So, remember a few months ago, when people like me were saying that the third parties are the only hope in America's democracy? Then a bunch of people said that Obama was worlds different from Romney, and that comparing Obama to Bush was lunacy.
I have to wonder what happens when those Obama supporters with left-wing sentiments read an article like this.
I voted or and contibuted to Obama because I felt he would fight for public schools and against nationwide voucher programs, and because he supported meaningful health care reform.
I had absolutely zero expectation that Obama would waste political capital revamping CBP.
The TSA is a far bigger problem for ordinary Americans than CBP is, and a more constitutionally offensive one. I think we can all quickly agree that electronic strip searches of all American citizens are an affront to the word "reasonable".
And yet it never crossed my mind not to vote for Obama because his DHS supported the TSA. Why? Because something like 70% of Americans support the TSA, and, simultaneously, game theory more or less demands that any administration support all counterterrorism measures. There was no possibility that any winning candidate was going to eliminate the TSA. The problem wasn't Obama or Romney; it's the American people.
The executive's party or position on civil rights has very little to do with the stance of a bureaucracy the size of DHS.
Such entities likely cannot change course even in the length of a full presidential term. They configure and operate themselves for self preservation and growth of scope and power, with deep defense mechanisms against political whims.
They are often incompetent at their charter, while obscenely effective at self aggrandizement.
Is anyone really surprised on Obama's stance on civil liberties? His track record as a Senator was atrocious, why would he be any different as President? FISA flip-flop anyone?
Sure, Obama just signed the NDAA allowing indefinite detention of US citizens without a trial, and then said "Don't worry, I won't use it"
Right, he said he won't use it, so lets not worry! Good thing the courts have currently put the brakes on it!
I voted for Ron Paul last election (primary) and Gary Johnson in the final election, not because I agree with his (Ron Paul's) religious sentiments, or even his economic ideas. I had to vote for him because he was the only viable candidate that would guarantee our civil liberties.
Nothing in my case, because I was already aware of the fact that customs inspections are not subject to the 4th amendment and never have been. Random border inspections are a fact of life because borders create incentives for smuggling. Changing this is close to the bottom of my priority list.
>Obama was worlds different from Romney, and that comparing Obama to Bush was lunacy
Amazingly there is a middle ground. Yes, Obama is taking after Bush in scary ways. It makes me sick and it's why I voted third party in the re-election. That having been said, it's terribly reductionist to say that "Romney and Obama are the same" and anyone who is a woman or gay will almost surely agree with me.
>I have to wonder what happens when those Obama supporters with left-wing sentiments read an article like this.
We're pissed off and still terrified at how much worse it would be with Romney. Or, we, like you, wish that third party candidates were viable, that people would be educated enough that it would MATTER that people like Gary Johnson exist, etc.
Organizations like these and the ACLU do incredibly important work protecting your freedom on relatively small budgets. While a lot of people on the comments here are shocked to read this report, remember that even getting it released is the result of years of pressure from the ACLU. Those of us who benefit most from a free society, and technological progress have a special duty to make a donation and to get involved. It's a worthwhile investment in your future.
Didn't DHS also declare that 100 mile range from the border is basically Constitution-free? This is mighty convenient, as they can now search everyone like this within that 100 mile range.
I'm a Canadian and I was pulled over and questioned at a dhs check stop a few years ago, within this 100 mile zone. It all went fine, but the did ask what I was up to when I went through the same check the next day. (I was sightseeing).
Aren't they just going to lose this at court? The degree of suspicion required for different kinds of border searches is something that has already been tested before SCOTUS.
Most people don't know that the USCG has never needed a reason to board and search any boat within US waters, or any US flagged boat anywhere in the world.
On this note, maybe someone want's to program an application that would select random unused portions of hdd and write random data to them? Something like a daemon/windows service that would take care of the data that hasn't been fully purged by os delete. I would do it myself, but I lack knowledge in low level api's
This application fits your needs on the Windows platform:
"Eraser is an advanced security tool for Windows which allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. Eraser is currently supported under Windows XP (with Service Pack 3), Windows Server 2003 (with Service Pack 2), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2."
I was just wondering: In the case that the confiscated electronic devices are encrypted, are you obliged to decrypt them or do you have the right to politely refuse ?
If not would claiming plausible deniability (I.e I don't know the password) be a viable alternative?
It's things like this that mean that I won't go back to America. I love Americans, and there's a great deal of the US I'd love to see but it's just not going to happen while stuff like this goes on.
My most vivid experience of traveling in Europe in 2000 was of having my bags searched on a train midway between Zurich to Prague. Not as a condition of getting on the train, but 30 minutes out from the last station we'd stopped at. Not on any individualized suspicion, but as one of several passengers to receive the same treatment. Not in order to protect the safety of passengers, but (evidently) as part of a drug interdiction program.
Beware the grass-is-greener trap. You may be right: it may be that there are fewer circumstances in which your electronics will be searched in Europe than in the US. But by and large European law operates under a regime that values communitarian values more highly than individual ones. You can certainly be searched without a warrant all throughout Europe.
What I find amazing is how people continue to push for political solutions like "term limits" while ultimately taking no action. Even as we lurch towards an obvious fiscal iceberg, undoubtedly responsible for the abrupt hike in tyrannical measures we've seen as of late, there are plenty of otherwise capable, intelligent people, and even hackers who are seemingly unable to abandon ship.
Whatever. History has shown the rich are always the first to leave. I suspect it's because they know more truths about human nature than some would like to believe.
Political action towards positive change is absolutely pointless. There's nothing any political party - not left, right nor libertarian - can do to stop America's path to inevitable fiscal crisis and subsequent self-destruction. Not with the political gridlock in Washington. Not with the bozo Ivy League clowns and TBTF banks running the show. Not with more and more people waking up every day to the corruption and lies spewing from the mouths of virtually everyone in Washington DC and all of their supporters and cronies. In short their shit just stinks too badly, and the average person has become too educated and capable to sit there and take all the abuse.
America is $16.5 trillion in debt and rising, and there's nothing you can do to make that debt disappear short of printing trillions more dollars to debase it and insodoing completely wipe out the average individual's savings, not to mention piss off other countries. All viable economic and political solutions are too little, too late. You'd better pray for our continued military might every night before you go to sleep, because that's the end game given the way things are going.
The only viable move for the U.S. elite is to sink America like Enron, and pray they can keep things under control. Thus the advent of tyrannical control measures.
Let the elite continue to have their follies with the savings of average Americans and others who are too blind to see the storm brewing, or too proud to abandon ship. Let them have their gold, their silver, and their perceived political capital aka giant circle jerk. Let them have their warplanes and battleships. Let them continue to send our young to die in their places in exchange for worthless paper green rectangles.
The only viable move for the individual is to evacuate the USD before their savings are wiped out. Everyone on HN has the capacity and the short-lived opportunity to move their economic and political activities into the cryptographic realm, where any and all central planning efforts are rendered irrelevant. Therein lies the only remaining true safe haven for economic activity.
Love it or hate it, you have no other option but to embrace strong encryption and Bitcoin before your nation, and perhaps the entire global economy descends into a fiscal default scenario right out of your worst nightmares. If you fail to see this risk and the danger it entails, I implore you to utilize public transportation extensively.
"Truthfully I do not expect much to change. Practically speaking, history has demonstrated the ability of sovereign nations to justify themselves, and postpone the moment of crisis. This will be even more true for the United States as the largest economy by far with the strongest central bank. As a result, over the course of your lives, you will experience withering but stealthy attacks on your quality of life, as government attempts to manage its faltering finances. You will see declines in the quality of healthcare, the quality of education, the quality of public safety, and the quality of our currency. Of course this is a false prophecy. I am simply describing what is already happening."
>“We also conclude that imposing a requirement that officers have reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a border search of an electronic device would be operationally harmful without concomitant civil rights/civil liberties benefits,”
Well frankly, in that case, I don't give a shit what you conclude, because you're mentally incompetent.
"We also conclude that following the Constitution for Americans reentering the country would put us in a bind for looking at whatever we want, so we're going to say that you don't need that right to privacy."
Look, when you're at the border you're not technically in the country, you're at the frontier. You don't get constitutional protections when you're not within the borders of the US. Obviously this border is a legal fiction, insofar as you take a step of only 2 feet and suddely you're subject a wholly different legal regime, but that's how things are and that's how every nation on earth handles it, to my knowledge.
The Constitution does not forbid the government from conducting searches without warrants at the border. The word "reasonable" is in the 4th Amendment in order to defer judgement about what searches are and aren't constitutional to the the courts. Unfortunately for your argument, SCOTUS has for many many decades held that border searches are, subject to some limitations, reasonable.
In the anecdote in the article, the guy who had his laptop searched was asked for a password. As far as I know, there is no legal basis for compelling a password at the border. He could've just said no. The price would probably be losing the laptop.
I've very curious about the legality of password compulsion in the US. With so much moving to cloud storage, the feds are going to lose their picking rights if that don't have that one.
… probably after spending hours of uncertaintity in some DHS waiting areas, interrupted only by DHS officers shouting at you from time to time – in case of an American national. For a foreigner, the result could be even more unpleasant.
The first part of my just-written paraphrah by the way is standard for the so-called DHS secondary check if you enter the US and some system (or some officer) does not like you for some reason.
Regarding cloud storage, most data in the cloud is not encrypted, and if encrypted, only with a provider and not with a user key. Dropbox is a well-known example, i.e., authorities can always ask such providers for data access and they will usually get it.
"watchdog" is slangy terminology for a consumer rights organization or an industry regulator. It's, like, a metaphor, man.
I don't know about the US but the term is commonly used in the UK.
(I suppose "watch dog" would be a dog that watches, or something that watches dogs, or, as you suggest, a dog that's somehow got something to do with wrist-mounted timepieces.)
[+] [-] betterunix|13 years ago|reply
I have to wonder what happens when those Obama supporters with left-wing sentiments read an article like this.
[+] [-] tptacek|13 years ago|reply
I voted or and contibuted to Obama because I felt he would fight for public schools and against nationwide voucher programs, and because he supported meaningful health care reform.
I had absolutely zero expectation that Obama would waste political capital revamping CBP.
The TSA is a far bigger problem for ordinary Americans than CBP is, and a more constitutionally offensive one. I think we can all quickly agree that electronic strip searches of all American citizens are an affront to the word "reasonable".
And yet it never crossed my mind not to vote for Obama because his DHS supported the TSA. Why? Because something like 70% of Americans support the TSA, and, simultaneously, game theory more or less demands that any administration support all counterterrorism measures. There was no possibility that any winning candidate was going to eliminate the TSA. The problem wasn't Obama or Romney; it's the American people.
[+] [-] Terretta|13 years ago|reply
Such entities likely cannot change course even in the length of a full presidential term. They configure and operate themselves for self preservation and growth of scope and power, with deep defense mechanisms against political whims.
They are often incompetent at their charter, while obscenely effective at self aggrandizement.
[+] [-] donretag|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] readme|13 years ago|reply
Right, he said he won't use it, so lets not worry! Good thing the courts have currently put the brakes on it!
I voted for Ron Paul last election (primary) and Gary Johnson in the final election, not because I agree with his (Ron Paul's) religious sentiments, or even his economic ideas. I had to vote for him because he was the only viable candidate that would guarantee our civil liberties.
[+] [-] mhurron|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jasonjei|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pekk|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] anigbrowl|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] steveklabnik|13 years ago|reply
Most liberals I know just shrug. It's why the far left has so much contempt for liberals in general.
Every time I criticize Obama, I have to go out of my way to qualify that I'm _not_ a Republican, either.
[+] [-] flogic|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] drivebyacct2|13 years ago|reply
Amazingly there is a middle ground. Yes, Obama is taking after Bush in scary ways. It makes me sick and it's why I voted third party in the re-election. That having been said, it's terribly reductionist to say that "Romney and Obama are the same" and anyone who is a woman or gay will almost surely agree with me.
>I have to wonder what happens when those Obama supporters with left-wing sentiments read an article like this.
We're pissed off and still terrified at how much worse it would be with Romney. Or, we, like you, wish that third party candidates were viable, that people would be educated enough that it would MATTER that people like Gary Johnson exist, etc.
[+] [-] Evbn|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] krrrh|13 years ago|reply
https://www.eff.org/wp/defending-privacy-us-border-guide-tra...
http://bccla.org/our_work/electronic-devices-pocket-guide/
Organizations like these and the ACLU do incredibly important work protecting your freedom on relatively small budgets. While a lot of people on the comments here are shocked to read this report, remember that even getting it released is the result of years of pressure from the ACLU. Those of us who benefit most from a free society, and technological progress have a special duty to make a donation and to get involved. It's a worthwhile investment in your future.
[+] [-] nakedrobot2|13 years ago|reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_bomb
[+] [-] white_devil|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] malandrew|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jorgem|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] spiritplumber|13 years ago|reply
(Fortunately, my equipment can defend itself)
[+] [-] mtgx|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tptacek|13 years ago|reply
"Constitution free" is obviously hyperbolic.
[+] [-] unknown|13 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] dholowiski|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tptacek|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] throwaway2048|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jenncom|13 years ago|reply
This doesn't seem much different.
[+] [-] spiritplumber|13 years ago|reply
you are welcome to try and steal my stuff.
I will be sure to laugh at you when you fail. Further, I will be sure to put it on youtube to share the mirth.
Pretty sure this won't damage your credibility any...
[+] [-] oftenwrong|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] white_devil|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] karka91|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cheeseprocedure|13 years ago|reply
"Eraser is an advanced security tool for Windows which allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. Eraser is currently supported under Windows XP (with Service Pack 3), Windows Server 2003 (with Service Pack 2), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2."
http://eraser.heidi.ie
[+] [-] jervisfm|13 years ago|reply
If not would claiming plausible deniability (I.e I don't know the password) be a viable alternative?
[+] [-] humbert|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ScottBurson|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] _b8r0|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tptacek|13 years ago|reply
Beware the grass-is-greener trap. You may be right: it may be that there are fewer circumstances in which your electronics will be searched in Europe than in the US. But by and large European law operates under a regime that values communitarian values more highly than individual ones. You can certainly be searched without a warrant all throughout Europe.
[+] [-] jasonjei|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cantos|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] miami-dade|13 years ago|reply
Whatever. History has shown the rich are always the first to leave. I suspect it's because they know more truths about human nature than some would like to believe.
Political action towards positive change is absolutely pointless. There's nothing any political party - not left, right nor libertarian - can do to stop America's path to inevitable fiscal crisis and subsequent self-destruction. Not with the political gridlock in Washington. Not with the bozo Ivy League clowns and TBTF banks running the show. Not with more and more people waking up every day to the corruption and lies spewing from the mouths of virtually everyone in Washington DC and all of their supporters and cronies. In short their shit just stinks too badly, and the average person has become too educated and capable to sit there and take all the abuse.
America is $16.5 trillion in debt and rising, and there's nothing you can do to make that debt disappear short of printing trillions more dollars to debase it and insodoing completely wipe out the average individual's savings, not to mention piss off other countries. All viable economic and political solutions are too little, too late. You'd better pray for our continued military might every night before you go to sleep, because that's the end game given the way things are going.
The only viable move for the U.S. elite is to sink America like Enron, and pray they can keep things under control. Thus the advent of tyrannical control measures.
Let the elite continue to have their follies with the savings of average Americans and others who are too blind to see the storm brewing, or too proud to abandon ship. Let them have their gold, their silver, and their perceived political capital aka giant circle jerk. Let them have their warplanes and battleships. Let them continue to send our young to die in their places in exchange for worthless paper green rectangles.
The only viable move for the individual is to evacuate the USD before their savings are wiped out. Everyone on HN has the capacity and the short-lived opportunity to move their economic and political activities into the cryptographic realm, where any and all central planning efforts are rendered irrelevant. Therein lies the only remaining true safe haven for economic activity.
Love it or hate it, you have no other option but to embrace strong encryption and Bitcoin before your nation, and perhaps the entire global economy descends into a fiscal default scenario right out of your worst nightmares. If you fail to see this risk and the danger it entails, I implore you to utilize public transportation extensively.
"Truthfully I do not expect much to change. Practically speaking, history has demonstrated the ability of sovereign nations to justify themselves, and postpone the moment of crisis. This will be even more true for the United States as the largest economy by far with the strongest central bank. As a result, over the course of your lives, you will experience withering but stealthy attacks on your quality of life, as government attempts to manage its faltering finances. You will see declines in the quality of healthcare, the quality of education, the quality of public safety, and the quality of our currency. Of course this is a false prophecy. I am simply describing what is already happening."
- Dr. Michael J. Burry [1]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CLhqjOzoyE
[+] [-] lhnn|13 years ago|reply
Well frankly, in that case, I don't give a shit what you conclude, because you're mentally incompetent.
"We also conclude that following the Constitution for Americans reentering the country would put us in a bind for looking at whatever we want, so we're going to say that you don't need that right to privacy."
[+] [-] anigbrowl|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tptacek|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] largesse|13 years ago|reply
I've very curious about the legality of password compulsion in the US. With so much moving to cloud storage, the feds are going to lose their picking rights if that don't have that one.
[+] [-] chmars|13 years ago|reply
… probably after spending hours of uncertaintity in some DHS waiting areas, interrupted only by DHS officers shouting at you from time to time – in case of an American national. For a foreigner, the result could be even more unpleasant.
The first part of my just-written paraphrah by the way is standard for the so-called DHS secondary check if you enter the US and some system (or some officer) does not like you for some reason.
Regarding cloud storage, most data in the cloud is not encrypted, and if encrypted, only with a provider and not with a user key. Dropbox is a well-known example, i.e., authorities can always ask such providers for data access and they will usually get it.
[+] [-] PavlovsCat|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] to3m|13 years ago|reply
I don't know about the US but the term is commonly used in the UK.
(I suppose "watch dog" would be a dog that watches, or something that watches dogs, or, as you suggest, a dog that's somehow got something to do with wrist-mounted timepieces.)
[+] [-] Dylan16807|13 years ago|reply