Take Advantage of the Desperate

Humanity once again disappoints me, this morning when I read my paper I notice an article about a drug raid in Montreal, which is really nothing new. But this one was for counterfeit medication.

The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) seized fake Viagra and fake cancer drugs arresting 9 people in the process. The fake Viagra isn't the one that makes me mad or upset, I understand that most men don't like going to their doctor and saying "dude my business doesn't work" so they buy stuff of Ebay and in the street.

But the fake cancer drugs? That pisses me off to no end. People who can't afford actual cancer medication are purchasing this drug who think that will help heal them, save their lives, ensure that they can see their children grow up; only to die a year later because the drugs are fake or bad?

I hope these people rot in jail for long LONG time, sadly though our justice system is lacking and they were only charged with "fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and infringement of a registered trade-mark and distribution of materials protected by copyright". What about reckless endangerment, involuntary manslaughter and drug trafficking? Or any number of charges that would actually carry some sort of sentence that was fitting to the crime.

Once again, people have failed us and I'm fairly certain that our justice system will fail us as well.

China: Race riots rock Xinjiang

(photo Globe and Mail)

156 people were killed in race-riots in the Xinjiang region of China... The tensions between Uighur minority and the Han majority seem to have boiled over again, prompting China to send over 20,000 police, army and firefighters to the area to reclaim the streets.

The Communist party has said it is detaining over 1400 people in connection to these riots. Gangs of Uighur are reportedly marching in the streets beating anyone who is not Muslim and gangs of Han Chinese are marching the streets beating Muslims.

Amazing! Didn't we just have the Olympics in China? Where peace and a harmonious society was supposed to prevail? Perhaps not everyone in China shares the "government's" point of view on harmonious living, especially in the ethnic (for lack of a better term) regions of the country such as Tibet and Xinjiang, where tension between the natives and the Chinese has been constant, or so it seems to us in the west.

China has slowed mobile phone and Internet services, tried to block Twitter and many social networking sites in order to attempt to put out the fire in the area and prevent those fighting from communicating. China is also saying that outside influence sparked the deadly riots.

I'd really like to say that one side is wrong and one is right... But my understanding of this whole business just isn't enough to render an educated judgment, so I'll just leave it by saying:
156 dead? because of race? It. is. utterly. stupid.

Muchacho Enfermo

Forgot to put a title

I was reading today on the Globe and Mail about a Conservative bill to broaden the powers of the police when it comes to tracking people through the internet. All this would be done without following currently established procedure. Meaning: it could be done without a warrant and without the knowledge of the courts that were designed to make sure our rights are respected and that criminals pay the price.

The main points (accord to the G&M) are:
-force Internet service providers to freeze data on their hard drives to prevent subscribers under investigation from deleting potentially important evidence.
-require Telecom companies to invest in technology that allows for the interception of Internet communications.
-allow police to remotely activate tracking devices already embedded in cellphones and certain cars, to help with investigations.
-allow police to obtain data about where Internet communications are coming from and going to.
-make it a crime to arrange with a second person over the Internet the sexual exploitation of a child.

I don't have anything to hide, but I just don't like the idea that the police can decide one day to be interested in me, without justification and start tracking my online activities and my whereabouts through my cell phone, FOR NO REASON.

Normally if the police want to do these things, they need to present their case to a judge, who then allow them to do it because he feels it is justified or deny the permission if he/she finds it baseless or finds that there is lack of evidence.

If this bill goes through? Not anymore... The cop from the Tim Horton's on the corner can call in and access my emails and track my phone because he/she decided to do it?

I understand that this bill is aimed at catching criminals and child pornographers, but we have to make sure that the rights and freedoms of the regular folks are protected as well. We have to make sure that no lines will be crossed by law enforcement and to be honest with you, I don't trust any of those guys.

Muchacho Enfermo

Montreal Police FInally Catch the "Real" Criminals (or my tax dollars at work part 2)

In case you were wondering exactly what it is that is going on the upper echelons of the Montreal Police Department, I've got the inside scoop: it's time for operation "look both ways and wait for the light" they're focusing their attention on jaywalkers.

The Montreal Gazette reported this morning that when police attempted to ticket a man for jaywalking in Cotes-Des-Neiges... he ran off. So the brave keepers of the peace chased him all the way back to his apartment where the jaywalker's 17 year old sister hit one of the officers before locking the door. The police called for backup and both were arrested. The jaywalker "is expected to be charged with resisting arrest, while she could face charges of interfering with a police operation and assaulting a police officer."

I think this is a brilliant example of my tax dollars at work, yet again. Seriously people, while Montreal copes with increasing gang violence and the ever present drug dealers at Square Berri (which we can all, with the exception of the police, plainly see) the police are busy running jaywalking operations. They've been doing it all over the city because, clearly, this a threat to public safety.

Granted Montreal is notorious for its jaywalkers, but that doesn't mean that there aren't real criminals out there to catch.I'm not saying that the guy who ran from the cops to avoid a ticket did the right thing and I don't think the officers were wrong for giving chase. I just think the cops shouldn't have been there in the first place. There are betters ways to spend our tax dollars than catching dangerous jaywalkers.

Muchacho Enfermo

Riots in the streets of Montreal

Montreal is a city that is known throughout North-America as a party city, we have one of the biggest Jazz festivals in the world, one of the largest comedy festivals, the oldest St-Patrick's day parade in Canada... in short everything here is an excuse to party. But the other thing Montreal has become known for is our riots.

There were the Hockey riots of 1955 following the suspension of Maurice Richard, there were the Guns 'n' Roses riots in 1993, the "We won the Stanley Cup" riots of 1994, more recently the 2008 "Police shot Villanueva", just to name a few. Yesterday we added another dark chapter in the long book of Montreal Riots: The Anti-Police Brutality Riots. The annual march against police brutality is one that usually ends with a clash against police, but yesterday was even worse than usual.

It was the first march of the sort since the young Villanueva was shot and killed by police last summer, the hearings are due to start in May, organizer's were hoping the march could raise awareness against police violence and racial profiling. As usual a few bad apples showed up in the crowd and the March turned violent, some protesters hurled rocks, concrete, vegetables and flares at police officers and started heading from the trendy Plateau neighborhood to towards the downtown core.

Things got so bad that tear gas was released into the crowd and 221 arrests were made. The rest of the people present, 189 other, received citations. The damages are estimated at over $200,000 as it was reported in the Montreal Gazette.

What was a march against brutality idiotically became a brutal march. A march against police brutality that saw to officers injured as the protesters became brutal against them. The protesters have cost the city and small business owners a lot of money and for what? So they could throw stuff at police? This march that should have been a moment where people peacefully come together in unity to show their disapproval and support one another ended, yet again, as a black eye to the city, the community and to all those involved.

This march has lost its credibility, the organizations behind it have lost their way and the marchers themselves have lost their minds. Police brutality is always something worth protesting but it's not an excuse to vandalize the entire city.

Muchacho Enfermo

Gays being killed in Brazil... by whom?

The Huffington Post reported this a few days back: Brazilian police suspected in the killing of gays. The brief report states a sergeant may be involved in some way in the killing of 13 gay men in Sao Paulo. Today the AFP has put out a brief news clip saying that the State Police now believe it's a serial killer and make no mention of the original suspected officer.

I'm not sure what this world is coming to if it took 13 victims before the cops realized something wasn't right. That or they just didn't care very much. Either way it's wrong and something should be done.

Muchacho Enfermo

Have you seen this girl?