Drop that almanac and put your hands up!
Associated Press
POSTED AT 9:18 PM EST Monday, Dec. 29, 2003
Washington � The FBI is warning police across the U.S. 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.
"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.
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[Wonder if the _Astronomical Almanac_ is on the list . . . ?]
-- Ronn! :)
Ronn Blankenship Instructor of Astronomy/Planetary Science University of Montevallo Montevallo, AL
Disclaimer: Unless specifically stated otherwise, any opinions contained herein are the personal opinions of the author and do not represent the official position of the University of Montevallo.
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