131–140 of 232 posts
Those guys are screwed now. Refusal of access means that they'll never get in on the visa waiver program and any employment in the future that might be with a multi-national will be limited by their ability to travel. They just won't be able to enter the USA without going through an arduously long process every time. I've been telling my friends for the longest time to moderate everything that they say on the interne…
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US is done as the "land of the free". It's still very hard for many people to believe it, but it's true. I mean it's 47th place in the world for freedom of press now - 47th! That's far from the beacon of freedom US used to be. Whenever I see the heavily armed and militarized police in US and how they react to protesters, it's like I'm watching news about Russia or something.
I left the country in 2008, and I'm wondering if I'll ever go back. It's only gotten worse since I've been gone. It's almost to the point where I'm not even sure I want to visit any time soon.
Good luck getting rid of stupid when stupid has a budget.
I work for a US company in Europe and I'm seriously concerned about my security if and when the time comes for me to visit the company HQ. I'm a completely harmless person, but sometimes I look like a bearded pirate (arr!), my passport photo looks like I'm a recently escaped convict, I've ordered flight simulators and aviation maps with my credit card from the US and my police file mentions a short wrestling match wi…
Likewise, you have an perfectly valid excuse why you cannot go the USA.
Shenanigans. 1) Where did they get the pictured Homeland Security report if HS "declined to comment"? If accurate, it looks like the sort of communication that an agency that refused to comment on an story would not be too quick to divulge. There is no mention of a FOI application, which I'm not even sure two foreigners are entitled to. 2) The two posing clowns are just that kind you would expect to be the butt of jo…
> Where did they get the pictured Homeland Security report if HS "declined to comment"? Good point. Though fabricating imagery like that is so much par for the course for Sun that it doesn't tell much about the truthfulness of the rest of the story. Similarly, that photo isn't necessarily them either. And perhaps neither their names ... You know maybe you're right :-) As a story though, it's completely plausible. In…
There's a better version of the story on the Daily Mail web site that has a picture of the documents given to these folks when they were barred: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2093796/British-tour...
Only The Sun could make an article in the Daily Mail appear good by comparison. Amazing quote from the girl in this piece though: "We just wanted to have a good time on holiday. That was all Leigh meant in his tweet. He would not hurt anyone. He is gay.' Wondering if I can use that as evidence that I wouldn't hurt anything if I ever have any problems with the TSA..
Those guys are screwed now. Refusal of access means that they'll never get in on the visa waiver program and any employment in the future that might be with a multi-national will be limited by their ability to travel. They just won't be able to enter the USA without going through an arduously long process every time. I've been telling my friends for the longest time to moderate everything that they say on the interne…
Obligatory XKCD: http://xkcd.com/137/
I wholeheartedly agree with that XKCD comic. However the thing is... speaking openly and care free, accepting the consequences of your actions into the future.... those are things that you need to know you're doing.
That is: If you put your foot in it because you hold beliefs about the freedom of expression, then you do so knowingly. If you put your foot in it because you believe the world to be innocent, then you pay the price disproportionately.
I just don't think people should be innocent about the world around them and how it (their government, big business, everything) works.
This debate brings to mind this: http://lesswrong.com/lw/372/defecting_by_accident_a_flaw_com...
If we don't know we're constantly being interrogated, then how can we prevent ourselves from defecting by accident?
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I live in the US. Someone put me on a list of people who retweet wikileaks tweets and I'm concerned. Our policy towards visitors and immigrants has been increasingly hostile. Citizens get it a little better, but increasingly bad too. Minor quibble with your last sentence: > I would not consider going to the US for a vacation. Thankfully there are five other continents to visit. Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republi…
Antarctica isn't really a hot (no pun intended) vacation area. People go there to work and conduct research, but there's no hotels or resorts. Besides Canada, the rest on your list don't scream "freedom" or "welcoming to foreigners" to me. I'm not saying Cuba isn't an interesting place to visit, but a Cuban vacation isn't really comparable to a US vacation in terms of sight-seeing and luxury. Though as an American, m…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I live in the US. Someone put me on a list of people who retweet wikileaks tweets and I'm concerned. Our policy towards visitors and immigrants has been increasingly hostile. Citizens get it a little better, but increasingly bad too. Minor quibble with your last sentence: > I would not consider going to the US for a vacation. Thankfully there are five other continents to visit. Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republi…
Antarctica isn't really a hot (no pun intended) vacation area. People go there to work and conduct research, but there's no hotels or resorts. Besides Canada, the rest on your list don't scream "freedom" or "welcoming to foreigners" to me. I'm not saying Cuba isn't an interesting place to visit, but a Cuban vacation isn't really comparable to a US vacation in terms of sight-seeing and luxury. Though as an American, m…
I'm guessing that's because of your own ignorance, not because of the places. Costa Rica is superb in terms of freedom, and almost all of those places are more welcoming to foreigners than the US. If you want luxury, México has first-class resorts.
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I left the country in 2008, and I'm wondering if I'll ever go back. It's only gotten worse since I've been gone. It's almost to the point where I'm not even sure I want to visit any time soon.
I left in 1997, and haven't visited since. You get used to it.
It sucks, very very badly. I wish I could stop going back. But all of my people are there, almost without exception.