They were not tested positive for drugs. They were tested positive for having been near them, not illegal in any way even in the UK... yet.

You are right... people complied. I wonder what would have happened if someone had said what they should have "fuck you, I'm going in without you sniffing me, shove that thing up your ass"?

They are allowed to test drivers but not pedestrians unless they break a law.
Driving is a privilege, walking is a right. Cops cannot interfere with just anyone because they feel like it and never should be able to.

Agreed, which is why they weren't arrested.

Well as I've already said, the management of the privately owned pub decided to refuse entry to anyone who didn't agree to testing. Are you suggesting that the management of this privately owned establishment has no right to attach conditions to entry?

What if the driver is not breaking the law?

I see. So entry to a private establishment is a right, like walking on the street, rather than a privelege like driving a car?

Rk, honey I really like you, but sometimes you really are an utter cock. And not in a good way.

Sure, just not to involve the police.
If the driver is not breaking the law then they will not be pulled-over unless it is a sobriety check where all will be pulled-over. Again, driving is a privilege, walking is not.
I am a cock for liking freedom and wanting to fight against a police state... I see. Makes perfect sense.
The police work for us to do one thing, to enforce the law... if a law is not being broken leave us alone, don't search without probable cause, don't stop me unless I am doing something wrong already, do your job and stay out of the way of those who are not doing anything wrong regardless of what they are saying or what they look like. None of that is your place to comment on. That is not what cops get paid to do.

Okay. So the police have the right to test any and all drivers if it's a sobriety test.

And entry into a private establishment: privelege or right?

Then I suggest you start campaigning against sobriety tests which apparently can be forced upon any driver at any time.



[eta] y'know rk, I think you've decided that England is a police state and you are looking for evidence to support that fact. A more logical position would be to look at the evidence and then reach a conclusion. The thing about reaching a position first and then looking for evidence to support your position, is you end up with a really unimpressive argument.

They used this at a protest I was at in the United States without my, or any other member of the public's permission. I did not bring my vehicle but everyone else's that showed up was being swiped. Not sure which itemiser it was- but here it is from the sales web-site.


~Explosives and Narcotics Detection
Itemiser3

World's First Simultaneous Dual-Mode Detector
The desktop Itemiser3 is the world's first trace detector able to simultaneously detect both explosives and narcotics. As terrorists turn to narcotics for financing, the ability to test for both types of substances at once is a key security advantage as well as a major timesaver that reduces lines at checkpoints.

An operator simply swipes a "sample trap" on the surface of any item suspected of being contaminated with traces of contraband and inserts it for automatic analysis. Advanced software eliminates the need for data interpretation, freeing operators to concentrate on obtaining a good sample.

Extremely easy to operate, Itemiser3 delivers fast, simultaneous explosives and narcotics detection in a lightweight package that is ergonomic, robust and portable.

Next-Generation Detection Technology
Using GE Ion Track's patented Ion Trap Mobility Spectrometer (ITMS®) technology, Itemiser3 detects a wider range of explosives and narcotics with unprecedented sensitivity. It achieves this through a proprietary ion "trap" that increases ionization efficiency, the main factor determining detection sensitivity. Combining ITMS with a unique membrane filter that blocks contaminants, Itemiser3 delivers uninterrupted performance even in dirt, humidity and other "real world" conditions.


Product Highlights

• Tests skin, baggage, cargo, vehicles, tickets, containers ID cards
• Three detection modes (explosives/narcotics or both)
• Extended range of detection includes TATP, barbitals and amphetamine sulfate
• Touchscreen control in virtually any language
• Maintenance-free regenerative dryer
• Ethernet, IrDa and serial port connections
• Unparalleled transportability-26lbs/12kg with fold-down touchscreen
• 115/230 VAC, 12 VDC cigarette lighter adapter, 60-minute internal backup battery~

We were just trying to figure out what in the heck they were doing.......That is an illegal search in the United States. Well it used to be illegal.

For good reason if you ask me.

I agree. If it's without either permission, or reasonable cause for suspicion it should not be possible for the police to test.

So, just to be clear: you were not informed of the fact that you were being tested? Your permission was not sought?

Yeah- when the police start randomly rubbing your things with what looks like white patches of material- it makes you a little uneasy. Swabbing the decks.......
Damn Pirates.....................................'RRRRRRRRRRR'

A little swab and seizure never hurt anyone.......right?

Oh well, Cicero. I'm sure the storm troopers would say that they had probable cause since the occasion you describe was a protest meeting of some sort. Its not nice to question the status quo. I bet you carry an AK47 and deal in opium to finance whatever your nefarious little cause might be.

Why don't you forget all that stuff and join the young Republicans or the DAR or some other worthy group?

Since you are a bit of a rapscallion, I suppose you might join the Daughters of the Confederacy if you really want to go out on a limb. Don't you qualify to be among their genteel number?

Anywhere I show up is probable cause. Don't you get it?!? lol!!!

I'm going to join the Young Gay Republicans of the Confederate Confedralist Confederacy and get certifiably certified.

They call this a YGRCCC license. It comes in handy at work. (you know, real estate)

How does it feel to live in a Police State Cicero? :P

At least here it is not legal and we have the law on our side and can take that cop's job and should.
Here we don't roll-over and say "sure Mr. Nazi-man test away!" they have force us to comply or we tell them to shove their swabs up their ass where they belong.
I carry a .45 or .38 & a combat dagger, depending on what I am wearing, BTW. My chair has a taser on it.
If I get swabbed I will own the cop, his house, the department and their car. What can you do in the UK?

Yeah. You and Rodney King.

I agree, some are trying to head us in that direction... that is why I am so concerned with the apathy in the UK and England.
I don't want to see that here.
When those laws pass I want to see outrage and people saying "Fuck-You... NO! I see what happened to the UK! I know where you are trying to take this!"

What law? What are you talking about? There is no compulsion to submit to such a swab test. It was a voluntary test.


Right. I'm not doing this any more. There is no difference whtsoever between what you are doing on here, and what Duck Duck was doing a few months ago. You post a single story which says very little about anything except what's happening in one small town (and with the full agreement of the townspeople) and spin that into a descent into fascism. This is absoutely the equivalent of Duck Duck posting some example of a crime and then insisting that the US is a crime ridden hell hole.

Fuck you rk, I am tired of being reasonable. You're a troll.

If I get swabbed I will own the cop, his house, the department and their car. What can you do in the UK?

Well I don't know about the UK, but there's dicks over here that feel good about themselves when they make these empty threats.