Several newly launched initiatives in the U.S. and other countries aim to allow governments to mine our personal data at border crossings. Legislation in the U.S. and Australia would give governments great freedom to search - and in some cases seize - our personal electronic devices.
U.S. Homeland Security can now seize laptops and other electronic devices taken across the border and hold them for an indefinite period, copying hard drives without need of warrants or probable cause. Officials are authorized to deep-scan hard drives to detect terrorists, drug smugglers, and copyright infringers.
"In the course of a border search, and absent individualized suspicion, officers can review and analyze the information transported by any individual attempting to enter, reenter, depart, pass through, or reside in the United States," says the policy, published July 16th. (Policy 1, Policy 2).
Also searchable under this policy are hard drives, compact discs, DVDs, flash drives, portable music players, cell phones, pagers, beepers, and videotapes.
Australia is considering legislation that will allow airport security to search portable media players for pirated media, subjecting those found with large amounts of illegally copied music with fines or jail time.
Called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, this is part of a treaty proposal involving the US, the European Union, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
The last thing people want right now (after having to give up their private information in order to travel) is higher security prices and greater boarding hassles. It's bad enough taking off your shoes and belt, taking out your laptop. This could add considerable time. And how do you travel for a business trip if there's a very real possibility that all your business tools will be taken from you?
LAURA KNIGHT-JADCZYK AND JOE QUINN
Since the 9/11 attacks, no book has provided a satisfactory answer as to WHY the attacks occurred and who was ultimately responsible for carrying them out - until now.
The business world could lead the charge against this latest invasion of privacy. All it would take is just a few major companies or associations declaring that the ritual of flying today is such an affront to a free society that, except in emergencies, the company would no longer use flying as a method of transportation of its employees. Business meetings can just as well take place via internet and phone. Companies can actually get off cheaper by buying bus and rail tickets when in-person meetings are of absolute necessity. Most companies would actually save a ton of money by not flying. No business traveler worth his or her salt travels without their computers and blackberries. Likewise, none can afford the risk of anonymous government workers prying through all their information on those devices. Though the government gives the excuse it is only looking for “terrorism activities,” nothing is farther from the truth. As crooked as this government is, it is also looking through the interviews and work of journalists, the business transactions of companies, perhaps a little tweaking of the Schedule B, nude pictures of them or their girl/boyfriends, sexual partners, bootleg satellite dish man, websites to which they’ve been navigating – even all your bootlegged programs, mp3s and movies.
To hell with flying. It uses way too much petrol, it is way too polluting and to fly today is to volunteer to put oneself into a virtual prison system with NO RIGHTS WHATSOEVER the authorities are obliged to respect. They are free to feel all over your body, they can make you take your clothes off, stick speculums up the vagina (not a shred different from rape), force you to take a laxative and stand there watching you while you take a crap, dig through your personal luggage - there simply is nothing - I repeat - nothing sacred - no crack or crevice of the body, soul or belongings - when you fly. They are lying through the teeth when they say its for your own protection. They know its bullshit the minute the words come off their lips. These are the royalty of control freaks and intimidation. Their aim is solely to make the sheeple heel at their mere presence, scaring the chickens into believing that all this nonsense is protection. Ha. Notice how whole pallets are loaded into the belly of these big planes.
Meanwhile, whole pallets of un-inspected cargo are loaded into the bellies of all passenger planes. Also, thanks to the wonderful weapons industry, mainly of the US, Israel and Britain, there are more than plenty laser-guided RPGs and surface-to-air missiles floating all over the world which could flawlessly liquidate a plane with the perp getting home in time for dinner. In other words, it takes neither a rocket scientist nor self-immolation to compromise the mythological and bad feel-good ‘security’ of airplanes. Nevertheless, the people just go along, unquestioning and obedient. In short, the “home of the brave” is populated with cowardly sheep.