The recent thread about cameras in the Latin Quarter got me thinking about all the panhandlers one sees in the downtown area. Is it my imagination, or does Montreal have more of these vagrants than most North American cities? Some of them are quite familiar, like the elderly blind woman and her guide dog, or the guy who plays the spoons. Others seem to come and go on a daily basis. Do you ever give money to these people? Is it a good or a bad idea to do so? Are street "entertainers," like the spoon player or that awful Irish tenor with the music stand, different from people who just hold out their hands, like that fellow who sits near the side entrance to Ogilvy's? Have you ever been threatened by one of these people? I was once, several years ago on Rene Levesque, and almost got into a fistfight. Does anyone have an opinion?