Federal Agents seize travel bloggers computer
Dec 30, 2009, 5:49 pm
#46
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From a pseudo fly on the wall at DHS HQ:
'We need some good press, like a high profile tewwowist related arrest. How about that Bin Laden guy?"
"Been looking for 8 years, can't find his cave in Hideoutistan."
"Who can we get?"
"How about some American Bloggers? We know where they live, he!! they're in the phone book. We can send agents there during daylight hours with no travel or perdiem expenses."
"Book 'em Danno!"
'We need some good press, like a high profile tewwowist related arrest. How about that Bin Laden guy?"
"Been looking for 8 years, can't find his cave in Hideoutistan."
"Who can we get?"
"How about some American Bloggers? We know where they live, he!! they're in the phone book. We can send agents there during daylight hours with no travel or perdiem expenses."
"Book 'em Danno!"
Dec 30, 2009, 5:50 pm
#47
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 53
I would also highly suggest calling the police on the TSA agents.... a subpoena is not a warrant and they would not be legally able to use force to collect on a subpoena. The regular police can be the best friend you ever had when dealing with bureaucrats gone mad.
Dec 30, 2009, 5:53 pm
#48
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Doesn't the government have something better to do with its time? Like actually checking out those names on the watch list? Or at least making sure that those on the list get flagged for secondary screening?
Dec 30, 2009, 6:15 pm
#49
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Go ahead. Make my day.
No warrant? No probable cause? You better get off my property now or I will deem you a threat to my health.
Dec 30, 2009, 6:31 pm
#51
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Dec 30, 2009, 6:39 pm
#52
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I skimmed the thread but I might have missed it. Steven Frischling is a member here on FT. Sorry if it's already been mentioned.
Dec 30, 2009, 6:53 pm
#53
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 464
"It was 'give it to us voluntarily or we will take every computer, blackberry and iPhone out of your house',"
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NEVER hand anything over voluntarily. If they have to ask for your permission then they have no authority to take it.
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NEVER hand anything over voluntarily. If they have to ask for your permission then they have no authority to take it.
Last edited by oldjonesy; Dec 30, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Dec 30, 2009, 7:05 pm
#54
Join Date: Apr 2009
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I looked at the subpoena and have a couple questions for those with legal expertise. Aren't subpoenas supposed to have somewhere on them the court that wants compliance information? The one I saw had no such information on it. Doesn't that invalidate the subpoena?
Dec 30, 2009, 7:20 pm
#55
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TSA can't find their butts with both hands behind them, but...
they persecute bloggers who post about non-classified regulations. In the meantime, they forget they allowed Abdulmurtallab to board a US-bound flight in spite of the fact 1) he was banned from flying to the UK; 2) his father turned him in to the US Embassy, 3) he arrived from Yemen in Lagos, and purchased a one-way ticket to DTW with cash, 4) he had been going to Yemen to terr school. A number of failures, and TSA was involved with some of it - UK MI-x was responsible for some of it, USDoS for some more, Lagos and Amsterdam security for some more, but hey, let's go after the bloggers and see who leaked the actual content of SD 1544-09-06.
Those bodies (I dunno about brains) could have been better utilized for thinking how they can actually respond to the threat and catch terrs - more a la Ben Gurion Airport or El Al, but no, let's go after some 'goats, they spend valuable (?) resources on going after American citizen bloggers with very known histories and zip chances of trying to bring down a plane. Give me a break!
These people are ore like the Queen of Hearts, who had to say "Off with their heads!" at every person they came across, than members of a so-called "intelligence" community. As a taxpayer, I want my money back; I'll take my chances on my own.
Those bodies (I dunno about brains) could have been better utilized for thinking how they can actually respond to the threat and catch terrs - more a la Ben Gurion Airport or El Al, but no, let's go after some 'goats, they spend valuable (?) resources on going after American citizen bloggers with very known histories and zip chances of trying to bring down a plane. Give me a break!
These people are ore like the Queen of Hearts, who had to say "Off with their heads!" at every person they came across, than members of a so-called "intelligence" community. As a taxpayer, I want my money back; I'll take my chances on my own.
Last edited by JDiver; Dec 30, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Dec 30, 2009, 7:32 pm
#56
Join Date: Nov 2006
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they persecute bloggers who post about non-classified regulations. In the meantime, they forget they allowed Abdulmurtallab to board a US-bound flight in spite of the fact 1) he was banned from flying to the UK; 2) his father turned him in to the US Embassy, 3) he arrived from Yemen in Lagos, and purchased a one-way ticket to DTW with cash, 4) he had been going to Yemen to terr school. A number of failures, and TSA was involved with some of it - UK MI-x was responsible for some of it, USDoS for some more, Lagos and Amsterdam security for some more, but hey, let's go after the bloggers and see who leaked the actual content of SD 1544-09-06.
Disgusting.
Dec 30, 2009, 7:50 pm
#57
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 464
This is downright scary. Here's a story about Fish from Wired:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/200...eatens-blogger
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/200...eatens-blogger
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/th...sa_blogger.jpg
Dec 30, 2009, 8:11 pm
#58
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 628
Nah, it's an administrative subpoena. No court required. Although, as mentioned previously, no real teeth behind it either.
Dec 30, 2009, 8:16 pm
#59
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Dec 30, 2009, 8:28 pm
#60
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 628
In some ways, yes. In others, it's a very useful tool. For example, cell phone companies and Internet Service Providers are required by law (18 USC 2703) to turn over records when presented with an administrative subpoena. And many other service-type businesses (i.e. utility companies) generally will comply with them as well. As for using them to obtain records/information from a target of the investigation...well, obviously sometimes it works.