ANAHEIM, Calif. - A newlywed killed by police after he stepped outside his home to confront suspected burglars was shot in a case of mistaken identity, police said.
Julian Alexander died after being shot twice in the chest by a police officer who was chasing four burglary suspects early Tuesday morning.
Police Chief John Welter said the officer ran into Alexander, mistook him for one of the four juvenile suspects and shot him.
"The last thing we ever want to do, No. 1, (is) take somebody's life," he said. "And we certainly don't want to take the life of someone who is mistakenly believed to be involved in some criminal activity."
"He was a good kid, trying to protect his house," said Alexander's mother-in-law Michelle Mooney. "And the police, instead of asking questions, they just shot first. Somebody has to be held responsible for this."
Welter would not release the officer's name,... More ...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - A newlywed killed by police after he stepped outside his home to confront suspected burglars was shot in a case of mistaken identity, police said.
Julian Alexander died after being shot twice in the chest by a police officer who was chasing four burglary suspects early Tuesday morning.
Police Chief John Welter said the officer ran into Alexander, mistook him for one of the four juvenile suspects and shot him.
"The last thing we ever want to do, No. 1, (is) take somebody's life," he said. "And we certainly don't want to take the life of someone who is mistakenly believed to be involved in some criminal activity."
"He was a good kid, trying to protect his house," said Alexander's mother-in-law Michelle Mooney. "And the police, instead of asking questions, they just shot first. Somebody has to be held responsible for this."
Welter would not release the officer's name, but said he was a 10-year veteran of the department. The officer was placed on paid leave pending an investigation.
"It's mistaken identity, but that doesn't bring my son back," said Alexander's father Jerry.
He said Alexander got married last weekend and his 19-year-old wife is expecting a baby in December.
Alexander's wife said she heard the gunshots and tried to go into the yard, but the officer told her to stay inside. From the window they saw Alexander handcuffed and bleeding in the front yard.
Paramedics treated him at the scene and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The four burglary suspects were detained and interviewed, but no arrests were made.
Welter said investigators would interview the officer to determine what commands he gave to Alexander before he fired. Investigations will be conducted by the FBI, the Orange County Office of Independent Review and the district attorney's office, Welter said.
hahaha ya gotta love the fact the 4 suspects were only questioned and then released. This is how the cops protect and serve.
BY: Owen Bowcott
United Kingdom - ~Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street~ Civil rights campaigners say images must not be added to databases
Every police force in the UK is to be equipped with mobile fingerprint scanners - handheld devices that allow police to carry out identity checks on people in the street.
The new technology, which ultimately may be able to receive pictures of suspects, is likely to be in widespread use within 18 months. Tens of thousands of sets - as compact as BlackBerry smartphones - are expected to be distributed.
The police claim the scheme, called Project Midas, will transform the speed of criminal investigations. A similar, heavier machine has been tested during limited trials with motorway patrols.
To address fears about mass surveillance and random searches, the police insist fingerprints taken by the scanners will not be stored or added to databases.
BY: Owen Bowcott
United Kingdom - ~Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street~ Civil rights campaigners say images must not be added to databases
Every police force in the UK is to be equipped with mobile fingerprint scanners - handheld devices that allow police to carry out identity checks on people in the street.
The new technology, which ultimately may be able to receive pictures of suspects, is likely to be in widespread use within 18 months. Tens of thousands of sets - as compact as BlackBerry smartphones - are expected to be distributed.
The police claim the scheme, called Project Midas, will transform the speed of criminal investigations. A similar, heavier machine has been tested during limited trials with motorway patrols.
To address fears about mass surveillance and random searches, the police insist fingerprints taken by the scanners will not be stored or added to databases.
Liberty, the civil rights group, cautioned that the law required fingerprints taken in such circumstances to be deleted after use. Gareth Crossman, Liberty's policy director, said: "Saving time with new technology could help police performance but officers must make absolutely certain that they take fingerprints only when they suspect an individual of an offence and can't establish his identity."
Details of the type of equipment and the scope of its use have been revealed in a presentation by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA).
The initial phase of the Mobile Identification At Scene (Midas) project, costed at ?30m-?40m, will enable officers to perform rapid checks on the fingerprints of people arrested or detained. The marks will be compared against records on Ident1, the national police database which holds information on 7.5 million individuals.
Geoff Whitaker, a senior technology officer with the NPIA, told the Biometrics 2008 conference that Project Midas would save enormous amounts of police time and reduce the number of wrongful arrests.
At present, officers have to take suspects to custody suites if they need to check fingerprints. On average, the agency's research shows, the procedure takes 67 minutes. "If we scaled this [saving] up to the national level that would equate to 366 additional police officers on the beat," Whitaker said. "One of the benefits is that it will reduce the number of errors - and we can reduce the number of arrests significantly.
"There's a huge range of opportunities [for] mobile ID. It could be used on the deceased at the scene of a crime, on suspects for intelligence in the early part of an investigation, [or even] in a mortuary."
Policing of big public occasions, sporting events, festivals, political conferences - as a well as immigration and border controls - could benefit from the equipment, he suggested.
"Another use is for prisoners in transit; it's not uncommon for prisoners to swap identities on the way to prison," he said.
Project Midas, he said, would give the police "a full, mobile national capability" to check identities.
The system is being designed to have the capacity to beam images of suspects back to officers on the streets to help confirm identifications. Some US police forces are already using the technology.
"The return of mugshots [to officers]," Whitaker added, "is something we would like to do."
The tender document for Midas states: "Bidders' solutions ... should include, but may not be limited to, fingerprint identification capability." Plans for a police Facial Images National Database (Find) were suspended last year but are being reviewed.
One of the companies bidding for the Midas contract, Northrop Grumman, told the Guardian: "A lot of the hand-held [devices] we are considering have cameras so they can support fingerprint and facial images".
A limited trial of mobile police fingerprint devices, called Project Lantern, started in 2006. About 200 have been distributed and 30,000 checks performed. They were deployed in police cars using automatic number plate recognition technology - stopping vehicles that were logged as stolen, having no insurance, no MOT or simply unknown.
"The aim was to deny criminals the use of the roads," said Whitaker. "Around 60% of drivers stopped gave false identification details."
Fingerprint checks often showed they were carrying falsified documents.
The electronic searches, encrypted and sent over public networks, were usually returned to the mobile devices within two minutes; 97% of searches were completed in five minutes. Responses are graded as "high" or "medium". If high, it shows the system is confident of a match; if medium, it could display up to three potential identities. The returned data includes the name, age and gender of the suspect if there is a match.
A spokeswoman for the NPIA added: "It will be up to each police authority to assess the benefits and see how many they want. Early indications are that the benefits will be huge."
Thomas Smith, an officer from the Los Angeles police department, also briefed the Biometrics 2008 conference on the success of his force's mobile ID devices which send images and fingerprint matches back to officers on the street. He said they had become so powerful that once the machines were produced some suspects admitted they were lying about their identity.
"Our next thing will be facial recognition [computerised matching of suspects from their faces] in the field," he said.
Baggage searches are SOOOOOO early-21st century. Homeland Security is now testing the next generation of security screening ? a body scanner that can read your mind.
Most preventive screening looks for explosives or metals that pose a threat. But a new system called MALINTENT turns the old school approach on its head. This Orwellian-sounding machine detects the person ? not the device ? set to wreak havoc and terror.
MALINTENT, the brainchild of the cutting-edge Human Factors division in Homeland Security's directorate for Science and Technology, searches your body for non-verbal cues that predict whether you mean harm to your fellow passengers.
It has a series of sensors and imagers that read your body temperature, heart rate and respiration for unconscious tells invisible to the naked eye ? signals terrorists and criminals may display in advance of an attack.
But this is no polygraph test. Subjects do not get hooked up or strapped d... More ...
Baggage searches are SOOOOOO early-21st century. Homeland Security is now testing the next generation of security screening ? a body scanner that can read your mind.
Most preventive screening looks for explosives or metals that pose a threat. But a new system called MALINTENT turns the old school approach on its head. This Orwellian-sounding machine detects the person ? not the device ? set to wreak havoc and terror.
MALINTENT, the brainchild of the cutting-edge Human Factors division in Homeland Security's directorate for Science and Technology, searches your body for non-verbal cues that predict whether you mean harm to your fellow passengers.
It has a series of sensors and imagers that read your body temperature, heart rate and respiration for unconscious tells invisible to the naked eye ? signals terrorists and criminals may display in advance of an attack.
But this is no polygraph test. Subjects do not get hooked up or strapped down for a careful reading; those sensors do all the work without any actual physical contact. It's like an X-ray for bad intentions.
Currently, all the sensors and equipment are packaged inside a mobile screening laboratory about the size of a trailer or large truck bed, and just last week, Homeland Security put it to a field test in Maryland, scanning 144 mostly unwitting human subjects.
Related
While I'd love to give you the full scoop on the unusual experiment, testing is ongoing and full disclosure would compromise future tests.
But what I can tell you is that the test subjects were average Joes living in the D.C. area who thought they were attending something like a technology expo; in order for the experiment to work effectively and to get the testing subjects to buy in, the cover story had to be convincing.
While the 144 test subjects thought they were merely passing through an entrance way, they actually passed through a series of sensors that screened them for bad intentions.
Homeland Security also selected a group of 23 attendees to be civilian "accomplices" in their test. They were each given a "disruptive device" to carry through the portal ? and, unlike the other attendees, were conscious that they were on a mission.
In order to conduct these tests on human subjects, DHS had to meet rigorous safety standards to ensure the screening would not cause any physical or emotional harm.
So here's how it works. When the sensors identify that something is off, they transmit warning data to analysts, who decide whether to flag passengers for further questioning. The next step involves micro-facial scanning, which involves measuring minute muscle movements in the face for clues to mood and intention.
Homeland Security has developed a system to recognize, define and measure seven primary emotions and emotional cues that are reflected in contractions of facial muscles. MALINTENT identifies these emotions and relays the information back to a security screener almost in real-time.
This whole security array ? the scanners and screeners who make up the mobile lab ? is called "Future Attribute Screening Technology" ? or FAST ? because it is designed to get passengers through security in two to four minutes, and often faster.
If you're rushed or stressed, you may send out signals of anxiety, but FAST isn't fooled. It's already good enough to tell the difference between a harried traveler and a terrorist. Even if you sweat heavily by nature, FAST won't mistake you for a baddie.
"If you focus on looking at the person, you don't have to worry about detecting the device itself," said Bob Burns, MALINTENT's project leader. And while there are devices out there that look at individual cues, a comprehensive screening device like this has never before been put together.
While FAST's batting average is classified, Undersecretary for Science and Technology Adm. Jay Cohen declared the experiment a "home run."
As cold and inhuman as the electric eye may be, DHS says scanners are unbiased and nonjudgmental. "It does not predict who you are and make a judgment, it only provides an assessment in situations," said Burns. "It analyzes you against baseline stats when you walk in the door, it measures reactions and variations when you approach and go through the portal."
But the testing ? and the device itself ? are not without their problems. This invasive scanner, which catalogues your vital signs for non-medical reasons, seems like an uninvited doctor's exam and raises many privacy issues.
But DHS says this is not Big Brother. Once you are through the FAST portal, your scrutiny is over and records aren't kept. "Your data is dumped," said Burns. "The information is not maintained ? it doesn't track who you are."
DHS is now planning an even wider array of screening technology, including an eye scanner next year and pheromone-reading technology by 2010.
The team will also be adding equipment that reads body movements, called "illustrative and emblem cues." According to Burns, this is achievable because people "move in reaction to what they are thinking, more or less based on the context of the situation."
FAST may also incorporate biological, radiological and explosive detection, but for now the primary focus is on identifying and isolating potential human threats.
And because FAST is a mobile screening laboratory, it could be set up at entrances to stadiums, malls and in airports, making it ever more difficult for terrorists to live and work among us.
Burns noted his team's goal is to "restore a sense of freedom." Once MALINTENT is rolled out in airports, it could give us a future where we can once again wander onto planes with super-sized cosmetics and all the bottles of water we can carry ? and most importantly without that sense of foreboding that has haunted Americans since Sept. 11.
Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House
in D.C.; one from New York, another from Tennessee and the third, from Florida.
They go with a White House official to examine the fence.
The Florida contractor takes out a tape measure and does some
measuring, then works some figures with a pencil.
"Well", he says, "I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for
materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me."
The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then
says, "I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew,
and $100 profit for me."
The New York contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to
the White House official and whispers, "$2,700."
The official, incredulous, says, "You didn't even measure like the
other guys! How did you come up with such h... More ...
Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House
in D.C.; one from New York, another from Tennessee and the third, from Florida.
They go with a White House official to examine the fence.
The Florida contractor takes out a tape measure and does some
measuring, then works some figures with a pencil.
"Well", he says, "I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for
materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me."
The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then
says, "I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew,
and $100 profit for me."
The New York contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to
the White House official and whispers, "$2,700."
The official, incredulous, says, "You didn't even measure like the
other guys! How did you come up with such high figure?
The New York contractor whispers back, "$1000 for me,
$1000 for you, and we hire the guy from Tennessee to fix the fence.
Photo Ticket Cameras to Track Drivers Nationwide
Vendors plan to add spy technology to existing red light camera and speed
camera installations.
Private companies in the US are hoping to use red light cameras and speed cameras as the basis for a nationwide surveillance network similar to one that will be active next year in the UK. Redflex and American Traffic
Solutions (ATS), the top two photo enforcement providers in the US, are
quietly shopping new motorist tracking options to prospective state and local government clients. Redflex explained the company's latest
developments in an August 7 meeting with Homestead, Florida officials.
"We are moving into areas such as homeland security on a national level
and on a local level," Redflex regional director Cherif Elsadek said. "Optical
character recognition is our next roll out which will be coming out in a
few months -- probably about... More ...
Photo Ticket Cameras to Track Drivers Nationwide
Vendors plan to add spy technology to existing red light camera and speed
camera installations.
Private companies in the US are hoping to use red light cameras and speed cameras as the basis for a nationwide surveillance network similar to one that will be active next year in the UK. Redflex and American Traffic
Solutions (ATS), the top two photo enforcement providers in the US, are
quietly shopping new motorist tracking options to prospective state and local government clients. Redflex explained the company's latest
developments in an August 7 meeting with Homestead, Florida officials.
"We are moving into areas such as homeland security on a national level
and on a local level," Redflex regional director Cherif Elsadek said. "Optical
character recognition is our next roll out which will be coming out in a
few months -- probably about five months or so."
The technology would be integrated with the Australian company's existing
red light camera and speed camera systems. It allows officials to keep
full video records of passing motorists and their passengers, limited only by
available hard drive space and the types of cameras installed. To gain
public acceptance, the surveillance program is being initially sold as an
aid for police looking to solve Amber Alert cases and locate stolen cars.
"Imagine if you had 1500 or 2000 cameras out there that could look out for the partial plate or full plate number across the 21 states where we do business today," Elsadek said. "This is the next step for our technology."
ATS likewise is promoting motorist tracking technologies. In a recent
proposal to operate 200 speed cameras for the Arizona state police, the company explained that its ticketing cameras could be integrated into a national vehicle tracking database. This would allow a police officer to simply enter a license plate number into a laptop computer and receive an email as soon as a speed camera anywhere in the state recognized that plate.
Such programs would be fully consistent with existing law on searches and seizures. In the 2003 case Washington v. William Bradley Jackson, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that police could not use a physical GPS tracking device to monitor a suspect's movements without first obtaining a warrant. No warrant would be needed or restrictions applied to license plate tracking systems which do not require any physical contact. Instead, individual police officers could monitor the movements of suspected
criminals or even their wives and neighbors at any time.
In the past, police databases have been used to intimidate innocent
motorists. An Edmonton, Canada police sergeant, for example, found himself outraged after he read columnist Kerry Diotte criticize his city's photo radar operation in the Edmonton Sun newspaper. The sergeant looked up Diotte's personal information, and, without the assistance of electronic scanners, ordered his subordinates to "be on the lookout" for Diotte's BMW.
Eventually a team of officers followed Diotte to a local bar where they
hoped to trap the journalist and accuse him of driving under the influence of alcohol. Diotte took a cab home and the officers' plan was exposed after tapes of radio traffic were leaked to the press. Police later cleared themselves of any serious wrong-doing following an extensive
investigation.
In the UK, officials are planning to dramatically expand the use of
average speed cameras that track cars over distances as great as six miles.
Records on all vehicle movements taken from a nationwide network of cameras will be stored for five years in a central government Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) server, allowing police to keep tabs on criminals and political opponents. Work on the data center in north London began in 2005 and officials expect real-time, nationwide tracking capability to be available by January.
BY: Bj?rn Lid?n & Av Tomas Svedberg
Gothenburg, SWEDEN - MOTORCYCLE CLUBS' CHARITYMONEY NOT ACCEPTED. Each year motorcycle clubs in Gothenburg collects money that they donate to charity. This year like the previous year the money, close to 50 000 sek, were to be given to Br?cke ?sterg?rd, a daycare for children with functional disabilities. - but they do not want to to accept the money evidently because of being pressured, Clarence Granhage says.
Clarence Granhage is chairmen of the association Abate, which he describes as "a common overall trade-union for bikers".
USED TO BE GREATFUL Last Saturday, he was in the ride with 300 motorcyclists that rode through Gothenburg. It is in connection with the ride that the money is gathered. - we have donated money to Br?cke ?sterg?rd for several years and they have allways accepted them and been grateful for the money. But now they say they... More ...
MOTORCYCLE CLUBS' CHARITY MONEY NOT ACCEPTED
BY: Bj?rn Lid?n & Av Tomas Svedberg
Gothenburg, SWEDEN - MOTORCYCLE CLUBS' CHARITYMONEY NOT ACCEPTED. Each year motorcycle clubs in Gothenburg collects money that they donate to charity. This year like the previous year the money, close to 50 000 sek, were to be given to Br?cke ?sterg?rd, a daycare for children with functional disabilities. - but they do not want to to accept the money evidently because of being pressured, Clarence Granhage says.
Clarence Granhage is chairmen of the association Abate, which he describes as "a common overall trade-union for bikers".
USED TO BE GREATFUL Last Saturday, he was in the ride with 300 motorcyclists that rode through Gothenburg. It is in connection with the ride that the money is gathered. - we have donated money to Br?cke ?sterg?rd for several years and they have allways accepted them and been grateful for the money. But now they say they have been submitted to pressure and cannot accept the money.
Pressure from who? - I try to research where the pressure comes from, Clarence Granhage says.
Is this money somehow shady? - Not at all. It is common money from common working people. But somebody probably tries to get them to believe that it is, that there is something shady with the money.
How much money have you donated earlier? - Last year was a record year, then we handed over 50 000 sek, Clarence Granhage says. - Then we also took the children for motorcycle rides around on the yard. They showed us things they bought earlier, that they had not had possibility to purchase without these donations.
NO DOUBT ABOUT RESOLUTION Areamanager at Br?cke ?sterg?rd, Elisabeth Green tells GT that it is not a question about preasure. - We got information from the police that there could be links to criminal gangs among those that were coming to us. According to Green the police contacted the municipality which then contacted Br?cke.
Who made the decision not to accept the money? - It was our director Martin ?rnl?v, the board's chairman Per Eckerdal and I. - There was no hesitation to take this the decision. If there are links to criminal gangs it is an activity that we cannot continue. At the same time Elisabeth Green says that the children enjoyed the bikers visits a lot. They would sit on the bikes and go for rides. - but in the present situation we can not act in any other way than we have done, she says.
FOOTNOTE: GT has not been able to reach anyone responsible within the police for a comment.
Oregon - The president of the Oregon chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club was sentenced Monday to one year in jail and banned for five years from wearing club paraphernalia or associating with club members - including, apparently, his twin brother - for attempting to run two investigators off Interstate 5 in Eugene in April.
A Lane County jury last week convicted Justin James "Mooch" DeLoretto on five misdemeanor charges, but acquitted him on eight felonies.
Evidence in the trial showed DeLoretto, 27, followed the two officers for 90 miles while summoning two associates who joined him to box-in the unmarked sport utility vehicle driven by federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Special Agent James Packard and Eugene police Detective Dave Burroughs.
The April 23 incident began after DeLoretto encountered the pair as he was driving out of his rural driveway near Turner as they were driving in. The officers were investigating an assault at a ba... More ...
Oregon - The president of the Oregon chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club was sentenced Monday to one year in jail and banned for five years from wearing club paraphernalia or associating with club members - including, apparently, his twin brother - for attempting to run two investigators off Interstate 5 in Eugene in April.
A Lane County jury last week convicted Justin James "Mooch" DeLoretto on five misdemeanor charges, but acquitted him on eight felonies.
Evidence in the trial showed DeLoretto, 27, followed the two officers for 90 miles while summoning two associates who joined him to box-in the unmarked sport utility vehicle driven by federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Special Agent James Packard and Eugene police Detective Dave Burroughs.
The April 23 incident began after DeLoretto encountered the pair as he was driving out of his rural driveway near Turner as they were driving in. The officers were investigating an assault at a bar allegedly involving Mongols club members, according to trial testimony.
In court Monday, Deputy Lane County District Attorney Stephen Morgan described the incident as a "gang crime" in which anyone could have been the victim had they mistakenly turned into DeLoretto's driveway.
Evidence in the trial indicated DeLoretto thought the men were members of a rival motorcycle gang that reportedly is unhappy about DeLoretto starting a Mongols club chapter in Oregon. Morgan said DeLoretto put numerous motorists at risk because of his attitudes about gang membership.
"Gang behavior is not tolerated by this community or by the District Attorney's office," Morgan said. "This office will always take an aggressive stance (against gang crime)."
The jury had convicted DeLoretto on two counts each of menacing and reckless endangering and one count of reckless driving, all misdemeanors.
Morgan said DeLoretto has been affiliated with various gangs - including anti-racist skinheads and outlaw motorcycle gangs - since age 18. DeLoretto has been convicted for assault in two previous gang-related attacks, Morgan noted in a sentencing memorandum that included police reports an inch thick on the incidents.
Morgan said DeLoretto's attack on the officers has generated notoriety for the Mongols among prison inmates and is the subject of a Web page. In a phone call recorded at the Lane County Jail, DeLoretto said the incident will be a "good recruitment tool," Morgan said.
Defense lawyer Kelly Beckley urged Lane County Circuit Judge Debra Vogt to consider the incident in light of the jury's verdict acquitting DeLoretto of eight felony charges.
He said DeLoretto had been "outrageously overcharged" and his case used by the government to fan fears of gang activity in the community. He said Packard and Burroughs could have ended the incident at any time by activating their vehicle's emergency lights and siren to show they were police.
After Monday's hearing, in which at least seven uniformed officers and sheriff's deputies provided security, Burroughs disputed Beckley's assessment.
"Mr. DeLoretto knew who we were," Burroughs said. "He wanted to send a message. He wanted everybody to know the Mongols are the baddest boys in the state and won't take heat from anybody."
However, Burroughs added that investigators have learned that the California-based Mongols club, which holds a tight rein on chapters, is "very unhappy" with DeLoretto.
"They think he made a real bad decision. There is no reason to go to war with the police," Burroughs said. He added that the judge's decision to ban DeLoretto from associating with any motorcycle club or gang "is a huge victory."
In court, Vogt told DeLoretto that his crimes are serious and dangerous, yet she added that DeLoretto seems to feel justified in what he did.
"This (sentence) is not about a message to the community. It is about a message to you," she told DeLoretto. "Your actions were motivated by your association with that club. By my count, these officers were, potentially, your seventh and eighth victims. It tells me you have a problem."
Vogt ordered DeLoretto to have no contact with any motorcycle club or gang, and not to wear any paraphernalia suggesting membership or support for any. She said the sentence is designed to help DeLoretto break with his criminal patterns. Vogt ordered him to undergo polygraph testing to assure his compliance.
DeLoretto declined to comment in court before sentencing. His relatives and supporters also declined to be interviewed afterward.
Chief Deputy Lane County District Attorney Alex Gardner described the sentence as "appropriate." While gang membership is not a crime in itself, it often is a piece of evidence when prosecutors look at possible conspiracy charges, or when they consider how to handle a case, he said.
"When a person identifies with an outlaw motorcycle gang, they're making a statement about what is important to them in their life. They assume the baggage that comes with that," Gardner said.
Organized crime should always be a focus of law enforcement, particularly when budgets are shrinking, he added.
"The last thing this community needs is a stronger organized crime presence," Gardner said. "We need to do what we can to eliminate it in this community."
NATIONWIDE - ~Americans Are Living (And Dying) In A Militarized Police State~
Today, police departments across the United States more closely resemble an occupying army than they do public servants responding to calls for help. Police officers can now be seen wearing helmets and body armor and carrying AR-15's, just to deliver simple warrants. The militarization of our police departments not only gives the appearance of a military dictatorship but places the public at great risk.
No less than 70 percent of U.S. cities now have SWAT teams. In cities with a population of 50,000 or more, 90 percent have SWAT teams.
Eastern Kentucky University professor Peter Kraska told the Washington Post that SWAT teams are currently sent out 40,000 times a year in the U.S. During the 1980's, SWAT teams were only used 3,000 times a year. Most of the time, SWAT teams are being sent out to simply serve warrants on non-viol... More ...
THE BLUE GANG
BY: Dave Gibson
NATIONWIDE - ~Americans Are Living (And Dying) In A Militarized Police State~
Today, police departments across the United States more closely resemble an occupying army than they do public servants responding to calls for help. Police officers can now be seen wearing helmets and body armor and carrying AR-15's, just to deliver simple warrants. The militarization of our police departments not only gives the appearance of a military dictatorship but places the public at great risk.
No less than 70 percent of U.S. cities now have SWAT teams. In cities with a population of 50,000 or more, 90 percent have SWAT teams.
Eastern Kentucky University professor Peter Kraska told the Washington Post that SWAT teams are currently sent out 40,000 times a year in the U.S. During the 1980's, SWAT teams were only used 3,000 times a year. Most of the time, SWAT teams are being sent out to simply serve warrants on non-violent drug offenders.
Many municipalities are using Homeland Security grants to even purchase large armored vehicles. The Pittsburgh Police Department now uses their 20-ton armored truck complete with rotating turret and gun ports to deliver many of their warrants. Pittsburgh Police Sgt. Barry Budd recently told the Associate Press: "We live on being prepared for 'what if'."
Our police departments now regularly receive free surplus equipment from the U.S. military, which they readily accept. The training being given at many police academies appears to be the type of tactics one would use in Baghdad, rather than Baltimore. It would seem that our police officers are being readied for war, with the American public as the enemy. In the last several years, there has been a transformation from community policing to pre-emptive assaults
On January 24, 2006, Dr. Salvatore Culosi was shot and killed outside his house by a Fairfax County SWAT officer. Police used the SWAT team to serve a documents search warrant, after Dr. Culosi came under suspicion for taking sports bets. The investigation began after Fairfax Detective David Baucom solicited a bet with Dr. Culosi at a local sports bar.
Dr. Culosi was standing outside his home while talking with Det. Baucom, when SWAT Officer Deval Bullock quickly approached with his gun drawn and fatally shot Dr. Culosi in the chest. Court documents report that Culosi never made any threatening movements and made no attempt to run as he watched the SWAT team move in around him.
Dr. Culosi had no history of violence nor any criminal history whatsoever. He operated two successful optometry clinics at Wal-Marts in Manassas and Warrenton, Va. His parents have filed a $12 million lawsuit against the county of Fairfax, Va.
On the night of January 17, 2008, a police SWAT team surrounded Ryan Frederick?s home in Chesapeake, Va. The police were there to serve a drug warrant based on a tip from a criminal informant.
As usual, 28 year-old Ryan Frederick had gone to sleep early in order to leave the house before dawn for his job with a soda distributor. He awoke to a commotion of screams and the distinct sound of someone breaking down his front door.
Frederick?s house had been broken into a few days earlier, being a slight man of only a little over 100 pounds, Frederick feared for his safety. After the break-in, he purchased a gun.
Understandably frightened, Frederick grabbed his gun and when he got to the front of his house, he saw a man trying to crawl through the bottom portion of his door. Terrified that the intruders had returned, he fired.
The man he shot was not an aggressive burglar, nor a drug-crazed murderer, he was Det. Jarrod Shivers. The police detective and military veteran died almost immediately. Frederick was charged with first-degree murder and now sits in a jail cell awaiting trial.
As for the marijuana-growing operation for which police were looking, nothing was found. Only a very small amount of marijuana was discovered on the Frederick property, only enough to charge him with misdemeanor possession. Frederick has admitted that he uses marijuana occasionally but has never been involved with producing nor selling the drug.
Ryan Frederick has no prior history of violence, nor any criminal history whatsoever. He took care of his grandmother until her death two years ago, had a full-time job, and recently became engaged. In his spare time, he worked in his yard and tended to his Koi pond?Not quite the drug kingpin type!
However, based solely on the word of an informant, police obtained a warrant and stormed into this man?s house in the dark of night. The information turned out to be false, a police officer and father of three is dead, and a decent young man?s life is now over.
When Ryan Frederick awoke to the sounds of his home being invaded, he did what many of us would do. He acted reasonably when he grabbed his gun to defend himself and fired at a man who he believed was breaking into his home to do him harm.
Had the police simply went to his home during the daytime and knocked on his door, they could have questioned Frederick and found their information to be groundless. A little traditional police work could have saved the life of a police officer and the Shivers and Frederick families would have remained whole.
The Ryan Frederick story is truly frightening because this same scenario could play itself out in your home or mine. In the age of militarized police departments, we are all in danger.
Here are a few more recent victims of our militarized police departments:
Cheryl Lynn Noel, a mom who was shot by police for picking up her legally registered handgun. She went for her gun to defend herself after a SWAT team in the middle of the night, broke into her Baltimore, MD home. Police stormed her house that night because they claim to have found marijuana seeds in the family's trash can.
Rev. Acelyne Williams, 75 of Boston, died of a heart attack as a SWAT team broke into his home. Police actually had the wrong address.
92 year old Kathryn Johnston who was so fearful that she never left her home and would only open her door after friends who placed her groceries on the front porch had left, was killed by an Atlanta SWAT team last year. An erroneous tip from an informant was enough for the Atlanta Police Department to invade her home. Police have since admitted to lying to obtain a search warrant and to planting drugs in her home after killing her.
In 2006, a 52 member SWAT team stormed into a Denver home in search of a friendly small-stakes poker game. The same thing happened a few months later when SWAT and K-9 units barged in on a charity poker game in Baltimore.
When someone straps on body armor and large caliber weapons, their adrenalin levels begin to surge. As they arrive at the scene, those levels increase. When these now militarized police officers actually break into a dark home and begin shouting at terrified citizens, severe injury and death is likely to occur. It is beyond reason to employ these tactics on anyone other than hardened, violent criminals.
SWAT teams were created in the wake of the 1966 University of Texas sniper shooting spree by ex-marine Charles Whitman. Police did not have the firepower to reach Whitman, who was perched atop the 27-story clock tower. Civilians with hunting rifles came to the scene and joined with police in the effort to stop Whitman. Eventually, police officers and a well-armed citizen scaled the stairs of the tower and killed Whitman, but not before he killed 17 people and injured another 31. As a result of the incident, police departments began to assemble small teams of highly trained officers with equipment specific to sniper shootings, hostage situations, bank robberies, etc.
SWAT teams were designed to deal with very violent individuals who represent a clear and present threat to the public. However, they are now being used to execute warrants on non-violent offenders and even those who have no prior criminal history at all. Turning our neighborhood cops into shock troops will do nothing but erode public confidence in the police and endanger the lives of innocent Americans.
Recently, Boston?s new police commissioner William Fitchet announced that the department?s Street Crimes Unit will begin wearing military-style black uniforms, to instill a sense of "fear." At last week?s city council meeting, police Sgt. John Delaney told council members that the black uniforms would send the message that officers were serious.
whos going to protect us from the cops..? if this story dosent scare ya, it should. can you say "police state"?
BY: CATHY REDFERN and RANI GUPTA
California - TEMECULA: Task force targets outlaw biker gang on Interstate 15 ~Authorities say Mongols motorcycle gang is gathering this weekend at La Jolla Indian Reservation~
TEMECULA ---- At least 15 suspected members of the Mongols motorcycle gang were arrested Friday as part of a crackdown on bikers traveling through the area for a nationwide gathering at the La Jolla Indian Reservation, authorities said.
~Watch the video~
Sheriff's deputies and other law enforcement officers working as part of a 60-person task force stopped motorcycle riders on Interstate 15 and on side streets throughout the Temecula area on Friday for vehicle code violations, according to Temecula police Chief Jerry Williams.
The largest such stop occurred about 1:45 p.m., when several... More ...
whos going to protect us from the cops..? if this story dosent scare ya, it should. can you say "police state"?
BY: CATHY REDFERN and RANI GUPTA
California - TEMECULA: Task force targets outlaw biker gang on Interstate 15 ~Authorities say Mongols motorcycle gang is gathering this weekend at La Jolla Indian Reservation~
TEMECULA ---- At least 15 suspected members of the Mongols motorcycle gang were arrested Friday as part of a crackdown on bikers traveling through the area for a nationwide gathering at the La Jolla Indian Reservation, authorities said.
~Watch the video~
Sheriff's deputies and other law enforcement officers working as part of a 60-person task force stopped motorcycle riders on Interstate 15 and on side streets throughout the Temecula area on Friday for vehicle code violations, according to Temecula police Chief Jerry Williams.
The largest such stop occurred about 1:45 p.m., when several officers attempted to pull over 14 bikers heading south on I-15 near the San Diego County border, Williams said. After they refused to pull over, they were arrested on suspicion of failing to yield and their bikes were impounded, he added.
Traffic was backed up for miles on southbound I-15 Friday afternoon. Side streets near the freeway in Temecula were clogged as well, with cars trying to escape the freeway congestion and bypass the police action.
Williams said San Diego County Sheriff's Department officials informed Temecula officers on Wednesday that they had learned that members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club were planning a nationwide gathering at the La Jolla Indian Reservation campgrounds this weekend.
The police chief said the event was expected to draw between 300 and 800 people and was believed to be open anyone in the Mongols, a motorcycle group with chapters in California, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada and Mexico, according to the group's Web site.
The group has been designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the California attorney general's office and is perhaps best known for a 2002 fight between Mongols and Hells Angels in Laughlin, Nev., in which three bikers died.
On Thursday, Williams said, Temecula officers assembled a 60-member task force composed of Riverside County sheriff's deputies and law enforcement officers from other agencies including the California Highway Patrol, Murrieta Police Department and the U.S. Border Patrol.
"This task force of 60 people were out on the street patrolling with special instructions to keep an eye on the Mongols motorcycle gang for any violations whatsoever," Williams said.
Traffic halted
The stops slowed traffic on I-15 to a crawl in both directions for several hours Friday afternoon.
In the incident near the county line, Williams said the motorcyclists refused to pull over until law enforcement officers weaved through traffic, slowing the cars that were in front of the bikers.
Officers were then seen pointing weapons at the bikers and later inspecting their motorcycles on the side of the road.
Around the same time, a second group of bikers was stopped at gunpoint in the center divider of the freeway south of Rancho California Road.
Williams said weapons were drawn because the officers were dealing with an "outlaw motorcycle gang."
Those two stops created major traffic problems, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Ron Thatcher. The agency put five additional cars and a helicopter on duty to stand by, he said.
"All I know is that it screwed up the freeway pretty badly," Thatcher said. "They were stopping them left and right."
Drivers also expressed their frustration with the traffic jam.
Dwight Stinson of San Diego said he has been driving north to Murrieta to pick up his son every other weekend for seven years and never saw traffic so bad. It was worse heading south, he said, estimating that the line of stopped cars extended at least 10 miles.
"I saw a lot of cops that had pulled bikers over for some reason," he said. "I didn't know what to think."
Williams said the traffic stops were necessary to ensure the Mongols did not start trouble in Temecula. He also noted the traffic problem was caused mainly by drivers who slowed down to watch the officers.
"It's part of doing business," he said. "We weren't happy about it either, but we have to do our job."
Alarmed onlookers
Williams said Mongols also were stopped throughout the city and an unknown number of them were issued citations or given warnings for violations such as having handlebars too high.
Kyle Cosgrove, a cashier at a Shell station near Temecula Parkway, said the streets around the station were filled with officers and motorcyclists when he got to work at 11 a.m. Four police cars were still parked near the station facing the freeway about 4:30 p.m.
Cosgrove said he saw about 50 motorcyclists during that time, most accompanied by several officers in three police cars. He saw just one arrest, he said, and one stop in which he saw the officers use weapons. In that case, four officers carried "assault rifles," three of which were down at the officers' sides and one of which was pointed at the motorcyclist. It was controlled, he said, but disconcerting nonetheless.
"Everyone kept asking us what was going on," he said. "It was pretty weird, actually, in an alarming way."
Williams estimated about 150 of the Mongols traveled through the area.
Those arrested were taken to a command post in a cordoned-off section of the parking lot at the Community Recreation Center on Rancho Vista Road in Temecula, where scores of officers gathered around a motor home that served as a mobile operations center.
By day's end, one of several large shade structures was covering three rows of folding chairs filled with handcuffed motorcyclists while officers sat at two folding tables processing those who had been arrested.
The men were calm, many of them sitting slumped over to one side or the other, their feet chained and their hands cuffed behind their backs.
One Temecula mother was surprised to see the police when she pulled into the parking lot to pick up her 10-year-old daughter at swim practice.
"I was going to park there and then I saw the police," Sonja Clause said. "It's somewhat shocking."
Looking ahead
The task force will remain on the lookout for Mongols this weekend, but the police chief said he doubted there would be more stops on I-15.
"Traffic was going to be an issue anyway," he said, making reference to this weekend's Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival, "and we're going to do our best to keep from compounding that."
Williams said it was necessary to create the task force and crack down on the Mongols because of their reputation for being dangerous, especially in groups.
"We're not dealing with your Sunday motorcycle group that gets together every weekend and rides," he said. "We're taking about an outlaw motorcycle gang. Problems are created when they get together in large groups."
He cited the 2002 incident in Laughlin, in which several Mongols pleaded guilty to various charges in the riot that left three men dead. News reports say that one member of the Mongols pleaded guilty to shooting two Hells Angels members. A member of the Mongols was stabbed to death.
The California attorney general's office in a 2005 report on organized crime counted the Mongols as one of the three most prominent "outlaw motorcycle gangs" in California, along with the Hells Angels and the Vagos. An outlaw motorcycle gang is defined as an organization "whose members utilize their motorcycle gang affiliation as a conduit for criminal enterprises."
"One of the best ways to nip something like that in the bud is to give them a strong show of force; show them there's a lot of police officers here and we're proactive in our enforcement," Williams said. "They tend to not want to hang around an area like that."
In San Diego County, sheriff's deputies are planning to watch the Mongol gathering carefully, according to Lt. Mike Munsey.
"We do have extra people on duty," said Munsey, who declined to specify a number.
The lieutenant said he knew of no Mongols bikers who were stopped Friday for traffic violations in San Diego County. By Friday evening, however, dispatchers were advising officers that members of the group had been spotted in the area.
Munsey said sheriff's deputies are looking for criminal activity caused by the motorcyclists, but also are "watching so people don't create havoc with the Mongols."
"It could go either way," he said. "We're just trying to keep the peace, that's what we do, because we know the Mongols and the Hells Angels don't get along."
Though Munsey knew of no specific threat by the Hells Angels, he said "they do have a presence in the county as they do in almost every place in the western United States."
Munsey suggested that anyone who has a problem with bikers this weekend call their local law enforcement agency, though he noted that "usually these guys won't bother you if you mind your own business and leave them alone."
UK TEESIDE $5.64
HONG KONG HONG KONG $5.62
UK MILFORD HAVEN $5.56
UK READING $5.56
UK NORWICH $5.54
GERMANY FRANKFURT $5.29
DENMARK COPENHAGEN $5.08
NORWAY STAVANGER $5.07
NORWAY OSLO $4.93
ITALY ROME $4.86
TURKEY ISTANBUL $4.85
PORTUGAL LISBON $4.80
KOREA SEOUL $4.71
SWITZERLAND GENEVA $4.56
KOREA KOJE/OKPO $4.53
AUSTRIA VIENNA $4.50
CROATIA ZAGREB $4.32
JAPAN TOKYO $3.84
AUSTRALIA SYDNEY $2.63
CAMBODIA PHNOM PENH $2.57
TAIWAN TAIPEI $2.47
GEORGIA TBILISI $2.31
LAOS VIENTIANE $1.66
THAILAND BANGKOK $1.60
CHINA TIANJIN $1.54
CHINA SHANGHAI $1.48
RUSSIA MOSCOW $1.45
KAZAKHSTAN ALMATY $1.36
KAZAKHSTAN ATYRAU $1.35
TAJIKISTAN DUSHANBE $1.32
AZERBAIJAN BAKU $1.15
VENEZUELA CARACAS $0.14
here in the USofA they say its the amount of gas we use thats driving... More ...
UK TEESIDE $5.64
HONG KONG HONG KONG $5.62
UK MILFORD HAVEN $5.56
UK READING $5.56
UK NORWICH $5.54
GERMANY FRANKFURT $5.29
DENMARK COPENHAGEN $5.08
NORWAY STAVANGER $5.07
NORWAY OSLO $4.93
ITALY ROME $4.86
TURKEY ISTANBUL $4.85
PORTUGAL LISBON $4.80
KOREA SEOUL $4.71
SWITZERLAND GENEVA $4.56
KOREA KOJE/OKPO $4.53
AUSTRIA VIENNA $4.50
CROATIA ZAGREB $4.32
JAPAN TOKYO $3.84
AUSTRALIA SYDNEY $2.63
CAMBODIA PHNOM PENH $2.57
TAIWAN TAIPEI $2.47
GEORGIA TBILISI $2.31
LAOS VIENTIANE $1.66
THAILAND BANGKOK $1.60
CHINA TIANJIN $1.54
CHINA SHANGHAI $1.48
RUSSIA MOSCOW $1.45
KAZAKHSTAN ALMATY $1.36
KAZAKHSTAN ATYRAU $1.35
TAJIKISTAN DUSHANBE $1.32
AZERBAIJAN BAKU $1.15
VENEZUELA CARACAS $0.14
here in the USofA they say its the amount of gas we use thats driving the price up...well dosent china use more then we do? hummm. and venezuela's is 14 cents a gallon? well when oil is supposed to be at 130 bucks a barrel, and add the cost to refine it, it looks like there losing big money there per gallon. somethings not adding up...hahaha not that i havent known that way back in the 70s.
I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by this summer, and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?
We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to 'hurt' ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea has come up with a plan that can really work.
Please read on and join with us!
By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $2.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $3.95 for regular unleaded in my town.
Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..Not the Sellers!
I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by this summer, and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?
We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to 'hurt' ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea has come up with a plan that can really work.
Please read on and join with us!
By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $2.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $3.95 for regular unleaded in my town.
Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..Not the Sellers!
With the price of gasoline going up more each day, WE, THE CONSUMERS, MUST TAKE ACTION!
The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.
How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas.
But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.
Here's the PLAN: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. And under no circumstances buy from CITCO. (CITGO is owned by Hugo Chavez, the dictator of Venezuela, and an enemy of US) If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.
But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!
I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... And those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people,
we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.
If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!
If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!
Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people.
That's all! Please, do it now!!!
(If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, I am a mathematician. So trust me on this one.
How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days !!!
I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you! Acting together we can make a difference.
If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $2.00 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.
We may have to hit SHELL & BP too! But lets send a message to Mobil/Exxon First! Remember, they are the ones that brag about their
$40,000,000,000.00 PROFIT LAST YEAR.
Friends, That's FORTY BILLION OF OUR AMERICAN DOLLARS!
It's TRUE, One of the American Dreams is to have a profitable business. However, Energy is the blood of the American economy.
For this company to destroy our economy and Put the hardship on it's fellow Citizens is just UN-AMERICAN and pure simple ! GREED! This is totally Unacceptable!
Keep This Going!
PLEASE!
SEND THIS TO 10 OF YOUR FRIENDS NOW!
hahaha i posted a blog about how to send free E-cards to the troops overseas, and BK deleted it. so heres to you BIKER KISS.
You unpatriotic self centered money hungry idiots need to at least try to support something other then your pockets. i hope this site ends up with no paying members, and I'm going to let the sponsors that advertise here know just what you think about our troops overseas. they wont like negative publicity, specially when it comes to our troops.
Well i now realize that my thinking about people and the Internet is true. Ive always said wait a few months and the real person will show through. well after seeing the blogs the last few months, I'm shocked at how the people i thought were so good seemed to change in an instant.
I personally think that you all should be ashamed of yourselves. and not to my surprise, mostly the women. Its no wonder i haven't been wanting to have anything to do with any women here. anyway, you all bend over, your getting a spanking.
A cowboy appeared before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.
"Have you ever done anything of particular merit?" St. Peter asked. "Well, I can think of one thing," the cowboy offered. "Once, on a trip to the Black Hills out in South Dakota , I came upon a gang of bikers, who were threatening a young woman. I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn't listen. So, I approached the largest and most heavily tattooed biker and smacked him in his face, kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground. I yelled, "Now, back off!! Or I'll kick the shit out of all of you!" St. Peter was impressed, "When did this happen?"
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.? He then asked, ?Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?' Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied ?Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German?. You could have heard a pin drop!
There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?"
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?" Once again, dead silence.
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of 'empire building' by George Bush. He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return." It became very quiet in the room.
FX greenlights Kurt Sutter's 'Crow'
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER
FX has greenlit the pilot "Forever Sam Crow," a drama from "The Shield" exec producer Kurt Sutter about the world of biker gangs in Northern California.
Sutter wrote the script and will exec produce along with Art and John Linson; project first hit FX's doorstep last fall
Casting is under way, along with the search for a director; the exec producers and FX hope to get cameras rolling sometime early next year. FX and Linson Films are producing, while another studio will be brought aboard at a later date.
"Forever Sam Crow" refers to the nickname of the group at the center of the project: The Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (Samcro). Project was the brainchild of John Linson, who knows several motorcycle club members in Northern California.
To research the script, Sutter also spent several days with members of the Hell's Angels in Oakland.
More ...
FX greenlights Kurt Sutter's 'Crow'
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER
FX has greenlit the pilot "Forever Sam Crow," a drama from "The Shield" exec producer Kurt Sutter about the world of biker gangs in Northern California.
Sutter wrote the script and will exec produce along with Art and John Linson; project first hit FX's doorstep last fall
Casting is under way, along with the search for a director; the exec producers and FX hope to get cameras rolling sometime early next year. FX and Linson Films are producing, while another studio will be brought aboard at a later date.
"Forever Sam Crow" refers to the nickname of the group at the center of the project: The Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (Samcro). Project was the brainchild of John Linson, who knows several motorcycle club members in Northern California.
To research the script, Sutter also spent several days with members of the Hell's Angels in Oakland.
"These are regular guys," Sutter said. "But I didn't doubt for one second that they couldn't slit my throat if need be."
Set in fictional Charming,Calif.,"Forever Sam Crow" revolves around 33-year-old Jackson "Jax" Teller, the vice president of Samcro and son of the late club founder. According to Sutter, the character is at a crossroads in life and figuring out his place in both his blood family and his brotherhood family.
Key characters also include Jax's mother, Gemma Teller, and stepfather, Samcro president Clay Morrow.
Sutter said he wanted to stay away from one obvious plot device -- making Samcro a meth-dealing group -- and instead has the gang maintaining a gun-running operation.
Scribe said he also wanted to paint a more realistic portrait of motorcycle club members, noting that most TV and film projects depict them either as completely ruthless outlaws or as lovable teddy bears with a gruff exterior.
Sutter and Art and John Linson originally pitched "...
