DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post

**StivRichardOff** · 01-31-2008, 08:55 PM

As most of my family lives in the US, we cross the border frequently and I used to be amazed at how much they knew about me within seconds of stopping at the customs booth. I won’t bore you with tales of the many harrowing times I’ve had with U.S. customs and immigration, but (as you found out, Morgan) once they’ve got you out of your car and in secondary inspection, you're at their mercy and one of them sits down at a computer with your ID and runs your info through every imaginable search engine. They’re not just looking for a police record and citizenship – they want to know everything they can find on you - and they have the means to compile a dossier they can refer to whenever you enter the US or Canada.

I’ve almost always found Canadian customs agents to be courteous and respectful, but as you found out Morgan, it’s not a good idea to screw with them either, and I imagine they have the same computer resources as US agents. Once on file for a border offence, you’ll be red-flagged every time you cross, and I suspect the information is shared with their U.S. counterparts.

Remember when we entered the “information age?” We thought the information was for us, but it turns out, (as many of us feared) it’s on us. Now strangely, we have generations of individuals who have grown up with computers and somehow they’ve been lulled into the belief that their Facebook and Myspace etc. posts are private. Well don’t count on it! There is NO privacy on the net! Medical records, bank accounts, Tax statements, Social Insurance Numbers, Social Security Numbers, someday your DNA profile, and even posts on Vancouverjazz.com are, or will be, available to anyone with computer skills.

Morgan, some time ago in that silly thread about user names you responded to one of my posts with the following:

“Seriously though... I could not possibly care less if anybody in the world would google me and find my retarded point of view, which I'm more than happy to spew all over the internet. You'd have to be fully disabled to take any of it even remotely seriously. If you DO take it seriously, then you have a brain disorder... for fucking fuck's sake... this is not real life.... this is teh intrawebs, and we're all huge fucking nerds for even being here in the first place.”

I know you wouldn't ask for my advice, but you might want to rethink this before the next time you find yourself sitting on a hard cold chair in secondary inspection at the border while a customs or immigration official reads your Vancouverjazz.com tirade about his value to society. If you’re on the American side, look out! Jose Padilla, after torture and isolation for 43 months, was sentenced to over 17 years in prison for a “thought” crime.

Vic J Rhimes.

01-31-2008, 08:55 PM	#38
StivRichardOff Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 433 Senior Member	As most of my family lives in the US, we cross the border frequently and I used to be amazed at how much they knew about me within seconds of stopping at the customs booth. I won’t bore you with tales of the many harrowing times I’ve had with U.S. customs and immigration, but (as you found out, Morgan) once they’ve got you out of your car and in secondary inspection, you're at their mercy and one of them sits down at a computer with your ID and runs your info through every imaginable search engine. They’re not just looking for a police record and citizenship – they want to know everything they can find on you - and they have the means to compile a dossier they can refer to whenever you enter the US or Canada. I’ve almost always found Canadian customs agents to be courteous and respectful, but as you found out Morgan, it’s not a good idea to screw with them either, and I imagine they have the same computer resources as US agents. Once on file for a border offence, you’ll be red-flagged every time you cross, and I suspect the information is shared with their U.S. counterparts. Remember when we entered the “information age?” We thought the information was for us, but it turns out, (as many of us feared) it’s on us. Now strangely, we have generations of individuals who have grown up with computers and somehow they’ve been lulled into the belief that their Facebook and Myspace etc. posts are private. Well don’t count on it! There is NO privacy on the net! Medical records, bank accounts, Tax statements, Social Insurance Numbers, Social Security Numbers, someday your DNA profile, and even posts on Vancouverjazz.com are, or will be, available to anyone with computer skills. Morgan, some time ago in that silly thread about user names you responded to one of my posts with the following: “Seriously though... I could not possibly care less if anybody in the world would google me and find my retarded point of view, which I'm more than happy to spew all over the internet. You'd have to be fully disabled to take any of it even remotely seriously. If you DO take it seriously, then you have a brain disorder... for fucking fuck's sake... this is not real life.... this is teh intrawebs, and we're all huge fucking nerds for even being here in the first place.” I know you wouldn't ask for my advice, but you might want to rethink this before the next time you find yourself sitting on a hard cold chair in secondary inspection at the border while a customs or immigration official reads your Vancouverjazz.com tirade about his value to society. If you’re on the American side, look out! Jose Padilla, after torture and isolation for 43 months, was sentenced to over 17 years in prison for a “thought” crime. Vic J Rhimes.
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