It was a hoax: Homeland Security doesn't snoop on interlibrary loans [fs]

[Declan McCullagh <declan.mccullagh () gmail com>]

Previous Politech message:
http://www.politechbot.com/2005/12/24/does-homeland-security/

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Politech] Does Homeland Security cross-reference 
interlibrary loans to INS, other databases? [priv]
Date: 24 Dec 2005 14:36:03 -0500
From: John R Levine <johnl () iecc com>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
References: <43AD9002.2000800 () well com>

> Unless there is more to the following story than was reported, ...

In case a hundred people haven't already sent this in, the story turns out
to have been a complete hoax.  The student just made it up.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/12/24/students_tall_tale_revealed/

Seasons xmas and all that.

R's,
John



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Politech] Does Homeland Security cross-reference 
interlibrary loans to INS, other databases? [priv]
Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 13:59:23 -0600
From: Mihai Christodorescu <mihai () cs wisc edu>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
References: <43AD9002.2000800 () well com>

Declan McCullagh wrote:
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> From: Stephen Cobb, CISSP <scobb () cobb com>
> To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
>
> Unless there is more to the following story than was reported, I 
think the
> implications are more chilling than the headline-grabbing unapproved NSA
> taps, particularly since FISA approves virtually all taps anyway.


The story was later shown to be a hoax:

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-05/12-24-05/a01lo719.htm

Let us not get worked up over nothing.

Mihai

--
 - mihai () cs wisc edu - http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~mihai -
-------------------------------------------------------
  The man of knowledge must be able not only to love
 his enemies but also to hate his friends.
                                 - Friedrich Nietzsche
-------------------------------------------------------
    -- Feed the machine that burns in your head. --




-------- Original Message --------
Subject: HOAX: Re: [Politech] Does Homeland Security cross-reference 
interlibrary loans to INS, other databases? [priv]
Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 11:26:00 -0800
From: <xeni () xeni net>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>

Declan, this is a hoax. Debunking post at top of boingboing today.

(sent from out in the world, via keitai)
Xeni Jardin
co-editor, BoingBoing.net
correspondent, Wired, NPR, etc.
www.xeni.net




-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Politech] Does Homeland Security cross-reference 
interlibrary loans to INS, other databases? [priv]
Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 14:30:23 -0500
From: J.D. Abolins <jabolins () meydaonline com>
To: scobb () cobb com, declan () well com
References: <43AD9002.2000800 () well com>

Stephen and Declan,

I have been looking at that book situation -- many things in the original
story seemed off -- and there is an important update (see below). I'll post
more detailled overview with other references and commentary on my blog 
in a
day or two.

Meanwhile, I believe that the Standard-Times reporter caught it spot on 
when
he wrote, "The story's release came at a perfect storm in the news 
cycle" in
the midst of the various news reports of US domestic surveillance and 
spying.
Ten years ago, a "library book watchlist" story like this would been 
hard to
believe but, now, hard to not believe.

J.D. Abolins
Blog: http://www.20six.co.uk/jabolins

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-05/12-24-05/a01lo719.htm
<<<
Student admits he lied about Mao book
By AARON NICODEMUS, Standard-Times staff writer

NEW BEDFORD -- The UMass Dartmouth student who claimed to have been
visited by Homeland Security agents over his request for "The Little Red
Book" by Mao Zedong has admitted to making up the entire story.
The 22-year-old student tearfully admitted he made the story up to his
history professor, Dr. Brian Glyn Williams, and his parents, after being
confronted with the inconsistencies in his account.

Had the student stuck to his original story, it might never have been
proved false.

But on Thursday, when the student told his tale in the office of UMass
Dartmouth professor Dr. Robert Pontbriand to Dr. Williams, Dr.
Pontbriand, university spokesman John Hoey and The Standard-Times, the
student added new details.

The agents had returned, the student said, just last night. The two
agents, the student, his parents and the student's uncle all signed
confidentiality agreements, he claimed, to put an end to the matter.
But when Dr. Williams went to the student's home yesterday and relayed
that part of the story to his parents, it was the first time they had
heard it. The story began to unravel, and the student, faced with the
truth, broke down and cried.
<rest snipped>

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