Brooklyn Red Leg
06-01-2012, 03:37 PM
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/local/tampa-police-study-chicago-protests-to-hone-rnc-strategy/1232031
By Leonora LaPeter Anton (http://ec2-50-16-126-62.compute-1.amazonaws.com/writers/leonora-lapeter-anton), Times Staff Writer
Leonora LaPeter Anton (http://ec2-50-16-126-62.compute-1.amazonaws.com/writers/leonora-lapeter-anton)Tampa Bay Times In Print: Sunday, May 27, 2012
CHICAGO
The socialists shouted and the Hare Krishnas hummed. Half a dozen men held up a Palestinian flag the size of a swimming pool. Middle-class moms in pink wielded cardboard guns, part of the antiwar crowd.
On the first day of the NATO summit last weekend, an estimated 3,000 protesters with every message imaginable swarmed south on Michigan Avenue. They were flanked on either side by compact lines of Chicago police officers.
A scrum of young people dressed in black and wearing masks snaked through the crowd carrying a red and black anarchy flag.
"What do we want?" they roared. "Dead cops! When do we want it? Now."
Oh yea, sure, "Anarchists" dressed in black and wearing masks. Aka - Undercover pigs trying to get a riot started so their buddies can come in with the billy clubs swinging. This is going to get ugly, folks. If you're like me, I'm going to be in Tampa protesting at the Convention, assuming I'm not working (may be doing that at Paulapalooza since my company works the security for the fairgrounds) or in jail of being a 'vagrant'.
I do know that, via the homeless grapevine, the Tampa cops and Hillsborough Sheriffs are coming out in force starting today. They are clearing all the homeless from downtown Tampa all the way up to Busch Blvd (which, thankfully I am located north of there). However, we've already noticed new people at some of the homeless feeds, some of whom are the downtownies, since they have only one direction to go: north. Its already been said that 1st offense for being homeless will be 3 days in County Motel. 2nd Offense is 30 days. 3rd offense could be anything (a year, exile...who knows). They have already banned 'panhandling' for every day but Sunday (and cut off the best blocks) which screws me because I sell ice-cold water/Coke, which is still considered the same as panhandling (nothing like local government to squelch your path out of living on the streets). You can also ONLY do it inside city limits, which ends only less than a mile from Busch Boulevard. You get caught on County Property panhandling, its a $75 fine IIRC (not to mention a $150 fine for dumpster diving).
The next few months are going to be hell here in Tampa for alot of people. Just be prepared for seeing weird shit if you come to the Convention and travel anywhere outside the downtown area.
By Leonora LaPeter Anton (http://ec2-50-16-126-62.compute-1.amazonaws.com/writers/leonora-lapeter-anton), Times Staff Writer
Leonora LaPeter Anton (http://ec2-50-16-126-62.compute-1.amazonaws.com/writers/leonora-lapeter-anton)Tampa Bay Times In Print: Sunday, May 27, 2012
CHICAGO
The socialists shouted and the Hare Krishnas hummed. Half a dozen men held up a Palestinian flag the size of a swimming pool. Middle-class moms in pink wielded cardboard guns, part of the antiwar crowd.
On the first day of the NATO summit last weekend, an estimated 3,000 protesters with every message imaginable swarmed south on Michigan Avenue. They were flanked on either side by compact lines of Chicago police officers.
A scrum of young people dressed in black and wearing masks snaked through the crowd carrying a red and black anarchy flag.
"What do we want?" they roared. "Dead cops! When do we want it? Now."
Oh yea, sure, "Anarchists" dressed in black and wearing masks. Aka - Undercover pigs trying to get a riot started so their buddies can come in with the billy clubs swinging. This is going to get ugly, folks. If you're like me, I'm going to be in Tampa protesting at the Convention, assuming I'm not working (may be doing that at Paulapalooza since my company works the security for the fairgrounds) or in jail of being a 'vagrant'.
I do know that, via the homeless grapevine, the Tampa cops and Hillsborough Sheriffs are coming out in force starting today. They are clearing all the homeless from downtown Tampa all the way up to Busch Blvd (which, thankfully I am located north of there). However, we've already noticed new people at some of the homeless feeds, some of whom are the downtownies, since they have only one direction to go: north. Its already been said that 1st offense for being homeless will be 3 days in County Motel. 2nd Offense is 30 days. 3rd offense could be anything (a year, exile...who knows). They have already banned 'panhandling' for every day but Sunday (and cut off the best blocks) which screws me because I sell ice-cold water/Coke, which is still considered the same as panhandling (nothing like local government to squelch your path out of living on the streets). You can also ONLY do it inside city limits, which ends only less than a mile from Busch Boulevard. You get caught on County Property panhandling, its a $75 fine IIRC (not to mention a $150 fine for dumpster diving).
The next few months are going to be hell here in Tampa for alot of people. Just be prepared for seeing weird shit if you come to the Convention and travel anywhere outside the downtown area.