Posted on 10/26/2004 5:38:03 PM PDT by libertylass
I HAD MY OWN LITTLE EXPERIENCE LAST SATURDAY THAT PROMPTED ME TO CONTACT THE LOCAL POLICE, AND WHEN THAT DIDN'T SATISFY ME, THE HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICE IN SACRAMENTO, CA. THEY IN TURN SENT ME BACK TO MY LOCAL FBI OFFICE, WHO CONSIDERS MY "EVENT" WORTH LOOKING INTO:
I was walking my dog at about 10:30 am when a man pulled up to the curb in front of my condominium units. We have 23 units that are place in a horseshoe shape with the "opening" of the horseshoe facing the street. The "opening" contains the building for our clubhouse and sauna room so you can't actually see into our common area from the street.
Anyway, I didn't pay any attention to him until about a 1/2 hour later when I left with my dog to take her to the vet. As I walked to my truck (on the street) this middle-Eastern looking guy was standing in the middle of the street taking pictures of our condos. Our condos are directly across from a school and less than 1/2 a block from an elementary school where voting takes place for our immediate area.
At first I wasn't going to say anything, thinking he works for a real estate company, but because there are no "For Sale" signs, or "For Rent" signs on our front lawn, I found it odd. I recently refinanced my condo and they never took pictures of the front of the condo units, but only of my interior and immediate outside walls.
So.....as I walked towards him I asked "do you mind me asking you what you're doing?" He replied "I don't know that it's any of your business" at which time I replied "well, I live here and you're taking pictures of my condos, and people are watching out for this kind of thing." (I was getting perturbed at his uncooperative and disrespectful attitude.) I figure if he was a legitimate real estate agent, or an appraiser, he would have offered an explanation or a business card.
He stated "this is a public place" and proceeded to go get in his car. Me, always being a bit bolder than I should be, got a bit mouthy and said "Oh, so now you're going to leave when someone questions what you're doing?" He replied "yeah."
As he got into car I read his license plate number out loud, got into my truck, wrote it down along with the type of automobile (Dodge Intrepid) and drove to my moms to contact the police.
It turns out that they didn't consider him committing any crime (which I knew), so I contacted the dept. of homeland security. They referred me to my local FBI office in L.A. where my story was welcomed, and that I would be getting a follow up call from an agent at some point.
After talking to a co-worker she reminded me that one school is directly across the street from our units and the other one is around the corner just a few houses down.
Perhaps I was overreacting, but taking pictures of PRIVATELY owned homes without offering an explanation from a resident makes me suspicious. He spoke good English, but has a middle Eastern accent.
I keep thinking I'm gonna wake up in the middle of the night with an orange jumpsuit on and my hands tied behind my back. Shiver........
I believe he also wrote down my license plate number, but can't be sure.
Was I over-reacting you think?
If folks are reading, which I hope they are, be on the lookout at night at school yards--and just out of the lights--for second story perches with a view toward the bleachers.
I believe you.
BUMP
In regards to Osama Bin Laden's tape: Dept. of Justice's take on it, (hope your experience isn't part of a conspiracy.)
While Shepard Smith (FOX NEWS around 7:30PM EDT) was reporting on a Bush rally tonight during a live feed he said (voice over)
Shep
"I tell you this with this information from our sources at the DoJ, according to US officials, US intelligence analysts are concerned that the tapes from UBL and the one about which we just spoke {Adam Gahdahn (yahyah)} might be a signal for an impending attack... Quoting here: "Analysts have for months believe that the emergence of a Bin Laden message would signal an impending attack" that from the official ... another quote here "there is a seriousness and an urgency with the emergence of this Bin Laden tape that surpasses anything we've seen before." Again - that from a US official quoted to our sources at the DoJ. The official said analysts are linking the 2 tapes and examining the tone and symbolism of the 2 tapes. They believe that the 1st tape from someone who appears to be an American, and may be this Adam Gahdahn, symbolizes brute force and al Qaeda's presence in the US. .. the offical said that the message of that tape is "We are Here"... the tone of the Bin Laden tape shows an attempt to justify the killing of innocents the official said... much more on this from our sources at the DoJ...
cut to Arnold introducing Bush (at rally)
So glad you are bold and alert. Good job, thanks, and stay safe!!!!
bttt
You did the right thing.
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