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BURNILEAKS: Government Ramps Up Secrecy Over Burning Man

Has Burning Man burned out? Just like last year, this year you can go for free to “Not Burning Man”. Same place (but more to explore), no tickets, no fences, nobody searching your car at the gate and making you ring some cowbell.

Source: NPR

It’s hard to imagine a more pure expression of Radical Self-Reliance, Gifting, Radical Self-Expression, Immediacy (no multi-hour lines), Radical Inclusion (no dress codes, truly open to anyone of any means) or Decommodification than Not Burning Man. There’s probably even more stuff that gets burned there, just like in the good old days.

Meanwhile BMorg are still selling tickets for $475 to the non-event (annual subscription encouraged). This in itself is audacious enough, but they also rather ingeniously invented the idea of “pre-tickets” – a $2500 ticket that gives you a guaranteed right to purchase a ticket in the future. For an event that doesn’t happen any more. Fyre festival, y’all just a bunch of rank amateurs. Meet fire festival, masters of the Principle of GrIFTING!

They’ve also kept busy scooping up $5 million+ in donations and another $5 million+ in COVID loans grants and doing who-knows-what in their hipster HQ.

We’re saving the world! Even without having Burning Man any more! Please donate everything you have and more.


Radical Transparency

Thanks once again to our source who has been filing FOIA requests about the Burning Man Project for many years now.

People have been FOIAing Burning Man since 2013 – including us. This time BMorg – who hailed themselves as Unlikely Leaders In Transparency a few short years ago – went so far as to sue the United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management to block FOIA requests about their festival.

This was covered in VICE.

The case was dismissed with prejudice after Burning Man reached a settlement with the BLM to redact information from their FOIAs. Now even stuff that they used to share has been redacted.

We have long speculated that more expensive tickets and vehicle passes are sold than are officially revealed, or perhaps even permitted. Redacting the information does nothing to dampen down the speculation – if everything was legit, why would you have to do that?

It seems that for some reason the Feds find it imperative that BMorg maintain their false narrative that “nothing is for sale on the playa but water, ice and coffee”. Inquiring Burner minds want to know how much “nothing” a year is made from fuel sales, aircraft operations, the Burner Express bus service, and a smorgasbord of licensed vendors. The details of who sells what to whom on the Playa are considered SECRET information by the government. Ask yourself, why? What other rave would be able to achieve something like this?

What is in this tax-free “charity”‘s information that necessitates spending your tax dollar and your ticket dollar on lawsuits to hide? Trade secrets? There are no competitors! What other festival runs its own airport and airline?

Burning Man is supposedly a non-profit dedicated to making the world a better place by promoting its Tin Principles. It’s definitely not a rave or anything, it’s just a coincidence that everywhere you go in Black Rock City you find the world’s top DJs playing on massive sound systems with lasers and video walls while everyone around you is on drugs wearing glowy shit. At least…that’s the official story.

Burning Man has been the largest annual event held on Federal land and a big money-spinner for all kinds of agencies. It has also been a crime statistic disaster for the local Sheriff’s county, who see a massive spike in all kinds of crime, some quite violent, from tourists during the time of the festival.

There were 41 arrests during the 2019 event. Another juvenile went missing:

In the past Population and Public Health and Safety information was shared with the public by this public benefit corporation working with a permit to have their event on public land:

What changed? Burning Man didn’t happen last year and it’s not happening this year. It may never happen again, which would be welcomed by the traditional land owners the Paiute people, the local community, and the San Francisco community. So why such an extreme need for secrecy?

We know why.

2019 Burning Man Post-Mission Synopsis (Sheriff’s Report)

Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen has released his Post-Mission synopsis for 2019.

The relationship between the Burning Man Project and the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office is described as “extremely toxic”.

2019-PMS-1

Burners should be aware that all police on Playa are now mandated by law to wear body cameras. You might think you’re in the middle of nowhere having a transformational experience and being whoever you want to be – but you are being recorded.

Police are required at the festival for longer than just the 8 days the gates are open. This year there was a sexual assault during the city build, as well as someone reporting a sexual assault from the previous year.

See also 2018 Financial Analysis

[Featured Image: Julia Wolf]

Washoe Shoedown as Pershing Tensions Reach Breaking Point

The Pershing County Sheriff’s report for Burning Man 2018 paints a bleak picture. The cops can’t provide the coverage they need to because the event goes for months, not 7 days like the deal they cut in 2013.

The “liaison” person assigned by Burning Man has had to have the same legal process explained to them for 4 years in a row. The Sheriff understandably feels like they are talking to a brick wall, and are no longer going to engage with this person. Not a great sign.

Humboldt Medical, who got unceremoniously shoved out the door a couple of years ago, are now back as the vendor of choice for Burning Man’s medical needs.

Now we have the issue of Burning Man moving being re-assigned to Washoe County (where the city of Reno/Sparks is), which was just tabled at a County Commissioner’s meeting. Washoe are suggesting re-defining the boundary between Washoe and Pershing Counties so that Burning Man falls under Washoe’s jurisdiction. Effectively annexing part of Pershing County, NV for the benefit of a California corporation.

This would seem to make sense since the city of Reno have been enthusiastic about the cultural and economic benefits brought by Burners, whereas Pershing County’s nearest town of Lovelock are culturally against Burning Man and derive no benefit from the event, only costs.

Looks like there was another death this year, and plane crashes both this year and last year. Like so much of the Burning Man real news, this gets hushed up. Thanks to our source for all the information they have shared.


Pershing County Sheriff’s Office 2018 Post-Mission Synopsis

2018-PCSO-PMS-1
2018-PCSO-PMS-Appendixs-A-B-E


Some highlights:










Burning Man used to take the ice sales from Arctica (and the tips given there) and use that to support local charities in Gerlach, Lovelock and the surrounding area. This has sadly been on the decline, as “BMorg the tax free entity” has risen to the fore.

Charity:

Here’s the breakdown for 2017:

Pershing County

For 2017, Burning Man Project made donations to Pershing County organizations totaling $13,500. These organizations and groups include: Pershing County Senior Center, Eagle Scholarship, Pershing County Community Center, Pershing County High School Athletic Department, Pershing General Hospital & Nursing Care, Lovelock Animal Shelter, Lovelock Frontier Days, Lovelock Lions Club, Friends of the Library, Marzen House Museum, Kids, Horses & Rodeos, Lovelock Food Bank, Lovelock Boy Scouts Association, Lovelock Little League Association, Pershing County Arts Council, Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary, Lovelock Volunteer Fire Department and Project Graduation.

Since 2003, Burning Man has donated $468,350 to Pershing County organizations and charities.

I will be back sometime soon to bring you the 2017 Financial Analysis, based on the release of BMorg’s 2017 IRS Form 990