West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Train of Thought => Topic started by: Ant on December 18, 2005, 12:34:59 AM
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Agents' visit chills UMass Dartmouth senior
By AARON NICODEMUS, Standard-Times staff writer
NEW BEDFORD -- A senior at UMass Dartmouth was visited by federal agents two months ago, after he requested a copy of Mao Tse-Tung's tome on Communism called "The Little Red Book."
Two history professors at UMass Dartmouth, Brian Glyn Williams and Robert Pontbriand, said the student told them he requested the book through the UMass Dartmouth library's interlibrary loan program.
The student, who was completing a research paper on Communism for Professor Pontbriand's class on fascism and totalitarianism, filled out a form for the request, leaving his name, address, phone number and Social Security number. He was later visited at his parents' home in New Bedford by two agents of the Department of Homeland Security, the professors said.
The professors said the student was told by the agents that the book is on a "watch list," and that his background, which included significant time abroad, triggered them to investigate the student further.
"I tell my students to go to the direct source, and so he asked for the official Peking version of the book," Professor Pontbriand said. "Apparently, the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring inter-library loans, because that's what triggered the visit, as I understand it."
Although The Standard-Times knows the name of the student, he is not coming forward because he fears repercussions should his name become public. He has not spoken to The Standard-Times.
The professors had been asked to comment on a report that President Bush had authorized the National Security Agency to spy on as many as 500 people at any given time since 2002 in this country.
The eavesdropping was apparently done without warrants.
The Little Red Book, is a collection of quotations and speech excerpts from Chinese leader Mao Tse-Tung.
In the 1950s and '60s, during the Cultural Revolution in China, it was required reading. Although there are abridged versions available, the student asked for a version translated directly from the original book.
The student told Professor Pontbriand and Dr. Williams that the Homeland Security agents told him the book was on a "watch list." They brought the book with them, but did not leave it with the student, the professors said.
Dr. Williams said in his research, he regularly contacts people in Afghanistan, Chechnya and other Muslim hot spots, and suspects that some of his calls are monitored.
"My instinct is that there is a lot more monitoring than we think," he said.
Dr. Williams said he had been planning to offer a course on terrorism next semester, but is reconsidering, because it might put his students at risk.
"I shudder to think of all the students I've had monitoring al-Qaeda Web sites, what the government must think of that," he said. "Mao Tse-Tung is completely harmless."
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1984 here you go.... america is fucked.. land of the free.. freedom of speech???...... YEAH RIGHT!
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Wow that is crazy. oh well, just confirms some people's suspicions
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1984 here you go.... america is fucked.. land of the free.. freedom of speech???...... YEAH RIGHT!
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And some people want the government to enforce greater restriction.
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Once Im proven right, Im done talkin. Im done talkin now.
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I support this.
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1984 here you go.... america is fucked.. land of the free.. freedom of speech???...... YEAH RIGHT!
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1984 here you go.... america is fucked.. land of the free.. freedom of speech???...... YEAH RIGHT!
Don't you live in a country where you are followed by closed circuit television everywhere you walk?
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eh? you're telling me american stores dont have CCTV?
we have a few cameras through the town centre near clubs because of violence.. i'm sure america has that too in places
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eh? you're telling me american stores dont have CCTV?
we have a few cameras through the town centre near clubs because of violence.. i'm sure america has that too in places
You are right American stores have closed circuit TV's, however they are private entities. But we don't have the government monitoring us with cameras in public the way you guys do in England. That is kind of scary, man.
Listen I love Britain, but you guys need to get off the whole anti Americanism kick you are on. I know it is fashionable to bash us, but look in the mirror before calling us fascist or whatever. I think the media and governments in Europe are playing up anti-Americanism to get people mind's off of Europe's stagnant economies, high unemployment, risiing crime, terrorist threats, etc. Basically I think you guys are being brainwashed.
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the arent monitoring us.. the cameras are used to track shoplifters around the town centre.. i have a homie who works as security for a dept store in the town centre.. its all linked.. they track down people who have taken things and run.. they also monitor car parks.. personally i prefer to park near a camera ;)
the other uses is for night time violence.. which is also a problem.. hell i've been arrested coz my homie put his foot through a window and it turns out these cameras arent that good.. the evidence wasnt usable and it was over the road from us!
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I support this.
It's pretty obvious that you would have also supported hitler if you lived in Nazi Germany.
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CWalker doesn't even have his green-card
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I support this.
An empty head makes nodding easier.
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I support this.
:stupid:
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It's pretty obvious that you would have also supported hitler if you lived in Nazi Germany.
And the fact that you would compare the US government to Hitler shows your intelligence.
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It's pretty obvious that you would have also supported hitler if you lived in Nazi Germany.
And the fact that you would compare the US government to Hitler shows your intelligence.
The fact that you didnt understand his sentence shows your intelligence
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Listen I love Britain, but you guys need to get off the whole anti Americanism kick you are on. I know it is fashionable to bash us, but look in the mirror before calling us fascist or whatever. I think the media and governments in Europe are playing up anti-Americanism to get people mind's off of Europe's stagnant economies, high unemployment, risiing crime, terrorist threats, etc. Basically I think you guys are being brainwashed.
thats comedy... it's obvious america is controlled by media... americans arent liked in general because theyre arrogant ass-holes...
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Listen I love Britain, but you guys need to get off the whole anti Americanism kick you are on. I know it is fashionable to bash us, but look in the mirror before calling us fascist or whatever. I think the media and governments in Europe are playing up anti-Americanism to get people mind's off of Europe's stagnant economies, high unemployment, risiing crime, terrorist threats, etc. Basically I think you guys are being brainwashed.
thats comedy... it's obvious america is controlled by media... americans arent liked in general because theyre arrogant ass-holes...
So says someone with about 20 Americans in his signature.
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It's pretty obvious that you would have also supported hitler if you lived in Nazi Germany.
And the fact that you would compare the US government to Hitler shows your intelligence.
The fact that you didnt understand his sentence shows your intelligence
Thanks. Cwalker, I wasn't comparing the US government to Hitler. Why are you so slow?
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Listen I love Britain, but you guys need to get off the whole anti Americanism kick you are on. I know it is fashionable to bash us, but look in the mirror before calling us fascist or whatever. I think the media and governments in Europe are playing up anti-Americanism to get people mind's off of Europe's stagnant economies, high unemployment, risiing crime, terrorist threats, etc. Basically I think you guys are being brainwashed.
thats comedy... it's obvious america is controlled by media... americans arent liked in general because theyre arrogant ass-holes...
So says someone with about 20 Americans in his signature.
just because i like their music doesnt mean i like the people composing it :P and those artists dont really represent 'idiot america'...
not all americans are bad, but the sad truth is alot of them are seriously ignorant... theyre just as bad as australians... i prefer the british over aussies and the yanks i've met... i still like a decent amount of people on this board, i dont discriminate whether their american or not, youre cool or not and thats it... but generally speaking Americans all around the world are percieved that way.
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pS: if anything all those artists rebel against america and the system... so ::)
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I hate patriot act..and I hate evesdroppin' and spying....
no freedom..
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i hate how i feel like we dont really have freedom
but i hate when other countries talk shit about us
i got into an argument with a british kid a few weeks ago and the fucker was saying that americans are stupid, that the country sucks, and he was glad what happened with the towers. i just couldnt believe this kid i fucking let him have it, he was saying like we dont even like the president and im like i voted for kerry, but then i bring up tony blair and he starts making excuses. what a pussy. i dont know because i havent been to many different countries, but i would never live outside america. fuck it we think we are the best as does everyone else. i dont agree with cwalker though fucking republican. lol i go to school in boston, so i think that im gonna do the interlibrary thing and take out a fucked up book. i took out mein kampf from there last semester and no one said shit. ima have to try this book.
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anyone that says theyre happy about what happen on 911 is a complete moron.
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Once Im proven right, Im done talkin. Im done talkin now.