231–240 of 335 posts
Recently EU parliament voted to introduce visas for US citizens due to unequal treatment of EU countries. "About f ing time", I though. Few months pass and I read that EU Commission will do nothing*. I hate those bureaucrats in the EU. EU should retaliate (not of malice, just to force equal treatment). It's not a visa waiver if you can be denied entry so easily, as many people are. And of course not all EU countries…
Just to balance the narrative here a bit, I have traveled into and out of the US many times per year for around 15 years with no problems on an ESTA. I only recently switched to a visa. After a long flight having to deal with the delay and hassle of immigration seems much worse than it is. I really hate it, and the comments here suggest others do too, but if you look at what we have to deal with objectively it's not…
> If you were calmly asked the same questions by a sweet guy or girl on a chaise longue while being offered champagne and strawberries, people would have almost no problem even though it's really the same thing without the elevated stress level. Cute girl offers glass of champagne and complimentary strawberry 'so.. I'm gonna need you to unlock your phone, give me the password to your work-related e-mail, your persona…
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Well ... Trump lied to a bunch of disenfranchised blue-collar workers and added them to the patriotic isolationists. If you weren't part of that group but had previously voted republican, you probably wouldn't vote for Clinton either. My biggest hope is that this lasts only four years (or less) and that a) the two major parties come to their senses or b) we end up with more than two viable parties. For those of us in…
In your experience, has the leader of the political party opposing your beliefs always told the truth in the past?
This may be unpopular on an US-centric site like HN, but the US looks more and more like they want to isolate themselves from the rest of the world: very strict immigration policy, travelers molested by TSA on airports, ... These conferences where people around the world meet should start to be hosted somewhere else. Not in the USA anymore. Somewhere in a country that welcomes people instead of treating all of them l…
I've also been thinking that the world needs to begin banning American software. We already know that the totalitarian government that it's becoming is a threat to the privacy and rights of people worldwide. Avoid censorship and surveillance. Look for and build alternatives. Nothing better to change deep rooted policy rot than economics?
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For instance: I know that Texas is a red state but was quite surprised to find out that the largest urban centres are actually blue. And it seems that this trend follows all along the country, large urbanised areas are blue (even in red states) while the countryside votes more for the GOP, meaning a more conservative worldview (and that clashes with the statement "courteous, helpful, hospitable people that are very t…
> I understand that people from the countryside can be seen as kinder towards people they like but my impression is that hatred and prejudice is much more prevalent there... That's not my experience at all. I dealt with more overt racism in NYC than any tiny red state town, and I've spent plenty of time in both. There are racist people everywhere, but even in rural areas, they tend to be ignorant and antisocial so th…
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> "US Citizens should see, how easy it can be to travel to a country, without jumping through hoops like ESTA." They have been seeing it all this time, yet this is what you get.
Change takes time. It's a complex problem deeply rooted in fear, mongered by people who now successfully occupied the White House. In the mean time, I agree, probably a simpler yet more aggressive tit-for-tat approach would be more fruitful.
For EU it should be a matter of principle and backbone. They simply don't have them. EU has proven several times that they will look the other way as long as it benefits larger members.
Please don't say "Americans" don't want foreigners on our soil. A minority of Americans allowed a hostile foreign government to manipulate our election process to raise a corrupt, compromised bigot to power. Most Americans want our country to be open and free. Painting every American this way does nothing to recognize the misery of this situation.
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Half didn't vote for Trump. Look again at the turnout rates. Also keep in mind that most "Trump voters" voted against Clinton more than they voted for Trump. I think that is kind of silly but that's the thought process of the Trump voters I talk to. I can't comment about your personal experiences in small town America other than to say that my experience is very different and that referring to areas epithetically (1)…
> Half didn't vote for Trump. Look again at the turnout rates. You cannot claim that people who didn't vote don't support Trump (or vice versa, don't support Hillary). There simply isn't any data to support this. > Also keep in mind that most "Trump voters" voted against Clinton more than they voted for Trump. Citation needed.