Post #240,866
1/10/06 7:57:21 AM
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U.S. opening some private mail in terror fight
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. officials are opening personal mail that arrives from abroad when they deem it necessary to protect the country from terrorism, a Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman said Monday.
News of the little-known practice follows revelations that the government approved eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without judicial oversight after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which sparked concern from civil liberties advocates and some lawmakers, who called for congressional hearings.
[link|http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/09/terrorism.mail.reut/index.html|Rest of CNN story]
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
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Post #240,869
1/10/06 9:16:19 AM
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Been able to do that for years
but it looks better in the press to make it sound like a recent development.
If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. Fudd's First Law of Opposition
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #240,870
1/10/06 9:24:03 AM
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Cancer's been around for millenia; no need to cure it, hmmm?
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Post #240,871
1/10/06 9:25:29 AM
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Vast difference between the ability to do something...
...and actually doing it.
-YendorMike
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, 1759 Historical Review of Pennsylvania
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Post #240,899
1/10/06 12:40:22 PM
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Ask some expats
Many will give you at least one story of having something "screened" being sent back and forth.
Comment is not that its "good" or "right"...comment more directed at the tone of article that makes one think this is "new", which its not.
Given the state of tech, if we can't determine that an airmail letter isn't dangerous without opening the damned thing...we've got alot more problems than having a love letter snooped.
If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. Fudd's First Law of Opposition
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #240,902
1/10/06 12:41:49 PM
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/me hums "Some Postman" by POTUS...
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Post #240,903
1/10/06 12:45:45 PM
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It's not whether the letter is dangerous
We have to make sure that they aren't sending their plans in plain text via snail mail. Or telling everyone the new location of the sekrit hideout.
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
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Post #240,907
1/10/06 1:09:24 PM
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Meet me in St Louis
Seems like all the crazies are there already :-)
If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. Fudd's First Law of Opposition
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #240,875
1/10/06 9:58:30 AM
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It would be mildly interesting
to know how frequently they did it: - Outside of wartime
- in previous administrations
- in the Neocon Government prior to 9/11
- in the Neocon Government now
Of course, 3&4 will never truly be known, as they would be covered by the National Security Blanket, with which the Neocons try to shroud everything. I say never, as we are engaged in a perpetual war against a strategy and a philosophy (not to be confused with our 'war against government-unapproved capitalism [drugs]', our 'war against illiteracy', our 'war against poverty'* , or the Religious Right's war on science). *clue to Neocons - a war on poverty does not mean you crush the impoverished
Imric's Tips for Living
- Paranoia Is a Survival Trait
- Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised...
- Even though everyone is out to get you, it doesn't matter unless you let them win.
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Nothing is as simple as it seems in the beginning,
As hopeless as it seems in the middle,
Or as finished as it seems in the end.
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Post #240,878
1/10/06 10:09:31 AM
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ICLRPD (new thread)
Created as new thread #240877 titled [link|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=240877|ICLRPD]
jb4
shrub●bish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #240,905
1/10/06 1:08:05 PM
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Point given above
don't be surprised by the power of Customs. If it crosses the border, it safe to assume it isn't private. Doesn't make it any better but it certainly isn't anything new.
Your stats would be interesting to see, though. These guys could very well be worse than any other admin...but seeing as how they've had to deal with more than any other admin (internal terror and the anthrax mailing list) they are likely to get a large pass from a large section of the population.
If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. Fudd's First Law of Opposition
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #240,909
1/10/06 1:25:50 PM
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Re: Anthrax
Unibomber, etc. - that was all internal mail, nothing to do with Customs.
And the anthrax thing was very suspicious, IMO. Either we WASTED boatloads of money developing it as a bio-weapon of dubious utility, or it wasn't meant to kill many. I do NOT put it past the Neocon Junta to do it themselves, in order to whip the people into a war-time frenzy in short order.
Imric's Tips for Living
- Paranoia Is a Survival Trait
- Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised...
- Even though everyone is out to get you, it doesn't matter unless you let them win.
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Nothing is as simple as it seems in the beginning,
As hopeless as it seems in the middle,
Or as finished as it seems in the end.
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