Bloodbath that is not a bloodbath - Why Egypt is doomed

 

 

Egyptians mourn over bodies wrapped in shrouds at a mosque in Cairo on August 15, 2013 (AFP Photo / Mahmoud Khaled)

By: Pepe Escobar

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/op-edge/egypt-protests-terror-muslim-brotherhood-526/

Egypt's ‘bloodbath that is not a bloodbath’ has shown that the forces of hardcore suppression and corruption reign supreme, while foreign interests - the House of Saud, Israel and the Pentagon - support the military's merciless strategy.

Stop. Look at the photos. Linger on dozens of bodies lined up in a makeshift morgue. How can the appalling bloodbath in Egypt be justified? Take your pick. Either it’s Egypt’s remix of Tiananmen Square, or it’s the bloodbath that is not a bloodbath, conducted by the leaders of the coup that is not a coup, with the aim of fighting “terror”.

It certainly was not a crowd clearing operation – as in the New York Police Department ‘clearing’ Occupy Wall Street. As a Sky journalist tweeted, it was more like “a major military assault largely on unarmed civilians”, using everything from bulldozers to tear gas to snipers.

Thus the scores indiscriminately killed – with crossfire estimates ranging from the low hundreds (the “interim government”) to at least 4,500 (the Muslim Brotherhood), including at least four journalists and the 17-year-old Asmaa, daughter of top Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed El Beltagy.

El Beltagy, before being arrested, said, crucially, “If you do not take to the streets, he [as in General Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi, the leader of the coup that is not a coup who appointed the interim government] will make the country like Syria.”

Wrong. Sisi is not Bashar al-Assad. Don’t expect passionate Western calls for “targeted strikes” or a no-fly zone over Egypt. He may be a military dictator killing his own people. But he’s one of “our” bastards.

What we say goes

Let’s look at the reactions. The lethargic poodles of the European Union called for “restraint” and described it all as “extremely worrying.” A White House statement said the interim government should “respect human rights” – which can be arguably interpreted as the Manning/Snowden/droning of Pakistan and Yemen school of human rights.

That pathetic excuse for a diplomat, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, at least was blunt: “Egypt is an important partner for NATO through the Mediterranean Dialogue.” Translation: the only thing we really care about is that those Arabs do as we say.

 

A man grieves as he looks at one of many bodies laid out in a make shift morgue after Egyptian security forces stormed two huge protest camps at the Rabaa al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda squares where supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi were camped, in Cairo, on August 14, 2013 (AFP Photo / Mosaab El-Shamy)

Stripped of all rhetoric – indignant or otherwise – the key point is that Washington won’t cut its $1.3 billion annual aid to Sisi’s army no matter what. Wily Sisi has declared a “war on terror”. The Pentagon is behind it. And the Obama administration is tagging along – reluctantly or not.

Now let’s see who’s in revolt. Predictably, Qatar condemned it; after all Qatar was bankrolling the Morsi presidency. The Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, encouraged Egyptians to keep protesting to “thwart the conspiracy” by the former regime – as in Mubarakists without Mubarak.

Turkey – which also supports the Muslim Brotherhood - urged the UN Security Council and the Arab League to act quickly to stop a “massacre”; as if the UN and the Saudi-controlled Arab League would interrupt their three-hour-long expense account lunches to do anything.

Iran – correctly - warned of the risk of civil war. That does not mean that Tehran is blindly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood – especially after Morsi had incited Egyptians to join a jihad against Assad in Syria. What Tehran has noted is that the civil war is already on.

Let’s aim for the kill

“Byzantine” does not even begin to explain the blame game. The bloodbath that is not a bloodbath happened as the Sisi-appointed “government” had promised it would engage in a military-supported “transition” that would be politically all-inclusive.

Yet, fed up with six weeks of protests denouncing the “coup that is not a coup,” the interim government changed the narrative and decided to take no prisoners.

According to the best informed Egyptian media analyses, Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Baha Eldin and Vice President for foreign affairs Mohamed ElBaradei wanted to go soft against the protesters, while Interior Minister Gen. Mohammad Ibrahim Mustafa and the Defense Minister - Sisi himself - wanted to go medieval.

The first step was to pre-emptively blame the Muslim Brotherhood for the bloodshed – just as the Muslim Brotherhood blamed Jemaah Islamiyah for deploying Kalashnikovs and burning churches and police stations.

 

An Egyptian woman mourns over the body of her daughter wrapped in shrouds at a mosque in Cairo on August 15, 2013 (AFP Photo / Khaled Desouki)

A key reason to launch the “bloodbath that is not a bloodbath” this Wednesday was an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood to march on the perennially dreaded Interior Ministry. Hardcore Ibrahim Mustafa would have none of it.

Sisi’s minions appointed 25 provincial governors, of which 19 are generals, in perfect timing to “reward” the top military echelon and thus solidify the Egyptian “deep state”, or actually police state. And to crown the “bloodbath that is not a bloodbath,” Sisi’s minions declared martial law for a month. Under these circumstances, the resignation of Western darling ElBaradei won’t make Sisi lose any sleep.

The original spirit of Tahrir Square is now dead and buried , as a Yemeni miraculously not targeted by Obama’s drones, Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkul Karman, pointed out.

The key question is who profits from a hyper-polarized Egypt, with a civil war pitting the well-organized, fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood against the military-controlled “deep state”.

Both options are equally repulsive (not to mention incompetent). Yet the local winners are easily identifiable: the counter-revolution, as in the fulool – diehard Mubarakists – a bunch of corrupt oligarchs, and most of all the deep state itself.

Hardcore repression rules. Corruption rules. And foreign domination rules (as in Saudi Arabia, who’s now paying most of the bills, alongside the UAE).

Internationally, the big winners are Saudi Arabia (displacing Qatar), Israel (because the Egyptian army is even more docile than the Brotherhood), and – who else – the Pentagon, the Egyptian army’s pimp. Nowhere in the Milky Way this House of Saud/Israel/Pentagon axis can be spun as “good for the Egyptian people”.

Sheikh Al-Torture is our man

A quick recap is in order. In 2011, the Obama administration never said, “Mubarak must go” until the last minute. Hilary Clinton wanted a “transition” led by CIA asset and spy chief Omar Suleiman – widely known in Tahrir Square as “Sheikh al-Torture”.

 

Reporters run for cover during clashes between Muslim Brotherhood supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi, and police in Cairo on August 14, 2013 (AFP Photo / Mosaab El-Shamy)

Then a Washington inside joke was that the Obama administration had gleefully become a Muslim Brotherhood cheerleader (allied with Qatar). Now, like a yo-yo, the Obama administration is weighing on how to spin the new narrative - the ‘loyal’Egyptian army courageously wiping out the “terrorist” Muslim Brotherhood to “protect the revolution.”

There was never any revolution to begin with; the head of the snake (Mubarak) was gone, but the snake remained alive and kicking. Now it’s met the new snake, same as the old snake. Additionally, it’s so easy to sell to the uninformed galleries the Muslim Brotherhood = al-Qaeda equation.

Pentagon supremo Chuck Hagel was glued on the phone with Sisi as the July 3 “coup that is not a coup” was taking place. Pentagon spin would want us to believe that Sisi promised Hagel he would be on top of things in a heartbeat. Virtually 100% of the Beltway agreed. Thus the official Washington spin of “coup that is not a coup.”Tim Kaine from Virginia, at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, even extolled those model democracies, the UAE and Jordan, in their enthusiasm for the “coup that is not a coup.”

It’s essential to outline the five countries that have explicitly endorsed the “coup that is not a coup.” Four of them are GCC petro-monarchies (members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, also known as Gulf Counter-Revolution Club); Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain. And the fifth is that little monarchy, Jordan, the GCC wants to annex to the Gulf.

Even more pathetic than Egypt’s so-called liberals, some leftists, some Nasserists and assorted progressives defending Sisi’s bloodlust has been the volte-face of Mahmoud Badr, the founder of Tamarrod – the movement that spearheaded the massive demonstrations that led to Morsi’s ouster. In 2012, he blasted Saudi Arabia. After the coup, he prostrated himself in their honor. At least he knows who’s paying the bills.

And then there’s Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, the Vatican of Sunni Islam. He said, “Al-Azhar…did not know about the methods used for the dispersal of the protests except through media channels.” Nonsense; he has repeatedly praised Sisi

 

Egyptian Muslim brotherhood supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi evacuate a wounded man during clashes with riot police at Cairo's Mustafa Mahmoud Square after security forces dispersed supporters Morsi on August 14, 2013 (AFP Photo / Str)

Feel free to adore my eyelashes

There’s no other way of saying it; from Washington’s point of view, Arabs can kill each other to Kingdom Come, be it Sunnis against Shiites, jihadis against secularists, peasants against urbanites, and Egyptians against Egyptians. The only thing that matters is the Camp David agreements; and nobody is allowed to antagonize Israel.

So it’s fitting that Sisi’s minions in boots asked Israel to keep their drones near the border, as they need to pursue their “war on terror” in the Sinai. For all practical purposes, Israel runs the Sinai.

But then there’s the cancellation of a delivery of F-16s to Sisi’s army. In real life, every US weapons sale across the Middle East has to be “cleared” with Israel. So a case can be made that Israel – for the moment - is not exactly sure what Sisi is really up to.

It’s quite instructive to read what Sisi thinks of “democracy” – as demonstrated when he was at the US War College. He’s essentially an Islamist – but most of all he craves power. And the MB is standing in his way. So they have to be disposed of.

Sisi’s “war on terror” is arguably a roaring success as a PR stunt to legitimize his run for a popular mandate. He’s trying to pose as the new Nasser. He’s Sisi the Savior, surrounded by a bunch of Sisi groupies. A columnist wrote in Al-Masry Al-Youm that Sisi doesn't even need to issue an order; it’s enough to “just flutter his eyelashes”. The Sisi-for-president campaign is already on.

Anyone familiar with US-propped 1970s tin-pot Latin American dictators is able to spot one. This is no Savior. This is no more than an Al-Sisi-nator – the vainglorious tin-pot ruler of what my colleague Spengler bluntly defined as a banana republic without the bananas.

About: Pepe Escobar

Pepe Escobar is the roving correspondent for Asia Times/Hong Kong, an analyst for RT and TomDispatch, and a frequent contributor to websites and radio shows ranging from the US to East Asia

 

Montreal’s STM Transit Security are Violently out of Control

Updated: August 03, 2014 (Go to Bottom of story for most Recent update)

By: Stewart Brennan

World United News

 

Today I used the Montreal Transit system as I always do to go get groceries at Maxi’s on St John’s Road in Pointe Claire Quebec. I paid $3.00 and received a bus pass from the dispenser on the bus number 204, thanked the bus driver and proceeded to sit in a double seat just in front of the rear exit. Within 5 minutes the bus was pulled over by STM security who were waiting on Hymus Blvd in front of the old office of Canadian Unemployment center 2 buildings down from the Hymus Brasserie. An STM security agent who was Caucasian with an Eastern European accent entered the bus from the front and then proceeded to demand to see everyone’s bus passes.

I spoke out saying that what he was doing was harassment, wrong and that he had no right to do this. Not even the police can do this especially if there has not been any crime committed. Pure and simple what these STM employees were doing was unnecessary harassment. There was no good reason for them to do this. What was their reason?

I got up from my seat and went to the front and asked the STM security employee to ask the bus driver if anyone had not paid for their bus ticket, because what they were doing was pure harassment. To me, what they are doing is no different than what the Nazi thugs in pre World War II Germany did by stopping people and demanding “PAPERS” and threatening to arrest anyone that did not comply.

A second STM Security Employee (African origin) entered from the rear exit of the bus demanding to see my bus pass as I sat back down in my seat. I replied “ask the Bus driver if I paid or not because you have no right to harass me”. They both then came to my seat and threatened to arrest me if I did not show them my bus pass. I replied that they were not cops and had no authority to do so...to which they replied I would have to leave the bus. I told them I paid my fare and questioned them if they were told otherwise…”just ask the bus driver!”…Again they threatened to arrest me if I did not comply. I refused and asked them to call the police…

Both of these STM Security thugs proceeded to grab my arms telling me I was under arrest and had to leave the bus and I told them you are not cops and to stop touching me, they refused and pulled me up from my seat. A struggle ensued as they grabbed my arms and pulled me up where I then lost my balance. I put out my right forearm to catch my balance, which the first security thug had in his grasp.

They then pulled me off the bus threw me to the ground manhandled me and handcuffed my hands behind my back. They cut off the circulation in my right hand which turned blue I was told by the paramedics that arrived later. I was in a great deal of pain and screamed for them to take off the cuffs because of the pain and that my hand went numb.

All the while I called for help and for someone to call the police. A woman then approached and said she had called the police and that they were on their way.

My eyeglasses came off my head as I was thrown to the ground. Shortly afterwards the second STM security thug picked them up put them down again and then proceeded to step on them breaking the frames. He did it on purpose.

The Police showed up after about 10 minutes all the while the searing pain in my arm was getting worse. I was also having chest pains, back pains, and pain in my legs. I asked them to remove the cuffs because of the pain. I’m 53 years old.

The police told the STM security thugs to take off the cuffs, which they had a hard time doing because they were on so tight.

The police then asked if I was ok to which I replied “NO”. They then asked me if I needed an ambulance to which I replied yes.

I asked the police for a copy of the report and they replied that they were not going to make one, all they were going to do is give a “Call Number” which they did not even give.

I was very unsteady on my feet, very weak, felt faint, nauseous, and was in a great deal of pain in my arms, legs, back, neck and head.

The STM security thugs then issued a ticket to me for $333.00, which is what they probably wanted to do in the first place, make their quota in tickets to keep their jobs…that is the ONLY reason I figured that they entered the bus. The STM security are there to harassed people, threatened them and then fine them for not obeying their commands…pardon me for saying this but that is pure fascism…especially when a Corporation, funded by the Quebec Government can hire thugs with police powers?

I explained to the police that what they did was illegal according the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to which they replied that the STM HAD the authority in a municipal bylaw to arrest and fine people…

In the Country I was born and raised in, (Canada) a person is innocent until proven guilty but these STM thugs operate as if everyone is guilty until they say otherwise.

I spent the day in the Lakeshore General Hospital. They took x-rays of my head, neck, & back, while monitoring my heart due to an extremely high heart rate. I was beaten and fined for not obeying…and I had not committed any crime.

This is not an isolated incident. I was told by the Ambulance driver that these STM security thugs are keeping them very busy, and after my release from the hospital a Taxi driver had witnessed the same thing several times. This is the 2^nd time I was harassed by the STM Security.

I paid my bus fare and have the card to prove it. I have the Ambulance transportation doc with both paramedics willing to testify on my behalf in court of the injuries I sustained.

Busses are equipped with silent alarms, cameras and microphones for security purposes. I know this because I worked for a Bus manufacturer in Winnipeg Manitoba. Security personnel should be used to stop crime, not harass innocent civilians doing their daily routines.

What we have here in Montreal Quebec is an STM out of control and I want justice for what they did to me today but more than anything, I want this harassment of passengers on STM transport stopped before they kill someone.

Today I was beaten up by STM corporate thugs and heavily fined for not showing my papers…and the Police department thinks that’s ok. Tonight I’m on pain killer medication, extremely angry and want an end to this Montreal Stazi STM security bullshit! If you know people who have also been victims of the STM Stazi, please share this story so that they might come forward. Together we can fight against the abusive STM and stop them before they kill someone. 

My father fought in World War II with the Canadian Cameron Highlanders so that tyranny would not rule here in Canada…apparently someone forgot to tell the Quebec Government and the City of Montreal.
------------------------------

Photo: STM OPUS Card (Monthly Pass) & Single Fare Receipt & Transfer

Update: August 05, 2013

I’ve heard a few people saying that there is a lot of OPUS card fraud going on and that is why they push Security harassment on the STM busses but that reasoning doesn’t add up because the same OPUS technology is being used on the South Shore but without transfers being received for people who op to pay in cash ($3.25)

So I have to ask, is the same security harassment happening on the RTL because the same technology is used and second what about the people who pay cash, are they thrown off the bus because they pay cash and have no proof of payment? The RTL busses do not give transfers or receipts as they do on the STM but the combination opus cards allow people to travel on both RTL & STM busses.

The next question is why harass the people if it is a technology thing. Get the manufacturer to change the codes or to put the security info into the card readers like they have with the security scanners?

This is not about OPUS Card fraud, this is about corporate fascism, and harassment of the public and it needs to stop.

----------------------------

Update: August 8th, 2013

 

Is the Montreal Transit Authority’s Claim of “OPUS Card Fraud” a Fraud itself and a Pretext to More Draconian Legislation in the Near Future? A look at Montreal’s STM (RFID) OPUS Cards, Fraud Claims, STM Security, and What Comes Next.

 

By: Stewart Brennan

World United News

 

In 2008, the Montreal Transit Commission (STM) adopted a new system for their monthly bus passes and single fare ticketing from European corporation “Calypso Networks Association” (C.N.A.) with, the integration corporation “Spirtech” assisting in the implementation and engineering of C.N.A. software. 

 

Montreal had jumped into the RFID OPUS technology for monthly bus passes while also using a magnetic strip card reader for single transit fares. We were told then that the reason they were moving to this new $219 Million dollar system was to prevent Bus pass fraud in the old system.

 

On the surface it seemed that there wouldn’t be too many problems associated with this new technology, with the exception of the STM’S South Shore “Longueuil Metro Station” which did not, and still does not accept STM Magnetic cards bought anywhere else but in the Longueuil metro station. Not good if you prepaid all your STM trips somewhere else and do not have any money left to pay for an additional one…which did happen to me the first time I used the system going home from the South Shore. It was a very frustrating experience that I wont get into here.

 

The STM, Fraud, & OPUS Cards

 

Since 2009, MICHEL LABRECQUE has been the chairman and the primary representative of the STM. He oversees the performance and execution of the STM’s functions and powers…and, in agreement with other board members, sets corporate orientations. He also chairs the Board’s public meetings and approves the agenda in collaboration with the STM’s Chief executive officer and is the Transit Users’ Representative…

 

Recently, Michele Labrecque estimated that the STM saves $12 million a year on fraud by using the OPUS Card technology but did not give any details on how they do this exactly. His statement raised a lot of unanswered questions to say the least.

 

When you invest 219 million dollars of taxpayers money into a NEW system that is supposed to be Fraud proof and a benefit to the citizens, you certainly wouldn’t want to skip out on purchasing the Fraud Detection Option when purchasing this system…especially when stopping Fraud is the reason they bought the system in the first place. So it is very strange and disturbing to see more and more STM Security Inspectors harassing passengers for their tickets and bus passes in the name of Fraud.

 

These STM directives and security actions clearly state that either the system they bought is totally useless in detecting Fraud, that someone grossly incompetent is responsible for not acquiring the proper equipment and programming, or there is corruption happening inside the STM.

 

Regardless of the answer, the people of Montreal and the surrounding communities should not have to be shoulder the Orwellian directives by Government & Corporate decisions that harass the public, especially when the STM are to blame in the first place.

 

“Spirtech” an OPUS Technology engineering firm and partner with Calypso Networks claims that their system is virtually Fraud proof. Who am I to believe? (http://www.spirtech.com/products/fraud-detector)

 

If Fraud is not a problem with this new technology, then why do we need STM Security checking everyone’s Monthly OPUS Bus passes and Magnetic Strip single fare tickets?

 

If indeed the STM has reduced Fraud by 12 million dollars as per MICHEL LABRECQUE, why is the STM giving themselves huge pay raises as stated in an article by the Montreal Gazette on July 25^th, 2013 to the tune of millions of dollars? And WHY have they hired an army of bus pass inspectors?

 

Does this 12 million dollar savings at the STM mean that STM management get to pocket this money? Are the STM Security Army, who also received big raises, becoming the cash cow tool of the STM’s corporate management? (See Gazette Report for security personnel salaries)

“Court Orders STM to pay $123,000.00 in back pay to STM Security Officers”

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Court+orders+back+security+officers/7840875/story.html

 

Failure to show these STM Inspectors your ticket will land you a huge fine and in the hospital if you refuse to budge, as was the case with me on August 03^rd, 2013. One might look at it as strong-armed tactics by the STM to ensure every passenger obays whatever they are told by STM Security or face being roughed up and fined without any recourse to challenge them…because the STM Board of Directors, who are also municipal legislators, passed a municipal law that grants this corporation police powers.

 

As stated in the Montreal Gazette on July 25^th, 2013 the STM gave themselves big pay raises. I wonder where they got the money to inflate their already massive salaries?

STM Got Big Pay Raises

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/managers+raises/8703628/story.html

 

When the size of your STM Salary is dependent on growth and there are no other means to create that growth how exactly does one create growth and give themselves large pay increases?  All the pay increases of the STM payroll have to come from somewhere…and a job needs to be a benefit to the corporation for profitability. So I wonder why they have hired more people in the STM Security department?

 

The STM’s Michel Labrecque also stated that they want a 40% increase in rider-ship by 2020…in my opinion, harassing and beating up their customers is certainly not the way to go. If they keep up their current pace by treating everyone as a potential criminal, more people will stop using their system.

 

Coming to Montreal by 2015 OPUS 2.0

 

During his opening remarks for AQTR’s conference on Urban mobility in the age of electronic payment (Feb 25, 2012), the president of the STM’S governing board Michel Labrecque stated, “We transport millions of people…soon we will get to know who they are.” What Mr. Lebreque was referring to was the implementation of OPUS 2.0 and having access to all your personal information in the future on the Montreal Transit Bus Pass. Security related? Fraud free?

 

OPUS Background Info

 

The OPUS card uses RFID (Radio-frequency identification) technology which can be read by anyone with an RFID transmitter / receiver. The OPUS card technology is owned by “Calypso Networks Association”; this European company’s primary goal is to use this technology on all digital transactions worldwide and to eventually replace the worlds currencies to become the Global technology and system for all monetary transactions. We are already seeing this technology being used by the Banks through Debit Cards, and Credit Cards, but we are also seeing this technology on Medicare cards, Drivers Licenses, passports, and soon there will be an upgrade to the Transit Authority’s OPUS 2 Cards.

 

Is there OPUS Card Fraud in Montreal?

 

So if this OPUS card fraud is real then what makes the Bankcards safe and the Bus Pass not safe? The bigger question is, of course, why are we allowing our governments to bully us into this RFID technology if it isn’t reliable? On a larger scale, We are talking about a massive corporation merger interconnected with many national governments, banks, and powerful shareholders that have the potential to end all national sovereignty by economic merger when financial controls of this technology are in place. “Spirtech” is the company being used to help engineer the OPUS RFID technology merger between corporations, banks, and governments. So their claim to be a safe system certainly needs to be proven since it conflicts with the STM’s assessment…but then it’s all about control, money and security isn’t it; but security for who?

 

Is it really necessary for Montreal’s STM Security to harass transit passengers because THEY SAY there is fraud in the OPUS system? If the answer is yes, then what about debit cards, credit cards, and Medicare Cards? Are these same technology cards at risk of fraud as well? And if so are we to expect a future where security people threaten debit and credit card holders to show ID and threaten us with arrest if we do not show them what they want?

 

As far as “Spirtech” is concerned, programming is all that is required to secure the cards…If that is so, why is Montreal’s STM spending Millions of Taxpayers dollars to hire an army of security inspectors to harass the public, instead of fixing the system?

 

The South Shore Transit System (RTL)

 

The South Shore of Montreal has a different Transit System (RTL), which also adopted the OPUS card and has a combination OPUS card with the STM for passengers requiring both transportation systems. However the RTL did not choose to adopt the single transit fare magnetic strip cards, so there is no proof of payments or transfers for single use. Even still there doesn’t seem to be a breach of security with their OPUS cards nor do they employ an army of security people to harass their passengers.

 

The RTL does have an OPUS card for occasional RTL riders who can’t purchase a monthly rechargeable OPUS card. The commuter can choose to load 6, 12, 18 or 24 RTL trips on a Solo card at the regular rate ($3.25 each x number of trips). Valid on all RTL buses, where a transfer is automatically issued on the Solo card. But they do not have a single fare proof of purchase to issue a passenger when they pay $3.25 on the bus.

 

Although the Quebec Government represents both transit systems (RTL & STM) together for a better price when approaching corporations for retrofits or Spare Parts such as implementing the new OPUS technology, the “South Shore Transit Commission” (RTL), chose not to use the exact same system as the STM. The only difference is the magnetic strip single fare cards…and the number of security personnel hired…

 

RTL & Municipal Governments

 

I’ve learned that at the municipal council level of government on the South Shore there are Paid RTL representatives that receive a minimum $15,000.00 just for being an RTL corporate representative. In my opinion there is a huge conflict of interest here since the money comes from the citizen’s taxes to pay them this bonus over and above the salary they receive for being on the council. Those chosen to represent the RTL are usually favoured by the Mayor of the specific community, if, of course, they do not claim the bonus for themselves.

 

This got me to thinking, “Does the STM also Pay the City Councillors in Montreal and the West Island a Bonus”?

 

If we take a look at who is on the STM Corporate Board of Directors and the STM Committees the answer is “YES”. The same people are on both Corporate and government posts. My question is how much are these municipal government reps being paid just to rubber stamp their STM corporate directives? Am I wrong to think this is corruption?

 

STM – Members of the Board of Directors

https://www2.stm.info/English/en-bref/a-ca_membres.htm

 

Attacked By STM Security Agents

 

On Saturday August 3^rd, 2013, STM Security attacked me for not showing them the magnetic strip bus pass I received after paying for a single fare on Bus #204 in the West Island of Montreal. They put me in the hospital. The incident is an ongoing nightmare for me now because I will not take public transport for fear of a repeat performance by the STM Security. It also stops me from visiting my 87-year-old mother on the South Shore who needs help because of her complications from dementia. I don’t have a car nor do I know anyone here that can take me to the South Shore once a week so I will need to find a way to rectify this. I will not bow to this authoritarian minded corporation, nor will I allow my dignity as a human being to be trampled on.

 

One of my fears is based on being singled out by STM security personnel with the Security software programs the STM have installed with all of the security cameras throughout the transit system. “Facial Recognition Technology” allows the STM Security Inspectors to profile passengers at will and is reason enough for me to stay away from ever taking the bus again simply because I feel I will be targeted and because my plea for justice has fallen on deaf ears by the STM, Municipal Governments, Gazette, CBC, CTV and other mainstream media. The NEWS mediums simply have not done their jobs in investigating and bringing the public’s attention to the ongoing conflicts of interest, corruption, and unjust laws that enable thuggery by the STM and its security apparatus.

 

According to Calypso Network Association, the creators of the OPUS technology and the engineering group Spirtech that works with C.N.A., there is no Fraud with their system…but the STM hires security to run around all day long harassing passengers by insisting on checking everyone’s OPUS cards and magnetic strip single fare cards…In my opinion, the STM, which is a merger of government and corporation is a completely corrupt organization operating as a parasite on the tax payers of Montreal and the citizens of the surrounding service area’s. The STM and all it’s Board members need to be investigated through a public inquiry including a forensic audit investigation of their books. The Harassment by STM Security on the population using public transit has to stop!  

 

My Personal Request to the STM

 

I want an apology from the STM for their security personnel roughing me up and putting me in the hospital because I wouldn’t show them the ticket I had just paid for. I want a complete stop to the STM security’s harassment of the public. I want the $333.00 fine they imposed on me for not showing them my ticket to be dropped, and I want the STM to pay for the damages inflicted on me by their security personnel.

 

Stewart Brennan

 

Update : 2014 August 03

 

It has been one year to the day since the violent incident involving the STM and their belligerent security thugs who accosted me on Bus number 204 and put me in the hospital. Here’s what I hope will be my final update on this matter:

I challenged the ticket issued to me by the STM in court and won, in fact the judge shook her finger at the STM representatives for their brutality and warned that she hopes there will not be anymore incidents like this in the future by the STM and its security…not long afterwards the STM security blended into the background and stopped pulling busses over; this is a “Victory” for the citizens who use public transport in Montreal. We all win when a bully is put in its place. Stand up and don’t back down when you have been wronged. There are still some credible people within the justice system that know the difference between right and wrong. Peace!

 

Links:

Calypso Networks Association

http://www.calypsonet-asso.org/

Spirtech

http://www.spirtech.com/spirtech-consulting/calypso-networks-association

OPUS 2.0 Urban Mobility in the Age of Electronic Payment

http://spacing.ca/montreal/2012/02/23/opus-2-0-urban-mobility-in-the-age-of-electronic-payment/

Court Orders STM to pay $123,000.00 in back pay to STM Security Officiers

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Court+orders+back+security+officers/7840875/story.html

STM Got Big Pay Raises

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/managers+raises/8703628/story.html

STM – Members of the Board of Directors

https://www2.stm.info/English/en-bref/a-ca_membres.htm

Calypso Networks Association & STM – (PDF File)

http://www.calypsonet-asso.org/downloads/open_session_2012/2012%2011%20STM.pdf

NOVA Bus

http://www.novabus.com/transit-solutions/service.html

RFID

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-frequency_identification

Metro Security think they are Policemen

http://archemdis.com/2010/04/08/montreal-metro-security-thinks-they-are-policemen/

Woman Fined $219.00 for not paying bus fare with exact change

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/08/02/montreal-stm-verdun-pauline-tantost-fine.html

Corruption, Fraud and Thuggery by an Out of Control Montreal STM

http://worldunitednews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/corruption-fraud-and-thuggery-by-out-of.html

 

Hundreds of police storm Brazilian slums (PHOTOS)

 

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/brazil-slum-raid-rio-420/

Brazilian policemen deploy to pacify Jacarezinho shantytown, known as "Crackland", in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.(AFP Photo / Christophe Simon)

Brazilian troops and police swept through Rio’s most infamous slums in a pre-dawn raid, backed up by helicopters and tanks. The “pacification” mission is intended to bring the crime-ridden favelas to heel before the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Over 2,000 troops participated in the crack operation in the northern favelas of Jacarezinho and Manguinhos. They began moving through the shanty towns at 5:00 am local time, searching houses and making arrests.

The slums are renowned for the trafficking of crack cocaine and weapons, which police confiscated during the operation. Despite the favelas’ reputations, police said that the raid went without a hitch.

Around 800 officers entered into the favelas flanked by armored vehicles while the rest patrolled the perimeter.

Brazilian policemen deploy by a barrage set ablaze by traffickers, as they deploy to pacify Jacarezinho shantytown, known as "Crackland", in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.(AFP Photo / Christophe Simon)

CORE civilian police tactical unit personnel inspects a homeless man during a deployment to pacify the Manguinhos and Jacarezinho shantytowns, known as "Crackland", in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.(AFP Photo / Christophe Simon)

“The situation is very calm, there have been no incidents,” Colonel Federico Caldas, head of public relations for the military police, to Globo News. “At the moment we are carrying out a meticulous search for drugs and weapons.”

He went onto say that the police will continue to maintain a presence in the area and hope to construct a "pacification unit" in the slums by the end of the year.

The shanty town's inhabitants watched on as officers patrolled the streets for the first time in decades.

“I think that it’s great that peace has finally arrived in Jacarezinho,” said 35-year-old Paulo Cesar, on his way to church.

Around 75,000 people inhabit Jacarezinho and Manguinhos, slums recognized as Rio's most dangerous. Drug trafficking is rife in the favelas, where the trading of crack cocaine is an everyday activity.

The Sunday operation included members of a municipal organization that fights crack addiction; its workers took around 70 people to rehabilitation centers.

A paramilitary police helicopter overflies the area during a police deployment to pacify the Manguinhos and Jacarezinho shantytowns, known as "Crackland", in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.(AFP Photo / Christophe Simon)

­Paving the way for ‘pacification’

Rio’s elite police force killed five suspected drug cartel bosses in a nearby neighborhood on Saturday and mounted a search for another ten. According to police figures, criminal activity in the favelas has fallen by 60 per cent because of the increased police activity.

The “pacification” project was launched in 2008 with a view to improving city security ahead of the 2016 Olympics. Thus far the authorities have installed 29 "police pacification units" and aim to have 40 in place by 2014.

Although the pacification operation has largely been praised for establishing law and order in Rio's crime-ridden areas, which had previously been controlled by armed drug cartels, in some areas there have been complaints of police corruption and abuses.

A Brazilian marine armoured AAV7 Amphibious Assault Vehicle giving support to police blocks a street during a deployment to pacify the Manguinhos and Jacarezinho shantytowns, known as "Crackland", in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.(AFP Photo / Christophe Simon)

A BOPE paramilitary police elite unit officer sits on the back of a pickup during a police deployment to pacify the Manguinhos and Jacarezinho shantytowns, known as "Crackland", in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.(AFP Photo / Christophe Simon)

Crack (L) and cocaine apprehended during a police deployment to pacify the Manguinhos and Jacarezinho shantytowns, known as "Crackland", in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.(AFP Photo / Christophe Simon)

Switzerland arming in preparation for European meltdown?

 

Members of Switzerland's Army Forces (Reuters / Thomas Hodel)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/switzerland-prepares-europe-unrest-263/

The Swiss Army is preparing contingency plans for violent unrest across Europe. A nation mostly famous for its banks, watches and chocolate fears it may face a massive influx of European refugees in the near future.

One of the world’s richest nations openly expressed concerns over the possible outcome of Europe’s continuing financial troubles, and is currently conducting army exercises against the possibility of riots along its borders.

In September, the Swiss military conducted exercises dubbed ‘Stabilo Due,’ with scenarios involving violent instability across the EU.

Switzerland has maintained an avowedly neutral stance for decades, and refused to join the eurozone when presented with the opportunity.

Bern’s biggest fear is likely the disorganization of neighboring nations’ armies that would follow general instability; the eurozone crisis and the severe austerity measures in the EU are forcing member-states to significantly slash their military budgets. If protest continues to spread across Europe, police and armed forces may find themselves ill-equipped to manage the unrest.

"I will not rule out that we will need the army in the coming years,” Swiss Defense Minister Ueli Maurer said last Sunday.

The Swiss Defense Ministry has pressed ahead to modernize the country’s army despite political opposition. With its multibillion-Franc military budget and an army of around 200,000 soldiers, the country also plans to purchase new ‘Saab Gripen’ jet fighters.

“Minister Maurer, accompanied by whispers from the top uniformed leadership in Switzerland, is trying to raise awareness that Europe’s massive fiscal-cum-political crisis could get very unpleasant,” John R. Schindler, a professor of national security affairs at the US Naval War College wrote in an article for the XX Committee website.

The Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces, Lieutenant General André Blattmann, likewise revealed plans to deploy an additional four battalions of military police (1,600 soldiers) to protect strategic points across the country. Blattmann is expected to present the plan in December.

Professor Schindler predicts that, “if the next Anders Brievik were to target Muslims, not fellow Europeans, things could get unimaginably ugly very quickly,” which could trigger widespread Muslim uprisings in Europe.

Switzerland, however, stands in stark opposition to the multicultural policies and thinking now common in other European nations. In 2009, Switzerland passed a national referendum banning the construction of Islamic mosques.

And while the global economic crisis has forced several European nations to cut military expenditures, Switzerland has maintained relatively consistent levels of defense spending.

 

Half of Greek cops go ultranationalist at elections

Greece police (Reuters/Yiorgos Karahalis)

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/greek-police-vote-nazis-350/

More than half of all police officers in Greece voted for the far-right ultra-nationalist party Golden Dawn – described by many as neo-Nazi - in the elections on May 6. This gave them a record 7 per cent of the vote, securing 21 seats in parliament.

The analysis published by the country’s To Vima (The Tribune) newspaper reveals much of the contribution came from the country’s police officers.

The journalists studied the voting results in several constituencies in Athens, where 5,000 police officers in service in the Greek capital cast their ballots.

At some polling stations, the party obtained a striking 19 to 24 per cent of votes. According to the newspaper, at the 11 polling stations (numbered from 806 to 816) located near the police station Ellas, the neo-Nazis received most votes. The four polling stations located near the riot police station MAT, used by the police, recorded percentages of between 13 and 19.

The newspaper underlines these figures are impressive.

Based on the electoral lists, 550 to 700 people voted at each of these voting stations, of which 20 to 30 per cent were police officers.

The newspaper then calculated that 45 to 59 per cent of police officers voted for Golden Dawn.

The ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn, whose flag closely resembles the Nazi swastika, got a share of around 7 per cent of the vote, which threw it from obscurity to winning 21 seats in parliament – the first time to pass the threshold to enter the legislative body.

It campaigned heavily on an anti-immigrant platform under the slogan "So we can rid this land of filth."

The unprecedented rise of the far right has already caused alarm in the country.

Greece's government on Tuesday strongly criticized the leader of the Golden Dawn, who claimed that Nazi concentration camps did not use ovens and gas chambers to kill prisoners during the Holocaust.

In an interview with Greece's private Mega television, broadcast on Sunday, Golden Dawn party leader Nikos Michaloliakos said, referring to Nazi prison camp Auschwitz: "There weren't ovens. That is a lie… Not gas chambers either."

But given that the talks over forming a new coalition government in Greece collapsed on Tuesday, new elections must be held by mid-June.

That means voters get a chance to step back from the abyss and see the end of the rapid neo-Nazi rise. Or not.

UK police join nationwide strike

Police officers march in London, joining the UK-wide public sector strike on 10 May

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/240614.html

More than 30,000 off-duty police officers in London have joined a massive nationwide strike staged by British public sector workers against the government’s changes to pays and pensions.

Trade unions in Britain have said over 400,000 people took part in the 24-hour UK-wide strike on Thursday 10 May. Furthermore, London’s Metropolitan Police said around 32,000 off-duty police officers joined the striking public servants marching through London.

Unions are angry with the government’s pension changes saying that public sector workers are being “robbed” as they will have to pay more and work longer for lower pensions.

“We care very deeply about the communities that we serve. We have seen what happens when we have a government that has given policing a very low priority. If you are cutting our jobs, then you are cutting the service we can deliver and the public's safety is at risk”, said Paul McKeever, chairperson of the Police Federation, the union which represents officers.

However, the British government tried to downgrade the nationwide strike as Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude described it as “futile”. Maude also said the figure released by unions was “widely inaccurate” and only 150,000 public servants took part in the strike.

“It is now time that union leaders put the best interests of their members first by asking them to accept our generous offer”, said Maude.

Riot erupts in Montreal between police and protesters

A protestor is arrested by police after a student demonstration against tuition hikes in Montreal on April 20, 2012(Reuters / Christinne Muschi)

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/montreal-police-protesters-rally-608/

Law enforcement officers in Montreal, Quebec, Canada fired grenades and tear gas into crowds of protesters on Friday as students demonstrated against tuition hikes in a rally that turned violent.

A clash between college students protesting the continuously increasing cost of education in Canada and police erupted on the streets of the city center. Hundreds of demonstrators are reported to have rallied in downtown Montreal against tuition hikes, only to be confronted with police in riot gear during the early afternoon.

By mid-day, at least ten protesters were arrested by authorities and both demonstrators and law enforcement alike have reported to have incurred serious injuries after the students’ rally became marred by fighting on both sides.

"I wasn't doing anything violent," Nicolas Moran, 21, tells a CTV affiliate in Montreal. "A police officer hit me over the head… But I doubt the education minister will denounce violence from police," continued Moran.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation says police used batons, chemical irritants, tear gas and concussion grenades on the protesters. The demonstrators are reported to have met that firestorm with rocks and other projectiles. CTV reports that cars and media trucks have been damaged in the rally.

Moran is a law student at the Université du Québec à Montréal and was one of many protesters that entered the city’s

Palais des congrès on Friday where Premier Jean Charest was scheduled to deliver a speech. Moran suffered a head injury; at least one officer experienced the same.

Premier Charest was expected to lecture on his Plan Nord, a massive development program expected to cost billions of dollars over the next two decades. CTV says Charest claims the initiative will create half a million jobs, but opponents such as Moran and other students say it doesn’t represent what Quebecers really want.

Michel Chossudovsky, the head of the Center for Research on Globalization, says that the reason for the anger is not just the tuition hike but the fact that the government puts the bill for their austerity measures on young people while spending billions in favor of corporations.

“I think that the demonstrations were held at the moment the prime minister decided to launch his Plan Nord, which has advantage of 1.6 billion [Canadian] dollars, is illustrative of the fact that this handout to corporations in millions and millions of dollars is financed at the expense of the livelihood of the young people of Quebec,” Chossudovsky told RT.

Increased tuition imposed on students there have only worsened sentiments between grievous Canadians and the country’s government.

“It’s not just the tuition increase,” 18-year-old Alexis Remartini adds to The Canadian Press. “The movement has grown to include other things we don’t agree with.”

Eight students were arrested as they entered the Palais and delayed Premier Charest’s speech by 45 minutes. The Canadian Press says Charest joked after the protesters were removed from the building that they were probably just trying to get one of the jobs he claims the investment will bring.

Stateside, arrests were reported in Lower Manhattan in New York City at the same time Friday during a separate rally waged by members of America’s Occupy Wall Street movement.

NY police raid OWS office, nab several

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/219221.html

The US police have attacked the Global Revolution Livestream office of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement in New York, arresting several activists and journalists as the crackdown on media intensifies.

The Tuesday raid on the Brooklyn studio of Globalrevolution.tv, which covers OWS protests via live stream, followed a police order to the anti-corporatism protesters to vacate the studio.

Meanwhile, protesters have planned to rally in New York's Grand Central Terminal to protest against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

They say the legislation is an attempt to restrict their civil liberties.

The National Defense Authorization Act provides USD 662 billion in funding for military spending, including military pay raises, weapon systems and funding for the war in Afghanistan in 2012.

The measure, passed by wide majority in Congress, says the US military has the power to detain terrorist suspects without trial for as long as the so-called US war on terror continues.

The bill contains several provisions that rights groups and advocates have vehemently opposed, arguing that they could allow indefinite detention and interrogation of US citizens and non-citizens suspected of being linked to terrorism and deny them legal rights protected by the constitution.

President Barack Obama signed the controversial bill into law on New Year's Eve.

US police have so far arrested over thousands of anti-corporatism protesters since the beginning of the movement in September last year.

The OWS movement began when a group of demonstrators gathered in New York's financial district on September 17 to protest against the unjust distribution of wealth in the country and the excessive influence of big corporations on US policies.

The protest movement has given voice to outcries and grievances of people against poverty, unemployment, war, and corporatism.

Protest shuts San Francisco stations

A man climbs on top of a commuter train during a protest at the Civic Center BART station in San Francisco, Monday, July 11. BART shut down cell service on August 11 to prevent a similar protest.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194270.html

A protest in San Francesco has forced the shutdown of four subway stations, as people condemned US police brutality and demanded the right for free speech.

During the demonstrations, organized by the hacker group Anonymous on Monday, the stations, including the Civic Center station, were temporarily closed during the rush hour by authorities, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

On Thursday people had taken to the streets in San Francisco to voice their anger toward the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), which had urged the Bay Area Rapid Transit commuter train service (BART) to shut down cell phone networks in some stations to prevent demonstrators from organizing a protest over the fatal shooting of a man last month by police.

Charles Hill was fatally shot on July 3 by BART police officers.

"This was a complete silencing of the people," said a protester on Monday, calling the shutting down of cell phone services "anti-free speech tactics."

Rights groups have also slammed the act saying that blocking the telecommunications service is against the US Constitution's First Amendment right which accords free speech to its citizens.

Although officers arrived in riot gears, SFPD announced that there had been no arrests during the protests.

Anonymous had asked the demonstrators to download software for short-range cell phone-to-cell phone messaging before the Monday protests in case the in-station networks were shut down again.

However, the cell phone service remained unblocked during Monday protests -- a sign of victory, as protesters said.

BART said on Thursday that a website for its users, myBART.org, had been hacked by hackers claiming civil rights motives.