Federal Agents Visit Student Over Library Book
Meanwhile in Massachusetts, questions over the extent of the government's domestic surveillance apparatus have arisen after federal agents recently visited and questioned a student at Umass Dartmouth after he requested a book through the school's interlibrary loan program. Two agents from the Department of Homeland Security reportedly visited the house of the student's parents and said the book - Mao's "The Little Red Book" --- was on a "watch list." One of the student's professors said it appears that the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring inter-library loans.
now college students have to worry about what books they check out of a library for fear of being considered a terrorist.
Don't forget the 500 "known" spy intrusions means there's 10x that (maybe more) that are uknown or unreported. We are being monitored, too (I can verify by the IPs which hit this site) and it's widely known that most or all regular domestic cell calls are routinely monitored and recorded, analyzed using "Echelon" (acc. to G. Gordon Liddy, but what does he know about wiretapping?)...also "Carnivore" (which has problems).
I actually just saw Robert Baer in a very interesting interview where he talked briefly about our whole "spy game" and how we don't torture, "we outsource it to other countries". Makes me want to read his book and see the movie Syriana. He recieved a pretty major intelligence award and is highly respected in the community. Liddy may have a different kind of respect, but these things are all part of the game. The rules seem to change to suit the paranoia of the masses (reactions to external forces, mostly). But also this is a "fear game" the leaders play as a trump card to get away with whatever they want. Fortunately, Congress is now strong enough to put some limits on Mr. Big-head with the hotline to god. This is also a reaction to overstepping authority (look at the ANWR shutdown).
Robyn, what do you mean by minority report? The movie? That was freaky! Or do you mean this particular "investigation" at UMass Dartmouth?
-Phrazz
Last edited by Phrazz on Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Philip K. Dick's the man. Minority Report was based on his writing. Actually, I was thinking about the movie and the spiders...remember the spiders? 'quack, quack'
NEW BEDFORD -- The UMass Dartmouth student who claimed to have been visited by Homeland Security agents over his request for "The Little Red Book" by Mao Zedong has admitted to making up the entire story.
The 22-year-old student tearfully admitted he made the story up to his history professor, Dr. Brian Glyn Williams, and his parents, after being confronted with the inconsistencies in his account. Had the student stuck to his original story, it might never have been proved false.
But on Thursday, when the student told his tale in the office of UMass Dartmouth professor Dr. Robert Pontbriand to Dr. Williams, Dr. Pontbriand, university spokesman John Hoey and The Standard-Times, the student added new details.
The agents had returned, the student said, just last night. The two agents, the student, his parents and the student's uncle all signed confidentiality agreements, he claimed, to put an end to the matter.
But when Dr. Williams went to the student's home yesterday and relayed that part of the story to his parents, it was the first time they had heard it. The story began to unravel, and the student, faced with the truth, broke down and cried.