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CYA Security, loss of freedom and terrorist.
My ass.
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Author name (Administrator) 2007-11-09, 20:10 #1
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Member since May 2011 · 2203 posts · Location: Brisbane
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Subject: CYA Security, loss of freedom and terrorist.
If there's one thing I've learned about cops, it's that they're big on CYA security.  Cover Your Ass security is where they overreact about every imaginary threat just so, in the unlikely event something actually does happen, they've covered their own ass.  This is how it happens in Boston: Girl wears art project on her shirt to the airport and is arrested at gunpoint by CYA goons, or guerilla advertising chumps are charged millions by overzealous CYA cops who think das blinkenlights are bombs.

So this comic was particularly enjoyable:

[Image: http://www.mitchclem.com/nothingnice/comics/20071107.gif]

Apparently it refers to a real event.  A student had a sticker on his bike for the punk band "This bike is a pipe bomb".  Cops destroyed his bike with power tools then arrested the student, who is now facing up to six months in jail.

Bruce Schneier, a security expert, says people should refuse to be terrorized.  No shit.  Stop panicking about ridiculous shit like this and panic about real worries!      People are accepting more and more cuts into their freedoms, in the name of stopping terrorism.  Um, when was the last terrorist attack in our countries?  The terrorists are probably more worried about US, invading their countries.

Ross Anderson, a professor at Cambridge University in Britain, has compared the present situation to a "boiled frog" -- which fails to jump out of the saucepan as the water gradually heats. If liberty is eroded slowly, people will get used to it.

This is the end result.  Anyone who is unusual can and will be hauled away, facts be damned, truth be damned. 

All in the name of safety.

My ass.
BLEARGH
Author name 2007-11-10, 17:47 #2
User title: Dreaming of a 40D
Member since Sep 2007 · 35 posts · Location: Canberra
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http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readf…?forum=1000&…

Good news is, a dude who got arrested by cops for taking photos of them arresting someone else and who had his camera taken from him got an $8000 settlement.

Bad news is, a few people seemed disappointed/outraged when they realised he wasn't the one paying.

Worst news is, on a photography website, some people were defending the actions of the cops. They are photographers defending the rights of police to arrest people for taking photos, not of kids which they've molested, not of teenagers about to go shoot up their school, not of people being raped/tortured/killed, but of cops arresting someone on a street in Seattle. Fucking douchesluts.
Author name (Administrator) 2007-11-10, 18:02 #3
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Member since May 2011 · 2203 posts · Location: Brisbane
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It really astonishes me that people can take the position of the police in this situation.  That anyone can roll over and just accept that the world is a horrible scary place and that the people in charge should be trusted implicitly is incredible, IMO.

How do they get there?  Bad parenting?  Were they the bullies in school, never having to face irrational assholes bent on control?  Are they part of the ruling class somehow?

Question authority, argue against it, stand up for your freedoms.  Douchesluts indeed.
BLEARGH
Author name 2009-02-20, 09:05 #4
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I completely agree with you NFG. Reading horror stories about the police is disturbing, even if it's as isolated as it is, however I think a couple of the cases you've cited are poor examples of the police abusing the trust and power we give them.

In my humble opinion deliberately labeling something as an improvised explosive device for the entire world to see is completely irresponsible and in the least is asking for attention, and I think that a reasonable person would agree.

Wearing something that could be easily confused as a bomb by others is equally irresponsible and asking for attention.

People notice oddities. Walk into work at IBM in the morning and you better be wearing garters or you'll be sent home. Wear a pink shirt to the nuclear power plant and you'll be teased and the bosses will notice. We're not even trying hard yet.

When I'm getting ready to go out, I look at myself in the mirror and make sure I'm happy with my appearance from all angles. I'm trying to impress and draw positive attention to myself.

It's preposterous to leave the house with something that could easily be confused as a bomb strapped to your chest and then go to an airport of all places and be surprised when the cops treat you like a criminal. Explosive devices are not benign, nor are they legal as far as I know, nor would I want someone riding around on a bicycle with one.

What did these people expect? What would you think if you were a witness? What do you think a rational response would be?

I'd have probably taken a picture of the bike and smashed the girl in the face with something.
Author name (Administrator) 2009-02-20, 09:43 #5
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I expect people to do silly things.  I want people to push the limits of what's allowed.  My outrage is not with the people who point out how stupid the authorities are, but the authorities who continue to be stupid when evidence proves there is no threat.

Yes, wearing a shirt with wires and lights on it to the airport is silly, but it's a t-shirt with lights and wires on it FFS.  She deserved a lecture and maybe an escort. At most she should be escorted from the premises or asked to change.

And the bike?  That's retarded.  How fucking stupid do you have to be, to believe anyone would build a bike that's a bomb, and then label it as such?

I celebrate people who push the boundaries.  If we do not take advantage of our freedoms then we will lose them.
BLEARGH
This post was edited on 2009-02-20, 11:49 by NFG.
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