Federal Agents seize travel bloggers computer
Dec 31, 2009, 5:50 am
#91
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Dec 31, 2009, 6:12 am
#92
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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.
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.
I do feel sorry for this person if and when his/her identity is discovered, but I thank him or her from the bottom of my heart.
Dec 31, 2009, 6:29 am
#93
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As do I. The TSA foolishly believes that security is reliably delivered by their efforts at obscurity and inconsistency. We've had nearly 8 years of these TSA ways and the TSA is still failing in obvious, predictable ways.
Dec 31, 2009, 6:41 am
#94
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I have years of journalism and have been brazen in the past, especially having documented homeland security for more than 3 years as a news photog both in the US and abroad for major international news outlets.
What changed the other night? Maybe it was my living room with one kid in the living room, another at a desk behind me as a spoke with the agents initially or the almost 3 year old in my arms.
The agents were in my house for over an hour with me, 3 kids and no one else. I get arrested, then what? My kids end up with social services because Dad was hauled off by Federal Agents?
I have been in very tight situations before, especially covering homeland security as a news photographer, but your perspective changes when you're home alone with your kids and you need to think about their needs first.
Dec 31, 2009, 6:41 am
#95
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Dec 31, 2009, 6:46 am
#96
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That was the indication.
I have years of journalism and have been brazen in the past, especially having documented homeland security for more than 3 years as a news photog both in the US and abroad for major international news outlets.
What changed the other night? Maybe it was my living room with one kid in the living room, another at a desk behind me as a spoke with the agents initially or the almost 3 year old in my arms.
The agents were in my house for over an hour with me, 3 kids and no one else. I get arrested, then what? My kids end up with social services because Dad was hauled off by Federal Agents?
I have been in very tight situations before, especially covering homeland security as a news photographer, but your perspective changes when you're home alone with your kids and you need to think about their needs first.
I have years of journalism and have been brazen in the past, especially having documented homeland security for more than 3 years as a news photog both in the US and abroad for major international news outlets.
What changed the other night? Maybe it was my living room with one kid in the living room, another at a desk behind me as a spoke with the agents initially or the almost 3 year old in my arms.
The agents were in my house for over an hour with me, 3 kids and no one else. I get arrested, then what? My kids end up with social services because Dad was hauled off by Federal Agents?
I have been in very tight situations before, especially covering homeland security as a news photographer, but your perspective changes when you're home alone with your kids and you need to think about their needs first.
Dec 31, 2009, 7:00 am
#97
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I realize that this is far too easy for me to say from my safe distance, but I would have told these "special" agents the following: "I would really love to answer all of your questions, but I just can't without my attorney present. Until then, I'm going to execise my constitutional right to remain silent. Is that OK with you?" What can they say to that? Arrest you? Fine. Some things are worth it. I was once arrested for failing to obey an unlawful order. When my court date arrived, the judge expunged the arrest record.
I recall a posting (maybe from him, maybe from the other poster) in which it was alleged that the TSA agents threatened the blogger with confiscation of every technological device in the house. I've watched enough TV dramas to see how this could come down ...
"See, all we's asking fer ya ta do is let us copy ya laptop drive, 'k? No, we don't got no warrant. But if I has ta go dahntahn and get me a warrant, I'm a gonna come back and take every computah in da house, 'cuz I won't know which one has the stuff I needs. Oh, and I'll take yah cell phone, yah pager, yah Blackberry, whatever else I wants to take. Sure, you'll get it all back in several months, or years. But wouldn't you save us all a bunch ah trouble by just letting us do what we want right now?"
And, as the blogger pointed out, sometimes you have to choose which battles to fight.
Dec 31, 2009, 7:15 am
#99
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That was the indication.
I have years of journalism and have been brazen in the past, especially having documented homeland security for more than 3 years as a news photog both in the US and abroad for major international news outlets.
What changed the other night? Maybe it was my living room with one kid in the living room, another at a desk behind me as a spoke with the agents initially or the almost 3 year old in my arms.
The agents were in my house for over an hour with me, 3 kids and no one else. I get arrested, then what? My kids end up with social services because Dad was hauled off by Federal Agents?
I have been in very tight situations before, especially covering homeland security as a news photographer, but your perspective changes when you're home alone with your kids and you need to think about their needs first.
I have years of journalism and have been brazen in the past, especially having documented homeland security for more than 3 years as a news photog both in the US and abroad for major international news outlets.
What changed the other night? Maybe it was my living room with one kid in the living room, another at a desk behind me as a spoke with the agents initially or the almost 3 year old in my arms.
The agents were in my house for over an hour with me, 3 kids and no one else. I get arrested, then what? My kids end up with social services because Dad was hauled off by Federal Agents?
I have been in very tight situations before, especially covering homeland security as a news photographer, but your perspective changes when you're home alone with your kids and you need to think about their needs first.
It unfortunately seems like my fellow Americans too have much to gain by behaving like the politically-persecuted residing in tinpot dictatorships and other autocratic countries of the world.
Dec 31, 2009, 8:21 am
#101
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Dec 31, 2009, 8:31 am
#102
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News update with comments from FlyingWithFish’s attorney:
<SNIP> Francis DiScala Jr., Fischling's attorney, criticized the DHS for using "heavy-handed tactics" and "intimidating" his client. "Federal agents came and confiscated the tools of his trade at night in front of his three children," DiScala said. "When federal agents show up at your door with badges, their very presence is intimidating. The weight of the government is on you and just you. Steve was not motivated by generosity in giving up his personal computer, which he uses to earn a living."
<SNIP> Francis DiScala Jr., Fischling's attorney, criticized the DHS for using "heavy-handed tactics" and "intimidating" his client. "Federal agents came and confiscated the tools of his trade at night in front of his three children," DiScala said. "When federal agents show up at your door with badges, their very presence is intimidating. The weight of the government is on you and just you. Steve was not motivated by generosity in giving up his personal computer, which he uses to earn a living."
Dec 31, 2009, 8:55 am
#103
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News update with comments from FlyingWithFish’s attorney:
<SNIP> Francis DiScala Jr., Fischling's attorney, criticized the DHS for using "heavy-handed tactics" and "intimidating" his client. "Federal agents came and confiscated the tools of his trade at night in front of his three children," DiScala said. "When federal agents show up at your door with badges, their very presence is intimidating. The weight of the government is on you and just you. Steve was not motivated by generosity in giving up his personal computer, which he uses to earn a living."
<SNIP> Francis DiScala Jr., Fischling's attorney, criticized the DHS for using "heavy-handed tactics" and "intimidating" his client. "Federal agents came and confiscated the tools of his trade at night in front of his three children," DiScala said. "When federal agents show up at your door with badges, their very presence is intimidating. The weight of the government is on you and just you. Steve was not motivated by generosity in giving up his personal computer, which he uses to earn a living."
- Buy a new hard drive
- Remove and store the current hard drive
- Install the new hard drive, restore the O/S and then restore the data from backup
In any case, I would never use that laptop connected to any network again with the hard drive that was taken by federal agents.
Dec 31, 2009, 9:00 am
#104
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I realize that this is far too easy for me to say from my safe distance, but I would have told these "special" agents the following: "I would really love to answer all of your questions, but I just can't without my attorney present. Until then, I'm going to execise my constitutional right to remain silent. Is that OK with you?" What can they say to that? Arrest you? Fine. Some things are worth it. I was once arrested for failing to obey an unlawful order. When my court date arrived, the judge expunged the arrest record.
Bruce
Bruce
I mean this in no way as any disrespect to sefrischling, but these guys would have never been invited into my home absent a warrant nor would they have left with anything I gave them "voluntarily."
Dec 31, 2009, 9:11 am
#105
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sefrischling, I don't know if you're following this thead but I wanted to put this here on the public record before I send you a PM:
Steve, in the Fox news story someone else quoted, you say that the federal agents told you you're "not a journalist".
Well, in case you have any doubt about it (and, from what I know of your professional history you shouldn't) I want to say that, speaking as someone who wrote his first piece of newspaper copy for payment in 1967, darn tootin' you're a fellow journalist and your blog is most definitely journalism.
Steve, in the Fox news story someone else quoted, you say that the federal agents told you you're "not a journalist".
Well, in case you have any doubt about it (and, from what I know of your professional history you shouldn't) I want to say that, speaking as someone who wrote his first piece of newspaper copy for payment in 1967, darn tootin' you're a fellow journalist and your blog is most definitely journalism.