catscradle | DNC Coverage

I've been immersed in the start of the summer quarter for both schools I work for, to explain why DNC updates are a bit touch and go right now. Here's what's been in the news the past few days:

If you're coming to Denver to protest at the DNC, you might want to leave your bike at home. Proposed Ordinance Restricts What Protesters Can Carry - The Denver police chief claims that they will not arrest people with bikes and pad locks, but folks like the ACLU and Recreate '68 maintain that the way the rule is written, technically the police can arrest them.

So how many police will be out there? Well, at Least 900 Officers will be brought in to help at the DNC - This is in addition to the regular police force that will be here. There's not been a number published of actual police that will be on the streets yet. In addition to the police, there will be nearly a million dollars worth of surveillance camera's installed around the city. This of course brings joy to the hearts of the people of Denver. We'll be keeping those cameras after the convention.

For those wishing to start their criminal justice careers in Denver this August, you can forget it. There's a hiring freeze on all positions of authority and medical personal right now.

The last bit of news isn't about the DNC, but the election. Denver has decided to nix the voting machice and go back to the paper ballot. Take THAT Diebold! The last Congressional election was a miserable disaster here. The Mayor ended up paying all the parking tickets for the people that had to wait in long lines.

More as it comes in...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I saw Hooligans and mostly enjoyed the flick. But I have to admit, the scene that left the biggest impression wasn't ol blue eyes. It was the comment that London is the most watched city in the world - and how the lads and wandered around with hoods up.

At first I thought the cam concept was really cool! Tune in anywhere in the world and watch real time! London, Paris, Bourbon Street! Yeah! Trust the idiots in power to take a good idea and twist it into their own evil purposes. There are no less than six of those nasty little white streaming cameras across the new Holly Street Bridge. If you count every camera I can see between home and work the number goes up to around 50. And now... oh joy! $1M more?

I'm I just TOO paranoid if I'm starting to plan ways to and from that aren't watched by Big Brother? Just in case, of course.

Eh, who am I kidding? If the cameras don't get us, the Blackhawks surely will! With the temp hovering around 100, the drought turning us into a dustbowl, one starts to wonder what the real difference is between here and Baghdad...? I'm starting to think we've both been occupied by enemy combatants wearing US uniforms.

41 days and counting!

Yeah, the cameras are not a welcome addition. As some people have pointed out already, it doesn't really deter crime, it just pushes it into a different neighborhood. Or gives the DPD a reason to cut jobs. Worst of all, they're being invasive. Where will the cameras be after the convention is anyone's guess. They made it seem as though they'll keep moving them around. Wonderful. Say hello to my Big Brother.

My favorite part is how they "want the public to feel comfortable with the idea". I'll bet! They're our friends... they want us to be happy! Or they just want us to be good sheep and not get pissed. Either way, life as we know it very much over.

My apocalyptic heart loves that icon *G*

The American libertarian ideal of live and let live has certainly been a thing of the past for some time now. Bush may have not been the first to take civil liberties away, but he's certainly taken away the most of anyone else. Amazing what one group of people can do given 8 years. For the first time in my life, I'm wondering what the world will be like in the next year - you can't count on the same old same old anymore.

DNC Coverage

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