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 currently the Director of Technology for Do Space in Omaha, NE. Michael has been training librarians in technology for the past twenty years and has also been a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant, and bookseller since earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. Michael has also written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and his fourteenth book, Emerging Technologies: A Primer for Librarians (w/ Jennifer Koerber) was published in May 2015 and more books are on the way. In his spare time he blogs at travelinlibrarian.info, runs The Collector’s Guide to Dean Koontz Web site, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
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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.