Dmac
Well-known member
fucking government. read about it here: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/jun/27/burning-man-balks-at-blm-upgrades/ and here: http://boingboing.net/2015/06/26/harry-reid-tells-blms-burnin.html
Harry Reid tells BLM's Burning Man squad to suck it up
By Cory Doctorow at 3:40 pm Fri, Jun 26, 2015
The senator from Nevada scoffed at the Bureau of Land Management's demand that Burning Man build it a $1m VIP compound with showers and flush toilets, saying that the festival's ethic of radical self-reliance should extend to its Fed minders.
“While I agree that the BLM should take its permitting duties seriously and work with Burning Man to both guarantee the safety of its participants and the protection of the environment, providing outlandishly unnecessary facilities for the BLM and its guests should be beyond the scope of the permitting requirements. Part of Burning Man’s philosophy is self-reliance and living with the elements is part of the experience. Flush toilets and laundry facilities can be found about ten miles away in Gerlach, Nevada, if BLM’s employees need such amenities,” Reid wrote, noting that he was an author of the legislation that designated the area a federally protected space.
According to the Reno paper, the request by the BLM is “unprecedented” in Burning Man’s more-than-two decade history, and would increase its 2015 permit fees to around $5 million. Burning Man organizers have refused so far to comply with the BLM’s request for the so-called Blue Pit compound.
June 27, 2015 in Nation/World
Burning Man balks at BLM upgrades
Associated Press
Harry Reid tells BLM's Burning Man squad to suck it up
By Cory Doctorow at 3:40 pm Fri, Jun 26, 2015
The senator from Nevada scoffed at the Bureau of Land Management's demand that Burning Man build it a $1m VIP compound with showers and flush toilets, saying that the festival's ethic of radical self-reliance should extend to its Fed minders.
“While I agree that the BLM should take its permitting duties seriously and work with Burning Man to both guarantee the safety of its participants and the protection of the environment, providing outlandishly unnecessary facilities for the BLM and its guests should be beyond the scope of the permitting requirements. Part of Burning Man’s philosophy is self-reliance and living with the elements is part of the experience. Flush toilets and laundry facilities can be found about ten miles away in Gerlach, Nevada, if BLM’s employees need such amenities,” Reid wrote, noting that he was an author of the legislation that designated the area a federally protected space.
According to the Reno paper, the request by the BLM is “unprecedented” in Burning Man’s more-than-two decade history, and would increase its 2015 permit fees to around $5 million. Burning Man organizers have refused so far to comply with the BLM’s request for the so-called Blue Pit compound.
June 27, 2015 in Nation/World
Burning Man balks at BLM upgrades
Associated Press
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RENO, Nev. – Burning Man festival organizers are pushing back after the U.S. Bureau of Land Management requested upgraded accommodations for its officials at this year’s event in the Nevada desert.
The federal agency asked for flush toilets, washers and dryers, hot water, air conditioning, vanity mirrors, refrigerators and couches at its on-site camp, called the Blue Pit, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Friday. The toilets are also to be cleaned daily by Burning Man staff.
Festival leaders have refused the request, saying those amenities alone would cost $1 million and hike its permit fees to about $5 million. Burning Man holds the largest special-recreation permit in the country, but its cost has steadily increased in recent years. In 2011, the permit fees were $858,000.
“We want to work this out. We’re getting close to the event, but we feel that there are more commonsense and cost-effective solutions,” Burning Man spokesman Jim Graham said.
But the BLM said state and federal officials will use the accommodations and that they’re needed for security. Staff was added after a fatal crash last year, according to the Gazette-Journal.
“It’s safe to say that if you were working 14 to 16 hours a day in white-out conditions on the hot playa, you don’t want them to be unrested. Safety, security and health are paramount. That, I will not forgo,” said Gene Seidlitz, the bureau’s Winnemucca district manager.
It’s a preliminary proposal and a compromise is possible. But Seidlitz said Burning Man leaders hadn’t yet outlined their issues.
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