25 June 2007

Of Open Knowledge and Closed Minds

Extraordinary:

US university students will not be able to work late at the campus, travel abroad, show interest in their colleagues' work, have friends outside the United States, engage in independent research, or make extra money without the prior consent of the authorities, according to a set of guidelines given to administrators by the FBI.

Better shut down that pesky Internet thingy while you're at it - who knows what knowledge may be seeping out through it? (Via The Inquirer.)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Horrific!p

Anonymous said...

US university students will not be able to work late at the campus#2026;

Ha ha!! Graduate students now have an ally in the FBI, eh?

Methinks some ACLU legalbeagle wannabee is way, way too paranoid and finding sinister motives where none exist. I'm dismayed by anyone who is at all worried about the FBI's very reasonable heads-up memo. And, to the disappointment of America's overworked substitutes for lab rats (aka grad students) the FBI hasn't any power to keep anyone from working late or pulling an all-nighter in the campus library. Professors will be happy to learn that they aren't going to be restricted by the FBI as far as their overseas travel to conferences. Sheesh!

If one must worry, worry about something more likely -- like extraterrestrial abductions, perhaps.

It is because America has been so successful in keeping the jihad from the cafes that the cafes are unwilling to confront the jihad. —"Wretchard"

Glyn Moody said...

Well, it's not so much about the powers they may or may not have, but about the chilling effect of having these conversations.

Academic work is supposed to be open - that's how it progresses - so encouraging people to close up in this way just seems self-defeating.