by Garret Ean | Feb 8, 2012 |
Free Keene activists have often been portrayed as an alternative to the mainstream of whatever it is they’re compared to. In NH state politics, they are the ominous extreme that some politicians take care to avoid being associated with. In the city of Keene itself, always considered a more socialist and statist locality in New Hampshire, activists with that region’s liberty movement have had little influence over the rigidly ritual Keene city council. During a protest drinking game which featured water in glass bottles, Mayor Dale Pregent had activists arrested, though charges were later dropped. In recent history, there have not been any city council measures which have been either proposed or revoked as credited to Free Keene activism.
In the past few days, a story has been brewing over whether the city would accept hundreds of thousands in federal dollars to purchase an armored assault vehicle (more…)
by Ian | Feb 8, 2012 |
UPDATE – Nov 2018 – Due to LENCO’s takedowns and their likely unauthorized use of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck”, this video is gone from YouTube. However, it has been now uploaded to LBRY.IO and will be protected by the blockchain. Watch it here after you download the free LBRY.io app.
As you saw in my last post, LENCO, the manufacturer of the BEARCAT pulled their militaristic, violence-fetishizing promo video down from their youtube channel, but not before someone ripped it down to MP4. Now the folks at Copblock have uploaded it to their channel and word is other people are uploading it to their channels. Here’s the video again, for those who haven’t seen it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tx-oRkQnr0
by Ian | Feb 8, 2012 |
Sign the online petition to keep Keene Bearcat-free!
Isn’t it interesting that LENCO decided to pull the video offline this week? Do you think they’ve ever experienced pushback from a community like they have from Keene? They REALLY don’t want the city council to see this.
Luckily, it appears a helpful individual had the forethought to rip the video before they could pull it. So, perhaps you know someone who would like to upload this video to Youtube, Metacafe, or Liveleak? Here it is in MP4 form.
This is the video LENCO doesn’t want you or the city council to see. If you find a link to it on a video sharing site like the above-mentioned, please let me know so I can post it here.
UPDATE: Copblock has uploaded a copy to their Youtube.
by Ian | Feb 8, 2012 |
Sign the online petition to keep Keene Bearcat-free!
LENCO’s head salesman, Jim Massery admitted on the phone today that he didn’t think it should be shown to the council as it’s intended to market to the police.
Of course, that’s the point. LENCO is not marketing the BEARCAT to police as a rescue vehicle, as the council has been told. The councilors should see how this monstrosity is being promoted. If you haven’t, please watch the video that the city attorney doesn’t want you or the city commission to see. (Also, note that LENCO changed the permissions on their video to make it so it is not searchable and also so it can’t be embedded on other websites…like this one.) Then come out on Thursday evening and speak out against it. It’s our chance to reverse the deal and say, “Thanks but no tanks!”
LENCO’s head of sales also said he’d be attending the Keene committee meeting, which tells me LENCO doesn’t quite think they have this sale in-the-bag.
by Ian | Feb 7, 2012 |
Kudos to Keene police’s chief Ken Meola for being able to admit he was wrong. In a letter to the FOP committee and city boss John MacLean, Meola states (see the letter on page 27 of this PDF):
Since implementation, the following observations/feedback has been noted:
– Numerous mechanical difficulties have arisen with the machines and they continue to present.
– The public is finding the technology difficult to operate.
– The technology is not conducive to customers of the downtown businesses.
– Downtown merchants have reported constant complaints about the new kiosks and have reported down-turns in business as a result. (more…)
by Heika | Feb 7, 2012 |
I know there has been much hoopla regarding the Lenco BearCat, but since I am unable to attend this Thursday’s meeting, I wrote city council a quick letter:
I would first like to take a moment and say thank you to Terry Clark, for his quiet attempts in educating the city of the Lenco BEARCAT and opposing its being in Keene. I feel I made the right choice in voting for him, as he truly listens and cares what people in this city want. I hope the rest of the city council takes note of him and follows suit.
With that said, I am flabbergasted as to why there is even consideration for this war-like machine for Cheshire County. Keene is the biggest town/city in the county, and we certainly don’t need it! Thermal cameras so whoever is in the BEARCAT can see what’s going on in the ‘privacy’ of homes? Gun stands? We, in NH are able to boast that we live in one of the safest places in the country. Now you want to make it a military state? People feeling threatened and nervous by the sheer SIGHT of this monstrous ‘truck’?
I have personally done a bit of research on these machines, and have found that this would not be beneficial in the least to our area. When it needs to be serviced or a part replaced, we need to take it to MA (there are only 4 places in the country that service them). I understand the government (thanks a lot, Bush and Obama) will give Keene a grant of about $285,000 to purchase the BEARCAT, but will the grant also cover the cost of repairs and upkeep? I do believe that will be coming from taxpayers such as myself. No thank you! What about the money/resources to effectively train people to use it? I do not want to see many of the KPD have such a powerful tool as they already abuse the ones they have. You, as city council, have done some great maneuvering and compromising with certain situations in the past, but you have NOT been good with taxpayers’ money. You have continued to blow it on ridiculous things that we don’t NEED and many people don’t WANT. I strongly urge you to think VERY carefully about this piece of equipment.
As cited from the MSNBC website, “Other criminal justice experts have questioned whether police need minitanks, saying they’re often used for mundane tasks such as serving warrants, and create a sense of police as military soldiers rather than neighbors. They also contend that BearCats and other SWAT machinery do little to prevent violent crimes, which have fallen steadily in the past decade.” The crime rate in the US is the lowest it has been since 2002, despite the population being at its highest since then.
Its bullet-proof armor sounds great, but really, how often do we have shoot outs in Cheshire County? Here’s a fact for you: Roughly 50 officers die per year in the US while on duty. That is in the entire COUNTRY. Not much! One other thing to consider: The only people this ‘tank’ will protect are the 2-10 people inside it. Please don’t hide behind the guise of this being an all-terrain vehicle that will assist in the once in a great while rescues that occur. BEARCAT stands for Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck. Again, utter nonsense!
I know that MANY people in Keene feel the same way I do about this machine. Please take another look at the petition that has been going around town. You will see that not only “the free keeners” don’t want this image for our quaint and beautiful town, but business owners, city workers, political figures, teachers, parents, and people that voted for YOU are also saying THANKS BUT NO TANKS!
Free Keene activists have often been portrayed as an alternative to the mainstream of whatever it is they’re compared to. In NH state politics, they are the ominous extreme that some politicians take care to avoid being associated with. In the city of Keene itself, always considered a more socialist and statist locality in New Hampshire, activists with that region’s liberty movement have had little influence over the rigidly ritual Keene city council. During a protest drinking game which featured water in glass bottles, Mayor Dale Pregent had activists arrested, though charges were later dropped. In recent history, there have not been any city council measures which have been either proposed or revoked as credited to Free Keene activism.
