Fortuna Cemetery Vandal Suspects Apprehended

Two suspects that reportedly used a mutilated deer while vandalizing 3 cemeteries in Fortuna have been apprehended on Halloween Eve. 

Two Suspects Arrested After Vandalizing Three Local Cemeteries.

On October 30, 2011 at 5:30pm, Officers with the Fortuna Police Department responded to the Rohnerville Catholic Cemetery (1715 Rohnerville Road) for a report of two subjects vandalizing several areas of the cemetery.
Upon arrival, officers located 22 year old James McMinn and 22 year old Margaret Lopez both of Fortuna. While on scene, officers also spoke with a witness who had confronted McMinn during the vandalism at which point McMinn brandished a knife and threatened witness
During the investigation, officer located items on one of the suspects and obtained information leading officers to believe that the suspects had also been at the I00f Cemetery (5254 Rohnerville Road) and the Mason Cemetery (5266 Rohnerville Road).
While searching one of the suspects, officers located parts to a mutilated deer. The remaining portion of the animal was later located at one of the other involved cemeteries.
Officers continued their investigation and located much more extensive damage at both of these cemeteries.
Preliminary estimates show damage cost in excess of $30,000.00.
Both suspects were booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.
McMinn was booked for:
• Felony Vandalism to a Cemetery
• Vandalism to items of Historical Value
• Brandishing
• Felony Threats
• Assault and Battery
Lopes was booked for:
• Felony Vandalism to a Cemetery
• Vandalism to items of Historical Value
The assault victim was treated and released from Redwood Memorial Hospital.
This investigation is ongoing and the department would like anyone who witnessed the incident to call the Fortuna Police Department.
All three cemeteries are managed by the Fortuna Cemetery District.
Photographs Available via the Department’s Facebook Page at www.Facebook.com/Fortunapolice

Occupy Eureka Worried About Cops

The local Occupy Eureka protest at the Humboldt County Court House in Eureka is worried that the police will try to remove them sometime in the middle of the night this weekend.  They are asking for support from those that have video cameras and those in the press that are near by to document any action by local police to remove them from their encampment. They also are looking for more people to join them at night and in the early morning hours and since the county denied their request for a porta potty, they could use someone at night with an RV that has a working toilet.

Coming Soon To Westhaven Ca., New Cell Towers

I don't think the public has any say over where these things go but that won't stop them from trying.  Meet at the fire hall on 6th Avenue.  There is an exit on northbound US 101, go to the stop sign and make a left.  It's about a block down on the right.  Or just use your google phone to look up the...

147 Companies Run The World

http://youtu.be/40ijxYVn810
Embed never works for me on individual posts so you probably only see the link above.  Click to see Thom Hartmann explain how scientists figured this out.

Koch Brothers Funded Study Proves Global Warming

 

Today's Green Report from Brad (from Bradblog) and Desi has a great story about a study...

Play the link and hear for yourself.

http://www.bradblog.com/audio/greennews/GNR_102511.mp3

B of A Just Moved 75-Trillion Dollars In Risky Debt To The Tax Payers

I was reading the Humboldt Herald where they were talking about having a municipal bank and all the pros and cons but this post from Skippy just had to be shared.

skippy says:

October 23, 2011 at 12:21 pm

This should be on everyone’s radar:
“Potential losses on Bank of America’s massive $75 trillion book of risky derivative contracts has just been dumped onto the FDIC by the Federal Reserve.”
HERE’s the short story, one you’ll certainly be hearing more of in the coming weeks:
BANK of America has moved derivatives from its Merrill Lynch unit to a subsidiary flush with insured deposits– leaving taxpayers on the hook should things go sour. The Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the two regulatory agencies overseeing the move, disagree over the transfers. The Federal Reserve said it favors moving the derivatives. The FDIC, which would have to pay off depositors in the event of a bank failure, is objecting. Bank of America, however, doesn’t believe it needs any regulatory approval whatsoever.
THERE are no losses– yet. Some analysts feel the company is preparing for bankruptcy. Bank of America stock, currently at $6.47, has been tanking for some time losing 50% of its share value in the past year alone. It has $1.04 trillion in actual deposits.
FIRST leaked by Bloomberg news this week, the originally secretive deal is now out in the open. Writing recently in the Rolling Stone magazine: ‘Occupy Wall Street—Washington Still Doesn’t Get It,’ Matt Taibbi noted:
“(BY) shifting… derivatives contracts onto its own federally-insured balance sheet… an irresponsible debtor, Bank of America, is keeping a loan shark from breaking its legs by getting his rich parents to co-sign his loan. The parents in this metaphor would be the FDIC. The FDIC naturally is not pleased with this development, but the Fed, the supreme banking regulator, is apparently encouraging this move. Here’s how Bloomberg characterized this move: ‘ In short, the Fed’s priorities seem to lie with protecting the bank-holding company from losses at Merrill, even if that means greater risks for the FDIC’s insurance fund.’
“AGAIN and again, the Fed proves it has no appetite for allowing Wall Street to eat its own pain, and continually encourages banks to stick the government with its losses and bad assets. This move will allow Bank of America to keep a Band-Aid over its disastrous financial situation far longer than it would be able to in a genuinely free market. People should be outraged at this development.”
THIS IS big news, folks, and we should be outraged. Is Bank of America Too Big to Fail?

What Model Boeing Aircraft Hit World Trade Centers?

http://youtu.be/vSC-DxXb5oU
If the video at the link above is real, what type of aircraft is it?  I was under the impression that both buildings were hit by Boeing 767 aircraft.  Problem is the 767 has only 2 engines and the plane in the picture has 4. 

Does someone out there know more about the 767 that can enlighten me?  Maybe the video is faked?

"Dust Mask Bandit" In Custody?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

I have word from a reliable source (I have not been able to independently verrify though) that the so called Dust Mask Bandit has been apprehended. The suspect led police on a wild goose chase from the McKinleyville Ray's Food Place, Coast Central Credit Union branch to some woods somewhere near Fieldbrook where the suspect abandoned his car.

Here is the story up to this point according to a Humboldt County Sheriff's press release:

On Thursday October 20, 2011 at about 1330 hours, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a bank robbery at the McKinleyville Ray’s Food Place Coast Central Credit Union Branch. Deputies responded to the bank and discovered the suspect had successfully robbed the bank and had fled prior to the arrival of the deputies. Employees of the bank were interviewed and described how a dark tan complexion male (5-9 to 5-10 tall medium to stocky build) approached the teller counter. The suspect was wearing a dark colored bandana over his face and wearing a large felt style floppy hat, “Like a pimp costume hat,” gray sweater with a very bright royal blue shirt under the sweater. The first teller the suspect approached told the suspect he would need to remove the bandana from his face prior to conducting business. The suspect the displayed a handgun and demanded money from the teller. The suspect next went to a desk and demanded money and was told none was stored at that location. The suspect then went to a second teller and demanded money there.

The suspect then exited the bank with an amount of money that is not being released. An employee followed the suspect out of the bank and was able to watch the suspect remove his hat (dark “buzzed cut hair) and enter a green newer model Mazda with tinted windows, white stickers on the rear window and a “5” in the license plate, modified exhaust. The employee watched as the vehicle drove out of sight, westbound on School Road.

An officer from the Arcata Police Department had been monitoring the call and parked near US 101 and Giuntoli Lane to watch for the suspect vehicle. The suspect vehicle did pass the Arcata Officer and an attempted traffic stop was made. The suspect failed to yield to the Arcata Police Unit and a pursuit was initiated. The suspect drove to the 500 block of Fieldbrook Road, near Parker Lane, and exited the vehicle fleeing into the woods behind the residence. Deputies from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Wardens from the California Department of Fish and Game, Officers from the Arcata Police Department and Officers from the California Highway Patrol responded to assist in the search for the suspect. A request for a helicopter from the California Highway Patrol was made. The helicopter attempted to respond to the search area, but was not able to assist due to low clouds and fog.

While a perimeter was established at this location, two Detectives from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigator and two Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) responded to the Coast Central Credit Union for interviews, evidence collection and investigative steps.

At the suspect search scene the California Highway Patrol restricted traffic to one lane, due to the high volume of police vehicles. The roadway was not closed. The Arcata Police Department was responding with a K9 to assist with the suspect search and a perimeter was maintained awaiting the K9. The Fieldbrook Elementary School, which was 3 – 4 miles from this scene, was notified of the current situation. The school independently decided to place the school on “lock down.” This lock down also affected the Dow’s Prairie Elementary School’s end of day bus route.

Once the Arcata Police Department K9 arrived on scene, an extensive search of the area began. This included contacting numerous residents for possible sightings of the suspect and search of multiple outbuildings and wooded and brushy locations. The suspect was not located during this first search. At no point was a SWAT team requested or involved with this search.

The search was suspended and Sheriff’s Detectives, Sheriff’s Crime Scene Investigator and FBI Agents arrived to process the suspect’s vehicle for evidence. During this process, officers and agents were alerted by a resident who had just seen the suspect on Parker Road. One deputy briefly witnessed the suspect as he ran into a heavily wooded area. Again multiple officers and agents converged on the location with the assistance of the APD K9. The K9 alerted on several locations, multiple buildings were searched and neighbors notified. The suspect was not located and the search was concluded when hours of darkness limited the ability to safely search.

During this operation, there were no evacuations requested of the neighborhood and multiple residents were contacted to be made aware of the situation. Residents were asked to be vigilant of their surroundings and to call the Sheriff’s Office with any suspicious activity.

Regarding this investigation:

The Sheriff’s Office and FBI are conducting the robbery as a joint investigative effort. The identity of the suspect is believed to be known by the investigators. There were multiple items of evidence located that are being forensically analyzed that will further solidify the suspect’s identity. The name of the suspect will not be released until the analysis of the evidence is completed. There is a high degree of probability that this suspect is responsible for other bank robberies, not only in our area but other locations in California and Oregon. Recovered evidence is being evaluated to support that probability.

Western Oregon Breaks HSU Lumberjacks 6 Game Winning Streek

Tonight's football game final is Western Oregon 40 and HSU 24

This is the first loss of the season for HSU but will have a chance to save face against Western Oregon  next month.

Will New Trinidad Pier Replace Old Pier Charm?

The old Trinidad pier with its crocked  crooked old buildings and old bent light posts, pilings and crab equipment did have a certain charm. It did need some work though. While kayaking under the pier I saw several wooden pilings that you could stick your paddle through. The new pier will sit higher off the water as you can see from the construction going on in the photograph.

The new pier will be built of steel and concrete. It may not have the same charm but I'll be much safer for crab fishermen during storms. Truth is, I haven't seen an artists rendering of what the new pier will look like.

There are some great drawings of how the constructions is to be done here.http://trinidadrancheria.com/sites/trinidadrancheria.com/files/Plans_Structural.pdf

Here is what it says about the project summary in the Recovery.gov website.  This site tracks money spent on the Stimulus that many republicans said didn't provide any jobs or do any good.

CHER-AE HEIGHTS INDIAN COMMUNITY

The Trinidad Rancheria has taken on the responsibility of reconstructing the pier to provide a safe and environmentally friendly facility and to provide resource enhancement for the area. The Trinidad Rancheria proposes to correct the structural deficiencies of the pier: 1. To enable our Commercial Fishing Fleet to continue one of the remaining industries in Northern California, 2. To allow the City of Trinidad whose businesses depend on this industry as well as tourism to continue, 3. To provide jobs to Trinidad Rancheria Tribal Members and the entire community, 4. To improve the pier utilities for the benefit of the public, and 5. To indirectly improve the water quality conditions and provide additional habitat for the biological community in the ASBS. The structural integrity of the pier is difficult to maintain because of the deterioration of creosote treated Douglas fir piles. The new pier will be 540? long and will vary in width from 24?-26? to match the existing footprint. The current pier will be replaced with 13,500 square feet of recast concrete decking, 115 concrete piles (including batter and motor piles) four hoists, standard lights, guardrail and dock utilities pipes including power, water and phone. Stairs will be replaced with an ADA compliant ramp, and a new storm drain system will be incorporated into the new pier design.

Clarification of Codes

Welcome Home Veterans!

October 21, 2011

Message From Peter J. Gravett

Secretary of the California Department Of Veterans Affairs

Iraq War Veterans Coming Home!

“With today’s announcement by President Obama that our military engagement in Iraq is coming to an end, I want to remind all Californians that the California Department of Veterans Affairs is ready to receive our nation’s youngest veterans and assist their transition back into civilian life. Our work here at the California Department of Veterans Affairs is even more important as we connect these young men and women with the services and benefits they will need to successfully transition from the battlefield to home. These heroes deserve our gratitude and our respect.”

This doesn't mean you don't need to do the Christmas cards for soldiers and the socks for soldiers stuff though, there are still plenty of them stationed in Afghanistan and elsewhere.  It is good news though as tens of thousands of families will be rejoining for the holidays.

Why Do People Still Fly The Confederate Battle Flag?

I am amazed at how many vehicles I see in Humboldt that have the flag that represents the losers of the US Civil War on their vehicles. Are they proud losers or racists? Is it possible that they are too stupid to know what the flag actually represents? Maybe they never studied history and just want to be like the Dukes of Hazard? What do you think?

 

Naomi Wolf: how I was arrested at Occupy Wall Street

NYPD lies to author and reporter Naomi Wolf as she tries to enter a Huffington Post event where New York Governor  Andrew Cuomo was to attend.  She was invited to the event but  she stopped to talk to some Occupy Wall St. protesters outside before entering and was arrested for something.  The police lied to her. What ever happened to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?

See the whole story and even video at The Guardian.

Forest Service Gate Crashers On The Run

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Wednesday October 19, 2011 at about 0515 hours, employees of the United States Forest Service Office, Orleans, were alerted to three subjects in the locked parking area of the compound.  Two adult males and one adult female were seen rummaging through USFS vehicles and personal employee vehicles.  The three suspects were each wearing bandanas concealing their faces.  The suspects were confronted by employees and they entered a 1984 Subaru GL station wagon.  The vehicle then sped out of the lot and “rammed” the closed gate of the parking lot.  The vehicle became high centered on the gate and inoperable. The suspects then fled the vehicle, running away from the area on foot.  Deputies responded to the scene and discovered the vehicle was reported stolen from Hoopa on Tuesday October 18, 2011.  Recovered from the vehicle were multiple chainsaws, backpacks, gas cans and tools, all USFS property.  One USFS employee’s vehicle was also entered and an I-pod Classic was stolen, this was not recovered.  No other property was reported to be missing/stolen from the yard.  How the suspect vehicle was able to enter the locked parking area is not known at this time.  Anyone with any information of the identity of the suspects is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office with leads (707-445-7251).

This always works in the movies, crash the gate with a stolen car and get away during a high speed chase.  What is baffling is how they got the stolen car into the locked yard? 

Some Photos From Today

Trinidad sky just before noon

e 

Before the march on the F. St. waterfront today

Occupy Wall St. marchers in action down town Eureka Ca. 10-15-2011

Occupy Humboldt Eureka Style

As part of the world wide Occupy Wall St. protest today, marchers met in Eureka Ca. at the F. Street waterfront boardwalk.  As the crowd grew people would ask who was in charge and we would all look at each other and say, not me.  I just heard about it on facebook or got an email or saw a blog.  Before the crowd left to a march through downtown Eureka past several banks, I think I discovered who is behind all of this. I placed a photo of him below in case anyone knows this person.

The cars that went by were all in support but 3.  One guy actually stopped in the intersection and got out of his shiny SUV to remind the protesters that he paid taxes so that he shouldn't have to wait for the crowd to finish getting across the street.  He was obviously having a bad day.  Another flipped me the bird from his nice brand new Chrysler sedan and I heard someone else yell "get out of the street". The rest were giving the thumbs up or peace sign and honking.  After the march, some of us addressed the crowd in front of the Humboldt County Court House.  People are taking shifts and staying there overnight to keep the protest going and they are looking for more people to pick a night and join them for a camp out in front of the court house.

Below are some links to grainy compact video of the march today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32E8vuKSr6E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1lYoMKVptw

Good video from others
http://youtu.be/xAhXwWWZGVk

Occupy Wall St. Protest Saturday

Arcata, Calif., — In solidarity with the nationwide movement, Occupy Humboldt is planning a day of action for Occupy The Banks on Oct. 15.

The initial idea behind Occupy The Banks is to get the 99 Percent to withdraw their money from large, corporate banking institutions, such as Bank of America which has plans to introduce a new $5 monthly debit card fee. Instead, individuals are encouraged to bank with local institutions and credit unions.

Since corporations are recognized as people by our government, and their money is protected as political speech, the people are raising their “voices” and acting with their money.

"We all have different views, but we all realize that something needs to change with our current banking system," says Justin Gallant, occupier and HSU student.

Occupy Humboldt does not officially endorse any course of action, but encourages people to use the day to examine how they save and invest their money and the greater implications of those decisions. The hope is that people can act together to create positive alternatives and real economic justice.

The group will meet at 7th and H Streets in Arcata at 11:30 a.m. to create opportunities for reflection and action. Everyone is invited to participate. The regular 7 p.m. General Assembly, open to all, will follow.

While similar actions have also been publicized for Oct. 31, Nov. 3 and Nov. 5, among others, Occupy Humboldt will help celebrate Oct. 15 and each day of Occupy The Banks, as well.

Stay tuned...

________________________________

Peace & Solidarity

Occupy Humboldt

http://www.occupyhumboldt.org

In Eureka protesters plan to meet at the F Street Waterfront boardwalk at 1 pm Saturday and will march to the Humboldt County Court House. 

Get A Job You Lazy Bu...

Get a job you lazy bums was what was shouted at myself and those around me at the end of the day.
 On my way home from work, I stopped at the protest that was going on at the Eureka Court House.  The Occupy Wall St. group was joined by the supporters of the California prison hunger strike.  They were making their presence known by many signs, leaflets and even a movie shown on a battery powered TV. 

As a small not so fancy compact car turned the corner in front of the Humboldt County Court House and jail, a well fed  male driver yelled at us with instructions to get a job and other stuff about how lazy we were. He was obviously working hard yelling at us and moving the steering wheel of his little car.  It was about 6:45 pm and I had left work about a half hour ago.  The driver didn't have any signs on his car that said he was a courier, was delivering pizzas or was in any other way "working" while deriding us for not still  being at work.  I yelled back, " I have a job" but hind sight is 20/20 and now I wish I had responded differently.  One of the other young protesters said I inspired him as he had just been responding  to the few angry drivers by that he would love a job.  He had the right response.

A real job is what the Occupy Wall St. crowd is all about.  They are on the streets trying to protect not only my job but the misguided a** hole that told me to get a job. There were those that have graduated college with 50 thousand dollars in loans that they can't pay off because they have all the training and paper work but no job. There were other working folks there that, like me, were also done with their day jobs and showed up there on their own time.

The dick in the tiny car (I should talk, I drive a tiny Kia) that thought we should go out and take his job is not alone.  When protesting the war last year on a Saturday, I was also confronted by a**holes that thought because I was not working on a Saturday that I was a bum. This from people that are just driving by and are compelled to throw abuse and stupidity at people that want a better world for even those brainwashed Fox News watchers.

I feel that there is a movement growing and that many oppressed people are coming together even though the powers that be would seek to divide us as democrats or republicans, black or white, rich or poor, regular or extra crispy.  In reality, we had hundreds of cars and trucks go by with honks of approval compared to this one poor bastards attempt at bringing down the 99 percent. 

To the a**hole that pissed me off at the end of my work day I would like to say, get a job yourself you so called worker that doesn't back up other workers. Why can you drive around all day and yell at people why the rest of us have to work?   You should come down and join the protesters if you are such an advocate for jobs.  You are not only rude and illogical but you have the designation as being the stupidest person I encountered all day and I deal with people all over this country in the course of a single day.

Are Corporations Zombies?

Guest blog by Highboltage:

Are Corporations Zombies?

Are corporations the zombies that we have always feared (in make believe novels and movies) that have come to life in some Orwellian fashion? It sure seems like corporations are indeed the “undead.” If corporations are “persons” as Mitt Romney says, then how come they never die? The answer is clear. Corporations don’t die because they are the undead.
Corporations are single minded, just like movie zombies. Corporations single-mindedly pursue profits just like fictional zombies single-mindedly pursue our flesh. There is no morality except for profit, except for flesh.
Are they feasting upon us? I will leave that to you to discern, dear Reader.

Thanks Bill for the thought. Happy Halloween!
Check out more thoughts from Bill at Highboltage blog

Fire Your Large Bank By November 5th.

By Jim Rubenstein

Even with most credit unions closed for Columbus Day there was plenty of online buzz, and uncertainty, about what the credit union industry role might be on “Bank Transfer Day,” the latest event surfacing from the “Occupy Wall Street” protests.
Industry sources, speaking off the record, suggested any wholesale switch from large banks to CUs on Nov. 5, the day designated by one Californian and carried atwitter Monday, could conceivably put net worth ratios out of whack.

Here is another excerpt:
A Facebook page for the event states that “”together we can ensure that these banking institutions will ALWAYS remember the 5th of November!! If the 99% removes our funds from the major banking institutions on or by this date, we will send a clear message and give the 1% a taste of the fear that we experience every day when we aren't able to pay for our rent, food, medication, utilities, student loans, etc."

Read the whole article at Credit Union Times

Woodly Island Marina At Sunset

The Thursday sun set on boats between Eureka  and Woodly Island Ca.

Georgia blames immigration law for farm losses | The Raw Story

Georgia blames immigration law for farm losses The Raw Story

Rain Causes Traffic Accident On US 101 This Morning

At about 9:40 this morning a couple of vehicles got together on south bound US 101 between Arcata and Eureka this morning in a rainy commute.  No one seemed to be injured but the cars didn't so good.

Dirty Apes Take Over Crescent City

Red's Crescent Drive-in Theatre in Crescent City will be showing Rise of the Planet of the Apes this weekend and Final Destination 5.

Weather should hold for a late season of drive in movie fun.

Shows start at 7:30 pm and there will be snack bar specials $1.00 hot dogs and $2.00 chili dogs.
No Cantaloupe.

Admission: $12 dollars per car load Thursday, Friday and Saturday and $10 dollars on Sunday.
Click for google directions and map
2303 Elk Valley Road, Crescent City, CA

(707) 464-1813

 

Disclaimer: I don't receive any gratuity for plugging the drive-in.  I just think it's cool.

12,000 Prisoners Resume Hunger Strike in California

Outrageous Retaliation by Prison Officials
by Larry Everest and Bay Area Revolution Writers Group
A very just, very significant and courageous battle is rapidly spreading in California’s state prisons—and beyond. On September 26, prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) resumed their hunger strike—in the face of vicious lies and attacks and retaliation by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and other state officials, including Governor Jerry Brown. They had been on a hunger strike from July 1-July 20, demanding an end to the horrifically inhuman conditions they face. On September 29, the CDCR admitted that 4,252 inmates in eight state prisons had missed nine consecutive meals since Monday, September 26, and that state prisons at Calipatria, Centinela, Ironwood, Pelican Bay, San Quentin, and Salinas Valley, as well as the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and state prison at Corcoran, had all reported inmates on hunger strike. (The CDCR won’t count a prisoner as being on hunger strike until he or she has refused nine straight meals.)
Read More

Occupy Wall St. "Declaration of Occupation"

By Eric W. Dolan

Photo from RawStory.com

“As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together,” the declaration stated. “We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.”

“As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.”

“We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.”

More from Eric W. Dolan and Occupy Wall St.
Local Protests

This May Be Better Than A Revolution

By Jennifer Ablan and Matthew Goldstein

NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than three years after the financial crisis struck, the economy remains stuck in a consumer debt trap. It’s a situation that could take years to correct itself. That’s why some economists are calling for a radical step: massive debt relief.
Federal policy makers, they suggest, should broker what amounts to an out-of-court settlement between institutional bond investors, banks and consumer advocates – essentially, a “great haircut” to jumpstart the economy.

What some are envisioning is a negotiated process in which cash-strapped homeowners get real mortgage relief, even if it means forcing banks to incur severe write-downs and bond investors to absorb haircuts, or losses, in some of the securities sold by those institutions.
“We’ve put this off for too long,” said L. Randall Wray, a professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. “We need debt relief and jobs and until we get these two things, I think recovery is impossible.”

The bailout of the nation’s banks, a nearly trillion dollar stimulus package and an array of programs by the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates near zero may have stopped the economy from falling into the abyss. But none of those measures have fixed the underlying problem of too much consumer debt.
Read more at Reuters

It should be pointed out that the Federal Reserve in the US gave the international banksters $16-Trillion dollars in bail outs that this story and many other main stream media reports don't account for. All of out tax dollars should be accounted for like the $2.3 trillion dollars that then former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said was missing from the books of the Pentagon the day before 9/11. For some reason, just about everyone forgot about that the very next day. It's only $2.3 trillion dollars, that shouldn't be enough for the republicans to hold the country hostage 10 years later or should it? Did they do this on purpose? They could care less about investigating where this $2.3 trillion dollars went. They didn't even want to investigate how 9/11 happened until about a year and a half later, after the forensic evidence had mostly been removed and recycled.  Occupy Wall St. until they tell us the truth!

BBQ In The Rain

One of the first storms of the season has arrived on the north coast.  It was 68 degrees this morning and foggy but at about 4 pm some rain started to fall over the area.  This wasn't enough to stop Mason from keeping his BBQ going in front of Murphy's Market in Trinidad Ca.  He says they'll keep the BBQ going weekends until there is no more demand.  It will then disappear until next Spring sometime. 
See Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFR4yIhYV-Y

Pastels On The Plaza 2011

It started about 20 years ago with a hand full of artist selling sidewalk squares on the Arcata Plaza.  The money as then still goes to North Coast Children's Services.

Businesses pay $100 or $200 dollars a square and artists sign up and are assigned a sponsor although some sponsors and artists work together from the get go. 

These were done on Saturday and would have been in even better condition then but were still attracting crowds today.

I am told that the above square for the North Coast Environmental Center or NEC won first place.
The one below was actually some handy work from a skateboarding vandal.  I thought it was creative enough to include since it was right between real pastels on the plaza.

New Humboldt Venue For Michael Franti

In the parking lot of Blue Lake Casino and Hotel, there is a new water tight venue being built.  It is not a permanent structure but it looks like it will  be a great place for a big concert.  About 3-thousand people are expected for Michael Franti on Friday night.

There are 3 smaller booths and one of them is definitely the beer booth, they will have food as well.

I have to wonder if Blue Lake Casino will use this tent again for other big shows if this one goes well.

Parking is going to be a problem though as this used to be where you did that.