Man Caught Photographing Refinery in Texas

Fox News Channel ^ | 12/30/01 | Self

[The_Media_never_lie]

This morning on Fox News there was a report of a middle eastern man being noticed by an off duty policeman photographing a Diamond Shamrock oil refinery in Texas. The man was apprehended by law enforcement. When questioned, he did not come up with any logical explanation for his photographing the refinery. The Fox video report showed the man in custody. The report also showed his late model car which was found to contain only maps of undisclosed locations.

[Teacher317]

another 'big' bridge hit would be the SF Bay bridges... 8 hour commute around the bay (minimum!) if those were gone.

[Exit148]

I haven't read the whole thread yet, but what disturbs me is that it was an 'off-duty policeman' who saw him. Didn't anyone else see him?

Come on, citizens!!! Keep your eyes open!!

[SauronOfMordor]

Maybe you've not lived within a few miles of a refinery "tank park", e.g., where there are about 100 large tanks holding petroleum feedstock or product.

Given a terrorist group with resources, how hard would it be to smuggle in a few mortors or RPG-7s? Could do a number on a refinery.

A middle-easterner who is not here legally, and who's seen photographing or casing out refineries or other strategic installations should be tried as a spy. Then executed

[2sheep]

I forgot to suggest Portland, Oregon as a prime site for Al-Quida sleepers.  Although there are probably no oil refineries there to "photograph".

Why Portland?  Are there Muslims there in any greater number than any other city?

American Mosques: A Photo Essay

[VOA]

Why Portland? Are there Muslims there in any greater number than any other city?

Here's a illustrative short clip from a CNN article at URL:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/11/27/inv.ashcroft.terror.charges/

Critics of the U.S. move to interview the 5,000 people have labeled the action as racial profiling. Last week, police in Portland, Oregon, announced they would not assist U.S. authorities in questioning the people, citing state laws that govern racial profiling.

I think in a week or two, the Portland, Ore. Police proudly announce an arrest
of some Middle Eastern type (can't remember the details) to proudly show that
Portland, OR is still part of the United States.
I haven't heard anything else about the fellow they arrested, but can't help wondering
if he was just some sacrificial lamb used to make Portland look better.

As for the Portland Police citing state law, they may be right in their reason
and action. But IMHO the city showed, they are ready to US citizens die in order to genuflect
before the great G-d of "tolerance and diversity".

[2sheep]

Tolerance, Diversity, Pluralism, Ecumenicism = tools of the enemy used to defeat America and the West.  See link below.

Da 11:21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

Da 11:32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

Get Ready for Twenty World Trade Center Bombings (A MUST READ interview from 1997)

[mommadooo3]

That acid would probably make quite a mess if it were to be deliberately leaked.

I realize it might be quite a thrill for the wackos to take out a refinery. But, what would be the purpose? It would kill a few folks. But it wouldn't cripple our energy or economy, would it?

Do those wackos REALIZE the utter hell they'd be unleashing on their fellow 'believers', family survivors, etc? I doubt if Prez Bush is BIG enough to stop any mosques from turning into cinders.

Internment camps have been mentioned. LOL...would there be enough diaperheads LEFT to fill ONE camp if a 'strike' happens again???

[VOA]

bump...and thanks for the link to the Emerson article!

[CWRWinger]

About a year ago, my son and I took a free tour boat ride run by either the port authority or the city. We took pictures of the refineries from the boat.

[constitutiongirl]

Maybe he wanted to send the photo back home..."See!!!!!!! Ours are bigger than theirs!!!!!!!"

[RaceBannon]

Me and You and 100 other Freepers would be pro-active, but Bush is afraid of starting an Islamic Horde from coming here...

[VOA]

I realize it might be quite a thrill for the wackos to take out a refinery...(snip)...
It would kill a few folks.
Not true in all cases. I grew up two city blocks from the edge of two oil refineries
(one was City Services, the other just beyond it was/is Conoco).

There are residential areas full of nice little single family dwellings that are adjacent
to the big refinery in Long Beach, CA.

With luck and good planning, there are some refineries that would kill thousands, not just from
being hit from falling debris lofted by explosion, but houses set aflame.
It could be really ugly, depending on how well executed.

But it wouldn't cripple our energy or economy, would it?
Seeing how there hasn't been harldy any building of refineries in continental USA for
decades (thanks EPA and other un-indicted co-conspirators)...destroying a couple
refineries would probably be even more of a hit on our economy than in years past.
And refineries are not just for making gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel...they provide
all kinds of raw, petroleum-based materials for making lots of other industrial and consumer goods.
Ever notice how gasoline prices shoot up when there's a fire/accident at just one
refinery?
Take out four or five biguns (so that they can't be rebuilt in under a year) and I suspect
things would get ugly at the gas station in short order.

[VOA]

A Philadelphia refinery keeps 400,000 pounds of hydrogen fluoride that
could asphyxiate nearly 4 million nearby residents.

That's the one that gives me the willies.
In analytical chemistry lab in college, I had to use hydrogen fluoride (HF).
It was used to dissolve glass in order to liberate trace minerals for further analysis.
I was HYPER-careful, but must have gotten a nearly microscopic drop on my left thumb.
It managed to dig a hole down through layers of flesh over the course of a couple of days.
Took a couple of months to heal.
This stuff eats flesh...I don't even want to think of it coming into contact with eyes, lungs
etc.

[mommadooo3]

OK...now I'm 'confused'. One side says that we are HIGHLY dependent on foreigners' oil...another says we are big producers of our OWN. LOL...yup, BLONDE! So, we import lotsa foreigners' stuff...break it down and make it usable for our everyday industries. Is that what's going on?

Next silly question....since so many people live so CLOSE to refineries, what kind of time frame would they have to 'get out' in case of attack? HOW could that quick of an attack take place? No doubt there are now more guards posted, airplanes are closely scrutinized. So any future attacks would have to be 'inside jobs'. Right?

[VOA]

So, we import lotsa foreigners' stuff...break it down and make it usable for
our everyday industries. Is that what's going on?

That's correct. We have wonderful plants that convert that yucky, black, sometimes sludgy
junk that comes out of the ground (lots of it from other countries) into nice, clear things
like gasoline, aviation fuel, diesel, etc.

what kind of time frame would they have to 'get out' in case of attack? HOW could that
quick of an attack take place?

I suspect that anyone not fleeing immediately would be taking grave risks...if they weren't
knocked unconscious by an initial blast or something like a fireball just blasted through
their neigborhood.
I suspect you'd get different types of results at different refineries, depending
on how much natural gas they had on site (lots of "bomb"-type risk) or other
flammable materials (more likelihood of a lot of flame/fire).

So any future attacks would have to be 'inside jobs'. Right?

I think that a terrorist who could simply repeat what their brothers did to the
Marine Corp barracks in Reagan's term or the Kohbar Towers in Saudia Arabia could
cause a hugh conflagration.
About the only skill factor would be getting the bomb vehicle to a location to
set off the maximal subsidiary explosions, once the bomb in the vehicle is set off.

And the refineries in my old home town didn't strike me as very defensible.
But I think measures have been taken to make these somewhat "harder" targets.

[Nita Nupress]

It managed to dig a hole down through layers of flesh over the course of a couple of days. Took a couple of months to heal. This stuff eats flesh...I don't even want to think of it coming into contact with eyes, lungs etc.

Yikes. That sounds like it hurt.

Did you see reply #134 about HF? Oh yeah... You said you didn't want to think about it. ;-)

[LonePalm]

I remember about 7-8 years ago, a Japanese refinery caught on fire, a real accident. It made something like 1/3 of the world's supply of a critical component for making microchips. The price of PC memory tripled overnight, literally!!

It doesn't take a terrorist act to throw a monkey wrench into the world's economy.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LoanPalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[Nita Nupress]

Think "inside a shipping container into a major port." Many of our ports are lined with refineries.