News Apr 7, 2016 at 10:46 am

FBI Surveillance Plane Flew Over Seattle and Microsoft's Redmond Campus

Ansel Herz
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Comments

1
They also could be working with a security contractor on a communication system hence the circle pattern to test the radius..
ferret on April 7, 2016 at 10:59 AM Report this
2
Ansel just reprinted the Buzzfeed story here, but neglects to mention, as Buzzfeed did, that they are not observed circling mosques for hours, but rather the one mosque the San Bernardino shooters were members of, only for the week directly following the attacks.

The Buzzfeed staff actually attempted to prove that the FBI was seeking out mosques specifically, but had the decency to actually truthfully tell that there was no real connection, unlike Ansel who directly implies that the FBI is targeted mosques directly for surveillance.
Theodore Gorath on April 7, 2016 at 11:07 AM Report this
4
If only there was some tool that journalists at places like The Stranger could use to see if something interesting was going in in that location on those days. Imagine if you could just type in something like "september 22 2015 seattle microsoft" and get a bunch of links talking about how the Chinese Premier visited that location on those days!

http://qz.com/500248/xi-jinpings-upcomin…
also on April 7, 2016 at 11:22 AM Report this
5
I suspect Ansel is only one Alex Jones email away from wearing a space blanket and mumbling about Chemtrails.
Dr.Zaius on April 7, 2016 at 11:44 AM Report this
6
For once I more-or-less agree with Theodore. I went to the map of flights over my hometown, and there was one flight near the university recently, but no activity over the large mosque West of there. There was also no activity in Lansing or East Lansing, which have high Muslim populations and several mosques.
I'm guessing though, that whenever a White Christian serial killer goes on a race-based killing spree, they don't circle his church for days afterwards, collecting information on the other congregants. BTW, why use such expensive methods for surveillance? Couldn't this all be done from one of those unmarked vans they're so famous for?

Sandiai on April 7, 2016 at 11:58 AM Report this
7
They record extremely wide view (think entire city) HD streams that provide tracking history for every vehicle in the area in the case of a terrorist event. Since Xi Jinping was in town, this data would have been used in the case of an attack to rewind the film and find out exactly what vehicles were involved, where those vehicles came from and where they went afterward.
Kris on April 7, 2016 at 12:05 PM Report this
8
Maybe this explains the Cessna that was circling from around 6am until noon-ish this past Sunday. Round and round and round and round.
tiddlewinks on April 7, 2016 at 12:07 PM Report this
9
@2: It's that incomplete and highly selective presentation of the facts that makes me not really respect Ansel Herz as a journalist or an essayist. He takes too many liberties with the facts to really be credible.
First rule: if the facts support your case, the worst thing you can do is to alter, massage, twist, or fabricate them. (Don't fold, spindle, or mutilate either.)
venomlash on April 7, 2016 at 12:18 PM Report this
10
Just came to say what @3 said. My car also has a muffler. Which makes it much, much quieter than anything with spinning propellers. Of course it would still be much, much quieter than anything with propellers if I removed my muffler.
Matt the Engineer on April 7, 2016 at 12:27 PM Report this
11
@2, 9: Agreed. Ansel just proved that Buzzfeed, the king of copy-paste clickbait, is more responsible than he is.
Knat on April 7, 2016 at 12:29 PM Report this
12
http://komonews.com/archive/fbi-behind-m…
tiddlewinks on April 7, 2016 at 1:05 PM Report this
13
see also: http://www.radiolab.org/story/eye-sky/
Phil M on April 7, 2016 at 1:18 PM Report this
14
When Buzzfeed provides a more in-depth look at an issue you're covering, you're in trouble. This is some Coast to Coast AM style shit right here.
Dougsf on April 7, 2016 at 1:29 PM Report this
15
@7, thanks! That makes sense.
Sandiai on April 7, 2016 at 2:45 PM Report this
16
OMG, you guys, take a look at Washington, DC! And be sure to go West into Virginia and look at the big red blob over a certain fancy golf course.
Sandiai on April 7, 2016 at 3:09 PM Report this

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