Over the last week we've seen even the MSM drop the Village kewl kids pose and stand up to criticize the pervasive cruelty, abuse, and illegal use of force "law" enforcement inflicted upon the Twin Cities community.

The torture, sadism, and abuse the Minneapolis Police, St. Paul Police, Ramsey County Sheriffs (and out of town departments) unleashed upon protesters, press, passers-by, and community members took place while Homeland Security and the Secret Service they control were in direct command of all area "law" enforcement and had final authority over all decisions about protests and protesters. In other words, what we saw in the Twin Cities shows us how American local "law" enforcement act in broad daylight when the Feds are on the scene and supervising their work.

"By the time Manson shifted base from Rustic Canyon to an old ranch in Chatsworth, he'd begun formulating the notion that he and his followers had to prepare themselves for a race war with Black America."
Barney Hoskyns (in Hotel California, his take on the Laurel Canyon/Sunset Strip scene)

In this outing, we will be temporarily leaving Laurel Canyon. But don't worry; we won't be traveling far, and we'll be returning soon enough.

Today we will be exploring Rustic Canyon, which lies about nine miles west of Laurel Canyon. It was there, in Lower Rustic Canyon, that Beach Boy Dennis Wilson lived in what Steven Gaines described in Heroes and Villains as "a palatial log-cabin-style house at 14400 Sunset Boulevard that had once belonged to humorist Will Rogers." The expansive home sat on three landscaped acres of gently rolling hills.

©Unknown

The Floor of Upper Rustic Canyon

In the summer of 1968, as is fairly well known, Charlie Manson and various members of his entourage moved in with Wilson. "Tex" Watson, curiously enough, was already living there. As many as two-dozen members of Manson's clan spent the entire summer there, with Wilson picking up the tab for all expenses. The Mansonites (mostly nubile young women) regularly drove Wilson's expensive cars and demolished at least one of them. Dennis didn't seem to mind; he was busy recording Manson in his home studio and inviting fellow musicians, like Neil Young, over to the house to hear Charlie perform (Young was so impressed that he urged Mo Ostin to sign him).

Dennis would later claim that he had destroyed all the Manson demo tapes, that he remembered almost nothing of his time with Charlie and the Family, and that he certainly knew nothing about the Tate and LaBianca murders, which were committed in the summer of 1969, about a year after the Family had vacated the Rustic Canyon residence.

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The end of the line for the stairway leading to the floor of Rustic Canyon

©Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images

"Take the pawn and I'll take your knight." "Yeah, but the Middle East will be open for check." "We'll see about that. Nice ceremony."

While the world slept through the month-long cyclic dream of the Olympic Games, the Axis of Evil took the opportunity to move its pieces onto Russia's doorstep. The Eastern bear responded, and the US/UK/Israeli propaganda machine went into overdrive.

As usual, ordinary people paid a heavy price for this deadly game of global chess.

A few days ago, I received an email from a person named "Angus" who informed me that my article "Racism not defence at the heart of Israeli politics" was causing "quite a stir" in the UK and that he would like some details about me as he was planning to write something in response. From the beginning it was pretty clear what "Angus'" agenda was, but I decided to give the benefit of the doubt, at least to begin with. The exchange that ensued has left us with a much better insight into the minds and methods of those vociferous defenders of Israel that are doing so much in British academic circles to ensure that the Israeli government continues to enjoy immunity for its human rights abuses in Occupied Palestine.

Read on, it's a real trip!

Every year since 2002 the University and College Union (UCU), the largest trade union and professional association for academics working in further and higher education throughout the UK, has attempted to implement some form of boycott of Israeli academic institutions that have been shown to be complicit in the ongoing persecution of the Palestinian people. And each year, amid much acrimony and cries of "anti-semitism", boycotters meet with significant resistance from pro-Israeli members of British academia, and other institutions.

This year however, lowly Sott.net has inadvertently become involved in the melee.

One of the country's most controversial clerics was at the centre of a new controversy yesterday after saying that traditional teaching about the Crucifixion was "repulsive" and made God seem like a "psychopath".

The Dean of St Albans, the Very Rev Jeffrey John, used a Lent talk on BBC Radio 4 last night to attack the Christian theory of penal substitution, which argues that God sent Christ into the world to be punished for the sins of mankind.

The dean's comments in the run-up to Easter were met with outrage from leading evangelicals who said his comments verged on the heretical, even though he attempted to soften his message by adding extra lines on the eve of the broadcast.

Dr John, who was forced to stand down as Bishop of Reading in 2003 after it emerged he was homosexual, although no longer sexually active, said he had been taught that Jesus "took the rap" for our sins, but we got forgiven provided we said we believed in him."

Flood victims on Saturday pelted stones at Supaul administration officials. The victims, who have been virtually left without food, water and shelter, vented their anger at government employees, who went to assess how badly the floods hit the villagers.

Chennai: Fears of a serial 'psychopath' killer stalking the busy Vadapalani and Ashok Nagar areas following 'mysterious' deaths in the recent weeks, were heightened on Thursday after yet another death was reported from the nearby colony.

"Everybody was experimenting and taking it all the way. It opened up a negative force of energy that was almost demonic."
Frank Mazolla, editor of the film Performance

"There were a lot of weird people around. There was one guy who had a parrot called Captain Blood, and he was always scrawling real cryptic things on the inside walls of my house - Neil Young's too."
Joni Mitchell, describing the Laurel Canyon scene at the tail end of the 1960s

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Ricky Nelson

©Wales News Service

Mr Davies was also a Facebook "friend" with one of the recent Bridend victims

A young man has been found hanged in Bridgend - the 23rd tragedy in the town in 20 months.

Rhys Davies, 23, lived in the same part of the town as three of the recent victims - all young men aged between 19 and 28.

Part-time DJ Rhys committed suicide just days before he was due to fly out to Benidorm with friends for a holiday.

He lived in Bettws, just streets away from the 21st suicide victim Neil Owen - who was also due to go on holiday just before he died.