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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - TSA and DHS come down hard on bloggers << Update on page 3 >> (Page 3 of 3)

Posted: 12/31/2009 2:59:22 PM EST

[#1]

Quoted:
Welcome to the future folks. More government heavy handed tactics to come.

Sadly......this.

Posted: 12/31/2009 3:00:32 PM EST

[#2]

http://www.target.com/Come-Back-Warrant-Doormat/dp/B00020O572

Posted: 12/31/2009 3:02:06 PM EST

[#3]

Quoted:
SSSS on every ticket, every single fucking time I fly makes it pretty clear to me that I am watched

fuck TSA.

Yepper..........The Super Secret Squirrel Search as I call it.

It used to happen to me every time too , then for whatever reason , about a year ago , it stopped.

I dont think I was SSSS searched twice last year , and ALL of our flights (for my job) are one-way, and last minute.

Posted: 12/31/2009 3:15:20 PM EST

[#4]

Has TSA stopped anyone yet? All they do is hassle non-muslim, non arab passengers, yet the rumors this guy with a muslim name was on some watch list with fucked up travel documents and then just waved thru. They are afraid to properly screen the people who are at war with us. Maybe Aimless, the Beekeper and Ed Sr will kick my ass but I for one would PROHIBIT all Muslim passengers from traveling with Americans. In WW2 Italians, German and Japanese nationals could not even ride the rails

Posted: 12/31/2009 3:20:28 PM EST

[#5]

Quoted:
That fucker Obama sure does love the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, doesn't he? Constitutional Law Professor my ass.

Oh did you miss the part where he stated they're fundamentally flawed?

Because they grant negative rights to the government...

No shit. That was the entire reason it was written.

Posted: 12/31/2009 3:21:38 PM EST

[#6]

I guess this is some of that transparency in government that Obama was talking about, huh?

Posted: 12/31/2009 3:37:45 PM EST

[#7]

Why on earth did he go to the door?

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 12/31/2009 3:37:54 PM EST

[#8]

Quoted:
http://media.ar15.com/media/viewFile.html?i=15180

I'm the government and we're here to help

Posted: 12/31/2009 3:46:50 PM EST

[#9]

Quoted:
Too bad they don't spend as much time interrogating actual terrorist threats. Such as persons who buy airplane tickets with cash and travel without luggage and who's own father has reported them to the authorities as a possible threat.

A big +1 here.

Posted: 12/31/2009 4:10:53 PM EST

[#10]

Quoted:
Too bad they don't spend as much time interrogating actual terrorist threats. Such as persons who buy airplane tickets with cash and travel without luggage and who's own father has reported them to the authorities as a possible threat.

Seriously. Obama and his minions have released interigation techniques, blabbed about secret facilities, are prosecuting the previous president, badmouthing the CIA, declassifing stuff, and all of a sudden they are worried about a blogger?

Posted: 12/31/2009 4:29:51 PM EST

[#11]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Too bad they don't spend as much time interrogating actual terrorist threats. Such as persons who buy airplane tickets with cash and travel without luggage and who's own father has reported them to the authorities as a possible threat.

Seriously. Obama and his minions have released interigation techniques, blabbed about secret facilities, are prosecuting the previous president, badmouthing the CIA, declassifing stuff, and all of a sudden they are worried about a blogger?

That pretty much sums it up.

Sad though, that with all this going on we are more likely to find threads here about Obama's choice of clothing.

Posted: 1/1/2010 4:16:17 PM EST

[#12]

UPDATE

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/tsa-withdraws-subpoenas/

TSA Withdraws Subpoenas Against Bloggers

By Kim Zetter

December 31, 2009 |

8:18 pm |

Categories: Spooks Gone Wild

TSA Special Agent John Enright, left, speaks to Steven Frischling outside the blogger's home in Niantic, Connecticut, after returning Frischling's laptop Wednesday.

<em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Photo: Thomas Cain/Wired.com

In the wake of public outcry against the Transportation Security Administration for serving civil subpoenas on two bloggers, the government agency has canceled the legal action and apologized for the strong-arm tactics agents used.

Travel writer and photographer Steven Frischling, who was served with a subpoena by two TSA agents on Tuesday, told Threat Level that he received a phone call Thursday evening from John Drennan, deputy chief counsel for enforcement at TSA, telling him the administration was withdrawing its subpoena.

Frischling was told the TSA would no longer be pursuing the investigation into how he received a security directive that he published on his personal blog, Flying with Fish, on Dec. 27.

The administration told the Associated Press that its investigation was “nearing a successful conclusion and the subpoenas are no longer in effect.”

Frischling, who writes another blog for KLM Dutch Royal Airlines, says Drennan apologized to him when he learned that the two TSA agents who visited him had threatened to get him fired from his KLM contract if he didn’t provide them with information about an anonymous source who sent him the security directive.

“He was a bit taken aback when I was telling him about the heavy tactics that they were going to use to sever my contract with KLM,” Frischling says.

Drennan also promised to make sure the administration resolved issues that Frischling has been having with his laptop ever since the agents seized it to image the hard drive.

Frischling says the laptop was returned to him with “tons and tons of bad sectors” and a corrupt operating system. The audio on his computer has also stopped working, and a red light glows from the audio jack.

“I can essentially use the computer, but I don’t know for how long,” he says. “Whoever did this thing, did it fast and dirty and not to my benefit.”

A second blogger who was also served a subpoena on Tuesday, Christopher Elliott, was also told his subpoena was being withdrawn. Elliott had refused to cooperate with the agent who served him the subpoena and had indicated to the TSA that he would be challenging the subpoena in federal court next week.

The TSA issued its security directive after a would-be terrorist tried to ignite a bomb on an airplane on Dec. 25. The directive, sent to airports and airlines around the world, temporarily revised screening procedures and put new restrictions on passengers in the wake of the attempt by the so-called underwear bomber.

The document, which was not classified, was posted by numerous bloggers. Information from it was also published on some airline websites.

Frischling said the two agents who visited him arrived around 7 p.m. Tuesday, were armed and threatened him with a criminal search warrant if he didn’t provide the name of his source. They also indicated they could get him designated a security risk, which would make it difficult for him to travel and do his job.

“They came to the door and immediately were asking, ‘Who gave you this document?, Why did you publish the document?’ and ‘I don’t think you know how much trouble you’re in.’ It was very much a hardball tactic,” he told Threat Level.

The agents searched through Frischling’s BlackBerry and iPhone and questioned him about a number of phone numbers and messages in the devices.

The agents then tried to image his hard drive, but were unable to do so.

Frischling said the keyboard on his laptop was no longer working after the agents tried to copy his files. The agents left, but returned Wednesday morning and, with Frischling’s consent, seized his laptop, which they returned that afternoon after copying his hard drive. Frischling has experienced a number of problems with the computer since then.

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Posted: 1/1/2010 4:19:30 PM EST

[#13]

Posted: 1/1/2010 4:30:50 PM EST

[#14]

that red light from the audio jack? Yeah, totally bugged dude.

Posted: 1/1/2010 4:31:01 PM EST

[#15]

Quoted:

Drennan also promised to make sure the administration resolved issues that Frischling has been having with his laptop ever since the agents seized it to image the hard drive.

Frischling says the laptop was returned to him with “tons and tons of bad sectors” and a corrupt operating system. The audio on his computer has also stopped working, and a red light glows from the audio jack.

“I can essentially use the computer, but I don’t know for how long,” he says. “Whoever did this thing, did it fast and dirty and not to my benefit.”

Frischling said the keyboard on his laptop was no longer working after the agents tried to copy his files. The agents left, but returned Wednesday morning and, with Frischling’s consent, seized his laptop, which they returned that afternoon after copying his hard drive. Frischling has experienced a number of problems with the computer since then.

[/span]

There is NO FRICKIN WAY I would use that computer after getting it back. You don't know what they hell they did to it, installed on it, etc. Chalk it up as a loss, and get a new one. Worth the piece of mind IMHO

Posted: 1/1/2010 4:33:39 PM EST

[#16]

Just get it over with.

Paper jump suits, digital rectal orifice exams and Depends for all passengers on all flights.

It is the only way to be even close to sure.

Posted: 1/1/2010 4:43:16 PM EST

[#17]

Sell the laptop to an Obama staffer and watch the hilarity.

Posted: 1/1/2010 11:01:22 PM EST

[#18]

That guy needs to lose that hardrive immediately.

Posted: 1/1/2010 11:19:59 PM EST

[#19]

Quoted:
Truecrypt is your friend.

I never get tired of telling people that.

Or hand them an old POS laptop that's been sitting in the top of your closet 15 years. "Windows 3.1, no PC Card slots or networking of any kind bitches. Have fun!"

Posted: 1/1/2010 11:51:08 PM EST

[#20]

I welcome our new TSA overlords.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 1/1/2010 11:59:37 PM EST

[#21]

Quoted:

That guy needs to lose that hardrive immediately.

I would scrap the whole damn thing. No telling what they did to it.

Posted: 1/2/2010 12:30:52 AM EST

[#22]

Quoted:

Quoted:
That guy needs to lose that hardrive immediately.

I would scrap the whole damn thing. No telling what they did to it.

Yup... or Ebay that sucker.

And talk about bad behavior... WTH is wrong with those agents?

Did they sleep through their legal classes?

If you coerce a "consensual" search, it's no longer consensual, and you'll lose that evidence in court. You can't force or intimidate somebody into a consensual search... that's search-and-seizure 101.

Even the legal asshattery aside, that's pretty crappy behavior on their part. It looks bad and heavy-handed because it IS heavy-handed. Those agents just gave their agency a big black eye... and the public is now even MORE focused on an agency that hasn't exactly held a sympathetic position in the eyes of the public.

Bad move, fellas.

Posted: 1/2/2010 1:08:25 AM EST

[#23]

I seriously doubt they planned to take anything to trial so they probably could care less about any admisability issues. They just needed to know who the leak was and were apparently willing to use force against those they swore to protect to make him give up his fellow citizen.

Asshats if you ask me. They should be fired. They and the rest of the government are granted their badges, guns and special powers to protect everyone's freedoms. If they have an employee who violated a non-disclosure agreement their bitch is with him. The Blogger's just their boss, and they should get nailed for getting too big for their britches that way. They've got the cart before the horse if they think their convenience trumps his right to free speech.

Posted: 1/2/2010 1:27:37 AM EST

[#24]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Truecrypt is your friend.

I never get tired of telling people that.

Or hand them an old POS laptop that's been sitting in the top of your closet 15 years. "Windows 3.1, no PC Card slots or networking of any kind bitches. Have fun!"

Or an iMac.

Posted: 1/2/2010 1:35:42 AM EST

[#25]

Quoted:
I seriously doubt they planned to take anything to trial so they probably could care less about any admisability issues. They just needed to know who the leak was and were apparently willing to use force against those they swore to protect to make him give up his fellow citizen.

Asshats if you ask me. They should be fired. They and the rest of the government are granted their badges, guns and special powers to protect everyone's freedoms. If they have an employee who violated a non-disclosure agreement their bitch is with him. The Blogger's just their boss, and they should get nailed for getting too big for their britches that way. They've got the cart before the horse if they think their convenience trumps his right to free speech.

Fair point. They may be letting the legal stuff drop because they already got what they needed. Maybe their intimidation tactics worked.

They'd do well not to get in the habit of operating that way... sloppy, careless work like that is how guilty men go free.

But maybe they'd rather be harassing bloggers.

Posted: 1/2/2010 5:16:45 AM EST

[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Truecrypt is your friend.

I never get tired of telling people that.

Or hand them an old POS laptop that's been sitting in the top of your closet 15 years. "Windows 3.1, no PC Card slots or networking of any kind bitches. Have fun!"

Or an iMac.

256-bit Encrypted drive with data destruct. "I forgot my password".

Posted: 1/2/2010 6:35:00 AM EST

[#27]

Fucking JBTs!

Posted: 1/2/2010 6:52:13 AM EST

[#28]

a subpoena is just an order to testify, corect? NOT an authorization to search and seizure.

So this blogger didnt have to turn over his laptop and was pretty much coerced into giving it up.

No warrant = no search.

Posted: 1/2/2010 7:11:36 AM EST

[#29]

I wrote to the signing TSA attorney on the warrant and asked him for the name, address, and supervisor's name of the employee who sent a circular to the airlines with the one hour "sit with your hands on your lap" advisory. Anyone betting that I get a response?

Posted: 1/2/2010 7:43:44 AM EST

[#30]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Truecrypt is your friend.

I never get tired of telling people that.

Or hand them an old POS laptop that's been sitting in the top of your closet 15 years. "Windows 3.1, no PC Card slots or networking of any kind bitches. Have fun!"

Or an iMac.

256-bit Encrypted drive with data destruct. "I forgot my password".

yep, on the 3rd wrong attempt my data goes bye-bye

Posted: 1/2/2010 8:07:40 AM EST

[#31]

wow, ideots all of them..... TSA for not having a warrant, and the guy for letting them in with a subpoena

Posted: 1/2/2010 8:23:12 AM EST

[#32]

Okay, so is okay for these guys to put TSA's new security policy on their blog, so everybody (including potential terrorists) can read it and figure out how to circunvent their procedures and make it EVEN EASIER to bring a bomb on a plane; hope your loved ones drive and not fly.