Original Beats: A film on Herbert Huncke and Gregory Corso

Original Beats: A film on Herbert Huncke and Gregory Corso:

Original Beats is a short documentary film by Francois Bernadi on Gregory Corso and Herbert Huncke.

Huncke was the original Beat. He coined the term, lived the life and was on the road long before Kerouac. Here he talks about his life as petty criminal, drug user and Beat writer.

Corso believed the poet and his life are inseparable. It was a belief he held true, otherwise the poet couldn’t write like a lion, write truthfully.

This is a fascinating and informative portrait on the eldest and the youngest of the original Beats, filmed shortly before Huncke’s death in 1996.

Family of Alvin Wright to hold rally at RCMP HQ in Vancouver

Family of Alvin Wright to hold rally at RCMP HQ in Vancouver: The family of Alvin Wright is holding a rally at RCMP Headquarters at Heather Street and 37th Ave in Vancouver on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.



Wright's family still has not had access to any of the details of Alvin's death, which took place over a year and a half ago. The rally is to demand access to the investigation file and to demand an end to police self-investigation in B.C.



The Province has long-promised to establish an independent civilian agency to do these investigations; however, they have already acknowledged they will miss their own implementation deadline of the end of 2011 for the new agency to be operational.



The Vancouver Police Department investigation into Wright's death did not result in any criminal charges being recommended against the involved RCMP officers, and now, pursuant to a special one-time agreement, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner is reviewing the file to see if they can find any problems with the VPD investigation or decision not to recommend charges.



The case is another classic example of the problems with police accountability in this province. Because Wright lived in an RCMP jurisdiction and the VPD did not recommend charges, if the one-time agreement on this file hadn't been reached, there would have been no review of the VPD investigation by anyone. If Wright had lived in a municipality with its own force, the file would automatically be reviewed by the Police Complaint Commissioner.



This whole issue stems from the Criminal Justice Branch (prosecutors) in B.C. refusing to accept what they call "neutral" police investigation files that don't recommend charges. The Province has not stepped in to remedy this issue for RCMP communites. Yet.

1/2 of new poverty since 2006 ended as Census re-defines "Poverty", wealthy experts rejoice

1/2 of new poverty since 2006 ended as Census re-defines "Poverty", wealthy experts rejoice:

Think of this as the NYTimes carrying the Koch Bros funded Heritage Foundation water for them . . .

WASHINGTON — When the Census Bureau said in September that the number of poor Americans had soared by 10 million to rates rarely seen in four decades, commentators called the report “shocking” and “bleak.” Most poverty experts would add another description: “flawed.”

NYTimes

Yeah, you aren't nearly that poor, after all, you do get food-stamps and some Government aid, don't you? See, it's not all that bad, why are you peasants complaining?

Yes, as wealthy experts all agree, poverty isn't that bad of a problem. Because we all know that experts in financial reporting usually come from struggling households who have a first hand view of how hard it is to succeed in the face of crippling poverty, that and how hard it is to find a good chauffeur.

More below the fold . . .

BCCLA files complaint after RCMP Detachment Head comments

BCCLA files complaint after RCMP Detachment Head comments: The BCCLA is filing a complaint after the head of the Langley RCMP attempted to interfere with the independent review of the shooting death of Alvin Wright. Wright, who had no criminal record, and no history of violence, was alleged by Supt. Derek Cooke, head of the Langley RCMP detachment of attempting to attack a police officer with a knife when he was shot.

'Occupy' protesters 'shut down' Oakland port

'Occupy' protesters 'shut down' Oakland port: Activists blocked a major intersection to protest economic conditions and police brutality.

Shocking video: This man is a judge?

Shocking video: This man is a judge?:

A seriously shocking video of violent abuse being perpetrated on a handicapped child, allegedly by her father, a Texas judge, has been making the rounds on reddit in the past few hours. You have been warned: this is PSYCHOTIC.

2004: Aransas County Court-At-Law Judge William Adams took a belt to his own teenage daughter as punishment for using the internet to acquire music and games that were unavailable for legal purchase at the time. She has had ataxic cerebral palsy from birth that led her to a passion for technology, which was strictly forbidden by her father’s backwards views. The judge’s wife was emotionally abused herself and was severely manipulated into assisting the beating and should not be blamed for any content in this video. The judge’s wife has since left the marriage due to the abuse, which continues to this day, and has sincerely apologized and repented for her part and for allowing such a thing, long before this video was even revealed to exist. Judge William Adams is not fit to be anywhere near the law system if he can’t even exercise fit judgement as a parent himself. Do not allow this man to ever be re-elected again. His “judgement” is a giant farce.

Signed, Hillary Adams, his daughter.

There is a new comment of support for Hilary appearing every few seconds on YouTube and reddit. This is going to be a huge story within a few hours. Good for her for sticking up for herself!

Blue Coat "deep packet inspection" tools used by Syrian secret police and other repressive regimes

Blue Coat "deep packet inspection" tools used by Syrian secret police and other repressive regimes:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has more information on Blue Coat, a US company whose "deep packet inspection" products are being used by the Syrian secret police with reportedly horrific consequences for Syrians who dare to express dissent online. Blue Coat denied knowledge of the products' use in Syria, then changed their tune after incontrovertible evidence surfaced. Now they've told the WSJ that they don't want their products used in Syria because it's illegal to sell technology to Syria.

But what they haven't said is, "We don't want our products used in Syria because they're being used to figure out who to kidnap, torture, and murder."

And they haven't said, "We'll stop selling our products to countries like Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia" -- repressive states (that are legal to sell technology to) where Blue Coat's products are used in the same fashion as in Syria.

In other words, Blue Coat is only concerned about breaking the law, not about helping in human rights violations. Depending on the program, criminal penalties for violating OFAC regulations can range from $50,000 to $10 million with imprisonment ranging from 10 to 30 years for "willful violations."

Given Blue Coat's early denials, we're skeptical that their violation wasn't willful. As Andrew McLaughlin put it in a tweet, "Shame on Blue Coat. Their denials re knowingly assisting Syria censorship don't ring true."

Blue Coat's blatant lack of concern for human rights is alarming. There are far more repressive regimes in the world than there are embargoed countries. Several United States allies, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, are also using Blue Coat systems for censorship and surveillance. But Blue Coat is surely unconcerned; after all, exporting to those countries isn't against the law; it just helps violate the human rights of the people living under those regimes.

Meanwhile, the list of Syrians detained for blogging or other online activities continues to grow.

Blue Coat: Concern for Criminal Penalties, Not Human Rights