Guy folded like a tent in 90 minutes and gave up his contacts. Attorneys talk a big game about remaining silent, but in the end can't even stand up to a 90 minute intimidation session.
I've been through the wringer including shackled, strip searched, locked up with crazy Mexicans, cbp tell me lies until their face turns blue about revoking passports or not being let through into your own country. Don't be like this guy, they will usually give up after locking you up for a day or so.
I know who to blame. I think I know exactly what protocol they were shaking down on this guy because my passport was flagged on a similar list after fighting in a Syrian militia for a US ally that US government employees often support. Which isn't illegal, but for whatever reason seems to have pissed off CBP.
The point is you're dealing with a hostile agency that hates Americans. You can't control what unaccountable tyrants do, only what you do.
The sad part is that most of us would be like that. I know I am.
I don't say this with pride, mind you. But it annoys me to no end when people LARP as if they would be like the ones who helped Jews hide in places occupied by Germany when things were getting ugly in late 1930s. Those people are rare.
You see, it takes a lot of fortitude to stand up to tiranny. You are effectively putting the well being of you and yours on the line. Especially now that I have a child, I am very sure I would look the other way in that scenario, hoping I was not the next.
The mistake is taking one incident and attributing it to an entire class of people. Just because one man has been a creep in the past doesn't mean that all men are creeps/one woman has acted crazy in the past doesn't mean that all women are crazy.
Attorney client privilege means something, and a different attorney in the same situation would have acted differently.
It's surreal to see the usual rewrite-in-Rust articles and such still dominating the main page during an ongoing and fairly open effort to end liberal democracy in the US and upend the entire world trade & security order.
I get that it's supposedly a tech forum (and that actually it's an advertising & marketing platform) but still, gives a fella the creeps. Especially when major tech figures (Thiel, Musk, everyone in charge of a site exhibiting the usual "engagement algorithm quickly becomes indistinguishable from an intentional right-wing radicalization pipeline and conspiratorial-thinking primer" behavior) are largely responsible for where we're at and are so involved in it, and the rest of the industry's "disruptive" "genius" "mavericks" are cowering like frightened children.
>It's surreal to see the usual rewrite-in-Rust articles and such still dominating the main page during an ongoing and fairly open effort to end liberal democracy in the US and upend the entire world trade & security order.
It would suck for HN to devolve into politics news. Having a place to discuss and learn about tech topics is important.
That's not to say I don't care about the ongoing crisis (I do!). But I have plenty of other places to read about and discuss it. I don't really want it on HN more than once a week, because it will just drown out everything else.
It won't be deleted, but instead will be flagged so it won't front page.
You can still find flagged content on https://news.ycombinator.com/active, which seems like a reasonable compromise. This site shouldn't devolve into discussing every political event -- which usually means American political event because that country has descended into an idiocracy that seems to really like Reality TV-style governments full of imbeciles and plastic faced sociopaths -- but people can still have their release valve as necessary if they seek it out.
To be clear -- the attorney is a US Citizen who was returning from a trip outside of the US.
Border agents pressured Makled to hand over his cell phone. He refused. After more than 90 minutes of back-and-forth, he eventually showed agents his contacts list. He was eventually released. Makled says he was never given a reason for his detainment.
However, one of his current clients is a student who has been charged in connection to a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Michigan.
31 comments
[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 76.6 ms ] threadI've been through the wringer including shackled, strip searched, locked up with crazy Mexicans, cbp tell me lies until their face turns blue about revoking passports or not being let through into your own country. Don't be like this guy, they will usually give up after locking you up for a day or so.
The point is you're dealing with a hostile agency that hates Americans. You can't control what unaccountable tyrants do, only what you do.
I don't say this with pride, mind you. But it annoys me to no end when people LARP as if they would be like the ones who helped Jews hide in places occupied by Germany when things were getting ugly in late 1930s. Those people are rare.
You see, it takes a lot of fortitude to stand up to tiranny. You are effectively putting the well being of you and yours on the line. Especially now that I have a child, I am very sure I would look the other way in that scenario, hoping I was not the next.
Attorney client privilege means something, and a different attorney in the same situation would have acted differently.
They knew everything about him already. This was just intimidation.
> they will usually give up after locking you up for a day or so.
If you think that anything about what is happening in the U.S. is business as usual well…
That also means that anything he says that isn’t a perfectly accurate recollection becomes lying to a Federal agent.
I get that it's supposedly a tech forum (and that actually it's an advertising & marketing platform) but still, gives a fella the creeps. Especially when major tech figures (Thiel, Musk, everyone in charge of a site exhibiting the usual "engagement algorithm quickly becomes indistinguishable from an intentional right-wing radicalization pipeline and conspiratorial-thinking primer" behavior) are largely responsible for where we're at and are so involved in it, and the rest of the industry's "disruptive" "genius" "mavericks" are cowering like frightened children.
One only need look at how fast the flagging brigade shows up when any story critical of the government or Elon Musk is posted.
Musk has had an unusual popularity in tech circles but that was before his political journey.
Did you miss this post from yesterday, with 697 points and 1406 comments? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43634806
or maybe a tariff adjacent story with 674 points and 980 comments? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43631543
That's not to say I don't care about the ongoing crisis (I do!). But I have plenty of other places to read about and discuss it. I don't really want it on HN more than once a week, because it will just drown out everything else.
Say you work abroad for a US tech company. Are you at risk if you need to travel to the US for work? What kind of precautions do you need to take?
You can still find flagged content on https://news.ycombinator.com/active, which seems like a reasonable compromise. This site shouldn't devolve into discussing every political event -- which usually means American political event because that country has descended into an idiocracy that seems to really like Reality TV-style governments full of imbeciles and plastic faced sociopaths -- but people can still have their release valve as necessary if they seek it out.
Border agents pressured Makled to hand over his cell phone. He refused. After more than 90 minutes of back-and-forth, he eventually showed agents his contacts list. He was eventually released. Makled says he was never given a reason for his detainment.
However, one of his current clients is a student who has been charged in connection to a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Michigan.