text:
If non-expert appraisals of 'normal behavior' can be condoned, it nonetheless has to be the case that the behavior under scrutiny takes place in a 'normal' environment, in which a human being can be expected to function normally.
The case of Garry Ian David
Neither Bad Nor Mad tells the story of Garry David, a convicted Australian murderer who became famous by sending out threats to the public and descriptions of his extreme self-mutilations to news papers while incarcerated.
[For no reason at all? He wasn't treated badly in prison? How about the prison conditions? How about say, indefinite solitary confinement? Would that have caused the prisoners frustration and anger?]
This very public figure posed the government a serious problem, he was deemed dangerous, but could not be diagnosed 'mentally ill' and thus could not be detained for longer than his actual crimes (as opposed to acts of self-mutilation, and general threats reported by newspapers) [allegedly ?], deserved.
[You see acts of self-mutilation come from somewhere they don't just appear out of nowhere they usually appear because of bad treatment and things like solitary confinement.]
Greig recounts how psychiatrists, lawyers, judges and politicians juggled with medical facts, the criminal justice law, [criminal law], and perceptions of the 'normal person' in order to find a satisfactory way of dealing with Garry David, and how they spectacularly failed to do so.
Garry David was diagnosed as suffering from personality disorders, but psychiatrists would not commit themselves to a diagnosis of mental illness, he was thus not considered eligible for being held in a psychiatric hospital.
Greig's depiction of the psychiatric aspect of the Garry David story, is of a long file of psychiatric doctors and hospital nurses each in turn puzzled and horrified by David's manipulative and extreme personality, but still firmly convinced that he was not mad.
The fact that there were many attempts at diagnosis reveals a keen interest in being able to label him with a recognized psychiatric illness. This itself would appear in part to confirm a claim made by Thomas Szasz, for example in his Cruel Compassion, that mental illness is a category used to repress the disturbing elements of society, a license to put away criminals for periods much longer than are warranted by their crime.
Greig makes it clear that the perception of Garry David's dangerousness was increased by the fact that he came to the public eye, [or used for political posturing?] during a period where two large-scale massacres took place. So there was more pressure both to keep him locked up and to label him as mad (as the perpetrators of the massacres were both diagnosed as suffering from mental illness).
The government's response to Garry David, was quite simply, to create a law just for him, the Community protection act, which would license keeping him in jail on the basis of assessed 'dangerousness', even if he could not be institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital.
There are some serious philosophical objections to policy making which has as its object a particular situation. For example, following Rousseau (On Social Contract, Book II, chapter 6), because the law is the expression of the general will, it cannot be framed by the particular. The particular can only come in at the point at which the law is executed, not when it is being formulated.
Anything else is both a misuse of the law and unfair to the person or persons against whom the law is being made. Garry David seems to have had a keen awareness of this unfairness. This is apparent in a reported dialogue between a high court judge and David in which David explains that he will not co-operate, even if it means ruling out his chances of an earlier release, on the grounds that the law which is being proposed in order to lengthen his sentence is unjust (pp.198-199).
The government's attempts at dealing with Garry David in this way, thus seems to have exacerbated the situation further. Greig also spends some time relating how the public's perception of David as'abnormal' played a role in the proceedings.
When Greig refers to the 'normal person's perception of madness and dangerousness, it seems that she's referring to one of the epigraphs of Chapter III, a quotation from Berlin:
"If I find a man to whom it literally makes no difference whether he kicks a pebble or kills his family, since either would be an antidote to ennui or inactivity, I shall not be disposed... to attribute to him merely a different code of morality to my own or that of most men, or declare that we disagree on essentials, but shall begin to speak of insanity..." p.76.
[What of David's prison life? If he was mistreated into having no care about a world that did not care? Then only retribution would prevail?]
Greig's strategy seems to be to denigrate this propensity to non-expert diagnosis of insanity. However, it strikes me both that what Berlin says is right in an important way, there is a moral norm of human behavior, and one does not need to be an expert to notice that somebody is way off that norm, but also that Berlin's point doesn't seem to be applicable in this case.
If non-expert appraisals of 'normal behavior' can be condoned, it nonetheless has to be the case that the behavior under scrutiny takes place in a 'normal' environment, in which a human being can be expected to function normally.
However, as Greig herself points out, prisons are not a normal environment. Prison life is such that many inmates, [prisoners], do in fact commit acts of self-mutilation, [? prison conditions that cause self harm], that they do exhibit personality disorders, [? mental problems and, personality disorders with authorities who are torturing them], more than people outside prison do, and that those disorders are exacerbated.
In this light, it seems wrong, [? it is wrong], to qualify David's mutilations as abnormal. Many people in the same situation act in the same way.
Garry David was different because he publicized his acts. [? Reflecting his mistreatment.] Again, threats against the police and the public (i.e. those he actually made - Greig explains how some newspaper reported false threats) are probably not unusual amongst prisoners, but Garry David was confident and articulate enough to make these threats to newspapers.
On the whole, the emerging portrait of Garry David from Greig's book is of a person who is not devoid of sense, who is creative, and who is extremely aware of the 'abnormality' of his life in prison, and of the social injustices that contributed to him being there in the first place.
He also seemed to be very keen to publicize his views on social justice, albeit in a sometimes violent or threatening manner. At the same time he was clearly very disturbing. He would not settle to prison life, and prevented others from doing so. He would not submit to any kind of mental health care. He performed horrendous mutilations upon himself and did not allow them to be healed. He made frightening statements to the press.
Greig draws the following conclusion from her many observations. First that it is imperative to ascertain the reasons for policy shift, especially when making laws that threaten civil rights.
Second that there is at present no clear boundary between 'mad' and 'bad' and that we had better be careful how we use psychiatry in conjunction with the criminal justice law, [criminal law.]
There are also conclusions she does not draw, perhaps because they would not follow smoothly from her careful and well-researched argument. The first is that prison conditions are clearly unacceptable, and unconducive to 'normal' behavior. If the general public had been better aware of prison life, it would have been less eager to label Garry David as a madman.
The second conclusion is that even though society shouldn't condone the systematic moral revolt of all those it punishes, it is to be expected that once in a while an individual will take it upon himself or herself to denounce some aspects of society.
Society's response, it seems, should be then a little more sophisticated than shuffling of policies and classifications. When the only actual acts of violence committed by Garry David as part of his protest were directed against himself, society should have been prepared to listen to his complaints, and show willingness to address some of them.
© Sandrine Berges 2004, Sandrine Berges is a member of the Department of International Relations, University of Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey
Posted by Susan Cairns and edited by Gregory Kable April 7 04
My name is Steve and I'm at Palen Creek Prison Farm near Rathdowney in Queensland. I was the subject on an "Intelligence Report" written by a QLD prison officer in 1996.
20 Million for trial and no Legal Aid to appeal?
Why don't we want to know the truth? Because the government, police, lower-courts and the prison including the Prisoners Legal Service have decided what the truth is for us! Without getting to the end of the appeal process where the case has been professionally put before judges so they can impartially and objectively interpret the law.
Violent prisoners in anger-control trial?
Prisoners with a history of murder, sex attacks, bashings and stabbings are taking courses in anger management to control their *primal urge* to violence. But is there a *primal urge to violence* and if there is then where did it come from?
NSW Prisoner Hunger Strike: Ivan Milat day 28
Hello, I hope all is fine with you. Thank you for the letter dated 8th March, received today 12th, very inspiring. Forgive me for that incoherent eight pager I wrote out, what had occurred. I was three-four days into this protest, no eating any food.
HRMU: Harm-U for Hicks, Habib?
At the HRMU there are no minimum standard guidelines adhered to and security of the prison over-rules the prisoner's medical needs. Prisoners are self-harming because of the environment they are kept in already.
Today Paedophiles TOMORROW You!
This legislation came to the for during the campaign for the State election in March 2003, Carr announced a plan to introduce child sex offender orders in New South Wales, to restrict the movement of convicted paedophiles in places frequented by children.
Obituary: Garry Nye born 3/4/52 died 1/3/04
On July 24 1991, in a massive operation that traumatised his children and destroyed his house, NSW police arrested him for the murder of criminal Ray Thurgar, using a discredited informer's flimsy evidence.
Cheney's bid for review denied
Cheney asked the court to appoint a judge to review his case, claiming he had been "verballed" by police and "loaded up". But Justice Jeff Shaw said last week there was "no real evidence of police corruption and Cheney, who had a long criminal career, had been convicted on "powerful circumstantial evidence".[?]
The bodies of seven backpackers were discovered at the Belanglo Forest in 1992. The victims were German, British and Australian origin. Australia at the time of the discoveries was well advanced in its bid for the Olympic Games to be held here in year 2000.
NSW Prisoner Hunger Strike: Ivan Milat
It looks like Premier Carr's anti Milat Campaign is working well again, his application to the Judge in chambers to seek an order to be allowed to orally argue his appeal to the High Court was refused.
Brett Collins: Speech to Nagle Symposium 25 years on
I was serving 17 years, was in segregation and had served five of the almost ten I eventually did. The prison movement outside had made the Royal Commission aware of the plight I was in as one of the prisoner organisers. That attention meant I was safer from that time on. Although two years later I was returned to Grafton with the classification of intractable.
Ending the 'institutionalised bash' now replaced by the institutionalised 'solitary confinement' cave their heads in bash. Former Royal Commissioner Justice John Nagle and Professor Tony Vinson are the keynote speakers at a seminar this week marking 25 years since the landmark Nagle Report into NSW prisons.
Jails the new asylums?
QUENTIN DEMPSTER: Asylum seekers -- no, not what you think -- but those who are so disillusioned with the current approach of our mental health system that they believe we should go back to the old ways and rebuild the asylums.
Inside Out Community Forum
Inside Out Association of NSW Incorporated is a newly formed initiative aiming towards developing genuine educational, rehabilitative, and re-integrative programs and assistance packages for prisoners and others effected by the criminal justice system, [criminal law system.]
Government justice not personal justice
Mr Collins said that, " No one is entitled to add to the court sentence to wreak personal vengeance on the offender, this is government justice not personal justice."
Risk Assessment Tools: Justice Health
As I mentioned at the time, there are indeed a large range of actuarial tools for making such assessments, but a review of the literature shows that their ability to predict dangerousness in any one individual is next to zero (or as the Macarthur Study puts it, "the unaided abilities of mental health professionals to perform this task are modest at best"
Experts: The Prisoner's Dilemma
[One] reason we are so-so scientists is that our brains were shaped for fitness [to the peopled environment], not for truth. Sometimes the truth is adaptive, but sometimes it is not. Conflicts of interest are inherent to the human condition, and we are apt to want our version of the truth, rather than the truth itself, to prevail.
Ron Woodham my faithful Commissioner?
The Departments have all the senior legal staff, they have the brightest minds in the country and others who are willing to get their hands dirty to get the job done. They have the law and legislation which they can do with as they will, and a budget to blow your minds!
Sentencing: Violent crime and practical outcomes
It's about just deserts, time to stop and reflect, to gain insight into your offending behaviour, to learn more ideas, retribution for the victims, and to set an example for the community.
The Nagle Report 25 years on
On 25 February 2004 the Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales and the Centre for Health Research in Criminal Justice will be co-hosting a seminar to celebrate the Nagle Royal Commission. The seminar will be held in Parliament House, Macquarie Street Sydney, from 5.00pm. Entry will be free, but seating will be limited.
Practicably Perfect
Do you remember your first driving lesson? You were to steer as close to the curb when parking 'practicably' not perfectly or practically. Why? Because we are not as perfect as Premier Bob Carr wants to be seen. The degree of our mistakes depends on our experience and reflects on our upbringing and sometimes the lack of it.
Defining JA Mentoring
Mentoring is not a new concept. Justice Action graduated its first class of Mentors in December 2003. A good idea has legs of its own, and so the concept of one-on-one support for vulnerable people finding their way in society is now being taken seriously.
Call for royal commission into NSW prison health system
Mr Tony Ross a social justice activist said yesterday that a royal commission into the health system in NSW should be wide reaching to ensure that the Corrections Health Service, [Prisons Health Service], is also exposed because of reported widespread cover ups in the prisons health system.
CONS COMMIT CRIMES IN HASTE, NOW CAN REPENT AT LAWTEY Yes some peasants were out of work, hungry and desperate and had to find a way to feed their families, as they were not born with silver spoons in their mouths, Lord. They just robbed from the rich and gave to poor.
Australian prisoners numbers have increased by 50% over past 10 years In the past 10 years, the prisoner population in Australia increased by nearly 50% from 15,866 in 1993 to 23,555 in 2003, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This increase has exceeded the 15% growth in the Australian adult population in the same period.
NSW Police Association wants sentencing powers?
NSW Police Association president Ian Ball said Inspector Borland now feared for his safety because of a 63 year old man being released from prison after doing a quick 18 for manslaughter.
Conditions in the HRMU
Justice Action is trying to obtain documents on behalf of prisoners held in the Goulburn High Risk Management Unit (HRMU) from the Federal Attorney General's Department, Corrective Services Minister's Conference regarding the process described below, in which the Standard Guidelines for Corrections in Australia were adopted. This documentation will help explain the justification for the conditions in the HRMU.
Man wrongly imprisoned awarded $1m
A Sydney man who was acquitted of murder has won more than $1 million in damages for wrongful arrest and imprisonment. The New South Wales Supreme Court has agreed with Garry Raymond Nye's said that the charge was maliciously laid.
Forensic Hospital at Long Bay
NSW should reject the government decision to set up a secure forensic hospital at Long Bay - or in any place where it can be influenced by the Department of Corrective Services (DCS) (or probably Corrections Health Service (CHS) for that matter).
NSW leaves nation behind in rate and cost of jailing people
NSW not only has the most prisoners of any Australian state but also has the most violent prisoners, among the highest rates of recidivism and an increasingly expensive prison system, a Auditor-General's report says.
HRMU Solitary Confinement And Stopping Violence
I refer to your article on the (HRMU) HIGH RISK MANAGEMENT UNIT AT GOULBURN, TOTAL ABUSE OF POWER:
Database clears up crimes but not used to clear up miscarriages?
NSW Police Minister John Watkins said at the launch of a Sydney conference of international forensic experts meeting to mark 100 years of fingerprinting in NSW.
But there are Keys!
Charles Dickens said, "Life is a secret and you haven't got the key." "And you never will have."
We the inmates, [prisoners], at the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn Correctional Centre, would like to ask you for help in receiving equal treatment and opportunities as other inmates, [prisoners], throughout the system. As we are told that we are not in a segregation units, [solitary confinement units], but we are treated as though we are in one.
Should Pauline Hanson have gone to gaol in the first place?: Carmen Lawrence For example, the cost of running the NSW prison system is over $530 million each year and rising. In addition, the government spends around $90 million per year on building and maintaining prisons.
WHEN THE PUNISHMENT IS THE CRIME AND PLANTING THE SEED The brutality and savagery at Grafton jail that went on for 34 years with people getting their legs and arms broken running the gauntlet through a line of prison guards with batons. Some of those prisoners who were sent to jail for non-violence and punished went on to commit some of the most heinous crimes of the century.
The ACT Government has drafted a new Bill to implement Home Detention This very discriminatory type of sentence also punishes the family. It is questionable that it has been successful anywhere it has been tried.
Justice Kirby concerned at self-representation
High Court judge Michael Kirby says Australia's justice system is weakened by the increasing number of people representing themselves in court. Justice Kirby says he agrees with One Nation founder Pauline Hanson's concerns about the high cost of legal advice.
A veil of secrecy makes justice in jail a different kind from court justice
Although Queensland courts mete out justice, that justice ends at the gates of the Queensland prisons system where a bureaucratic and politically expedient doctrine of "out of sight - out of mind" takes control.
Hanson: I no longer support mandatory sentencing
One Nation Party founder Pauline Hanson has revealed she contemplated suicide while serving an 11-week jail term in Brisbane. Miss Hanson told about her time in jail and her future plans.
A Question of Innocence
Minister Chris Ellison: Yes we're watching the progress of this project in NSW with great interest. This has been raised at the Standing Committee of Attorneys General and a working group is looking at this very question. I think we have to have a considered response to this proposal and on a national basis, we would need to have the cooperation of the states and territories.
Children of Prisoners' Support Group
Children of Prisoner's welcomes Ann Symonds as our first Patron at this years AGM and screening of "The Space in Between" video , and will have a visual display to demonstrate the invisible population of children effected by parental incarceration.
REMAND PRISONER BAIL REFUSED, THEN SHOT AND KILLED IN CUSTODY A Melbourne court has been told a prisoner was shot dead as he tried to escape from a hospital. The Melbourne Magistrates Court has been told remand prisoner Garry Whyte was receiving treatment at St Vincent's hospital in May last year, when he tried to escape.
NSW Corrections Health Service: Response
Prisoner: MRRC Long Bay: Corrective Health Services [Prison Health Service] in NSW fares only slightly better than CHS in the US. Force often takes the place of real medical care and custodial staff [guards] in fact must approve all CHS medical decisions.
Solitary Confinement: Our very own Alcatraz
Solitary confinement only makes prisoners more violent and inhumane, writes convicted armed robber Bernie Matthews. They were countless. Grafton floggings were routine and didn't require a reason. Everything at Grafton was routine a mindless, never-ending routine of isolation and solitary confinement that was punctuated by a screw's baton, boot or fist. The prison system called it rehabilitation.
The Sentencing (crime of murder) and parole reform act 2003
We wish for each and every prisoner to be brought in front of a Judge to have closure on their sentences, a fixed non-parole period on an individual basis, to give these people a chance to be able to rehabilitate and to stop them being used as Political Prisoners.
Prisoners as citizens and duty of care
For a long time now most learned people have been aware of the book Prisoners as Citizens. The Victorian Opposition is outraged at a confidential payout won by a prisoner injured while playing table tennis at the Melbourne Remand Centre because they can't afford the book?
Long Bay: Corrections Health Services in NSW prisons
Firstly, to call the Prison Health Service a Corrections Health Services is the first identified mistake. Nice names don't take the place of the type of service, they only attempt to cover up for a bad service, when the service is out the door....
Home detention for people who make mistakes
LEARNERS are getting home detention sentences by the State Government diverting people from the anti-social prison system.
Sisters Inside is a community organisation that works with women in prison, pre and post release. We challenge the injustices that impact on women in prison, their children and families.
NSW Terrorist Minister leads the way
New South Wales is hosting a two-day conference of state and territory prisons ministers on how to detain terrorists [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East.]
Anecdotal evidence from staff working in the New South Wales correctional system [prison system] has always suggested a high prevalence of mental illness among the prisoner population.
Yatala Labour Prison Adelaide Going Backwoods: response
Thank you and your team for your support. I have been trying to write you back. However the person has now stopped me from using the computers and education centre and the typewriter has been broken.
On the treatment of prisoners at the NSW HRMU
Prisoners sister's letter from her brother: Following our phone conversation some weeks ago I would like to set out a few points on the treatment of prisoners in the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn (Super Max) (Guantanamo Bay).
Review of Justice Ministers claims about conditions at HRMU
Minister for Justice John Hatzistergos stated on 15 July 2003 concerning the prisoners at the High Risk Management Unit at Goulbourn.[Prisoners held in solitary confinement and tortured endlessly in a Supermax Prison at Goulburn.]
Lithgow Prison: This is no Irish joke!
Allow me to introduce myself to you my name is John Smith I am writing to you for your help in regards to Corrective Services Jail at Lithgow, I am a prisoner at this centre and I am serving a long sentence. I originally came from Ireland a number of years ago.
Lithgow prisoners speak out about rations
Some new issues have arisen today. A senior officer called me to the office, as they usually do to inform me of all new local orders etc concerning prisoners. The deputy governor has cut back funds for stores. Officers have been told they will issue only the following: One Toilet roll per week per prisoner One Toothbrush per month One plastic disposable spoon, fork, knife per day prisoner exchange only.
The High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn [Solitary Confinement Supermax, Torture, Gulag,] alleged to have been the first Australian jail of the 21st century and the most secure in the Southern Hemisphere (it was claimed in an article SMH 14 May 2001).
The Daily Telegraph licensed to set up prisoners?
A man who smuggled a mobile phone into a Sydney jail and took pictures of stockbroker Rene Rivkin has been sentenced to 400 hours of community service.
International Prisoners Justice Day 2003
Justice Action, Prisoners Action Group and others celebrated this year's IPJD by visiting Silverwater Jail Complex and talking to the visitors as they went in and came out. We handed out copies of the media release and Framed to the visitors (who took them inside!) and showed our support for prisoners and their families, talking through the loud hailer so prisoners inside would be aware of our presence.
Weak NSW Government suspends Innocence Panel
The DNA evidence panel is under investigation and the New South Wales Innocence Panel's operations have been suspended and a review of how it works ordered.
Is Prison Obsolete?
Eileen is a senior lecturer in the School of Social Work UNSW where she teaches and researches in the areas of social policy and social development. She has been the chief researcher, and has also collaborated on projects and publications regarding prisons, the criminal justice system and women, public and social housing and indigenous matters. She has recently completed major research on ex-prisoners, accommodation and social reintegration. Eileen has been active in using research to argue for policy change in the NSW criminal justice field for some years.
Escape proof but not so the prisoners mind
Fewer prisoners escape from prison these days because they're "cemented in" by materials that do not break and by legislation that can keep prisoners in jail until they die. All new prisons are virtually unbreakable. Built out of products like perspex, concrete and steel that have no flexibility and ensure that the prisoners of today take the full brunt of all Department of Corrective Services institutional failures.
Parents on the inside leave children on the edge
They have been dubbed the forgotten generation - the innocent casualties of their parents' crimes. New research shows that in 2001 14,500 NSW children had a parent in jail. And 60,000 NSW children under 16 have experienced the incarceration of a parent, more than half enduring the trauma of separation before they turn five.
New video to create empathy in violent criminals?
Violent offenders in New South Wales prisons will be the audience for a new video put together by the victims of crime group, Enough is Enough, but nothing from the ex-prisoners, support groups, like Justice Action, because they don't rate?
Junee Prison, NSW Parliament and Noble Cause Corruption
I have not been charged with any offence. The first thing I knew was when they (the Intel officer) at Junee had me called to reception. I was then told that I was going to segregation for good order and discipline.
Beyond Bars: Sentencing reform
A spokesperson Dr Tim Anderson said, " The law reform commission was too gutless on this a few years back but re-introducing remissions (perhaps under another name) would be a valuable move best wishes".
The Australian Institute of Criminology has released the National Deaths in Custody Program annual report for 2002 Between January and December 2002, there was a total of 69 deaths in custody in Australia. There were 50 deaths in prison custody and 19 deaths in police custody and custody-related police operations.
Yatala Labour Prison Adelaide Going Backwoods
I'm a prisoner in south Australia (Adelaide), Yatala Labour Prison, I'm 39 years old with only two and a half years spent in the community since the age of 13. I came into the adult prison system in 1985; I was released in 1998 only to re-offend. I'm now doing 30 years with a 16-year non-parole period, as it's truth in sentencing in our state and there is no remission. My release date is 2016.
Inspector General of Corrective Services Debate
Below is our response to Justice Minister Hatzistergos' comments in a debate in Parliament on July 2, 2003 regarding the impending decision about the future of the Inspector General of Corrective Services in NSW.
Hatzistergos: The Daily Telegraph's prison mates
Who convinced a prisoner on periodic detention to take a mobile phone into prison to take a photo of Rene Rivkin? The prisoner said no and contacted the Daily Terror to say no.
Premier Bob Carr, Deputy Premier Andrew Refshauge, Senator Aden Ridgeway, and other community representatives have been invited to receive the message from the men of "The Hole.
Goulburn Solitary Confinement: Midnight Special
If you ever go to Goulburn HRMU yeah, you better walk right, you'd better not breathe and sure thing better not fight. The next thing you know the SCU gonna arrest you and Rotten Ron send you down and you can bet your bottom dollar Lord, you'll be chaingang bound.
Carr defends prison handling of political PRISONER
Bob Carr should be ashamed of himself after giving the prisons Commissioner Rotten Ron Woodham another filthy job setting up Phuong Ngo as one of the most dangerous prisoners in the State.
How the QLD Dangerous Prisoners Act failed the first test
What is dangerous? Everyone is dangerous naturally it really depends on how far a person is pushed. Standing on a mountaintop with someone walking you backwoods towards the edge would promote fight or flight and if there is nowhere to fly but over the edge you may choose to respond. When a person breaks the law they lack social skills or are repressed into breaking the law.
Prison rehab programs in 'disarray': Opp
The New South Wales Opposition says rehabilitation in the state's prisons is in disarray. But the states prisons could never rehabilitate in the first place. So how can it be in disarray? The space station as it is known cannot rehabilitate because it's only a dot on the community map, as it were, in relation to how people were raised.
Justice Action calls for the retention of the office of Inspector General and a restructure of the legislation making it truly independent.
Old bureaucrats to say whether they felt there should be an effective inspector of bureaucrats?
JA is urgently working on a response to the 31 page review of the position of the Inspector General of Corrective Services position released by the Minister on10/6/03.
High Risk Management Unit (HRMU) INSPECTION
This letter is to request permission for an independent inspection team to examine the 75-cell HRMU at Goulburn Jail. The proposed inspection team consists of specialist doctors, jurists, members of the Corrections Health Service Consumer Council and prisoners representatives.
MJA - BBCD Outbreaks in NSW prisons
Seems some of our friends in & around Corrections Health Service (CHS) were able to take advantage of a couple of recognised cases of needle sharing by HIV positive prisoners to gather data for a study.
As an ex-Grafton intractable (1971-1975) and the only living ex-prisoner to have served the longest time inside Katingal (1975-1978) I feel qualified to offer the following personal observations:
Intolerable Conditions of Prisoners at Goulburn's HRMU
We wish to with respect, level a serious complaint against the Chief Executive Officer, Corrections Health Services, Dr Richard Matthews.
NSW death in custody, false imprisonment, and assault
Knight's case sparked headlines after it emerged that his suicide in John Moroney Correctional Centre [prison] in Sydney on January 22 occurred 18 days after his official release date.
Victorian (Australia) Juvenile Deaths in Custody & Post-Release has just been published on the British Journal of Medicine Quotes (BJM): "The risk of death was nine times higher in male offenders than in the reference Victorian male population. Although the estimate is unstable because of the small number of deaths, female offenders seemed to be about 40 times more likely to die than the reference Victorian female population."
The Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 Qld
The Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 (Qld), requires that any person who has committed an offence which is less than 10 years old or which resulted in a prison sentence of more than 30 months, must disclose that offence if requested eg. for employment purposes. If a criminal record is disclosed in a job application, it is unlikely that person will be given the job.
NSW Serious Offenders Review Council
In response to a letter we have received from Mr K C who has said that he is serving 24 years and 10 months commencing on 29/8/1991 with his earliest release date being 28/6/2016 with 4 years parole and full time 28/6/2020. He said that he contacted the Serious Offenders Review Council in writing but received no response.
Justice Action's complaints about ACM to the NSW Ombudsman fell on deaf ears The Federal Government is reviewing allegations that the company it pays to run Australia's detention centres the same company who runs Junee Jail in NSW has fraudulently reduced staffing levels in at least one centre to increase its profits.
Token Parole Board reforms silent on Govt bungle
The Carr governments token reforms of the Parole Board are minimalist and still fail to explain the election cover-up of mismanagement, which contributed to an inmate's [a prisoners] death.
The Justice Minister has released government reforms to the Parole Board following the death of an aboriginal inmate, which was due to a Parole Board error.
Sentencing innovation breaks vicious circle of jail terms
"Three months' jail for one punch in a pub fight is too much," said the victim. The victim's comment counted because he and the offender, Robert Bolt, a Nowra Aborigine, were making history in the first case of circle sentencing, a new way of deciding punishment for indigenous offenders.
Letter from the mother of a prisoner on remand at the High Risk Management Unit Goulburn Correctional Centre I am writing to give you permission to make any inquiries on my behalf as I am invalid pensioner who doesn't drive and been only well enough to travel by train once in 15 months to see my son Scott Simpson. I have enclosed a copy of Scott's letter and also a copy of gaol papers form I have to fill out and wait to see if I'm allowed in to see him. He doesn't get any visits. He is in the Supermax and deprived of any privileges not even legal Aid will fund a solicitor to see him in Goulburn.
WA Jail trade in 'sex for favours'
THE West Australian Government has ordered an inquiry into claims guards at Perth's main women's prison are trading favours for sex, and encouraging inmates to form lesbian relationships.
NSW prisons over-crowded. Gov't orders investigation into death in custody
In January this year, a 23-year-old Aboriginal prisoner was found hanging in his cell in a Sydney jail 18 days after he was due to be released.
Yes Minister: 'Justice Action meets John Hatzistergos Justice Mininster' We have taken a few days to pass this on, as we wanted clarification of the minister's statement about the purposes of imprisonment before publishing it.
Beyond Bars Alliance colleagues
There are certainly problems with the IG's terms of reference and the position is not nearly as strong as it should or could be but it should not be lost it should be strengthened (along the lines of the UK IG of Prisons) to provide an independent voice to the Parliament regarding activities and processes that otherwise happen behind prison walls.
Submissions for Review of Inspector General
There is a very serious attack happening on the office of the NSW Inspector General of Corrective Services. A secret and flawed review is taking place at this moment, and we call upon all individuals and organisations interested in the area to make their views known.
Two thirds of a billion dollars and DCS can't work out what authority they have? "Two thirds of a billion dollars of taxpayers money and the Department of Corrective Services can't work out what authority they have to hold the people who are in jail."
Australia: Private Prisons, Junee NSW
When I got to Junee I was given nothing except bed linen. That's it! No clothing. I had to put my name down for clothing, which they said I could get on Saturday. When I went down to get my clothing on Saturday I was told they had nothing but I was told that I could buy what I wanted on their monthly buy-up. In the mean time I got rashes between my legs from the dirty clothes I had on.
Justice Action meets with new Minister for Justice
John Hatzistergos Minister for Justice is meeting with Brett Collins and Justice Action today at 11:30 a.m.
ARUNTA PHONE SYSTEM: IDC Lithgow Prison
The prisoners of Lithgow Correctional Centre have requested that the Lithgow Inmate Development Committee write to you on their behalf and ask that the phone systems heavy burden upon the prisoners at this institution and their families be reviewed. I will outline the problems.
Health problems denied in prison
Lithgow Correctional Centre (IDC) Inmate Development Committee "Currently there are 72 inmates on the doctors waiting list with only one doctor coming fortnightly and usually on a weekend".
NSW Prisons Inmate Development Committee speaks out
I am writing on behalf of the IDC Inmate Development Committee in area 3, MSPC at Long Bay. Area 3 is where, the Department is congregating minimum-security offenders within maximum-security walls whilst awaiting mandatory programs at Cubit (Sex Offenders Program).
THE GULAG TREATMENT - The Trauma Of Court Appearances When Incarcerated Prisoner transport vehicle 10th January 2003 It's about 4.40am, very darkoutside and although I'm expecting it, it is still intrusive when my dreams are interrupted by the sound of my name, it is the officer checking that I'm awake ready to face the long day ahead.
Sir David Longland Correctional Centre
If it were possible to characterize the term B Block attitude in a modern dictionary, it would read something like "demeanor of inhabitance" or "state of mind or behaviour of occupants".
SIR DAVID LONGLAND CORRECTIONAL CENTRE QLD - CELLS IN B BLOCK The cells in B Block are like no other in any Queensland prison. After Mr. Cooper was severally embarrassed by the Abbott and Co escape on 4th November 1997, he visited B Block and the surrounding grounds. It was that visit, by Cooper, that set in motion a plan (up the ante) to make sure security in B Block would never embarrass him again. It was like closing the gate after the horse has bolted.
Inspector General Ignored On Womens Prison
Four months after a report from the Inspector General on Mulawa Correctional Centre, key recommendations involving safety and welfare of prisoners and staff have been ignored. Kathryn Armstrong (former chair of Inmate Development Committee) and Annabel Walsh, released from Mulawa Womens Prison in February, have produced an independent report confirming the findings of the Inspector General.
Distribution of: 'How to Votes in prisons'?
Justice Action have received information from Andrew Burke of the NSW Greens that they have enquired with the Department of Corrective Services as to the procedure for distributing their How To Votes in prisons in the period before the election.
Getting Justice Wrong DPP make full admissions
Back in May 2001 Nicholas Cowdery QC made an error at law by giving a speech called Getting Justice Wrong at the University of New England, Armidale Thursday, 31 May 2001. Sir Frank Kitto, Lecture now published at the DPP website. At page six, paragraph 3 under the heading:
Inspector-General: The Greens believe that the role of the Inspector-General is crucial to the proper functioning of the prison system. It has never been more important to have a powerful watchdog role than today. Section 3.11 of our Criminal Justice Policy commits the Greens to "strengthening the role of the Inspector-General of Prisons."
Long Bay Prison: The latest inside story
Private food purchases called Buy-Ups that normally take care of the prisoners additional food nutrition in Jail has been changed.
Doing time even harder: 146 prisoners far from home
The United States, however, has detained without trial about 650 men from 43 countries. They include Australians David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, who are held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base as part of the sweep against global terrorism [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's, pre-emptive strikes, occupation and genocide for resources in the Middle East.]
Human Rights 'Framed'
Here is a quick report on our Human Rights Commission approach on Framed (the quarterly magazine of Justice Action) being banned from all NSW prisons. After 42 issues went in.
Prison Privatisation: Death camps looming in NSW
I asked for the identification of the person I was speaking to and was told that I was not entitled to that information. I needed to verify the call and asked for a name or number to register my call because I was asked to get those details by my coordinator.The person refused to identify themselves either by name or number. I asked to be transferred to a senior person and was refused. The person I spoke to then hung up the phone.
Corrections Victoria and criminal acts: SCS-4\320 UPDATE
You have stated "Section 30 of the Corrections Act 1986 and the Information Privacy Act 2000, restricts the release of confidential information regarding prisoners, I therefore am unable to provide any information regarding this matter."
Death camps looming in Victoria
A letter was received on 15 January 03 from SCS-4\320 a remand prisoner in Victoria's Barwon Prison I later found out that the prisoner was in the Acacia High Security Unit.
Take crime talk beyond the bars:'lobby group'
A coalition of academics, crime experts, welfare and church groups is preparing to launch an intensive pre-election campaign aimed at refocusing the attention of NSW politicians from harsh sentencing reforms to crime prevention strategies.
Six weeks, six months, six years: inmates have little chance of making fresh start More than 15,500 people are released from NSW prisons each year, twice the number of 20 years ago. But new research shows many ex-prisoners find it impossible to reintegrate into society and, months after release, are worse off than before they went to jail.
NSW A-G moves to stop criminals and ex-criminals selling stories
From next month criminals or ex-criminals who try to profit (earn a living for paid work, like writing a book etc..) from their crimes in New South Wales will have the proceeds confiscated.
NSW Govt criticised over criminal justice record
Key criminal justice groups have described the New South Wales Government's record on justice issues as a "disappointing performance".
The decision of the Carr government to appoint John Jacob Klok as the new Assistant Commissioner for Corrective Services in charge of security represents a statement of contempt to all those concerned about law and justice in NSW.
Prisoners Representatives Excommunicated
Ron Woodham, Commissioner Corrective Services stated "[this Department] does not recognise Justice Action as an advocate on correctional centre issues." He has ordered a ban on all Justice Action material inside the NSW prison system. This resulted from a request for the approval of the latest edition of Framed (the Magazine of Justice Action) to be distributed throughout NSW prisons as has occurred for the past ten years.
Dept of Corrective Services: Rotten Ron Woodham on the ropes
This is The Freeedom Of Speech and The Press in a goldfish-bowl! Herr Goebells has spoken. Zieg Heil! (Which means, actually: "aim-for health!" incidentally)Apologies for not making meetings ... my first experiences with Woodham (then a -screw-gestapo-minor-with-a-friendly-dog - AND YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS WHEN EVEN HIS DOG DOESN`T LIKE HIM?)
At the Minister's Pleasure The case of Michael Kelly
Michael is caught up in a particularly cruel version of the game of Cat and Mouse. Because he is classified as a forensic patient under the Mental Heath Act of NSW, the Minister for Health is his master, not the Minister for Corrective Services. And the Minister for health will not let him go.
Name remove by request served time in prison decades ago. Shes still being punished today. According to commonwealth and state legislation, ex-prisoners applying for jobs must declare any conviction that fits into the following categories: less than 10 years old, more than 10 years old but served more than 30 months in prison.
The Australian Law Reform Commission had recommended that the Innocence Panel be independent and have the power to investigate alleged miscarriages of justice.
Australian prisons are fast becoming the new asylums of the third millennium. The prison industry is booming, while Australia spends far less on mental health services than similar countries.
Medical records Alex Mitchell's lost world
Perhaps we can get your medical report and spew it around publicly so you can see how it feels. But surely we do not have to go that far. And of course we are law-abiding citizens and I should think it would be enough to remind you of your ethics to report at all.
NSW Department of Corrective Services attack right to privacy
Corrective Services Minister Richard Amery has a problem attacking prisoners right to privacy.It seems to us that a civil society is best served when social justice laws are applied to all people regardless of their circumstances. Once government starts making exceptions which disadvantage certain groups and individuals, such laws are meaningless.
Litigants are drowning: in the High Court
There were so many self represented litigants appearing in the High Court that more than half of its registry staff's time was taken up in dealing with them. The "go it alone" litigants have to take on tasks well above their qualified league causing them stress. This growing problem cannot be left unchecked.
Everyone wants to get out of 'jail' but 'Framed' wants life: Rotten Ron on the ropes On 2 May 2002, Justice Action received a faxed letter from Manager of DCS Operations Support Branch saying that, in his view, articles in Framed edition #42 'lack balance and integrity' and he is therefore 'not prepared to recommend this issue of Framed for placement in to correctional centre libraries.' Prisoners and those concerned about prisoner issues have very few sources of information.
Methadone addicts formed within: 'NSW Prisons'
The New South Wales Opposition has accused the State Government of turning jailed heroin users into Methadone addicts.
Murder charge first for DNA data bank link, but not the same as solving the murder Mass DNA testing of prisoners has [allegedly] led to the first NSW case of a person being charged with a previously unsolved murder as a result of a controversial gene-matching data bank.
Prisoners can prove innocence for $20?
Les Kennedy Daily Telegraph reported today that" Prisoners who believe that DNA will prove they were wrongly convicted will have the chance to prove their innocence for a mere $20 administration fee. The move comes 20 months after NSW inmates were asked to provide DNA for comparison with a databank of DNA from unsolved crime scenes for possible convictions.
NSW opposition pledges review of detention laws
A spokesperson for Justice Action Ms Anal Advice said " NSW Prisons are a sex offence if you have been raped, bashed and squatted down to be strip searched. People should be diverted from going there at all material times".
Civil libertarians condemn planned changes to prisoners' privacy rights The New South Wales Government is using a recent case involving [framed] serial killer Ivan Milat to justify its decision to remove the privacy rights of prisoners. But really just another attack on Ivan Milat from Parliament House.
The punishment: Is the 'crime'
The punishment is the crime according to retired chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia Justice Alistair Nicholson. "Smacking a child ought to be seen as assault".
NSW prisons - primary industry bailed up!
In many quiet regional centres around NSW there is a new primary industry shaping up. It has something to do with Bail but not with bales. The minister for Agriculture Richard Amery who also has the prisons portfolio is now committed to farming prisoners.
Black Nexus
The Separation of Powers Doctrine is nowcontaminated witharangeofcolours, now leaving us with a black shirt on a once blue bridge that crossed that thin blue line. The 'Amery and Woodham show'.
Prison Mind Games-Do they exist?
Directives are given inside the prison system that are not consistent with the law in NSW. And not in the good interests of the health and well being of the prisoners.
The Government is likely to abolish the Inspector General of Corrective Services position The Mulawa inspection report recommendations below strictly illustrate how important he is.
Chronology - A History of Australian Prisons
[Allegedly:] The events that have shaped NSW prisons - from convict days through royal commissions, to the Supermax of today. [I say allegedly because no one should trust Four Corners [Walls], why? Because they spill out the propaganda of the day for the Government, whether it be wrong or right. A government that lies and has no remorse about it.]
Justice Action
Justice Action is a community based organisation of criminal justice activists. We are prisoners, academics, victims of crime, ex-prisoners, lawyers and general community members. We believe that meaningful change depends upon free exchange of information and community responsibility.
Beyond Bars Alliance colleagues
I imagine all of you received Justice Action's email yesterday regarding the position of Inspector General of Corrective Services.
Community Restorative Centre
NSW spends more than half a billion tax dollars a year on prisons. It costs $60,000 to keep someone in maximum security for a year: more than double the minimum wage. CRC looks for and implements better solutions to the high social and economic costs of crime.
Sisters Inside Inc
Sisters Inside Inc. is an independent community organisation, which exists to advocate for the human rights of women in the criminal justice system, and to address gaps in the services available to them. We work alongside women in prison in determining the best way to fulfil these roles.
Smart Justice
Smart Justice does not support any party but calls for investment in prevention, alternatives to custody and initiatives that tackle the causes of crime. It is important to dispel the myths about 'law and order' and promote real solutions to crime and violence.
Shine For Kids
What happens for a young person who has a parent in prison?There are a lot of consequences for children or young people who have a parent in prison. During Groupwork the kids themselves have identified as being:
Children of Prisoners' Support Group
Children of Prisoner's welcomes Ann Symonds as our first Patron at this years AGM and screening of "The Space in Between" video , and will have a visual display to demonstrate the invisible population of children effected by parental incarceration.
Govt, police 'let off the hook' Haneef inquiry
11 years ago


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Empty shelf: Creamery gone for good
Last week, while dairy-lovin' Dish was reporting on local ice-cream and gelato happenings, such as the soon-to-come gelato-café Splendora's, the recently bankrupted Shenville Creamery came to mind. In addition to glass-bottled milk, yogurt and cheeses, this Timberville-based dairy farm owned by Ida and Leon Heatwole was also becoming famous in the DC area for its creamy ice cream.
On March 11, you may recall, Dish reported on the forced closure of the business and the unsure future of the creamery. Would the new owners hire the Heatwoles to keep the dairy going? Well, a mid-March settlement trial brings some sad news: Shenville Creamery will not be coming back.
Floyd and Mary Baker, the Forrestville-based farmers who bought the Heatwole's 202 acres and five buildings for the bargain price of $1,190,000 at auction, say they have no interest in dairy farming.
"Our son-in-law was a dairy farmer, and you just have your nose to the grindstone all the time," Mary says. "Floyd said since the beginning that we'd never, ever, have a dairy."
Since the cows and all of the creamery equipment were sold to other buyers, the Bakers would basically need to start from scratch– not an attractive idea to a couple in their late sixties. Instead they will focus on what they know best- growing soybeans and corn as well as other fruits and vegetables. Plans are to use some of the former Shenville buildings to create a farmers' market, which will likely feature dairy products bought from a distributor.
Mary Baker admits that Leon Heatwole has contacted them several times to seek employment, but his calls went unanswered.
"We want to learn to crawl before we walk," she said. "Leon started out running, and that's not the best way to run a business."
As for the hole the creamery's closure left in market coolers, it's apparently not an easy one to fill.
Kate Collier says she is still searching for a Shenville substitute for her West Main Street shop Feast! After the final bottle of Shenville milk disappeared, C'ville Market began offering similar, but slightly more expensive dairy products from Homestead Creamery in Burnt Chimney.
"Customer response has been lukewarm to the new line," says market co-owner Denise Yetzer. "People are still very sad about Shenville closing down. "
Full-service lunch at Fuel
We may prefer to self-serve at the gas-pump, but when it comes to lunch, Charlottesville diners are definitely interested in full-service options– experienced servers, a glass of wine, ceramic plates, flowers.
Part of an increasing European trend, perhaps? Or a growing appreciation for the tastes and pleasures of slow food? Whatever the explanation, recent proof of our taste for slower-paced lunches is evident at Fuel, the service station, café, and bistro at the corner of Market and Ninth streets.
Lunch (as well as breakfast and early dinner) has always been available at Fuel's casual café, but just a few weeks ago the elegant, fine-dining bistro next door started serving mid-day meals (Monday-Friday 11:30am-2pm) as well.
"We always intended to have lunch at the Bistro," says Kluge Estate's Director of Marketing Kristen Moses, "but we allowed time to figure out how to make it work within the kitchen without overloading it. We also wanted to see if there was an interest in seated lunch- and it turns out there is!!"
The bistro's lunch menu is basically the same as the café's– hot and cold sandwiches, salads, soups– with the added luxury of table service, wine, and daily specials. Overseeing this evolving locale is a new management team with experience in eateries from local Metro to Napa Valley: Ken Wooten (GM of Fuel, Co., former manager of the Farm Shop), Tito Cortes (Fuel Co.'s café manager) and Charles Roumeliotes, (Fuel's bistro dining room manager).
The good times roll at Fuel.

subset: commoncrawl


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I checked my Tivo, and there is no game scheduled for eastern PA.
Looks like I am delayed so unless y'all all want to wait for me I'll be disappearing until afterwards once you start...I don't want to be spoiled!
sorry i am eating hotwings and can't type right now
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The Outlaws[1] are a Southern rock/country rock band formed in Tampa, Florida in late 1967 by guitarist–vocalist Hughie Thomasson, drummer David Dix, bassist Phil Holmberg, guitarists Hobie O'Brien and Frank Guidry, plus singer Herb Pino. Guidry brought the name Outlaws with him when he joined (he had been in another group that had that name). Previous to Guidry's arrival the band was called The Rogues, then The Four Letter Words. By early 1968 O'Brien and Holmberg both left the band to get married, and Frank O'Keefe came in on bass. Later that year, Tommy Angarano joined the Outlaws to replace Herb Pino, bringing Hammond organ sounds and his style of vocals to the band. Shortly after, he quit and Herb was brought back in. In the spring of 1968 the group's first manager, Paul D., brought them to Epic Studios in New York City to record an album, which was never released after the band and the producer of the album had a falling-out. Guidry left at this point after differences with the manager. The group headed back to Tampa, then got another deal to go to Criteria Studios in Miami. There they recorded another album with producer Phil Gernhard. But this album was likewise never released, and Gernhard vanished soon after. Ronny Elliott was brought in around this time to play bass while O'Keefe briefly switched to guitar. But O'Keefe went back to bass after Elliott left in 1969 and Herb Pino began playing guitars and doing vocals at this time. Drummer Monte Yoho also joined that same year to sub for Dix.
In early 1970, the Outlaws were joined by two members of the Dave Graham Group that was also managed by Paul D. (Ped-Dyn. Productions.) The Dave Graham Group's Union leader was Monte Yoho, but he was not invited to be part of this line-up. The early 1970 Outlaws line-up was Hughie Thomasson, Frank O'Keefe, Dave Dix, Billy Jones and Dave Graham. Graham was influential in moving the group toward country-rock, especially the music of Poco. They recorded a cover of The Doors' "Five to One" as an audition to a recording deal that never materialized. This grouping disbanded in the spring of 1970 and the group eventually parted ways with Paul D. Yoho and Herb Pino returned, but by 1971 the offers for gigs had slowed down and the group went into limbo for a year or so, not sure if they would continue.
In 1971 Henry Paul, a singer and guitarist who was born in New York but grew up in the Tampa area, returned from a stay in Greenwich Village NYC to form Sienna, which was more of a country rock outfit. He was joined by Monte Yoho and Frank O'Keefe. In 1972 Hughie Thomasson returned from a brief spell in New York where he'd been backing up folksinger Milton Carroll, joined up with Paul, Yoho and O'Keefe and Sienna became the reborn Outlaws.
Billy Jones, who would sometimes show up to jam with the group on organ in 1971 and 1972, returned from a stint in Boulder, Colorado in 1973 and switched to guitar, giving birth to the band's first infamous guitar trio later dubbed "The Florida Guitar Army". O'Keefe left the group temporarily in 1973–74. Buzzy Meekins and another bassist named Rick stood in until he was able to return. In 1974 Charlie Brusco signed on as manager for The Outlaws. Alan Walden (brother of Capricorn Records founder Phil Walden) was told of the group by Lynyrd Skynyrdfrontman Ronnie Van Zant and he joined forces with Brusco as co-manager.
The band was the first act signed to Arista Records under Clive Davis. Davis was in the audience at a show in 1974 where the band was opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd in Columbia, South Carolina. At the end of Lynyrd Skynyrd's set, lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant said from the stage: "If you don't sign the Outlaws, you're the dumbest music person I've ever met—and I know you're not." [2]
The Outlaws' earliest well known songs were "There Goes Another Love Song" and "Green Grass and High Tides", both from their 1975 self-titled debut album. Their 1980 cover of "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" from the album Ghost Riders was their biggest single chart success, reaching No. 31 on the Billboard "Pop Singles" chart.
Career[edit source | edit]Edit[1][2]Thomasson & Jones
While the Outlaws are generally considered to be a part of the southern rock genre, there are distinct differences in their approach and their influences. Their primary similarity to other southern rock bands is the dual lead guitar interplay, a defining characteristic of many southern rock bands. However, the Outlaws' mix of country and rock elements displays the vocal harmony influences of groups like Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, and Poco. Their use of three and four part harmonies set them apart from their contemporaries who usually relied on a single lead vocalist.
Hughie Thomasson's signature guitar playing style and voice were defining characteristics of the band's sound. Thomasson's guitar sound was underpinned by the use of the Fender Stratocaster (and sometimes a Fender Telecaster) played in a quasi-country style mixed with fluid, quick blues runs. Hughie was nicknamed "The Flame" for his flaming fast guitar work. He is a member of the Fender Hall of Fame.
The other lead guitarist, Billy Jones, played mainly a Gibson Les Paul and switched between a clean and distorted sound. A good example of this can be heard on "Green Grass and High Tides" on the right stereo channel. Hughie Thomasson's smooth Stratocaster sound can be heard on the left channel. Thomasson opens the first solo at the intro and plays the first half of the two succeeding longer solos all on the right channel. There are many video examples of his Green Grass solos on the internet.
The records released by the band between 1975 and 1980 are considered the best representation of the band's style. The band was seen on successful concert tours billed with other non-southern rock acts of the time. This contrast of styles was more common at that time than the packaged "genre" tours seen so often these days. The willingness of promoters to mix styles led to the Outlaws gaining a large following in the United States.
The Outlaws style is highly characterized in their first three albums. These are considered the best work of the band with all of the "classic era" band members, except for O'Keefe who was replaced by the left-handed bass player Harvey Dalton Arnold (see below for a complete roster of Outlaws members). O'Keefe and Jones both died in February 1995; Jones by suicide.
The albums released after 1980 are largely viewed by critics as a gradual move away from the original sound that gained them success in the 1970s. The reworking of the Western-styled "Ghost Riders" in 1980 was the band's last taste of big league success, although the band released two more records, Los Hombres Malo in 1982 and Soldiers of Fortune in 1986. As the 1980s came to a close, Thomasson became the final original member of the act. Albums such asDiablo Canyon, released in 1994, were released on smaller independent record labels. The band by now was mostly confined to smaller club dates. This situation led to Thomasson accepting the guitar position in the legendary, and by now much more popular, Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1996. This essentially sidelined the Outlaws for a decade, as Thomasson's voice and guitar style were just too integral a part of the Outlaws' sound for the other members to successfully work without it. In 2000, the Diablo Canyon-lineup released the album So Low, to mixed response from fans. Many cited it as being more of a solo output from Thomasson. After this release, the band again vanished from the musical environment.
Henry Paul went on to form the country band BlackHawk, which had some chart success in the 1990s.
In April 2005, original members Hughie Thomasson, Henry Paul, Monte Yoho, and David Dix reunited as the Outlaws and the rest of the lineup was filled out with former guitarist Chris Anderson, bassist Randy Threet, and Dave Robbins on keyboards. The latter three had been with Paul's country group BlackHawk. The two originals not included in the lineup, guitarist Billy Jones and bassist Frank O'Keefe, could not join as they both died in 1995, within weeks of each other. O'Keefe died of a drug overdose and Jones committed suicide shortly after. Paul and Robbins left to resume their careers in BlackHawk in early 2006, but the remaining band soldiered on. They were part of the Charlie DanielsVolunteer Jam tour in the summer of 2007. Band leader Hughie Thomasson died on September 9, 2007, of a heart attack in Brooksville, Florida. obituary report No release date has been announced for the new studio album, Once an Outlaw, that was finished before Thomasson's death.
A cover version of their trademark epic 10-minute track "Green Grass and High Tides" is featured as the finale in the set list for guitar and bass in the video game Rock Band and features two complicated solos.
In December 2007, 2008 Outlaws tour dates were released. In January 2008, the Outlaws lineup would be revealed to include Henry Paul (guitars/vocals), Chris Anderson (guitars/vocals), Billy Crain (guitars), Jon Coleman (keyboards), Brett Cartwright (bass), however, Randy Threet remained and Cartwright never toured, and Monte Yoho (drums). This would be the first lineup in Outlaws' history without Hughie Thomasson on guitar and vocals, as from the band's formation to his death, he was the only constant member, garnering him the nicknames "Mr. Outlaw" and "The Lone Outlaw".
According to the band's web site, the Outlaws announced their intention to continue to tour throughout the summer and fall of 2009 with this lineup and planned to participate in the Simple Man Cruise with Lynyrd Skynyrd in January 2010. It was also stated on the website that the band would change its name to 'Henry Paul Band' due to Thomasson's death, but to continue touring with the same setlists.
In May 2010, The Outlaws were featured, along with The Marshall Tucker Band, Molly Hatchet, Blackberry Smoke, and The Chris Hicks Band, on stage at Long Island Southern Jam 2010 in Babylon, NY at Overlook Beach. The all day concert featured a unique jam fest for all the bands. *LI Southern Jam website
For the 2010 tour Dave Robbins returned on keyboards and Henry Paul was involved in a lawsuit brought about by Hughie Thomasson's widow, Mary, which alleged trademark violations. In April, 2011 the case was ruled upon in favor of Henry Paul, Monte Yoho and the co-defendants.
On July 30, 2012, it was announced on the band's website that "their first new album in 18 years" will be released on September 25, 2012, titled "It's About Pride". It will also be accompanied by a separately released DVD documentary about the making of the new album, called "Hidin' Out In Tennessee".
Members[edit source | edit]Edit
- Current members
- Henry Paul – guitars, vocals (1972–1977, 1983–1986, 2005–2006, 2008–present)
- Chris Anderson – guitars, vocals (1986–1989, 2005–present)
- Dave Robbins – keyboards, backing vocals (2005–2006, 2010–present)
- Randy Threet – bass, vocals (2005–present)
- Monte Yoho – drums, percussion (1969, 1970–1979, 2005–present)
- Steve Grisham – guitars, vocals (1983–1986, present)
- Former members
- Billy Crain – guitars, vocals (2008–2013)
Discography[edit source | edit]Edit
Studio albums[edit source | edit]Edit
- Outlaws (as The Outlaws, 1975)
- Lady in Waiting (1976)
- Hurry Sundown (1977)
- Playin' to Win (1978)
- In the Eye of the Storm (1979)
- Ghost Riders (1980)
- Los Hombres Malo (1982)
- Soldiers of Fortune (1986)
- Diablo Canyon (1994)
- So Low (2000)
- Once an Outlaw (TBA)
- It's About Pride (2012)
Live albums[edit source | edit]Edit
- Bring It Back Alive (1978)
- Hittin' the Road (1993)
- Extended Versions (2002)
Compilations[edit source | edit]Edit
- Greatest Hits Of The Outlaws...High Tides Forever (1982)
- Best of the Outlaws: Green Grass and High Tides (1996)
- Super Hits (2009)[4]
Billboard Hot 100 singles[edit source | edit]Edit
- "There Goes Another Love Song" (1975) - US No. 34
- "Breaker Breaker" (1976) - US No. 94
- "Hurry Sundown" (1977) - US No. 60
- "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" (1980) - US No. 31
Videography[edit source | edit]Edit
Official video releases[edit source | edit]Edit
- Outlaws Video LP - live concert - VHS (1983)
Unofficial video releases[edit source | edit]Edit
- Outlaws Live At The Summit, Houston, TX - DVD (1977)
- Outlaws Live At The Rockpalast, Loreley, Germany - DVD (1981)
- Outlaws Live At The Tower Theater, Philadelphia - DVD (1982)


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Nokia Corporation
Stock exchange release
July 24, 2014 at 12:35 (CET +1)
Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced the appointment of Ramzi Haidamus, a technology-licensing expert with proven business leadership skills and a strong innovation background, as President of Nokia's technologies business and member of the Group Leadership team, with effect from September 3, 2014.
A trained engineer, Haidamus has spent most of his career with Dolby Laboratories, which he helped to grow from a USD 72 million private business into a nearly USD 1 billion thriving public company. During his 17 years with Dolby, he held a variety of roles, most recently with chief operating officer-level responsibility. He has led innovation efforts, including those related to Dolby's technological roadmaps and standards development for DVD and BluRay. He has experience in nurturing new technologies in an incubator-like environment and in growing new businesses, including as President of Via Licensing Corporation, a Dolby subsidiary.
"Ramzi has the perfect blend of technology savvy, business leadership and innovation experience to head our cutting-edge technologies business," said Rajeev Suri, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nokia. "With Ramzi at the head of the world-class Nokia Technologies team and our continuing investment in advanced research and development, we are well-positioned to drive the innovation and licensing business needed to move us closer to our goal of technology leadership in a world where everyone and everything is connected."
"I am honored to take on this exciting role at Nokia," said Haidamus, incoming President of Nokia Technologies. "I relish the opportunity to head Nokia's ground-breaking technologies business with its track record of innovation and team of hundreds of world-class scientists and engineers. These experts have driven more than half of Nokia's recent patent filings and are leaders in fields that are essential for enabling the connected world."
Born in Lebanon, Haidamus moved at the age of 17 to the US, where he completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in electrical engineering at the University of the Pacific.
Henry Tirri, who has served as acting head of Nokia Technologies business since its formation on May 1, 2014, will continue in this role until Haidamus joins on September 3, 2014. From that date, Tirri will step down from the Group Leadership Team and will become an advisor to Suri on technology issues.
"We are grateful to Henry for all his work for Nokia over the years and for his willingness to lead the Nokia Technologies team during an important time of change and transition," said Suri. "Henry has graciously agreed to support Ramzi as he transitions into the company. Henry has unique insights into the world of technology, and I am pleased that we will continue to benefit from his expertise throughout this year and possibly beyond."
A photo of Ramzi Haidamus can be downloaded at: http://nokia.ly/1uhFQTS
It should be noted that Nokia and its business are exposed to various risks and uncertainties and certain statements herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those regarding: A) expectations, plans or benefits related to Nokia's strategies; B) expectations, plans or benefits related to future performance of Nokia's continuing businesses Nokia Networks, HERE and Nokia Technologies; C) expectations, plans or benefits related to changes in leadership and operational structure; D) expectations regarding market developments, general economic conditions and structural changes; E) expectations and targets regarding performance, including those related to market share, prices, net sales and margins; F) the timing of the deliveries of our products and services; G) expectations and targets regarding our financial performance, cost savings and competitiveness, as well as results of operations; H) expectations and targets regarding collaboration and partnering arrangements; I) the outcome of pending and threatened litigation, arbitration, disputes, regulatory proceedings or investigations by authorities; J) expectations regarding restructurings, investments, uses of proceeds from transactions, acquisitions and divestments and our ability to achieve the financial and operational targets set in connection with any such restructurings, investments, divestments and acquisitions, including any expectations, plans or benefits related to or caused by the transaction announced on September 3, 2013 where Nokia sold substantially all of the Devices & Services business to Microsoft on April 25, 2014 ("Sale of the D&S Business"); K) statements preceded by or including "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "foresee," "sees," "target," "estimate," "designed," "aim", "plans," "intends," "focus", "continue", "project", "should", "will" or similar expressions. These statements are based on management's best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Because they involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from the results that we currently expect. Factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) our ability to execute our strategies successfully and in a timely manner, and our ability to successfully adjust our operations; 2) our ability to sustain or improve the operational and financial performance of our continuing businesses and correctly identify business opportunities or successfully pursue new business opportunities; 3) our ability to execute Nokia Networks' strategy and effectively, profitably and timely adapt its business and operations to the increasingly diverse needs of its customers and technological developments; 4) our ability within our Nokia Networks business to effectively and profitably invest in and timely introduce new competitive high-quality products, services, upgrades and technologies; 5) our ability to invent new relevant technologies, products and services, to develop and maintain our intellectual property portfolio and to maintain the existing sources of intellectual property related revenue and establish new such sources; 6) our ability to protect numerous patented standardized or proprietary technologies from third-party infringement or actions to invalidate the intellectual property rights of these technologies; 7) our ability within our HERE business to maintain current sources of revenue, historically derived mainly from the automotive industry, create new sources of revenue, establish a successful location-based platform and extend our location-based services across devices and operating systems; 8) effects of impairments or charges to carrying values of assets, including goodwill, or liabilities; 9) our dependence on the development of the mobile and communications industry in numerous diverse markets, as well as on general economic conditions globally and regionally; 10) Nokia Networks business' dependence on a limited number of customers and large, multi-year contracts; 11) our ability to retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled employees; 12) the potential complex tax issues and obligations we may face, including the obligation to pay additional taxes in various jurisdictions and our actual or anticipated performance, among other factors, could result in allowances related to deferred tax assets; 13) our ability to manage our manufacturing, service creation and delivery, and logistics efficiently and without interruption, especially if the limited number of suppliers we depend on fail to deliver sufficient quantities of fully functional products and components or deliver timely services; 14) potential exposure to contingent liabilities due to the Sale of the D&S Business and possibility that the agreements we have entered into with Microsoft may have terms that prove to be unfavorable to us; 15) any inefficiency, malfunction or disruption of a system or network that our operations rely on or any impact of a possible cybersecurity breach; 16) our ability to reach targeted results or improvements by managing and improving our financial performance, cost savings and competitiveness; 17) management of Nokia Networks' customer financing exposure; 18) the performance of the parties we partner and collaborate with, and our ability to achieve successful collaboration or partnering arrangements; 19) our ability to protect the technologies, which we develop, license, use or intend to use from claims that we have infringed third parties' intellectual property rights, as well as, impact of possible licensing costs, restriction on our usage of certain technologies, and litigation related to intellectual property rights; 20) the impact of regulatory, political or other developments on our operations and sales in those various countries or regions where we do business; 21) exchange rate fluctuations, particularly between the euro, which is our reporting currency, and the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan, as well as certain other currencies; 22) our ability to successfully implement planned transactions, such as acquisitions, divestments, mergers or joint ventures, manage unexpected liabilities related thereto and achieve the targeted benefits; 23) the impact of unfavorable outcome of litigation, arbitration, contract related disputes or allegations of health hazards associated with our business, as well as the risk factors specified on pages 12-35 of Nokia's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013 under Item 3D. "Risk Factors" and in our Interim Report issued on July 24, 2014. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proven to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Nokia does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
About Nokia
Nokia invests in technologies important in a world where billions of devices are connected. We are focused on three businesses: network infrastructure software, hardware and services, which we offer through Nokia Networks; location intelligence, which we provide through HERE; and advanced technology development and licensing, which we pursue through Nokia Technologies. Each of these businesses is a leader in its respective field. http://company.nokia.com
Nokia Technologies develops and licenses cutting-edge innovations that are powering the next revolution in computing and mobility: a "programmable world" where intelligent connections bring millions of everyday objects online and create exciting new possibilities. At the heart of Nokia Technologies is a world-class research and development program. In partnership with leading universities around the world, it expands on Nokia's leading role in creating and shaping fundamental technologies and standards enabling most mobile computing products and wireless communications used today. Our scientists, engineers and licensing experts draw deep expertise in areas ranging from imaging and sensing, wireless connectivity and power management, to advanced materials and beyond.
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Live in London? Why not view the item you desire at our showroom off the New Kings road, 5 minutes from Parsons Green tube station.
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Alanis Nadine Morissette (born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards and has been nominated for two Golden Globe Award as well as preliminary Academy Award nominee. Morissette began her career in Canada, and as a teenager recorded two dance-pop albums, Alanis and Now Is the Time, under MCA Records Canada. Her worldwide debut album was the rock-influenced Jagged Little Pill, released in 1995, which remains the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the U.S., and the highest selling debut album worldwide, selling more than 30 million units globally. Her following album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, was released in 1998 and was a success as well. Morissette took up producing duties for her subsequent albums, which include Under Rug Swept, So-Called Chaos and Flavors of Entanglement. Morissette has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.
In February 2005, Morissette became a naturalized citizen of the United States while maintaining her Canadian citizenship.


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Recently, a recruiter contacted me on LinkedIn wanting to discuss a CTO role at a well known internet travel company. The recruiter mentioned they wanted someone who had managed/directed 100+ people. I'd only directed a considerably smaller team – about 20 talented people. So it was obvious to me that I probably wasn't the person they were looking for. Even though this wasn't a good match, we politely continued the conversation. The recruiter was very surprised when I revealed that my team of about 20 had developed and maintained sites delivering several hundred million dollars of transactions every year and we had 10x growth over just a few years. Reflecting on this, I think what surprises people is that we achieved so much with relatively few people in pretty short space of time.
How were we so productive?! Well we were a startup, or at least had been a "startup" just a few years earlier. The startup mentality was still in most of our DNA at that point. Pragmatism ruled. My aim was to deliver real tangible value ($$) quickly. I recognised that I did not know with very high certainty what features or UI designs actually worked, actually delivered value ($$). I also recognised that neither did the UI experts, the marketing experts or the developers. How? Well we'd conducted quite a few AB tests and a good few user testing sessions, what they taught me is that whilst we experts have a good feel for what might be a problem and what the solution might be, we also get it wrong too often. Getting it wrong too often means at best you get slow progress.
We needed a process (definitely lower case 'p') that enabled us to do as little as possible, as quickly as possible, to put our ideas and assumptions to the test – running experiments on our websites to gather real insight and facts about what adds value. This was the motivation for adopting a lean and metric driven process. I'm not sure the terms 'lean' and 'metric driven' where in use circa 2006, if they were I certainly hadn't heard of them.
Whilst struggling to cope with a myriad of new work requests, bugs, changes in priority, and react to the results of AB tests, I stumbled upon the idea of modelling tasks like a sales pipeline. As I understand it, sales often kept a list of potential sales ordered by likelihood. These 'pipelines' are often sectioned off into states like: 'closed', 'in progress', 'contacted', 'dead'. Each non-"dead" prospect is assigned to someone. The pipeline is continuously updated. At any time someone can look at this single document and understand the state of sales work and who is working on which lead or prospect. New prospects can be added very quickly and easily. Updating the pipeline to reflect a prospect progressing through these states is trivial. Some 'prospects' result in a sale, some die, some lead to other things. Prospects and their status and priority are fluid.
It occurred to me that this approach handled uncertainty and changing priorities really well. Exactly the same attributes our development process needed to handle. I adopted a similar process for organising and communicating my teams tasks and deliverables. My 'pipeline' had sections marked: 'done', 'in progress', 'upcoming', 'todo'.
It was important that we could quickly change priorities. Changing priorities meant I did not want lots of 'in progress' tasks. I decided to create a rule of thumb – nobody should have more than 1 task "in progress". Like many constraints this was more difficult to adhere to than you may at first think and the constraint had knock on effects. The most important consequence is that tasks/deliverables need to be very small and self contained.
Having only very small tasks/deliverables is actually hard to do. It requires a uber-pragmatic mindset. You cannot get caught up building all encompassing solutions that cover every possible use case or outcome perfectly from the beginning. The important words here are "every possible".
Technical people are trained in system thinking. Good technical people think of every possibility, every possible combination of inputs, states and outputs. This is fabulous but it means it's very easy to get carried away, solving problems with little consideration of the probability that a problem occurs and whether the cost of a solution is really justified. (I'm a teccy. Don't hate. This is just something to be aware of..)
I'd already bought heavily into the idea of using metrics to identify what worked and what did not, to "smell" opportunities for improvements. I quickly learnt
that to organise and schedule small tasks/deliverables very often meant building the simplest thing first and for the most likely use case. Making our solutions more sophisticated would be an iterative process. We'd put the first piece of work live and look at our metrics for data points that suggested other use case worth investing in. Until we had data points that suggested other use cases where were worth investing in, I'd "schedule" them as low priority – in our 'todo' section.
This is a very subtle but important point. How often have you sat in a meeting discussing solutions to edge cases? It can go on and on and on. Edge cases by their very nature are often difficult (expensive) to solve well. How often have you or your team invested good time (and hence money) solving those edge cases? With the magic of hindsight, would you have bothered if you'd know how little those edge cases mattered, how little monetary difference they made. How little value they added for your users?
Some of you have read that and are thinking something along the lines of, "but I do care, I want ALL our users to have a great experience" and "Nonsense, what would Steve Jobs make of that" etc. I don't necessarily disagree with those sentiments but we're talking about priorities. Priorities are not yes or no, they're just about when (and only sometimes if). We're also talking about product development on the web, where there is massive opportunity to collect data, learn and often quantify what's really important.
Lean is a mind-set, perhaps more than it is a process. Do the simplest possible thing to address those edge cases and learn how often they happen. If they happen very infrequently then they're not that important. Alternatively, if the data says they happen a lot, then that is the point you make the decision to invest in finding and delivering solutions.
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Spokes for GRD-500w-Small 700c Wheels (226MM)
Product Code: SPK226
Availability: In stock
- Stainless Spokes
- Nipples Included
- Single-butted
Stainless steel 12-gauge 226mm single-butted spokes for E-BikeKit Wheels. Includes brass nipples.
E-BikeKit Spokes
Stainless steel spokes and silver-colored brass nipples. 12 gauge and single butted (to 13 gauge) at the threads.
Available for all E-BikeKit rim and hub combinations.
Price is for 1 spoke and 1 nipple only. All E-BikeKit rims and hubs use 36 spokes.
Building wheels is an art and should be done by experiences professional wheelbuilders only. We cannot provide support for inexperienced wheel builders. The rims and spoke sets being sold here are specific to one another (EBK eyeletted rims and the spoke lengths offered by E-BikeKit work together). You should not buy these spokes to use with another rim unless you are 100% certain of the spoke length.
Please note that we have used 2 different hub-shells for our 500w geared motors. Make sure you are getting the right spokes! See here for details: GRD-500w Motor identification.
**For use with E-BikeKit™ eyeletted rims and hub motors only. If you are unsure about what you are ordering please call customer service before ordering. Rims and spokes are non-refundable and all sales are final.


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Columnist Mike Nadel cheered at Bears first day at camp.
As Rex Grossman signed autographs on the first day of training camp, one dude told him: "Instead of your name, you should have to write, 'I WILL NOT THROW WHILE BACKPEDALING' 500 times."
And as the Bears quarterback tried to enter the dining hall Friday, he was stopped by a security guard who insisted Rex wait until Brian Griese went inside first.
And later, an old lady approached Grossman, kicked him in the shin and screamed, "That's for the second Green Bay game!" Poor Rex barely had recovered when the same coot kneed him in the ... um ... region north of the shin. "And THAT'S for the Super Bowl!" she shouted.
And you may not believe this, but ...
OK, you were smart enough not to believe any of that.
Actually, Grossman was received quite well by the large, loud flock of fans that turned out to watch the defending NFC champions' first workout at Olivet Nazarene University. Though razzing Rex became THE thing to do at Soldier Field last season, it was a boo-free day in Bourbonnais.
In fact, fans spent much of the afternoon oohing and aahing over the many sharp passes he threw to his talented receiving crew - a group improved significantly by the arrival of rookie tight end Greg Olsen and coach Lovie Smith's decision to let the offense "borrow" kick-return sensation Devin Hester.
I wasn't surprised at the Rex love because training camp is a time for positive vibes. I mean, even Detroit Lions fans are positive in July, at least the ones not wearing bags on their heads.
Besides, a lot of time has passed since (in the eyes of an amazing number of fans and media mavens) Rex personally ruined a season that could have been halfway decent if only the Bears had played the great Brian Griese.
Offensive coordinator Ron Turner said it hurt him personally to hear and read the abuse heaped upon Grossman.
"We wouldn't have gotten as far as we got last year without Rex Grossman," Turner said. "Rex had a lot of really, really good games and I think people tend to - for whatever reason - forget about those and focus on the others."
For whatever reason? It's called fan mentality. Most fans are what-have-you-done-for-me-lately folks who have made an enormous emotional investment in their team. If said team plays poorly, they feel booing is both their right and their responsibility.
And the quarterback is the easiest target.
"He knows that's part of the territory," Turner said, "and he's handled it as well or better than anybody could."
Grossman handled it poorly one day during Super Bowl week, calling his critics "ignorant." When he then melted down in the Miami muck, national columnists such as Rick Reilly ripped him and the likes of Jay Leno and David Letterman piled on.
For a few days there, Rex replaced Dubya as the nation's punching bag.
It could have hardened Grossman. Instead, outwardly at least, he seems relaxed and confident. After spending the offseason working on his mechanics with new quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton, Grossman really was outstanding Friday. Yes, it was only the first day of practice, but that didn't stop Griese from looking pathetic.
Had it been the other way around - had Grossman misfired all day and been intercepted on consecutive passes near the afternoon's end - I wonder if Bourbonnais would have remained a boo-free zone.
Smith and GM Jerry Angelo profess undying loyalty to Grossman, and why not? Sure, he must improve his judgment and footwork, but, in his first full season, he passed for 3,193 yards and 23 touchdowns for a 13-3 team. The Bears simply do not have a better option.
Still, they are not loyal enough to commit to Rex beyond 2007. While Marc Bulger just signed a $65 million extension with St. Louis, the Bears insist Grossman play for relative peanuts under the terms of his 2003 rookie contract.
"There's a lot of pressure," Grossman said when asked about his contract situation. "But ... every time you take a snap, there's pressure to do well for your teammates, for your job and for everyone around you. I know it could be a really good season for me if I play the way I'm capable."
If he does have a really good season, he can sign for big bucks with any of a dozen teams that will be desperate for a top QB and laugh at his Chicago critics on his way out of town.
After failing to develop a single passable quarterback for two decades, wouldn't it be something if the Bears let Grossman get away just as he blossomed into the star they thought he'd be?
And we all know what the fans will scream at the pitiable soul to follow, right?
"Bring back Rex!"
Mike Nadel (firstname.lastname@example.com) is the Chicago sports columnist for GateHouse News Service. Read his blog, The Baldest Truth, at www.thebaldesttruth.com .


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32GB Micro SD Memory Card Adapter for Alcatel Pop S7 MGCPZPKCH
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It is now possible to expand the memory of your Alcatel Pop S7thanks to the micro SD card
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The official Transcend brand offers a card of 8, 16or 32gigabits
A short trip or a weekend seems to be more practical. They are useful for rapid increase the memory of your smartphone
Supplied without an adapter, it can be used immediately on your phone
Moreover, they are also compatible with all operating systems via PC or Mac
The quality of manufacturing of these cards is their first asset
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32GB Micro SD Memory Card Adapter for Alcatel Pop S7 MGCPZPKCH


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The Collection - Season 1 Episode 7
A gripping family drama and entrepreneurial fable, set in a post-war Paris fashion house. It exposes the grit behind the glamour of a rising business, spearheaded by two clashing brothers.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Frances de la Tour , Alix Poisson , Richard Coyle , Tom Riley , Mamie Gummer , Sarah Parish , Jenna Thiam , Max Deacon
Director: Oliver Goldstick
Episode: 7/8 eps
Duration: 60 min
Quality: HD
Release: 2016
IMDb: 7.1


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OK – I can admit the guy is good and difficult to tackle at the least. But he does push off from time to time and while it was somewhat discrete, he clearly pushed Chris Harris and that's what gave him separation. Harris was sent backward leaving Gronkowski wide open. One thing that bothers me about Phil Simms is that he doesn't notice stuff like that. Those are the kinds of no-calls that change games.
Fantastic first game by the way. San Fran had a courageous comeback there in the final minutes. In the end, while both the Saints and the 49ers are quality teams, I'd rather play San Fran in the NFC Championship if the Pack wins tomorrow. They are tough and gritty like their coach – but I don't like Alex Smith's chances against Aaron Rodgers who is still bitter about the draft…and will always be.