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Can our photos help terrorists?

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Daniella said:
Eduardo del Solar said:
Daniella said:
Finaly I managed to get an answer to my question "is it illegal to
take photos of that plant?" "NO, it is not illegal but we want to
know who is taking photo and why" that was the reply. They
questioned us for a good half hour, asking all sort of questions
about our personal life.
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How close were you to the plant? I ask this because I had a recent
incident here in Boston while taking pictures of the PO office.
The officer and the other cops that arrived 4 minutes later were
quite civil about his matter. They told me I could not point my
camera to the PO but they did not care that if I took pictures of
the harbor while at the parking of the PO building. (Boston Harbor
faces the opposite side of the PO).
Click to expand...
I was in the street that goes beside this building. it's a a
public street with private houses and a few little stores. PO?
what'S that?
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Sorry! It's the Post Office a blue grey building with nice curvy shapes. The female officer was very civil and told me that I could not take pictures of a federal building since 9/11. She was not interested in taking the shots I had but did called a patrol car These two additional officers got there in less than three minutes. They did not cared if I took shots from the PO parking lot of the harbor but were quite explicit that I could not point my camera to the PO building.
Daniella68313 said:
Daniella68313 said:
The question or answer I got, this was in another post regarding
security, is that it is legal to take such pictures if you are
outside the premises. However in your case it looks like these
officers felt entitled to ask you personal questions even though
you were outside the premises.

Hmm! Sounds to me that the way the laws are carried out vary by
state, building or the personality of the officers perhaps? I
should add that this was a beautifull New England evening...
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or the place being photograph? maybe they take seriously only some
target. The funny thing is the military were more decent..they did
not ask us for our ID simply told us not to take photos on their
side of the fence...everything on their side is forbidden to the
camera...then left..not asking if we already took photos or not (we
did not). the police were a lot more serious about it, like we
criminals or potential criminals.
Daniella68313 said:
.
Daniella68313 said:
But now I have another worry, is it a real danger that someone
with bad intentions would use our photos to help in terrorist
attacks or sabotage? I have not posted the photos and I am afraid
to do so. what are the risks? is it a real risk?
Click to expand...
Terrorism for me is 90 % psychological warfare with the main actors
being a government and it opposition (at times referred as
terrorists). I interpret the act of the cops stopping you as
nothing but a government and its politicians making a formal or
visible response to the population at large that they are ready to
respond to terrorism. Terrorists groups, local or imports, will
play the same cat and mouse games by making multiple threats to
divert and keep government forces busy. I therefore assume that
terrorists, in answer to the question regarding you photos, have
already sent hundreds of pictures (both vector and bitmaps) and a
time agenda of the many sites they want government forces to
believe are next in line to be blown apart. I do not think that
additional pictures on the web, yours or others, will have any
practical impact on this psychological warfare.
Click to expand...
yes you're probably right.
Daniella68313 said:
I recall back in the early 80s when my home country (Lima, Peru)
had the highest level of people in the world that disappeared as a
result of terrorist acts perpetrated by government and citizen
forces (Shining Path being one of these elements). Psychological
warfare and the cat and mouse games play by these forces was almost
as real as the actual terrorist attacks. Here in this country we
have Waco, the Oklahoma City bombings and 9/11. From my
perspective I think of these events as the gradual Latin
Americanization of the US in a smaller scale. I have no idea if
the actual attacks will increase or be contained.
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yes but the things is that none of the actual targets were
suspected targets. They don't exactly attack what the authorities
think they will attack. what they suspect to be terrorits targets
are far from the reality it seems.
Daniella68313 said:
Psychological warfare, however, is part of our national fabric. It
is just who we are now.

Saludos!

Eduardo
Click to expand...
--



Please do not start new thread for private message to me but send
them to me via email instead! thanks.
Click to expand...
 
I think we all have to be sensitive to the possibility, and somewhat forgiving, of the small loss of freedoms we may experience as various authorities do their best to protect us from the elusive danger of "terrorism".

On the other hand, your photos of this building are not likely to end up in terrorist's hands. If they were serious about blowing up ANY structure, they would have people on the ground there months in advance doing more than just taking their own pictures.

I say, be tolerant of the officials in these trying times, but post the pictures. As much acclaim as you have received here for your bird and nature photographs, I'm particularly impressed by your architectural stuff.
Welcome back.

--
Alastair
http://www.pbase.com/alastair
 
inFocus said:
Do you really believe that those brief translations (taken out of
context) give a objective view of Sweden? :-)
--
P-E
Click to expand...
I believe it gives just as warped a view of life in Sweden as the view many
in Sweden have of life in the United States.
 
Harassing people taking pictures? What a joke. Like that is going to make any difference.

So how do you stop terrorism? You find out what it is you have done that caused these people to hate you so much that they are prepared to die for their cause. And then you do something about it.

Yes, I know, sending in Rambo to wipe them all would be so much cooler but unfortunately we live in the real world and not inside a Hollywood movie.

Now please don't shoot the messenger.
Barnett
 
no photos yet..still thinking.

but on the total opposite..here are photos of a Russian war submarine. Funny thing that those are becoming tourist attractions where you are encouraged to take photographs whereas bridges and industrial plants becoming taboo.

http://www.pbase.com/zylen/russian_war_sub
rander3127 said:
Daniella said:
KEITH-C said:
Daniella you have obviously discovered an good way of attracting
Police attention ! Here in the UK if you report a burglary in
process you will be lucky to get a Police response in less than an
hour.
Click to expand...
well that'S no joke...my boyfriend did not even had the time to
join me with his tripod that the police were there. just the time
it took for him to get his tripod from the car and walk a 100 feet
or so and bingo.

I had the time to take about 20 or so pics.
Click to expand...
--So have you posted any of the photos of this supposed terrorist
target?
-Rich
Click to expand...
--



Please do not start new thread for private message to me but send them to me via email instead! thanks.
 
alexeig said:
one of your prime ministers and another foreign minister and future
prime minister were killed by terrorists

But otherwise everything is fine in Sweden
Click to expand...
Some day Americans had something to do with the first one...
Something to do with Israel...
USA was quick to grant political asylum to the guy as he fled the country.
10 years later the guy was killed by a US policeman in a jealous rage.

The foreign one was knifed by a mental patient with misdirected anger...
Hardly the token terrorist.

I don't know which one the third is...

F
 
Eduardo del Solar said:
Sorry! It's the Post Office a blue grey building with nice curvy
shapes. The female officer was very civil and told me that I could
not take pictures of a federal building since 9/11. She was not
interested in taking the shots I had but did called a patrol car
These two additional officers got there in less than three minutes.
They did not cared if I took shots from the PO parking lot of the
harbor but were quite explicit that I could not point my camera to
the PO building.
Click to expand...
wow..I would never have guessed that taking photographs of post offices are forbidden. thanks for telling me. wow, amazing.
 
nickleback said:
Daniella said:
GovtLawyer said:
You should have shown your ID's and told them you were not willing
to be separated or questioned; that you were United States citizens
enjoying the freedoms the United States Constitution gives you.
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we are not american citizens. I am canadian.
Click to expand...
The US constitution applies to everybody in the US, regardless of
citizenship, immigration status, etc.
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Yes, but it was the US government that took the property and liberty of hundreds of US japanese-american citizens in this country and placed them on concentration camps (relocation centers if you prefer the word) due to "national security" reasons.

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_l/haiku/camps.htm

If this goverment can deprive its own citizens of its liberties and properties why should non-citizens trust this same government to protect the liberties and assumed freedoms of non-citizens?

Eduardo
 
rander3127 said:
--Security forces are MORONS. Do they think someone will visibly
walk up to a potential target and start taking pictures? They will
have
hidden cameras and no one will know they've taken pictures.
Anyone could do it, so harrassing conventional photographers in order
to justify your job is a mistake.
Click to expand...
You don't think it's justified that they want to know who is taking the photos and why?
rander3127 said:
-Rich
Click to expand...
--



Please do not start new thread for private message to me but send them to me via email instead! thanks.
 
no clue. I don't even remember where it was as we found it trying to get to the beach and got lost.

anyway..here is one of the photo..it's quite pretty and was glowing in the sunset light:


mford said:
was it that plant/ refinery near i-80's carquinez bridge? i sneak
a peak for a possible photo every time i pass it but i guess it's
not a good time to take such photos right now... maybe in ten
years...
--
Mark
Click to expand...
--



Please do not start new thread for private message to me but send them to me via email instead! thanks.
 
GovtLawyer said:
You should have shown your ID's and told them you were not willing
to be separated or questioned; that you were United States citizens
enjoying the freedoms the United States Constitution gives you.

After around 5 minutes you should have told them to either arrest
you or release you.
GovtLawyer said:
he told me that this specific plant was on the 7 top terrorist target.
Click to expand...
You should have told him that he was a certified moron for giving
you such classified information; asked him for his name and badge
number, and told him that if he didn't release you that very moment
you would see to it that everyone in America knew what a dimwit.
Click to expand...
You are asking two photographers in the post 9/11 era, one canadian and one of russian origins armed with cameras, to tell guards armed with guns that they are certified morons because the guards are divulging classified information.

Hmm...good concept!
 
I think it was quite pretty in the golden sunset light with the moon behind. I wish I could have taken better photos of the twisted chimney. They were quite pretty. That is if you find that type of things pretty..I do:



--



Please do not start new thread for private message to me but send them to me via email instead! thanks.
 
specially that time of the day
Daniella said:
I think it was quite pretty in the golden sunset light with the
moon behind. I wish I could have taken better photos of the
twisted chimney. They were quite pretty. That is if you find that
type of things pretty..I do:



--



Please do not start new thread for private message to me but send
them to me via email instead! thanks.
Click to expand...
 
That is a beautiful shot.

Look, you've got to understand that we in America are undergoing a 'sea change'. We're attempting to transition from a vibrant, productive, freedom-loving society into a repressive, fear-ridden, totalitarian police state. Please bear that in mind and forgive us our failures in persecuting everyone for everything. ;-)

Derek
 
They'd use small digicams with 12X zoom. Why do the police and security guards go after the conspicuous ones with the large SLRs, but rarely bother the people with digicams? Do they really think a terrorist is going to be so conspicuous????

Terrorist targets are where-ever there are photographers, just like tornados are where-ever there are trailer parks!

cheers,

Chris
 
In some third-world countries, they will not let you take photos of bridges!
As if enemy country does not have satellite photos off their roads and bridges!
 
Daniella said:
wow..I would never have guessed that taking photographs of post
offices are forbidden. thanks for telling me. wow, amazing.
Click to expand...
Here is a very crappy picture of the PO bulding before the female officer told me to stop it.



This second one is of the harbor taken from the PO parking lot. It sure was a nice New England day!

 
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