopular is the Democratic Party and that perhaps is not the sign of stupidity many take it to be, after all West Virginia, Ohio, Detroit, and whole swaths of the Rust Belt were Democrat strongholds for decades, what did it ultimately get them but ruin. Some decided to go Republican, many more just stay home. The direction of the country is out of their hands anyway.
PatrickC
I don’t how many others of us here remember the Montreal Star, but I second your motion, Kate, or at least your emotion, as Smokey Robinson would say. In its last decade, the Star did its best to make up for the sins of its past, though I may be looking through the glasses of nostalgia. The online version of the Gazette is horrible, with its autoplay videos and other annoyances, as well as the thinness of its content. But what kind of alternative would be viable?
Raymond Lutz
“It’s easy to dismiss from a white perspective, it’s a giant leap for black people, and likely for women.”
Hmmm… like the giant step Obama was? Let’s ear what two blacks persons have to say about those giant steps, since my whiteness seems to disqualify me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3-FFcCUMGk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9rNFI–sWkNathaniel
On the question of Kamala Harris’s work as a district attorney, people might want to read this nuanced and powerful piece by Reginald Dwayne Betts, who served six years in prison as a teenager for committing a carjacking, then became an acclaimed poet and Yale Law graduate: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/20/magazine/kamala-harris-crime-prison.html
Hamza
@raymond – dude , can you like stop trying to tell people of colour how they should feel about this ?
now is not the time for white guys to be throwing shade on a historical moment for women and people of colour. plenty of time in the future for that when the presidents-elect make mistakes.
i don’t know what you think you’re accomplishing here , except coming across like a major asshole or “i’m going to spout racist talking points espoused by actual racists, but gonna draw a line around myself as a good progressive white guy”
The problem with this is white guys always always always feel entitled to their white perspective and think that people of colour give even an iota of a crap what you think ,when we don’t .
take your random negativity and cope
Raymond Lutz
No random negativity here, I much rejoiced when Alexandria Ocasio-cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were elected, those were much more important non-white, non-men progressive gains than Harris… And I can’t wait for Nina Turner in 2014 running for president! She’ll kick ass! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Emi7wOlb9k
Hands Up
Raymond Lutz’s random negativity seems to indicate that he has even the slightest amount of information about political histories of the candidates. That’s a no-no in our idiot culture.
Also, this:
https://www.theblaze.com/news/white-professor-lying-about-black-identity
Raymond Lutz
Ostie, OUiiii! Ninaaa! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PL4uKVtlgY But I fear for her: If they can’t rig the political process (as with Sanders) the plutocrats, (GOP and corporate Dems) will simply eliminate her like they did with Martin Luther King when he started to threaten the political hegemony of capitalism with the Poor People’s March on Washington (same fate as Fred Hampton, same reasons, 20 months later).
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Kate
I notice a not-too-subtle editorial comment in the photo at top of TVA’s report on the inauguration of the REV on St-Denis on Saturday – a cyclist riding past a sleek storefront with a big À LOUER sign in the window.
Beyond one single positive quote, most of TVA’s report is a torrent of negative commentary from nervous business owners.
La Presse’s report is more focused on the positive cyclist experience while apparently the Gazette found out St-Denis is east of the Main, and therefore not of very much interest. (I’ve searched, but I see no report from them.)
Su
The LaPresse photo was taken in front of the same newly renovated building a Louer sign as the TVA photo although they are 2 different photographers!
Kate
True!
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Kate
Notice the verb form here: 145 people who were rounded up for holding a Halloween party in Outremont last weekend could be facing fines of up to $5,000. Why the conditional?
I also note that the party was found in an “underground liquor store” – and that “a fourth ticket of $200 for violating the Alcoholic Beverages Offences Act could also be given out.” The existence of an underground liquor store suggests this story is burying the lede, plus there’s another “could” – who are these people who break the law but only “could” get fined?
JaneyB
These people…my god. I really want the city to clobber these scofflaws so we can have our social life back. I think I’m going to write a letter to the Mayor encouraging her to definitely fine these people. This is an area where public support will help stiffen the resolve of politicians. They’re probably not sure how hardball they can play. Here’s her link: https://mairesse.montreal.ca/en/send-message-mayor
Douglas
I wouldn’t blame party goers.
The Quebec government won’t let things open up to any crowd size until a vaccine comes.
So if you want to be angry at someone for being locked down, blame the powers to be that revoked those rights.
We are sounding a lot like slaves getting angry at other slaves for “breaking the rules” of the plantation owners.
mare
The press reports, and doesn’t convict. So they use “Could be fined” and “The alleged thief was caught with the loot still in their hands.”
Kate
mare, journalists are careful to write “alleged” and so forth when there’s a serious accusation that hasn’t been proved in court, but aren’t matters like tickets and fines a little different? If you burn a red light and a cop sees you, and for some reason it’s reported, it won’t be “mare could receive a ticket for ignoring a red light” it will be “mare was ticketed for ignoring a red light.” If you’re found on the premises of an illegal gathering, there’s not a lot of doubt about it. Ticket them, I say.
Douglas, quoting the National Post on Sunday: Quebec and Ontario smash daily COVID‑19 case records as country battles resurgence. Calling the public health requirement not to hold gatherings “slavery” is, to be blunt, really stupid. Covid is a pathogen that can’t be negotiated or bargained with. We aren’t losing our freedom by denying the virus a path to propagate itself, we’re winning it back.
Michael Black
But if it’s just a tickett, they may not issue it on the spot. I don’t know why, but there are instances where they’ll take information, but tye ticket will arrive months later.
Given the number of people, and the pandemic, I could see the tickets arriving later. And since a delay always bring hope that there is won’t be a ticket, the wording may reflect that. If it was so definite, why not issue the ticket on the spot?
mare
There might also be a maximum dollar amount to a ticket that a cop can write on the spot. So these fines will be imposed later, after review by a prosecutor, or they won’t.
JP
That slavery analogy doesn’t make sense…I presume you’re a white guy, Douglas. Regardless, please refrain from using slavery to analogize efforts to stop the spread of a virus.
Uatu
I don’t blame the govt. I blame those lazy bums working in the ER and in ICU. They’re spoiled brats who whine to the health ministry every time they get extra work. Seriously f_ck those guys. Douglas you should c’mon down over here to the Glen and set ’em straight. I hear they’d be really receptive to your ideas especially after working a shorthanded overtime shift during a Code:Surge…../s
GC
I’m hoping the “could” is just haggling over the final amount and not over whether or not they’ll be punished. Guilt doesn’t seem to be in a grey area. FWIW, some other articles–like the Bingo ones–were explicit about the fact that the cops only issued warnings. (Different event, different paper, different writer I know, but still…)
Not to derail the main conversation, but I’m surprised having an “underground liquor store” is only a $200 fine. It seems like one could make that up in profit pretty quickly and doesn’t sound like much of a deterrent.
Mark Côté
Pretty sure Douglas knows exactly the kind of reaction he’ll get here when he uses flippant comparisons to slavery.
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Kate
Early Sunday, two guys road racing in Cartierville burned through a red light and caused a crash that sent two men to hospital and damaged a lot of parked cars. One man, possibly a passerby, is in critical condition. Neither racer has been found or arrested.
Update: TVA later mentioned, almost as an afterthought, that the pedestrian who was hit has died – see last sentence here.
JP
I live very close by…a 10-15 minute walk away. The amount of speeding, car-engine revving, extremely dangerous driving behaviour I have been observing since this past spring in my neighborhood is unbelievable. This was bound to happen…I hope the taxi driver and injured pedestrian recover. Don’t care about the other two…they didn’t even bother to stick around at the scene of the crime.
MtlWeb
32 year old pedestrian was unconscious when Urgence arrived on scene – likely had a traumatic brain injury. People drive like maniacs – makes me think all the road construction makes them feel that the rules are not enforced.
Bill Binns
I have been walking this city for 18 years and have seen extremely little evidence that there is any traffic enforcement of any kind on the island (or at least downtown). I walk Sherbrooke from Berri to Papineau and back every morning during rush hour. This stretch of road resembles something from the Mad Max movies at that time. Traffic gridlocked across intersections and crosswalks, cars driving on sidewalks, cars driving on the wrong side of the road and every godamned day between December and April, both sidewalks hosting a steady stream of bicycles. I have never once seen the cops do anything about any of this. Not for lack of trying either. I have called 911 about the bikes on the sidewalk so many times that I was worried about getting in trouble myself.
In the same amount of time and in the same area I have been stopped by cops at least 10 times to check my dogs licenses. The city has it’s priorities.
CE
911 does not exist for complaining about bikes on sidewalks. That is definitely not an emergency. I too am surprised (and disappointed) you haven’t gotten in trouble.
Kevin
CE
Why would anyone get in trouble for calling 9-1-1 to report people violating the Highway Safety Code?
Bikes aren’t allowed on sidewalks. Like all bicycle violations, it’s a $100 fine.CE
I’m pretty sure you’re being facetious but I’ll bite. A bike on the sidewalk is definitely annoying and potentially dangerous but likely not dangerous enough that it would be considered an emergency (which is what 911 is for exclusively). A car driving on a sidewalk would be an emergency because it would be potentially much more dangerous and would warrant a 911 call, as would a cyclist on a sidewalk purposely trying to hit people and hurt them. Would you call 911 if you saw a car do an illegal u turn on an empty street or coasting through a stop sign? What about a jay walker? They are all violating the Highway Safety Code as well.
Abusing 911 (as Bill admits to doing) potentially clogs up the line, which could make it more difficult for others to report actual emergencies. If you see annoying and potentially dangerous activities such as riding a bike on a sidewalk or doing an illegal u turn and are so inclined to make a report, you should call the police using a non emergency number. The result will be the same either way; the police will do nothing.
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