lol

Seriously though:
http://www.dailytech.com/US+Border+Patrol+Gains+Power+to+Seize+iPods+Laptops/article12562.htm

American Border patrol have the right to seize iPods and laptops.  All they need is a suspicion.


"Privacy advocacy groups are outraged and considering legal action.  "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,""

Border security in the US is insane.  I'll never visit the south, I think I'll keep my rights.

Why search laptops and ipods when there is the internet?  I could easily upload all of my ILEGAL WAREZ to my FTP site and then redownload it when I get back home.  Or I could just wait until I got home to download it in the first place.

These anti pirating groups are crazy, it amazes me what they get away with in court.  The RIAA has been suing individuals for well over 100 grand because they were caught with pirated music.  Now they're infiltrating border security to try and catch people with illegally downloaded music. 

Like you said, that's like trying to stave off a locust infestation with a fly swatter.  Totally ineffective at preventing piracy.  Which in itself wouldn't bother me but why do they have to violate human rights while doing it. 

This is serious.  Border Patrol can seize your property just because.  Think about this.  When did the government get powerful enough to do this?  It's fucking backwards, we shouldn't be afraid of our government, they should be afraid of us. 

Why did I get a subscription notification for your response?  I did not subscribe to this thread.  How do I unsubscribe??

It happens at random, Joe, at least as far as I can tell. I've apparently subscribed to everything Nitro and Chef post...

This is absolutely ridiculous. If there was a legitimate reason (IE, a confirmed terrorist threat along the border), I'd be more than happy to surrender my laptop, and probably any warez that were present, to the US Border Patrol.

I know folks in the border patrol, they're all level headed people, and recognize that there are larger threats than piracy along the border, and I can't imagine they'll take too well to have RIAA litigators breathing down their necks as they try to do their jobs.

Everybody needs to subscribe to my posts. They're awesome.