I flew into SFO (San Francisco) from Asia in May 2006.

I went straight to the customs agent as I had no luggage.

The agent asked to go through my only bag.

I gave him my bag.

The agent took out my laptop and turned it on.

He then asked for my password

He said that he wanted to verify that I had no illegal content on my hard drive...

While operating my laptop he said that we was tasked with preventing illegal pornographic material from entering the United States

Travis Kalanick
Red Swoosh, Inc.
Founder, CEO

I can't think of anything that could destroy by mood when returning to the country more throughly.

I don't think the problem here is people are thinking pre-9/11, versus post-9/11. I think the problem is that they are not thinking trans-9/11. I'm starting to feel my freedoms and liberties are under far more threat from our government, than terrorists. And this really pains and distresses me..

Every time I came through SFO customs when returning to the US, after going over my paperwork, the customs agent always say something along the lines of "welcome home" as they sent me on my way. I always replied with something like "I'm happy to be home", and left the airport with a warm happy fuzzy feeling fitting of arriving home in San Francisco. If this is the "welcome home" of today, home is becoming far less welcoming.

What the hell is going on? This is the direct equivalent of going through and reading someone's papers.

One thing our nation has a great history of, is coming out in force whenever freedoms and liberties are not what they should be. Many of the events that have driven people in large numbers to rally around The Mall in DC have surrounded civil rights movements, anti-war movements, et cetera. Now, I just wonder how many years before a point of critical mass is hit, and the masses come to the conclusion in concert that things are not going in the right direction. Just because this is a slow erosion taking place, doesn't mean it's going to go unnoticed and unopposed. It just means it will be a straw that breaks the camel's back...

Yes they ARE doing random laptop searches at borders

Tommorow is the big day for the EFF's AT&T NSA spying case. There is a public hearing in the morning to determine whether or not the Federal Government will be able to assert the State Secret's Privilege to squash the case. Wired has tons of coverage, including information from the EFF's exhibits, which I'm linking here.

The normal work force of unionized technicians in the office are forbidden to enter the "secret room," which has a special combination lock on the main door. The telltale sign of an illicit government spy operation is the fact that only people with security clearance from the National Security Agency can enter this room.

The above-referenced document includes a diagram (PDF 3) showing the splitting of the light signal, a portion of which is diverted to "SG3 Secure Room," i.e., the so-called "Study Group" spy room.

Since the San Francisco "secret room" is numbered 3, the implication is that there are at least several more in other cities (Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego are some of the rumored locations), which likely are spread across the United States.

Now, the description offered here would be valid for a CALEA compliance room. The existance of these things doesn't demonstrate what is being surveilled or why or with what authority. But the technical information is likely of interest to the geeks on this site, including the tool used for collecting data (which is a common CALEA compliance tool). There is also a picture of the room.

The State Secrets Option, BTW, is the nuclear option in law. If this case proceeds it will be a watershed event, particularly given that this option was accepted in the rendition case of Maher Arar. Getting tortured by a foreign government is a bit more serious then getting your phone tapped.

Of course, consideration of this matter leads one rapidly to worry that that if the intelligence or security establishment commits a crime, and you are the victim of that crime, you have no recourse. This tends to incidate that the realm of intelligence and national security is an autonomous zone, where the only real law is "trust us."

Wired News: AT&T Whistle-Blower's Evidence