Hey,
I believe this will be an interesting one, sorta educational and maybe inspiring. Or what the hell, we my have free shit heading your way.
Okay, so what’s on the plate today? We have positive info about a topic called mindfulness or meditation. So, I need to calm myself for 29 minutes and just think about my breathing while forcing other thoughts from my conscience. This is the central practice of Buddhists, and many other religions, but a recent pioneer is Jon Kabat-Zinn, an MIT-educated molecular biologist, who began teaching mindfulness or meditation in the ‘70s.
You sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and focus your awareness on your breath and other bodily sensations. When thoughts come, you gently let them go without judgement and return to the focus on the breath. It takes awhile, but will ultimately calm you and take you away from other concerns. Try it.
The good doctor Hamster is coming over for lunch, so I’m driven to complete the Sunday Post on time. What time is that? Then Markus is coming to town to shoot Andrew’s sharp Sporty for American Iron.
Plus the boss of the 5-Ball racing apparel line and shop notified me that I need to hand make a belt buckle for shipment on Tuesday. So, you tell me when I need to meditate? Last night I thought about buying a bottle of whiskey.
Let’s hit the news.
QUICK, IT’S SUNDAY, A RELIGIOUS MOMENT– Mary Clancy goes up to Father O’Grady after his Sunday morning service, and she’s in tears.
He says, “So what’s bothering you, Mary my dear?”
She says, “Oh, Father, I’ve got terrible news. My husband passed away last night.”
The priest says, “Oh, Mary, that’s terrible. Tell me, Mary, did he have any last requests?”
She says, “That he did, Father.”
The priest says, “What did he ask, Mary? ”
She says, he said, ‘Please Mary, put down that damn gun…’
The Priest coughs a few times to get his attention but the drunk continues to sit there.
The drunk mumbles, “Ain’t no use knockin, there’s no paper on this side either!
–from Vern
HONDA ADVENTURE TEXTILE JACKET FROM BIKER’S CHOICE– New for summer 2014 is the ultimate adventure jacket with Honda licensing. Featuring reinforced shoulders and elbows, with removable Vault™ C.E. approved protection in shoulders, elbows, and spine. Removable liner, molded sleeve adjusters, and microfiber lined collar and cuffs. Finished with reflective trim for visibility on the road. This jacket looks great and has the quality you come to expect from Honda products.
MSRP: $249.95
*Available in both grey and red.
Fore more information on this product contact your local Tucker Rocky representative.
BRAND New Bikernet Reader Comment!– Scooter Tramp Scotty Visits the French Quarter in New Orleans
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=11466
Awesome story:
Love reading about your adventures
–Louie Mester
Port Richey, FL
AUSSIE PRIME MINISTER CONFIRMS BIKER CRACKDOWN– A $10 million strike team will be set up in Western Australia to combat motorcycle clubs, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.
It will target about 450 active members of nine motorcycle clubs in WA, and report to the $64 million National Anti-Gangs Squad.
Abbott said the strike team would enable greater co-ordination between federal police, the Australian Crime Commission and West Australian police.
He told Fairfax radio it was an important new initiative.
“We do need to keep a good eye on them and we do need to crack down on all criminal activity,” he said.
“We know that bikie gangs are very, very active in drugs, prostitution, money laundering.
“There’s also the intimidation aspect of these gangs when they get together and as we know, there are elements of gangs now involved with rogue elements of some of our unions, particularly the construction union.
“This is an added dimension to the gang problem in Australia and is one of the many reasons why we need a coordinated approach.”
Abbott said the $10 million in funding would be enough for four years.
He said the federal government would continue to fight motorcycle clubs “until this problem is beaten”, although he conceded there were “no magic wands” and a range of measures were necessary.
The prime minister rejects claims Australia’s new push against bikers is removing human rights.
“It’s not about taking anyone’s rights away – it’s about giving police the resources and importantly, the co-ordination to crack down on what is a national problem, a cross-border problem, which is very hard for the state police force to tackle on their own.”
Abbott conceded bikers were mostly “a menace to each other instead of the public”, although their drug peddling was particularly hurtful to society.
Western Australian Police Minister Liza Harvey and Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan said they were thrilled with the Federal Government’s commitment.
“When you have a look at the drugs that are filtering down to a street level in Western Australia, outlaw motorcycle gangs and organized crime are behind that,” Harvey said.
“From my perspective I’m really thrilled the Federal Government has wasted no time in putting some funding towards ensuring that the states and the Commonwealth can work together to break the back of organized crime in our community.”
O’Callaghan said the $10 million injection would help boost surveillance and intelligence gathering on motorcycle clubs and organized crime outfits.
“We are going to use that (money) here in Western Australia to employ extra resources, an extra surveillance team, five imbedded AFP officers…that will enable us to do a lot more around gang crime and lift our effort in that area,” he said.
“There are nine (biker) gangs in Western Australia and a lot of crime is committed by them…we are going to provide more effort in bringing them to justice and disrupting their activities.”
The new squad was signed off by federal cabinet at a meeting in Perth on Tuesday.
NEW BIKER MAG FROM MEXICO–“Gasté mucho dinero en alcohol, mujeres y coches veloces. El resto lo despilfarré”, George Best. Vamos a mostrar el despilfarro de talento de los genios que aparecen en ChopperON Magazine #68.
Los chicos de Triumph no paran de ofrecer producto: la Scrambler es un dispendio de diversión, probada por Rock & Bikers y para ChopperON por Barry, con su innegable estilo. Fotos del incombustible Cepas.
Desde Holanda llegan los Left Hand Cycles, que se prodigan en la construcción de sencillas monturas, con aura a de belleza latente en sus detalles.
El derroche de Daytona Beach Bike Week es proporcional a los asistentes que insisten en mantenerla como la mayor concentración de motos del mundo. Abrimos el juego con el primer capítulo de una serie. En esta ocasión, ponemos las cartas sobre la mesa del Speedway y aledaños.
Un personaje que parece nunca desgastarse es la Pantera Rosa, que cumple 50 años como personaje. Nos hemos centrado en su coche, el primer vehículo custom que se quedó grabado en nuestra memoria infantil.
Continuamos la trayectoria de Brough Superior con la incursión de sus nuevos propietarios y amigos en las llanuras saladas de Bonneville. Una historia de superación.
Recuerdo la primera vez que mi moto entró en las instalaciones mecánicas de G. Álvarez de Castro hace más de 15 años. Eso ya es historia, Makinostra abre nueva nave en Madrid, por todo lo alto y en todo el centro.
Puedes evitar dilapidar energía utilizando luces tipo Led. Eso mismo te lo explica Frank Burguera desde su rincón.
Una banda que se basa en la historia del motociclismo para definirse y con una música oscura, casi negra, que sale de su garage cubierto de grasa: The Lords of Altamont.
WEED WORLD–New York: Urge Senate Leaders to Bring Medical Marijuana to a Vote
The Compassionate Care Act, Assembly Bill 6357A, which would allow for the medical use of marijuana by qualified patients, was approved by the Assembly Health Committee on January 14. It now awaits action from the Assembly Codes Committee. However, its companion bill, Senate Bill 4406A, has yet to be scheduled for a hearing by the Senate Health Committee.
The Compassionate Care Act is supported by dozens of Senators from both major parties. Earlier this year, Republican Senators George Maziarz, Mark Grisanti, Joe Robach and Tom O’Mara came out in support of the Compassionate Care Act.
Under the Compassionate Care Act, qualified patients with a recommendation from a licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner would be permitted under state law to possess up to 2 and one-half ounces of cannabis. The Compassionate Care Act also allows for the establishment of licensed not-for-profit and for-profit facilities to produce and distribute cannabis to qualified patients. You can read the full text of the Compassionate Care Act here and here.
Passage of the Compassionate Care Act is vital, because recently announced plans by the Governor to try and establish a limited program of medical marijuana in hospitals is likely unworkable and will not adequately serve the needs of all of the state’s qualified patients who could benefit from medical cannabis.
Voters overwhelmingly support allowing patients to have access to marijuana as a medicine. According to a February 2014 Quinnipiac University poll, 88 percent of New Yorkers — nearly 9 out of every 10 — including 93 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of Republicans — endorse the use of marijuana when authorized by a physician.
Larry Schwartz, the chief aide to Governor Cuomo, stated earlier this year in a TV interview that “the Governor wants to see medical marijuana implemented. …There are some advocates that want to see a more comprehensive law passed. We would support that if they can get it done. If they can successfully get a law passed this year, terrific.”
Since 1996, twenty states and the District of Columbia have approved legislation allowing for the use of cannabis therapy by qualified patients. New Yorkers deserve the same right to medical marijuana.
NORML will continue to update you in the coming weeks as this proposal moves forward.
OFFICIAL GNRS JUDGE FINDINGS–By now I thought I must have seen the most horrible bike on earth….
But I guess not………………until now !
—Jim Waggaman
QUICK TECH HELP FOR EDITOR, New Bikernet Reader Comment!–5-Ball Bagger Project Bike — Wrecked Bagger Part 1
http://www.bikernetbaggers.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=12825
Sorry to hear of this. I had a friend who was tossed off his decker as a result of a tank slapper, and I myself had an accident that sounds eerily similar to the conclusion of your ordeal.
I will never own a full dressed bike, but if I did the FIRST upgrade would be the True Track. I cannot begin to comprehend why, with all the reports of H-Ds with this problem, they haven’t corrected the obvious design flaw. Negligence or depraved indifference? I hope you’re healing well .
— One Eye
jbriffa@cogeco.ca
Windsor
BIKERNET STAFFER COMMENT ABOUT A COMMENT--I don’t know what ever happened to sleeping in late to 5am. I’ve got a ton of work that’s always due for Classic Trucks, Street Rodder or Rod & Custom, so now I wake up right at 3am and start pounding the keys. I’m not complaining, it’s an incredible ride.
Not before I read the Thursday News, or the Sunday Post though.
Comments on the Thursday News: Yeah, I’ll say you’ve been involved with motorcyclist rights for a long time. It was at the El Monte courthouse in 1972 that we met. You showed up to help fight an unsafe vehicle ticket for my erstwhile friend Dean Pettigrew’s 18-inch over springer. Through the years I’ve watched you do a lot of good for other people, and I’m one of them.
One last thing.
My entry for the name the caption contest Bikernet isn’t running on the image with Natalie Jackson. “Does this rear fender make my butt look big?”
–John
ENGRAVING ADVICE FROM THE MASTERS—I thought I would look into engraving my signature into the back of my hand made belt buckles, so I reached out to Heather New, a master engraver. At first I asked about Dremel tools. Here’s her response.
Dremels can be very wiggly, so i mostly use them for the background areas, and some shaping
but for sure they can be great too 🙂
I think you could just practice on something first and design your signature.
Put white water-based paint on your piece—
(nurse’s “shoe white” works great for this—you know with a sponge applicator?).
Let it dry, mark the piece with a pencil and then follow it as best as you can…
The white washes off easily after you are done.
and for goodness sakes, don’t stop with your signature!
Do something groovy and be happy with it!
Check out this guy: http://www.lillianrosechoppers.com/10.html
He contacted me 3-4 years ago, and had been shot down by somebody big in the biz…telling him that he should not be using a dremel—It isn’t “real” engraving and on and on…blah-blah-blah.
I instead told him to totally go for it!!!! and to ignore anyone who says otherwise!!!!
And now he’s getting his art on, and making a few bucks, so who cares?
I think its a tragedy to stop somebody else from getting artsy 🙁
You can see the vibration in his cuts from using a dremel, but it has its own look and I dig it anyway:)
If you look at one of his air cleaner covers, it is a copy of the one I did for Sinwu’s bike,
and I couldn’t be more happy about that!!!!!!!!!!
That somebody out there felt like my work was worthy to be copied!!!
Awesome~! He has several pieces that look like ones I have done, and
that feels just GREAT 🙂 heehee
I always say go Big or Go Home…so I say start with something BIG, not something small!!~!
you won’t regret it!!!
And if you screw up, buff it out—metal is very forgiving that way, and I doubt any
of the really good engravers haven’t screwed up..
We stab ourselves until we learn to keep our holding hand down.
(keep your holding hand down!!)
My best tip for a dremel would be safety glasses…
I worked with a guy in a jewelry manufacturing plant who lost an eye using one.
His safety glasses were right there— on top of his bench.
I think of him everytime I cook spaghetti.
Be careful and have fun with it!
and don’t let any Ego’s tell you, you’re doing it wrong.
–Heather
THIS JUST IN, New Bikernet Reader Comment!– Big Dog K-9 Chance Of A Lifetime
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=1574
That bike is awesome!
–Kevin kimani
Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
ARE HELMETS EFFECTIVE?– Feds will stop hyping effectiveness of bike helmets.
Two federal government agencies will withdraw their longstanding claims that bicycle helmets reduce the risk of a head injury by 85%. The decision comes in response to a petition the Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA) filed under the federal Data Quality Act.
In 1989, a study in Seattle estimated that helmets prevent 85% of head injuries. Later efforts to replicate those results found a weaker connection between helmets and head injuries, but public health advocates, government web sites, and the news media often present it as fact.
Bad information can cause problems, even when it is promoted with the best intentions. If people think that helmets stop almost all head injuries, consumers will not demand better helmets, and legislators may feel it makes sense to require everyone to wear one. WABA asked two federal agencies to correct the misinformation, and after a lengthy process, they’ve agreed to do so.
How effective are bicycle helmets?
In theory, helmets should absorb the shock from a crash. If your head strikes the ground or a vehicle, your brain could be seriously shaken by the sudden deceleration. With a helmet, the foam around your head forms a cushion.
They can also prevent head fractures by spreading the force of the impact. It’s like the difference between being hit on the head by a rock or a beach ball with the same weight.
It’s hard to tell how often helmets actually prevent head injuries, however. Experiments on people are unethical, so instead researchers collect hospital data on people involved in bicycle crashes.
In 1989, a team of researchers led by Dr. Robert S. Thompson, a preventative care specialist at the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, collected data about cyclists in Seattle who went to area hospitals after a crash. Only 7% of the cyclists with head injuries wore helmets, but 24% of those without head injuries did wear helmets. Their statistical analysis, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, estimated that helmets had reduced the risk of a head injury by 85%.
Dr. Thompson’s study was a “case-control study” like those that first found a link between smoking and cancer. There is no true “control” group, but epidemiologists say these studies are good for showing whether something has a good or bad effect on health, though not for quantifying it.
Dozens of researchers sought to replicate the Thompson findings in their own communities. They also found that helmets reduce the risk of head injuries, but less frequently than Thompson’s team found. Some studies even found that helmets increase the risk of neck injuries. If you consider the entire body of research rather than just one study, and look at both head and neck injuries, helmets only reduce the risk of injury by about 15% to 45% .
Nonetheless, public health advocates seized on the 85% estimate as a good way to communicate risk: failing to wear a helmet makes you more than 6 times as likely to experience a head injury.
Government websites and newspapers have repeated it to the point where it has become ubiquitous in discussions about bicycle helmets.
Misinformation encourages helmet laws, discourages better helmets.
Bicycle safety is one of WABA’s central missions. It requires helmets on all rides that it organizes, and it sponsors the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, an independently-funded organization that reviews bicycle helmets and encourages improvements in their design. In the 1990s, WABA supported proposals to require children under the age of 16 to wear bicycle helmets, which eventually became law.
But WABA draws the line at laws requiring adults to wear helmets. Such laws do little to promote safety, but they discourage bike sharing and other uses of bicycles for short trips.
This year, WABA fought hard against a bill in the Maryland General Assembly that would have required all adults to wear bicycle helmets on any trip, no matter how short. The Maryland Department of Transportation supported the mandatory helmet bill, citing the 85% estimate, while an article about it in the Washington Post cited a figure from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that helmets prevent 80% of head injuries.
Fortunately, objections from cyclists persuaded the bill’s sponsor not to move forward with it.
Recently, most helmet research has focused on making helmets cool, rather than more protective. Better ventilation and more fashionable designs might encourage more people to buy and wear helmets, but it does not make them safer. Could that be because everyone is assuming that helmets are already 85% effective? Would that change if people thought helmets were less than 50% effective?
WABA pushed agencies to correct the misinformation.
Last February, I sent emails to both CDC and NHTSA, pointing out that the 85% estimate is incorrect and providing citations to newer research. Laurie Beck, an epidemiologist from CDC promised to remove the error.
Meanwhile, NHTSA staff told me that they were too busy to discuss the matter, so we made a formal “request for correction” under the Data Quality Act, which requires information on federal web sites to be accurate and supported by appropriate research.
Two months later, NHTSA agreed to remove the 85% estimate from its website. We expect other agencies to follow the lead of NHTSA and CDC, though some may need some encouragement.
This probably won’t be the last we hear this factoid. Some nongovernmental public health advocates have ignored the results of the last 20 years of research and won’t correct their stump speeches simply because the federal government removes an outdated estimate from its websites.
Will NHTSA step forward? The agency funds a lot of data collection efforts, and it clearly seems to think that the public needs to know how effective helmets are. Now that it concedes that it has been propagating the wrong answer for all these years, will it fund the research needed to provide the correct answer?
–by Jim Titus
–from Rogue
[page break]
NEWS FLASH, New Bikernet Reader Comment!– BIKERS IN NEED RUN #3
http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=11634
I think this would be a very worthy cause to become involved with. Thank you for the info
–Mari Ferguson Alexander
Sebastian, FL
Rogue will be glad to hook up anyone with this group. It would be cool for this effort to expand nationwide.–Bandit
THE ENGRAVING AWARD OF THE YEAR GOES TO–Have you ever seen THIS???
http://www.ottocarter.com/godspeed.htm
I seriously had tears in my eyes when I saw it…and I wanted to quit.
Not sure what tools he uses and I DONT CARE!
I actually forwarded this page to a bunch my favourite customers when I first saw it…(even the rich ones!!)
Not wanting to lose business, but wanting to SHARE this beautiful work or art with the world.
AMAZING.
Everytime I want to quit I look at it, and want to improve.
You must do the same and create something beautiful.
–Heather
BIKERNET WEEKEND SAFETY ALERT– NONE OF THE MOTOR CYCLES IN THIS PICTURE CAN BE SEEN IN THE TRUCKER’S MIRRORS OR OTHER BLIND SPOTS.
–from Raymond Russell
Australia
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BORN FREE PARTY WAS STILL FREE—Hang on for the too cool event coming to Southern California soon. It’s not free, it’s two-day, but you can’t sleep over, and I wonder if they handled the no-cell-phone-use issue. Also no colors allowed.
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And then there’s the traffic. And who will be watching the bikes overnight? I wonder if Michael Lichter is coming out this year for the not so free Born Free Event? We will bring you all the reports.
–Renegade
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MORE ON ENGRAVING FROM THE CANADIAN MASTER— Hi again, I think you are refering to “chasing” You chase the cutter with a hammer
(this is where the pneumatics come in…same thing, little jack-hammers, but mechanical)
I believe Tay Hererra uses that method…God he is so good.
I use gravers…pushing…but tend to take out the deep areas (background)
with a dremel…
I learned to remove material in ancient times with a wiggle cut,,, (which is that zig-zag cut you see alot in western engraving)
You haver a flat graver and rock it back & forth walking it forward…over and over and over and
over and over at different angles until the depth has been achieved.
although I still have to do it that way alot, (too much, actually) after 25+ years of doing that, my arm was hooped.
I have had to sleep with a brace on my arm, for 3-4 years now or I can’t move it.
There was a 3-month stint a few years ago where i could barely put make-up on (EEEK!!) it was so bad.
I am improving somewhat…but of course If I don’t work, I don’t eat.
So, I decided to try a rotary a few years ago, to help with certain things,and save pain,
and so far I am happy with that decision.
although, a person just cannot use one for everything!
I don’t !!
To me, it helps alot though, especially with the pain.
I happen to preach “use whatever works”—same as the master who taught me.
He uses all of the above…pneumatics, plain wood handled gravers, and dremel.
He also taught me that it isn’t the tool; it’s what you can “see” hidden within the metal 🙂
Go for it and make something awesome for the world 🙂
–Heather
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FORCED TO STAY OPEN ON SUNDAY– You think English is easy?
I think a retired English teacher was bored…THIS IS GREAT!
Read all the way to the end…
This took a lot of work to put together!
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong for me to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear..
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Let’s face it – English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England or French fries in France .. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
PS. – Why doesn’t ‘Buick’ rhyme with ‘quick’?
You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is ‘UP.’
It’s easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?
Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends.
And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.
We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.
At other times the little word has real special meaning.
People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.
A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!
To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary.
In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.
It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don’t give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.
When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.
When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.
When it doesn’t rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on and on, but I’ll wrap it UP,
for now my time is UP,
so…….it is time to shut UP!
ROGUE’S BAD COP INVESTIGATION–Sheriff’s deputy convicted of rape sentenced to 9 years in prison Jose Rigoberto Sanchez must serve prison term and register as a sex offender after assault while on duty in L.A. County.
By Ryan Menezes
She was driven to a dark road in the desert in the back of patrol car. The sheriff’s deputy parked in a secluded spot in Palmdale and told her to walk to the front of the car.
It was there, the woman said Friday in court, that the L.A. County deputy raped her and changed her life forever.
“You essentially murdered a part of me and I’ll never be able to get it back,” the victim tearfully said as she stared at her attacker, Jose Rigoberto Sanchez. “A police officer is supposed to serve and protect. I had nowhere to run because the one who I should have been able to run to for help was the one harming me.”
Following the woman’s statement, Sanchez, who pleaded no contest to one count of rape while under the color of authority and one count of soliciting a bribe, was sentenced to nine years in state prison. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Bork also ordered Sanchez to register with the state as a sex offender.
The woman said she believed Sanchez, 29, deserved “far more” time behind bars. The Times generally does not name victims of sexual assaults.
According to a probation report released Friday, Sanchez spotted the then-24-year-old woman at a gas station in Palmdale on Sept. 22, 2010. He ran her license plate and discovered she had an outstanding arrest warrant, the report states.
Sanchez followed her car for a while and then pulled her over. She acknowledged to Sanchez that she had been drinking, according to the document, which was based on police reports and interviews.
After conducting a Breathalyzer test, Sanchez said she was over the legal limit, the report states. He told her she was “hot” and asked what she would do to avoid arrest before telling her to lock her car with her cell phone and purse inside the vehicle. He then placed her in the back of his patrol car without handcuffing her, the report says.
Sanchez drove the woman out to the desert, raped her against the hood of the patrol car, then drove her back to her car, the probation report says. He followed her home and asked for her phone number to “mess around” again, the report states. Out of fear, the woman told authorities she gave him her number.
Prosecutors say that two nights later Sanchez, a seven-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, pulled over a 36-year-old woman for investigation of driving under the influence and solicited a bribe in the form of sexual activity. With the help of a friend the woman refused, the report states.
On Friday, Sanchez, who was shackled and wearing an orange jumpsuit, was stoic. He mostly looked down at the defense table as his first victim berated him.
“I know that at some point you will get out of your prison, but me? I am stuck in mine for the rest of my life,” she said, adding that she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the assault.
She said she lived in fear during the three years the crime was under investigation and he was not in custody.
The woman filed a civil lawsuit against Sanchez, the county and the Sheriff’s Department in November 2011. The case is pending.
ryan.menezes@latimes.com
–from Rogue
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY MEDITATION WORD OF THE DAY– omphaloskepsis om-fuh-loh-SKEP-sis , noun;
1. contemplation of one’s navel as part of a mystical exercise.
There is a word for that, Greek, of course, which has come into English: omphaloskepsis , or meditating while staring at one’s navel. Marvelous, isn’t it. I love words.
…as a mere illusion, who run away from it and devote their time and energy to occupations which Mr. Cardan sums up and symbolises in the word omphaloskepsis .
Omphaloskepsis comes from the Greek roots omphalos which means “navel” and sképsis which means “act of looking.”
Mongols rally against federal lawsuit targeting club logo—
By Brian Day, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club joined with thousands of bikers from throughout the region Saturday at a rally to garner support and funds to combat a lawsuit brought by federal authorities seeking to take control of the Mongols’ trademarked logo.
The U.S. Department of Justice last year filed a lawsuit seeking to seize control of the trademarked logo of the Mongol Nation Motorcycle Club LLC, arguing that the Mongols are a criminal organization and that the mark is used for intimidation.
But the Mongols and their attorneys argue that the government is overstepping its bounds with the lawsuit, which they said would infringe on the rights of club members.
“They’re trying to destroy the right of men to associate and indicate their association,” said Joe Yanny, an attorney representing the Mongols. “It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
The trial, previously scheduled to begin last week, has been postponed to late September.
Guests at Saturday’s rally at the House Bar and Grill in Maywood sported patches from dozens of motorcycle clubs, ranging from the Vagos to Christian biker clubs.
Hundreds of roaring Harley-Davidsons lined the streets outside the jam-packed venue, where bikers ate, drank and listened to music.
The rally represented,“a show of support from basically all the motorcycle clubs in Southern California,” Yanny said.
Federal prosecutors, following an October 2008 operation dubbed “Black Rain,” in which 80 Mongol members rounded up from six states ultimately agreed to plead guilty to a host of charges, have labeled the Mongols an “outlaw motorcycle club.” Prosecutors allege the group is involved in crimes ranging from murder to drug dealing, and the government therefore has the authority to take control of the Mongols’ logo.
In addition to being a violation of club members’ free-speech rights, Yanny said, “more importantly, it’s a due-process issue.”
The government is attempting to punish the entire club of more than 700 members for the actions of a small fraction, he said, adding that those involved in the 2008 criminal case are no longer club members.
“They want to paint the whole group as bad because of it,” Yanny said. “These men are decent men.”
Many Mongols are former military members simply seeking camaraderie, he said.
The club’s constitution takes a zero-tolerance stance toward criminal activity, he added.
But U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officials have maintained that the club is a criminal organization, and that taking control of the logo was a measure intended to prevent violence.
Mongols President David “lil Dave” Santillan has said the club has been working hard to improve its image in recent years.
He thanked guests for their support at Saturday’s rally.
THE FINAL CHAPTER ON ENGRAVING–
Next to that, 3rd from left is a liner—it has a lot of tiny slices…it’s a flat graver but leaves fine lines for shading etc…
Then I have some liners and flats and squares which I shape myself.
I do hit them sometimes, but I’m not very good at it,
and I find a rotary tool much faster for that.
These are the things we send through our hands from pushing too hard. Right into the knuckle, more stabs than I like to admit … (keep the holding hand down, keep the holding hand down)
At the bottom are just handles…you buy the handles and knives separately
(jewelry supply). I’m certain Tay uses much larger tools than I do…and although I have “Man hands”
I like my gravers fairly short…gives me more control with jewelry.
I do a lot of jewelry too…(which is why I use that engravers ball—bike parts won’t fit!)
You can see the wiggle cut I mentioned on the ring in photo.
Tay’s method would include tapping these same type of things, (although not sure exactly what he uses…I bet he makes his own tools)
and they are virtually the same with any pneumatic engraving machine…but the machine does all the push like a jack-hammer.
Oh and I use a microscope a lot….problem is I don’t have a good stand that will hang over big parts.
Some days I feel like duct-taping my microscope to my head.
but then I’d look silly, and of course have a sore neck.
–Heather New
BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY SPECIAL SUNDAY HOURS--Barry was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young
‘pullets,’ and ten roosters to fertilize the eggs.
He kept records, and any rooster not performing went into the soup pot and was replaced.
This took a lot of time, so he bought some tiny bells and attached them to his roosters.
Each bell had a different tone, so he could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing.
Now, he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report by just listening to the bells.
Barry’s favourite rooster, old Butch, was a very fine specimen, but this morning he noticed old Butch’s bell hadn’t rung at all!
When he went to investigate, he saw the other roosters were busy chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing, but the pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover.
To Barry’s amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it couldn’t ring.
He’d sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one.
Barry was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the Brisbane City Show and he became an overnight sensation among the judges.
The result was the judges not only awarded old Butch the “No Bell Piece Prize,” but they also awarded him the “Pulletsurprise” as well.
Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making. Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the unsuspecting populace and screwing them when they weren’t paying attention!!?
–from Jim Waggaman
LET’S PEEL OUT—I need to wrap it up, splash some water in my face and hit the road. I feel like this is going to be a big week approaching. I need to work on the buckle for my first dealer purchase, and then study engraving some.
Dr. Hamster will discuss Sturgis plans and moving to the desert. He’s becoming a member of the Chop N Grind Racing team in 17 Palms. He wants me to uproot the Bikernet Headquarters and move to the hills.
We are scrambling to pull all the pieces together for the Los Angeles Times Book Fair next weekend. We will have a booth devoted to motorcycle books at the USC campus. Stop by, if you’re in the neighborhood.
And I need to scramble to find my service records from 1966, so I can go back to the VA for help with my healthcare efforts and hip surgery. I thought these guys were suppose to help us? We will see.
Let’s peel out.
Ride Free Forever!
–Bandit
