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Defeated

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Re: Defeated

#241

Post by grimborg »

mosburger wrote: post #89
jballanc wrote: post #32

There is an extremely simple solution: leave. I've not lived in the US for almost two years now. I've only had to travel back twice in that time. Meanwhile, in the same time I've visited France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany multiple times. None of those travel experiences were nearly as unpleasant or stressful as my two trips to the US. Furthermore, the technology communities that are growing up in these pla…

"Extremely simple?" There's lots of reasons it isn't so simple for people. 1) Barriers to work and emigration 2) Language barriers - I know that learning a new language isn't impossible (I know a little Spanish but I'd hardly call myself fluent), but I speak only English fluently, which limits me to a handful of nations, many of which are nearly as bad as the United States (hey UK, how are those surveillance cameras?…

There are many international IT companies in Europe where English is the lingua franca (speaking from my experience in Catalonia and the Netherlands). Learning the language of the country is a welcome courtesy, but it is often not a requirement.

Re: Defeated

#242

Post by peeters »

rdl wrote: post #148

I opt out mostly to make it as difficult for the screener as possible, not because I think it's particularly less of a violation of my privacy to get my nuts felt up vs. irradiated with low power mm wave. (if there were a "you can have a copy of your own scan" machine, I'd probably voluntarily go through mm wave for fun). If people opt out, it 1) ties up a TSA agent 2) makes a TSA agent do something moderately unplea…

> If people opt out, it 1) ties up a TSA agent

Isn't this something that doesn't scale then? Author of this post is complaining of being "defeated" because no agent came to give him his pat down. What if it just so happens that a few people had opted out in a short window, and so their pat down guy was tied up? The more people follow this example on a given day, the longer your wait for the pat down will be.

Re: Defeated

#243

Post by werner34 »

donohoe wrote: post #194
jballanc wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, so maybe "extremely" was a bit much. In my defense I think leaving is much simpler at this point than hoping that the current course of politics and public sentiment in the US will change. > 1) Barriers to work and emigration While real, they can be overcome. Also, I'd wager there will be something of a domino effect -- once other countries begin to catch on that well educated, highly trained Americans are lookin…

I think you need to also drop the "simple" part as well. >> 1) Barriers to work and emigration > While real, they can be overcome. Also, I'd wager there will be something of a domino effect This is a very non-trivial process so your casual response is a bit hard to swallow. And "domino effect" - I don't think there will be a vast tide of of people, but whatever. >> 2) Language barriers > One, you'd be amazed how much…

First of all I think that moving to another country because you don't like the US customs might be a bit extreme, but still:

  >> 2) Language barriers
  > One, you'd be amazed how much you can get across non verbally
>>> So your answer here is great if you are a long-time tourist. Completely impractical in terms of career and work.

German here, I have worked in Germany and abroad, I worked with an Australian guy working in Germany that spoke about five words of German and that was completely fine ( he did HTML&CSS stuff, a little bit of PHP). Our client was American as well, but he spoke some German I think. (this was 2008ish)

My managers Manager in a big consultancy was American and stayed in Germany for a year and a half I think and did just fine with only english. The project lead at the same company was from India, didn't speak a word of German. On my last visit to Berlin I was amazed how many foreigners are there and working in tech at the moment, just the stuff you pick up on the street in Friedrichshain is amazing, people talking about databases and pointers while walking past you on the street in English with all sorts of accents you can imagine.

The same is probably true for Amsterdam or Copenhagen, the dutch and the danish are usually excellent with languages.

Re: Defeated

#244

Post by superuser2 »

peterwwillis wrote: post #109
highace wrote: post #4

Can someone please explain what's wrong with going through the machine? If it means not having my balls squeezed, it sounds pretty good to me.

Body scanners are like a big "Fuck You, Citizen" from your government. First, we know they don't work, because they only work up to the epidermis, and sometimes not even that well, as lots of dangerous things have gotten through them. If you wanted to get something on a plane, put it up your butt or somehow else in your body and it will work 100% of the time. Just don't carry a gun strapped to your body. (Though that…

Great points. None of them are fixed by patdowns.

Patdowns are a couple hundred orders of magnitude more of a "fuck you, citizen." Standing still on a platform with your arms raised for a few seconds does not even begin to approach getting felt up by a government agent as a condition of getting to your destination.

Re: Defeated

#245

Post by brightsize »

tinkerdol wrote: post #118
mosburger wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Extremely simple?" There's lots of reasons it isn't so simple for people. 1) Barriers to work and emigration 2) Language barriers - I know that learning a new language isn't impossible (I know a little Spanish but I'd hardly call myself fluent), but I speak only English fluently, which limits me to a handful of nations, many of which are nearly as bad as the United States (hey UK, how are those surveillance cameras?…

May I suggest Germany? At least in regards to your first point, they have recently relaxed barriers. Right now all you need is a four-year degree in order for you to come and look for work for up to 6 months. The chances of anyone reading this finding work are extremely high because there's a shortage of skilled professionals. http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/ Or, start out studying for a Master's degree first to…

You can also go to Germany to simply study the German language for up to six months. I think you need a 4yr degree (not sure) and need only study for 18hrs/week if I recall. You're not allowed to work, but should you find a job, I was told by several employers there that the Blue Card easy to get and takes about a month.

I'm strongly considering it. I know enough German now to make a fool of myself there. Oh and at least in the software scene, and maybe tech in general, I've found Germans to be completely fluent in English, and some companies even state in their job ads that English is the language that they conduct business in. I was surprised to learn that outside of tech, things got more dicey. Many non-university-educated people did not speak English or spoke it with difficulty. Even a pharmacist I met really struggled. So for interactions outside of tech, a little German would help, and that's part of what the cultural "integration" classes offer. [edit: add ref to Blue Card]

Re: Defeated

#246

Post by philliphaydon »

tomelders wrote: post #79
philliphaydon wrote: post #58

IMO This is silly. Yeah I understand why we don't want the NSA looking into all our emails and phonecalls etc... But its a security check at an airport... This has to be one of the silliest things to get wound up about.

It's a strip search. You don't have a problem with being strip searched?

Its not a strip search. It's an x-ray. And after watching the tv series "Embarrassing Bodies", I've come to realise we're all human and who really gives a FUCK what we look like under our clothes. If someone wants to get off over my x-ray scan good on them.

Re: Defeated

#247

Post by tpainton »

Its interesting that there are > 200 comments on how easy it is to run snd not one on stopping the bastards who threw you into fear and retreat. You are _soundly_ defeated. Im not being forced from my homeland by a despot government or a coward with a bomb. Sorry.

Re: Defeated

#248

Post by seabee »

ksrm wrote: post #234
mosburger wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Extremely simple?" There's lots of reasons it isn't so simple for people. 1) Barriers to work and emigration 2) Language barriers - I know that learning a new language isn't impossible (I know a little Spanish but I'd hardly call myself fluent), but I speak only English fluently, which limits me to a handful of nations, many of which are nearly as bad as the United States (hey UK, how are those surveillance cameras?…

>hey UK, how are those surveillance cameras? The vast majority of CCTV cameras in the UK are privately owned, on private property. What is the problem here? I don't know where this "surveillance state" idea came from but it's largely a myth.

It is particularly amusing because most times the people complaining about this strongly advocate the freedom to do what you like on your own property, without which there would be no CCTV cameras.

Re: Defeated

#249

Post by marcusf »

donohoe wrote: post #194
jballanc wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, so maybe "extremely" was a bit much. In my defense I think leaving is much simpler at this point than hoping that the current course of politics and public sentiment in the US will change. > 1) Barriers to work and emigration While real, they can be overcome. Also, I'd wager there will be something of a domino effect -- once other countries begin to catch on that well educated, highly trained Americans are lookin…

I think you need to also drop the "simple" part as well. >> 1) Barriers to work and emigration > While real, they can be overcome. Also, I'd wager there will be something of a domino effect This is a very non-trivial process so your casual response is a bit hard to swallow. And "domino effect" - I don't think there will be a vast tide of of people, but whatever. >> 2) Language barriers > One, you'd be amazed how much…

Hey ho! That ending was unnecessarily rude. I don't think he planned his post as a personal attack on you or your values, so I don't think the hostility is necessary.

For some people it's easier than for others. I work with a ton of people who've migrated to Sweden. I think they find 1 and 2 fairly easy -- not trivial, mind you, but not hard enough that they can't be overcome. The third problem varies from person to person and what stage in life they're at. We have many people who have moved here with kids, and it seems to work out well. So it's certainly not unsurmountable, but yes, not easy either.

Re: Defeated

#250

Post by peterjancelis »

sbarre wrote: post #91
VMG wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

of all the things bothering me about Germany, this is not one of them. More the fact that nearly all shops close at 8pm and everything is closed on sunday.

You're basically describing what it was like for me as a child in Canada in the late 70s and early 80s.. Stores were closed on Sundays, things closed earlier in the evenings.. We survived, we planned ahead.. Now everything is open all the time. Malls are open on Christmas day, even on New Year's Day! When do people have time to spend time together, to relax, to not be consumers but be people? I kind of wish stores we…

Not everybody cares about sundays or holidays. I hate it when shops close early.
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