What the fuck is illegal about this protest?

fair point, but, everyone on a demo is already photographed by the FIT, so why worry?

I haven't seen any photos of illegal things -- if there was, for example, a photo of a protestor smashing the windscreen of a police car or something like that and there was a photo of this happening with the persons face in it then I would agree that it would _not_ be sensible to post it because it could be used to identify someone doing something illegal and it could be used in court etc.

All the things I saw yesterday were _not_ illegal, the only illegal things happening were the police detaining us because we 'might cause a breach of the peace' if we were allowed to move on...

Pehaps there are images I missed -- if there are specific photos that are a matter of concern please point them out to the private IMC contact list:  imc-uk-contact@lists.indymedia.org -- this email list is not publically archived (all the others are).

The arguement that the cops take photos so what`s the problem with publishing photos ourselves is rediculous. The fact that cops take photos of us is a bad thing. The fact that lots of them take lots of photos is even worse. Logically, if we take even more photos of ourselves and others it is EVEN WORSE. The cops do not have unlimited intelligence about our movement, and (although it may sometimes feel like it) they are not able to catch everything on film. It is the responsibilitiy of all `media activists` who claim to belong to this movement to take the necessary precautions not to work as an un-paid police photographer, video operative etc...

Photos that show the faces of people who are commiting potential "crimes" is as bad as grassing people up directly to the cops.

Publishing the faces of people taking part in "legal" actions, demonstrations etc... helps the state gain intelligence. They see who takes part in which demos/actions, who crops up most often, who hangs around with who, who is often near "the action", who dresses in which style etc...

PLEASE USE A BIT OF COMMON SENSE! NO MORE FACES!!!!!!!!

To blur faces implies that you somehow want to remain anonymous. We don't! We want people to know exactly who we are, what we are doing, and why.

Protest is perfectly legal. Most of the things we protest, like the bombing of Iraq, about are contraventions of international conventions and agreements of various kinds, and some are illegal in domestic law. We have a right to demonstrate, to proffer a different opinion from the mainstream. This right is enshrined in Article 10 of the European Human Rights Act.

Please don't fall into the trap of paranoia or start thinking what these DSEI demonstrators are doing is breaking the law. The vast majority of them are NOT!

If you do think that you might be committing a minor 'crime', like breach of the peace, obstruction, or aggravated trespass, which is about all that people are likely to be charged with, please don't forget the 'lawful excuse' that committing one of these kinds of minor offences is perfectly legal in order to prevent a bigger crime being committed.

And be PROUD ! Stand up and be counted!

love and hugs to everyone at DSEI from the gang at:
 http://www.fairfordpeacewatch.com

xxx

Generally people seem to think it's a good idea that we have our own media and are have people catching police agression / violence etc. Now we all know that the place is crawling in cops, cctv, fit squad, corporate media, locals etc. So if anyone thinks they will get out of the area without being photoed, they are kidding themselves. Obvisously people could mask up but since the police can remove your masks, it probably won't help much - just draw attention to your apparent need to remain anonymous.

It seems a strange request to ask that all photos have all faces blured when the vast majority of people here do not feel the need to hide their faces. Those that do are probably masked up, or not here at all.

Anyone going on an open action should expect the media to be there in force including mainstream who obviously won't blur faces in this way. This fact is as obvious as night following day. If you're unhappy about the possibility of your face appearing on Indymedia, the BBC, Guardian web sites etc then what the !@#$ are you doing on an action with all those media swarming around in the first place!? Stay at home and get treatment for your paranoia!

I've seen pics on Indymedia from previous actions like Lausanne where some well-meaning but clueless person has spent hours blurring every face in a huge crowd and to be honest it makes everyone on the action look like complete prats. People from mainstream society looking at such pics rather than admiring our courage at standing up to the forces of darkness will think that we either really are all terrorists or that we're all thoroughly ashamed to be there. In fact I'd hope that everyone going on any action intended to make the world a better fairer place is thoroughly PROUD to show their face there and in no way feels like a terrorist.

If you've taken a pic(s) of anyone obviously doing something illegal on an action like chucking stuff at cops then yes, absolutely blur that ONE person's face but NOT an entire !@#$ing crowd of people who are doing nothing wrong except opposing injustice by just being there. Also if you do have incriminating evidence like this in your camera then you should remove yourself or your camera or the film/card from the action ASAP in case you get arrested/searched.

Use your common sense!

it is my choice if i want my photo on a website. don't abuse my choice.

if anyone takes photos or videos me without asking, and then puts it up here, is taking away that basic choice.

it is irrelevant whether a demo/action is legal or illegal.
it is irrelvant whether the police have managed to do it or if i've avoided that.
it is irrelevant whether i'm actually smashing or standing.
it is irrelevant whether i am masked up, which i might choose to not be all the time, not be any of the time because of how people'll perceive it, or which the police might have threatened me with arrest if i don't remove it.

cops take photos for a reason. it is not to make us feel proud or to publicise ourselves. why help them?

I agree that the purpose of going on a demonstration is to stand up and be counted and show that YOU are not happy with what is going on. The WHOLE POINT is to be seen!

If you don't anybody to see that you were there then what is the point in going?

The media will take pictures. If you don't want to be in those pictures and don't want people to know that you were there then you really shouldn't turn up in the first place.

There is nothing illegal about protest. Don't let the police intimidate you.

There are pictures of me all over the world playing samba! I like to see them! I am not ashamed of playing music or going on demonstrations!