mila's blog

Hey! I like the site! seems to work well besides the bugs Brett mentioned. Nice work!

Last week I was in Sao Paulo, Brazil and visited a pretty amazing place: a huge 20 story building that had been taken over by homeless people and activists and turned into a giant skyscraper squat, successfully defended for years, right downtown. The owner had abandoned the building and hadn’t paid taxes in over a decade, so the people declared they had a right to take it over. This process was shown in a great film by Brazilian director Toni Venturi, called “House Warming Party� (“Dia de Festa�) – Tony showed me around and introduced me to everyone.

brazil 2

What do you think of this concept: small loans to poor people?

-Mila

Lend to beggars, Nobel laureate urges banks
Sat 9 Dec 2006 16:11:18 GMT

By Alister Doyle

OSLO, Dec 9 (Reuters) - World poverty could be consigned to museums if banks and governments stimulate the creative energies of millions of poor people, Mohammad Yunus, the winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, said on Saturday.

Mainstream banks will come under pressure to lend to the poor after the award to Yunus and his Grameen Bank, the pioneer of microcredits, the maverick Bangladeshi predicted.

"When it's said that a banker got the Nobel Peace Prize it sounds funny," he told a news conference on the eve of the award ceremony in Oslo, triggering laughter.

Below is an article I promised to post for someone I met at Etat D'Urgence 2 weeks ago. He wants to start a memorial for people on the street to mourn.

Mila

A Chance to Be Mourned
By EMILY BRADY
Published: November 12, 2006

THE trouble began on the subway.

THE UNCLAIMED Rikers Island inmates burying babies’ caskets at Potter’s Field on Hart Island.
At first he was just another homeless man taking refuge from the bitter New York winter. Then he collapsed. He was unconscious when paramedics pulled him out of the subway car. He died a few hours later at Brooklyn Hospital Center in Downtown Brooklyn of an inflamed pancreas and a weakened heart. It was two days before Christmas 2003. He was 48.

Solidarity to Chris and Kolin in Toronto today, arrested under for their struggle. If anyone knows details, please post it.

Mila

A big day at the archive:BRETT has updated his picture! Now you can see him drink out of a mug!