[Peace-discuss] Almanacs "R" Us

[C. G. Estabrook]

It's stuff like this rather than any substantive reporting or analysis
that allows some to see NPR as liberal.  --CGE


On Thu, 1 Jan 2004, Ricky Baldwin wrote:

> While I do think Carl may be correct about the reaction we could get
> from some, I also think Doug's right that we have to call our
> government on this boundless fear-mongering.  In this, I think, we
> should be at least as bold as the notoriously timid NPR (see the last
> three paragraphs below):
> 
> FBI bulletin labeling almanacs as possible terrorist tools
> 
> All Things Considered (9:00 PM ET) - NPR, December 30, 2003 Tuesday
> 
> MICHELE NORRIS, host:
> 
> Today, almanac publishers and editors throughout the land have been
> responding to an FBI bulletin issued yesterday. The popular reference
> books contain all sorts of information, from agricultural statistics
> to weather trends. The FBI says they could be used by terrorists to
> assist with target selection and preoperational planning.
> 
> MELISSA BLOCK, host:
> 
> The government warning notes that the use of almanacs or maps may be
> innocent, but it warns that a person with an almanac who's also
> engaging in suspicious behavior, such as apparent surveillance, may
> point to possible terrorist planning.
> 
> NORRIS: This has put almanac peddlers on the defensive. One of them,
> Kevin Seabrooke of The World Almanac, says the FBI's warning makes
> little sense to him.
> 
> Mr. KEVIN SEABROOKE (The World Almanac): I was a little surprised,
> actually, to hear this. I've certainly never thought of us an any kind
> of a nefarious thing. This is all public information. This is
> available from government Web sites. The government is actually one of
> our biggest contributors of information. And this is all available in
> libraries, on the Internet. I mean, there's no top-secret documents
> here.
> 
> BLOCK: Kevin Seabrooke's defense of his publication aside, FBI
> officials are dead serious in warning that terrorists could use
> almanacs to plan attacks. After all, there are maps and transportation
> routes and statistics about nuclear power. But Seabrooke doesn't see
> how that poses much of a threat.
> 
> Mr. SEABROOKE: There is a chapter, "Buildings, Bridges and Tunnels,"
> and it does have a list of the world's tallest buildings and the
> tallest buildings in North America and so forth. But certainly,
> there's no schematics or architectural diagrams and not even any
> pictures of them.
> 
> NORRIS: So exactly what facts could fall into the hands of potential
> terrorists remains a mystery.
> 
> BLOCK: Maybe it's there on Page 79 of The World Almanac, those
> statistics on the percentage of high school-aged students who never
> wear bicycle helmets. Could that be used to bring America to its
> knees? In case you were wondering, the figure is 84.7 percent.
> 
> NORRIS: The bad guys could turn to Page 605 to pinpoint the highest
> settlement in this country, Climax, Colorado, and the lowest,
> Calipatria, California. Or the secrets of collective names of animals
> on Page 630. How else to learn it's a cluster of peacocks, a gam of
> whales and a bale of turtles?
> 
> BLOCK: If all that sounds too innocent, then perhaps the danger from
> the almanac lies not within its pages, but from the book itself. After
> all, a 1,000-page hardbound edition of the 2003 World Almanac released
> from a great height could be a formidable weapon; not of mass
> destruction, but enough to cause a nasty lump.
> 
> LOAD-DATE: December 31, 2003
>