---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: randy
Date: Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 8:47 PM
Subject: American federal agents can now take your laptop, iPods without
reason
...yes, and ANY electrical gadgetry they want, they can seize without
warrant. This is what happens when we allow the fed. gov't. year after year
to gain more and more power over us. The Pres. does things unilaterally now
like bringing in 150.000 Somalis to settle here as muslims who will never
assimilate and don't want to. they are lucky to know what an outhouse is. No
skills, nothing to offer but eventual trouble.
When I was a kid you only heard of the feds when a major national problem
occurred; now they own the media. Very bad news. Even Homeland Sec. is not
about terrorism at the borders - all they do is sit online looking for
pervs.
American federal agents can now take your laptop, iPods without
reason<http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/14987.cfm>
3 August 2008 22:42 by Andre "DVDBack23"
Yoskowitz<http://www.afterdawn.com/news/by_author.cfm/dvdback23>
According to new border search policies disclosed by the *Department of
Homeland Security*, federal agents may take your laptop or other media
devices for an "unspecified"
period<http://www.afterdawn.com/glossary/terms/period.cfm>of time even
without any suspicion of wrongdoing, in an effort to "prevent
terrorism."
Additionally, the officials may share any content of the laptop or device
with other agencies or private companies for "language
translation<http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/14987.cfm#>,
data decryption or other reasons."
The policies are dated as of July 16th by the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but the DHS says the
policies have been in effect for "some time now."*
"The policies . . . are truly alarming,"*
adds<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080103030.html?hpid=moreheadlines>Sen.
Russell Feingold, a Democrat from Wisconsin who has vowed to look into
the new border search policies. Feingold also plans to introduce legislation
that will force
<http://www.afterdawn.com/hardware/manufacturer.cfm/force>the
government to have "reasonable suspicion" for searches. The
legislation
will also limit racial and religious profiling during searches.
The policies effect anyone entering the
United<http://www.afterdawn.com/hardware/manufacturer.cfm/united>States,
including US citizens. Civil liberties and business travel groups
have been pressing for months to have the government disclose publicly these
policies, after receiving complaint after complaint from international and
US travelers that have had their laptops, iPods and even cell
phones<http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/14987.cfm#>taken,
sometimes for months at a time.
To quote exactly from the policies, federal
officers<http://www.blasteroids.com/games/details.cfm/officers>can
* "detain any device capable of storing information in digital or analog
form for a reasonable period of time"* to *"review and analyze information.
"* They may do this *"absent individualized suspicion."*
"Any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form" means
anything from iPods, laptops, cell phones and hard drives to, I kid you not,
books and "written materials commonly referred to as 'pocket trash' or
'pocket litter.'"
Although there are protections on "business
information<http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/14987.cfm#>and
attorney-client privileged material" there is no protection on
personal
data of citizens, including medical or financial records.*
"They're saying they can rifle through all the information in a traveler's
laptop without having a smidgen of evidence that the traveler is breaking
the law,"* said Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy and
Technology <http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/14987.cfm#>.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff wrote last month in USA Today
that* "the most dangerous contraband is often contained in laptop
computers<http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/14987.cfm#>or other
electronic devices."
* He recalled times where searches have uncovered "violent jihadist
materials" and hard drives full of child pornography.
Earlier this year the US Court of Appeals upheld the government's right to
conduct searches without any suspicion of illegal wrongdoing.
If you wish the the full policies, they are available here: Customs search
authority<http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/travel/admissability/search_authority.ctt/search_authority.pdf>
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