Two days ago (December 11, 2009), a famous writer and scientist was ‘punched in the face, pepper-sprayed, shit-kicked, handcuffed’ by the US customs at a border crossing.
Below are the links to the news sites. He has also given his statement on his website.
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/11/dr-peter-watts-canad.html

http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=932&cpage=7#comment-12828

Please read the readers comments posted in the above links.

Peace,

Seenappa

so much for those who think that only those with certain kinda names, like Shah Rukh Khan, are harassed at the US border.
Nobody is spared.

Regardless of whether it is true or false, it is a one sided story.

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Dimple2001

Yepp, in a day or two, more and more details would come up.
Before we make judgment, let us wait and hear what the authorities have to say, or a hidden video / recording.

See, this is not like the case you see generally where you get stopped before you enter, oddly this is while some one exiting and what happened to his car. Generally, the law enforcement might get really nervous even at the slightest provocation as what they put in front of the suspect is their life.

Quote:

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Originally posted by dimple2001

Regardelss of whether it is true or false, it is a one sided story.

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The cowards never started,
The weak died on the way,
Only the strong arrived.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yK1i9cLAMM

To add to my above comment, there is a weeny teeny line in the story that mentions the author stepped out of the car without being told so. Now, there's a flag. Did he just step out or did he also run his mouth or anything else?

It's amazing how people deflect blame away from self at any cost. I once witnessed at the Windsor-Detroit tunnel where a woman was screaming from inside her car that she was an American and had the right to be let in and such. Guess what? A "swat team" came out and unceremoniously hauled her inside the building. Who knows how long she had to stay in there is anybody's guess.

The owner (US citizen) of the family owned company that I used to work received a similar treatment at the border once since he ran his mouth. They had to detain him to let him calm himself, and let him go after hours of questioning.

So, your nationality means s*** to the border officers. Only exception is they can't deny entry to their own citizens, they can detain you, however.

For those who have an illusion that you can't be detained upon leaving the country, take note. US and Canadian officers randomly do question exiting travelers and will pull you over if there is suspicion and will deny exit from the respective countries.

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Dimple2001

Time for beer at the White House !!!

Though on serious note, I agree with Dimple. Wait till the other side comes out with there story. Right now it is all one sided.

There are too many crooks who misuse the courtesy of US - Canada border crossing to haul in illegal drugs , weapons.

This is a one sided story. This guy went to help his friend in US in moving his household stuff which in itself is a illegal activity since as a Canadian citizen you cannot work in the US.

"Peter, a Canadian citizen, was on his way back to Canada after helping a friend move house to Nebraska "