On Tuesday, September 18, 2001, at 10:59 AM, Declan McCullagh wrote:

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/846113p-905971c.html

Two Saudis detained in Fresno Co.

The Fresno Bee (Published Monday, September, 17, 2001 4:55AM)

Two Saudi men were detained Sunday by federal and local authorities for failing to carry proper immigration documentation, the Fresno County Sheriff's Department reported.

The two men, who were not identified, were seen taking photographs of the Shaver Lake reservoir and dam Sunday afternoon by a resident in the mountain community. While driving toward Fresno, the men were stopped for questioning by sheriff's deputies along Highway 168 near Pine Ridge just before 7 p.m.

Ironically, I did a piece for a hacker's list last week discussing hitting dams. As that list frowns on having articles redistributed to attention drawn to it, I'll xxxxx out some of it: From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net> Date: Sat Sep 15, 2001 09:37:44 AM US/Pacific To: xxxxxx Subject: Soft Targets On Saturday, September 15, 2001, at 02:27 AM, xxxxxxx wrote: Date: 14 Sep 2001 23:48:43 +0100 From: xxxxxxxxx Subject: objective view of future risks I was asked today roughly: What did I think were the chances of some other horrific terrorist attack happening in the near future (1-2 months? 1-6 months? 1 year?) here in the SF area. I can think of lots of things that could happen. I can think of what might be attractive targets (the GG bridge, the Transamerica building), etc. But I couldn't say whether I thought it likely, very likely, possible, or what. Any thoughts? There's been a lot of discussion in the various groups and lists about the many "soft targets" in the U.S. and Europe. Leading the list seem to be the various dams. Not the most massive concrete dams, but the "stressed eggshell" dams. A kamikaze bomber can easily exceed the design parameters. Several have been listed, which I won't summarize here. The bang for the buck could be very high, with major cities lying below some of these dams. (I saw one detailed analysis of a particular dam...I think it was in Kentucky...that is of this eggshell design. Several 50-story buildings are built below this dam, some miles down the river, and would not likely survive a 100-foot high wall of water.) After the World Trade Center was targetted in 1993, those who continued to work there instead of getting out of Dodge paid the price. Many of these dams are within such a short flight from airports that no effective scrambling of jets to intercept them is possible. We may see "no fly" zones around such dams, with SAMs defending the sites. Sports stadiums are a different kettle of fish. A plane leaving SFO or Oakland could be on top of one of the crowded stadiums within a minute or two. No time to scramble interceptors. Again, maybe SAMs with carefully-programmed intercept orders. Or flights at nearby airports could be cancelled when the stadiums are filled with 50,000 fans. (This scenario has been discussed many times. "Black Sunday" is nearly 30 years old. Thomas Harris knew about the hijacked jet scenario but chose to use the more complicated "rogue dirigible pilot" plot device.) All the recent hoopla about banning nail files and metal utensils is closing the barn door after the horses (ridden by the four horsemen) have left. Commercial jetliners will probably not be used again for this purpose...but what of cargo jets and privately-owned jets? Anyone with enough money (Bin Laden, others) can buy or lease their own jets. It's easy to hack soft targets, given the willingness to die. Quite a bit harder to get away alive and then survive the aftermath. xxxxelidedxxxx Is it hopeless? No, of course not. The New York Stock Exchange was vastly too centralized...an archaic scheme whereby traders living in Connecticut and Long Island rode trains for hours each day so they could gather in one particular building and shout. Though "open outcry" and "market makers" have some technical advantages (and disadvantages), the overall scheme is archaic. And it's why the markets have been paralyzed...and will be for the foreseeable future. Count on lots of bomb threats emptying the trading floor. We as computer types should be endorsing further decentralization, further distribution of trading and computing resources. NASDAQ would not have been shut down...the only reason they did was out of sympathy with the NYSE, and for SEC/competitiveness reasons. And avoiding soft targets is always advisable. Just as living in a beach house carries risks, so does working in an antheap. --Tim May