Funny Thing Happened On The Way To ItsJeff's Bench

[Gannon]

I left Michigan near Livernois after having some fun with a friend, and decided to drive surface streets instead of the freeways. I was in no rush to get home.

Found myself on Jefferson Avenue...and realized that at roughly 38 degrees, after 12:30 or so there is no apparent curfew to gain access to Belle Isle. It was a stunningly clear sky, so I decided to take a lap.

Saw the lights of the Riverwalk along the shore, nearly to the bridge. Decided they cast too much light pollution.

Drove past the fountain...then suddenly through a hazy-whispy fog layer over the road, in the very still air it hovered. You could see where the previous car drove through from the turbulence tunnel.

Made me remember my first time seeing the two herds of albino deer on the soccer fields in the wee hours of the morning many years ago.

Passed the Coast Guard station...and was bummed to find NO STANDING 11pm-6am signs along the curbside. Pulled into the gravel lot and quickly parked. Got out with my large bottle of Evian and started walking along the path...now intent to take a seat on ItsJeff's Bench.

Noticed as I rounded the bend a white pickup truck parked perpendicular to the path...and then saw some scissor-lift rise out of the TOP of its cap. At first I thought there was a PERSON on the top, but realized it was only large enough for someone prone...all that sat in it was something that looked not unlike a television camera.

I went on my way, knowing there was another double-bench a bit further along the path. Never made it, the sky was too awesome to walk any further.

It was exactly one o'clock in the morning. I got suspicious of this plain white pickup truck with the cab and a half. What the heck could they POSSIBLY be doing, in the dark, all alone with this scissors thing?! So, I doubled back quietly and decided to observe for a moment or two.

The sky was crystal clear...and this lonely fellow basically aiming something upriver...almost precisely along the shipping channel sightline. I've seen enough freighters come and go through.

The scissors life mechanism was four units high, with crossmembers probably 5-6 feet long. I'd estimate the total raised height of this crow's nest was about 25 feet. It needed line-of-sight and/or radiates enough to hurt the occupants in the truck.


About five or so minutes later [[I didn't have anything better to do) a small plane flew from the west to the east, only a few hundred feet above the water surface. I heard the guy's radio, but it was too far to understand...I could barely notice the tonality of the conversation...and there was some order, a question from the driver, then a short reply and confirmation.

I am quite sure it was originated by the radio, not the driver.


Not long afterward, he got out...went to the back gate and lowered the lift...then drove off towards the lighthouse with his lights off.

At that point I noticed a freighter gliding smoothly with the flow of the straight.


My best guess is some vehicle which keeps track of freight for insurance purposes [[or better)...at least a visual confirmation of its passage at key points in the route. Although, I found it odd that ANYTHING was happening at one a.m., within ten feet of where I wished to sit for a few moments.


I went to my car and drove home. Made a sketch when I got in the driveway, and noted the times and such. I cannot imagine what he was doing on the Island this morning.

[Magnatomicflux]

Weird. Did you happen to catch the name of the vessel at all Gannon? According to sailwx.info's ship tracking map...the Mesabi Miner and the St. Clair are the only things around right now that arn't a CCGS. At least, there the only ones who have recently reported their positions. I'm not sure which way either is headed though.

Both vessels are red, St. Clair is 770 ft, Mesabi Miner is 1004ft. If that helps at all lol

Very strange.......almost Military-ish actions. A pick-up truck and a Cessna sounds like a purly Canadian military thing though

I wonder what they're up too. Do you have the opertunity to try and see if it happens again tonight?

[sumas]

I'd probably contact Homeland Security. The truck and camera was wierd enough but the plane added a creepy sort of touch. If the truck and its business were legit I would have expected it to have business logos on it.

[lilpup]

unless, of course, it WAS Homeland Security watching the border

[terridarlin]

Did the truck look anything like this: http://www.armedforces-int.com/suppl...l-systems.html

[gazhekwe]

Our tax dollars at work? I am just back from a trip along the Mexican border. That fence is pretty shocking when you see it, miles and miles and miles it goes like some dark menacing barricade. There are security checkpoints on the highway in each direction [[we were on I-8). There are at least a couple dozen officers/personnel and several dogs at each one. I don't like borders in the first place, so to me this seems like an incredible waste of resources, ditto this stalker thing and how many others along our not so porous Canadian border.

[Gannon]

I cannot believe I'm up already. Won't make the same mistake as yesterday, though. Cats are happy, I'm going back to sleep in a moment.



Those pictures are NOT what I saw. The device was probably 30-40" long and maybe 9-12" square, and had a single set of a wire harnessed to the right rear of the scissors lift mechanism. The cap WAS slightly dorky-tall, but nothing which would get it noticed in traffic.

It didn't appear to have pan and tilt, or at least not a great RANGE of tilt...and I never saw it move. I had walked past it while the lift was raising. There WAS an odd glow from the cab, which indicated some non-dashboard illumination. I believe it was green, but am vague on that.

A vehicle with a 25-foot scissors lift without external stabilization...may be clandestine and NOT designed for lifting humans. Did the plane have some form of ground surveillance...and they split when they got a heat signature on me...not thirty feet away?



I was MOST disturbed by the lack of markings...and the way he crept off down the path without any headlights or parking lights on when he was done at almost exactly 1:20. I did NOT see his license plate.

Twenty minutes worth of observation and both an air and water vehicle passed in OPPOSITE directions. The freighter, which at a glance I would say was the BIGGER one, was headed downriver...towards the city.


What is still being mined?


The guy was not ethnic, and was slightly taller than me. Dark hair. I would NOT be able to identify him, it was too dark. He was all business.


I am glad others think this as odd as me. Funny the random events which got me to that place at exactly that time. I hadn't thought about going to the bench until I was passing the Coast Guard station.

He was not 1/4 mile from that station, yet drove AWAY from it on the path with his lights OFF. I doubt he was Homeland Security.


The truck was certainly designed to be milquetoast...something you wouldn't look twice at if you were passed in traffic. Indeed, I paid it NO mind when I first saw it, because people often use the island for some privacy...and everyone I know prizes that and yields it to anyone who might be getting lucky, in the hopes that others will honor the same in the future.

If it weren't for that damn scissors lift coming out of the top of that cap...I would've been on my way. I could be disturbed by this, but nothing happened nefarious, as far as I know, other than some form of identification of a ship passing very quietly in the night.


If anyone has contact with Homeland Security, point them to this thread. I am not interested in talking directly with them at this point.

Cheers, I'm going back to bed. I'll try to scan my sketch when I wake up...and will check with googlemaps regarding the exact placement of this truck. Ten or so feet west of Its' Bench. I thank the big tree for my cover.

[Gannon]

Both of those freighters are RED?!

This one was white. VERY long. It passed the SE corner of Belle Isle at precisely 1:20 am. If the color is only on the control house at the rear, I never saw it. I only caught it in my peripheral vision, then glanced up to confirm the motion. L-0-N-G white tanker riding REALLY low in the water.


I know, I know...should've gotten the ID on the truck and name of the vessel...and even a MAKE and MODEL of the plane. It all happened too fast, and I wasn't sure who I was watching. I checked my periphery often...during this time only four vehicles passed the curve.

The police presence on Jefferson was great, but no peeps on Belle Isle.



And those damn Riverwalk Lights scatter way too much light onto the water. I wonder if that is by design, too?!


Sincerely,
John

[Toolbox]

Border Patrol FLIR vehicle, not at all uncommon. The glow was a monitor and not an alien in the trunk.

[Gannon]

http://www.usborderpatrol.com/borderframe1602.htm


It is very likely this, hidden by the cap and designed to look like a civilian vehicle. Even the display has the right glow.


No-body ever brought up anything alien, don't be a tool.

[Gannon]

So WHY does the Border Patrol have to operate clandestinely and AWAY from Homeland Security?

Why does this have to be hidden in a fake civilian vehicle with NO markings on it whatsoever?!


This leads to more questions than answers.

[LDoolan]

Gannon-

You know how it is with gov't, one hand doesn't know what the other is doing.

The shot of the truck interior is interesting- just how old is that monitor? Looks like it was made in 1960s! Retro is the hot thing right now....

[MikeM]

So WHY does the Border Patrol have to operate clandestinely and AWAY from Homeland Security?

Why does this have to be hidden in a fake civilian vehicle with NO markings on it whatsoever?!


This leads to more questions than answers.

Customs and Border Patrol is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

The truck you saw was one of a few Mobile Surveillance Systems they operate in the area, especially at night. They were probably looking for smugglers using small boats to traffic people between Canada and the US.

[Gannon]

I was suspicious of the exact twenty minute duration of the observation.

He might've been merely relocating for a better view...not ending his weird behavior as the ship passed. He was heading over to the point area by the lighthouse...probably to surveil those pesky Pointes.


So...operating clandestinely is necessary...and I've blown their cover. This means I'm now on the wrong side of this law. Very publicly.


So...what do you think is being smuggled across the border? Cannabis?!

LOL. Ridiculous waste of resources.

Legalize it. Like I've always said. This is sheer idiocy...we are not at war. We are only at risk of becoming EXACTLY what George Orwell [[Eric Blair) actually tried to warn us 'they' were planning.

Anyone who agrees with this sort of surveillance is one card or two short of a full deck. You probably agree with those invasive scanners at the airport, too, doncha MikeM?! H-m-m-m-n-n, you are always adamant that the trails in the sky are ALL naturally formed by your cohorts.

I keep finding you on what I perceive to be the 'wrong' side. How does that feel for you? As this all continues to degrade into what appears to be planned anarchy, perhaps we can have this discussion again. I am always eager to be found wrong...to learn and grow some. Do you agree that is the most generous approach to life?!


Cheers

[Gannon]

MikeM,

You DO know that the underwear bomber was a FAKE, right?! He was put on the plane in Amsterdam by a fellow in a VERY nice suit...who got him past security without even a passport or any other boarding documents. Someone was video recording his attempt to spark the fake bomb.

The FBI changed their story four times, but an attorney from Taylor and his wife stuck to theirs throughout. They spoke about it on M-Live. I have been in dialogue with him, by chance, on-line. I know it was him, and he continues to stick by his story.


There is MUCH going on behind the scenes...and some in plain sight, like this encounter in the wee hours on Belle Isle. Watch as they make it unavailable to nightfolk like myself again...heh!


Sincerely,
John

[jcole]

It's more likely that they're looking for boats smuggling people over than Cannabis. Canadian immigration laws are more lax than the U.S. and they allow in people that the U.S. doesn't.

[MikeM]

I was suspicious of the exact twenty minute duration of the observation.

He might've been merely relocating for a better view...not ending his weird behavior as the ship passed. He was heading over to the point area by the lighthouse...probably to surveil those pesky Pointes.


So...operating clandestinely is necessary...and I've blown their cover. This means I'm now on the wrong side of this law. Very publicly.


So...what do you think is being smuggled across the border? Cannabis?!

LOL. Ridiculous waste of resources.

Legalize it. Like I've always said. This is sheer idiocy...we are not at war. We are only at risk of becoming EXACTLY what George Orwell [[Eric Blair) actually tried to warn us 'they' were planning.

Anyone who agrees with this sort of surveillance is one card or two short of a full deck. You probably agree with those invasive scanners at the airport, too, doncha MikeM?! H-m-m-m-n-n, you are always adamant that the trails in the sky are ALL naturally formed by your cohorts.

I keep finding you on what I perceive to be the 'wrong' side. How does that feel for you? As this all continues to degrade into what appears to be planned anarchy, perhaps we can have this discussion again. I am always eager to be found wrong...to learn and grow some. Do you agree that is the most generous approach to life?!


Cheers

Oh please! Don't be such a drama queen. They weren't operating clandestinely -they were in a public park where apparently anyone could see them. ANd they have the same sensors permanently mounted on towers along the St Clair River. BTW, smuggling canabis across the border happens to be illegal. So is smuggling Turks or Bulgarians or Algerians or Chinese, like the truck load they caught near Marysville a few years ago. Or Guatemalans like the one the local cops caught in my neighborhood last week.

[MikeM]

I am always eager to be found wrong...to learn and grow some. Do you agree that is the most generous approach to life?!

What manipulative bullshit this is. You'll search for the most convoluted possibility to keep from admitting you were wrong.

[MikeM]

Example:

In 2001, for example, Royal Canadian Mounted Police [[RCMP) uncovered a multimillion-dollar prostitution ring centered in Ontario, Canada that smuggled as many as 280 Korean women into the United States over a 4-month period. The women were transported across the border into Michigan in vans or in boats over the St. Clair River near Sarnia [[2001 population: 70,876), and then sent to various cities in the United States, including Los Angeles and New York. This operation, too, was run by an organized criminal “cartel” and was headed by Kyeong Hwan Min, a resident of Toronto. According to reports, the organization had been operating since the early 1990s, and may have smuggled as many as 1,200 Korean and Chinese citizens into the United States in 2000 alone.

http://instructional1.calstatela.edu...king_paper.pdf

or

Customs and Border Protection agents were able to detect the activities with its $20 million high-tech surveillance system, which went into operation along the St. Clair River this year.

In the most recent case, agents using the system tracked a small boat entering U.S. waters in Algonac at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday. The vessel docked in the city's downtown area and three people got off and ran across M-29, according to Andrew Patterson, a Border Patrol agent spokesman.

Agents responded and were able to arrest all three subjects, he said.

In the second case, which happened this past Saturday, agents watched a subject being dropped off by a boat near a restaurant in Algonac.
Officers arrived on the scene and arrested the man, who turned out to be an illegal alien who had been previously deported. Agents in nearby Clay Township stopped the vehicle suspected of being involved in the smuggling attempt and found several thousand dollars in Canadian currency on the driver, Patterson said.

And the first incident occurred on Oct. 16 when agents spotted a suspicious vessel traversing U.S. waters in Clay Township in St. Clair County, he said.

Agents also received information about a vehicle that appeared to be waiting for the vessel in the area.

The officers found the vehicle, pulled it over and discovered one of the men in the car was an illegal immigrant. They also recovered $56,000 in U.S. currency, four stolen handguns and an assortment of jewelry after a search of the vehicle, Patterson said.

http://detnews.com/article/20101027/...ggling-arrests

[Gannon]

Who said I have been wrong in this thread even ONCE?

I witnessed something suspicious and learned what it was...and realized quickly that it is un-necessary and more expense than we should be forced to bear.


Cannabis prohibition is just silly. The time is well past due for it to end completely.

As for immigration...well, they wouldn't be coming over here if there wasn't some appeal and an upgrade in their conditions.


Immigration hassles every fisherman who takes a boat onto the river now. We are being choked to death by draconian measures which have been hoisted upon us for NO honest and good reason.


You didn't answer my question, MikeM. I merely stated that I am always open to being found wrong [[not that I was in this instance)...and that stance allows me to continue learning and growing. Will you agree that this is the best stance to take in life? I mean, you cannot know everything...and those who tell you things may indeed not be completely honest or knowledgeable themselves. What if YOU are being sold a bill of goods, merely to maintain your current standard of living?

How far will you take it? Will we ever see each other on opposite sides of a fence...will it be made THAT clear before you understand the things I perceive and analyze as wholly negative against our freedoms?


I ask you specifically, but address the entirety of the forum. Any feedback is welcome.


Cheers, happy flying. Honestly. In most ways, I still respect you. THAT is why I can ask these things freely...because I hope to get the straight shot from you.

[Gannon]

They are operating a civilian-looking vehicle with NO official markings anywhere upon it. THAT is not positive. Not good. The potential for abuse is way too ripe.

Where else would $20 MILLION be best spent? My quickie answer is ANYWHERE ELSE THAN WATCHING LAKE ST. CLAIR AND THE DETROIT RIVER!

Cheers

[Gannon]

[[Don't get me started on all those cameras being installed at nearly every major intersection all around the country.)

[cosine]

The ship you saw was probably the barge Innovation, being pushed by the tug Samuel de Champlain. According to the vessel passage records on boatnerd.com, they passed by the Dossin museum at about 1:09 am today, headed downbound. Both are white and sail under the Lafarge Cement stack colors. You can see a picture of them on the boatnerd website.

[GOAT]

Gannon,
You must be off your meds. For one thing cannabis is still illegal no matter if it is illogical or not. It is still illegal.
A for the cameras, many are beign set up so that they can automatically catch red light runners. Many others are for safety.
London England has the highest amount of cameras in use for a city in the entire world. Is that country close to being a police state? No. Is the city itself? No.

You are a conspiracy theorist that will look for any minor evidence to give your perceptions the nod that you were right all along. This forum is rife with them.

Does the gov't act covertly at times? Of course. DOes it do wrong? Yes. But I am sure the gov't has better things to do that to scout out Itsjeff's bench and YOU. Perhaps you need to get over yourself. You are not the world.

My advice? Live your life and quit sweating the small stuff. Unless you have something to hide??

[Django]

I would rather hear about Gannons theories or anyones theories for that matter, than someone with nothing else to say other than complaints about someone else's theories.

I prefer original thoughts.

BTW, good observation G. Very curious. I have no clue though.