New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA (December 4, 2019) — Born in Jersey City, New Jersey on October 17 in 1954, Paula Rearden moved to New Brunswick when she was just 8 years old . Known in the Biker world as Pulsating Paula, her photographs of New Jersey bikers in the 1980's and 1990's seeped with authenticity and fun.
Paula once said, “Got married to my first lay in 1973. 10 years later he bought me a camera, a Canon AE1. I still have it."
She started taking photos of biker parties and tattoo events and she sent them into ‘Biker Lifestyle’ magazine who later Paisano publications took over. They came out with ‘Tattoo’ magazine first of it’s kind ever.
Between the Biker and Tattoo magazines she had thousands of photos published.
The 10 minute set up of her photography studio consisted of 2 flood lights that burnt the shit out of any poor person in front of them, and a 6×9 foot black cloth she got from Kmart that was tacked onto a wall.
She never considered herself professional, ever. She just loved doing it with every fiber in her body.
She knew the wonderful people she met by name and places she has been in her journey will live on forever in her photographs. many of us are so glad that we were there with you.
Pulsating Paula was on the East Coast documenting bikers from her point of view. What is so compelling about her photography is that her photos bleed honesty, passion and a high level of respect for her subjects.
Thank you Paula for all you have done to preserve our life and history, Rest In Peace ole' friend
Tuscon, Arizona, USA (December 3, 2019) BTN — Jay Dobyns has held many titles throughout his 58 years of life. All-Pac-10 wide receiver for the Arizona Wildcats and he wrote a few books. He was also an undercover special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Jay Dobyns hawking his book titled No Angel
Dobyns pretended to be a member of the Solo Angeles Motorcycle Club to try to get close to the Hells Angels charter in Prescott. In his book, he claimed to have "Patched" into the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, a claim that Sonny Barger denies.
Now, Jay Dobyns will embark on a new journey and take over as head coach for a struggling Tanque Verde High School football program. The decision to name Dobyns head coach was announced Monday evening.
Dobyns will replace eight-year Tanque Verde head coach Jeremy Johnson after he stepped down following this season. Since the program first's season in 2007, the Hawks haven't had a winning season and recently went winless this past season.
Christchurch, New Zealand (December 2, 2019) BTN — A former motorcycle club president has thrown in the towel on his biker ways to open a homeless shelter after a breakthrough “soul awakening” triggered by the thought of his son following in his footsteps.
Just six weeks ago, Hamish Hiroki was the national president of the New Zealand chapter of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, but has now traded his cushioned seat for a bicycle saddle, Stuff reported.
Despite having only stepped back on a bicycle for the first time since he was a child three weeks ago, Hiroki will on Sunday begin cycling more than 600 kilometres while dressed as a Christmas elf.
Having already poured $17,000 into a building to be made into a homeless shelter, he’s hoping his mammoth ride from Christchurch to Bluff will raise enough money to finish the job.
He also wants to put some hampers together to hand out to people less fortunate than himself for Christmas, according to the fundraising account he established on Give A Little.
His plans have not faltered even after suffering a heart attack two weeks ago - which he blamed on too many supplements - and doctors advising him not to go ahead with the ride.
“I've already set the challenge and I have to follow through with it,” he told Stuff.
With a three-year-old son to think about, his priorities have switched to setting a better example, with his initial lightbulb moment coming after a period of serious mental health problems late last year.
“I left purely for my son. He is three. I don't want my son to follow in my footsteps, that's the reason I left.”
Hiroki said that his life of “hurting people” while leading the motorcycle club had wore him thin over the years and culminated into depression and anxiety which “was really hard to get out of”.
“I certainly left a lot behind but I have gained a lot too. Nothing will stop me from opening the shelter one way or another.”
He said he had “had enough of all the negative bull which always fell on him because he was the boss.
After being deported from Sydney for what he said were gun-related offences, he returned to New Zealand in 2011 and a short time later found himself heading up the Bandidos.
Moree, New South Wales, Australia (November 27, 2019) BTN — A former Australian detective has ridiculed National's zero-tolerance approach to gangs, saying the strategy has been a "disaster" across the ditch. The opposition party yesterday proposed setting up an elite police squad - modelled on Strike Force Raptor in New South Wales - with the sole purpose of crushing gangs.
National leader Simon Bridges repeatedly described the unit as "devastatingly effective" and referenced media reports which claimed it was driving outlaw bikies into extinction.
But former NSW detective Mike Kennedy told RNZ that was "nonsense" and Mr Bridges was "living a dream" if he believed that. "He needs to pull his head out of whatever it's stuck in because ... [gangs] exist. They're always going to exist. They just go underground. "I'm not a bleeding heart liberal," he said. "But [the zero-tolerance strategy has] just been a disaster."
Dr Kennedy spent much of his time with the police as an undercover officer working in organised crime and is now a senior lecturer at Western Sydney University. He said there was no evidence to suggest that gang numbers had fallen dramatically since the formation of Strike Force Raptor a decade ago. "Outlaw motorcycle gangs are unregulated, so how would you know?" he said. "They're not required to pay a fee ... and register with government. So any suggestion that the numbers are down is just nonsense."
Dr Kennedy said the problem had just been driven underground. "People don't stop being members of groups just because they've been arrested. They go into jail, they reinforce themselves, they come out, [and] they get more of a reason to remain in the group they're in."
Police officers needed a working relationship with communities, including gang members, so they would cooperate with investigations, he said.
"You need this community to trust you so that when things need to be brought into line, the police are able to go in and speak to people and find out who's ... behaving really badly, and who needs to be put in jail," Dr Kennedy said. "If you want those families to help the police ... then you can't just tar them all with the same brush. And that's what Raptor does."
National's law and order discussion document describes Strike Force Raptor as a "proactive, high-impact specialist unit" designed to target outlaw motorcycle gangs and associated criminal enterprises.
The elite military-style unit was set up in 2009 following a deadly clash between the Hells Angels and Comancheros at Sydney Airport. The strike force is designed to punish gang members via all legal avenues, coming after them for any infraction, no matter how minor, from a parking fine to a punch-up.
A Nine News report earlier this year stated Strike Force Raptor had made more than 5000 arrests and laid more than 12,000 charges over the past decade. The unit had also seized 1700 illegal firearms and shut down more than 50 clubhouses, it said.
NSW Police declined to provide RNZ with evidence of Strike Force Raptor's success, saying it was not "appropriate" for it to comment on a matter "out of our jurisdiction". The media team also refused to reveal the size of the unit or its annual operating cost.
Speaking to Morning Report, Mr Bridges promised the party would release figures "in the next little while" which would prove the unit's effectiveness. "We are at this moment, in fact, talking to the government in New South Wales to compile the data."
