Not much APEC news yet. We have big-brother style speakers in the street; they will blare out instructions in the event of a natural disaster (nothing about equine flu though) or terrorist attack. We also have a 5km security fence snaking through the City and last night a device was found in the centre of Sydney, but I couldn't find anything about that in my quick skim of the Sydney Morning Herald website. The speakers are, apparently, going to stay once APEC is over. "Go about your daily business, there is nothinhg to worry about, your governenment is in control. Drink more Pepsi, watch more MTV, you have nothing to worry about..." Hospitals are on standby in case of terrorist attack, we're told to expect traffic chaos and a load of prisoners have been sent home from jail in order to free space for arrested protestors. Apparently they're to head back to jail once the hippies have been dealt with.
Having shopped on Saturday afternoon I was free to run on Sunday morning so I headed to the City to see the wall-of-shame, or whatever this fence is being called, for myself. I was disapointed; not with the shameful infringement of my personal freedom the barrier represents but because I hardly noticed it. As I came down the hill from the Bridge and headed towards The Rocks I saw a bit of fencing but not much. I stopped to ask a policeman, or capitalist-private-army-stormtrooper, where I could and could not run. He looked a bit confused, wasn't exactly sure where the fence was and said I could run anywhere I wanted to until I was told I could not go...er, somewhere. Strange to find this agent of the state so friendly. I ran on, no water canon hosing me and no baton charge materialising (presumably because the horses are in bed with flu.) I ran around the Opera House, the Botanical Gardens and Martin Place, back through the City and home without once feeling I was in a police state, should wear only gray and carry my identification papers with me at all time.
Today there was news of the first APEC arrests. Greenpeace, the marketing arm of the middle-class desire to appear concerned about the environment, painted something about coal on the side of a ship a couple of hundred kilometres north of Sydney. They unfurled a banner too. If I were George Bush I'd think twice about waging any more wars on drugs or terror lest I suffer more banner unfurling. George arrives tomorrow and I'd not be at all surprised to see violent protests, burning cars, petrol bombs and all sorts of other silliness taking place.
And the sad thing is that is the truth.
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