Library Juice 4:37 - October 17, 2001
Contents:
- The Biz - new librarian's weblog
- Blogdex - "Wired Vox Populi"
- When I Grow Up (a librarian's story)
- Progressive Librarians Around the World
- Librarians Against War
- Jonnie Hargis update
- Law Professor Sparks a New Debate Over Flaws in Digital-Copyright Act
- Anti-terrorism legislation
- RIAA Wants to Hack Your PC
- Hayden, Strauch Seek ALA Presidency
- Subscribing to IFACTION and Other E-lists
- CIPA legal defense fund
- Nemine Dissentiente... with no dissent?
- The Library Awareness Program: The FBI in the Bookshelves
- College staff find chilling free speech climate
- The War on Dissent (Boulder Weekly)
- Items from Benton's Communications-related Headlines
- Terrorism, the Internet and Free Access to Information (IFLA Statement)
Quote for the week:
"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on
a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it
is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people
don't want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter
in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of
the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter
to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist
dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no
voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.
That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked,
and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the
country to danger. It works the same in any country."
--Hitler's #2 Man, Hermann GoeringHomepage of the week: Susan Broman
http://home.earthlink.net/~susbro/________________________________________________________________________top
1. The Biz - new librarian's weblog
from Gabe Oppenheim & Aaron Schmidt
More about their lives as set in a library than about librarianship, but a
cool, voyeristic, slightly wicked read. Very much a "we are gen X adults
and we still have fun" zine-type experience.
________________________________________________________________________top
2. Blogdex - "Wired Vox Populi"
blogdex is a system built to harness the power of personal news,
amalgamating and organizing personal news content into one navigable
source, moving democratic media to the masses. at current, blogdex is
focused on the referential information provided by personal content, namely
using the timeliness of weblogs to find important and interesting content
on the web. for more information about the blogdex project, please look
here.top 25 recent links in the weblog community:
________________________________________________________________________top
3. When I Grow Up (a librarian's story)
The story of one woman's excellent path to librarianship, told in rhyme
and pictures, on the web in a powerpoint presentation:http://www.slais.ubc.ca/people/students/student-projects/S_Hellenius/LIBR500-ppt/
It's by Shawna Hellenius
________________________________________________________________________top
4. Progressive Librarians Around the World
The web site called "Progressive Librarians Around the World," created and
hosted by Raimund Dehlow of Germany until a few months ago, is now back on
the web at a new address:The site is a directory of politically progressive library organizations
and publications in various countries. In some cases where progressive
organizations or pubs do not exist in a country or have not contacted us,
we list individuals.There is a "Preliminary Statement of Unifying Principles" on the site.
Rory Litwin
libr.org
________________________________________________________________________top
5. Librarians Against War
I have just put together a small web site, called "Librarians Against War."
It is at http://libr.org/peace/
It is the new home of the Emergency Declaration written by Mark Rosenzweig
and signed by 280 people, as well as similar letters written over the past
few years, and the Peace Telegram, sent to President Roosevelt by the
Progressive Librarians Council in 1940.Watch the site for future developments.
- Rory L.
________________________________________________________________________top
6. Jonnie Hargis update
Jonnie Hargis on Democracy Now!
http://stream.realimpact.org/rihurl.ram?file=webactive/exile/dn20011011.ra&start="43:56.2"
UNIVERSITY WORKERS WALK OUT ON PATRIOTISM AS THE US WAGES WAR
(text from the Webactive web site)
One day after the September 11 attacks, a librarian at the UCLA research
library sent out a mass e-mail to her coworkers citing a 1973 speech
written by Gordon Sinclair titled "America: The Good Neighbor." Jonnie
Hargis, who works in the same department of the library, sent out a mass
e-mail response saying that the United States isn't such a good neighbor
since it supports apartheid-like policies in Israel. He ended his email
with the words, "So, who are the 'terrorists' anyway?" Library
administrators got a hold of Hargis' response and said it violated a
library policy prohibiting unsolicited messages that contain political or
religious messages to be sent to department lists. Hargis was suspended
without pay from Sept. 17 to 21, though the worker who sent the first mass
e-mail has not been subjected to any disciplinary action. We have a clip of
that speech, recorded in 1973, at the height of anti-US sentiment during
the Vietnam War. The head of the library department told Hargis he was
being suspended because his message "demonstrated a lack of sensitivity
that went beyond incivility and became harassment," saying his comments
"contribute to a hostile and threatening environment." The Coalition of
Union Employees has filed a grievance with UCLA on behalf of Hargis.Tape:
Gordon Sinclair, "America: The Good Neighbor," Toronto 1973.Guests:
Jonnie Hargis, suspended for a week without pay from his position as
research librarian at UCLA.
Liza Go, union representative at the Coalition Of Union Employees.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Correction to Democracy Now in Exile: Hargis is a library assistant at
ucla. CUE represents clerical workers at UC system. AFT is the union for
represented librarians.dan
Daniel C. Tsang
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .UCLA Library Assistant Suspended for Mass E-mailing Critical of U.S.
http://www.ala.org/alonline/news/2001/011015.html#uclaemail"A library assistant at the University of California/Los Angeles was
suspended without pay for one week, September 17*21, after sending a mass
e-mail message criticizing American support for what he called apartheid
policies in Israel and the bombing of Iraq. Jonnie Hargis, an assistant in
reference and instructional services at the Young Research Library, told
the Daily Bruin campus newspaper that he was simply responding to a
patriotic mass mailing sent to him by a coworker."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 08:42:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dan Tsang <dtsang[at]lib.uci.edu>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan[at]well.com>
Subject: [Subv] UCLA pay-docking story update (fwd)Feel free to circ...
Our October 5 show on Jonnie Hargis, the library assistant (not librarian)
at UCLA whose pay was docked for a week after he responded to a mass
e-mail with one defending Palestinians, has led to follow-up stories by
media outlets nationwide that contacted Subversity. Many had seen our
press release on the Technology and Politics list by Declan McCullough.
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02627.html. In addition, the Daily
Californian today ran a story on the case.Our Oct 5 interview on Subversity with Hargis is now archived on the
Subversity RealAudio archive page:http://falco.kuci.uci.edu/~dtsang/subversity/realaudio.htm
Click on Latest Archived Show.Here is the UCLA Library policy that was sent to Hargis the same day he
was suspended, September 14. It's cited in some of the articles. UCLA
released a copy to AP.======================================================
To: Unit Plus (for staff distribution)
Please remind your staff that sending unsolicited emails containing
political, religious, or even patriotic messages to groups such as
units, departments, or other library lists is an unacceptable use of
library email. This is true for messages which are original,
forwarded, and responses to other messages.Recipients of these unsolicited email messages may have very different
views and should not be subjected to what they may interpret as
electronic harrassment by other library staff members. While this is
particularly important now during this national crisis, it is a general
policy.Alison Bunting
Janice Koyama
Terry Ryan
Rita Scherrei
Jan Wildman..............................................
The follow-up coverage:
Daily Californian (UC Berkeley):
http://www.dailycal.org/article.asp?id=6643
UCLA Librarian Appeals Suspension For Mass E-mail
Letter Sent to Co-Workers Criticized U.S. Foreign PolicyDiscuss this article in the Daily Cal forums.
By SARAH MOURRA
Daily Cal Staff Writer
Monday, October 15, 2001
....AP story:
http://www8.cnn.com/2001/US/10/13/rec.attacks.academic.ap/index.html
College staff find chilling free speech climate
October 13, 2001 Posted: 3:42 PM EDT (1942 GMT)................................................................
Democracy Now in Exile! October 11, 2001 show
http://www.webactive.com/pacifica/exile.htmlhttp://stream.realimpact.org/rihurl.ram?file=webactive/exile/dn20011011.ra&start="43:56.2"
UNIVERSITY WORKERS WALK OUT ON PATRIOTISM AS THE US WAGES WAR
Guests:
* Jonnie Hargis, suspended for a week without pay from his position as
research librarian at UCLA.
* Liza Go, union representative at the Coalition Of Union Employees..............................
dan
Daniel C. Tsang
Host, Subversity, Fridays, 5-6 p.m.
KUCI, 88.9 FM and Web-cast live via http://kuci.org
Subversity: http://go.fast.to/sv; E-mail: subversity[at]kuci.org
Daniel Tsang, KUCI, PO Box 4362, Irvine CA 92616
UCI Tel: (949) 824-4978; UCI Fax: (949) 824-2700
UCI Office: 380 Main Library
Member, National Writers Union (http://www.nwu.org)
AWARE: http://go.fast.to/aware
WWW News Resource Page: http://go.fast.to/news
Personal home page: http://go.fast.to/ar
________________________________________________________________________top
7. Law Professor Sparks a New Debate Over Flaws in Digital-Copyright Act
http://chronicle.com/free/2001/10/2001101202t.htm
Jessica Litman, a Wayne State University law professor who is an expert on
copyright law, has prompted renewed debate among scholars about the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act with her book Digital Copyright (Prometheus Books,
2001). In the book, she argues that copyright holders and owners crafted
the law, and that consumers' interests were ignored.Q. Why do you suggest to consumers that widespread noncompliance with the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act might be beneficial?A. ... People don't obey laws that they don't understand, that they don't
believe in. ... So I think if we have egregious laws on the books, and I
believe the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is one such, that they're not
going to work, that they're not going to work because people aren't going
to obey them. And the effort of trying to enforce them by hauling
individuals into court for their private noncommercial use of works they
are licensed to see is bad [public relations], and likely to be
ineffective.
________________________________________________________________________top
8. Anti-terrorism legislation
ACLU "Bitterly Disappointed" in House-Senate Joint Passage of
Anti-Terrorism Legislationhttp://www.aclu.org/news/2001/n101201c.html
"'This bill has simply missed the mark of maximizing security and, at the
same time, minimizing any adverse effects on America's freedoms,' said
Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington National Office. 'Most
Americans do not recognize that Congress has just passed a bill that would
give the government expanded power to invade our privacy, imprison people
without due process and punish dissent.'"..................
You can tell how your congresscritter voted on the unsuccessful
attempt to send back t to committee -- a good idea -- which failed 73-345:
http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2001&rollnumber=385The 339-79 final roll call vote to approve the USA Act v2.0:
http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2001&rollnumber=386Text of USA Act v2.0:
http://www.house.gov/rules/sensen_028.pdfBackground on debate:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02652.html---
http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47549,00.html
House Endorses Snoop Bill
By Declan McCullagh (declan[at]wired.com)
2:00 a.m. Oct. 13, 2001 PDT
WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Friday
afternoon to hand unprecedented surveillance powers to police.
Just hours after the Senate approved its version of the anti-terrorism
bill, House legislators followed suit by voting 339-79 to ease limits
on wiretapping and Internet monitoring.
The big difference: The House attached an expiration date to the "USA
Act" (PDF). The wiretap sections expire in December 2004 -- unless the
president decides it is in the "national interest" to extend them
until December 2006.
During the five-hour debate, legislators complained that House leaders
had forced a vote before anyone had a chance to review the 175-page
bill. Early in the morning, top House Republicans met privately and
abruptly agreed to use the Senate's anti-terrorism bill instead of a
more moderate one that their colleagues had expected.
Democrats were the most strident critics of that decision. Barney
Frank (D-Massachusetts) said: "What we have today is an outrageous
procedure: A bill, drafted by a handful of people in secret, comes to
us without a committee review and immune to amendment."
Frank was talking about a rule handed down from GOP leaders on Friday
morning that banned any changes to the USA Act before the vote.[...]
From POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/........................
From: Michael Givel [mailto:mgivel[at]earthlink.net]
Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2001 9:13 AM
To: toeslist[at]yahoogroups.com; civic-values[at]civic.net
Subject: [toeslist] A Handy Chart Showing the AntiTerrorism ActThe American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has done a splendid job
of organizing the differences among the PATRIOT and USA Acts,
along with Bush/Ashcroft's original wish-list called the
Anti-terrorism Act (ATA), in simple tabular form for easy
comparison.http://www.aclu.org/congress/patriot_chart.html
________________________________________________________________________top
9. RIAA Wants to Hack Your PC
Text of original RIAA amendment to the anti-terrorism bill, which RIAA says
it no longer supports:
http://www.wartimeliberty.com/article.pl?sid=01/10/14/1756248---
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,47552,00.html
RIAA Wants to Hack Your PC
By Declan McCullagh (declan[at]wired.com)
2:00 a.m. Oct. 15, 2001 PDTWASHINGTON -- Look out, music pirates: The recording industry wants
the right to hack into your computer and delete your stolen MP3s.It's no joke. Lobbyists for the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) tried to glue this hacking-authorization amendment onto
a mammoth anti-terrorism bill that Congress approved last week.An RIAA-drafted amendment, according to a draft obtained by Wired News,
would immunize all copyright holders -- including the movie and e-book
industry -- for any data losses caused by their hacking efforts or
other computer intrusions "that are reasonably intended to impede or
prevent" electronic piracy.In an interview Friday, RIAA lobbyist Mitch Glazier said that his
association has abandoned plans to insert that amendment into
anti-terrorism bills -- and instead is supporting a revised amendment
that takes a more modest approach."It will not be some special exception for copyright owners," Glazier
said. "It will be a general fix to bring back current law." Glazier is
the RIAA's senior vice president of government relations and a former
House aide.The RIAA's interest in the USA Act, an anti-terrorism bill that the
Senate and the House approved last week, grew out of an obscure part
of it called section 815. Called the "Deterrence and Prevention of
Cyberterrorism" section, it says that anyone who breaks into computers
and causes damage "aggregating at least $5,000 in value" in a one-year
period would be committing a crime.If the current version of the USA Act becomes law, the RIAA believes,
it could outlaw attempts by copyright holders to break into and
disable pirate FTP or websites or peer-to-peer networks. Because the
bill covers aggregate damage, it could bar anti-piracy efforts that
cause little harm to individual users, but meet the $5,000 threshold
when combined.________________________________________________________________________top
10. Hayden, Strauch Seek ALA Presidency
The ALA Nominating Committee announced its nominees for
ALA offices October 13. Seeking the 2003-2004 ALA
presidency are Carla Hayden, executive director of the Enoch
Pratt Free Library in Baltimore; and Katina Strauch, head of
collection development at the College of Charleston Libraries
in South Carolina. The committee also selected 81 candidates
for ALA Council who will be named in the December issue of
American Libraries.Ballot mailing for the election will begin March 4 to all ALA
members current as of January 31. Candidates' statements will
appear in the March issue of AL. The results of the president's
race and the race for seats on ALA Council will be posted
May 2 on the ALA Web site as well as in the June/July issue of
AL.Barbara J. Ford, assistant commissioner at the Chicago Public
Library, chaired the nine-member Nominating Committee.
________________________________________________________________________top
11. Subscribing to IFACTION and Other E-lists
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 10:44:14 -0500
From: "Don Wood" <dwood[at]ala.org>Subscribing to IFACTION and Other E-lists
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/elists.htmlALA E-LISTS
ALADNOW is a discussion list of the ALA Library Advocacy Network for
idea sharing, updates and legislative alerts of special interest to
library advocates.ALANEWS is a subscription service to obtain news releases online,
issued by the ALA Public Information Office.ALAOIF is an unmoderated discussion list of the Office for Intellectual
Freedom.ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library
Association Washington Office.IFACTION is a news-only, no-discussion e-list of the Intellectual
Freedom Action Network (IFAN) and the Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Several intellectual freedom news items are posted daily.OTHER E-LISTS
ACLU CAMPUS MAILING LIST is maintained by the American Civil Liberties
Union.ACLU CYBER-LIBERTIES UPDATE is maintained by the American Civil
Liberties Union.THE ACLU LEGISLATIVE NETWORK (ACTION) is maintained by the American
Civil Liberties Union.ACLU NEWSFEED is maintained by the American Civil Liberties Union.
ATTACKS ON THE FREEDOM TO LEARN ONLINE is published by the People For
the American Way Foundation.DIGITAL FREEDOM NETWORK is a free service of the Digital Freedom
Network.EDUCATION ACTIVIST ONLINE is published by the People For the American
Way Foundation.THE EPIC ALERT is a free biweekly publication of the Electronic Privacy
Information Center.FAIFE-L is a discussion list devoted to libraries, librarianship and
intellectual freedom. FAIFE-L is an electronic forum intended to foster
communications among IFLA members and others concerned
with the issues related to the work of FAIFE (Free Access to
Information and Freedom of Expression). The aim is to facilitate the
exchange of information and opinions.FEN NEWSWIRE E-MAIL SERVICE is a free service of the Free Expression
Network.FINDLAW NEWS SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION is a free service of FINDLAW
NEWS.GLOBAL INTERNET LIBERTY CAMPAIGN is a free service of the Global
Internet Liberty Campaign.KIDS SPEAK ONLINE is a free service from the American Booksellers for
Freedom of Expression.POLICY POSTS are reports on the latest public policy issues affecting
civil liberties online, maintained by the Center for Democracy and
Technology.POLITECH - the moderated mailing list of politics and technology
reports many intellectual freedom news items.RIGHT-WING WATCH ONLINE is published by the People For the American Way
Foundation.________________________
Don Wood
Program Officer/Communications
American Library Association
Office for Intellectual Freedom
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
1-800-545-2433, ext. 1 + 4225
Fax: 312-280-4227
dwood[at]ala.org
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/
http://www.ala.org/cipa/cipalegalfund.html
intellectual freedom @ your library
Free People Read Freely*
________________________________________________________________________top
12. CIPA legal defense fund
To: Our Colleagues
From: Office for Intellectual Freedom and ALA Development OfficeDuring this difficult time, librarians must continue to be at the
forefront of efforts to preserve and promote access to information
and free expression, not an easy task anywhere, any time.In this light, we need your help today.
On March 20, 2001, the American Library Association (ALA) filed suit
to challenge the Childrens Internet Protection Act (CIPA). This Act
requires public libraries that receive federal funding to install and
enforce the use of blocking software on all computers with Internet
access.ALA filed suit, not only because of the flawed nature of filtering
software, but also because CIPA violates the First Amendment and
hinders the ability of libraries to fulfill their responsibility to
provide access to information.A trial date has been set for February 14, 2002. For the most current
information on the legal challenge, please visit
http://www.ala.org/cipa.In order to meet funding needs for this legal challenge, ALA
launched its campaign to raise $1.3 million for the CIPA Legal Fund.
Thanks to many ALA member libraries, divisions, chapters, affiliates,
and others, we are nearly halfway to our fund-raising goal.Please visit http://www.ala.org/cipa/cipalegalfund.html to make your
gift to the CIPA Legal Fund and join ALA in our fight to protect
intellectual freedom and equity of access. Please consider a
contribution that will express your personal commitment to keeping
Americas libraries safe from censorship.By defending intellectual freedom, even during times of uncertainty,
librarians help to ensure that intellectual freedom will remain one
of our most treasured freedoms.
________________________________________________________________________top
13. Nemine Dissentiente... with no dissent?
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2001 21:03:00 -0400
From: Mark Rosenzweig <iskra[at]earthlink.net>
To: alacoun[at]ala.org, alaoif[at]ala.org
Cc: plgnet-l[at]listproc.sjsu.edu, srrtac-l[at]ala.org
Reply to: iskra[at]earthlink.netNemine Dissentiente... with no dissent?
Something tells me --and maybe I'm indulging myself in being too
optimistic to counter my feelings of bleak despair at the grand
Guignol theater of war and the stupefying video spectacle of those here
interviewed by the press after viewing it all on their TVs while they
ate dinner and after listening to experts on anthrax and SCUD missiles
-- that there is going to be some critical point at which large numbers
of Americans in the US are going to actually want to debate the
manifold implications of what is going on "in their name."The very fact that there is this awesomely seamless agreement among
public intellectuals and politicians featured in the mass media that
'there are no "doves" in this war,' makes me think that, in this
obvious lie, they are simply projecting their own shared fear of
breaking the appearance of a consensus being so carefully cultivated by
those who write their paychecks and that they are well aware of the
fact that there is a potentially disturbing, growing popular concern
about what amounts to a new Crusade, projected to last for many years,
in which the people are being asked to sacrifice a great deal in order
to see that its vacuousness is vindicated.That means, curiously enough, that perhaps people in towns and schools,
in universities and cities, will seek out those enclaves where dissent
and debate are not taboo. On the contrary. Contariness is somehow in
the American spirit, although --granted -- often dormant for years.The most obvious of these public (semi-public and even private)
institutions, so often under-valued and ready to be budget-cut or even
eliminated at the first sign of financial difficulties, are local
libraries, oft-overlooked as maintaining in their quiet way -- in the
face of all those official forces which want to tell us 'what's what',
in defense of the public's right to know, the right to think for
oneself, to dissent, to challenge the opinion-makers mobilized now in
what admittedly is a 'crisis' , situation being unfortunately escalated
for ever-more dubious reasons as I write this -- an essential aspect of
democratic culture we are loath to give up.I predict that little by little, perhaps beginning among those
thousands being layed-off from their jobs in waves beginning long
before the Twin Towers fell but which continues somehow despite all the
corporate flag-waving and the media-talk of the US being "totally
united", that there is, in fact, going to be an increased constituency
for and popular interest in libraries, a slow realization that they,
among few institutions in town, are possible havens where scepticism
about 'what's going on and why?' (not just now, but always) can be
pursued despite what the pundits say is certain and where people can
always find the means, the tools to deal with it personally and
politically.And perhaps most importantly, where one can do so in the company of the
community, in the productive and protected solitude which the soul
finds, figuratively or literally, only in the company of concerned
others, in the 'polis' -- which is still, ostensibly, 'open for
business' -- be it silent or disputatious.To deliberate and to seek to understand in community with others -- an
exercise which, without flag-waving and singing of "God Bless America",
is the precondition of democracy. This is something which, without
exercise, without application of moral and social responsibility, can
allow community itself to become so fragmented, frayed, corrupted that,
even as Old Glory waves as ostentatiously as it now does on each and
every physical structure, it only pathetically symbolizes for more and
more a hoped-for unity which has nothing to do with the reality of
American life or effective social solidarity...To deliberate in the community, the public sphere, the 'commons', an
area of life that can be, as now, as it is under the influence of
so-called neo-liberalism, untended, except by the organized forces of
what we now call 'corporate globalization' leaves us spiritually,
intellectually united only in fear and hatred of "the Other", an
'other' which resists 'our' globalization so violently that they will,
in their long-ignored frustration, commit unspeakable acts of terror on
a mass scale, before our uncomprehending eyes.And it leaves us willing, in forgetfulness of the past, to believe our
destiny abides in an imposed "common interest" insured, we are told,
by infringements on our rights, infringements and violations we can
turn around and find codified, institutionalized, into a whole new
'culture of fear' which we never wanted for ourselves our friends our
families, our communities, our nation.The library is the little lighthouse whose beacon, still shining though
under attack more than ever, is the institution to which logically the
community should and, in my optimism, believe will turn in these times
of trouble, not to find more flag-bedecked tokens of national unity,
but to find the concrete embodiment of the raison d'etre of 'our
Republic for which we stand, etc.'I am reminded of the panic caused by the domestic "terrorism" of the
70s ( remember the anti-war movement, the New Left, 'even' the civil
rights movement, ) and how, ignorant for too long that it was
happening, we found terrorism and subversion had become the pretext of
COINTELPRO, a domestic spying operation of the FBI, exposed only by an
illegal break-in by a citizens' group of the secret FBI offices near
Philly. Only when these papers were published in photocopies, the
evidence -- the dreadful, shameful evidence -- of what was being deadly
done on their dime to prevent "terrorism": a full rejection of
democratic norms and rule of law in which America's FBI spied (and not
just spied) on Americans themselves and, in the end, we found
ourselves with lawless agencies of the government ranged, not against
terrorism, but against all dissent.Our memories are short. But books fortunately preserve this story for
us and for future generations.The book I have just re-read this week-end, "Spying on America: The
FBI's Domestic Counter-intelligence Program" (1992, Praeger) by former
FBI executive James Kirkpatrick Davis (hardly a radical in his
sympathies) is well worth considering in light of the measures being
considered as unanimously acceptable to the American people. Once
again, in the fight against terrorism, measures so many concrete
aspects and implications of which seem to remain obscure to
politicians, pundits and the people alike -- are being undertaken. This
time, true, as an aspect of a fight against real 'terrorism', which
despite the immense scale of destruction and the horror produced by its
isolated acts, remains a "tactic" and not a country or a "movement"
against which one can declare conventional or even unconventional war.
But the parallels with the domestic spying of the 70s are chilling to
say the least, especially when we consider the creation of a virtually
unaccountable Homeland Security office.I quote the last page of this expose of COINTELPRO, one of the most
recent organized efforts to allow an agency to spy on the nation in the
interests of national security without ordinary accountability within
the framework of law and constitutionality:"The United States as the oldest republic in the world, should know as
much or more than any nation on earth about protecting individual
liberties. America's more than two-centuries-old Constitution would
certainly seem to attest to this. However, the matter of protecting the
Constitution remains exceedingly difficult -- utilizing the machinery
of government to protect liberties without losing them in the
process."And where can one read Fitzpatrick's book, "Spying on America" and
ponder the implications of his 'insider's view' today?Why, [at]your_library!
Sincerely,
Mark Rosenzweig
ALA Councilor at large
PS: The book, once again, is (at the Library of Congress...)
Personal Name: Davis, James Kirkpatrick.
Main Title: Spying on America : the FBI's domestic counterintelligence
program / James Kirkpatrick Davis.Published/Created: New York : Praeger, 1992.
Description: x, 192 p. ; 25 cm.
ISBN: 0275934071 (alk. paper)
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [185]-187) and index.
Subjects: United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Political crimes and offenses--Investigation--United
States--History--20th century.
Political persecution--United States--History--20th century.LC Classification: HV8144.F43 D38 1992
Dewey Class No.: 364.1/32/0973 20
Geog. Area Code: n-us---
____________________________CALL NUMBER: HV8144.F43 D38 1992 Copy 1
-- Request in: Jefferson or Adams Bldg General or Area Studies Reading Rms
-- Status: Charged--Due on IndefiniteMark Rosenzweig
Director
RCMS/Library & Archives
NYC"Nihil humani a me alienum puto"
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14. The Library Awareness Program: The FBI in the Bookshelves
Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 11:35:09 -0500
From: "Don Wood" <dwood[at]ala.org>
To: Intellectual Freedom Action News <ifaction[at]ala1.ala.org>
Reply to: dwood[at]ala.orgThe Library Awareness Program: The FBI in the Bookshelves
http://hometown.aol.com/paleymark/library.htmSee also
Surveillance in the Stacks: The FBI's Library Awareness Program
http://info.greenwood.com/books/0313267/0313267154.html
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15. College staff find chilling free speech climate
http://www8.cnn.com/2001/US/10/13/rec.attacks.academic.ap/index.html
NEW YORK (AP) --Around the country, college faculty and staff who express
opinions on the terrorist attacks and U.S. bombardment of Afghanistan are
facing rebuke in public and private, suspension and investigation. At least
two professors were asked to leave their schools as a security measure.Colleges campuses take pride in nurturing debate, but that tradition is being
tested in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. People
across the political spectrum are feeling the chill.________________________________________________________________________top
16. The War on Dissent (Boulder Weekly)
Has peaceable assembly become a crime?
http://www.boulderweekly.com/newsspin.html
by Brian Klocke
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution addresses a citizen's freedom
of speech and the right to peaceably assemble. The Fourth Amendment protects
citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. These constitutional
rights, as well as the long-cherished principles of freedom of association
and innocence until guilt is proven, are foundations of American freedom
that set the United States apart from most of the world. But the question
must be asked: Are these civil liberties endangered by the current War on
Terrorism? Is being critical of corporate, governmental and global economic
policies now a crime?
________________________________________________________________________top
17. Items from Benton's Communications-related Headlines
'RADICAL' RADIO SHOWS FORCED FROM THE NET
Issue: Information Freedom
Even before Congress' new anti-terrorism bill has been signed into law,
someone apparently used it to get three Internet radio shows yanked off the
Net. Targeted were IRA Radio, Al Lewis Live and Our Americas, Net radio
shows carried by Cosmic Entertainment. IRA Radio broadcasts Irish news and
politics, including interviews with alleged terrorists. Al Lewis Live was
hosted by iconoclastic actor/activist Lewis, better known as Grandpa on the
1960s TV show The Munsters. Our Americas was a Spanish-language show about
rebels in Latin America. The shows were forced offline last month after
someone identifying himself as a federal agent reportedly made a telephone
call to Cosmic's Internet service provider, Hypervine, saying that the
company's assets could be seized for containing pro-terrorist materials,
according to Travis Towle, founder and CEO of Cosmic Entertainment. Towle
doubts that the caller was really a federal agent, but the fear of having
assets seized was convincing enough.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Janet Kornblum]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20011016/3541043s.htm)MOVES TO BLOCK INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC GO TOO FAR
Issue: Information Freedom
[Editorial] Since Sept. 11, the government has been eager to limit the
public's access to certain kinds of information. The USAToday's editorial
staff argues that "Americans are being asked to give up their rights to
information, with no evidence that it presents any real risk." They cite
examples of recent government efforts to control what the public sees, such
as President Bush's attempt to cut back the number of lawmakers who would
receive intelligence briefings, to eight of 535 members, and the
disappearance of information from some government Web sites. USAToday
suggests that these moves violate the very spirit of freedom that America is
fighting for. "They risk obliterating the checks on government decisions
that come when lawmakers and the general public know what the administration
is doing...If Americans are to continue supporting the war, it will be
crucial for them to know their enemy and know of their government's
successes and failures."
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: ]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20011016/3541029s.htm)
See Also:
CENSORSHIP MAKES SENSE
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20011016/3541026s.htm)FCC COMMISSIONER COPPS: "IN DEFENSE OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST"
Issue: FCC
On Monday, FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps delivered remarks entitles "In
Defense of the Public Interest" to the Federal Communications Bar
Association.
"The events of the last month demonstrate very dramatically that concepts
like the safety of the people and the public interest are not mere
abstracts, not just theories to endlessly debate," said Copps. "They are
instead the real time, real life bedrock that undergird our national life."
For the entire text: http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Copps/2001/spmjc105.html.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov)STOPPING SIGNALS FROM SATELLITE TV PROVES DIFFICULT
Issue: Television/Journalism
Last week, at the urging of the White House, the major television and cable
networks agreed not to run raw footage of Al Qaeda statements as they are
broadcast by the Al Jazeera network from Qatar, which appears to be Mr. bin
Laden's preferred conduit for communicating with the world. But because of
the privatization and deregulation of the international satellite business
in recent years, control of the nation's television signals is by no means
limited to the coterie of United States companies that the White House
turned to last week. In fact, the great majority of homes in the United
States have the option of receiving Al Jazeera directly using a satellite
dish antenna not much bigger than a pizza pan. For about four years, the
EchoStar Dish Network operation has been carrying Al Jazeera, in Arabic, as
a part of a premium tier of international channels. If any terrorists are in
the country waiting for televised word from Mr. bin Laden - with or without
hidden messages - last week's steps by the White House did next to nothing
to thwart them.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/15/business/media/15SAT.html)
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________________________________________________________________________top
18. Terrorism, the Internet and Free Access to Information (IFLA Statement)
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 15:51:44 +0100
From: Sophie Felfoldi <Sophie.Felfoldi[at]ifla.nl>
To: IFLA-L[at]INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CAPRESS RELEASE
Thursday, October 04, 2001For immediate release
Terrorism, the Internet and Free Access to Information
The recent terrorist attacks on New York and Washington shocked and
appalled librarians and information professionals around the world. The
loss of life and destruction of facilities, including 80 libraries, horrify
us. IFLA joins with our library colleagues and the people of the world in
mourning the innocent victims and extend our deepest sympathy and support
to the families and friends of victims, the survivors and others who have
suffered.Calls to restrict the core human rights to freedom of expression and free
access to information are reported in the wake of these tragic events. It
has been suggested that some of the suspected hijackers may have
communicated with each other by using Internet services at public
libraries. Terrorists are alleged to have used the World Wide Web to help
plan their outrages. Such implications are being used to justify
restrictions on free speech and freedom of information and increased
surveillance.But we have not heard the other side of the story. Use of Internet news
sites doubled during the week after the attacks. Families and friends used
email to check on the safety of their loved ones - across city and across
the world. Website operators responded to the thirst for news by bolstering
their servers and increasing the frequency of updates. The result was that
people throughout the world used websites and streaming audio and video
feeds to get up to the minute information on the events and their
aftermath.This demonstrates the force of the ideal of free access to information and
freedom of expression. It may be misused but it strengthens the peoples of
the world.The campaign against terrorism is to be won. A vital strategy is to
safeguard the best access to information. Barriers to the free flow of
information should be removed, especially those that promote inequality,
poverty and despair.The Chair of the IFLA/FAIFE Committee Mr. Alex Byrne, said:
"We should build respect and understanding between the diverse cultures of
the world. We should help construct communities where people of different
backgrounds can live together as neighbors. Freedom is something for which
we must fight, not by limiting it but by strengthening it."The commitment to intellectual freedom is a core responsibility for the
library and information profession worldwide. Libraries have a
responsibility to guarantee and facilitate access to expressions of
knowledge and intellectual activity. To this end, libraries provide access
without fear or favour. That openness is a safeguard of our freedoms. It
cannot be limited without endangering those freedoms.IFLA proclaims that the libraries and information profession of the world
will respond to these tragic events by redoubling our efforts to see free
access to information and freedom of expression worldwide.
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