www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Amen to that! Turns out George Orwell really was quite the phophet.
He was 'spot on', as the Brits say.

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"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Well, maybe not quite so "spot on"...I remember 1984 as not being so bad. Of course, that was before I made the mistake of getting married

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I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelled of elderberries. Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!

There was never any indication of probable cause for TSA personnel to detain the young man. If I remember, the young was being very polite and did not mutherphuck the officers. In other words, he was not giving any indications of guilt, he simply asked under what authority are you asking these questions.

Then he asked “am I free to go” and an unidentified voice said he was not. If that voice was in fact a law enforcement officer that means the young man had been detained - his freedom had been taken away.

Perhaps these supposed law enforcement officers never heard of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Fourth Amendment says that you have the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. About 233 year ago, my forefathers and maybe yours too, fought a war against Great Britain over similar types of abuses of power.

The definition of Probable Cause is an highly debatable legal concept. But there are some fundamentals: Based on circumstances and what appears to be fact of a scenario, would a reasonable person conclude that a crime has been committed or a crime is being committed.

In this case, we have to ask: What crime? There is no evidence of a crime since U.S. currency is legal tender in the U.S. and this man was in the U.S.

What would arouse suspicion on the part of these “law enforcement officers” that a crime has been committed simply because someone is carrying $4700 dollars? The simple act of carrying cash is not a crime.

What is the evidence that a crime has been committed or a crime is in progress?

It is true we do not have all the facts. But on the face of it, the officers clearly erred and may be liable for false imprisonment under the color of authority and for violations of the young man’s civil rights.

This both a follow-up to the above legal question (Google "Steven Bierfeldt" for particulars; also another court decision "Fofana" mentioned herein) and also the WSJ's take on the over-arching question. A good ,, thought-provoking read:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 72518.html

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

I was stopped in Houston between where you have your ticket checked at the gate and boarding the airplane on the way to MDE. They asked if I had cash and I said I did. They asked how much, I had $6400. They asked what I was going to do with it, I told them I was going to spend some of it. They searched my briefcase and counted my money and made me empty my pockets. They wrote down all information off my passport and asked to take one of my business cards and I told them no. I was pretty sure that upon coming back to Houston that I would get the rubber glove treatment in Customs, but I breezed right on through. This was about 2 months ago and this is the first time I'd ever been searched at this point of boarding and specifically asked about cash.
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Your Honor I didn't pay that woman for sex, I paid her to leave!

Good job. I always enjoy when a U.S. citizen exercises one's constitutional right to decline to give anything to law enforcement in such a situation.

I NEVER carry more cash than I need for the first day.
I used to travel internationally regularly and brought maybe 200 with me. Any other monies I needed I was able to get at my destination with out problems. I started doing this for domestic trips too.

When I lived in Japan, on my initial flight over, I brought a certified bank check for my initial deposit to a checking account; NOT CASH.
On other trips I would deposit all funds into my checking account before leaving and use my cash card for what ever I needed. It was not only easier I almost always got a better exchange rate. Because of my int'l travels and the amount of travel I was doing my bank waived the fees and only charged me the usual "foreign" ATM usage fee.

Unless there is absolutely no other choice IMO I see no need to carry cash. Besides most banks will accept your cash and give you a certified check. There is also Western Union and other transfer agents where you can send the cash to yourself from one location and pick it up at another. Many of these are open 24 hours 7 days a week. Granted a fee is involved but IMO I think it is safer.

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Patriot: Ice Road Trucking through the Bearing Sea to recovery

As far as he government is concerned there is no difference. When they say they you have to declare that you are carrying more then $10,000 it means not only cash but other financial instruments.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I guess if they REALLY want to hassle you they could consider a debit card or even blank checks as "financial instruments. Either one could be converted into as much cash as you have in the bank.

If that were the case, you couldnt take a credit card out of the country.

I'm carrying cash. Once in Jaco, twice at the SL and once in MDE I couldn't get any cash or pay for anything. I'm not one to carry around 8 credit cards. I now have 3, one debit and 2 credit ones that I only use when I absolutely need to. Twice at SL I was checking out and my card was denied (Chase) I booted up my laptop and everytime my card was denied, 3 times, my account was debited. Every time this happens and I call and check with the bank they say it's not them, it's something where you're at. I'm not paying Western Union and twice I tried using them and they wouldn't let me use them from the country I was in, no more. Bring cash, go straight to the hotel and lock it up, carry what you need. The US dollar is good anywhere!! It's a little more than I like not being able to have access to money. Yes it's only happened 4 times but that was enough for me..
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Your Honor I didn't pay to have sex with that woman, I paid her to leave!

I virtually stopped carrying cash. I usually take about 50$ US with me, and the rest I get from ATM's.

The piece of mind, of me being able to carry around a limited amount of cash and if the scenario arises that I need to get more its convenient. No springing back to my hotel, no fumbling through my safe trying to find the right amount.

I still remember the time I finished with a girl in Cambodia, and I went to the front desk to get my money out of my safe ( They usually just bring EVERYTHING to you), and she was shocked when she seen the money. She was just like "If you have so much money, why are you negotiating so much?"

I carry enough cash to get me throught the night. I still have my debit card with me in case, and I use it more often than not. What if you lose your card or it is stolen, or your banks shuts it off because of questionable use? It's just not worth not having that piece of mind locked in my safe in my room. There is no need for me to go in my safe while anyone else is there. I normally lock my safe when I arrive and don't open it again until I leave. Everybody's comfort zone is different, I get nervous in another country when I don't have access to money, it kinda has a comforting factor to it?
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Your Honor I didn't pay that woman for sex, I paid her to leave!

"...cause I'm a cheap Phucker"

Predators only prey on the weak or an animal that looks like it is out of it's element.