Iam Legion  noprofits4lies@yahoo.com> wrote:

The now-famous Pier 57 in New York, used as the jail
facility for holding protestors arrested during the
Republican National Convention, was leased by the
Republican National Committee, according to the
Certificate of Occupancy and the Fire Safety
Inspection Certificate for the pier.

The implications of the Republican National Committee
leasing the pier, and arranging for the NYPD to then
use the pier as a detention facility for people
protesting the RNC, are quite startling. The
ramifications for both the Republican Party and for
the City of New York (for entering into a partnership
with an organization essentially operating a private
jail facility), both legally and politically, could be
serious indeed.

More important, perhaps, are the possible
ramifications for U.S. citizens when the political
party in power is leas ing out property for the state
to use for detaining political rivals. Further, the
fact that the pier had signs posted in plain view
which declared the facility to be hazardous and
warning that protective gear must be used when
entering, could also complicate matters for the
Republicans.

Several questions become obvious. First, did the city
know what the Republican National Committee intended
to do with Pier 57, when the certificates were
initially issued? Second, what legal arrangement was
made between the NYPD and the Republican Party for the
use of the pier? Third, are there any laws governing
additional permits etc that must be obtained for any
organization to legally operate a private jail
facility? Fourth, can such facilities use NYPD
personnel, who are employees of the city? Finally, to
what degree if any did the Republican Party maintain
oversight or control of operations, conditions, etc at
Pier 57?

Drew Poe

scolding the alternative media or really the indy type media for "dropping the ball" mis-understands how by and large the indy type media works.

the indy type media is very different then the mainstream media, operating and coming togethor on a more tactical, event-based operation then as a steady production mill/operation. though there are exceptions no doubt. (YET, *these* are *exceptions* -- mostly in print based mediums).


better to analyze why this 'other-then-Normal' media is as it is, from the ground up, rather then comparing it to the "professional" media in a one-two bang.

you are shadow-boxing.

As much as I wouldn't put it past the RNC to lease Pier 57, I doubt that they're stupid enough to have committed their name to paper. I would love to see copies of Certificate of Occupancy and the Fire Safety Inspection Certificate for the pier. Until then, it's all conspiracy speculation.

One of the above comments contains a repost of something posted to several internet news sites and blogs etc.

I did not post it to any of those places. The comments attributed to me actually originally were included in an email message I sent out trying to solicit information from other journalists on a listserv, to see if anyone had any info about it and if anyone knew of any sort of confirmation of the claims. I did not realize someone might mistakenly repost my comments to a public forum, although this is not meant to imply I'm angry at them or that there's any ill feeling over it at all. It's just an unfortuante incident in that now an ongoing investigation has been somewhat compromised, and a large number of folks are digging for information but in all the wrong directions and places but don't realize it.

So no hard feelings here, but I WOULD request that that email of mine no longer be forwarded and reposted as it is simply adding to a lot of unnecessary confusion and certainly was not meant to be public nor as a news report or story --- it was merely to let folks on a closed listserv know what I'd just heard and intended to investigate, and to see if they knew anything about the claims. That message is a week old and no longer relevant to any current investigating on my part. It's a mistake for it to be misinterpreted, or for anyone to base any of their own work/investigation on it --- you'll be wasting a lot of time looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place and asking the wrong people.

Drew Poe