
MLB, Homeland Security, and the Undercover Underwear Sting - shill
https://sports.vice.com/article/panty-raid-mlb-homeland-security-and-the-great-undercover-underwear-sting
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nmjohn
> A group of agents then charged past him into the doorway. Lindquist was
> briefly handcuffed as they entered the unit, with guns drawn. Agents then
> told him that if he insisted on a warrant, they would take everything print-
> related in his shop as a precaution to keep him from printing further
> counterfeit apparel.

This absolutely infuriates me. I don't care how much of the law he is breaking
- you are threatening to take away a man's livelihood because he was making
sure due process was being followed. The fact that is remotely legal is
absurd. Those agents and their supervisors should be fired.

~~~
undata
Guns-drawn raids are just how things are done in the US these days.

~~~
nmjohn
The guns drawn are the least of my concern [0] - officer safety is important
too.

My concern is the fact they are threatening him for wanting his rights
maintained and due process followed.

[0]: I'm not saying it's not an issue, just not what I'm focused on in this
comment.

~~~
x0x0
'cause sometimes two-year olds are packing

[http://www.salon.com/2014/06/24/a_swat_team_blew_a_hole_in_m...](http://www.salon.com/2014/06/24/a_swat_team_blew_a_hole_in_my_2_year_old_son/)

~~~
girvo
Jesus Christ... how can that be acceptable? How can there be no punishment for
the idiots that _flashbanged a family_? It's reprehensible...

~~~
MichaelGG
Not that it helps at all, but if this is the same case, the police claimed the
crib was positioned to block the door. So given a situation where the police
_thought_ they were after "evil" drug dealers, and they encountered something
blocking the door, it's _slightly_ less absurd sounding.

It's still utterly disgusting, from the drug laws down to the police
themselves.

~~~
shit_parade
why would you even bother repeating what the police claim or thought?

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downandout
The federal government is fast becoming the military arm of corporate America.
It's reprehensible, but the only way to fight it is to make billions of
dollars yourself, then dedicate that money to fighting against the very system
that enabled you to make and keep your billions.

This, of course, is unlikely to happen, and is why this problem will only get
worse over time.

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JumpCrisscross
This is infuriating to me, and corrosive to our republic. I want to help, to
fight this. I have some money and some time. What is the most effective to do
this?

~~~
keevie
[http://populardemocracy.org/blog/demanding-police-
accountabi...](http://populardemocracy.org/blog/demanding-police-
accountability-ferguson-and-across-country)

There isn't actually all that much organizing being done, but these people are
at the center of a lot of grassroots organizations, and have a ton of
institutional support from foundations etc. Depending on how serious you are,
I'd get in touch with them.

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grej
I'm nearly speechless reading this, shaking my head. The "laws" that the
esteemed enforcement agencies are choosing to enforce are astounding. The best
thing that can possibly happen is transparency and subsequent outrage.

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Zigurd
Why are the agents involved in these raids never named in the news coverage?
These kinds of incidents should become part of their reputations.

~~~
jlgaddis
They're protected, by law. As far as I'm aware, they can't also be sued (in an
individual capacity) for anything they do on the job (unless they're blatantly
violating laws/policy/protocol, obviously).

~~~
darkarmani
> They're protected, by law. As far as I'm aware, they can't also be sued

Which is why they should be publicly shamed.

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McKittrick
isn't whether a trademark is being violated a legal question? HLS just gets to
make this determination on its own and act? seems odd...

~~~
jacquesm
What does homeland security have to do with trademarks anyway?

~~~
MichaelGG
At least on one angle: Customs enforces the laws around contraband (including
IP infringements) from being imported, and they are under DHS.

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beedogs
Might be about time to wind back copyright enforcement _just a tad_.

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chrismcb
How is this a copyright violation? Trademark possibly, but not copyright.

~~~
ack
Copyright or trademark infringement. Either way I fail to see how this affects
national security. Isn't that what DHS is supposed to be about?

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8ig8
Lobbyists As A Service. Anyone?

~~~
saryant
That's called a law firm.

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danellis
Now that's what I call a panty raid!

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cft
Not surprising. Third world country requires the third world police.

