Posted on 11/12/2010 3:47:06 PM PST by traumer
WASHINGTON -- Metro has circulated an internal memo asking employees to be on the lookout for two men seen videotaping the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station.
An internal memo says the individuals were "attempting to videotape inconspicuously, by holding the camera at their side, between their chest and waist." Metro was alerted by a rider who took a picture of the men last week while they were sitting on the train.
The alert comes just after the recent arrest of a Northern Virginia man in a sting where he videotaped two Metro facilities for what we thought was going to be an attack on the system.
Metro says in a statement Thursday that the alert was part of "routine follow-up," not intended to be a public notice and not meant to alarm anyone.
The memo was first obtained by WUSA.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“holding the camera at their side, between their chest and waist....”
**** RED ALERT ****
Were they bearded and Middle-eastern looking?
Well, since the Amish don’t believe in the use of electricity, we can rule them out. Unless it is one of those hand cranked video cameras. But my experience with those is that the picture is so shaky as to be useless.
Two men... well, that narrows it down.
They have a witness’ photo of the perps. I can’t believe the metro servalience cameras don’t have them on tape.
And yet, they are on the look out for “two men.”
First, it's common to video public places. It may be a school project or something anyway.
Second, holding the camera inconspicuously is necessary if your goal is to get candid footage.
Third, holding the camera at stomach level is very common. It's intended to get a different, more dramatic point of view than holding the camera at eye-level.
Finally, what possible useful information can be gathered in a public place with video that could not be gathered just by observing the area or with a still camera?
“two men” is code for dark-skinned.
I’m a photography buff and can see myself getting caught up in something like this. I seldom leave the house without my camera and photograph just about everything of interest to me.
Or Google Street View for that matter.
fyi
This is just ridiculous.....
They were just unicorn ghosts. The lighting in subways creates those optical illusions.
And you like Glenn Beck. You’re definitely suspect.
Government surveillance = OK
Citizen surveillance = terrorist threat
Something wrong with this picture.
Heh.
freekitty: "Most corporations have a very strict rule about taking pictures in front of their buildings. Employees can’t do it either. The Middle Easterners have been caught in buildings taking pictures of hallways and exit doors; etc. They pretend like they aren’t doing it by placing the cameras waist-high."
Mentioned in this alert: An internal memo says the individuals were "attempting to videotape inconspicuously, by holding the camera at their side, between their chest and waist." Metro was alerted by a rider who took a picture of the men last week while they were sitting on the train.
Something wrong with this picture.
I agree. I don't fear people filming public places. I am particularly troubled about police seizing cameras outside public buildings. I am quite sure we need as many citizen-operated cameras as possible. We can't expect the MSM to accurately document these troubled times for posterity.
Now, something made these guys suspicious to a witness (who also used a camera). I suspect there was some aspect of their behavior or appearance. Or it was just a paranoid metro rider.
“Were they bearded and Middle-eastern looking?”
Did they work for Google? :)
“Government surveillance = OK”
They made it back to Langley ok.
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