Although we have to be vigilant about terrorism, I sometimes wonder if
government and certain businesses are using the fear of terrorism as
an excuse to hide from the public. The following article about a
kayaker who "was observed videotaping a Northwestern U.S. company's
refinery" may mean the public will be barred from going anywhere near
oil refineries.

I personally think it's a huge leap to think that a kayaker
videotaping an oil refinery is a possible Al-Qaida terrorist (more
likely it'll come from domestic terrorists such as ELF, but you can't
get headlines talking about domestic terrorism). In the Pacific
Northwest, kayakers are often the stewards of the local waterways who
conduct "surveillance," i.e., observe, photograph and videotape oil
tankers and oil refineries to ensure that they aren't spilling oil and
other waste into the water. I now expect there will be new "security
restrictions" to keep kayakers and others away from surveillance of
oil refineries so that oil companies can conduct their business
outside of the eyes of the public. (Hey, isn't GW Bush an oil man?)

So be forewarned. . . if you are seen photographing or videotaping
an oil refinery, an oil tanker, a bald eagle near an oil refinery, an
oil spill, etc., you too could be considered a potential Al-Qaida
terrorist.
--------------------------------------------------

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Thursday, July 1, 2004 · Last updated 2:58 p.m. PT

Govt: May have been terrorist interest in state refinery
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TACOMA, Wash. -- The Department of Homeland Security says one of the
state's five oil refineries may have come under surveillance by
terrorists, a newspaper reported Thursday.

While the suspicious activity could be part of preparation for an
attack, the agency said there was no specific information suggesting
energy facilities were being targeted.

Word on the possible surveillance was in a department bulletin sent to
industry, state and local law enforcement officials, The News Tribune
of Tacoma reported.

A person in a kayak "was observed videotaping a Northwestern U.S.
company's refinery," it said. The company's security staff also
reported a "suspicious encounter" with a diver last year in the same
general area.

The bulletin noted that a key ring containing about 50 keys was stolen
from a field truck owned by a company with a Northwest refinery. The
keys represent "potential access" to the company's U.S. facilities,
the agency said, noting that locks at the local operation were being
changed.

"Suspicious incident reports concerning possible surveillance of oil
and gas refineries and infrastructure continue to emerge from
throughout the homeland and may, in some cases, be indicative of
terrorist pre-operational activities," the department said.

Al-Qaida considers such facilities "attractive options because of
their potentially significant economic, public health and safety, and
psychological impacts," it said.

The state has received no information about specific threats to
refineries, said Joe Huden, a special assistant to Maj. Gen. Timothy
Lowenberg, Gov. Gary Locke's homeland security adviser.

"This is all pretty standard stuff," Huden said.

A spokesman at BP's Cherry Point refinery, the state's largest, said
the company has reported no suspicious activity in the past three to
six months.

The state's other refineries are Shell and Tesoro operations in
Anacortes, a ConocoPhillips refinery in Ferndale and a U.S. Oil
refinery in Tacoma.

The Homeland Security bulletin noted there have been a series of
terrorist attacks on energy-related targets overseas, particularly in
the Persian Gulf.

---

Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.tribnet.com

It amazes me how quickly we forget.

Here someone did a good job of being vigilant and watching for unusual actions
(not many kayakers carry video cameras in their boats) and we are jumping to
the conclusion the evil government in a conspiracy with big business will use
this as an excuse to hide illegal activity. Talk about a huge leap!

We know Al-Qaida does extensive surveillance of it's targets, why would it be
such a leap they would do it this time, other than there is poor cover for
action videotaping from a kayak.

Of course, if a terrorist (domestic or international) were to blow up the
refinery and spill millions of gallons of oil, I'm sure we would have a "9-11"
commission to ask why we didn't see it coming.

I personally think it's a huge leap to think that a kayaker
videotaping an oil refinery is a possible Al-Qaida terrorist (more
likely it'll come from domestic terrorists such as ELF, but you can't
get headlines talking about domestic terrorism).

Bobo ) writes:

The Homeland Security bulletin noted there have been a series of
terrorist attacks on energy-related targets overseas, particularly in
the Persian Gulf.

Arab media is full of reports of Persian Gulf energy-related targets being
videotaped by kayakers, particulary Iraqi pipelines. Guess which North
American kayak manufacturer is suppliing the petro-terrorists with kayaks.
Guess which paddling newsgroup terrorists read for kayak expertise.
Guess which paddling newsgroup confuses kayak terroists reducing their
effectiveness. Guess how many kayak terrorists are US-trained certified
paddling instructors. Should USA so-called paddling experts be allowed to
continue training petro-terrorists? What is Homeland Security going to do
about US-based paddling instruction?


--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
warning: non-freenet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned

....stuff deleted
So be forewarned. . . if you are seen photographing or videotaping
an oil refinery, an oil tanker, a bald eagle near an oil refinery, an
oil spill, etc., you too could be considered a potential Al-Qaida
terrorist.

....stuff deleted

I don't know about you, but considering how many wonderful things one can
videotape from a kayak, including whales, natural settings, etc., an oil
refinery is right down on the bottom of my list, just above the interesting
poop I took this morning. While I doubt the individual was a terrorist, I
certainly have to question his/her sanity.

Rick

"Rick" wrote in message
nk.net...
...stuff deleted
So be forewarned. . . if you are seen photographing or videotaping
an oil refinery, an oil tanker, a bald eagle near an oil refinery, an
oil spill, etc., you too could be considered a potential Al-Qaida
terrorist.

...stuff deleted

I don't know about you, but considering how many wonderful things one can
videotape from a kayak, including whales, natural settings, etc., an oil
refinery is right down on the bottom of my list, just above the
interesting
poop I took this morning. While I doubt the individual was a terrorist, I
certainly have to question his/her sanity.

Rick


Ever since 9/11 people seem to have forgotten that not all terrorists are
Arabic or part of Al-Qaida. There are still environmental nuts that like to
blow things up, burn things down, or chain themselves to bull dozers. And,
their Americans. Gasp.

J
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 13:57:05 GMT, "Rick"
wrote:

...stuff deleted
So be forewarned. . . if you are seen photographing or videotaping
an oil refinery, an oil tanker, a bald eagle near an oil refinery, an
oil spill, etc., you too could be considered a potential Al-Qaida
terrorist.

...stuff deleted

I don't know about you, but considering how many wonderful things one can
videotape from a kayak, including whales, natural settings, etc., an oil
refinery is right down on the bottom of my list, just above the
interesting
poop I took this morning. While I doubt the individual was a terrorist, I
certainly have to question his/her sanity.


Here in the NW several organizations run pollution patrols from kayaks
to document pollution incidents, etc.

I will note that when I go paddling on Puget sound (particularly in
the first year after 9-11) I am frequently checked out by fast running
coast guard boats.

I guess they have to be vigilant.

And that is what we should all be wether keeping one eye open for suspicious
activity that might be connected to terrorism or keeping an eye on big
industry that might be taking shortcuts when it comes to the health and
safety of the environment. But restricting access to otherwise public
areas, as the OP suggested this paranoia might lead to, is not the answer.

DV

....stuff deleted
I don't know about you, but considering how many wonderful things one can
videotape from a kayak, including whales, natural settings, etc., an oil
refinery is right down on the bottom of my list, just above the interesting

poop I took this morning. While I doubt the individual was a terrorist, I
certainly have to question his/her sanity.

Rick



Ever since 9/11 people seem to have forgotten that not all terrorists are
Arabic or part of Al-Qaida. There are still environmental nuts that like to
blow things up, burn things down, or chain themselves to bull dozers. And,
their Americans. Gasp.


Josh, et. al.,

You still have to question the motives of someone who is in one of the
world's most impressive natural settings and chooses to photograph the
nearby oil refinery. I think that this is the rare instance that I would
raise my eyebrows in a questioning look. The response, and inspection,
of the person, in this instance, isn't out-of-line. It is likely that
the motives were, as you point out, perfectly explainable (though being
a conservationist in this day and age is likely to get you labeled as a
terrorist, or worse (after all, this is the label Bush used to describe
the NEA).

Now, if the person were taking photos of a returning fishing boat, I'd
probably be clapping my hands with glee.

Rick

in article , Rick at wrote on
7/2/04 9:05 PM:

...stuff deleted
I don't know about you, but considering how many wonderful things one can
videotape from a kayak, including whales, natural settings, etc., an oil
refinery is right down on the bottom of my list, just above the interesting

poop I took this morning. While I doubt the individual was a terrorist, I
certainly have to question his/her sanity.

Rick



Ever since 9/11 people seem to have forgotten that not all terrorists are
Arabic or part of Al-Qaida. There are still environmental nuts that like to
blow things up, burn things down, or chain themselves to bull dozers. And,
their Americans. Gasp.


Josh, et. al.,

You still have to question the motives of someone who is in one of the
world's most impressive natural settings and chooses to photograph the
nearby oil refinery.

OK.

I think that this is the rare instance that I would
raise my eyebrows in a questioning look. The response, and inspection,
of the person, in this instance, isn't out-of-line.

Right.

It is likely that
the motives were, as you point out, perfectly explainable (though being
a conservationist in this day and age is likely to get you labeled as a
terrorist, or worse (after all, this is the label Bush used to describe
the NEA).

I think what the OP who posted the article was concerned about was that
rather than continue to be diligent, officials would take the lazy approach
and just ban people from accessing the area in kayaks altogether. I'm not
really sure what we can do to prevent such decisions, but it is a concern.

Now, if the person were taking photos of a returning fishing boat, I'd
probably be clapping my hands with glee.

OK.

wrote in
:

On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 13:57:05 GMT, "Rick"
wrote:




Here in the NW several organizations run pollution patrols from kayaks
to document pollution incidents, etc.

I will note that when I go paddling on Puget sound (particularly in
the first year after 9-11) I am frequently checked out by fast running
coast guard boats.

In another forum I read there was an article recently posted about kayaks
being used in that area for transporting "BC Bud" into the U.S. Just this
morning the same person posted an article which described how drug runners
are stealing zodiacs to transport drugs. In a recent incident a thief tried
to steal a zodiac that was cabled to a small dory and the owner gave chase
in a kayak until deciding that he hadn't completely thought through what he
what would happen if he caught the thieves. The kayaker found a fishing
boat and convinced them to radio to the RCMP and the theives were
apprehended and the zodiac returned.

Rick wrote in a message dated 7/2/2004 10:05 PM Eastern
Daylight Time

snip
It is likely that
the motives were, as you point out, perfectly explainable (though being
a conservationist in this day and age is likely to get you labeled as a
terrorist, or worse (after all, this is the label Bush used to describe
the NEA).

Far be it for me to defend President Bush's policies and the "antiterrorist"
actions taken by our government. I am after all one of the "hysterical"
librarians (Per Ashcroft) opposed to the "USA PATRIOT" act. I am also an NEA
member and for the sake of fairness and accuracy, I should point out that it
was Education Secretary Rod Paige who characterized the National Education
Association as "a terrorist organization" last February. Bush has not (as far
as I know) spoken on the topic yet.