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Effects of the Patriot Act on Librarians
Quaryon writes "The Patriot Act apears to have some chilling effects with respect to libraries and booksellers. An FBI agent can get a warrant, without any evidence, in order to compel a librarian to reveal lending details on a suspect. The librarian cannot tell anyone about the search, including the target of the search, and the details of how many such searches are done are not made public. Articles at SFGate News and Common Dreams give more details." We had a related Ask Slashdot a few weeks ago.
just like in the movie Seven
"There is no teacher but the enemy."-Mazer Rackham
The libraries are provided FREE of charge by the government. Therefore why shouldn't they be able to get the information on what books you have read. Besides it's not like they weren't already doing this. Now that they are officially stating that they are allowed this would in essence give you more rights, since you know that your rights are not being violated. One also has to look at the cost versus the gain. By having the FBI have access to your reading habits, it could save you from being in a building that gets hit by a plane. That is a good trade off. Even if not one terrorist is busted from this whole inactment, everyone in the trade towers and on the flights would have definitely traded this for their lives. Stand up for things that matter, like P2P networks. Tracing your personal phone calls. Storing credit card numbers, and let these ones pass. Then when you speak you will be heard louder and not thought of as a whiner who whines at every single legislation that is passed. You have to know what battles to pick, and which ones not to.
"You have no privacy; get over it."
As far as I care, the federal government is welcome to look into me and my life. They already have my spending history (credit report), job history (taxes), (lack_of_a) criminal record (DUH!), medical records (USAF), and a slew of other details I really don't need to know about.
If (and only if) the Patriot Act data given to the FBI is used soley by the investigative arms of the government, and not a business or private citizen unassociated with the feds, I have no problem with this. A friend of mine can be suboeneaed as to the two kittie cats and mass of CDRs in my apartment, and if they pick the right friend I won't ever know about it. So what if the federal government can know that I read fantasy novels and sci fi; it's their job to be snoopse, and they're welcome to it.
This is just one example of the ineptniess of the Bush administration in tracking down terrorist cells in America..
If I am Taliban I will not go to the library to get infrokmation on explosives, airplanes, airports, and such things..
I wil use a proxy adn get it off the web while at a coffe shop within a barnes and nobles or borders book store..
Or I could use kinkos in fact..
Ashcroft is real stupid idiot!
Please undesrtand this is not to asy that I am not for some action on thepart of Aashcroft and the Bush administration..I just wish they would actually go to use who are skilled and sk us to educate them on how to do this rather than act like stumbling fools..
Well aashcroft and Bush are you listening.. I can sertve in this manner if you guys get your heads out of your asses and ask..
Don't Tread on OpenSource
What makes me curious is how the hell this fits in "Your Rights Online..." This is Slashdot, not the ACLU discussion forum. Or has this become a pedistal for michael to spew his liberal propaganda. God damn they need to fire his ass.