An evil plot to subject Americans to "Death by Pre-paid Cellphone"; or a decision by Homeland Security to limit the "American Dream tm" to those not of Middle Eastern decent? - You decide!
Hint - selling phone batteries and chargers for a profit is not normally considered a terrorist activity.
Yes today it has been reported that an eagle-eyed Walmart employee has prevented the next 9/11 and assisted the DHS in the capture and detention of 3 men of Middle Eastern descent for, as
this article concludes, "violating Wal-Mart store policy".
It appears America has finally gone insane.
Were any bomb making materials found? No.
Were any maps, building blue prints or other suspicious documents found? No.
What was found?
Lots of cellphone batteries and chargers, separated from their packaging.
Is this normally sufficient grounds for arresting people on charges of terrorism and holding them in lieu of a $75,000 bond? No.
Did the 3 men of Middle Eastern descent have a plausible reason for owning 1000 pre-paid cell phones? Yes.
Did the 3 men of Middle Eastern descent have a plausible reason for separating the cell phones from the packaging, and then separating the batteries and chargers from the cell phones? Yes.
And these reasons where? The packaging had the price of the product clearly labeled, by separating the items they would be able to sell products that normally retail for around $40 (and were bought for $20 a pop) at a considerable profit. As the article suggests, the reason these phones are sold at a loss is for the same reason that video games consoles are sold at a loss. You make your money from the sale of airtime (or games in the case of consoles) to your customers. This would also account for Walmart's store policy of only selling 3 phones per customer. The policy was not put in place to protect Americans from cell phone bombs, rather to prevent Americans from starting their own cell phone battery and charger businesses - an opportunity these Middle Eastern men clearly identified.
So 3 men are currently incarcerated because of their very American entrepreneurial spirit.
Long Live the American Dream tm - unless you're an Arab, in which case we'll send you prison if you so much as consider subverting our proud American tradition of making a buck.
I suppose you can add this story to the long list of idiotic reasons why those of Middle Eastern descent, as well as anyone else redneck retards can't distinguish from Persians or Arabs, have been locked up, imprisoned and probably subjected to humiliating treatment while incarcerated - because Walmart, the DHS and, unsurprisingly, another police force hires rascists and xenophobes.