Rich added these comments in the current discussion du jour ...
Well the new Soviet state apparatus. The police say photogs
won't be bothered by it? Even without this law they've been
searched, detained and arrested too many times before this law
was passed.
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk...hers_rights_Po
lice_war n_of_terror_law_misuse_update_news_277211.html
Photographers' rights: Police warn of terror law 'misuse'
(update)
Tuesday 17th February 2009
Chris Cheesman
community police
The Metropolitan Police Federation (MPF) has come out in support
of photographers by condemning the latest anti-terrorism
legislation as 'unfair', 'poorly drafted' and open to misuse.
The body, set up to ensure high standards of policing, backs the
campaign led by Labour MP Austin Mitchell who is calling for the
introduction of a photography code to be followed by officers on
the ground.
Last year the MP for Great Grimsby launched an Early Day Motion
in the House of Commons, highlighting photographers' right to
take pictures in public.
The petition has won cross-party support from more than 240 MPs
and was drawn up largely on the back of the experiences of
Amateur Photographer (AP) readers.
In a statement the MPF said: 'The code should be drawn up
jointly by the Home Office and the various professional bodies
representing police and photographers. Its aim should be to
facilitate photography wherever possible, rather than seek
reasons to bar it.'
Yesterday, amateur and professional photographers staged a
demonstration outside Scotland Yard over fears that police will
enforce Section 76 of the Terrorism Act 2008 to stamp out
photographs of police officers.
As reported by AP, Section 76 of the new Act (which came into
force yesterday) expands on Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000
which made it an offence to record an image likely to be useful
to a terrorist.
The MPF warned that Section 76 is open to 'misinterpretation'.
It adds: 'How, for example, will it be expected to apply to the
2012 Olympics which will be both a photo event, par excellence,
and subject to an intense security operation?
'Does the law mean tourists are going to be rounded up and
arrested en masse for taking suspicious photos of iconic scenes
around the capital? That will work wonders for the international
reputation of the London Bobby and for the city as a whole as a
welcoming destination.'
Yesterday, the Metropolitan Police claimed that taking
photographs of police officers would not - except in
'exceptional circumstances' - be covered by the new offence.
You have allowed your country to become a vast Socialist nanny
state where everything is "free" and everything is controlled. So,
why are you so surprised that the State now wants to chip away at
your freedoms one by one? Your country has never had a formal
consitution which states all of your freedoms, rights, and
protections as does the US Constitution and Bill of Rights which
leads me to believe you got just what you deserved. The fix? Vote
the Socialists clowns out of office, elect some representatives
that will do what the people want them to do and NOT do what the
people don't want them to do, write a formal document defining your
rights, and take back your country from the Socialists.
--
HP, aka Jerry
"Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when
you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job" –
Ronald Reagan