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 The secretive Bilderberg Group, which is set to meet in Dresden, Germany later this week, will discuss how to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president, the possibility of mass riots as a result of wealth inequality, the migrant crisis, as well as the United Kingdom’s vote on leaving the European Union.
The influential meeting of bankers, politicians, media heads and business moguls has released its official participant list and agenda for 2016.
As per usual, the list of topics to be discussed is extremely vague;
Current events
China
Europe: migration, growth, reform, vision, unity
Middle East
Russia
US political landscape, economy: growth, debt, reform
Cyber security
Geo-politics of energy and commodity prices
Precariat and middle class
Technological innovation Full article: http://www.eutimes.net/2016/06/bilderberg-2016-to-talk-trump-riots-migrants-brexit/FULL PARTICIPANT LIST CHAIRMAN Castries, Henri de (FRA), Chairman and CEO, AXA Group Aboutaleb, Ahmed (NLD), Mayor, City of Rotterdam Achleitner, Paul M. (DEU), Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche Bank AG Agius, Marcus (GBR), Chairman, PA Consulting Group Ahrenkiel, Thomas (DNK), Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence Albuquerque, Maria Luís (PRT), Former Minister of Finance; MP, Social Democratic Party Alierta, César (ESP), Executive Chairman and CEO, Telefónica Altman, Roger C. (USA), Executive Chairman, Evercore Altman, Sam (USA), President, Y Combinator Andersson, Magdalena (SWE), Minister of Finance Applebaum, Anne (USA), Columnist Washington Post; Director of the Transitions Forum, Legatum Institute Apunen, Matti (FIN), Director, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA Aydin-Düzgit, Senem (TUR), Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chair, Istanbul Bilgi University Barbizet, Patricia (FRA), CEO, Artemis Barroso, José M. Durão (PRT), Former President of the European Commission Baverez, Nicolas (FRA), Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Bengio, Yoshua (CAN), Professor in Computer Science and Operations Research, University of Montreal Benko, René (AUT), Founder and Chairman of the Advisory Board, SIGNA Holding GmbH Bernabè, Franco (ITA), Chairman, CartaSi S.p.A. Beurden, Ben van (NLD), CEO, Royal Dutch Shell plc Blanchard, Olivier (FRA), Fred Bergsten Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute Botín, Ana P. (ESP), Executive Chairman, Banco Santander Brandtzæg, Svein Richard (NOR), President and CEO, Norsk Hydro ASA Breedlove, Philip M. (INT), Former Supreme Allied Commander Europe Brende, Børge (NOR), Minister of Foreign Affairs Burns, William J. (USA), President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Cebrián, Juan Luis (ESP), Executive Chairman, PRISA and El País Charpentier, Emmanuelle (FRA), Director, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology Coeuré, Benoît (INT), Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank Costamagna, Claudio (ITA), Chairman, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. Cote, David M. (USA), Chairman and CEO, Honeywell Cryan, John (DEU), CEO, Deutsche Bank AG Dassù, Marta (ITA), Senior Director, European Affairs, Aspen Institute Dijksma, Sharon A.M. (NLD), Minister for the Environment Döpfner, Mathias (DEU), CEO, Axel Springer SE Dudley, Robert (GBR), Group Chief Executive, BP plc Dyvig, Christian (DNK), Chairman, Kompan Ebeling, Thomas (DEU), CEO, ProSiebenSat.1 Elkann, John (ITA), Chairman and CEO, EXOR; Chairman, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Enders, Thomas (DEU), CEO, Airbus Group Engel, Richard (USA), Chief Foreign Correspondent, NBC News Fabius, Laurent (FRA), President, Constitutional Council Federspiel, Ulrik (DNK), Group Executive, Haldor Topsøe A/S Ferguson, Jr., Roger W. (USA), President and CEO, TIAA Ferguson, Niall (USA), Professor of History, Harvard University Flint, Douglas J. (GBR), Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc Garicano, Luis (ESP), Professor of Economics, LSE; Senior Advisor to Ciudadanos Georgieva, Kristalina (INT), Vice President, European Commission Gernelle, Etienne (FRA), Editorial Director, Le Point Gomes da Silva, Carlos (PRT), Vice Chairman and CEO, Galp Energia Goodman, Helen (GBR), MP, Labour Party Goulard, Sylvie (INT), Member of the European Parliament Graham, Lindsey (USA), Senator Grillo, Ulrich (DEU), Chairman, Grillo-Werke AG; President, Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie Gruber, Lilli (ITA), Editor-in-Chief and Anchor “Otto e mezzo”, La7 TV Hadfield, Chris (CAN), Colonel, Astronaut Halberstadt, Victor (NLD), Professor of Economics, Leiden University Harding, Dido (GBR), CEO, TalkTalk Telecom Group plc Hassabis, Demis (GBR), Co-Founder and CEO, DeepMind Hobson, Mellody (USA), President, Ariel Investment, LLC Hoffman, Reid (USA), Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn Höttges, Timotheus (DEU), CEO, Deutsche Telekom AG Jacobs, Kenneth M. (USA), Chairman and CEO, Lazard Jäkel, Julia (DEU), CEO, Gruner + Jahr Johnson, James A. (USA), Chairman, Johnson Capital Partners Jonsson, Conni (SWE), Founder and Chairman, EQT Jordan, Jr., Vernon E. (USA), Senior Managing Director, Lazard Frères & Co. LLC Kaeser, Joe (DEU), President and CEO, Siemens AG Karp, Alex (USA), CEO, Palantir Technologies Kengeter, Carsten (DEU), CEO, Deutsche Börse AG Kerr, John (GBR), Deputy Chairman, Scottish Power Kherbache, Yasmine (BEL), MP, Flemish Parliament Kissinger, Henry A. (USA), Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc. Kleinfeld, Klaus (USA), Chairman and CEO, Alcoa Kravis, Henry R. (USA), Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Kravis, Marie-Josée (USA), Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute Kudelski, André (CHE), Chairman and CEO, Kudelski Group Lagarde, Christine (INT), Managing Director, International Monetary Fund Levin, Richard (USA), CEO, Coursera Leyen, Ursula von der (DEU), Minister of Defence Leysen, Thomas (BEL), Chairman, KBC Group Logothetis, George (GRC), Chairman and CEO, Libra Group Maizière, Thomas de (DEU), Minister of the Interior, Federal Ministry of the Interior Makan, Divesh (USA), CEO, ICONIQ Capital Malcomson, Scott (USA), Author; President, Monere Ltd. Markwalder, Christa (CHE), President of the National Council and the Federal Assembly McArdle, Megan (USA), Columnist, Bloomberg View Michel, Charles (BEL), Prime Minister Micklethwait, John (USA), Editor-in-Chief, Bloomberg LP Minton Beddoes, Zanny (GBR), Editor-in-Chief, The Economist Mitsotakis, Kyriakos (GRC), President, New Democracy Party Morneau, Bill (CAN), Minister of Finance Mundie, Craig J. (USA), Principal, Mundie & Associates Murray, Charles A. (USA), W.H. Brady Scholar, American Enterprise Institute Netherlands, H.M. the King of the (NLD) Noonan, Michael (IRL), Minister for Finance Noonan, Peggy (USA), Author, Columnist, The Wall Street Journal O’Leary, Michael (IRL), CEO, Ryanair Plc Ollongren, Kajsa (NLD), Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam Özel, Soli (TUR), Professor, Kadir Has University Papalexopoulos, Dimitri (GRC), CEO, Titan Cement Co. Petraeus, David H. (USA), Chairman, KKR Global Institute Philippe, Edouard (FRA), Mayor of Le Havre Pind, Søren (DNK), Minister of Justice Ratti, Carlo (ITA), Director, MIT Senseable City Lab Reisman, Heather M. (CAN), Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc. Rubin, Robert E. (USA), Co-Chair, Council on Foreign Relations Rutte, Mark (NLD), Prime Minister Sawers, John (GBR), Chairman and Partner, Macro Advisory Partners Schäuble, Wolfgang (DEU), Minister of Finance Schieder, Andreas (AUT), Chairman, Social Democratic Group Schmidt, Eric E. (USA), Executive Chairman, Alphabet Inc. Scholten, Rudolf (AUT), CEO, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG Schwab, Klaus (INT), Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum Sikorski, Radoslaw (POL), Senior Fellow, Harvard University; Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Simsek, Mehmet (TUR), Deputy Prime Minister Sinn, Hans-Werner (DEU), Professor for Economics and Public Finance, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Skogen Lund, Kristin (NOR), Director General, The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise Standing, Guy (GBR), Co-President, BIEN; Research Professor, University of London Thiel, Peter A. (USA), President, Thiel Capital Tillich, Stanislaw (DEU), Minister-President of Saxony Vetterli, Martin (CHE), President, NSF Wahlroos, Björn (FIN), Chairman, Sampo Group, Nordea Bank, UPM-Kymmene Corporation Wallenberg, Jacob (SWE), Chairman, Investor AB Weder di Mauro, Beatrice (CHE), Professor of Economics, University of Mainz Wolf, Martin H. (GBR), Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times |
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Not a year since last year's flood, Houston is underwater once again. 7 dead so-far, two of the deaths happened not a mile from my home. This one was worse than last year's which had been the worst I'd seen since Allison in 2001. And as if this wasn't bad enough, the latest batch of storms just started as I type this.     http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Scenes-from-downtown-during-Houston-s-Tax-Day-7256027.php#item-38488Update, April 19: The National Weather Service now reports that Monday's rainfall total at George Bush Airport was 9.92 inches, Houston's second rainiest day on record, next to 10.34 inches on June 26, 1989 during Tropical Storm Allison. Data from the NWS previously indicated a higher total, which would have been Houston's rainiest day on record. The discrepancy was due to an equipment malfunction at the airport where the measurements were taken, the NWS says.
Original post: Houston is in the midst of an unbelievable deluge, with already more rainfall in a single day than any hurricane to ever hit the hurricane-prone city. The National Weather Service has called Monday’s flooding “historic.”
More than 21,000 square miles of southeast Texas is now in a flash flood warning, but the worst flooding seems to be occurring in western parts of the Houston metro area. More than 17 inches of rainfall has fallen in just the past 24 hours in some neighborhoods, with about 1 foot of rain coming just since midnight—already making Monday the rainiest day ever in Houston before noon. At Houston’s George Bush International Airport, 11.16 inches fell by 10 a.m., breaking the all-time daily record of 10.34 inches set on June 26, 1989. And it’s still falling. More rain is in the forecast for the next 36 hours or so. Update, 6:35 pm ET: The rain has stopped for now, with 11.75 inches measured at George Bush Airport on Monday.
Officials in Harris County, where Houston is located, have declared a disaster area and estimate at least 1,000 homes have already been flooded. More than half the watersheds in Harris County are experiencing significant flooding, with at least one cresting above its estimated 500-year flood mark, a new all-time record. Bayous and creeks have overtopped levees in some parts of Houston, and the water continues to rise, with downtown Houston also in the direct path of some of the worst floodwaters.
Since the 1950s, Houston has seen a 167 percent increase in the heaviest downpours—defined as the number of days where total precipitation exceeded the heaviest 1 percent of all local events—one of the fastest rates of increase anywhere in the country. That’s exactly what’s expected to happen as the climate warms, since warmer air can hold more water vapor than cooler air.
An increase in the frequency of heavy rain events has long been considered one of the likeliest consequences of global warming, and a recent comprehensive National Academies report endorsed this link. Blocking weather patterns like this weekend’s may be happening more often due to climate change, boosting the likelihood of heavy rainfall events, according to a new study published last week.
This is at least the fourth major flood in the Houston area in just the past 12 months, with previous flooding events last May, June, and October pummeling Texas hard. The triangle between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio is sometimes referred to as “flash flood alley”
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/04/18/houston_flooding_is_historic_and_linked_to_climate_change.html |
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"Reality" TV has now gone so far as to place willing participants in a county jail for 60 days: Jail isn't supposed to be a pretty place. Often, it gets downright ugly.
As Barbra and Zac entered the Clark County Jail in Jeffersonville, Indiana, they were patted down, fingerprinted and handed prison uniforms. It was the first day of their lockup in a place known for violence and illicit activity.
"It's really hitting me how real this is," Barbra said. "I have never been in jail before."
Most inmates claim they are innocent, but Barbra and Zac really are. They are two of the seven volunteers going undercover as inmates to expose what really happens behind bars for a radical new A&E reality TV series "60 Days In." A&E is partly owned by The Walt Disney Company, ABC News' parent company.
Barbra is a military wife and a stay-at-home mom. Zac is a former marine who served in Afghanistan and wants to become a DEA agent.
"Seeking a career in law enforcement, I felt this would give me perspective that no other law enforcement officer has ever had," Zac said.
For "60 Days In," these innocent people are given fake identities and serve time for fake crimes, but the consequences are very real.
"It's miserable," Barbra said. "That's the only word I can think of to describe it. This place is completely miserable."
The show comes at a time when jails and prisons across the country have been in the headlines for violence and corruption. Just last week, an inmate fight at the Santa Clara County Jail in Santa Clara, California, was caught on camera -- just one day after the sheriff installed cameras inside the jail at her own expense.
"It looked like two people, one hit him with the shoulder then the fight was on," said Sheriff Laurie Smith. "Then a lot of other people jumped into the fight."
Crime and misconduct at the hands of prison staff is on the rise too, increasing 90 percent in 10 years, according to the U.S. Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Last month, the FBI arrested 46 corrections officers in Georgia for drug trafficking and smuggling contraband inside prisons. They have yet to enter pleas.
In 2014, Sheriff Jamey Noel took over a jail in Clark County, Indiana, that was riddled with corruption and violence.
"The inmates were running the jail," Noel said. "I had parents blowing my phone up or emailing me, saying 'Hey, I'm sorry my son got arrested,' basically, 'but he's getting more drugs in jail then he could get out on the street.'"
So he decided to team up with A&E and allowed hundreds of their reality show cameras to be posted all over the facility to uncover it all. Noel said he worried he was putting his career on the line by allowing cameras into the jail.
"There's a lot of sleepless nights," he said. "But I'll be honest with you, what we learned far outweighed my personal reputation."
Dan Abrams, ABC News' chief legal correspondent, hosts the reunion show.
"This was the perfect jail to do something like this at," Abrams said. "It had corruption, it had problems. It was known for being a violent, sort of terrible place, and this new sheriff comes in and says, 'I've got to figure out how to fix it.'"
No one on the inside, neither the guards nor their fellow inmates, knew that Zac, Barbra and the other participants were actually part of the reality show. Only Sheriff Noel and his chief deputy knew the truth. Abrams said there were real safety risks.
"If I were the sheriff, I would have been really nervous," he said. "There were cameras everywhere. In theory they were monitoring as much as possible."
The participants were sent into the jail only armed with surveillance cameras, a cover story and a safe word if they want to be pulled out before the 60 days are over.
"We spent a lot of time making sure they knew what their cover story was, what their cover name was," Noel said.
All seven participants went to "jail bootcamp" to learn how to deal with the unwritten rules of life on the inside, but the training did little to prepare Barbra for the harsh reality of jail life.
"I've only been in jail for two days and it feels like I have been here for two months," she said.
With his military experience, Zac was able to adjust more easily.
"The nice thing about being in jail as opposed to being in Afghanistan is in Afghanistan, you don't know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are," he said. "In jail, you kind of just have to treat everybody like a bad guy."
During his stint, Zac was sent to C-Pod, otherwise known as the most drug-ridden part of the jail. He learned the early warning signs that a fight was about to break out when a prisoner started casually putting on his shoes.
"It's called 'lacing up,'" Noel said. "They're going to put on their shoes on to fight."
Zac stayed in his bunk, out of the fray, which he said was difficult for him.
"I had to keep myself in check," he said. "I cannot get involved in this situation. I don't want to jeopardize the program, didn't want to blow my cover."
After the fight, the inmates in C-Pod were unwilling to cooperate with officers to explain what happened. This no-snitch culture is part of the reason why Noel decided to open his prison up to A&E's cameras.
"The inmates don't like to talk to me, the corrections officers either," he said. "They immediately get branded as a snitch."
But the fake inmates have no qualms about sharing information with the sheriff.
"They like to make their drugs in jail," Barbra said. "They basically take their drugs that they're supposed to be taking during the medication time. They combine the medications together, they'll roll it up in tampon papers and smoke it or they will melt down jolly ranchers and mix it with jolly ranchers and suck on it."
Close to 47 percent of prisoners are locked up for drug offenses, according to OIG. The reality show cameras are helping get the drugs out of the jail.
They were sneaking drugs in with new arrests, they were using their body cavities, several arrests were made in this program after that," Noel said.
But all that surveillance doesn't necessary mean a jail is safe. One of the show's participants was punched in the face during filming -- all of which was caught on camera.
Zac, Barbra and the other participants were compensated for the time they spent in jail, and yet not all of them make it through the 60 days, though Zac and Barbra both managed to tough it out.
"The sleeping conditions are extremely difficult," Barbra said. "You get a mat and you're on a metal bunk. Everything's very dirty. It's extremely cold in there. The first few weeks were absolutely miserable."
"60 Days In" may be a reality show but the sheriff says he's implemented real changes, including firing some corrections officers -- "we had several that actually quit," he said. "It was touch, it's not easy."
In the end, Barbra said the experience made her a better person.
"I'm so grateful for life," she said. "I have this new awesome vision for myself and for my family.... I'm so open to everyone now. I'm kind. I'm not as opinionated as I used to be. I'm all here." http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/people-criminals-volunteered-jail-60-days/story?id=37547076http://www.aetv.com/shows/60-days-in |
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Not even a galaxy far, far away is safe from the NWO machine. I could care less what people do behind closed doors as long as it is between two consensual adults. That being said, when Disney acquired ownership of the Star Wars franchise, I knew we'd be seeing it used down the road as a tool, for what better way to push NWO propaganda than by using the biggest franchise in film history: Two months and two billion box office dollars later, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has reaped huge returns for Disney with its most progressive episode yet. Now that Daisy Ridley’s Rey and John Boyega’s Finn have given the Star Wars franchise its first female Jedi and black lead, respectively, does its fearless director J.J. Abrams see a future for a gay character in the galaxy?
“Of course!” Abrams said Thursday night at his Bad Robot HQ, where he hosted the US-Ireland Alliance’s annual Oscar Wilde Awards ahead of Sunday’s Oscars, where The Force Awakens is nominated in five categories. “When I talk about inclusivity it’s not excluding gay characters. It’s about inclusivity. So of course.”
By Abrams’ logic, the sprawling Star Wars universe couldn’t possibly exist without a gay populace—even if we haven’t seen a single character identified as gay thus far. “I would love it,” he said. “To me, the fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility. So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn’t be a homosexual character in that world.”
Amid the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, Abrams has been vocal about the need for Hollywood to not just talk about but take action in the name of diversity.
“I think we all have a hell of a lot to do, and I think it is insane to me that we still have to have a conversation about inclusivity. It’s shameful,” he told The Daily Beast last month. “We all need to do better to represent this world. It’s something that is important to me, and is something that we’re focusing on at [production company] Bad Robot.
Maybe, as some hopeful Star Wars fans have theorized, The Force Awakens already introduced the franchise’s first gay character. Who wouldn’t ship Boyega’s Finn and Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron?
Abrams, who also produced the upcoming 10 Cloverfield Lane, served as emcee for the night feting Sarah Greene, Room director Lenny Abrahamson, and late-night host James Corden, who later joined fellow honoree Snow Patrol in a musical performance. But he had special words for his Star Wars star Ridley, who landed the career-making role of plucky heroine Rey after an “insane search” because she “could believably and authentically be vulnerable, and tough, and beautiful, and relatable, confident, funny, terrified, heartsick, and physical.”
She can also be cheeky, dropping two adorable F-bombs in her acceptance speech with her dad in the audience. “I’m pretty new to this,” Ridley beamed, describing a pre-fame commercial shoot that demanded she cheerfully scarf down less than appetizing food, take after take: “The pork pie was really fucking grim.”
On the (Irish) green carpet, Abrams praised Ridley, sharing his delight at the fan following she’s built among both girls and boys. Optimistic, he said conversations about diversity and inclusiveness are happening more and more behind closed doors.
“It’s in private meetings, it’s in private phone calls, it’s in interviews,” he said. “I know that this will happen. I know it will. Not just on camera but behind the camera.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/26/j-j-abrams-gay-characters-coming-to-star-wars.htmlA lot of people have shown support for the LGBT community. But one that surely says it all is Disney. Even Disney is supporting the LGBT community.
The children’s channel is showing its support for gender equality by launching its first-ever gay couple!
Disney Channel has first introduced a lesbian couple on “Good Luck Charlie” in 2014. Now, they have introduced its first male couple on “Gravity Falls,” reports Hilton.
And they are Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland! After the Sheriff saved the Deputy, both representing a very manly occupation, the two finally admitted their love for each other. This was on the last episode of Gravity Falls.
This episode was even shown on Disney XD, which is aimed for boys.
http://www.healthaim.com/manny-pacquiao-disney-answered-homophobic-rant/40977 |
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This would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic: A student center for gay, bisexual, and transgender students at the University of Michigan created a safe space Tuesday to protect students frightened by an approaching debate on the subject “Does Feminism Have a Free Speech Problem?”
“We recognize that the rhetoric of the speakers featured in this event is incredibly harmful to many members of our campus community,” says the announcement by Michigan’s Spectrum Student Center. “The Spectrum Center will be providing a supportive alternative space this evening and holding extended staffed hours until 9pm. [Emphasis theirs] There will be no program; our intent is to offer a relaxing, positive space for students who want to gather in community.”
The Spectrum Center is a student center that offers various programs and services through a framework of “sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.”
The upcoming event that has Spectrum residents so upset is an appearance by British journalist Milo Yiannopoulos hosted by The Michigan Review. Yiannopoulos, a gay man and an intense critic of feminism, is currently on his so-called “Dangerous Faggot Tour” which is taking him to dozens of schools in the U.S., United Kingdom, and several other countries. At Michigan, he is scheduled to debate feminist writer Julie Bindel on whether feminism is encouraging the suppression of free speech. Both of the speakers are known firebrands who have been barred from speaking at several schools in the U.K.
The Spectrum Center has every reason to believe some students will react hysterically to Yiannopoulos’s appearance. During a recent stop at Rutgers University, protesters disrupted the event and smeared fake blood on their faces. Afterwards, the members of various student organizations gathered for a group therapy session to cope with the effects of Yiannopoulos’s visit. One student even claimed that Yiannopoulos had engaged in violence against them by mocking the idea of “rape culture.”
http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/michigan-creates-safe-space-for-students-afraid-of-debate-on-feminism/ |
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BMX bike legend Dave Mirra -- who once had the record for the most X Games medals -- has died of an apparent suicide ... TMZ Sports has learned.
Cops say the 41 year old's body was found in his truck in Greenville, North Carolina Thursday with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
We're told he had been in the area visiting with friends.
Mirra leaves a wife and two kids.
Officials tell TMZ Sports cops are investigating the death. http://www.tmz.com/2016/02/04/dave-mirra-dead-bmx-legend-dies-at-41/ |
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I have a friend who rides with a club made up of police officers/deputies from a nearby county's sheriff's dept, the way things work is if you intend to start a club, even if it is a club made up of regular, day-to-day people not looking to break the law, permission must be granted from the region's ruling outlaw club. For example, the Bandido's control this part of the US and a group looking to start a motorcycle club must get permission from them and wear their patches in a way so as not to be confused with or stepping on the toes of any outlaw clubs - but police groups don't do this and understandably so as what are they going to do, ask outlaws for permission? So, the Bandidos informed my friend's group that they can't do anything to stop them from having their club but to be on notice that if any of their members are caught riding alone, they would be dealt with on the spot. Reading this article made me think of that, seems this group The Iron Order is kind of confused as to what side of the law they are on and are using their jobs as police officers and connections to have the upper hand when they go out and dress up as outlaws: DENVER — One of the nation’s fastest-growing motorcycle clubs is composed largely of military, police officers and prison guards. It also embraces the regalia and traditions of outlaw biker gangs — a choice that has provoked deadly clashes with other groups.
The Iron Order club insists it is a law-abiding, charitable brotherhood of family men who just like to ride. But experts say its members are increasingly becoming entangled in violence with other biker groups, blurring the line between professionals who are sworn to uphold the law and a biker culture with a long history of criminal activity.
“It’s almost like they are playing dress-up on the weekend and acting out what their perception of an outlaw gang is,” said David Devereaux, a spokesman for the National Council of Clubs, which represents hundreds of motorcycle groups. “They create aggressive situations with other motorcycle clubs in opposition to the culture.”
The latest skirmish happened Saturday, when the Iron Order and the Mongols motorcycle club clashed in a brawl that left a Mongols member dead.
The two groups blame each other for inciting the violence at the Colorado Motorcycle Expo, a gathering of biker groups from across the country. Police are not sure what set off the fight, which left seven other people shot, stabbed or beaten. More than one person fired a weapon during the melee, including a Colorado Department of Corrections officer who wore patches that clearly identified him as a member of the Iron Order.
No one has been arrested, adding to the frustration of other groups that complain Iron Order members pick fights, then use their law enforcement connections to avoid prosecution.
It’s not uncommon for law enforcement to join motorcycle clubs. Some groups exist exclusively for police, such as the Blue Knights, which has almost 20,000 members and performs community services year-round. A source of friction is that the Iron Order consists of both law enforcement and other professions, and it adopts emblems more common to well-established gangs, according to experts.
The Iron Order says its members have lawfully defended themselves during confrontations provoked by other groups that feel threatened by the club’s rapid growth and its open disregard for time-honored rules of motorcycle culture.
An Iron Order recruit fatally shot a member of the Black Pistons motorcycle club during a June 2014 fight outside a bar in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The shooter said members of the other group attacked him and broke his nose. Three people were shot in a February 2015 gun battle with bikers affiliated with the Bandidos gang. A fourth person was hit over the head with a baton.
A few years earlier, in 2011, an Iron Order member was stabbed by another gang member in South Carolina. And a 2014 melee at a Baltimore strip club involved Iron Order members who were attacked by riders from the Iron Horsemen group who wielded flashlights, hammers, bats and knives.
Accounts of some of those episodes were contained in a 2014 report from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives describing the involvement of the military in motorcycle gangs. The report described Iron Order as one of the nation’s fastest-growing clubs that continues to expand into territories normally controlled by well-established outlaw gangs despite the violence.
The ATF says the club “infuriated” the most notorious motorcycle gangs, such as the Hells Angels and Pagans, by wearing a three-piece patch arrangement with a crescent-shaped bottom patch bearing the name of a state. The bottom “rocker” historically belonged to outlaw gangs, called “one-percenters.” But Iron Order never sought their permission to use it and took colors already claimed by other clubs, said John C. Whitfield, an Iron Order attorney and a member himself.
The Iron Order group formed in 2004, seeking the mystique of outlaw gangs without the crime, he said. The founders liked the motorcycle fellowship, which reminded them of the camaraderie of a military unit or a police department.
“We wanted to kind of change the dynamics of the motorcycle world,” Whitfield said. A lot of members like the three-piece patch for its “cool factor,” he said. “There’s a little bit of danger that kicks in, and it kind of makes these weekend warriors feel like they are a little bit dangerous. But we’re not.”
There has been “a ton of pushback” from other groups as a result, Whitfield said.
Other police clubs also wear three-piece patches but have no trouble with other groups, said Stephen Stubbs, an attorney for the Mongols.
“It’s not about the patches. It’s about Iron Order living out its ‘Sons of Anarchy’ fantasy, starting fights and causing trouble,” Stubbs said, referring to a cable television show about an outlaw motorcycle club.
The Iron Order group usually goes out of its way to avoid crime, even requiring its members to have concealed-carry weapons permits as a way to vet for convicted felons, said Steve Cook, executive director of the Midwest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association, which offers training for police agencies.
Iron Order members typically cooperate with law enforcement, while their outlaw counterparts swear against doing so, he said. Yet their disparate membership, which includes people from all professions, seems to invite hostility.
“Most people who ride know not to pretend to be a one-percenter if you’re not truly a one-percenter. It’s a good way to get attacked,” said John Risenhoover, a former ATF agent who has investigated biker gangs. “It’s like you’re out trying to pick a fight.”
http://nypost.com/2016/02/02/law-abiding-motorcycle-club-keeps-messing-with-real-biker-gangs/ |
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This is something I've noticed over the several years as admin on a music forum, 3/4ths of the younger members there do not have cars or drive. It kind of struck me as odd because growing up when I did, kids couldn't wait to get their driver's license and if they were lucky, their own car. Young adults are ditching driver's licenses at a quickening pace, according to a new study, raising a red flag for automakers as they grapple with the emergence of ride-sharing services and an indifferent attitude about cars.
Just over three in four people ages 20 to 24 in 2014 possessed a driver's license, according to the report released Tuesday by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute.
The exact figure — 76.7% — represented a sharp decline from 79.7% in 2011, 82% in 2008 and 91.8% in 1983, according to the report by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle.
Quite simply, cars are becoming less important or less accessible to Millennials.
The emergence of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft provides a reasonable alternative for many college students and young professionals — particularly in dense urban areas where such apps are most popular.
Automakers also fear that Millennials have less incentive to meet their friends in person because they can communicate constantly through social media and smartphones.
What's more, new vehicles are becoming less affordable for debt-strapped college students and recent grads. The average transaction price of a new vehicle was $33,188 in 2015, up 20% since 2005, according to Edmunds.com analysts. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/01/19/drivers-licenses-uber-lyft/78994526/ |
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Just read this and seems she was diagnosed 15 years ago but kept it a secret while filming The Sopranos. "Sopranos" star Jamie-Lynn Sigler has revealed that she has multiple sclerosis. The actress, who played Meadow Soprano on the hit HBO show, told People that she has been living with MS for 15 years.
Sigler said that though she was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease at the age of 20, she didn't feel ready to speak out about her illness until now. "You'd think that after all these years, somebody would be settled with something like this, but it's still hard to accept," said the actress.
Sigler, 34, said her symptoms have become more noticeable in the past decade, and that the disease has limited her mobility.
"I can't walk for a long period of time without resting. I cannot run. No superhero roles for me," she said. "Stairs? I can do them but they're not the easiest. When I walk, I have to think about every single step, which is annoying and frustrating."
The actress also admitted that she kept MS a secret while she was on "The Sopranos.""Sometimes all I needed was like five or 10 minutes to sit and recharge but I wouldn't ask, because I didn't want them to be suspicious," she said. Sigler says she takes the twice-daily pill Tecfidera to manage her MS.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jamie-lynn-sigler-says-she-has-multiple-sclerosis/ |
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One of my all-time favorites, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead has passed-away:  Ian Kilmister — the iconic Lemmy of heavy metal pioneers Motörhead, died Monday at age 70 of "extremely aggressive cancer," the band said.
Kilmister — who legendarily survived diabetes and implantation of a heart defibrillator — was diagnosed with the disease just two days ago, the band said in a statement.
"There is no easy way to say this," Motörhead said. "Our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer.
"He had learnt of the disease on December 26th, and was at home, sitting in front of his favorite video game from The Rainbow which had recently made it's way down the street, with his family," the band said. "We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness, there aren't words."
http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/music/hard-living-lemmy-kilmister-mot-rhead-dies-70-band-confirms-n487071 |
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Can Hollywood get any more ridiculous? Idris Elba as Roland of Gilead...? Two major stars could be climbing Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. One hopes to cancel the apocalypse…
Supreme badass Idris Elba is in early talks to play gunslinger Roland Deschain in The Dark Tower, with Matthew McConaughey in negotiations to play the villainous Man in Black, TheWrap writes.
Sony Pictures and MRC are co-financing the ambitious feature film, which Nikolaj Arcel will direct from a script by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner that’s primarily based on the first book in King’s series, “The Gunslinger.” Arcel is currently working with Oscar-winning Danish filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen (Election Night) to rewrite the script...
McConaughey had previously been offered the role of Roland several weeks ago but found himself drawn to the Man in Black upon reading the script.
http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3372610/idris-elba-to-star-opposite-matthew-mcconaughey-in-stephen-kings-the-dark-tower/ |
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As a longtime Rush fan, this news brings a mix of emotions - what a career he had... "There comes a time to... take yourself out of the game"  Over the the summer, Rush embarked on their “R40 Tour” celebrating the 40th anniversary of drummer Neil Peart’s membership in the band. At the time, bandmate Alex Lifeson said it would likely be the band’s final full-scale tour together due to his psoriatic arthritis and Peart’s chronic tendonitis. While Lifeson left the door open for future projects, including smaller tours and soundtrack work, he said the band’s ultimate fate lays in the hands of music’s greatest drummer.
If that’s the case, it appears Rush is no more. In a new interview with Drumhead Magazine (via Jambase), Peart spoke frankly about his coming to terms with retirement. “… Lately Olivia has been introducing me to new friends at school as ‘My dad– He’s a retired drummer.’ True to say–funny to hear. And it does not pain me to realize that, like all athletes, there comes a time to… take yourself out of the game. I would rather set it aside then face the predicament described in our song ‘Losing It’ (‘Sadder still to watch it die, than never to have known it’).”
Aside from aforementioned health issues, Peart previously mentioned his desire to spend more time with family. Following the tragic deaths of his daughter and first wife in the late ’90s, Peart remarried in 2000. He and his wife had a daughter, Olivia, in 2009.
http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/12/rushs-neil-peart-says-hes-retired-from-music/ |
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I'm not a fan of nu-metal or most of the mainstream stuff out these days, the only thing good about being older is I was able to see bands like Metallica, Slayer, Testament, Motorhead, Ozzy, and Iron Maiden in the 80s during their heyday - these days I'm listening to a lot more death metal, most of the new bands in thrash and what is passed-off as "metal" I can't get into, mostly due to these bands having growling vocals and then these "clean" vocals where the singer throws-in some emo-tinged crap - stuff like Periphery, Disturbed, and Avenged Sevenfold just make me cringe. That being said, if the music brings you joy, so be it and more power to you as that is what it is all about - I'm an admin on a metal forum and one thing I can't stand are these elitists who slam people for listening to bands they don't like. Here are some of my favorites:
Slayer (older Slayer, mainly- there's some good stuff amongst some not-so good stuff on the later albums)
Testament
Iron Maiden - the new album is actually pretty good
Morbid Angel
Deicide
Dead Congregation
Speedboozer - fans of Motorhead will like this newer band
Suicidal Tendencies
Misfits - not so much "metal" but an old favorite
Death
Metallica - After ...And Justice I lost interest and really can't get into their newer stuff
Cryptopsy
Vital Remains
WASP - first two albums were great, Chris Holmes latest stuff is well, interesting...lmao
Motorhead
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The New York Times reports that 10th graders at a high school in California are learning to keep time during any intimate encounters so their encounter doesn’t slip into rape:
Consent from the person you are kissing — or more — is not merely silence or a lack of protest, Shafia Zaloom, a health educator at the Urban School of San Francisco, told the students. They listened with rapt attention, but several did not disguise how puzzled they felt.
“What does that mean — you have to say ‘yes’ every 10 minutes?” asked Aiden Ryan, 15, who sat near the front of the room.
“Pretty much,” Ms. Zaloom answered. “It’s not a timing thing, but whoever initiates things to another level has to ask.”
Well, of course it’s going to turn into a “timing thing” if the choice is between “every 10 minutes” or the wildly-subjective “initiates things to another level.”
This is the new normal in California because of sex-ed changes signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown this month that require classes to teach affirmative consent, or “yes means yes.”
Everyone’s favorite gadfly on today’s wacky new rules for campus sex, George Washington University Law Prof. John Banzhaf, tells the Times this is not at all helpful:
“The [affirmative consent] standard is not logical — nobody really works that way. The problem with teaching this to high school students is that you are only going to sow more confusion. They are getting mixed messages depending where they go afterward.”
That confusion is evident in Zaloom’s class:
The students did not seem convinced. They sat in groups to brainstorm ways to ask for affirmative consent. They crossed off a list of options: “Can I touch you there?” Too clinical. “Do you want to do this?” Too tentative. “Do you like that?” Not direct enough.
“They’re all really awkward and bizarre,” one girl said.
“Did you come up with any on your own?” Ms. Zaloom asked.
One boy offered up two words: “You good?”
That drew nearly unanimous nods of approval.
And it almost certainly wouldn’t hold up in the typical campus adjudication because an accuser could say that she was just giving robotic answers out of fright, and an accused student will probably be told he misread her nonverbal cues, which overrode her literal words.
Zaloom, by the way, “has written a curriculum for affirmative consent programs that is being used throughout the country,” the Times reports.
Consider getting any California college-bound males in your life a stopwatch for Christmas.
http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/24651/ |
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Shoppers at a Publix in Sebastian, Florida, called 911 Tuesday afternoon after spotting a homeless man carrying around an actual human skull.
"He was using it as a puppet," said witness Nick Pecoraro to WPBF. "It smelled like death."
According to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, the unidentified homeless man–who was living in the woods across the street from the grocery store– found the human remains in a secluded area away from the homeless "camps" and decided to carry the skull into the Publix to report the body.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Thomas Raulen told WPBF, "He had put the skull on top of a trash can over there because he wanted to tell somebody to call the sheriff's office."
Once deputies arrived, the homeless man led them to the body, which has not been identified. At this point, investigators have yet to determine the cause of death, reports WPBF.
http://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2015/10/08/homeless-man-reports-a-dead-body-by-carrying-the-skull-into-a-florida-publix-uses-it-as-puppet |
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This tragedy is known as the Second San Fernando massacre (The first one took place the year before when 72 immigrants were killed.) You know you’re in a tough town when you’ve got to distinguish between your massacres.
In March of 2011, several busses filled with people were hijacked in San Fernando by members of the Los Zetas crime cartel. The US government considers these guys to be the most sophisticated, technologically advanced, and dangerous cartels in Mexico. Add ruthlessly sadistic to that list, too. The captured women were raped, and the captured men were forced to fight against each other to the death like in the movies Battle Royale and Hunger Games.
In an interview with journalist Dane Schiller, a member of the gang who remained anonymous reported that one of the reasons for this brutal event is to groom new assassins for the cartel. By taking the cream of the crop they’ll have found the toughest and most resourceful fighters, and they’ll have turned them into killers already and broken them into the perfect henchmen.
Full story here: http://fightstate.com/193-mexicans-died-after-being-kidnapped-and-forced-to-fight-like-the-hunger-games/ |
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...as millions are spent on "white privilege training" and staff are not allowed to discipline students: ST. PAUL, Minn. – Have the taxpayers of St. Paul spent nearly $3 million over the past five years to bring chaos and danger to their schools and students?
Apparently so.
In 2010, the St. Paul school district began a contractual relationship with the Pacific Educational Group, a San Francisco-based organization that tries to help public schools deal with achievement and disciplinary issues involving black students.
PEG packages and sells the concept of victimization, for a very high price.
It claims that the American education system is built around white culture, tradition and social norms – aka “white privilege” – to the unfair detriment of black students.
PEG believes that black students will only achieve if school curricula are customized to meet their cultural specifications. It also rejects the concept of using suspensions or expulsions to discipline black students.
The relationship with PEG has been costly for the St. Paul district, in more ways than one.
According to information provided by the district to EAGnews through a freedom of information request, St. Paul schools spent at least the following amounts on PEG consultations services over the past five years:
* $137,720 in 2010-11,
* $366,800 in 2011-12,
* $598,900 in 2012-13,
* $489,150 in 2013-14 and
* $285,895 in 2014-15.
The district also reported spending “matched amounts” of $132,072 (2010-11), $363,260 (2011-12) and $537,900 (2012-13) on PEG, without explaining what that term means.
Not long after PEG started working with St. Paul school officials, crucial policy changes were made, according to various news reports.
Special needs students with behavioral issues were mainstreamed into regular classrooms, a position openly advocated by PEG.
Student suspensions were replaced by “time outs,” and school officials starting forgiving or ignoring violence and other unacceptable behavior, according to various sources.
“The disciplinary changes came out of meetings with an organization called Pacific Educational Group, a San Francisco-based operation that has been consulting with the district dating back to 2010,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
The result has been general chaos throughout the district, with far too many students out of control because they know there are no real consequences for their actions.
A local publication called CityPages recently told the story of Becky McQueen, an educator at St. Paul’s Harding High School.
“Last spring, when she stepped into a fight between two basketball players, one grabbed her shoulder and head, throwing her aside,” the CityPages article explained. “The kid was only sent home for a couple of days.
“In March, when a student barged into her class, McQueen happened to be standing in the doorway and got crushed into a shelf. The following week, two boys came storming in, hit a girl in the head, then skipped back out. One of them had already been written up more than 30 times.
“Yet another student who repeatedly drops into her class has hit kids and cursed at an aide, once telling McQueen he would “fry” her ass. She tried to make a joke of it — ‘Ooh, I could use a little weight loss.’ Her students interjected: ‘No, that means he’s gonna kill you.'”
McQueen now has her students use a secret knock on the classroom door, so she will know who to allow in, the article said.
“There are those that believe that by suspending kids we are building a pipeline to prison. I think that by not, we are,” McQueen told CityPages. “I think we’re telling these kids you don’t have to be on time for anything, we’re just going to talk to you. You can assault somebody and we’re gonna let you come back here.”
Full article here: http://eagnews.org/teachers-complain-chaos-reigns-as-st-paul-schools-spend-millions-on-white-privilege-training/ |
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Dusty Rhodes, one of the most charismatic figures in pro wrestling history, died Thursday at age 69.
WWE announced his death on Thursday but said the family had not authorized the release of how or where it happened.
Born Virgil Runnels, Rhodes achieved his greatest popularity as a wrestler in the 1970s and '80s, when he lived up to his other nickname, "The American Dream." He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 and served as a promo coach for WWE developmental in recent years... http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-dusty-rhodes-dies-wwe-20150611-story.html |
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