Er...maybe it's just me, but it sometimes seems that this list bends over
backwards looking for evidence of a looming police state. Well, this ain't
it. No cop's going to arrest somebody merely for carrying an almanac; as
the story notes, the feds say it's just one more thing to look out for.
Presumably, some Qaeda type gave it up during interrogation, and cops are
being warned to watch for it. Makes sense to me.
Hiawatha Bray
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf
Of Dave Farber
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2003 8:03 PM
To: ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [IP] FBI Issues Alert Against Almanac Carriers
FBI Issues Alert Against Almanac Carriers
December 29, 2003
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:43 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI is warning police nationwide to
be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the
popular reference books covering everything from
abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist
planning.
In a bulletin sent Christmas Eve to about 18,000 police
organizations, the FBI said terrorists may use almanacs
``to assist with target selection and pre-operational
planning.''
It urged officers to watch during searches, traffic stops
and other investigations for anyone carrying almanacs,
especially if the books are annotated in suspicious ways.
``The practice of researching potential targets is
consistent with known methods of al-Qaida and other
terrorist organizations that seek to maximize the
likelihood of operational success through careful
planning,'' the FBI wrote.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the bulletin this
week and verified its authenticity.
``For local law enforcement, it's just to help give them
one more piece of information to raise their suspicions,''
said David Heyman, a terrorism expert for the
Washington-based Center for Strategic and International
Studies. ``It helps make sure one more bad guy doesn't get
away from a traffic stop, maybe gives police a little bit
more reason to follow up on this.''
The FBI noted that use of almanacs or maps may be innocent,
``the product of legitimate recreational or commercial
activities.'' But it warned that when combined with
suspicious behavior -- such as apparent surveillance -- a
person with an almanac ``may point to possible terrorist
planning.''
``I don't think anyone would consider us a harmful
entity,'' said Kevin Seabrooke, senior editor of The World
Almanac. He said the reference book includes about a dozen
pages out of its 1,000 pages total listing the world's
tallest buildings and bridges but includes no diagrams or
architectural schematics. ``It's stuff that's widely
available on the Internet,'' he said.
The publisher for The Old Farmers Almanac said Monday
terrorists would probably find statistical reference books
more useful than the collections of Americana in his famous
publication of weather predictions and witticisms.
``While we doubt that our editorial content would be of
particular interest to people who would wish to do us harm,
we will certainly cooperate to the fullest with national
authorities at any level they deem appropriate,'' publisher
John Pierce said.
The FBI said information typically found in almanacs that
could be useful for terrorists includes profiles of cities
and states and information about waterways, bridges, dams,
reservoirs, tunnels, buildings and landmarks. It said this
information is often accompanied by photographs and maps.
The FBI urged police to report such discoveries to the
local U.S. Joint Terrorism Task Force.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-FBI-Almanacs.html?ex=1073745956&;
ei=1&en=04d038b602802322
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