Rob, I think we agree on the film. Yes, it was supposed to be a test, but the testers seem to be unusually incompetent. How come they're not carrying cards, for instance, with the laws written out on them so they can hand them to the rent-a-cops to see what reaction they get? As Kevin pointed out, when the real, sworn cops showed up they knew the law and sort of laughed off the whole thing.
I guess I'm particularly sensitive to this kind of crap. I've been around long enough to have a deep and personal appreciation for the loss of liberty in Western nations, my own included. I doubt anyone nowadays could pull off an HCB tour of a city, or a Robert Frank tour of a country, without having misguided government or private functionaries interceding on behalf of people out in public, demanding privacy as their "right." As I said before, if you want privacy, stay home. You actually have privacy rights there, enforced under the law.
To me, the fascinating thing about the test is that these guys were shooting buildings instead of people. How the hell can a building on a public thoroughfare be demanding privacy, or the right not to be photographed?
Snappers may not have a divine right, but they sure as hell have a legal right.