Boy, am I in trouble.
Dec. 30th, 2003 06:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
libertangoThere's a new request from the FBI to local law enforcement:
"FBI urges police to watch for people carrying almanacs"
Why, you ask?
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.
(Translation of that last sentence; "We thought it was a hoax, too. But we got a copy of the order. Whoo-whee.")
"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."
So, if any of you are marking your books with "suspicious annotations" or hanging out at the corner pursuing "apparent surveillance" -- and remember, it doesn't matter what you think those terms mean, just what the FBI guy thinks it means -- y'all better watch out.
"FBI urges police to watch for people carrying almanacs"
Why, you ask?
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.
(Translation of that last sentence; "We thought it was a hoax, too. But we got a copy of the order. Whoo-whee.")
"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."
So, if any of you are marking your books with "suspicious annotations" or hanging out at the corner pursuing "apparent surveillance" -- and remember, it doesn't matter what you think those terms mean, just what the FBI guy thinks it means -- y'all better watch out.
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no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 07:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 09:02 pm (UTC)Perhaps a new sect that hands out almanacs, with interesting passages highlighted and annotated, is in order.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 11:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 11:24 pm (UTC)I'd like to think it was cogent and saved for someone special... But that's just me. :)
no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 11:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 11:45 pm (UTC)Actually, it makes me want to carry around an almanac, a street map, and point at things, and make annotations, and hmmmm and hrmmmmm.