From: Jim Stead (gadget@easypath.com)
Date: Mon May 10 2004 - 12:39:15 PDT
Sad story. While they were screwing around with you, a number of people
carrying truly illegal stuff crossed in both directions without incident.
Hopefully none of it was parts for the next tragic terrorist act we'll see
in coming years.
A letter, looking official and signed by someone of importance could
have been very helpful to you. Sort of a "permit" in a way. Folks in the US
who have converted belt-fed machine guns to semi-automatic often carry a
similar letter from BATF to help them when the local dimwit with a badge
shows up. It's not an end-all, but it helps.
Is there a Canadian office responsible for control of this kind of
stuff? You could pose the question to them about the legality of your gear,
and keep their response, or, you might create a document for them to stamp
and sign. The more official looking the better.
Presenting this request as a group (radio collector club, etc) will get
a better reception than doing it alone.
A personal visit will also work better than by mail. You can try to
befriend someone in charge, and get the chance to *really* explain things. A
couple of trips where the guys become comfortable with you will work better
than trying to get your letter on trip one.
As always, the guy in charge doesn't know what the hell he's doing
either. Don't expect him to know anything about it or be willing to stick
his neck out. Your group will need to do all the legwork. Find the laws, the
documentation, pictures<sigh>, the proof that this is okay to have. Be sure
to present things with a smile, you'll probably get farther that way than
doing it "officially".
You mentioned Canadian serial numbers. Do you know what they should look
like? Think the rottweilers know any better? Well, make some up! Get a metal
tag from a lawn mower, blender, whatever.. and stamp some "approved"
Canadian mil-radio numbers on it.
By the way:
> Customs: "You can't have all this."
> Me: "Yes I can. It's perfectly legal."
Is where you "challenged" the rottweiler. I realize you were just
having a conversation, like you would with any normal person, but
rottweiler's don't see it that way. You challenged and resisted his
"authoritah" by disagreing with him.
He did box himself in by making such an uneducated statement, but he's
otherwise trained to stay on top, to always be in control. It's unfortunate
he's an idiot.
You might try changing the conversation, even without answering an
accusation like that. Just go into a song about how old the radios are, when
"we" used them (try to bond with dopey), tell them about your club, etc.
Just avoid technical details. Assume his IQ hovers around 70, and you'll be
okay.
Still a good idea to create some permits (letters). Then when rotty asks
for it, you can show him. Hopefully that would get your conversation going
in a whole different direction....
Jim
----- Original Message -----
From: "chance wolf" <chance_wolf@shaw.ca>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2004 1:48 PM
Subject: [MV] Homeland Security Needs Your Help
> They need your help to carry out their mandate without acting like a pack
of
> jackbooted Rottweilers.
>
> I'm sending this to both the military vehicles group and the armyradios
one,
> because I know collectors from each like to cross the border and attend
> events in the neighbouring nation, and would like to do so without having
to
> deal with the nonsense I had to put up with on the way back to Canada from
> an event in Washington State.
>
> Three of us headed down to a Puget Sound Military Vehicle Collectors Club
> event at Fort Ebey, WA from our club up here in Vancouver, B.C, and two of
> us convoyed back Sunday night in the form of a 1941 K-18 Radio Van driven
by
> a friend, and my own 1985 M1009 Blazer. As we're approaching the Canadian
> Border, we see that U.S. Customs has a checkpoint staffed with four
> individuals who are stopping Canada-bound motorists at random and asking a
> few questions. My friend's 1941 truck with "U.S. Army" and white stars
all
> over it pulls into the duty-free without even being stopped, where I'm
> motioned to the side of the road instantly by U.S. Customs as though I'd
> just run over a favourite pet. For background at this point, my 1009
sports
> the stock camouflage job, two MX-6707 mounts and antennas either side, a
> rear mount for the AB-652 and copper whip, one RT-246, one RT-524, and the
> associated cables and junction boxes. Here's the exchange between the
U.S.
> Customs guy and myself:
>
> Customs: "What's with the truck?"
>
> Me: "What do you mean?"
>
> Guy looks around, and touches the MX-6707 mount on the driver's side. In
> the mirror I can see Rottweilers 3, 4 and 5 wiggling antennas and
> conversationally telling each other "he can't have this stuff".
>
> Customs: "Where are you going with all this?"
> Me: "Canada."
> Customs: "And why are we going to Canada?" (like the B.C. Plates didn't
give
> it away??)
> Me: "Because I live there?"
> Customs: "Are you a member of the Canadian Military?"
> Me: "Not anymore."
> Customs: "Then what's with all this gear?"
> Me: "I'm a collector."
> Customs: "Are you familiar with the term 'State Department'?"
> Me: "Sure. Why."
> Customs: "Because you're not allowed to export military technology. You
> need a licence. Do you know what I mean by a licence? Where'd you get
all
> this?"
> Me: "Other collectors in Canada, sometimes Ebay..."
> Customs: "Where'd you get the truck?"
> Me: "Government Liquidation."
> Customs: "But all this stuff wasn't on it."
> Me: "No. I put it all on later."
> Customs: "You can't have all this."
> Me: "Yes I can. It's perfectly legal."
> Customs: "You can't import it or export it without a permit."
> Me: "Nothing's being imported or exported here."
> Customs: <condescendingly and loudly> "Well it's here in the U.S! You
> imported it illegally! Please step out of the car, Sir, and go into the
> building..."
>
> I get out. The rest of the Pack begins flicking switches and playing with
> stuff. On the way to the Customs Office, Rottweiler #1 raises his tone
and
> tries to up the psychological ante.
>
> Customs: "You imported controlled U.S. Military Technology illegally and
are
> trying to export it illegally. You need a State Department Licence!"
> Me: "I'm doing no such thing. Canada used those radios too. I've had
them
> for four years. I'm bringing back nothing I didn't have with me when I
came
> down apart from three cans of beer."
> Customs: "You told me you got them off Ebay!"
>
> I stop mid-escort and turn to face the guy.
>
> Me: "No. I said I get *some* stuff on Ebay. And some from fellow
collectors.
> But not those radios. They're Canadian."
>
> Rottweiler #1 closes the physical distance with the "just you try
> something!" look on his face, puts his arm up behind my back, and makes it
> pretty clear I was supposed to be making my case mid-stride without making
> any sort of eye-contact.
>
> Customs: "Then they'll have Canadian serial numbers."
> Me: "No such thing. We bought them off the American Gov't and..."
> Customs: "THERE! SEE! That goes right back to what I was sayin'."
> Me: <incredulously> "..in *1971*!!!!???"
> Customs: "It doesn't make any difference. We'll check it all out. Have a
> seat."
>
> Rottweiler #1 joins the rest of the Hounds of the Baskervilles and crawls
> over the vehicle, playing with knobs and switches and microphones like 6
yr
> olds left to entertain themselves by irresponsible parents in the toy
aisle
> of WalMart. Rottweiler #1 comes back and asks me if "they work."
>
> "One does, one doesn't", I reply.
>
> He goes back out for another round of playing. I stare at the stuffed
Eagle
> spreading its wings in Freedom above the Customs counter, then look
outside
> past a waving Stars'n'Stripes towards the blue-suited Rottweilers,
> marvelling at the stark contrast between Freedom's ideals and the actions
of
> its uniformed representatives. About 30-35 minutes goes by, and
Rottweiler
> #1 reappears behind the counter and proffers my Driver's License with a
> "you're free to go", but not a word more. My guess would be he spent a
few
> minutes on the phone diluting his ignorance in a few words with someone
more
> rational and senior, but I strongly believe that those few minutes
would've
> been better off spent in training BEFORE sending people like that to the
> 49th parallel, rather than leave returning Canadians with vivid memories
of
> incidents like this. When I got back into my vehicle, they'd flicked
every
> switch they could flick just to "see what happens". Fortunately the
radios
> were designed to be coincidentally both Soldier and Rottweiler-proof,
> elsewise I might've been stuck with damages I had no part in creating.
>
> On the upside, and primarily of interest to the Mil Vehicles mob, we had a
> great time at Ft. Ebey with the Puget Sound collectors, and it's nice to
see
> so many collectors take their vehicles and accessories "out" for the
public
> to enjoy on events like that. They also refused to let us help out with
the
> group campsite fee, and were excellent hosts all round. Thanks for the
> invite! I'll still come down to the Arlington Airshow for the reasons I
> usually go down, but now I have another reason equally compelling, as it's
> been quite some time since I've been afraid of the Big Bad Wolf no matter
> how loud he barks, and I don't suffer bullies of any stripe whatsoever.
>
> I'd sign my name but I don't want want the "Non-Patriot!" flag popping up
> beside my Driver's License number on any more NSA computers than
absolutely
> necessary, so, lessee....
>
> Yours Truly,
>
> er...Thomas Paine, esq.
>
> (in anticipation of a few responses backing up their actions: no, I wasn't
> "being smart"; yes, I was very polite; no I'm not "on the computer"; no, I
> wasn't dressed "like Rambo"; yes, I cross fairly often. I'm sure I missed
> some, but you get the general idea.)
>
>
>
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