It seems to me that "terrorism" has become an excuse for politicians to exercise their natural inclinations towards fascism, ie. to arbitrarily control the population and stop anything that might hamper the authorities doing whatever they please.
Next week sees the enactment of a new law in the UK which can have you jailed as a terrorist simply for taking a photograph of a policeman (tourists to the UK please note!) What does this mean for situations where someone sees a policeman exceeding their authority and decides to take a picture as evidence? Now they could be arrested and jailed simply for trying to uphold the law, and the photos would probably be destroyed on the spot. (This has already happened several times in the last year alone, e.g. a person was arrested and held in custody for several hours simply for photographing a police car that was parked illegally whilst the officers bought a takeaway meal) but in the past the police got told off for it. Perhaps this "inconvenience", that taking a photograph has not in itself been illegal, is why the new law is coming in?) Or what about someone who simply wants to photograph a tourist attraction which has police patrolling it?
But after a year in which photographers have been systematically harassed and assaulted by UK authorities (for many examples from the first half year alone, see this article) in events more normally associated with Soviet Russia or places like Turkey, Iran, or China, a fightback has finally started. A mass demonstration is being organised for Monday 16th Feb. to assert photographers' rights. Of course, not everyone is a photographer. But we all know what that means: "I wasn't a communist/trade unionist/Jew/Muslim so I didn't think it important to protest...." First they've come for the photographers. But next it could be the cyclists, the anglers, the atheists....
Anyhow here's some links to articles about the demo by organisations involved (or who are at least cheering the fledgling forces of anti-fascism on):
Amateur Photographer magazine
British Journal of Photography
The Register (probably the UK's most respected technology news site).
Next week sees the enactment of a new law in the UK which can have you jailed as a terrorist simply for taking a photograph of a policeman (tourists to the UK please note!) What does this mean for situations where someone sees a policeman exceeding their authority and decides to take a picture as evidence? Now they could be arrested and jailed simply for trying to uphold the law, and the photos would probably be destroyed on the spot. (This has already happened several times in the last year alone, e.g. a person was arrested and held in custody for several hours simply for photographing a police car that was parked illegally whilst the officers bought a takeaway meal) but in the past the police got told off for it. Perhaps this "inconvenience", that taking a photograph has not in itself been illegal, is why the new law is coming in?) Or what about someone who simply wants to photograph a tourist attraction which has police patrolling it?
But after a year in which photographers have been systematically harassed and assaulted by UK authorities (for many examples from the first half year alone, see this article) in events more normally associated with Soviet Russia or places like Turkey, Iran, or China, a fightback has finally started. A mass demonstration is being organised for Monday 16th Feb. to assert photographers' rights. Of course, not everyone is a photographer. But we all know what that means: "I wasn't a communist/trade unionist/Jew/Muslim so I didn't think it important to protest...." First they've come for the photographers. But next it could be the cyclists, the anglers, the atheists....
Anyhow here's some links to articles about the demo by organisations involved (or who are at least cheering the fledgling forces of anti-fascism on):
Amateur Photographer magazine
British Journal of Photography
The Register (probably the UK's most respected technology news site).