The Rapid City Journal is reporting that a grand jury reconvened Wednesday to consider criminal charges in the case of an off-duty Seattle police officer who shot a Hells Angels member during a fight this month at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

No decision had yet been made, according to the newspaper. Seattle police guild officials have said the detective fired in self-defense after being attacked on Aug. 9 at the Loud American Roadhouse. Two shots wounded a 33-year-old Hells Angels member from Imperial Beach, Calif.

The P-I left messages earlier Wednesday with Meade County State's Attorney Jesse Sondreal and is awaiting more information.

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/147286.asp

Ron Smith, the off-duty Seattle police detective who shot and seriously wounded a Hells Angel in a bar fight at a South Dakota motorcycle rally earlier this month, has clashed with a member of the outlaw motorcycle club before.

By Mike Carter

The off-duty Seattle police detective who shot and seriously wounded a Hells Angel in a bar fight at a South Dakota motorcycle rally earlier this month has clashed with a member of the outlaw motorcycle club before, according to court records, police reports and interviews.

Detective Ron Smith filed charges against a Seattle Hells Angel in 2005, alleging that Anthony James Magnesi, a member of the Washington Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels, had threatened him over the phone.

Magnesi, in turn, recorded one of their phone conversations and gave it to the police department's Office of Professional Accountability (OPA), claiming it was Smith who had threatened him.

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Was there really a plot and an attempt to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Denver? Reports out of the Mile High City hit at the start of the Democratic National Convention that four men had been arrested in the alleged plot. Some reports even claimed that the men were a part of a motorcycle gang called the "Sons of Silence" and were going to use rifles and a lot of ammo to try and eliminate Barack Obama from being able to run for president.

It appears now that many of the early reports got it wrong and the men will now not be charged in the plot (they still have other criminal charges pending) and the New York Times notes that authorities are now saying that the alleged plot has not risen to the level of a "credible threat" that would have allowed federal charges of threatening Mr. Obama to be filed.

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While the Thunder Rolls for Charity motorcycle rally went off without any legal entanglements this past weekend, the event's organizer is saying local law enforcement and an article in the Daily News are to blame for poor attendance.

Thunder Rolls President Jim Armstrong said the group is going to have to hold further fundraisers to make up for a $6,000 deficit caused by poor attendance.

"We were completely harassed for no reason," he said.

Armstrong said some of the charity groups involved are planning to write letters to the city, county and the governor to explain what he called the overbearing security.

"There's no excuse for it, there's no reason for it. We don't have prior problems," he said.

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The Province

A blanket publication ban has been lifted in a major Hells Angels trial set to open in Vancouver next week.

The decision, following an application to the court made by several media outlets, including The Province, was made in a ruling released by the trial judge, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Selwyn Romilly, who also ordered that reasons for his ruling not be reported.

Jury selection begins next week for the trial in which members of the notorious motorcycle club are accused of committing various weapons and explosives offences, uttering threats and extortion.


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Baltimore News and Traffic Examiner
(Entered as general news, but involves more MC' slander, NO F'n idea why they are even mentioned)


Whether on the road, at the job or in his living room, tri-state commuter Bernie Thomas's colorful commentary on the state of traffic and Baltimore goings-on is a must-read.


It’s a sad thing when a kid—a teenager—is attacked, or even killed, for their jacket or their shoes. That’s the way it used to be several years ago, when un-hip, uninformed, schmuck parents, bought their kid a pair of $110 sneakers, or a $200 Starter jacket, or some other fashion statement that some punk with a knife or a gun, hanging around a school or a bus stop, wanted. It was shocking! It was tragic! It was daily news.

Now, Converse has taken it to another level and put a Bull’s Eye on our kids, and thanks to Ed Norris and Maynard from WHFS, we are now aware.

For those parents who count themselves among the “uninformed,” or even those who consider themselves hip, please ... PAY ATTENTION! Converse is willing to risk your child’s life, for the almighty dollar. They have introduced, what I’ll term, “The Gang Shoe.” Don’t be caught wearing these if you don’t belong, or if you’re in the wrong part of town.

If you don’t know what “colors” are, let me explain. Motorcycle gangs used their “colors” (special tattoos, colors, and artwork), to identify their members for years. Hell’s Angels, The Pagans, and The Outlaws are but a few. They are, for the most part, criminals. Why the police allow them to exist at all is beyond me. Civil Rights are one thing, but from where I sit, the first thing a criminal—a convicted criminal—should forfeit, is their rights. If their rights were important to them, they would obey the laws that provide those rights. But I digress



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Erie Times News
(opinion)

In response to possibly requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets again, it would appear to me that most of the ones asked about this issue don't even ride.

Why not look at reality. If you were riding in town going at a slow speed, yes, the helmet would probably help. However, going the speed limit, there is not much that is going to help. Helmets have limitations. They are not going to save anyone's life.

Perhaps if more people were watching for motorcycles, there wouldn't be so much negative feedback.

Don't pass others and cut us off; don't pull out in front of us and then decide to stop or turn.

A bike doesn't stop on a dime. And, remember, there are a lot of new riders who are not quite sure of themselves.


To letter writer Forrest Walters (Erie Times-News, Aug. 17), I am so sorry if we woke you. Those loud pipes not only sound good but they alert all those drivers out there who don't see us.

They also alert deer and dogs, along with some humans who think they own the road.

Brenda Douglas

Meadville

ABC News

South Australia's Police Commissioner Mal Hyde says power to hold coercive hearings would help police deal with outlaw motorcycle gangs.

A former Finks motorcycle gang member was shot dead outside his house at Payneham South in Adelaide yesterday.

Mr Hyde said coercive hearings helped police investigations into Victoria's underworld killings.

"They effectively dealt with things and one of the things that helped them in the process was legislation that allowed them to hold coercive hearings and get information about offenders," he said.

"Now that's one of the things that's going to be considered in the future here."

The Sydney Morning Herald

Violent attacks involving rival bikie gangs are a serious problem in South Australia that needs addressing, Police Commissioner Mal Hyde has said after the shooting murder of a man in an Adelaide street.

Commenting after the gangland-style murder of a man on Tuesday, Mr Hyde said that while there was no organised battle between bikie gangs, they often resorted to settling their differences with violence.

"They have differences of opinion, sometimes it's over crime and the proceeds of crime, sometimes it's personal," he told ABC Radio.

"And they tend to resolve their differences in a violent way."



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Yuma Sun

The Yuma man arrested by police in connection with their investigation into an Aug. 16 stabbing incident at The Pub has been charged with five felonies.

William Ernest Butler, 57, was arrested Thursday on a warrant charging him with one count each of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, aggravated assault with intent to cause serious physical injury, participating or assisting a criminal street gang, and hindering prosecution.

Butler made his initial appearance in Yuma County Justice Court on Friday. It was initially reported to The Sun by police that Butler would be arraigned in Yuma Justice Court on Tuesday, but, according to Justice Court officials, he was actually arraigned Friday.

Butler is being held on a $1 million bond. His next court date is a preliminary hearing scheduled for Friday(8/29) at 4:45 p.m.



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3 X 24 The News Magazine

by LJ James

Many of the “facts” in this story are based on Legend and Myth as much of the history of the Motorcycle and it’s Culture was lost in the great rebellion of 2057.

Taken from a history book in the year 2095…

Motorcycles And The Culture They Inspire 1868-2017

Motorcycles started out as steam engines strapped on to bicycles in 1868. Soon after the gas engine took its place in the 1900’s there were Motorcycle shops and Dealers all over the World. For awhile, Motorcycle were simply used as transportation. In 1907, when Henry Fords, Ford Motor Company, released the Model-T at a price everyone could afford, the Motorcycle soon went from a necessity to a luxury item.

In the 1940’s, the Motorcycle Culture really took off. An organization called the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) held races and events all over the United States of America. In 1947, held an event in Hollister California. This event was attended by many of the AMA Racing Teams and Motorcycle Clubs. This event marks the beginning of the separation of Motorcyclists which eventually led to the end of Motorcycling in the year 2017.

Newspapers, being what they where in 1947, got a hold of pictures some pictures of Motorcyclists having fun at the event. The press decided to embellish the facts and transformed the story of the first large motorcycle rally into a torrid tale of Bikers taking over a small town! More negative news stories soon followed. Eventually Hollywood joined the Biker bashing by releasing movies that portrayed Motorcyclists as lawless and evil.


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Global Research .ca

Oddly, an apparent plot to assassinate Barack Obama during his acceptance speech in Denver that led to four arrests on Sunday is getting very little coverage in the US MSM.

It would appear that a blackout is now in force on this story in the US MSM.*


Both Ha'aretz and the Jerusalem Post covered the story detailing the FBI arrests of four subjects now in custody.


Unsubstantiated reports from Moscow allege that the plot was foiled after the FSB intercepted documents in Georgia describing a project code-named: "Operation Drago" -- an assassination plot that was allegedly engineered by a rogue element of high-ranking Israeli military officials.


The Russian report described the plot that involved a disinformation ploy to set up the members of an outlaw motorcycle gang, the 'Sons of Silence,' as expendables to mislead investigators from the actual perpetrators of the operation. The outlaw bikers arrested by the FBI are described as Neo-Nazis.


Ironically, Obama's opponent, John McCain, made a blatant appeal to the racist right by appearing at the massive outlaw biker rally at Sturgis, South Dakota, an annual convention of Neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-semites.


Lebanese television is now covering the story of the Denver assassination plot.


Some of the international reports describe the confessions of one the suspects to his part in the plot to assassinate Obama that was scheduled to take place during his acceptance speech at Invesco Field this Thursday by using a high-powered rifle from a high vantage point that would have provided a clear and unobstructed shot at the podium.



Yahoo has covered the story, but its reports do not contain the rich detail of the accounts published by foreign news agencies.


Planetary is monitoring the global coverage of this story and the other coverage, foreign and domestic, of both national conventions.


*The USA is now ranked 53rd on the World Press Freedom Index.

Livenews .com

Bikie boss fired up so they were given green light: Gallagher
Podcast available at
http://livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/08/27/Police_left_humiliated_as_bikie_convoy_avoids_breath_testing

Frontline police claim they've been humiliated, after they were ordered to stand back and let a convoy of bikies break laws in northern NSW without penalty.

Assistant Police Commissioner Lee Shearer claims 200 officers deployed to the area did breath tests and other checks, but officers have told Macquarie Radio that's a lie.

Shadow Police Minister Mike Gallagher has told 2GB’s Ray Hadley the officers were told to stand back, after one of the bikies complained about being victimised.

“There are a lot of people very very filthy about the conduct of this operation, and they’re saying ‘well what happens next time?’

“Do the 300 or 400 bikies get together again, and then become quite a critical mass, and then make the same threats? ‘If you don’t leave us alone, we’ll turn up in a town and wipe it out.’”

TMZ .com

A motorcycle gang reportedly connected to the three morons suspected of trying to kill Barack Obama are up in arms -- with no sleeves of course -- claiming any link is pure hogwash.

A rep from the Denver chapter of the Sons of Silence motorcycle club told TMZ, "Those guys have nothing to do with our organization whatsoever. Nothing. None of our guys know who they are. We heard one of them was wearing a Sons of Silence support t-shirt, but you can buy that online or at any of our swap meets."

He also added, "What if one of the guys was wearing a TMZ t-shirt?" We'd probably fire him.

Times Online

(More Club Bashing Headlines )

The idea that white supremacists could be plotting to kill a black presidential candidate will not seem farfetched to America.

The United States is home to about 900 hate organisations, the majority of them based on the notion that whites are the superior race. Collectively they form a sinister underbelly of American society, often cloaking themselves in a veil of patriotism but rejecting government authority and striving for social and political dominance over other racial groups such as African-Americans and Jews through often violent means.

FBI documents suggest that a white supremacist group assisted in the Oklahoma bombing of 1995, in which the former US Army veteran Timothy McVeigh blew up a federal building, killing 168 people. He was a member of the Aryan Republican Army, a group whose declared intention is to commit terrorist acts against the US.

According to Rick Ross, executive director of the Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey, which monitors cults and controversial movements, the Democratic Party’s nomination of an African-American had already prompted an upsurge in white supremacist activities. “There have been repeated rumblings against Barack Obama in the white supremacist community,” he said




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