American Travel Warning - For Those Visiting America

[Fellow Aspirant]

FYI: I have now added a link at the end of this post to a similar expose, which was just posted on the Slate site. It concerns the atrocities being committed in Philadephia courts.

Here's my first post:

Yet another warning to travellers and tourists about dangers lurking abroad - this time, though, it's issued to Canadians driving in the United States. It applies to anyone driving a car in the U.S. though.

I knew that this was happening, but I had no idea it was being conducted in such an organized, widespread and aggressive way. So police forces at every level are sending their officers to privately run courses so they can learn the proper techniques for conducting a 'shakedown'? Are you kidding me?

Seems impossible, but it's a real and growing problem. What the hell is going on with our southern cousins?

Copied below is the whole piece, as published by the CBC News yesterday. It was written by their senior Washington correspondent, Neil Macdonald.

Here's the link to the online page ...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/america...oney-1.2760736

And here's the article in its entirety:

American shakedown: Police won't charge you, but they'll grab your money

U.S. police are operating a co-ordinated scheme to seize as much of the public’s cash as they can

On its official website, the Canadian government informs its citizens that “there is no limit to the amount of money that you may legally take into or out of the United States.” Nonetheless, it adds, banking in the U.S. can be difficult for non-residents, so Canadians shouldn’t carry large amounts of cash.

That last bit is excellent advice, but for an entirely different reason than the one Ottawa cites.

There’s a shakedown going on in the U.S., and the perps are in uniform.

Across America, law enforcement officers — from federal agents to state troopers right down to sheriffs in one-street backwaters — are operating a vast, co-ordinated scheme to grab as much of the public’s cash as they can; “hand over fist,” to use the words of one police trainer.

Roadside seizure

It usually starts on the road somewhere. An officer pulls you over for some minor infraction — changing lanes without proper signalling, following the car ahead too closely, straddling lanes. The offence is irrelevant.

Then the police officer wants to chat, asking questions about where you’re going, or where you came from, and why. He’ll peer into your car, then perhaps ask permission to search it, citing the need for vigilance against terrorist weaponry or drugs.

What he’s really looking for, though, is money.

'Authorities claim it’s legal, but some prosecutors and judges have called it what it is: abuse. In any case, it’s a nasty American reality.'

And if you were foolish (or intimidated) enough to have consented to the search, and you’re carrying any significant amount of cash, you are now likely to lose it.

The officer will probably produce a waiver, saying that if you just sign over the money then the whole matter will just disappear, and you’ll be able to go on your way.

Refuse to sign it, and he may take the cash anyway, proclaiming it the probable proceeds of drugs or some other crime.

Either way, you almost certainly won’t be charged with anything; the objective is to take your money, not burden the system.

You’ll have the right to seek its return in court, but of course that will mean big lawyer’s fees, and legally documenting exactly where the money came from. You will need to prove you are not a drug dealer or a terrorist.

It might take a year or two. And several trips back to the jurisdiction where you were pulled over. Sorry.

In places like Tijuana, police don’t make any pretense about this sort of thing. Here in the U.S., though, it’s dressed up in terms like “interdiction and forfeiture,” or “the equitable sharing program.”

Authorities claim it’s legal, but some prosecutors and judges have called it what it is: abuse.

In any case, it’s a nasty American reality.

Powers and justifications

Seizing suspected drug money has been legal here for decades, but after 9/11 police acquired a whole new set of powers and justifications. And they set about using them for profit.

'The Washington Post this week reported that in the past 13 years, there have been 61,998 cash seizures on roadways and elsewhere without use of search warrants. The total haul: $2.5 billion.'

The Washington Post this week reported that in the past 13 years, there have been 61,998 cash seizures on roadways and elsewhere without use of search warrants.

The total haul: $2.5 billion, divided pretty much equally between the U.S. government and state and local authorities (hence the Kafkaesque “equitable sharing” euphemism).

Half of the seizures, according to the Post, were below $8,800. Only a sixth of those who had money taken from them pursued its return.

Some, no doubt, were indeed drug dealers or money launderers and just walked away from the money. Others just couldn’t spare the expense and time of going to court.

Of those who did, though, nearly half got their money back, a statistic that fairly screams about the legitimacy of the seizures.

So does another fact: In many cases, authorities offer half the money back – money they’d claimed was proceeds of crime. And when they do issue a cheque, they almost always insist their victim sign a legal release promising never to sue.

It would also appear police like to target minorities, who tend to be cooperative and less likely to hire a lawyer.

Civil rights advocates have documented all sorts of outright legal theft:

The (minority) businessman from Georgia who was relieved of $75,000 he’d raised from relatives to buy a restaurant in Louisiana.
The (minority) church leaders who were carrying nearly $30,000 from their Baltimore parishioners to carry out church activities in North Carolina and El Salvador.
The young college grad with no criminal record on his way to a job interview out West who was relieved of $2,500 lent to him by his dad for the trip.

News outlets here have reported many such abuses over the years. But the Washington Post’s latest investigation exposes money-grabbing as big business.

It involves a nationwide network of enforcement agencies (except in the few states that have banned it) that operates with the help of a vast private intelligence service called “Black Asphalt” (police forces pay an enrolment fee of $19.95). The network uses consultants and trainers who either charge fees or operate on contingency, keeping a percentage of cash seized by their police pupils.

Police forces use the money to finance their departmental budgets, sometimes spending it on luxury vehicles, first-class tickets to conferences, and lavish quarters. They regard the money as rightfully theirs. One prosecutor used seized cash to defend herself against a lawsuit brought by people whose cash she seized.

It’s just human nature, really.

Give police the legal ability to take someone’s money, and to claim it’s in the national interest, and then tell them they can keep a nice chunk of it, and what other result could there be?

Travel advice

So, for any law-abiding Canadian thinking about an American road trip, here’s some non-official advice:

Avoid long chats if you’re pulled over. Answer questions politely and concisely, then persistently ask if you are free to go.

Don’t leave litter on the vehicle floor, especially energy drink cans.

Don’t use air or breath fresheners; they could be interpreted as an attempt to mask the smell of drugs.

Don’t be too talkative. Don’t be too quiet. Try not to wear expensive designer clothes. Don’t have tinted windows.

And for heaven’s sake, don’t consent to a search if you are carrying a big roll of legitimate cash.

As the Canadian government notes, there is no law against carrying it here or any legal limit on how much you can carry. But if you’re on an American roadway with a full wallet, in the eyes of thousands of cash-hungry cops you’re a rolling ATM.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Synchronicity being what it is, I was not too surprised to come across this piece in Slate Magazine just now, and I had to post it as well. It's a close-up look at the despicable UNjust behaviour of the courts of Philadephia, of all places, where they're carrying out a blatant, in-your-face version of what goes on in the streets. Holy sh*t, this is bad!!!

I'll just post the link. At least in this situation, a group of Libertarians are actually fighting back on behalf of the victims of the "judicial system":

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a...ght_civil.html

[Carmody]

The reason it is being tolerated at all levels, even promoted and emphasized as a method and tactic, is to remove cash from the hands of the population.

To get all people to move to being cashless.

To have no known method of barter or exchange, that does not happen outside of official government record keeping.

As well, if there is a societal collapse, this makes people less prepared, less ready to 'move' their valuables around.

I'm sure the officers all have a public story they are (officially) told is the real reason and then a quiet backroom/lockeroom story they are told, off the record, that seems more appropriate and real, but is still a cover for the actual reality of what is going on.


When you have a cover situation that has multiple directions being satisfied in the single move, at the same time the outcome is in doubt and can be in many directions ---this sort of thing is a clear sign that you are dealing with the hidden hand.

[Tyy1907]

K, definition of police state much?

[sigma6]

The reason it is being tolerated at all levels, even promoted and emphasized as a method and tactic, is to remove cash from the hands of the population.

? Call what it is, this is same Imperialistic approach of enriching yourself by screwing someone over... They have been doing it since the inception of the police force. They must be so used to getting away with it, why not just openly do it? And EVERYONE is in on it. Besides the population is so uneducated and dumbed down from a legal/lawful standpoint. People trusted their government, fought and competed with each other to throw money at them, increasing the size of their trough until they are literally swimming in it, and from day one it was an organized crime racket...

The evidence was presented on TV, radio, in the news, books, movies... financial journals, you heard the stories from your friends and relatives, and nobody did a damn thing about it, So they decided to shoot your president in the head to see if they could get away with that... and everybody scratched their head and looked the other way. The price of forfeiting the truth in your heart. And now you have a huge giant metastatic parasite that wants to feed itself. You work and labour and give them your money. And keep yourself brainwashed watching TV shows about cops who are morally, spiritually, and intellectually more superior to you, who are more culturally sensitive and socially responsible, who have better homes, cars, and clothes then you, and they even look prettier then you... How could not possibly look up and hero worship them... Heck the probably deserve to steal that food off your plate...

And there will still be people placing emotionally heartwarming stories on this thread about a wonderful police offer they know... blah blah blah... (LOL! gallows laughter) programmed mind control vs reality...

And they are considering allowing US cops to come across the border AND giving them immunity from Canadian laws??? Like this is even a debate? I am beginning to like my 25% to 35% lower standard of living here .... lol... but I can see it coming here eventually, granted it's not that bad, but they steal cars by impounding them for 7 days then forcing you to pay over $800 bucks ( incl ticket) to get it back, same **** just more sophisticated...
Time to wake up...

[Orph]

It's not "abuse", as the article claims. It's outright theft!! Plain and simple. For a long time there's been laws on the books that allow police to confiscate money and property if they, (the cops), think the money or property is tied to some kind of illegal activity. And they don't have to prove a thing. They just simply take it and the burden of proof falls on the victim. They try and feed the public BS about hitting the drug dealers where it hurts by taking their money and property. And so many people buy into that crap and cheer as the police show off their ill-gotten gains in 4th-of-july parades. It's theft on a grand scale and it's all legal. ..... Sickening

[Fellow Aspirant]

Well said!

B.

[Cara]

In the "3rd world" where I lived most of my life, it's called corruption and is outright acknowledged as a major concern and kind of societal "disease".

And those clever western economic and social analysts have all these wonderful scales and charts showing how corrupt all these "3rd world" nations are..... "People in glass houses" comes to mind.

In my experience, powerless and destitute through they maybe be, at least the "everyday" people living in these "3rd world" countries don't dupe themselves into thinking this is all the legal right of the corrupt.

[ghostrider]

there should be a cosmic warning placed on Earth , warning landing or passing near Earth might get you shot at - beware we are under the leadership of Zionist madmen who's only love is control and death ... come back in 200 years and things might be a bit more peaceful , if we don't blow ourselves up fighting over religion ...