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Tags: Surfing / Violence / Violent Travel / Crime / → All Tags

You Flew Here, We Grew Here: NYT Falls for North Shore Bad Boys

Most surfers have a reputation for being peaceful and laid back, but that hardly describes the scene on Oahu's famous North Shore, if a recent New York Times story is to be believed. The paper of record introduces us to a menacing but handsome gang of local surfers known as the Wolfpak, who are known to resort to violence and intimidation against visiting surfers who don't show the proper respect for their rules of the waves. Surf gangs are nothing new, and protecting breaks from interlopers is as old as surfing itself, but the Wolfpak holds particular power on the Banzai Pipeline because every pro surfer worth his Sex Wax is pretty much required to be proficient in its massive winter swells.

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Tags: Ancient History Travel / Gladiators / Violence / → All Tags

Vulgar, Stinky Gladiators to Return to Rome's Colosseum

If you're in Rome this summer and in need of an outlet for your bloodlust, you're in luck. Gladiators will return to the Colosseum for the first time in 2,000 years, thrilling crowds once again with their depraved acts of violence. Due to liability issues, the modern fighters won't be allowed to kill each other, but they'll hew as close to the original battles as possible, using historically-accurate armor and weapons and fighting with the same techniques used by the combatants of yesteryear.

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Tags: Violence / Crime / Police / Anarchists / → All Tags

Anarchist Riots in Athens, Thessaloniki Keeping Tourists On Their Toes

We've been to Greece and just love it to death, but what we don't know about contemporary Greek society could fill a warehouse. Who knew that the capital of Athens and the northern port city of Thessaloniki were hotbeds of disaffected youth gangs and violent left-wing extremism? The cities have been in the headlines this weekend as riots erupted in response to the shooting death of a youth by a police officer on Saturday near the National Museum in Athens. According to the police, two officers were attacked by thirty stone-throwing youths in the central district of Exarchia, "an unruly haven for far-left youths, including anarchists." Anarchists! The officers responded with superior firepower, fatally wounding one of the youths and touching off riots that have extended into a second day. According to the International Herald Tribune, hundreds of black-clad youths smashed up banks and storefronts, set fires, and harassed cops, who responded with tear gas. It's scary stuff, and we'd advise visitors to keep a low profile until things cool down. As is often the case, the violent demonstrators represent only a small minority of an otherwise peaceful and bohemian segment of society. Unfortunately, it only takes a couple of violent people to set off a maelstrom. As for the police shooting, it's being investigated and the officers involved have been suspended. Be careful out there.

[Photo: International Herald Tribune Europe]

Related Stories:
· Police Shooting Sparks Riots in Greece [International Herald Tribune]
· Violence Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Holy Travel / Violence / Religion / Religious Travel / → All Tags

Holy Brawl: Christian Monks Duke it Out at Jerusalem Holy Site

When it comes to Jerusalem, you hear a lot about the tension between people of the Jewish and Muslim faiths, but not so much about the Christians, who also consider it a sacred city. A recent scuffle at one of the holiest spots in all of Christendom, however, reminds us that they're a fragmented people as well, with plenty of long-standing beefs among the various sects. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher - a Christian church located within the walled city of Jerusalem on what is believed to be the spot of Christ's crucifixion, burial, and resurrection - was the setting for a violent clash between groups of Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks this morning. As with most religious disputes, what they were fighting over is kind of complicated and goes back a long, long way, but apparently the Armenians were holding a ceremony and the Greeks felt that one of their monks had the right to be present, lest they lose their claim to a structure built on Christ's tomb. The Armenians refused to allow a Greek monk to join the ceremony, so the Greeks tried to block the procession, and that's when multiple blows were exchanged (see the BBC video) and Israeli cops rushed in and arrested one monk from each side. We're not about to diagnose the problems of the world in one blog posting, but aren't monks supposed to be loving and non-violent? In any case, the church is usually a peaceful place, and it is open to visitors of all faiths. So stop by if you're in town, and if arguments arise between believers, stay neutral and slowly back away.

[Photo: Associated Press]

Related Stories:
· Monks Brawl at Jerusalem Shrine [BBC News]
· Monks Brawl at Christian Holy Site in Jerusalem [Associated Press]
· Holy Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Hawaii / Oahu / crime / violence / → All Tags

Tourism CrimeWatch: Oahu's Violent Crime Rate Jumps

[Ed. Note: Alex Salkever is the founder/editor of Hawaii travel blog  Hawaiirama.com]

A fatal shooting on the North Shore across from popular tourist and surfing beach Log Cabins has raised the tally of brutal murders within the past month on Oahu to four. Most of the killings have been brazen acts of violence, including two shootings in full public view and one fatal beating at a popular West Side beach park perpetrated against a tourist from the East Coast by a former All-State football player.

Not to be alarmists or anything but Oahu and the Hawaiian Islands have long enjoyed a reputation as a safe haven from violent crime. Sure, everything in a rental car or a beach bag / backpack was fair game for thieves. But no one died. Apparently, that's no longer the case.

In the latest FBI crime survey, violent crime on Oahu is up by 10 percent. A spate of public beatings have also hit the island in recent years. Like the case of the White House aide who got his nose busted outside a Waikiki night spot -- a crime that, to date, has not been solved (to the best of my knowledge).

The cops say Hawaii is safe but they also say they are severely understaffed. The tourism people say visitors are safe as kittens. Overall, Hawaii is still a pretty safe place. But Oahu, at least, is clearly trending in the wrong direction. Perhaps these crimes can explain Hawaii's slipping hotel occupancy rate?

[Photo: imylthinle]

Related Stories:
· Hawaii Hotel Occupancy Plunges Further [HotelChatter]
· At the Risk of Ticking Off a Lot of People....Beat Someone Up in Hawaii and Get Out of Jail Free [Hawaiirama]