Well, the subject matter is more of an attention-getter. The devil's in the details. But the little town of Pohénémagook was there before the border was drawn, giving rise to all kinds of crazy situations. There is a gas station whose pumps are on the US side, but the only access is from Canada. Locals had been exempt from reporting to a US border post a kilometre down another road (a policy put in writing over a decade ago, in fact), a road that doesn't even show up in my atlas as it's only a logging road. But INS personnel were hiding in an SUV in the bushes alongside the driveway to the gas station, the border post had closed at 12:00 noon, a few hours before Po resident Michel Jalbert decided to tank up. He was nabbed by the guys in the bushes, who searched his car (INS does not need a warrant -- you have no rights at a border crossing [that goes for most border crossings, not just coming into the US] and their word is law, in effect) and they found a hunting rifle in his trunk (locals are hunters and this was common -- Jalbert probably had even registered the gun, as I've registered mine, with the federal dept. of Justice's firearms centre), but a computer search also turned up a criminal record from 12 years ago when Jalbert was a teenager. He had been convicted of vandalism but had a clean record ever since, and a young family. He's now languishing in a Bangor jail, unlikely to get bail, and unable to speak a word of English. A tragic unintended consequence of the "war on terrorism", perhaps:
http://cbc.ca/stories/2002/10/30/tankup_bust021030 Fortunately, it's just been reported that, to the DA's surprise (illegal aliens are rarely granted bail), Jalbert was granted bail this morning and is free to go to Po to await his trial in Bangor in the new year. http://cbc.ca/stories/2002/11/14/jalbert_michel021113 but the State is appealing the decision. -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland “Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on” – Winston Churchill Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================
