Former Chicago Police Burglary Detective Turned Actor Dennis Farina, Dead at 69

Scottsdale, AZ—I’m sad to report on the death of 18 year Chicago police veteran and accomplished actor Dennis Farina.  He died suddenly this morning in Scottsdale from a blood clot in his lung.

Farina enjoyed life as a burglary detective at the old Area Six headquarters at Damen and Grace Avenues.  He along with others in his unit handled the follow-up investigations to countless high-dollar burglaries on the Windy City’s North side.  

I first met Farina when I was asked to cover for another cop at an off duty job working security for Goldbaltt’s Department Store located in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.  Like most cops we both had a second gig to make a few bucks.

Farina attended St. Michael’s High School on North Sedgwick Street as I did until my mother could not pay the tuition.  I was quickly exiled to public school.

Around 1979 legendary film director Michael Mann was putting together his film Thief, starring James Caan.  Mann somehow hooked up with the late Robbery sergeant, Chuck Adamson and Farina.  

Back then Farina was doing “burning bar” demonstrations for district patrol officers like me at various National Guard armories. Burglars were having a grand time quickly cutting into the best vaults in the larger supermarkets and jewelry stores with the burning bar.  This highly visual form of larceny soon became immortal on the silver screen. 

Thief has a terrific scene where the burning bar is used that set Cann’s character apart from that of some ordinary burglar.  Mann put both Adamson and Farina in that film in acting roles.  Farina’s acting chops were a still work in progress but Adamson proved himself very well.  Adamson went on to be a screenwriter creating the TV series Crime Story that starred Farina and along the way he wrote some episodes of Miami Vice. 

Farina soon took a leave of absence to pursue acting and quickly proved himself as a fine actor.   He landed roles on the small and large screen as well as stage.  He’s probably best known for his role on Law & Order.

My personal favorite was Farina’s somewhat recent portrayal of an ageing small time Chicago hustler in the Second City film production of, “The Last Rites of Joe May.”  I saw it at a special screening at the Screen Actor’s Guild in Los Angeles.

As for Farina’s personal life he was a very private man who kept many of his friendships with fellow cops.  Farina was a big time golf aficionado and settled in a nice home near Cactus and Pima Roads in Scottsdale.  He quietly lived there with his longtime sweetheart, Marianne Cahill.

Farina had three adult children from his former wife Patricia Farina.  They divorced in 1980 as Farina was transitioning to acting from police work.  

At this time Farina’s funeral arrangements are still being made.  Rather than flowers he’s asked that donations be made to the Cook County 100 Club that aids families of cops killed in the line of duty.

I know we can count upon the Chicago Police Emerald Society to play their legendary bagpipes for Dennis along with is police family at his pending services.

About five years ago I became aware that Farina was undergoing lung cancer treatment at the Loyola Medical Center just West of Chicago.  Disclosure of that information would have ended his acting career because insurance companies would avoid covering productions when a key player may not survive. Farina seemed to be making great progress.  He was a long time smoker.  

I will update this with funeral arrangements as soon as I receive them from his long time Los Angeles publicist, Lori De Waal. 

Farina's Credits can be found here:  From The Independent Movie Data Base

Berlin’s Somber 69th Anniversary of Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg’s Execution

Here I'm standing at the Bendlerblock memorial for the fallen 20 July conspirators. 

Berlin, Germany—July 20, 1944 was the day that the first of many fine German men were executed for the last known attempt to kill Adolph Hitler. 

The war was a total disaster bringing dishonor and blight on the German people.  A madman with absolute power had caused the needless deaths of nearly 9,000,000 good Germans.  That does not take into account the Holocaust or the deaths of non-Germans.

A group of brave men took on the responsibility to kill Hitler risking all.  There were different failed attempts to Kill Hitler and this was the last of them. 

Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg became the leader of the group and brought a briefcase bomb to the secure field headquarters called Wolfsschanze near Rastenburg East Prussia.

Von Stauffenberg lost an arm and part of his remaining hand.  With only three fingers he was only capable of arming half of the device.  He ill advisedly discarded the unarmed half of the explosives.  There were other environmental issues that reduced the effectiveness of the device. 

The device detonated killing four and wounding 24 others.  Hitler was sparred from all but minor injuries. Von Stauffenberg escaped the Wolfsschanze and flew to Berlin to direct the coup. 

The coup ended quickly after it became known that Hitler survived the blast.  That evening at the Beldlerblock military complex five conspirators including Von Stauffenberg were arrested.  On order from General Fromm they were placed before a firing squad and executed in the courtyard. 

General Ludwig Beck asked for and was given a pistol so he could dispatch himself with dignity.  The others, Gen. Fredich Olbricht, Col. Albrecht Mertz Von Quirnheim ant Lt. Werner Von Haeften faced the firing squad with Von Stauffenberg.

Eventually the Gestapo rounded up 7,000 men and women that they somehow connected to the plot. Many were relentlessly tortured and eventually nearly 5,000 were put through sham show trials and garishly and slowly hanged at the Plotzensee prison using wire.

Every year on this date the surviving families gather for an invitation only ceremony at the Bendlerblock.   They vet the attendees very carefully to prevent disruptions by Neo-Nazi sympathizers.  

Below I have two videos that I shot and edited of my visit to the Bendlerblock military complex that also houses the German Resistance Museum.  The other was shot  at the Plotzensee Prison execution chamber.  The videos were shot with a tiny Flipcam but I think you will find them interesting and watchable.

Stand Your Ground Laws are Natural Rights and Long Time Civil Rights

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Washington, DC—Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. served on the United States Supreme Court from 1902 until 1932.  Still today he’s probably the most quoted jurist to ever walk the face of the earth.  In 1921 Justice Holmes weighed in on the concept of Stand Your Ground:

"The law has grown, and even if historical mistakes have contributed to its growth, it has tended in the direction of rules consistent with human nature. Many respectable writers agree that, if a man reasonably believes that he is in immediate danger of death or grievous bodily harm from his assailant, he may stand his ground, and that, if he kills him, he has not exceeded the bounds of lawful self-defense. That has been the decision of this Court. Beard v. United States, 158 U. S. 550, 158 U. S. 559. Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife. Therefore, in this Court at least, it is not a condition of immunity that one in that situation should pause to consider whether a reasonable man might not think it possible to fly with safety or to disable his assailant, rather than to kill him. Rowe v. United States, 164 U. S. 546, 164 U. S. 558.

Moreover, if the last shot was intentional and may seem to have been unnecessary when considered in cold blood, the defendant would not necessarily lose his immunity if it followed close upon the others while the heat of the conflict was on, and if the defendant believed that he was fighting for his life."

Brown v. United States, 256 U.S. 335 (1921) (opinion by Justice Holmes).

Our incredibly ignorant politicians can’t stop trying to tinker with God’s law of survival by punishing those that understandably value their own lives more than that of a criminal attacker.  

Many African-American politicians now want to outlaw strong self-defense laws and the so-called Stand Your Ground laws.  What they don’t get is African-Americans far outnumber other groups for being assaulted and murdered by their own kind. They need these protections more than anyone!

Altering the natural law of self-preservation will do noting but cause the imprisonment of crime victims.  I can’t imagine anyone giving a rat’s ass about some law when they're fighting for their lives.  There is an old saying, “It’s better to be tried by twelve than carried by six.”   Nature’s laws will always trump any and all codes, statutes and ordinances.

The natural law of survival serves as a real deterrent for criminals that understandably must weigh the risks that victimizing someone may bring.  For too many criminals the thought of jail is just not a substantial concern.   

Foolish criminals risk their lives everyday in pursuit of ill-gotten gains or the perverted gratification of bullying, raping and the killing of others.   Protecting criminals is abhorrent public policy of outlawing self-defense that does nothing but feed the community's crime rate.  

American Citizenship is Rapidly Becoming Devalued to Zero

Washington, DC—Our forefathers sacrificed so much so we would have freedom, prosperity and the tools to prevent government from again becoming despotic.   As a nation our citizenship has been the envy of the entire rest of the world.   We have allowed freedom to slip away and the value of our citizenship has rapidly declined.

We built a system where free enterprise created wealth and jobs.  That in turn gave Americans the ability to consume the fruit of their labor. Productivity and excellence was rewarded and accordingly America became the wealthiest and strongest nation on earth.   Today productivity is punished with extortionate taxation at every level of government.

Nearly 100 years passed and Socialists and Communists floated new ideas about government.  These ideas failed in nation after nation but for a few party leaders that could live like royalty through corruption while their citizens were starved, confined and enslaved.  These governments are well known for killing dissidents or anyone wishing to escape from their own homelands.

That did not stop the spread of Socialism and Communism to the USA and our government including the Whitehouse.  Both major political parties are awash with politicians on a united mission, to force the failed Socialist ideas on Americans.  These disloyal politicians all believe the Constitution they were sworn to protect is outdated and irrelevant.

Socialism can only flourish when the vast majority of citizens are totally dependent upon government.  We are at a point where over 50% of the population is impoverished and programed into utter and complete dependence. 

Our Socialists are doing everything they can to increase the population with the ignorant and poor from Mexico and Central America.  The price of admission is simply to break our immigration laws.  Millions more illiterate and unskilled trespassers are being handed citizenship and the right to vote by our Socialist politicians.  That will guarantee a Socialist government in the USA for the next 100 years.

In the mean time our government is moving in efforts to prevent the flight of Americans wanting to emigrate with their assets elsewhere in the world.  The revocation of passports for tax indebtedness has already begun.  At what point does our border patrol begin to use deadly force to keep Americans from leaving?  Don’t say that it can’t or won’t happen because history is redundant with examples proving this point.

In any event our American citizenship is all but worthless today.  Government’s domestic spying is out of control.  Our Criminal justice system has been reduced to show trials.  To make matters worse we are swimming in wrongful convictions because we’ve given prosecutors too much new power. Our free speech is endangered by the very real threat of IRS abuse.  Our politicians have sold Americans on the idea that liberty must be traded for security.  As a result we have morphed into a fascist police state that’s armed with the latest technological super weapons.

Frankly I have no taste for the new America.  Even the Left leaning European nations still understands the horror of fascism and protects liberty better then America.  Americans are fleeing this nation like never before.  

Productive Americans will either have to fight to regain their freedom or submit to slavery.  I just know one thing, each coming day will be darker as our productivity, prosperity and liberty slips completely into a tyrannical Abyss.

What’s Next for Zimmerman in the way of Prosecution and Litigation? Real Answers!

Sanford, FL- Media pundits have suggested that George Zimmerman faces a possible federal Civil Rights criminal prosecution and a wrongful death civil lawsuit.   I have to ask, when will the hogwash end?  These are incredibly vicious but hollow threats.

Let’s talk about a criminal Violation of Civil Rights action.  The facts are not there nor have they ever been outside of the wild imagination of the race baiters. The actual code, Title 18, U.S.C., Section 24 is at the bottom of this article.

The case against Zimmerman will not somehow get better with age.  It’s been investigated to death and the only evidence of race related hate came from Trayvon Martin’s own lips when he referred to Zimmerman as a “crappy assed cracker.” A prosecution here cannot begin with thin air but will require evidence.  It’s just not there.  Public opinion can’t rewrite the law to law somehow snag Zimmerman now.

A civil action for a wrongful death under FL state law is barred by a provision that grants immunity to someone using lawful self-defense.   I won’t go so far as to say some lawyer may breech this protection however it’s unlikely. 

If somehow a wrongful death case were allowed to proceed the Martin family would still have to prove their case in court with evidence, granted with a lower burden of proof.  The insurmountable problem for the Martin family is the cost of the suit and the reality that Zimmerman has no assets to attach.  We outlawed Debtor’s Prisons long ago and even a multi-million dollar court judgment would have the value of toilet paper.

George Zimmerman already has a viable action against NBC News for portraying him in a bad light after they maliciously doctored a 911 tape to make Zimmerman appear to be racist.  NBC is in serious trouble here and will wind up paying.  They will be hoping for a jury that will hate Zimmerman and only award him $1 for his trouble.  Frankly a hefty secret settlement is in the cards for Zimmerman here.

I don’t rule out an action against Obama and his henchmen for their outrageous interference and obstruction of justice in the Zimmerman matter.  Next there are the despicable actions of Special Prosecutor Angelia Corey however immunity exists protecting her for all but provable, intentional Civil Rights violations.  The bad news for Zimmerman is this may ultimately be a public relations war.  The malicious smearing of George Zimmerman by politicians and the media is far from over. 

Here s the federal Violation of Civil Rights code:

   lii_usc_TI_18_PA_I_CH_13_SE_249 by crimefile

George Zimmerman Acquittal Reflections and Lessons Learned

George Zimmerman

Sanford, FL--This sad case began with a tragedy.   Travon Martin was a troubled lad who made terrible choices.  The data recovered from his cell phone and was later unlawfully hidden from George Zmmerman’s defense lawyers by prosecutors showed that Martin was heavily involved with illegal guns, drugs and fighting. 

Judge Debra Nelson later ruled that cell phone evidence inadmissible and that was not at all unusual in our courts.  It may seem unfair to some but that’s what they normally do.

As for Martin he apparently had personal issues with what he called, “crappy assed crackers” and was the one actually profiling Zimmerman clearly by race.  To me it’s logical and believable that Martin caused his own death by assaulting Zimmerman.  However we all must recognize that there are no witnesses or video to establish this fact with absolute 100% certainty.

We must not never lose sight of is the fact that we don’t require accused people to prove their innocence and that burden is the government’s to prove that self-defense was not somehow necessary.  In the Zimmerman case both the government and media led us astray in that regard.

What is certain are the injuries to Zimmerman obviously inflicted by the stronger and faster, Travon Martin.   They’re not serious injuries but they clearly substantiate an attack by an aggressor.  The police carefully investigated the case and there was simply no probable cause to arrest Zimmerman. 

Zimmerman could have avoided his horrible and expensive ride on the Wheel of Misfortune by simply asking for a lawyer rather than cooperating and answering every question put to him by the cops. 

The cops were fair and also the first set of prosecutors however; a special prosecutor shanghaied the case.  In the end the only evidence they had was Zimmerman’s admission that he shot Martin.  His verbal claim to police of self-defense became a confession they used to file the case!

Martin’s parents did not understand or even care about the truth as they sought legal counsel, after all their son was now dead.  Suddenly a public relations campaign was set in motion to incite, inflame and distort the facts of the case.   The media used and misused the information as they sensationalized facts.  NBC NEWS actually went to far as to cleverly edit the 911 tapes to place Zimmerman in a false light as they misled the entire world suggesting that Martin’s death was a hate inspired crime.

Even the Whitehouse and the Attorney General wrongfully got involved.  They used public tax funds to help Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson lead race baiting public demonstrations.  Politicians for purely political reasons hijacked the normal investigation and prosecution procedure.  Zimmerman was quickly charged in a misleading criminal complaint that even bypassed normal Grand Jury review.

God given rights to protect oneself their family and even innocent bystanders is what was threatened by vile and nefarious race baiters inside the Whitehouse and by certain members of the Civil Rights movement.   

We’ve all been given the gift of fear and the instinct for survival.  If not we’d have never survived as a species.  We also have the ability to make tools and weapons for self-defense.  The shameless and unwarranted injection of racial hatred into the Zimmerman case was an intentional campaign to undermine the legitimacy of self-defense rights. 

The self-defense rights of members of every race and religion; are sacred and personal.  Denigrating these rights will land and has landed thousands of innocent people behind bars.  That could happen to you or someone you love.  Tampering with these rights is dangerous to all of us.  There are millions of cases where weapons other than guns are used in self-defense so these laws have nothing to do with the separate issue of gun control. 

In court prosecutors are generally more experienced in ways to subvert justice by hiding evidence and confusing juries.  They have huge budgets for investigators, experts and litigation support that are never equal to public defenders or most private attorneys. 

The George Zimmerman case was nothing less than an exercise in prosecutorial and government tyranny.  Here the government actually created a bogus crisis.   They claimed a hate crime was committed by a racist vigilante, when they knew otherwise. 

Oddly enough here the government further and shamelessly victimized Travon Martin’s parents by the deliberate obstruction of justice in allowing this charade of a show trial to even happen.  In the end the jury saw through the subterfuge and followed the law rather than the tainted emotion and hyped prosecution smokescreen.   Zimmerman’s lawyers proved themselves up to the task of his criminal defense and prevailed.  

Zimmerman will forever be a marked man and a curiosity.  He will be virtually unemployable and if he has any success it will be in some business unrelated to security, law enforcement or private investigation.

As for the reaction of the African-American community to this trial it was surprising to me personally.  There were the many thousands of hateful and scary threat messages plastered all over the Internet.  So far there were only a few scattered related incidents of violence and they were on the West Coast.

The New Black Panther Party thugs put their silly costumes on and came to Sanford to openly incite a riot in violation of existing federal laws.  Attorney General Eric Holder will never prosecute his panther pals in a million years.  This was very similar to the crap we saw that  the Ku Klux Klan got away with in America’s dark past.  Apparently as a nation we never outgrew this kind of hateful activity. 

The Panther’s shrill cries landed on deaf ears and millions of disappointed African-Americans went home peaceably.  Perhaps they understood how they were being used and ultimately that violence would prove nothing at all.

As a nation we saw what happened here and we can pull together where government has pulled us apart.  Those improvised African-Americans must begin to recognize that the way to real wealth is through education and achievement not government handouts.  They need to adapt to a culture free of drugs, crime and a sense of entitlement.

If Americans could pull together we could once again be the greatest nation on earth. Instead of cursing each other, helping each other is a beginning.   We need to strengthen not weaken the laws protecting self-defense rights.  It’s actually the poorest people in the ghettos of America's large cities that are in real danger of criminal attack.  They need gun rights and the ability to defend themselves, their families and neighbors. 

As a criminal defense investigator I recognize that if we don’t protect the self-defense rights of every minority we lose our own rights.  We must stand up to the right of self-defense for everyone everywhere.  That is, the strongest most meaningful message by far we can ever send to those cowardly thugs, thieves, rapists and killers.

As Americans we must end bullying and avoid conflicts rather than to create them.  Bullying is in our blood.  That’s what done in every government on earth.  That is why humans have courts, armies and holocausts.  As for lovers of law and government muscle we must remember that everything Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin did was perfectly legal.

When we must use deadly force we must never forget George Zimmerman and refuse to answer questions or cooperate with the police.  In the video below I explain how to deal with the government authorities after a self-defense event.  This is about your rights.

Why I Delete Many Comments From This Blog

Covington, KY—A federal court jury just awarded former Cincinnati Bengal’s cheerleader, Sarah Jones $338,000 over anonymous third-party comments posted to a Scottsdale based website, thedirty.com.

The site operator, Nik Richie took a well-deserved litigation beating when he did not screen or delete the nasty comments.  The posts defamed the woman with malicious and unfounded allegations of sexual activities with the entire football team.

Richie’s unsuccessful defense was to suggest that Jones should have take the unknown third part posters to court instead of him.  Bloggers everywhere have been watching his case.  

Jones had a rather sticky brush with the law related to a sexual relationship with an underage student when she was a teacher.  Reportedly Jones is still in a relationship lad who is now 18 and plans to marry him.  

Often people post allegations about others that I cannot or won’t try and verify.  Some are true and some are malicious and defamatory.  I delete them immediately.  I don’t do that over fears of being sued, I do it because it’s the right thing to do.

When I publish information on this blog I take care to vet, verify and investigate.  I won’t compromise simple decency to those people whose activities I chronicle here.

The George Zimmerman Trial Is Not About Justice

Sanford, FL—a young, athletic and hooded thug with lots of texting messages about guns, fighting and drugs, Trayvon Martin attacked George Zimmerman.  While bashing the neighborhood watch volunteer’s brains out on the sidewalk the young thug was shot dead. 

It turns out that our Federal tax dollars were used to organize anti-Zimmerman protests demanding a legal lynching. Attorney General Eric Holder can be thanked for that waste of cash. 

The already divided nation has an agenda that has nothing to do with this isolated shooting in Florida.  This is about clashing races and attitudes about Gun Control.

There are those that hate guns or are African-American and intolerant of Whites that want Zimmerman’s blood.  They don’t really care who was beating whom. They want Zimmerman to be publicly hanged.

Then there are bigoted Whites that believe the only good African-Americans are the dead ones.  After that there are a lot of people of both races that want to protect their rights to defend themselves and their families.  They want Zimmerman cleared.

Only a small percentage of folks care about what really happened; or whether Zimmerman is guilty or not.

Realistically the evidence of a crime is just not there and Zimmerman will most likely walk free.  When that happens by the end of this week the seething hatred in the Black Communities of America will boil over like never before. 

I have made my plans to be in a safe place, well armed with plenty of ammunition, food and water. 

New Illinois Law on Concealed Weapons Does Little to Comply With The Law of The Land.

Chicago Plaintiff Otis McDonald is on the Right at the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Chicago, IL—For decades Illinois politicians have violated the rights of citizens to keep and carry firearms guaranteed by our Second Amendment.  Ban after ban has been put in place and with each new restriction crime skyrockets.  Unconstitutional gun laws have protected the thugs, thieves, rapists and killers of The Land of Lincoln.

First it was Heller vs. D.C and then it was McDonald vs. Chicago the courts reaffirmed gun rights but the plaintiffs in those cases won’t live long enough to enjoy their rights because of obstructionist delays by tyrannical politicians that are apparently above the law of the land.

The 7^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the gun carry ban and ordered Illinois to allow law-abiding citizen’s rights restored.  The politicians grappled with the idea and failed.  The finally passed a confusing 168-page law laced with Gun Free Zones everywhere.  If any gun carrier were to guess wrong a jail cell would be waiting for them.  Frankly the new law cures little.

In addition to all the obscure Gun Free Zones are endless delays in implementing the system and actually issuing the permits.  Otis McDonald is a senior citizen and may not survive long enough to get his gun permit that he and the other plaintiffs won in court.   That goes double in the most dangerous city in America where he still can’t legally protect himself.

Mary E. Shepard and the Illinois State Rifle Association filed the original lawsuit demanding Illinois follow the law of the land using the Supreme Court cases as authority.  They won but there's no end to the shenanigans the defendant politicians have invented to obstruct, delay and disobey the Court;s order. We have two new court motions dealing with the same controversy.

One is by the plaintiffs complaining that the new law is in violation of the courts order and intention to restore gun liberty.  The law has built in bogus delays and is loaded with impermissible bans.  They are asking to enjoin the entire mess of old and new law making the state’s Firearm Owner’s Identification Card a defacto Concealed Weapons Permit.

The second is a request to dismiss the entire action by the offending politicians claiming that the new Concealed Weapons Law cures the requirements of the Court’s decision and therefor the lawsuit should be dismissed.  I assume that Illinois Attorney General has been smoking crack if she really believes any of the crap she wrote.   Both new motions are below. 

   Motion for Injunction to end Gun Ban

   Motion to Dismiss Re: concealed weapons

Concealed Weapon Legalization Comes to Illinois!

Chicago, IL—Despite rabid political resistance to the law of the land on Gun Rights law-abiding citizens will be finally be allowed to carry concealed firearms for self-defense outside of their homes.

Now the Illinois State Police must establish a procedure to administer the program that will verify training and issue the permits.  The background investigations have already been accomplished since every CCW license applicant must first have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card.   Firearm trainers will be very busy providing the proscribed 16-hour program.

Those carrying guns will be getting a lot of information on safety, marksmanship and the justifiable use of deadly force.  Conflict avoidance still will be your very best choice rather than looking for or inviting trouble.  Some of you will run out of options especially in the violent areas of the state such as Chicago.  

Most conflicts with attackers will end without firing a single shot once the thugs see that you’re armed and ready to use deadly force.  The thugs will either escape or you will hold them for police.

In the event you have to shoot an attacker and you’re lucky enough to survive, I have some solid advice for you in the video below and underneath that there is a .pdf  copy the new law for you to download or share:  

   IL Concealled Weapon Law 2013

Dutch Actress Carice Van Houten and Social Media Promotion

Carice van Houten

Amsterdam, NL—The incredibly delightful actress and singer Carice van Houten manages to stay close to her fans and distant friends through Social Media.  

Van Houten is the product of terrific parents that raised their two talented daughters with the arts in one of the better places on earth, Holland.   Aside from being absolutely gorgeous she is an incredibly gifted actress.  The younger sister Jelka van Houten, also a real looker has her own promising career going as an actress and singer.

Van Houten really understands and interprets music through her singing.  She’s not a classic soprano but a songstress that knows how to sing well with the voice she was given by our creator.  Van Houten’s personal favorites come from a wide range of music that transcends all ages and categories.  

Recently van Houten released, SEE YOU ON THE ICE, which is a compilation of original songs in English.  It’s available on iTunes and I play it tirelessly and enjoyably in my car.  My favorite cut is called Particle of Light that is a great duet with a UK, transgender singer, Antony Hegarty.

I really envy Van Houten’s language skills.  In Black Book she acted in English, German, Dutch and Yiddish!  She has worked so hard making her accent unnoticeable to native speakers.  Of course when acting she employs a dialect coach. 

I understand the effort involved since I learned to speak German after spending 18 months in Germany as an Army medical corpsman.  Today I’m still fluent however I’m not at the level I was back then.   Americans are generally really weak with languages and too often even in their native English! 

American audiences have seen van Houten in Valkyrie and that popular HBO series Game of Thrones.  Van Houten won the role of a lifetime playing a heroic member of the Dutch Underground in Director Paul Verhoeven’s  WWII thriller, Black Book that was based on a true Story.  That film is a must see and is available on Netflix.  Black Book is my all time favorite film.

Van Houten has a manager who is also a first rate promoter and photographer, Janey van Ierland of Nummer19 in the Netherlands.  She has a sharp agent at Creative Artists Agency, Tracey Brennan in L.A.  I do hope they get her into some blockbuster American films where she belongs.   Even with top-flight representation, van Houten seems to have a gift for effective self-promotion.

Van Houten is set to play Greta Garbo in a biopic she will be co-producing.  She also has an amazing resemblance to the very private Swedish film star.   Van Houten oozes absolute elegance just like Garbo did. 

Recently in L.A. van Houten agreed to be a guest on a live-streamed Internet video show with host David “Nuzzy” Nussbaum.  Considering he was simply a follower/friend on van Houten’s Twitter account, catching her was quite a coup for his show.  Now, if only I could score her for a video interview for this blog.

Vine.com

Van Houten is a huge fan of the animated TV show, THE SIMPSONS and got herself invited to a taping session with the voice-over actors during her last trip to L.A. for the premier of Game of Thrones third season.

Van Houten has a precious gift for her world and the blood, sweat and tears she has put into her work so we can enjoy it with her. 

Vine.com

Van Houten regularly contributes to Twitter and loves to produce delightfully clever, intimate and tasteful six-second videos on her iPhone for Vine.com.  You can follow Van Houten @caricevhouten on Twitter.   She will direct you to her latest video, favorite music and her very lucky little Teddy Bear named, Edward, XXI.  

Criminal Defense Lawyers are learning Social Media can Help or Kill Their Clients!

Los Angeles, CA—As a cop and private eye with a career that spans 40 years I’ve seen more trials first hand than most lawyers.   I never went to law school but have learned a lot in the, Monkey See Monkey Do School of Law.   Along the way police academies and in loads of seminars filled in a lot of information blanks.  I have worked with lawyers from the woefully inept to the very gifted and greatest.

Many lawyers have built great reputations along with their egos over decades of success.  Unfortunately many of the old warhorses have not embraced computer technology or the incredible power of the Internet and Social Media.  Instead they delegate any computer assisted litigation efforts to secretaries and law clerks.  That’s a huge and sometimes deadly mistake.  

For most lawyers exploring the uncharted area of Social Media seems simple enough but actually making contributions to the mix present frightening tactical gambles along with new and unknown ethical issues. 

We’ve watched high profile trials that were Social Media nightmares like Jodi Arias and that of Casey Anthony.  As I write this article the verdict from the George Zimmerman trial is ready to actually explode across America.

All criminal cases begin with some event involving a loss, injury or death.  The event itself may not be a crime but rather an accident or the result of a justifiable use of force.  The police have the responsibility to investigate.  That investigation’s results may be brought by prosecutors before a criminal jury to decide if it’s a crime and the guilt or innocence of the accused.

In the very beginning swift action to get helpful facts out in a high profile case may stop a misguided effort to indict a client/suspect.  If the defense can get solid information out to the Social Media before cops and prosecutors have made their charging decisions that effort may well stop a wrongful prosecution in it’s tracks by making it politically unpopular.

Nothing prevents defense investigators from soliciting the public for defense witnesses and information relevant to a client’s case using Social Media.  Additionally nothing prevents the posting of the criminal record, immigration status and other derogatory information about the prosecutor’s so called “victim” or witnesses assuming libel laws are not broken. 

Much of this kind of information is withheld from juries by the courts but trust me jurors never miss opportunities to break the rules as they use and abuse the Google search engine! 

If helpful and timely material is dumped on the Social Media in a way that reveals new and unknown information the regular press will suddenly be all over it like a cheap suit. 

Today cops, prosecutor, judges and news reporters often scour the Internet to find information on person’s of interest or suspects.  If you move fast enough helpful and self-serving information can be posted for these decision makers to consider.   The defense must exploit every effort to make prosecution of their suspect/client politically unpopular! 

Of course in the George Zimmerman case, it was self-aggrandizing provocateurs such as Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton that created a nefarious Social Media storm. Their efforts even involved the Whitehouse and the nation’s Attorney General.  That abuse of Social Media caused a routine self-defense/justifiable homicide to be transformed into a wrongful murder prosecution. 

The Zimmerman prosecution was brought for purely political purposes rather than tangible evidence.  In fact, one prosecutor has already been indicted for presenting false information to the court in her zeal to please the powerful provocateurs.

There are now two fronts in the War for Justice, the Court of Social Media and the Court of Law.  If you can win in the Social Media Court that may entirely end the controversy.

As a defense investigator I now must use the Social Media at every step of each case along with other computer assisted investigation efforts.  I also have this blog where I cover high profile criminal cases.  I quickly learned the incredible influence my postings have on prosecutors, judges and even jurors!  Jurors are not supposed to research their cases but I have seen first hand that the vast majority of jurors can’t wait to break the rules!

I have a web counter on my blog that allows me to see the ISP, approximate location, computer and browser type of my visitors. I routinely see the ISP of prosecutors, courts and police agencies looking at my stories that are under their review!  I won’t publicly expose just how I learned that jurors do this but I do have solid evidence. 

When it comes to jury selection Social Media has changed that task dramatically and forever.  It’s often incredibly easy now to learn the views of potential jurors.  Any defense attorney in his right mind would exclude those demented followers of media trial advocates like HLN’s Nancy Grace.  However many posters routinely use fake screen names so additional efforts must be made to weed out those trolls.

The way to investigate and handle criminal defense case has changed forever.  Lawyers need to embrace the technology or retire. 

Needless to say I’m available to race with my video gear anywhere I’m needed. 

I will leave you with two examples of Social Media YouTube postings I created that influenced the direction of the case of man involved in a justifiable homicide.  My client was arrested and held on a half-million dollar bond for some six days.  The Grand Jury refused to indict him.  Of course it helped that my client was actually innocent.   A trial murder trial would have taken my clients assets and destroyed him even if a jury acquitted him.

Both of the stories below were followed up by similar stories by the most of the  local media!   Would they have bothered is they had not seen these two?  Did this material help the case that never saw a courtroom? 

I Wrote a Song about a Man Named Karol and Now They're Making him a Saint!

Sue Ann Pinner is a gifted soprano and a dear friend. Together we created Illumination a biographical song about Pope John Paul II.

I’m not really sure how I got involved with this since I’m the kind of Catholic that only seems to remember the importance of religion when my medical examinations get those nasty little red flags or the chips are down.

For me Pope John Paul, II is special. I’ve actually seen him four times. Twice he appeared at my home on the street where I lived and he actually looked up and waived at me. Twice he blessed me from only several feet away. I made no special plans to see the Pope he simply came to me. These things happened as John Paul II was the most traveled Pope in history and made numerous visits to the USA.

Yet another “Pope factor” is that I have another dear friend and that’s Golden Globe and Emmy winning actress, singer and dancer, Ann Jillian. Both Pinner and Jillian are devout Catholics. On September 16, 1987 Pope John Paul II presided over a Mass at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium. Among various singers there were two soloists that sang for the Pope, Ann Jillian and Sue Ann Pinner. Until I introduced them to each other nearly 20 years later these talented ladies never met. Now that’s another coincidence.

When John Paul, II died in 2005, he was the most popular religious leader ever in world history. His popularity crossed every religious and political line.

So one day after hearing a musical composition written by Pinner I suggested we create a biographical story song about this amazing leader of our time.

I have two of Sue Ann Pinner’s videos for you to enjoy. Illumination and a beautiful, haunting and surprising version of Amazing Grace are here for you to enjoy. Trust me, they will rock you!

Celebrating the 4th Of July? Really in 2013?

Patrick Henry

Chicago, IL—I will enjoy the day off, the barbecues and pool parties with friends.  However what we’ve done to the incredible Liberty and Freedom our forefathers shed their blood to give us is an unmitigated disgrace.

Starting with excessive, punishing and extortionate taxation that would even stop King George’s heart we’ve become slaves to our politicians.  

Private enterprise has been destroyed by the taxation as our hopelessly corrupt politicians have surrounded themselves with decadence and the wealth of royalty.  That’s happening while most Americans must live hand to mouth.  

Our rights against unreasonable search and seizure have been outrageously and redundantly violated by government checkpoints where we are frisked, fondled and abused by low-life, uniformed government employees.  Our e-mail has been read and is stored in data warehouses with all of our telephone calls waiting for an opportunity to be used against us.

Our gun rights have been rationed, closely monitored and simply denied by various government jurisdictions for decades.

We are videotaped and our vehicle movement is logged by roving license plate readers.  We are also tracked by the usage of debit and credit cards.

Cowardly venue operators have mimicked the government by frisking Americans attending concerts, sporting events and some amusement parks. 

We have allowed the government the absolute power to secretly arrest and hold us without lawyers or trials without justification.

Americans have taken this abuse in stride like sheep being paraded to the slaughterhouse by a Judas goat.

Our Constitution and the Bill of Rights never contained a provision that allowed for trading freedom for security.  We’ve allowed this encroachment well outside the required political mechanism required to change the Constitution.

Forgive me if I don’t celebrate the 4^th of July until we begin placing our politicians both Democrat and Republican on the gallows where they belong for Treason.

Technology and the American Summer Insurrection of 2013

Sanford, FL—Okay I said it.  I just don’t see this any other way.  I really hope I’m somehow wrong.  Unfortunately, history supports all of my fears.  What’s past is prologue, always.  

Our nation has never been so racially divided or hypersensitive.  The George Zimmerman prosecution has not been able to deliver to the jury the venom and hype the media and the Whitehouse promised.  The allegations of a race based stalking style murder of an innocent lad have been exposed in court as pure baloney.

That Martin/Zimmerman case was a simple instance of justifiable homicide resulting from the use of very necessary deadly force to stop an attack by an athletic young thug. 

It is now more than clear that Trayvon Martin used a sidewalk as a deadly weapon in his effort to murder George Zimmerman by bashing out his brains.    Zimmerman will be finally cleared shortly.  The ignorant masses are not watching the trial, just the verdict.

That case is really as much or more incendiary than even the Rodney King case.  The big difference is today’s Information Age.  Barack Obama convinced and inflamed millions of African-Americans that Zimmerman was guilty.  The Internet has spread this vile poison far and wide.

Accordingly Florida brought a seriously flawed criminal case forward that they knew would never survive in court.  It happened because of raw and malicious political pressure.  That has put millions of African-Americans on edge.   If the many thousands of tweets and other Social Media threats are any indication, America’s big cities are going to see a major bloodbath.

The police will quickly lose any hope of control because they have lost their edge.  It past riots and insurrections police has always had exclusive use of portable communications devices.  They could easily coordinate tactical peacekeeping efforts via two-way radios. 

The police have virtually no experience dealing with rioters with absolute communications parity.  The thought of this is really frightening.  I know that police academies have not really found a way to teach cops how to tactically or otherwise effectively  deal with hostile groups armed with relatively new communications empowerment. 

The game has been changed by millions of cheap, smart phones and the Internet.  Those taking part in violence will quickly outnumber police and coordinate ambushes with gasoline and paint thinner bombs that will defeat even the best police body armor.  Even young children will be texting the positions of police, their numbers and their vehicles.

Police will have little choice but to quickly retreat and it will be civilians fighting for their lives and property without significant law-enforcement resources.  

If you live in or near a large city it would be best to make plans to vacation or otherwise stay away from home as the Zimmerman trial winds down in the coming week or ten days.  At least try and remove your children to safer areas if you can.

If you must stay in the city you will need plenty water, food, fuel, batteries, fire suppression equipment along with firearms and ammunition.  A set of cheap family services radios, will come in handy for when the cell phones are cut off.   You can expect to see the utilities shut down almost immediately. 

I know there will be those people that suggest my advice is crazy and that this will never happen.   I say that recurring insurrections and wars come with the human territory.  We eternally have periods of peace and that of war. 

We cannot forget the massive holocausts that have plagued this earth as long as humans have.   Don’t think for a second that we have evolved. 

It is abundantly obvious we are heading directly into the perfect storm of a despotic police state that will be popular with promises of security at the expense of freedom.

I gave you some guidance but you and your, families, neighbors and friends better quickly have some kind of emergency plans in place.  God help us all.

Daily Mail Exposes Travon Martin as a Criminal

Trayvon Martin suspended THREE times for 'drugs, truancy, graffiti and carrying burglary tool' and did he attack bus driver too? Caught with women's jewelry presumed stolen.  New picture emerges of victim as parents claim it's all a smear

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120504/Trayvon-Martin-case-He-suspended-times-caught-burglary-tool.html#ixzz2XvQlGryl