Homeland Security watching your library requests.

Melendwyr said:
It's garbage like this that makes it easier for the fascists to take command, since everyone's going to be disbelieving of actual complaints.
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The boy (the 22-year-old BOY) is highly representative of liberals. If you fell for his story, then you are probably just like him.
 
I suspect a valid question is what else is the Government monitoring? Since we now know that the 4th Amendment "legally" doesn't apply to the Executive Branch - it looks like all bets are off in terms of avenues of investigation to find terrorists. For example, are the Feds "data mining" most - if not all - credit card purchases looking for anything suspicious? How about someone that buys 20 garage door openers one day, black powder the next day, 10 cell phones the next day, hits bomb building web sites the next day, rents a u-haul, and so on - I think that you see where I'm going with this? I suspect that the treasure trove of electronic footprints that we leave behind is irresistable to the Feds.
 
Something else that bothers me.

Why isn't this student named?

He was evidently looking for the press. Or maybe it was the two Dartmouth history profs. Brian Glyn Williams and Robert Pontbriand that were looking to hype this idea.

It seems to me that any business would like to be aware of what kind of psychological baggage this guy has before hiring him.
 
Reading through this thread, it seems the general consensus is that this story is not to be believed. Is there any evidence against it? Or are those who hold this opinion basing it on the axiom of just disbelieving all suspicious stories without more evidence than this one has? I ask, because I don't have a fixed opinion on it yet and would like to know there is better evidence one way or the other regarding this story and I'm too lazy to do my own research. It's easier to ask if anyone here has seen convincing information one way or the other and can provide a link to it.

Thanks.
 
Beth said:
Is there any evidence against it? Or are those who hold this opinion basing it on the axiom of just disbelieving all suspicious stories without more evidence than this one has?
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From a previous post in this thread: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-05/12-24-05/a01lo719.htm

I ask, because I don't have a fixed opinion on it yet and would like to know there is better evidence one way or the other regarding this story and I'm too lazy to do my own research.
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Lazy AND stupid, all in one little package. How convenient.
 
Melendwyr: I've been meaning to ask, your avatar, is it Hammurabi from Civ3 or am I having an acid flashback?

--- G.
 
From the article:

Had the student stuck to his original story, it might never have been proved false.
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Why? Because news reporters are not skeptical enough to ask questions? Because it's not routine to fact-check outrageous claims?

That’s the real sad part about this whole affair.
 
the original story was driven by the proffs. Who happen to be working off hearsay.

I forget that for all their book smarts, college proffs tend to be a little dense when it comes to being had.
 
As a journalist, I blame the journalists. Our profession is not one that seems to encourage professionalism these days - too many deadlines and too many egos.

Also, if you can just translate AP wires a couple of hours a day, why spend the full eight hours doing WORK? That seems to be the general feeling when it comes to non-domestic news in Iceland, front pages regularly feature translation errors and complete misunderstandings.

A recent one was that George W. Bush had pardoned some Bulgarian nurses who were sentenced to death for infecting children with AIDS in Libya, according to the biggest news source in Iceland Bush's decision to let the nurses go sparked riots in Libya and caused the Libyan government to respond with outrage and dismay.

A couple of tiny details that everyone missed before going to press: George W. Bush is actually not the president of Libya, he has no power to pardon anyone in Libya, the nurses were at that point still set to die, the Libyan government could hardly express outrage at it's own actions had they in fact let those nurses, and I'm sure there are several other logical inconsistancies there if you look.

The whole story was, it turns out, based on an AP report that Bush had condemned the Libyan decision to execute the nurses. Someone spun the entire drama from that...

--- G.
 
PixyMisa said:
What fascists?
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I think describing peace activists meeting at a Quaker Meeting House as a "threat" and "suspicious activity" is not fascism per se, but it is the kind of thing one finds on the road to fascism.
 
Ladewig said:
I think describing peace activists meeting at a Quaker Meeting House as a "threat" and "suspicious activity" is not fascism per se, but it is the kind of thing one finds on the road to fascism.
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It's an excuse for fascism; it doesn't lead to it.

What we're starting to see is the state using power without restraint in the name of external threat. Sound familiar?
 
Ladewig said:
I think describing peace activists meeting at a Quaker Meeting House as a "threat" and "suspicious activity" is not fascism per se, but it is the kind of thing one finds on the road to fascism.
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Isn't that the Slippery Slope fallacy? I don't see how your hypothesis is falsifiable.
 
Access to library records by the security services was the sort of thing that the Patriot Act authorised, as far as I remember. As a UK library person I remember seeing stuff about it in professional journals, although I didn't look at it in any detail as it doesn't apply here, of course. See here, for example.
 
Ladewig said:
I think describing peace activists meeting at a Quaker Meeting House as a "threat" and "suspicious activity" is not fascism per se, but it is the kind of thing one finds on the road to fascism.
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Freakshow said:
Isn't that the Slippery Slope fallacy? I don't see how your hypothesis is falsifiable.
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I did not mean to imply that the U.S. as a whole, or any branch of the government, was on the road to fascism.
Perhaps I should have chosen my wording more carefully. I do not think that the U.S. government is fascist. The protestors in question were allowed to protest and were not arrested - as they would be in a fascist state. I do not think that the U.S. is heading towards fascism - I was pointing out that the military was starting to do some things that fascists do. Not enough things that they could be called fascists or even partial fascists, but enough things that we should keep an eye on them. Similary, the executive branch is not fascist or even partially fascist, but without checks and balances, they could try sneek in a fascist action or two.
 
Tmy said:
the original story was driven by the proffs. Who happen to be working off hearsay.

I forget that for all their book smarts, college proffs tend to be a little dense when it comes to being had.
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Particularly when it feeds into one of their pet causes. Academians tend to be left-wing liberals more often than not, particularly in the liberal arts IME; and are generally at the forefront of the "jackbooted thugs kicking down our doors" outcries. And they're more often than not rather outspoken in the classroom (I had one professor who would never miss an opportunity for a short but vituperative socialist screed).

Chances are the student was either late turning in a paper, or just wanted to score points with the prof; and concocted a story he knew would fit in nicely with the prof's political leanings. Probably didn't intend for it to get quite so well-publicized, however.
 
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