[MEA] whatever happened to academic freedom?
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[MEA] whatever happened to academic freedom?
 
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All:
The story below was posted tonight on the Media Ecology listserv. First item on my to-do list for Monday is to ask my local public library and my university library to see if they can find for me a copy of Mao's "Little Red Book," official Peking version, please. --tom Agents' visit chills UMass Dartmouth senior > By AARON NICODEMUS, New Bedford (MA) Standard-Times staff writer > http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-05/12-17-05/a09lo650.htm > 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." > > Contact Aaron Nicodemus at anicodemus at s-t.com > > _______________________________________________ > MEA mailing list > MEA at lists.ibiblio.org > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/mea > -- ============================================== J. T. Johnson Institute for Analytic Journalism www.analyticjournalism.com 505.577.6482 (c) 505.473.9646(h) http://www.jtjohnson.com tom at jtjohnson.com "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." -- Buckminster Fuller ============================================== -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/attachments/20051217/d20d1259/attachment.htm |
[MEA] whatever happened to academic freedom?
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Arrgh. This reminds me that I borrowed the DVD of Brazil from the
library last weekend. Included in the Criterion edition is the "Love Conquers All" edit that Universal was trying to force on Gilliam before the Los Angeles Film Critics Association named the director's cut the film of the year. The film is twenty years old, but it hasn't lost an ounce of punch. -- rec -- |
[MEA] whatever happened to academic freedom?
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In reply to this post by Tom Johnson
Slashback reports this as a hoax, citing this:
http://www.ala.org/aaslkcTemplate.cfm?Section=storytellingfest&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=111834 -- rec -- On 12/17/05, J T Johnson <tom at jtjohnson.com> wrote: > All: > > The story below was posted tonight on the Media Ecology listserv. > > First item on my to-do list for Monday is to ask my local public library and > my university library to see if they can find for me a copy of Mao's "Little > Red Book," official Peking version, please. > > --tom > > > > Agents' visit chills UMass Dartmouth senior > > By AARON NICODEMUS, New Bedford (MA) Standard-Times staff writer > > > http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-05/12-17-05/a09lo650.htm > > > 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." > > > > Contact Aaron Nicodemus at anicodemus at s-t.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > > MEA mailing list > > MEA at lists.ibiblio.org > > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/mea > > > > > > -- > ============================================== > J. T. Johnson > Institute for Analytic Journalism > www.analyticjournalism.com > 505.577.6482 (c) > 505.473.9646(h) > http://www.jtjohnson.com tom at jtjohnson.com > > "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. > To change something, build a new model that makes the > existing model obsolete." > -- > Buckminster Fuller > ============================================== > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at Mission Cafe > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > > |
[MEA] whatever happened to academic freedom?
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Yes. And my embarrassment in passing along the original story is surpassed
only by the comfort I take in the potential -- and often reality -- of the Internet as a medium for self-correction. Here's a link to the additional reporting by the Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/12/24/students_tall_tale_revealed?mode=PF -tom On 12/28/05, Roger Critchlow <rec at elf.org> wrote: > > Slashback reports this as a hoax, citing this: > > > http://www.ala.org/aaslkcTemplate.cfm?Section=storytellingfest&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=111834 > > -- rec -- > > ============================================== J. T. Johnson Institute for Analytic Journalism www.analyticjournalism.com 505.577.6482(c) 505.473.9646(h) http://www.jtjohnson.com tom at jtjohnson.com "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." -- Buckminster Fuller ============================================== -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/attachments/20051228/1bae276c/attachment.htm |
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