Iron Men walk the streets of Tokyo

Iron Man suits hit the street before part 2 even hits theaters. Japan's robotics venture Cyberdyne's with a name straight out of the comic books have created the robot-suit "HAL" (Hybrid Assistive Limb) with a name ripped straight from 2001 Space Odyssey, is now available for rent and is being tested on the streets of Tokyo:

HAL, an exoskeleton, is a mind-controlled wearable machine that gives humans enhanced mobility. It helps the wearer to stand up from a chair, walk, climb up and down stairs, and lift heavy objects. The suit can operate for almost five hours before it needs recharging. The exoskeleton has robotic limbs that strap to your arms and legs, and the suit's backpack contains a battery and computer controller. When the wearer attempts to move, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles, and very weak traces of these signals can be detected on the surface of the skin. The HAL exoskeleton identifies these signals using a sensor, and a signal is sent to the suit's power unit telling the suit to move in sync with the wearer's own limbs.

HAL comes in three sizes -- small, medium and large and weighs in at 23kg (50.7 lbs). A single leg version rents for 150,000 yen ($1,570) a month, while a two-leg unit goes for 220,000 yen ($2,300) a month. Cyberdyne has yet to announce when HAL will go on sale to the public or what the price tag will be. Tokyo rentals were initiated in August, 2009. With fashionable cyborg exoskeletons now available for rent on the streets of Tokyo, can major U.S. cities be far behind?

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Suga-Mommas (I need One)

First let me preface this by saying that; I would gladly take a job if I were offered one. I have worked most of my life since the age of thirteen and am by no means a freeloading bum. Yet with that said I have been unable to find work of any kind here (in California), for five months now. Not for lack of trying either. I made a poor choice with my first job, and my former boss has given me repeated bad references despite being amicable when I left the position. Now, with that disclaimer out of the way…

I need a Suga-Momma! I know that doesn't sound right, a man is supposed to stand on his own two feet and take responsibility for him-self and blah, blah, blah! Yet it's perfectly acceptable in our society for women to have Suga-Daddies, and be gold diggers/trophy wives. Well in the name of gender equality, I would like a woman to take care of me. I don't ask for much, she can keep the car (I never learned to drive), I'm not concerned about the house I can stay out in the pool house. I don't even want to marry her! I just want to be comfortable and fed. I would like cable and internet and a decent sized television and in exchange I will service said woman. I trust you all know what I mean by that. I am not as young as I once was, but I am still in good shape, I have been told that my equipment is too big for some and not big enough for others so you can inspect it and make up your mind. My main concern is a place to rest my head and keep my comics. It shouldn't come as a surprise, all great artist need benefactors. Van Gogh, Picasso, hell even Michelangelo, I need mine. I have the next great American novel swimming around in my head with all that booze and LSD I did years ago. I need time to sit out by the pool with my laptop and give future tenth graders something to fret over. I just want to be kept man-whats wrong with that? Women do it for less, sell their bodies to dirty old men in hopes of inheriting their oil money, or just a ride in their fancy sports car. I don't ask for jewelry and I don't need to eat at the nicest restaurants. I don't care how old or heavyset the woman may be, I might have to draw the line at deformities (no parasitic twins), but other than that. I wish I had thought of it five years ago. I knew a male gigolo when I lived in NYC. He would hang out in the place I worked talking shit to waitresses and sipping coffee all day, then at night he would go do his thing. Occasionally he would bring one of the women in to the restaurant to show us he wasn't lying. The few I saw weren't bad. Back then I was still young and I couldn't get past their age, now I'm closer to their age than I was then the divide doesn't seem to matter so much. Besides I have since popped my own Cougar cherry and although I've only done it once I would gladly go Cougar hunting again. Thing is that now I'm at the point where a Cougar for me would be geriatric. Not that I mind eating dinner in the afternoon I just can't stand Denny's. It's been so long since I've been in bed with a woman I would gladly take one from the AARP set. Just show me the money. I dream of a Jaguar pulling up to the hood and whisking me away. It is high time men got in on this racket, women have been hogging the-giving up your body for material gain-market for too long. So ladies…Any takers?

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I am a broken man

When was the last time that I wrote anything personal about myself? It has been sometime I would have to say. For the last few months at least I have stuck to writing mainly silly little blog post, Monkee stuff, or various subjects. Well t the urging of friends I have sat down to try and write "what I'm feeling". The problem is I don't know what that is. My precious ego seems so battered and bruised; the depths of depressing emotions seem so low each day that I can't articulate them. With each passing hour I fall further into a landfill of hopelessness and despair. I, who profess to have an endless ego, have reached the end of endless. I am a broken man. I feel like the Rock creature from "A Never Ending Story".

"They look like big strong hands…" I don't want to go, but I don't want to go on. At least not like this, this cannot be how my adventure ends. Alone, depressed, feeling trapped and helpless. My pride destroyed, my dreams shattered, my goals lost, and stuck cowering in an apartment in Oakland. I have to believe that I can make it out of this. This was supposed to be different, I keep saying, but it's the same. Only this time I am not the one who couldn't refrain from going around and sleeping with other people. I am the one left crying himself to sleep.

It would figure that California took my powers away. The "Left Coast" as it were, must have somehow revered my abilities to be myself. I had forgotten them during my time in solitude (in the Mid-West). I had also somehow convinced myself that I could be a family man, but I cannot. It's simply not in the cards. The choices of what I can be however are becoming increasingly less. As far as a career as a chef, I will never see it if I don't get hired somewhere soon. As far as being an artist or writer, well let's just say that maybe posthumous at best. The enemy of me this time however is the same enemy I have faced every phase of my life-ME! My own attitude and actions is the cause of my own misery. My lack of faith in myself is what is keeping me there. Beaten and broke down by events, that is at the crux, my own damn fault. I attempt to dig myself out but I keep getting more dirt heaped in my face. The world is crumbling around me, and planes are dropping from the sky every day. It seems the shift into 2012 maybe more than speculation. The real question is; how long before I arise out of the ashes and what will I become then?

With each obstacle in my life I have found the exit, but it is never been pretty. I had to go to prison to get out of Winston-Salem. I had to walk away from people whom I loved, to get out of Atlanta. I was forced out of New York, and to escape St. Louis, I had to move across country. But, of course, these are over-simplifications. The grave reality of my life has been that I have made a lot of tough choices, which have sometimes turned out great, and more often than not they have turned out painful. The truth of it is, is that I need more than anything to have a brain in my head. Yet, that doesn't seem to be in the cards either. My mind is bouncing off the walls now. I feel so trapped in this apartment. I want to go somewhere, but I have nowhere to go. I have nothing to do, and no money to do it with. I would love to just pick up and go-but to where-to what? There is always, turning around and going back where I came from, but to me that has always felt like admitting defeat. I guess I still have a little pride left…

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Rally for Oscar Grant!

PRESS RELEASE

January 6, 2009

Community Justice Network for Youth

180 Howard Street Suite 320

San Francisco CA 94105

www. cjny. org

(415) 321-4100 X102

More than 300 Bay Area residents will rally January 7 to show solidarity with the family of Oscar Grant, and demand that the BART Police be held accountable!
The 22-year-old father was killed by a BART police officer early New Year's Day when he was shot in the back as he lay face-down on the train platform, his hands behind him. He was cooperating; lifting his hands in surrender before being placed on the floor! The morning of January 7 he will be laid to rest.
That afternoon we will rally in his name!!!

Speakers will share a list of demands including:
1) All officers involved be taken off duty without pay, and fully prosecuted;
2) That the U.S.
Justice Department investigate the incident as a violation of civil rights;
3) That BART establish an independent citizens’ review board for its officers; and
4) That the BART police officers be disarmed!

WHAT: Rally for Oscar Grant!

WHEN: Wednesday January 7, 2009

TIME: From 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.

WHERE: FRUITVALE BART STATION

LOCATION: 3401 East 12th Street / Oakland CA

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Police Shooting of Oscar Grant - New Video Released

HOLY SHIT!There is no doubt from this footage. They Shot a man then handcuffed him and made no attempts to save his life. These pigs should die. And it doesn't matter the color of the officer or the victim this is a matter of human decency. Anyone who says other wise is ignorant and libel to due the same thing. If one person shoots another person who is unarmed and out numbered in the back as they lie on the ground it is irrelevant as to what color their skin is this is wrong-period-point blank.

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Police Shoot Unarmed Man at Oakland BART Station

On New Year's Eve about three blocks from my apartment at a the Fruitvale BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station, the transit police shot and killed 22 year-old Oscar Grant. Grant was lying on his stomach with his hands behind him on the train platform when a single shot was fired by a BART officer. The police claim that it was an accident, and the gun that killed young father of a four year-old girl, went off by mistake. Witnesses say Grant was not resisting when the gunshot was fired. The transit agency police officers claim to have been responding to reports of fighting on an arriving train. Again, according to eyewitnesses there were no movements and he was not trying to overrun the police officer. Agency spokesman Jim Allison stated; "It's clear that it was a volatile situation with young men who were arguing and in fact had continued to argue even in the presence of multiple police officers." Although no one involved in the "alleged" fighting were arrested following the shooting. Two men were detained for questioning, but later released. Despite the fact that a gun cannot discharge accidentally, (you must have your finger on the trigger). The BART Police then shut down the Fruitvale station until 2:50 a.m. to "collect" physical evidence after the incident. One item they missed however was an amateur video showing the officers beating the unarmed men and yelling and cussing at them as they tried to cooperate. The tape barely catches the victim being shot but it is believed that other tapes are out there. The young woman who made the recording says that she was five feet away from the victim when the incident happened. She also claims that a female officer tried to confiscate her camera when she realized what happened. BART spokesman Linton Johnson stated that the video feed that goes to BART's police department did not record any footage of the incident, as it normally doesn't record incidents. Later his story changed to say the video feed that goes to the transit agency's operations center did record the incident, and initial review of that video did not show "anything of significance." While Officials have not publicly identified the officer, it is known that he has served on the force for just less than two years. The officer has been placed on "standard" administrative leave, as an investigation into whether proper procedures had been followed and whether or not the shooting was a crime. WHETHER OR NOT THE SHOOTING WAS A CRIME!!! One thing being currently overlooked is that the BART police are not "real" police. According to the official BART website;

In 1969, three years before BART opened for revenue service, the transit district's board of directors recommended that local police and sheriff's departments patrol the stations, trains, rights-of-way, and other BART-owned properties that were within their respective jurisdictions. The police chiefs and sheriffs, forecasting that BART's proposal would create jurisdictional disputes and inconsistent levels of police service, rejected the board's proposal. As a result, legislation was passed to form an autonomous law enforcement agency, the BART Police Department. Chief Gary Gee heads the department of 296 personnel, of which 206 are sworn peace officers. Community-service officers, communications/9-1-1 dispatchers and supervisors, revenue-protection guards, clerical staff and supervisors, and a CAD/RMS administrator comprise the department's civilian employees. The BART Police Department provides the full range of law-enforcement services. To prepare for major emergencies, critical incidents, and tactical call-outs, the department is a signatory to the Bay Area's mutual-aid pacts. Select officers receive training in SWAT, crowd management, and hostage negotiations.

Recent statistics published by the Stolen Lives Project estimate that the number of cases in the United States relating to police brutality has reached the thousands, yet many of these instances are never officially reported due to fear of reprisal. If you have been detained, questioned, arrested or otherwise handled by the police, you do have rights. However, you are in a bit of a difficult position if you've suffered from and been a victim of police brutality. You aren't in a position to defend yourself realistically, as fighting back will generally only serving to exacerbate the situation at hand. Whether they even have the right to do what they did is inevitably beside the point. I have no delusions that the BART police will be punished for what they have done. Police brutality happens every day across the globe. Recently when it happened to a 15 year-old kid named Alexandros Grigoropoulos in Greece the people took action. The riots have lasted for five weeks and just today (January 5^th) two gunman attacked a group of riot police and the gunmen fired about 40 shots before tossing a hand grenade at police to cover their escape. A 21-year-old policeman was taken to hospital with serious injuries from three bullets. While here in Oakland but about 20 people rallied outside the Bay Area Rapid Transit District's headquarters. A single protest is planned for Wednesday at the station where Oscar Grant was murdered in cold blood. When will we as the alleged "greatest nation on Earth", step up and say that enough is enough. We have become so complacent in our acceptance of this police state that we live in. We are more concerned about what shitty products we can afford than about our freedoms, rights, and very lives are being taken away from us by these gun toting Nazi's that patrol our streets each day. There must come a time when we the people stand up and fight back. There are organizations out there that have provided information to help you and me fight back but we cannot rely on words alone. Direct action will have to be taken to stop these animals from getting away with murder every damn, day! Here are some simple rules to remember when you find yourself in the line of fire.

IF THE POLICE ARREST YOU...

•You may be handcuffed, searched,

photographed and fingerprinted.

•Say repeatedly, "I DON'T WANT TO TALK

UNTIL MY LAWYER IS PRESENT."

Even if your rights aren't read, refuse to talk,

Until your lawyer/public defender arrives.

•Do not talk to inmates in jail about your case.

•If you're on probation/parole, tell your P.O.

you've been arrested, but NOTHING ELSE.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT...

•to be in a public place and to observe

police activity.

IF THE POLICE STOP ANYONE...

•STOP AND WATCH.

•Write down officers' names, badge

numbers, and car numbers. COPS

MUST BE IDENTIFIED BY NAME OR

BADGE NUMBER (PC sec. 830.10).

•Write down the time, date, and

place of the incident and all details

as soon as possible.

•Ask if the person is being arrested,

and if so, on what charge.

•Get witnesses' names and contact

info.

•Try to get the arrestee's name, but

only if they already gave it to the

police.

•Document any injuries as soon as

possible. Photograph them and

have a medical report describing

details of the injuries.

IF THE POLICE STOP YOU...

•Ask, "AM I FREE TO GO?" If not, you

are being detained. If yes, walk

away.

•Ask, "WHY ARE YOU DETAINING ME?"

To stop you, the officer must have

a "reasonable suspicion" to suspect

your involvement in a specific

crime (not just a guess or a stereotype).

•It is not a crime to be without

ID. If you are being detained or

issued a ticket, you may want to

show ID to the cop because they

can take you to the station to

verify your identity.

•If a cop tries to search your car,

your house, or your person say

repeatedly that you DO NOT CONSENT

TO THE SEARCH. If in a car, do

not open your trunk or door – by

doing so you consent to a search

of your property and of yourself.

If at home, step outside and lock

your door behind you so cops have

no reason to enter your house. Ask

to see the warrant and check for

proper address, judge's signature,

and what the warrant says the

cops are searching for. Everything

must be correct in a legal warrant.

Otherwise, send the police away.

•The cops can do a "pat search"

(search the exterior of one's clothing

for weapons) during a detention

for "officer safety reasons".

They can't go into your pockets

or bags without your consent. If

you are arrested, they can search

you and your possessions in great

detail.

•DO NOT RESIST PHYSICALLY. Use your

words and keep your cool. If an

officer violates your rights, don't

let them provoke you into striking

back. Wait until you are out of

custody then you can organize for justice.

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