A chill was back in the air this morning as I took the dogs out for their morning poop. A stiff wind out of the North hints at chances of freezing rain over the weekend. Our dogs can be aggressive and of late, that aggressiveness has increased some, mostly from Belvedere, the English Hound. He doesn’t like cars—any of them. He’ll stand in the yard when we’re out in the afternoon and voice his displeasure. He’s quiet when we’re out in the morning, though. He seems to understand that no one wants to hear his voice when it’s still dark. The dog understands more about getting along with neighbors than some people do.
ABC News seems to be the only major news outlet addressing a memo from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) yesterday warning that cameras made in China could be ‘spying’ on the US. I laughed. From the moment they were invented, cameras have been used by almost every nation to spy on others, including their own people. We didn’t need digital cameras for that, nor did we need internet-connected cameras. As far back as WWII, miniaturized cameras were used to convey troop movements and other aspects of war. Nothing is going on that hasn’t been happening for decades.
What the memo specifically warns about are cameras that are ‘internet-connected.’ Again, I laughed. Cameras don’t just connect to the nearest Internet signal on their own. They have to be manually connected to a specific and the camera has to be turned on. This has been a feature on digital cameras for a couple of decades now. I never use it because it’s a pain in the ass to set up and the benefits are negligible if one isn’t close to a connected laptop or other computer. No photographer just walks around with the camera turned on, either, because a) it kills battery life, and b) most cameras automatically turn off if they’ve not been used for more than a minute or two.
There’s also the fact that few legitimate US photographers use Chinese gear. Canon, Sony, and Nikon still dominate the US market. I couldn’t even think of a Chinese brand. When I dug around a bit, I found this list of the ten most popular cameras made in China. I’ve not heard of nor encountered any of them. These are the brands I might expect to find on the bottom shelf of a ‘discount’ electronics store. They’re made largely of plastic and the quality of the glass is questionable at best. It would be a really lousy spy or a really shitty photographer who would use one of these brands.
This begs the question: why release such a useless memo? Only ABC News took the bait. Everyone else ignored it because it was meaningless. Granted, over the past three weeks, we’ve seen dozens of meaningless memos from various government agencies. Most are performative, at best, and some read as though they were written by children, which, in this administration, is quite possible. Many have been rescinded within twenty-four hours of being released.
What this memo has the potential to do, however, is make life difficult for legitimate photographers, especially photojournalists. I remember how it felt in the days immediately following 9/11, especially in New York. Simply taking my camera out of its bag on a street corner was enough to cause people to not only stare but contact the nearest beat cop. I frequently had to explain myself, though only once did it ever cause any problem (another story for another time). Now, everyone’s cell phone has a camera stronger than I had back then, and cell phones are connected to networks by default but no one bats an eye. Photojournalists, however, rarely rely on their cell phones to get the best shots. A good camera with a 200mm to 500mm zoom stands out and tends to indicate that the person holding the device knows what they’re doing (not always the case). From my perspective, the only purpose I can see in this memo is to make photojournalists targets. Yes, it’s insane, but then, so are most of the memos and edicts we’ve seen handed down the past three weeks. Sanity is not this administration’s strong suit.
Yeah, I’m aware of the hilarious (sort of) order to fight ‘anti-Christian bias.’ I’m fairly sure the only thing that order will achieve is increasing the anti-Christian bias that the church itself has created through its neverending hypocrisy. This is the Punk’s attempt to keep a dwindling evangelical movement at his side. There will ultimately be a First Amendment clash over this.
We’re going into a weekend where more people would rather complain about the dominance of the Eagles and Chiefs rather than the government. There will be tons of expensive chicken wings devoured and more than a little beer spilled. Ads will most likely be disappointing (from what I’ve seen so far). Monday could be designated as ‘National Hangover Day.’
This is a good time to be kind to yourself. Go ahead and take that nap. Indulge in your favorite comfort foods if you can. Read a good book. For all the danger we’re in, even the nut jobs in DC have trouble competing with the Super Bowl. Relax for a minute. We’ll have plenty to address next week.
More Bark, Toothless Bites.
A chill was back in the air this morning as I took the dogs out for their morning poop. A stiff wind out of the North hints at chances of freezing rain over the weekend. Our dogs can be aggressive and of late, that aggressiveness has increased some, mostly from Belvedere, the English Hound. He doesn’t like cars—any of them. He’ll stand in the yard when we’re out in the afternoon and voice his displeasure. He’s quiet when we’re out in the morning, though. He seems to understand that no one wants to hear his voice when it’s still dark. The dog understands more about getting along with neighbors than some people do.
ABC News seems to be the only major news outlet addressing a memo from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) yesterday warning that cameras made in China could be ‘spying’ on the US. I laughed. From the moment they were invented, cameras have been used by almost every nation to spy on others, including their own people. We didn’t need digital cameras for that, nor did we need internet-connected cameras. As far back as WWII, miniaturized cameras were used to convey troop movements and other aspects of war. Nothing is going on that hasn’t been happening for decades.
What the memo specifically warns about are cameras that are ‘internet-connected.’ Again, I laughed. Cameras don’t just connect to the nearest Internet signal on their own. They have to be manually connected to a specific and the camera has to be turned on. This has been a feature on digital cameras for a couple of decades now. I never use it because it’s a pain in the ass to set up and the benefits are negligible if one isn’t close to a connected laptop or other computer. No photographer just walks around with the camera turned on, either, because a) it kills battery life, and b) most cameras automatically turn off if they’ve not been used for more than a minute or two.
There’s also the fact that few legitimate US photographers use Chinese gear. Canon, Sony, and Nikon still dominate the US market. I couldn’t even think of a Chinese brand. When I dug around a bit, I found this list of the ten most popular cameras made in China. I’ve not heard of nor encountered any of them. These are the brands I might expect to find on the bottom shelf of a ‘discount’ electronics store. They’re made largely of plastic and the quality of the glass is questionable at best. It would be a really lousy spy or a really shitty photographer who would use one of these brands.
This begs the question: why release such a useless memo? Only ABC News took the bait. Everyone else ignored it because it was meaningless. Granted, over the past three weeks, we’ve seen dozens of meaningless memos from various government agencies. Most are performative, at best, and some read as though they were written by children, which, in this administration, is quite possible. Many have been rescinded within twenty-four hours of being released.
What this memo has the potential to do, however, is make life difficult for legitimate photographers, especially photojournalists. I remember how it felt in the days immediately following 9/11, especially in New York. Simply taking my camera out of its bag on a street corner was enough to cause people to not only stare but contact the nearest beat cop. I frequently had to explain myself, though only once did it ever cause any problem (another story for another time). Now, everyone’s cell phone has a camera stronger than I had back then, and cell phones are connected to networks by default but no one bats an eye. Photojournalists, however, rarely rely on their cell phones to get the best shots. A good camera with a 200mm to 500mm zoom stands out and tends to indicate that the person holding the device knows what they’re doing (not always the case). From my perspective, the only purpose I can see in this memo is to make photojournalists targets. Yes, it’s insane, but then, so are most of the memos and edicts we’ve seen handed down the past three weeks. Sanity is not this administration’s strong suit.
There are also signs of a pushback against the illegal aspects of the administration’s overreach. A Judge temporarily blocked the Punk’s plan offering incentives for federal workers to resign. 13 states sued over DOGE access to government payment systems containing personal data. The US border czar blames leaks for hindering immigration raids in Colorado suburbs. Egypt lobbies against Punk’s plan to empty Gaza of Palestinians. Iran’s supreme leader says US talks ‘not intelligent, wise or honorable,’ Members of the U.S. House Progressive Caucus held a news conference on Thursday vowing to fire Elon Musk. There is finally some action from Democrats, but there’s still plenty of room for them to step up and do something. Anything. Just don’t expect it to happen this weekend.
Yeah, I’m aware of the hilarious (sort of) order to fight ‘anti-Christian bias.’ I’m fairly sure the only thing that order will achieve is increasing the anti-Christian bias that the church itself has created through its neverending hypocrisy. This is the Punk’s attempt to keep a dwindling evangelical movement at his side. There will ultimately be a First Amendment clash over this.
We’re going into a weekend where more people would rather complain about the dominance of the Eagles and Chiefs rather than the government. There will be tons of expensive chicken wings devoured and more than a little beer spilled. Ads will most likely be disappointing (from what I’ve seen so far). Monday could be designated as ‘National Hangover Day.’
This is a good time to be kind to yourself. Go ahead and take that nap. Indulge in your favorite comfort foods if you can. Read a good book. For all the danger we’re in, even the nut jobs in DC have trouble competing with the Super Bowl. Relax for a minute. We’ll have plenty to address next week.
Enjoy the coffee.
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