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Quantum Computing: A view from the enemy camp
SIGFPE writes "There seems to be an unthinking acceptance by many people that quantum computers are now on their unstoppable way up and before too long we'll be cracking RSA and simulating protein folding on complex quantum computers. However there is another point of view that considers quantum computers to be as difficult to make as perpetual motion machines - and for much the same reason: entropy. As an antidote to all the successes that have been reported on /. here is a just published and highly readable preprint by a sceptical mathematical physicist."
LOS ANGELES -- The FBI has alerted law-enforcement agencies in eight Western states that it has unconfirmed information terrorists may be targeting suspension bridges on the West Coast.
... on the bridge to assure that everyone who is on the bridge belongs on the bridge."
The Justice Department confirmed the warning Thursday after California Gov. Gray Davis said that law-enforcement officials had "credible evidence" that four California bridges, including the Golden Gate, may be the target of an attack.
The FBI said in its alert that authorities had not yet corroborated the information but decided to issue a warning.
Six "incidents" were planned during rush hour between today and Nov. 7, the agency said.
"Reportedly, unspecified groups are targeting suspension bridges on the West Coast," the FBI said in the message.
The warning was sent Wednesday to law-enforcement agencies in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Montana and Idaho.
Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said the information that prompted the warning was "at a lower level" than what led to the FBI's general warning to Americans on Monday. "We are working to verify the validity" of the information, Tucker said.
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the threat is based on new information acquired by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement since Monday's warning. The official said a foreign Islamic terrorist group may be targeting the bridges.
Davis mentioned the warning Thursday during a news conference in which he also appointed the state's new terrorism security czar, George Vinson, a 23-year veteran of the FBI.
"The best preparation is to let terrorists know, we know what you're up to, we're ready for you," Davis said.
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said Thursday that even though federal authorities had not publicly released the information, he would not second-guess Davis' decision to do so.
"I respect the decision Governor Davis made; he exercised his judgment," Ridge said. Federal authorities "thought it was important enough to relate to the governor, and the governor thought it was important enough to relate to his citizens," Ridge said.
In response to the warning, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber ordered stepped-up police patrols of the state's most heavily traveled bridges. But he said the patrols were only as a precaution, and said there was no reason for motorists to avoid the bridges.
"One of the objectives of terrorism is to terrorize people," he said. "It would be an unfortunate victory we would hand them if people simply stopped driving."
The California bridges that Davis identified as possible targets were San Francisco's Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, the Vincent Thomas Bridge at the Port of Los Angeles and the Coronado Bridge in San Diego.
Security around the bridges has been heightened and involves the National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard and California Highway Patrol, he said.
The Golden Gate -- a 4,200-foot-long suspension bridge -- spans the Golden Gate Strait at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. About 110,000 vehicles use the bridge per day. The 4 1/2-mile long San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is used by about 270,000 vehicles daily -- the highest use of any bridge in the nation.
"We feel we're well-prepared for any nefarious and criminal actions," said Jeff Weiss, spokesman for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. "We're routinely inspecting the IDs of workers
Although authorities have registered hundreds of bomb threats toward sites in California, this is only the second threat judged to be credible since the Sept. 11 attacks, Davis said. The first targeted Los Angeles movie studios.
Several Hollywood studios stopped giving tours and increased armed patrols after a general warning Sept. 20 from the FBI that television and movie facilities could be targets of terrorist attacks
How's this for an optimistic view?