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JuicyLesson 298 : I Made a Mistake … The Mid-East, Missouri, Montreal, the Three M’s Have been Making News … Robin Williams [RIP] Best Moments …

Featured today is “Glory Days” from Bruce Springsteen. Rock on, Bruce.

Erratum: Yesterday’s (Wednesday’s 296) JuicyLesson erroneously described the second video. Originally, I had intended to show footage of the actual beheading of James Foley but inadvertently posted a video of the be-heading of fifty (! Count’em. Fifty!) Syrian soldiers instead. Finally, You Tube ended up censoring these two ISIS-produced and posted videos at least, and possibly more, in conformity with their policy on shocking or disgusting content.

I apologize for my mistake. I intend to have a look around You Tube for similar footage which, even though it may be shocking/disgusting to some viewers – myself included – it is still necessary to screen such awfully graphic and extremely provocative, bloody scenes, for a reason I outlined in the above-mentioned Wednesday (yesterday’s) Juicy Lesson. Please hit it if you’re interested in reading my reasoning on this most macabre subject.

The three M’s – The Middle East, Missouri and Montreal have all been in the news these days. The troubles continue in the Middle East – Israel, Gaza, Hamas and ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). In Missouri, Ferguson to be specific, Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teen has been gunned down in cold blood which would not even make news these days except for the fact that the shooter, in this case, was a white cop.

Violent demonstrations have been going on for about a week now, more so after dark as the town of Ferguson and the state of Missouri attempt to deal with these problems, compounded by the fact that another young Afro-American was shot and killed by two white officers in St. Louis. In the second killing, the victim apparently came to within a yard of the two officers, bearing a knife in an apparently over-hand grip. When he said “shoot me. Shoot me now”, the cops took him up on it and shot him. Dead.

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Above: Many people drove down the street honking their horns, raising their arms, and holding signs on W. Florissant in Ferguson on Thursday evening, Aug. 14, 2014, as some demonstrators stood in the middle of the street. Photograph by: J.B. Forbes, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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Finally, in our fair city, Montreal, public servants generally and cops and fire-fighters specifically have taken their protests against government plans to increase the pension contributions made by these workers by about $6,000 per year which means that cops and fire-fighters, among others, will lose that much money in PDI (Personal Disposable Income) to the streets and to City Hall as well.
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Above: Public sector workers light a bonfire as they protest against proposed pension changes in front of city hall Tuesday, June 17, 2014 in Montreal. Photograph by: Ryan Remiorz, THE CANADIAN PRESS.

Two nights ago, on Tuesday night, fire-fighters disrupted a Montreal city council meeting, throwing papers, water, and generally making a mess. I don’t really blame these demonstrators who do not have the right to strike. What would you do if six thousand dollars was taken from you, no negotiations, no nothing? I personally would not sit idly by in this situation, although I’m not sure that I would protest in the same way. I, however, remain cognizant of the fact that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
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Above: Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, standing, speaks during a City Council meeting in a room littered with papers from an earlier protest by the firefighter’s union at Montreal city hall in Montreal on Monday, August 18, 2014. The firefighters were demonstrating at city hall against the proposed Bill 3, a pension reform bill. Photograph by: Dario Ayala, The Gazette.

That’s the news. For now.

To complete today’s Juicy, we have a very good, short clip covering some excellent and heart-breaking Robin Williams moments. May he rest in peace.

Peace.

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