Loss of Privacy

Several Canadian women have filed lawsuits accusing female border guards at the US-Canadian border of molestation.

Two separate lawsuits were filed — one by two women travelling together and the other by a woman on her own — alleging incidents at the Ambassador Bridge and the Windsor-Detroit tunnel.

With a similar lawsuit filed by a Stratford, Ont., woman in February 2011, it means at least four Canadian women are now accusing border agents of sexual assault at the Canada-U.S. crossing, according to the lawyer for all three cases, Tom Wienner.

“These were not pat-downs or limited personal searches, these were clearly in the nature of sexual molestation,” the Rochester, Mich.-based lawyer told CBC News.

Wienner said the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects anyone — regardless of citizenship — from unreasonable personal searches.

“In the case of the four women who have now filed lawsuits, we believe all of them have had their constitutional rights violated,” he said.

You can read more about the details of the case at CBCnews.

From NBC Philadelphia:

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

Eric is proud of what he did. What happens when someone keeps it in their pockets and no one knows what’s going on or when a government does it and doesn’t inform the general public?

For the record, you can still buy a jammer here. Buy at your own risk. I’m not well versed in their legality.

From FOX31 Denver:

“To have a passport is privilege, it’s not entitled to you by citizenship,” Priest said.

On the contrary. You are entitled to a passport if you are an American citizen. According to Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, you have the right to travel, to leave any country, and return to your own country. The State Department also says you are entitled to a passport.

He said the issue may be with a microchip embedded in the back of all new passports. “They have no reason in the world to let you travel if it’s been damaged,” Priest said. “It’s like cutting your photo out or something if that chip doesn’t work.”

The problem here is that the RFID chip in the passport is only one part of the security within a passport and should not prohibit travel if it is damaged. Regardless of whether or not you have a passport, your right to travel is also assured in the 9th Amendment.

What will happen if my Electronic Passport fails at a port-of-entry?

The chip in the passport is just one of the many security features of the new passport. If the chip fails, the passport remains a valid travel document until its expiration date. You will continue to be processed by the port-of-entry officer as if you had a passport without a chip.

The State Department goes on to say:

Normal wear of a U.S. passport is understandable and likely does not constitute “damage”. For instance, the expected bend of a passport after being carried in your back pocket or fanning of the visa pages after extensive opening and closing.

A spokesperson for the airline didn’t give FOX31 an official statement, but said it is within the airline’s rights to refuse a traveler for a passport that might not be able to be scanned.

Only the federal government can determine whether or not your passport is valid. An airline cannot legally make this decision.

This is from 2005, but it’s still relevant today.

F Minus by Tony Carrillo.