assault almanacs, Feds off a rocker.

[gws]

FBI urges police to watch for people carrying almanacs
TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
Monday, December 29, 2003
©2003 Associated Press

URL: sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/12/29/national1426EST0580.DTL



{MikePA deleted copyrighted material}

 

[Egon]

Everyone's got to do something to look like they are doing something.

Egon

 

[Bob_Skurka]

From now on I guess I'll carry my almanac around in a little brown paper sack, just like the one I carry my 1/2 pint in when I go to town. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[wroughtn_harv]

What I'm waiting for is them to realize people calling in for buried utility locates could be terrorists. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Yesterday I was running south on thirty five and looked over and saw the right of way for a buried gas line. You know, with the blue pipes sticking up and warning signs.

On the radio they were talking about almanacs and national defense. I had a vision. Crews out removing all the buried utility markers and anyone wanting a locate having to pass a security clearance. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Bob_Skurka]

On the radio this morning they were talking about the directive that allows the feds to look up what books you check out at the public library and what web sites you visit using a library computer.

The 911 hijackers used library computers to send their communications because it was not possible to track the emails back to their home addresses.

But when the radio guy interviewed some librarians they were all up in arms about rights to privacy and how they were deleting records. Personally, I never assumed my visits to the library were protected from anyone in the way a visit to a priest for a confession is considered private.

It all goes to show that what one person thinks is reasonable another finds objectionable.

But those gas lines, now that is an interesting concept!

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue">©2003 Associated Press </font>
Gary, it's OK to post a link to a copyrighted story. However, it violates APs copyright to quote the entire article on TBN. Here's the link to the story.

P.S.
Prior to 9/11, many people would have found a BOLO for people with box cutters/small pocket knives at airports far fetched, too. The bulletin was only for law enforcement officials, not the general public. The bulletin urged police to watch for suspects carrying almanacs, especially if the books include suspicious notations or marks and was based upon a specific incident where an al Qaeda sleeper agent was arrested and he had an almanac with notations in it. I can not agree with you that the Feds are 'off a rocker'. Critics complain that the warnings do not contain specific enough information, yet when they do, such as this examples to law enforcement, people complain again. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[rdln]

I agree Mike, Our law enforcement has job to do and need to be provided the tools to do so. The FBI was just forwarding intellegience that they have collected. Besides that farmer's almanac should be hanging by a string in the outhouse.

Profile away!

 

[tc35dforme]

Mike, I thought you could post the article if you included the source for the article and didn't alter or edit the content ???

Just wondering ... It's really not relavent, but you know ..... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[gws]

The problem is the link will disapear in a few days so providing the link doest always help.

 

[gws]

The link has already been updated to include a much more mellow version of the orginal article and will shortly drop off the sfgate site alltogeather.