Pagans national president arrested in raid

national president of the Pagans motorcycle gang was jailed on drug distribution charges overnight after a state police raid on his home in Hempfield, Westmoreland County, that troopers said turned up cocaine and methamphetamine.

Dennis "Rooster" Katona, 45, of Ember Lane, was arraigned on charges of possession and possession with intent to deliver and held on $750,000 bond in the Westmoreland County Prison.

Troopers swarmed over the house Wednesday afternoon while a state police helicopter hovered overhead, causing a stir in the rural neighborhood. Mr. Katona, who was released from federal prison in 2006 following his conviction for a leadership role in a bloody attack on the rival Hell's Angels in New York in 2002, formerly lived in Jefferson Hills and had long been under investigation by the state police organized crime unit.

Police began building a case in the mid-2000s against the Pagans, whose national headquarters is a farmhouse in Fallowfield, Washington County. A state grand jury presentment handed up in Allegheny County in 2009 laid out the structure of the gang, including its four local chapters and the national "Mother Club," and accused members of the Greensburg chapter with distributing drugs supplied from Mexican dealers in Atlanta.

Five members were prosecuted, although the leader, Raymond Overly of Belle Vernon, head of the Greensburg chapter, got away. He remains a fugitive and is believed to be in Florida.

Mr. Katona was still in federal prison when that investigation began and was not charged as part of it, but police later began preparing a separate case against him that culminated in yesterday's raid. Troopers said they seized numerous items from the Ember Lane house, including "multi-ounce" quantities of cocaine and meth.

In the earlier New York case, Mr. Katona had been identified by a federal grand jury as the sergeant-at-arms of the Pagans' Mother Club and the owner of East Coast Cycles Inc., which had motorcycle shops in Rostraver, Florida, Germany and Austria.

According to police and the FBI in New York, Mr. Katona was one of the plotters in the attack on the Hell's Angels' "Hellraiser Ball" on Long Island that involved some 72 Pagans, many of whom live in Pennsylvania.

The Pagans is one of four major outlaw motorcycle gangs in the U.S. but have always been the most prominent in Western Pennsylvania. Two FBI investigations using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in the 1980s crippled them here, but police said they have continued to distribute marijuana, cocaine and meth in the region.

Several other prosecutions have hurt them in the last several years. Most recently, Richard "Big Rick" Speciale, a high-ranking Pagan from Ross, was charged in federal court in West Virginia with distributing cocaine from June 2007, just months after his release from federal prison on a previous cocaine conviction, to January 2010, when Pittsburgh police and the attorney general's office arrested him in Ross.

In March, he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Clarksburg, W.Va.

Police are searching for a fugitive full-patch Hells Angel charged with murder in the beating death of Kelowna dad Dain Phillips.

Investigators spent the weekend trying to locate Robert Leonard Thomas, a 46-year-old member of the Kelowna chapter of the notorious biker gang.

Thomas, full-patch Angel Norm Cocks and five other associates are facing second-degree murder charges in the fatal assault on Phillips on June 12, during which baseball bats and hammers were used.

The other six suspects were picked up Saturday and Sunday, but Thomas remains at large.

He was once associated with the East End chapter of the Hells Angels and was arrested outside the East Georgia clubhouse in July 2005 in an unrelated case.

Sgt. Shinder Kirk, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest has been issued.

"His current whereabouts is unknown," Kirk said Tuesday, urging people to call their local police if they see him.

Thomas is described as heavily tattooed, 5-feet-7-inches and about 221 pounds.

He owns a 2004 Ford F150 truck, according to the personal property registry, and is listed on the truck's record as living in the 900-block of Clement Avenue in Kelowna.

Phillips, who was a married father of three, tried to intervene peacefully in a dispute two of his sons were having with a pair of brothers with whom they had attended Rutland secondary.

But when Phillips drove to a meeting place on McCurdy Road just before 7 p.m. June 12, he was attacked by a group of men who had arrived in two separate vehicles. He died later in hospital.

CSFEU Supt. Pat Fogarty said Phillips was simply trying to do the right thing and resolve the problem when he was savagely attacked.

He said the special enforcement unit worked closely with Kelowna RCMP in the case as it already had an overlapping investigation dubbed E-Pixie involving some of the same suspects.

"At this time, we are unable to go into full details or to name the E-Pixie suspects as that investigation is active and continues to unfold," Fogarty said.

The other investigation stemmed from the attempted murder of a 27-year-old Edmonton resident in Kelowna Sept. 10.

CSFEU head Supt. Doug Kiloh said police and B.C. residents have seen the migration of Metro Vancouver gang violence to the Okanagan and other parts of the province.

The others charged in Phillips's murder - Robert Cocks, the 52-year-old president of the Throttle Lockers puppet club, brothers Daniel McRae, 20, and Matt McRae, 19, Anson Schell, 19 and Thomas Vaughan, 22 - are all described as associates of the Kelowna Hells Angels chapter, which opened in 2007.

"The arrests of these members of the Hells Angels or any other criminal group show that we will aggressively pursue any individuals who use violence or threats to protect or to expand their criminal enterprises anywhere in British Columbia," Fogarty said.

Leave of Absence

Lebanon is where I grew up!

I'm going to be traveling to Lebanon from the 22nd of June to the 29th of the same month. In that time, I will have limited internet bandwidth and won't be posting new blogs until the weekend after I return.
Lebanon was where I was raised and this will be the first time I return in 6 years. The trip should be interesting to say the least!

Until I fly out, I'm going to be preparing for the trip. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! If I do have the chance I'll put up some photos for you guys to see! Thanks for all your support!

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Ralph "Sonny" Barger; Godfather of the Hells Angels and creator of the outlaw look.

Hells Angels legend Ralph “Sonny” Barger is probably somewhere around 75 years old, but still looks like a vibrant man in his mid 50’s, close-cropped white hair and clean shaven. He looks more like a MARINES drill sergeant than a lifelong outlaw as he moves through the room with the confidence and sureness of a sultan in his harem.
This is the man, the legend, the one who moulded the Hells Angels into what they are. It’s not a stretch to say that Sonny Barger was a visionary who essentially created the image of the outlaw biker as we know it.

Going back as far as the late 50’s until this day, Sonny Barger and his crew which consisted of cats who are LEGENDARY in the outlaw biker world: Johnny Angel, Terry The Tramp, Magoo, Junkie George, Mouldy Marvin, Cisco Valderama, with a host of other members from their Hells Angels Charter, created the image-- the leather, the hair, the grime, the hardness, the silence, the impenetrability, the bikes, and everything that constitutes an outlaw biker, especially the bikes.

Without the Hells Angels we wouldn’t have floor model Harleys that look like striped down scream machines. No Ape Hangers (motorcycle handle bars with grips above the shoulders), no flared fenders, no bitch bars (sissy bars), no spool wheels, no front end extenders. There would be less chrome, less creative custom paint jobs, less style, The HA were obsessed with going fast, and without this obsession bikes would be slower. They were relentless in stripping their bikes of all but the barest essentials. The formula was simple, less weight and bigger engines equalled more speed. Every pound they shed gained them 2 miles per hour. Thus “CHOPPERS” – chopped down motorcycles. What they did was mimicked by everyone who wanted to be a Hells Angels but couldn’t be. Their influence can be seen today in bikes designed by Jesse James of West Coast Choppers and the Teutuls at Orange County Choppers.

Bikes aside, a world without Sonny Barger would look pretty much the same, but the world of the outlaw biker, if it even existed, would look a hell of a lot different. He is the iconic outlaw biker, and all members of every club all look up to him as the godfather of their culture. He is respected for who he is but he is also respected for his vision. He saw the Angels could go international. That though American in origin, they didn’t have to be limited to American Borders. Former ATF agent Jay Dobyns refers to the Hells Angels and in part all American style biker gangs as the USA’s only organised crime export. This is all because of Ralph “Sonny” Barger. He embodies everything about the Hells Angels from their distinct image to their contradictions.
The contradictions you ask?

The Hells Angels are separate from society, but they’re rooted in it; they’re nonconformists, but they all look the same; they’re a secret society, but also flamboyant exhibitionist; they diss the laws of the land but they’re governed by a strict code, protocols, and rules; their name and “death head” logo represents freedom, individualism, toughness, and lawlessness, but both name and logo are protected by trademarks; and since the very beginning , again, this is all the doing of Ralph “Sonny” Barger.

Source: Jay Dobyns- Former undercover agent for ATF.

Growing Blog

I just wanted to give a quick thanks to all my readers, old and new for reading what I write! It has been a great pleasure and I really try putting a lot of effort. Just a few hours ago I hit a new mark: 20,000 views!

Thank you, keep reading, and share the link love!

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Philosophy 101: The Nature of Morality Part 3

This is Part 3 of my series on the Nature of Morality. If you haven't been following along, you can find Part 1 here, where I established that morality must be universal and not relative. In Part 2, I established that divine morality could not guide a society and that Kant's Deontology was wrong. Here, I present Part 3, discussing what I think is the best source of morality: Consequentialism. 

Consequentialism holds that the morality of an action is to be determined by its consequences however, consequentialists are by no means united in how one goes about doing this. 

I believe that a universal moral consequentialist theory should be based on the well-being of a human beings. This is different than Jeremy Benthem's Utilitarianism which seeks the greatest good for the greatest number because it seeks to minimize human suffering not increase utility of acts and people for the majority. 

The only legitimate argument against consequentialism is as follows:

1. The limitations on human knowledge means that we will never know the possible or full consequences of an act before or after the act is completed; without that knowledge people will make uninformed decisions, and potentially immoral ones. 

I think these objections are ignorant of reality. No human decision, ever made in human (or animal) history has been made with absolute and full knowledge of the past, present and future consequences.

With that said, today, more-so than ever, we have access to more information than at any other time in history. I have, at my fingertips, more information than all the Pharoahs of Egypt, Kings of England, Presidents of the U.S. (past) and other leaders ever had for themselves. If there is ever a time where we need information to make decisions, there is no better time than today (except tomorrow).

I'd make the rest of the case however I believe Sam Harris will do a much better job. Although I think he words his reasoning oddly (and unnecessarily), Sam lays out his idea of universal consequentialist morality. He covers these points:

1. Morality should be based on human well-being. 
2. We must work to reduce human suffering to promote the well-being of humans. 
3. Science can inform us on the well-being of humans. 

To frame this argument better, let's discuss some examples:

Take the following action:

Murder:

1. It obviously works against the well-being of the human.
2. Increases human suffering to the victims family not to mention the victim before they are killed, etc.
3. The act is immoral because human suffering is generated. 

Therefore, it is immoral. This also easily applies to denounce other acts like rape.

If Deontology won't pass the "Nazi test" (see part 2) how does this form of consequentialism react to the historical example?

In the Nazi example, when soldiers knock on the non-Jewish home searching for Jews, the family can reason that it would increase human suffering if they were taken by the Nazis as they would be forced into camps and eventually killed. 

However, let's add some complexity:

What if the soldiers' catch the non-Jewish family lying? The likely result would be that they catch both families and both would be punished; surely this would increase total human suffering and justify the non-Jewish family's will to give away the hiding Jewish family? 

This is next point is key: If caught, both families will be killed, however, the non-Jewish family will not be the cause of the increase in human suffering. I believe, that the suffering should be prioritized based on intent. 

This determines that when the Nazi soldier's are directed away from the house and spend the entire day looking for the family only to go back to their general empty handed, the soldier's surely suffer, however, the suffering of the family is prioritized over the soldiers' because the Nazi's are the catalysts who seek to increase the human suffering. Likewise, working with the soldiers means that the Non-jewish family intends to increase human suffering, and therefore helping would be immoral. 

Admittedly, this may be an area where Sam Harris and I disagree but I would have to look into it further.

What is interesting is that the 3rd point of Kant's Deontology is actually quite consequentialist. In it he says "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law."  One way to determine if an act is moral is to determine whether it can be replicated by everyone. If I kill, and everyone kills, society couldn't function, therefore the act is immoral. Apply the same reasoning to lying, cheating, raping, and more. The basis for this aspect of Kant's theory is to try to figure out the consequences on society if an act is universally replicated, and therefore, consequentialist.

Now, even that aspect of Kant's moral theory is flawed and I don't ascribe to it, but I thought it was a noteworthy aspect.

To understand where I'm coming from, watch this TED video by Sam Harris discussing what he calls the Moral Landscape.

It's a very good representation of his position. If you won't watch it, he mentions what I've already said with some better examples. But he ends it with a strong point:

Once you admit that morality should be based on decreasing human suffering (thereby improving human well-being), you also admit that science is the best guide to help you do that. Which is why he says Science can teach us our morals.

I haven't run by any other moral theory that is as good as the one Harris proposes. So does this mean that what he proposes is universal in nature (as I previously established morality must be)?

Of course. Human suffering exists in all societies on earth, this means that we can establish which acts cause more human suffering and deem them immoral.

Upon delving deeper into this theory, I questioned how such a moral compass could guide us on questions that aren't related to human well-being or human suffering. There are two ways to address this:

1. Some supporters of this theory believe that we should include animal suffering as well, and therefore become all vegetarians or vegans (I haven't looked too much into it but they may have a point). Something Peter Sanger would agree to, I'm sure.
2. Questions that are unrelated to suffering and well-being, of human or animals, aren't moral questions at all! Can you think of any moral questions that don't have to do with human suffering? There aren't many, if any. 

In a previous post I had discussed the morality of celebrating Osama Bin Laden's Death. You can read that here.

Considering that this moral theory is the only theory I've come across that properly addresses current and future moral questions, I must also reconsider my position on celebrating his death.

Of course I would clarify that I'm discussing the morality of the celebration of Bin Laden's killing and not the killing itself. Under this moral theory, killing Osama Bin Laden is moral because he has been the cause of much human suffering(capturing and trying in court is also a good choice. Death is not demanded to remove someone worsening society). However, celebrating his death doesn't seem like a question that entails human suffering (at least not on its face). As such, it becomes a morally neutral issue: not a moral question at all.

This isn't final because if you can show how this might be a moral question, I'm all ears, but I don't see it.

What is so beautiful about this theory is that an act no longer deemed as moral or immoral because I say so. Now, we can use our (growing) knowledge of human well-being (all aspects of it) through science to tell us what is right and what is wrong. The scientific method removes our inborn biases to find objective truth, and is the perfect source of facts, and when morality is determined by facts, science is our best guide. It no longer is a matter of opinion, rather, a matter of facts.

This is the most powerful theory I've come across and I welcome you to challenge it. 

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Four more bikies have been arrested over a violent brawl at a nightclub in Adelaide.

Police said the brawl erupted between members of the Hells Angels and Finks bikie gangs at the City nightclub in Hindley Street on May 29.

The four men include three Hells Angels associates and one Finks member.

Twelve men were initially charged over the brawl following a series of police raids last Friday.

The four arrested men have been released on bail and will be jointly charged alongside the initial 12 suspects.

Rock music's worst nightmare:The Beatles in Manila

1966 proved to be a difficult and dangerous year for the Beatles in their entire music career.At the height of John Lennon's remark "We're more popular than Jesus" ignited protests among Christian sects around the world,particularly in America's Bible belt which is the deep south.Numerous death threats poured in,and the band found touring dangerous and life threatening instead of enjoyment and meeting new people along the way.

But none could be dangerous,sickening or perhaps hateful  than the Beatles' disastrous tour of the Philippines in the summer of 1966.

The Philippines is an island nation off the coast of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean.A former Spanish and American colony,the Philippines is composed of 7,100 islands,about 693 miles southeast of Hong Kong and about 1,291 nautical miles northeast of Singapore.The Philippines was a commonwealth of the United States during the early 20th century and was granted independence in 1945.Manila is the capital city and it boasts a wide range of cultural diversity:Chinese,Spanish, and American mixed with native Filipino customs.The oldest chinatown in the world can also be found in Manila.Among the leading exports from the country were coffee,tobacco,bananas,jackfruits and pineapples.Perhaps the Philippines is best known today because of Manny Pacquiao one of the greatest boxers in history and the notorious Marcos clan who can be compared to chairman Mao.

The Philippines is also one of the poorest countries in the world.With more than 40 percent of its population on the poverty and even below poverty line. It was always said that only a millionaire can buy a car in the Philippines,with about 56 percent of slum dwellers and scavengers in Manila alone.

Before we proceed on the Beatles tour of the Philippines story I'd like to point out and correct some inaccuracies and wrong speculations other bloggers and websites have put on their pages.I dont want anyone to be mislead but as far as Im concern,this page that I wrote about the Beatles concert in the Philippines is the most accurate site so far.

I spent ages of research and asking my dad and some other Filipino elders who were there in Manila during the time the Beatles went there for a concert.

Here are some of the inaccuracies about the Beatles concert in the Philippines posted by other sites,myths I suppose:

1.The Philippines was under martial law when the Beatles came--WRONG! According to angelfire website the Philippines was under martial law when the Beatles came basing on Ringo's comment it was a dictatorship there in those days.Even though Marcos was already gearing up to be a dictator and monopolizing the Philippine government as far back as 1965 when he first took office[Marcos was already a notorious figure even before he became president of the Philippines],he didn't declare martial law until six years later on September 21,1972.

2.Paul McCartney went to Makati for a stroll--WRONG! Another website claiming that Paul went to Makati based on Paul's statement on the Beatles Anthology describing a "some kind of a Wall Street Area" when he went out on his own the next day after they arrived at the Manila airport.Well truth is,the Makati business district known as the Philippines' financial capital didn't exist during the 1960s so Paul was describing another place near the hotel they stayed and its absolutely not Makati!
The Beatles stayed in the Manila Hotel when they went there for a concert in 1966 so Paul was probably and more accurately describing the tourist belt in Manila known as Ermita district."Ermita" nowadays is still Manila's tourist belt,with tall buildings and hotels and business establishments side by side.Paul was even describing a shanty town where he bought some paintings in front of the "Wall Street Area" he mentioned on the book.Mabini Street,also located in Ermita has all the art stores and galleries which are still existing up to this day.
I even heard some elders who were there in Manila in 1966 when the Beatles came talking about Paul having a walk and taking pictures at the famous Rizal Park which is also located in Ermita district and not far from the Manila Hotel.And besides,all the business transactions and financial in the Philippines in the sixties were all located in downtown Manila alone,while the Makati business district started booming in the mid seventies,more than a decade after the Beatles came to the country.

TOUCHDOWN MANILA

After performing three shows in Tokyo,Japan,the Beatles headed to the Philippines and arrived in Manila on July 3,1966.According to the book Beatles Anthology,George Harrison already noticed a negative vibe when they arrived citing several airport police who were rude and disrespectful to them.George said "As soon as we got off the plane one fellow was screaming at us 'Leave those bags there,get in the car!!' We were being bullied for the first time.It wasn't respectful.We've been to other countries-America,Sweden,Germany,wherever and even though there was a mania whenever we came there was a lot of respect because we were famous showbiz personalities.But in Manila it was a very negative vibe the moment we got off the plane,so we were a bit frightened."

The Beatles were escorted down to a boat on a Manila harbour,surrounded by hordes of police and other armed people contrary to their original itinerary.Brian Epstein was said to be flustered the way his boys were being treated upon their arrival that they told the Philippine promoter to escort the band to their own hotel suites.The Beatles stayed in the Manila Hotel and like other places in the world,Filipino fans gathered a vigil outside the hotel and thus started the Philippine version of Beatlemania.

 MARCOS


The Beatles were invited the next day by then first lady Imelda Marcos for a dinner party at the presidential palace in which unknown to the band Brian Epstein had already declined.I guess it was some sort of culture shock between the two parties and those bureaucrats obviously won't take no for an answer.Marcos' vengeance comes next below this page.

THE CONCERT

The Beatles held two concerts at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium on July 4,1966,the first at about four in the afternoon and the second one was held at eight in the evening.The band was airlifted by a chopper from the hotel to the concert grounds and everyone was treated with a spectacle.

The Beatles' set list during the Manila concert were as follows:

1.Rock And Roll Music (Chuck Berry cover,from the album Beatles For Sale)
2.She's A Woman (Single,later to be compiled on the Beatles Past Masters Singles compilation album)
3.If I Needed Someone (from the album Rubber Soul)
4.Baby's In Black (from the album Beatles For Sale)
5.Day Tripper (Single,later to be compiled on the Beatles Past Masters Singles compilation album)
6.I Feel Fine (Single,later to be compiled on the Beatles' Past Masters Singles compilation album)
7.Yesterday (from the album Help!)
8 I Wanna Be Your Man (from the album With The Beatles)
9.Paperback Writer (Single,later to be compiled on the Beatles Past Masters Singles compilation album)
10.I'm Down (Single,later to be compiled on the Beatles Past Masters Singles compilation album)

ENCORE: Long Tall Sally (Little Richard cover,single,later to be compiled on the Beatles' Past Masters singles compilation album)

FEUD WITH MARCOS

After the invitation party was declined by Brian Epstein himself,the Marcoses were furious and obviously like I said,these bureucrats wont take no for an answer with Imelda screaming angrily live on Philippine television saying that the Beatles had insulted her and thus all Filipinos for not coming to the presidential party.Unknown to everyone,the Beatles have their own policy of not having themselves getting involved with politics as their management instructed them to,This isn't the first time that happened in the Beatles' career.During the first American tour in 1964,the Beatles' management declined President Johnson's invitation for the band to come to the White House to attend the presidential daughter's birthday party.Well President Johnson didn't react angrily and he absolutely didn't pay a mob and instructed his guards to beat up the Beatles and their entourage nor put their life into danger.So I guess it was kinda rude for those people to behave like that,what happened to the famous Filipino hospitality here? It was really as I say,embarassing.

The Beatles told stories of how they were mishandled after Brian,their manager,declined the dinner invitation.They even told about horror stories of how people would serve them rotten food at their hotel suite and about Ringo not eating in Manila for three days.

It was a terrible time for the band,and the Philippines sadly, once again added that bad mark on their culture and history.George Harrison said in an interview after the Beatles returned to England,"We heard it was terrible place and when we got there it was proved." It was really sad.

But Marcos isn't finished yet,after all the police protection and band escorts disappeared,the Beatles went on their own to the airport and got themselves harrassed and their entourage beaten by supporters of Marcos.Ringo was punched in the face and John Lennon was kicked in the back by Marcos supporters.Their road manager Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans was badly beaten off the airport as they were trying to get on  the plane to go home.At the end,Brian Epstein was called back and all the money the Beatles earned during their Manila concert was taken from him.The Beatles left Manila with empty pockets but with a good feeling that they were all still alive.The following day after the Beatles left,the British embassy in Manila filed a protest following the Beatles' treatment when they came to the Philippines.Upon their arrival in England,the band told reporters of the horror they experienced in Manila and vowed never to return.

 AFTERMATH OF THE BEATLES' DISASTROUS MANILA CONCERT

1. NEMS,Brian Epstein's company in which the Beatles were managed cancelled two shows by Freddie And the Dreamers scheduled on August of 1966 and the upcoming Manila concert tour of Cilla Black also managed by NEMS.Manila was blacklisted by other British acts of the time after the Beatles incident.

2.The Rolling Stones were also scheduled to perform in Manila on the fall of 1966 but Brian Jones and Stones manager Andrew Oldham cancelled their upcoming show after hearing of the Beatles' incident.

3.In 2001, more than 30 years  after the Beatles came to the Philippines,the band was insulted in a variety show called Magandang Tanghali Bayan when one of the unknown Filipino comedians made a laughing stock out of the band and thus started a spark of anger between Beatles fans both Filipino and non-Filipino.MTB as it was known,was a notorious show in the Philippines for being rude and disrespectful to other people and was suspended several times by the Philippine censors.After a year of notoriety, ABS CBN known internationally as TFC finally dumped MTB and started rehabilitating some of its comedian hosts.

4.A scheduled Oasis concert tour of Manila in 2003 was cancelled by the band after they heard of the Beatles' treatment in Manila almost 40 years ago.

5.In 2004,a Filipino disc jockey and a group of mediamen and journalists from the Manila Bulletin and Philippine Daily Inquirer flew to London to interview Sir Paul McCartney.When Paul heard that the press around his office were from the Philippines,he immediately cancelled the interview and walked off leaving the Filipino press who travelled a hundred miles just for his interview.

A Word On the Arab Spring

Although I haven't posted much on the topic recently, I've still been watching the developments with feelings of eagerness and fearfulness fluctuating with the changing news. I'm weary to post anything new on the subject unless I can convey an opinion not widely held, or unless I can substantially add to the topic in such a way that it isn't just another boring read onto a mountain of literature on the subject.

At this point in the region-wide movement things are getting far more difficult. The government reactions of Tunisia and Egypt seem like mere pinches to the skin of the protesters compared to the much more brutal crackdown by the governments of Syria, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen and Oman. This change is being described by most commentators as the Arab Spring's Second Wave.

The first wave was marked by short time spans of a few weeks before a leader was toppled and mild-to-little violence. In this second wave, the leaders under threat have learned from the failures of their now-felled allies. From Libya to Bahrain, Syria to Yemen, the leaders are forcing out international media and increasing their grip on national private new sources. This is meant to reduce the negative images leaving the country to stop international outcry (before it begins). With media largely suppressed, the governments have moved to crackdown on the protesters with bloody fury.

In Syria more than a thousand protesters have been killed; in Yemen tribal fighting is breaking out as fears grow of long term civil war and the President refuses to sign a regional agreement; in Bahrain the emergency law was uplifted after successfully quelling protests for sometime, but on the day it was lifted protesters marched in smaller numbers yet were quickly dispersed. 

In spite of all this, the protesters aren't giving up. Their bravery and persistence in the face of such brutality should be an example to all people, with or without their self-evident rights abused. It should serve to remind us of our own history in the struggle for human rights; this would include everything from the American Revolution, to the Civil War; from the Civil Rights movement of Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, and women to the genocide of the  Native Americans (and everything in between).

Their efforts should generate feelings of humility about our current condition while strengthening our resolve to support them. International pressure is key and although the "second wave" will be more difficult and last longer, it would be naive to even think that the issues of the "first wave" were properly addressed; there is still much work to be done on all fronts.

We should be helping the people who have illegitimate governments (in all forms) remove them because they act as a direct barrier to much needed social, political and economic reforms.

We may disagree with whom the people elect after a successful revolution because they conflict with our own interests, however, that is never a justification to support the oppression of a single person, let alone millions of them. While opposition to the calls of the Arabs for freedom is immoral (or anyone else), even worse is ignoring it. 

To ignore their calls is to support the brutal crackdown of the governments. It is also the cowardly claim one makes that they "never knew what was happening." The least you can do is pay attention to the calls of the protesters; direct sources are everywhere from Facebook to Twitter and plenty of live media blogs. 

 Don't ignore what's going on because we only have each other to rely on. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. :

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

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