On a technical note, keeping recordings of CCTV of sufficient quality for their purposes for 15 days is going to be quite expensive. Not a fun thing for a smallish business.

In the early stages of a project I was on, my boss and I went to visit a public transport control room on an inspection/fact-finding visit. This building happened to be next door to a nightclub I went to weekly at the time. They mentioned they mostly got their camera feeds from the local road authority, but they had some security cameras around the building because things got a bit lively on Saturday night. I kept calm, but in my head I was screaming "Don't show the footage! I'm sure to be in there somewhere!"

Oh, and Unintended Consequences Lesson #536, I predict a lot of San Fransisco bars limiting attendance to 99 if this goes through.

The exterior of the premises shall be equipped with lighting of sufficient power to illuminate and make easily discernible the appearance and conduct of all persons on or about the premises. Additionally, the position of such lighting shall not disturb the normal privacy and use of any neighboring residences.

What if you can't do both? Which is very likely. Shit out of luck then.

More arbitrary rules from petty bureaucrats designed to be ignored or overlooked for friends of those in power and applied with extreme prejudice against anyone who would oppose them. Don't you love a nation built on corruption and power politics instead of an honest, limited government of laws?

It just shows the truth to the old line that local governments create laws so that the police have a long list of things to bust you for when they feel like getting around to arresting you.

San Francisco chose its masters.

Looking at the Entertainment Commission notice about the hearing on the proposed rules, I was unable to find anything explaining what problem the proposed rules were supposed to solve. Maybe they'll explain all that at the hearing. Or maybe not.

The problem this ordinance is intended to solve is obvious - not enough arrests for petty crime, so they create an unfunded mandate to local businesses to gather data for them to mine to arrest people and extort money out of them.

Just like all the new checkpoints cops are setting up to "inspect" cars. Any excuse to write a ticket and make money for the state.

They already do this in some places, all in the name of "safety". Read up on Barwatch http://www.hackcanada.com/canadian/freedom/barwatch/barwatch.html

Norway has just passed a law that all internet and telecommunications by its citizens shall be recorded and saved for 2 years. This includes the sites you visit, how often you visit, who you call, who calls you, how long the phone conversation is, etc. This is all in the name of catching bad guys doing bad things before they can do it.

http://theforeigner.no/pages/news/updated-parliament-passes-data-retention-directive/

That's it! I'm goin' off the grid!

Seriously, this is some scary shit. I don't like, no sir. I don't like it one little bit. 1984, anyone?

Orwell was only off by about 40 years.

I was unable to find anything explaining what problem the proposed rules were supposed to solve.

I don't know the back story on this, but my guess is that the primary goal of this is to provide police with an excuse to bust one-off underground parties (there's a large and active underground music scene here); however, these numbers are so low and this law so strict as to ensure a chilling effect on a huge number of places.

2. All individuals entering the premises shall be scanned by a metal detector.

Think about that. Suddenly, any business with more than a few tables becomes a proxy for the police state. I'm going to be searched because I want to have a drink with a friend? No.

The fact that this is even being considered is a horrible, horrible thing. I need to write up my TSA post as soon as possible. Just been a mad week. Had to do the rest of pulling together my taxes yesterday, have the meeting today, have to read six books by the end of the month for LA Times Festival of Books...and I just got them yesterday (read one, believe it or not, last night -- 300 pages, read, highlighted, took notes, collapsed at 1 a.m. into bed).

Amy - you aren't the only one with a story of TSA molestation in LA this week.

Wil Wheaton was raped too. http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2011/04/i-dont-feel-safe-i-feel-violated-humiliated-and-angry.html

Something has to be done about this shit, and higher-profile people like you and Wil are probably the only way to get it any visibility through the MFM screen that protects the nascent fascists in DC.

That is californistan not shocked. I could see making a small fortune selling CCD/DVR systems and small ID scanners. Maybe I should look into this.

This is absolutely appalling.

Another great solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

You can simply refuse to attend. Money talks. Otherwise, say hello to your new masters for me. I won't be there.

oh, I'm sure this was inresponse to a neighborhood bar that had people get all rowdy, and the neighbors complained... or maybe one of the locals is a congresscritter of some sort that decided they have had enough of something...
and brought in the 500# sledghammer to take care of it.

"I don't see the problem. Law abiding citizens should have no worries..."

doesn't it always begin like this?

My answer to that would be: "Law abiding citizens shouldn't have to give up their rights because of the few dipshits that run amok. Arrest THOSE people, and leave the rest of us alone."

So, you'd have to send guests through a metal detector and have surveilance equipment at a large wedding?

Is it security companies lobbying for this?

On a technical note, keeping recordings of CCTV of sufficient quality for their purposes for 15 days is going to be quite expensive. Not a fun thing for a smallish business.
-Ltw

I think you missed the point that is is for ANY gathering of 100 or more people, not just for businesses.

Also depending on how you define the word 'gathering' every business with more than 99 people in the building would have to install metal detcters to scan their employees every day for work and keep video survalence to give to the cops WITHOUT A WARRENT

This is another case of I-dont-get-it-or-even-get-outside by somebody - if, in fact, this isn't a leftover April Fool's prank.

Hmm. "Gathering". Any sitdown chain restaurant. Every school. Every after-hours school event: soccer, football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, volleyball. Weddings. CHURCH. Funerals. Professional sporting events. A sale at WalMart. Each commercial aircraft flight. A neighborhood block party (one video on Castro Street ought to be for sale online). Meetings of the state legislature, city council with the public present. College classes. Tailgate parties. Car shows, conventions selling auto parts. Flea markets. Smaller races, like every Thursday and Saturday night at your local track (and they last until midnight). Parties at the pier. Elk's Club, VFW, Moose Club, Shriners. Stockholder's meetings. Fleet Week crowds (how to do the boats?). Merely attending work at the TransAmerica building?
What's a "gathering"?

Here's your challenge. Find the authors of such a bill. Get your video camera and just start filming them. IF they object, point out that "it's for your and their own safety", after all, in case something happens it'll be on video, nothing more and if they aren't doing anything wrong, they shouldn't object.

And if they claim they're exempt, turn the video off and smack 'em one.

You guys in Cali are freakin' insane. This is just icing, ya know - some of you are already wondering why the Japanese live where they do while standing on the San Andreas Fault, where The Big One is guaranteed.

"Norway has just passed a law that all internet and telecommunications by its citizens shall be recorded and saved for 2 years."

Well, glad to see not only Americans are nuts. I'd cost them huge money to do that, especially if they had to cache the online content I peruse. I chuckle at the idea of their thinking that storing Grandma's rambling conversation would be useful...

...but have you guys been to Best Buy lately? Consumer cameras have surprising face-recognition abilities. I expect a buncha people to get arrested for nothing when some idiot starts arrests based on early use of such a system.

-----

Many a Jew has wondered how many lives would have been saved if only some had the guts to shoot the secret police at first.

When will we wonder the same thing, and who will be the victims this time around?

Sounds like a branch of government. Sounds like a search and seizure. Probably something in the U.S.Constitution about that. You know. Unreasonable searches and seizures, probable cause, warrants, and all that.

Not that any of that is really important, or anything, when one considers the need to --- what exactly?

"Looking at the Entertainment Commission notice about the hearing on the proposed rules, I was unable to find anything explaining what problem the proposed rules were supposed to solve."

I haven't heard of these regs before, but I'm 90% sure the specific purpose is to ban raves. I don't know what the hell it is about electronic music that sets politicians off, but it sure as hell does.

I haven't heard of these regs before, but I'm 90% sure the specific purpose is to ban raves. I don't know what the hell it is about electronic music that sets politicians off, but it sure as hell does.

Yup, that's my thought, too. It's really simple. In the politicians' minds electronic music = rampant drug abuse = must do whatever possible to ban it. Of course, this will only succeed in driving small businesses under, and some underground events out of the city. It won't actually solve anything.

SF used to be a popular place for conventions. I wonder how long it's going to take the competition to start using it against them?

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but what happens in San Francisco is on tape for two years. That ought to make up a lot of minds.

Ah, seems like only yesterday we were criticizing Communist China for doing exactly these sorts of things. Now we're apparently using Communist China as a model system. At this rate, it will soon be the people of China campaigning for liberty for the people of the Communist America police state.

"Looking at the Entertainment Commission notice about the hearing on the proposed rules, I was unable to find anything explaining what problem the proposed rules were supposed to solve."

For one thing, it will probably solve the problem of the Entertainment Commission having to justify its ever-expanding budget in an increasingly bankrupt state in an increasingly bankrupt nation, by creating insane amounts of pointless admin work. Personally I preferred the "pay people to dig holes and fill them in again" alternative budget option. It will also help solve the problem of California having too many jobs and too strong an economy by crushing businesses with even more costly pointless regulations.