Travis Book is best known for his role as singer and bass player for in the Grammy-nominated bluegrass outfit the Infamous Stringdusters.He’s also a hell of a solo artist and loves to shred some singeltrack when he can find time between nationwide touring gigs with the aforementioned Dusters.For the second year in a row, Book is combining his passion for solo performance with his love for mountain biking by hosting a 6-show tour at breweries scattered throughout  the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina and Virginia.“I got inspired to put Bluegrass, Bikes & Beers together because I love music, and riding bikes and drinking beer,” Book said in a recent interview with our sister publication Elevation Outdoors Magazine.For Book it’s not just about enjoying local trails, sampling area brews, and putting on a killer bluegrass show. He’s also using the Bluegrass, Bikes & Beers tour as a way to raise funds for trail maintenance and local trail building efforts.“We do a group ride during the day and then we play bluegrass and serve beer at a free event that night to help raise money for local bike clubs,” he said.If you live in the Blue Ridge region, chances are Book will be coming to a brewery near year in the next couple of months. Check out venues and dates below:April 22, Harrisonburg, VAPale Fire BrewingBenefiting Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC)4pm: Group Mountain Bike ride leaves from Pale Fire7pm: Music from Travis Book and The Hot SeatsApril 23, Roseland, VADevils Backbone Basecamp Brewpub and MeadowsBenefiting the Charlottesville Area Mountain Bike Coalition (CAMBC)10am: Group Mountain Bike ride leaves from Sherando Lake (parking lot at gate)12pm: Group Mountain Bike ride leaves from Devils Backbone2pm: Music from Travis Book and The Hot Seats6pm: Group Mountain Bike ride leaves from Devils BackboneApril 24, Roanoke, VASoaring Ridge Craft BrewersBenefiting the Roanoke Area chapter of IMBA (RIMBA)2pm: Group Mountain Bike ride on Mill Mountain Trails leaves from SRCB4pm: Music from Travis Book and The Hot SeatsMay 13, Brevard, NCOskar Blues WNCBenefiting The Pisgah Conservancy3pm: Group Mountain Bike ride OR trail run in Pisgah National Forest(leaving from Oskar Blues Brewery)5:30: Music from Travis Book and The Fireside CollectiveMay 15, Shelby, NCNewgrass Brewing CompanyBenefiting the Cleveland County/City of Shelby Rail-to-Trail project2pm: Urban Group Ride leaves from Newgrass Brewing5pm: Music From Travis Book and The Mark Schimick and Josh Daniel ProjectJune 4, Black Mountain, NCPisgah Brewing CompanyBenefiting Pisgah SORBA1pm: Group Mountain Bike Ride from Pisgah Brewing4pm: Happy Hour Music with Travis Book and guests7pm: Keller Williams, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Grateful GrassThe Bluegrass, Bikes, and Beers your is brought to you byIceMule Coolers, KEEN, Klean Kanteen, Osprey Packs, and Yakima. Click here for more info. 

By Dialogo September 24, 2013 Extortion by gang members and organized crime operatives is so common that it is known as a “war tax,” one Tegucigalpa taxi driver said. He and his fellow taxi drivers have to pay organized crime operatives to avoid becoming victims of violence, said the taxi driver, who asked to be identified only as “Carlos” for safety reasons. Organized crime groups have cells of operatives to collect extortion money, Carlos said. “It is the war tax,” he said. “We each have to pay 2,000 lempiras monthly, we hand it to the route boss and a gang member collects the sum from him.” The extortion demands are causing great economic harm to him and his fellow taxi drivers, Carlos said. After paying the extortionists, he and his fellow taxi drivers usually have very little money left over, Carlos said. “We are almost working only for them,” he said. But refusing to pay the extortion is not an option, he said. “If we don’t pay, they kill us,” he said. Carlos changed his routes because the extortion demands in his old route were higher, he said. Taxi drivers are not the only victims of organized crime extortionists. Owners of small grocery stores, clothing shop owners, and restaurant operators are also targets of organized crime extortionists, Carlos said. Many business people cannot afford to make the payments, and close their shops, stalls, and restaurants, Joya said. About 1,500 businesses close every year because they cannot afford to pay extortion demands, he said. Criminals killed at least 84 taxi drivers in Honduras in 2012, according to the National Human Rights Commission. Attackers killed most of them because they refused to pay extortion demands or were unable to make the payments, according to a commission report. Another 15 taxi drivers were severely injured, and 20 passengers were killed or wounded, the report said. Taxi drivers, restaurant operators and shop owners are not the only ones being targeted by extortionists. Even some priests have reported being victims of extortion, authorities said. Reports of extortion are on the increase, authorities said. In 2011, police in Tegucigalpa recorded 163 reports of extortion, authorities said. In 2012, police in the city recorded 755 reports of extortion, an increase of more than 450 percent. Military Police Businesses close, extortion victims killed Most of the organized crime operatives who collect extortion money are boys or teenagers, Joya said. “The collectors are young kids between the ages of 10 and 16, all of them are minors because organized crime groups know that they are protected by law and will be released within 24 hours if they are captured,” Joya said. The boys and teenagers go from one business to the next collecting extortion money, Joya said. “At the national level we estimate criminals are collecting $2.5 million from small businesses per month, or $30 million per year.” Youthful extortionists TEGUCIGALPA: In August 2013, the Honduran Congress approved the creation of the Military Police, which will work with the National Police to fight organized crime, general delinquency, and improve public safety. Fighting extortion by organized crime groups will be one of the main responsibilities of the Military Police. Organized crime operatives are forcing taxi drivers and small business owners in Honduras to pay nearly $10 million annually to extortionists, according to a recent report. There are 16 major markets in Tegucigalpa, where 14,000 stall owners sell clothing, electronics, produce and other kinds of food. Each of the stall owners pays about 300 lempiras a week in extortion money, according to a report by security analyst Billy Joya, a former Honduran police official. That adds up to 16 million lempiras a month and 192 million lempiras a year – the equivalent of $ 9.6 million. Extortion has become common in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and La Ceiba, according to the report and law enforcement officials. “War tax” The Military Police is scheduled to begin patrolling in Tegucigalpa and other cities in October 2013. Officials hope the Military Police will help combat extortion and other crimes. “We believe this strengthening will translate into reduced extortions, which by law are now considered acts of terrorism,” said Congressman German Leitzelar. my question is, do you keep a growth chart that can show population the progress of the business field where extortion payments are being eliminated? to what bank do they deposit those taxes, is there any surveillance on the bank accounts, where the amounts of the monthly deposits can be identified and matched with the dates and deposited amounts, and which analyzes what business does the deposited money come from? why don’t they use cops infiltrated as cab drivers!!!! to follow also the businesses that pay taxes a couple of times and then follow up to see where it leads to, if criminals are smart then disguise yourselves as criminals and you will be able to catch them!1 They will never be able to eliminate those delinquents because its a mob associated with the police and high-rank officials, so you need to start with the upper level in order to eliminate some of those delinquent mooches. It’s an unfortunate fact If we change its name, it’s identical to what goes on in Venezuela. Only God can change things, a civil servant will not put away a blackmailer because he cannot do it. If he does, he or his family gets killed, so he would rather play ignorant. This corruption occurs because the governments are accomplices as well and are not interested in doing anything, since there are policemen and politicians involved. It is necessary to perform a deep reform of the judicial laws of that country. THE SECURITY SITUATION IN HONDURAS IS LIKE A STRAIGHT JACKET. ON ONE HAND, ORGANIZED CRIME IS EITHER EXTORTING THE PEOPLE OR KILLING THEM, AND ON THE OTHER HAND, THE WAR TAX AGAINST THE CITIZENS WHO DON’T EVEN HAVE MONEY TO EAT, NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE PRICES OF THE BASIC FOOD BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF THE HIGH TAXES, TO THE POINT WHERE MUNICIPALITIES HAVE INCREASED TAXES 80 TIMES WITH NO JOBS AND WITHOUT ADDING THE SECURITY RATE. WE ARE CORNERED LIKE IN THE BATTLE BETWEEN HITLER AND THE JEWS…THEY WANT TO ELIMINATE US. It’s a shame what Honduras is going through. Be strong and don’t give in to this abuse and may God protect you from this evil. I wish people were patient, since the police forces will be improved. Yes…congrats to the government for taking immediate action to eliminate the delinquency that has been taking over in almost all countries of the world. I hope it serves as example for all governments worldwide. If the state and its institutions fulfilled their responsibilities, there would be no charges or theft!! I don’t understand why you publish this article discrediting Honduras. Just like all countries we have security issues but there are more good people than bad. I love Honduras and would never leave. It shows the level of social decomposition that the people of Latin America are experiencing.

By Eduardo Szklarz / Diálogo April 02, 2020 The Argentine Armed Forces have joined national prevention efforts against coronavirus to confront a potential infection peak. The Ministry of Defense ordered the creation of 14 Joint Emergency Zone Commands and 10 task forces nationwide.Service members will provide logistics support to security forces, conduct humanitarian assistance activities, distribute food, and provide health care to the population.“We have the entire capacity of the Armed Forces and their 90,000 men ready to take part, in different ways, in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic,” Argentine Minister of Defense Agustín Rossi told the press.On March 24, Rossi ordered all 15 military hospitals in the country to be ready to deal with a possible health emergency. Retired personnel up to 60 years old who are not in an at-risk group may be called to serve, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.Air Force and Army helicopters patrol the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, where 70 percent of the cases are concentrated, to alert security forces about violations of the mandatory quarantine the government decreed. While the majority of the population has complied with the president’s orders to stay home, many citizens have violated the order – a crime punishable by imprisonment.Army deploys hospitalThe Argentine Army set up a Mobile Military Hospital (HMR, in Spanish) in the town of Campo de Mayo, in Buenos Aires province, to increase health care services. The HMR has tents and units that provide first aid, surgery, and hospitalization. The Air Force will also deploy its HMR, which was fundamental with support efforts following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.Argentine Navy personnel distribute food in the town of Ushuaia to ensure compliance with the government’s social distancing decree. (Photo: Argentine Navy)The Military Tailoring department, which usually makes uniforms, began to produce masks (which are scarce in pharmacies) and sheets for surgical centers. In addition, the Armed Forces Joint Pharmaceutical Lab doubled its production of alcohol-based gel, another scarce item, to 660 gallons a week.Since the pandemic was declared, service members have also been cooperating to bring home the nearly 30,000 Argentines that remain stranded abroad. On March 21, two Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft flew to Peru to repatriate 140 Argentine citizens and return 140 Peruvian nationals that were in Argentina.Navy delivers foodPersonnel of the Southern Naval Area delivered food to Ushuaia residents, on the southernmost tip of Argentina, in an operation organized by the 14th Emergency Zone Command. The military distributed 800 bags of food in community kitchens and houses to ensure social distancing, the Navy said in a statement.As a preventive measure against COVID-19, the ARA Islas Malvinas ship has anchored prior to entering Puerto Belgrano Naval Base. The crew, which just finished the Combined Naval Antarctic Patrol with the Chilean Navy, wants to make sure they are not a source of infection.Border areasThe Armed Forces are also providing logistics support to the Gendarmerie, which patrols border areas. The governor of Salta province, Gustavo Sáenz, urged President Alberto Fernández to also authorize service members to participate in monitoring the “nearly 30 illegal border crossings” on the Bolivian border to prevent the virus from entering.“The Gendarmerie does not have enough human resources due to the border’s length,” said Sáenz in a YouTube video. “Mr. President, we need the Army in the streets. We need the Army on the borders to ensure that no one enters the country.”