Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevsh
If it helps stop the transport of child pornography and/or terrorist related information then I'm all for it. Imagine if a random search like this helped crack a child porn ring? Or prevented a terrorist attack?
Sure it sucks for us people in adult who go to the U.S. and need to bring our work, but in the big picture - which most people don't give a shit about, this makes sense: (Talking From an American citizen's POV) "You're coming into my country so we have a right to be sure you're not bringing in illegal porn or planning a terrorist attack."
Besides that, really, you can get a random body scan and that's okay. They can go through your suitcase, purse, etc. and that's acceptable too. But a laptop, which potentially can carry obscene material or even material that could threaten national security, and that's a no-no.
Anyhow, to object is to have your priorities out of whack. Here in Canada I would be totally supportive to our Customs being allowed to do the same for visitors, and expect the same treatment when I go to their country.
|
This would all make sense if this is what it was used for and the law was applied with common sense. Unfortunately the it's not what it's used for and it's applied with no common sense and in practice applied with moronic sense. I know I have been through it many times.
When I fly to the US I have an over night stop in NY, love the city and no intention of getting on another plane for a day or two. The over night stop comes up on my ticket and this singles me out for a full search. I'm mid fifties, greying, European and a business man, not your typical profile for a terrorist. They also know I'm a legal pornographer as this comes up in their systems. But not what they're looking for.
The Arab looking students in the line do not get pulled out because they did not have an overnight stay. I'm sure Al Queda know how this part of the system works. When asked why the Arab looking students were not pulled out for a full check I was told this was racist profiling and illegal and wrong. By a guy who could be Muslim, looked maybe Turkish, was employed by an outside security company and probably on minimum wage.
He als called me a racist and said I did not understand the situation.
Laws are fine is applied with common sense, sadly they are not.