When storage space for seasonal items becomes packed with other items, like things you mean to fix or repair or materials for unfinished projects, outgrown clothing, items the kids left behind when they moved out and many other things that accumulate over time, the job is often much larger that it looks. Be sure to plan ahead before tackling this project; allow twice the amount of time you think it will take to remove the clutter.

Decide what size trash bin or dumpster will be needed to get rid of the trash. You will save yourself a lot of time and trouble just throwing everything into the trash bin rather than stuffing garbage bags, not to mention that huge pile of clutter in the front yard waiting for trash pick-up day.

Be organized when taking on this project. Move the cars and use the driveway as a place to pile everything. Empty the garage completely, sweep it clean and begin reorganizing. This is the time to put up shelves, build a cabinet or install the organizers.

Now that everything is easy to see, you can decide what to keep, what to donate to charity and what gets pitched in the trash bin. Maybe you have things you’ve been meaning to give to a friend or family member, something you borrowed and need to return or things other people left at your home. Have different piles for different categories.

Handle each item just once! Put it in the appropriate pile, on the shelf, in the tool box or in the trash bin. Get rid of whatever you haven’t used in over a year; chances are, you really do not need it and will never use it. Continue with each item until the driveway is clean, the garage is organized and the dumpster is full.

Decide where to store everything. Items like tools or things used on a regular basis should be stored in an easily accessible location. Holiday decorations and seasonal items can be placed on high shelves or up in the rafters area. Remember to allow space for easy access to the lawn mower, bicycles and other large items that will need to be taken in and out regularly. Be sure to make it easy to access with or without the cars being in the garage.

When the project is complete and the dumpster is being rolled away, make a mental note to be more organized in the future; remember how this huge project took all day. Admire your handiwork for a few minutes to appreciate the nicely organized garage you’ve been thinking about and looking forward to all winter. Of course, clutter happens, over time, but a clean-up project this large can be kept down to an annual event if you remember to have a place for everything and keep everything in its place.

This article was written by Sherman Rogers of All-waste, LLC, a dumpster rental company who provides dumpster delivery service and same-day dumpster pick-up service to residential, commercial, retail and industrial customers. Sherman has the size, shape and competitive priced dumpster for any size job. Other services include container service, trash pick-up, hauling rubble, waste removal, delivery of landscaping supplies including mulch, sod, top-soil, crush aggregate and more.

Contact:
ALL WASTE, LLC
4751 22 Mile Road
Shelby Township, MI 48317-1515
Hours: 8:00am – 5:00pm Eastern Time
Monday – Friday (Excluding U.S. holidays)
Phone: 877-524-1002 Fax: 586-254-9936

Web site: http://thegarbageman.com/
Email: sherman@all-waste.com

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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sherman_Rogers

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In these trying financial times it is increasingly difficult to find funding for neighborhood associations. With more need and less funds, there is more competition than ever for money.

One of the most popular events for neighborhood associations to host is a dumpster day. Traditionally, neighborhood associations like to host annual dumpster days to allow neighbors to clean the excess that has gathered throughout the year. This is especially important to low income neighborhoods that are concerned about the neighborhood image and want to bring pride to their neighborhood.

The biggest obstacle to dumpster days is the cost. It isn’t unusual for dumpster days to run upwards of $10,000 – $15,000 for one day. Of course the biggest need for dumpster days is in the poorest neighborhoods. Unless the neighborhood association can secure a sizable grant, it isn’t likely that a poor neighborhood will be able to fund this event by themselves.

What if we approach this problem from a different angle? Suppose that most of the items that get thrown away have value as a recyclable. If most of the items were recyclable then there wouldn’t be a need for dumpsters. And if you could sell the recyclable items, then you could actually make money on this event instead of spending it.

As it happens, the Salvation Army (in San Jose) has piloted a new program that partners with neighborhood associations and local groups for collections. Of course you knew that the Salvation Army accepted donations but here’s what you didn’t know. They don’t just take reusable items, they take unusable items and they take e-waste. They accept all clothing even un-wearable, including shoes, and bail it for recycling as fibers. Old mattresses (fibers), refrigerators (metal), blankets (fibers), cell phones (e-waste), used ink cartridges (recyclable), couches (fiber), glass (recyclable), you begin to get the idea.

Salvation Army gets to keep the money from the recycle but will split the money from the e-waste with the neighborhood association. Depending on the amount of e-waste collected the amount you can expect to collect will vary but could easily range from $300-$1000 depending on prevailing cost, amount collected, and percentage of split negotiated.

So if Salvation Army can take most of the “waste” and recycle it, there would be a lot less space needed for “trash”. I believe the ratio should be around a 5-1 savings in dumpsters. This means that if you expected to spend $10,000 on 5 dumpsters you could now expect to pay $2000 for 1 dumpster and pay for a good portion of it out of the e-waste revenue.

If you combine this event with a prescription drug drop off, hazardous material drop-off, and blood drive, you can create a very dynamic event with very little expense, but huge benefit to the neighborhood.

Remember, these are difficult times and the norms, paying large amounts of money for events, we have come to expect must be challenged.

If you want to see an example of a neighborhood association website and how these events are promoted go to http://www.strawberryparkna.org/

Ed Brooks is a founding officer of the Strawberry Park Neighborhood Association http://www.strawberryparkna.org He serves as a mentor for new neighborhood associations. He has written successful grant requests for his neighborhood and put together very successful neighborhood events.

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Think about this… no one ever thinks they will end up homeless. But it happens. So, the first time someone is hungry and living on the streets, they know eventually they will need to dig in the trash for their next meal. There just seem to be no other options at this point. The first time they actually do, maybe they are disgusted. But they are starving, so they wipe off a piece off half eaten pizza and choke it down. Who knows? Maybe that person is thinking to themselves: “How the hell did I let this happen?” Maybe they puke, or vow to get their act together the very next day. But they don’t. The second time they go dumpster diving, it goes down a little easier. They can somehow stomach the taste a little better. And so, the story goes, by the second week of this they are looking forward to their favorite dumpster and they savor the food like a fine four course meal. It is official; they were desperate and so they resorted to settling for what they never thought they would. DATING IS THE SAME WAY.

Why? Let’s see. I don’t know, maybe you are 30? 40? Divorced? Hear your clock? Saw your eggs packing up little suitcases and telling you to piss off? Or maybe recently you were mowing your grass without your shirt on and a car full of 16 year old girls drove by and yelled, “EEW!” out the window as you stood their steeped in their laughter? And you thought: “It’s impossible to find what I’m looking for. I am LONELY!” So along comes “Mr./Ms. Ok, anything beats this!” And you’re off~!

What does it look like? Ah, you know… they tell you a story on the first date about how they pooped in their pants once, or they talk about how in debt they are, or how they don’t want kids, but they have two. Or maybe they talk about how the last person broke up with them because they were too sensitive, meaning head case, or worse, they are just trying to find the right person because since they have been separated a week, they REALLY know their husband or wife isn’t it.

How does this happen aside from being desperate? Why do we settle? I think that sometimes we think, if we settle and pick someone just a tad dumber than we like, less nice, less patient, understanding, and less communicative that we might as well suck it up. This can happen especially if we have had our heart broken by the prom king/queen. Then, we attribute our broken heart to their good looks or their ability to converse as if it were a competitive sport.

I know you are sick of hearing that “It will happen when you aren’t looking”. I know that you are really tired and fed up with what you think the dating pool has become. But what you are doing when you dumpster dive is not only selling yourself short; you are wasting your precious time.

I’m going to tell you again that you are worth it. When you see the red flags, you gotta run. You have to run and not look back. When someone calls you names, judges you without mercy, wants you to be a different person other than who you are, or makes you feel bad about who you are in any way…it’s time to split. Don’t you know that you are ruining your confidence for the next person? Don’t you know that every time you lower your standards it gets a little easier and easier? Soon, you will be driving up and down the road looking for traveling carnies with a six pack and an open mind. Don’t do it.

I love you, TO YOU!

Coach Heidi

Copyright May 21, 2008. All Rights Reserved. You may reprint this article of you do so in its entirety.

Heidi Bilonick, PCC

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Dumpsters are available in a range of sizes and shapes to accommodate any size job for homeowners, business and construction sites. You can get a 2 cubic yard mini dumpster or a 30 cubic yard roll-off dumpster, an many sizes in between. The large roll-off dumpster is usually carried to the site on the back of a truck with arms that lift it on and off the truck.

Some dumpsters have drop-front or drop-side doors convenient for homeowners who wish to wheelbarrow their trash directly into the dumpster. This dumpster is in high demand during the spring and summer months, so book ahead.

If you are a homeowner with a small yard, or it is fenced in or otherwise unable to accommodate a dumpster, you will need to check with your city or township about leaving the dumpster on the street. The dumpster company should be able to provide proper lights for the dumpster for safety purposes, if it will be in the street overnight.

Dumpster rental companies use different bases for their fees. Some charge a flat, daily or weekly fee; others charge by the load or by the ton. Ask around to see what is available and how the fees are structured to be sure you’re getting the best deal and the appropriate size and shape dumpster to suit your needs.

If you are planning a spring-clean up of your yard, basement, or garage consider renting a dumpster to save time on disposing of the rubble. This way you won’t have the unsightly stack of trash bags and rubble piled up in front of your home waiting for your regular trash service. A reputable dumpster rental service will pick up the dumpster as soon as you are through with it, so your clean-up project is complete and the trash is hauled away immediately.

This article was written by Sherman Rogers of All-waste, LLC, a dumpster rental company who provides dumpster delivery service and same-day dumpster pick-up service to residential, commercial, retail and industrial customers. Sherman has the size, shape and competitive priced dumpster for any size job. Other services include trash pick-up, hauling rubble, waste removal, delivery of landscaping supplies including mulch, sod, top-soil, crush aggregate and more.

Contact:
ALL WASTE, LLC
4751 22 Mile Road
Shelby Township, MI 48317-1515
Hours: 8:00am – 5:00pm Eastern Time
Monday – Friday (Excluding U.S. holidays)
Phone: 877-524-1002 Fax: 586-254-9936

Web site: http://thegarbageman.com/
Email: sherman@all-waste.com

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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sherman_Rogers

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One of the most notorious cases of identity theft prosecuted was a case of dumpster diving. Dumpster diving is when someone goes through other people’s trash looking for items they can use or sell.

In most cases, the dumpster diver is looking for clothing or household items, discarded by others, but useful to them. Some are even looking for food. Most dumpster divers are harmless; some are homeless and the items they’re looking for are necessary to their survival.

Then there are the dumpster divers who are desperate; they’re hooked on drugs and looking for whatever they can find to sell and finance their next fix. Back in the 1990′s, Stephen Massey leader of an identity theft ring, meth addict and dumpster diver, stumbled upon the idea of stealing identities when he found barrels of recycled paper in a dump. These barrels contained everything he needed including names, addresses, birth dates and social security numbers.

Massey and his partner were caught and imprisoned in the year 2000. This case led to certain legislative acts forcing corporations and businesses to handle personal information more responsibly. Many use paper shredding services to dispose of paper containing personal and confidential information on their customers.

Corporations and business handling personal information with care is good, but people need to do this at home as well. Dumpster divers also go through trash cans; many have the trash pick-up routes down pat and their own schedules as to when they’ll be in each neighborhood.

Office supply stores sell small paper shredders for homeowners as well as larger, commercial grade shredders for businesses. Very soon, paper shredders will be as common of a household item as the microwave oven.

People should be using care when throwing out junk mail, especially those annoying pre-approved credit card and mortgage loan letters which many people just throw out without opening. These are a great commodity to the identity thief; just what they need to get started in business.

In addition to identity theft, dumpster divers also pose a liability risk to business owners who have dumpsters. Most dumpster rental services provide dumpsters that can be locked at night.

This article was written by Sherman Rogers of All-waste, LLC, a dumpster rental company who provides dumpster delivery service and same-day dumpster pick-up service to residential, commercial, retail and industrial customers. Sherman has the size, shape and competitive priced dumpster for any size job. Other services include container service, trash pick-up, hauling rubble, waste removal and delivery of landscaping supplies including mulch, sod, top-soil, crush aggregate and more.

Contact:
ALL WASTE, LLC
4751 22 Mile Road
Shelby Township, MI 48317-1515
Hours: 8:00am – 5:00pm Eastern Time
Monday – Friday (Excluding U.S. holidays)
Phone: 877-524-1002 Fax: 586-254-9936

Web site: http://thegarbageman.com/
Email: sherman@all-waste.com

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sherman_Rogers

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Dumpster Diving is when people go through commercial or residential garbage and waste to obtain and use food and other materials that may be beneficial to them. This type of waste isn’t the usual Wax Packaging, Seafood Packaging or Poultry Boxes. Instead it’s food, clothing, furniture and other things that can either be used, recycled or sold for a profit to benefit people in need. There are many dumpster diving organizations that perform this practice to help the homeless people in their neighborhoods. What some people and companies consider to be garbage, dumpster divers turn it into profitable and substantial good for people in need.

Many restaurants and grocery stores have to, by law, get rid of food after the established expiration date. This includes fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and packaged goods. Many times these items are still good, fresh and tasty. For instance, there was a grocer in a major city whose General Mills cereal had a flaw in the cereal box. They had to dispose of almost 100 containers of cereal that had never been opened and was a fresh as can be. People retrieved this product from the dumpsters and took it to a nearby homeless shelter. This food fed over 800 homeless people breakfast. What is considered to be waste in this case proved to be extremely helpful for many people in need of food.

Many people when they move from one home to another will dispose of clothing, furniture and other household goods in an effort to make room for new things. When ‘dumpster divers’ find such materials in the trash, they will collect them, wash them and distribute them to people who can’t afford to buy for themselves. An old work blouse may be trash to one woman while being new work clothes for another. It’s this type of recycling that benefits people in need and gives them an opportunity to have new things to wear. Also furniture finds are often donated to people who are just starting out in new homes or apartments. Dumpster divers help an old table and chairs find its way from a garbage can into someone else’s kitchen. Again, this provides needy people with things they otherwise couldn’t afford.

Some dumpster divers will take miscellaneous things they find in the trash and make unique pieces of art out of them. They then sell this artwork to raise money that’s donated to homeless people. For instance, there is a man who is part of a dumpster diving organization in Philadelphia who searches for stuff to make lamps. His lamps are one of a kind pieces of art that sell for thousands of dollars. While his investment is only his time in finding the objects and the creation of the lamp, he is able to raise incredible amounts of money for homeless people. This type of recycling allows one man to give back by being creative yet not having to dip into his own wallet.

Dumpster Diving may not be for everyone. However, the people who do choose to do this activity have the opportunity to be very beneficial for people in need. The treasures, food, clothing and other goods that can be found in someone’s trash can turn into a meal, money or a benefit for another person in need.

Author Connor Sullivan writes about wax packaging and other forms of packaging. He also writes about seafood packaging and other forms of packaging.

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America: Police State Incorporated
 by: Andy Carloff

Dedication…

To my street crew…

Jeff Stewart, Pockets, Humble, Twitch, Stray, Skittles, Bear, Beast, and Johnny and Heather…

Introduction

Unlike many of my other works, this piece is not about theory or ideology. It does not discuss evidence, or reasoning, or logic, as to the ideas that I believe about society. Rather, it is a confession, of the things I have witnessed, as I was a homeless person. There is some discussion of ideology and beliefs in the following pages. But, it must be understood that the topic of this paper is what I had personally witnessed while being homeless. The location of this was in southern Louisiana, in and around New Orleans (other towns include Metairie and Gretna). The time frame of this is December to March, including Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”). And now, I tell my story…

My Time on the Streets

When a person becomes homeless, their relation to society is entirely changed. I had once been siting on the sidewalk, with my friends who themselves were asking for change, and a person comes up and gives them a plastic compass, remarking, “Here, this is so you can get some direction in your life.” The homeless themselves are a divided class. Among them, there are gutter punks (the class I belonged to), who were renowned for their particular taste of violence, sex, and alcohol. Gutter punks tended to be younger, but could range in age from 12 to age 50, and probably much older. Among the gutter punks, there were even more divisions, including street kids, street punks, and peace punks (sometimes called “Crass Kids,” because that is one of the prominent bands of all peace punks). Street kids are just young homeless people. Street punks are street kids who like punk. And peace punks are anti-war, anti-America, Communist and Anarchist. Gutter punks typically had an image which society has portrayed as “violent.” We had mohawks (often times spiked and dyed), leather jackets with studs in them, and boots that went up to our knees. Then there was the typical bum, or “home bum,” who carried around an amount of property twice his own weight. That was one essential difference between the homebums and the gutter punks: the first sometimes never made the whole transition frome homed to homeless. Since we are homeless, there must be an understanding, that there is no place to put your property. Thus, those who have more property, must carry it, it becoming a burden to them. Essentially, those who have a limited amount of property, will be most comfortable in the homeless lifestyle. If we gutter punks ever carried anything more than the clothes on our own back, it was a bagpack that had a sleeping bag attached to the bottom of it.

It was walking down Gov Nicholls street in the French Quarter of New Orleans that I realized there was a true comradery among the homeless, the comradery typically being stronger among the home bums. I was walking with my friend Humble (and it must be understood, that almost all homeless people go by a nickname). After successfully shoplifting food from a Walgreens, he told me, “That’s what I believe. Steal from the companies. Give to the people.” And so that was our routine. I remember once, a truck came up to a restaurant, depositing two enormous bags of fresh bread and leaving it on the door. My friends and I grabbed the bags and took off. Since we had such a great surplus of subsistence, we immediately spread it out. Every homebum and gutter punk we came to, we gave them a great amount of bread. Even when we were walking through the ghettos to our squat, we gave bread to everyone we saw. The elderly African folk, sitting on their porches, their eyes probably having seen more conflict that I could imagine… they seemed old and tired, and we hoped that the bread we gave them would help give them the strength to dream again. It may seem odd to someone who is not homeless, how this may happen, how these transactions may occur. But, as we were walking down the street, one of us would notice a person living in poverty, and we would say, “Hey, you want some bread, brother?” They would smile and obligingly take some. I remember that day that we stole that bread from the restaurant. It was a good day, and food was had for the starving masses.

That was one thing about us in the ghetto though. Almost everyone in the ghetto was African in descent, and almost everyone there was working a shitty $5.35 job at some tourist store, just so that someone can take a plane to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and pay fucking $50 for a piece of shit tourist product, that initially cost $2.50 to make. And every single one of them shared a two bedroom apartment with six individuals, if they happened to be lucky. Once I was invited to an apartment, to spend the night, and I was the fifth person sharing a single bed. I have seen, on occasion, 10 to 15 individuals sharing a “sleeping room,” a single room which is approximately 10 feet long by 6 feet wide. It has a bed, and maybe a cupboard, depending on the particular sleeping room. You open the door, and there’s your bed. Hence the term “sleeping room.” Of course, the incident of 15 people sharing one of these rooms is an exception. The rule would be closer to 4 to 6 people sharing this room, as I have seen in numerous cases, including children as young as 10 years old. For the Africans who lived in the ghetto, maybe they weren’t working at the local tourist shop, convincing foreigners to fork over an unreasonable amount of money for something that has no value. Maybe they weren’t in the French Market, selling wooden chopsticks for $8 a pair. Maybe the were washing dishes for $3 an hour under the table, because their employer refused to hire them otherwise. Maybe they were holding a fucking sign that said, “Buy Furniture At Joe’s!” on the freeway, convincing baby boomers to take that next exit to the Furniture Heaven.

There was indeed a certain prejudice between the blacks and the whites of the south. The ghetto may have contained one white person for every one hundred blacks. This I can confirm, from the various ghettos that we traveled to and about. Sometimes Africans were hateful towards Caucasions, because they could tell that they were getting a bitter deal. On the other hand, there were many Africans who didn’t care and were brotherly and fair with all they had met. But, to those Africans who were vengeful towards whites, for any past aggressions that may have been incurred, among 100 of them, fewer than 5 would still hold aggressions towards the gutter punks. The reasons for this are easy to decipher… Gutter punks were homeless. We were poor, probably a thousand times poorer than any African in the ghetto. We got fucked by the system, too. They didn’t look to us suspiciously, because they knew who we were, what we wanted, and what we were looking for.

Why were we in the ghetto? For the most part, we went to the ghetto to get in a squat — an abandoned building which we would retire to sleep in once we had become tired and drunk enough. I remember those cold nights, the wind whipping at my back, as I clenched my trench coat over my body, marching to get to that abandoned building, where I may sleep… And I remember what everyone had said about walking in the ghetto at night. “You’ll get robbed, raped, and killed, and not in that order.” It didn’t matter to a gutter punk, ever. Because violence to us was its own reward. I never held this personal view, but it was something I had to deal with if it arrose. And, I confess, there were some instances where I would have engaged in violence, but I refused to, on account of my rationalization of Pacifism and peace. When walking through these ghettos, I could not help but remember pictures of the Warsaw Ghetto. These people have no means to leave, except to become homeless. Worse of all, probably their greatest problem may be drug addiction. Walking down the street, one is liable to see at least one syringe on the ground for every block. Crack users/dealers typically hold their $10, 2-minute piece of heaven in their mouth. There is also a tactic among crackheads on obtaining items, that involves smacking someone in the hand, and capturing what they drop — this works typically with money or drugs. That is why crackheads hold crack in their mouth. And, if cops are to obtain them, they swallow it.

Squats… Apply whatever romantic idea to it you want that you got from literature, but there’s nothing enjoyable about sleeping on shards of broken glass, because if you slept on the pavement, you would be arrested. There’s nothing appealing about the idea of climbing onto the roof of a building, and smashing the window so that you can gain access, your heart pumping a thousand miles an hour, listening intently for sirens so that you can know when to run, so you can know that you failed. There’s no happiness, when the temperature goes down to 17 degrees, and all you have is the clothes on your back and walls to stop the wind. I have, on occassion, laid on the wooden floor of a squat, in a ball, trying to capture that fleeting mystic hope of sleep… and I would reach to pull on my clothes, and as I touched my skin, I would feel the damp coldness of my own flesh. I would ignore it, because it didn’t matter. Not to anyone else, anyway. And that is one aspect that is completely destroyed from the psychology of a street person — you never get depressed, no matter how shitty things get, unless you have a reason to be depressed. And homelessness is certainly no reason.

There seemed to be a semi-friendly atmosphere among gutter punks. They would share among each other the location of squats, how to get into them. There also seemed to be the secret code among all gutter punks, the word “oi!” Upon entering a suspected squat, yell out “oi!” If you hear it back, then it’s a squat with squatters. There are also unspoken rules among squatters. For instance, if you find an abandoned building, and someone is squatting there, and they don’t want you there, you have to leave. Why is this? Because the streets tend to be a violent place. I am not denying that gutter punks could be violent. On the contrary, many of them indulged in violence, the way a person may indulge in drug use. So, there is an understanding between gutter punks. Without knowing anything about another gutter punk, you know this one fact: they could pull out a knife or a baton, and hurt you physically in a matter of 15 seconds, so to those who one is not acquianted with, they usually prefer a distance — at least, when you’re in the place that your sleeping. Plus, squat sizes are preferred to be small. No more than six people at most. The reason for this is to keep the noise to an absolute minimum. In the Diary of Anne Frank, for instance, the family that was hiding from the Jews had to keep absolutely quiet during the day. For us, there was another rule: never go to your squat until dark, and leave once the sun rises. Cops and police officers raid squats only during the day time, unless there is too much noise or disturbance at one.

That brings us to the greatest conflict of every homeless person: the law. It may have been ably stated by every writer of the past millenium, that the law exists not to end crime, but to persecute the poor and elevate the rich. There are laws, on the lawbooks of this date, which a person can be arrested for, including: Obstruction of a Public Passage, Intent to Impersonate a Sidewalk, Leaning with Intent to Fall, Obstruction of the Flight Path of a Pigeon, Begging, Vagrancy (not having photo identification on you), Transience (not having a home), Disrespecting a Police Officer, Disorderly Conduct, Disturbing the Peace, Obstruction of the Due Process of Law, the list goes on, with a law existing that prohibits almost every erroneous activity. At the height of this police state, we find the crime of Vagrancy, that it is illegal to not have either money (which will be quickly appropriated by any investigating officer) or photo ID, which shows shades of 1984 and F451. The police do not arrest people on violating these crimes. That is the popular misconception of the rule. If you walk on the sidewalk, you are fulfilling the requirements for the crime of “Obstruction of a Public Passage.” I have personally seen people arrested for this crime. I have been told from a friend, that when he was walking down the street in Oklahoma City, the police stopped him and asked him if he had any sharp objects on him, before arresting him. As you can tell, any person who uses the sidewalk is effectively breaking the law. It would be too obvious if the law were to make it illegal to breath air, but that is essentially what it is implying: that they may arrest you, and imprison you, for terms of years of the aforementioned crimes. What is it then that the police do? They make “sweeps,” going from street to street, sometimes with vans, arresting as many homeless people as they can, on the before mentioned charges. Those who are committing the same crimes, but are not homeless, are not questioned. The prerequisite of being homeless or homed tends to be the clothes you wear. Gutter punks and homebums stand out.

When I was arrested, it was perhaps the most horrific experience of my entire life. I can compare it with nothing else. They took me, fingerprinted me, booked me, and then threw me in a holding cell. In here, I was standing with about thirty others, at least 95% of them black, and 20% of them enduring through a psychotic episode (those who are diagnosed by a psychiatrist for mental disorders are often withheld their medication for a period of time up to months). The room itself was about twice the size of a sleeping room, and proportionately to the amount of people, it was smaller. There was not enough room for everyone to sit down — which reminded me of the descriptions of conditions on slave ships. I was in this room for a total of 13 hours straight, of which we were once fed soggy, tunafish sandwiches. I had been accustomed to, at this point, eating dumpster food. And even this prison food was comparatively inedible. Finally, we were thrown in our cells, and awaiting to see the judge. Here, in prison, we waited, under the greatest hypocrisy known to us. INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY! Fucking tell that to my face when I was sitting in a jail cell with nothing but the accusation of a cop who likes to beat up children. In jail, I did not personally see anyone beaten by a cop. I had seen, however, a cop do an inspection of the Holding Cell, and a suspect started cussing him out. He said, “Get the fuck out of here, you motherfucking pig!” The cop responded, “Asshole… You wait until night time comes and you’re behind those prison bars,” waving his baton. The cop would leave. A minute would pass, and another cop would call out that same inmate. Thirty minutes would pass till we see him again. He was limping. Nobody else seemed to really notice, but it wasn’t that. It was just so common, so obvious, so typical of every cop, that it’s not even a shock anymore. The cops don’t exist to protect and serve. They are the American gestapo, persecuting, beating, arresting, beating, raping. They spend years learning to attack and kill people, and then they are given free reign over the life and liberty of every person in society.

Why do they arrest us? The answer is obvious to any homeless person. We are arrested because we make the city ugly. Especially in such a tourist trap town as New Orleans, we are jailed up by police officers because we make the city ugly. I can easily prove this. Around Christmas (when I was arrested) and Mardi Gras, as well as New Years or any other tourist time, arrests will jump by at least 10 times. I have seen, in jail, up to four or five people, sharing a single cell that was built for only two. There have also been homeless people to freeze to death in jail. This cannot be so hard to believe. Since the walls are made of stone, there’s a typical coldness to it all. And since you are never given a blanket (though there’s a 50% chance you’ll find something resembling a blanket in your cell), it can be easy to see how someone would freeze to death in prison. So, this one goes out to a downed comrade: RIP “Cornbread.” It was too cold that night, he was in HOD (House of Detention) on the top floor, where it was the coldest, and they found him stiff the next morning.

My friend, Bear, was arrested by the police for Aggrivated Assault, because he attacked someone with a knife. I called the police department, and asked about him. He had to serve 45 to 60 days before he would see a judge. Two fucking months, with nothing but an accusation. But, only two weeks would pass, and I would see him on the street again. They had released him early, because the prison was too packed with people who had committed crimes like, “Obstruction of a Public Passage,” and the “The First Amendment Doesn’t Really Exist/Disrespecting a Police Officer.” When I was arrested, I was not read my rights. All I heard was, “If you try to run, I will shoot and kill you.” All I saw was a gun pointing in my face. Nobody saw a lawyer. In fact, the idea that you get to see a lawyer is absolute fucking bullshit. If you plead not guilty to any crime, you must automatically serve 21 days in prison, so that a trial can be set up. The crime, however, of “Criminal Trespassing,” carries with it only 10 days. If you plead guilty, you serve 10 days. If you plead not guilty, you serve 21 days. If you can make bail, that’s great. You don’t have to serve 21 days. But what does this reconfirm? The law exists for the rich, and not for the poor. If you think that a homeless person can make a $5000, think again. And, even after those 21 days, if you fail to prove you’re innocent, and you ask for “Time Served” — which means those 21 days of waiting for trial will be deducted from your sentence — there’s a good chance you’ll be denied it. So, those days you spent in prison, not convicted of anything, outweigh however long you’ll spend in prison, for the actual sentence. And it is the job of the police to snatch up as many people as they can on the streets. When I was waiting to see the judge so I could give a plea, a seven day waiting period, I had seen people leave and reenter the prison system. “You were here when I was released, and you still haven’t talked to the judge?” one home bum would ask me, as I saw him again on the inside. I saw one person say to the judge, “But I was never read my rights,” and the judge responded, “When you had cuffs put on, you should have been able to tell you were being arrested.” And finally, when before the judge, he asks you two questions, “Do you have a job or are you in school? Do you have a home?” That is all he needs to know before he gives you a sentence.

I remember after my trial, we had all been lined up. One of the guards decided it was her duty to lecture us. “You’re all a garbage,” she said, “You all need to get a job and learn to respect yourselves. I can’t even stand to look at you. You all need to start paying taxes and stop stealing. You’re just making it harder on everyone else.” I didn’t say anything. I “knew my place,” as they might say, but this only translates to: if you voice your opinion, you won’t be breathing after five minutes of their reaction. An Anarcho-Communist doesn’t last long in jail, when he makes his opinions prevalent. If I said, “Maybe we wouldn’t be stealing if we were paid a living wage,” I could guarantee you that I would have more scars to show you than I do now. Asside from all that, the most dissapointing fact about prison was that when I asked if there was a prison library, I was given some Christian propaganda. I was hoping for some Thomas Paine at least. I remember my friend Humble getting arrested. He saw his two friends arrested, so he gave each of them a cigarette while they were in cuffs. As he was walking away, he was grabbed by a cop and arrested. But what crime could he possibly commit? Simple: Obstruction of a Public Passage, Begging, and Vagrancy. After all, giving cigarettes to your friend ought to be a felony offense. If you can’t see the obvious nature of that, try telling that to the next cop you see, and then spend the next 6,000 hours in jail wishing that the First Amendment actually meant something. I had seen friends driving the most beat up pickup truck, with the words “FUCK THE POLICE” spray-painted on the side. They had been stopped three times in as many miles, until they were arrested.

Shoplifting became my trade. It was how I acquired the name “Robin Hood.” It seemed to be rather romantic in itself, if everything else was wretched. Every day, I would go to a Walgreens or a grocery store, and steal, ripoff, five finger discount, shoplift, whatever the fuck you want to call it. Then I would go throughout the city, distributing food to the poor families. My attitude was, “I did it yesterday, I did it today, and I can know when I wake up tomorrow, I’ll be doing it again.” But sometimes, it was too hard. I remember walking out of the door of a store, and hearing the alarm, and then just bolting down the street, running as fast as I possibly could. I remember running from the cops with my street brother Pockets. It was me, him, and his dog. We ran zig-zagging blocks, the only way that you can possibly escape from the police. And we got away. I remember having to run from mounted police. The only thing I could do was run into a crowd and disappear as best as I possibly could. I remember my friend Johnny. He ran from cops when some squatters in their tents were busted. As the cops moved in, all of the squatters ran. Never in your life had you seen so many people running from cops, struggling to be free, and often times being beaten in the face with a baton, as I had seen. That is what it’s like no the streets of America. Screaming “stop hitting me!” to the police officer who is smashing your face, and then getting a Disturbing the Peace charge because of it. Maybe it was because in Maine, thousands of dairy farmers dumped milk into the ground, just to raise the price of all dairy products, of which we still couldn’t afford at the moment. Not to mention that my friend Pockets or Humble or Twitch may have been working at $5 a day (the going rate for a homeless person) delivering or producing that milk, only so that they can starve to the point where they have to steal food to feed themselves and their family. And then they can go to jail, and serve two months in prison, the way my friend George served for stealing two cans of soda, and you can’t show the judge any records of employment, because you won’t be hired unless you will be paid under the table. None of this, which, the police give a shit about, because they’re making a bonus on EVERY ARREST — legal and illegal — that they get, so to them it’s a matter of spotting someone who has no financial means of defending themselves in court, so the homeless are the primary target. Meanwhile, my other friends are paid minimum wage so they can build a statue of the mayor on the waterfront, and so that they can go home at night to an overcrowded apartment with maybe rice or peanutbutter as their only food.

Earlier, when I talked about myself and Pockets running from the cops, he told me later that he considered letting the dog loose. Why is this? Police are notorious for killing pets and dogs that belong to homeless people. There is, in actuality, no real penalty incurred upon them for doing this. Since it’s not a human being, they reason, it has no rights. I have, personally, seen dogs shot by cops. It is an old pasttime of police officers to burn down squats, or to shoot up squats. I remember seeing one dog who had been shot by a police officer. There was an entry wound in the chest and an exit wound on the side. It had never seen anything so tragic, so terrible… Fortunately, there was a veterinarian in New Orleans who took care of the animals of homeless people free of charge mostly. His name was Dr. Mike, and he set up shop on North Rampart. How is it, one may inquire, that the poorest of the poor, can obtain and sustain animals? Mostly, these dogs are better fed than their masters. I remember Pockets describing the two dogs that he had owned. “It’s gonna be 20 fucking degrees man, but I’ll have one dog on my chest and one dog on my legs, and we’ll keep each other warm,” he told me. Pockets was a Humanitarian. Both of his dogs he had found running loose in the ghetto, without a collar or a leash. He had taken them to the vet, though, and registered them, and paying for shots and vaccination — all with money that he had obtained through spanging, or asking people for spare change. I remember a middle class man threatening us to get out of the dog park, because he didn’t like homeless people — and after all, who the fuck would? He threatened to tell the police that Pockets knowingly had a dog on Rabis and that the dog had to be killed. Of course, Pockets carried the vaccination proof on him at all times. Though he seemed to lose everything else, he never lost that. But the cop would have no problem with shooting the dogs, anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised for shit if that was part of the job description: “Must aid in the liquidation of all animals, human and non-human.” My friend Humble had a kitten, who was adoringly named “squat,” who he had found homeless in a junk yard, much like another friend had obtained a gerbil, still in its cage, in the dumpster.

Many gutter punks and homeless people, including the home bums, are all politically minded. I had heard one of them talking to another, “Yeah, I was arrested with my girlfirend for sleeping in the park,” — “Yeah, that’s because it’s tourist season, and you look bad for the industry,” — “And the fucked part is that I fucking live here. They throw my ass in jail so that someone from two thousand fucking miles away can spend their money.” They may have lacked the language that had been used by every poet and writer of the past centuries, but what they had was what no philosopher or statesmen could possibly have discovered. Everywhere I went, I saw the words, “FIGHT WAR NOT WARS” and “DESTROY POWER NOT PEOPLE.” These were slogans inscribed by peace punks. The last thing I remember writing on a wall with a sharpie in New Orleans was, “They drop fire on people, but they won’t let them write ‘fuck’ on their airplanes, because it is obscene!” A classic quote from “Apocalypse Now,” and rather fitting. I remember seeing a newspaper machine, and in thick sharpie was written the word, “PROPAGANDA!!!” I remember seeing a poster that said, “It’s a bigger problem than you think,” and at the bottom reading, “Premature birth.” But that had been scratched out, and the word “GOVERNMENT” had been placed there. Pockets was particularly fond of poetry that dealt with meaning and purpose, and was an avid reader of Kahlil Gabrahm. My friend Beast went to the free poetry slams and read his material. He had a backpack, and the only thing he kept in it was notebooks of poetry. And I remember leaving a homeless hang out, and reading on the wall, “I made a god, out of blood, not superiority, I killed the king, of deceit, raise me up, in anarchy.” And they were but lyrics to the song “Anarchy,” by KMFDM.

Those were my days, among the “wretched refuse” that we may be called. I wish we didn’t have to face the dangers that we did, but I’m glad that at least we had each other. So, maybe we did find something that was worth eternity, even though we’re the poorest class. I tried to explain it to a friend of mine. I told her… Because we had to face the danger of street life together, our bonds were all the more stronger. We did not develop a unity by some imaginary foe, the way a government may use propaganda in a war. We created a family through working together, with the constraints that we have under the present regime. We could survive through anything together, because we were as one. Take the greatest draught, the worst famine, the most horific plague, and you will find a squatter shivering, skin tightly wrapped around bone and lack of nourishment, and a diseased body, but you will find him surviving, because if there is one thing we can do, that is it. But maybe that’s not entirely true. It wasn’t so much that we could survive, but with what we had found, with each other, it didn’t matter if we did or not… because we had something that made each day an eternity. We refused to bargain with society. We made no compromises. Even if it kills us, we will be free. And so it has killed some of us. But they are not the martyrs of freedom, so much as they are the casualties in the battle for liberty.

www.punkerslut.com

For Life,

Punkerslut

About The Author

Punkerslut (or Andy Carloff) has been writing essays and poetry on social issues which have caught his attention for several years. His website www.punkerslut.com provides a complete list of all of these writings. His life experience includes homelessness, squating in New Orleans and LA, dropping out of high school, getting expelled from college for “subversive activities,” and a myriad of other revolutionary actions.

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How To Keep Your Wallet Safe From Pickpoketers

Majority of people consider identity theft as an electronic crime. But the truth is that only 11% of identity theft happens as a result of online spam and more than 50% of identity theft that occurs in the US is due to pickpocketing as well as other ways such as dumpster diving, cloning your card details using a special kind of device, and stealing your mailbox. In fact, being alert all times and safeguarding your wallet from pickpocketing can help you to prevent identity theft to an extension. Discussed further in this article are some important tips to keep your wallet safe from pickpocketers.

As the first step, always keep your wallet close. Avoid keep it in your back pocket or in your jacket’s side pocket, especially when you are in a busy airport or metro station or while walking along a crowded street. It is advisable to carry your wallet in your front pocket. If you prefer to store your wallet in your jacket’s interior pocket, then don’t forget to zip your jacket.

A bulky or fatty wallet can easily draw the attention of a thief or a pickpocketer. Hence, slim down your wallet when you go outside. It is recommended not to carry more than one credit card or debit card in your pocket. Likewise, don’t carry too much of money in your pocket. If you carry ATM card in your pocket, it is better to store its pin number in your mobile. Further, never carry such critical information as social security card in your wallet, as it can be used by thieves to commit some serious crimes.

Equally important is to organize your wallet in proper way via removing all unwanted bills from it. In addition, prior to leaving from the home, maintain a list of items that you carry in your wallet, as you cannot rely your memory all times. When you return home, just verify the list in order to ensure that all your documents are safe.

Aforementioned are just few tips to safeguard your wallet. However, if a thief adept in his field, sometimes nothing can stop him from stealing the wallet containing valid information. One of the best options to overcome such situations is to use iWallet – the high tech cash and credit wallet introduced by Iwallet Corp. A specialty of this wallet is that it could be opened or accessed only if it recognizes your finger print. In other words, once y
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our finger is associated with its incorporated biometric scanner, only you could open and access it.

By: Steve Cabouli

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Know about iWallet, the new technology wallet that is specially designed to prevent identity theft. Find more information about iWallet online from iWalletusa.com

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Shoppers Beware – ‘Tis The Season
 by: James H. Dimmitt

It’s the number one complaint from consumers and it only takes a moment for you to become a victim. While you search for holiday bargains, identity thieves are searching for targets – unsuspecting consumers. Here are some tips to help you safeguard your identity and other valuables:

1) Protect your account numbers – Most stores only print the last four or five digits of the charge account on your receipt. However, some stores haven’t caught up with technology. If the merchant makes an impression of your charge card, be sure to ask for any carbons that are part of the receipt. “Dumpster divers” can lift account numbers from discarded carbons to steal your identity and your account information.

2) Protect Your Social Security Number – If you are asked to provide a SSN when making a purchase, challenge the cashier as to why they need this information. Request that some other form of ID be used instead of your SSN. There is no valid reason for them to request this information. You provided it when you applied for your account so they should already have this on file.

However, if you’ve opened a new account, don’t be surprised if the cashier asks to see some form of picture ID, such as a driver’s license. Don’t view this as an imposition, remember that the store is actually taking steps to protect you – making sure that you are the account holder.

3) Keep an eye on your charge cards and receipts – Don’t let your charge card leave your sight. Most cashiers will keep your card so that they can verify the signature on the receipt. However, sometimes they simply swipe your card, then hand it back to you or put it on the counter for you to retrieve. Check that the card you’ve been given back is yours and not someone else’s. Occasionally, mistakes can happen, especially when the store is busy.

Also, make sure that you take your receipts with you. You’ll need them to verify your purchases when your bills come in January and February.

4) Watch for pickpockets – Professional pickpockets love the holiday shopping season. Open backpacks, large shopping bags and unstrapped purses are a pickpockets dream. “Be wary of the distractions around you, because that’s what the pickpockets like. They usually work in teams,” said Edward Gross, a Chicago police officer. “They usually work in teams. For example, one of the team members fakes a fall and when an innocent person tries to help that’s when the other pickpocket lifts the victim’s wallet.”

5) Use a credit card and a secure site when shopping online – Paying by credit card is the safest way to pay online. It protects your legal right to dispute charges for goods or services never received, never ordered or misrepresented.

When you get to the merchant’s payment page, the “http” at the beginning of the url address should change to “https” or “shttp”. This is a sign that the site is encrypting or scrambling your credit card information as you send it to them. Many browsers will even alert you of this via a pop-up window. Whenever possible, print and keep a receipt of your online transaction in case you need it later.

Happy Holidays!

About The Author

© 2004, www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com

James H. Dimmitt is editor of “TO YOUR CREDIT”, a weekly free newsletter to help you manage your personal finances. Subscribe to the newsletter by visiting http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com. He is also author of “Identity Theft – How to Avoid Becoming the Next Victim!” available at http://tinyurl.com/bc45.

With dumpsters, the world appears to have gone clean! Not only do they have immense industrial and residential benefits, but they also prove fruitful when talking about environmental issues. With renting or buying dumpsters, is in itself an extremely unique process which saves your time as well as your money. In fact, while looking out for a dumpster, one must consider various factors like its size, its storage capacity, its price and the location that it would be placed in, plus the kind of waste material that it is expected to be used for dumping. However, this certainly does not mean, that you can dump anything and everything into the dumpsters. Considering their properties, their qualities and their capacities, there exists a list of items which must be prevented from being thrown into the dumpster. These include-

1. Radioactive substances – All radioactive substances, being chemically active, emit rays continuously. The emission of such rays not only harms the dumpster by deforming its structure from within, but can also prove to be a great problem for the society in general, especially the dumpster divers.
2. Highly flammable material – Any material that may catch fire soon or anything which consists of highly volatile compounds or liquids that undergo reactions as soon as they come in contact with a particular element, may prove to be disastrous
3. Explosives – Explosives of the sort of dynamites used for industrial purposes and of the kind of fireworks used in residential areas, if thrown in the dumpsters can be tremendously harmful.
4. Biomedical Supplies – Biomedical supplies generally consist of a variety of used and unused chemicals which are either toxic or non-toxic in nature. Whatever the case may be, such substances or supplies, must be disposed off in an appropriate manner and not by simply dumping them in dumpsters. Commonly made dumpsters are not suitable and fit enough to bear the brunt of such materials.
5. Infectious materials – Any type of material which causes or tends to cause any type of infection must be prevented from being expeditiously dumped into the bin. Additionally, no free liquids must be dumped into these containers as they may turn out to be injurious.

What has been mentioned above is the general guideline which most countries follow and adhere to. Too follows the same principles and undertakes similar courses of action. Nevertheless, different countries have different standards and what may be legal in one country, may be considered illegal in another. It thereby becomes very important to follow the law of the land and avoid dumping any such substances into the dumpsters which may cause injury or which might prove dangerous and unsafe. It is considerably better to exercise precautions, than to look for cures!

If you need to rent a dumpster, make sure you use Dumpster Nationwide, with dumpster rentals from coast to coast, and roll off containers for any of your small or large clean up projects.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_Stafflayer

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Filling Up On Food Waste: A Shocking Realization

It’s good to remember that companies like Harvest Power aren’t building organic waste processing plants simply to create energy. Food waste is an important natural hazard, just like oil spills or carbon monoxide.

First off, why is there so much food waste in America? According to the Food Loss project, which was sponsored by the U.S.D.A., Americans throw away 25.9 million tons of food every year. That’s more than 25% of all the food that we produce and sell in America. Some scientists even believe that’s a low estimate. A study from the University of Arizona says Americans throw out almost 50% of our domestic food production annually. How much do we spend on wasted food? How does $43 billion sound to you? Take a look at your fridge. Almost 15% of what’s in there right now won’t be eaten.

What’s the big deal? Well, when we throw out that food, it goes to a landfill. Once it starts breaking down, your rotting eggplants and creamer cartons release methane, which clogs up the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide…that’s bad news, right? Well, methane is 23 times as potent as carbon dioxide, when we’re talking about the atmosphere and global warming. 1/3 of the methane in the atmosphere comes from a landfill….comes from our fridges and pantries and supermarkets.

What can be done? Feeding the poor with food we normally toss out is a great cause, and some radicals even practice “freeganism,” more commonly known as “dumpster diving.” The blog offers this comment:

“Some communities now pick up and centrally compost food waste from commercial and residential buildings and put the resulting nutrient-rich soil to use in municipal projects or for sale to the public. And a few enterprising cities now have waste-to-energy technologies that extract methane from landfills for use as fuel.”

Thanks to companies like Harvest Power, we now have the technology to combine both of those steps into one facility, and to produce compost and energy on a commercial scale.

By: r/207192>Harvest Power

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blog.harvestpower.com/events-happenings/filling-up-on-food-waste-a-shocking-realization/

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