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Title: Federal team arrives to police massive Rainbows gathering (Gestapo U.S.A.)
Source:
www.casperstartribune.net
URL Source: http://www.casperstartribune.net/ar ... 285d8608a68725747000006b71.txt
Published: Jun 25, 2008
Author: CHRIS MERRILL
Post Date: 2008-06-25 01:49:52 by Ferret Mike
Keywords: None
Views: 3066
Comments: 39
RIVERTON -- They come from every region of the United States. They drive or fly in -- just as they have to this central Wyoming city -- about 40 of them toting dogs, guns, cuffs and federal badges. Their job from now to the first half of July will be to follow and police a massive group of counterculture campers who advocate peace and love for the planet earth, and who assemble annually on federal lands -- somewhere. Just like the officers, the campers also come from all over America. This year, as it has done for the past 11 years, the federal government has assembled a highly specialized force under the generic title, "Incident Management Team," to patrol the Rainbow Family of Living Light. The Rainbow Family has assembled on public lands every year, somewhere in the United States, since 1972, and the events occasionally draw up to 25,000 participants. The family has no official leadership structure, and all decisions regarding the gathering and its location are always made spontaneously by a consensus of influential participants. While those participants claim a constitutional right to assemble for "peaceable" purposes on federal lands with or without a permit, officials with the U.S. Forest Service cite a legal obligation to protect the natural and cultural resources under their care. Up until this year, the team has generally approached the get-together as a technically illegal event. This year, however, as the Rainbows start to gather near Big Sandy in the Wind River Mountains, the federal government is trying what USDA Undersecretary Mark Rey described as an "experiment." The Forest Service is attempting to work collaboratively with the Rainbow Family, under an operating plan, in recognition of the agency's inability to stop the event -- but also in an attempt to better protect the forest from the impact of tens of thousands of people, their vehicles, movements and waste. The gathering will be in full swing in the Bridger-Teton National Forest July 1-7, although possibly more than 1,000 participants have already arrived and begun setting up camps, rest room facilities and water delivery systems. Incident Commander Gene Smithson, a senior special agent with the Forest Service, has worked on the federal management team for Rainbow gatherings for the past four years. A good portion of his year-round job since he took over command has been to track Rainbow get-togethers, advise and consult with local authorities for smaller, regional gatherings that take place sporadically, and coordinate efforts to minimize the impacts of the assemblies whenever and wherever they happen, he said. The Rainbow Family is a loosely affiliated jamboree of craft-trading, music-playing, dancing, juggling, often pot-smoking and sometimes semi-clad folks, many of whom reject some of the federal and state laws the officers are sworn to uphold. Especially those laws that criminalize the possession and illicit use of controlled substances. "There's a lot of drug use," Smithson said. "Marijuana, LSD, methamphetamines, mushrooms, cocaine, prescription pain meds. Just about everything." Because of the sheer size of the gathering, and because the Family has no real membership structure, the gatherings inevitably draw not only those who subscribe to the basic tenets of the Rainbow philosophy -- which are centered on peace and a gentle existence -- but also draw known criminals, as well as violent and troubled individuals. During last year's Arkansas gathering, officers arrested about 100 participants for a wide variety of offenses, including disorderly conduct and crimes related to alcohol abuse, Smithson said. Federal authorities also often must respond to outbreaks of communicable diseases and maladies, such as tuberculosis, scabies and even dangerous bacterial infections, Smithson said. The Rainbows operate their own medical treatment center at the camp site, he said, but they can't handle all types of medical ailments and emergencies. At a recent Rainbow gathering, there was an outbreak of potentially deadly meningitis, Smithson said. Local health authorities had to scramble to treat dozens of participants. The Forest Service is attempting to work as collaboratively as possible with the Rainbow Family, Smithson said, in order to better protect not only the forest but the people in and around the event. Environment reporter Chris Merrill can be reached at chris.merrill@trib.com or at (307) 267-6722.
Poster Comment: The bottom line folks is your right to assemble is extremely scary and inconvenient for the powers that be. Without these twig pigs all that would happen is people would gather peacefully in the woods then go home. What is intimidating and unhealthy is not people exercising Constitutional Rights in a way that does not consume and buy event infrastructure services and insurance, but pigs intimidating unarmed people with automatic rifles, tasers, pepper spray, field court room set-ups to adjudicate harassment tickets on the spot to try to intimidate people into leaving. I know people who have been beat up and arrested for merely going out to the woods with friends once a year. The gathering peaks on July 4th, let's see what happens with it for all this garbage bullshit they have repackaged to try to sell this as kinder, gentler fascism we all need to protect ourselves from ourselves.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 38.
#21. To: Ferret Mike (#0)
That's it! They're EEEVIL!!!! :_) OMG I hate the press.
The latest Cop outrage, the recent tasering of a non-violent protester at Ken Kesey free speech plaza at Willamette and Broadway.
You have some freak in a suit going around spraying an unknown substance. I don't usually agree with the pigs. But this seems justified. I watched over half the video but got bored. They guy was looking for trouble. Were you in this video?
It was obviously water. The pigs have a directive to disrupt any political activity we do. The Tasering was unwarranted, and was geared at not promoting public safety, but at disrupting political activity of people who hate the status quo. I don't know if Tim has posted any video with me in it, I have not watched all he has posted. If I see one with me in it, I'll let you know. Personally I think I am very articulate and photogenic. ;-)
Maybe it was obviously water. I wasn't there so I can' really tell. But from what I saw of the video in todays climate (which I think was staged 911 etc) a police officer seeing a guy going around in a white suit spraying a clear substance would probably be alarming. There are other clear liquids that have no odor that aren't water. Do you see how a cop would possibly be alarmed by that behavior? Even it it didn't rise to the level of tazering someone. I personally think tazers should be banned. I think if someone is assaulted with a tazer they would be correct to view it as an attempt on their life and to act accordingly.
Volunteer tree cutters contracted by SMJ House arrived at 6 am April 28 to cut down five trees. "The reason we want to remove the trees is to restore the historic landscape," says Rene Grube, director of Recreational Services. "We don't want anyone to get hurt." At the sound of the chainsaws, McCarthy traversed from his sweetgum post to a nearby incense cedar, protecting both trees from the cut. McCarthy says he was told by one of the tree cutters, "I'd just as soon cut the tree with you in it." McCarthy claims he was threatened by one of the workers who mentioned "a gun in the truck." No stranger to tree-sits, McCarthy was seriously injured in a fall from a downtown tree during a protest in July 1998. Kathleen Larson, director of the SMJ House, was not present during the cut and could not confirm nor deny the threats claimed by McCarthy. However, Larson says, "The policy we maintain with all SMJ House volunteers is that they should have no contact with McCarthy." She also says that it has been made clear among volunteers that they should do no harm to the protester. When the volunteer cutters were able to cut only three of the five marked trees, they called Larson, who said simply, "Let's just leave it at that." Six days earlier, on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 22, individuals headed to support McCarthy's tree-sit were blocked by a sizeable show of police force on 4th Ave., between Pearl and High streets. According to observer Leeanne Siart, there were about 14 police cars, eight police motorcycles and 30 police officers to the 10 protesters cited with disorderly conduct. (Two protesters were ultimately arrested.) Chuck Fee, who also witnessed the events from his Oregon Social Learning Center (OSLC) workplace, says, "Work ground to a halt — we felt like the SWAT team was here." Tim Lewis of Eugene Copwatch says, "It was all very mellow, not a confrontational critical mass at all … It seemed the main goal of the police was to ID people who they are suspicious of." Lewis and Siart both witnessed police officers asking protesters for their Social Security numbers, which, says Lewis, "They aren't allowed to do." — BW http://www2.eugeneweekly.com/2003/050103news.html What you don't see is the 'Tom and Jerry' aspect of the game at that particular action. The cops sniff in and figure out what they think they can get away with, they knew exactly what was going on, as they had informants involved in this event. Nobody in or around this action actually feared the street theater or had any doubt that the contents of the container was water. Above is a story of a sit I did at the SMJ house, Eugene's only museum.
Who owned the tree? Did you have permission to be in that tree? I like trees. They are beautiful. I work with wood being a contractor and all. I preserve wood. I have so much scrap wood that I have saved over the years that I will likely never use it all. But I have saved it and didn't throw it away. Part of what I do is historical restoration. I think things like the redwoods should be preserved as best as possible. All the old growth trees aren't going to be to be saved. They eventually die and should be used. Trees are a renewable resource. They can be replanted and will grow again. I have used redwood many times. (i'm not saying you were sitting in a redwood i'm just using it as an example). A balance should be struck so that some trees can be harvested and replanted while others preserved so our children and grandchildren and future decedents can see those and other great trees. But there are also private property rights. Do you believe in private property?
The sweet gum and other trees which were cut at the SMJ House was on public land owned by the City of Eugene, Oregon. I have yet to do a sit on privately owned land. Well, of course except for the one in which I was only banner hanging in an incense cedar where the Eugene Nike Store was built on 24 July 1998 in which a kind security guard helped precipitate me falling. That will be 10 years ago in a couple of weeks.
Just wondered.
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#25. To: IndieTX (#21)
--
#28. To: Ferret Mike (#25)
The latest Cop outrage, the recent tasering of a non-violent protester at Ken Kesey free speech plaza at Willamette and Broadway
#30. To: Old Friend (#28)
#31. To: Ferret Mike (#30)
#34. To: Old Friend (#31)
(Edited)
For the Trees Tree-sitter, protester and activist Michael McCarthy, perched in a sweetgum in front of Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson (SMJ) House this week, says he "woke up to the sound of chainsaws."
An estimated 30 police officers stop and question about 10 protesters April 22 on their way to SMJ House.
#35. To: Ferret Mike (#34)
#37. To: Old Friend (#35)
(Edited)
#38. To: Ferret Mike (#37)
The sweet gum and other trees which were cut at the SMJ House was on public land owned by the City of Eugene, Oregon. I have yet to do a sit on privately owned land.
Replies to Comment # 38.