Leslie Postal | Sentinel Staff Writer
July 4, 2008
As far as the experts are concerned, Florida's blueprint for teaching social studies gets D's and F's.

They call the teaching standards superficial and confusing, forcing teachers to cover vast periods -- ancient Egypt to modern times -- in a single year.

"The only good thing that can be said," wrote the Thomas Fordham Institute of Florida's standards, "is that they're up for review."

State educators began overhauling the 1996 standards last year, working with teachers and college professors. They have a new draft and hope it's adopted by the state this fall. Because social studies isn't part of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, it is sometimes neglected. The textbook in some elementary schools makes that clear enough. The title: FCAT Reading Practice Through Social Studies.

Educators want better civics, geography and history lessons because students often leave high school knowing little about these subjects.

A national history test given in 2006 showed that only 14 percent of high-school seniors were proficient in history, with 86 percent unable to provide a reason for U.S. involvement in the Korean War. (Answer: to stem the spread of communism.)



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Central Valley .com



This week, motorcycle bike clubs, riders, and supporters in the Modesto and greater Central Valley area made a historic show of solidarity against the police harassment of local bike club, “Most Envied”, of West Side Modesto. Things have been brewing for some time between police and the motorcycle club. According to members of Most Envied problems stem from continued harassment, intimidation, terror, violence, raids, threats, and what many bikers believe, an attempt by the police to create an all out ‘gang war’ between Most Envied and other local bike crews. But, the united show of support from local clubs shows that the bikers of the Central Valley aren’t going to take this repression lying down






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The Press Democrat




The front door of the Sonoma County Hells Angels' Santa Rosa clubhouse was battered but unopened Wednesday July 2 morning following a law enforcement raid on the building.

The Santa Rosa clubhouse of the Hells Angels was raided early Wednesday by a SWAT team using an armored vehicle, as part of raids that also hit the Healdsburg home of a suspected gang member and the club's San Francisco headquarters.



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stuff .co.nz

The "poisonous tentacles" of outlaw bikie gangs are reaching into all parts of society, the South Australian government says.

After presenting a submission to the federal parliamentary inquiry into serious and organised crime, Police Minister Paul Holloway said it was imperative governments devote extra resources to fighting the growing threat from bikies.

Mr Holloway said bikies were involved in drug production and distribution, murder, vice, fraud, blackmail, assaults, public disorder and intimidation.

"Their connections with street gangs have simply enhanced their criminal networking, allowing their poisonous tentacles to reach into all parts of society," the minister said.

In its submission, the state government said it would continue to work with police to ensure they had the resources to crack down on bikie gangs.

Over the past year police in SA had seized more than 18,000 deals of ecstasy and amphetamines, 24.5kg of cannabis and arrested 230 offenders, the government said.

Mr Holloway has also taken a swipe at some submissions to the inquiry which, he said, attempted to portray gang members as well-respected public figures.

He said it was "mind-boggling" that some people would suggest that bikie gangs provided important social networks and were responsible for only a small amount of crime.


In its submission, the state government said it would continue to work with police to ensure they had the resources to crack down on bikie gangs.

ABC News

A senior member of the Gypsy Jokers motorcycle gang has been arrested after police seized a cache of weapons from a Blair Athol house yesterday.

Police from the Crime Gangs Taskforce and Firearms Branch confiscated a sawn-off shotgun, knives, a baton and some drugs.

Two 48-year-old men from Blair Athol have been granted bail on firearms and weapons offences, to reappear in Holden Hill Court at a later date.

The Eagle-Tribune


SALEM — John Fitzgerald, 54, began riding motorcycles more than 30 years ago, but it wasn't until he saw the Leathernecks patch that he learned about a motorcycle group he wanted to join.

The patch includes the Marine Corps battle streamers and is worn by regular members of the Leathernecks motorcycle club. The Leathernecks is an international organization for active duty and former Marines. There are more than 25 active chapters, including one in Great Britain.

The group doesn't require dues, although it is a nonprofit organization that strives to raise money. It's not a veterans club either, although veterans are welcome. And the group is not about showing off, although members do like to ride for fun, Fitzgerald said.

"There are plenty of riding groups and motorcycle clubs that ride for the fun of it, which is very important," Fitzgerald said. "But this group stood for something. It was more. They were real


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Thunders Bay's Source


A trip through Thunder Bay led to a litany of police charges for a group of Hells Angels members over the Canada Day weekend.

Thunder Bay Police spokesperson Chris Adams says a group of biker gang members from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were passing through the city on their way to an event in Montreal and local police officers and the provincial Biker Enforcement Unit conducted several traffic stops.

Adams says they stopped about 20 motorcycles and support vehicles and charged 13 people for driving offences.

One Harley Davidson motorcycle belonging to a 39-year-old Manitoba man was seized for seven days because it had a nitrous oxide canister attached to it which Adams says is often associated with racing. He says this isn't the first time Hells Angels members have passed through the city.

''Well, during the summer months especially, there are a number of events the Hells Angels will be riding to. In this particular case, the members from out West, were riding through Thunder Bay en route to a Hells Angels event in Montreal. So this does happen from time to time and it's something that we like to assure the community that our officers are out there keeping an eye on them and making sure everything stays safe.''

Adams says they will monitor the group again when they come back through Thunder Bay on the return leg of their trip.

Keloland .com

It's tough to run a biker bar without an alcohol license. Following financial problems, the owner of the Broken Spoke Saloon near Sturgis had that license revoked. But Tuesday night an appeals decision by the Meade County Commission reinstated the alcohol license for the bar and the campsite outside of town. But the controversy surrounding the bar is still there.

For just over a year, the Broken Spoke Saloon near Sturgis has been a bar with no alcohol license. But Tuesday night's decision by the Meade County Commission changed that.


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There is an initiative in the works that could end up on the November ballot that allows for marijuana to be sold to anyone, and anywhere that already sells alcohol. Its being called The Inalienable Rights Enforcement Initiative. From the full text of the measure:

This initiative will amend the Constitution of California to defend and safeguard the inalienable rights of the People against infringement by governments and corporations, providing for the lawful growth, sale, and possession of marijuana. Marijuana will be taxed through a system of stamps and licenses--a $5 stamp will be required for the sale of an eighth ounce of marijuana and a $50 annual license will be required for the growth of one marijuana plant. To protect participants and encourage participation in the system, such licenses and stamps will be available anonymously in stores where marijuana is sold.



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Mercury News
Police and the FBI executed search warrants this morning in San Francisco, Healdsburg and Santa Rosa in an effort to find evidence connecting Hells Angels members to assaults in February and March.
Petaluma police Capt. David Sears said the search warrants were executed simultaneously around 5 a.m. The warrants stemmed from felony assaults in Petaluma.

The raid in San Francisco occurred at the city's Hells Angels clubhouse at Tennessee and 23rd streets.

Warrants were also served at 516 Frazier Ave. in Santa Rosa and 1426 Oakleaf Ave. in Healdsburg.

Arrests were made around the time of the assaults but there were no arrests made in connection with the case today, said Sears. The raids were purely for gathering evidence, he said.

Dutch News

The former president of Amsterdam's Hells Angels chapter, 'Big Willem' van Boxtel, is suing the justice ministry for more than €1m in damages because his private and business life have been 'ruined' by groundless allegations against him.

Van Boxtel was thrown out of the Angels after he was falsely accused of planning to blow up underworld leader Willem Holleeder. Other Hells Angels are also preparing claims, the Parool reports on Wednesday.

The Missoulan

Missoula city officials assured local citizens that a “spirit of cooperation” would distinguish the upcoming Hells Angels Motorcycle Club rally from the biker gang's last Garden City run.

Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir said the department has looked back to the 2000 rally and, in retrospect, weighed what was successful and what was not. As a result, law enforcement will take a different approach when policing the five-day Hells Angels gathering, scheduled to take place in the Missoula area beginning July 30.

“In our line of work, we don't often get two chances to do something right,” Muir told a group of about 25 people who gathered at City Hall on Tuesday evening to discuss the police department's strategy for managing public safety during the rally. “We look at this as an opportunity to learn from our previous mistakes.”

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Modesto Anarcho

Article from Modesto Anarcho #8, about the repression of bikers in the Central Valley.
Modesto Police Plot Gang War as Riders Unify Against Repression

By James Anderson

A version of this story will appear in Modesto Anarcho #8. http://www.geocities.com/anarcho209

Tonight, motorcycle bike clubs, riders, and supporters in the Modesto and greater Central Valley area made a historic show of solidarity against police harassment towards local bike club, Most Envied, of West Side Modesto. Things have been brewing for some time between police and the motorcycle club, but according to members of Most Envied problems stem from continued harassment, intimidation, terror, violence, raids, threats, and what many bikers believe, an attempt by the police to create an all out ‘gang war’ between Most Envied and other local bike crews. But, the united show of support today from local clubs shows that the bikers of the Central Valley aren’t going to take this repression lying down.

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The Modesto Bee



About 100 bikers from several motorcycle clubs packed a Modesto City Council meeting Tuesday night, complaining that police have harassed them over the past year and a half.

Members of Modesto's "Most Envied" club carried the grievance, contending that police have followed them in an attempt to make a case that they belong to a criminal gang.

Tony Hernandez, the club's vice president, said that assumption is wrong. He described "Most Envied" as a group of family men who ride motorcycles and contribute to community events.

"We feel we are being slandered and our families fear for us," he said. "All we want to do is do good for the community and ride."



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The New York Times




HOUSTON — A grand jury on Monday refused to indict a 62-year-old man who fatally shot two burglars last November as they fled his neighbor’s house.

In a case that raised questions of ethnic bias, self-defense and property rights, the jury rejected charges against the man, Joe Horn, who is white. Both victims were illegal immigrants from Colombia.

“Joe is not some wild cowboy,” Mr. Horn’s lawyer, Charles T. Lambright, said at a news conference on Monday. “He was put in a place where he didn’t have any other choice.”


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