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aircrest
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Astronaut's Son Held on Sex Charges
The son of Mercury astronaut Walter Schirra has been arrested on child sex tourism charges, federal authorities said Monday.
Walter Schirra, 54, was arrested at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday morning just before he was to board a flight to Thailand where he allegedly intended to solicit sex from underage boys, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Upon my return to the US in Sept from Thailand and Cambo I was held for 1-1/2 hours and questioned on what I had done and who I had seen. Many of the questions asked were asked over and over and over. Everything in my possession was examined including my laptop.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 11:14 am on Nov. 9, 2004
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hzink
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Quote: from aircrest on 11:08 pm on Nov. 9, 2004
where he allegedly intended to solicit sex from underage boys, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
I have a problem with that, as I am curious how they intended to prove his future intent.
- They can arrest if you performed the act, and local authorities hold proof.
- They can arrest you if they catch you in the act.
- They can arrest you if you bring the act back.
They can NOT arrest you if they THINK you INTEND to commit such an act, and they certainly an NOT arrest you while boarding the plane on the way there.
Furthermore, this seems to be a dubious article, as there is absolutely NO supporting information about Schirra Jr. on any of the recent news networks. Been hanging out with Hermie, much, have we? 
Furthermore, what was the reasoning given to hold and question you upon your return? Which POE (Port of Entry) did you come back into the US? How much luggage did you have? They can NOT 'examine' your laptop unless you give them authorization to do so, or they have a search warrant - lacking probable cause. Coming back from Thailand is NOT probable cause.
Sounds fishy to me.
Harry
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 2:19 pm on Nov. 9, 2004
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aircrest
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No reason given, but when they did not search me physically I then knew what they were looking for. They do not need a reason to search your belongings entering the U.S. or question you about where you have been or who you have seen.
I have nothing to hide. I figured the more I cooperated the sooner I got out of there. You want to stand there and demand your rights and tell them what they can and cannot do, Up to you
The article I posted about was from the associated press. It was on AOL
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 4:19 pm on Nov. 9, 2004
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hzink
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Interesting, nevertheless - could very well be that this was one of those crackdown moments, where some guy in customs decided that ALL men coming from Thailand must be perverts -- well, he's not entirely incorrect
I take the easy route - I write down everything I have to declare, and I mean practically EVERYTHING that I purchased, and always hand that over with the question "Is all of this okay?". Invariably, they just ask me if I have any agricultural products, and that's it.
Regarding the Wally Schirra Jr. Story - finally found references to it via Yahoo News, even though all other venues carried nothing about it. Weird. The actual article paints a slightly different, but still worrysome, picture:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/09/BAGPA9OE981.DTL
SAN FRANCISCO
Astronaut's son arrested at airport
Steve Rubenstein
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
The 54-year-old son of astronaut Walter Schirra was arrested at San Francisco International Airport on child sex charges as he tried to board a plane for Thailand, allegedly to solicit sex with underage boys, federal agents said Monday.
Walter M. Schirra III of San Francisco, a property manager, was arrested Saturday. A search of his luggage revealed photos of shirtless Asian boys, sexual performance prescription drugs, condoms and large amounts of candy, said Special Agent Catherine Miller of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. None of the seized items is illegal, but a search of a computer at Schirra's home revealed images of child pornography, Miller said.
Schirra is being held without bail pending a hearing Friday. He is the first person from the Bay Area to be arrested under a law passed last year to crack down on sex tourism.
In an 11-page criminal complaint, investigators revealed the contents of a series of e-mails between Schirra and two federal agents posing as pedophiles seeking to assist Schirra in planning his Asian trip.
One agent, using the alias "Rick,'' suggested Schirra visit a Cambodian village because it had "Boys, girls, you name it! They have ages 3 and up, whatever you want. It's very safe and clean,'' according to the complaint.
To that, Schirra replied, "I would appreciate any info you can share about meeting boys.'' In another e-mail, he told agents that a madam had brought young boys to him at his Bangkok hotel on a visit in May.
Schirra is the only son of U.S. astronaut Walter Schirra, one of the original seven astronauts in NASA's first space program. The senior Schirra orbited Earth in 1962, 1965 and 1968 and is the only astronaut to have flown in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 5:58 pm on Nov. 9, 2004
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hzink
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Thoughts on this:
- Wally's being a Grade-A dork, to not only stuff child pornography into his luggage, but also to bring these prescription drugs with him. a) the porn would be considered more suspect and unpleasant if it had been dug up by Thai authorities, and b) most likely he could have bought any of those drugs cheaper and easier in BKK.
- His dorkness continues by trusting online acquaintances to help him get set up with what's not only a disgusting practice, but also clearly illegal in both countries. The fact that he felt he needed 'help' finding what he's looking for really labels him as an idiot, too.
- Lastly, considering pedophilia is pretty much the shallowest end of the genepool (I feel sorry to share DNA with such scum), I'm certainly glad that there's a good number of such folks too stupid to even get away with it (though, unfortunately, too many who do).
As a closing commentary - I'm sorry that a great man and American hero like Wally Schirra ended up having a son like that, and to still be alive to have to face this. Sad - LOS is a great place, but it's folks like that which really skew public perception of it.
Harry
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 6:09 pm on Nov. 9, 2004
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mm3
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What really concerns me is this sentence in the article:
"...He is the first person from the Bay Area to be arrested under a law passed last year to crack down on sex tourism."
It says sex tourism, not underage sex tourism. Does this means that those with multiple visa stamps to Thailand (and other such countries) on their passport will be detained and questioned extensively (like aircrest did) upon return to the U.S.?
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 1:50 am on Nov. 10, 2004
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hzink
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I guess it's good I hung on to my EU passport - I guess the US only hassles its own citizens
Harry
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 5:20 am on Nov. 10, 2004
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aircrest
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In my case I am sure it was the Combodia visit that triggered the investigation. The purpose of going there was to visit a long time friend who is working for a US Company there on a construction project.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 9:57 am on Nov. 10, 2004
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