While India has been counted as a success story for its westernization, a measure of its failure can be seen in the same light: Greed, depreciation of traditional values, rampant bride burning over dowry disputes, relentless pace of urban life, along with indifference to human life, suffering, and death. Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. If so, then a video clip can be worth ten thousand words as the following shows where city commuters refuse to hesitate, stop, or show concern for a multiple victim traffic fatality.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK starring Taylor Schilling, created by Jenji Kohan (score: “You’ve Got Time”) is a women’s prison drama series written for Netflix arguably better than most one-off film productions. Piper Chapman (played by Schilling) is the blonde female protagonist who, coming from an upper class New York background, falls into a tempestuous affair with her lesbian international drug smuggler lover, Alex (Laura Prepon). Too late, she falls in love with a NY Jew boyfriend, Larry (Jason Biggs), from a background similar to hers. But, the feds catch up with her for acting as the money mule in the illicit affair years earlier. She ends up sentenced to a relatively light term of under two years in a minimum security NY federal prison called Litchfield.

Piper finds herself among a broad range of working class ethnic minorities, lesbians, and gender benders. Some critics have described the film/series as ‘raunchy’, but although the humor can be raw and often sexual, it is intrinsically an anti-prison film/series engaging in a study of human nature with all its warts to sensitize its audience to the fact every inmate’s face has a real human being with real lives before prison behind it.

The guards are portrayed in a relatively more 2-dimensional fashion and the prison scene is somewhat tamed for mainstream appetites, trivializing the gang violence, corruption, rape, and official brutality found in most prisons. Still, it is an excellent series achieving a mix of humor and banality balanced with the profound in humanizing its subjects, bringing into doubt our conviction felons are so different from ourselves or in need of being locked into cages for often petty or victimless crimes.

The bizarre  world of gender wars  politics is fraught with self aggrandizement, melodrama, grandstanding, betrayals, and violence…much like the one (A)narchists inhabit. The two frequently find themselves in the same company or merged. The juvenile schoolyard dynamics are obvious and deplorable. A sample from a g@y (A)ctivist blog (www.glitur.org) follows which encapsulates much of the deficiencies prominent in said circles that continue to marginalize its participants from the mainstream of public consciousness.

G.L.I.T.U.R.

Ever been stopped by an aggressive obtuse law enforcement officer? Apparently, so have they. Of the professions, police have the highest divorce rate. Domination at home doesn’t play so well with Mama.

The confrontation, first obtained by Cliffviewpilot, begins when a New Jersey State trooper, Jeremy Mickewicz, unholsters his gun as he approaches an unmarked police van with police lights that has stopped a car on the Turnpike in Leonia, New Jersey.

Bergen County Police Officer Robert Douboue sees the gun.

“I want to see your ID,” Mickewicz said.

“I’m county police. Don’t pull your weapon, brother,” Douboue said.

“Shut your *expletive* mouth, I’ll do it if I want to,” Mickewicz said.

State police say the trooper was responding to a series of carjackings where robbers posed as undercover officers, but the war of words escalated over the pulled gun.

“You better have a good reason why you are whipping out your weapon,” Douboue said.

“I do. Armed robbery,” Mickewicz said.

At one point, the trooper pushes the cop, and it gets even more heated when Bergen County Police Sergeant Gabriel Escobar arrives.

“Shut your *expletive* mouth. Get out of my *expletive* face,” Escobar said.

“You don’t know what’s going on out there. You didn’t give me an *expletive* chance,” Mickewicz said.

“You pulled an *expletive* gun on me, you scumbag. If you weren’t in uniform, I’d wipe the street with you,” Douboue said.

All of this happened, as two suspects pulled over by the Bergen County Police Officer sat in their car.

“You pulled a *expletive* gun on me, you are the *expletive* police, you scumbag. You have my ID. If I pulled my gun on you, how would you feel, if I pulled my gun on you, how would you feel?” Douboue said.

“I’ve tried to explain this to you. We’ve had a rash of them the past month, a rash of three of police impersonators,” Mickewicz said.

“Arrest the police impersonators, so don’t come out here *expletive* rocking a *expletive* uniform pretending that you are better than anyone,” Douboue said

Poor Man’s Paradise

With each summer season comes a semi-permanent community of squatters residing in the Brown Creek Campground area sites mixed with recreation and day hike campers. The sites are not ‘free’ (in theory) though its uncertain how religious rangers are about collecting the fees, which can be substantial at $14/day + $5/car limited to 8 persons per site. Even the once liberating Golden Eagle pass for seniors is now burdened with a $7/day surcharge.

Contemplate Only 8

Golden Eagle Pass for Seniors Promise Diluted

A quick drive-by tour revealed an apparently homeless woman with her family of children (judging by the trailer of bedding/supplies behind her vehicle and furtive glances when asked if she knew where a well & hand-pump existed nearby) as well as one family who had strung an extensive plastic privacy draped between trees to protect them from view.

Recreation or Subjugation?

Vehicles Prohibited on Roads?

The existence of drinking water from a functioning hand-pump well is a draw, of course. There are actually two, but only one is operable. The other is chained shut and without a handle. Just up the road a short distance is the Lebar and Horse Campgrounds with creek side sites and a rather elegant commodious outhouse near an unloading dock designed for arrivals with horse trailers. This area is ideal for horseback camping and trail riding. Whether it is ideal for the homeless is less certain. It is a long way from emergency services and no ranger presence was seen, only the drop box for campsite payments.

Inoperable & Locked

In Disrepair, Off Limits…or Both?

There were plenty of signs, both advisory and mandatory spelling out what laws regulated conduct, payment, and usage.  They were designed to be authoritarian and intimidating to the public. Perhaps a couple of signs pronouncing the illegality of car prowls, theft and vandalism would eliminate that problem as well?

Kicking the Can/People Down the Road?

There were dozens of campsites, most available despite the pleasant August weather, perhaps because it was a Sunday afternoon. Assuming an underground economy making up for the distance from supplies and services, the area might prove adequate as a summer retreat for the homeless. It would appear that’s the case. It’s been said the measure of ones wealth is not what you have, but what you enjoy. If so, the homeless denizens of Brown Creek are truly blessed.

Simple Pleasures

Protesters destroy occupied armored cop car

And another one bites the dust…

An armored police vehicle was pushed 50 feet off the 6th October bridge amid the violent clashes in Cairo. Stunned and injured officers were then stoned when they stumbled away from the mangled vehicle. Officials say at least 149 people have been killed, with more than 1,000 injured as authorities clear pro-Morsi camps.

To Serve & Protect

In Harm’s Way

Protesters Stone Injured Police

Protester Stomps Injured Policeman

Airborn

Mitigations

Prison gang threatened judge in connection with probe of superintendent’s slaying

by Martha Neil

A Colorado judge who signed search warrants to be used in an ongoing probe of the slaying of the state’s prison superintendent went into hiding for at least two weeks after allegedly being threatened by 211 Crew gang members, investigators say.

El Paso County Judge Jonathan Walker resumed the bench this week, but the situation highlights the danger posed by members of the prison gang, which has ties to drug trafficking and white supremacists, reports the ABC News.

“They want to kill cops, people from district attorney’s office, anybody that represents law enforcement,” said investigator Bobby Brown of the 211 Crew. “They are vicious. They are for real.”

Investigators are pursuing a theory that the killing of a pizza delivery driver in the Denver area earlier this year is tied to the killing of state prisons chief Tom Clements a short time later and that former Colorado prisoner Evan Ebel, who died in a shootout with law enforcement officers in Texas earlier this year, is responsible for both slayings, the Denver Post reports. The article relies on unidentified sources for the information, which the newspaper says is contained in sealed court documents, and says that 211 Crew may have ordered the assassination of Clements.

Another Denver Post article, which relies on an anonymous source, said the judge’s life was threatened by 211 Crew members and that he was advised to move out of his home because it was easily accessible on a busy street. He also reportedly purchased a gun and began wearing a bulletproof vest after several individuals, including a former client, warned of death threats.

No comment from the judge is included in the articles. However, a former department of corrections parole director, Tim Hand, confirmed that he also had been targeted in a 211 Crew assassination plot revealed by intercepted correspondence among gang members.

“My name came out as one of those persons they wanted,” he told the Post.

An earlier ABAJournal.com post provides additional details about the investigation. At one point, there was speculation that Ebel could have been involved in the slaying of a Texas prosecutor, but a fired justice of the peace has since been charged with capital murder in that case.

800-line washout

In return for responsible stewardship of the vast acreage they hold, Washington’s corporate logging combines successfully lobbied the passage of 1930’s legislation which relieved them of 90% of the real estate tax burden for the immensely profitable forests they owned, often almost given to them by a government desperate to create jobs for its residents during the Great Depression. Much of what Simpson owns in Mason County was acquired in this fashion under the unfulfilled promise/theory of a ‘sustained yield’ (or what some now call the ‘sustained steal’) based on the notion the trees would supply an unending harvest of lumber and jobs for the local economy. Little thought was given to the greed of the timber barons and how that would affect the willingness of their companies to hold up their end of the ‘bargain’.

Incredibly Steep Terrain

Today, the transition upon leaving the Olympic National Forest into Simpson land is dramatic as the canopy of Evergreens, ferns, and pristine old growth immediately gives way to a moonscape of stump farms. This assault on the senses, this insult to a healthy ecosystem which cleans our air, buffers flood events, and protects our water supplies (residents in the John’s Creek watershed are learning this uncomfortable truth the hard way) is attenuated by 2nd/3rd growth which the company allows to reach the size of 4×4’s before cutting the spindly firs which once took the combined efforts of many men to fill the capacity of a logging truck with a single tree section. Those same trucks are now typically burdened with what appear to be loads of fence posts or hog fuel. The backbone of local employment in the pseudo-guise of of corporate servitude has long since been replaced with jobs at the Squaxin’s gambling resort.

Non-Conforming Culvert

Simpson has been provided astonishing opportunities to dump dioxin (a product of its bio-incinerators on our waterfront) on its uncertified private land fills (after having flushed them down Shelton City sewer lines for decades into our bay and estuaries), denude the surrounding mountainsides to the point of changing local weather patterns, obliterate stream beds with sediments/gravel from its logging operations, and punch logging roads through mountainside forests with slopes exceeding 60 degrees.

Hydraulic Mining Effects

Perhaps 15 or 20 years ago, locals protested mightily to the State’s DNR, their Governor (Lowery), and other government officials (to no avail) as the  resulting flooding destroyed their homes. Government apologists for the industry responded with erroneous sops such as claiming the existing non-conforming logging roads were ‘grandfathered’ and beyond their legal authority (false!) to remedy. This was not an academic exercise in citizen hand wringing as it became abundantly clear these arteries constructed for raping and pillaging the landscape directly contributed to the destruction of stream beds along with the resulting flooding which obliterated farms/homesteads.  DNR stepped into the breach in response to citizen complaint to require mitigation and remedial efforts designed to stop the progress of what had begun to resemble open hydraulic mining of the surrounding hill and mountain sides.

Difficult Approach

Simpson was required to redesign its road culverts which had previously extended into the air overhanging drops of 10/20/30 feet or more, producing powerful blasts of water which literally eroded canyons into the steep slopes which all ended up in our streams/creeks. But, as usual, once the heat of community opprobrium died down, the fox returned to its old tricks and what it knew best: How to evade complying with State regulations drafted to protect the public. The photos embedded in this article are examples of the perfidy, the greed, the irresponsibility, and the laziness of a private closely held corporation intent on maximizing its profits over any sense of commitment to the community which has so richly rewarded it.

Gravel Mound Obscuring Culvert

The ‘800-line’ is a private road currently closed, as of the date of this posting, to motor vehicle traffic, but used by hikers and mountain bikers. So it was that the washout on the road through the steep difficult terrain of this mountain pass was discovered. The 800-line is often opened to the public during winter months by Simpson precisely/ironically because the consequential flooding from their operations leaves residents with no ingress/egress along public roads to the Skokomish Valley or their homes.

Large non-conforming Culvert

The visible existing destruction of portions of said pass suggests far greater damage with the coming wet season and a pattern of contempt for regulations prohibiting the non-conforming culvert which produced it. Simpson’s motives for not complying with those regulations are simple. In such steep difficult terrain, it is not trivial or inexpensive to comply. There is no purchase on the almost vertical slopes where a man can stand and securing a conforming culvert is difficult. All of this serves as an argument why logging roads or logging itself should not be permitted on such steep terrain in the 1st place. But Simpson correctly reasons: out of sight, out of mind! Well, that may have been true in the past, but is no longer with the advent of a camera within the possession of almost every member of the public. Today, WE are the media! And we need not rely on privately voicing our concerns to our public officials by phone. We can post our findings where all can see and hold those responsible accountable.

Risky Perch

To our appointed/elected officials: Get w/it, do your job competently, honor your oath of office, or GET OUT before we vote you out. If you cannot or will not manage these logging interests that threaten our homes, there are others who will.

Near NEW Logging Road Construction

Yet Another Washout

Gravel Mound Obscuring Non-Conforming Culvert

Gravel Mound Approach Difficult/Dangerous

Non-Conforming Culvert Exiting Gravel Mound

Non-Conforming Culvert Outfall Destroys Vance Creek Headwaters

Nearby Conforming, But Expensive Culvert

Steeper & Deeper Than Practical

Falling Through the Regulatory Cracks

Nearby Elk Carcass

Catch-22?

UPDATE:

Bruce McDonald, head of DNR enforcement for the Mason County region (ph. 360-825-1631, 206-920-5908(c), bruce.mcdonald@dnr.wa.gov)  states he and some department geologists investigated the problem culvert last April, but because the landslide hadn’t yet reached the actual edge of a stream and was on private property, they were without legal authority to compel Simpson to resolve the developing landslide. McDonald admitted they didn’t like what they saw, but were toothless until the damage reached public resources. He also observed Simpson has expanded its ‘options’ by entering into wildlife conservancy agreements with the feds which supplant State regulations.

Peter Goldmark, elected head of DNR can be reached by e-mail: cpl@dnr.wa.gov

[Ft. Meade, MD] On August 21, 2013 Burning Hearts Media joined with Sparrow Media to produce Alexa O’Brien’s exclusive interview with David Coombs, lead civilian counsel for Private First Class Manning. An excerpt of this interview aired that afternoon on Huffpost Live and was embedded on Huffington Post. The next morning, 40 minutes of this interview aired on Democracy Now!. The following is Alexa’s interview with David in its entirety available for embed or download.

It is the only comprehensive long-form interview with Manning’s counsel and sheds an important light on one of the most historic and heartbreaking cases of whistleblower prosecution to date.

The Pine Hearts, featuring Joe Capoccia (guitar/vocals), Lob Strilla (banjo/vocals), and Derek McSwain (mandolin/vocals), are a sweet local (Olympia) young bluegrass trio with pleasing harmony, a pleasant sound, animated stage presence unafraid to sing the words to their lyrics in unadulterated fashion, and rock solid mastery of their instruments who have been playing together for about a year as of this posting. Playing particularly upbeat original tunes, the Pine Hearts sing with sincerity and pick with deliberate dedication.

Their brand new album “Distant Lights” was just released and is winning over music lovers across multiple genres and generations. Their soulful songs of hope and happiness despite sunken spirits, broken hearts, and love never dared to be tried, make crowds dance and twirl the night away, forgetting all about their own troubles. The trio masterfully takes you on a musical journey ranging from hard-­‐driving and foot-­‐stomping, to smooth and sultry utilizing their tremendous picking prowess on guitar, banjo, and mandolin to envelop their audience in a comforting blanket of notes.

Distant Lights Song Titles:
1. Don’t Let The Stars Bring You Down (3:41)
2. Paralyzed By Fate (2:47)
3. On Our Own (3:28)
4. Alright Fine (3:58)
5. Heartache Or The Whiskey (3:19)
6. Big Sciota (3:00)
7. Somewhere Between (3:01)
8. Virginia (4:07)
9. Last Man Standing (4:20)
10. Ok Ok (3:26)
11. When It Comes To You (4:04)

Genre: Bluegrass, Americana, Alt -Country, Folk National Release Date/Going for Adds: March 15, 2013 – Listen/Download by clicking on the following links:

The Pine Hearts are an amalgamation of three of the Northwest’s finest pickers and songwriters who are no strangers to the West Coast roots music scene. Joe’s pop/punk sensibilities (The Pasties) and roots driven Americana (The Blackberry Bushes), mix together with Lob Strilla’s bluegrass (Head for the Hills), and rockier edges (The Tilted Stilts). Blend in Derek McSwain’s traditional bluegrass licks (The Oly Mountain Boys), and you have a “recipe to be cheerful,” as alt-­‐weekly Olympia Power & Light recently remarked.

As the story goes, in the summer of 2012 Joe and Lob, who had known each other for years, got together with Derek to form The Pine Hearts. Sparks immediately Qlew and the three knew they were onto something special. Distant Lights” like the Pine Hearts, came together effortlessly and quickly. After three months and thirty shows the “Hearts” hit Bob Schwenkler of Bicycle and K Records, home studio in Olympia Washington. “Distant Lights” was recorded and mixed in Qive energetic inspired days. Seven of eleven songs are written by Capoccia with three contributions by Strilla, and one traditional, the instrumental “Big Sciota.” The lead off anthem-­‐esque track “Don’t let the Stars Bring You Down,” is driven by an infectious melody, catchy chorus and Cappoccia’s breathy vocals. “Ok Ok” also written by Cappoccia, has a similar sing-­‐a-­‐long feel, while “The Heartache Or The Whiskey,” “Virginia,” and “Alright Fine,” show off more of Cappocia’s and “The Hearts” lamenting side. Strilla’s bluegrass driven “Last Man Standing” showcases the trio’s expert picking, and relaxed harmonies, urging all “to take it easy.”

Derek’s solid, well-­‐versed bluegrass chops, mixed with Joe’s punk background, and Lob’s rock edge, make up the distinctive sound of the Pine Hearts and the songs heard on “Distant Lights.” This powerful acoustic trio, although only together a short while, are already hard at work at their second album. The Pine Hearts are dedicated to singing soulful original songs that may seem like punk, possibly rock-­‐and-­‐roll, and often times bluegrass or country, but no matter the case, people agree that it always goes down easy.