Homeland Security Interrogates College Student Regarding Library Book

[RedEarth]

Big Brother, ‘Little Red Book’

A senior at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth was interrogated last month by Department of Homeland Security officials because he tried to borrow from a campus library an unabridged version of The Little Red Book, which centers on Mao Tse-Tung’s views of Communism.

The 21-year-old student, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Brian Glyn Williams, a professor of history at the university who focuses on Islamic studies, that he had attempted to borrow the book earlier this semester through the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s interlibrary loan program.

The student was searching for primary texts to complete a paper for a class in Williams’s department on fascism and totalitarianism.

Shortly after the student filed his request — providing his name, address and phone number — two agents arrived at his parent’s house, where he lives. They asked him to prove why he wanted the book, which they indicated was on a “watch list,” and inquired about his travels to South America. The officials brought a copy of the book with them to his parent’s residence, but said he couldn’t have it.

Ultimately, the student chose to travel to an FBI office about an hour from the university to further defend himself. The student is currently finishing his paper, and it is unknown at this point if the Department of Homeland Security plans to take action against him. Several calls to the department on Monday went unreturned.

http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/12/20/mao

[C_U_L8R]

1. How ironic

the paper was on fascism and totalitarianism.
This student got a first hand taste.. texas-style.

Lets stick it to the man and shut these chumps down.

[Iris]

2. I heard this yesterday on Randi Rhodes (Mike Malloy was filling in). For

a moment, I literally could not breathe.

[lonestarnot]

3. This is just total bullshit! We must stop them or we are fucked!

[tocqueville]

4. the stupidity of the FBI amazes me, no wonder the US loses war after war

FOr one I didn't know that there was an "unabridged version" of the "Little Red Book". What I know of, the book is a sampling of quotations taken out of context and to be used for propaganda purposes, mostly aimed at the Chinese masses. It doesn't "centers Mao's views on communism". Stuff like "American imperialism is a paper tiger", you know. The red book doesn't contain any secret recipes to start revolutions or to make bombs. I bet the FBI people never even read it.

I bet that Mark Twain is far more subversive, at least taken in an American context. This only shows what kind of myths are going on in America. If a serious student wants to deepen himself into some aspects of communism and totalitarianism for a history paper, he'd rather go directly to Mao's original works. He 'll see that there are some differences from Lenin's dialectical materialism (philosophically). I bet he can read most of the stuff on Wikipedia...

I wonder if the guy had borrowed "Mein Kampf", he had been arrested...

in a way it reminds me of the story I read recently of the arrest and torture of a local grocery shopper in Iraq who happened to be out too late at night. The idiots asked him "Where are the WMDs ?"

losers

[IChing]

5. This is not the FBI it is "homeland security agents"

I posted the original story last week in LBN,
Homeland Security Agency has it's own "agents" that are appointed or hired by appointees not
l like FBI agents, most FBI agents have law degrees.

Homeland Security Agents? who knows?
Intelligent Design students? Students of "Brownie" who knows

[tocqueville]

6. thanks for the correction...

"Ultimately, the student chose to travel to an FBI office about an hour from the university to further defend himself."

does that mean that the guy has to use the help of the FBI AGAINST HS ? brilliant...

[Just Me]

7. A book,...on a "watch list"? How f-upped is that?

Is this for real? :wtf:

[A Simple Game]

8. It is unknown at this point if the Department of Homeland Security

plans to take action against him.

???? What action, conspiracy to read a book? He didn't even get the book yet. Since when is it against the law to read a book?

This has to be just to scare people, if they were worried about the student, they would never have let him know they were watching him.

I am sure there are fiction books, even best sellers, out there that can give you much better ideas to use against a government.