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Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

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Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#81

Post by yardie »

ovi256 wrote: post #38
die_sekte wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brazil isn't part of the Visa Waiver program and felt that its citizens were being treated unreasonably. Thus, they began being rude to Americans. (IIRC) Kind of an asshole move, but highly entertaining to watch from the outside.

Brazil has a well-known tit-for-tat policy in foreign matters. They will apply to a country's citizens whatever policy that country applies to Brazilians. So Americans were singled out because they singled out Brazilians. It's called having balls.

Except they weren't singled out. Visa waiver program requires each member be at certain economic and political levels. Countries like Singapore met the requirement and are included, countries like Brazil, China, and India don't. This isn't elementary school anymore, you expect diplomats to act diplomats and get policies enacted, not come up with some stupid scheme even a 10 year old could see through.

What the politicians should be doing is saying, "we want to be part of Vfw too, what can we do to get there?" and not, "the US gov't don't like us, so we won't like them!" Instead of trying to work closer together, this policy only makes the divide bigger. I was ready to go to Brazil for a vacation, but chose South Africa instead because of this silliness.

To an American, not going to Brazil has very little impact on them. They'll take their money and go elsewhere.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#82

Post by miked »

gaius wrote: post #15
danssig wrote: post #2

I wonder how much longer it will take before americans get enough to take a stand about this. I suppose it would never reach critical mass with flying because not enough americans are flying to care, which is why I can't wait for TSA to follow through with their plan to set up their nonsense at bus stops and subways.

Try Sea-Tac airport. 20 lanes at the border, 17 reserved for American citizens, of whom there are probably about 20 on a 400-seater plane. I've traveled all over the world, US borders are the most unpleasant. I'v had border guards in FSRs point guns at me but hey, those guys are just doing their jobs. In the US they go out of their way to be rude, lazy, incompetent and just plain obnoxious.

I'v had border guards in FSRs point guns at me but hey, those guys are just doing their jobs.

No one should ever, EVER, point a gun at someone unless they are prepared to shoot.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#83

Post by brc »

wyclif wrote: post #22
brc wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He means quarantine. If you had an open packet of oreos and some muddy boots, you'd still be there now.

What is up with the Aussies and quarantine? Going from the US to SE Asia, you fill out a little slip declaring if you're carrying snails or orchids, and if you say you are not, you sail right through. No worries!

Because Australia doesn't have many of the diseases and pests that the rest of the world has. For example, Australia is one of the few places on the world where bee colonies are free from the mite that has devastated hives the world over. Australian beekeepers are now exporting to the USA, and it's these imported bees that are keeping the industry alive.

One english settler decided, in the 1830s or so, to release a small hutch of rabbits so they could scamper around his property and he'd be able to take potshots at them for fun. The rabbits went on to systematically destroy most of the arable land in the country.

It's not only the agricultural industries. Many of the unique Australian wildlife has never been subjected to common animals from the rest of the world. The fox decimates native mammal populations.

I could go on and on. There was a fire ant quarantine breach a few years back and they literally hunted down every nest and colony that had occured and (I think) have re-declared fire ant free.

So, if you're travelling to Australia, don't treat it as some sort of TSA impost. Be thankful that people are there protecting the borders so you have some unique animals, and fantastic food quality to come and see.

Fun fact : I have a friend who is a dog handler in an Australian airport. The worst offenders are little old ladies of either asian or middle eastern origin. They're always carrying some noxious weed as part of an old family recipe to cook for their descendents who have settled in Australia. So if you see someone with a dog bailing up an old lady in an Airport, you know why.

On the plus side - they will clean your boots for you, free of charge - they do a fine job of it as well. Unless you're trying to hide your muddy boots, then you'll get fined a couple of hundred bucks for being sneaky. Best to declare your boots and get them cleaned for you.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#84

Post by [deleted] »

edw519 wrote: post #80

everyone is utterly paranoid Everyone? I have bit my tongue for a long time about this great community's slipping quality, but honestly, how does shit like this make it to the top of Hacker News. Flagged. Any suggestions for how to get back to having hacker news on Hacker News? (And please spare us the lame "situational logic" response of how is hacker news.)

[deleted]

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#85

Post by tallanvor »

patio11 wrote: post #73
jbm wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the nonsense is done at limo stands and private jets, you will see a change. No politician is deaf to the voices of "the people", but it's a lot easier to get into speaking range when you can afford a professional lobby.

It takes one phone call to speak to someone at your Congresscritter's office about this. They really do listen and, occasionally, even act on things which generate heat from constituents (ask any Republican who flipped on immigration circa 2007-2008). If you feel strongly about it, make the freaking call. (Or, better, write an honest-to-God on-dead-tree letter.)

I actually HAVE written to my senators about this issue, unfortunately I didn't even get the courtesy of a form letter in response - and they're both Democrats. I didn't bother writing to my rep since he's a Republican.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#86

Post by jasonkester »

die_sekte wrote: post #16

Anybody willing to share how Schengen/EU borders are for foreigners?

The EU is a dream compared to the US/UK.

My girlfriend is English and I'm American. For the first 3 years we were together, it was impossible for me to live in England or for her to live in the US. Instead we rented an apartment in Spain and lived there with never a word from EU immigrations about my coming or going.

Granted, getting a visa to live there legally as an American is next to impossible. But at least in Spain, they just plain never check.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#87

Post by brc »

wyclif wrote: post #69
Nick_C wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Australia is very stable geologically, apart from a bit on the S.E. corner, which is why it is flat. It is very old and hasn't had the evolutionary disruptions caused by mountain raising and flattening. The animals have evolved quite distinctly in their own niche. Foreign imports could seriously disturb the balance. See, for example, rabbits, foxes, cane toads.

Makes perfect sense. I guess I'm left wondering why smaller, remote islands don't have to do this. Places like Hawai'i, New Guinea, the Philippines, Iceland, or Japan. I'm no biologist, but my guess is that those places aren't known for large-scale agriculture.

The basic answer is: too little, too late. By the time they realised what was going on, the problems had already been caused. Hawaii has been devastated by imported plants and animals. Thousands of bird species have been lost, and huge parts of the islands are overrun with noxious weeds. They're fighting it as best they can, but it's a case of preserving what is left.

As for the phillipines - they've been trading with other nations for a long time, as have Japan. I'm guessing that the transfer of pests and diseases happened a few centuries back.

Australia is unique in that basically no trade of any kind happened until 200 years ago. There's been a lot of mistakes, but that's no reason to give up.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#89

Post by brown9-2 »

paraschopra wrote: post #14

I will tell another personal experience. I am based out of India and have been invited to speak at a conference in San Francisco. I applied for a business visa and was denied that visa because apparently I am young (23) and they have not heard about my startup (it is of course not an IT service giant like Infosys, TCS or Wipro) or conference (it's about A/B testing). Mind you: my startup is doing quite well financial…

Do you truly need a business visa just to enter the US in order to speak at a conference, for a visit likely lasting no more than a few days?

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#90

Post by rue »

I'm a permanent resident of the U.S., but even with the green card the hassles at the border are just nasty regardless of where I've been or for how long. The attitude is atrocious and I usually feel more like a criminal they've reluctantly had to let back in rather than welcomed back home. Green card holders also get fingerprinted and in some cases retina-scanned at re-entry. The nudie scans have only managed to create a small additional inconvenience for me…
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