My Seattle Pictures

Besides the hotel bar and a night in Fremont with local friends, this is about the only sight I see. Convention rooms full of Southeast Asian PhD Candidates. Lovely people all of them, full of charm.

Great to see the Lenin statue in Fremont. Made my trip worth while

Seattle

must have the most "No Smoking" signs per block I've ever seen in any city. Frightening. And those large, outdoor ashtrays are non-existent. It's also a city where you can see smokers pace off the mandatory 25 ft distance from doorways. Depressing.

Weather is nice, and it's a beautiful city though. Guess you can't have it all..

The Mean Streets of Seattle

Jaywalking can be dangerous...You only have to be unlucky enough to run into the Seattle Police Department. From a Seattle Post-Intelligencer column:

As infractions go, jaywalking is minor. It's not the sort of thing anyone expects will lead to scrapes, bruises and a night in jail. But what happened to Benjamin De Jong and his girlfriend after a Mariners game Sept. 15 is more than a simple case of jaywalking.

"Police brutality is more like it," contends the 22-year-old, who was visiting from British Columbia when he got a lasting memory of Seattle, courtesy of police.

[...]

"As we were 5 to 10 feet from the curb, an unmarked vehicle sped toward us," De Jong said. "He hammered on his brakes. Two guys jumped out wearing dark clothing."

[...]

De Jong was tossed on the ground. His knees got bruised. Blood oozed from his elbows. He was handcuffed and taken to jail. He faces pedestrian interference and obstructing charges. His girlfriend, Kristen Heidt, also 22 and from Canada, was roughed up; bruises were left on her body -- and she has photos. She was not taken to jail or charged, even though a police report says she grabbed an officer during the confrontation. Heidt remains shaken up.

I'm willing to bet the victim was, if nothing else, a bit of a drunken douche bag when approached by the cops, and perhaps even exaggerated the details of the encounter. Of course, the broader point -- a broader point that is brought up repeatedly when questioning no-knock drug raids -- is that there is an appropriate level of force that should be used when police stop people for jaywalking, littering, or even just getting high. You shouldn't ever be throwing people on the ground, no matter how they react, for something as minor as crossing the street at the wrong place. And of course, this isn't how we see it, instead it's something more like this: [emphasis mine]

The Police Department encourages officers to contact jaywalkers, but not necessarily issue citations.

"It doesn't mean that a ticket has to be written, and it certainly doesn't mean that a pedestrian is going to be put on the ground," Brown said. "I think the pedestrian determines what the outcome will be."

But this is bullshit. Absolute bullshit. That is, unless this guy was pulling a weapon out or otherwise seriously threatening the cops; and it would seem in this case that he wasn't properly informed that these thugs were actually thugs police to begin with, which makes this bullshit smell even worse. But the outcome is primarily, or at least should be, determined by the approach or tactic the police use -- they are setting the tone. This is their job, they are supposed to be professionals after all. That's why it would be safer for all involved if police used aggressive force only when absolutley neccessary. But that wouldn't be fun, would it? Full article here.

And We Have an Answer

I found Cicero. Now I'm booking my flight.

Apartments Welcome Homeless Alcoholics
Now social-service agencies are conducting an experiment: Offering Steik and dozens of other homeless drinkers subsidized apartments where they can keep boozing at a fraction of the cost.

"The average citizen who hears about this project probably is appalled," said Bill Hobson, executive director of the city's Downtown Emergency Services Center, which constructed the apartments.

The Seattle apartments were built with taxpayer and privately donated dollars. The center expects to spend about $11,000 per resident to operate the building each year, less than 10 percent of the money chronic drunks would cost if left on the streets. Preliminary figures suggest the building will pay for itself in less than five years.

Before moving into an apartment, the 40-year-old Steik was a frequent visitor to the Seattle Sobering Center, a nonprofit agency where police bring homeless alcoholics to dry out. He spent 700 nights there in 2 1/2 years.

"I had a place to live every night as long as I was intoxicated enough," Steik said.

At the apartment building, residents pay less than $200 a month in rent and must buy their own alcohol. Seventy-five people live there, with more waiting to get in.

If they are going to spend your money, they might as well go about it in a smart way. Full article here.

Hollywood's Calling for the Movie Rights

Fat falsetto singer John Popper of the late, neo-hippy band Blues Traveler

was arrested near Ritzville after the vehicle he was riding in was clocked going 111 mph, the Washington State Patrol said.

[Ellipsis]

A police dog searched the vehicle, finding numerous hidden compartments. Inside were four rifles, nine handguns, a switchblade knife, a stun gun and night vision goggles.

Popper told officers he collected weapons, the patrol said.

The vehicle also had flashing emergency headlights, a siren and a public address system.

"Popper indicated to troopers that he had installed these items in his vehicle because (in the event of a natural disaster) he didn't want to be left behind," the patrol said.

Reason to move from Seattle: Mt. Ranier might blow, and the Alaskan Way Viaduct will crumble. Even bigger reason: Having to deal with that plus John Popper's shrill voice blaring at you from his SUV's PA system as he fires his stun gun at you indiscriminately on the I-5. More here.

Seattle, Weakly

Text of an email received by TtP favorite Philip Dawdy, from an interim Seattle Weekly editor.

"...frankly, if you were up to visiting some massage parlors to see if certain practitioners would finish you off, that's the sort of street-level expose i'd be up for running. but i'd never force you to do that."

Dawdy took a pass. A week later, he quit.

Unless you're Cicero -- or a cop -- you quit. Good for Dawdy.

Happy ending here at Gawker. Damning state-of-alt-weeklies Boston Phoenix piece, the focal point of the Gawker post, here.