[Cerek the Barbaric]

The problem I see here is this......IF the terrorists WERE to launch an attack on a National Landmark, and it was later discovered that some of the terrorists had "scouted" the site earlier using (among other things) an almanac to gain information about and directions to the landmark....then the media would be blasting the administration for NOT taking common-sense steps to prevent the attack beforehand.

President Bush and his admin took a LOT of criticism for not realizing the 9/11 terrorists were planning to destroy the World Trade Center. After all, these guys were living in the U.S., took flying lessons here, and had collected extensive data on the airline schedules out of Boston and other surrounding cities. There were some cries in the media of "Why didn't they DO something about this ahead of time?"

Now they come out with measures to try to do something ahead of time, and they are roundly criticized for being paranoid. Sorry, but watching for tourists - especially those with Middle Eastern characteristic - that are visiting national landmarks that would make a plausible terrorist target and carrying an almanac just sounds like a common-sense approach to at least try to anticipate an attack before it happens.

As for me, I don't travel much at all. If I did, I would not feel worried to be seen traveling with an almanac. If the police feel they need to ask me a few extra questions because of that, I don't have a problem with it. It isn't likely to happen, of course, but I'm not going to criticize them for using every resource or method available to do a difficult job.