Biker Republic: BIKERnews Nov. 3

Date: November 6th 2007

Biker Republics, E-news for bikers
Home to The Extreme Activists of the Biker Rights Movement!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. NHTSA ODI Complaint Site
2. DOT Announces Broad New Effort to Reduce Motorcycle Fatalities
3. Gang Member Is Convicted Under Terror Law
4. Promising Practices Result in Promising Information for MD
5. Contesting a traffic ticket with GPS
6. ABATE of DE to Contribute Over $8,000 to California Judicial Fund
7. Motorcycle Checkpoints and Your Rights
8. Yes, Accidents Happen. But Why?
9. Philippines: Bikers must wear helmets, bill says
10. Deer-motorcycle wrecks on the rise in Iowa
11. HERO AND DORK of the week
12. Show your support for the fight.
http://www.bikerrepublic.org

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. NHTSA ODI Complaint Site
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an e-mail from 'Biker Court' Message: Hey Bikers! Please pass this message on to everyone you know who rides a motorcycle, and ask them to pass it along to at least 5 more bikers. We need to spread the word to every motorcyclist in the country. For years, we have been complaining about motorcycle helmets and about mandatory helmet laws, and for years, the government has not listened. They continue to force helmets onto our heads whether we like it or not. It is time to COMPLAIN LOUDLY and OFTEN. Here’s how: The government has a computer system where we should all be filing our complaints. It is relatively unused. After several years, there are only about 20 complaints about motorcycle helmets on file. Let’s change that. Let’s let the government know every complaint we have about helmets. Let’s let them know how we do not like to be forced to wear helmets. We must complain loudly and often, or else they will think we are complacent. Please file a complaint about your h
elmet now. If you are fed up with helmets and mandatory helmet laws, and are ready to file a complaint right now, visit the NHTSA ODI Complaint Site at
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov
Visit Bikers of Lesser Tolerance (B.O.L.T.) for more information at
http://boltusa.org
This action is inspired by freedom fighters everywhere, such as Richard “Quig” Quigley, who used to call and complain to the NHTSA almost every day, even after his living wake, and right up until the day he died of lymphoma in 2007. Other freedom fighters, not just from B.O.L.T. but everywhere constantly complain also. Let’s spread the word to start filing official complaints. Please help fight for our rights. Civil liberties are important! Thank you! Please be sure to pass this message along to everyone you know who rides motorcycles!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. DOT Announces Broad New Effort to Reduce Motorcycle Fatalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

www.dot.gov/affairs/dot11507.htm

DOT 115-07
Friday, November 2, 2007
Contact: Brian Turmail
Tel.: (202) 366-4570

U.S. Transportation Secretary Peters Announces Broad New Effort to
Reduce Motorcycle Fatalities – Releases a Public Service Announcement on
Her Personal Crash Survival

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To combat the alarming trend of rising motorcycle
injuries and fatalities, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters
today announced a comprehensive new federal initiative to improve
motorcycle safety with more rider education and training, tougher
standards for helmet certification labeling, law enforcement training,
and road designs that consider motorcycle dynamics.

Secretary Peters – an avid motorcyclist – also released a television
public service announcement where she credits her riding gear for saving
her life during a 2005 motorcycle crash.

“Take it from a motorcycle enthusiast who also happens to be the U.S.
Secretary of Transportation,” Secretary Peters says in the PSA. “Check
your bike before each ride, wear all your safety equipment and ride with
others so you’re more visible. If I hadn’t taken those safety
precautions, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

Peters said the motorcycle safety initiative will create new national
safety and training standards for novice riders, curb counterfeit helmet
labeling so that consumers can be certain they are buying DOT-certified
helmets, place new focus on motorcycle-specific road improvements, and
provide training to law enforcement officers on how to spot unsafe
motorcyclists. In addition, Peters said, the plan includes a broad
public awareness campaign – including the PSA - on safe riding
techniques.

Secretary Peters said she is one of the many “baby-boomers” who have
recently returned to riding after years of shelving their bikes in lieu
of family and careers. In August 2005, she suffered a broken collarbone
after a crash on a two-lane highway just north of Tucson, Arizona.

For more information on DOT’s new motorcycle safety initiative, to watch
Secretary Peters’ PSA, or for the report on the new motorcycle fatality
statistics, please visit www.NHTSA.dot.gov.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Gang Member Is Convicted Under Terror Law
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/nyregion/01terror.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&page
wanted=all&oref=slogin

November 1, 2007

Gang Member Is Convicted Under Terror Law
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS

In the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, 36 states enacted laws that would guarantee harsher sentences in terrorism cases. Gov. George E. Pataki signed New York’s law within six days of the attack. Like the others, it was aimed at international terrorism organizations like Al Qaeda.

But yesterday, in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, jurors for the first time found a defendant guilty under New York’s statute, and he did not fit the stereotype of a terrorist. The defendant, Edgar Morales, is a 25-year-old recreational soccer player and gang member who fatally shot a 10-year-old girl and wounded a second man outside a christening party in 2002.

Mr. Morales, a baby-faced construction worker, was a member of the St. James Boys, a gang described in the trial as being formed by Mexican immigrants to protect themselves from being assaulted and robbed by other gangs in the west Bronx.

Robert T. Johnson, the Bronx district attorney, was criticized by some lawmakers when he used the statute against Mr. Morales two years ago; some said it was not the law’s intended use.

But just as racketeering laws aimed at mobsters have since been used in other crimes, Mr. Johnson said, the terrorism charge fit because Mr. Morales and his gang had terrorized Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in the west Bronx for years through violence and intimidation. It also provided for a far more substantial sentence.

The jury deliberated for four days after testimony ended last Thursday, but despite their disagreements on other elements of the case, jurors said yesterday they had concluded very early that Mr. Morales was guilty of terrorism.

“When you fire a gun into a crowd, whether you hit your intended victim or not, you scare people, you make them fearful for their lives, and that’s why, in my opinion, the terrorism charges applied,” said a juror who identified herself only by her first name, Linnea. Like the other jurors, she did not want to be identified because the case involved gang members and a killing.

Another juror said she had been hesitant about using the terrorism statute against Mr. Morales when prosecutors presented evidence, but once Justice Michael A. Gross told them on the trial’s final day that terrorism was defined as an act meant to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population,” her reluctance dissolved.

Still another member of the jury said, “When we think of terrorism, we think of Sept. 11th, so I was skeptical at first, but when we heard the definition of terrorism — to inflict fear and to dominate — from the get-go we agreed.”

Other states have used their terrorism statutes, which were seen as largely ceremonial when they were introduced because major terrorism cases were likely to be prosecuted by the federal government. Still, the Virginia antiterror law was used in to convict John A. Muhammad, who was convicted of masterminding 16 sniper shootings in the Washington area in 2002 that killed 10 people. He has been sentenced to death.

In a statement after the verdict in the Bronx case was announced, Mr. Johnson reiterated that the terrorism charge had been applied properly. “These were callous acts that resulted in the life of an innocent child being snuffed out,” he said. “The jury’s finding of terrorism is significant in determining an appropriate punishment.”

The verdict quickly drew criticism from both ends of the political spectrum, as some wondered whether it would lead to a deluge of new prosecutions using the same approach.

Timothy Lynch, director of the Project on Criminal Justice at the Cato Institute, a libertarian research organization, said the New York law and others like it had no place being used to prosecute gang members.

“Lawmakers were told after Sept. 11th that we needed new laws, and it’s become kind of a bait-and-switch, because lo and behold, they are not being used against Al Qaeda, they’re being used against ordinary street crime,” Mr. Lynch said.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, whose views are often the opposite of the Cato Institute’s, also criticized the terror application in the trial.

“Without commenting on the manslaughter and attempted murder convictions, the pile-on of a terrorism charge is indeed a matter of concern,” she said. “The law was pitched as New York’s way to protect itself against Al Qaeda and the like. No matter what horrific crimes were committed against the Mexican-American community, that’s not
terrorism.”

The Bronx jury convicted Mr. Morales of first-degree manslaughter, attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and conspiracy, each with the additional element of terrorism, which is likely to increase his prison term significantly when he is sentenced Nov. 14.

The terrorism component increases each crime one level — a B felony becomes an A felony, for instance, raising a potential 15-year sentence to 25 years to life.

Dino Lombardi, Mr. Morales’s lawyer, said he would probably appeal the verdict because he did not think the terrorism charge was appropriate. Before the trial began, Mr. Lombardi had argued against the application of terrorism charges in a gang murder case, but he softened his stance yesterday.

“We may be looking at a future where this is a justifiable application for these types of gangs that don’t have a money-making motive, as opposed to traditional organized crime operations, but this gang was directed to inflict themselves mainly on rival gangs,” said Mr. Lombardi, drawing a distinction between gang members and other civilians.

The terror legislation was sponsored by Michael A. L. Balboni, then a state senator from Nassau County, who has called its use by Mr. Johnson an “unanticipated application.” Mr. Balboni, who now oversees the state’s Office of Homeland Security, did not return a call seeking comment yesterday.

The shooting occurred on Aug. 18, 2002, when Malenny Mendez, 10, went with friends to a christening party at a church.

Also at the party were Mr. Morales and a group of other members of the St. James Boys, who had come uninvited and with at least one handgun.

After getting into a fight with other partygoers, the St. James Boys decided to seek retribution.

Mr. Morales, who did not testify at the trial, had previously acknowledged handling a gun that evening and being a member of the gang.

The only witness who testified that he saw Mr. Morales shoot the gun was Enrique Sanchez, another member of the St. James Boys, who was among those present that night. In a deal with prosecutors, Mr. Sanchez agreed to testify against Mr. Morales in exchange for the chance to plead guilty to second-degree murder.

Mr. Sanchez said he watched Mr. Morales fire the .38-caliber revolver, killing Malenny with a bullet to the head, and striking Javier Tocchimani, 32, three times, leaving him paralyzed.

Though jurors said they did not believe portions of Mr. Sanchez’s testimony, they blamed Mr. Morales for not leaving once he felt that a shooting would take place.

“He knew about the gang, he knew what it was all about, he saw there was a problem that night, why didn’t he leave?” one juror said. “Why didn’t he drop the gun when it was handed to him?”


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Promising Practices Result in Promising Information for MD
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

www.smsa.org/reports/restricted/leading_edge/2007-fall.php#conference

Taken from SMSA "The Leading Edge - Fall 2007" newsletter

Promising Practices Result in Promising Information for MD

In 2006, the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) was awarded a
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Promising Practice
grant.
The grant will allow the MVA to develop an Internet based central
scheduling system and a comprehensive data collection system.
All the Maryland training centers will be required to use the central
scheduling system to schedule individuals for their rider education
courses. The centers will have access to the system to add their course
schedules and any special motorcycle event. Customers can log on to the
Internet site select a training center or ask for the next available
opening in a course. Once they start the registration process the
position is held until they pay the course fee or cancel out. Customers
cannot be scheduled for multiple courses, but they can cancel a course
and reschedule.
Standby and walk in customers will also use the system. Each training
center will have access to the system to schedule these individuals. In
addition to scheduling rider education courses, the system will be used
to schedule licensing skill tests for individuals electing not to take a
course. This will allow the MVA to start the process to collect
information on everyone becoming a motorcycle operator.
When the rider education course is completed, the instructors will open
the Internet site to report the course participant scores. The
completion report will be based on the course roster created through the
central scheduling process. The report will collect the scores from the
knowledge test, the skill test and whether on not the participant would
qualify for a motorcycle license. On the skill test, each the score on
each skill test will be logged on the report. The instructor will
submit the report to the MVA and a record will be created for each
individual in what has been called the Motorcycle File. If the course
participant qualifies for a motorcycle license, the file will update
that person's driving record indicating the individual now holds a
motorcycle license. This Motorcycle File will not maintain a record of
this individual to track when the individual got the motorcycle license,
if person registered a motorcycle, if the individual completed
additional training, if the individual was convicted for a moving
violation on a motorcycle, if the person was in a motorcycle crash, if
the person went to the hospital, the injuries received and the cost for
medical treatment. Nothing in the file will be over written or erased.
This Motorcycle File will also gather information on everyone applying
for a motorcycle learner's permit, the number of times the individual
took the knowledge and skill tests, the score for each test, when the
license was issued or if the person never completed the licensing
process. Once in the file the MVA will collect the same information as
the individual that completed a rider-training course.
Once a year the information in the file will be sent the Maryland
National Study Center to be analyzed. The National Study Center will be
able to identify trends and the impact of rider education and licensing
on motorcycle crashes, injuries and fatalities.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Contesting a traffic ticket with GPS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WINDSOR, California (AP) -- Given the option of contesting
a traffic ticket, most motorists -- 19 out of 20 by some
estimates -- would rather pay up than pit their word
against a police officer's in court.


Though courts do not routinely accept GPS readouts as
evidence, some drivers are starting to use them to
challenge traffic violations.

A retired sheriff's deputy nevertheless hopes to beat the
long odds of the law by setting the performance of a police
officer's radar gun against the accuracy of the GPS
tracking device he installed in his teenage stepson's car.

The retired deputy, Roger Rude, readily admits his
17-year-old stepson, Shaun Malone, enjoys putting the pedal
to the metal. That's why he and Shaun's mother insisted on
putting a global positioning system that monitors the
location and speed of the boy's Toyota Celica.

Shaun complained bitterly about his electronic chaperone
until it became his new best friend on July 4, when he was
pulled over and cited for going 62 mph in a 45 mph zone.

Rude encouraged him to fight the ticket after the log he
downloaded using software provided by the GPS unit's
Colorado-based supplier showed Shaun was going the speed
limit within 100 feet of where a Petaluma officer clocked
him speeding.

"I'm not trying to get a guilty kid off," Rude said. "I've
always had faith in our justice system. I would like to see
the truth prevail and I would like Shaun to see that the
system works."

Don't Miss
Special Report: Your Digital World
Though traffic courts do not routinely accept GPS readouts
as evidence of a vehicle's speed -- and many GPS receivers
aren't capable of keeping records anyway -- some tech-savvy
drivers around the world slowly are starting to use the
technology to challenge moving violations, according to
anecdotal accounts from defense lawyers and law enforcement
officials.

This summer, for instance, an Australian farmer became a
hero to speeders everywhere when he got a ticket dismissed
after presenting police with data from his tracking device.

While winning a case this way is far from a sure thing,
GPS-generated evidence could at least inject an element of
doubt into typically one-sided proceedings, said Jim
Baxter, president of the National Motorists Association.

A Sonoma County traffic commissioner is expected to rule
within the next two weeks whether to dismiss Shaun's ticket
based on Rude's written argument that the motorcycle
officer's radar gun was either improperly calibrated or
thrown off by another speeding car.

"Radar is a pretty good tool, but it's not an infallible
tool," said Rude, who spent 31 years in law enforcement.
"With the GPS tracker, there is no doubt about it. There is
no human interference."

Rude plans to offer scientific data and experts if his
challenge doesn't succeed right away.

Petaluma police Lt. John Edwards said he could not discuss
Shaun's case but disputed Rude's contention that GPS is
more accurate than a speed gun.

"GPS works on satellite signals, so you have a delay of
some type," Edwards said. "Is it a couple-second delay? A
30-second delay? Because in that time people can speed up,
slow down."

The device in Shaun's car, originally designed for trucking
companies, rental car agencies and other businesses with
fleets, sends a signal every 30 seconds that records his
whereabouts and travel speed.

His parents signed up to be automatically notified by
e-mail whenever he exceeded 70 mph, and the one time he did
he lost his driving privileges for 10 days.

Rude said he is talking about the ticket -- Shaun has tried
to stay out of it -- to encourage other parents to keep
tabs on their teenage drivers using GPS. He said he has
told too many parents their child was killed in a wreck.

David W. Brown, a Monterey lawyer and author of "Fight Your
Ticket in California," said attacking the reliability of
radar guns does not usually get speeders very far,
especially if they are unwilling to devote extra time and
money to hiring legal experts.

Still, among people who do challenge tickets, the
proportion who triumph is relatively large, he said. Their
technique? Betting the officer who cited them will be
unable to make it to court.

"Statistically, when people do prevail, that is the most
common method," he said.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. ABATE of DE to Contribute Over $8,000 to California Judicial Fund
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABATE of DE to Contribute Over $8,000 to California Judicial Fund
http://nccabate.com/legislative_announcement_Oct_31_07.pdf

ABATE of Delaware, and its three county Chapters (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex) have raised $8,300 for the California Judicial Fund.

The final amount will be realized at the State Board meeting scheduled for December and sent to our brothers and sisters in California via the Judicial Fund.

As many of you know, ABATE and BOLT of California put out a nationwide alert seeking funds to help in their effort to seek declatory relief in a decision that was recently made concerning their mandatory helmet law.

Because the law mandates that all helmets must meet the definition of FMVSS 218 the Court ruled that this was vague and unconstitutional.

The California Highway Patrol has disregarded the Court’s decision and continues to issue tickets to individual motorcyclists they feel are in violation of the law as they interpret it.

There has been legal action taken on behalf of the biking community seeking declaratory relief and a statewide injunction against the California Highway Patrol. The results of this case will have an impact nationwide, by setting a precedent that can be used coast to coast.

With the above mentioned amount of money that ABATE of Delaware has collected, it represents approximately $8.00 per member. A small price to pay for your Freedom of Choice.

We are releasing this announcement as a challenge to all SMROs in every state in the nation to match what our little State has done.

ABATE of Delaware is proud to represent the State that started this nation, and first on board with the desperately needed funds to maintain our freedom.

In Solidarity,

Gary K. (Hildy) Hilderbrand
State Legislative Coordinator

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Motorcycle Checkpoints and Your Rights
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Motorcycle Checkpoints and Your Rights

The New York State Police, along with local police and sheriff department
personal, conducted a motorcycle safety checkpoint on October 9, 2007. They
checked for proper licenses, safety helmets, exhaust systems and other
safety and regulatory violations. In the report, it was stated that the
checkpoint was to increase motorcycle safety by insuring compliance with
applicable Vehicle & Traffic Laws and they expected to expand this program
statewide in the summer of 2008.

Roadblocks are used to stop individuals who otherwise would not be. The
courts have found them legal and a legitimate law enforcement tactic but
this does not mean you don't have rights once you enter a roadblock.

Law enforcement does not have the authority to search you or your bike
without probable cause. This is your Fourth Amendment right. If they ask you
for permission, then it's likely they don't have a reason to do so. Never
permit a voluntary search of your person or bike, or take off your helmet.
Many times an officer will persist or will say to you something similar to
"if you don't have anything to hide, why object to a search?". This should
be met with a response that you do not consent to any searches of your
private property.

If the law enforcement suspects a DUI/DWI, do not say that you have had a
drink. You do not have to answer questions about where you have been or
where you are going, whether or not you have been drinking or what items are
contained in your bike. The Fifth Amendment protects you against
self-incrimination and you do not have to answer any questions that the
police ask you. Also decline taking the field sobriety test and request a
blood test.

You have a right to terminate your encounter with law enforcement unless you
are being detained under police custody or have been arrested. You can ask
the officer "Am I free to go?". If the answer is yes, leave immediately.
The officer may avoid the question or ask you unrelated questions, persist
by asking, "am I being detained, or can I go now?" If you are detained and
placed under arrest, do not answer any questions without your attorney
present. Assert your Fifth and Six Amendments rights by saying these exact
words: "Officer, I have nothing to say until I speak with a lawyer."

Also be aware that law enforcement vehicles are equipped with audio and
video recording devices and are activated as soon as the lights go on.
Remain calm, courteous and non-confrontational at all times.
The New York Freedom Riders oppose roadblocks but would like you to know
your rights if you encounter them.

http://www.newyorkfreedomriders.com/


New York Freedom Riders
Riders Against Constitutional Erosion
"Freedom Is NOT A Spectator Sport"

New York Freedom Riders
PO Box 92151
Rochester, NY 14692
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Yes, Accidents Happen. But Why?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/automobiles/autospecial/24accident.html?_r=1&
oref=slogin

October 24, 2007
Yes, Accidents Happen. But Why?
By ROBERT STRAUSS

WHEN Fred Mannering takes his vintage MG sports car out for a spin, he
always leaves plenty of room between the car in front of him and the MG.
He brakes slowly and deliberately. He rarely speeds, and if he were to
go fast, it would be only on a superhighway with little traffic.

"My other car is newer, with good antilock brakes and air bags, so I
don't take nearly as much care," said Dr. Mannering, a Purdue University
professor of civil engineering who studies the causes and results of
traffic accidents. In that way, he may reflect the behavior of the
average driver, governed by hard-to-quantify influences.

Dr. Mannering's study of accidents in Washington State from 1992 to
1997, a period during which air bags and antilock brakes became
prevalent, showed that counter to what would seem logical, there was no
major reduction in accidents even with the spread of two seemingly
effective safety features.

"It just shows how hard it is to determine what causes an accident," he
said. "The one thing you might conclude - it's called an offset
hypothesis - is that people have an acceptance of a level of safety. If
they felt safer because of the air bags and brakes, then maybe they
drove faster or switched the radio on and off more to, so to speak,
compensate.

"What seems like an exact science - determining who or what causes
accidents - is actually quite difficult," Dr. Mannering said.

Insurance companies, carmakers, inventors, safety advocates and clearly
drivers themselves all have an interest in learning about what might
reduce the number of accidents or at least make them less severe. Yet
there is surprisingly little data to help them.

"Speeding causes crashes," said Anne McCartt, senior vice president for
research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit
group financed by auto insurers. "Running through a red light causes
crashes. Drinking alcohol certainly causes crashes, but to what extent?
That has been difficult to determine."

Rob Foss, a senior research scientist at the University of North
Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, confirmed the elusive nature of
pinpointing the causes. "I guess all we can safely say we know with
certainty is that virtually all crashes are caused by a series of things
coming together all at once," he said. "Driving after you have too much
to drink is dangerous, but, strangely, we don't know how much, despite
laws that have alcohol limits. Many people take trips after having too
much to drink and manage to get home."

Part of the problem stems from the limitations of researchers'
information. Often they depend on police reports, which can be reliable
for some things, like what kind of car is involved or the extent of
injuries. But other factors - like distractions - may not exist in
police reports. A driver is unlikely, for one, to tell an officer that
he was using a cellphone, especially if he thinks it will increase his
liability.

"Putting in place a good crash investigation and maintaining good data
for these kinds of analyses is complicated and thus expensive," said
Peter Kissinger, chief executive of the AAA Foundation for Traffic
Safety. "It's not the kind of thing which a political leader in a state
has the patience to see through. They would rather put some money for
roads as opposed to investing in something as unsexy as maintaining a
good crash database."

The Strategic Highway Research Program at the National Academy of
Sciences may change that. The program will gather raw data from about
1,000 cars equipped with minicameras, motion-detection sensors and other
devices to monitor cars and their drivers. The program expands a pilot
study done at Virginia Tech University.

The Virginia study came to some preliminary conclusions:
Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near crashes were caused
by distractions that made the driver look away for up to three seconds.
Drivers ages 18 to 20 were up to four times more likely to have an
inattention-related accident than older drivers.
Driver drowsiness was involved in 20 percent of all crashes.
All 14 of the rear-end crashes in the study happened when the lead car
was stopped.

"For the last 30 years, the emphasis has been on injury prevention and
modification of vehicles because that seemed to be where the payoff
was," said Dr. Kenneth Campbell, chief program officer for safety at the
Strategic Highway Research Program, who will direct the five-year study.
"That has slowed." He said that traffic fatalities in the United States
have remained at about 40,000 a year for the last decade or so.

"Now the technology is available to separate out things like alcohol use
and different kinds of distractions, and the condition in which people
keep a car and all sorts of variables," he said. "It is long in coming,
but soon we'll know what really does cause car accidents."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Philippines: Bikers must wear helmets, bill says
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics2_nov2_2007
Bikers must wear helmets, bill says By Romie Evangelista
Amid the rising cases of road accidents involving motorcycle riders, three party-list lawmakers have filed a bill seeking stiffer penalties for bikers caught without helmets while on road travel.
Buhay party-list Reps. Rene Velarde, Ma. Carissa Coscolluela and Willima Irwin Tieng also sought the imposition of stiffer penalties on manufacturers producing substandard helmets.
Their House Bill 1983 is seeking a penalty of P1,000 to P2,000 for the first-time offenders; P2,500 to P3,000 for second-time offenders and P3,500 to P5,000 for third-time offenders.
A third-time offender will have his driver’s license suspended for one month and be imprisoned for one month based on the court’s discretion.
For the manufacturers of substandard helmets, the bill is seeking a penalty of P5,000 up to P50,000 and suspension or cancellation of their business permit.
In order to stop the proliferation and sale of substandard helmets, Velarde said the measure would require the Land Transportation Office to install an LTO sticker on the helmets that meet safety standards. “The bill proposes to declare as a national policy the mandatory use of safety helmets.”
Velarde said that since 1961, the Australian government had been implementing its Helmet Act and numerous other countries, including the United States, have adopted a similar law.
“It is easy enough to see how many fatalities, as a result of motorcycle crashes, could have been prevented if only the operator and the rider wore an approved safety helmet,” the lawmakers said.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Deer-motorcycle wrecks on the rise in Iowa
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=7302064&nav=menu606_2

Deer-motorcycle wrecks on the rise in Iowa


Associated Press - November 2, 2007 9:34 AM ET

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The number of deadly crashes between
motorcycles and deer is on the rise in Iowa.

Officials say ten people have been killed so far this year.

Eight motorcyclists died in crashes with deer. Two others died when
their motorcycles hit a deer and then collided with another vehicle.

Officials say motorcyclists need to be extra careful this time of
year. More deer are on the move because of the breeding season and
the fall harvest.

Meanwhile, officials say the increase in deadly accidents linked to
deer is a factor in the upward trend of overall motorcycles death in
Iowa. As of late October, 58 drivers and passengers have been killed in 2007.

That's the most in Iowa since 1988, which also had 58 deadly
motorcycle accidents.


Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. HERO AND DORK of the week
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HERO: Those who get it!!
Not necessarily biker related, but if you think about this, there is a lot of truth to it.
How To Catch Wild Pigs

There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some
Exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in
the lab the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing
his back and stretching as if his back hurt. The professor asked the
young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet
lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his
native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and
install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange
question. He asked, ' Do you know how to catch wild pigs?'

The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The
young man said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a
suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The
pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When
they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the
place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence,
they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence.
They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have
all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs,
who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you
slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and
around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to
eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten
how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees
happening to America The government keeps pushing us toward
Communism/socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the
form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned
income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops,
welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. While we continually lose our
freedoms-just a little at a time.

DORK: Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis

Funeral Protests Cost Church $11 Million
By ALEX DOMINGUEZ,
Posted: 2007-11-01 06:11:08
Filed Under: Nation News

BALTIMORE (Nov. 1) -Members of a fundamentalist Kansas church ordered to pay
nearly $11 million in damages to a grieving father smiled as they walked out
of the courtroom, vowing that the verdict would not deter them from
protesting at military funerals.

"Absolutely, don't you understand this was an act in futility?" said Shirley
Phelps-Roper, whose father founded the Westboro Baptist Church.

They believe that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the
nation's tolerance of homosexuality. They say they are entitled to protest at
funerals under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion.

Albert Snyder sued the Topeka, Kan., church after a protest last year at the
funeral of his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in
Iraq. He claimed the protests intruded upon what should have been a private
ceremony and sullied his memory of the event.

A jury agreed. On Wednesday, the church and three of its leaders — Fred
Phelps and his two daughters, Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis — were found
liable for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress.

Jurors awarded Snyder $2.9 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in
punitive damages.

It's unclear whether Snyder will be able to collect the damages.

The assets of the church and the defendants are less than a million dollars,
mainly in homes, cars and retirement accounts, defense attorney Jonathan
Katz said. The church has about 75 members and is funded by tithing.

Craig Trebilcock, one of Snyder's lawyers, had asked jurors to question the
truthfulness of the defendants' financial documents, one of which show
Phelps-Davis having only $306 in the bank. He noted that Phelps-Davis is a
practicing attorney, who could afford to travel to spread the church’s message.

"Rebekah Phelps-Davis has $306? She must be using Priceline.com. It doesn't
make any sense," Trebilcock said.

The attorney had urged jurors to award damages that would send a message to
the church: "Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again."

Trebilcock later called the verdict "Judgment Day for the Westboro Baptist
Church."

"They’re always talking about other people's Judgment Day. Well, this is
theirs," he said.

Snyder sobbed when he heard the verdict, while members of the church greeted
the news with tightlipped smiles.

They are confident the award will be overturned on appeal, Phelps said.

"Oh, it will take about five minutes to get that thing reversed," he said.

Another of Snyder’s attorneys, Sean Summers, said he would tirelessly seek
payment of the award.

"We will chase them forever if it takes that long," he said.

A number of states have passed laws regarding funeral protests, and Congress
has passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal cemeteries. Snyder's
lawsuit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a fallen serviceman.

Snyder, of York, Pa., said he hoped other families would consider suing.

"The goal wasn't about the money, it was to set a precedent so other people
could do the same thing," he said.

Earlier in the day, church members staged a demonstration outside the
federal courthouse, while passing motorists honked and shouted insults.

Phelps held a sign emblazoned with "God is your enemy," while Phelps-Roper
stood on an American flag as she carried a sign that proclaimed "God hates fag
enablers." Members of the group also sang "God Hates America," to the tune
of "God Bless America."

_http://news.aol.com/story/nc/_a/funeral-protests-cost-church-11-million/20071
031193009990001_
(http://news.aol.com/story/nc/_a/funeral-protests-cost-church-11-million/20071031193009990001)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Biker Republic has formed to fight the overbearing government intrusion into our lives. Our primary is the fight for biker rights. These two fights are intertwined and cannot be compromised. The average citizen is now aware our liberties are steadily being whittled away. We are working to stop this erosion of liberty and while simultaneously working to restore lost liberties. To this end we are active in the political, legislative, and judicial arenas. Our only charity is to help our fellow bikers and restore liberty. We are dedicated to returning to the roots of the motorcycle rights movement. We are the premier news and information source for biker rights activists.