On Wed, Oct 06, 2010 at 04:45:28PM -0400, Scott McEachern wrote: > On 10/06/10 16:01, Chris Cappuccio wrote: > >You are aware that US customs is regularly seizing laptop hard drives of > >people who enter the US, copying them, and returning them at a future date? > >This was challenged in court and naturally the government won their case. > > > >This is such a problem that some companies are mailing hard drives, instead > >of having people transport them on planes. Not that customs would stop at > >copying a mailed hard disk, but the chance that they bother to even look at > >a package is slim. > > > > Thank-you, Chris. No, I was not aware of that, but I am not the > least bit surprised. > > I have not travelled to the US since '98. Post-9/11 and the PATRIOT > act, I have no intention of returning to the US (I am a Canadian > citizen) due to similar stories, but I didn't know about that "fun" > fact. Everything since then hasn't "smelled right" to me. > > Believe it or not, I don't personally know anyone that has entered > the US post-9/11. When I think about it, everyone I know has been > on international flights that did not involve entering the US at > all. > > Thanks again for the information. I've had a long suspicion that if > I got to the border, I'd say "No" to something and would be denied > entry, so I haven't even tried. I miss Hawaii, but apparently it > doesn't miss me. ;) > I regularly travel between the US and Guatemala. Since i'm poor, I travel by bus. (Note: traveling by executive class on buses south of the US is better than first class on an airline!) At the Laredo border crossing, beyond the usual drug dogs and luggage x-rays, they now have a giant boom truck that x-rays the entire bus once everyone is off it!
I am very embarrassed and ashamed that my country is wasting so much money on silly things. The cost of those x-ray trucks has to be very high. Some of the other border crossings are better, but Laredo can take a very long time. Whenever I can, I prefer to walk across the bridge. Much quicker and less hassle. Frankly, it is why I am moving away from US. I like freedom over tyranny. Chris Bennett
