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How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

papersplease.org

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Re: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

#41

Post by Mikeb85 »

snitko wrote: post #32
Mikeb85 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but passing through our airports isn't a nightmare...

Or so one might think... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24mlK24YDPI

So they sent him through a different customs agent, who took a cell phone he voluntarily gave to them, and then let him go... Doesn't sound particularly awful.

Anyhow, they probably suspected he was going to work illegally in Canada (plenty of people come as visitors and work illegally), and wanted to make sure that those weren't his plans.

Edit - furthermore, having any sort of sensitive information on a cell phone is idiotic, since they are far from secure. It's not terribly difficult to hack any device with physical access - and it's not hard to simply lose your cell phone...

Re: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

#42

Post by snitko »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #41
snitko wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or so one might think... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24mlK24YDPI

So they sent him through a different customs agent, who took a cell phone he voluntarily gave to them, and then let him go... Doesn't sound particularly awful. Anyhow, they probably suspected he was going to work illegally in Canada (plenty of people come as visitors and work illegally), and wanted to make sure that those weren't his plans. Edit - furthermore, having any sort of sensitive information on a cell phone…

Holding a US citizen for 4 hours. And tricked him into giving his cellphone. Yep. He probably came there to work illegally.

Re: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

#43

Post by refurb »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #15
atlanticus wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada is part of the "Five Eyes" but enjoy your placebo.

Yes but passing through our airports isn't a nightmare...

But passing through the land crossing can be. I'm a Canadian citizen and I've gotten far worse treatment from Canadian officials than I have from US officials.

It's an anecdote I know, but it is what it is.

Re: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

#44

Post by outworlder »

functional_test wrote: post #38
snitko wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would start with the question of why is it that people need visas. We live on the same earth. We should be allowed to travel wherever we want. It's ridiculous.

Since you're being downvoted, but no one has commented to explain why (it's not just that your opinion is unpopular), I feel like I should put in my thoughts. I once felt the way you do, but upon reflection I don't any longer, so I thought I should share why. While you may believe that current surveillance has gone too far, advocating for no security is much too far the other direction. As usual, the answer is somewh…

And yet, if everyone were in the same "club", these sorts of restrictions would be unnecessary.

As for infectious diseases, they should be controlled locally, not on some arbitrarily defined border.

Re: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

#45

Post by Mikeb85 »

snitko wrote: post #42
Mikeb85 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So they sent him through a different customs agent, who took a cell phone he voluntarily gave to them, and then let him go... Doesn't sound particularly awful. Anyhow, they probably suspected he was going to work illegally in Canada (plenty of people come as visitors and work illegally), and wanted to make sure that those weren't his plans. Edit - furthermore, having any sort of sensitive information on a cell phone…

Holding a US citizen for 4 hours. And tricked him into giving his cellphone. Yep. He probably came there to work illegally.

4 hours? Unless I misheard, he mentioned he waited in the queue for an hour, and then waited on the agent for half an hour.

If you've ever flown into Toronto when it's busy, you can spend longer waiting on the normal queue in customs... Is that detainment too?

I'm sure if he wanted, he could have gone back the other way. He didn't need to enter Canada. At no point in the podcast did he describe anything that could actually be called 'holding' or 'detainment'....

Re: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

#46

Post by rayiner »

snitko wrote: post #31
rayiner wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, what exactly is shocking about this? The government has the right to know the precise identity of each and every person that's crossing its borders. It's also reasonably entitled to know the identify of each person flying into its sovereign airspace. How do you think they enforce visas and customs?

I would start with the question of why is it that people need visas. We live on the same earth. We should be allowed to travel wherever we want. It's ridiculous.

Because securing and defending territory, with its associated resources and productive capacity, is one of the most fundamental activities of socially-organized mammals.

Re: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

#47

Post by jlgaddis »

United857 wrote: post #37
maratd wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Really? Fucking hell.. With every month that goes by, I am less and less inclined to travel to, or do business in, the US.. The insinuation being that the US is the only country doing this? I hate this sort of thing as much as the next guy, but let's not pretend the US is the only country engaging in this behavior. We can certainly expect better, but don't blind yourself to the obvious. Based on recent events, mayb…

Yes, and I think people forget this in singling out the US. Remember that the Five Eyes (US/UK/CA/AU/NZ) essentially operate as one security mechanism.

Since I first heard about FVEY, I have assumed that each of the member countries has total unrestricted access to 100% of the data that any of the other member countries have collected.

The more that we find out, the more I believe that that is an accurate assumption.

Re: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

#48

Post by mixmastamyk »

rayiner wrote: post #23
ISL wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often wonder what the founders would think of the modern interpretation of the fourth amendment at our borders. How would they have chosen to balance privacy against security in our age?

Considering the border search exception dates back to legislation by the First Congress in 1789, I don't think they'd have much of a problem with the current interpretation.

What would they think of putting "suspicious" people on a list so the govt could pounce on them the minute they try to cross the border? The purpose of which is to avoid warrant.

Re: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

#49

Post by altero »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #15
atlanticus wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada is part of the "Five Eyes" but enjoy your placebo.

Yes but passing through our airports isn't a nightmare...

Last time I checked airport security in canada murdered Polish citizen because he did not spoke english.

Re: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches

#50

Post by perlpimp »

snitko wrote: post #42
Mikeb85 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So they sent him through a different customs agent, who took a cell phone he voluntarily gave to them, and then let him go... Doesn't sound particularly awful. Anyhow, they probably suspected he was going to work illegally in Canada (plenty of people come as visitors and work illegally), and wanted to make sure that those weren't his plans. Edit - furthermore, having any sort of sensitive information on a cell phone…

Holding a US citizen for 4 hours. And tricked him into giving his cellphone. Yep. He probably came there to work illegally.

Alot of my friends did the oppostie. American employers pay higher wages for professional labour than those in Canada. Most americans travel to study in Canada. Canadian economy is quite conservative, maybe thats why it fared ok in last recession.

So it does not make sense, to me at least.

my 2c.

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