Ham Radio in The Information Age and Terrorism
 

According to a story in the Washington Post, by Dan Eggen, on Tuesday, Dec.
30, 2003:
An FBI intelligence bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies last week
warned that "terrorist operatives may rely on almanacs to assist with target
selection and pre-operational planning" because they include detailed
information on bridges, tunnels and other U.S. landmarks, officials said.

OK, fault me and sneer at me all you want but, isn't the above just going
way too far? (the rest of the story can be read on the Washington Post
website--just do a search on the word almanac and it should be around the
second item in the list). I mean, I understand the fear, the tendency to
jump to safety, but even if terrorists are using almanacs, do we want to be
"caught" with one if we are thought to be acting "suspicious" as is
mentioned in the article?

Sheesh, what about ham radio?! One of the most widely used communication
mediums in this country and maybe the world, right? What do we open
ourselves up for by being on the air and "just talking?"

--
Kim W5TIT

"Kim W5TIT" wrote in message
...
According to a story in the Washington Post, by Dan Eggen, on Tuesday,
Dec.
30, 2003:
An FBI intelligence bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies last week
warned that "terrorist operatives may rely on almanacs to assist with
target
selection and pre-operational planning" because they include detailed
information on bridges, tunnels and other U.S. landmarks, officials said.

OK, fault me and sneer at me all you want but, isn't the above just going
way too far? (the rest of the story can be read on the Washington Post
website--just do a search on the word almanac and it should be around the
second item in the list). I mean, I understand the fear, the tendency to
jump to safety, but even if terrorists are using almanacs, do we want to
be
"caught" with one if we are thought to be acting "suspicious" as is
mentioned in the article?

Sheesh, what about ham radio?! One of the most widely used communication
mediums in this country and maybe the world, right? What do we open
ourselves up for by being on the air and "just talking?"

--
Kim W5TIT



Follow-Up: Went to the bookstore to grab a copy of "Execution" (a business
book) and, while I was at it, I went ahead and purchased a "World Almanac
2004." While I was checking out, the sales associate grinned when he
scanned the Almanac. Turns out they've been selling like hotcakes!

As an aside, anyone know if ham radio is ever in a almanac? I thought
there'd be some stuff on hobbies, but haven't found it yet. Jim, N2EY,
would probably make some bucks if he'd write and publish a Almanac of Ham
Radio!

Kim W5TIT

In article , "Kim W5TIT"
writes:

Jim, N2EY,
would probably make some bucks if he'd write and publish a Almanac of Ham
Radio!

There's a bunch of folks already doing that. They're at 225 Main Street,
Newington, CT, 06111.

73 de Jim, N2EY

"Kim W5TIT" wrote in message ...
"Kim W5TIT" wrote in message
...
According to a story in the Washington Post, by Dan Eggen, on Tuesday,
Dec.
30, 2003:
An FBI intelligence bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies last week
warned that "terrorist operatives may rely on almanacs to assist with
target
selection and pre-operational planning" because they include detailed
information on bridges, tunnels and other U.S. landmarks, officials said.

OK, fault me and sneer at me all you want but, isn't the above just going
way too far? (the rest of the story can be read on the Washington Post
website--just do a search on the word almanac and it should be around the
second item in the list). I mean, I understand the fear, the tendency to
jump to safety, but even if terrorists are using almanacs, do we want to
be
"caught" with one if we are thought to be acting "suspicious" as is
mentioned in the article?

Sheesh, what about ham radio?! One of the most widely used communication
mediums in this country and maybe the world, right? What do we open
ourselves up for by being on the air and "just talking?"

--
Kim W5TIT



Follow-Up: Went to the bookstore to grab a copy of "Execution" (a business
book) and, while I was at it, I went ahead and purchased a "World Almanac
2004." While I was checking out, the sales associate grinned when he
scanned the Almanac. Turns out they've been selling like hotcakes!

I usually get a personal copy about every 4 or 5 years. Used to get
them annually when I was in the contingency business, among other
publications.

As an aside, anyone know if ham radio is ever in a almanac? I thought
there'd be some stuff on hobbies, but haven't found it yet. Jim, N2EY,
would probably make some bucks if he'd write and publish a Almanac of Ham
Radio!

The flying horse pubs were a nice compilation of ham info worldwide,
but with the advent of the QRZ and other online databases...

On Tue, 30 Dec 2003, Kim W5TIT wrote:
According to a story in the Washington Post, by Dan Eggen, on Tuesday, Dec.
30, 2003:
An FBI intelligence bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies last week
warned that "terrorist operatives may rely on almanacs to assist with target
selection and pre-operational planning" because they include detailed
information on bridges, tunnels and other U.S. landmarks, officials said.

OK, fault me and sneer at me all you want but, isn't the above just going
way too far? (the rest of the story can be read on the Washington Post
website--just do a search on the word almanac and it should be around the
second item in the list). I mean, I understand the fear, the tendency to
jump to safety, but even if terrorists are using almanacs, do we want to be
"caught" with one if we are thought to be acting "suspicious" as is
mentioned in the article?

Sheesh, what about ham radio?! One of the most widely used communication
mediums in this country and maybe the world, right? What do we open
ourselves up for by being on the air and "just talking?"

The NSA has amateur radio classified as an activity that could be abused by
foreign nationals in espionage activities (prior to September 2001 - I'm not
certain if this has been changed after that time).

"D. Stussy" wrote in message . org...
On Tue, 30 Dec 2003, Kim W5TIT wrote:
According to a story in the Washington Post, by Dan Eggen, on Tuesday, Dec.
30, 2003:
An FBI intelligence bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies last week
warned that "terrorist operatives may rely on almanacs to assist with target
selection and pre-operational planning" because they include detailed
information on bridges, tunnels and other U.S. landmarks, officials said.

OK, fault me and sneer at me all you want but, isn't the above just going
way too far? (the rest of the story can be read on the Washington Post
website--just do a search on the word almanac and it should be around the
second item in the list). I mean, I understand the fear, the tendency to
jump to safety, but even if terrorists are using almanacs, do we want to be
"caught" with one if we are thought to be acting "suspicious" as is
mentioned in the article?

Sheesh, what about ham radio?! One of the most widely used communication
mediums in this country and maybe the world, right? What do we open
ourselves up for by being on the air and "just talking?"

The NSA has amateur radio classified as an activity that could be abused by
foreign nationals in espionage activities (prior to September 2001 - I'm not
certain if this has been changed after that time).

So did the Koreans. At least when I was there, no MOBILE hamming allowed.