"Researcher detained at U.S. border, questioned about Wikileaks"

[suffragette]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20012253-245.html

Jacob Appelbaum, a Seattle-based programmer for the online privacy protection project called Tor, arrived at the Newark, New Jersey, airport from Holland flight Thursday morning when he was pulled aside by customs and border protection agents who told him he was randomly selected for a security search, according to the sources familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous.
Appelbaum, a U.S. citizen, was taken into a room, frisked and his bag was searched. Receipts from his bag were photocopied and his laptop was inspected but it's not clear in what manner, the sources said. Officials from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Army then told him he was not under arrest but was being detained, the sources said. They asked questions about Wikileaks, asked for his opinions about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and asked where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is, but he declined to comment without a lawyer present, according to the sources. He was not permitted to make a phone call, they said.

They confiscated his 3 mobile phones. Then the FBI questioned Appelbaum again at the conference he attended:

"We'd like to chat for a few minutes," one of the men said, adding "we thought you might not want to." Appelbaum asked them if they were aware of "what happened to me?" and one of them replied "Yes, that's why we're here."
"I don't have anything to say," Appelbaum told them. One of the agents said they were interested in hearing if "human rights" being "trampled" and said "sometimes it's nice to have a conversation to flesh things out."
Marcia Hofmann, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, was in the room and asked if the agents were at the event in an official capacity or for personal reasons. "A little of both," one of the said.

Um, "asked for his opinions about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan"?

[BootinUp]

1. Tor. I think I am slightly familiar with that

A distributed encrypted network IIRC.

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. Tor is the technology that was used to give the Iranian protesters secure access to the internet

[suffragette]

3. From the article it looks like association with Wikileaks

is the reason they are after him.
Interesting about Tor though. First time I've heard of it.

[Edweird]

4. It's also the secure way to upload to wikileaks.

[suffragette]

6. Thanks, that provides full context

I keep thinking it's not coincidental that at the same time the full force of the FBI is going after Wikileaks, the FBI is also asking for more unwaranted surveillance power.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/us/30fbi.html?src=mv
The Obama administration has asked Congress to give clear authority to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to obtain records related to the context of e-mails and other Internet-based communications without first obtaining a warrant from a judge.

Some advocates of electronic privacy have raised alarms about the proposal, saying it could expand government eavesdropping on computer activity without court oversight. Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday that the proposal raised “serious privacy and civil liberties concerns.”

[Edweird]

7. From Wilkileaks:

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/WikiLeaks:Tor

Tor or The Onion Router is a cryptographic technique first implemented by US navy research to permit intelligence agents to use the internet without being traced, by encrypting and routing communications through many different internet servers. Subsequently Tor has been developed by US University MIT and the California internet rights watchdog the Electronic Frontier Foundation and subsequently incorporated into Wikileaks.

Using our anonymous access package (see below) you can prevent internet spies knowing that your computer has connected to Wikileaks

[howaboutme]

12. If only the investigation of 9-11

.....the Pearl Harbor event that was the pretense for these wars, the loss of privacy, and increased security was investigated with the same zeal that is now being used against US citizens.

[eShirl]

5. Don't they have more subtle ways of finding the answers to their questions?

In this day & age of warrantless wiretaps, etc.

[suffragette]

8. Looks to me like they are trying to send a message

We'll go after you, your mother and anyone near you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4487269&mesg_id=4487269


Starting to remind me of the tactics they employed on Ivins.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. We just want to talk to you about human rights. After we "detain" you and copy your papers.

The guardians of "The Land of the Free.." strike again.

[hootinholler]

10. I would love to work for the EFF n/t

[suffragette]

11. That would be a good match

Freedom & hoot!

:hi:

[hootinholler]

13. HEY!

:hi: :hug:

Howzya?

Seriously, I'm looking for work.

-Hoot

[suffragette]

14. Wish I knew of something to help with your search

I'm not connected to EFF - just an admirer who stumbled on the article I posted.
Checked their site and it looks like all they have posted as available is for a Senior Copyright Lawyer.


You probably already know these links, but here they are anyway:
http://www.jobbankusa.com/jobs/maryland_md/job_employment_search.html


I'm doing ok - totally swamped at work, which is standard for this time of year, but enjoying the mild weather we're having here.

Hugs to you, my friend.

:hug: