EPD Makes Several Drug Arrests

Wreck leads to discovery of hash, ecstasy, vicodin

Humboldt Sentinel
News 6/29/08
By Sentinel Staff

EUREKA -- EPD officers turned routine beat work into several drug arrests Friday and Saturday, taking three people to Humboldt County Correctional Facility for various charges.

At about 8:20 p.m. Friday, officers were sent to a traffic collision at Buhne and E Streets. While Kristina Babauta, 24, was taking her belongings out of a wrecked vehicle, an officer noticed her backpack smelled strongly of marijuana.

The officer searched the backpack and found “hash,” or concentrated cannabis marijuana, several unprescribed Vicodin pills, and a tablet thought to be ecstasy.

Babauta has been jailed for possession of a controlled substance and having concentrated cannabis. The driver of Babauta’s vehicle, Cassady Mandzik, 28, has been busted for drunken driving.

At about 1:32 a.m. Saturday, an officer on patrol spotted Stephen Mallory, 53, driving a Nissan sedan without working tail lights north on C Street just past Harris Street and stopped him for the traffic violation.

Learning Mallory was on probation, the officer searched Mallory and found he had what is suspected to be methamphetamine.

Mallory has been jailed for possession of a controlled substance and violating probation.

Later at about 11:45 a.m. Saturday, someone approached an officer on patrol to report seeing about a dozen people coming and going from a motel room within a short period of time, making him suspect drug deals.

When officers knocked on the door of the motel room on the 1100 block of 5th Street to investigate, Tong Yang, 48, invited them inside and offered to let them check the room.

Inside the room officers found a digital gram scale, drug packaging materials and two plastic baggies with a small amount of suspected crystal methamphetamine hidden inside a cigarette box.

Yang has been jailed for possession of a controlled substance.

Street Closures For Arcata Paving Projects

FEMA funds traffic control devices

Humboldt Sentinel
News 6/25/08
By Sentinel Staff

ARCATA -- Two blocks will be closed during work hours for a road paving project paid for with Federal Emergency Management Agency money, say Arcata public works officials.

Contractor RAO Construction will have traffic control devices in the project areas, Alliance Road between 29th Street and Spear Avenue and I Street between Ninth and 10th streets.

Alliance Road will be closed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, June 26 to Monday, June 30. I Street will be closed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, June 30 to Thursday, July 3.

Pedestrians and motorists can call RAO Construction at 442-2118 or the Arcata Public Works Department at 822-5957 if problems are encountered.

HSU Gets Hydrogen Powered Car

Station to be California’s first rural Hydrogen Highway station

Humboldt Sentinel
News 6/24/08
By Sentinel Staff

ARCATA -- Humboldt State University has been given a hydrogen-powered Toyota Prius that will use fuel produced by a new hydrogen fueling station built by the campus’s Schatz Energy Research Center (SERC).

Now in its test phase, the station will be California’s first rural facility in the Hydrogen Highway, an alternative energy initiative taking on new importance as world oil and gasoline prices soar.
HSU’s fueling station will be the northernmost link in a network of hydrogen stations allowing hydrogen-powered vehicles to travel throughout the state.

The hybrid car, designed to be powered by gasoline and electricity, was converted by Quantum Technologies of Irvine to run on hydrogen gas.

Provided by the California Air Resources Board, the Prius will be shared by HSU and other public agencies that have jointly supported the station project.

The nearly complete station will produce enough hydrogen fuel to maintain a fleet of three or four hydrogen-powered cars. SERC is pursuing funding and vehicle suppliers to build such a fleet.

The fueling station and car will be publicly dedicated at HSU on Thursday, September 4.

HSU Pair Gets USDA Rural Development Grant

$100,000 to help tribal entrepreneurship

Humboldt Seninel
News 6/23/08
By Sentinel Staff

ARCATA -- Two Humboldt State University women have been given a $100,000 Department of Agriculture grant they plan to use to help spur North Coast tribal economic development next year.

Maggie Gainer and Suzanne Burcell, who run HSU’s Office for Economic & Community Development, got back-to-back phone calls Wednesday from Rep. Mike Thompson and Sen. Barbara Boxer congratulating them for the grant award.

The Rural Business Opportunity Grant proposal, co-authored by the women, will fund business and economic development support project for Native American tribes in Northern California.

The project will give training and technical assistance to people planning both tribal and private business enterprises in Humboldt, Del Norte, and Siskiyou Counties.

“We plan to kick off our project with a two-day Tribal Economic Development Summit in the fall, co-hosted by Humboldt State and one or more tribes,” says Burcell. “The entire first day will feature tribal representatives telling their own stories.”

On the second day, participants will have opportunities to respond to those they can help -- and to reach out to those whose help they could use.

“Owing to the history of this country, the social and economic development needs in our remote rural and reservation communities have outstripped available resources for a long time,” says Burcell, “and I am very fortunate to be able to do this kind of work through the Office for Economic & Community Development at Humboldt State.”

Voyage Of Conscience Comes To Westhaven

A Soldier’s Peace details tour of duty in Iraq

Humboldt Sentinel
Scene 6/22/08
By Sentinel Staff

The public is invited to a free screening of the award-winning 2008 anti-war documentary “A Soldier’s Peace,” when it comes to the Westhaven Center for the Arts in July.

Army reservist Sgt. Marshall Thompson’s atonement for serving a year in Iraq—both the demanding physical one and what turned out to be a far tougher voyage of conscience—will be shown 7 p.m. July 27.

The 2008 film documents the story of Thompson, who felt so strongly about what he saw in Iraq that when he got home to his native Utah, “I just had to do something,” he said. “This is an unjust war. I couldn’t not do something.”

For Thompson, a devout Mormon and the son of the former mayor of the conservative northern Utah city of Logan, “something” meant saddling up for a 500-mile hike for peace across Utah to protest America’s invasion of Iraq.

The film will be introduced by Ted Pease, a journalism professor at Utah State University, where Thompson was one of his students. “Marshall is a quiet, soft-spoken guy. He’s no peacenik. He’s no activist—at least he wasn’t until Iraq,” Pease said. “Like a lot of Americans, he was outraged by the 9/11 attacks, which is why he joined the Army—he wanted to serve.”

Eureka Man Caught Dealing Heroin

Richard Valentine busted at Broadway Motel

Humboldt Sentinel
News 6/21/08
By Sentinel Staff

EUREKA -- A Eureka man was jailed Saturday after a police officer driving past his motel spotted him apparently making a drug deal.

Richard Jesus Valentine, 29, has been charged with possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia and violating his probation as well as an outstanding felony warrant.

Valentine was seen at about 7:26 p.m. with two other men outside his room at the Broadway Motel making what Sgt. Steve Watson, who was on patrol, took to be a drug sale.

A warrant check revealed Valentine was being sought for an alleged rape; during a body search Watson found some heroin in Valentine’s pants pockets. The other two men were not arrested.

No Arrest Made For Assault, Tire-Slashing

EPD briefly cordons off section of D Street

Humboldt Sentinel
News 6/17/08
By Sentinel Staff

EUREKA -- Despite two calls, four slashed tires and allegations of assault, Eureka Police Department officers declined to make any arrests on Sunday night after receiving reports of a disturbance on the 3300 block of D Street.

At about 8:50 p.m. on June 15, EPD received a family disturbance call from an unidentified female who asked for assistance retrieving her property from a residence. According to an EPD release, a male was heard in the background during this call, which was shortly followed by a sudden disconnection.

The dispatcher was unable to return the call immediately following the disconnection, although the caller re-phoned about 10 minutes later. The unidentified female alleged to EPD that she had fled to a neighbor's house on D Street after observing her male co-habitant slashing all of the tires on her vehicle, as well as making threats against her. EPD responded to the scene and cordoned off the section of D Street around the residence in question, due to safety concerns after the female caller alleged that the male suspect was drunk and had access to firearms.

An unnamed EPD detective interviewed the caller and the suspect, and chose not to make any arrests, instead advising the caller to stay elsewhere for the evening and follow up her claims regarding her property on Monday.

Arcata Council Mulls Ban On Recruiting

"The people of Arcata don't want our children targeted"

Humboldt Sentinel
News 6/12/08
By Sentinel Staff

ARCATA -- City councilors in this famously left-wing community will consider asking voters whether to ban military recruiting in city limits at their meeting Wednesday.

The Council can also vote to adopt the rule as written, stopping military recruiting of anybody under the age of 18 in the City of Arcata without waiting until fall.

“This is great news,” said volunteer Cathi Bettinger, “and a clear message that we, the people of Arcata, don’t want our children targeted by military recruiters.”

More than 2100 residents signed a petition circulated by volunteers, waiting six weeks for City Clerk Deborah Musick to certify they had the needed 1,023 valid signatures‑10 percent of registered voters in town.

Deputies Destroy Weed On PL Land

Sheriff blames "foreign drug trafficking orgs"

Humboldt Sentinel
News 6/11/08
By Sentinel Staff

LARABEE VALLEY -- Yesterday Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies from the Drug Enforcement Unit destroyed 10,068 growing marijuana plants found on Pacific Lumber Company property.

Ranging from three to six inches in height, the plants were found east of Bridgeville in the Larabee Valley area, protected by an electric deer fence. The growers were not on the site, which had an automated watering system, but deputies found supplies left at a staging area.

“There are foreign drug trafficking organizations operating in and around Humboldt County,” said Sheriff Gary Philp, who noted the grow site was about a half-mile from where a man was killed after aiming a loaded shotgun at a deputy in October, 2007.

“These marijuana grows can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to those organizations and they can be motivated to protect their investment,” warned Philp, who advised people that find grow sites to leave the area immediately and tell deputies.

Redwood Rapier Camp Returns

Local academy hosts world's only week-long historical fencing instruction

Humboldt Sentinel
Scene 6/10/08
By Sentinel Staff

The tactics of 17th Century rapier fencing will be explored as Humboldt State University hosts the Redwood Rapier Camp from June 22 to 28.

Sponsored by the Martinez Academy of Arms in association with the HSU Fencing Club, students from across the country will undergo an intensive week-long exploration of the concepts, techniques, tactics and theory of either Italian or Spanish systems of 1600s-era fencing from Ramon Martinez and Jeanette Acosta Martinez. The sixth-annual camp boasts of being the only one of its kind in the world, open to experienced fencers as well as including novices in an introduction to fencing and the larger Renaissance view of the world.

Five days of safe swordplay will be followed by an optional sixth day where guest lecturer Cecil Longino will explore the psychology of combat. New elements of the curriculum include more emphasis on time and distance and expanded sets of exercises for use of the rapier and dagger.

Housing and dining is available for out-of-town guests through the dormitories at HSU for a price of $795 per person, including tuition. For more information or to register, contact Antone Blair at (707) 826-0573 or sildar1 ~~AT~~ earthlink.net.

The Showdown

Congress, the Bush Administration and Continuity of Government Planning

Guest Opinion
By Peter Dale Scott

In August 2007, Congressman Peter DeFazio, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, told the House that he and the rest of his Committee had been barred from reviewing parts of National Security Presidential Directive 51, the White House supersecret plans to implement so-called "Continuity of Government" in the event of a mass terror attack or natural disaster.

Norm Ornstein, of the conservative American Enterprise Institute, commented, "I cannot think of one good reason" for denial. Ornstein added, "I find it inexplicable and probably reflective of the usual, knee-jerk overextension of executive power that we see from this White House."

The story, ignored by the mainstream press, involved more than the usual tussle between the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. Government. What was at stake was a contest between Congress's constitutional powers of oversight, and a set of policy plans that could be used to suspend or modify the constitution.

There is nothing wrong with disaster planning per se. Like all governments, the U.S. government must develop plans for the worst contingencies. But Congress has a right to be concerned about Continuity of Government (COG) plans refined by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld over the past quarter century, which journalists have described as involving suspension of the constitution.

In the 1980s, a secret group of planners inside and outside the government were assigned, by an Executive Order, to develop a response to a nuclear attack in which the U.S. government had been decapitated, forcing an alternative to the constitutional rules of succession. Two of these planners were Dick Cheney, then a Congressman, and Donald Rumsfeld, then a private citizen and CEO of the G.D. Searle drug company.

"One of the awkward questions we faced was whether to reconstitute Congress after a nuclear attack.It was decided that no, it would be easier to operate without them," said one of the COG planners in the 1980s, who spoke to James Mann (The Rise of the Vulcans, 141-42). James Bamford reported the same remark in his book Pretext for War (p. 74).

After the end of the Cold War, the urgency of coming up with plans faded. The COG nuclear planning project "has less than six months to live," reported Tim Weiner of the New York Times. (April 17, 1994). Mann and Bamford concluded, wrongly, that all the COG planning of the Reagan era had been abandoned.

In fact, Reagan's Executive Order 12656, issued in 1988, remained in effect. The order states that Continuity of Government procedures are called for in the event of "any occurrence, including natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency, that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States."

Under Clinton, some parts of the planning, presumably military, were continued by a group including Rumsfeld and others whose roster (according to Andrew Cockburn) was "filled almost exclusively with Republican hawks." Cockburn quotes one participant, a former Pentagon official, who said "They'd meet, do the exercise, but also sit around and castigate the Clinton administration in the most extreme way."

According to the 9/11 Commission Report (p. 326; cf. p. 38), "Contingency plans for the continuity of government" were implemented on September 11, 2001. But what measures were invoked remains unclear.

Some clues may be supplied by COG's past history. COG planning in the 1980s was handled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its controversial director, Louis Giuffrida. According to a Miami Herald article by Alfonso Chardy on July 5, 1987, Giuffrida's plans included "suspension of the Constitution," along with detailed arrangements for the declaration of martial law.

Those suspicious of what COG means today have pointed to a number of post 9/11 steps to facilitate the implementation of martial law, including the creation of a new military command (NORTHCOM) for the continental United States. They note also Homeland Security's strategic plan Endgame, whose stated goal is the creation of detention camps designed to "remove all removable aliens," including "potential terrorists."

Then in 2007 National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD 51), issued by the White House, empowered the President to personally ensure "continuity of government" in the event of any "catastrophic emergency." According to the Washington Post (May 10, 2007), this directive "formalizes a shift of authority," from the Department of Homeland Security to the White House, in establishing " a shadow government" after an emergency. Congress has yet to hold a single hearing on NSPD 51.

NSPD 51 contains "classified Continuity Annexes" which shall "be protected from unauthorized disclosure." Congressman DeFazio twice requested to see these Annexes, the second time in a letter cosigned by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Christopher Carney. It was these requests that the White House denied.

Without full disclosure, such suspicions will only fester and distract from the real issue: the role of Congress in constitutional government. In the event of national emergency, Congress must be at the heart of the defense of democratic government and American territory. It is reasonable for the citizenry to ask, "How do Continuity of Government plans preserve and protect the role of the popularly chosen branch of government?" The answer is, we simply don't know.

DeFazio's inability to get access to the NSPD Annexes is less than reassuring. If members of the Homeland Security Committee cannot enforce their right to read secret plans of the Executive Branch, then the systems of checks and balances established by the U.S. Constitution would seem to be failing.

To put it another way, if the White House is successful in frustrating DeFazio, then Continuity of Government planning has arguably already superseded the Constitution as a higher authority.

Will Congress insist on its right of review COG planning? The answer to this question will depend on discussion in the blogosphere, the degree of pressure exerted by the electorate on their representatives, and the questions asked the men and women who would be president.

Peter Dale Scott is the author of The Road To 9/11.

Social Engineering On The Boardwalk

Eureka's move to ban smoking is a ridiculous waste

Editorials
Humboldt Sentinel Editorial Board

The Eureka City Council will be looking to revise an ordinance on June 17 which would ban smoking on the Boardwalk in Old Town. This is the only place in the area to provide a refuge for prospective smokers who don’t wish to pollute the air for those enjoying the Old Town retail and café scene.

The council really needs to call this what it is, an attack on the homeless whom often congregate on the benches which line the boardwalk. But what good will this do? The city has done precious little to address the problems surrounding homelessness in the area and this will only force them to go elsewhere. Which elsewhere in particular? More likely than not, right where the last place the homeless haters want to see them, on the doorsteps of their desired shopping location or eatery, or at the Gazebo.

Needless to say, this law wouldn’t only affect the homeless, but would be a putative measure against people of all social classes who enjoy smoking cigarettes. The socially engineered herding of smokers away the boardwalk towards the middle of Old Town makes no sense whatsoever as the vitality of the area is dependent upon economic success of the businesses which operate in it. Ensuring that the middle of the bustle is the only place for one to smoke will only drive away people who would like to spend some money, yet are offended or sickened by the smell or the pollution from the smoke.

Does the city truly have the resources to enforce this ordinance? Last time we checked, City Manager Dave Tyson is freezing the re-hiring of seven positions in the Eureka Police Department. It’s difficult to imagine that the average citizen in Eureka would rather see someone popped for having a smoke on the boardwalk over the police not being able to respond to a vehicle break in, or busting up a meth deal somewhere across town.

Not only would this draft revision punish smokers in Old Town, but would enforce a ban in other public places such as Sequoia Park. This is a ridiculous waste of time and money, and a dishonest and misguided attempt to justify the tough economic circumstances of those businesses in the city's most tourist-dependent area.

Supervising Our Supervisors

The avarice of our local elected leaders continues unabated, regardless of the unwinding national economic disaster or yet another budget crisis engulfing all levels of government. Naturally, the local establishment media has been silent on the causes and consequences of unfettered greed.

Even though the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors is already the highest-paid county governing body per capita in California, these career politicians have voted themselves a 6% pay increase, along with similar increases for other county employees. They will now make nearly $80,000 a year, four times the median wage of the average county resident.

We would have thought these multi-term incumbents (or the spouse of such, as is the case for Second District Supervisor Johanna Rodoni) would have learned their lesson on this subject after the Humboldt Sentinel was the only local news outlet to expose in 2005 how the Supervisors had voted themselves a series of massive salary hikes, from $60,688.14 to $74,661.67 in just two years. Yet the voters have, thus far, failed to hold them accountable, re-electing Bonnie Neely in 2006 as well as John Woolley's hand-picked successor, Mark Lovelace this year.

To his credit and his credibility as a voice for budgetary restraint, recently re-elected First District Supervisor Jimmy Smith has already said he will refuse his pay hike. Given their unanimous declaration of a budget emergency on the same day they approved the new pay scale, it is downright unseemly for these politicians to ratify any more taxpayer largess to line their own pockets with. This fall's run-off candidates for the Second District will face this issue, as will Neely and Geist in 2010. Will the real fiscal conservatives please stand up?

Living Wage Long Overdue

Usually, newspapers wait for ballot initiatives to come to the voters, or at least go into circulation amongst them, before taking an editorial stance one way or another. Such is not the case for the establishment media in Eureka this spring, where both the Times-Standard and The Eureka Reporter came out strongly against the idea of a $10 minimum wage for Eureka workers. These less-than-thoughtful corporate press polemicists didn't even wait for Sheryl Schaffner, the city attorney of Eureka, to come back with her impartial analysis of the points, purposes and possible costs of the legislation.

With the esteem of the media at record-low levels, should readers be surprised? After all, both of these pro-Bush publications are owned by out-of-state billionaires with a clear and consistent track record of crushing unions and laying off their own workers. They don't need the facts to come up with a position; if it's on behalf of the working class, it's an automatic "no" vote from these fat cats.

Facts, of course, point to the real value of the minimum wage, which in 1968 dollars would be well above the $10 level proposed by Bill Holmes, Maria Hershey and the Alliance For A Fair Chance. For single mothers trying to raise children in an increasingly hostile employment market, the real living wage would be over $14 an hour. The idea that anyone can be expected to support themselves in a dignified manner on only $8 an hour is an ignorant insult to the intelligence of voters -- another mindset all-too-common to people who've never had to truck themselves down to the food bank to make ends meet.

These well-fed psuedo-journalists should avail themselves of the opportunity to visit Food For People on 14th Street any given Friday: They'll see how women with children and the elderly make up the vast majority of clients just trying to make it through the month on surplus canned food and old potatoes. These people aren't reading the real estate section or buying classified ads to sell houses and sports cars, and are thus rendered irrelevant to media institutions which long ago subsumed any sense of fairness to the dictates of the almighty dollar.

A living wage for workers in Eureka, and greater Humboldt County, is long overdue, and would result in a paltry two percent raise in prices for the rest of us, according to studies of a comparable wage increases' outcomes in San Francisco. Only greed and callousness prevents the right-wing reporters and editors from demonstrating the least bit of compassion for the baristas, waitresses and dishwashers who serve them every day. Unlike them, we still know what it is to work for a living, and we're not fooled by yuppie scare tactics foretelling economic doom for their eminently profitable enterprises. Thus, the Sentinel proudly stands with the workers of Eureka in support of the $10 living wage, and we call upon the other cities and the county to do the same. It's just the fair thing to do.

Nightmares and Hangovers

How to become a pariah: Tell the truth about the Clintons

Undernews
By Sam Smith

Our long national nightmare is over. . . . at least until tonight.

The RBCB (Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Bush) era is apparently finished, although with this crowd you can never be sure. It was a time when America lost power, respect, direction, jobs, integrity, its Constitution and an understanding of what democracy was all about.

There are no signs that any of these will soon be restored, but at least, for the moment, the disintegration may have been halted.

The Clintons went out like they came in, to a chorus of media enablers, assuring America that they were something they weren't, that Hillary Clinton, for example, was the voice of the working class or that ordinary women's lives would dramatically improve if she had been elected.

Echoes returned:

"If we could be one-hundredth as great as you and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been in the White House, we'd take it right now and walk away winners . . . Thank you very much and tell Mrs. Clinton we respect her and we're pulling for her." -- Dan Rather, talking with the Clintons via satellite at a CBS affiliates meeting

"Roger Clinton's life is in some ways the story of any younger sibling clobbered by the spectacular success of the one who came before . . . If your brother is Christ, you have a choice: become a disciple, or become an anti-Christ, or find yourself caught somewhere between the two" -- Laura Blumenfeld, Washington Post

"In the midst of redesigning America's health care system and replacing Madonna as our leading cult figure, the new First Lady has already begun working on her next project, far more metaphysical and uplifting.... She is both impersonal and poignant -- with much more depth, intellect and spirituality than we are used to in a politician . . . She has goals, but they appear to be so huge and far off -- grand and noble things twinkling in the distance -- that it's hard to see what she sees." -- Martha Sherrill, Washington Post

"The most interesting part of the story will come when the media have to acknowledge that there is nothing there . . . Shall we write on our various blackboard 1000 times, 'The Clintons did nothing wrong?'" -- Columnist Molly Ivins

"Ridiculous" -- NPR's Diana Rehm on suggested similarities between Whitewater and Watergate



For balance, let's recall a few objective press comments at the same time about Clinton's primary opponent, Jerry Brown:

"Annoying" - Ted Koppel

"Weird" - Cokie Roberts, NPR

"A pain in the you-know-what"- Bemard Shaw

"Flailing about, spewing out charges like sparks from a Fourth of July pinwheel" - JW Apple, New York Times

"He's a chameleon, a character assassin and a first-class cynic" - Jonathan Alter, Newsweek

"Brilliant, self-absorbed, friendless, idealistic, erratic, opportunistic, cold, hypocritical" - New York Times

"Jerry Brown's more corrupt than the system" - Eleanor Clift, Newsweek



Said FAIR, the media watchdog, "There is so much of this kind of writing about Brown that it is difficult to remember that journalists don't usually refer to candidates this way. Can anyone imagine Newsweek's senior political editor talking about George Bush's 'typical hype' or his 'unfitness' -- and getting away with it?

Those of us who had looked even slightly closer at the Clintons had seen something quite different. Christopher Hitchens wrote the other day:

"I have detested the Clintons ever since I covered the New Hampshire primary in 1992. The man I saw was not the silver-tongued charmer who seems to have bewitched so many people. Up close, he seemed like a red-cheeked, piggy-eyed bully with a mean streak a mile wide. And when he lied - which he more or less did for a living - he had a hard-faced little spouse to step into the TV studios to cover up for him. This woman put up with a lot from Bill over the years but could always tell herself it was worth it because in the long run the experience would give her the presidency she so obviously deserved."



I stumbled upon the story, the way you do a lot of stories, partly by accident. I was prepared by having just read Sally Denton's remarkable book, The Bluegrass Conspiracy, about how the drug trade corrupted Kentucky from the bottom up, including the state police and governor's office.

I had followed political corruption my whole life. My first campaign - stuffing envelopes as a pre-teen - helped to end 69 years of Republican rule in Philadelphia. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, I covered the local city council as James Michael Curley was nearing death in next door Boston. I remember councilor Joseph DeGuglielmo explaining that he didn't know how to vote on an upcoming police and fire pay raise because each of those cops and firefighters were making, by his guess, an extra five grand on the side. He described, for example, firemen removing expensive rugs from people's homes as a spin off of their rescue efforts.

I helped Marion Barry with public relations when he was head of SNCC, boosted him for school board and mayor and then distanced myself as he distanced himself from the cause that had gotten him where he was. Later I would compared him with Clinton, two men who had used decency as a crash pad on their way to power.

I also read avariciously about every corrupt politician I could find from George Washington Plunkett of Tammany Hall to the Daley machine, the Longs of Louisiana and Philadelphia's Frank Rizzo who started his climb as a district police captain by going to the mob and telling them they could have numbers, whores or drugs, but they couldn't have murders. The mob obliged and took their bodies elsewhere. Rizzo's murder rate dropped and a new mayor was born.

As I studied these stories, one thing stood out, which I discussed in what was the first critical book about Clinton, a whole two year after he had been elected:

"It was, to be sure, a mixture of the good and the bad, but you at least knew whom to thank and whom to blame. As late as the 1970s the tradition was still alive in Chicago as 25th Ward leader Vito Marzullo told a Chicago Sun-Times columnist:

"'I ain't got no axes to grind. You can take all your news media and all the do-gooders in town and move them into my 25th Ward, and do you know what would happen? On election day we'd beat you fifteen to one. The mayor don't run the 25th Ward, Neither does the news media or the do-gooders. Me, Vito Marzullo. that's who runs the 25th Ward, and on election day everybody does what Vito Marzullo tells them. . .My home is open 24 hours a day. I want people to come in. As long as I have a breathing spell, I'll got to a wake, a wedding, whatever. I never ask for anything in return. On election day, I tell my people, 'Let your conscience be your guide.'"

"In the world of Plunkitt and Marzullo, politics was not something handed down to the people through such intermediaries as Larry King. It was not the product of spin doctors, campaign hired guns or phony town meetings. It welled up from the bottom, starting with one loyal follower, one ambitious ballplayer, twelve unhappy pushcart peddlers. What defined politics was an unbroken chain of human experience, memory and gratitude.

"Sure, it was corrupt. But we don't have much to be priggish about. The corruption of Watergate, Iran-Contra or the S&Ls fed no widows, found no jobs for the needy or, in the words of one Tammany leader, "grafted to the Republic" no newly arrived immigrants. At least Tammany's brand of corruption got down to the streets. Manipulation of the voter and corruption describe both Tammany and contemporary politics. The big difference is that in the former the voter could with greater regularity count on something in return.

"In fact, we didn't really do away with machines, we just replaced them. As Tammany Hall and the Crump and the Hague and the Daley organizations faded, new political machines appeared. Prime among them was television but there were others such as the number-crunchers, policy pushers and lawyers running Washington, as well as a new breed of political professional, including campaign consultants, fundraisers and pollsters.

"The curious, and ultimately destructive, quality of some of these new machines -- particularly the media and the political pros -- was that they had such little interest in policies or democracy; rather they were concerned with professional achievement or television ratings or making a buck. When one of the most skilled of the new pros, James Carville, was asked whether he would take a post in the Clinton administration, he admitted candidly that he only knew about winning elections; he didn't know about governing. And his Clinton campaign side-kick Paul Begala once remarked, 'Someone says issue; I say gesundheit.'"



I had been a student of corruption and yet was really impressed by the Clintons and by the political ecology of Arkansas. I didn't have time for moral outrage, I was too fascinated by it all. And I was encouraged, early on, by material sent me by a progressive student group - yes, progressive - at the University of Arkansas.

And so I became part of a miniscule leftwing conspiracy that preceded the vast rightwing alternative. I wasn't out to get the Clintons, but I wasn't - like so many reporters - going to just look the other way.

In February 1992, I wrote: "The media's protection of Clinton, of course, dates far before the current matter. He has long been the Washington elite's designated alternative to Bush. During the current campaign, Clinton has gotten kid glove treatment from the press"

By May 1992 I had come up with a list of about two dozen individuals and organizations that raised serious questions about Bill Clinton. It wasn't hard to do and most of these names would become familiar when they became intertwined with what would be known as Whitewater. The information was there for any reporter who wanted it, but most just didn't want to spoil the fairy tale they were in. And the closeness to power it brought.

A few did and some of them lost their jobs or were transferred as a result. I was banned from a local NPR talk show and, according to sources, from CSPAN and the Washington Post. The media treated those of us who wouldn't play the game with the opprobrium designed for them by presidential spinsters: conspiracy theories and Clinton haters. One reporter, well known in DC, told me in my own living room that I shouldn't be writing the way I was. "Even if it's true?:" I asked. "Even if it's true," he replied.

But there were good moments, too. Like when I was introduced to a black White House staffer and she said, "I know who you are" and with a big smile added, "You're b-a-a-d!"

By this time I had been in journalism for nearly forty years and had never run into anything like it. But the story wouldn't stop and so I kept on the case.

It was the story of an unprincipled couple rising to power in a mini narco-republic, which had once been the western boundary of the northern mobs, where Al Capone had a permanently reserved room in a hotel in Hot Springs, where Lucky Luciano was nabbed by Thomas E Dewey, and where Clinton's mother was a heavy gambler with mob ties. According to FBI and local police officials, his Uncle Raymond -- to whom young Bill turned for wisdom and support -- had been a colorful car dealer, slot machine owner and gambling operator, who thrived (except when his house is firebombed) on the fault line of criminality.

It was a story of a governor overseeing drug-driven political corruption, being the local facilitator for the Regan-Bush Iran Contra operations, and where the local state development agency sent tens of millions to a Cayman Islands depository.

It was a story about a state where a drug pilot brought a Cessna 210 full of cocaine into eastern Arkansas where he was met by his pick-up: a state trooper in a marked police car. "Arkansas," the pilot would recall years later, "was a very good place to load and unload."

It was a story where I got an email from Billy Bear Bottoms, the former pilot for Barry Seal, one of the nation's most notorious drug runners, complaining about something I had written.

It was a story in which Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker comes to Washington to see his old boss sworn in, leaving his state under the control of the president pro tem of the senate, Little Rock dentist Jerry Jewell. Jewell uses his power as acting governor to issue a number of pardons, one of them for a convicted drug dealer, Tommy McIntosh. It seems that the elder McIntosh had worked for Clinton in his last state campaign and, according to McIntosh in a 1991 lawsuit, had agreed not only to pay him $25,000 but to help him market his recipe for sweet potato pie and to pardon his son.

It was state in which a tractor trailer is stopped and police find millions in drug cash stowed in the cab.

And on and on. . . .

By the standards by which I was raised, any reporter who turned their back on such a tale should lose their press pass. But it didn't work like that.

Instead, those who tried to tell the truth became the pariahs.

It was my introduction to a new journalism. And to a new politics because, with Clinton, establishment liberals dumped their policies, their ideals and their standards. It wasn't like corruption back the in day, when liberals fought the bad guy. Now they helped manage his campaign, crying "Move on" and things like that. They came aboard not just as pragmatists, but as evangelical enthusiasts.

The Democratic Party would lose more seats at the state and local level under Clinton than with any Democratic incumbent since Grover Cleveland. Programs of the New Deal and Great society would be eviscerated. America's "first black president" would oversee an explosion of prison time for young black males.

But none of it mattered because liberals, especially the politically active upscale ones, had essentially abandoned what was once their essential business: helping those being screwed by the system. Their interest, driven by their own place in the economy, had turned to glass ceilings instead of hard floors and locked factory doors. And eventually they would replace it all with the simple expediency of a black Jesus, never mind that Barack Obama reached his magic delegate count the same week that the number of other black males, those in prison, hit a record level.

It's really not that surprising. The same mythological approach that created the Clintons was also used to justify the Iraq war and is now being used to create the new Obama era.

Check it out. Try to discuss with liberals the effect of Obama's Iran and Israel positions on our future in that region and in the world. Try complaining about his healthcare program or his support of the Patriot and No Child laws. Note that nobody seems to know who got him where he is so fast and that you don't get there without owing someone a hell of a lot. Try asking for just one new good idea that he has had. Try saying that Obama may be the best we're going to get, but it isn't that much.

Come to think of it, don't try it. I have and have largely given up. Because to many of his supporters, as with the supporters of Clinton and the Iraq War, facts just don't matter anymore. Faith is what counts. Anything else is heresy.

And the same media that didn't fairly report the rise of the Clintons, or the beginnings of the Iraq war, are now engaged in the same error with Obama. It's bad enough to have liberals turn into a bunch of secular evangelicals, but at least the press should have a little more self respect than to join in the shouting and the clapping.

Still, arguing with evangelicals - whether Christian, media or liberal - is a waste of time. Consider anything immutable and argument becomes irrelevant.

You just have to save it for the agnostics, free thinkers and those who understand the difference between a press pass and a bathroom pass, which is that the former allows you to disseminate information while the latter is for those who just need to dump shit. It's a distinction much of the media has forgotten.

So, once again, we'll just have to wait for reality to intrude on faith and hope and spin.

Meanwhile, one long national nightmare is over, so party on.

Just don't be surprised if you wake up with a hangover.

Sam Smith is a veteran commentator and independent journalist based in Washington D.C. where he publishes The Progressive Review. He can be contacted at news ~~AT~~ prorev.com

Paul Pitino Needs A Hug

Candidate thanks supporters for standing up to the local political machine

Letters to the Editor

Thanks to all who voted for me in this past election, and those who wanted to but were out of the district. Your vote, love and support showed strength, loyalty and courage to face the local political machine.

Change takes time, and the ability to look fear in the face and remain steadfast. I am inspired by your insight and guts. Please forgive and be compassionate to the rest of our community. When you see me, give me a hug and identify yourself. I love you.

Paul Pitino
Arcata City Councilmember
Arcata

Eureka's Budget Is Under Water

The biggest reason is the $1,500,000 year over year increase in wages and benefits to Eureka Police Department, Eureka Fire Department, and unionized Eureka City Employees. The unrepresented workers haven’t been juiced yet, and sadly time and events may have passed them by. They will actually be asked to give back some things.

There is a year over year shortfall of $350,000.00 from cratering sales tax revenue, $350,000 less than last year taken in. Dave Tyson thinks that despite lower revenue from sales tax in the last two quarters that his projections (and thus budget) are based on the assumption that sales tax revenue will not decline. Maybe he knows something we don’t.

But if he’s wrong that means the city’s budget will be up to a million dollars in the red, before even the recent raises are added in.

You should have come to the Finance Advisory Board meeting last night. I was the only member of the public or press there (as far as I could determine). It was fascinating.

Grover Norquist, that right wing republican freak who wants to drown government in his bathtub would be proud. The rest of us who live here in Eureka maybe not so much.

Why do I say that? Because everyone in the room knows that taxes are going to have to go up in some way or another, but they are still in denial.

Bill Holmes (highboldtage.wordpress.com)
Eureka

These Souls Are Here To Stay

Easter was a pretty good day, especially for the city’s homeless. A really special lady whose name is Betty put on a free Easter dinner at St. Vincent de Paul’s and benefited the many who otherwise would not have eaten. I would like to recognize her generosity and congratulate her on a job well done.

It’s people like her, unlike the county and city managers, who actually care about others and go completely out of their way to make those less fortunate souls feel as if they do matter in our lives. The city and county managers could learn a lesson from these folks, and that’s to at least act like they care about the homeless.

These souls are here to stay. It doesn’t matter if they are the same people every day or some just arrived here from somewhere else.

We are a nation of the “rich” and self-indulgent. We care only about “me” and not how to “solve” the problems of today’s hard times. Times are going to get harder, and the harder they get ,the more we’re going to need people like Betty.

The nation’s economy is slowly collapsing, and so will the means to provide for the less fortunate. It would behoove the “powers that be” to prepare for economic hard times in the event of a total collapse of our economic system. For when people get hungry, they get worried and upset and are prone to all kinds unpredictable behavior.

Thanks, Betty. Dinner was great …

James Stratton
Eureka

Ron Paul Versus TV Zombies

I’ve been volunteering for the Ron Paul presidential campaign going door-to-door, spreading the word of Ron Paul. I have became very concerned that we are TV zombies. In response to my campaigning, people often screamed “Hillary rules” or “Obama rules.”

What’s scary is that when I asked these people why they chose to vote for Obama or Hillary, I often got the media-inspired answer, “she’s a woman” or “he’s black”.

I’m not for these two because of their ideals and their proven politics — not because of discrimination. I learn about this and delve deeper into the truth behind their claims before I vote.

Apparently, the same can’t be said about a majority of Americans. How much longer can we slip into this media-generated, downward spiral of political naivety and stupidity?

The following truths may surprise you, despite what you have heard on the Rupert Murdoch and Hillary news shows you have been watching lately.

Hillary is an admitted socialist and is pro-Iraq War. Rupert is in the campaign bed with Hillary with $4 million-plus donated to her cause. Barack backed a bill for warrantless wiretapping!

Wow, what freedom fighters! Start thinking for yourselves! Let’s bring this country back to its glory that our forefathers envisioned and that our modern-day Thomas Jefferson, Ron Paul wants to help bring back.

Like Ron Paul, I believe in a country where I have the freedom to write this letter.

Chris Holmquist
Eureka

Dem Endorses Dem

The North Coast is a long way from our nation’s capital, but U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson has always made sure the needs of Humboldt and Del Norte counties were well represented in Congress. From securing financial assistance for fishing families and businesses affected by the collapse of the salmon season in 2006 and this year, to bringing home millions for our rural schools and roads, Mike has fought tenaciously for our interests.

Through his understanding of the problems facing our area, Mike has become a leading champion in Congress for the environment and rural health care, especially through his work on the House Ways and Means Committee. He has also led efforts to end the war in Iraq, a position shared by many of us.

Anyone who has ever called his office for assistance knows Mike will do everything he can to help cut through red tape. If you call or write him to share your thoughts on an issue, you’ll get a thoughtful reply. Mike has made accessibility and responsiveness a top priority, and it shows.

There is no one who knows the sprawling 1st Congressional District as Mike Thompson does. I am pleased he wants to continue his service to our area and strongly endorse his re-election.

John Woolley
Humboldt County Supervisor
Manila

Did You Know How Wonderful Iraq Is?

How could we know?

Did you know that 47 countries' have reestablished their embassies in Iraq?

Did you know that the Iraqi government currently employs 1.2 million Iraqi people?

Did you know that 3100 schools have been renovated, 364 schools are under rehabilitation, 263 new schools are now under construction and 38 new schools have been completed in Iraq?

Did you know that Iraq 's higher educational structure consists of 20 Universities, 46 Institutes or colleges and 4 research centers, all currently operating?

Did you know that 25 Iraq students departed for the United States in January 2005 for the re-established Fulbright program?

Did you know that the Iraqi Navy is operational ? They have 5 - 100-foot patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry regiment.

Did you know that Iraq's Air Force consists of three operational squadrons, which includes 9 reconnaissance and 3 US C-130 transport aircraft (under Iraqi operational control) which operate day and night, and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 Bell Jet Rangers?

Did you know that Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a Commando Battalion?

Did you know that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and equipped police officers?

Did you know that there are 5 Police Academies in Iraq that produce over 3500 new officers each 8 weeks?

Did you know there are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq ? They include 364 schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals, 83 railroad stations, 22 oil facilities, 93 water facilities and 69 electrical facilities.

Did you know that 96% of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received the first 2 series of polio vaccinations?

Did you know that 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by mid October?

Did you know that there are 1,192,000 cell phone subscribers in Iraq and phone use has gone up 158%?

Did you know that Iraq has an independent media that consists of 75 radio stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations?

Did you know that the Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of 2004?

Did you know that 2 candidates in the Iraqi presidential election had a televised debate recently?

Instead of reflecting our love for our country, we get photos of flag burning incidents at Abu Ghraib and people throwing snowballs at the presidential motorcades. tragically, the lack of accentuating the positive in Iraq serves unfortunate purposes:

1. It is intended to undermine the world's perception of the United States thus minimizing consequent support from our allies, and:

2. It is intended to discourage American citizens and erode their support for the war.

3. It is intended to help the politicians gain more power in the next elections.

Colleen Hedrick
Eureka

West Nile Virus Season Arrives

County health recommends prevention measures

Humboldt Sentinel
News 6/9/08
By Sentinel Staff

EUREKA -- Humboldt County health officials are reminding the public that as summer approaches and temperatures warm up, mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus (WNV) will also be arriving.

Although no human or horse cases of WNV have been detected in California so far this year, 65 birds from 11 counties have tested positive for the virus. It has also been found in two sentinel chicken flocks in one county and 11 mosquito pools in three counties. It has not been found at all in any coastal counties north of Los Angeles.

Thanks to Humboldt County’s cooler temperatures mosquitoes carrying WNV aren’t present in large numbers and their ability to transmit disease is greatly reduced. Mosquitoes typically appear in Humboldt County from mid June to the end of September.

People can avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes when traveling to regions where WNV has appeared by taking three simple steps:

Apply insect repellent containing DEET, picaradin or oil of eucalyptus. DEET can be used on infants and children as young as 2 months old. Mosquitoes generally bite early in the morning and evening, so it is important to wear repellent at these times.

Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens to keep mosquitoes out. Repair or replace screens with holes or tears.

Eliminate all sources of standing water on your property, including flower pots, old tires, rain gutters, buckets and pet bowls. Mosquitoes lay their eggs on standing water.

Ranchers and farmers are encouraged not to over-irrigate their fields. Standing water in fields, adjacent ditches, small ponds, neglected swimming pools and man-made containers are prime breeding grounds for the WNV mosquito.

Bird baths and water troughs should have their water changed weekly. If you have a pond, use mosquito fish or commercially available products to eliminate mosquito larvae.

In addition to reporting dead birds, Humboldt County residents are encouraged to report dead tree squirrels. Dead birds and squirrels can be reported on the Web site or by calling 877-968-2473.

For more information on WNV contact the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services Environmental Health Division at 707-445-6215 or log onto the State of California WNV Web site at www. westnile.ca.gov. The Web site has been updated to make it easier for the public to find the latest information on WNV activity in the state.

'Send Those Closet Socialists To Cuba'

Surveyee casts doubt on currency of Humboldt Exchange

DUHC Hunting
By Nicholas Bravo

The following is an Internet survey of public opinion by Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County (DUHC). They asked for the opinions in particular of our local blogging community through the friendly neighborhood Libertarian, Fred Mangels (humboldtlib.blogspot.com).

The DUHCs seem to be concerned with the community perception of their organization, and they ask for input on their future projects. Well, they sure asked for it now!

DUHC Feedback Survey

"At the end of July the DUHC staff will be spending three days in a strategic planning meeting. As we go into the meeting, we would like your help and feedback assessing our work. Your input will help us understand how we've been doing, and how we should continue in our work to dismantle corporate rule in Humboldt County and beyond.

We really value the feedback of our members and supporters and we strive to be an organization that is accessible to the larger community.

Please take a few minutes to fill out this online survey - it is easy and should only take 5-10 mins of your time."

· What types of actions on the local level do you think are most effective to making Humboldt County more genuinely democratic and self-sufficient?

A: Banish the socialists.

· What kind of projects are you involved in locally? Would you be interested in DUHC being involved with the work you are doing on these projects?

A: Assisting various politicians with winning seats in government. No, the DUHC and David Cobb have done enough damamge.

· What groups would you like to see DUHC work with in the future?

A: Hezbollah, Al-Qaida, any other group being targeted by the U.S. Military.

· Do you use the Humboldt Exchange Community Currency?
- If no, why not?
- If yes, what do you find most useful? How do you see this project expanding and becoming more viable? And what are some criticisms you have as a user of Community Currency?

A: No, it's worthless, and was created by a known scam artist.

· What do you perceive to be the greatest roadblocks to democracy in Humboldt County and how do you think these threats are to be best addressed?

A: The DUHC is the greatest roadblock. Send those closet socialists to Cuba where they'll feel right at home.

· Do you think DUHC should invest time and energy into electoral politics through a Political Action Committee?
- If so, what kind of campaigns?
- If not, why should we not engage on the electoral level?

A: Oh god, No! I think anyone associated with the DUHC and David Cobb should have their right to vote taken away because they are not intelligent enough to comprehend the issues.

· Do you think DUHC should organize or have a role in civil disobedience?
- If so, what types of actions?
- If not, why?

A: Declare outright war on the United States of America. Declare yourselves socialists and wage an open, armed, and violent campaign against the country. Make threats you can and can't carry out. Block all roads going in and out of Humboldt county and declare Humboldt its own socialist nation. It can even use Phoenix Fhyre's funny money as it's official currency. You can declare David Cobb your leader and invite Fidel over for cakes and tea whilst the Humboldt people starve to death in the streets.

· Is there anything else you want to share with us in terms of feedback on our current work or ideas for the future?

A: Study the United Soviet Socialist Republic, come to terms with the fact that you are socialists and your ideas are hogwash. Invite Ann Coulter to come deprogram you so you can start thinking like Americans again. Course personally I'd pay mucho dinero or a wheelbarrow of Fhyre's funny money to watch a Cobb/Coulter pay-per-view Thunderdome battle.

Nicholas Bravo is a Humboldt State University graduate and two-time Arcata City Council candidate currently pursuing his postgraduate education in Phoenix, Arizona. He can be reached at nickbravo ~~AT~~ buffalo.com.

Is Famine Inevitable?

Petroleum-based agriculture proving unsustainable

Guest Opinion
By Scott Thill

Paul Krugman's "Grains Gone Wild" column may have boasted one of the most hilarious titles ever in the annals of agrichemical economic analysis, but the situation is far from funny: Our food situation is on the precipice of failure. And all it's going to take to get past the tipping point is the slightest of mistakes -- or manipulations.

Much of our current recessionary intrigue has been aided and abetted by market speculation, from the oil and food sector all the way to the White House itself. For the last seven years, the Bush administration has placed climate crisis on the back burner in existential pursuit of resource wars and an "American way of life" that has turned from a dream of Hummers, housing and bling into a nightmare of price hikes, foreclosures and layoffs. Mission accomplished.

But someone will have to pick up the pieces, which are going viral fast. In that chaos, food has stopped being our other energy problem and become a chief terror of the future. And considering increasing prices, decreasing dollars and a world that will soon house many more people but feed even less of them, we're probably in for a famine or two before all is said and done.

"Rising food prices do not have one simple cause," explains Bettina Luescher, chief spokesperson for North America's chapter of the United Nations World Food Programme. "They are caused by several factors, all combining to a perfect storm. But they are rooted in increased energy prices, competition between biofuels and food, rising demand from economic growth in emerging economies, and increasing climatic shocks such as droughts and floods."

"The majority of the increase in the cost of food is tied to the rising cost of petroleum used to produce agrochemicals and fuel to produce food staples," adds Patrick Woodall, senior food policy analyst at Food and Water Watch. "Additionally, the rising demand for ethanol energy crops, primarily corn in the United States, has tightened up the supply of arable land, which has contributed to the increasing price of all food commodities. The increased commodity prices mean that each food aid dollar buys less food than in previous years, not including the cost of transporting the food from the American heartland to international hot spots like Darfur, Afghanistan and the Congo."

The point would be probably an obvious one: There's no way we can keep going like this. Add in the transition from vegetarian to animal-based diets in India and China, and at this rate we're looking at food shortages, severe environmental repercussions and, perhaps, the eventual return to a common vegetarianism broken up by the odd meat meal -- which is where China and India were before they went hypercapitalist. It's the ultimate feedback loop.

And it's seriously lucrative. Global demand has provided companies like Potash, Monsanto, Mosaic and Agrium with huge returns. Jim Cramer and other Wall Street chatterheads are pushing agrichem as safe havens in a volatile market juggled around by hedge funds, private equity groups and other major players.

But even Potash has admitted that stores are already pressed to the breaking point. "If you had any major upset where you didn't have a crop in a major growing agricultural region this year, I believe you'd see famine,'' Potash CEO William Doyle told Bloomberg TV. But, he reminded, conscious of his role in the expensive affair, "you won't have a global shortage of food because you don't have enough potash."

Alarmists may bray, but Doyle is no alarmist. And he's right.

"The 2007 agricultural and food staple output in America ran at full-tilt production," Woodall says, "with increased acreage under cultivation and high yields for many food crops. The current high-price environment would only get worse if there were significant downturns in production because of weather or declining yields or disease. Even small declines in production could drive basic food prices beyond the reach of billions of people."

"Meanwhile," adds Luescher, "food reserves are at their lowest for 30 years. Commodity markets are extremely volatile, subject to sudden spikes and speculation. The situation has been exacerbated by the falling value of the dollar, which is the currency in which all major commodities are traded. It is a very serious situation."

These inconvenient truths generate a logical but nevertheless callous question: Who will starve, and who will survive? Even that has a profit motive, as it should, considering that the oil sector's economic shenanigans -- occupations, ethanol, record-setting paydays -- under the Bush administration have brought us to this disturbing tightrope.

The cold pursuit of profit promises to kick-start further genetic experimentation to make up for what nature cannot provide, thanks to hyperproduction and global warming's incoming floods, droughts and fires. And the fact that we grow food now to put not into our bodies but into our cars only draws that dystopian future closer. Shifting the auto market to another fuel source would go a long way to staving it off, if political and popular will could only be galvanized from its comfy couch to start saving and not wasting money and food.

"The best way to avert future famines on the supply and price side," concludes Woodall, "is to ensure that there are enough food reserves that can feed the hungry in countries in crisis, (and) offer reasonable prices to consumers in the developed world and fair prices for farmers. Under the current agriculture policies, the supply and price of food staples has been very volatile, and there is no safety valve to ensure that the supply of commodities can match the need of consumers. Farmer-owned reserves and the re-establishment of some government supply management policies could greatly ease the year-to-year price shocks faced by development agencies, grocery store consumers and farmers."

But that would be a solution for those interested in finding one. Considering that billions are already on the edge of starvation, interest in earnings rather than solutions seems to be the main problem. Until that changes, the poor as always will remain the petri dish for such economic speculations and resource shortages. They are already at ground zero in the war against an inevitable famine.

"Skyrocketing prices are hitting them the hardest," Luescher continues, "those who already spend 60 percent, sometimes even 80 percent, of their budget on food. These groups include the rural landless, pastoralists and the majority of small-scale farmers. But the impact is greatest on the urban poor. And the rises are producing what we're calling the "new face of hunger" -- people who suddenly can no longer afford the food they see on store shelves because prices have soared beyond their reach."

But whatever its face looks like, hunger is going nowhere unless we tackle the problem before it tackles us. It won't matter whether you follow the IPCC or CERA once we're past that tipping point. Because once we pass it, there's no going back, frankenseed or not.

Scorsese Scores With Stones Doc

Legendary director pulls a Woody scrambling to keep up

The Rumpled Critic
By David Giarrizzo

Shine A Light provides a welcome glimpse into the Stones' world at this advanced stage in their career, and continues Scorsese's obsession (No Direction Home, The Last Waltz) with documenting some of the most influential characters in rock & roll.

The music of the Rolling Stones has lit up the soundtracks to so many Martin Scorsese films; "Gimme Shelter" has appeared in no less than three of his features – Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed). It's little surprise to find the director teaming up with the legendary rockers for this concert recording.

Shine A Light begins with a few glimpses of the preparation that went into the recording of the show, which was staged over two nights in 2006 at New York's Beacon Theater Broadway, which opened in 1928. Scorsese makes the ritualized concert play like an opera, beginning with ten minutes of behind-the-scenes madness preparatory to filming the concert that works as a comic introduction of the characters (including Scorsese, doing his best Woody Allen). Guitarist Keith Richards is like the character actor who slowly, inevitably takes over the movie from the supposed star without ever leaving the sidelines. In fact, there is a point where he simply crouches down at the front of the stage like a gargoyle and the camera lingers as if to say, "You okay, mate?"

Scorsese opens the movie by suggesting the tensions that can flare up when great minds – his and Jagger's, that is – collide. We hear Jagger, a disembodied voice on the phone, expressing his concerns about the problems of filming a live performance, as Scorsese, either vaguely annoyed or feigning annoyance for the camera, responds by raising his caterpillar eyebrows. Scorsese wants lots of cameras and needs lots of lights; Jagger doesn't want anything to detract from the performance. Scorsese also has a discussion with his lighting director about the amount of heat from the halogen studio lights towering behind the audience in the balcony and roof. At one point, Scorsese screams at this poor schmuck: "I don’t want these lights burning Mick Jagger!"

Of course, later, in the middle of the show, Jagger turns his back to the lights and shields his eyes as he orates his displeasure to the nearest camera in his face. Scorsese doesn't budge. In fact, eighteen cameras — manned by the Oscar-winning likes of Robert Richardson, John Toll and Robert Elswit — seemingly gliding effortlessly about the stage like birds in flight.

Scorsese is anxious to see the set list so he can plan ahead; Jagger assures him it will be ready – an hour or so before the band goes onstage. Will they be able to pull their "Hey, kids, let's put on a show!" act together in time? As it was a benefit for the Clinton Foundation, Bill and Hillary Clinton were in attendance, along with Hillary's mom, and before the show the band comes out for a meet-and-greet. It's a kissy-face moment, except for the way Wood greets Hillary's mother. He’s just a nice guy, you can tell..

Almost voyeuristically, the cameras capture the most intimate spaces, like Jagger going into heat with a backup singer in "She Was Hot," Keith Richards crying out in his husky pirate voice on "You Got the Silver," Ron Wood mastering the guitar like a wizard and the ever-cool Charlie Watts bringing the audience to their knees with his still steady beat. With each zoom, the player in focus’s instrument, be it guitar, drums or vocals, comes to life with the clever sound engineering. If it wasn’t so clean, I would think it was taken directly off the camera microphones, and not off a mixing board. The close-ups were so extreme, I think I saw the map to Greenwich Village on Mick’s face. And Keith, well, I stopped counting his crow’s feet ten years ago. Do you think Anne Rice is a big Stones fan?

Jagger, in performance here, is pretty wooden: His rendering of "As Tears Go By" is clipped, exact, cautious, the words turned into a Hooked on Phonics session. Jack White looked like a kid at the Wonka Factory singing along side with Mick on "Loving Cup," and Christina Aguilera once again goes over the top, out-vamping even King Mick on "Live With Me." The best part is blues legend Buddy Guy on "Champagne & Reefer" – who was in the recording studio when the Stones visited Chicago's Chess Records during their first U.S. tour in 1964 – fits a little better with the music and holds down one of the longest shots in the film by simply staring into the camera.

Short pieces of vintage interview clips are salted in throughout; young Mick Jagger saying he thought the band might be able to last at least another year, yet, without batting an eyelash, assures the interviewer that he‘ll be doing this well into his Sixties. These little comic interludes lend some context to the performance as brief asides between songs, though they never threaten to turn the proceedings into some dreary rockumentary.

An Ensemble For The Ages

Young @ Heart a cool world to visit

The Rumpled Critic
By David Giarrizzo

The Rolling Stones, as it turns out, are not the only senior citizens singing rock ‘n’ roll. Another, rather unexpected group is singing lyrics that are more cutting edge and performing on-screen antics that are considerably more amusing. You won’t believe the world of Young @ Heart, but you’ll have a hard time resisting it. Not unlike our own “Raging Grannies” they take new songs and put their own spin on them.

Since its beginnings as a collective arts project in 1982 at a center for the elderly in Northampton, Mass., the Young @ Heart Chorus, a 24-member singing group, have developed into a popular local ensemble with an international reputation. It has made 12 tours of Australia, Europe and Canada and serenaded Norwegian royalty. We get an intimate sideline view of the mechanics and comradeship involved with such performance groups.

Accompanying the singers is a solid core of professional rock musicians who help ground their sometimes wavering voices. But, under the firm-but-fair direction of Bob Cilman, who’s led the group for 25 years, these troupers slowly but surely rise to the occasion, delighted to have a purpose in life and as willing to have fun in the process as people one-quarter their age. Guided by the chorus’s demanding longtime director, the members are learning new material, including “Yes We Can Can,” the Allen Toussaint hit for the Pointer Sisters, whose lyrics repeat “can” 71 times in intricate, staccato patterns; the enigmatic, equally demanding “Schizophrenia;” and the Coldplay ballad “Fix You.” Of course, when you’re of a certain age, learning rock lyrics is not always easy, and we look on as the group members scrutinize words with huge magnifying glasses and hold their ears as they listen to the loud originals.

Stephen Walker, a British TV documentary maker, both directs and narrates the film himself, and his overly chipper voice-over initially borders on being intrusive. But when the chorus starts to sing, when, for instance, animated 92-year-old former war bride Eileen Hall rips into the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” none of this matters.

Just as eye-popping are the videos (a la Vintage MTV style) for songs like David Bowie’s “Golden Years” and the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive.” In particular, it’s on “I Wanna Be Sedated ”by the Ramones and “Road to Nowhere” by Talking Heads that veteran independent cinematographer Eddie Marritz shoots with a gleeful energy. The movie concentrates on the rigorous two-month preparations for a 2006 concert at the Academy Theater in Northampton.

The serious moments are equally balanced with comical levity like the wry flirtations of Eileen Hall with the British Film Crew. With an organization whose members are this old, the question of mortality is bound to come up, and that turns out to be one of the shocks as well as one of the graces of Young @ Heart. Late during the making of the film, two members of the chorus, Bob Salvini and Joe Benoit, died within a week. Although neither death was a complete surprise, occurring so close together, they come as shock to a group dedicated to living in the present as fully and exuberantly as possible. When the chorus sings Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” to an audience at Hampshire Jail at a particularly emotional moment, many of the inmates are literally moved to tears. I know I was!


(video: BBC Channel 4/akf2000)

One of the choir’s most touching personalities is Fred Knittle, a big man with a deep, Johnny Cash-type voice. He had retired from the chorus and returns to visit his comrades, now with an oxygen tank after suffering congestive heart failure. Knittle speaks eloquently about the travails of old age, and his rendition of Coldplay’s “Fix You” near the end of the film is a moment you won’t forget. What we learn is that the age of these singers is not some glib contrivance but the heart of the matter. In a culture that venerates youth and considers aging the worst of all fates, to see these men and women having the time of their lives near the end of their lives couldn’t be more refreshing. We want these wonderfully alive people to go on singing forever, most of all, perhaps, because we know there’s no way they can.

Personally, being employed by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center, I have direct contact with the lives of many productive senior citizens, some of whom have formed singing groups. I can hear them practicing down in the recreation room which is next door to the kitchen where I work. I applaud them every chance I can. Occasionally, at HSRC we lose one of our older friends, and their absence is truly felt. We rarely get to really know people while busy taking care of tasks, and consequently, never fully appreciating their achievements and personalities. I am happy to say that this film gave a greater appreciation of our elders and the noble work activity directors do to keep such beautiful humans on this planet. We walk through this world and all we can see is that life is a song we sing all day long.

Grade: A

Who’s Guarding The Guards?

Formula and over-familiarity plague The Sentinel

The Rumpled Critic
By David Giarrizzo

If you’re looking for a slick cliff hanging, swivel headed, short-cut edited roller coaster ride of a conspiracy theory movie, this would be this one to see. Like his debut feature, 2003's S.W.A.T. starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell, The Sentinel bears the hallmarks of Johnson's experience as a director: The director even takes a cameo, as a Secret Service agent whose murder gets the plot rolling.

Unrelated to the novel by Arthur C. Clarke, the 1976 film, the 80s TV series of the same name or even to our humble newspaper, The Sentinel is based on the book by Gerald Petievich (who also wrote To Live and Die in L.A.). It apparently uses much the same story, although in the book Kiefer Sutherland’s name was “Martha.”

In keeping with the meticulous detail described by Petievich, we see very wheels of the Secret Service turn, often mechanically so. Toadyism, rumor, and sexual impropriety are supposedly significant problems within the organization. We get but a glimpse of them, as all The Sentinel really cares about is whether or not the good guys win, which it does with surprisingly little suspense. The book may have provided a more solid base for a screenplay than S.W.A.T., but similarities to The Day Of The Jackal and The Manchurian Candidate (either version) just remind us that The Sentinel can’t even peek out from the shadow of better action films.

The opening shot is a presidential cavalcade with black and white footage of President Reagan the day of his attempted assassination by John Hinkley. From there it brings us into the present where bad boy Michael Douglas (The War Of The Roses, Wonder Boys), who previously played head honcho in The American President now is reduced to playing the number one security guard for the President, Agent Garrison. The first part of The Sentinel establishes the trappings of the imperial presidency in the age of terror. We learn the president's code name “Classic,” and that he is given an electronic tracking device every morning when he arises from his lonely bed. When presidential motorcades are assembled, they bristle with guns and people talking earnestly into their cuff links.

Of course, there is a subplot which involves his dirty sex crazed character he so fondly plays, this time with the First Lady Sarah Ballentine played by the ever hot Kim Bassinger (The Door In The Floor, Batman). Douglas (like in Fatal Attraction) and Bassinger (Nine And A Half Weeks) make lots of sex faces while tearing each others clothes off in the Presidential cabin, wherever that may be, and these two enjoy cinematographic sex scenes way too much. I wouldn’t be surprised if they really had a fling. He is approached by a coworker that wants to discuss something with him in privacy, naturally, he assumes it has to do with his ongoing romps with the first lady and gets a bit jiggy.

It turns out there’s a leak in the Secret Service concerning death threats to the President and career agent Pete Garrison is framed for treason. The president is played by David Rasche (Teddy Bears’ Picnic, Barbarians At The Gate), and, ironically, the sitcom actor best known for playing Sledge Hammer nearly twenty years ago seems so much more the man for the job than the one currently residing in the White House.

Garrison’s former best friend David Breckinridge is played in typical fashion by Kiefer Sutherland (Phone Booth, Dark City), who is leading the investigation against Garrison and is willing to take him in under any circumstances. The two had a falling out when Breckinridge accused him of having an affair with his wife. So not only is the evidence overwhelmingly directed towards Garrison, but it would seem to be a personal vendetta as well. Sutherland plays the same uptight character he has played in Flashback and just about every other work he has done, including the successful yet lackluster TV series 24. No surprise as he has had to follow his illustrious father Donald Sutherland’s incredible career.

Fresh out of the academy, agent Jill Marin – played by Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives, Harsh Times) becomes his partner after being a student of Garrison. Aside from the continual jokes concerning her cleavage, she is given very little to work with. Both female roles, Bassinger included, seem to be played down. It is almost like the testosterone was too high on the set, and a balance was in accordance.

Unfortunately, sympathetic close up shots don’t constitute good acting in my books. Neither is how loud and angry one can read lines. Agent Marin remains the one sympathetic character toward the fugitive agent, doing field work for him while Breckinridge’s back is turned. There are many quick edits with rotating camera shots giving a sense of the agents’ perspective, lavish helicopter shots and a strobe light effect for added drama. Of course, I caught a couple of continuity errors: A garbage can has California serial numbers, and a small store which I recognized from Avenue of the Giants on Highway 101 in Northern California.

When Garrison is forced to go on the run from his own people, risking his life to prove he's not behind the conspiracy to assassinate his girlfriend's husband, Breckinridge delivers this movie's equivalent of the Tommy Lee Jones’ “hard-target search” speech in The Fugitive, yet another movie of which The Sentinel will occasionally remind you. “He's smarter than you are, and he knows how you think,” Breckinridge tells the other agents. “You are chasing your worst nightmare” If it feels familiar, there’s a good reason. I kept having this déjà vu about every scene, catching myself remarking, “I remember this scene from another film.” This familiarity is a formula perfected in Hollywood to bait their audience into going out to view their film. But familiarity is why people watch the same characters do essentially the same things week after week on television. It's why some people go to church, some to bars, some to sports events and others to concerts. And this is also why people go to sequels. The movie industry sees Americans as sheep and not intelligent consumers, to which films like Good Night and Good Luck are rare exceptions. Just think of this as “In the Line of Fire XXIV.”

Grade: C-

Kingbee Fires Up The Boiler Room

Late night excursion finds rockin' electric open mic

Sight Unscene
By David Giarrizzo

I work as a cook for a non-profit that requires me at work, ready to rock at 6:00 a.m. every weekday, so needless to say, I rarely get to attend entertainment opportunities offered on Sunday nights. This May, however, after an abundant Memorial Weekend barbecue, Franko and I showed up at the infamous Boiler Room, a small bar on the busy side of Broadway, Eureka -- you can't miss it, it's the only building that looks like a 57 Chevy painted with side flame!

As I made my way past the neon signs, bar perchers and pool tables, I could see my old pal Lester belting out his own style of outlaw rock. Next to him strumming away, is the host Kingbee, with JP on Bass, Dave on drums, Rockin Rick on Harmonicas and Joe on keyboards. I wanted to get a feel for what kind of crowd was there, so I hung back in the shadows for a spell.

Being a regular there, Franko makes himself at home. He walks in, sets up his amp, tunes his guitar and joins in with the boys. Its just that friendly! Really! Now, that doesn't mean any anyone can walk up and start jamming; there is a certain code of honor when attending these Open Mikes. Generally, one either asks to join in or waits to be invited. Kingbee is very good about giving stage time to others, yet, not afraid to give gentle reminders to any over-enthusiastic players -- I believe the term is 'ball hogs.'

Everyone that wants to play, gets to play. After some liquid courage and a smoke, I strolled in and set my bass up in the corner. When the time was right, Kingbee approached me and gave me an idea where I stood in the lineup of players. Frank and I started out with a little number by Parliment, "I Just Want to Tell You," then we went through some rock standards. I even got a chance to premier my own composition, "Endless Maze."

The boys joined us on stage while we rocked to some Rolling Stones, Violent Femmes, Ted Nugent and even Iggy Pop! Of course, one of the other players heckled us when we took too long to start, muttering "Blah, Blah, Blah" as he passed by the stage. I quickly shot out, "Heres a song I wrote, and I'd like to dedicate it to that guy. It's called Blah, Blah, Blah!" Turns out he was one of the two guys playing Metal Instrumental with only guitar and drums, with a surprising full sound. It wasn't too bad, but the ego of the guitarist was almost as big as his hair, while making what must have been intended as sexy moves (I thought his guitar strap was bunching up on him, but, I could be wrong). He was pretty entertaining for mindless virtuosity. I think he was trying real hard to impress these two young ladies enjoying cocktails at a table up front, one of which got up and played a few numbers on the drums. She was pretty decent for such a waif, and you got to give her credit for stepping up to the stage with all that testosterone amidst.

The stage is small, but accommodating, the drinks o.k., audience so-so. However, on the positive side, Kingbee provides a mike and PA, bass amp, and usually a decent drummer or two in the house. The show starts at 9:00 p.m., but get there earlier and sign up if you want to be in the early line up.

As we left the party, Kingbee was whisked away by a group of young ladies who had just missed the last song. I could see that this upset them, so Kingbee quickly apologized and became absorbed in conversation with these lovelies. I'm sure that at 1:30 a.m, he will be the only band available for after hours fun. Keep on rockin' Kingbee!

A Hopeful, Optimistic Superman

Alternatively set sequel keeps the best of the original

The Rumpled Critic
By David Giarrizzo

Bryan Singer asks the 20 million dollar question, what might happen if the Man of Steel really did take a powder? How he would handle the changes when he came back? Crime would rise, disasters would run rampant, and arch villains like Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey - American Beauty, K-Pax) would be paroled from prison because their super powered nemesis never showed up to testify against them.

Simultaneously, Mankind would learn to cope with the burden... especially ace reporter Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth - The Rules Of Attraction, Wonderland), who not only has a son by another reporter/fly boy, but receives the Pulitzer Prize for an article entitled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." Then, five years later, a disheveled Kal-El rockets into the corn field at his old home in Kansas after having visited the graveyard of his native Krypton in hopes of finding some trace of survivors. What was he thinking? Soon enough, he's back in his rubbery suit again, pulling doomed planes out of the sky, foiling bank robberies by the score, and foolishly charging into the hands of Lex Luthor, who has nefarious plans for that nifty crystal technology lying around the Fortress of Solitude.

After two X-Men films, Singer certainly knows what he's doing with the super hero genre. He approaches this project with absolute veneration for the character - more specifically, for Christopher Reeve's memory. Reeve is to Superman what Micheal Keaton is to Batman: others may play the role, and play it well, but they're not the real McCoy. Superman Returns openly flaunts that influence and those of the first two films (directed by Richard Donner and Lester, respectively), takes its place as the Superman III that should have been.

The Man of Steel , played by unknown Brandon Routh, gives a convincing performance utilizing Reeve's tics and mannerisms. From there, the production springboards into an overabundance of direct inspirations, from the crystal technology of the Fortress of Solitude right down to the whooshing blue credits in the opening crawl. It even includes some archives of Marlon Brando (Superman's father Jor-El) and pictures of Glenn Ford (Pa Kent) on the mantle of Clark's boyhood home. Perry White (Frank Langella - Good Night And Good Luck, Dave) is portrayed by him as a subdued character, but, one would expect that from a former Dracula. There are a few references to other versions of the character (Noel Neill and Jack Larson, who played Lois and Jimmy to George Reeves' Superman of the 1950s, both have cameos here), but for the most part, Superman Returns pays homage to the 1978 version.

There are times when Singer's vision is totally submerged beneath Donner's, and when enthusiastic homage slides into easy parroting. The length, also, proves concerning, as the drawn-out climax and 150-minute running time begins to exasperate. Still, it seems that all the scenes tie together and I wouldn’t want too miss a moment of the footage. There's no section that you can readily say should be dropped, or that doesn't bring some wonderful piece of fun to the proceedings. The strength of Superman Returns doesn’t derive solely from its reverence to the earlier films, but from developing their concepts in innovative and remarkable ways (something that Superman III and IV could never manage).

The comic-book action is handled with plenty of pizazz, as Singer uses improved special-effects technology to put a new twist on some of Superman's old routines. The piece de resistance is a scene involving a plummeting 777 (with Lois aboard, of course!) takes you on a little adrenaline roller coaster ride, while adding some little touches that retain a human soul amid all the CGI. Spacey gives a remarkable performance, keeping Luthor's charm and comedic aspects intact while adding a touch of genuinely frightening psychosis. For her part, Bosworth makes a properly assertive Lois, though her youth becomes distracting at times, and Singer's steady hand delivers the expected Superman tropes (faster than a speeding bullet and whatnot) with just enough of a wisp to keep them afloat.

All of it would be par for the course, but occasionally, Superman Returns goes back to that notion of responsibility and what it must be like to be the protector of Mankind. The film's most memorable moment comes not with a rush of speed or a display of strength, or even with the well-played romantic tension between Lois and Clark, but a quiet scene in which Superman floats above the planet he now calls home. With his powerful hearing, he listens to every sound and noise on Earth - every voice, every utterance, every breath and heartbeat - and then slowly filters out the desperate cries for help amid all the sounds. So many people need him, so many problems need solving...and he can't ignore a single one of them. Singer develops that concept beautifully, while retaining the character's essential hope and optimism.

Grade: B+

Audiophiles Revel In Smooth Detail

Zappa, Beatles classics sound better than new

CD Preview
By Michael the K

In our last issue we explored the DTS 5.1 surround sound as vividly mastered on…3 CDs. Yes, CDs. Since CDs are recorded in PCM (pulse code modulation), they have more information than DVDs and thus sound more natural. Their inclusion in this new column I felt would broaden the audience among DVD aficionados. Judging by readers’ reactions, there is quite a market to be tapped into here, especially as all of these enhanced CDs are compatible with DVD units.

All of the CDs mentioned in my previous review were voyages inside the music, a journey not often experienced. Myself and a few of you audiophiles, as we’re known, have obtained equipment such as surround gear that lets us be much more involved in the music. Here are the latest two discs in this exciting new format presented to me by a trusted friend from the industry.

Apostrophe - Frank Zappa (1974) - Frank has always been the perfectionist in his recordings, he prefers to produce very lifelike images in the music. By this I mean the instruments are very true to their tones. This type of recording doesn’t sound good on inferior equipment, it makes the sound thin and blurry. Today we have a much higher level of reference in our audio equipment and this disc shines! The instruments sound alive and right there in front of you. Seems here they kept the soundstage up front. This was smart as I said previously, you can’t mess with an accurate to life recording and get great results. Here you get the feeling of being in the room with the band. This shows some kind of live sound field was in the mix somewhere. Digital sound processing seems to unlock these soundfields.

One of my favorites, ‘Stinkfoot,’ never sounded better. As the track unfolded, I heard things I had never experienced before. Switching back to two-channel on my system made those revelations disappear! Bravo DTS for such an expansion on the mix. I prefer to review the quality of the disc rather than the music as it’s a classic and doesn’t need another slant on the now deceased master. Frank Zappa has influenced an army of musicians over the years and continues to today. This update of his work adds another feather in his legacy.

The White Album - The Beatles (1968) - Yes, it’s the White Album in DTS 4.1 surround! Those of you who experienced the Beatles firsthand know they were the most powerful force in a century of music. No one ever before or to this day has had the impact the Beatles have. Those experienced know how they would cherish the day their new album was released so they could experience the music and the direction the music industry would have to take to catch up with them. The white album is my all time favorite (I even have my original with the serial number stamp on it). Even with the CD transfer they did quite a good job on.

Going back to our DTS version I can safely say was quite an experience as the DTS coding revealed so much harmonics which were lost in previous efforts. Strings are very fragile to lost information. It makes them shrill and bitter-sounding in digital when information is overly limited. They also chose to present this disc in 4.1, four channels of information and one LFE (bass) channel. The four channel method eliminates the center channel, used in home theater to bring the dialogue to the screen among other steering effects. In music, the center channel can blur the two main channels’ information and thin out the richness of the sound. By doing this the front image is more realistic, as DTS renders strings smooth and detailed. This is essential on many Beatles recordings since they used real orchestras, cellos, violins and such.

Now the real secret to this album is that they showed they could play any style of music and do it well. I can pick out the references to groups of the day in the songs here. The opening track, ‘Back in the USSR,’ is immersed in Beach Boys harmonies and there are shades of Dylan in ‘Rocky Raccoon.’ Their track ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’ gyrates like Jagger and the Stones. Yes these boys from Liverpool had it all. I must add they were in the hands of creative people like George Martin (who produced the White Album among others) and Brian Epstein, their original manager and creator.

This version rocks. It’s exciting music when heard this way. It was created during troubled times and we’re going through similar times now, and this music seems to fit so well. Since, as I’ve stated, my copy is off some master so no tracks or skipping is possible. No matter, this disc is worthy of listening from beginning to end. See we don’t have the right directors up there like the Beatles and Elvis at the moment, so today’s music is a scatter of disassociated things. Hopefully we will return to those glorious days. In the meantime this is the ticket to as close as it gets. I implore you to explore its endless bounties! Thanks to DTS and the pioneer artists who go out of their way, to make the audience's experience more enjoyable.