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airehead
Oompa Loofah
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Joined: 12 Nov 2002
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Location: Between here and eternity...
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 Posted: 12/29/03 - 18:22 Post subject: Oh great! Now only the bad guys will have almanacs...
This just goes to prove that anyone with the will to do America harm will do it regardless of the security warnings/efforts being put into place. If the following is to be effective, I know a bunch of old men who will be arrested on terrorist charges shortly.... 
| Quote: | (12-29) 12:54 PST 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."
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.
©2003 Associated Press |
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copteacher
Adjunct
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 19:06 Post subject:
Great I just bought one.
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airehead
Oompa Loofah
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 19:15 Post subject:
| rtpd113 wrote: | | Great I just bought one. |
So, if you start acting suspicious, I should alert my local authorities?
Consider yourself alerted, Joe... 
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kattzoo
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 19:16 Post subject:
| rtpd113 wrote: | | Great I just bought one. |
Hmm, Joe, do you have the # to your local FBI office in that almanac, or at work. I think I have someone to report. (not you, really...  )
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purple hayes
Frightened Inmate #2
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 19:38 Post subject:
nothing to see here folks. Please move along.
Last edited by purple hayes on 12/30/03 - 06:25; edited 1 time in total
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AlaninTX
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 21:27 Post subject:
Ok, so let me get this straight...
A copy of The Communist Manefesto and Mao's Little Red Book are not "dangerous" anymore, but the Farmer's Almanac is?
Anyone see where I am going here?
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copteacher
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 21:28 Post subject:
| AlaninTX wrote: | Ok, so let me get this straight...
A copy of The Communist Manefesto and Mao's Little Red Book are not "dangerous" anymore, but the Farmer's Almanac is?
Anyone see where I am going here? |
It could be worse, there could be a bible study in a public school.
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airehead
Oompa Loofah
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 21:29 Post subject:
| AlaninTX wrote: | Ok, so let me get this straight...
A copy of The Communist Manefesto and Mao's Little Red Book are not "dangerous" anymore, but the Farmer's Almanac is?
Anyone see where I am going here? |
if you're anything like me, it starts with a "C" and rhymes with razy. I feel I'm already there. I'll leave a light on for you.
A little like Genesis and "land of confusion" perhaps?
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MechEngDropout
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 22:00 Post subject:
Not to hijack your thread, but has anyone here read the Unabomber's Manifesto?
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gretriever
Hipster Doofus
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 22:39 Post subject:
| AlaninTX wrote: | Ok, so let me get this straight...
A copy of The Communist Manefesto and Mao's Little Red Book are not "dangerous" anymore, but the Farmer's Almanac is?
Anyone see where I am going here? |
Communism is dead, except in Nebraska.
I'm sorry. What is "Communism is dead, except in Nebraska," Alex?
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airehead
Oompa Loofah
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 22:56 Post subject:
| MechEngDropout wrote: | | Not to hijack your thread, but has anyone here read the Unabomber's Manifesto? |
No, I haven't. Is it worth reading?
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MechEngDropout
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Posted: 12/29/03 - 23:08 Post subject:
| airehead wrote: | | MechEngDropout wrote: | | Not to hijack your thread, but has anyone here read the Unabomber's Manifesto? |
No, I haven't. Is it worth reading? |
I'm a little more than halfway through it. It's pretty well written and definitely interesting.
A while ago I asked an English teacher if they had read it. He replied that he had much better things to read instead of the rantings of a lunatic, and mentioned several classics. I think that the "rantings of a lunatic" often give a much better impression of society as it really is than traditional literature. Read away, it's easy to find on the internet.
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