Can't see them doing that, Ray. They're not like that. Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: Ray Harrell To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION' Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2011 9:48 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] Fw: Attawapiscat
Perhaps they should seek an "American" solution to their problems. REH Military Weapons in Gangsters' Hands Add a Comment December 05, 2011 Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.|by Beatriz E. Valenzuela and Katie Lucia Gangs are acquiring highpowered, military-grade weapons more frequently, according to the latest National Gang Intelligence Center Report. And FBI and law enforcement officials suggest gang members -- both enlisted and those working at military bases as contract civilians -- may be funneling the firearms to their street-level counterparts. In late July, 27 AK-47s were stolen from a Fort Irwin warehouse, officials said. Those close to the case, who would speak only under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the subject, said investigators believe gang members were involved in the theft. Related Story: FBI Says Gangs Infiltrating the US Military One source said the base had hired parolees, and officials are investigating the possibility parolees may have been involved in the heist. The source believes that since the theft, the base has discontinued the practice. Gus Bahena, interim director of the public affairs office at Fort Irwin, said authorities couldn't comment on whether the base hires parolees, but did state officials were aware of gang issues. Christopher Grey, spokesman for the Army's Criminal Investigation Command in Quantico, Va., confirmed the independent agency that investigates felony-level crimes was actively working the Fort Irwin case but wouldn't comment on the details, stating they wanted to maintain the integrity of the investigation. "Regarding gangs in general, we continue to educate our community, both Soldiers and civilians, so that all can recognize and report suspected gang activity," Bahena said. As of April of this year, the NGIC has identified gang members from 53 gangs who are serving in the military. Members of 37 of those gangs -- including the notorious 18th Street and Mara Salvatrucha 13 -- have infiltrated the Army. Twenty-eight gangs have been identified within the Marine Corps' ranks and five in the Air Force. The exact number of enlisted gang members is hard to come by, as many times investigators only see graffiti or paraphernalia as evidence of gang activity. For example, investigators found evidence that the motorcycle gang Devils Diciples [sic] -- the same one California State University, San Bernardino Professor Steven Kinzey is allegedly tied to -- has members in the military, but that evidence was found in areas where several branches have access. While it appears the Army has the largest problem with gangs, some experts feel other branches may be underreporting the number of gang members within the rank and file. "I think the problem -- percentage wise -- is bigger in the Marines but there are no statistics to back that up since the Marines fail to admit it ever existed," said Richard Valdemar, a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department sergeant and gang expert. "In incidents I am personally familiar with, it seems to be mostly in the Marines." According to the latest NGIC report released last month, gang members are getting their hands on a variety of military-grade weapons including rifles, grenades, artillery rounds and even body armor. In the first week of November, a known gang member and his wife were arrested in Adelanto after Victor Valley SMASH Gang Team officials found several weapons in their home including a military artillery round in their garage. Earlier this year, a field artillery round was found in an Apple Valley home, according to sheriff's reports. When it was detonated in the open desert, it created a 6-foot crater. It didn't surprise ex-Hammerskin Nation gang member and former Marine T.J. Leyden to hear gangsters are getting their hands on heavy explosives. "It's a lot harder to get firearms and rifles off a base but artillery rounds aren't that difficult," he said. According to Leyden, rifles and firearms are counted three times daily but when it comes to artillery rounds, it's much easier to give false numbers. "It's easy to say you fired 10 rounds when you only actually fired eight or six," the former Hesperia resident said. While it may be more difficult to smuggle assault rifles and similar weapons off bases and into the hands of gang members, it's being done. In November 2010, three former Marines were arrested in Los Angeles for selling assault weapons to members of the violent street gang, Florencia 13, according to the NGIC report. That same month, a Navy Seal from San Diego and two others were arrested in Colorado for smuggling about 18 military-issued machine guns from Iraq and Afghanistan to be sold and shipped to buyers in Mexico. It was unclear if any of the servicemen were gang members. Gang experts feel a more stringent qualification process during recruitment plus continued vigilance and education about gangs and their practices could help identify gang members within the ranks. "Every gang member in the military is a crap shoot," Valdemar said. "To whom do his loyalties truly stand with? We don't really know. That is the problem." From Military.com From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ed Weick Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2011 7:01 PM To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION'; [email protected] Subject: [Futurework] Fw: Attawapiscat ----- Original Message ----- From: Ed Weick To: Ed Weick Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2011 6:55 PM Subject: Attawapiscat Attawapiscat, a small Native community on the shores of James Bay is very much in the news these days because of its sub-standard living conditions. There are many Native communities across Canada with large problems. The following is my take on a community in nothern Saskatchewan I visited while doing a study back in the early 1990s. Ed ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Undoubtedly, the community had valid economic and social reasons for existing at one time. During the fur and mission era, it serviced a largely subsistence, partly commercial (fur trapping, commercial fishing, casual labor) population that was widely dispersed on the land much of the time. The descendants of that population were drawn into town by a series of government requirements that were imposed mostly during the post WWII era: the requirement that kids attend school regularly; that the school be in the community; that health and hospital services be provided where people live (which was turned around into the requirement that people live where the health and hospital services are provided); that people be housed at national and provincial standards for Indians, and that community physical and service infrastructure exist to support that housing; that people be conveniently located so that welfare and other forms of subsidy could be administered to them; etc. It has become a symbiotic community: All of the institutions have been provided in a single place which in the administrative view is appropriate to the population and that allows government institutions to provide their services conveniently. The people, having lost their independence need the institutions. But the institutions also need the people to justify their existence in the community. Socially, the population maintains many of the values and attitudes of its land based culture. The people continue to try to be hunters, trappers, fishers and foragers, though being those things while living in the community full time is very difficult. So some of the land-based skills and attitudes have been converted to skills that allow survival in town, with foraging for money among the various bureaucracies being an especially useful skill. Such foraging makes economic sense, since the community has no industrial base. The only real income base, now and in future, is government, supplemented by occasional construction, some local business, some fishing, etc. Yet the money that the foragers obtain does not always make good sense socially. Wives often see one purpose in money - feeding the family - but husbands all too often see quite another - having a good time with their friends. This often leads to family violence. The government institutions which service the community are there not only to support and service the population, they are there to change it. They are not really support services in the sense of helping people achieve their own aspirations, they are coercive agents of social change - social engineers. When they put some of the administration of programs into local hands, they nevertheless maintain tight control to ensure that it is their objectives and not those of the local people that are met. The outcome has been a disruption and fragmentation of the community. Many people buy into the institutionally driven values, attitudes and actions, and the old ways get pushed into the background. The elders remain respected as custodians of old memories, but in reality wield little influence. They have taken on the roles of cultural icons, not much more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
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