Forget the right to assemble peacefully, communicate with other citizens at will, first amendment rights, or even the idea that you will be able to call 911 or a loved one when needed. The cops and some dumb ass manager decided to silence all cell phones instead of have to deal with a possible gathering of folks that may protest against this dumb ass manager.
As The Late Great George Carlin has said “any time you want to see if you have any rights just Google 1942 Japanese Americans” … and for a special perk do it with images selected.
Those cell sites are under the control of the fools that have hijacked our government and their low IQ thugs.
They are not under your control of the control of your wireless provider! You Pay and BART maylet you play!
San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) subway system stifled potential station protests this past Thursday by turning off underground cellular service at select BART stations from around 4 pm to 7 pm that day in an attempt to prevent protest organizers from communicating and organizing via mobile devices.
That move evokes thoughts of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak’s government-dictated cellular disruptions were used to try and prevent Egyptian protesters from organizing in a similar fashion this recently.
BART officials are sticking with the story that the shutdown was intended to keep its service running and subway riders safe.
Thus the rights you have can be suspended any time someone thinks they may somehow, possibly, in the future, through some chain of events, cause something to happen that they could use to scare people with; like safety.
“A civil disturbance during commute times at busy downtown San Francisco stations could lead to platform overcrowding and unsafe conditions for BART customers, employees and demonstrators,” says a statement on BART’s official site.
OK so lets put that in perspective:
A civil disturbance during (Pick any fucking time) at (pick any fucking place) could lead to (overcrowding, hostilities, high noise levels, excessive body odor, groping, etc.) and unsafe conditions (the great unsafe word) for (citizens, customers, pets, wildlife, fixtures, undocumented sex workers, homeless men, innocent SCHOOL children, nurses, police, fire, janitorial workers, employees and demonstrators).
There is a template for any PIO to justify anything…..
According to officials, BART’s method for blocking cell phone signals didn’t involve any kind of signal jamming–which could run afoul of the Communications Act of 1934, a measure that expressly forbids “maliciously interfering with the radio communications of any station licensed or authorized under the Act…” I guess they do not consider disabling a licensed station as “interfering”.
They simply interfered with a contracted agreement between you and your wireless provider keeping you from using your cell phone for emergency services and rendering you powerless against any threat.
The official decision to cut service was a two-pronged effort by BART police and Sherwood Wakeman, BART’s interim general manager. BART officials indicated that the organization itself has the power to, and did, turn off the wireless signals IT provides for transit riders. BART is a wireless provider? I call bullshit.
“Ultimately, I’m the one that implemented it,” said BART deputy police chief Benson H. Fairow in an interview with SF Appeal. “It was certainly run through channels. A lot of thought went into this.” (thus his ass is not on the line) SP
Nevertheless, most sane people and the Supreme Pundit contend that the act of shutting down cellular service in an effort to prevent protests – the first time BART has done so in its history – was wrong on its face.
Michael Risher, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, has written in a blog post. “All over the world people are using mobile devices to organize protests against repressive regimes, and we rightly criticize governments that respond by shutting down cell service, saying it’s anti democratic and a violation of the right to free expression and assembly … Are we really willing to tolerate the same silencing of protest here in the United States?”
Apparently the TV watching Pussys in the Bay area are….
As of right now, it appears that BART riders will have to suffer through that, and more. Although BART issued the following LIE in its statement that it, “accommodates expressive activities that are constitutionally protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Liberty of Speech Clause of the California Constitution,” BART also used its statement on the cellular shutdown to clarify the exact kinds of speech that is not allowed within stations. (which of course includes saying that BART sucks.)
“No person shall conduct or participate in assemblies or demonstrations or engage in other expressive activities in the paid areas of BART stations, including BART cars and trains and BART station platforms,” reads BART’s statement.
We can only suppose that means T-shirts with slogans, talking, hand gestures, grimaces, dancing, laughing, or reading subversive literature.