On the same day that federal investigators pleaded with the public for photos and videos that would help them identify the Boston Marathon bombers, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI released a memo stating the “discreet use of cameras or video recorders” could be interpreted as a sign that a terrorist act is being planned.
However, the Joint Intelligence Bulletin released April 16, one day after the attacks, failed to list any specific examples that this was the case, even though it listed several examples of previous planned terrorist attacks that were thwarted.
The truth is, the memo is simply rehashing the same information the feds have been stating for years, which is one reason why so many police officers and security guards tend to treat citizens with cameras as suspected terrorists.
Michael Sauers is the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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One Reply to “The false link between photography & terrorism”
1) The state/authority is always right.
2) When in doubt, refer to principle #1.
Fear is an awesome motivational tool, but it’s sad that American authorities use it so commonly and (seemingly) without thought.
1) The state/authority is always right.
2) When in doubt, refer to principle #1.
Fear is an awesome motivational tool, but it’s sad that American authorities use it so commonly and (seemingly) without thought.