Man arrested for taking pictures

I think the next icon to add to the key here might be one for authorities surrendering to terrorism by using it as an excuse to bust folks for harmless activity that was once legal.

In New York City, taking photographs at subway stops is not illegal. Nor can it be, as it is public property, is open for the movement of people, and there'd be no compelling interest for such a policy.

Despite this, a 30-year-old man has been arrested for it anyway.

So much for the rule of law, huh?

I wonder if the cop who arrested him actually thought it was the law, or if he was just making it up as he was going along. If it was the latter, why? Was the officer afraid the camera might catch him doing something wrong?

If that's the case, it certainly doesn't reflect well on the cop's attitude.

This story is related to a much larger issue. Two times in the past 5 years, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has proposed such a ban - citing terrorism as an excuse. In 2007, the city even proposed strict limits on filming along public streets - using the same pretext.

City officials aren't shy about letting terrorists win, I guess. As far as I'm concerned, those who proposed these regulations are guilty of treason, and should be prosecuted as such.

This incident isn't the first time the treasoneers have led to someone being falsely arrested in the New York subway system. The city had to spend over $30,000 in legal fees after police cuffed and detained a tourist who took photographs at subway stops. Apparently, the city didn't learn its lesson from this.

Unbelievably, police are pressing on with the charges in the latest case, even though no law was broken.

(Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/nyregion/18about.html)