Posted on 07/19/2004 5:30:58 PM PDT by RaceBannon
http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/415877|top|07-19-2004::15:07|reuters.html
Man Sought for Photographing Texas City Refineries
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Jul 19, 2:57 PM (ET)
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Law enforcement officials said on Monday they are looking for a man seen taking pictures of two refineries in Texas City, Texas. Texas City, located on the Texas Gulf coast about 30 miles south of Houston, has three refineries including the largest U.S. plant operated by BP Plc., which is the third-largest U.S. refinery, processing 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The man, described as white with dark hair, was seen taking pictures outside the refineries, all located on the same highway, at about 5 p.m. CDT on Saturday, said Bruce Clawson, emergency management and homeland security director for Texas City.
While it is not illegal to take pictures of a refinery from a highway or street, officials would like to talk to the man to find out his reason for taking the photographs.
"This is based on the idea that al Qaeda does its homework," Clawson said. "That's not to say we don't have enough home-grown idiots already who might want to do something."
The man was seen driving a white van.
Valero Energy Corp. operates a 243,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Texas City. Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC, a joint venture between Marathon Oil Corp., and Ashland Inc., operates a 76,000 bpd refinery in Texas City.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has repeatedly warned refiners that they are possible targets for would-be terrorists. U.S. refinery security officials say their security guards regularly report people observing or taking pictures of refineries.
During the Independence Day holiday, ExxonMobil Corp. tightened security at the largest U.S. refinery, the 538,000 bpd plant in Baytown, Texas, 30 miles east of Houston, because of general warnings about possible terrorist activity.
Should we expect to hear from the usual suspects that this man's rights may be violated, because he has committed no crime?
Again.
I've taken pictures of refineries (philly area) in the past 'cause they look cool. Might just have been a photographer.
Nothing to see here, move along...to Academy, they got a sale on 9mm, ought-6's, and 12 gage 02's....
Sounds vaguely familiar...
OK he was WHITE? Sure he wasn't a little swarthy?
I was taking pictures on top of a dam 2 years ago, got stopped, had them id me, call in my name and all.
It was a hoot! I told the Cop of my file I keep on this stuff!
Yep...he did nothing wrong. Maybe the HLS needs to question Google Image Search?
http://www.wetmaap.org/Texas_City_and_Virginia_Point/Background_Slides/slide_13.html
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&q=Texas+City+refinery
http://images.google.com/images?q=Texas+City&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&start=180&sa=N
Possible petro-terrorist in east Texas alert!
I know, I was just thinkin that--NOT another white van!!!
I think I know that guy!!
Paging Chief Moose.
Nor is it to say that we don't have any white boys who've seen the light (in a jail-house moslem kinda persuasion) who might want to do something. John Doe2 was a figment. Move along.
Just be careful you don't profile more than two swarthy types per day... that could lead to some real trouble.
If I got stopped, I couldn't tell them I'm a photographer because I'm not. And no matter where you go in and around the city, you're bound to capture some kind of infrastructure in the frame and thus look suspicious to somebody.
Sheesh! Guess I'll stick to filming the pooch chasing her frisbee in our backyard.
...Paging Chief Moose...
A moose once bit my sister... Wait a second I don't have a sister. A moose once bit my brother.. How did that happen, he lives in Oklahoma, must been at the zoo.;)
People who take pictures of things that many consider to be abnormal are regularly suspected of being terrorists and many of my fellow plane spotters have been arrested over the years. I myself had a national guardsman pull, and load, his M-16 on me back in Feb. 2002.
Down on the Chocolate Bayou. Where the workmen's chant is "nothing new after two, nothing more after four".
Wait, no. That's the creed of the technicians in a Nuclear power plant.
That's one big facility, the old Amoco Refinery. The only bigger one I've ever worked at was Mobil's at Yanbu Saudi Arabia.
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