hey, for those of you feelin inundated, i apologize for the blitz of posts....it was timely breaking news, at least in my world.

I don't know what to say about our friends Davo. Most of my experiences with vagrants is negative. Some have indeed fallen between the cracks though and my heart goes out to that old lady. I would have hated to been one of the cops sent in to clear them out.

The thing about cops they feel if it's a fair fight, if they somehow respond with proportionate force, somebody is not doing their job. The whole point is to avoid violence by stacking the odds. On the other hand how many times have we seen a couple dozen riot cops contain a mob of hundreds?

Do gooders... Up in the bay area, I've seen them lunge at cops just begging to get smacked with a baton. The more blood on TV the better.

well reno, over the years i have encountered lots of shades of gray....plenty of vagrants (even got punched by one for not giving him any change)....but these folks aren't of that ilk. they are organized to try to create some way to stay safe on the street while getting their lives back together, no alchohol/drugs or violence allowed....no second chance-you break the rules, your out....they are looking for an alternative to the shelter bed and the restictions involved (not enough available, cant keep your belongings - everybody/thing back out on the street inthe morning, couples and families are split up....a system that seems destined to keep you on your knees).

Oh i certainly don't fault the cops for doing their job, they were very professional, but their bosses, thats another thing. the shady thing is that the paddy wagon was from another jurisdiction, and the local was obscured, so it seems a bit of local rendition was going to be employed.

one thing i find interesting is how orchestrated these things often are...everyone had their part to play and knew the rules of engagement. everyones needs were fulfilled. years ago, during the big WTO uprising in seattle, I was working with the us attornies office designing their new digs, thoughout the event, they told me the script and (with the exception of those darned anarchists) things played out exactly as aggreed upon. a real peek behind the curtain. i think the size suprised everyone, but the locations and confrontations and results were all known negotiated and played out as planned.