Librarians turned snitch?

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

If they did know, and had said as much just a few years ago, they'd have been tried for treason and strung up on Capital Hill. Everyone knows questioning Bush's behavior is the same thing as helping the terrorists! It also makes you un-American, Liberally-Elite and un-Rapture worthy.

I have no doubt they weighed the political climate at the time. But it wouldn't have been opposition to Bush - it would have been what would be seen as weak on national defense. And they can't afford more of that in their image, whether it is deserved or undeserved.

I find it humorous that I am able to say Bush was wrong, but when trying to bring up the complicit behavior of the opposition party is cast aside as trying to lessen what Bush done.

[Alex]

Attempts at monitoring library usage are a very long tradition in this country. While I certainly don't condone it at all, I wouldn't be so quick to assume that whatever triggered this monitoring is a program that started under Bush.

It should, however, be opposed at every opportunity.

[Alex]

As an example of older (and perhaps suspended, though triggering a visit off of communist books seems so 1980s) program, I recommend reading Surveillance in the Stacks, which is about the FBI's Library Awareness Program.

Here is a historical recap of the national security argument for reading habit surveillance. And here is a page at the American Library Association web site that compiles information on this topic.

I want to be clear that I am not bringing up all these other examples in an effort to dilute this incident but rather to show that it is a long-standing issue and that usually only creeps into the pubilc conscience with specific incidents and then quickly fades.

Here (facetiously) is the horrifying thing for me, that an academic library system as good as Dartmouth's wouldn't have a Chinese copy of the book on site and the student needed to use ILL to get a hold of it.

[Prudence]

Here's the part that worries me: "They brought the book with them, but did not leave it with the student, the professors said." Is that because the student no longer wanted it? Or because Homeland Security agents decided he shouldn't be allowed to use it?

[Alex]

Probably because it was checked out in the agents name.

[Gemini Cricket]

This is all very Orwellian. I wonder if they'd bust me for borrowing that book... you know, '1984'

[€uroMeinke]

I'm curious why this leak is a threat to national security. I would presume any would be terrorist is already paranoid enough to suspect he is being watched.

[scaeagles]

Anyone remember "echelon"? Huge blow up in the year 2000. But wait! Bush wasn't elected until 2000! How can this be blamed on him? We must find a way!

The NSA was not only monitoring and flagging everything from cell phones conversations to items overhead on baby monitors, they were actually sharing the info with Canada, Austrailia, and Great Britain.

Not good. Not good then, not good now. Hardly a new phenomena.

Again, I completely stand by my theory of complicitiness and timing of the release to coincide with the Iraqi election.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Again, I completely stand by my theory of complicitiness and timing of the release to coincide with the Iraqi election.

On the other hand, one could say that the timing was in Bush's favor. The NY Times had this info prior to the 2004 elections but did not release it then. I wonder why? They sat on the story for over a year to conduct 'additional reporting'...

[Kevy Baby]