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Brian4Liberty
08-30-2010, 01:39 PM
Random searches of backpacks?

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."


Associated Press writer Martin Griffith reports that this year, there has been an influx in undercover law enforcement during this year’s celebration.

"It's a police state out there," said lawyer David Levin, who offers legal advice to Burning Man attendees.

He said that undercover officers in costumes have asked Burning Man attendees for drugs and drug-sniffing dogs and their handlers have patrolled around the camp.

"There's very little criminal activity at the event, but they [undercover officers] cite and arrest people in order to justify their existence.”

Around 300 attendees last year were arrested or cited by officers.

The Bureau of Land Management and Pershing County Sheriff's Department in Nevada said that more enforcement is needed at the event.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/41868/



Burning Man fans say cops too heavy-handed

By MARTIN GRIFFITH (AP) – 9 hours ago

RENO, Nev. — David Levin represents entrepreneurs, investors and developers in his legal practice. As an aside, he's a Burning Man barrister — offering free legal advice to those who run afoul of the law at the annual counterculture festival on the Nevada desert.

The Palo Alto, Calif., attorney maintains law enforcement has become so heavy-handed at the eclectic art and music gathering that he was compelled to form a legal defense team known as Lawyers for Burners to help participants who were cited or arrested.

He and other Burning Man fans accuse overzealous officers of destroying the quality of an otherwise peaceful celebration of radical self-expression to be held Monday through Sept. 6. Some 50,000 people are expected to gawk at offbeat artwork, wear bizarre costumes or nothing at all and torch the event's 40-foot signature effigy on the Black Rock Desert, about 110 miles north of Reno

Among other issues, Levin said, female undercover agents in costume have asked male Burners for drugs, drug-sniffing dogs and their handlers have roamed camps, and armed officers have "snooped" on revelers at dances. Last year, almost 300 Burners were cited or arrested by federal officers

"It's a police state out there," Levin said. "There's very little criminal activity at the event, but they cite and arrest people in order to justify their existence."

Officials from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Pershing County Sheriff's Department cite a new study by U.S. Park Police that concludes an even larger police presence is needed. The two agencies plan to have 80 officers at this year's event — far below the 144 recommended in the Park Police report.

"I don't want my guys to be party poopers, but we have a job to do," said Mark Pirtle, special agent in charge for the BLM. "They're not bad people, but they like to use drugs."

Last year, 65 percent of 287 citations issued by BLM rangers involved drugs, largely marijuana, LSD, mushrooms and ecstasy, with cocaine and heroin down on the list, Pirtle said.

"So many people think they can go out and smoke dope openly, but that's not the case," he said. "Pot possession is a felony under Nevada law."

Said Pershing Sheriff Ron Skinner, "(Burning Man) could be classified as an extended seven-day rave that's infested with drugs and alcohol and all sorts of bizarre behavior. I've never heard that complaint about too many officers at it other than from those people who are anti-law enforcement and anti-authoritarian. Anarchy is not an option."

...
Burners' complaints about law enforcement spiked in 2007 and 2008 after some BLM officers were accused of conducting unlawful searches, Goodell said.
...
Lee Rowland of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada said she has received complaints that some officers are pressuring participants to consent to searches.
...
"They give consent for a search and an officer finds a bag of pot in their backpack," Pirtle said. "Those are the ones who go back and say, 'This officer pressured me.'"

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iBjQWkCA1h57xt4QY7QXq1Lxqp6wD9HTO9CO1

Brian4Liberty
08-31-2010, 02:22 PM
Damn hippie communists! ;)



Burning Man festival turns the world on its head
by Alan Markow
Tue, Aug 31st 2010

Black Rock City, Nevada - I'm reporting from the fifth largest city in Nevada, although you won't find it on any AAA map or GPS setting. BRC, as it is often referred to by its 45 to 50,000 "citizens," is a community that could best be described as evanescent. Alive with activity for a single week in late summer, it disappears without a trace from its desert location right after Labor Day. But in the minds of those who attend the annual Burning Man Festival, Black Rock City lives on throughout the year.

Burning Man is a singular piece of Americana that has always been California-centric despite its Nevada location. It began on a lark in San Francisco 25 years ago, and has passed through some rough and tumble stages on its way to becoming an iconic annual ritual. Today's Burning Man is sophisticated compared to early editions, although most people would still find it raw and uncompromising.

There's still no outside power, no phone service and no RV hook-ups. But the thousands of porta-potties are fairly well maintained these days, and the generator- and solar-powered "grid" has grown in complexity every year.

There is no commerce to speak of at Burning Man. Once you've purchased your ticket, everything else at the Festival is free. It's called a "gifting economy," in which everyone contributes what they can to the community and asks nothing in return. This system is not to be confused with bartering, where goods and services are traded for other goods and services. People bring their skills, their creative output, or their liquor cabinets to the playa and give them away.

For example, some of the top massage therapists from the Bay Area come to Burning Man annually. Any citizen can sign up for a massage at no charge. Other Burners open up free bars, pancake houses, tee-shirt silk screening operations, or clothing boutiques with nary a price in sight. That anti-consumerism spirit is one way Burning Man turns the world on its head for the week. But there are many more ways you know you're not in Kansas anymore once you've passed through the Festival's gates.
...

More:
http://caivn.org/article/2010/08/31/burning-man-festival-turns-world-its-head

dannno
08-31-2010, 03:22 PM
Oh man I wish I could find the clip of Reno 911 where they dressed up for burning man... I think it's season 1 episode 10..

phill4paul
08-31-2010, 03:38 PM
Damn kids are having too much fun! Taking drugs. Getting nekkid. Listening to load anti-social music. Screwing and such carrying on that they might incite other people to join them.

They must be stopped. At all costs! Damn hippy kids ain't got American values so they shouldn't have American rights! :rolleyes:

angelatc
08-31-2010, 03:47 PM
Put it on private property. If it's on government property, dont be surprised when the government tries to run it.

Danke
08-31-2010, 03:48 PM
Oh man I wish I could find the clip of Reno 911 where they dressed up for burning man... I think it's season 1 episode 10..

About 6 minutes into it:

h ttp://www.megavideo.com/?v=TCW9UJIL

phill4paul
08-31-2010, 03:48 PM
The people should try this. Every time the cops expose themselves by busting somebody the people should impersonate the pod people from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
The cops would then walk through a sea of podcasting so that there cover would be blown. People just pass on the podcast as the cop moves through the crowd.
Bonus. It would be damned freaky to the cops that are the recipient. :D

YouTube - Podcasting with Donald Sutherland (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prT1E_S__jM&feature=related)

dannno
08-31-2010, 04:02 PM
Put it on private property. If it's on government property, dont be surprised when the government tries to run it.

It is literally the middle of fuckin nowhere in the desert.. it is practically short-term homesteading.

There is no reason the government needs to do ANYTHING. All of those people go out there on their own and handle their own. It has been going on for decades, there nothing wrong with it. They leave no trace when they leave.

dannno
08-31-2010, 04:09 PM
I don't know the full history, but it looks like the area was established as a preserve in 2000, long after the annual festival began.

Indy Vidual
08-31-2010, 07:40 PM
..."Pot possession is a felony under Nevada law."

I find this quote hard to believe, and it does seem to be false.
Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas)
http://www.shouselaw.com/nevada/marijuana-possession.html

State of Nevada
http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/marijuana-laws-and-penalties/nevada.htm
Possession of less than 1 oz, first offense, over age 21 = Misdemeanor

james1906
08-31-2010, 07:45 PM
I've never been, but didn't Burning Man jump the shark about 15 years ago?

Anti Federalist
08-31-2010, 07:51 PM
I don't know the full history, but it looks like the area was established as a preserve in 2000, long after the annual festival began.

Where's your "Jesus" DEA agent picture?

Got any drugs in there???