FBI urges police to watch for people carrying almanacs (not kidding)

[cthrumatrix]

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


(12-29) 11:26 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.

snip

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/12/29/national1426EST0580.DTL&type=printable

And now that shrub has given the FBI expanded powers (Dec 13th signing)...he can look at your credit card bills to see if you purchased an almanac...Lord help us.

[htuttle]

1. FBI says knowledge a terror threat

Be on the watchout for anyone attempting to get smarter! They might decide to use that power for EVIL!

Stay Safe. Stay Stupid.


:eyes:

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

31. Dubya is innocent!

No jury on earth would confict him!

[boogerzz]

78. Almanacs

Do you think maybe the terrorists might use these books as "code"? Perhaps like, target is on page 234-like maybe there is a city referenced?

I don't like Big Brother, but maybe the FBI got this one right?

[Deesh]

80. You may be right, but --

-- what if a terrorist cell used that "target on page 234" strategy, and one of the terrorists involved had the wrong edition? What an oversight that would be.

Or maybe they'd all get the wrong edition, and instead of taking out Ypsilanti, they blew Yellow Knife to smithereens.

[LiberalFighter]

81. I remember reading spy books that used that method.

They even specified the edition that had to be used.

[Occulus]

90. Good Lord

before saying something like that, try to consider how many objects in the category type would fit. Encyclopedias, telephone books, atlases, tourism guides, city bus schedules.... it's utterly transparent lunacy. This little message is a test run.

[GRClarkesq]

2. FBI urges police to watch for people with heads

They being the more dangerous kind of people.

[Heddi]

3. You.must.be.kidding

what next? Look out for people carrying school books of any kind relating to geography, biology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, architecture, physics, astronomy, calculus, trigonometry, computer coding, nursing procedures.....

Do Americans realize what a farce we've become?

"Beware of people wearing glasses and talking intellectually. They're generally smarter than non-glasses wearing people and may be planning to do snarky things with bombs, etc"

[PaDUer]

60. The almanacs are at...

the checkout counters in the grocery stores..noticed them tonite at the Giant Market..you can imagine what I was thinking as I picked it up to check the snowfall prediction for Penna...LOL..I had to mention it to the checkout gal..Can you imagine this!?

[Ellen Forradalom]

4. Thrown up against the wall for reading Old Farmer's

Lovely. Just lovely. "But I just wanted to know when to plant the wheat! Honest!"

[indepat]

56. What is not being watched when resources are devoted to tracking down

those nefarious persons with an "Old Farmer's?

[Just Me]

5. I'm in deep caa caa, now,...

,...and so are most people I know who have almanacs, including my more conservative family members. Heh, heh, heh,...."I see dumb people",...heh, heh, heh. Talk about fringe,...this newest "alert" is over the edge. Un-freakin'-believable!!!

[LuminousX]

6. Holy Shit, I'm going to jail

I live and breathe by my Almanacs. I'm a quick reference nut and Almanacs are the key to ending silly arguments.

[PaDUer]

38. Better yet..

they're going to staken out the book stands and nab the people right there! LOL...what a frigging shame!

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. This goes back to slavery days

when it was against the law to teach a slave to read.

As a midwestener, I will apologize for John Ashcroft. But we sure are glad to be rid of him in Missouri!

[LiberalFighter]

44. Not your fault. Shouldn't apologize for the bastard.

[peterh]

8. My guess is that all cameras…

Will be firmly riveted on the reference section of your local Barnes & Noble :crazy:

[0007]

42. ......and all library's will be heavily cased by the spooks,

gee, am I missing something?

[ming]

65. No need for cameras...

...as the same system which reports book sales to the publishers can be used by the FBI and cross-referenced with your credit card number to build up a database on the books you purchase, which will also be correlated with the library books you take out. As this data is being collected, an artificial intelligence program will discretly report suspicious book activity to a specialist for further analysis, and perhaps detailed investigation. This concludes your nightly tin foil hat alert. :tinfoilhat:

Seriously though, this is freaking surreal.

[LiberalFighter]

82. Which is why it is best to pay with cash.

Oh and not use their discount book card.

[rucky]

9. That's why I keep mine hidden...

under the dynamite strapped to my chest.

[soup]

14. yeah, well - I'm telling on ya

as soon as I clean my monitor and keyboard and change my pants.

damn, rucky - that's funny! :D :D :D :D :D

[fob]

41. Excellent!

I laughed out loud! Too funny. BTW asscroft, it's called humor. Calico Cat, Calico Cat, Calico Cat.

Sounds like I finally know what to send bush* for xmas!

fob

[benfranklin1776]

10. For the love of God this has reached the level of stupendous insanity

The World Almanac as terrorist training manual. This is what we pay these people out of our tax dollars for to come up with idiocy like this????? Stupid is as this administration does. Once upon a time stories like this were so absurd they would appear only in the Onion. Now as we enter the new intellectual dark ages, assininity has become the norm.

[htuttle]

12. Hey Ben...

...didn't you write the first real Almanac?

Are/were you a terrorist threat?

[benfranklin1776]

18. Yes "I" labored on Poor Richard's Almanack for quite some time

Little did I know that "my" collections of witticisms, planting tables and recipes would turn into such a feared commodity.
"I" apparently failed to recognize how telling folks to plant potatoes and fenceposts in the dark of the moon and onions in the light of the moon would give Al Queda that lethal edge, but "I" lived in a simpler time in which learning and knowledge were not regarded as things to be frightened of and imprisoned for. Come to think of it though learning and knowledge were feared by that tyrannous King George who, after Thomas wrote that stupendous Declaration of Independence regarded everyone in the colonies as terrorists to be destroyed by force of arms. This would be King George seems to have liberally borrowed some of that King George's imperial style of governance which relied heavily on suppression of individual liberties, and this would be King George also willingly embraces the same use of repressive force for the protection of economic interests. A pity that the Enlightenment seems to have died out and the Dark Ages are returning.

[dflprincess]

54. Perhaps they're afraid the Almanac

may reprint Ben's comment about "Those who would give up freedom for security deserve neither" and people who read that subversion may start thinking.

[benfranklin1776]

58. Yes to them that would be the real danger.

Such sayings abound in almanacs everywhere and, along with a recitation of the relevant facts of American history, every almanac contains copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. If the populace continues to read such "subversive" ideas they may well become aware, awaken and and begin to demand the restoration of the type of liberty and democracy promised by those documents. That would prove most inconvenient and unpleasant to them. Better to them that the populace remain ignorant, scared and docile.

[tom_paine]

16. Careful. You speak like a man who has bought an Almanac.

What have YOU to hide, Franklin?

Yes, Orwellian absurdity and grotesquerie have become the norm in Imperial Amerika, the nation who is becoming exactly what it rebelled against 227 years ago.

We haven't even BEGUN to see what the ultimate tranformation will look like, though Dystopic Tomes like "1984", "Brave New World" and "Farenheit 451" certainly provide us with some potential source material.

Remember, Ben, if the Old American Republic is not restored, then it seems certain that we now live in "The Good Old Days".

[benfranklin1776]

20. Sorry Thomas I lost my head. I was, regrettably, living in the past .

I confess to being something of an almanac afficionado. I will rid myself of all such collections of knowledge immediately and rely only on Tom Ridge and Fox to inform me of what I need to know. I will also burn my copy of the declaration and the constitution immediately since the next Crayola "terrur alert" will undoubtedly warn that "terrurists have been seen reading them in an effort to look American."

Better burn your copy of Common Sense as well since it is a trifle too radical for these times in which we live. Must be a good German, er I mean American.

Yes in all seriousness you are right. I fear we are moving inexorably towards the dystiopian worlds of 1984, Farenheit 451 and a Handmaid's Tale and far away from the ideals set forth 227 years ago. All those classic books were meant as cautionary tales not plans of government, a fact lost on those folks running the current maladministration. How I long for the days in which we had leaders that encouraged us to strive to create a better world and exhorted us to overcome fear and defeat it rather than sow it as a means of social control.

[tom_paine]

28. Have you ever watched the TV show Babylon 5, Ben?

(currently playing on Sci-Fi Channel)

I realize the story told in that show (as it relatesd to Earth's Government) as with Star Wars, is a very, very old tale.

However, the similarities are striking and noteworthy. Unfortunately, Babylon 5 is the sort of show which is VERY linear, a show that should be viewed in order from the beginning or near the beginning. And currently the series is at the halfway point.

So, if you haven't seen it (and you like Sci-Fi), check it out either now or when it starts over again on another channel. I know it's hard to believe, I couldn't believe it myself when people were telling me, but Babylon 5 operates on a plane above the various Star Treks and deals with larger scope.

Check it out.

I'll tell you, Ben, it's funny how life works. I have always held the belief that once you stop striving to make the world a better place for the future, then it automatically starts getting worse because that is the nature of human systems.

Even Raygun, first of the Imperials and of course a pathetic puppet of the True Imperial Family, proceeded under the assumption that we wee going to make the world a better place.

But the people running who ran the Puppet Julius Caeser (Raygun), the same people that rule the Empire now, have ZERO interest in anything but their own greed and power.

Perhaps a mere coincidence...

[benfranklin1776]

36. No but after hearing your description I shall endeavor to watch.

As a notable wag said (I think I read it in an almanac): "Today's science fiction is tomorrow's science"
I have always believed that, since if the human mind can think it, the hands which it controls can do it.
I also believe as you do that if man ceases to progress he must invariably regress.

Yes there is no longer even a pretence of acting out of benevolent intent with this crew. What we are seeing is the raw unbridled exercise of unchecked power. We do it because we can and because a certain few believe it to be our God given right to invade and take what we want. "What is our oil doing under their sand" they ask. The imperial adherents boast openly of the need for "american empire" and chortle at principles of international law and norms of justice. They sneer "who's going to arrest us God?"

Such attitudes are repugnant. I prefer the sentiments expressed by President Madison as to the proper role of the United States in the world: "To cherish peace and friendly intercourse with all nations having correspondent dispositions; to maintain sincere neutrality toward belligerent nations; to prefer in all cases amicable discussion and
reasonable accommodation of differences to a decision of them by an appeal to arms; to exclude
foreign intrigues and foreign partialities, so degrading to all countries and so baneful to free ones; to
foster a spirit of independence too just to invade the rights of others, too proud to surrender our
own, too liberal to indulge unworthy prejudices ourselves and too elevated not to look down upon
them in others {.}" (Madison appears, for now, in finer almanacs everywhere!)

[Foswia]

43. B5 is Roves's & GW's pick for Best Scifi show ever! (no joke)

Its a great show, but JMS reported that Rove came up to Bruce Boxleitner ...

<snip>

"He then tells Bruce, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm a big science fiction fan, and that Babylon 5 is the best science fiction television series *ever*"

Then there's a pause, and he adds....

"And the President thinks so too."
</snip>

http://www.jmsnews.com/scripts/MsgStore.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetMsg&List=1&Topic=367&Flags=0&Query=BrowseCmd&QFlags=0&ls=368&qs=0&qt=0

[boogerzz]

79. Do you think it might be used differently?

like maybe as "code"? Like, target on page 215; time/date on page 17.

stuff like that? like they did in world war II?? The Nazi's and French underground alike used common books to transfer code. I'm no Ashcroft/FBI fan, but maybe they got this one right?

Seems too silly to ignore. I was just watching the MATRIX last night-they used codes-lot's of them!

[DoYouEverWonder]

11. Drop that almanac or I'll,

I'll, oh I don't know, I give up.

This just gets more ridiculous every day. I bet Osama is sitting in his cave laughing his ass off. He doesn't have to do a damn thing anymore to bring down America, we are doing it to ourselves for him.

[moof]

13. Dictionaries! They gave all the code words in them!!!

And watchs, sure sign of keeping track of a timetable of terror.

and cell phones !! cripes that must be what some of those people are doing, planning get togethers at certain times to read alamacs.

[arcane1]

15. I thought all the terrorists were in Iraq now...

aren't we "taking the fight to them"?

:shrug:


why are we worried about what people do here, when the war on terra is 1,000's of miles away?

Is Bush being 100% honest with us...?

[salin]

17. So impressive this finely honed intelligence gathering operation

lets see who went to the local drug store to buy the farmer's almanac the day before Christmas (eg last minute shopping.) Okay add to that list all the bookstores and libraries. Now do the on-line book buying sources.

Darn that radical Ben Franklin for popularizing almanacs!

:eyes:

[headlouse]

19. They should also be on the lookout for people with tourist travel guides.

Since a good travel guide goes into more local detail then an almanac, they would be more useful for planning a terrorist attack. :P

[DBoon]

21. Tourist Guides should be classified!

Kept from people who don't have the proper clearance.

And anyone asking directions should be prepared to provide identification.

When we know nothing, we will have nothing to fear!

[muriel_volestrangler]

88. This happened in World War II

The Germans reputedly selected some English cities for bombing from the Baedeker tourist guide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baedeker_Blitz

[MaineDem]

22. Jeez, some stores give 'em away free

We're all going to jail!!! :eyes:

Good grief!

[trackfan]

23. Let's see...I have 7 World Almanac, a People's Almanac

(the latter sounds suspiciously communist...hmm)..and a couple of train timetables too. Sounds like they'd better lock me up.

[demnan]

24. Tour Guides and maps are suspect

so let's track down those AAA memberships and send them all to Guito!

[LiberalFighter]

45. I have topographical maps. Those are more dangerous.

[Philostopher]

25. Oh, no!

If the terra'ists can figure out what the average rainfall is in Toledo in the month of April, when the New Moon arrives in March of 2007 and what year Tallulah Bankhead died, they may well be able to blow up the whole world!

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

[FlirtyGirl]

26. Suddenly a joke is reality

They'll need to add the Almanac to the following site:

http://www.whitehouse.org/homeland/reading.asp

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

27. We need to organize a campaign

where everyone who owns an almanac turns themselves in. If they get hundreds of thousands of notices of almanac carriers, I think they'll realize just how stupid this is.

[Just Me]

30. Oh, oh,...I can picture it now,...

,...American citizens across the country voluntarily report to various federal agencies to turn in their almanacs,...but the protest turns violent when some citizens demand compensation for the books,...

[happyslug]

29. The Government wanted to ban it during WWII also

Hay, the Government wanted to ban it during WWII also

From the old Farmer’s Almanac’s official site:

“In 1942 a German spy was apprehended by the FBI after being landed on Long Island, New York, by a U-boat the night before. The impact of this event was felt all the way to Dublin, New Hampshire, because The Old Farmer's Almanac was found in his coat pocket. The U.S. government speculated that the Germans were using the Almanac for weather forecasts, which meant that the book was indirectly supplying information to the enemy.

Fortunately, Sagendorph managed to get the government to agree that there would be no violation of the "Code of Wartime Practices for the American Press" if the Almanac featured weather indications rather than forecasts. It was a close call that almost ruined the Almanac's perfect record of continuous publication.”

History of the Old Farmer’s Almanac:
http://www.almanac.com/history/history.html

Official Site of the Old Farmer’s Almanac:
http://www.almanac.com/index.php

[NashVegas]

32. Every Radio Host in the Country Now Under Suspicion

Oy!

[chasqui]

33. So basically everyone in possession of a computer is a terrorist!

I mean:
-Microsoft Outlook can keep track of dates,
-Microsoft Encarta is a pretty good encyclopedia
- www.wikipedia.org , an even BETTER encyclopedia
- www.google.com , an embarassment to this admin (try googling 'miserable failure')
- You can encrypt files using a key that not event he NSA could crack,
- censor www.noaa.gov , www.usgs.gov , www.nsf.gov , and anything else that smacks even remotely of earth science,
- Not to mention that most site that talk about synthetic techniques,
- No Special Forces personnel that have demolitions training can be let out (McVeigh),
ETCETERA.
These are all nothing but a bunch of dolts. If you ever spend some time with law enforcement types, you will see that the majority of them are just guys trying to make a living. Nothing special about them, no powers of genius, no nothing. Just Joe Schmoes trying to make a buck.
So you have to hold their hands like babies when it comes to something that requires some brainpower. Witness this FBI memo, for instance, classic example.
pffft. Morons, idiots, etc, etc.
Yes, the Republic must be restored.

[Solly Mack]

34. What about the FoxFire books? hmmmmm?

I hesitate to ask if this could get more stupid?

[Kool Kitty]

85. Don't hesitate, jump right up and ask.

You already know the answer. Every day, in every way, it gets more and more stupid.

[jokerman93]

35. Maybe an object-neutral way to get people to start policing each other

Is this some brave new level of "normal" in America?

Thought police are coming to a patriotic community near you!

:wtf:

[Walt Starr]

37. Since my wife and I bought two Farmer's Almanacs this year

I'm going to annotate one with special symbols for my herb and vegetable garden planting schedule and carry it with me everywhere I go.

[dweller]

39. Our 6 o'clock weather woman just referred

to the almanac in her forcast! That it had called for SNOW this week!! and we are in the 50-60's!!!
curses, foiled again...i guess i'll have to contact the local U.S. Joint Terrorism Task Force, and turn her butt in.

the voices in my head are beginning to make much more sense these days :crazy:
dp

[LiberalFighter]

46. Find out if she is a repug first.

[specimenfred1984]

40. Be On The Lookout For Maps w/Burning Airplanes on Them

that are flying into buildings! Report this immediately to the FBI, they'll pass it on to their superiors for sure!!!!!!!!!

[InkAddict]

47. Geesh - everyone knows that the "low" people

don't carry almanacs; they post lost pet notices on phone poles.

:scared:

[Shadder]

48. You have to be making this up.

There is no way that the United States government could be this stupid. It's just not possible.

Whats next?

[truth2power]

49. Hey, here's an idea...

Couldn't someone here who has the tools make up some buttons with a pic of the Old Farmers Almanac on them? Might be copyright issues, I don't know.

I'd wear one. It would be a great conversation starter.

Geez! These cretins are just beyond stupid! :dunce:

[SayitAintSo]

50. An Almanac ? ....That so wierd ....

There's got to be more here ....

[CreekDog]

52. how about complaining to the FBI and your congressperson

About this ridiculous warning.

I would love to hear somebody tell John McCain to harp on this.

[Nlighten1]

51. We are missing the obvious connection here...

this is just another attempt at the admin to make some money. Someone they know must be in the Almanac business.

:)

[101 Proof]

53. Oh no....!!!!

Next time I'm in the library, and I'm reading a geology almanac, I'm gonna get arrested by the FBI and thrown into Gitmo!!!! NOoooooooo!!! :eyes:

This is a sad, sad country. What a load of utter bullshit.

[Logansquare]

55. For this we're paying taxes?

What a bunch of idiots.

[tabasco]

57. I knew them Amish were up to something !!

I seen one of them Amishmen reading an almanac up to the Grange. I'll be calling the Mount Pilot FBI office tomorrow fer sure!!

[pinniped]

59. Oh pleeeeeeeeeeeeeze!

I'm buying a GPS pretty soon, is there a 10-day background check?:eyes:

[goforit]

61. The FBI has madcow!!!!!!!!!.......Heaven help us!!!!!!!

Way to go Tom Ridge!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KoKo]

62. What! My Mother-in-Law in a Nursing Home got one as Xmas Present!

She asked for one from me. Are we now to assume they are going to track me down for purchasing it at Barnes & Noble and track it to my MIL at her Nursing Home so they can find out if she's a terrorist?

What the hell is going on here!

[BiggJawn]

63. So first, they do a "Profile" stop...

And see that you are a brown person. THEN they see you have a copy of the "farmer's Almmanac" in the seat next to you, with margin notes in Arabic.....

Why are they cranking out this bullshit? First, "ORANGE ALERT!!!!" then Air France is getting punked on. Then they say they're gonna have to have armed goons on ALL flights...What? Aren't we properly SCARED to suit Tommy Timber-toes?

Heard one tonight...We had an unfortunate police-action shooting last month involving a University police officer who was new on the job and not fully trained. the story goes that a LTTE was published from a Cosmetologist saying "Why do I need 1500 hours of school to cut hair, but only 40 to kill somebody?"

Where they getting all these "air marshalls" Wackenhut?

[kskiska]

64. Be on the lookout for people getting into cropdusters

that don't belong to them, carrying almanacs.

[101 Proof]

66. Geez...with this latest warning...

I don't think I'll listen to a damn word the government says. They need to fire the people who came up with this nonsense and get people in there with some intelligence or common sense. Sheesh. With that warning, now college students are looked at as potential terrorists. :eyes:

[Chovexani]

67. You've got to be kidding.

I buy the Witches' Almanac every year, I guess I'm twice as fucked.

Oh well, at least I'll have plans for next Winter Solstice. I'll be the Yule Log down at Gitmo warming Michael Moore. :P You guys can roast marshmallows on me if you want.

[chenGOD]

68. Ok while this is undoubtedly retarded in the extreme...one thing in that

article bothered me. To whit: "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. " (emphasis mine).

To any level they deem appropiate? Does that not scare anyone?

[Norbert]

69. No one here understans this.

You gotta nip it in the bud.

[murielm99]

70. I read something about Hoover, once, that reminds me of this.

He was reading a typed report by some FBI agents, and he put a note on it that said, "Watch the borders."

He meant that he thought the margins were not spaced properly. But for several weeks, there was beefed-up surveillance at the Canadian and Mexican borders. LOL!

I read this in a biography of Bobby Kennedy, in a chapter that discussed how frustrated Bobby felt by Hoover.

Maybe the FBI has idiot-detector machines, that are highly classified. They take these machines out on the streets, detect idiots, and hire them immediately!

[0rganism]

72. Yes, of course! Hiring idiots is the only way to keep us safe!

*smacks head* why didn't I think of this sooner?

If you employ all the idiots, you can direct their misactivities somewhat and track them through reports and memos. A domesticated idiot employed by the FBI constitutes but a fraction of the national security risk posed by the free-range idiot.

"I keep my friends close, and my enemies even closer."

[KansDem]

76. Something similar happened soon after the 2000 Coup...

The president had ordered that Bullets be sent to represent the administration at a town meeting on farm subsidies. Assuming Bullets to be Mr. Bush's informal name for the only ex-military figure among his top aides, a member of the White House staff conveyed the word to General Powell. He was halfway to Kansas City aboard Air Force One before the goof was revealed: Bullets is the president's nickname for the secretary of agriculture, Ann M. Veneman. Mr. Bush's response to the snafu was quoted as, "Why for heck's sake would I send Balloonfoot to do Bullet's job?"
http://451world.com/i3/name02-01.html

Hahaha, oh, don't that Bush and his nicknames beat all???

I wonder how Gen. Powell got the nickname "Balloonfoot," and was Ms. Veneman wearing a "wonder bra" when she got the nickname "Bullets?"

I also wonder how much this "mistake" cost the US taxpayer? Apparently the Media don't.

[0rganism]

71. When fulfilling Orwell's prophecies gets boring, move on to Bradbury

I think I finally understand the agenda of this administration: they want to eliminate science fiction as a literary genre. By acting out portions of 1984 and Farenheight 451, they will be taking great steps to discredit the notion of "dystopian fantasy world", reducing it to the level of mere political forecasting.

[ima_sinnic]

73. "terrorist paraphenalia"--just like "drug paraphenalia"

"paraphenalia" is big in bogus "wars"

[Zech Marquis]

74. so if I want to buy an almanac for next year

that automatically makes me a terror suspeect? I guess all the schools in the US are full of terrorists then :eyes:

This has be right up there with the suba divers orange alert ;eyes: that was real smart for people living in like, Kansa, Nevada, --the inland states :eyes: oh, and the infamous duct tape episode...

[Blue Gardener]

75. How about Refdesk.com?

One of my favorite websites that links to all sorts of information of any kind. Am I a suspected terrorist if I spend time there?

[missile_bender]

77. Better watch out for people who read TV Guide

It's full of lots of info, especially regarding news and weather patterns. And what about those libraries? And they better watch anybody who uses the Internet, lots of info there. And newspapers are worrisome. Heck, they should just ban all forms of media except official media, just to be on the safe side.

And how does one "suspiciously annotate" something? What, using red ink?

[pinto]

83. I've worried about them for a while....

[The Animator]

84. So...

It's not the 500 copies of "Catcher in the Rye" that I buy every week. It's the one Almanac I buy that will raise eyebrows...

[Whoa_Nelly]

86. Heard this on news while driving today

Returning from a long cross-country trip, heard this almanac BS on radio news. First thought was that I was sorry had thrown away all my old almanacs from years past...maybe the WMC (Weapons of Mass Cotton) could have been found and been a help in identifying earlier terrorists! (...or at least could have been a big seller on eBay...)

[DemBones DemBones]

87. As a lifelong reader of almanacs,

I have never once carried one on my person or in my car.

Sounds like a good tip to me, to ask police to BOLO almanacs in cars. It's certainly preferable to banning almanacs. There is information in almanacs that terrorists could use, though I wonder if travel guides aren't also gold mines for terrorists. How can anyone say if a tourist with a travel guide is just a tourist or a terrorist looking to locate potential targets?

Of course, the constant thinking about ways "they" can get us is very taxing. We could all end up freaking out completely, like lab rats that are overstressed.

The UK and Europe have dealt with terrorism for decades, and it's obvious in the beefed-up security, but otherwise life goes on. I wonder if they are having color-coded alerts and such now? I really can't imagine that they are.

We are the worrywarts of the world. :cry:

[yolatengo]

89. got two in me office

Here I am, at a Big Govt installation, and I have not one, but TWO
World Almanacs ('97 and '01).

I use them all the time. I never throw them away. I have 1968-72 and
1984-present (dunno what happened to 73-83). It is a tradition that
my mom gets me one ever year for Christmas. It's also why I often win
my local pub's trivia night... ;-)

Old ones are great for looking up things that went down the Memory
Hole. E.g., they used to publish the US and USSR nucular arsenals,
complete with throwweights, numbers deployed, etc. They stopped
that about '88 or so. They're also good for looking up the stuff in
the 'year in review' section (much more detailed than when things
get relegated to 'World History'). Vietnam era ones are very revealing.
Finally, it's good to get deep ag,crime,vote stats of times past.

Bigby