Posted on 09/12/2007 9:53:33 AM PDT by hipaatwo
What isn't mentioned in this article is that the I-80 bridge is right in the Delaware Water Gap, a very scenic area where the Delaware cuts through a ridge. So the guy did have a tourist reason to be taking photos.
I used to park next to that I-80 bridge all the time when hiking the Appalachian trail up to Sunfish Pond in Jersey. Lots of people there. That idiot had to be really flagrant about his picture taking in order to get noticed at all.
“Are we going to start detaining every tourist who takes pictures of a bridge, or the Statue of Liberty, or the Washington Monument, or any other national landmark that happens to be both a tourist attraction and a potential terrorism target. Has legislation been passed that makes photography of landscapes or landmarks an offense that is probable cause for detention?”
A voice of reason! Maybe this guy bears further watching, but bridges are sometimes just plain photogenic...
“Are we going to start detaining every tourist who takes pictures of a bridge...”
Why did they stop and question him in the first place? They must have had a reason, and since they later ran that info, they must have had a very good reason.
Use your head. No one’s talking about stopping groups of tourists. The cops had more than a hunch but failed to follow through.
That guy is probably off taking pictures of some other bridge by now.
Photographing the bridge? Or the view FROM the bridge?
Huh. You beat me by six seconds.
Wonder if he’s now heard that he’s been on the terrorist watch list.
I used to work in a huge office complex near a BART(subway) station. A couple of times, I saw someone who fit the profile snapping pix of our building. I mentioned it to building management, but they pooh-poohed it, saying, “Maybe he’s just admiring our building.”
The building was nothing special.
To see who they meet with and where they go.
There is a reason to tap international phone calls between domestic terrorists and Al Qaeda overseas.
Never assumed we’d deport citizens. But, I say we are at war and if suspicion exists, deport them, which is a little more humane than interning them as we did the Japanese, most of whom were citizens.
Or a sketch artist's rendering as extrcated from the LEO or Betty Jo working the counter at the rest stop eatery.
But, no doubt, they have a good photo of him in some Seeecret database. Perhaps the Authorities are trolling and have just gotten a helpful suggestion or two from a lowly "civilian" private investigator who has had to kiss a hundred or more @$$es to get a few measly CCW permits.......
Yep. If you're dialing 911 for protection, it's already too late.
I understand what you are saying. It’s a very nice part of Pa.and a nice tourist area.
What isn’t answered in any of the articles is why they stopped him in the first place.
“Are we going to start detaining every tourist who takes pictures of a bridge, or the Statue of Liberty, or the Washington Monument, or any other national landmark that happens to be both a tourist attraction and a potential terrorism target. Has legislation been passed that makes photography of landscapes or landmarks an offense that is probable cause for detention?”
No, but if the cops can run our information when they pull us over for whatever, they can check and see if a guy they’ve detained is on the terrorist watch list. Certainly, letting him go and THEN checking seems like seeing if the barn door is closed after you’ve noticed you have no animals left.
Ha! My daughter brought me back a Hot Dog Johnnys coffee mug and one of those yellow HDJ teeshirts one time. I think she was on Route 46 when she went up to Mountain Creek on a ski trip one time.
The point is that even though they may have had a reason to question him, that did not translate into a reason to detain him. The fact that his name showed up on the terrorist watch list is interesting, but it does not mean that the cops who questioned him should have done more, unless we intend to make it a crime for tourists to take pictures in our country.
Here’s the story of one that “didn’t get away”
Wis. police chief says he’s arrested alleged terrorist
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1895013/posts
I figured this was about another one of those darned Amish terrorists.
However, the detainee’s name is “Hassan Mohamed Abdiaziz”
(/SARC)
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