U.S. Border Agents Can Now Detain Laptops For No Reason

[rogueyam]

They've ALWAYS been allowed to seize anything at the border for NO reason. They have merely told us now. Before' date=' they never said they were allowed to do it- they just did it. So the article points out.

 

Seriously![/quote']

 

My understanding is that persons entering the country have always been subject to search without warrant or probable cause. Is there really anything new here? If so I don't see what it is.

 

Does Yambi actually read these threads? I'm starting to think we're dealing with a Yambot that simply spits out key right-wing buzzwords, sort of an artificial intelligence. If I need an animal to parrot my words, I'll rent a yammering monkey, thanks.

 

BTW: I apologize for demeaning the value of intelligence by linking it to Yammers.

 

I think I hear the Yamommie calling her boy over in this thread

 

You need me too much. I'm feeling smothered by our relationship.

 

 

[chelseafan]

Check out: www.infowar.com

Alex Jones' date=' Martial Law.

Quite an eye opener!

 

Loose Change, Final Cut, shows that the "story" the US gov is telling about 9/11 is all bull shit!

Many unanswered questions, like how can steel melt with just jet fuel burning? the temps are no where near hot enough!

How about all the explosions?

Why was *** all *** the metal from all the buildings that fell down quickly disposed of and *** none *** of the metal was allowed to be analyzed by FEMA or anyone? Maybe they might fins traces of thermite? which *** will *** melt steel.

 

Martial Law...video available on the internet, a real eye opener![/quote']

 

This just shows that the general public knows squat about science.

 

The steel does not have to melt. The high temperatures causes the steel to lose strength. Just think of a blacksmith. He heats the iron and is then able to hammer it into various shapes.

 

The stored gravitational potential energy of the structure was the source of the "explosions".

 

The debris was taken to a site, where engineers and other investigators examined the beams, rivets, etc.

 

FEMA is not an investigative agency! Its purpose is to provide emergency aid to people that have lost homes/businesses due to a disaster.

 

Now you see how a false premise, for a steel beam to fail you have to melt it, leads to a whole bunch of absurdity.

 

Sound like witchcraft too me.

 

Burn him.....burn him

 

[Steve]

FEMA is not an investigative agency! Its purpose is to provide emergency aid to people that have lost homes/businesses due to a disaster.

 

 

Again, at the risk of sounding like some militia man from Idaho, FEMA has the ability to delcare de facto martial law. Suspend habeus corpus, etc.

 

Lincoln and FDR violated the constitution under the guise of a national emergency (Civil War and World War 2), rights were retored after but I'm not so sure it will happen again.

 

I've long heard FEMA is how we'll eventually lose our rights. There will ALWAYS be a crisis, either economic, political or military in this country as well as England. The governments are sharing info now.

 

My mom used to scare with all the Revelations, one world government stuff which I thought couldn't happen. (southern baptist moms reek havoc on their kids psyche trust me...lol)

 

I'm starting to believe that stuff now frankly. I think its too late. Anyone who will run for high office, be it President or Prime Minister will be nullified by the system before they get close.

[Steve]

What has never been fully explained is who in the chain of command stopped the investigation of moslems taking flying lessons, etc. that FBI agents reported well before 911.

 

Some how who ever gave the word to stop investigating it mysteriously stopped.

 

If I were in Congress heading that committee, I would start with her direct superior. Tell him you get the blame unless you can furnish something from your superiors NOT to investigate and I would go up the chain from there. Who ever can't gets the blame.

 

Some one made the wrong call, accidentally or deliberately. "Man up" and take it.

 

Furthermore we didn't need the Patriots Act to catch the hijackers. We knew all along but failed to act on it. The fallacy that administration spit out is that the Patriot's Act would have caught them. Its misnamed as well. They give it that name so you will seem unapatriotic if you argue against it.

 

Futhermore, we didn't need to stop subsequent acts. In fact, its made things worse. Given the country license to do all kinds of BS. There were more than enough things at the government's disposal to catch terrorists. We've been ease dropping on cell phones and emails for years.

 

When the cold war ended and the CIA was trying to justify its budget in teh '90s it started spying on European companies and reporting talks on takeovers or recording business secrets.

 

We're already there folks. This thread. This post. Everything you've said on a cell phone or written in an email is known. And the fact that you've been to Asia and bought legal pussy, is the trump card they can use IF you get out of line for ANYTHING, even if you're fully within your (past) rights.

[Old Hippie]

What I don't get is, if Al-Quada was so embedded in the USA with all the sleeper cells, and what not, then why no further attacks? Seems to me they should have just kept up while we were feeling/not recovered from the first one.

 

And all these arrests of supposed terrorist suspects, we heard about the arrests, but that was it...what about the trials? and any further information? Seems a lot of bullshit has been thrown on the American people.

[Steve]

Tons of it. Anyone held from a few years ago can't provide any new information. The organization has changed. Their information, if they have any is dated right now. Also, now that they have been held captive they are of little use to al Qaida now. They can't be used for anything, their governments and every government on earth knows who they are. They can't get a visa anywhere.

 

The government has successfully used 911 to create a state of fear and erode civil liberties.

[rogueyam]

And all these arrests of supposed terrorist suspects, we heard about the arrests, but that was it...what about the trials? and any further information? Seems a lot of bullshit has been thrown on the American people.

 

You are making assumptions about the news media that I don't think are very intelligent.

 

[Coss]

OSX/Preferences/Security/FileVault - turn on file vault.

 

Link

 

Trust me' date=' if its approved by the US Government, it means they can crack it easily enough.

 

[/quote']

but not in 5 minutes at customs >)

[Old Hippie]

And all these arrests of supposed terrorist suspects' date=' we heard about the arrests, but that was it...what about the trials? and any further information? Seems a lot of bullshit has been thrown on the American people. [/quote']

 

You are making assumptions about the news media that I don't think are very intelligent.

 

 

Yeah, but coming from you...that doesn't mean much.

[mongatu]

The US Govt. has always had the right to inspect (i.e., search) whatever the fuck they want with or with out probably cause or even reasonable suspicion, when anyone, US Citizen or not, ENTERS THE COUNTRY. This is called a border search. This is a totally different situation than the rights you have once you have entered and are in the country. Boarder searches can be very intrusive and includes even a body cavity search if they want to do it. If you don't want to be subjected to the possibility of having to undergo a a border search, you have the option not to leave the country in the first place (or not to return ).

 

In the past, the customs agents exercised a lot of discretion about who and when to employ intrusive searches and they didn't pay too much attention to things like laptops, although they always had the lawful right to do so if they wanted to.

 

What has changed now is their policy on how they are applying this right they have always had to search whatever the fuck they want. They have formally adopted a policy of much more aggressively scrutinizing laptops and other digital devices and spelled out various rules and procedures for engaging in such scrutiny. But the point remains that they always had the right to do this. They just didn't used to do it all that much. And as was said by someone above, they do profile and target single males returning from LOS because they are searching for incriminating evidence to catch pedophiles or just people in possession of child porn, which could be a nude or almost nude photo of someone they "think" looks under age 18.

 

To the person who said they have nothing to hide so they are not worried. Just wait till some customs agent finds a revealing picture on your camera or laptop of some nice Thai girl who might in fact be 22 but looks to the asshole agent like she could be under 18, and then they decide to prosecute you for being in possession of child pornography. This is very real and possible scenario nowadays. Even though you might ultimately be acquitted or get the charges dismissed after getting a lawyer etc., it would be a major hassle and expense to deal with such problems.

 

So what to do. Well, "if one knows what they are doing," they can use a program like TrueCrypt to encrypt material one wants to keep private so that it absolutely cannot be decrypted ever (or in less than hundreds of years of supercomputing time). I specifically said, "if one knows what they are doing," because, if one doesn't use a program like TrueCrypt precisely correctly as well as take some additional measures to avoid certain potential vulnerabilities, one's data could possibly still be decrypted, however, it is not difficult to make it absolutely impossible for the govt or anyone else to decrypt or >>even discover there is something encrypted there you don't want them to see,<< again "if one knows what they are doing."

 

Even if one encrypts one's private data so that it is totally secure as well as invisible, it still would be a major inconvenience and expense to have one's laptop seized and detained for several months while the govt tries in vain to find something encrypted and incriminating. I would have to buy a replacement laptop immediately since I wouldn't want to be without a laptop for any length of time (more than a couple of days). So this new policy really sucks and if one is unlucky could be a major inconvenience for anyone who travels with a laptop.