Silence

Who killed Tupac Shakur?

LAS VEGAS - The city's neon lights vibrated in the polished hood of the black BMW as it cruised up Las Vegas Boulevard.
The man in the passenger seat was instantly recognizable. Fans lined the streets, waving, snapping photos, begging Tupac Shakur for his autograph. Cops were everywhere, smiling.

The BMW 750 sedan, with rap magnate Marion "Suge" Knight at the wheel, was leading a procession of luxury vehicles past the MGM Grand Hotel and Caesars Palace, on their way to a hot new nightclub. It was after 11 on a Saturday night—Sept. 7, 1996. The caravan paused at a crowded intersection a block from the Strip.
Shakur flirted with a carful of women—unaware that a white Cadillac had quietly pulled up beside him. A hand emerged from the Cadillac. In it was a semiautomatic pistol, aimed straight at Shakur.
Many of the rapper's lyrics seemed to foretell this moment.
"The fast life ain't everything they told ya," he sang in an early hit, "Soulja's Story."
"Never get much older, following the tracks of a soulja."
Six years later, the killing of the world's most famous rap star remains officially unsolved. Las Vegas police have never made an arrest. Speculation and wild theories continue to flourish in the music media and among Shakur's followers. One is that Knight, owner of Shakur's record label, arranged the killing so he could exploit the rapper's martyrdom commercially. Another persistent legend is that Shakur faked his own death to escape the pressures of stardom.

A yearlong investigation by The Times reconstructed the crime and the events leading up to it. Evidence gathered by the paper indicates:
• The shooting was carried out by a Compton gang called the Southside Crips to avenge the beating of one of its members by Shakur a few hours earlier.
• Orlando Anderson, the Crip whom Shakur had attacked, fired the fatal shots. Las Vegas police discounted Anderson as a suspect and interviewed him only once, briefly. He was later killed in an unrelated gang shooting.
• The murder weapon was supplied by New York rapper Notorious B.I.G., who agreed to pay the Crips $1 million for killing Shakur. Notorious B.I.G. and Shakur had been feuding for more than a year, exchanging insults on recordings and at award shows and concerts. B.I.G. was gunned down six months later in Los Angeles. That killing also remains unsolved.

Before they died, Notorious B.I.G. and Anderson denied any role in Shakur's death. This account of what they and others did that night is based on police affidavits and court documents as well as interviews with investigators, witnesses to the crime and members of the Southside Crips who had never before discussed the killing outside the gang.
Fearing retribution, they agreed to be interviewed only if their names were not revealed.

Revolutionary Upbringing
The slaying silenced one of modern music's most eloquent voices—a ghetto poet whose tales of urban alienation captivated young people of all races and backgrounds. The 25-year-old Shakur had helped elevate rap from a crude street fad to a complex art form, setting the stage for the current global hip-hop phenomenon.
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in 1971 into a family of black revolutionaries and named after a martyred Incan warrior. Radical politics shaped his upbringing and the rebellious tone of much of his music.
His godfather, Black Panther leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, spent 27 years in prison for a robbery-murder in Santa Monica that he insisted he did not commit. Pratt was freed after a judge ruled in 1997 that prosecutors concealed evidence favorable to the defendant.
Shakur's stepfather, Black Panther leader Mutulu Shakur, was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list until the early 1980s, when he was imprisoned for robbery and murder. His mother, Afeni Shakur, also a Black Panther, was charged with conspiring to blow up a block of New York department stores—and acquitted a month before the rapper was born.
Shakur grew up in tough neighborhoods and homeless shelters in the Bronx, Harlem and Baltimore. He exhibited creative talent as a child and was admitted to the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied ballet, poetry, theater and literature.
In 1988, his mother sent him to live with a family friend in the Bay Area to escape gang violence in Baltimore. Living in a tough neighborhood north of Oakland, he joined the rap group Digital Underground and signed a solo record deal in 1991.
Shakur's debut album, "2Pacalypse Now," sparked a political firestorm. The lyrics were filled with vivid imagery of violence by and against police. A car thief who murdered a Texas state trooper said the lyrics incited him to kill. Law enforcement groups and politicians denounced Shakur. Then-Vice President Dan Quayle said the rapper's music "has no place in our society."
Shakur's recordings explored gang violence, drug dealing, police brutality, teenage pregnancy, single motherhood and racism. As his stature as a rapper grew, he pursued an acting career, drawing admiring reviews for his performances in "Juice" and other films.
But he never put what he called the "thug life" behind him.
During a 1993 concert in Michigan, he attacked a local rapper with a baseball bat and was sentenced to 10 days in jail. In Los Angeles, he was convicted of assaulting a music video producer. In New York, a 19-year-old fan accused Shakur and three of his friends of sexually assaulting her.
While on trial in that case, the rapper was ambushed in a Manhattan recording studio, shot five times and robbed of his gold jewelry. Shakur later said Notorious B.I.G. and his associates were behind the attack.
Shakur, convicted of sexual abuse, was serving a 4 1/2-year prison term when he was visited by Suge Knight, founder of Death Row Records in Los Angeles. Knight offered to finance an appeal of his conviction if Shakur would sign a recording contract with Death Row.
Shakur accepted the offer and was released from prison in 1995 on a $1.4-million appellate bond posted by Knight. Hours later, Shakur entered a Los Angeles studio to record "All Eyez on Me." The double CD sold more than 5 million copies, transforming Shakur into a pop superstar whose releases outsold Madonna's and the Rolling Stones'.

Two Fights
On Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur, still out on bond, traveled to Las Vegas to attend a championship boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand Hotel.
The sold-out arena was jammed with high rollers: Wall Street tycoons, Hollywood celebrities, entertainment moguls. The fight also attracted an assortment of underworld figures: mobsters from Chicago, drug dealers from New York, street gangs from Los Angeles.
Shakur arrived around 8:30 p.m. accompanied by armed bodyguards from the Mob Piru Bloods, a Compton street gang whose members worked for Knight's Death Row Records. Shakur and Knight sat in the front row, smoking cigars, signing autographs and waving to fans.
"Knock You Out," a song Shakur had written in honor of Tyson, blasted over the loudspeakers as the boxer entered the ring. Tyson flattened his opponent so quickly that many patrons never made it to their seats.
After congratulating Tyson, Shakur, Knight and a handful of bodyguards in silk suits headed for the exit. In the MGM Grand lobby, one of Shakur's Bloods bodyguards noticed a member of the rival Southside Crips lingering near a bank of elevators.
The Bloods and Crips have a 30-year history of turf wars: beatings, drug heists, drive-by shootings. The Crips dress in blue, the Bloods in red. When the two gangs aren't pushing dope or terrorizing citizens, they take pride in retaliating against each other.
The hoodlum standing in the lobby was Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, 21, a Crip who had recently helped his gang beat and rob one of Shakur's bodyguards at a mall in Lakewood. Anderson had a string of arrests for robbery, assault and other offenses. Compton police suspected him in at least one gang killing.
After the beating of Shakur's bodyguard, Anderson had dared to rip a rare Death Row medallion from the man's neck—an affront to Knight's honor and a slight to the Bloods.
The Bloods had been fuming for weeks, waiting to exact their revenge. Now, unexpectedly, there was Anderson, standing before them.
Shakur charged the Crip. "You from the South?" he asked.
Before Anderson could answer, Shakur punched him. His bodyguards jumped in, pounding and kicking Anderson to the ground. Knight joined in too—just before security guards broke up the 30-second melee, which was captured by a security camera.
Shakur and his entourage stomped triumphantly across the casino floor on their way out of the hotel. They walked half a block down the Strip to the Luxor hotel, where Death Row Records had booked more than a dozen rooms. After dropping off Shakur and the bodyguards, Knight drove about 15 minutes to a mansion he owned in a gated community in the city's southeastern valley.
The plan was to regroup later at a benefit concert for a youth boxing program featuring Shakur and other Death Row acts. The midnight concert was to be held at Club 662, a nightspot just opened by Death Row. The club's name was an emblem of how gangs had infiltrated the rap business. On a telephone keypad, 662 spells "mob."

Planning a Retaliation
A bruised and shaken Anderson gathered himself off the floor in front of dozens of startled onlookers. MGM security guards and Las Vegas police tried to persuade him to file a complaint against his assailants, but he declined.
Anderson headed out to the Strip and crossed over a pedestrian bridge to the Excalibur Hotel, where he had checked in with his girlfriend. News of the beating swept through the gang underground. Before he reached his room, Anderson's pager was beeping with calls from his Crips cohorts, according to what he later told associates.
Anderson phoned his comrades and set up a meeting at the Treasure Island hotel. He changed his clothes and hopped into a taxi, heading for the hotel with the huge neon skull and crossbones out front.
Treasure Island had served as a Crips headquarters during boxing matches for years. The gang would rent a fleet of luxury vehicles, ride across the desert in a caravan, hand their keys to the valets and head to a block of rooms booked under fake names. Drug trafficking paid for all this.
The ritual had little to do with boxing. Many gang members never attended the fights. They came to party and bask in the post-fight revelry: the drinking, the gambling, the drugs, the prostitutes. Other street gangs followed suit, flying in from Harlem and Atlanta, taking over establishments up and down the Strip.
By the time Anderson's taxi reached Treasure Island, more than a dozen gangsters were holed up in a Crips-reserved room. Marijuana smoke clouded the hallway. Alcohol was flowing as Anderson opened the door. The gang was furious. The topic of discussion: Who gets to pull the trigger?
According to people who were present, the Crips decided to shoot Shakur after his performance at Club 662. The plan was to station two vehicles of armed Crips outside the nightspot and lie in wait.
The gang put in a call to a Crips hide-out in Las Vegas, a rented house used to stash drugs and firearms and shelter gang members on the run from crimes committed in Los Angeles. They told a man there to bring some backup weapons over to the hotel. Soon.

Killers for Hire
For the Crips, the beating of Anderson was an egregious affront warranting swift and fatal retaliation. Still, the Crips thought, why not make a little money while they were at it? They decided to ask Shakur's biggest enemy to pay for the hit.
The gang arranged a rendezvous with Notorious B.I.G. The Brooklyn rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, hated Shakur and had been feuding with him for more than a year.
Once tight friends, the two entertainers now ridiculed each other at events, in interviews and on recordings. In one song called "Hit 'Em Up," Shakur bragged about having sex with Wallace's wife and vowed to kill him. The threats between the rappers and their labels, Death Row and Bad Boy Entertainment, escalated into a series of assaults and shootings—one of which resulted in the killing of a Death Row bodyguard in Atlanta in 1995.
Fearing for his safety, a friend of Wallace's arranged for the Crips to supply bodyguards for the rapper whenever he traveled west. Over the years, the gang was paid to provide security for Wallace at casinos in Las Vegas, clubs in Hollywood and award shows in Los Angeles. Besides cash, Wallace gave the gang access to stars, groupies and the inner sanctums of the music business.
Wallace began flashing Crips gang signs and calling out to the homies at concerts, sometimes even inviting gang members on stage. Privately, he prodded the gang to kill Shakur—and promised to pay handsomely for the hit.
On Sept. 7, 1996, the Crips decided to take him up on the offer.
They sent an emissary to a penthouse suite at the MGM, where Wallace was booked under a false name. In Vegas to party, he didn't attend the Tyson-Seldon fight but had quickly learned about Shakur's scuffle with Anderson. Wallace gathered a handful of thugs and East Coast rap associates to hear what the Crips had to say.
According to people who were present, the Crips envoy explained that the gang was prepared to kill Shakur but expected to collect $1 million for its efforts. Wallace agreed, on one condition, a witness said. He pulled out a loaded .40-caliber Glock pistol and placed it on the table in front of him.
He didn't just want Shakur dead. He wanted the satisfaction of knowing the fatal bullet came from his gun.

On the Strip
It was a gangsta rap parade. Fans waved. Women flirted and asked for autographs. Photographers snapped pictures.
Knight was leading a caravan of at least five Death Row cars heading toward Club 662. Shakur and Knight turned heads as the convoy proceeded slowly north on Las Vegas Boulevard.
Around 11 p.m., police stopped Knight for cranking the black BMW's stereo too loud and not properly displaying its license plates. Shakur and Knight joked with the officers and talked them out of issuing a ticket. Then the BMW turned right on Flamingo Road and headed east toward the club.
Moments earlier, Anderson and three other Crips took an elevator down to the Treasure Island lobby. They walked out into the valet parking area.
Hovering under the hotel's skull-and-crossbones logo, the four Crips waited silently as the valet brought out a 1996 white Cadillac and opened the doors. They piled in and eased the sleek new sedan into traffic. A fifth Crip in an old yellow Cadillac met them at the curb and followed close behind. He rode solo, with an AK-47 assault rifle lying across the front seat.
The traffic in front of Treasure Island was bumper to bumper. Cars honked. Billboards flashed. Neon-lighted fountains trickled nearby.
The driver of the white Cadillac lighted a cigarette. Behind him sat Anderson. The Crip in the front passenger seat handed Anderson the loaded Glock from Notorious B.I.G. The four men discussed staking out the club where Shakur would perform.
After waiting at a stoplight between Caesars Palace and the Barbary Coast hotel, the Cadillacs turned onto Flamingo and headed east toward Club 662.
As they passed the Bally's hotel on the right, the driver saw a caravan of luxury cars ahead on the left. The vehicles, packed with Mob Piru Bloods and Death Row employees, were stopped at a red light across from the Maxim Hotel. The crosswalk was filled with tourists.
Leading the convoy was Knight's black BMW. Shakur was in the passenger seat. They were alone in the car, unarmed.
The Crips couldn't believe their luck. They decided to chuck their plan and strike immediately.
The Cadillac raced up on the convoy and pulled up beside the BMW. Shakur didn't notice. He was flirting with a carful of women in a lane to his left.

"I saw four black men roll by in a white Cadillac," said Atlanta rapper E.D.I. Mean, who was in the vehicle directly behind Shakur's. "I saw a gun come from the back seat out through the driver's front window."

Bullets flew, shattering the windows of the BMW. Shakur tried to duck into the rear of the car for cover, but four rounds hit him, shredding his chest. Blood was everywhere.

"We heard shots and looked to the right of us," Knight said. "Tupac was trying to get in the back seat, and I grabbed him and pulled him down. The gunshots kept coming. One hit my head."

In the chaos, neither Knight nor Mean could make out who had fired. The driver of the yellow Cadillac just behind the assailants never got a chance to fire his AK-47.

"It all happened so quick. It took three or four seconds at most," Mean said.

Then the white Cadillac screeched around the corner. A bodyguard near the back of the Death Row caravan fired at the fleeing sedan. In a ruse designed to confuse Shakur's entourage, the Crip in the yellow Cadillac chased the white Cadillac around the corner, as if in hostile pursuit.
Knight made a U-turn, his bullet-riddled BMW squealing around the concrete median. The Death Row convoy followed him back to the Strip, where he rammed his car onto a curb.
Las Vegas police were soon on the scene. After summoning an ambulance for Shakur, they ordered everyone else in the Death Row convoy out of their cars at gunpoint. The police forced Knight, who was bleeding from a head wound, to lie face down on the pavement.
By the time the detectives figured out that Knight and his caravan were victims, not suspects, the Crips had returned to their hotel rooms and gathered their belongings.
Staggering their departures to avoid attracting attention, Anderson and his fellow gang members hit the highway, each in a different car. Two younger gang members drove the white Cadillac back across the desert.
Interstate 15 moves fast at night.
It was still dark when the Crips disappeared over the California border.

Epilogue
Surgeons at University Medical Center in Las Vegas removed Shakur's right lung in an attempt to stop the internal bleeding. When his condition deteriorated, they put him on a ventilator. He died six days after the shooting, with his mother at his side.
Wallace returned to New York, where he recorded a CD called "Life After Death," which has veiled references to the shooting in several songs. According to the Crips, Wallace paid the gang $50,000 of the promised $1 million through an intermediary a week after Shakur died.
In March 1997, Wallace discussed his feud with Shakur during an interview with a San Francisco radio station. Asked whether he had a role in the rapper's death, Wallace said he "wasn't that powerful yet."
Three days later, Wallace was in Los Angeles for the Soul Train Music Awards and an after-party at the Petersen Automotive Museum. He was gunned down as he sat in his Chevrolet Blazer at a traffic light on Wilshire Boulevard. No one has ever been charged in the killing.
Two days after Shakur was shot, gang warfare erupted in Compton as the Bloods sought revenge on the Crips. A rash of drive-by shootings left three people dead and 12 injured, including a 10-year-old girl. Informants told police that Anderson had been seen brandishing a Glock pistol.
Las Vegas police interviewed Anderson once. They said they could not build a case against him as Shakur's killer because witnesses in the rapper's entourage refused to cooperate with them.
Anderson said he had nothing to do with Shakur's death. "If they have all this evidence against me, then why haven't they arrested me?" he said a year after the shooting. "It's obvious that I'm innocent."
Anderson was shot dead May 29, 1998, at a Compton carwash in a dispute police say was unrelated to Shakur's slaying.
The three other Crips who were in the white Cadillac that night in Las Vegas still live in Compton. None of them has ever been questioned by police about the crime.

Source: Street Gangs

Ultras

The Ultras movement, or simply Ultras, is the name given to organized supporters' groups for sports teams, mostly Europe and South American supporters of football teams. This fan sub-group appeared in Italy during the late 1960s when football teams reduced ticket prices on certain areas of the stadiums. Not to be confused with the British football firm and Casual cultures, although some of their supporting style is imitated. Although violent acts might occur, hooligan acts are more the exception than the norm.

Common grounds
Ultra groups are surprisingly homogeneous. They are usually organized by a core group , surrounded by smaller groups, formed by location, friends group or political stance.
The material is also almost the same: standards , flags, both regular sized and large and banners, usually large, durable plastic fabric painted and decorated with the name and symbology of the group it belongs. Most groups also sell their own goods like scarves, hats and jackets, and their sale can go across borders for collectors or fans.

Ultra culture
The Ultra culture is a mix of several supporting styles, from the scarf-waving and chants of early English stadia, Brazilian Torcida and the original Italian style. An Ultra group can be composed from few dozens to hundreds, mixing several parts of the community, claim entire sectors of the stadium for themselves and get involved in the team rather more often than regular fans.

Four points are the core of a ultra mentality:

Never stop singing during the whole match, no matter the result;
Never sit down during matches ;
Follow as many games possible, regardless of costs or distances;
Loyalty to the Curva .

There are several recurring imported or pop culture icons used on banners. Alex DeLarge from Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange A Clockwork Orange is one of the favourites, Uga, the logo of the University of Georgia Bulldogs Georgia Bulldogs American football team is also used by several groups across Europe in addition to corporate brand logos and catchphrases, whether real or mock-up.

Probably the most important part is the called vocal support. Each group has several football chants, mostly to their team, others for players and staff and finally, some reserved for their rivals. With the melody taken mostly from popular music such as Guantanamera, some chants are copied from other groups and the names changed.

Before big matches most groups prepare a big choreography to be displayed as the teams enter the field. Ranging in size as the financial capabilities of the groups allow, the giant choreographies can take from the complete top where the group is located to the complete stadium. Materials used range from small sheets of plastic or paper distributed by seat, either forming a pattern or just to colour the stadium , balloons, paper rolls, huge painted blankets, flares or smoke signal pots and even more recently, giant dolls . These choreographies are one of the finest displays of love to a club, since they can take up to months to plan, the days before the match to prepare and cost a small fortune to make, despite the ultimate risk of failure.

There is also big animosity towards the so-called modern football. All-seater stadiums, games at Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at late hours, unlike the traditional 3 o'clock Sunday match, more expensive tickets, fan-favourite players being sold like merchandise, replaced by players who don't "love the shirt" and the excessive commercialization of football are a common plea among Ultras. No al Calcio Moderno is a common phrase seen in Italian grounds, and spread across Europe.

Fanzines play also a big part in the movement, and have a huge market inside communities. Usually A5 ISO 216, as professional printing costs decrease they have started to be of more professional quality than the crudely typewriter-duplicated or photocopied fanzines. Each group usually edits a fanzine with information on upcoming games, stories and news, and there are several generalistic publications, the most popular being the SuperTifo.

Ultras - club relationship
They usually have a representative who speaks with the club's bosses on a regular basis, mostly regarding ticket and seat allocation, and use of storage facilities. Some clubs provide the groups cheaper tickets, a
warehouse to store material, access to the stadium before the match to prepare choreographies.

Some of these relations are criticized by fans of the club, who can see the Ultras as nothing more than troublemakers who do the club more harm than good, or when a club has more than one group, some might not agree with favouritism given by the board to a group against another.

There exists within the ultras fanblock a loose hierarchy. In most cases, a capo, or group leader, often using a megaphone, coordinates the various activities of the entire group, including chants, songs, and banner drops.

Hooliganism
Although Ultras groups can become violent, unlike hooligans most games go with no incidents or minor scuffles with the local police force. Unlike hooligans, Ultras follow to support their team rather than go head to head against locals. Another difference between Ultras and hooligans is that the hooligans like to be inconspicuous when they travel as to avoid detection by police, whereas Ultras are the opposite as they like to be more conspicuous when they travel and like to arrive en masse, which allows the police to keep a close eye on their movements.

When trouble does break out it very much takes the form of a political riot similar to the ones in Italy in the 70's and the Carabinieri use the same tactics towards the Ultras as they did against political activists in the 70's.

Politics
Many Ultra groups are associated with political factions, rivalries appeared and alliances were forged just based on the political premises. While SS Lazio S.S. Lazio's Irriducibili and Real Madrid's Ultras Sur are known for more than occasionally displaying celtic crosses Celtic cross and swastikas, on the other hand there are groups like Livorno A.S. Livorno Calcio's Brigate Autonome Livornesi who show the Red Star, the Hammer and sickle Hammer and sickle, the Anarchist symbol Anarchist symbolism or flags of Che Guevara. Fans of Ajax Amsterdam frequently use the star of David and Israeli flags, to fire up the team, and regularly chant Joden!Joden!, dutch for Jews! Jews!. Some groups refuse to carry any political symbols on their material or allow their members to display them in the group's context.

Knowing the "recruitment potential" of the groups' sectors, many extremist groups try to distribute propaganda. While this is accepted between politicized groups, in neutral/apolitical groups this can cost the extremists dearly, as it can be seen as an invasion, and thus elicit a violent reaction from the neutral group.

Rivalries
Fierce rivalries between football clubs and its Ultra groups can be found all over the world, though most of the big ones are located in Europe and South America.

A lot of big rivalries are from Italy, where rivalries between Ultra groups, and up to some degree between cities in general, have a long tradition. While some happen mostly for animosity towards the opposite side, mostly in derbies , others exist mostly due to politics. However, it's also possible that rivalries fire up from isolated incidents. Some rivalries might also happen between groups of the same club, either by disputing the lead of the curva or when one of the groups is a splinter from the older groups.

It is common for a firm to uphold a special grudge against another firm, their "arch-enemy", which normally dates back ages, to a time where the teams of these two firms had a particularly longlasting period of rivalry. Examples of these include Chelsea vs. Tottenham from England, or Rangers v Celtic from Scotland, or Brøndby vs. FC Copenhagen from Denmark. In Holland the rivalry between Feyenoord and Ajax ultras is often followed by fights between them, fights which are scheduled by phone and many times involving firearms. In Poland rivalry between two Kraków's clubs supporters Wisla and Cracovia is considered to be most famous, and is often very violent. Feuds between these "arch-rivals" will often prove more intense than normal, as the firms will often take an almost religious zeal to these particular fights, seeing these as the true proofs of their superiority.

Rivalries often mean, at less, more offensive chants, phrases or banners towards the other groups themselves, while the fiercest rivalries often include physical confrontation and capture of "enemy" banners. Losing a banner to a rival group is considered a big humiliation. The group that loses the flag is sometimes disbanded as a last act of honour.

Detractors
Like any other organization, Ultra groups have their share of detractors. From the most simple, related to how they follow the game, never sitting during matches while displaying dozens of standards affecting the view of those sitting behind these groups, to more serious criticisms like theft from highway service stations, physical assault or intimidation of "regular" fans and even murder of other groups' members.

In Spain, ultra is understood primarily as ultraderechista , while there are leftist and separatist supporter groups.
The use of neo-Nazi symbols like spelling Ultras Sur with runic Sol (goddess)SS Schutzstaffel and violence against supporters of other clubs, including the murder of a Real Sociedad fan, has made Spanish authorities very concerned about ultra activities.

List of groups
This list include many groups not traditionally called ultras. The South American groups for example has not at all an "ultras style" to them.

Albania:
Tirana FAN-atics

Argentina:
La Doce
Los Borrachos Del Tablón

Australia:
The Gate
The Reds Army
Marinators
Blue & White Brigade
The Squadron
The Shed
The Den
The Northern Element
The Cove

Austria:
Ultras Rapid Wien 1988
Verrückte Köpfe 91
Nordpol Innsbruck
Brigata Graz
Ultras Unione
Bulldogs
Fedayn
Vikings Linz
Inferno
Kneipenterroristen
Stahlfront
Pyromanen Linz
Blauhelme
Superiors
Supras '96

Belgium:
Ultras Inferno
Publik Hysterik
Black White Storm Ultras
Ultras Bryggja
Drughi Genk
Coal Boys
Kustboys Ultras
Wolf-Side
Mauves army

Brazil:
Galoucura
Gaviões da Fiel
Mancha Verde
Torcida Tricolor Independente
Torcida Dragões da Real
Young Flu
Raça Rubro Negro
Torcida Jovem
Geral do Grêmio
Leões da Fabulosa
Os Fanaticos
Mafia Azul

Bulgaria:
Sofia Zapad
Blue Warriors
Lauta Hools
Neapolitani
Trakia Front

Canada:
Ultras Montreal
Ultra Serbs
Southsiders
U Sector

Chile:
La Garra Blanca
Los de Abajo Los de Abajo
Los Cruzados

Colombia:
Comandos Azules Distrito Capital
Resistencia Norte
Guardia Albi-Roja Sur
Los Del Sur
Frente Radical Verdiblanco

Costa Rica:
La Doce
Ultra Morada
Garra Herediana

Croatia:
Bad Blue Boys
Torcida Split
Armada Rijeka
Demoni

Cyprus:
Orange fans
Gate 9

Denmark:
Rebellerne Aarhus.
Academic Ultras
Akademikos
Fanatikos
Odense Ultras
Urban Crew

Ecuador:
Mafia Azul Grana
Muerte Blanca
Sur Oscura
Boca del Pozo

England:
Heed Ultras
Jorvik Reds
Stanley Ultras
ST Ultras
Red Blue Army
Ultras Whites
Celt Clan
Burnley Ultras
Holmesdale Fanatics
The T-Enders
Stretford End Flags, Heaven's Devils
The Mockney Mafia
Thames Valley Casuals
Frat Boys
Hell's Saints

Major firms:
Arsenal: Gooners
Aston Villa: Villa Youth, Steamers
Barnsley: Inter-City Tykes, Five-O
Birmingham City: Zulu Warriors
Blackpool: BRS , Seaside Mafia, BTS
Bolton Wanderers: Tonge Moor Slashers, Mongoose Cuckoo Boys, Billy Whiz Fan Club
Bradford City: The Ointment
Braford PA: The Strollers, PA
Brighton and Hove Albion: Headhunters
Bristol City: Inter-City Robins
Burnley: Suicide Squad
Cambridge United: Cambridge Casuals
Cardiff City: Soul Firm
Carlisle United: BCF
Chelsea: Headhunters
Chesterfield: CBS
Darlington: Darlington Casuals, Bank Top 200, The Gaffa, The Under-5's, The Townies
Derby County: DLF
Doncaster Rovers: DDR
Exeter City: Sly Crew, Greacian Spooners
Fulham: Thames Valley Travellers, Cottage Traders, West London Symphonia, Epsilon Project
Great Yarmouth Town: The Ultra Greats, The Bloated 1's
Grimsby Town: CBP
Hereford United: ICF
Huddersfield Town: HYC
Hull City: City Psychos, Tiger Front
Leeds United: Service Crew, White-bhoys
Leicester City: Baby Squad, MMA, Mathew and Marks Alliance, BIF
Leyton Orient: Artful Dodgers, The Mockney Mafia
Lincoln City: LTE
Manchester City: Maine Line Service Crew, Guv'nors
Manchester United: Inter-City Jibbers, Cockney Reds,The Men in Black
Middlesbrough: Frontline
Millwall: Bushwackers , The Treatment
Newcastle United: Bender Crew, NME
Northampton Town: NAA
Nottingham Forest: Red Dogs, Naughty Forties, Trent End Boot Boys, Forest Executive Crew, The Loggers
Oldham Athletic: Fine Young Casuals
Oxford United: Warlords
Peterborough United: PTC
Plymouth Argyle: Central Element, Pilgrim Chiefs
Portsmouth: 657 Crew
Reading: Berkshire Boot Boys, Royal Arseholes
Rotherham United: Rotherham Casuals
Sheffield United: BBC
Sheffield Wednesday: OCS
Shrewsbury Town: EBF
Slough Town: The Bombers, David Brent Crew
Southampton: Inside Crew, The Uglies, Surburban Casuals
Staines Town: Massive
Stockport County: The Company, Hit Squad
Stoke City: Naughty Forty
Sunderland: Vauxies, Seaburn Casuals, Boss Lads, The Redskins
Swansea City: Swansea Jacks, Jacks Army
Tottenham Hotspur: Yiddos, N17s
Tranmere Rovers: TSB , The Birkheads, TWC
West Bromwich Albion: Section Five, Baggy Hoody Rude Boys
West Ham United: ICF , Green Street
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Subway Army, Bridge Boys
Wrexham: Frontline, Sheepshagger Militia
York City: YNS

Finland:
Sissiryhmä
Sinikaarti
Ultras Jokerit

France:
Orsi Ribelli
Kop De La Butte
Blue Angels
Ultras Auxerre
Bastia 1905
I Guerrieri Turchini
Malherbe Normandy Kop 96
Red Tigers
Kop Sang et Or
Supras Libourne
Dogues Virage Est
Rijsel Spirit
Merlus Ultras
Bad Gones
Lugdunum's
Nucleo
Generation Grenat
Horda Frenetik
Inferni
Ultras Monaco
Armata Ultra
Butte Paillade
Brigade Ultra
Brigade Loire
Brigade Sud
Armada Rumpetata
Collectif Embriagoun
Gladiators
Commando Ultras '84
South Winners
Yankees
OM West
Fanatics
Marseille Trop Puissant
Dodger's
Ultras Genabum
Boulogne Boys
Supras Auteuil
Lutéce Falco
Tigris Mystic
Authentiks
Puissance Paris
Ultrem
Kop Rouge et Blanc
Joyriders
Banda Ultra
Ultra Boys 90
Kop Ciel et Blanc
Magic Fans
Green Angels

Germany:
Schickeria München
The Unity
Ultras Frankfurt
Ultras Düsseldorf
Ultras Duisburg
Commando Cannstatt 97
Ultras Essen
Ultras Nürnberg
Suptras Rostock
Ultras Dynamo
Red Kaos
Chosen Few HH
Poptown
Diablos
Inferno Cottbus, Ultima Raka
Wilde Horde
Ultras Hannover
Ultras MG
Szene E
Ultras Braunschweig
Ultras GE
Harlekins Berlin
Natural Born Ultras
Ultras Fürth
Generation Luzifer
Pfalz Inferno
Frenetic Youth
Phoenix Sons, Armata Fidelis
Horda Azzuro
Cosa Nostra
Ulras Mannheim
Filmstadtinferno
Wuhlesyndikat
Boys Bielefeld
Ultras Bochum
Blaue Bomber
Ultras Chemnitz
Saalefront
Wismut Offensive
Ultra` Sankt Pauli
Inferno Lok Leipzig
Ultras Leverkusen
Ultra` Kollektiv
Blue Generation
Violet Crew
Boys Saarbrücken
Commando Ultra`
Red Kaos
Munichmaniacs 1996

Greece:
Thyra 13
Thyra 7
Thyra 21 or Original 21
Thyra 10
Thyra 4
Thyra 3

Hungary:
Ultra Viola Bulldogs
Green Monsters
Commandos
Szívtiprók Ultras Debrecen

Ireland:
SRFC Ultras
Commandos 84
Shed End Invincibles
Briogáid Dearg

Israel:
Green Apes
Ultras 96
Ultras Hapoel

Italy:
Boys Roma Ultras 1972
Fedayn
Ultras Romani
Ultras Roma Primavalle - San Lorenzo
Tradizione Distinzione
Giovinezza
B.I.S.L
Lady B.I.S.L
Brigata De Falchi
Offensiva Ultras
Antichi Valori
Orgoglio Romano
Fronte Romano
S.P.Q.R
Hardcore Ultras
Banda Noantri
Ascoli Piceno Ultras
Settembre Bianconero
Arditi
Warriors
Drughi
Arditi
UTS 1976
Fossa dei Leoni
Brigate Rossonere
Commandos Tigre
Brescia 1911 Curva Nord
Irriducibili
Boys S.A.N
CUCS Roma
Irish Clan
Fedayn
Ultras Tito
Collettivo Autonomo Viola
North Side
Sconvolts
Hooligans Teddy Boys
Friulani Al Seguito
Nord Kaos
Desperados
Vigilantes
Sparuta Minoranza

Japan:
Black and Blue

Korea:
Grande Bleu
Suhoshin

Lithuania:
Pietu IV
Kaunas Ultras
Pirmoji armada
Rude Boys
FCV Sektor
Vakaru frontas
Šiauliu fanai

Macedonia:
Majmuni
Komiti

Malta:
White Warriors
Ultras

Mexico:
La Adicción
La Monumental
La Rebel
Libres y Lokos
Tito Tepito
La Irreverente
Legion 1908

Montenegro:
Varvari

Netherlands:
Varkens 410
Ultras Vak P
Groningen Fanatics
Brigata Tifosi Extreme
Nieuw Noord
Westside Ultras
Legio Noviomagum
Tifosi del Castello
Ultras Mestreech
Brigata Tifosi
Vak 113
F3R

Norway:
Stabæk Inferno
Gjettum Ultras
Viking Ultras
Ultras Nidaros
Sønner av Kadda
Unge Enga
UFC - www.ultrasfeltc.com
KGGsc
Team Scooter

Paraguay:
Mafia Negra
La Pandilla
Ultrasur
Comando
La Plaza
La Raza

Peru:
Comando Svr
Trinchera Norte

Poland:
Nieznani Sprawcy
Opravcy
Wisl@cy '01
Torcida
N@fciarze
Ultras Lech '01
e-Widzew
Ultras Arka
Psycho Fans
Orange City Boys '03
Elite Ultras Group
Netforce
Nabojka
Mlode Wilki
Fuoco Brigade '03
Ultras GieKSa

Portugal:
Juventude Leonina
Torcida Verde
Directivo Ultras XXI
Super Dragões
Colectivo 95
No Name Boys
Diabos Vermelhos
Insane Guys
White Angels
Panteras Negras
Bracara Legion
Red Boys
Mancha Negra
Fúria Azul
South Side Boys
Máfia Vermelha
Tuff Boys

Romania:
Ultras
Nuova Guardia
Guardia Rosso-Nera
Blue Lions
FANS

Russia:
Fratria
Reaktive
United Front

Scotland:
Drum Beat Mafia
The Green Brigade
Red Ultras
The Blue Order

Major Scottish firms:
Aberdeen: ASC
Arbroath: Soccer Crew
Celtic: Celtic Casuals
Dunfirmline Athletic: CSS
Heart of Midlothian: CSF , Hearts 'n' Bluds on Sleeves
Hibernian: CCS , iRISH Brethren
Montrose: No Casuals, Portland Bill Seaside Squad
Motherwell: SS
Glasgow Rangers: ICF
St Johnstone: FCF
St Mirren: Love Street Division

Serbia:
Grobari
Delije
United Force
Red Firm
Taurunum Boys
Despoti

Spain:
Boixos Nois
Frente Atlético
Jove Elx
Ultras Sur
Orgullo Vikingo
Biris Norte
Ligallo Fondo Norte, Colectivo 1932
Ultra Yomus
Riazor Blues
Herri Norte Taldea
Peña Mugika
Supporters Gol Sur
Brigadas Blanquiazules
Celtarras

Sweden:
Hammarby Ultras
Bara Bajare
Söder Bröder
Ultra Boys
Ultras Nord
Sol Invictus
Ultras Göteborg
Helsingborg Hardmongo
Yellow Fanatics
Borås Ultras
Gulsvart Ultras
Inferno Västerås
Fanatics
Peking Ultras
Boys Norrköping
Supras Malmö
Inferno Malmö
Boys Örebro
Royals Örebro
Fabriken Stockholm
UCS
Inferno Örgryte
Gårdapojkarna
Gefle Blue Boys
Västra Läktaren
Fedayn Aspudden
Ultras Rossobianco
Boltic Ultras
Ultras AFF

Turkey:
Genç Fenerbahçeliler
KFY
Grup CK
UNIFEB
Çarsi
AcademY
ultrAslan
Gecekondu
Anti-x
Alkaralar
Yali
KSK Çarsi
Texas
Tatangalar
Hodri Meydan
Nalçacililar
Mekansizlar
07 Gençlik
Sirinler
Çilginlar 38
Kizilcikli-Ayder
Nefer
Yigidolar
Tarzanlar
Çamlik
57 Gençlik

USA/Canada:
Sam's Army
Westside 109
Legion 1908
Triangle Soccer Fanatics
Section 8 Chicago
Centennial Firm
Legion 04
V-Army
Fort Knox
La Barra Brava
Screaming Eagles
La Norte
Fan Club United
Inferno
Texian Army
Mystics
Galaxians
LA Riot Squad
Ultimate Fan Organization
Dark Clouds
Midnight Riders
Timbers Army
Loyalists
Jesters
Rogue Cavaliers Brigade
Empire Supporters Club
Raging Bull Nation
The Crew

Morocco:
Frimija-Winners
Omega-Green boys
Ultras Askari

Ultras:
List of groups:

Brazil
Guarda Popular
Camisa 12
Super FICO

new and emerging ultra groups are the Barnet Massive and enfeild curva.

Source: Absolute Astronomy

Chicago Gangsters

Legendary tough guys such as Al Capone made Chicago the home to America's first gangsters. These hardened hooligans left a permanent mark in the history books of this bustling city by coining the Windy City as their center of operations for organized crime.

Gangsters as we now know them sprung up in Chicago in 1920 right after the passing of the 18th Amendment prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the United States. The overwhelming demand for "hootch" led to the formation of groups of gangsters that trafficked illegal alcohol and managed prostitution and gambling rings. The most well-known gang was the Chicago Outfit, which was headed by scandalous gangsters such as "Scarface" Al Capone and Johnny Torrio.

On Valentine's Day, 1929, the gang wars in Chicago culminated with the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Seven members of Bugs Moran's Northside gang (in competition with the Outfit) were found grotesquely gunned down in a garage. Although there was no supporting evidence to accuse Capone of the murders, it is highly suspected that he and his cohort, "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn, were the masterminds behind the slaughter. After Prohibition ended, the groups of gangsters slowly dissolved in Chicago, but there are remnants of these gangs still active today.

Besides being social deviants, Chicago's gangsters were highly active in politics. By interfering with elections, threatening the police, and pulling other illegal maneuvers, gangsters succeeded in influencing the greater Chicago area.

For a closer look at Chicago’s gangster history, try visiting the locations listed below. They are sure to excite the aura of the early 1900s in any emerging historian.

Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery
For truly motivated 1920’s gangster aficionados, the Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery located in a nearby Chicago suburb is a must. The cemetery can be found about 25 minutes outside of Chicago in the town of Hillside. Holding over 400 family mausoleums, the largely Italian cemetery draws visitors from around the world. Gangster legends such as Al Capone, Deanie O’Bannion, Hymie Weiss, “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn, and the Genna brothers along with other big-time criminals are all laid to rest at this historic plot. Besides gangsters, Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery also holds the graves of the bishops and archbishops of Chicago in the noted Bishops’ Mausoleum.

Holy Name Cathedral
This beautiful Catholic Cathedral in the heart of Chicago retains a deep connection to the city’s gangster past. Many bootlegging criminals in the 1920s held strong to the Catholic faith and often attended mass at Holy Name Cathedral on Sunday. In 1926, the North Side Gang leader Hymie Weiss was gunned to death steps outside of the Cathedral. The submachine gun that ended his life left a permanent bullet mark in the white stone that visitors still can fit their finger in today. Enter the Gothic-style church to view the intricately carved bronze doors, heavenly bronze statues, and the Cathedral alter adorned with Catholic relics.

Author: Molly Ryan

Cataclysm

TinyTrader (Underground Server)

XTC Repeater

FBI and NCSoft close L2X

11.20.2006
FBI Agents working in conjunction with officials from NCsoft’s® North American business successfully closed down a computer game operation alleged to be reaping profits by providing a fraudulent service to its players. The operation was closed down after multiple raids and interviews were conducted in various cities from California to Virginia.

Federal search warrants were served on owners of L2Extreme who were also questioned during the raid. L2Extreme was providing its users with unauthorized service and code for NCsoft’s online computer game, Lineage® II. The warrants enabled officials to halt L2Extreme’s operations while collecting further evidence in the course of the investigation.

The FBI estimates L2Extreme has up to 50,000 active users on its service. NCsoft estimates that monetary losses and damages from the operation are costing NCsoft millions of dollars per year.

L2Extreme advertised on its website, www.l2extreme.com, that more than half million registered users had subscribed to play.

“Operations like this essentially are defrauding customers by stealing from companies like NCsoft,” said Matt Esber, NCsoft North America general counsel. “In the end those losses impact our customer support, product development, operational areas and ultimately they impact our player communities, most of which are trying to play games legitimately. This group in particular was downloading our version of the Lineage II software from our servers, costing us close to a million dollars in realized bandwidth costs during the period it was operational.

“We’ve taken this action because we strongly believe in defending the intellectual property rights that we’ve worked so hard to create. We’re extremely pleased that the FBI has worked with us so diligently to bring this particular case to its current state and we want our customers to understand that we will continue to fight similar operations in the future in order to maintain the integrity of all NCsoft games.”

The investigation into the L2Extreme operation is ongoing.

Source:

Lineage II (board 1)

Lineage II (board 2)

Lineage II (board 3)