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Blog Entry 30 of 31 Robert's Rant

My blog will focus on the foibles of humanity and general commentary on the state of things good and bad.

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iPhone photos censored, almost

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Contributed by: Robert Schoenburg on 6/30/2007

At 4:30 p.m. Friday, June 29, I arrived at the Apple store in Northridge and snapped some photos of the people in line for an iPhone.

Almost immediately, a storm trooper ordered me to delete the photos because the mall does not allow photos to be taken. Could this be true? Am I not able to take photos of my family members in the play area? What about the members of the press? Is this not discrimination?

A while later, the same thing happened at the Westfield Topanga Apple store. There I was with my wife, munching on a piece of pizza. I snapped some photos of the folks in line at the Apple store.

Once again I was told not to take pictures, while numerous flash photos were being taken by others. And, there were members of the press as well.

The Chicago Art Institute whose collection is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, which is more than the Westfield Topanga Mall is worth, has no prohibition on photography. Flash is not allowed to protect the artwork. Dodger Stadium, a public place, has no prohibition on photography. So, what's up here? Why all the paranoia?

The same security guard at Westfield Topngawho told me to stop taking photos, totally ignored a mom who emerged from an escalator pushing a stroller. There are signs posted that strollers do not belong on escalators.

In this day of mobile phones, how in the world do the pseudo-Nazis employed by malls expect to stop people from taking photos? Good luck with that. Also, there are no signs posted that photography is prohibited.

Sidebar message to Steve Jobs: A young woman asked me if the people were in line for iPhones. She shrugged and said she already had one. Her boy friend who works for Cingular gave her one.

Well, I managed to preserve most of the pictures. Check them out, and long live the First Amendment.

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