Claudia Engel wrote:

"Rick" writes:

I don't know about you, but considering how many wonderful things one can
videotape from a kayak, including whales, natural settings, etc., an oil
refinery is right down on the bottom of my list, just above the interesting
poop I took this morning. While I doubt the individual was a terrorist, I
certainly have to question his/her sanity.


Perhaps the person in the boat had concerns about environment pollution,
etc... coming from the oil refinery and wanted video evidence? If they
can put *us* under surveillance, then we can do likewise.



Works for me. Frankly, I see no harm in asking why someone is filming
anything. I would, like anyone else, listen to a reasonable explanation
(such as that forwarded above) and accept it. When nobody asks why
individuals behave in fashions we tend to deem suspicious, we foist off
the responsibility for our own security to those who have neither the
time, resources, and (probably) intellect, to do this successfully.
Hence, putting air marshalls on planes, IMO, does nothing to improve
security, and it increases risk (discharging bullets on aircraft is a
dubious proposition, at best - I, and 150+ other families lost a dear
friend due to the discharge of a single round on a 727 several years ago).

I, for one, also have serious concerns about pollution. I've gone on
some baykeeper paddles (though I've not been called as a witness), for
example, where we documented events we've seen in relation to civic
discharges of wastewater. Kayakers can provide a valuable service in
this arena since they are (generally) able to get to places that others
cannot.

Rick