Homeland Security Agents Visit Toy Store [AP Confuses Readers to Make Bush Look Bad]

Yahoo News / The Oregonian ^ | October 28

[johnnyb_61820]

"ST. HELENS, Ore. - So far as she knows, Pufferbelly Toys owner Stephanie Cox hasn't been passing any state secrets to sinister foreign governments, or violating obscure clauses in the Patriot Act."

"So she was taken aback by a mysterious phone call from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to her small store in this quiet Columbia River town just north of Portland. "

" Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said agents went to Pufferbelly based on a trademark infringement complaint filed in the agency's intellectual property rights center in Washington, D.C."

[johnnyb_61820]

It appears that the AP doesn't understand that customs, even under "Homeland Security", STILL IS CUSTOMS!!! This article is just an underhanded smear on the President's handling of terrorism. This is simply an enforcement procedure done by customs. Period. Nothing else. Customs is now under homeland security, so the article is technically correct, but it is completely irrelevant -- a meaningless scare-tactic.

Grrrrrr.....

[conservative in nyc]

The real headline is "Homeland Security Agents Visit Toy Store".

I don't know why the AP can't understand Customs is responsible for doing more than protecting our borders from terrorists and illegal aliens.

[MEG33]

Homeland Security Agents Visit Toy Store
...........................................................
Always post the correct title with your comments in parentheses

[singfreedom]

I agree, when they get a complaint they have to check it out. If people were more into obeying the law, instead of questioning even the most insignificant stuff, we wouldn't be having these problems with our election process (a big, sarcastic "thanks" to algore).

[rpgdfmx]

C'mon... if someone called me from "Homeland Security" instead of the Customs Service, I'd be worried too. I thought conservatives were against sending federal agents out to harrass citizens. Which is what this sounds like... a few minor bureaucrats ("Customs Agents") giving themselves airs.

[MEG33]

HUH?...Search function cannot work if one does not use the original title with comments in parentheses..

[johnnyb_61820]

Sorry, I must have missed the posting rules somewhere. Been here for a few months, but didn't know that the title had to be the article title and comments were in parenthesis.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It also doesn't say whether Customs went there with a court order or just took it on themselves unilaterally. There seems to be a genuine dispute over a knockoff of the old Rubik Cube involved here.

[MEG33]

No problem..I just found a neat thread for newbies

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1213319/posts
FR Welcome Thread for Newbies and Lurkers.
Here ^ | 9/11/04 | Rebelbase
It also has thread links to other FR things like the "lexicon"..

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I don't know why the AP can't understand Customs is responsible for doing more than protecting our borders from terrorists and illegal aliens.

Are they supposed to enforce EXPIRED patents?

[sionnsar]

Looks like the tite has been corrected. Thanks for posting this; I was a bit disturbed when I saw this article on Slashdot.

[johnnyb_61820]

It's not patents, it was a trademark. Although we commonly refer to it as a Rubik's Cube, it's actually "Rubik's Magic Cube", and Toysmith was marketing their product as a "Magic Cube". The trademark in question is probably this one: http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=ne6g3k.2.4

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Thanks for the info.

[ActionNewsBill]

Six weeks after her brush with Homeland Security, Cox told The Oregonian she is still bewildered by the experience.

"Aren't there any terrorists out there?" she said.

Apparently not. Let's have a big Hoo-Rah for the department of Reichland Security!

[muawiyah]

Looks like you didn't bother to read any of the other posts which provided a very good explanation for this.